Alright so just for the heads up, this chapter is heavily inspired by Jason Silva and months ago there was a major black out in my city. It lasted for hours and it was literally the whole city. I had to leave the house and find an open store to buy some candles. So when the whole electricity is out in a city for more than 5 minutes, it gets really scary and weird. Especially if you live in a city like mine with lots of tall buildings and scary back alleys. It is impossible to see where you're going without a flashlight and I thought that was a really unique experience. I tried to explain that as best as I could here and the last chapter.. Hope you guys liked it.

Thank you spiralnebulaM31 for the long review, I appreciate it!
And everyone on Twitter, thank you so so much for reading and spreading this!

PS. FINALS AAAAAAAAAHHHH!

It still hurt.

The redness on his cheek was fading away but the pain was still there although Robin had to admit it wasn't completely physical. After that sudden and unexpected emotional outburst, Regina had left him hanging. Now he was standing in the middle of the empty road, torn apart.

The words had left his mouth before he was able to stop them and he had mentally cringed at himself. He was an idiot. Emma's pressure on her had been enough and to top all that, he had failed to be by her side and somehow managed to make the situation even worse.

He knew she needed time and he didn't dare follow her. She needed to be alone and she had made it clear. However when he looked around, darkness reminded him of the power outage and he suddenly felt panicked with the realization of it.

They didn't know what was going on and now she was out there, all alone, without her magic. His first instinct was to follow her so without minding the cold or the darkness, he headed for the direction that she disappeared, setting a slow running pace for himself.

The weather was getting colder and it was now the middle of the night. Those facts were getting him even more worried and he half ran half walked in the dark secluded street that he had no idea where it led. His breath came out in white puffs, the cool weather affecting him more than it should.

The faster he walked, the more he came to the realization of something that he had forgotten before; Regina didn't want to be found.

Desperation hit him hard as he stopped his slow run, stopping just to look around. Darkness surrounded him and his eyes were met with faint silhouettes of various houses that he didn't remember seeing before.

"Regina!" he yelled once, the concern in his voice ever so present. He just hoped that she was okay, he just hoped that whatever dangerous entity visiting now was not after Regina.

When he traced his way back to the City Hall, the exhaustion causing him to slow down his pace, he was angry and upset. He barely made it through the entrance before coming to a halt and leaning against a nearby wall as he closed his eyes and tried to process what happened.

From the distance he could see two people approaching him with worry clouding their features.

"Robin?" David said when he came to stand next to him.

"What happened?" Emma was right behind him.

"This is your fault…" Robin suddenly spoke, his eyes coming to focus on the blonde who was now staring at him with concern.

It wasn't only his fault. It was also Emma who helped her run away. Maybe he was putting the blame on someone else but he didn't care. He was past the point of thinking clearly and he was angry. He wanted to have someone to be the source of it because only then he wasn't obligated to face the fact that she was actually gone whether it was his fault or not.

"You made her run away…"

"Woah Robin…" Emma took a step back, her hands coming in front of her in a defensive state.

"Everything was fine right before you came into the picture so if she's lost somewhere in this town all by herself, she owes it to you!" he suddenly spat back as he lifted his weight off the wall. His anger had fueled him with adrenaline and his hands shook in fury.

"I did not cause this." The blonde explained as she took another step back, getting intimated by the blue eyes that were fixed on her. From the corner of her eye, she watched her father put a hand on Robin's shoulder, hoping that the simple touch would calm him down.

He was mistaken.

"It is because of your stupid games that-"

"It is because of my games that you now have the right to worry about her!" Emma suddenly raised her voice and Robin paused, not expecting that kind of sudden outburst from her.

"I've always cared about her..."

"But now she lets you!" she yelled, her eyes widening in outrage before she took a step closer to him and added "You have established this relationship thanks to my stupid games so that's what you owe me, not her running away because trust me if I've seen anything from your relationship, it's that you are a cowardly bastard! That's what caused this, not me!"

"Emma!" David warned her daughter but her eyes never left Robin's.

Tension filled the air as both of them stood their grounds, their gaze never leaving one another's. It wasn't long before Robin let out a sigh and his eyes shifted to the ground.

"You're right." He took a deep breath before he faced the blonde again, her features softening also.

Robin had never been the kind of man to yell at a woman especially over something that was his fault. Regina's disappearance was getting to him and he began to feel like he was losing his control but nevertheless, he sighed and tried to pull himself together. For her at least.

"I am?" Emma just blurted out, not expecting his surrender.

"Yes and I'm sorry. This is all my fault." He replied, closing his eyes and leaning back to the wall, despair hitting him like a brick.

"And I overreacted. You're not the reason she ran away." Emma answered softly as she stepped forward and put a supportive hand on his shoulder.

"It doesn't matter. She's gone and she's all alone and I'm-" he groaned in frustration before raising his head to meet David and Emma.

"We'll look for her."

"I need to get her back." Robin declared, eyes filled with determination.

#

Love wasn't beautiful, it was scary.

Every romantic movie she had watched, every pop song had lied to her. Love didn't exist in the state of infinitive vastness; it was filled with melancholy and terror. It clouded her judgment, she couldn't recognize herself anymore. What she thought was her inner being, who she was, had turned into a stranger and she was having difficulty placing her emotions.

Why did it have to be him?

Why did it have to be him to make her question herself?

She had one motto, the way of thinking that she was brought up with and it was that love was unacceptable. Now he dared to come into her life and shatter that thought into millions of pieces and she felt lost. She didn't remember the last time she felt like this, always having a destination, a reason, and a motive. But he demolished that, made her reconfigure her mental models of the world and she didn't know how far that would go.

And that is exactly what scared her.

The possibility of happiness existed with him and it alarmed her even further because up until then, she had comforted herself with the idea that her happy ending didn't exist. But now that she had found it, she was afraid that it wasn't going to last.

No, she wasn't just afraid of it. She also knew it. Impermanence was really a thing and it made her sad just to think that the bliss he provided her, the butterflies and the goose bumps, they were all transitory. She had the vision of something more, a vision of a hidden door, a rabbit hole to fall through but a temporary one.

It was a tragedy, really. She could see its transience.

Love and melancholy existed together and they were taking their toll on her. So she had run away from him, no matter how stupid of a judgment it was considering the fact that the town was dangerous and she was powerless.

She had found the cure in running into the forest, having failed to locate her own house or Granny's in the darkness, she had dragged her feet to the woods knowing it was better to hide in an area crowded with trees than being out in the open and fall prey to their unknown enemy.

And now here she was, sitting on a dirty log as her high heels dug deeper into the mud. She hadn't taken them off, still bearing the pain because going barefoot in the forest wouldn't have been very ladylike. That was what her mother had taught her after all. Supporting her elbows on her knees, she buried her head into her hands as she shook with terror of the recent events. Tears were streaming down her face but she wasn't crying anymore. She was trembling, waiting for it all to be over.

Her head shot up when she heard someone stepping on a crunchy leaf. Her heart started beating faster and she was stunned in silence, her ears listening to every sound that surrounded her.

Another sound of a footstep and she was alarmed. She instantly stood up, silently hissing at the pain that shot up from her feet, as her eyes roamed around the dark, empty forest, trying to see the source of the sound. Failing to see anyone, her eyes shot up in front of her in a defensive state but when she remembered that her powers were unavailable for her use, that's when she really became panicked and scared.

Nevertheless, she raised her head high and prepared herself to face her intruder when a familiar voice called out her name.

"Regina?"

Oh God, this was worse than everything…

With a sigh she sat back down on the log, not caring if her expensive pencil skirt was getting muddy or not.

"Why are you here?" her voice came out soft and groggy from crying.

"Oh, thank God!"

Robin practically ran towards her, his face beaming with happiness and relief. Upon reaching her, he instantly crouched in front of her and let out an exhausted sigh before speaking.

"You're here! Are you okay?"

Regina just stared at him dumbfounded as she observed the expression on his face. He seemed tired, worried even and she couldn't help but to frown.

"I'm fine."

But he only half heard her as his hands traveled her body, looking for any cuts and bruises and just making sure that she was okay and not going anywhere. He just touched her gently, not wanting to bother her any further as his fingers grazed over her arms, her knees and his eyes came to stop on her face which exposed the fact that she had been crying. His heart ached with the realization of it.

"What are you doing here? How did you find me?"

"We've been looking for hours."

"We?"

"Me, Emma and David." He explained, his voice soft and soothing.

"And why?"

"I want to apologize." He replied and his words made her stop and look at him.

"Really?" she couldn't help but to ask.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean what I said."

Taking a deep breath, her eyes left his blue ones and came to stop at his cheek, worry filling her features.

"I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have done that." She raised one hand slightly to stroke his cheek but changed her mind mid-way and dropped her arm back on her lap.

"I deserved it."

She didn't respond but part of her knew he was right. She still wasn't over the rage she had witnessed earlier, his words still repeating in her mind. When she lifted her head however, his blue eyes told a whole different story. The man who had burst with outrage was gone and instead he just crouched in front of her, knees on the muddy ground and stared at her in such a way that she couldn't make herself look away.

She watched him watch her.

"Regina, what is this?" he suddenly spoke.

"What?" she knew exactly what he was talking about but chose to stall instead.

"This thing between us… I know you feel it too. Because I like you and-"

"Don't say it , it'll make it worse. Then we won't be able to get out of the situation." She warned him. Because no, she didn't want to face that, not right now.

She avoided his eyes, opted for looking at the ground but when his hands came to rest on hers and he caught her gaze with a tender but confused smile, she was forced look back to him.

"Why are you running away from this?"

"I'm not running away."

"Just tell me why." He insisted, not satisfied with the answer she had given him.

"Because it doesn't last!" she suddenly yelled, startling him as she pulled her hands away from his grasp and stood up.

Turning her back to him, she heard him stand up also from right behind her and she observed her surroundings before turning to him and speaking.

"Look around you! Trees, plants, life, nothing lasts. One day all of this is going to rot and die. And you expect what's between us to last?"

"I can make it last." He spoke, taking one step towards her.

"Don't make promises that you can't keep. My happy ending never lasts." She said and when she raised her head and faced him, she was wearing a broken smile.

"Regina, please-"

"Don't."

Robin just sighed and stopped himself from walking over to her. Because the pressure he had put on her for the past couple of days had been enough and now he knew she needed time to herself. And if it meant for him to stay back and let her figure out her own problems then so be it.

"Still leaving the room then?" he asked, hoping the answer would be a no.

"Yes. We've all seen the outcome, Emma was right." She replied with a bitter chuckle.

"Let's stay friends then." He suddenly blurted out after a pause.

"Excuse me?" she raised her eyebrows and stared at him, unable to believe the words that were coming out of his mouth. He wanted to stay friends with her despite all this?

"I mean it. Roland likes you, I like you and I can see how moody you get when you stay away from me." He replied with a smirk and when the corners of her lips curved into an involuntary smile, he sighed in relief and took a step closer to her.

"Be my friend."

"I don't know…"

"I promise I won't kiss you again unless you've asked me to."

His last words had the desired effect and he watched her roll her eyes and let out a giggle. It really was a relief seeing her like this, after hours of worrying and searching, he was just glad that she was okay and she was smiling again.

"Okay." She replied softly, a bit shy. He found it adorable.

He stepped forward and extended his hands towards her as she took it and shook it with a smirk playing her lips.

"Let me carry you back. You seem tired.

"I can walk."

He just nodded but before she could let go of his hand, he quickly pulled her towards him and picked her up, tossing her over his shoulder.

"What?! Robin! Put me down!"

"You are tired and it's a long walk." He said and began walking.

"Robin I mean it! Put me down this instant!" she yelled and started punching his back but her efforts turned out to be futile when he seemed completely oblivious to her punches and kept walking towards the direction of the town.

"I regret this friendship decision." She said after a sigh, trying to turn to get a look on his face but his grip on her back and upper thighs was too strong so instead she just sighed and accepted her fate.

"Too bad, you can't take it back now." He smirked and kept walking.

#

"I have found the runaway!" Robin announced when he reached to the police car that was parked on the empty highway with a very angry Regina on his shoulder.

Upon spotting them, Emma directed the flashlight towards them and snorted when she saw Regina was being carried by Robin.

"What, she was too tired to walk?"

"No, I wasn't!" Regina yelled.

"Yes, she was." Robin said, pretending not to hear her.

"Regina, you okay?" David immediately ran towards them, his flashlight bothering Robin's eyes.

"I'm fine."

The minute Robin put her down, she hit him hard on the arm, eyes wide with fury. Letting out an 'ow' with fake pain, he rubbed his arm with a smirk.

"I was fine with walking, thief."

"A simple thank you would suffice." He smiled at her and she rolled her eyes.

They got in the car and David drove them back to the town, careful to go slow since his headlights were the only thing illuminating the road. Regina sat next to Robin in the back as she tried to get herself used to the new relationship she had with him.

He was friend now, nothing more.

It meant that she had to treat him like one. So no more flirting. She didn't flirt with her friends and he wasn't an exception. She was to treat him nicely and kindly and she practically forced herself not to sit closer to him in the back seat. Her eyes occasionally left the window only to turn to give him a stolen side glance. He seemed normal about this.

Good. If it wasn't weird for him than it should have been perfectly normal for her.

Except it wasn't.

The thoughts clouded her mind but before she had any time to contemplate on it any further, David stopped the car and when she looked out the window, she saw none other than her favorite diner, Granny's.

"We got this from here. Thanks." She heard Robin speak from behind her and before she knew it, he was leaving the car and walking around the vehicle only to open her door.

"My lady." He said with a smile and she had to tear her gaze away from him to stop herself from smiling back.

Emma had given him another flashlight and now they were quietly making their way to their room with Regina stumbling occasionally in the dark. He would instantly appear by her side, his hands barely touching her arms just to see if she was okay but she would insist that she's wasn't some fragile glass and refuse the help.

Once they made it to the room, she instantly started looking for the duffel bag Emma had brought her and started stuffing whatever she could find that belonged to her in.

"You know, I'm actually liking this."

"What?"

"You going back."

"I'm afraid to ask why." She mumbled under her breath all the while squinting her eyes to see the contents of the bag.

"I don't have to hear you snore all the time."

She froze what she was doing and turned to stare at him with her mouth hanging open.

"I don't snore."

"I beg to differ." He smirked and went into the bathroom, silently helping her gather her stuff.

"And I don't have to wake up to someone pulling the blanket anymore."

"I never do that." Came his reply from the bathroom.

"That's what years of living in a tent does to you I guess." She spoke mostly to herself but when he emerged from the bathroom with an angry look on his face, she couldn't help but to smirk.

"I live in a camp and there's nothing wrong with my tent."

"The fact that it's a tent is exactly what's wrong with it."

"You've never stayed in a tent before have you?" he asked with a smirk and watched her fold her arms in front of her.

"I never had to. I had a castle."

Robin just rolled his eyes and went back to the bathroom, not wanting to stretch the topic any further. It didn't keep him from setting up plans to change her mind in the future though…

It was minutes later when he left the bathroom one more time with a frown on his face.

"Is this yours?"

When Regina lifted her head from the drawer she was currently going through just to see if she had missed anything, she found Robin standing right in front of her with a red thong in his hand. Not just an ordinary thong, one of those string ones that left nothing to the imagination.

"Oh God…" she burst into laughter and covered her face with her hands, not wanting to believe the ridiculousness of the situation.

"Not yours then?"

"Ruby's." she replied between giggles.

"I don't understand, do people actually wear that?" he said, inspecting the underwear with his hands.

"Yes and it looks rather nice actually."

"I suppose you wouldn't want to demonstrate?" he raised his eyebrows and instantly cursed himself for flirting.

"No way!"

He just chuckled and threw the underwear towards her and it landed on her lap.

"Don't throw it at me! It's not mine!"

With that she grabbed the thong and threw it back at him with such force that in landed on his head. It wasn't intentional but when the underwear decorated his head like a hat and he stood there dumbfounded, she burst into laughter and collapsed on the bed.

"You think this is funny?" he asked, pointing at his head. He had to bite his cheek from laughing also but wanting to seem serious, he frowned.

Her voice failed her as she laughed until she sobbed, burying her head into a pillow. Her shoulders shook and tears formed in her eyes.

Rolling his eyes, he spotted the duffel bag from the corner of his eye and reached for it, pulling out another lace underwear of hers as he threw it to her, aiming at her head also.

He succeeded and it landed on her head, the lace getting caught in her dark hair as he watched her reaction. She froze for a moment, trying to process what he did but seconds later she laughed even harder, and fell back onto the bed.

Seeing her laugh was beautiful. He was transfixed. Her contagious laughter caused him to chuckle and soon his also turned into a full blown laughter as their voices echoed in the room. Her cheeks were flushed red and the more she tried to suppress her giggles, the more she failed and ended up lying breathless on the bed. Robin couldn't help himself and laid down on the bed also, right next to her. Both on their backs, side by side as they both laughed hysterically.

When it finally died down and they started breathing again, Regina turned to him, her laughter replaced with a bitter smile.

"It's getting late. I should go."

Stay.

That was the word that Robin kept repeating in his mind over and over again.

"It's already late."

"That's why I need to go."

Please stay.

"It's dark outside."

She was about to get up but froze and settled back on the bed before turning to him with a smirk.

"Are you trying to get me to stay?"

"Your snore is like a lullaby, helps me sleep." He replied sarcastically, earning a giggle from her.

She rolled her eyes at him but seconds later her expression turned serious and she looked at him with sadness clouding her brown eyes.

"We both know I can't stay."

This wasn't about how dark it was outside, or how late it was getting. This was about them and if they were really trying this friendship thing together, they both knew staying in the same room was out of the question.

He nodded quietly and she got up from the bed, not wanting to face him any longer because she knew if she did, she would probably end up staying.

It was about an hour later they entered Regina's house, with Robin helping her carry her bags. Now that she was thinking clearly, finding her house hadn't been that much of a problem and walking there had been fun thanks to him deciding to accompany her.

"You sure you're going to be okay alone?" he asked the minute the placed the duffel bag on the floor inside her house.

"Robin, I live alone."

"I know that but-"

"Don't worry. I can handle myself."

"I know you can." He walked towards the door and reached for the handle.

"Lock the doors just in case." He added and she sighed.

"I'll be fine."

With that Robin decided to shut up, knowing that he was probably annoying her. He couldn't help his concern and he desperately wanted to stay, not in her room but on the couch perhaps but he knew she needed some time alone and he wasn't going to press the issue any further.

Just as he was about to walk out of the house, he stopped when he felt a hand on his arm.

"Thank you."

"What for?"

"For being my friend."

He just nodded and gave her a small smile and earned one back from her before walking out the door and back to Granny's.

Regina closed the door after him and turning around, she leaned her back against it and let out a long exhausted sigh.

It was all over.

Whatever she had with Robin was all over and she was back in her house.