Gathering her skirts, she runs towards the first entrance she sees, a passage that led to a downward staircase and down she runs. She is not being as quick as she wants to, her dress, her shoes, even her jewelry; everything seems to slow her down. The stairs are made of stone and feel slightly slippery against the material from under her dress shoes. She can hear him trail behind her, her name leaves his kissable lips, the ones she does not deserve, the ones she is running away from.
Upon reaching the end of the flight of stairs Regina is faced with a rather grim looking tunnel, she can either go left or right. Her heart is almost coming out of her mouth by this point, the place is dark and terrifies her, she feels so utterly alone in this awful place. She is also frozen on her spot, which is why Robin's figure collides quite unceremoniously with hers when he reaches the bottom of the stairs.
Before she can fall due to the impact, his strong hands grab her hips in order to steady her and save her from hitting the cold, stone floor.
This is the closest their bodies have ever been, their torsos are pressed to each other, her hands have gone to grab on both his shoulders. They are both breathing fast, trying to catch their breaths but their eyes appear to have found one another and it seems as if no force can break their exchange.
Long moments pass in which their breathing evens out. His hands, which had had a strong grip on her waist, start to loosen up. He is going to retreat again, retreat from her, the awful, crazy married woman that she is. No, Regina cannot have that, she cannot be without the warmth of his touch. As his hands start to leave her waist she mutters, "No" and finally breaks the intense exchange with his eyes only to land her own on his mouth. Then she goes for them with her own eager lips.
She hears him gasp as her lips make contact with his, which makes hers land on his bottom lip at first. She hears a groan from the back of his throat as she senses his hands back on her waist and his lips start to respond, moving against hers with keenness. Regina hums, bringing her hands to his neck, their lips seeming to be glued to one another.
Regina finally breaks the closed mouth yet intense kiss to catch her breath. She can feel his thumbs caressing her sides, his eyes gleam again in hope and happiness. He brings one hand to her cheek and caresses it ever so lightly with the back of his fingers, as if he was afraid she would disappear at any minute.
"Regina-" he says, looking down at her lips then back at her eyes, "May I see you?"
The mask! She is still wearing the stupid mask! And so is he for that matter.
"Yes" her answer is just a breath.
Ever so carefully, Robin brings both his hands to the mask and lifts the accessory from Regina's face, revealing to him her whole face. She cannot make eye contact with him, is too embarrassed, afraid of what he might think of her. She hears him gasp and the solid sound of a mask being dropped on the floor.
His fingers are on her chin once more bringing her gaze to meet his. His eyes gleam, they are bright and his lips sported one of the most beautiful smiles she had ever seen. He runs the backs of fingers about cheek – she cannot help but close her eyes - traces her forehead and touches his fingers down on her other cheek with a tender light touch. He lets out a large outtake of breath and whispers, "You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen."
Regina liberates a dry laugh whilst she opens her eyes, "You do not have to say that, I-"
"I'm not lying Regina," he tells her in all earnest, so sure of his words Regina cannot help but gulp. Seeing that she became a little uneasy he completes trying to soothe her, "I'm actually now, quite reluctant to take mine off-" she laughs and it is a real laugh this time.
"It cannot be that bad." Regina jokes bringing her hands up to reach for his mask but stops, "May I?" she asks.
"If you want to milady-" he says back to her, "-but I have warned you, do not get your hopes up too high."
She laughs again and lifts the mask from his face, holding it in her right hand when the task is done. She looks up and sees Robin, all of him, and he is just perfection. Nothing much was being concealed by his mask and yet his eyebrows, the shape of his nose, the skin beside his eyes which she found creased when he smiled and even his subtly wrinkled forehead paint a perfect picture she wants to kiss and kiss and kiss. She smiles at him, which draws from him a relieved sigh.
"Thank God for that, the suspense was killing me." One of his hands move to the back of her neck, tangling in her dark tresses, the contact sending shivers down her spine.
She brings her free, gloved hand to run through his hair, trying to comb a bit of the messiness the mask left behind. When she is done, Robin takes her hand in his and asks;
"Regina, may I kiss you?" his eyes liquid with anticipation.
"You may." She replies in a soft smile.
He lowers his face to hers ever so slowly, giving her every opportunity to think or to turn him down but she does no such thing. His lips linger almost a breath away from hers, waiting. She closes the gap unable to hold back her desire to have all she can manage of him pressed against her.
Regina drops his mask on the floor and brings her hand to the back of his head, bringing him closer to her, his own still very much tangled on her hair. Her other hand, which had remained clutched in his, stirred and their fingers entwined together in a natural movement.
Kissing that man feels like fireworks are erupting on her belly, Regina sighs against his wet lips, nibbling his bottom one ever so slightly. Robin starts planting soft kisses on her lips, one, two, three, before his lips crash over hers for a while longer. He runs his tongue about her lips and though Regina is a bit uncertain she gives into her instincts, opens her mouth up to him, welcoming his tongue in her.
If she has been feeling as if tiny explosions are happening in the pit of her stomach before, the sensation triples when his tongue starts exploring her mouth. Regina moans against her will and presses her body harder against his, the clutch on the back of his head getting firmer as they tongues dance together.
After a few blissful minutes Robin draws away from her, she can see his lips carrying a soft red coloring and prides herself in being the one responsible for it. Their foreheads bump with each other as both wear silly smiles on their lips. She feels so utterly blissful just being like this with this man she hardly knows, Regina wants to cry.
Why had fate spit on her face and tied her up to the King? A man who had never been half as kind to her as Robin had just been. Had never shown even a fraction of the respect Robin possessed, had never asked for her consent to touch or kiss her, but simply took.
Her sorrow must be clear upon her face for Robin brings his hands to her shoulders and puts some distance between them, looking at her with nothing but concern.
"Regina, what's wrong?" he asks, "You don't have to do anything you do not wish to, I-"
"No, that is not it, I'm-" she presses her lips together.
"Married" he completes sorrowfully.
"So unhappy" she is almost crying at this point, tears prickling on her eyes, her voice going watery, her hands loose on her sides, "I'm angry all the time. My husband, my stepdaughter, they-" Regina gulps down her tears, "I hate them both so much." she completes quietly.
Robin runs his hands about her bare biceps, his touch soothing and kind as he asks, "It was arranged then? Your marriage?"
"He did ask for my hand, but I never got a chance to refuse-" Regina explains, "-my mother accepted it for me instantly." Regina let outs a humorless laugh as she remembers mother, "She was the one who orchestrated the whole thing, she wanted me to be Qu-" Regina gulps down the truth, already afraid she was letting out too much of her true identity, "She wanted me to marry up."
"I'm so sorry Regina," Robin's forehead is all wrinkles of concern. He shakes his head, "I have to ask-" he swallows hard before he asking her, his thumbs caressing the skin of her shoulder, "Is you husband cruel to you Regina?"
"He is hardly ever around really-" she states in a bland voice, "-he enjoys making his journeys with Snow, his daughter, not with me." Regina holds back the last piece of information, which she knows he wants to know about.
"But-" he tries.
She looks him straight in the eye only to find worry and compassion. She finds she cannot look at him and averts her gaze as she replies, "But, when he is around, he-" a tear finally falls from one of her eyes and lands straight on the stone floor between them, "he's not gentle. He-" Regina sniffs back her tears, "-he takes what is rightfully his."
Robin takes her face in his hands and brings her gaze back to his. Her cheeks are moistened with tears, her eyes now red due to the salty waters coming from them. When she sees his face, it is hard and angered; his lips turned into a thin line, his cheeks slightly reddened, he does not look as if he is breathing.
"You are nobody's property to be taken Regina," he tells her, his big calloused hands feel so strangely soft against her skin.
"He says I should feel honored that he's taking me." She cannot really meet his eye anymore talking about the King.
Robin growls but says nothing, his hands still on her cheeks.
"He also says I should not cry while we… he-" Regina gives into a few more tears, Robin's fingers do they best they can at wiping them away. "-but it hurts, I-" The frown never seems to leave his expression, "It's my wifely duty, he says-" but Regina cannot finish it, the remembrance of the awful nights spent with Leopold hurt too much, are too raw.
"Regina, you must not believe that." He states, dropping his hands to her shoulders bringing her closer to him, "You do not believe that, do you?" He lowers his gaze so he can meet hers when she does not give him an answer, "Regina?"
"I have never really belonged to myself Robin." She looks at him, telling him truthfully, "From the moment I was born I belonged to my mother, I was just a means to an end to her." Regina tries to explain to him that all this is bigger than her, that she is merely a pawn, a little chess piece Cora managed to transform into Queen.
"What happened to her?" Robins asks.
"She's gone." Regina gives him and looks away from his gaze. She cannot look into those eyes, filled with good intentions and light. She cannot, not after what she has done, she does not want to reveal her darkness, how she pushed her mother into the unknown.
Regina's fate is sealed; she is bound to be unhappy and miserable, of that she knows, of that Rumple has informed her. Once you are touched by the darkness, you can never go back.
The darkness had touched her, and now there is nothing she can do about it. She had made herself unworthy of someone as kind and caring as Robin, who she knew so little of and yet, captured her heart, stole her breath away, robbed her of her senses with his kisses.
"Please," Regina puts distance between them pushing, lightly at his chest; he steps back as much as she pushes him and not an inch more, "I'm not-"
But before she can finish Robin takes both her gloved hands in his, "I would like to show you something." He states simply and lightly, his tone completely changed. He still holds a bit of anger in his words, but they now carry a tone of adventure, of mischief. Regina cannot help but look up at him; he has a soft smile on his lips and his eyes twinkle.
"Robin, I'm not worth-" she tries again, tries to tell him she's not worth saving, she's beyond hope, but he cuts her again.
"Do not say that." He brings his thumb to cover her lips in order to silence her, he runs the calloused pad over her lips once before continuing, "You are stunning, and so strong. And worth so much more Regina." Another tear slides from her eye, "I want to share something with you I have not shared with anybody before."
"Then why me?" she asks not understanding.
"Because you are worthy of it." he replies, holding the side of her face in his hand and leaning down, planting a soft quick kiss on her lips, "Come."
He takes her hand firmly in his and guides her through the left side tunnel. She kicks one mask that lay forgotten on the floor but pays it no mind as she looks ahead at Robin. He looks back at her and smiles and suddenly Regina's demons seem to retreat as her heart starts beating faster with excitement.