Day 2: Robin & Regina can't resist staying away from each other when Marian returns.

Robin knew staying away from her was just impossible. She was the love of his life, his soulmate, the woman he was head over heels in love with.

Loving her was wrong, especially now, but, at the same time, deep down he knew it was the rightest feeling he had ever felt.

But he had a code, he was a man of honor, he had a wife and he was supposed to be happy with her and their child. But he wasn't. It felt like half of his heart, of his soul, was missing.

He had let her go.

He had chosen Marian over her and it was too late to come back. If there was something he knew about that woman was that once you shut the door to her heart, she would lock it and never open it up again. She was angry at him and she had every right to be.

He was sure she didn't want to see him again so, going there, for more than a reason, had obviously been a huge mistake, for everyone.

Do not knock, Locksley.

You can't knock. You know this is gonna end badly, it already did. Why should you make things even worse?

But still, he knocked. At first shyly and insecurely, then harder and firmly. He knocked as if his life depended on it, he knocked until his knuckles turned different shades of red and white. He didn't care, he just wanted to see her.

"Robin!" she exclaimed as a sudden mixture of anger, sadness, tiredness and surprise got control over her face. She was right there. In front of him. God, she was beautiful. He had always liked her like that: no makeup, her hair loosened on her shoulders, her oversize pink pajama on. "It's the middle of the night, what are you doing here?"

It was true, it was 2 am, he had just woken her up. He didn't realize it was that late, he had been drinking at Granny's, a glass of whiskey, maybe two, and he remembered he didn't want to go home so he had just started walking. His heart had clearly a huge sense of humor for bringing him there. To her.

"Can I come in?" he whispered, facing the floor of her porch for a moment.

"How much have you drunk?" she said, almost annoyed.

"Regina, please, if I was drunk I wouldn't ask you to come in, trust me."
She swallowed hard, wondering for a moment what he would have done. But, God, she was talking about Robin, she just knew how passionate and spontaneous everything about him was.

She finally allowed him to walk in and closed the door behind his back, taking a deep, long breathe. This wasn't gonna end well, she was sure.

"What do you want, Robin?" she took a seat on the floor, on the rug, waving her hand to light the fireplace. It was snowing outside and she was cold, very cold. She realized only then that she had started freezing the moment she saw him there.

"I…" he opened his mouth to say something but he couldn't find the words. He didn't even know why he was there, Jesus Christ, how was he supposed to handle a conversation? Or maybe he was being distracted by the wonderful woman sitting in front of the fireplace, on the rug, where they used to make love all night before—everything changed. "Honestly? I don't know."

"The last time we talked you chose your code, you chose Marian over me."

"I know." he nodded "But, Regina, my feelings for you are…"

"Real, yes, I know, save it. I don't need words, I've had enough bullshit in my life." she rolled her eyes, as she suddenly felt her heart heavier than the usual. She stood up, determined to walk him to the door and say goodbye. This time for good. "I need actions, Robin. I don't need you to tell me you love me just to feel good with yourself."
"You think I feel good with myself?" he said angrily.

"No and I'm glad you don't." she spat, her tone rising to reach his. "I want you to be broken, I want you to feel guilty because you broke my heart, Robin Hood, in a million pieces. You left me when I needed you the most. You failed me when I needed you to show me and prove me your love the most. When I finally had the chance to be chosen, for the first time ever, you let me down. And this, Robin, this is something you can't fix. So I'm glad you're not okay." she had tears in her eyes and Robin wanted nothing more than to caress her beautiful face and prevent them from falling.

"I love you." he said, out of nowhere, because those words were just too big for him to hide inside his heart. He finally breathed out all his feelings in three simple words that were enough for her to let a tear run down her cheek. "I love you with everything that I am, Regina. I just wanted you to know that. That's why I came here. I couldn't spend one more second without letting you know."

Regina blinked, once, twice, thrice. Then she realized the moment she had been waiting since she met him, wasn't nothing like she had imagined. In her dreams, she would have said "I love you too" and kissed him, sweetly, then passionately until their lips hurt, until their tongues would have been tired of searching one another. In her dreams, they would have made love all night, and she would have woken up in his arms, the morning after, finally where she belonged.

But this was the reality.

Nothing compares to reality.

"As I just said" she said coldly "I don't need words but actions." she dried her tears and shook her head.

Before she could take any step forwards, he grabbed her arm and kissed her senses away. It was like finally coming home after so long, it felt as if their souls were finally whole again. She hesitated for a brief moment, a moment that felt like years to Robin, but then she allowed herself to let go, to wrap her arms around his neck and kiss him just as intensely, to let her tongue slip inside of his mouth. And then, only then, she felt how wrong it was to feel so good.

"You have to go." she whispered against his lips, pulling away from that wonderful, passionate, wanted by both kiss.

"I don't want to." she pressed her fingertips against his bottom lip and smiled briefly, bitterly.

"Neither do I" she confessed. "But you have to. For Marian, for Roland, for everyone." she looked down. "Go."

He held her close once more, her forehead against his, just a couple of seconds more. He just needed to feel her. A tear ran again, this time down his cheek, as he whispered: "I love you" and finally found the strength to let her go. "I love you." he repeated.

"I know."

And he was gone.

And she was alone.

Again.

That morning, she didn't want to go to Granny's. She knew he was gonna be there too, with his precious, perfect little family. It was just too much for her, watching Marian and Roland thinking that they were happy, that everything was alright and then seeing the sufferance in the man she loved's blue eyes. She wanted nothing more than to go back in time and change it. Or better, un-change it.

"Madame Mayor" Granny greeted her as she sat to her usual place.

"Good morning." she said politely, not really caring enough to look into the woman's eyes. Granny understood, though, she was there when everything happened, she knew just how heartbroken the Queen was and said nothing. Sometimes there was just nothing to say.

"The usual?"
"Yes, thank you."

She had been right, the Hood family was there. And Robin had the fakest smile his lips had ever tasted, but it immediately disappeared when his blue eyes met her sad, brown ones. Regina quickly, reluctantly looked away, trying to focus on her coffe. She felt Robin's eyes on every inch of her body, every move she made, he was watching her.

She put her lips on the cool glass and it was spontaneous, it came natural to look back at him, and, as she thought, she found him staring. He just couldn't help it. Her lips, her mouth was captivating and he couldn't help but feeling envious. Envious of a stupid piece of glass. Good God, he was being ridiculous. But the simple fact that her lips were brushing against it, that they were actually touching, savoring and tasting it drove him insane.

She put the mug down and licked her lips, and there he lost it. Completely.

Why did she have to torture him?
Regina, though, didn't mean to provoke him, she was just being herself, she was just doing what her body felt like doing. And she did it perfectly, according to Robin.

God, how he wanted to grab her and kiss her senseless, how he wanted to take her right there, on that fucking counter, in front of everyone, he didn't care. He just wanted to be inside of her again, where he belonged.

He needed to feel whole again.

She took a piece of bacon from her plate and tried to bite it, but soon found out it was leathery. So she started leaving tiny bites on it, torturing the meat until it was soft enough for her to finally chew on it. And it was enough for Robin, truly, actually enough.

He slammed his closed fist on the table, making both Roland and Marian flinch.

"Are you alright?" she said, turning her head to the side.
"No." he replied firmly. "Can you excuse me for a minute, I have to…" he took a deep breath "calm down."

Marian nodded, giving him a polite smile as she watched him taking his jacket and running out of that godforsaken diner, slamming the door behind his back. Regina looked down; she knew the exact reason he was acting like that: her. She was the reason he was being strange, angry, frustrated. But it wasn't fair, not to Marian, not to Roland. She had spent just a few days with the toddler, but she could say she was already head over heels in love with the little knight. She wanted the best for him, and Robin, right then, was only able to act like a child. A child simply couldn't raise another child and he had to stop. Really.

She grabbed her coat and followed him, but not before making sure none, Roland or Marian, could notice her.

"Are you insane?" she yelled angrily at him, who was standing in front of his car, staring at the ground.

"No but you may drive me to that." he spat "We can't do this, Regina, not like that. You have to… We have to… I don't think we can keep seeing each other and act like nothing happened."
"We're not seeing each other, we're just coexisting after a break up. People do it everyday, you need to grow up, Robin." she laughed bitterly.

"Yes, people may do that, when they both agree to break up. But we, Regina, we're so in love with each other we just can't hide it. It's like I have a huge I want to be with Regina Mills sign on my back that keeps me away from starting something real with my wife again." he took a few steps towards her "Every move you make makes me want to throw you somewhere we can be alone and take you, fuck you until you can't take it anymore. Every time I look at you, the tiniest gesture reminds me that I can't keep going on like this because I don't belong, because I'm not happy, I'm not myself… because I love you!"

"Then stop loving me!"

"I can't!" he almost shouted, anger, sadness and love filling his eyes. When he calmed down he had already approached her, and they were just a few inches apart. God, he needed to touch her, to kiss her, to have her. "Please, tell me you feel the same. Tell me I'm not an idiot, even if you think I am. Tell me everything's gonna be fine eventually, even if you know it's not. You said I let you down when you needed me the most and now I am asking you… to please, please, be there for me. To be better than I am. Because now I need you, Regina, more than anything." his eyes were buried deep inside of hers and Regina swore she felt like they were reading her soul. He looked so vulnerable, so small as she finally opened up her arms and let him in, allowed him to hug her, hold her tightly against his chest and cry on her shoulder. She didn't care how much he had hurt her, not anymore. She just wanted him to be happy, even if she couldn't be a part of said happiness. She wanted the best for him and that, for all she knew, could mean just one thing:
"I love you." she breathed as he put his forehead against hers and breathed her in.

And, oh, he couldn't believe his ears. How could he do that if she herself couldn't believe what she had just said? She loved him. She had finally admitted she loved him.

And he kissed her, he kissed her lips, then her nose, her cheeks where tears had started to fall again, then her lips again, and this time he didn't let go. Before he could think of how risky it was to kiss another woman in front of the diner where his wife and son were having breakfast, he found himself surrounded by a cloud of purple smoke and, when they parted, he realized he was home, finally. Her home. Her bedroom, precisely.

He pushed her down on the bed and smiled, his lips never leaving hers.

"Say it again." he said, rising her skirt to her hips.

"I love you." she smiled, cupping his face, shivering at the contact between his warm fingers and her soft skin, breathing heavily as she felt him unzipping his jeans. It wasn't a quickie, she knew it was far more than that. It was hot, wild, passionate sex. Something carnal, something they both had missed and needed so much. They just needed to feel complete again, one inside the other, physically and metaphorically.

They were gonna have time for cherishing each other's body in the future; right now they just needed one another.

"Again," he whispered, moving her panties aside and caressing her wetness, making sure she was just as ready and impatient as he was. He took his erection in his hand and brushed his tip against her wet center.

"I love you." she moaned out as he finally filled her. It was indescribable, what they felt. Making love like that, with their clothes still on, with time running out of their hands, secretly, like it was something wrong—and it was. God, it was. But why, then, did it feel so right?

He moved inside of her hard and fast, but his lips never stopped to cherish hers, and when he finally buried his face in her neck, breathing in all of her scent, he whispered in her ear how much he loved her too and how it felt to finally be inside of her again after so long.

"Oh, Robin" she moaned "I love you, I love you so much" being finally able to say it out loud felt just too good for her to stop repeating it at every chance she got. He smiled as they came together, the one inside the other, just like it was supposed to be.

They stayed like that for a while, just smiling to each other like teenagers in love and stealing tiny kisses. They were so in love it frightened them.

When he finally pulled out of her, stood up and zipped his clothes back with a huge smirk on his face, Regina raised an eyebrow:
"So that's it? You just fucked me and you're running away?"

"Oh, but I have to. I have a wife to return to." he smiled

"What?" confusion, hurt and shock suddenly filled her eyes.

"Why, yes. Marian needs to know, Regina. I'm sure she'll understand. And if there's something I know about Marian is that she deserves to be chosen, loved truthfully, for everything that she is. Something that I'm wiling to do…" he looked straight into her eyes "…with you."

Regina suddenly felt herself gasping, holding her breath until she finally managed to speak up:
"Y-you mean…"
"If I have to choose between" he paused "living by a code, a life of honor but being miserable for the rest of my days… and being with you…" he took her hand, helping her to stand up and straighten her clothes "I choose you." he caressed her cheek, her beautiful lips he was going to kiss until his very last breath "I choose being happy with you." and then he finally placed a quick kiss on them "I will always choose you, Regina."

Regina was right: actions speak louder than words. But those particular words were just yelling at her, yelling promises that she was more than sure he was gonna keep.

Notes: a quick thank you to Damon and Elena for inspiring a couple of lines in this story! See you tomorrow with more smut!