A/N: Bitches get shit done! And I'm the biggest bitch in town right after Miles who wrote this AMAZING CHAPTER. I love her. Like seriously. Also, Miles owes me a date...

Eva

Credits to: Miles

Sorry for the wait, guys.


~Chapter 12~

~Breaking Rules ~

There's something absolutely relaxing about flying, the world beneath you, rummaging just upper than the clouds, no one expects anything from you, for a few hours it gives you the luxury of disappearing from the radar, just a bit. Which is exactly what she needs. Little John, a name came up to differentiate him from Robin's father, is hooked to his phone, one earbud in her ear the other in his as they listen to some classics. Little John drops a comment here and there, about the tune, the high notes the singer throws occasionally. Regina does the same, makes comments here and there, but she's not really there. Her mind is a thousand miles away.

She knows her friends are doing everything in their power to make this week memorable, after all, they've just graduated from college and are more than ready to celebrate the beginning of their new lives and graduate school acceptances. She almost didn't come, almost spent the week alone in Robin's apartment and alone in the city. But Robin had convinced her.

She's grateful for them, for not mentioning anything, for smiling and teaching her about music and what not. Now John is snoring lightly beside her, and it draws a small smile from her. She loves them all, each in their own way. Their undoubted support, kindness, love, how welcoming they are. So she's thankful, really, that they convinced her to do this trip with them, but still, she can't help but feel a small tug of sadness on the inside. She hides it well, beneath smiles, forced laughs, and an all together uncaring attitude.

Nobody notices it, the way she feels, how she forces herself to act, except him.

Of course.

And he's there, in the seat in front of her. He's resting his head against the window, either looking at the darkness around them, the cotton-like look of the clouds, the star filled sky, or taking a nap against it, much like everybody in this plane is. But there's a moment then, when Little John's snores a bit too loud, that Robin's arm moves over the top seat towards the back of it, towards her, and she smiles a little bit, reaches forward to grab his hand, letting him know that she's here, and she's thankful. He closes his hand around hers and softly caresses the skin there with his thumb.

It's a simple movement, oh so simple, but it has her eyes filling with tears and her heart with an utter sense of gratefulness for this much too kind man she gets to call her best friend.

.::.

Regina lets herself fall against the bed with a thud, instantly relaxing at the softness that receives her back. The room isn't all that big, a queen sized bed, a tv attached to the wall in front of the bed, two love seats to the far end of the room and large bay windows. She takes in a deep breath, and sits up on the bed, looks around the small room only to sigh and let herself fall against the pillows.

It's incredibly lonely there, the group had all gone down to the hotel bar just to unwind a little, but she'd wanted to stay behind, had wanted to get some shuteye… but now that she's here, actually alone in her room, she only feels guilty for not joining in on tonight's activities.

Because her friends are doing everything in their power to get her to get loose for a minute, to forget about her breakup, the words her ex had screamed over at her. Everything. And the rage builds up again, the rage and hurt that appears whenever she ever thinks of his name.

"Regina?"

She rolls her eyes at the knock that soon follows the call of her name, and that damn accent, she lets out a soft chuckle. Regina stands up from the comfortable bed and walks towards the door on a sigh. Of course he's worrying, he's a worrier, and even though she has tried these past two weeks to convince him that she's fine, well, apparently nothing can.

She opens the door, and Robin just stands there, a sheepish look on his face, wearing his sweatpants and hoodie.

"Hmmm, I'm quite disappointed is not room service," she chuckles as she opens the door wider and lets him pass through it, closes it and turns to face him. "I thought you were going with the group."

"I was, but then I started to feel a little bit tired so I showered and now here I am." He shrugs.

"You're pathetic at making excuses," she laughs.

Robin sighs and follows her towards the bed, hand behind his head as he scratches there. Regina just sits on the bed, and waits for him to talk.

"I just, I worry about you. I know that you're technically fine, but still. I worry," he sighs before he falls beside her on the bed with a huff.

She doesn't answer him, and still she cannot cover the small smile that plays upon her face.

A worrier in fact.

She shrugs and bumps his shoulder with hers. "You're a worrier."

He grins at that and nods. "You know you can talk to me about anything, right?"

"I know, I know."

"And you know that I can also read you like a book."

Regina chuckles and then nods.

"Which is why I know you're lying to me. So, please Regina, tell me, what's going on? What happened?"

She takes in a deep breath and swallows, prepares herself to have Robin pissed off besides her.

"Sam felt threatened by our friendship."

"What?"

"Yes. He gave me an ultimatum. Him or you."

"What the actual fuck Regina? Why didn't you tell me? I could've given you guys more space-"

And no, no, he's missing the point. This isn't even about him, it's not about their friendship, she knows this, it's just Sam, being Sam, a master at manipulation, a master at playing tricks with your mind, confusing you completely.

"Robin, you're missing the point! He met me and started dating me knowing that you and I were pretty close! He knew it from the beginning. He couldn't just expect me to change, to stop talking to you, just because of an ego or macho complex. No, that's not how it works! Relationships are based on trust, and he didn't trust me around you so I just," she shrugs and sighs, tears gathering in her eyes because she truly was starting to feel something for him.

Robin just sighs sadly, turns to face her before he's pulling her into a hug. "Oh Regina, I'm so sorry."

She doesn't say anything, just nods against his chest and Robin just keeps rubbing her back.

"You're very important in my life, Robin, and I cannot be with anyone who doesn't understand that."

Robin shakes his head, drops a kiss to the top of her head. He pulls up the soft covers over them until it reaches Regina's neck. She moves closer to him, tangles her legs with his as she nozzles his chest and Robin just continues rubbing her back comfortingly under the covers.

A few minutes go by before Regina's mumbling something against his chest, changing the topic completely.

"I don't want to talk about him. I don't want to even think about it, so can we just, idk, can we just be normal?"

"Whatever you want, Regina."

"Thank you. Are we still on for Heidelberg tomorrow?"

"I'm pretty sure half our group will be awfully hungover tomorrow, but I'm still in."

"Me too."

.::.

Regina has always had an intellectual interest with medieval history. As a little girl, she'd loved spending her late afternoons and night just gawking and looking at pictures and paintings of different castles from all around the world. Eleanor had taught her, one by one, the places where -at least thirty of them- they were located in and seven year old Regina had always wondered if her second mother had been there because she just knew so much about them! And even after Eleanor died, she'd fall asleep with a book of them in her arms. So, for years Regina has awed and gaped at the pages of an old book.

But nothing, absolutely nothing compares to this.

She knows its whole history, knows of the flames that once engulfed it, knows of the destructions it has suffered, knows of the many visitors, artists and philosophers who walked through these halls, absolutely entranced by its beauty as she is right this moment.

And it's beautiful, all of it.

The preserved but decaying stone walls that add an aura of romantic beauty to it, the damp but gently sweet aroma that permeates the air, the soft moss that have taken up residence in a crack on the wall. Regina marvels at the beauty of it, Eleanor's words going around in her head and she smiles at it, well, smiles bigger because ever since they'd gotten on a bus from Frankfurt to Heidelberg she hasn't stopped smiling. But then again, it's been one of her biggest dreams since she was little. That she'd visit one of the many castles Eleanor had taught her about and even bring her along with her, fulfilling both of their dreams. And even though Eleanor isn't with her right now, the sadness her death still brings in her somehow switches into a sense of peace, of calmness.

And to think she almost didn't come.

And to think she almost shared this with the wrong person.

Because, sure, Sam had been understanding (at times) and pretty close to her, but Robin is the closest thing to family she has, and she would've loved nothing more than to share this moment, this her, with family.

Regina forces herself to look away from decaying walls of stones, from moss, from a trip down renaissance, and looks his way. He isn't faring better, he knows the history (she made sure of that), knows of the people who've walked through these halls, who have gazed at these stonewalls, who have marvelled at the scenery, acting as a muse of sorts, so he just stays there, next to her, gawking at the simple yet rich beauty these walls posses.

He doesn't know why he does it, perhaps he's just caught up in the moment along with her, but he's wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into a tight hug. She goes willingly, wraps her own arms around him and lets out a soft laugh the moment he starts moving them from side to side.

"I don't ever want to leave this place," Robin whispers against her hair.

Regina nods under his chin, mutters a 'me neither' and takes a deep breath.

The air's musky around them, damp and earth-like as the light summer breeze travels through the castle's near empty gardens -there's an older couple to their far right reading the history of the gardens, and an older person with a notepad scribbling away. They bask in the intimacy, in this newfound and similar appreciation of the arts and history, of exchanging thoughts about that sculpture in the fountain, and discussing the history of the castle, of talking about the beauty of the ruins and marveling at the arcs and details reconstructing brought back the essence of the Renaissance era. Sure, before they've debated on a few things, have both exchanged their knowledge on different subjects, but they had been brief; a short hushed convo in the library, sharing a few ideas over coffee, or that one time a few months ago when they'd proofread each other's dissertations and made a few notes over dinner at his apartment. She'd stayed there that night in the guest room, and she'd be lying if she said she didn't like waking up to a table full of breakfast and a strong cup of coffee. Then a few days later she'd stayed again, and again, until he'd offered her to move in. To cohabitate in a way that makes it more affordable for them both. A predicament that pushed away her now ex-boyfriend, in fears of losing her to the same man that now holds her steady in his arms.

Sam Hyde

The man who almost had her heart completely. It hadn't been love, not yet though, but there had been something there, she'd actually imagined a future with him, perhaps not the white picket fence bullshit, but she'd seen something, and now there's nothing.

She's never been self conscious about herself, she's put herself out there, has had quite a few partners, many relationships, many sexual partners, and yet they all end up like this.

In nothing.

And it dawns on her now, that perhaps it's not her partners, no, instead maybe it's her, is her inability to be in a relationship, in her inability to be loved, to be wanted, to be her.

She'd heard it several times, her mom had used it on Zelena when she started dating that Walsh dude right before they'd died. She'd told Zelena several times that he was bad business, that he didn't truly love her. She'd heard it from Keith, words that to this day still ring over her head. And it's obvious now, Sam's feelings towards her, Sam's praises of her body, Sam's inability to trust her, trust her best friend.

She tenses in his arms and he starts caressing her lower back with his thumb, up and down and up and down. Just like that, her thoughts disappear from her head and she focuses once again on the now, on his fingers, on the dampness in the air, on his pine scent, on his breathing, anything but her thoughts.

"You wanna talk about it?" Robin asks in a soft voice several minutes after just basking on the feeling of having each other around their arms.

Regina just shakes her head and after taking a deep breath she breaks their embrace.

"No," she offers Robin a small smile, "I'm fine."

"No," Robin arches his brow and grasps her hand, intertwining their fingers, "you're not."

And Regina just chuckles and shakes her head again before she brings her hand to his cheek, touching there.

From afar the sound of the water can be heard all over the gardens, the elderly couple passes them with a small smile and walk towards the tunnels that lead to the main entrance, the lone man is long gone, it's just them and the dripping water behind them.

"I'll tell you later."

He's counting on it.

.::.

They take pictures in every corner, overlooking the river, in front of the castle, just everywhere they can take.

At one point Little John texts them asking them if they were coming back soon, but Robin merely shakes his head at it and fires back a quick text before looking at Regina, who's deeply focused on the water below the bridge.

"What do you say we spend the night here?"

Regina laughs in reply, a soft thing, shakes her head at Robin's joke and just stares straight ahead at the expanse of the Neckar river. But Robin remains quiet on her side, so Regina turns her head to look at him, expecting him to have a lopsided grin or full blown out smile. Instead she finds him frowning, deep in thought and it's exactly at that moment that Regina realizes he hadn't been joking a few seconds ago. He truly wants to stay here, in an unknown city, their friends away in Frankfurt, quite possibly hungover.

"What?" Regina asks.

"We could find a hotel, explore this city a little bit more and," he sighs, rests his weight against the stone railing and shakes his head. "Just imagine how this would look at night, Regina!"

"Robin—"

"Okay Regina, if we go back to Frankfurt now we'll just go to the hotel while the group bugs us to go out, and they'll continue so until we finally concede and decide to go. Then we'll get drunk and then tomorrow we'll be hungover until we can do it again all over and so on until we go back home. I don't want to leave this place, Regina. Not yet. We can book a room for tonight, enjoy what this city has to offer at night and then head back to Frankfurt first thing in the morning."

She scoffs at the idea and shakes her head. "Have I told you how crazy you are?" Regina asks, amused.

"Yes, many times."

Regina sighs as she breaks their gaze and just stares at the murky body of water. Sure, she could use a break from Little John's constant inquiries about her well being, from Ruby's neverending insistence. So, sure, she could use a restful night with Robin, just them alone to talk for a bit, God knows she needs it. These past few weeks what with finals, graduation, breakup, interviews and Gold's incessant pressure, have been nothing short of stressful. She could use more hours with Robin like this. She needs more hours with Robin like this.

So when Regina looks back at Robin and she sees that expectant look on his face, she rolls her eyes and offers him a small nod.

"See? I'm the right amount of crazy for you," he lets out with a small smirk, to which Regina laughs, suddenly feeling more at ease with the knowledge that she'll get to spend the night with her best friend in a city where no one's expecting anything from them. And if Robin notices the way she blushes and bites her lower lip (caused by the fleeting thought of what the night could quite possibly bring), he doesn't say anything, instead bumps her shoulder with his as they stare at the river its slow course.

.::.

Robin knows a little bit of German, not the whole language, not fancy words, but he can defend himself in the language. So they go to every corner, walking, asking for directions, checking several hotels until they're able to find a vacant room for them. It's nearly seven pm by the time they walk through the door to freshen up, planning to go out for a quick dinner in the restaurant a few doors down their hotel and a walk down the Old Bridge at night. He goes into the bathroom first, Regina wanting to lay back and rest her aching feet while he showers and slips into the same clothes —they've left everything in Frankfurt. She stays focused on her phone as the water begins running on the bathroom. She scrolls through her Facebook, smiling at the pic Robin had uploaded of them both, him closer to the camera than her and his fingers placed in an angle that makes it seem as if he's holding her by her head, behind them is the beautiful river and the many buildings towards the right of the frame. She presses like on it, smiles and presses like on Rose's comment 'Funny! Have fun', types a quick reply, then looks at the recent comment, chuckling immediately at Little John's 'Arses'. She keeps scrolling down her feed and then her phone pings, a chirpy thing, and her heart goes cold the moment she sees a new message from Samuel.

How do you want me to not worry about there being something between you two when you're somewhere in Germany alone with him? Are you guys having a good time? Tell me, is he at least good in bed? Does he make your cunt feel good? I should've known you were hooking up with him. I know a whore when I see one, but I can't believe I missed all the signs with you.

And she just feels herself getting angrier by the second with this bastard. Sure, there's a pang of hurt in her heart, but she's fucking pissed off at the same time. She can't believe she fell into that trap, she can't believe she actually fell for this bastard who thinks she's the slut of the town. Suddenly she's grateful, she's grateful she's here, she's grateful for Robin and their friends even though Samuel kept telling her constantly that they were Robin's friends, not hers entirely. Regina considers replying for a moment, but then shakes her head. They've broken up already, there's no need for drama, there's no need for pettiness, there's no need for anything. So she deletes their conversation completely, feeling a sense of satisfaction at the disappearance of so many things they've shared, and deletes him from her page. But still, she hates the effect he has on her, hates the effects some words cause on her. So she presses the red button on her phone, instantly exiting the Facebook application and decides to just turn off the device completely. Regina stares at the phone for a moment, immediately hating herself the moment her hands start shaking either with the seething anger or the overall uneasiness she feels. She's a strong independent woman, but sometimes, just for a little moment, she feels her self-doubt creeping back in, settling deep in her stomach, the demons of her past coming back, yelling words at her, and her eyes well up.

But when she goes to put the phone inside her purse the shower starts running and she hears Robin humming something, she feels her anger returning, followed by the utter need to feel good again, to feel something, with somebody who appreciates her, trusts her, someone she's really comfortable with. So when the shower goes off, she drops her phone carelessly on her purse and quickly begins discarding her scarf.

.::.

The shower had been much needed, he'd felt tense and wound up the whole day, and now he feels so much better. He turns off the scalding hot water, and steps out of the shower, immediately drying his body before he slips into the boxer briefs he'd bought for the night and the jeans. Wanting to rush out of the bathroom to allow Regina to shower too in order to have dinner on time, Robin slips out of the bathroom, immediately choking at the image in front of him.

Regina's laying on the bed, head resting against the plush pillow, wearing nothing bar a lopsided grin on her face. Her whole body's in display, ready for him to devour her with his eyes and his touch.

God, she looks gorgeous just like that, with a glint of mischief in her eyes and something different he just cannot place.

They haven't been together in what feels like decades. It had been one of their rules, to stop doing this as soon as one of them begins meeting somebody, dating, or even just being friends with somebody that they truly liked. And that had happened with Samuel, he'd been Regina's friend, she'd mentioned that she liked him, and they'd started dating a few months ago, which means they've not done this in forever.

They shouldn't do this, especially when Samuel and her broke up just two weeks ago.

But there's desperation in her eyes, laced with want, hunger, neediness.

And who is he to ignore her needs?

Regina sits up now on the bed and turns to seat on the edge of the bed, in front of him, and brings her legs down, her feet now touching the carpeted floor.

.::.

Damn it does he look good.

Damp hair, unbuttoned jeans and the black waistband of his boxer briefs peeking over the jeans. And that grin, that knowing grin he throws her way whenever they're about to do this. But it's different now, there's something more to it, a sense of understanding, of appreciation, of something else entirely.

"Are you sure?" He asks from the doorway of the bathroom at the same time he brings the towel from his shoulder and throws it over towards a small seating area to his right, and the grin is changed to a frown, truly wanting to know if she's ready for this again.

Regina grins and opens her legs, shuffles closer to the edge of the bed and searches his eyes for any type of doubt.

There's none, instead they darken and he swallows hard.

.::.

Robin had known they'd be back to this one day, but he didn't expect it to be so soon. So when Regina spreads her legs open for him, he finds himself stuck in the same place, gawking at her, swallowing the sudden dryness of his throat away,

It takes him a moment or two, but when Regina clears her throat, Robin looks up at her face again, and grins instantly at her.

Nothing compares to this, the ease that they seem to have between them.

Quickly, he discards himself of his pants and boxer briefs without breaking her gaze, and when he stands up straight again, his hand goes to his cock and Regina breaks their gaze to look at his hands movements, grinning harder when she does. He walks towards her, and kneels in front of her, her hands gripping his shoulders. And with a smile, he breaks their gaze and looks down towards her center, tongue coming out to wet parched lips.

She's about to say something, but what comes out is a strangled groan for Robin uses that moment to push her back towards the bed, pushing her legs to her belly by the back of her thighs, her center now directly lined up to his face. Without giving her a moment to come back from the shock, Robin licks the length of her, unashamed of the growl that leaves his mouth the moment his brain registers that unique taste of her.

"Gods, I've missed your taste," he groans against her center, not giving her room to reply for he's sucking eagerly on her clit.

It's desperate, he knows, he's desperate, has always been whilst doing this to her, because he just wants more, more of her taste, more of her heat, more of her wetness, and when he flickers his tongue against that bundle of nerves, Regina trembling under him, a fresh new slickness grazes his mouth and he sucks on it greedily. Moans leave his mouth the moment her nails scratch the back of his head. He sucks hard on her clit in reply, grinning when her hips slightly raise off the bed before she relaxes again, getting closer and closer to the edge. He continues so, sucking and flickering his tongue against that bundle of nerves, spreading her with his thumbs just so he can trace her entrance again, more directly this time.

"Mmmm, Robin, fuck me," she begs when his tongue pushes into her heat, instantly missing his hardness inside of her when she clamps down over nothing.

He pulls his mouth away from her, and looks up at her. Eyes glassy with pleasure, curled hair in her hairline with the sweat that's gathered there. She's begging at him, to fuck her, to make her forget, telling him she misses his cock.

And who is he to refuse her?

So with a last long lick and a soft suck on her clit, he pulls away and stands up, quickly locating his wallet in the back pocket of his jeans. He pulls out a condom, cussing when Regina moans behind him, and fuck, she must be touching herself! He turns around, to look at her, and fair enough, she's pushed herself up the length of the bed, her head resting on a pillow and one hand adding some slight pressure to her clit as she looks at him, all flushed and impatient.

He lets out a curse before he turns to look down at his hands. Nothing works in his body right now except his cock, he's warm all over, and desperate to have her too, his cock is extremely hard, twitching as he tries and tries to pry the foil open, until finally, he rips the tinfoil paper, and rolls the condom over his cock.

In what seems like milliseconds, he joins her on the bed, spreads her legs open with his own hips as he sits on his calves, kneeling in front of her. Regina just stares at him, glistening skin, waiting, and Robin just smirks, before he runs his hands over her breasts, pinching both nipples at the same time. She mewls in reply, moves under him at the action, only to release a relieved sigh as his tip brushes lightly against her entrance. Robin chuckles at her eagerness, brings his hands down her ribs, her waist, down, down, down, brushes against her inner thighs before he grabs a hold of his cock, pats her clit with it, the sound something strangely erotic, and then slides it over her slickness, her arousal coating him. But it's when Regina angles her hips upwards on a particular movement that his head slides past her entrance, just an inch, but even that has him cursing under his breath and Regina letting out a low moan. But he doesn't move on top of her, he doesn't push the rest of the way in, so she lets out a frustrated huff and, with a strength he never thought she'd have, flips them over.

It's that movement the one that opens the door to this again, after months, to fucking his delicious best friend. He won't deny it, he's missed this so fucking much. And it's not that he's not had sex these past few months, he'd had it, several times if he recalls, but nothing had felt like this. Natalie had been too loud. Iris had been too still. Martha had been, well, a quick romp against the alley, but she'd been way too clingy for an agreed one night stand. So yes, the last time he'd gotten laid real good, had been over eight months ago, with the same woman he's about to fuck, no, no, he can never describe this as simply fucking, sure, it had been what they'd agreed to at first, but if it is simply fucking, how come they always come back to this even after dating other people? How come he can't find someone who makes him feel this, whatever this is while 'fucking'?

And how come she groans 'I've missed you' as his cock slides an inch deeper into her two weeks after breaking up with her boyfriend?

Regina brings her arms up to touch his chest, plays with the hair there before she wraps her arms around his neck and brings herself closer to him. His cock goes deeper into her, but she pushes past the wave of pleasure, stares at his eyes with such intensity that his breath catches in his throat. They just stare at one another, neither one moving, before Regina brings her right hand to his cheek, moves it closer to his lips and her gaze travels to his lips, staring at it before she looks up at him again.

"Can we ignore our rules tonight?" She whispers, her thumb caressing his lower lip as she tugs on her own with her teeth.

And with a mere nod, Robin agrees.

.::.

Regina should feel ashamed, should feel even the slightest ounce of regret at doing this barely two weeks after breaking up. But she needs this. She needs the familiarity that comes from being skin on skin with Robin again, after almost a year. She needs to feel that surge of power that travels within her at feeling him lose all sense of control when he's with her. She needs to hear him, needs to feel wanted, desired, appreciated by someone who won't patronize her, won't tell her fleeting comments that, more often than not, wound themselves around her head, occupying her thoughts and feelings and feeding that poisonous sense of self-doubt she thought she'd overcome many years ago.

She needs this.

Maybe it's the fact that they're alone in a city where nobody knows them, the soft summer breeze of Germany seeping through the windows, through their pores.

But the reason matters not for they're back at this, this raunchy yet absolutely perfect side of their friendship.

She's raising her hips and letting them fall against his slowly, letting him fill her with slow deep thrusts as his hands roam the expanse of her lower back, before he settles on her ass and brings her down onto him harder, firmer. She near shouts on top of him, her whole body trembling at the sharp pleasure before she moves her hands from the pillow to his shoulders, holding him against the hard mattress as she begins picking up the rhythm. Her thighs slap, slap, slapping against his hip with every fall of her body.

He can't help himself, roughly grabs at the skin of her hips before his calloused hands find the firm skin of her butt. Unable to stop himself, Robin slaps the skin there, groaning as Regina moans in both surprise and satisfaction and rolls her hips against his harder.

"Do it again," she moans out, her nails digging into his shoulders when he repeats the action, the sound of the contact enough to send her leaning over him, tits moving against his sweaty hot chest as they both move

"Can I kiss you?" She asks on a moan.

Robin lets out a groan under her. "You said so yourself," he pants, continues pushing his length into her from under her, "there are no rules tonight."

And Regina mewls, holds his face in her hands as she continues riding him and brings her lips down to meet his. Robin groans at the contact, Regina shivers on top of him, and when her tongue moves past his lips to taste his mouth, Robin tightens his hold on her as he flips them over in the small squeaky bed.

And when he pounds into her relentlessly, she bites on his lower lip to keep herself from screaming as waves after waves of pleasure travel all throughout her body.

.::.

Regina doesn't want to move.

Not when his fingers caress her back softly. Not when they keep sharing soft meaningless kisses seeking for a comfort only they can provide to one another. Outside, the soft streetlights illuminate the dark silent room, encompassing them in comfort and relaxation and the utter sense of satiation intertwined with peace.

He moves his fingers from low on her column up up until he reaches her neck, then down down down again. She shivers on a particular touch, when her body's cooled down, when her heart rate returns to normal, and Robin sits up.

"What are you doing?" Regina groans in annoyance at losing his warmth, at losing the comfort. Robin ignores her, but then after a second he lays back down again, covering their bodies with the thick comforter and gathers her again in his arms.

They never cuddle after sex, it's one of their many unspoken rules, no cuddling, no excessive kissing, no words.

But apparently tonight they'd said bye to some of their rules, and Robin can't deny that it actually feels good, being with her like this, chest to chest, the weight of her arm on his waist, her soft breaths caressing the skin of his neck, his fingers caressing the skin of the arch of her back. Yet he needs to make sure that he's not overstepping their unspoken boundaries. So he sighs, leans back to look at her face and asks, "Is this okay?"

It's funny really, how, it's been about two years since they'd agreed to be fuck buddies, and they still can't seem to figure out things, figure out just what is considered natural with their agreement, not wanting to cause any uncomfortability nor pressure to each other.

Regina chuckles against his chest, her breasts pressing against his chest with every pass of a breath. She nods. "You can stop stressing out, Robin, it's not like a few cuddles and kisses will complicate things."

He knows that, yet he feels a tightening inside of him, an anxiousness and nervousness that make themselves present whenever they kiss. "I just don't want to lose your friendship."

"You won't," Regina assures, her hand going to his cheek and caressing there.

They stay quiet for a minute, enjoy the silence of the room bar their slow breathing, enjoy the way their hearts thump slowly against their chests.

But he needs to know. He needs to know what happened today. He needs to know why her eyes had been that way on the castle, why she'd closed herself off for a second there, why she'd been full of rage yet vulnerable while fucking him. He needs to know.

"You owe me a conversation."

"I suppose I do," she replies with a small sad smile.

She doesn't say anything else beyond that, and Robin swallows, knows that she's the slightest bit uncomfortable. So he settles deeper into his pillow, and splays his hand against her lower back, caressing there as he considers how to change their conversation, how to ease her up, allow her to get comfortable again.

"So," he begins, takes a deep breath before continuing, "how come we've known each other for so long yet we actually don't know a thing about each other?"

And it's true, they do know each other, what they say, what they are, who they are, know the names of their parents and Regina has spent some days at Robin's family home, but other than that, nothing.

"Well aren't you a nosy one," she chuckles, but deep down she's grateful at his attempt at socializing, not allowing her to venture deep into her own thoughts.

"No, it's just, Regina," he leans back to look down at her, meet her gaze. "You're my best friend, and it just, it bothers me that I don't know anything about your past, that were it needed, I don't know how to bring you comfort in the present and I just, I want to know your past."

"The past is in the past, Robin, we can't let it dictate our future."

"No," Robin agrees, "but I believe that the past, good and bad, makes us who we are, and you're incredibly amazing, Regina, even if you don't see it yourself."

Her breath hitches as she just stares at him, and then she goes closer to him, brings her head under his chin.

It goes quiet for a few moments, Robin caressing her back as he considers his next sentence.

"I was born to a small family in Dublin, moved to England when I was 5 years old because my father wanted to open up an irish pub away from Ireland. My mother left her job as a nurse there to begin here, and for the first couple of years it was good. But you know, I guess being surrounded by alcohol and women, he just, I don't know, he started not coming home until days after. One night, and I remember it vividly, I was about ten years old, and mother had the night shift at the hospital that night and he was supposed to look after me. So we went looking for him and needless to say we found him with another woman, I saw the whole thing. My mother was destroyed, I remember her telling me that they both loved me very dearly, I remember seeing her cry her pain away in the night, and soon enough they got divorced, I was going back and forth between two homes. Dad never changed his ways, in all my life I've known over six stepmothers, and not a single stepdad."

"Robin," she whispers against his chest, holding him closer to her.

"Nah it's okay, I've accepted that and gotten over it. Oh! this baby girl right here," he points to a six inch faded scar that goes the length of his upper arm. "I got this one summer I spent in Ireland. A motorcycle accident, bone broke in two pieces."

Regina rolls her eyes at how he minimizes his story, and brings her hands to caress his scar there. He sighs in content, buries his head further against the pillow.

"So, who are you Regina?"

Regina halts her hands movements on his arm with a sigh and curls closer to him.

"You know most of my story."

"You knew mine before, but you never knew the details."

It takes her a minute or two, of consideration. She never truly enjoyed opening up to people, in fact, she's only opened up to Mallorie and that's only because she's stubborn and can get the truth out of her quicker than anybody else (granted, she's been the only one that's tried to). But Mal is in New York now, texting and calling her every once in awhile, and she needs her own confidant here, another voice rather than the ones inside her head, and who better than her Robin? After all, he's gotten to be inside her body, why not let him get inside of her brain? Why not open up a bit about her past, about her fears, about her? So with a reluctant sigh and laying now on her back, his hand fixing the covers better around themselves, Regina relents.

"Well, I was born to a small family of four in Upstate, New York. I had an older sister, Zelena, who I adored with all my heart. I always looked up to her, mimicked every single thing she did. She was completely different from me, had these intense red curls that would fall past her shoulders down to her middle back, and just these icy blue eyes that were so intense, absolutely amazing. Yet still, even though our looks couldn't be further different from one another, my mother and our nanny Eleanor," she arches a brow knowing that he knew this, just amusing him. "They always dressed us up as if we were twins. You've seen the pictures, you know this to be true."

Robin lets out a small laugh and nod at her rolling eyes.

"Our family was close, incredibly so, after all, we were all we had. My mother's parents had died before I was even born and my father's family were all in Cuba. So we grew up in a very loving healthy family, just the four of us and Eleanor who was like a second mother to us. But it all changed so quickly. I guess you could call it teenage rebellion? My sister met a guy who was incredibly loving, but given the circumstances in our family and how tightly close we all were, well let's say my parents weren't very open to the prospect of sixteen year old Zelena falling in love. They've always been extremely overprotective of us, as wrong as it sounds, that was the fine print that came from their love. So they opposed to Zelena dating, as much as they could, pushing her farther and farther away from our family, including me. One night she left our house, I remember catching her just as she was about to leave, and she told me to keep quiet, that she'd be back in the morning. And I believed her, so I didn't say a thing. Even hours later when my mom and dad were furiously looking for her, I kept my mouth shut. It wasn't until the day after that the police came to inform us they had found my sister and her boyfriend's bodies."

"Regina," he whispers as he moves closer to her and wraps his arms around her, pulling her closer to him and dropping a kiss on the top of her head.

"I was so pissed off at them and at myself. I was so filled with guilt and grief, I didn't know how to deal with it. My parents were too busy with their own grief, Eleanor with her own guilt, and I don't blame them, honestly, no parent should have to bury their child. But at the time I felt so awfully alone, I lost my best friend and I also lost my family in the process. So I just rebelled, much like her. Started doing things just because I could, or because it would make me feel even the slightest bit alive, a feeling that my sister would never get to feel again. And then I'd feel guilty for even feeling alive and it just, for two year, that drove me crazy. It was a vicious cycle, I was lost to crazy thoughts inside my head that not even my best friend could break through. Until one day, I gave up. A freak accident really, almost drowning in the same place my sister did. If Mal hadn't followed me, if Mal hadn't known me as well as she did, I wouldn't be here right now."

"Regina-"

"No, that was years ago. I was an idiot, yet that was absolutely necessary. That made me fall on track again, it made me appreciate what I had back then."

"So, why did you leave?"

"There comes a time when you just need to explore new places, new things, meet new people. And as a parent, there comes a time when you just need to let your kids go, grow up and become the best thing they can. If I had stayed in New York, I don't think I would've achieved my greatest potential, as crazy as that sounds. If I'd just stayed where I was comfortable, if I'd stayed within mine and my parents' comfort zone, I would've simply been surrounded by the same people, the same nightmares, the same ghosts from my past. Moving has been the best decision I've ever made."

Robin just nods in understanding, drops a small kiss to the top of her head and rubs her shoulder offering some sort of comfort. They go quiet for a few minutes, Robin absorbing every little detail of her past.

"Oh and this," she breaks the silence and meets his gaze as she points at the scar on her upper lip. "This is the evidence of how bad of a kisser you are."

The belly laugh that leaves him is music to her ears and she just laughs in reply, thankful for the easiness that returns to them, before she curls herself into him again and slips her leg in between his. After a minute, the room grows quiet again, less tense than before, and Robin notices it, clearing his throat.

"Well, so much for socializing."

Regina grins before she looks up at him and brings her hand to his cheek, caressing there.

"No, I actually like this."

"Good, me too."

It goes quiet again after a moment and Robin just bites his lower lip, wanting to continue the conversation flowing, perhaps steer it in a whole different direction, far away from grief, losses and near-death experiences.

"So, first kiss?"

"Oh no mister, you'd either freak out or get incredibly turned on with this!"

"Well that just makes me even more curious."

Regina chuckles nervously before she bites her lower lip. She moves her hands from his arms down to his chest, plays with the short hairs there before she grins at him, "So, Mal."

It takes him a moment to process it, before he's leaning back abruptly, a small curious smile playing upon his face and Regina feels herself blushing a bit and laughing at the look he gives her, at his darkening orbs, at the way his cock does a sudden jolt against her belly.

"We had just turned fourteen! I hadn't kissed anybody yet and well we were both quite inexperienced and it kind of happened."

"That's absolutely hot," he mutters on a groan, before he brings his palm to her hair, curls and uncurling the long wavy strands with his fingers.

She sighs under his chin and drops a small kiss on his neck.

"Ingrid. That was my first kiss, back when I was perhaps twelve? I kissed her, it was sloppy and absolutely disgusting at first."

"At first?"

"Well I mean, I like kissing, in fact kissing is something I like more than sex."

"Oh really?" Regina asks on a laugh before she arches her brow and begins dropping soft slow kisses up his neck, down his jawline until she stops at the corner of his mouth, drops a kiss there for good measure before her palms move between their bodies to where he's slowly, but surely, getting hard again.

Regina wraps her hands around his semi-hard cock and Robin lets out a low grunt in reply, chuckling at her intentions as he murmurs, "Well, maybe not more than sex but close second."

Regina chuckles and drops a kiss to his chest.

"This isn't weird, right?" There he goes again. Asking unnecessary questions, but it's the anxiousness inside that worries him, the heat that has nothing to do with his arousal but something entirely different.

"What?" She asks after a moment, halting her hands movements when his hands grip around her forearms.

"This," he says, broken gasp leaving him as she suddenly begins a strong rhythm on his cock. But he manages, manages to say 'You', 'Me', 'This', in between breaths.

"Why do you ask?" She questions, knowing it's the second time this night he asks this, knowing she has to stop if he for one second feels uncomfortable. So she halts her movements, eyes him curiously as she waits for his answer.

"It just. It feels nice, being here with you, just talking," he winks.

And that's enough to give her the permission she seeks, so she resumes her hand movements.

"Talking?" She arches an eyebrow, grips him tighter and he thrusts into her, moaning at the sensation.

"Regina," he warns when on a particular stroke, she swipes her thumb around the tip, spreading the slickness there.

"Yes?" She asks, tries to look as innocent as ever as she twists her wrist around him and he closes his eyes in pleasure.

"Yes, talking. It's been a long time since we've talked," Robin murmurs.

"We talked an hour ago."

Robin chuckles darkly, before he remembers their conversation earlier that day in the castle. He'd almost forgotten about it, caught in this sense of intimacy that they always have when they do this. So he halts her hands movements, ignores the way his hips absentmindedly thrusts into the air, searching for the warmth of her hand. But that can wait, that will wait.

"You still owe me a conversation," he says for the second time that night.

Regina sighs and shakes her head, tries to tell him to forget about it but he simply can't, for he remembers the distraught look in her eyes, the twinge of heartbreak, the twinge of an unspoken resolution she's set up for herself.

"What's going on through that head of yours?"

She sighs again and sits up on the small squeaky bed, inwardly grinning as she recalls the sounds it made earlier that night when they fucked each other's brains out. But he's bringing her back here, to this moment.

"Regina, this," he points between them, "I'm still your annoying best friend who burns the popcorn every other Friday night. Just because we have this intimacy doesn't mean you can't trust me, It's still me."

"I know that," she rolls her eyes at him. "This isn't what's worrying me."

Robin sighs and shuffles closer to her, wraps his arms around her and drops a small kiss on her shoulder.

"Then what is?"

"You."

He does a double take, scoffs at her. "Me?"

"Yes you."

"And do pray tell me what I've done?"

"You've not left."

"What?"

"All the men in my life, all of them, they leave at one point or another. Yet, you're still here, no matter how much we fight, or disagree on things or how many times I let you down, you're still here. Why?"

He knows that she's hurting deep down. He knows that she's lost in a whirlwind of guilt or perhaps feeling at fault for the turn her relationship took.

"I'm here because I love you and you're my best friend. Regina, you're an exceptional woman, unique, hot headed, stubborn, smart, hilarious, just simply amazing. You might not believe that, for reasons I don't know and reasons I don't think I'll ever understand, but the people around you that matter, your friends, my family, your family, we all know this, Regina."

She swallows hard and offers him a slow nod of her head, his words touching her.

"Samuel saw a picture of us here, somehow, he assumed many things, along with the fact that he's always known I'm a slut?"

"You're not a slut, Regina," He sighs, feeling the utter need to kill Samuel for disrespecting Regina this way.

"I know that. His words hold no weight over me. But I just-" She stops, sighs and pushes her hands through her hair in her frustration. "I feel so stupid. I should've known he would be like this. If I'd just focus a little bit more on the way he behaved, on the way he spoke, I wouldn't be in this situation. It's just so frustrating. I'm mad at him, sure, but I'm more mad at myself, for not seeing this sooner, for not realizing sooner."

"You can't possibly blame yourself for that!"

"That's the thing! I also know that, which is why this, all of this is confusing as hell. I know my worth, I know who I am and just what I do, but just, receiving those sort of comments from someone who at some point meant an awful lot to me, it just, it's torture."

"Regina," Robin murmurs, his hands caressing her back lovingly. "Samuel is a narcissistic prick with low self esteem who just wants to bring down everybody around him, just for him to feel a little bit superior, a little bit better. But the truth is, he isn't. And do you know how you can prove that?" At her questioning glance his way, Robin continues. "By not giving a fuck what he says, what he thinks, and just do you. Be who you want to be."

She offers him a small smile. But Robin wants more, for some reason, he needs to make her truly feel better now, truly forget that there are Samuels and Jeffersons and Keiths in life that want to bring those around them down. So he leans forwards, closer to her, until his lips are millimeters away from her ear.

"And if you want to sleep with three men at the same time, or even a woman for that matter, do it. If you want to go down the streets right now proclaiming your need to get laid, just do it, do whatever you want to do if it makes you truly happy."

She's laughing now, smacking his head away and just giggling at his words even though she's teary eyed, both at his attempt to be funny and the situation she's in.

"It's not like that, not at all."

"I know."

"You're incredible," she murmurs after a moment. "Just like that, you make everything feel right again. I think I might keep you."

.::.

They get on the first bus to Frankfurt in the early morning, more rested, more at ease, both just staring at the scenery around them, snapping a few pictures here and there. When they arrive at Frankfurt around nine am, their friends are sleeping the morning away like they'd expected. So they shower, change and try to catch a few hours of rest before they join their group for a night out.

And join them they do.

Never in the few years he's known Regina, he's seen her down yards of ale as though they were water. Never in the few years he's known Regina, he's seen her this free, this happy, this her. It warms his heart, pulls at his insides to see her so unguarded. Sure, it might be the fact that he barely got to see her and spend a fun time with her while she was dating, so he could've simply forgotten. But every time she offers him a drunk laugh from across the room, as she tries to dance along with a gay German couple their group had met the night before, he feels his heart do some sort of backflips, feels thankful that he gets to see this side of her and appreciate it even from afar.

They head to their hotel at an unholy hour, him helping her walk with both her inebriated self and the fact that she broke the heel of her boot.

"You would make a fucking cute couple!" Ruby cries, actually cries, when they reach their floor before she shakes her head and opens the door to her room, slipping inside.

"If only she knew how much and how good we fuck," Regina slurs against his ear and if before he'd been amused with Ruby's cry, now he's actually laughing out loud with Regina's comment.

She's resting her body weight against him as he fishes through her clutch for her room key. Her hands wandering all over his body, slipping lower and lower until they reach the hem of his pants.

"Regina," he hisses, giving her a warning look even though he's highly amused and partly turned on by this right now.

Regina just grins besides him, "We could be quick and quiet, there's no one around."

But, thankfully, he finds the card keys before Regina can make another comment and he opens the door wide for her.

"You're no fun," she huffs as she near stumbles inside the room. Thankfully he catches her in time, and gathers her in his arms. "I can walk, you know?" She rolls her eyes, but wraps her arms around his neck and begins suckling there as he closes the door shut with his foot.

He tries to ignore her warm mouth, her soft sucks, her soft sounds as he makes the trek from the door to the bed on the far left of the room. And he does so, his pants straining and a few inches too tight, but he manages to reach the bed.

He deposits her on the bed, chuckling immediately because her arms hook around his neck and she doesn't let go, holds onto him as he tries to stand up straight, but instead pulls him down to fall on top of her.

"Regina," he lets out on a laugh the moment her legs hook around his waist and holds him in place, giggling all the while.

Robin catches himself before he can crush her, and rests his weight on his arms on both side of her body. It's when her hands begin sliding down his front and towards his pants that Robin leans back a little, her legs falling against the mattress as she pouts at him.

"Robin," she whines.

"No, you're drunk, Regina, and I'm quite more sober than you; it's not right."

"You know what's not okay? Leaving me all needy and sexually frustrated."

He snorts and shakes his head, replies as he begins fixing her up for bed. "Yeah well, think about last night, eh? That was pretty satisfactory," he says, grins when she stops fidgeting on the bed and just stares at the ceiling dreamily as his hand wraps around one ankle, zipping the zipper of her broken shoe off and throwing the shoe somewhere behind him.

"Oh yes. That thing you did with your fingers," she closes her eyes and moves her index and middle finger quickly, "that was the bestest," she lets out amusedly. "Do it again?"

"No, Regina." He rolls his eyes as he takes off the second boot and puts it on the floor, rises and brings the covers up to her chest. "Sleep, I'll check on you in the morning."

"Stay? I promise I'll keep my hands to myself." She looks at him with the most innocent eyes she can manage.

He sighs in reply, arches an eyebrow at her. "Fine, just let me get a change of clothes."

She grins at him and nods. "I'll be waiting for you."

And when he returns, thankfully she's already asleep. So he quickly slips out of his shoes, brings a water bottle from the fridge, places it on the nightstand and slips into bed. Immediately, Regina curls into his side and Robin lets out a small laugh as her bare legs wrap around his own and her bra clad torso presses to his.

"Really?"

"What?" She asks groggily, "I was hot!"

"Yes yes yes, now sleep you drunk ass."

And she slaps his chest playfully before she buries her head further into the pillows, hot breath caressing his neck. It takes a mere two minutes of him caressing the back of her hand on his chest for her to fall asleep, snoring lightly with every breath.

It's scary, the fact that that sound brings him nothing but comfort, nothing but warmth.

Can they actually try to...

No, they're just friends, nothing else.

Pushing the sudden disappointment away from his head, Robin swallows hard and tries to close his eyes, wills himself to enjoy these moments with her without making a mess out of it, without pushing her away, without complicating things.

But when Regina lets out a soft sigh and moves her body closer to him, he swallows hard at the slight flutters in his stomach, trying hard to ignore them.


|Present|

Regina doesn't say anything, and that's what scares him the most.

Not what they've done, even less at the time they did it, no, what bothers Robin right this second is the fact that she's silent by his side.

Her leg's resting lazily on top of his, face tucked neatly against his neck whilst a palm rests against his chest, fingers absentmindedly curling and tracing circles all over it. She's not asleep, he can tell by the way her fingers continue their ministrations, can tell by the way her lashes flutter against his neck every time she blinks, can tell by the way her breath hitches whenever his fingers skim down her spine, a soft caress that has her pressing herself closer to him, to his warmth.

But she's so quiet.

Refuses to talk about what has happened even though he knows deep down she doesn't regret it, but still, she's quiet about the matter, focuses instead on the thump thump thump of his heartbeat instead of the thump thump thump of the big elephant in the room.

He's witnessed the turmoil in her eyes, the turmoil in her head, every time she looked at him, it was there. The unmistakable and heartbreaking truth.

Yet, he still can't manage to pull away from her.

He should, he will, but not now. Not when she's softly sighing against his neck, not when he can feel her nipples hardening to peaks against his chest, not when she's dropping soft kisses against his collarbone, deftly moving them upwards and upwards until she's kissing the stubble of his chin. She pulls her body higher against his, wraps her arms around his neck as she rests her forehead against his. Her eyes are closed, and Robin knows it's because she doesn't want him to see her, read her emotions, figure out just where they go from here… even though he has a pretty good idea where they'll go, where this goes.

He should just stop this madness, once and for all, spare hurting them more by breaking this atmosphere now and not later when heartbreak is inevitable.

But how can he do it, when for the past few years this is exactly what he's wanted?

So instead of pulling away from her, Robin turns and wraps his arms around her waist, brings her body flush to his as he captures her lips with his own.

She responds eagerly, leans her head to the side as she deepens the kiss. Robin rolls to his back, bringing her with him, as his hands move to her lower back, anchors them to her hips and moves her up and down his length.

It's heaven and hell combined, to feel her getting slicker and hotter with every slide of his hardening length against her core, to feel her body trembling and sweating on top of his, to feel her mouth opening up to his, allowing his tongue to wander the expanse of her mouth.

Somewhere in the deep recess of him he can feel his heart breaking, for this is it, the last time before everything starts crumbling down around them, and when Regina's breath hitches on top of him and kisses him a little harder, he knows she's realized this too.

But he can't dwell on it, what's done's done, what's meant to happen will happen either way. She'll marry Daniel if she wants to, or she'll choose him if she wants to. But it's Regina, incredibly complex Regina, so no matter how much it'll hurt him, he won't fault her if she does choose to marry Daniel —she will, if that look of self loathing he caught earlier is any indication.

He won't fault her, he won't. But still, admittance tastes bitter on his tongue and the pain of knowing this is their so called closure —the reason he came here on the first time, weaves through him again, wraps around his lungs in its strong painful grip until he has to break their kiss and just stays there, forehead pressed to hers as he closes his eyes and sucks in a breath.

He's quiet now, just like her, just drowns in the sighs that leave her mouth, listens to his owns as she continues sliding against his pelvis. But this time, she brings her hands to his cheek, adds a bit of pressure in an attempt to get him to open his eyes. He does, finds his gaze meeting those coffee gold orbs he loves to drown in so much, and the intensity with which she looks at him is enough to bring him back down to their reality.

Damn her, damn her and that effect she has on him.

So he comes back to this moment crashing down, reality coming to him with the hot wetness pressed against his cock and the soft caresses against his dimples. He loses himself in the moment, finds out there's no use in worrying about tomorrow when he can have this right now.

And with new reformation, he stills the movement of her hips and quickly rolls them over, Regina chuckling lightly at the movement before she pulls him down for a kiss. He touches her everywhere he can reach, tries against all might to ignore that slight pain in his belly at the knowledge that every curve, every swell, every indent of her body he'll touch for the last time tonight.

He won't get to hear her sigh anymore.

Won't get to feel her walls fluttering around him anymore.

Won't get to kiss her and love her anymore.

So he'll damn as well enjoy this one last time, lock it away into memories even if tomorrow it'll hurt.

"Robin," she moans lowly against his lips the moment his fingers press against her heat, tracing slowly the entrance with his index and middle finger as his thumb slowly circles her bundle of nerves. This is the first she's spoken since last night. Oh, and what a bliss that it's his name the reason her silent vow broke!

So, with a need to hear his name fall from her lips over and over again, Robin pushes two fingers into her, curling and uncurling as her groans grown in frequency, as she gets wetter and hotter.

He catalogs each and every little sound she makes, memorizes them, and when he feels her breath coming short, sees her teeth grazing her lower lip and her nails scratching down his back, he stops the movement of his fingers, instead brings them to her waist in an attempt to still her quivering body.

Regina mutters expletives under him, her thighs trembling against the side of his hips as her body tries to come together with her heat. She hates this, that much is clear, to be robbed of an orgasm that's fast approaching, and the murderous look she gives him almost makes him reconsider.

Almost

Instead he plans on making this last, give them an unforgettable time.

So he starts kissing down her neck, careful not to leave love bites, moving lower and lower until he settles on one of her nipples, pulls it into his mouth and softly bites on it, enjoying the throaty moan that leaves her mouth. He does it again, this time holding the bud between his teeth as he caresses the tip with his tongue, alternating between fast laps and slow ones. She arches against him, brings her hips off of the bed to try and get some friction there, but he pulls back, grins at the frustration written all over her face, but before she can say anything to him, he moves further down her body, licking and sucking until he reaches nirvana, and presses his tongue to her clit.

His chest constricts and his mouth water as he closes his lips around that bud.

"Robin," she moans, brings her hands to his hair.

And he licks, sucks, flickers his tongue against her center hungrily, wanting more and more, needing to taste her release one last time. He adds his fingers into the equation, moaning when the slickness grows, when he licks and licks and thrusts and curls and the wetness grows along with her sighs, her trembles, her cries.

It takes a curl of his fingers, a 'Come for me baby,' and a harsh suck on her clit for Regina to reach her peak, screaming out his name and pulling, almost painfully, at his hair. But he leans back, keeps moving his fingers within her, helping her ride out her orgasm before he's on top of her, kissing her, fingers coated in her release still moving slowly into her, not yet touching her overstimulated clit. But soon enough she's pushing her tongue into his mouth at the same time she pulls his hands from her depths, and then wraps her hands around his hardness, gives him a few strokes before she pulls him towards her entrance traces her entrance with the tip before she moves her hips, allowing his head to enter her heat. Her toes curl at the feeling, their mouths open against one another as they pant.

They close their eyes as he buries himself to the hilt, both taking a minute to keep in check their emotions. But soon enough their eyes meet and he begins a harsh rhythm, unable to hold himself back from fucking her good and proper one last time. Whilst a few hours ago their eyes held nothing but love, right now they hold nothing but desperation, pain, even the slightest trace of shame. He moves quickly, thrusts into her awaiting body like there's no tomorrow… because there isn't. It's too much, to feel so many constrictive feelings while making love to one another, but they hold onto it, they hold onto the pleasure, because it's all they have left.

It makes no sense, but reality rarely makes sense.

Her face scrunches up as he hits that fucking spot inside of her, but Robin can't tell if it's from pleasure or from emotion, blames it on emotion when her head moves to the side and her eyes close.

"Robin," she half sobs as she pulls his torso down to hers and bites his shoulder as she starts meeting him thrust for thrust, more desperate, more needy, more wet, more tight.

And if before this was exquisite, right now is incredibly mind blowing.

He tries to hold back, tries to keep this exquisite pace, but his body has a mind of his own, pounds into her faster and faster.

And when Regina's whole body goes taut under his as she bites more forcefully into his shoulder, her release coming out in short spurts, Robin feels his control slipping away and falls over the precipice one last time with her.

.::.

He cannot bring himself to leave, not when they've found this comfortable position.

They're both laying on their bellies, facing each other as their palms meet one another between them, Regina caressing lightly his thumb with hers.

They've been this way for several minutes, a gray blanket thrown over them, covering their lower extremities as their bodies cool, their heartbeats return to normal.

Regina doesn't say anything, still, and the silence is deafening.

How did she get like this? It's heartbreaking to see her, a shell of the woman she was, a stranger in her own skin. Had it happened three years ago, she would've accepted his proposal and leave with him, he has no doubt of that.

But this is their present now.

This is where their bad decisions, their hiding, have taken them.

This is Regina now.

And while it kills him that it had to be him the one who'd always lose her, it still pulls at his heartstrings the fact that Regina, his beautiful and strong Regina, seems to be stuck in a limbo herself.

It dawns on him then.

It's him the one who has to pull back, step away from this. It has to be him the one who gives up on this, on today.

It's him, and only him, the only one strong enough to do this, all of this, for the closure they both still need.

Regina's still quiet in front of him, her fingers absentmindedly caressing his palm. He hasn't moved from his place, lets her caress his hand, absorb from him the strength that she needs… like he's always done. He has to put an end to this, for their sake. He moves his hand then, rotates it so his palm is exposed and he intertwines his fingers with hers.

And it's that simple movement, that feeling of meeting palm with palm —a perfect fit, that causes a shift in Regina, finally. Her eyes glass over with an emotion he understands far well, but she never meets his gaze, focuses on their hands, on his arm, his chest, anywhere but his face.

"I should go," he whispers into the thin space between their bodies, but for both of them it's as if he's shouting it. Robin feels his throat close up because even though he's made peace with this, he still can't believe this is truly happening.

Regina doesn't say anything, instead lays there quietly, but he can see her, can see her emotions filtering through her eyes, can see as her quiet tears leave her eyes only to fall sideways to her pillow.

"Say something," he mutters, lowly, almost on a sigh as he breaks the contact between their hands and brings that hand towards her cheek, caresses there.

Her left hand follows his, intertwines with the back of his hand on her face and pulls it closer to her mouth, dropping small kisses amidst the tear tracks. But she still won't look at him, refuses to, her mind is elsewhere, that much is clear, but God, he needs to hear her voice.

"Regina—"

"I hate myself," she breathes on a tremble, her eyes getting teary again. "I hate that I'm not strong enough to pursue this again, and I just… I hate myself."

Robin sighs and shakes his head. He had been expecting something like this from her, never once did he think he'd be her first choice —not even last night, but the confirmation hurts, more than he ever could've anticipated.

It kills him.

But at the same time, it reminds him of what she'd felt years ago by his own hand. Being someone's second choice. Having the slightest bit of hope only for him to squash it with his own idiotic need to move on. And for a moment he feels as if she's doing this out of spite, out of revenge, all of this, him being a maid of honor, her showing off all the happiness she has in the world —she doesn't, and for a moment he feels rage filtering through his veins.

Or jealousy.

He does not know, all Robin knows at that moment is that he feels as if he's burning, he feels his entire being wanting to lash out at her, at this situation for the hundredth time. God, he's done, with everything, and he knows, deep down, that this is the only outcome of their situation. Quickly he sits up, and stares at the wall in front of him. He has to do this, he has to end this right now because in twelve hours she'll be walking down the aisle to a man who's not him.

In twelve hours he'll be signing down legal papers as to being a witness of an union out of love.

In thirteen hours he'll be seating with God knows who, downing his third glass of whiskey as he sees her and her husband sharing their first dance, then they'll kiss and laugh as people around them cheer them on.

Then she'll dance with him, just them both, two best friends to the world sharing happiness due to the celebration, but to them, two almost lovers who could never get their timing right sharing one last dance.

Then he'll make his toast, laced with fake happiness.

Then he'll watch her head off into a life he'll never be a part of.

He can't do it anymore. So he shakes his head when Regina looks at him awaiting an answer.

"I can't do this, Regina. I can't keep doing this to myself, and neither can you."

"Robin," she whispers, a tear falling down her face.

"I can't be your maid of honor. I can't watch you get married to somebody who doesn't deserve you. I can't watch you say 'I do' to a man that's not me. I can't go to your wedding and see you share your first dance with him. I can't give a speech, filled with bullshit and lies because I wish, I wish that man was me. That I'd be the one leading you to the dance floor, that I'd be the one happy because I get to spend the rest of my life with you. But that's not real, this isn't real. You will still get married to him, you will still say 'I do' to him and I cannot watch you do this to yourself, to myself. So I can't, I can't."

She feels his heartbreak, feels stupid for putting him through this, and just stares at him, speechless, but her eyes betray her, they speak of her guilt, of her heartbreak, of her turmoil.

"Regina, we have to accept the fact that our story is over, it ends here. We cannot keep hurting ourselves."

She stares at his back, eyes glassy, he has said everything they've left unspoken as they made love last night early morning.

He doesn't meet her eyes, instead continues looking straight ahead and swallowing hard. She's divided, wants to wrap her arms around him and lose themselves in another night of passion and unadulterated love.

But she shouldn't.

They shouldn't.

She's already caused enough pain.

So instead Regina nods from behind him and just stares straight ahead along with him.

"I'm sorry," she whispers. Because she's sorry she isn't strong enough to call off this wedding. She sorry she's hurting him and herself in the process. She's sorry it had to be him the one who'd travel thousands of miles just to end up heartbroken in the end. She's sorry.

Robin merely nods at her apology, acknowledging and just stands up from the bed, naked, and walks towards the door.

She watches him leave, and not once does he turn around. With every step he takes out of her room, his naked form retreating in the dark, her heart breaks and the tears in her eyes fall down her face as she just stares at the now empty door, empty hallway. She hears the shuffling, the zipping, she hears everything as he packs to leave. She should go, even just to watch him as he packs, but she can't bring herself to. Instead she lays back on the bed and stares at the ceiling.

Everything lead up to this one moment.

Countless of nights spent together.

Countless of kisses shared.

Countless of memories.

Countless of tears.

All leading up to this, to one final goodbye.

A sob falls through her lips and she closes them tightly, brings a hand to her mouth to prevent any other sound from leaving her.

She doesn't know how much time she spends there, staring at the ceiling, head lost in memories, great memories.

"Regina," he calls softly from the doorway and Regina pushes herself up from the bed, a few tears falling with the movement and meets his gaze.

He's not faring any better, his eyes are glistening with unshed tears, his eyes meeting hers across the room.

"The cab's on its way," he whispers and those four words are enough to break her heart even more.

She nods from her place on the bed before her head is falling on her hands and she starts sobbing lowly. Robin just bites his tongue from his place and just moves closer to the bed, a small tear falling from his eye before he's sitting beside her, and pulling her to him. His arms close over her torso and Regina goes to him willingly, not caring that her breasts are in display, not caring that he's touching her naked body even though he's dressed himself.

"I'm sorry," she whispers brokenly.

"It's okay, Regina, it's okay."

Because she's not entirely at fault with this. They both had their faults into what happened to them. They both have their faults into what happened this week, last night, what keeps on happening today.

"Hey," he calls out, voice scratchy, he leans back to watch her face, "I don't regret anything," he caresses her cheek lovingly, smiling a little bit at her as he thumbs her tears away. "You're the best thing that's ever happened to me."

Regina nods in knowledge only to sob against his chest. It might be easy for some, to just call a wedding off, to leave everything behind and go with Robin.

But she can't.

For some might be possible, but for her it isn't, she loves Robin, and she also loves Daniel. And sure, for some, Robin included, Daniel isn't worthy of her. She's seen the way he looked at Daniel, she's caught the insinuation behind his words. He doesn't like Daniel. But nobody understands her. Nobody understands the fact that Daniel came to her just when she needed him the most. He made her feel something, finally, after two years of being numb, after two years of moving back to New York, after two years of closing herself off from the world and focusing entirely on her work and her friends and that young boy Henry who made her world just a little better. Sure, it had been her fault, she had left England with a broken heart and she remained that way for years, afraid of opening herself up again and getting hurt because of her naivety. Sure, back then, she could've head off to England again, but just right then, when the idea had come to her, when the need to see Robin again seized her, just then, Daniel had come along, all smiles and jokes. He'd made her feel better. He'd brought back her smiles, her laughs until she was genuinely happy again.

Daniel brought back in her feelings so alike those she'd had long ago with Robin. She'd needed that, back then, to smile again, to love again, to desperately find a reason to stay.

And she'd found it in Daniel.

But now?

Now everything's just a jumbled mess, for those feelings she'd felt in the past, she'd felt briefly with Daniel, she'd felt them again over the course of these past few days, but bigger, stronger, feasting, growing and last night she'd felt them explode within her with an intensity she's never felt before.

His phone pings from his pocket, and her heart breaks for the umpteenth time that night. Regina feels him swallow and his arms release their hold around her as he whispers, "That's my cab," his voice cracking but he swallows the lump away.

It's unfair, she's being unfair for holding him too long, for prolonging this heartbreak, he must be faring worse than her, She can't be selfish, she has to stop being selfish. So she nods under his chin, the blanket now barely covering her pelvis (but she doesn't feel ashamed, never has with him around), and leans back to look at him.

They just stay like that for a few minutes, memorizing each other's features. His fingers caress her face lovingly, and then he smiles at her, one small thing as a 'thank you for all these years', and then his thumb swiftly passes her upper lip, that beautiful scar, more or less a representative of their beginning. How fitting. To gaze lovingly at what got them here in the first place.

Robin lets out a soft laugh, another tear falling down before he meets her eyes again, surely remembering all their years together. "You're incredible, Regina. I hope you never forget that."

She had been smiling too, but now her eyes get wet again as she nods when she whispers, "You mean the world to me."

His smile falls then, and he nods, then without saying another world he stands up from the bed and starts walking towards the door.

Regina follows him with glassy eyes and she bites her lip to prevent herself from sobbing.

But suddenly Robin turns around on the doorway, and he looks different now, resigned, understanding, heartbroken, and without meeting her eyes he says, "Congratulations on your wedding. I truly wish you all the happiness in the world."

With that he rushes past the doorway, quick footsteps along with the rolling of his suitcase and she just falls back against the mattress and stares at the ceiling.

And when the front door closes shut, Regina brings the blankets up to her neck and curls towards her side, clutches the pillow he had been laying on and brings it to her chest.

But it doesn't help the cause for as she inhales it brings within her a rush of feelings for it carries with it the scent of what could've been, the scent of intense love that only comes along once, the scent of what she's lost.

.::.

She feels the excitement coursing through her bones as she walks up the steps towards her daughter's apartment complex. She rings the doorbell from the steps, smirking when the bird chirps reach her ears.

Truly impeccable. There isn't even the slightest trace of rain in the sky, the birds are chirpy, the sunlight casting its' light over the scattered trees in Manhattan, and the soft spring breeze. It almost makes her forget about that slight tug on her insides at the thought that today's it.

Her daughter's wedding.

And Cora's eyes fill with tears. She loves her daughter, truly, can't bare the thought of losing her like she lost Zelena. So the fact that she'll get married today to a, sometimes lacking, but all in all wonderful guy, settles on the pitch of her stomach as nerves, as anxiousness, as something else entirely settles there.

God, these past two weeks have been filled by a fear. A tug of something in her whenever she'd caught Robin looking at her with those pathetic blue eyes, oh, so obviously in love. Anger, she'd felt it when Daniel confessed to her that Robin was the one that actually wrote his vows. Dread, she'd felt it when she'd read the vows, the vows that would've been uttered by a person that doesn't entirely shares the same feelings. She didn't beg Daniel to write the vows again, instead, it'd taken a strong firm gaze, and Daniel had cowered in front of her, promising he'll write the vows again and make them worthy of Regina.

But the damage had been done, and the battle between her head and her heart had begun.

Cora had spent the whole night thinking, stressing, fussing about every little thing, about today, about their past. At once she'd tried to talk to Henry about it, tried to coax something out of him, perhaps support in this, but the man had said nothing, only looked at her in disappointment as he retired to bed. She went to bed herself somewhere between three am, her head going on and on and on and that damn tug of uneasiness playing mind tricks with her again. But Henry had shushed her to sleep, wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close to him, shushing her mind and her heart and letting her thoughts disappear for a while.

Yet, the anxiousness had gotten the better of her, and at a quarter past seven, Cora's had already been on her way to her daughter's apartment.

But as time dwindles by and nobody answers the door, the unsettling in her stomach transforms into full blown out nerves and anger —she's never been that good at concealing her emotions. And she picks her own set of keys, pulls them from her purse on a tug, dragging with it along a piece of crumpled paper. The piece of paper falls, almost in slow motion, down down down until it lands on her feet and Cora just stares at it, eyes it curiously before she reads one sentence, a sentence that sticks out.

Ever since I met you, you left me not wanting to meet anyone else.

And it dawns on her.

That unsettling feeling now coming back again, stronger than ever. She needs to see her daughter, she needs to find her. Cora rings the doorbell again, more desperate, not wanting to impose on her daughter. But she can't keep waiting any longer. Quickly, Cora picks up the paper and stuffs it into her purse again and quickly pushes the key into the lock, opening the main door. She rushes, desperation written in every movement because now everything makes sense, now she understands why she went missing last night, she understands why Henry, that despicable husband of hers, made everything up, she understands now. Not finding it within her to wait for the elevator, Cora quickly makes it up the stairs up to the fourth floor where the five apartment doors are, and by heart she rushes towards her daughter's calling out her name.

"Regina?!" She calls as she knocks on her door.

But no sound comes from the other side of the door, no shuffling, no rushing, no nothing. And then she unlocks the door, walks into her daughter's apartment and calls her name again.

Then, knowing just who's supposed to be here today of all days, calls out his name hoping to receive an answer.

"Robin?"

But no one answers.

And when Cora walks into her daughter's room, her stomach falls at the ruffled bed sheets and the wedding gown carelessly thrown over the bed.

Quickly she calls Daniel, hoping to find some answers. The phone rings twice, Cora going ansty with every ring until he picks it up with a soft, "Hello."

"Tell me she's with you," Cora says as soon as Daniel answers his phone.

Daniel sighs on the other line, she can actually hear him swallow, tears? Pride? Before on a soft breath he says,

"She left."