Back already! Lol This was originally going to all be part of chapter 9, but then I realized it was hella long and my lovely betas suggested splitting it into two parts. So, yay! An extra chapter! Haha…Make sure you've read chapter 9 so you know where this one picks up.
Enjoy and please leave a review to let me know what you think :)
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The next morning, Regina wakes completely sated from their post-movie activities. Stretching slightly, she turns to peek at the clock on her cell phone, seeing it's just a few minutes before her alarm is set to go off at seven.
Groaning, she cancels the alarm and rolls to the edge of the bed and stands. She needs to get going if she wants to get any work done this morning. She's finishing Robin's office today and wants to surprise him with it by the end of the work day. That, however, requires her getting to her office early so she can get some work done on her other projects before spending the rest of her time at his offices with Mary Margaret and Marco.
She's already told Robin he, and the rest of his employees, are not allowed inside the building today, so as the boss, Robin gave everyone the day off from work, which was just fine with his employees.
Before she can walk toward her bathroom, Robin's hand is on her forearm, pulling her back into bed with him and wrapping his arms around her.
"Stay a few more minutes," he begs sleepily, nuzzling her cheek before planting several small pecks to her neck.
"I can't." She smiles, pressing her body closer to his, "I have to shower and go into the office early. I have this terribly stubborn client whose offices I'm redoing – finishing today, actually – but I'm on a time crunch."
"He sounds terribly insufferable," he mumbles into her hair.
Chuckling, she tells him, "He's not so bad; gives pretty good kisses, anyway." With that, she rolls over, straddling him and placing a row of kisses along his jaw.
"Oh, really?" he jests, fully awake now. Rolling them over so he's hovering above her, he kisses down her neck and into the valley between her breasts.
As his hands begin to roam down her sides, headed toward the part of her that desperately wants his touch, she huffs, telling him she really does need to shower so she can go to work.
"I don't get the day off like someone else." Grinning, she wriggles from underneath him and starts walking toward the bathroom, stripping her yoga pants and t-shirt off as she goes, tossing them back to him on the bed.
"You could always join me for a quick shower," she says with a gravelly voice and winks (kind of).
He jumps out of bed with that statement, chasing her into the bathroom, as she giggles the whole way.
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Regina is finally finished with his office space, and she's been working hard today to put the finishing touches on it so she could reveal it to Robin tonight.
Luckily, since it's summer break, he was able to spend the day with Roland while Regina and her employees worked at his office. When she called earlier to let him know she was finished, he dropped Roland off with Tink and headed for his building.
He calls her when he gets to the downstairs lobby, telling her that he's arrived.
"Okay, I'm coming," she says to him, reminding him that she wants it all to be a surprise.
"Well, don't come without me," he replies cheekily, earning a Robinnn from the other side of the phone.
"Be serious," she chuckles, saying she'll be down in a second.
As they make their way out of the elevator and onto the twenty third floor a few minutes later, she says, "Are your eyes closed?"
"Baby, you have me blindfolded, of course I can't see." He smirks, shaking his head.
When the elevator opens, she walks him down the long hallway, straight to his office. She tells him she wants him to see his office first, then he can go look at the other rooms. Truthfully, he's been working through her renovation so he's seen most of the new changes, but she's excited to reveal this to him, promising that things have changed since he was here on Friday.
Feeding off her excitement, he smiles as she pulls off his blindfold, crying, "Okay! Open!"
He blinks a few times and then looks around, stunned at the transformation. True, he's seen all the furniture and most of the décor, but today they've rearranged most of the furniture, giving the office a better flow, added more items to the bookshelves, and moved some lamps around. She even turned the two leather chairs in the corner in a different direction, opening up the space so more people could sit and converse in that spot.
It's amazing, and he tells her so.
"Really?" she asks, wringing her hands together and biting her lip in that way that always drives him mad for her.
Looking at her, mouth slightly agape, he reassures her, "Love, this is wonderful. It looks totally different. Tink was right to suggest you." He wraps his arms around her then, pulling her closer and placing a kiss to the crown of her head.
Smiling up at him, she tells him she's glad he likes it.
"I more than like it, I love it."
Walking around and observing everything, as Regina trails behind him explaining all the changes like a giddy school girl, her hand clasped in his, he turns and says, "You know my favorite part?"
"What?" she questions with a smile on her face, lifting her eyebrows.
"My desk." He walks them over to the glass desk, thinking back to that day at the furniture store so many months ago and having the fantasy of his head between her legs while she sat perched atop that glass table top. The thought makes him let out a breathy laugh.
"What's so funny?" She laughs.
Rubbing his hand along the back of his neck, he kisses her lips, saying, "I was just thinking about the day we picked this desk out, and the wildly inappropriate fantasy I had about my new interior decorator."
Grinning, she asks him what the fantasy was.
"Well, you see," he stumbles on his words, noting that she's slowly undoing the buttons of her shirt, while giving him the most seductive look he's ever seen. "I envisioned tossing you on top of that desk." He slides her skirt down her hips as she steps out of it and tosses her blouse behind her. "Me falling to my knees and," he lifts her up, causing her to gasp, placing her atop his desk, "eating you out until you came all over my tongue." She moans then, rubbing her hands up and down his biceps.
Now consciously noticing she wasn't wearing any under garments, he cheekily grins at her as his eyes roam over her naked form. "Miss Mills, did you plan on this happening?" he questions, running one hand down the center of her breasts, down to ghost over her sex, and bringing it back up to thumb over her nipple. His other hand finds purchase on her hip, grasping it slightly to keep her in place.
"Maybe," she grins, scooting her body closer to the edge of the desk. "Let's test that theory out. Get on your knees, Mr. Locksley."
Growling, he sinks to his knees. She's not normally this demanding, but in this moment he loves it. It's sexy and hot, and he's all riled up because of it. His fingers instantly sink into her middle, causing her to gasp and moan. They're all alone in this building, and they both know it. Robin's office is on the twenty-third floor, and the two floors below him are vacant lots anyway. He can make her scream as loud as she wants, and no one will ever hear.
Spreading her legs further apart, he plants light kisses to her inner thighs.
"Yes, Robin," she hisses, running her fingers through his hair, while her other hand reaches up to play with her tits.
Looking up at her, he's mesmerized. He's never seen a more beautiful sight. Suddenly, light kisses aren't enough. Sliding his two fingers down, deeper into her, his mouth grabs onto her clit, sucking.
She tastes wonderful, and the only way he can tell her is by moaning into her, causing her breaths to deepen. She's panting, but he wants her to yell his name for him.
"No holding back, love," he tells her. "There's no one here but us. I want you to scream."
Inserting a third finger and sucking harder at her clit seems to do the trick. With that extra finger inside her, she falls back, propping herself up on her elbows so she can continue working on her nipples.
His hands are grasping her thighs, making sure she doesn't fall off the desk. He's moaning into her sex more now, completely turned on by the sight of her groaning for him, grinding her sex into his mouth.
She's begging for more, for it to be harder. He moves his fingers in and out of her dripping, wet center, while his tongue laps up her juices. He's back to her clit, sucking hard as she grasps his head and pushes him further into her.
"I'm close, Robin, don't – mmm – stop!" she shouts. This is the loudest he's ever heard her, and it sounds glorious, amazing. Each moan, gasp, and scream goes straight to his cock. He loves her voice, whether it's her normal, every day voice or her more sultry, gravelly voice she uses in the bedroom. Right now it's the ladder, and hearing the rasp in her voice as she pants and screams without inhibition does things to his body. He is painfully hard now, but, god, he will finish her off like this first even if it kills him. He loves being between her thighs, and he knows she loves it, too.
Moving his lips away from her slightly, letting his thumb rub circles over where his mouth just left, he tells her, "I won't, baby."
Moving his mouth back to her clit, he sucks and sucks, knowing she's close. It's with one final insert of his three digits and a particularly good suck that Regina loses all her senses, letting go of her nipples and falling back onto the desk, screaming Robin's name as she comes on his tongue.
He licks her clean as best he can before standing to hover over her, running his hands along her sides.
"That was incredible," she tells him, trying to catch her breath.
He smirks, bringing a hand up to push a strand of hair away from her forehead. She's gorgeous, and he spends a quick moment staring into her eyes. Her chocolate brown ones gazing back into his lovingly. She sighs and smiles sweetly up at him, the post-orgasm haze making her eyes hooded as they look up at him. Robin leans down, pecking a kiss to her lips before he reaches out a hand to take hers.
She accepts his hand and stands, and he wraps his arms around her naked frame.
He agrees with her, then leans in, placing another kiss to her lips.
"You know," she says as she begins pulling his shirt over his head, "You're not the only one who had a fantasy that day about this desk." Cocking one eyebrow up, she begins removing his belt once his shirt has been discarded behind them.
Dropping his pants and boxers to the ground, he stands bare in front of her, ass cheeks facing the window. Good thing they're on the top floor. "Oh, really?" he asks, smirking.
"Mmhmm." She glides her hands along his torso, causing the muscles in his stomach to contract. "I imagined you fucking me right here on this desk."
She sits back on the table top, pulling him by his shoulders to be closer to her. He stands in between her legs, his hands on either side of her hips as her legs wrap around him. Kissing her deeply and moaning into her mouth as her hands grip his bum, pulling him even closer.
"But what if there's a weight limit?" she asks suddenly, nervously looking up into his blue eyes.
Laughing, he slides her off the desk saying, "Well, let's not test our luck." Pulling her down to the ground under the desk, "If we can't have sex on the desk, we might as well try under it."
"Works for me." She grins, moving so she's under the glass surface and pulling him on top of her.
Running his hands down her sides, he dips a finger inside of her to make sure she's still wet enough.
Smiling up at him, she says, "It's okay. I'm ready."
Nodding, he kisses her again. Her tongue runs along the seam of his lips, seeking entrance. He knows she can taste herself on his tongue, and he's highly turned on by the thought that she likes the taste of them mixed together. He certainly does.
"Do you like the way you taste, baby?" he pants, kissing her again.
Mmm, she hums, "I love the way I taste on your tongue. So sexy." She kisses him again, harder this time. "Only you can make me come like that."
Well, then. Mystery solved.
With his growled oh, fuck, Regina, she reaches down and takes him in her hand, pumping his cock up and down.
"Condom," he sighs, reaching for his wallet in his pant pocket. Luckily his pants were right next to them, so he didn't have to leave the glorious hold she has on his member.
Slipping it on, and kissing her once again, he lines himself up with her entrance. Regina is already whimpering for him to get inside of her, as her hands roam all over his body. He rubs the tip at her entrance, teasing her, riling her up even more. Panting short breaths, she takes matters into her own hands, thrusting her hips up a notch, causing him to sink a little further into her.
Moaning a shit, yes, he slides all the way in, taking his time to enjoy the feel of her, wet and hot, surrounding him. One hand is propping himself up, so his other hand begins to run along her side, up to her neck and jaw, and back down again.
After a few thrusts, Regina takes his hand and guides him toward her clit. He gets the hint. With his thumb circling her bundle of nerves, and his thrusts increasing, she's almost a goner. Again. His ability to make her come over and over again will never cease to amaze him.
He wants to make her scream, though, even louder that she did just a few minutes ago atop his desk.
"Yes, Regina," he moans, asking her what she needs.
"Harder," she breathes, wrapping both legs around his waist and grinding her hips into him, causing his own moan to come out louder than he's ever heard it. She's a passionate lover, and he doesn't think he'll ever tire of their powerful love making.
He pounds harder into her, lowering his head to suck on her nipple, making her scream Fuck, Robin! He smugly smirks when he looks up to see she's grasped onto that wrought iron "X" that the desk legs make, grasping it so hard her knuckles are turning white.
She's screaming then, writhing beneath him, telling him she's close and needs more. Harder. Faster.
With that, he presses his thumb harder onto her clit, rubbing deep circles. She's moving her hips every which way, and gripping his hair with one hand, pulling him closer to her, while the other still grasps the iron "X" to keep her grounded. He thinks if they got any closer, they'd be one body. He's going to come soon, his cock is throbbing with a need to explode as he pounds into her, but he knows she's close to another orgasm and wants her to finish first.
She shouts another fuck, Robin, yes!, causing him to almost lose it. He never knew she could sound like this, but he's damn well determined to make her scream like this again and again.
"Come for me, love, let go. I'll go with you," he whispers into her ear, pulling his cock out slightly and slamming it back inside of her. He takes her hand from the "X" and laces their fingers together, holding her hands in place on either side of her head as he thrusts into her again.
She screams his name, squeezing his hands, still laced with hers, then moving one hand out of their grip to run up and down his back. Her legs are already wrapped around him, but he feels them grip him even harder as she comes around his shaft, shouting his name. After two more hard thrusts, he's joining her, shouting her name into the empty office space, their cries of passion echoing throughout the office walls as he spills his seed into the condom.
Spent, sweaty and completely satisfied, he rolls off of her, lying beside her under the desk. Her hand is no longer gripping the desk legs, but is rubbing a circle pattern on her own stomach, a small smile on her lips.
Turning onto his side, he drapes one arm over her stomach, while he rests his head in the palm of the other.
"Hey," he whispers, suddenly feeling as if they need to keep quiet so not to break this sex bubble they've created.
Turning her head to look at him, she smiles warmly up at him. He loves that bright, beautiful smile. "Hey" she replies back, the haze of their lovemaking slowly fading from her eyes.
"I love you," he tells her, leaning down to kiss those plump lips of hers. They're slightly swollen now from how hard he'd kissed them, and he loves it. He's positive his are just as swollen from her sucking on them.
"Good," she smirks before adding, "because I love you, too."
He rolls a bit, adjusting his back so he can look more fully into her eyes and feels something underneath him. Reaching underneath his side, he pulls out the blindfold she had used earlier, and he smirks, looking over at her.
"You know," he says as she turns her head to eye the blindfold, "I thought about using this on you."
Letting out a breathy laugh, she says, "Why didn't you?"
He tells her he wanted to be able to look into her eyes as he made her come that hard, but since her eyes were slammed shut anyway, he should've just used it.
Laughing and swatting his bare shoulder, she says it would've been sexy and, "maybe another time."
"Definitely." He places a kiss to her shoulder, then her neck, before nipping at the skin there quickly.
They lay there for a few more minutes, completely silent, hands roaming each other's bodies softly as they listen to the melody of car horns driving passed down below. After a few kisses, he speaks up. "Let's get dressed and head home after I check out the other offices, hm?"
"Sounds good. Your place or mine?"
He smiles, leans down for one more kiss and tells her to pick.
They get dressed and let him explore the other offices on his floor, which he loves completely. Compliments each one as they go, making her beam with pride. After each room and hallway has been viewed and gushed over, they make their way to their cars to go pick up clothes at Regina's apartment and head to his place. Roland is there with Tink so it's just easier to sleep there for tonight. They've got dinner plans with Neal and Emma tomorrow and the restaurant is closer to his apartment anyway.
Later that night, Regina climbs into his bed, her hair still damp from her shower, making her curls come out. He loves her curls, thinks they're sexy in fact. She told him before that she hated them growing up, but now she doesn't mind them so much.
As he wraps his arms around her, he tells her how amazing his offices are one more time. "I love them, truly. Thank you, darling."
She curls into his body, telling him she's glad he hired her, pressing a kiss into his lips, and he can't help but fall even deeper in love with her.
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"Roland, you can bring one toy to the restaurant and no more," Robin tells his son, who is currently holding a toy in each hand and has one stuffed under both armpits. He's arguing, as best as a pouty five year old can, that the cars under his arms are needed for his Gekko and Owlette so they can ride in them at dinner. Roland's latest television obsession has been PJ Mask, and even though Catboy is the favorite among his friends at school, he's always been partial to Gekko, claiming he's green! My favorite color!
Watching the argument from the doorway, Regina continues putting on her jewelry. She had been in the bedroom when Roland's tantrum started so she figured she'd come out and see what the fuss was all about.
Rolling his eyes while slipping his shoes on, Robin tells him one more time, a bit more sternly, that he can bring one.
Before the tantrum can go any further, Regina walks over to where her boys are standing, fixing the bracelet around her wrist and saying sweetly but firmly, "Roland, sweetheart, there's only going to be room for one toy at the table."
"Okay, Gina!" He agrees without hesitation, earning an exasperated head shake from Regina. Roland smiles his sweetest smile, running to the corner of the living room where his toys are kept neatly on a shelf and placing both cars and Owlette back. "I'll just take Gekko."
Looking to Robin, who is huffing and running a hand through his hair, she walks over to him. He's made his way into the kitchen and is standing behind the island, watching his son do exactly as Regina had said without argument. Feeling a stab of guilt that he may be upset that Roland followed her directions and not his, she lets out a huff of a laugh and wraps her arms around his waist from behind him. "Kids," she mutters, placing a kiss to his shoulder blade.
"Yeah."
Turning around, he looks down at his and places a kiss to her forehead. "Come on. We're going to be late."
After the search for Roland's shoes is complete, the three of them make their way down to Robin's car.
Robin has been decidedly more quiet than usual tonight, even before Roland's tantrum over the toys, and he's barely said two words in the car. Maybe something happened at work, but usually he tells her these things, so she's not quite sure what the issue is.
Not wanting to upset him before dinner with their friends, Regina just reaches over and takes his hand, bringing it to her lips to press a kiss to his knuckles.
He looks over at her then, giving her hand a gentle squeeze and telling her he loves her.
"I love you, too," she whispers back before looking back at Roland. He's currently enthralled with whatever adventure he's taken Gekko on and has the green action figure flying through the air. Smiling back at him, she turns her attention back to Robin.
"I'm glad Emma and Neal could come tonight."
He hums and nods in agreement, giving her nothing more than that, seemingly lost in his thoughts. Taking his hand to rest it with hers on the middle console, she picks up her phone and browses her Instagram feed until they arrive at the restaurant.
Walking inside, Regina sees that Emma and Neal are already there. The two of them have been dating for only a week, but have spent time together every single day. Her best friend is infatuated, and Regina finds it adorable. She's never seen Emma so happy before.
Pulling her best friend into a hug, while Robin and Neal give the manliest hug they can to each other, Regina says, "It's good to see you."
The girls have not spent as much time together lately, with work and relationships taking up so much time, but they've been able to spend a few moments together here and there.
Just then the hostess walks over to them, letting them know their table is ready. Taking Roland's hand, while Gekko flies in his other one, the five of them make their way to be seated.
The restaurant is nice and kid friendly which helps keep Roland entertained while the four adults talk. There are a few televisions around the room they've been seated in, and even though they are muted, he still has something to watch when he gets bored with his toy. The tablecloths are also made of paper, specifically for kids to draw on and keep busy with. Roland is currently drawing a picture of him, Gekko and Henry saving the world when Neal asks Robin how work is going.
"It's good." His huffed reply is short, and Neal looks to Regina who just shrugs. Good to see she's not the only one to notice his sour mood.
"I just finished redoing his offices and showed him the finished product last night," Regina beams, still so proud of the work she and her team put in to that project.
"Really?" Emma asks. "That was quicker than I thought!"
Telling her it's been a few months, but she also had her team work extra hard on it, Regina reaches over and takes Robin's hand, giving it a little squeeze. He looks up from his menu and into her eyes, and she tries to communicate wordlessly that he's being rude to their friends. He's barely spoken a handful of words this whole time, and it's starting to annoy her. If he would just tell her what the problem is, she could help fix it. Regina's always been a fixer, always wanting to help her friends and family out when they were having a hard time and give advice that might make them feel better. She gets frustrated when someone she loves won't open up and let her in (ironic, since she's always been an expert at keeping her walls firmly in place).
He seems to get the message, and he perks up just a bit. Smiling slightly, he says, "Yeah, they look great."
He goes on telling Neal and Emma how each office, while all within the same style, seem to have their own personality, and he loves it, as did his employees. He says they were shocked at the transformation today when they all walked in.
Smiling proudly, Emma says, "I had no doubt they would. Regina is amazing!"
"That she is," Robin agrees, looking into her eyes. She stares back, searching his eyes for answers. His eyes soften a touch and his lips quirk up, giving her the faintest of smiles.
"Alright, lovebirds, not at the table," Neal laughs, taking a sip of his water.
Laughing, the group order their food when the waitress comes back again and continue chatting about everyone's work. Emma is a bail bondsperson so she always has interesting stories to tell, while Neal owns his own furniture store. They make classic, wooden pieces, and Regina tells him she'll have to come by and have a look one day soon to see what she can use in some of her projects.
"Maybe Robin and I can come by one Saturday and have a look." She looks over to an overly quiet Robin, who seems to be distracted with his phone once again, and gives his arm a soft nudge, saying, "How does that sound?"
He looks up at her, sighing a brief, "Yeah, fine."
She thought they were making progress with that gentle look in his eyes a moment ago, but apparently not. Turning her eyes up toward the ceiling, trying not to roll her eyes at him, she looks back at Neal. If her boyfriend won't help carry on a conversation with their friends, she can at least. "Well, I'm excited to come by, anyway! I just picked up a day care project that some of your pieces might be perfect for."
"Yeah, awesome!" he says, looking in Robin's direction and then back to Regina. "Just let me know when."
After the food has been eaten, the adults decide to sit there a little bit longer and catch up. It's been a while since everyone has seen each other, and it's always nice to relax with friends. Granted, most of the conversation is Regina, Emma and Neal, while Robin sits there with a scowl on his face, not contributing very much to the conversation. His replies are shorter than normal and every time he puts his cup down, he seems to have to slam it down. He seems okay talking with Neal and Emma, but anytime she speaks, his replies get even shorter. He's being rude and it's getting under Regina's skin, but she's trying to ignore him and focus on their friends. She can always talk to him later when they get home.
"You guys got any plans for Fourth of July?" Neal asks, telling Regina he always has a big barbeque out at his place, and he'd love for them to come.
"Not that I know of," Regina says, taking a sip of her Diet Coke. "Robin?"
"Yeah, no plans."
Sighing and looking back to Neal and Emma, she says they'd love to come if he had room for all four of them since Henry would be back by then.
"For sure!" Neal says, taking a bite of the last breadstick. "There's plenty of room."
Nodding at his response, Regina looks down at Roland to make sure all of his food has been eaten. Seeing that it has, she tells him he did a great job eating tonight, which prompts him to ask if he can have dessert.
Emma and Neal chuckle at the boy's enthusiasm, while Neal says he couldn't fit a bite of dessert in him if he tried. That shrimp ravioli, plus about a dozen breadsticks, really did him in.
It's true, she is quite full from her grilled chicken alfredo, but she knows Roland is always up for something sweet to eat. He's had the kid's spaghetti with meat sauce, which he'd done a surprisingly good job of not getting on his clothes, and he'd eaten every last bite. She wouldn't think he could possibly fit anything else in his little swollen belly, but the kid loves his treats.
Reaching over to playfully squeeze his stomach, she laughs, saying, "You seem pretty full to me, baby." Looking over at Robin, she stage whispers to Roland, "You'll have to ask your papa."
Turning his big, chocolate eyes upon his father, Roland says, "Please, Papa, can we have dessert?"
Regina glances to Neal and Emma who are both watching the scene unfold with smiles on their faces that match Regina's. Roland is so cute and polite, she could never say no to those dimples (she could, knows she would if it was really something he didn't need, but a tiny piece of cheesecake that she could take a bite or two of never hurt anyone).
"No, no dessert tonight."
Scrunching her eyebrows together at his reply and looking down at Roland's crestfallen face, she leans in to whisper that the waitress will bring some chocolate mints with the bill, so he'd have that at least. He sits up, whispering back okay, Gina! and picking up his crayons to continue coloring. At least he's still at the age where he can be easily distracted.
Ruffling his mop of curls, she looks around the table to see Emma and Neal are talking quietly to one another, Neal playing with Emma's fingers as he leans in to murmur in her ear, and Robin has once again picked up his cell phone.
Since he doesn't seem too interested in talking with her, Regina turns her focus onto the littlest Locksley. She picks up a crayon and starts to play tic-tac-toe on the tablecloth with him. Laughing at the way he pokes his tongue out in concentration, just like his father, Regina looks up at Robin. He's setting his phone down, a bit harder than need be, and huffing out an irritated breath.
Glancing at Neal and Emma, they both seem to be distracted by their phones for the moment, too, showing each other something on the other one's screen. Typical. No one can seem to go to dinner these days without being distracted by their phones at least once during the meal.
Emma looks over at Regina and catches her eyes, moving her eyes in Robin's direction with a questioning look on her face, mouthing what's his problem? Shaking her head, Regina mouths back no idea in Emma's direction, accompanied by a good natured eye roll, causing her friend to silently chuckle and shake her head.
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Once the bills have been settled, the group make their way toward to parking lot.
"Well," Neal says, clapping Robin on the shoulder, "I'm glad we could all get together tonight."
"Yeah," Robin agrees, "it was fun. Sorry I was a bit distracted." He doesn't think he'd exactly been rude tonight with their friends, most times he looked up from his phone, they were on theirs anyway, but he definitely wasn't as outgoing as he normally is. He was mainly short with Regina, and he knows he shouldn't have been. He'd had a rough day at work, and he couldn't seem to shake it.
Swishing his hand in front of him, Neal lets out a throaty, "Ah, it's okay."
Looking over toward Regina and Emma, who are hugging each other goodbye and playing with Roland and Gekko, Robin turns back toward Neal. "So, how are things with you two?"
Rubbing the back of his neck, Neal lets out a man, I don't know, saying he really likes her and doesn't wanna screw things up. It's only been a week, so he's trying not to come on too strong.
"I understand," Robin laughs, patting his best friend on the back. "You guys will figure it out. I have a good feeling about the two of you."
"You guys ready to go?" Regina asks, coming to wrap her arm around Robin's waist.
"Yeah." Robin replies shortly. He's frustrated with work, his email alerts on his phone keep going off, and he's aggitated with himself with how he's treating Regina but can't seem to pull himself out just yet. He's in a funk, and truth be told, he should've told her to cancel their plans tonight so they could stay in and he could have calmed himself down, but he didn't. Wanker.
Regina unwraps her arm from around him and moves to hug Neal goodbye as he moves to say goodnight to Emma.
Once everyone is loaded and Roland is strapped in, they make their way to his apartment in complete silence.
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She knows he's upset about something. That had been abundantly clear since the minute he walked in from work today. She'd finished work early, changed clothes at her place and then headed over to Robin's to relieve Tink of her duties before he got home. She had been putting a puzzle together in his living with Roland when he came in, huffing and puffing his way back to the bedroom to change clothes for dinner. She thought then that maybe he was just feeling rushed since he'd gotten home later than normal and they were having to leave soon for dinner.
He's been short and moody… and mainly with her. She's almost positive she hasn't done anything today to upset him. They'd gone to bed totally fine last night, had enjoyed each other this morning before work (multiple times), and had barely talked to him during the work day because they were both so busy.
Walking out from tucking Roland into bed, Robin plops down on the couch with a groan. Regina is in the kitchen, pouring herself a glass of water. Taking a few sips, then sitting it down, she walks over to him in the living room.
He has his head leaned back against the back of the couch, and his eyes are closed. One hand is covering his eyes, while the other rests on his stomach. Looking down at him sympathetically, she takes his hand covering his eyes and gives him a little pull. Instead of staying frustrated with him, she tells herself that it must be something serious bothering him, and she takes pity on him. Decides to gives him the benefit of the doubt and let him explain himself before she loses her cool (a curse of being Cuban and Italian, she muses to herself. Daddy always says her genes automatically give her the quickest temper he's ever seen, and she needs to remind herself of that when getting irritated. The advice certainly helps in this situation now).
"Hey," she says, causing his eyes to open and head to pop up. "Come on."
Walking him back to his bedroom, Regina says she needs a shower and wants him to join. They've taken a lot of showers together in the past week, ever since they'd slept together, some hot and sexy, and others just to simply get clean, actually shower, and talk. Tonight is definitely going to be a just talk and get clean shower.
Once under the spray, she lathers up her body wash and begins to wash her body. "Are you okay, honey? You haven't exactly been yourself tonight..."
Robin sighs, running his hands along her arms, helping to rinse away the bubbles. "I'm sorry, love. I've been a sodding arsehole to you all night."
Switching places now that she's clean of her floral scented bubbles, he stands under the spray and begins to wash his hair.
"What's wrong?"
As he's washing the shampoo, which always smells a little bit like the forest to her, out of his hair, he tells her one of his projects fell through.
"The salsa company?"
"No," he sighs, closing his eyes as he lets the water run over his face for a moment before leaning his head out of the water to open his eyes, "it was a project Will's team was working on. A new type of cookware that this company made. The clients weren't satisfied, so they dropped us - said they'd find someone else to handle their advertisement. He cost us half a million dollars."
Her eyes widen, shocked to know they'd lost that much profit. She knows it's not all about money, but that big of a client could really boost your business. Knowing how seriously he takes each and every one of his projects, just as she does with her work, she gets how frustrating it can be to have a project fall through, no matter the amount you're getting paid. "I'm sorry, baby."
Switching places so she can be under the water again to wash her face, he says, "It's alright. I just don't… know what to do. What would you do if one of your employees designed a space and the clients hated it?"
"I'd fire them," she says bluntly and without hesitation, shimmying so they can both be under the warm water.
Picking up his soap to wash his face, he looks at her incredulously. "Fire them?"
"What?" She smirks, running her hand down his chest playfully, "I didn't get the nickname 'Evil Queen' for nothing." Her employees had lovingly started calling her the Evil Queen during her first year of running her own business when they quickly realized she didn't hold back. If their designs were ugly, she'd say so. If the clients weren't happy, she wasn't happy, and would punish them accordingly. So far it's worked in her favor, seeing as she has a successful company going. Nickname be damned. She secretly likes the fear it instills in new employees - makes them work harder. "Fear is quite an effective tool."
They both smirk, moving back so their faces aren't directly in the line of water anymore. The heat from the spray feels nice on her back though, so she keeps their bodies under it for a little bit longer.
"Okay," she says, closing her eyes to think for a moment while Robin places a soft kiss to her neck. Smiling, she opens her eyes and tells him, "I'd probably suspend them for a week or two and then have them submit every single little detail of their projects to me on their next couple of assignments."
Robin hmmm's, seeming to think it over. "That actually sounds like a good plan, love."
Placing a peck to her lips, she grins as he says, "Thanks... and I am sorry for how I acted toward you tonight."
She moves back so just Robin is under the spray of the water, washing his body while she pulls her hair into a wet bun on the top of her head. "Anytime," she smiles, adding, "It's alright, I understand being frustrated. Next time, though, just… talk to me."
Leaning in to bump his nose against hers, he pulls back and says, "You're right, I will. And I'll talk to Will in the morning. Now," he sighs lovingly, pulling her body closer, pressing another kiss to her neck and dragging his tongue along the muscle there, making her smile and bite her lip, "what do you say we get out of here and watch some telly in bed?"
"Hmm." She moves her head side to side in contemplation with squinted eyes and pursed lips. "Just watch tv?"
Grinning wickedly, he laughs and bounces his eyebrows up and down, saying, "That isn't all we can do in bed tonight."
Capturing his lips in a wet kiss, she reaches behind him and shuts off the water.
"Good," she giggles, giving his rear a light squeeze.
Once they're out and wrapped in warm, fuzzy towels, they make their way to the bedroom to get dressed.
She's stayed here enough by now that she has her own drawer, mainly full of undergarments and comfortable clothes, like yoga pants and t-shirts she can sleep in. She has a few everyday and work outfits hanging in his closet. Pulling out a pair of black yoga pants and a tank top, she finishes drying off and slips them on.
Smirking over in his direction when she notices him staring at her getting dressed, she shimmies into her top, taking a little bit extra time to make sure he gets a good view. He's already toweled off, dressed and laying in bed, so she says, "That was quick."
Laughing, he tells her pulling on a pair of boxers doesn't take as long as all of that you're putting on. "Besides, love, you won't be in those much longer. Is there really a point to putting it all on?"
She shakes her head, chuckling and saying, "No, I guess not."
Walking over to his bed, she climbs in on the other side and snuggles into his chest as he reaches to turn the bedside lamp off, blanketing the room in darkness except for the glow of the television. Sighing in contentment, she eyes grow heavy. She's more tired than she thought after this long day.
Looking up to tell Robin they're late night love making plans might have to wait until the morning, she laughs quietly to herself when she sees his eyes are already closed, and a light snore is coming from his lips.
Looks like she wasn't the only tired one tonight.
{************************}
"Shh," Robin shushes into the quietness of the kitchen. "We don't want to wake up Regina, son."
Covering his mouth to stifle a giggle, Roland gives his father a chubby little thumbs up.
He'd woken earlier, tip toeing into Robin's room to see if they were awake yet. Luckily, Robin had heard the door creak open and was able to get up and meet Roland by the door before his son woke up Regina.
Taking his hand and walking out into the hallway, Robin questioned why he was up so early. It wasn't even seven yet, and Roland normally slept until at least seven thirty in the summertime.
He'd informed Robin that he'd had a bad dream, and the only way to make it better was to make omelettes.
Chuckling, Robin had agreed, ruffling his son's hair and leading him into the kitchen.
Now that they were in here, Roland can't seem to contain his laughter once Robin lets him beat the eggs.
"They look like snot, Papa!" Roland bellows, standing his Superman action figure up beside the bowl.
Shaking his head at his son's antics, he couldn't help but laugh. "It does, you're right."
"But I won't tell Gina that. She wouldn't want to eat something that looked like snot." Roland had the most serious look a first grader could muster on his face, causing Robin to chuckle once again. Who knew making breakfast in bed for your girlfriend could turn into comedy hour?
Once the butter was melted in the pan, Robin lets Roland stand on a step-stool to help him pour the eggs into the skillet. While the eggs are cooking, Robin asks his son what he thinks they should put in the omelette for Regina. Ladies first and all, so they definitely needed to make hers before theirs (Roland insists).
Thinking hard, Roland shrugs his shoulders, saying he doesn't know what Regina likes, but, "She might like some peppers since she eats those a lot."
"You're right, my boy," Robin says, gliding his fingers through Roland's messy bed head. "She does like peppers. Let's add some of those."
Pulling out a green bell pepper and washing it off, Robin begins to chop while Roland walks over to the refrigerator, searching the contents for the perfect ingredients for his omelette.
Once the peppers, cheese and ham have been to Regina's egg, Robin folds one half of the egg over and completes the breakfast.
Sliding it from the pan to plate, he lets Roland put the plate on a tray. "We need a flower for her tray!" Roland says, seeming alarmed that they would ever consider taking her breakfast in bed sans flower.
"We don't have any flowers, Ro."
Looking around, Roland tells his father he'll be right back. "You can make our omelettes while you wait," the five year old tells him sweetly but seriously, dimples shining for good measure.
Laughing out an aye aye, Captain, he turns to continue making omelettes for him and Roland while he waits on him to… do whatever he's just run off to do.
He hears him rustling through his toy shelf, muttering to himself, but figures he shouldn't question him when he seems to be on such an important quest.
Just as Robin is finishing up the other two omelettes and putting them on their own plates, Roland comes bounding back into the kitchen. "Ta-da!" Roland shouts, instantly covering his mouth as Robin shushes him once again. It's barely seven thirty and he wants Regina to get as much sleep as she can. Lord knows he wishes he could have slept longer.
"Ta-da!" Roland says again, this time in a loud whisper. He's holding what looks like a toy-made flower in his hand. "It's Gina's flower!"
The stem is made of small unifix cubes that Roland had stacked together. He's pulled out all the dark green ones to make the stem, always the literal kid that he is. The petals are made out of colorful pipe cleaners that were a part of a sand craft set his mum had gotten him for Christmas (that he's yet to even play with). The pipe cleaners are stuck and snapped into the top few cubes so they hold in place. It's… not the best looking flower in the world, but he knows Regina will love it. He'll give his son props, it definitely looks like a flower, seeing as he only had a few supplies to work with.
"I drew her one, too, in case she doesn't like this one."
Tilting his head to the side, he bends down to be eye level with Roland and says, "She's going to love it. Both of them."
Roland beams and says they need to go give her her breakfast. Standing on his step-stool and reaching into the cup cabinet, he pulls down a clean plastic cup and sits his unifix cube flower into it before setting it down on the tray.
The tray is now complete, according to Roland, with her omelette, fruit, flower and coffee.
Robin puts his and Roland's omelettes on another tray and hands it to Roland. Their tray doesn't have any juice on it, so it's the easier choice for the boy to hold. "Let's go."
Grinning, Roland quietly makes his way down the hall with Robin close behind.
Knocking the door open with his hip, Robin walks in and goes around to Regina's side of the bed, placing the tray down on the bedside table. He's surprised the aroma of coffee has yet to rouse her from slumber, but he's grateful, for he knows his son wants to wake her.
"Giiiiinaaaaa," Roland loudly whispers, sitting his and Robin's omelettes down on the bench at the foot of the bed and climbing into bed on Robin's side.
Robin notices the small smile playing on Regina's lips and wonders how long she's actually been awake, clearly just letting Roland have his fun at this point.
Watching as his son lays down next to Regina, patting her cheek gently. "Gina."
Getting no response from her, Roland dramatically huffs and uses her full name, "Regina!"
Chuckling, Regina slowly opens her eyes, taking Roland's hand in her and pretending to nibble on his fingers.
Roland squeals, sitting up in excitement. "We made you breakfast!" he exclaims, pointing to the tray Robin had once again picked up when he saw Regina stirring.
"You did?" she questions, looking over at Robin. A gorgeous smile breaks out on her face, reminding Robin once again how lucky he is to have her. "Thank you."
"You're quite welcome, milady," he says, placing the tray on her lap when she sits up, propping her back against the headboard. "Although, this wasn't my idea."
His eyes turn to look at Roland who had nuzzled himself into her side as Regina turns her head to look at the boy. "You made me breakfast in bed?"
"Uh-huh!" Roland smiles brightly, "Papa had to help, but I made the flowers all on my own!"
Chuckling, she nods, saying, "Well the flowers are beautiful and this looks delicious. Thank you… both of you."
She places a kiss to the top of Roland's head and then takes a sip of her coffee, eyeing the other tray at the foot of the bed and asking if they are expecting her to eat three omelettes.
Robin and Roland both giggle, while Roland crawls to the end of the bed, saying those are his and Papa's.
Robin climbs in beside her, settling against the headboard once he has his breakfast in his lap. Roland situates himself in the middle of them, body turned the opposite way so he is facing the adults. It's a little breakfast triangle that they've created.
Remembering their juice in the kitchen, Robin goes to collect them. As he's making his way out of the room, he hears Roland ask Regina to cut his egg in half, to which she affirms with an of course, baby, making him smile.
He's glad Roland has a woman like Regina in his life now.
After retrieving their drinks, he walks down the hall toward his bedroom with a glass of orange juice in each hand, and he can hear Regina and Roland chatting quietly about their plans for the day. Roland is telling her how he plans to finish a puzzle with Tink while Papa is at work.
"That sounds like a good plan," she giggles. She goes on to tell Roland that she has to work on a doctor's office today as well as a daycare.
"I used to go to daycare!"
"I know," she laughs, "but now you're a big boy and go to elementary school."
"Yeah!" Roland exclaims, "I'll be in first grade when we go back!"
Robin stands just outside of the doorway, listening to their conversation. He knows he should make himself known, but the moment is too cute to interrupt. He peeks his head around the door frame. There's a mirror on top of his dresser that sits against the opposite wall of the bed. Luckily, this provides him a view of Regina and Roland in bed without having to walk into the room.
"Do you like your flowers, Gina?"
"Yes, sweetheart, I love them." Robin sees Roland sit up then, planting a kiss on Regina's cheek.
Roland lays back against Regina's side, telling her he made one with cubes but drew her one to keep. He'll need his cubes back, after all, so he can keep building a town for SpiderMan to save.
Regina smiles down at Roland, saying, "That's fine, baby. I can take the one you drew for me to work."
"Really?!"
She smirks, kissing the top of his head. "Of course! I can put it next to a drawing of Henry's."
Roland's eyes light up then, going on the ramble about all the pictures he could draw Regina to take to work if she ever needs more.
After a pause of silence, Regina says, "Thank you for breakfast, Roland. It was delicious."
He hears Roland sigh contently before saying, "You're welcome. I love you, Gina."
"Well, I love you too, Ro."
Smiling to himself, he walks back in with the juice. Regina is done eating and has placed her tray on the bedside table. She's holding her coffee in one hand, while the other is resting on Roland's back. Roland has clearly finished his breakfast, too, noting there's an extra plate on Regina's tray and is laying on his belly, half on the mattress, half on Regina's stomach.
"Here's your juice, my boy," Robin states, holding out the cup. "You need to drink something to wash down all that egg."
Sitting up, Roland takes a few gulps of his orange juice, then lays back down with a yawn. Regina runs her fingers through his hair and looks up at Robin, smiling. "Looks like someone is still t-i-r-e-d."
"I'm not tired," Roland protests with a sleepy pout on his lips, making Regina and Robin's eyebrows to raise as Robin climbs back into bed. Clearly spelling out words is no longer an option around his child.
Laughing, Regina assures him she knows he's not, but suggests, "Why don't we lay here for a little bit and watch some cartoons before Papa and I have to get ready for work?"
With a mumbled mmhmm from the not-so-tired boy, Robin switches on the television and finds the cartoon channel that Roland likes.
His breakfast is now, at best, lukewarm, getting closer to just being cold at this point. He takes a few generous bites, realizing he probably should've taken it with him to get juice so he could have popped it in the microwave. It's not bad though, edible at least. Taking the last bite of his omelette, Robin looks over at Regina. She's got her head resting against the headboard and her eyes are closed as she continues running her fingers through Roland's brown curls.
God, he loves her. Knows he'd been an ass last night, but she'd been so understanding. Never did she get upset with him for being short with her, instead just listened to his problem and helped turn his mood around. He sends up a short prayer of thanks to whomever sent this amazing woman into his life. He doesn't know what he ever did to deserve the love of this woman, but he never wants to lose it.
The only sounds coming from the room are the barely audible cartoon and the whirring of his fan. He hears the low murmurings of his son's snores and knows he's fallen back asleep again. Can't say he blames him, with Regina's nails gently combing through his hair he'd have fallen back asleep, too.
He closes his eyes for a second before he hears Regina's quiet voice saying, "Make sure you set the alarm. I have to get in the shower so I'm not late, but I don't want you to oversleep."
"Okay, love," he says, reaching over the set the alarm on his phone as she carefully slides out from under Roland's embrace. Laying his son's head back onto her spot of the bed, he wiggles a bit before settling back into slumber. Situating himself lower into the bed as Roland's feet come to rest on his thighs, Robin smiles. Maybe sleeping in isn't such a bad idea.
"Robin," Regina says. Forcing his eyes open, he turns his head to look at her. She's standing in the doorway of the master bathroom, fingers tapping the doorframe. Her yoga pants are still on, but tank top is removed, leaving her in just a sports bra up top. Christ, alive. She's so bloody sexy.
"I really don't want you to be late. You might need to come take a shower now," she finishes in her sultriest voice.
Throwing his head back with a muffled chortle, Robin sits up straighter, remembering that yes, he does have to go admonish one of his longest time employees and friends for costing his company a great sum of money yesterday. It's not even the money that had upset Robin so much, but the fact that his name is attached to these advertisements and someone out there was unhappy with something his company produced. That is unacceptable in his eyes.
Glancing over to Roland, once again thankful that his child can sleep through any and all noises around him, he removes Roland's legs from his and stands.
He smirks as he saunters toward her saying, "You're right. I probably need to get in that shower with you and get ready."
Looking up at him through long lashes, Regina gives him the sexiest smile she has. Pulling him by the collar of his t-shirt, she purrs, "Right this way, Mr. Locksley."
Fuck.
What a great start to the day.