Alright, so here it is, the actual ending to this little story! I hope it doesn't disappoint and if it does, well… at least I had fun writing it!

P.S. The opening words are my own twisted version of a Paulo Coellho quote so please don't sue ;p

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People liked to say that being in love was the key to find happiness. She didn't know why they said that when in her case it was quite the contrary. For her, being in love was a constant state of anxiety, a battlefield; it was sleepless nights, it was messing up and being scared, it was asking herself all the time if she was doing the right thing… For her, being in love was nothing but of ecstasy and agony…

At least that was how she was feeling in that moment because ever since the curse broke, a turmoil of emotions has been raging inside of her and it was making her feel as if her chest was about to explode.

It was making her feel antsy, it was making her stomach turn to water and she was even fighting hard against the urge of biting her nails off.

And all that in the name of love and of course, in the name of Robin Hood.

Closing her eyes and taking in a deep breath, the brown eyed beauty stopped pacing through her living room and tried to justify the reason why she was feeling like that, then after analyzing it for a few seconds she decided that there was basically no reason to act in such a way; after all she had all the motives in the world to start being happy.

She broke the curse, Henry remembered her and Robin… well, she didn't get the impression that Robin hated her now that he remembered.

But even though he didn't seem angry or upset, she was sure that the memory of how things ended between them during the missing year was very present in his mind and the subject coming to the surface was just a matter of timing.

True, he didn't say anything concrete because Henry has been there and he knew better that to bring the subject there, but he did mention something about things being rocky between them during the missing year and God, has he been right?

Rocky was the understatement of the year because as she recently remembered, their missing year has been full of bitterness, resentment and to some extent betrayal.

So no, things during the missing year didn't exactly ran as smoothly as they were running now in Storybrooke for her and Robin and now, with her new mindset, she was scared to death that because of how she acted with him in the past, she was going to end up losing him for real in this present.

She didn't want that… after battling her demons and overcoming most of her fears, Regina had finally come to terms with what she wanted and what she wanted was Robin by her side.

Trying to run from her feelings had been a mistake, one that she wouldn't want to repeat.

Opening her eyes and lifting a hand to her head, Regina tried not to think much about the possibility of Robin not loving her anymore; it could happen… she was aware, but since he said that he was going to come over later that night, she shouldn't worry about things that hadn't been said yet.

Blowing out a breath, she lifted her other hand and buried it in her hair as well so that her fingers could scratch furiously at her scalp.

Robin… there was no wonder why she has taken such a liking to the man since she first interacted with him in StoryBrooke; after all, even though she wasn't aware at the moment, he has been the only man she hadn't been able to ban from constantly invading her mind while back in the Enchanted Forest and he has been the only person in the entire world that could rattle the foundations of her entire existence just by standing right in front of her.

And that man, that same man was going to be at her house at any given time.

Trying to calm herself somehow, she swirled on her feet and started walking in a bee line towards the bathroom; once there, she took a took a scrutinizing look into the mirror and blew out a breath.

She remained there, brushing her hair almost in a compulsive manner while she tried to do her best to at least look presentable.

Once she was done with her appearances, that first knock at her door came and she was glad that she didn't look as if she has been sulking with the knowledge that she messed up big time when she walked away from the one person she cared the most… after her son at least.

Breathing in deeply and taking one final look at her reflection, Regina closed her eyes and walked back to her living room. She did it while holding her breath, and it wasn't until she grabbed the handle of the door and opened it that she let go of said breath.

Now, the reality of her situation didn't settle completely in her mind until she saw him there, standing in front of her door with his hands hiding into the pockets of his coat and his face a stoic mask that wouldn't give anything away.

It made her consider what she thought earlier on about him not hating her for what she did. Maybe he thought it over…

She also had to wonder about her own reactions. What if she broke and ended up begging him to please forgive her or what if those three words escaped her lips in a moment of desperation and way before she was ready to let them out? What if she admitted that back during the missing year, she has done nothing that wasn't thinking about him and regretting that night when she decided to leave him?

That wouldn't be good… not at all.

"Hey." He said, the clear blue of his eyes fixing deep in her own eyes.

"Hey," She replied, stepping back in a silent invitation for him to walk into the sanctuary of her house.

He did, his steps slow but secure and his strong presence overwhelming all her senses.

He has always done that to her; he just had the strongest aura she has ever felt and his tall figure was one that would always catch her attention no matter what. He didn't even have to speak; she just needed to feel his presence for all her senses to be on the edge.

Maybe that was what first caught her attention about him and to that day, she hadn't met anyone that could have the same effect on her.

"So..." He said, taking a look around before positioning himself right in front of her.

Closing the door, Regina ran a hand through her hair and stood in front of him as well, her eyes taking notice of the intense way in which he was looking at her.

Now, before the curse broke, they had spent their last meeting kissing like two lovebirds in front of Snow's apartment and considering what she could remember now, the whole thing was making her feel awkward.

"Do you want anything?" She said looking away from him to take a look towards her kitchen.

"I want a lot of things, but it will suffice if you just say what you were going to tell me.

At his words, Regina swallowed on dry and once again, she ran her fingers through her hair. He was right, she was the one that wanted to talk so she might as well start talking. That's why he came over.

The only problem was this, she has never been good when she had to talk about her feelings. Meaning: She didn't know how to start or what to say.

Couldn't they just talk about anything but them? She would be happy only to hear him talk about Roland. But that wasn't why he came to her for and she knew it.

So… clearing her throat and realizing that they hadn't made it pass the entrance, Regina snorted nervously and shrugged. "I… Last time, during the missing year, you said that you were going to wait until I was ready to give it all."

At her words, Robin nodded, but his face remained a mask that didn't give away what was really going on through his head and Regina started wondering if her words came out as emotionally detached as they felt on her tongue.

That hadn't been her intention, but honestly speaking she hadn't known how to say what she wanted to say without sounding like a complete idiot.

After her words where delivered, neither one of them said anything for a while and unable to hold his stare, Regina started looking at her hands.

"Are you ready now?"

Blinking her eyes rapidly, Regina looked up. "I don't know, but I don't want to run from what I feel… I don't want to run from you."

During the last talk they had by the stream, she had wanted to tell him that. That's why she went to him, but at the hour of truth she froze. She struggled; he would never have an idea about how bad she has wanted to tell him back then and how close she has been of saying it all. But she didn't… she couldn't. The words formed in the back of her throat but even to think about saying them out loud made her feel like chocking and thus the words got stuck and they found it unable to roll off her tongue.

But now it was different… now she wasn't as afraid as she has been back then. She should have said it… and that she didn't only forced her to live with a deep void where her heart should be.

"I love you." She said, and once the words were out she realized that saying it wasn't as hard as she thought it would be. "And I know this may sound impossible since I have no heart but it's true. I love you, I loved you during the missing year and I will love you…"

Before she could finish talking, Robin closed the distance that separated them and kissed her. He kissed her long and deep; his tongue quickly seeking refuge inside her mouth and swirling possessively against hers.

The intensity of the kiss made her head swirl and melting against him; she buried her fingers into his hair.

She liked how that felt, kissing him now with the memory of the love she felt.

"I won't settle for less than everything, you know that right?"

"I know." She mumbled absent mindedly, pressing her mouth back to his.

"I'm not playing, Regina." Robin said, pulling away. "I don't want to get back into this if you are not willing to work things out, you need to understand that."

"I'm not playing with you."

Shaking his head and pursing his lips, Robin blinked slowly. "I don't know why I'm doing this."

Sensing his doubts, Regina closed the distance that separated them and kissed his cheek and wrapping his arms around her, Robin pulled her into an embrace.

"Do you still feel the same way?" She asked, half afraid that he was going to say that she killed whatever he once felt for her.

"Are you kidding me? I am doomed to love you no matter what. Even if I didn't remember, I would have ended up loving you in this new reality as well."

Lifting her face, she sought for his lips and kissed him, thinking that what lay ahead wasn't going to be easy, but if at the end of the road things were finally going to settle in place, then this was a journey that she was willing to walk with him.

"Stay the night here, we don't have to do anything. I just… I just want you here."

True, she had amends to make, lots of them and she would have to make; but for that night, she only wanted to have him all for herself.

They didn't even have to do anything as she said, not that she would mind if they did, but she could be content only to have him there, talking about anything or everything and if she was lucky, kissing her path of full forgiveness.

"Alright, I'll stay. But I don't want this to be about tonight only."

"I won't." She said, grabbing his hand and taking him towards her bedroom.

Whatever happened that night, she was going to make sure that he was going to be back the next day and then the next one after. Whatever happened, she was going to make sure that they were going to be together forever.

The End