|Chapter 2: An Agreement and Germany|


She arrived at his apartment precisely at 9:45pm that evening.

Muttered an "I hate men" as she stormed past him to his kitchen and started preparing herself some herbal tea, moving quickly and efficiently about his cupboards.

"What happened?" and he genuinely wanted to know because Regina had left this same apartment a mere 3 hours ago indicating that she had to go to her own in order to get ready for a date that evening, Graham she said was the man's name, and Robin wanted to smile at this because if the date was set to be at 9pm and she was already at his apartment then something must've totally gone wrong.

"He stood me up! Sent me a text just 10 minutes ago begging for forgiveness, that he's not ready to go on a date with me! Men are such assholes, you simply can't do that to a woman!" she groaned and brought the kettle to the kitchen top, putting it on high for it to boil faster and leaned back against the counter, sent an arched eyebrow at him before she continued. "What happened to you?"

"Well she's dull and since I've promised my best friend to stop biting remarks at women in my classes, well now it's hard to find a woman good enough for me."

And she nodded and let out a dry chuckle.

"We're really bad at this dating thing," scrunched up her face in a form that was uniquely hers before picking out a tea bag out of the box.

"And here I was, hoping I could get some loving tonight. Do you even know how long it has been Robin?" she turned and looked at him in horror.

Oh what was it with these americans and their over-expressive selfs, but then again this was what friends talked about right? Either way he loved it, he loved that he could see this side of Regina when outside she was composed and serious.

"7 months Robin! I'm basically a virgin again," and Robin just snorted at her, threw his head back and let out a full blown laugh, a thing he'd picked up from her.

"It's not funny!" she scolded him, an adorable pout very present on her face as she made her way towards him and smacked him playfully on the back of his head.

"Hey! What was that for?" he instantly stopped laughing and rubbed at the spot there, damn did that woman have a right! because that spot was ablaze by that smack.

"For making fun of my necessities!"

"I have necessities too Regina, we all do! I was really looking forward to an evening with Nancy, perhaps a nice fuck along the way but fate didn't wanted that right now, so you'll just have to deal with it the same way I have to, some nice porn and a quick jack-off in the name of love," Robin teased her, a smirk adorning his handsome face and for a minute there Robin was grateful for having Regina around. Ordinary women would've slapped him at half the things he said, would've said something along the lines of "I'm a lady, jackass" a line so pathetic that it contrasted itself. But Regina was anything but ordinary, instead she laughed with him and nodded before she stopped dead in her tracks and gave him a more serious look.

"But maybe we don't have to," she muttered quietly and Lord heavens above the kettle chose that exact moment to whistle, perfect timing as shit because at that moment realization dawned on Robin.

"We're single, comfortable with each other and we both have needs Robin, needs that need tending," and she continued with her whole biological explanation of it like she always did. Explained how there are certain times in our biological clock were being —hot and bothered she'd used instead of horny— was inevitable, that mating or the need of any physical and sexual contact with another being claws at our insides like a beast that's begging to be released, that suppressing it could in fact trigger something far bigger in the near future. And Robin found himself agreeing with her, nodding along to whatever she was saying because shit, he would be lying if he said he hasn't pulled a quick one or two to thoughts of her in the 2 years she'd been his best friend.

Truth was that Regina was a very irresistible woman, enticing curves that just coaxed you to sin and he was dying to do it, dying to finally get a taste of this beauty he had the pleasure of calling his best friend.

And so she smiled at him excitedly, and the fucking kettle stopped whistling the moment they agreed to do this.

She'd bared herself completely to him, and he shouldn't be watching her any different. He had seen those succulent curves covered by barely there underwear when she'd gotten a crisis on the clothing department, but this time it went far deeper than that, far intimate for it is the first time he sees her. And her it's abso-fucking-lutely fantastic, so he offered her a wink to which she replied with a roll of her eyes and pushed down his jeans along his underwear down his toned legs.

He was already rock hard, his cock twitching with the mere sight of her and he just really wished he'd last tonight because Regina was a goddess and she deserved to be treated as such. That beast inside him that's begging to be released tells him so, screams at him to worship her and he tells her, uses all sorts of fancy words she used a few minutes earlier when explaining just how important it was to tend to those needs. The man had needs right in that moment, he needed to taste the tang that was uniquely hers, and Lord knows it has been a while since Regina last experienced such phenomenon. He was her best friend, they trusted each other, and this was just sex, just pure carnal sex so she agreed wholeheartedly, insides trembling in anticipation of just how warm his mouth was. Robin on the other hand had to suppress his excitement, almost let out an "Awesome" at the thought of finally licking and nibbling the treasures that this—

She opened her legs to him once she laid on his bed, exposing herself completely. The rosy skin inviting him to a feast under his gaze and he had to swallow down the excess of saliva that accumulated in his mouth. Maybe he's gone mad with desire but he could swear that the flesh there was calling to him, pulling him to her almost with an unknown force bigger than them, bigger than his will. Then he took that first tentative lick and goosebumps flared his skin because shit, not only was she perfect but she tasted that way as well —a perfect combination of sweet and salty with that dash of feminine aroma that came with the package, causing him to let out a feral growl against her before meeting that part of her completely, mewls and gasp leaving her succulent mouth.

She felt alive, more alive than she's been in months, perhaps even decades and he was licking her just so, pulling from her all sort of sounds that would've been embarrassing under another moon. He nibbled on that bundle of nerves and she stopped thinking for a minute, reached down for his hair to hold him there and the bastard didn't disappoint. He nibbled and pressed his tongue against her firmer each time and shit, his mouth was warm, oh so fucking warm, his tongue hard creating such an alleviating friction against her clit and damn it, why didn't they do this before? She would've saved 1 year of dating and impromptu courses on female anatomy if she'd known he'd had such an expert tongue. And then he pushed a finger past her folds and stopped nibbling her, groaned and muttered a few millimeters away from her just how wet and warm she was, that he loved the way she tasted and then the imbecile blew some air over her and good lord, this was hell and heaven merged together.

"Asshole," she whispered breathlessly, eyes tightly closed and teeth biting that lower lip.

He chuckled loudly then, small wisps of air reaching her center with each small laugh and she growled, grabbed a handful of hair once again and pushed herself against his mouth, stopping him mid laugh. She rolled her hips against his now open mouth, moved up and down against that expert tongue and just moaned, worked herself up and shushed him.

That'll teach him.

But he reached behind his head with the hand that was left unused and detached her fingers from his head, all the while biting and nibbling at her. He pushed a second and third finger then, curved them upwards inside of her and her back arched upwards. Her insides clenched around his fingers and shit, her whole body shook with pleasure, mouth releasing loud moans as her body quaked, quivered, mewls spilling out of that mouth and it soon became too much for him.

He quickly pulled those three fingers from her body, Regina making a sound of disapproval at the loss of him and he just reached for himself, applied some pressure at the base of his shaft to prevent him from following her over the precipice. He groaned against her and closed his eyes in concentration, trying to mute those sounds coming from her. When Regina stood still beneath him and with his crisis now averted, he gave one last long lick along the length of her and detached himself from her center completely, his mouth already missing her. He rested his head against her abdomen, caressed her thigh up and down in order to bring her back from that high.

"I almost fucking came from giving you head," he confessed chuckling after a second and soon he felt the slight tremble of her belly under his cheek preparing him for the blooming laughter that came soon afterwards.

"Come here," she pulled him to her, caressed the soft hair at the base of his skull and just opened her legs wider. He winked at her, grabbed a condom from his nightstand and rolled it in place. Regina sighed when his head rubbed against her clit fast and she closed her eyes when he reached between them positioning himself at her entrance. When he finally pushed inside and stretched her in ways she hadn't been stretched before, she whimpered and concluded at the same time as him that they've opened a door to a dimension of possibilities that neither of them were ready to face or accept.

He felt perfect inside of her, his cock twitching with the strain it took to not lose himself right that second, but she wanted more, she needed more. So she clenched her muscles around him to which he uttered a guttural moan, his arms trembling with the will it took to keep his weight off of her. But the temptation became far too great. She felt exquisite around him and so he pounded into her, hard deep thrusts that had her eyes rolling into the back of her head, fingers curling and scratching at his chest as her toes curled by the tremors that were soon invading her body.

God she was perfect and so was he, and when Regina clenched exquisitely around him, insides caressing his cock like a thousand warm little fingers, he couldn't hold back anymore and gave in to his desires.

"We should do this more often," Regina suggested giving him an almost sheepish look as she rolled the condom off of him and gave him a firm stroke on his already softening cock. His body surged forward and muscles trembled as little flutters of pleasure traveled from her firm hold on him to every nook and corner of his body.

He leaned towards her, dropped a small kiss to her lips whispering "Yes we should."

And they did.


—Present—

Taiga, his precious gem of a pub, opened at 8pm Friday night until 5:30am Saturday morning and he spent the whole night helping out Ruby at the bar and impressing —well, more like trying to impress the ladies with his bartender skills. He twirled a bottle of vodka here, served the best ale in town (distributed and produced by the ladies man Killian Jones) with one hand as the other took a swing of a drink and the ladies became enthralled by him. So naturally they paid several drinks for him, wanted him to drink along with them and when 5am came Robin was undoubtedly tipsy and extremely tired. He could've easily play pretend with the ladies, but tonight he couldn't, tonight he needed to feel the scorching sensation of vodka, whiskey, whatever these ladies wanted, sliding down his throat to try to alleviate the anxiousness that was settling on his stomach.

He was exhausted, his body craving sleep more than ever but somehow he couldn't manage to close his eyes, instead he was stuck staring at this picture, this photo of them.

She promised to call sometimes this week to go over a few details before his arrival. But by the time the weekend came rolling around and still he'd received no news from Regina, Robin had given up hope on a small talk before he arrived in New York and instead he was filled with the anxiousness that arriving there provided.

One day left

One day until he could hug the life out of his friend. One day until his senses were swarmed with the aroma that was her. His stomach fluttered in anticipation and nerves as he walked around his living room, feeling a tad woozy and definitely melancholic. Which is why at 6:17am he let himself fall onto his couch with a loud plop as he absorbed this picture in his hands.

He didn't know just why they decided to do that, to take a trip to Germany with a couple of friends after finally graduating, but they did and the picture he held was proof of just how much fun they had.

There were about twenty people in it, three of them he immediately recognized as Ruby, Killian and his mate John, may he rest in peace, faces adorned with big smiles. But the cherry on top was Regina though, her left hand holding a half emptied yard of ale, an empty pink one already hanging from her neck like a necklace. She was sitting atop him on a bar stool, right hand resting on top of his shoulders as she leaned towards the front, facing the camera with her eyes tightly closed and mouth opened in a big laugh. His face was turned towards her with a grin and all around them there were several germans with yards in different vibrant colors, but they were holding it up in the air, their mouths wide open as they chanted something in the foreign language.

Robin could still remember that night very clearly. They drank like two teenagers at prom night, sang in the foreign language and danced with everybody in the pub. By the time they had to make it back to the hotel room, Robin, who was just a tad tipsy, had to carry a giggling Regina all across the lobby, up the elevator and finally into their room. That night there had been no sex, just two friends cuddling as they laughed at everything around them. But Robin was sure about something, that was the first time his stomach fluttered with simple thoughts of his bestfriend.

Almost on cue his phone vibrated against his pocked and when he caught sight of the I.D said flutters began.

"Robin! I'm sorry for not calling you earlier like I said I would, but I was just so so stressed out with things, this week has been a living hell!" she uttered as a greeting and Robin had to hold back a chuckle.

"Isn't it like 2am there Regina?"

"It is, but I'm just not sleepy," there was more to it, Robin knew, but he didn't wanted to push her. Instead he wanted her to relax and just try to get some sleep so he changed the subject.

"I can't wait to see you," he said, a shy smile playing upon his lips and when Regina chuckled on the other side he knew he had succeeded.

"Me neither. I can't wait until you see all of this personally. It's gorgeous Robin, if only over the top but gorgeous nonetheless!"

Okay well maybe he didn't succeeded completely. He wanted her to forget about Daniel, their wedding and the drama for a minute, but she was back at it again and honestly who could blame her? No one, because Regina had dreamed of this moment for years, had wanted to get married ever since she graduated and now that her dream was slowly but surely becoming a reality, nothing overpowered the excitement and the fidgeting that came along with finally getting married.

But still there was something off about her tonight. An overly excited and happy Regina was always the consequences of something far more complex, something that triggered her to put up 5 walls of fake happiness in order to keep those negative thoughts to herself. But Robin knew this, knew every little trick to bring those walls down like an unbalanced Jenga, had managed to do it on several occasions and today, even if a thousand miles away, was no different.

"Are you okay?"

"Robin I told you already, it's just stress," she replied, a bit more serious now on the verge of irritation and Robin smiled.

"It's just stress my arse Regina. Need I remind you that I know you like the palm of my hand and even more than that? So tell me you insufferable stubborn woman and horrible liar, what's bothering you?"

"It's just, Daniel and my mother" she whispered after a second and Robin swallowed hard, closed his eyes and waited for her to continue. "They want this to be so perfect and I want that too but I just, it just seems so forced Robin, it feels like a game of pretend and I don't want that."

"So you don't want to get married?" Robin awaited with baited breath, silencing the voice that whispered "Idiot!" inside his brain and just waited for her response. She sighed for a moment and Robin could feel his lips stretching to a small smile because oh God, Regina was already considering calling off the wedding and—

"I do want to get married Robin," she whispered after a second. "I just thought that it would be different, you know? I thought that my fiancé would be by my side with the preparations, but all I have is my OCD mother, a team of wedding planners, my favorite bridesmaid and my stupid maid of honor who's a thousand miles away and who can only comment on things via phone," she huffed.

Robin swallowed down the lump once again and you idiot, that's what you get from getting your hopes up, but frankly he was used to it and forced himself to chuckle.

"Hey! Your stupid maid of honor is going to be by your side soon so I wouldn't worry too much about that."

"I know it's just," he could hear her swallow from the other line, "I really really need you during all of this Robin," he could hear her sniffles and Robin had to hold back tears of his own. Maybe it was his overly compassionate self, but Robin had a problem and it was that whenever Regina cried he cried too.

"Hey, hey, sweetheart, I'll be there in about 22 hours and then you'll be the happiest bride to be, I'll make sure of that. And if your mother is becoming a pain in the ass or if your fiancé is demanding too much then we'll let them know just how strong my right hook is."

A full bubbly laugh left Regina's lips and soon Robin was laughing alongside with her.

"You won't believe what I have in my hands right now," he whispered after a second and the laughter died around them. Instead a loving smile played upon both of their faces and he swallowed down that insufferable lump in his throat and was about to continue when,

"Germany," she replied and his breath caught in his throat, eyes almost falling out of its sockets as he tried to make sense of what was going on.

"How'd you know?" he asked, bewilderment in every word and Regina just laughed at him and sighed.

"Robin, because I have the same picture in my hands right now."

And he laughed in reply, tried to hold back the tears that persisted to fall down because damn it, damn this whole situation. They were —are, perfect for each other, soul mates if you may. And he was stupid for not going after her when he had the chance, she was stupid for leaving. And God, now there was no going back to simpler times, now he had to suck it up and continue with life much in the same way she was.

He hated airplanes, has detested them all of his life. There was something about the takeoff and the landing that always managed to make him cringe, tighten his hold on the armrest and pray to Jesus that he didn't die that day.

Today was no different and the fact that he'd have to stay within the "comfiness" of the plane for nearly 8 hours almost made him turn back and head home. Almost. But he needed to do this, for Regina and for himself. This —whatever the hell this was, needed some closure if he wanted to move on with life. And so with a new sense of determination he got onto that plane, slept the whole ride away and woke up just in time to appreciate the scenery beneath him, so different from London yet still the same.

His fuzzy brain registered the pilot's farewell, the wink that dark haired flight attendant —Marian, was her name— sent his way until he was already on his way out of the plane. He trotted down that flight of stairs, his legs trembling in anticipation and he wondered just how they haven't buckled already. He kept on walking down following those familiar faces from his plane just so he wouldn't get lost until they arrived at baggage claim. The machine beeped after nearly a decade to his impatient self and one by one the suitcases rolled around the belt.

Robin kept watching as each suitcase was picked up then returned only to be picked up again by another person. Apparently his suitcase was the last one on the plane because damn it, 15 minutes have gone by and still no sign of it. Didn't they know that his best friend was waiting for him? Didn't they know that they'll finally see each other after several years? And with the tick of the clock on the wall beside him, he grew more restless, more anxious at the thought of being a mere few yards away from Regina. And when his suitcase came into view he lifted it with the force he didn't knew he possessed and walked hurriedly along the rows of belts and suitcases until finally going outside.

There she was as beautiful as ever, as cute as ever, staring intently at the monitor with all the flights' information. She was nibbling at her lower lip and twirling her fingers, a habit Robin discovered when practicing all those years ago for their oral presentation of their Sociology investigation. The first thing he noticed was her much shorter hair, half an inch below her shoulders and already Robin was dreaming of feeling those hair ends against his neck. Immediately he shook his head, shouldn't allow theses thoughts to posses his brain but damn, she was so gorgeous and he missed her so much. Baggy long sleeved shirt to protect her from the late spring breeze, tight leggings that accentuated every curve of her body and a pair of worn out Uggs, so casual yet so beautiful. With a shake of his head and a small smile playing upon his lips he walked closer to her and when he was 10 feet away from her he said,

"I hear there's a flight from New York to Germany in the works," cliché but who could blame him, it was the only thing that his brain could come up with at that precise moment.

She turned immediately at his voice and when she saw who it was her eyes watered, smile grew and she sprinted towards him. She jumped into his awaiting arms, the unexpected force sending his suitcase and himself backwards as he tried to keep them from falling over.

And when he breathed her in, his senses exploded with everything that was Regina and he knew, damn it he knew that it would be futile to consider this as some sort of closure because at that moment he could feel his heart beating just a little louder now that it found it's missing piece.