A/N: I was glad I finished this chapter before the episode on Sunday. Those of you who follow me on Twitter or Tumblr ( glindaloveshoes) know how upset I still am about the way they handled Robin's death. I won't say anything here, because in my opinion, fanfiction is the only thing that's left to us and I won't poison it with my thoughts about his death. In case you need to vent about the episode, please do so on my Twitter or Tumblr. I don't want any negative thoughts in my reviews.

Jess (Twitter: belleofthebpoint/Tumblr: belleoftheballpoint) pointed out that OQ was better in fanon anyways, so the writers of our fandom will continue to make them live on in our fics. We have a big project coming, where we will rewrite the series, so please follow her on Twitter/Tumblr and stay tuned for news!

So let's get to happier news: I'm proud to present the new chapter which I wrote in collaboration with the lovely FraiseDandelion who is not only an incredible writer, but who I call one of my very good friends. She wrote the probably best scene of the chapter - the flashback. Oh you'll love it. So. Much.

Thanks also to the wonderful waterbaby134 for betaing. She is the best and even though she's not a fan of OUAT, she feels with us.

This chapter is for OutlawQueen - Robin and Regina -, for the OutlawQueen fandom and for everyone, who is heartbroken, angry and devastated about what Adam and Eddy did to us. I hope this will cheer you up a little.

(13)

David drove the car, while Regina directed him through the city of LA with the navigation app on her phone. Leroy, who was definitely more than grumpy at the sudden change of plans (which they hadn't bothered to confirm with the rest of the production), was sitting in the back filming, the camera an awkward angle to switch the shots between their conversations. Regina enjoyed the thrill of the forbidden, would probably pay for it tomorrow by receiving a call from Mr. Gold himself, but right now she didn't care. She didn't know much about David, but she loved his spontaneous, adventurous side already.

"So, David… tell me something about you."

"Like what?" he laughed curiously, his eyes glimpsing over to Regina before they settled back on the road. He was a bit nervous, she figured, but well, so was she. This was, after all, their first time alone together if you didn't count the two minutes they'd talked yesterday before he sent her off to Robin.

"I don't know, what would you like to share? Where are you from? What do you like to do in your free time? Why are you here, maybe? Just humor me."

"You set high standards, but I think I'll try and match them. I'm from New York, born and raised," he answered. New York? Well, thirty seconds into the conversation and it got interesting already.

"You're kidding. Where in New York?" Regina's curiosity was awakened. New York was a big city, it was almost impossible to find a connection, but maybe, maybe there was one. A restaurant, a bar they'd both been to once… and even if it was just Central Park or the zoo, she missed her home, missed her son and her little shop.

"Originally from Queens, but after I got married I moved to Manhattan." The moment he said it, he realized how awkward this sounded. "Uh… I mean.. I'm not married anymore. That came out kind of wrong."

"If you were still married right now, I would highly doubt your intentions toward me," Regina smirked. "What happened?"

His surprise was unmistakable. "Are you sure you want to discuss my past relationship on our first date?"

"No. Yes. Maybe? I mean, I'm just wondering why it didn't work out. Marriage is a huge commitment, something you should think through before you do it." She swallowed hard, her hand fisting into the fabric of her trousers. "I think there is a lot we can learn from past relationships… Even if only to not repeat the mistakes we made next time."

David sighed, turned the car to the left onto a very busy street and hit the gas. "You're right, Regina. There is a lot we can learn, especially in regard of future relationships. I think ultimately things between me and Abigail didn't work out because we didn't think it through. We met at a gala, we liked each other and her father thought I would be a good fit for his company. It wasn't love at first sight; in fact, I was kind of pressured into proposing, while she was pressured into accepting by her dad. The whole wedding was a debacle. I should have known then, we both should have, but everyone was so excited, we didn't want to disappoint. Her father is the CEO of Midas Inc, he used to make a huge deal out of everything…"

Regina raised an eyebrow, her mouth suddenly opening in shock and surprise as she realized what exactly David was talking about. She swatted his arm for the promised third time that evening. "Wait a second - Abigail as in Abigail Midas-Nolen? Oh my god, of course! You can't be serious!" She remembered everything; the elaborate bouquets she and Mary Margaret had done last year for the church and ballroom at the hotel, the detailed wedding bouquet for Abigail. It was one of the biggest orders they'd received last year, followed by an even bigger pay check that they'd used to finally pay off the loan they'd gotten from the bank in order to buy the flower shop, while another big chunk of the money went straight into Henry's college fund. Setting up the floral arrangements of the Midas-Nolan wedding had been the biggest push ever imaginable for their little flower shop called "Snow White & Rose Red".

"Ouch! Stop the trashing, woman! What is it?"

"We did the flowers for your wedding," she explained exasperatingly.

"Sorry?"

"We did the flower arrangements for your wedding. I know Abigail - well, know is not the right word, but we met a few times because of the floral arrangements for the wedding. I did wonder back then why she never introduced us to her fiancé…" She didn't want to sound accusing, but she'd done enough much, much smaller weddings to feel concerned when all the planning was left to the bride, with the groom never setting one foot into her shop. David didn't seem to be the guy to just leave everything to Abigail, even though she'd told her differently. He seemed nice, genuine, like someone who would care for all things concerning his wedding.

"She wanted to do it. Abigail, I mean. With her father paying for everything I didn't really have a choice. Furthermore, I think it's important that the bride is happy at her wedding. I didn't think I should bother her with my opinions on roses or orchids, all I cared about when I married her was that she had the wedding she always wanted," David answered.

"But perhaps she wanted you to help her. Have you ever thought about that? Perhaps she felt a bit lost and overstrained," Regina wondered, remembering Abigail's breakdown in her shop four days before the wedding. She couldn't quite picture David right now, didn't know what to think of him, since all she had was the information Abigail had given her that night.

"You're choosing her side," David mumbled, his face a complete mask. "I'm not really the bad guy in this, Regina. Yes, I agree, I could have done more, but her father was so busy with incorporating me into the firm, I didn't even get the chance. Also, I did meet with someone from your shop at the rehearsal dinner. Her name is Mary…"

"Yeah, she's my partner. We own the shop together. While I concentrate on most of the paperwork, Mary Margaret does the magic with the flowers. She's truly gifted in this regard," Regina smiled. Sadly, her friend and former step-daughter was not skilled with numbers, so all Regina could hope for once this show is over, was that she wouldn't be faced with complete ruin once she came back home.

"Our marriage was imprudent, rushed and superficial. Both of us realized too late that we didn't really love each other, that marrying was a mistake. It's why we broke it off."

"So your divorce was mutual?" Regina asked, trying to recall some of the details Abigail had told her.

"Very much so. We barely made it to the two months mark, until she confessed to me that she was in love with her gym-coach Frederick. We are still good friends. It works better for us this way."

Regina looked at him, at the man next to her, who was now parking the car at one of the rare free parking spaces next to the burger restaurant. David seemed really sorry things between him and Abigail didn't work out, and she was surprised he was so open with everything. He didn't have to be, especially not while Leroy was sitting in the back filming everything, but in the small privacy of the car, one could easily forget the camera in the backseat.

There was probably more to their story, but they'd spent enough time talking about his failed marriage and before David could think about asking her about her past relationships, she directed their conversation toward the question of which burger they wanted to get.

Thankfully, the restaurant agreed on finishing up their order as take-out. Neither of the two wanted to spend their date in the middle of a full restaurant with everyone gaping at them, while taking pictures with their phones. And here Regina thought the people in LA were used to this kind of thing…

Once they were settled back in the car, David asked her where she'd like to go.

"Surprise me," she answered while she dug into one of the bags to pull out a French fry, followed by a spicy potato wing. "Mmmmh. These are so good."

"Hey, that's unfair," David protested, his hand reaching over to get his own fry, but Regina swatted it away.

"You're driving."

"You do realize this was the fourth time you hit me tonight, don't you?"

"You deserved each one of them," Regina laughed playfully, before she pulled out another fry holding it close to David's mouth. He sucked the fry in with his lips, munching happily. "There you go. Now find us something fast, otherwise our dinner will get cold."

"Yes, your Majesty. You know, you can be quite exasperating sometimes."

"That's what you like about me," she shot back laughing.

"Maybe I do."

Xxxxx

Of all the places they could have gone in a city like LA, David chose the spot between Malibu and Zuma beach, at the Zuma lagoon. The weather was beautiful and warm, as always in LA. Thankfully, the beach was mostly deserted, only a few passersby with their dogs, one couple here, another one there, all in need for their privacy. Still, it was a good spot to watch the sunset together while eating their burgers.

Luckily, David pulled out a blanket from the trunk of the car, so they had something to sit on.

"You have twenty minutes, guys," Leroy grumbled, before snatching his bag with dinner away from them to settle on his jacket in the sand some feet away from them.

"I like this date. I never had burgers at the beach, did you, Regina?" David asked while munching on a fry.

The woman next to him was sitting on the blanket, arms wrapped around her knees, staring at the ocean. She looked a little… lost, as if she was deep in thought. "Regina?"

But she didn't hear him, because her mind was at another place at another time, with another beach, burgers and another man…

For reasons unbeknownst to him, Regina hadn't had a burger in three months, something he found absolutely baffling, and being quite the intent man, Robin instantly felt the need to remedy it.

So he took her out that Friday night, drove towards the small burger shop in Storybrooke he knew by heart and he placed their order while she waited in the car. Two paper bags, a cup holder with two large sodas and a seven minute drive later, Robin and Regina found themselves stretching out on top of a blanket draped over the sand, their impromptu picnic by the beach at the wee hours of the night, an experience they'd never had before.

"You really did think of everything," Regina mused, as she pointed toward the sea, the blanket and the burgers. "Everything a girl could ask for."

"Anything for you, Milady. You know that."Quickly, Robin reached into the paper bags and handed over her bacon cheeseburger and smiled instantly at the moan his brunette vixen let out as soon as her mouth —so dangerously red, so incredibly plump— closed around the burger.

"I can't believe I spent months without one of these," she all but moaned on the second bite, and Robin found himself chuckling at her, a desperate attempt to quell the burning lust that was building up inside of him —her moans and sighs of pleasure with the simple taste of a burger were already getting the best of him.

He tried with all his might. He shifted around on the blanket, tried to focus on the water a few yards away from him, the full moon dancing softly across the small waves, but it wasn't enough, because besides him Regina was still groaning as she pushed a fry between her lips.

And how, just how could he find the simple act of his vixen enjoying her food so damn arousing?

"Good?" Robin asked, his voice husky as he quickly cleared his throat, desperately trying to portray normality even though his pants were growing tighter by the minute.

"It's incredible," Regina moaned again.

Robin nodded in reply, and crossed his legs in an attempt to get some pressure, friction, something, anything that could alleviate the pressure in his nether regions, but all movement seemed fruitless, for the warmth and growing hardness of him was very present.

"Thank you for this," she whispered and suddenly Regina was teasing him, leaning closer to him and dropping a kiss just shy of his lips as she whispered that maybe he should take a dip to cool off.

And he did it, could tell by the look on her face that she wasn't expecting him to do it. But quickly he divested himself of his clothing until he was standing right next to her, throbbing cock and all. And before Regina could complain, before she said something along the lines of 'we'll get caught' or 'this is illegal', he fled.

In a blur, Robin was running butt-naked down the sandy dunes, and Regina couldn't help but whistle at him, and she bit her lower lip at the way his perfectly toned ass and back muscles rippled and enticed even in the dim lightning. He turned when the water reached his upper thigh, Regina blushing one again at the mere sight of his manhood from yards away. Robin winked her way, beckoned her to join him before he moved further away, water softly wetting his body, until it reached mid-chest.

Regina simply stared, pressed her thighs together to create some sort of god damn friction but it all ends up disappointing, nothing could compare to the feeling of his fingers pressed against her as his manhood fucked her and fucked her and fuck— she fucking needed to join him in the water.And she did. Not before deciding to tease him a little more.

When Regina stood from her place on the blanket, she reached for the string that held her blue casual dress in place, she tugged at it, smirked devilishly as, even from miles away, Robin's mouth hung open as he stared intently at the picture in front of him. Soon the dress was pooling at her feet, and she glanced around the deserted beach to make sure nobody was there, before walking slowly towards the shore, the water barely reaching her toes.

"All or nothing," Robin called from a few meters away from her, nodding at the patch of skin that was covered by her black lace panties.

Regina arched her eyebrow in challenge and without breaking his eyesight, hooked her fingers around the hem of her panties and brought them down, the black material sliding tantalizing down her toned legs. She made her way towards him, slowly, smirking at the way he pouted as her skin was hidden from his view with every step she took.

"You are a goddess," Robin confessed, his eyes growing darker with lust and desire as he reached underwater for her, wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him.He kissed her, hard and passionate, tongues exploring, exchanging moans and groans and suddenly Regina backed away from the kiss, from him, and simply floated in front of him, letting out a relaxed sigh as the water cooled away the remnants of that hot summer day.

"You're such a tease," Robin winked, his eyes roaming her bare body floating in front of him.

"Hmmm, maybe?" She muttered, a look of innocence crossing her face but Robin wiped it out immediately, his mouth latching on to a perky nipple and she let out a low moan, the intoxicating combination of his warm mouth on one nipple while the other received the stimulation from his wet fingers, making her gasp and moan and thighs tremble under the water. Oh, this was heaven and hell combined because soon he was touching her center and she felt like she was drowning.

Robin had a hand under her back, holding her in place and for a minute he just wanted to take her there and then, in the water, the combination of warmth from their bodies and coldness from the water too tempting, but he knew the risks they would be taking.So instead, with a bite on her nipple, he pulled away, Regina pouting at the loss of contact. But Robin nodded towards the shore.

Slowly, they made their way out of the water, kissing and touching and nearly tripping when a wave caught them off guard while she was busy with her tongue down his throat. Robin turned her to face him when they were a few feet away from the blanket, toes sandy, hair dripping droplets of water that ran down, down, down her body until it disappeared between her thighs, and he merely moved closer to her, palm on her cheek as he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and quickly wrapped his arms around her waist, pressing her to him In response, Regina immediately attacked his neck, and made his way to the blanket, gently leaning down with her.

Her hands were still hooked around her neck, lips sucking and biting on the skin there as he groaned and wiped away the sand from the blanket, with one hand wrapped tightly around her waist. Once the sand was wiped away, Robin leaned forward until her back met the softness of the blanket and eyes stared at him.

He laughed, actually laughed at the lustful and desperate look on her face.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but weren't you against this at first?"

Regina groaned in annoyance or pleasure, Robin didn't know, but before Regina could say anything else, he leaned down to capture her lips with his again. Lick, bite, nibble, he thrust his tongue inside, immediately finding hers and tangling with it as his hands travelled from her waist up towards the underside of her breasts.

"God, just touch me," Regina mumbled against his lips, her wet torso arching up to press her nipples against his wet warm chest. She sighed immediately at the sensation, mouth closing once again over his as she began moving underneath him, warm chest rubbing deliciously over her nipples and Robin moaned over her, broke the kiss and gently detached her hand from around his neck. He pushed them onto the blanket and held her there.

"We shouldn't't be doing this," Robin teased, using the same words she'd used earlier before he blew air over the perk nipples, always obsessed with teasing her, pleasing her, taking her close to the brink over and over again before finally letting her fall.

Regina huffed and growled under him, part in frustration, part in pleasure, and she was about to call his name, frustrated with the way he kept blowing air on her, and the groan of frustration turned into a mewl the moment his warm mouth encompassed a nipple, warm relief over the coldness that had swept over her, sweet pleasure. Sweet nibbles, quick teasing flickers of his tongue before he gently bit down on it, holding her taut nipple in place with his teeth as his tongue moved, flickered, lapped against it.

"Robin," She all but screamed, her legs crossing under the weight of him and her hips moving as she tried to alleviate the warm pressure there.

"Cheater," He whispered against the mound before he bit on her again, hand reaching down her middle until he met the warm wet apex of her thighs and parted her legs with the help of his own.

Regina near begged, but she wouldn't't give him this, wouldn't't make him proud, wouldn't be the reason behind that damn smug smile he wore more often than not. So instead she huffed and bit on her lower lip, and groaned when he pressed his deft fingers against her entrance

"Well would you look at that, I can't tell if you're wet from arousal or wet from the water," He murmured against her chest, the hand between her thighs slowly tracing her entrance. He circled it teasingly, avoided her clit, and he dipped the tip of his middle finger inside her.

She moaned, arched her back under him and then that damn smug smile appeared on his face.

"Hmmm, arousal, definitely arousal."

In an instant, Robin dropped a kiss to her swollen lips and moved down her body, his middle finger now buried inside her, and she needed more, more fingers, one thumb against her fucking clit and oh—

His mouth was hovering over her now, middle finger still moving teasingly in and out of her slick entrance, as his breath grew ragged; hers did too.

She looked beautiful, absolutely beautiful with her damp hair framing her face, wet salty skin, dark brown orbs, breasts moving with every breath she took. He took the moment to smile gently at her, forget about the lust and passion for a moment and just be romantic.

"Regina," He called out, eyes meeting his and he smiled brighter, finger inside her stilling completely before he continued. "You're an absolute goddess."

For a minute they just stared at each other, smiling lovingly before he lowered his head, and without breaking her gaze, pressed his tongue flat against her throbbing clit. She sighed in gratefulness, teeth grazing over her lower lip as his finger moved inside her, tongue lapping at her clit, mouth closing over it as he sucked hard on it and Regina moaned loudly, forgetting that he was fucking her with his fucking tongue in the middle of this fucking beach and someone could fucking see them.

He added a second finger then, and her breath hitched for a moment before she moaned again, legs trembling against his cheeks. Robin was thankful right there that his hands didn't't have any sand on them, and he moved his fingers fast inside her, curling them in her and Regina quaked under him; jaw slacked as expletives fell from her lips. Robin chuckled against her clit, his fingers inside of her repeating the movement and he sighed against her, always loving the musky feminine taste that came from her.

"Come for me," he murmured, tongue pressing flatly against her clit.

And he could feel her getting, wetter, hotter, getting tighter until she gasped and her body quaked and trembled as she closed her eyes and bit on her lower lip. Sweat beads formed around her neck almost instantly as she took that first gasping breath, eyes filling up with tears from the pleasure as he pulled the fingers from her and circled his tongue around her entrance, slowly, pushing in and easing out as he brought her down from that high. When she ran her hand over his hair, and let out a sigh, Robin gave her one last long lick from entrance to clit –her body shuddering by it—before he crawled up her body again, dropping open-mouthed kisses up her belly, and the valley between her breasts before he dropped a firm kiss against her lips.

But Regina deepened it, tongue meeting his and tasting herself in the process. She groaned, hands traveling down his torso, until they found him, hard, throbbing and more than ready in her palm. She closed her palm around him, gave him a few strokes, twisting her wrist on the way up just the way he liked it, before she was pushing him, rolling them until she was on top of him, mouth still pressed firmly against his lips. She broke the kiss after a minute, a small smirk covering her lip as she bit his lower lip and slowly kissed her way down his jaw, neck, chest, lower lower, lower until her mouth encompassed his thick cock, slowly sucking him in until the head touched the back of her throat. Robin let out a surprised sound that quickly turned into a shout of pleasure the moment she hollowed her cheeks as she moved on the way up.

"Babe, as much as I love this—" Robin moaned at he felt that glorious tongue twirl over the head before he continued. "You know I can't last long with your lips around my cock."

Robin made quick work of it, pulled himself from the warmth of her mouth before Regina chuckled and nodded at him.

"Sorry," she muttered amusedly, before she leaned over him, dropped a peck on his lips and reached for his pants, which were over his head to the right. She hovered over his head, hand stretching forward as she grabbed his pants, giggling like a schoolgirl at his teasing lick against a nipple.

"Stop that," Regina said, eyes shining in glee as she sat on top of his belly and reached for the back pocket of his jeans. She pulled his wallet out and fished out a condom, then she closed it and tossed it aside. She ripped the foil with her fingers, winking at him as she pulled the condom out and wiggled down his body, wet slick form moving from his lower belly, over his hardness, and Robin sighed and smiled at this tease. In an instant, her hands were on him, giving him a few more strokes before she rolled the condom over his cock, Robin sighing as she did so.

Quickly, his hands moved to her hips, softly grabbing them as he moved her up and forward until his tip was brushing against her entrance. She sank down on him, slowly but determined, both moaning at the feeling of her walls slowly adjusting to his thickness until he was buried up to the hilt.

They should be quick, someone could find them going at it like horny teenagers on prom night, but instead Regina leaned forward and kissed him deeply as she started to move on top of him.

She moved with slow gentle rolls of her hips as he thrusted into her with the same slow pace. The pleasure building slowly, warmth and electricity traveling slowly from the place they were united as one to their fingertips. But soon Regina's hips were falling firmly against his, skin slapping against skin as she alternated between gentle rolls of hips and quick rides. Soon she was breaking their kiss, leaning back from him with her hands on his chest as she held him down, face contorting in pleasure at the change of angle, his cock now rubbing deliciously against that fucking spot that always made her quiver. Regina fell down on him harder with every upward thrust of his hips, both moaning out in pleasure at the bubbling warmth that was starting to seize them.

"Robin!" She moaned out his name the moment he groped her ass and pushed her onto him hard. Pain and pleasure combined, she lost her rhythm, focused entirely on the feeling of him hitting that fucking spot inside of her over and over again and soon, her thighs were trembling against his side, face scrunching up in pure hot spiking pleasure and Robin made quick work of it, held her in place by the waist as he pounded quick, hard and simply delicious into her, quick deep strides that had her trembling and her whole body went taut as she reached with one hand towards where they were united as one and made quick work of her clit, rubbed tight quick circles around it as he pounded into her mercilessly , and the combination was lethal, electricity rising up her spine, going higher, higher, higher before she crashed down, insides squeezing around him, body shaking on top of him, jaw slack as his name left her lips on a cry of pleasure.

She was a vision, and she felt amazing around his thick cock, so Robin pulled her down to him quickly, Regina moaning at the change of angle, and he kissed her swollen lips as he kept pounding into her from underneath, arms now wrapped tightly around her waist. One, two, three thrusts into her wetness and his body went still, a strangled moan of her name leaving his lips as the waves of pleasure rolled over his trembling body.

They stayed that way for minutes, her now slightly damp hair covering their faces as they kissed lazily, the only sound around them that of the soft crashing waves against the shore. He slipped from her with a small sigh and Regina, with shaky legs, leaned back from him, sat down on his lap and with heavy lidded eyes looked again around the empty beach before she bit her lower lip and gazed up at the sky, a small blush covering her face and neck.

"That was…" Regina began on a whisper, but simply laughed as she stared down at him, suddenly embarrassed with the situation but at the same time, utterly pleased.

"Fucking amazing." Robin winked at her, before sitting up with her on his lap and kissing her slowly.

Xxxxx

"Regina? Earth to Regina…" David asked curiously, his hand waving in front of her face. Regina shook her head, trying to clear her vision and desperately trying to ignore the heat that was pooling between her thighs. Damn it. Damn the beach, damn David for bringing her here and damn her mind for bringing up a memory she could have lived without tonight. And damn Robin. Always damn him for showing up here, for making everything so complicated, for… for fucking her at a beach ten years ago. Not that she'd complained back then. Perhaps about the sand she found in places she didn't even know existed, but definitely not for how he'd made her feel. She shouldn't be thinking about Robin now, not when she was on a date with David. But who was she kidding? Ever since he showed up, she thought of him all the time, even if she was with another man.

"What? Sorry, I was gone for a moment."

"Were were you?" he asked curiously, and for a moment she was happy the sunset was dipping everything into a red-golden light, so he probably wouldn't notice her flushed cheeks.

"Here. At the beach I mean. It was just a memory… Dinner?" She finally reached for the burger he was holding out to her, unwrapped it nervously and took a bite with a small moan. God, this was amazing, really.

"Robin?" he suggested, smiling, before he unwrapped his own burger to take a bite.

Right now Regina felt glad she'd just swallowed, otherwise she would have choked. "Excuse me?!"

"Nothing."

No, it was not nothing what he'd just said. She knew what he'd said; she'd heard him, she… it was a reason to panic. Panic, because if David knew… if he knew something, then they would be found out and everything would be ruined. Shit. Oh shit. Robin had always told her she was an open book to him. Could David read her just as easily? Her mouth opened and closed in a desperate attempt to answer something, but she couldn't. It was as if someone had muted her.

David must have realized her panic, because he took the burger she didn't realize she'd been clenching in her fist now from her hand and put it aside, before he made her look at him. "Listen to me, Regina. It's okay. You don't have to be scared."

Say something, she scolded herself. But if David knew… or did he just suspect something? Help, this wasn't good, this wasn't helping in the least. She could always deny it, could always tell him he was imagining things, but was he? Had they been too obvious with their looks, their touches, their words? She'd almost slipped yesterday, had almost told Robin about Henry. David must have seen something. She'd helped Robin with his damned lasagna for likely over forty minutes.

"You can trust me," he offered smiling, taking her hands in his. Could she? She didn't know that man, even after their talk in the car and at home. Yes, there was chemistry, but not the kind of chemistry she would have expected. David was attractive, but she wasn't attracted to him and for a moment she wondered if she ever would be.

"I don't know how to answer," Regina whispered, her face turned toward the ocean so she wouldn't have to look at him.

"You can tell me the truth, Regina. Look, I think we… I don't think this whole love thing between the two of us would work. I have some experience with my ex-wife, remember? Not that I would have a chance anyway when I see how you look at him. But I like you Regina, I really do, and I know there are things going on you probably can't or don't want to talk about, I just want you to know I'm there for you if you need a… friend." Calmness washed over her at his reassuring words. Did he mean it? Was he serious?

Her gaze shifted over to Leroy, who was sitting a bit away from them, enjoying his burgers, his camera abandoned for a moment. She could feel the encouraging press of hands David gave her and she wanted to, oh god how much she wanted to talk to someone who didn't know the whole story, who would just listen to her, who didn't know anything about her, but she couldn't. Growing up under the wing of her ruthless, emotionless mother, Regina had never learned to trust well. Also, every time she had trusted someone in her past, she'd been bitterly betrayed. There was her mother of whom she always thought only wanted her best, there was Mary Margaret, who'd revealed her pregnancy to Cora and Leopold; there was Leopold, of course, whom she trusted to take care of her and Henry, but who turned out to be one of the most heartless and cruel people she'd ever met; and then, there was Robin. Robin, who never showed up, who just abandoned her, who didn't even come looking for her. Robin, who married another woman, who had a child, who never even dared to make contact with her. How would she know David wouldn't sell her out to Gold or to the press? Perhaps it was the pleading look in his eyes, or the gentle way his thumb caressed her hand that made her feel comfortable enough to stay instead of run.

"I can't, David. I'm… I'm so sorry."

"It's okay, Regina. I won't pressure you if you don't want to. Just… I hope you know that I'm there for you. Even if I'm not really sure I'll be still on the show after having revealed to you that I don't harbor any romantic feelings for you and probably never will. I'm not mad if you kick me out tonight."

"Thank you, David. I really appreciate it." He finally let go of her hands, leaning back on the blanket with a deep sigh. There was a moment of silence between them when then both munched on a cold fry, neither of them really hungry anymore.

Regina bit a lip when Leroy clapped his hands, signaling them he would turn the camera back on now. The rest of their conversation evolved around New York, their work and, to Regina's surprise, Mary Margaret who seemed to have made a long lasting impression on David at the rehearsal dinner.

She did give him the rose in the end, followed by a hesitant kiss on the cheek, which he interrupted by hugging her tight once again. He didn't get the rose because she was still romantically interested in him, but because she felt like she found something close to a friend in David.

"I'll see you tomorrow," he whispered; as he dropped her off at her mansion, squeezing her hand once more.

"Thanks for the evening. It was wonderful. Say… say hi to the others for me, and that I'm looking forward to seeing them tomorrow."

He was about to turn back toward the car, when Regina stopped him once more. "Ah, David… One last question. Team Ironman or Team Captain America?"

The baffled look she received was priceless. "Uh… Captain America? Why?"

Wrong answer, Regina thought amused, but after tonight, yes, she could see why David would choose the Captain.

"Just wondering." They bid each other goodnight. David was driven home, while she went straight to her bedroom. If she had bothered to take a look into the kitchen, she would have found David's bouquet replaced by a single yellow rose.