It was going to rain.
She didn't need the dark clouds looming over them to know that; no, by then all her senses were on sync with everything Island related and her nose could detect the powerfully evocative smell of approaching rain.
The sweet aroma swirled around her, and even if it wasn't for the scent she would have known by the way the breeze seemed to pick up, provoking her skin to be flooded with goosebumps.
Closing her eyes, she breathed into the fresh air and once again she wondered why she was there, in the water, laying on her stomach when she could be somewhere else, probably dry and maybe even dozing off.
Sure, it wasn't like her to be taking naps in the middle of the day but it was just that the gloomy weather did incite idleness in her and with everything so calm she was feeling kind of drowsy.
It didn't help either that she got zero sleep the night before. Not that there was anyone to blame but herself for than one but yes, she was sleepy.
But she wasn't going to indulge, in her mind it just wouldn't feel right to be warm and comfortable in the shelter while Robin was out setting his improvised fishing 'net'. Especially not after the one she pulled on him the previous night.
The memory of it still made her cringe internally and she wondered how it was that he greeted her with a smile that morning. She was sure as hell that if it would have been the other way around and he would have been the one telling her what she told him, she wouldn't be sending smiles his way like ever again.
But maybe that was why she was there, because she knew she needed to apologize.
There was that and there was also the fact that it was nice being there; despite the fact that the breeze was starting to become chilly, the water was oddly warm and the soft caress of it against her skin was relaxing.
It was weird… but even when she knew that she was about to do two of the things that she disliked more than anything in the world, she was feeling such a deep sense of calmness that only corroborated that she was doing the right thing.
Blinking her eyes open, she took a look over her shoulder and saw him at once. He was deeper into the ocean, crouching down in a spot where a few huge rocks lay scattered around while doing whatever it was that he needed to do to catch his fishes. All she knew about that was that he was setting the net and then he would go back later on to grab what he caught.
That was, of course, if it didn't start raining. She has seen how wild the ocean could get when it was raining and she was sure as hell not going to let him get into the water if the whether turned bad.
She didn't care that the mood between them turned sour just three days after the night they finally gave into temptation and he could protest all he wanted, but if she didn't think it was safe he just wasn't going to go back there.
Turning on her back and supporting her weight with her elbows, Regina changed positions so that she could end up being half sitting. She was facing in his direction that way so clearing her throat, she decided to break the silence.
"It's going to pour so any chances you are going to finish anytime soon… today?"
At her words, Robin looked her way and smiled. He smiled at her again and that made her feel even worse about how things turned out.
"You know you don't have to wait for me there, right?" He said from his spot, apparently having no intention to be done.
Regina sighed, brushing a rebel strand of hair out of her face. In any other occasion she would deny that she was there because she was waiting for him, but because she was tired of pretending she just shrugged. "I know."
From his place on top of the rocks he was using to stand, Robin looked down on her with half closed eyelids, probably because he was trying to read on her; and as he did that she couldn't help but to think that he looked really wild up there; sunburned skin, hair spiked, shirtless, eyes shinning intently… it was definitely an interesting sigh.
She wasn't sure if she was noticing him like that because now she knew how his bare skin felt against hers and how deep those eyes could dig into hers when in the brim of his passion, but the fact was that with each day that passed, she found herself even more entranced by him.
She was inexplicably drawn by everything that he was and she came to the conclusion that it was because he was the kind of man you couldn't unseen once you really saw him and yes, she has definitely seen him.
There was no point of fighting it, she knew it, and because of that it was that she was there.
Keeping her eyes glued on his, she saw how he blew out a breath and jumped out of the rocks he was standing in before starting to make his way to where she was.
Regina just watched as he first swam and now walked towards her; then once he was close enough he sat down by her side, his eyes reaching down to meet hers.
He didn't say anything though and it came into her mind that he probably wasn't mad, but he wasn't pleased either.
It was her fault though because she screwed up over something so stupid. She still didn't get how it came to happen because really, everything was going fine despite the fact that they were still stranded.
But even though that not so little inconvenience, after that first night they were together the interaction between them obviously changed and she could say that for the better.
Sure, the first morning when she woke up very much naked and tangled with him, she thought that things were going to be awkward, but surprisingly there was nothing of that and her psyche got set into full acceptance mode that things with him were now different.
It has been good. During the day he was attentive without throttling her and during the nights they would either succumb to their passion or spend the night talking. Obviously, he was the one doing most of the talking and his never-ending questions, but because everything was kept lighthearted, she didn't even mind.
And then, there came last night.
She couldn't remember how it started, but for some reason he told her about his wife, Roland's mother and about how she died. She has listened in silence, for some reason her mood dropping because she knew that after telling her something of that nature, he was going to start asking big questions about her own past.
She saw it coming before it probably occurred to him, and when it finally came she was already feeling cranky.
She tried to evade the subject, but he threw a comment about how her elusiveness was probably because of some unresolved issue she didn't want to face and that really pissed her off. Especially when he implied that maybe if she talked about it she could start leaving whatever was bothering her behind.
That has been it for her and she just had to open her big mouth and send everything straight to hell.
"You know, that I ended up sleeping with you doesn't mean I want to play therapy session with you and it doesn't mean you get to know me. So keep your cheap psychology to yourself and stop trying to get in my mind."
After that she got to her feet and went into the shelter. Obviously, not before she got to see the way his expression changed.
It has been a cheap shot from her part, not the worse she has ever done but definitely not something that made her proud. She has wanted to take it back as soon as it came out of her mouth, but she was too arrogant for that.
Now she was going to swallow her pride and do what she should have done the night before.
Breathing in and making sure not to drop her gaze, she shrugged and straightened up so that she could sit as well. "I want to apologize about what I said last night."
His eyebrows shot up as she was sure he wasn't expecting that.
But before he could say something, she kept on. "I got in full defensive mode… I tend to do that when I feel uncomfortable. I bite back and I know it's not an excuse but-"
Taking her hand, Robin interrupted her. "Regina. The last thing I want is to make you feel uncomfortable."
She rolled her eyes but kept her hand in his, her face momentarily lowering down so she could see how his much larger one engulfed hers. "Just let me finish, okay." Clearing her throat, she took in a deep breath, trying to figure out how she was going to do it.
Opening up. That was something she just didn't do, and even though last night she was mad because of what he said, she could see now that he was right. What happened to her was always going to be a barrier that separated her from the rest of the world if she didn't face it; she knew it so it wasn't like she was in denial, but the thing was she just didn't know how to let it out.
"You were right. I don't like talking about my past because it's something that… it brings out so many different feelings that even to this day I don't know how to deal with. I get angry and upset and…" She snorted and rolled her eyes again. "I just don't like to mentally go back to where I was back then."
"You don't have to tell me if you don't feel like it."
"Just shut up and let me talk." She snapped.
Jesus, here she was about to take a huge step and he insisted on interrupting her. Now she didn't know how to continue so she guesses she would have to start from the beginning of it all.
"Before I left Storybrooke, I was dating a boy from school. His name was Daniel and… well because he wasn't from a family 'socially accepted' under my mother's standard we kept it under the rug. To make a long story short he went off to college and I followed him."
She remembered how she had fallen head over heels and how liberating it has been to leave her mother's nest to go and live free. She has been so young and naïve and it felt like she her owned the world, because of that she foolishly she let her guard down.
"We got a few good years… until my mother found out. You see, she was a very influential woman and extremely controlling so she tried to manipulate everyone around what she wanted. She started by forcing Daniel's parents out of their property unless he would end things with me and obviously, she demanded that I return back home. I think I was around twenty so I was basically still a kid and totally dependable on my parents financially so she tried to get me through that. She even engaged me to this man, Leopold. He doubled my age but he was a very wealthy man and my mother thought he was the kind of person I needed. That's where the rumors of my first engagement came from, because she even announced it in the newspaper even though I wasn't anywhere near town."
And what an uproar that caused.
"Things got a little out of hand and being the stupid kid that I was I confronted her and refused, then I got engaged to Daniel on top of the one she arranged and… well, I got pregnant. It wasn't planned but we didn't care and… we were so stupid. I was stupid. And because I refused to do what she wanted me to do she sent one of her bodyguards to keep an eye on us. At the end when I was about to give birth we decided to elope, he had this old car that wasn't really in the best conditions but were so sure it would get us to the West Coast where we were going to start from zero and be a family and you know, all those silly dreams kids have when they know nothing."
She paused, scrunching her nose.
"But the man my mother sent followed us. We tried to loose him but what we ended up doing was getting ourselves into this nasty accident where… where he died. The baby too and… I ended up pretty banged up. I was told my chances of getting pregnant again were basically none existent so you know, I was all kinds of messed up back then." She shrugged, blinking rapidly as a way to prevent herself from crying. "I was in a very dark place afterwards. I shut myself from everyone, I was angry with the world, with my mother and more than anything else I blamed myself for so long that… I just became this empty person and I, I don't know I just felt blank."
Robin lifted her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles and she used that opportunity to wipe her eyes.
"I've never talked about that before." And it oddly felt like she dropped a ten thousand pound cadaver from her back, a weight she hadn't even know she was carrying. "I don't even know why I'm telling you because trust me, I don't like letting people in. You were right about that, after all that I built these walls around me and that's the way it has been ever since."
Putting an arm around her shoulder and pulling her to him, Robin kissed her forehead. She rested her head to his shoulder and closed her eyes.
"Regina, I am really sorry all that happened to you but you know, if there is something I've come to comprehend is that sometimes in life we go through things that seem senseless and unfair and that we don't get to understand and… it's okay to be mad and rage and mourn, but it's also okay to keep living after. We don't have to be defined by the things that happened to us and well, moving on doesn't mean we get to forget, it means we are willing to give ourselves a new chance."
"I know." She said, very aware that he could understand half her pain because he also lost someone. But at the same time he couldn't know how it felt to wake up every single day of your life consumed in self loathing by knowing you were responsible of ruining so many lives.
It was just that… her recklessness came with a huge cost and that was something that would always hang over her.
But she wasn't going to say that, no, that was for her to know only and besides, now that she got it all off her chest she didn't want to talk about it anymore.
"I took me a while too but I think that's one of the best lessons I've learn in life. That there is going to be sadness in our journey, but there will also be beauty and that's what we have to hold onto. We have to keep going."
Nodding, she lifted her face and kissed him. Just a peck.
Then, wanting to change the brooding mood a little, she blew out a breath. "You owe me a drink. I believe I told you I would need a few of those before ever discussing my mommy issues with you and well, I went deeper than that and right now I feel like I need to get drunk out of my mind."
Giving her hand a squeeze, he chuckled. "Sounds fair. What about Thursday, Granny's has karaoke night."
Despite the somewhat depressing nature of their previous conversation, Regina laughed at that. The sound burst out of her before she could hold it but she didn't mind, as she didn't want to spend the rest of the day upset over the ghosts of her past.
"I will never go to a karaoke night in Storybrooke, let alone at Granny's."
"Why, I'm bloody good at karaoke." He said almost indignantly. "I also happen to play from time to time there with a couple of the guys. Or with Ariel, I'm her guitar player."
"I don't know why that doesn't surprise me." And it really didn't because he definitely fit the mold; friendly, cheerful, sometimes annoyingly so, he was just the kind who in just a few months knew and got along with everyone and their mothers while in Storybrooke.
"You should really drop by sometime. I mean besides the obvious good music, Ruby makes this insane homemade-" He stopped there and snorted. "You know what, forget about the last thing I said as I don't think it's even legal and she would kill me if you ended up raiding the place."
Opening her mouth and then clasping it shut, Regina hummed. She didn't know what to say without sounding like the Mayor that she was.
"Guess I can warn her before hand because Granny's afterhours it's the best place in town to go without you know, getting into too much trouble."
"So guitar player, uh?" She said, but just because there was not much to add without coming off too condescending. "He hunts, he cooks, he builds shelters and can start a fire out of nothing and now he also plays the guitar."
"I'm quite a catch, I know, you don't have to say it."
Running the tip of her tongue against the edge of her teeth, she arched an eyebrow. "And humble…"
"And ridiculously handsome."
She chuckled at how smug he was acting but because she knew he was just messing with her she played along. "Yeah, how could I forget?"
Snorting, he scratched along his stubble "Talking about being insanely good looking, I have to confess something. When I was sent to Storybrooke I was expecting you to be… let's say I was not expecting you to look the way you do."
"The way I do? What's that even supposed to mean?" She asked roughly, her head backing a little so that she could have a better look at him.
"Come on, you know you're quite a stunner and that wasn't what I expected. Now your attitude did leave much to be desired, mind you."
She shrugged, very aware that what he was saying was true. She hadn't been amicable with him and instead has been more on the cold side. But what could she say? She was a very territorial person and after being in office for years, she didn't take it so well when they sent an auditor to monitor her.
"I'm the Mayor, not Miss Congeniality so the attitude serves me well."
"I bet it does."
"As for going to Granny's, I don't think that's actually a good idea. I mean it wouldn't be very ethical from the Mayor and her auditor going out in public like that. In fact this right here," She said pointing to the two of them. "It's a serious conflict of interest."
Meaning that in the Island it was okay to do what they were doing because there were going to be no consequences, but in Storybrooke it could cost him his job and she was never going to be re-elected.
"I'm pretty sure we are breaking some rules if not the law here. We are being unprofessional."
"Bollocks." He said and she noticed the way his eyes held hers with that special glint they would get every time he looked at her. "What's the point of living if we have to follow all the rules?"
She arched an eyebrow. "Wow. And this comes from the man they sent to monitor my every step as Mayor so that I won't-."
Lowering his face to hers, he cut her off by kissing her. He kissed her long and deep for a while before pulling away. "Oh, but I am monitoring your every step. And kissing you all over, and touching you…" He moved his lips to the side of her face and bit into her earlobe, meanwhile, his hands went to her thigh and squeezed. "I'll have to report that you got me completely captivated. And that the more I get of you the more I want. This sure has to be a trick of yours."
Biting on her lips, she smiled as his hands sneaked underneath her pants. But before he could reach what he was probably aiming for his hand halted and his face moved from hers.
"Regina, can I tell you something without having you freak out?" He whispered, his breath caressing her shoulder softly.
After asking her that, his eyes moved back to hers and once again she found herself submerged deep into his sparkling blue colored eyes.
"What?"
"There is a turtle of gigantic proportions crawling its way to us."
His eyes were still on hers and for a moment she was sure he was saying that just to… hell, she didn't know why. "Really?" She asked frowning and he just nodded at her.
Kind of hesitant, she moved her head a bit to the side and with the corner of her eye she saw that he was not lying like at all. There was a giant turtle dragging itself through the sand and on its way to the water.
I wasn't exactly coming their way, but it was close enough.
Parting her lips slightly, she watched amazed the slow progress of the creature. "Oh wow." She turned around and lay on her stomach so that she could have a better look.
As she watched, she felt Robin resting his body over hers. "Maybe she just lay down her eggs, I think that's the only time they come out of the sea."
"Do you think the eggs are safe, shouldn't we move them so they will not be eaten by… I don't know, the lizards? We can bury them or something."
"Well, I don't know about you but I happen to know that turtles are a delicacy in some parts of the world so I don't know, we could eat that one; I can easily take it down and there's a lot of meat there. We can even use the shell for something."
"What? No way Robin." She gasped and tried to push him off.
"Hey calm down, I wasn't being serious. We'll only eat the eggs, a dozen of them sound great right now." Now as he said that, she could listen to him chuckle and before she could try to push him off again, he grabbed her hips and made her turn around.
With that new position, he ended up right on top of her.
"Is food the only thing you can think of?" With her eyes half closed, she watched as he ran his tongue along his smirking lips, probably considering his words before speaking them out loud.
"Not really." He left it at that, but because she could feel the way his not so subtle erection was pressing to her thigh, she pretty much had a good guess of what also occupied his mind.
She couldn't blame him, with him so close she could feel her skin vibrating in anticipation of feeling all of him and she was having a very strong desire to kiss him.
So, getting carried away by the moment, she lifted her face to him and kissed him. He took charge by moving his hand to the back of her neck to hold her in place and a tingling sensation formed in her groin as his tongue slid in to touch hers briefly.
But then, before she could get used to the feeling of him it all ended too soon. After that brief kiss he pulled apart and went back to sitting on his knees; however, his eyes remained glued to hers.
"What you told me earlier, I'm glad you know you can trust me enough to talk to me."
Sitting down and lowering her eyes, she used her hands to gather some water to pour over the parts of her arms and thighs that were partly covered in sand.
"Thanks for listening, I guess." She looked up, noticing that the sky has turned almost black. "Still going to pour."
"Yes." And just like that his mouth claimed hers once again and all she could concentrate on was on the way his lips searched for hers, on the way his tongue melted against her own and on the feeling of his hand sneaking underneath her shirt to roam freely up her spine.
Between the kiss and his electric touch she knew that if they kept like that things were going to get out of control really soon. So pulling away, she bit on her lips and wrinkled her nose.
"Let's take this to the shelter."
"Why, are trying to seduce me, Madame Mayor, because that would be highly unprofessional of your part. You give me no other choice than to report you." Now maybe he said that as a joke, but his voice was so low that Regina could almost breathe on it. Then after saying that, he moved his lips right underneath her jaw and started to kiss his way around her throat.
One of her hands went to his back as she felt his skin around, but just when she was thinking that they could easily give into desire right there he got to his feet and made her go up as well.
Not that he had any apparent intention of giving up on what he was doing, because when she was up he wrapped his arms around her upper thighs and lifted her up.
Surprised, she laughed and her own arms went around his neck.
"You really don't know how much I love to hear you laugh."
She sucked in a breath at the way he was looking at her, but just when she was about to reply her eye caught something in the distance and she just had to look.
Her smile froze and then died on her face as she dropped her hands from him, and for a wild-irrational moment she had the urge to grab Robin and hide with him back in the jungle. But then he turned and he looked as well and he let her slowly slide back to the ground.
That's how she knew that he saw it too.
There, in the ocean and not too far them now was a huge yatch; just what she has been waiting since the moment she first stepped into that place. It was their ticket out of there and it was coming their way…
TBC