This is a one-shot that I wrote for this years OutlawQueen Advent Calendar, if you haven't checked it out yet you definitely should because it's amazing. I've put my one-shot onto here so it's easily accessible to those who haven't looked at the advent calendar or who just want to read it again.

I hope you all enjoy and have a wonderful Christmas!

xoxo

Handcuffed at Christmas

It was a late and chilly December night but the people in London were still active and going strong despite the freezing air that nipped at their skins. Regina Mills was one of those people, weaving her way through the crowds of Oxford Street as she powered through her Christmas shopping. In one hand, she held her designer handbag and two big bags full of shopping while in the other was a steaming hot fudge chocolate that's heat helped to keep her gloved hand warm.

She took a sip of her drink as she paused outside a shop and glanced in through the window and browsed what was on show, she let out a quiet moan as the delicious, mouth-watering hot chocolate slid down her throat and proceeded to warm up her insides.

She carried on walking down the streets admiring the shop displays that were all festival and Christmas themed and the lights that were all brightly lit up above her. Unfortunately, she was admiring her surroundings a bit too much that she didn't see the person who was on their phone, walking straight towards her until it was too late and they both went crashing into each other.

The colliding of their bodies both sent them jolting and out of shock it made them both drop their items they were carrying.

"You should really watch where you are going!" she scolded the person as she reached down to pick up the bags that she dropped, unfortunately, her hot fudge chocolate wasn't rescuable since the contents of the cup spilled out onto the pavement, however, she wouldn't have wanted to retrieve it anyway.

"So should you, babe," said the person who she bumped into which immediately made her snap her head up to look at him. Even though they both lived in the same city she didn't think they would run into each other so soon after she had arrived back from her long family visit to America.

She inhaled sharply as a deep frown set across her face. "Robin," she said emotionless, more to herself than him but he heard her and smiled.

Yeah. He smiled.

What an asshole.

"Regina, it's lovely to bump into you, literally." He chuckled and picked up his phone off the ground and inspected it to check for any damages, when he saw that it was fine he stood up at the same time as Regina and placed the phone into his trouser pocket. "I thought you were in America? That's what Will told me anyway."

Curse Will and his big mouth.

Curse her assistant Belle for more than likely telling Will.

"I was but now I'm back. I can see you are still roaming the streets of Oxford like the cockroach you are," she replied with a snarky bite to her tone and raised one of her perfectly, defined dark eyebrows.

Robin slapped a hand to his chest and he put on a sad puppy face even though Regina could tell that he was dying to crack a smirk. "I'm wounded. That wasn't a very nice thing to say."

"Yeah well, I haven't got a filter on my mouth so I'm going to say what I damn well please to you," she sniped at him.

"Oh, I know you haven't got a filter on that mouth of yours." Robin smirked and waggled his eyebrows.

Regina groaned and rolled her eyes at him, he hadn't changed at all, not that she had expected him to within many months, he was still the same cocky and arrogant Brit she had the displeasure of dating for four years. "I have things to do and I'm honestly not interested in talking to you so I'm going." She walked around him and picked up her pace as she scurried off into the crowd, she heard his voice shout out I hope we see each other again and obviously, Regina hoped that they didn't.

When she walked into another shop she had promised herself that it would be the last, she had finished shopping for her family and friend's half an hour ago and decided to look around for anything nice for herself. She found many items that she loved the look of and couldn't help herself, she told herself that she deserved to treat herself after all the walking she did today and the work out session she did this morning.

She had slipped into a home décor shop and began to browse for some items for her living room. She had set up her usual Christmas decorations but she felt like she could do with a few more things. She looked at all the ornaments when her eye caught a few of them that were shaped as reindeer's and found them quite cute, and the best part was that they were silver so they would fit in with her colour scheme back at her apartment.

"Oh, hi, Regina," a voice said, pulling her out of her thoughts. She turned around and saw one of her good friends Rose – best known by her nickname Tink – standing with a smile on her face and several bags in her hands.

"Hi, Tink, I see you're out getting some Christmas shopping done. You've sure gone heavy this year." She nodded towards the bags that were all filled to the brim.

Tink let out a small giggle and her cheeks turned a rosy colour when she blushed. "Well, you know how much I love Christmas," she said and Regina nodded her head in agreement, she really did love the holiday season. "So how have you been? How was America and your family?"

Regina placed the ornament she held in her hands back down before she replied. "I've been good. And nothing too special, the family were the same, we bickered a lot but we always do, it gets exhausting sometimes but I just wanted to get away from here for a bit, even if it meant putting up with the family squabbles."

"You mean get away from a certain person?" Tink prodded, she knew she was stepping into a touchy subject area but she couldn't help but point out the obvious.

Regina huffed. "Not you too. I've already had Belle say the exact same thing to me, but so what if I was avoiding him, he's my ex, I'm allowed to do that."

"You haven't been avoiding me very well though, have you?" Came Robin's voice from behind her. She immediately turned her body around and glared daggers into him.

"Are you following me?!" she snapped out the question.

Robin held up his hands in defence. "Of course not, it must be a coincidence that we yet again bumped into each other for the second time tonight."

"Yeah right," she scoffed and rolled her eyes, not believing him.

"That seems like fate right there!" Tink interrupted and walked closer to them both. "Honestly, I don't know why you two broke up."

If Regina was being honest with herself she also didn't know exactly why they broke up. They were great together and they both loved each other very much but unfortunately one heated argument went too far and she was kicking him out of their apartment. They were both too pig-headed to talk to the other, to discuss their argument and to apologise. They had just let everything hang for far too long that they thought the other didn't want to fix anything and neither had the energy because they were both too heartbroken.

"Tink it's not fate, he's just being a stalker," she scolded her friend.

"I told you I wasn't following you. Why would I want to anyway? Your life is boring and you literally suck the fun out of everything," he chastised, a frown forming on his face.

"At least I don't act like a drunken, horny eighteen year old," she snapped, the same frown appearing on her face.

"You know what," Tink mumbled as she put her hand in a bag and went digging through it until she pulled out what she was looking for. As Regina and Robin were still bickering like two pre-teen girls Tink got the chance to get close to them and cuffed one of Regina's wrists in a handcuff and then did the same to Robin which got the attention of both and stopped them from their petty arguing.

"What the hell, Tink!" Regina shouted as she looked down and saw her left hand cuffed. "Unlock this now!"

"Nope. Not until you two make up, and possibly get back together," Tink stated, folding her arms across her chest.

"Tink, you really don't expect me to be handcuffed to this buffoon without pulling my hair out do you?!" Regina clenched her teeth together as she questioned her friend, did she know her at all? They've been friends for years so surely she should know that she shouldn't pull a trick like this on her.

"You've been handcuffed to me before and you definitely loved it then," Robin answered her question with a cocky response, his one eyebrow raised teasingly.

"Let's save that talk until I'm gone, which should be right about now." Tink brought her arm up so she could look at the watch on her wrist and see what time it was. "Yep, my boyfriend should be picking me up right about now, so bye." Tink waved farewell to them both and gave them both a smile that definitely told them good luck.

"Tink, you better get back here!" Regina called after her as she watched her friend walk towards the front of the shop. She tried to make a dash for it to get to her but she had forgotten that she couldn't go anywhere because of the idiot she was chained to and instead only ended up hurting her wrist which rubbed against the handcuff quite uncomfortably.

"Looks like we're stuck together," Robin told her and then let out a sigh. He received one of her infamous glares in return.

They had both decided to head to a coffee shop instead of just standing around forever because Tink had fucked off and it was clear as day that she wasn't going to be back anytime soon. They sat at a table after ordering drinks and Regina got out her phone and began to check her Facebook.

"Are you really going to be childish and not acknowledge my presence?" Robin questioned as he watched Regina scrolling through her phone with her free hand, seemingly blocking him out.

He was met with silence from her and that seemed to answer his question for him, she was blocking him out and because of that she was being childish.

"You can't ignore me forever, you know Tink can be quite stubborn sometimes and she does stick to her words so we'll probably be handcuffed for days so we might as well just get this over and done with," he sternly told her, it wasn't just Regina who didn't want to be handcuffed, he wasn't so happy about it either.

"There's nothing to speak about," Regina firmly stated. She never took her eyes off her phone because she didn't want to look at Robin, it was bad enough that she had to be attached to him, she just didn't think she would be able to look at him in the face and not blurt out all her feelings she still has for him.

"Yes, there is, we ended things pretty badly."

She looked up from her phone and raised an eyebrow at him. "And who's fault was that?"

"It wasn't just me. Yes, I never went back to our apartment to sort things out but you never came to me either," he defended himself, he wasn't going to have all the blame for their failed relationship put on him.

Regina took in his words and looked back down to her phone. He was right and she knew it. They were both young and big-headed to admit that they were sorry for what they had said.

There was a beat before Robin spoke up again. "I never stopped . . . loving you," he admitted.

Regina's eyes went wide at his confession, she always wondered if he stopped loving her during the last moments of their relationship but he never did. "Then why didn't you want to have kids with me?"

Robin sighed and brushed his free hand up his face and through his hair. "I wasn't ready. You just sprung it on me and I freaked out."

"You hurt my feelings when you said you didn't want kids with me, I felt like you didn't see a future with me. And then you never called, and that broke my heart." Regina felt tears about to start brimming her eyes but she took in a deep breath to stop that.

"I told you I meant I didn't want kids with you yet, I had only just gotten that amazing job offer which meant I would be working so much and you were at the peak of your career so starting a family so soon just wouldn't have worked out, of course I wanted a future with you." I still do is what he wanted to stay but he kept that locked up inside.

"It didn't feel like it at the time, I kept hinting at wanting a baby but afterwards when I looked back at what happened I realised that you weren't uninterested or not paying attention you were just busy with your promotion. I think our argument went too far but we were both stressed and had been drinking."

Robin agreed and nodded his head. "You're a bit of a hot head," he playful said.

Regina scoffed. "Thanks." She saw Robin's small smile and it was contagious. She felt her lips tugging upwards so she quickly looked down to conceal it. Just because they got some things out in the open doesn't mean that they were friends again.

"I'm sorry for everything that happened," he told her sincerely.

"Me too. I shouldn't have taken it that far," she apologised. "Now, let me call Tink and get her to come and uncuff us," she added before she picked up her phone and called Tink's number.

"We've talked through everything, so can you come and uncuff us?" she asked as soon as Tink picked up.

"Uhh . . . bit of a problem," Tink started, her words immediately made Regina tense. "My brother called me to watch his kids for him while he goes out Christmas shopping. I'm about an hour away and probably won't be back till late."

"Tink!" Regina groaned.

"I'm sorry, it's a minor bump in my plan."

"A minor bump?!" She sneered. She couldn't believe she called it a minor bump, more like a huge one, she and Robin couldn't hang around in the coffee shop all night handcuffed. "This is not a minor bump. I'm handcuffed to somebody I don't want to be."

"I'm right next to you and I can hear everything you are saying," Robin interrupted with a fake upset tone to his voice but Regina just waved him off.

"Just chill with Robin for a few hours, you've lived with him before so if you've really made up you'll be able to handle it." And with those words said the line went dead.

Regina let out a frustrated noise. "Tink is at her brothers and won't be back till late."

Robin chuckled and gave her a smirk. "Well, looks like you're stuck with me then."

"Yay . . ." she said with a monotone voice, clearly not excited at all.

"Don't touch anything, I know how clumsy you are so I don't want any more ornaments or photo frames being broken by you," Regina told him when they walked into her apartment which also used to be known as their apartment. It was still somewhat the same except it was lacking any of Robin's things.

"Not like I can reach anything anyway unless I drag you with me." He held up his hand that was handcuffed to hers and shook it which also did the same to hers.

She pulled her arm sharply towards her body. "Don't."

"Ouch. Be a bit gentler." He pouted and rubbed his wrist around the handcuff. "Or don't, we both like it rough anyway," he added cheekily.

"You are so inappropriate. This is not a laughing matter."

"You were with me for four years, you know I always like to joke around when I'm in a serious matter."

Yes, he liked to do that. He was always such a joker, that was a quality of his that Regina loved, he always knew how to make her laugh until she was in stitches and crying.

She missed that.

"Anyway, would you like anything to drink?" Regina asked as she made her way to the kitchen with Robin obviously following behind.

"I would like one of your amazing cups of tea."

Regina smiled. "Do you still take it with two sugars and a bit of milk?" Robin nodded and she soon got to work on making them both a cuppa. It proved to be a bit of a struggle being chained to somebody and having them following her around like a lost puppy but she got the tea made in under five minutes.

Robin picked up his cup and blew a bit of air onto the tea to cool it down a bit before taking a sip. He hummed in delight. "Still the best. After my mum's of course."

"Can't argue with that, she does make a hell of a good cup."

Robin held up his cup in the air and out towards Regina. "A toast to a rather awkward night that is definitely an adventure and will surely be a story to tell. Let's hope it'll get more fun throughout the night."

Regina playfully rolled her eyes but nonetheless clinked her cup with his. "Cheers."

Regina had woken suddenly to loud banging and she wasn't happy at all! She hadn't fallen asleep till the early hours of the morning and she wasn't very happy that she was woken at nine o'clock in the morning.

She slipped out of bed and put on her robe before she padded out of her bedroom and headed straight for the front door.

The banging had gotten louder and her name was also being called now. She could hear that it was Tink at her front door, she was probably here to get the handcuff off her and Robin, but unfortunately, she was a bit too late.

"Hold your horses, I'm coming," she yelled loud enough for Tink to hear her and stop with the banging. Regina got to the door and swung it open, she hadn't had a full eight hours of sleep and that was clearly shown through her current mood. "What do you want?"

Tink held up a small silver key. "What do you think?" She rolled her eyes. "I've come to uncuff you and Robin."

"Yeah . . . about that . . ." Regina bit down onto her bottom lip as she tried to find the words to come up with an excuse. Her brain just wasn't functioning though.

Tink furrowed her brow and noticed that Robin wasn't with her when really he should be considering she handcuffed them together. She then looked down to Regina's hands and noticed that she was handcuff free. "Where's Robin? Where's the handcuffs?"

"I'm here." Came Robin's voice before he appeared in just his boxers and white tank top. "Morning Tink." He gave her a smile and waved.

Tink's jaw was practically on the floor from being in shock from the scene she just witnessed. She was not expecting to arrive at Regina's house and see that, she was expecting bickering, not that she was complaining, she had hoped that they would work it out, and they sure did. "Oh . . . um . . . morning," she greeted back.

Robin disappeared into the kitchen and Regina sucked in a deep breath of air. "Yeah, that's the reason why I'm not handcuffed."

"Wow! I was hoping for that to happen but I never thought my plan would actually work. But that doesn't explain why you haven't got the handcuff on." She furrowed her brow in confusion and waited for an answer.

"Did you get it from a costume shop?"

Tink nodded. "Yeah, why?"

"No wonder. It sort of broke during the events of last night."

Tink's lips pulled into a big grin. "Seemed like you had lots of fun then. That's all down to me. You can say thank you."

"Yes, thank you, Tink," Regina said sarcastically.

"I'm going to take that thank you because I won't get another one. Anyway, I better get going, leave you both to it. If I don't see you again until the new year then I hope you both have a very Merry Christmas."

"You too. Enjoy the holidays." Once Regina waved Tink off she walked into the kitchen where Robin was making breakfast.

"I hope you don't mind that I'm cooking us up some breakfast," Robin said when he heard Regina walk in.

"No, it's fine. But this doesn't change anything between us I hope you know," she stated plainly, she didn't want him to get any ideas in his head that they are suddenly back together.

"Of course not," he replied, but he had a smirk across his face that Regina couldn't see that that said otherwise.

Three weeks later and the day everyone's excitement was built around for the month had finally arrived. Regina had gotten up early to get started on her small little Christmas dinner that she was making for herself and her special guest.

Regina just finished baking her delicious apple pie and put it in the fridge for later when her guest knocked on her door. She took of her apron and put it to the side and went over to the door. When she opened it up she was greeted by Robin, her now official boyfriend.

At first, she wasn't so sure that they would work out again but they met up several times after their night of passion and heat and talked about everything. They both still felt the spark that they had had for four years and they both really, deeply cared for each other and they decided to take it slow and began dating again.

"Merry Christmas!" Robin gleefully said to Regina and leaned in to place a kiss to her lips.

"A Merry Christmas to you, too!" Regina replied, a big smile gracing her face. The sight of Robin warmed her heart and she was glad that she had him back in her life because the months that they weren't together was miserable.

"Here's your gift." Robin held out a cute little present wrapped up in green wrapping paper with a big red bow on top.

"Aww Robin, thank you." She took the gift and raised on her tiptoes and pressed a kiss to his check. "Come on in, I'll give you your present."

Regina let him in and then closed the door before she hurried off to her bedroom to grab Robin's present. When she grabbed it she headed back out and saw Robin making himself comfortable on her sofa and went on over to him. "Here you go. I hope you like it." She gave him the present and then sat down next to him. They both proceeded to open their gifts and Regina got a necklace that had a heart with an arrow going through it while Robin received a watch.

"Aww Robin, it's the one I wanted," Regina whispered out. She had saw the necklace in one of the jewellery shops earlier this year and Robin had planned to get it for her as a gift but they sadly broke up before he could.

"I always remembered," Robin told her truthfully. "And I love my gift, thank you very much. I've been needing a new watch."

Regina scooted up closer to Robin and placed both her hands of his cheeks and landed a big, passionate kiss onto his lips. The kiss was deepened for a few seconds before Regina pulled away but stayed closer, resting her forehead against his. "I love my gift too, so much," she whispered, and they both knew that those words weren't just about the present she received, but something much different.