Chapter 14
AN: Alone time at last. We hadn't heard from Robin in awhile, so enjoy getting to check in with him.
The next Monday morning found Regina sitting in her second favorite class, AP US History. Her affection for it had little to do with the subject matter or the teacher, Mrs. Arendelle, but rather with the people sitting in the seats around her. This was the class that she shared with David, Emma, Gold, Killian, AND Robin. Granted, it was difficult for her to pay much attention to lectures with Robin sitting anywhere near her, but she certainly enjoyed it anyways.
Currently, she and Gold were studying for their quiz over constitutionalism and federalism together, alternating asking one another questions from the textbook. Regina suspected that the only reason Gold had asked her to study with him was to distract him from noticeably staring at Belle, who was seated on the other side of the classroom.
"Oh, bloody hell, tell me we don't have a quiz today," Killian groaned, as he, Robin and David walked into class to join Regina and Gold.
"Hi," Robin quietly greeted Regina, lightly brushing the side of her face with his hand before sitting in the seat next to her. She felt herself flush, and had to bite down on her lip to keep herself from smiling too widely. He looked unbearably handsome today, dressed in a long-sleeved grey thermal and jeans, his army green leather jacket slung carelessly over his arm.
"Killian, have you ever even seen a syllabus in your life?" Regina asked him sarcastically, attempting to untangle her thoughts from how incredibly hot Robin was.
"I actively avoid them, actually. Don't like my life to be so predictable, you know?" he replied, grinning much too freely for someone on academic probation who was undoubtedly about to fail a quiz.
"You wouldn't consider consistently failing every test and quiz predictable?" Emma questioned, as she joined them in class. While her tone was joking, Regina suspected she was still feeling a little bit of resentment towards Killian for his behavior at Friday's football game.
Regina didn't bother to pay attention to Killian's inevitably snarky response, finding herself much more interested in flirting shamelessly with Robin.
"How are you?" she asked, angling her body towards him.
"Fully spectacular, Your Majesty," Robin replied, smirking.
"Pray tell, what could possibly be so spectacular about your life, thief?"
"Well, I guess that depends. You're still coming over after school today to study, right?" Robin questioned, raising an eyebrow knowingly.
Oh, was she coming over after school today. Tragically, Regina had been foiled by Cora from spending the kind of quality time with Robin after Friday's football game that she'd so desperately wanted. However, Robin had obviously reached the same level of sexual frustration that she had, and had called her the moment she got home to discuss it. They had agreed that Monday was the absolute longest they could wait, and both had seen to it that they make arrangements to spend the afternoon alone together. Robin had scheduled a playdate for Roland after school, and Regina had told Cora she would be studying for Pre-Cal with Snow and Emma. And Robin's father worked late into the evening anyways. These arrangements gave them at least a solid four hours to be alone together at Robin's house.
Just as Regina was about to inform him that she absolutely was still coming over after school, David jumped into their conversation.
"Wait, are you guys studying after school today? Can Snow and I join? Regina, we could really use your help with the English paper," David said. Regina didn't even make an effort to feign politeness in response.
"There is a 0% chance that the two of you will be joining us," she answered him simply. David cocked his head to the side in confusion, clearly trying to decide whether she was being sarcastic or not, while the ghost of a smile tugged at the corners of Robin's mouth.
"Why not?" David asked indignantly.
"David, when is the last time that I asked to join you and Mary Margaret on a date? Seriously, I'm asking," Regina retorted, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, that's different, I mean, we're all friends-"
"Yes, you and I are friends. Snow and I are friends. You and Robin are friends. Snow and Robin are friends. Robin and I are not friends. Sometimes we like to be alone together," she explained patronizingly. She hoped Emma and Killian internalized her commentary on the subject as well: she was getting quite tired of the ridiculous amount of obstacles standing between her and making out with her hot boyfriend in his bedroom.
Regina's lecture came much to the amusement of Robin, who seemed very content to let her handle the situation. Killian and Emma scowled.
"Ew," they said in unison. Regina rolled her eyes.
"Yes, we're disgusting. Imagine the horror, David," Robin interjected, making a point to stare at Regina with a dramatically lovestruck expression. Regina didn't mind the drama. After school could not come soon enough.
"Point taken," David said quickly, obviously feeling very awkward.
He didn't have to feel awkward for long, as Mrs. Arendelle entered the room to begin class. Mrs. Arendelle had never been Regina's favorite teacher. She was too cheerful, her hair was much too red, and Regina found her obsession with snowflakes and winter time highly obnoxious. Mrs. Arendelle surely owned at least 10 different sweaters with some sort of winter aesthetic patently pasted on the front. Regina did not understand it and she loathed it. Not to mention the fact that Mrs. Arendelle also assigned an outrageous amount of homework, and gave frequent and difficult exams.
"Mrs. Arendelle?" Regina heard Killian ask, his tone laced with false innocence. Regina didn't fall for it, and neither did Mrs. Arendelle.
"Yes, Mr. Jones, we are taking a quiz today. No, I will not postpone it, and, no, you cannot have ten minutes to study," she cleanly shut him down. The entire class laughed softly. Killian pretended to look appalled at her presumptions.
"I was just going to tell you how lovely you look today, but I suppose that's all good to know too," Killian responded ridiculously. Regina and Robin exchanged a glance and rolled their eyes at their friend.
"Of course you were. Clear your desks, please."
Robin hadn't anticipated feeling nervous as he walked home from school with Regina. He wasn't sure exactly what was causing his nerves: he felt perfectly at ease in her company, and it certainly wasn't as though they had never hooked up before. They'd spent an entire night together at Killian's party, an unreasonably long time making out in the chemistry lab the night of Homecoming, and had found time for several excellent moments in the last few weeks. But something about finally getting to be alone with Regina after the last three weeks of outrageous buildup was really freaking Robin out. He didn't want to seem too eager, but was afraid that he was working so hard to restrain himself that he might appear un-eager.
They were conversing easily about their upcoming chemistry project as they arrived at Robin's house. If Regina was even a fraction as nervous as he was, she certainly wasn't showing it. She looked particularly stunning today, something he had noticed every single time that he'd gotten to see her throughout the day. He recognized that her hair had grown slightly longer in the last few weeks, and the way her dark waves were framing her face suited her beautifully. The way she had outfitted herself was truly out of control: how was he supposed to exist normally while she was wearing such a short black skirt, that flared at just the right length, and tights that made her legs impossibly longer? What was he supposed to think about other than ripping off the very feminine, yet also very on-brand, dark green, silk blouse she had decided to pair with it? Was he supposed to not be wildly endeared to the way the low heeled black boots she was wearing made the entire outfit slightly edgy and entirely… her? Robin had to admit that his ego was wondering if she had put in extra effort for him today, because he was finding it extra difficult to keep his hands off of her.
"So are we just going to stand on the porch all afternoon?" he suddenly heard Regina ask sarcastically. Much to his embarrassment, Robin realized that he had been considering her physical appearance for at least thirty seconds without saying anything.
"Oh. Sorry. Just, um, appreciating the weather," Robin replied awkwardly, before hastily unlocking the door and pushing it open for her. The weather was sub-freezing. Brilliant, Robin.
Regina laughed and shook her head as she walked through the door. Robin followed her, hating himself for being so awkward.
"Can I get you anything to drink?" he heard himself say forlornly, as they stood in his living room. Regina shook her head quickly, and wasted no time in crossing the room to stand directly in front of him, leaving very little space in between their bodies. Robin sighed with audible relief, realizing that she wanted exactly what he did and that there was nothing to be nervous about.
Despite the fact that Regina's close proximity forced her to have to look up at him, Robin could not have felt less in control of the interaction. And, frankly, he really didn't mind. He felt her thumbs gently slip into the front pockets of his jeans, and he could've sworn that he forgot his own name. Fortunately, his hands remembered exactly what to do, settling easily onto the soft curves of Regina's waist.
"Not to sound like the town whore, but, can I see your room?" she asked him softly, staring up into his eyes, smirking. The question motivated him sufficiently to pull himself together, and he laughed quietly.
"Evil queen and town whore. Lucky me," Robin joked, earning a genuine laugh from Regina. Although his comment was sarcastic, Robin did, ironically, spend a considerable amount of his time feeling ridiculously lucky.
With that, Robin quickly pulled her up the stairs of his house, to the left, down the hall, last room on the right. He thanked his past self for remembering to tidy it, as he pushed open the door.
The room was painted a deep forest green, which is why Robin had chosen this room for himself when his family had moved in. Robin had never particularly subscribed to the teenage narrative of plastering the walls with posters or photographs. He preferred his space to be… uncluttered, and natural. There was a single framed canvas of a picturesque looking forest, which he had only utilized because Tuck was intending to throw it out in the move from England. Besides his bed that was pressed against the wall, opposite the door, the bedside table next to that, and a large wooden desk, there was very little furniture or decoration. On his bedside table was a picture of his family, including his mother. It had been the Locksley Christmas card in the 8th grade. Roland was barely two. Other than that, Robin felt that the sunlight shining through the room, casting a dreamy, golden hour aura throughout, was adequate enough decorum.
Robin hovered behind Regina, watching as she briefly took in her surroundings. The sunlight was hitting her particularly nicely, drawing out shades of softer brown in her dark hair.
She turned around to look at him, smirking a little bit.
"Well, aren't you a minimalist?" she teased easily, before continuing to look around. He hardly had time to come up with a retort to her comment, as staring at Regina from behind did very little to help his conversation skills. He could wait no longer.
Robin pressed his body completely against Regina's back, his hands easily sliding onto her hips and pulling her back into him. Her hair smelled… sweet, and light. Sort of like apples. It was intoxicating.
"You know, just as soon as you're done mocking my room, we could capitalize on the fact that we're alone in it," he said quietly into her ear. He was pretty sure he heard her breath catch in her throat.
It was immediate then: no more words were needed. The tension that had been gradually building between them for the last three weeks absolutely exploded. In one motion, Regina was turned around in his arms, her hands entangled in his hair, and they were suddenly kissing each other with what was probably a ridiculous amount of desperation. Robin's hands traveled from her hips, to the curves of her body, through her hair, her ass, everywhere he could possibly get them. Kissing Regina was transcendental, and the way it felt shocked him every single time he did it. Seeing as he spent at least 70% of his time fantasizing about kissing her, Robin was unsure how he managed to forget just how soft her hair was, or how perfectly her body fit in his hands, or how she tasted… warm, like cinnamon…
Robin had kissed many girls. Probably more than was appropriate, or at least more than he cared to admit. But kissing Regina was a singular experience. She was specific. He had never experienced a need like he felt for her. He noticed that he was not consciously aware of his movements while he kissed her. He didn't think about what to do next, where to put his hands, or how each individual thing felt. It was a beautiful blur of an experience. One taste, one smell, one feeling: Regina. They moved in perfect synchronization, and with seemingly equal desire.
Even though it would have been virtually impossible at this point, Robin wanted to be even closer to her. He wanted to do something they absolutely couldn't do in front of other people. He didn't know what made him feel so dramatic, but he couldn't seem to help but push her gently backwards, trapping her against the bedroom wall. Regina exhaled audibly in surprise, but did not seem to mind the new position, if the way she smiled into him was any indication. Her hands moved confidently to his back, and he felt her push him even further against her. His response was beyond his control. His hands fell back to her hips, and he pulled his lips away from hers, pressing them instead to her collarbone, blazing a trail upwards, sucking gently up her neck, her ear…
Robin's heart physically stirred as he heard her moan softly, obviously doing what she could not to make it particularly noticeable. The fact that she genuinely responded to him the same way he did to her was potentially the best affirmation Robin had ever received.
"We are never going this long without being alone together ever again," Regina said softly, as Robin continued his work on her ear. He paused, suddenly feeling the need to look at her. He threaded his hands through her hair and pressed his forehead against hers. He really couldn't help but smile at the way she lifted her hands to hold his in place.
Regina's eyes were always stunning: all dark and clever and boundless and pained and wise. Hard but soft. Strong but vulnerable. Cunning but gentle. They fascinated Robin endlessly. Yes, Regina's eyes were always stunning, but the way they were right now, with the sun highlighting flecks of softer amber amidst all the chocolate brown, wide open and focused only on him, was something Robin felt confident he would remember in his old age.
It occurred to Robin that he loved her. It was much too early to be thinking this. It was probably much too early to be feeling this. And he didn't necessarily want to share the information with her, or with anyone. But he knew that it was true.
Robin wondered what it would be like not to love her. He wondered how Daniel lived with himself, knowing that Regina had loved him and that he had done something so horrible, so truly unforgivable, that he destroyed it. He wondered how Killian, Gold, and David had managed to be close to her their entire lives without loving her this way. He didn't think he was capable of it. It certainly didn't seem like he was. He'd wanted her the moment he'd seen her. He hadn't gone a single day, he hadn't even gone five minutes since meeting Regina without loving her. It seemed that for Robin, to know Regina was to love Regina.
"You're quiet today," she said gently. Robin realized he had yet again forgotten to speak for an awkwardly long amount of time. He was annoyed with himself for being so intense. He smiled and shook his head.
"Sorry. Just thinking," he replied. Regina smirked.
"About what?"
"Well, I'm thinking of learning to play the banjo," he felt the need to lighten the mood. Regina laughed genuinely. It was a beautiful sound, though, somewhat rare, he had noticed recently. Robin found that he enjoyed this quality. He liked to earn it.
Robin slowly disentangled his hands from her hair so that he could move them back down to her hips. Her body was so unbelievably ideal that he truly couldn't believe it was there for him to put his hands on. Robin didn't know if there was anything he hated more than the fact that he knew Regina was horribly insecure about it. Regina was truly… feminine. Her waist transitioned perfectly into her hips, and Robin seemed truly unable to keep his hands away.
"Actually, I was wondering how you expect me to be able to form coherent sentences when you walk around looking like this," Robin said, pulling her slightly closer. He was glad that it sounded flirtatious and playful, but it could not have been a more honest sentiment.
Regina seemed to appreciate his words, if her response was any indication. She gently pushed him away such that he was forced to take steps back. As if in a trance, Robin walked backwards until he found himself being pushed down onto the edge of his bed, and Regina suddenly straddling him with an outrageous amount of ease.
She braided her hands into his hair and kissed him with a force that wiped Robin's mind entirely blank. His hands fell to her thighs, her perfect, perfect thighs…
"We are never going more than a day again without me being able to kiss you. Our friends are going to have to learn some boundaries," Robin heard himself mutter into her. She grinned as she pulled away, and was silent for a moment.
"Do you remember when I babysat Roland, and we were in your kitchen, and you decided you needed a cookie?" Regina suddenly asked him, leaning forward such that she gently pushed Robin onto his back. He enjoyed the movement, it was an adorable position. Regina rested her hands on his heart, and her chin on top of her hands. Robin's hands trailed upwards to gently move along her sides.
He couldn't help but grin at the question, knowing full well the moment she was talking about.
"Yes, I recall."
"Were you going to kiss me?" she asked him simply, seemingly very interested in his answer. Robin found it slightly hilarious how obviously this question had been weighing on her, how much she had apparently analyzed it.
"I wanted to. Would you have let me?" he asked, equally as interested in what she would respond.
"You wanted to," she repeated, doing little to mask how much this pleased her. This distracted him from the fact that she'd ignored his question. Did she really not realize exactly how much he had pined for her, or, how much energy was constantly required to stop himself from kissing her?
"Regina, did you really not know how much I wanted you?" Robin asked her incredulously. Honestly, he felt a little relieved that he apparently hadn't made as much of an ass of himself as he'd previously thought. In a weird way, he was also rather endeared to the uncertainty in her questions. He was so accustomed to observing the Regina the rest of the world saw: Confident, strong, powerful. But he knew vast uncertainty and the insecurity existed within her, and he liked that she was letting him see it. He was more than happy to assure her.
She blushed. She legitimately blushed. It was the most endearing thing Robin had ever seen in his life. He moved his hands from her sides, instead taking her face into his hands. Her flush deepened.
"I didn't kiss you that night, or any other time, because I wasn't sure how you felt. I didn't want to upset you. I don't know if you've heard, but you're quite difficult to read," Robin told her gently. This was certainly the truth. Her ability to guard her thoughts and feelings had kept Robin in constant agony.
"I was so afraid you would find out," she admitted vulnerably. Robin resisted the urge to laugh. Find out. As though it were some upsetting piece of information that would have angered Robin, rather than made him the happiest fool on the planet.
"What, did you think I would make fun of you?" He couldn't resist quipping, playfully swiping her nose with his thumb. She rolled her eyes and gently shoved his face, rising up off of his chest. Robin followed her, unwilling to spend a single moment of these hours not touching her. He easily pulled her over so that she was straddling him again. He hadn't quite gotten his fill of this position yet, and wasn't entirely convinced that he ever would.
"Do you realize that I have not learned a single thing in any of the classes that I have with you? You are a serious hindrance to my education, Your Majesty," Robin continued exposing himself, grinning up at her like an idiot.
"Well, that explains why you're such a shitty lab partner," she retorted, grinning back and laughing freely. Robin made an expression of mock outrage, as he took her face back into his hands, bringing it to his.
"Evil, evil queen," he teased, kissing her briefly. She was still smiling, much to Robin's satisfaction. He couldn't believe she was so amused by him, that he was lucky enough to have her attention.
"To answer your question, I thought you were going to kiss me. And then I felt really stupid for even thinking that," Regina said, laughing a little bit.
"I was very heavily considering it, I can assure you. Regina, did you really not… know? I wasn't exactly subtle about it," Robin replied honestly.
"I thought I was seeing what I wanted to see. I suppose I just… couldn't think of a single reason that you would want me," she said matter of factly. Robin knew that this was not her attempt to get him to compliment her. She meant that, and he hated it. Regina had enough to worry about in her life, and he really could not stand the idea of her wasting any energy worrying about whether or not he wanted her. That, she could absolutely count on.
"Regina, please don't worry about that."
"I just… There's something I need to ask you," she said quietly, her previous joking now replaced with obvious fear and stress. Robin easily lifted her off of his lap and placed her next to him, feeling that her clear anxiety warranted taking the coming conversation seriously.
"Anything," he said, staring at the side of her face earnestly. She looked up to meet his stare.
"Robin, did you and Marian ever… " she started off uncertainly. Robin hated how uncomfortable this obviously made her, because he was reasonably sure that he knew where the conversation was going, and it certainly wasn't anything for her to feel awkward about.
"Have sex?" he filled in the blank softly. She nodded quickly.
While it was certainly something Robin was willing to discuss with her, he did have to admit that he was very unsatisfied with what he would have to tell her. He had lost his virginity to Marian. This did not cause him any displeasure to admit. But it did cause him great displeasure to share the fact that he had also been with several others in the wake of their breakup and his mother's death. Drinking hadn't been the only symptom of his pain.
He had not been looking forward to sharing this dark detail of his past with Regina. Based on the way he felt about it himself, he didn't imagine she would be thrilled.
"Yes, we did," Robin answered her honestly. The information didn't seem to upset her, but she still looked worried. Her brow furrowed more deeply.
"Does that upset you?" he asked her gently, wanting her to know that he understood if it did. In spite of the obvious hypocrisy, Robin was not particularly excited to be forced to imagine Regina and Daniel together either.
"No, of course not. That makes perfect sense. I just… there's something I feel like I should tell you now…"
"Regina, there's nothing you can't tell me."
"Daniel and I never did. I'm… I've never… I'm a virgin," she got out, staring at him shyly. Robin sighed audibly with relief. She had really been starting to worry him. He smiled and shook his head, taking her face back into one of his hands.
"Okay," he said seriously, staring deeply at her. This seemed to relax her substantially.
"So you won't… mind if I want to wait for a little while?" she asked. Robin couldn't believe this had been bothering her so much. He hadn't had any intention of going there with her anytime soon anyways. In his experience, sex made things complicated and messy. And there was nothing worth complicating what he had with Regina.
"Of course not. Whenever you are ready," he assured her easily, kissing her forehead. And with that, she seemed entirely relaxed. Now was his turn to be anxious.
"But, Regina, I think there's something that I should tell you. And I would understand if you were upset," he began uncertainly. Much to his relief, this didn't seem to scare her very much.
"Alright, tell me something."
"Marian… wasn't the only one," Robin admitted awkwardly. He watched Regina process this information and was able to glean absolutely nothing from her expression.
"There were others?" she asked, her tone unreadable. He couldn't tell if she was upset or not.
"Yes. Drinking wasn't the only way I enjoyed fucking up my life when my mother died," Robin said, sighing. He really did hate this part of his past. Of course, he couldn't regret having lost his virginity to Marian: She was his first love. But, still, now he had to admit that he wished his first time could be with Regina. Or even his second time. He deeply loathed the fact that it would be at least his seventh or eighth.
"Robin… Never when you were with Marian, right?" Regina asked him, her voice now very much betraying her emotions. For a brief second, he was relieved, as he realized that her concern was not coming from the fact that he had slept with multiple people, but from that she thought he had cheated on Marian. He was ecstatic that he had most definitely not done that, and could adequately assure her.
Robin shook his head immediately, bringing his hands back to her face.
"Never. It was after she broke up with me. Regina, if there is one thing I can promise you, it is that I will never do that to you," he said seriously. Her eyes visibly softened, although, it was somewhat unclear whether or not she believed him. Regardless, he knew that it was a promise he could keep with very little effort.
"Thank you for having this conversation with me," she took him by surprise by saying. Robin half smiled.
"Thank you for telling me that something was bothering you," he replied, very much meaning it. It showed that she trusted him, and he wanted her to feel safe with him.
"Sorry I made it so intense. I was worried I might be… misleading you with some of my behavior," Regina said, smirking, and again taking him by surprise as she moved to resume straddling him. Robin was not upset by the change in energy.
"Yes, most unlucky for me to find out that the town whore is a virgin," Robin couldn't resist responding sarcastically, his hands easily settling back onto her waist.
"The rumor mill in this town is worthless," she agreed as she wrapped her arms around Robin's neck to kiss him again.
Robin very happily settled into the idea that he was going to spend the next three hours doing nothing but this.
The next day found Robin in the back of David's rusty old pickup truck on his way home from football practice. He was seated in the backseat with Gold (who they'd picked up from his mock trial meeting on their way home), while Killian sat shotgun with David. Practice had, frankly, been grueling. Physically, in that it was packed with conditioning, and mentally, in that the play-running was repetitive and easy and bored Robin endlessly. Robin also knew that he had a solid three hours of homework to complete, and that he wouldn't even be able to start until at least 9:00, which was when either he would have coaxed Roland to sleep or Tuck would have come home to relieve him. Yet, none of this was considerably weighing on Robin's mind. No, he was much too busy thinking about Regina.
He was out of control today. Somehow, actually getting to be alone with her had just made him want her more. Returning to their prior levels of chastity was simply not possible for him anymore. Their sexual tension in chemistry class had been borderline inappropriate, he'd kissed her in the hallway before class, and again much more passionately than was probably necessary at the end of the day after she walked him to the football field. He loved her even more today than he did yesterday. He was similarly convinced that she was even more beautiful than she was when she'd left his house the day prior. Robin suspected that the surge in affection had been mutual. Their conversations had been shamelessly more flirtatious than normal, obnoxiously opinionated friends be damned. Robin was well aware of the fact that he was acting like an absolute moron, but he was… happy. Regina made him happy in a way that he had forgotten was possible.
The subject matter of Robin's thoughts must have been plainly displayed on his face, because Killian suddenly turned around in his seat to look back at him.
"So, Robin Hood, how was your 'alone time' with the Evil Queen? You've been a jackass all day," Killian teased playfully. Robin rolled his eyes at being referred to as 'Robin Hood'. Killian had recently taken to calling him by the obnoxious nickname, and, much to his chagrin, it was starting to catch on. Robin couldn't comprehend his friend group's clear obsession with fairy tale characters. Snow White? Charming? Killian? The Evil Queen? Who the hell was he hanging out with? (Robin wasn't sure how Emma had found her way in.)
"We missed you, of course, Killian," Robin deflected sarcastically.
"Oh, come on, Robin. You aren't going to be like Daniel and refuse to give us any details about Regina at all, right?" David interjected, making eye contact with Robin via the rearview mirror. He was clearly excited about the new conversation. Robin raised an eyebrow.
"What kind of details do you feel so deprived of?" Robin asked concernedly. Frankly, Robin wasn't sure how much he loved this line of questioning, as he had little to no interest in knowing anything about what David and Mary Margaret or Killian and Emma did when they were alone.
"Get your head out of the gutter, mate. Not the gross kind!" Killian sputtered, seemingly very scandalized by Robin's implication.
"What's she… like? Regina is just always so… intense," David said thoughtfully.
"And snarky," Gold contributed for the first time. Robin couldn't help but laugh. How odd that his girlfriend was snarky. And that this was something he adored about her.
"It's hard to imagine her being all… girly. That's all," David explained further. Their interest in Regina's behavior was very entertaining. It made him feel oddly validated: if he was completely wrong about every other thing, he was quite right that Regina was, at the very least, an intriguing character. She was complicated and interesting. It wasn't just him that thought so.
"Actually, now that I think about it, I wouldn't mind hearing some of the details," Killian commented deviously. It was entirely clear that he was joking, and it was actually quite out of character for Robin, but before he could stop himself, he was extracting one of his grey Vans from his athletic bag and smacking the back of Killian's headrest with it. It was not in Robin's nature to be particularly jealous or possessive. And it wasn't as though he was unaware of what Regina looked like. He had, in fact, spent a great deal of time considering how David, Killian and Gold seemed to be so unaware of and unaffected by it. So he wasn't sure where this ridiculous display of toxic masculinity had come from.
"Aye! I'm only joking, mate," Killian yelped in pain, over the laughter of David and Gold.
"Jealous type, are we, Robin Hood?" Gold asked smugly.
"I am not jealous, I just don't want the likes of you three thinking creepy thoughts about my girlfriend!"
"Hold on, are we not already all in obvious agreement that Regina is, well, hot?" Killian asked genuinely. While Robin's first instinct was to hit Killian again, his interest in the question restrained him, because he found he was a little more curious than he should be about what David and Gold would say. He had to admit that he wondered if they were perhaps desensitized to her allure from knowing her for so long, or if it really was just him that was so hopelessly attracted to her.
"Is it obvious?" Gold obviously couldn't resist quipping. He was just being Gold, but Robin resented it anyways and glared at him.
"Yeah, I think it's pretty obvious," Killian said matter of factly, as though Robin were not sitting right there.
"Glad to know you think so, Killian," Robin snapped irritably. Killian cackled.
"Regina is… not my type. She's a little dark for me," David said, as though this would come as a surprise to anyone, and as though oddly trying to make up for Killian's derogatory comments. Robin fought the urge to laugh. Yes, in comparison to Mary Margaret, for whom you could practically see a halo over her head, Robin could see why Regina was somewhat less appealing to David.
"Shocking," Gold snarked, clearly thinking exactly what Robin was thinking.
"Don't get me wrong, I think she's actually very pretty, you know, when she's not yelling at me," David protested. Robin laughed again at the image of Regina yelling at David.
"Lucky that Robin Hood likes the darkness," Gold said with a theatrical cackle, his voice raising impishly at the end of his sentence. Robin rolled his eyes at the nickname, the theatrics, and out of discomfort with the comment. He did like the dark aura about her. It was intriguing, and it fully enticed him.
"You all make her sound like some sort of evil sorceress," Robin said, shaking his head in amusement.
"The queen is… somewhat gorgeous," Gold said in a surprisingly thoughtful tone after a brief pause. Robin really didn't know what to make of the comment, as it was more of an empirical observation than any sort of compliment. 'Somewhat gorgeous'? It seemed to suggest that Gold did think Regina was objectively beautiful, but not in any sort of way that affected him. It was a very Gold-like assessment.
Robin didn't really have time to further unpack this bizarre commentary before he was busy thwacking Killian on the back of the head again.
"Great body, honestly,- AYE! Cut that out!"
The next day after school found Regina in her kitchen with Snow and Emma, preparing for what was sure to be an absolutely treacherous homework session. Regina anticipated three hours of work, at the very least. Inviting Emma and Snow to endure it alongside her was the only way that she had even been able to stomach the thought. She also knew that Cora would be detained at school by staff meetings until at least 8:00, and it was a rare occasion for Regina to be able to comfortably bring her friends over. Zelena would still be home, of course, but Regina never found Zelena as problematic when she was surrounded by her friends. Yet, the inherent negativity of a homework-filled afternoon, with Zelena lurking nearby, was not particularly bothering Regina. No, she was too busy thinking about Robin.
Regina wasn't entirely sure how they had been surviving before, and really couldn't recall why she had ever bothered to care about keeping their relationship discreet. Anything that prevented Regina from being close to Robin now seemed like a complete and utter waste of time. She was pretty sure that she hadn't thought about anything other than Robin all day. She certainly hadn't digested a single word from Mr. Archibald during chemistry class while she was distracted by Robin's hand on her thigh underneath the desk. She hadn't gotten much out of Mrs. Arendelle's class either as she and Robin spent the majority of the lecture practically undressing each other with their eyes. The classes that she didn't share with Robin consisted either of her imagining all the more fun things she and Robin could be doing on a desk surface, or just replaying their time together from the day before on loop in her head. She gleaned that the spike in affection was mutual, as even when she was physically with Robin, they were hardly even speaking to one another, much more interested in staring and touching and being utterly nauseating to anyone around them.
Regina was considering how truly unjust it was that she wasn't with him right now-
"Excuse me, your Majesty, I just asked if you wanted coffee," Emma impatiently interrupted Regina's train of thought. Regina blinked quickly, and made eye contact with Emma who was standing next to the coffee maker across the island countertop.
"Oh, um, sure," Regina responded quickly, praying that what was probably her twelfth brain lapse of the day would be let by without any mockery.
"Maybe clear up some of that fog," Snow said passively, smiling to herself as though her meaning was subtle. Regina rolled her eyes: no such luck.
"Are you calling me stupid, Snow?"
"You've been acting stupid all day," Emma said, smirking. There really wasn't much of an argument for Regina to make in response, so she just glared indignantly at Emma instead.
"Are we going to get to hear about it?" Snow prodded eagerly.
Oddly enough, Regina found that she didn't really mind the idea of talking about Robin with them. She'd always felt uncomfortable discussing Daniel with her friends, now that she thought about it. There was really no good reason for this, Daniel was handsome, sweet, and someone they'd all loved (well, until he wasn't). Maybe that was the reason. They'd all known Daniel so well, he was like a brother. Robin simply hadn't been around long enough for that, and while Emma and Snow were obviously friends with him, he was probably still somewhat interesting and mysterious to them.
"What is it that you so desperately want to know?" Regina replied, sighing. Snow and Emma both squealed and high-fived one another. Regina rolled her eyes, but couldn't stop an amused smirk from spreading over her face.
"Well, I, personally, would like to know if he's as… hot as he looks," Emma asked slyly, waggling her eyebrows suggestively. Much to Regina's embarrassment, this caused an intense heat to rise to her face.
"Emma!" Snow scolded, as though she were her mother.
"What? Are we going to pretend that Robin isn't absolutely gorgeous?" Emma persisted, looking back and forth between Snow and Regina.
Regina really disliked herself for how incredibly insecure and uncomfortable she suddenly felt. This was something she'd been internally dealing with and intensely trying to subdue for pretty much the entire duration of her relationship with Robin. Of course she was aware of what he looked like. Of course she was aware that every single female in school coveted him. This did not bring her excitement or pride. It terrified her. To her knowledge, Regina's own physical attractiveness was not much of a discourse among the male population. She was already confused enough as to why Robin wanted her when he could have legitimately any other girl. And being reminded of what she perceived as the strong physical dichotomy between the two of them really did not bring her pleasant thoughts. Frankly, Regina had been plenty pretty for Daniel, and he hadn't had any trouble cheating on her. She didn't even want to think about how much more valid it would be for Robin to do the same, and she also wasn't thrilled to discover that even the idea of Robin being with someone else somehow already felt worse than the reality of what Daniel had done.
The fact that Regina still hadn't spoken obviously tipped Emma off to the fact that she was bothered.
"Whoa, Regina, I'm sorry, you know I would never even think about-"
"I know. It's just that being reminded of how 'hot' everyone thinks Robin is doesn't exactly make me feel… secure," Regina confessed awkwardly.
"Regina, you realize that you aren't exactly ugly, right?" Emma responded obviously, rolling her eyes. Regina briefly marveled over how little Emma Swan knew of insecurity.
"Well, I wasn't exactly ugly last year either when Daniel decided to cheat on me," she replied matter-of-factly.
"Oh my God, Regina, Daniel did not cheat on you because you're ugly. Honestly, you were way out of his league-"
"What Daniel did had nothing to do with you, Regina," Snow interrupted Emma before she could really launch into a rant. Regina was annoyed with herself for the direction that she and her million insecurities had unintentionally taken the conversation.
"I know that I'm projecting, I just… Robin is… important," she admitted. This was maybe the understatement of the century, but Emma and Snow didn't need to know that.
"Regina, I don't think that he's going anywhere. Getting attached to him isn't going to make him disappear," Snow coaxed. Her ridiculously refined ability to psychoanalyze Regina was infuriating, it was as though she was constantly reading her mind.
"Alright, fine. Yes, Robin is… as hot as he looks," she said, smirking. He was so much hotter, honestly, but, again, Regina didn't feel that Emma and Snow needed to know this information.
"YES!" Snow and Emma exclaimed in unison, both leaning forward onto the kitchen island towards Regina to indicate she should continue.
"He's… smooth. But he's also… adorable, I don't know, I think I actually make him nervous," Regina mused, as though she were talking to herself rather than out loud. Emma and Snow exchanged a glance.
"Well yeah, he's kind of ridiculously into you," Emma said derisively. Regina couldn't fathom how this was so apparently obvious to Snow and Emma, yet so difficult for her to accept.
"The chemistry is, um, good," Regina admitted, as the particularly pleasant memory of Robin trapping her against his bedroom wall yesterday flitted coincidentally across her mind. God, she would have cut off a hand to be with him right now.
"You're actually much cuter together than you probably realize," Snow commented. Regina felt her flush deepen, because she knew Snow meant it.
"Yeah, he's all tall and you're all short-" Emma started.
"I am a perfectly average height!" Regina snapped, even though she knew this wasn't quite accurate.
"Whatever, it's cute. You're always looking at each other when the other one isn't paying attention," Emma finished, grinning.
"I like how obviously hard they try not to PDA, as though we don't all know," Snow said, rolling her eyes. Regina scowled.
"Sorry that not everyone likes to be as disgusting as you and David-"
"I like how Robin doesn't think anyone notices when he checks out your ass," Emma added, cracking up. Regina was a little bit confused with herself for how much this information flattered her.
"Oh, because Killian never, ever-"
"Regina, I'm sorry to tell you that despite your best efforts to be all appropriate and discreet, you and Robin are an adorable couple, everyone is happy for you, and this is a very good thing. Stop fighting it," Snow silenced her simply.
And, for once, Regina decided to let Snow have the last word.
