No you're not dreaming! This is another update! Enjoy!

Regina stood there waiting for him to answer for what seemed like an eternity, her mind racing a million miles a minute. Why wasn't he answering straight away? What was he doing? Did he actually want her to come back or would he be upset that she had? She had so many questions, so much she wanted to know, but only Robin could answer those and although she was stood here, her courage waning by the minute, she wasn't so sure that she was brave enough to ask them.

He certainly wasn't answering, maybe he wasn't even in his room, for all she knew he could be downstairs, maybe he was in the bathroom or maybe he'd even just gone out with his friends now that she was out of his hair. He could have been just waiting for her to go back to Mal's room so he was free to do as he pleased. The doubt was filling her quicker than she could even attempt to stop it. She turned around rapidly and darted back in the direction she had come from, running straight into someone and nearly knocking them off their feet.

"I am so sorry! I wasn't paying attention, are you alright?" she asked, looking at her victim in alarm, taking in the older blonde who was in her dressing gown and slippers with her hair wrapped up in a towel.

"I gathered that dear and yes, I'm fine" Caroline chuckled, shaking her head as she ran her eyes over Regina's form, "you on the other hand look rather flustered."

"I do?" her hands went to her cheeks in an attempt to cover her blushes, she was pretty sure that she knew exactly why she was so flustered. Thinking about Robin tended to do that to her. "Anyway, I was just heading off to bed now so..."

"If you were looking for Robin, he's just gone to shower. He went in as I came out."

"Ah, I see, well I'll just catch up with him in the morning. Goodnight Mrs Locksley," she smiled, zipping past the woman and slipping back into Mal's room without even thinking to knock. The blonde was too busy yelling down the phone to notice her presence and Regina knew she was intruding on her private conversation.

"No Esme! This was your fault; you know it was! You are not blaming our breakup on me, it's not fair, I don't want to be treated like shit anymore."

The brunette backed up and back out again, she had no idea where she was supposed to go now. She could hardly go and wait for Robin in his room whilst he was in the shower, but she certainly wasn't going to listen to Mal's personal life either. Quietly she tiptoed downstairs and into the sitting room where she dropped down onto a comfy lounger in front of the blank screen of the television.

She just sat there for a moment before fishing her phone from her pocket, contemplating who she should call. She tried Kathryn first but there was no answer, not that she was surprised, the blonde was probably out partying like always. The second person she tried was her sister, it might be half-past eleven at night in the UK, but in California, it would be half-past three in the afternoon. The call went straight through and her sister's face popped up on the screen, lit by the bright sun as it bounced off the golden sand. The redhead was at the beach which was nothing new and just seeing her face made Regina smile.

"Hey, you!" Zelena grinned, sitting up straight so that she could hold the phone properly.

"You're on the beach?" Regina chuckled softly, her eyes meeting the blue ones of her sister, a swell of pining in her chest, a longing that she'd had the chance to spend Christmas with her family.

"Yeah! It's a lovely day here."

"It's freezing here, you'd hate it."

"I don't know how you can live in a cold place Gina, I don't think I'd be able to manage. Anyway, what are you doing ringing me instead of snuggling up with your own personal hot water bottle?"

"Seriously?"

"Okay fine, so how's it going at your boyfriend's house?"

"I told you, Lena, he's not my boyfriend," she scoffed. Would her sister ever stop teasing her about it?

"Fine, how is going at your boy that's a friend but you want to fuck's house?"

"I'm not even sure."

"What do you mean?"

"I have no idea how it's going. I am useless."

"No, you definitely aren't useless. What's going on Regina?"

"I really like him," she sighed, resting her head in the hand that wasn't holding the phone, she felt like despairing but she needed to talk to someone. She could talk with Mal, but the girl was otherwise engaged so her own sister was going to have to be the person she relayed the mess of her life to. "He's the nicest person I think I've ever met," she confessed, a soft smile on her face as she thought about Robin and how much he had come to mean to her.

"Well, that's great then! Make a god damn move already."

"It's not that simple."

"Uh, yeah it is. Tell the boy you like him."

"Lena, I just… I don't want to…I just can't bring myself to tell him."

"You don't want your heart broken?"

"Of course I don't."

"Has this guy given you any reason why that might happen if you let him in?"

"No."

"Then stop worrying. If you don't even try then you'll miss your chance. Most guys won't wait around forever and if he is as much of a catch as you say he is then you should snatch him up before someone else does, because trust me they will and you'll be left thinking, why the fuck didn't I just get with him whilst I had the opportunity?"

Regina sighed, her sister was really something, she wouldn't worry about rejection, she wasn't the type to do that, she was the sort of person that went out and got what she wanted, she took risks and was fearless. Regina wished she could be fearless, but right now she felt like the nine of swords tarot card instead of the one depicting strength.

"You need to before another cute girl does and I'm sure that Oxford isn't lacking in cute girls."

"You said that already."

"Regina, don't let him slip away from you, trust me, that will hurt even more than rejection, seeing him with someone else, that would be like torture."

The thought of Robin with someone else made her feel sick, she didn't think she would be able to bear it, it would be, as her sister said, torture. Zelena was right, just like Mal was. She needed to make her move and make it soon before it was too late.

"Are you going to go for it?"

"I think I will."

"That's the spirit! Hey, you could always just find some mistletoe and strategically place it somewhere, then accidentally step under it with him."

"Even if that was a good idea, where exactly am I supposed to find mistletoe?"

"I thought it was an amazing idea! And it's Christmas, I would have thought that you would have been able to find mistletoe anywhere at this time of year."

Regina raised an eyebrow and pulled her leg up to tuck underneath her, her sister's suggestion sounded like something out of a romantic comedy. It was nice in theory, but she couldn't see it actually going to plan something would happen to screw it up.

"Seriously Regina, just tell him how you feel, that's the best advice I can give you."

"So very helpful." Her eyes flitted to the clock that sat on the mantelpiece before she turned back to her sister again, "happy Christmas eve by the way."

"Yeah, not Christmas eve here yet, but happy Christmas eve to you. I hope you get a decent Christmas present if you know what I mean."

"Shut up," Regina chuckled with a soft shake of her head, "I'll talk to you later, love you lots."

"Love you, Gina, sleep well."

"Thanks, bye sis, have fun at the beach."

"Oh, I'm sure I will. Check out this guy," she grinned, flipping the camera angle to point it at a random guy's ass.

"See you later Lena," Regina ended the call, fiddling with her phone in her hands. She sat there for a couple more moments before forcing herself to stand up, she wasn't going to have the conversation with Robin now though, it was too late, she'd just have to go back to Mal's room, maybe tomorrow she would be brave enough to let him know how she felt.

Regina headed back up the stairs, hearing a door close when she reached the top, the thought occurred to her that maybe it was Robin heading back to his room after his shower, but she soon pushed that aside.

She decided to knock on Mal's door instead of just going in as she had done before, she didn't want to interrupt anything and have a repeat of earlier.

"Who is it?" a grumpy voice asked, making Regina think that the call she had partially witnessed earlier hadn't gotten any better after she'd left.

"It's Regina."

The door opened and Mal looked at her with a risen eyebrow, "what are you doing back here?"

"Stop it, you're as bad as my sister," she rolled her eyes as she moved past the blonde and into the room, watching as the younger girl closed the door behind them.

"I thought you were taking the plunge and telling him how you felt!"

"Yeah well, it didn't happen so…"

"Why not?"

"He wasn't there and I just… I couldn't bring myself to go now, I think I'll just tell him tomorrow."

"Fine whatever."

"Are you okay Mal?"

"Why wouldn't I be okay?" she asked, dropping down on the bottom bunk, one knee bent as she tucked one arm behind her head and looked at her phone, clearly trying to avoid the question, Regina knew that she wasn't okay.

The brunette sighed as she began to climb up to the top bunk, having to duck down as she moved under the blankets of the single bed. Once she was settled Mal flicked off the table lamp and plunged the room into darkness, all except the glow in the dark stars on the ceiling.

Regina stared at the stars, realising that they were actually positioned to create constellations, Mal's father must have gone to a lot of effort to create that, she couldn't stop the soft smile from appearing on her face. "I know somethings wrong Mal," she whispered, "you can talk to me, if you want."

"Nothings wrong Regina, go to sleep."

"What am I, a five year old? Mal."

"I'm fine."

"You don't seem fine."

"Regina, just leave it," she breathed, her voice faltering as she spoke, indicating that she was getting emotional, maybe even crying. Mal clearly wanted her to let it lie, but she didn't think she could, she wanted to be able to reassure the blonde and bring her some comfort.

Shaking her head, she sat up, her forehead banging against the roof that was far too close to the bed, causing her to swear under her breath. She was just glad that she hadn't sat up too quickly because if she had, she would most likely have been knocked out.

"Did you just smack your head on the roof?" Mal asked, a small laugh breaking through her upset tone.

"Are you actually laughing at the fact that I nearly got KO'd by the ceiling?" Regina huffed as she made her way to the ladder of the bunk bed, scrambling in the dark to move back down again. Once her feet were back on solid ground she perched on the edge of the bottom bunk.

"No, is your head okay?" she sniggered.

"I think I'll live, let's hope I don't have a concussion or bruise on my forehead tomorrow when I'm supposed to be telling Robin about my feelings."

"You'd still look cute even if you were bruised," the blonde murmured, sitting up a little, her face only illuminated by the screen of her phone. She could see just how upset the girl was, something had clearly happened.

"Mal. Talk to me," Regina whispered, taking her hand and holding it softly, "I came back earlier and you were yelling on the phone, did something happen?"

"No, it's just an argument with my friend, no big deal."

"Friend or girlfriend?"

"You don't miss much do you?" she chuckled humorlessly.

"I happen to be very observant."

"I'm pretty sure that things are over with her."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"Things happen," Mal shrugged, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, "it's just really shitty," she whispered and Regina could tell that she was on the cusp of tears.

Regina moved closer to her, wrapping her arms around her, "it will be alright you know, I'm sure of it. And I mean, you're beautiful, I'm sure you won't find it hard to get a new girlfriend," Regina reassured, "she doesn't know what she's let go."

"Stop being so nice to me, it's weird."

Regina smiled at her and shook her head, "I happen to quite like you. So do you want to talk about what happened with your girlfriend?"

"We've been best friends since we were six, then when we were fifteen we decided we liked each other more. We've been together since then, but her parents didn't know, she wouldn't tell them, I got fed up of having to hide it, of acting all sweet in front of them and not being able to show any kind of affection for her. She won't even let me hug her in front of them anymore in case they suspect we're together."

"Wouldn't they understand?"

"That's the worst part, I'm pretty sure that they wouldn't care. They wouldn't mind if we were together, but she's too scared to tell them."

"What's she like? Esme was it?"

"Esmerelda, yeah," the blonde smiled sadly, leaning over to her bedside table, flicking the light back on and picking up a photo frame, handing it to Regina for her to look at. It was a picture of Mal, her arms wrapped around a girl with a mane of dark curls, her lips turned up in a happy smile, her eyes turned to Mal shining through the image with what Regina could only describe as love.

"You still love her?"

"Of course I love her."

"You should tell her then, tell her that you want to make it work, don't let her slip away."

"God it's like role reversal," the blonde scoffed with a laugh, snatching the frame back from Regina and looking at it for a moment, her eyes sad as she slipped it back onto the table where it had been before.

"Can't help it if I'm telling you the truth," she chuckled as she stood from the bed and climbed back to the top bunk again.

"See you in the morning, Regina."

"Hmm, see you in the morning, Mal."

It was Christmas eve and unlike the morning before Regina was the first to wake up. The blonde was still asleep on the bottom bunk, the photo she had supposedly put away the night before tucked in her grasp. Regina smiled softly and silently crept out of Mal's room, making sure not to disturb her before padding downstairs into the kitchen. She needed her morning caffeine fix. It was before seven and the house was silent, it was the quietest it had been since she arrived and the peace was nice if not a little unnerving, she was used to it being bustling and loud, but at that moment, it was anything but.

Once she had her drink, she perched on the stool that tucked under the breakfast bar and stared out of the window; it was still dark outside and probably would be for almost an hour yet, it made her feel as though she should still be in bed, but she knew that the rest of the house would be waking up at any minute and this time was all she was going to get to herself. Since she started Uni, she had grown used to her solitary time and with not having had it the past couple of days she was starting to go a little insane.

"Someone is an early riser."

Peace shattered.

She turned her head to see Killian, the lodger, entering the kitchen and offered him a forced smile before taking a sip of her coffee, "I was having a moment to myself."

"Yeah, it's been a bit hectic around here the past few days," he grinned as he opened the cupboard and pulled out a box marked 'Killian's cereal' before pouring some into a bowl and taking the seat beside her. "Why is it that you haven't gone home for the holiday season?" he asked around a mouthful of Cheerios.

"Home is in America so it's a little tricky. Why haven't you gone home?"

"Ah, well the folks live back in Ireland, my parents are separated and let's just say Christmas isn't all that fun back home. I'd much rather spend it with the Locksleys and it seems I have even better company now, doesn't it?"

"Yes, Robin is rather brilliant," she shrugged, seeing him eating was making her feel hungry but she didn't want to just help herself to their food without being offered it, even if she had just made her own coffee. Not to mention that she was supposed to be having breakfast with Robin that morning, she wondered when he might wake up and join her.

"I wasn't talking about Robin."

"You weren't?"

"No, I wasn't." He grinned, "you not eating this morning?"

"I didn't want to simply take something from the cupboard."

"I'm sure Mrs L wouldn't mind. Do you like Cheerios?"

"Hmm," she nodded.

"Well then, let me get you some breakfast," he stood from his seat to retrieve another bowl and poured a generous amount of his own cereal into it, "milk?"

"Just a little please."

"Here you go, Gina." At the nickname, she stiffened somewhat and cleared her throat. "What is it?" Killian asked as he returned to his seat.

"It's just only certain people get away with calling me Gina," Regina stated, "but…"

"Apologies, I'll have to find a new nickname for you then," he cast her a charming grin and she shook her head.

"What will this nickname be?"

"I dunno, I'll have to think one up, maybe get to know you a little."

"I see."

"This looks cosy," a voice interrupted and she turned in her seat to see a tired-looking Robin, his hair was sticking up from where it had been flattened against the pillow whilst he slept. She had to bite the inside of her cheek to stop herself from laughing at how adorable he looked like that.

"Well we were the only ones up and we decided to have a little chat," Killian quipped, "I'll leave you guys to it, catch you later Regina."

"Yes, see you later Killian. Thank you for the cereal."

"You're very much welcome," he winked, placing his now empty bowl in the sink before heading out the door Robin had just come through.

"Good morning," Regina smiled, watching him as he made his way around the kitchen preparing his own breakfast.

"Do you want something better than cheerios? I can make you some pancakes if you'd like."

"I'm fine with these thanks."

"Alright, if you're sure," Robin couldn't help but feel a little jealous. He'd wanted to make her some breakfast and Killian had beat her to it. He didn't even know the guy, but he couldn't help feeling jealous of the man for the little time he had spent with Regina before he woke up.

Regina watched as Robin continued to make pancakes anyway, quietly mixing the batter as he prepped everything. She didn't even know what to say; she wished that she could act normally around him, but ever since the tarot reading she struggled to even talk to him in full sentences.

"You know what, maybe I will have a couple of pancakes," she shrugged.

"Sure thing!" he grinned, feeling himself lighten. Then he remembered the text he had received earlier that morning. "You know, my friends are going out tonight to celebrate Christmas Eve. What do you say to us maybe joining them? We don't have to, but I thought it might be quite nice."

"Oh," she hesitated for a minute before giving her answer, thinking back on her conversations with Mal and her sister, "yeah, okay, I suppose we could."

"Great! You can get to know them better."

"Hmm," she could already tell that his friends weren't struck on her, especially Fiona, that girl seemed to despise her for some reason. "So where is it that we're going?"

"There are a few bars in town, nothing major, we'll probably just grab a couple of beers."

"Right." She couldn't think of anything worse, she wasn't really the type to enjoy going out drinking, she'd much rather stay in with a good book or tv series, but she probably needed to go out for Robin's sake, so she was going to force herself to play along with it. Who knows, maybe she would have a good time, though she didn't think it likely. "Do you think we could invite Mal?"

"You want to invite my sister?"

"Yeah, if that's okay."

"Sure, I suppose we could do that, though I'm not sure she'll want to come."

"Thanks," she smiled, she would feel better if Mal went with her, she had become quite good friends with the girl and knew that she would have her back. Regina watched as he poured some of the batter into a pan, listening to it sizzle as it came into contact with the heat.

"So, since we're going out tonight, Ido you want a nice chilling out day today? We can literally lock ourselves away in my room for a bit, watch some Netflix or something."

"I suppose that could be nice," she smiled softly. On Christmas eve back home, she was used to going out with her father to get her mother's presents, he would always leave it until the last minute. She hoped that Zelena had sorted that out this year, otherwise her mother wouldn't be getting much under the tree. Thinking about home always made her feel homesick.

Robin looked at her for a moment before sighing and leaning back against the counter, "we don't have to do that if you don't want to." He could tell that she was unhappy, maybe she was regretting coming back home with him, he felt panic welling up inside at the thought, he'd hoped that this trip would bring them closer but ever since the tarot reading yesterday it just felt awkward between them. "I'm sorry."

"What for?" she asked, furrowing her eyebrows as she looked over at him, she was a little confused by his words, she couldn't really think what he had to be sorry about.

"I just…. I don't want you to feel uncomfortable or out of place. I really wanted you to come and spend Christmas here with us."

"Robin, I want to be here, I wouldn't have come if I didn't want to," she reassured, dropping the cereal Killian gave her in the bin as she came to stand beside him, taking one of his hands in hers, "I came to spend Christmas with you because I wanted to."

He turned away from the stove, his eyes meeting hers as his free hand dropped the spatula and moved to cup her cheek, "I'm really glad that you agreed to come," he whispered. He wanted to kiss her, his head was screaming at her to just do it, to just kiss her! She was so close, literally just there. He couldn't stop his eyes from falling to her lips, he was going to kiss her, he didn't think he had it in him to stop himself.

Regina looked at him, her eyes widening as she realised what was about to happen, she was sure he was about to kiss her, he was staring at her lips and she couldn't help but run her tongue across them. He was moving closer, the hand that was wrapped up in hers moving down to settle on her waist. She instinctively took a step towards him, sharing his space as her own fingers went to caress his jaw. His face moved towards hers and she followed suit, her lips only centimeters away from his. He was going to kiss her, she knew that and the excitement that swelled in her stomach was nearly too much to take.

"Is something burning?!"

Robin and Regina shot apart, her gaze going to the door, seeing Caroline stood there smirking at them as Robin rushed to save the charred pancake that had been left forgotten in the pan.

Regina couldn't help but curse a little at what had just transpired, she had been so close to having his lips against hers. Later! She was determined to kiss him later, she just hoped for another opportunity like the one she had missed out on.

"Well, I guess this one is going in the bin," Robin chuckled, moving past her to shove it in, one of his hands grazing her side before he headed back to the stove and poured in some fresh batter. God he felt like he was going crazy, she was driving him crazy. He could feel her eyes on him as he cooked and all he could think about was getting a chance to actually kiss her.

The time would come, the only question was, when?

The day had passed by and they had been so busy that they hadn't had any chance to share a kiss, there hadn't been another naturally occurring moment, much to the disappointment of both Robin and Regina. They had ended up doing tasks for his mother in preparation for the following day and then the whole family had watched a film in the sitting room, so the moment simply hadn't arisen.

Earlier that day she had asked Mal if she would like to go out with them. The blonde had been reluctant at first, but Regina had made sure that she knew how much she wanted her there with her and she had begrudgingly agreed.

She had no idea what she was going to wear, she hadn't brought many party outfits, Mal was shuffling through her wardrobe trying to find something suitable for herself. "I never go out, I can't believe you talked me into this."

"I need my backup, you promised me that you'd be there for me."

"I know but I have nothing to wear. My Saturday nights normally consisted of going round to Esme's or her coming over here, not going out."

"Right, you look in my case for me and I'll look in your wardrobe for you, maybe a fresh set of eyes might help," Regina suggested, dumping the contents of her case out on the small sofa in the corner of Mal's room for the blonde to look at her stuff.

Regina peaked in the wardrobe seeing the sea of black garments and band t-shirts, and a hell of a lot of Lady Gaga merch. "Wow."

"What?" the blonde looked over at her, "what is it?"

"You like Gaga?"

"Who doesn't like Gaga? She's a musical genius."

"Very true," she nodded in agreement, rifling through it and coming across a deep emerald blouse. Her eyes lit up as she slid it from its hanger and laid it out on the bed, returning to the wardrobe to find something to pair it with, spotting a pair of leather trousers tucked away. "Done."

"Seriously?" Mal asked in shock, clearly surprised that she had found something so quickly, turning to look at what the other woman had picked out for her, "shit, I forgot I had that shirt."

"I think I have the perfect shoes for you to borrow," Regina grinned, leaning down to her shoe case and pulling a pair of matching green heels from it, she had tossed them in just in case and it seemed like fate that she had. "So, what about me?"

"The red suit is stunning."

Regina hummed moving towards her pile and picking up the suit, she'd never worn it, it was something her mother had bought for her. She grabbed a black silk shirt only for it to be torn from her grasp.

"You don't need a shirt underneath."

"What?" her eyes widened as she looked at the blonde, "are you serious?!"

"Yeah! God, you'll kill my brother," she smirked wickedly, "I'm not even joking, he'll be dead on the ground when he sees you in that."

"Maybe, but isn't it a little revealing?"

"If you're worried about it, put this on underneath." Mal dangled a black lace bralette in front of her face, the piece had enough material so that at least her nipples would be covered should the material of the jacket shift. She wouldn't be brave enough to go braless. "Go change, I want to see."

Regina nodded and scampered off to the bathroom, the suit over her arm and a pair of black heels dangling from her fingers. Mal had already helped her with her hair and makeup, smokey eyes and red lips, her long brunette locks perfectly curled. She changed quickly, slipping into the red pants, then the black bralette before securing the jacket, tying the sash across her waist and looking in the mirror. Her eyes widened as she took in her reflection, she couldn't believe that she looked so good, she felt confident and that meant a lot.

She pulled her shoes on and held her head up high, walking back to Mal's room, knocking on the door and waiting for the go-ahead before she entered. "Fuck," she blonde breathed, her mouth dropping open as her eyes scanned over Regina's form, her hands going still where they'd been buttoning up her shirt.

"Is that good?"

Mal nodded, "if I wasn't already gay, you might have just turned me a little."

Regina sniggered, shaking her head as she took in the blonde's outfit, "you look amazing. I bet Esmerelda wouldn't be able to keep away from you if she saw you."

"You think?"

"Of course."

"Are we ready then?"

"I think we are," Regina nodded in agreement, "let's do this."