So!! This is a story I had sitting around and that decided to fix so it could fit some of these prompts. When I wrote it, I was inspired by the Friends reunion on HBO so there you have it. Enjoy!
20 Friends AU
21 Regina and Robin as actors who play love interests
56 Regina and Robin are just friends except there's so much more probably
57 Mutually unrequited love
138 reunion
MEANT TO BE
Whoever said that destiny was not a matter of chance but a matter of choice, was completely wrong.
Sure, Regina could see where that statement came from and to a certain point, she could even understand it, but if she had to be honest, she would have to admit that she didn't believe anyone was really the master of their own destiny.
In her mind, destiny was simply inevitable. It was a star that was born with each and every person on earth, guiding them through a path that was intended exclusively for each individual. It was something that was meant to be, and even if someone took a wrong turn along the way, at the end, that star would always put them back to the way they had to go.
That right there was something she had always believed in and that day, as she stood in the middle of some random shopping mall in LA, that belief was reiterating its meaning to her; because that day, fate once again put her right where she was supposed to be… it guided her back to him.
A year ago or hell, even one hour prior to that moment, Regina would have said that the odds of something like happening edged on being impossible. But it wasn't, and as her eyes drank on the image of him, she couldn't help but to believe that destiny was trying to right everything she and Robin did wrong.
Robin…
She had met him fifteen years ago, and maybe, just maybe, she had loved him for almost quite that long. Sure, she couldn't say that it had been love at first sight because she didn't believe in such things, but at the same time, that was the closest thing she could think of whenever her memories wandered back in time to think of that first encounter.
She had been drawn to him since the very first day she saw him, and even though they were never anything other than just friends, they had always been so much more.
To make a long story short, Regina would just say that they met in a pivotal moment in both their lives and their careers. They had been young, barely twenty four, when an opportunity of a lifetime presented itself to them. They were casted on a TV show that came to change everything as they knew it. That was how her path of falling in love with Robin started to take its course.
Now, during the ten years the show aired, falling for her co-star wasn't the only thing Regina accomplished. The sitcom became an instant hit, so starring on it propelled her career in the direction she had always dreamed of, and that was great. But on a personal level, this was also the time when she forged what would become the best friendships she ever had in her life, which was even better.
Robin had been one of those good friends, probably her favorite of the bunch. He was funny, charming and there was a lovable trait about him that ended up pulling Regina in.
She called it the Robin effect.
To that day, she wasn't sure what it was, but the more she got to know him, the more she liked him: his aura, his smile, and that ability to make her laugh even in her darkest hour.
Regina had been rendered smitten, but what could she say? Sometimes, when two people are constantly and closely interacting, things just… blossom.
All the good moments they shared, the stolen glances when they were waiting for their scenes to come up, the late night flights to make appearances that had them talking about everything and nothing at all… all of that kept adding up and up until one day, he wasn't just the guy who she could go to if she needed to vent. No, at one point, he became so much more than that.
However, their relationship never progressed further than a purely platonic friendship; mainly because he had been recently married and yeah, because she had someone waiting for her at home as well.
But the attraction was definitely there, from both parts, because even if he never said anything, Regina knew that he had felt something for her as well.
She could see it in the way he looked at her and even in the way he acted with her. Because yes, Robin was a nice guy, and he was friendly all around, but he definitely didn't treat her the same way he treated Mal, or any other of the girls.
It was always Regina's trailer the one he would visit to decompress, or Regina the one he would use as a pillow between takes and yes, her gaze the one he would hold the longest. She was probably his impossible as much as he was hers.
So yes, there were feelings between them… it could be that they never said it out loud and definitely not to each other, but it was always there, scratching the surface…
Looking back at it, Regina was sure that destiny wanted him to play an important role in her life, but because life also had its mysterious ways, they happened to be in serious commitments with other people at the time they met.
They had respected that and maybe it was because of it that they never became more than friends, but damn… there was no way to deny that the pull they had on each other was really, really strong. Actually, it had been so strong that at moments, the temptation to err was so close she could even taste it.
Sure, they never crossed any lines, at least not fully…but there had been times when Regina felt like she was slipping on dry.
There has been one time that particularly hit her hard, and that little lapse was probably what prompted her to halt on her tracks and take a look at what she was doing.
The day that happened, the studio had a problem with the electricity so while everyone waited for the crew to fix it, the two of them went to her trailer. It had been late, and somehow, someway, he ended up laying down on her couch while his head rested on her lap.
In her mind, it had been an innocent thing. It wasn't even the first time he laid on her lap, as he had done it a few times before… while waiting for their scenes to start. So no, they weren't doing anything wrong… they were just two friends talking, like they have done many times before.
The only difference was that they were alone now, in the dark… Robin just laying there while she lazily ran her fingers through his hair.
She couldn't remember for how long they had been there, but as the time kept moving, the conversation thinned until he fell asleep over her. She had let him nap there, her eyes taking on his relaxed features, her hand enjoying the silkiness of his hair… her mind wondering what would happen if she woke him up with a kiss…
Would he kiss her back? She had a good feeling that he would and God, she had wanted so bad to do it!
What could she say? In that moment, with the room illuminated by only a couple of candles and Robin's arm wrapped around her, the temptation hit her hard.
That right there had been the moment she realized how messed up the situation was. He was married, and she had Daniel… and yet there they were, erring in some many ways! Because yes, maybe they weren't physically cheating on their significant others, but they were emotionally drifting.
Wanting to keep herself from making a huge mistake, Regina went home that night telling Daniel she wanted to marry him. With that, she closed the door on the possibility of her relationship with Robin getting blurrier, and then she tried her best not to get dragged back into her feelings.
In a way it worked, because that was the energy she needed to play such an iconic character. What happened on the show mirrored so much of what they were going through, because even though they loved each other like crazy, the plot always complicated the character's interaction in a way that they couldn't be together.
It had been intense, but needless to say, they ended up being the it couple of the show. For ten freaking years!
But yeah, it had been hard… she couldn't lie, the same way she wasn't going to deny how hard she cried the day Robin told her was going to have a baby. On his face, she yelled in excitement and hugged him so tight she probably fractured something in him, but that night in the solitude of her bedroom, she turned off her phone so she wouldn't have to answer Daniel's ten o'clock call and then she cried herself to sleep. The next day, she ordered a huge flower arrangement and sent it to the wife…
A bit hypocritical, but God, that was how she coped.
In the end, he did play an important role in her life because without knowing it, he was the propeller that made her take two important steps in life: marrying, and focusing a hundred percent on her career as a way to ignore her real feelings.
It was the decision she took. To that day, she couldn't say if it was the right one, but she stuck to it.
Then what happened? Years later the show ended, and even though they remained friends, he moved back to London and their interactions started to diminish. There were some calls and lots of texts, but they never saw each other in five years.
Not until that day, at least. And all after a random trip to the mall!
If that wasn't destiny, then she didn't know what it was.
At first she didn't realize it was him. She was just walking by when her eye caught the form of a man standing in a jewelry shop. She couldn't say why she looked, but the thing was that she did… getting a strange vibe telling her to halt and watch.
Now, Robin Locksley had been the last person in her mind at that moment, but when he tilted his head a little to the side and showed his profile to her, she recognized him at once.
She gasped in surprise, because what were the chances of finding him here? Sure, she knew he had been coming to LA regularly in the last couple of months, but she never expected to see him at the mall.
All that happened like two minutes ago, and ever since, she had been standing here, watching as he chatted amicably with the vendor,
Robin…
Thinking about him made her smile. He had always had that over her; he didn't even have to do anything and there she would be, a silly grin on her face and her eyes shining.
That day was definitely not the exception so she kept smiling, watching the scene and deciding he still looked good… maybe more than he had any right to. Sure, there was still some distance between them, but there was no doubt in her mind that he was still easy on the eyes.
But no… that was a thought she decided to cut from the root up so shaking her head, she decided to just go and say hi. As a friend greeting a friend.
So, with that in mind, she walked until she was a few steps away from him. Then when she was sure she was within his hearing ratio, she cleared her throat and blurted out an old inside joke we used to pull on each other back in the day.
"Excuse me, are you David Nolan? Oh my God, I'm a big fan! Can I have your autograph!"
Unable to hold a grin, Regina watched as Robin slowly turned around... okay maybe he didn't turn so slowly, but to her he did. It was almost as if time slowed down to a crawl. It was not until he took a look at her that the amused smirk he had on his face turned into a big, surprised smile. The infamous dimple smile...
"Hi," She said, arching an eyebrow as he looked at her.
He chuckled, lifting a hand to his jaw as he shook his head. "Regina Mills."
Before she could say anything, Robin moved forward and hugged her, one of his arms around her waist and pulling her to him, while the other one lifted up to cradle the back of her head.
Closing her eyes, Regina hugged him back, her senses overwhelmed with his scent. He smelled good… but he felt even better.
God… she couldn't remember all the times she had dreamt of his arms around her like that.
When he finally let go of the embrace, he was still smiling. "I should have known it was you the moment you called me David."
Regina shrugged playfully, a big stupid smile plastered in her face as she look up to him because damn, she had forgotten how it felt to be under the watchful stare of those amazing blue eyes of his.
She even felt flustered.
She couldn't help it, his eyes had always unnerved her in a good way and as it seemed, that hadn't changed.
"Seems like old habits never die," she said, not really referring to their old inside joke, but to the fact that ten minutes ago she barely thought about him, but now that she had him face to face, she felt like a high school girl talking to her crush.
It was weird, but at the same time, it was a good feeling. It was something she had not felt for the longest time.
"It seems they don't. But hey, habits are not the only things that won't change, I mean look at you, you look great."
Smiling, Regina lifted her chin up to take a good look at him. He was dressed casually; faded blue jeans, black shirt that adjusted perfectly to his chest and a pair of black Converse shoes that yeah, made him look good. Very good. She didn't know if it was because she hadn't seen him in a while, but damn he looked to die for.
Not like she was going to show her eagerness, so instead of just blushing, she scoffed… almost as if she wasn't affected by his words… or his looks, and definitely not by the scent of his cologne now clinging to her.
"Why thank you! You don't look bad yourself." In fact, with a few strands of silver on his hair, he looked even better now than he did a few years ago. His arms seemed a bit fuller too so yes, he was aging well. "I mean, look at this!"
Unable to help it, Regina lifted her hand and with the tip of her fingers, she touched his hair. It was shorter than how he used to cut it years ago, so the feeling was different… yet, it was also the same.
"Yeah, don't even say it." Robin snorted, his dimple smile on full display.
Letting her hand drop, she just smiled. "What? I like it."
"Yeah?" he asked, the word low in his throat and definitely making her stomach tie in a knot.
"Yeah." With the eyes of an eagle, Regina watched as he pushed the inside of his cheek with his tongue, his hand still on his jaw, and his eyes refusing to leave her.
To be honest she felt trapped under his gaze, and the fact that the vendor was giving them the evil eye made her feel a bit awkward. That was when she started to put one and one together and realized they were in a jewelry store, so what if he was buying something for the wifey?
She was divorced, almost three years now, but knowing Robin, he probably wasn't. He was the forever kind of man so she couldn't visualize him being in the same predicament as she was. Still, she quickly took a look at his ring finger and saw that there was nothing there. Could it be?
"Anyway, I don't want to take more of your time, you are probably busy so..."
"Oh no, I was just checking some watches, mine broke so you know," he said with a shrug. Regina smiled despite herself.
What could she say? In her mind Robin had always been a force to be reckoned with. He was just genuine, he never pretended to be someone he was not and that was endearing in a business so full of pretense. He was simply the best, even with his insane references to pop culture, dad jokes and his obsession with football. Oh, and how to forget that aura of shy sexiness that was very hard to resist.
Now, she didn't want to imply that he was shy because he definitely was not, what she meant to say was that he was one of those men that attracted women by the bunch without even seeing it. He was sexy without even trying and Regina thought that made him even more attractive.
So, yes… he had nice eyes and a nice personality, but his good attributes didn't end there. He had a nice body; like yeah maybe he was not overly muscular, but he was toned in all the right places. She could also say that he had a pair of lips that seemed made for kissing, and that cocky smirk he liked to flash around was to die for. That was without mentioning his voice. Sometimes, when he was tired or simply thoughtful, he used to talk in a low voice that seemed ripped out of his throat... and God, the thoughts she used to have when he talked like that…
But anyway, not wanting to get trapped in the past, Regina cleared her throat and came back to the present. "So how are you? And most importantly, why didn't you tell me you were going to be in LA? We could have planned something!"
Once her words were out there, Robin bit his lips while moving his hand away from his face. "Yeah, well… I am actually relocating here, so you know, I wanted to settle before reaching out."
"Really?" Interesting…
"Yeah, but enough about me? How are you?"
"You know how it is, same shit different day."
Robin nodded, and because she was not sure on what to do, she kept talking.
"Well, not really… I'm about to start shooting a movie next week."
"So I heard. You've turned into quite a superstar, huh?"
"I do okay." For some reason, Regina could feel herself blushing. Like sure, what he said wasn't wrong. In the years after their show ended she made the jump and started working on movies, and her career took off quite easily. Robin on the other hand had taken to directing, so he had a more behind the scenes role, but that didn't mean he was less successful.
"I would say more than okay. I'm not surprised, I mean you were always great at whatever you did."
"Thanks," Regina said, a bit self-conscious of the way he was staring at her.
That was exactly what she had been referring to earlier on: when Robin looked at her, there was a certain intensity in him that told her that he was thinking something but that his mouth was just not speaking it.
For years, she had wanted him to speak his mind to her so that maybe she could do the same with him, but that never happened.
"Did I mention that you look great? Because you do," he said in the lowest of tones. Regina couldn't help but to blush.
There she was, Regina Mills, sometimes considered to be a sex symbol, blushing because a man told her for the second time that she looked good. But hey, this wasn't just any man! It was Robin, and considering that it was the first time he complimented her about her looks, this was a huge thing!
Like yes, sometimes he called her gorgeous… actually, he had done it many times, but that was a thing she had heard him toss around without discrimination. He used it for her, Mal, and Mary Margaret…
"You know, if you say it one more time, I'll start to believe it," chuckling, Regina noticed that the vendor got entertained with a new customer.
"Then believe it, because you look stunning," he replied while taking a good look at her, letting Regina enjoy the moment.
She didn't let him know how much she liked the attention though, and instead she rolled her eyes before brushing him off with a wave of her hand. The motion was meant to be playful; when he laughed, she knew he took it as such.
But then the smile faded from his lips and he sucked in a breath. "Well, I wish I could stay here all day, but I really have to go pick Roland soon."
"Oh, I have a few things to do as well, so yeah... but it was good seeing you. I mean, I haven't been in contact with you in a while, but I haven't forgotten about you."
Robin smirked, nodding. "It was great seeing you too," after saying that, he extended an arm to her and Regina reached out, letting his fingers take her hand and swallow it on his own.
For a few seconds, they remained like that, looking into each other's eyes as if nothing else mattered. It felt a little strange, the way her eyes remained glued to his, the warmness of his hand suffocating hers, the smile that wouldn't wipe from her face… yeah, it was strange, but a good kind of strange.
But because she didn't want to come off like a complete fool, Regina snapped out of the trance his eyes put her in and looked down to her feet.
"Anyway, I better keep going now."
"I was thinking that if you're free, we could go out tonight and you know, catch up... I mean it's been what, five, six years?"
"Five," Regina blurted out. She knew because she hadn't seen him since the show ended.
"So what do you say, would you care to get dinner with an old friend?" he asked, his hand still engulfing hers and his eyes delving deep into the chocolate brown of hers.
Did she mention what his eyes did to her? Because damn...
But back to the question, of course she wanted to catch up with an old friend, especially if that friend was Locksley. "Yeah, that would be nice. It would be good to see Marian as well."
Scrunching his nose, Robin humed. "No… Marian and I are not together anymore."
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know..." And really, how come she didn't know this?
"It's okay. I wanted this to be just me and you… I mean, I'm not sure if you have someone and would like to bring him along…"
"No," she hurried to say, for some reason. "There's no one."
Biting his lip, Robin smiled… actually, to Regina it looked almost as if he was smirking. "Alright. So, I will call you to pick you up."
"Okay," Regina began to say, exactly at the same moment that his phone started to ring.
Robin released her hand to take the iPhone out and Regina watched him, chewing on her lips as he apparently decided to ignore the call.
When he was done, he looked at her and smiled again. "I guess I'll see you tonight, yeah?"
"Yes, unless you change your mind and decide to ditch me." Sending him a wink, Regina secretly beamed over the fact that she was going to see him later on… one on one, and this time with both of them single!
Shit… she was nervous now…
At her words, Robin snorted, "Trust me, nothing in this world is going to make me ditch you, so consider this as a date."
A date? Holy… alright, she thought, calming down. But what could she say? Ten years ago, she decided to friendzone their relationship to prevent herself from being in a situation just like this, and look at her now! She was even blushing… and her heart was beating so hard inside her chest she was sure she was going to get a fractured rib…
Not like Robin would ever know, so keeping her cool, she just smiled her best smile.
"Then I'll see you tonight." Once her words were said, Robin nodded, but neither one of them moved from their spots.
They just stood there, doing nothing but smiling at each other.
Regina was the one who broke out of the spell, because in order for him to go and pick his son, one of them had to move and that someone was going to be her. So, with a smile still gracing her lips, she turned around and began to walk away.
She didn't hesitate this time, after all, destiny was on her side that day and whatever was meant to happen, was going to happen, of that she was sure…
Fin