Robin finally collapsed on his bed, exhausted. He had spent all day moving into his new apartment, but thanks to a late move-in time (what landlord, even one nicknamed Grumpy, makes people start moving in as late as 3 pm?), not everything was in the apartment yet. He worked out regularly, but his muscles still ached at the thought of the work still to be done. The thought of moving his couch into the apartment… that alone would leave his muscles screaming in agony. Why hadn't he thought of getting a lighter couch?

Suddenly, he thought he heard noise outside his door. He groaned. What could someone possibly want at 11:00 at night?

Grateful for the peephole in the middle of the door, he looked and saw that it was his best friend, Regina. Thank goodness. There were very few people he would open the door for at this late hour, but she was at the top of the list.

He opened the door immediately and only then did he see that she was crying. She was doing her best to hide it, always afraid to show her emotions thanks to her austere mother, but Robin had known her since elementary school, so he could see the wave of her turbulent emotions threatening to break the dam she had built in her quivering lip and the pain in her eyes.

There was fury blazing in those eyes as well, and because he thought she probably wasn't ready to break down and cry just yet, he addressed that first. "Who do I need to shoot down with one of my arrows"

"Daniel," she spat. "He broke up with me."

That jerk. He had told her before that Daniel was an absolute waste of space, that he cared about no one more than himself, that she deserved someone better. Was Regina finally free of him for good? "Want to talk about it?" he asked. Knowing Regina, it was unlikely that she would want to talk at this moment, but he wanted the offer to be there whenever her inevitable meltdown occurred.

She shook her head, the fire he saw upon her arrival diminishing in the blink of an eye. Robin could tell it was still simmering though, waiting to be unleashed. "I honestly just want to go to bed and forget this horrible day ever happened."

"Of course," Robin nodded. "I haven't moved the couch in yet though."

She laughed. "When has that ever stopped us before?"

He shrugged. "Fair point." Her mother had always been strict about their sleepovers over the years, making sure that Robin and Regina didn't sleep in the same room under her roof, let alone the same bed, and had only ever allowed it on Regina's birthday. That hadn't stopped them, though. They had always been closer than average friends, something Robin had treasured over the years. More often than not, Regina's mom would've said something that day to upset her daughter, and whenever that happened, Robin would always hear the door creak open, and Regina would come in.

She had been so hesitant the first time, sure that she was overstepping a boundary society had tried to enforce, but Robin had immediately dismissed that notion. They were friends, best friends, which meant that his first job was to do what she needed to be happy, whatever that happened to be at the time. He had thrown back the sheets for her then and every time she'd needed it since. However, tonight there were extenuating circumstances, a fact that he felt he needed to point out to her. "I just wanted to make sure, with everything going on…"

She shook her head. "I just need my best friend," she whispered, sniffing.

In the blink of an eye, his arms were open and she was walking into them. He led her to the bed, where they sat against the headboard while he let her cry herself out. Knowing she wasn't ready to talk about it, he didn't say anything, willing to focus on just holding her, rubbing her back and stroking her hair.

It was in those moments that a thought surfaced, unbidden. There had always been a tiny part of him that had fallen in love with Regina, a part of him that had only grown stronger with each passing day of their friendship. With Daniel out of the picture, had his chance finally come?

Stop it, he scolded himself. She obviously just broke up with him tonight, it's way too soon for this, even if she does want that at some point in the future. You're supposed to be her best friend. Best friends don't notice the scent of their friend's shampoo, or the way their friend's hair shines in a certain light… and they definitely don't want to kiss their friend's lips. Ever.

Unable to resist in this particular moment, when he knew she needed comfort, he pressed a kiss on the top of her head. What he wouldn't give to be the one she wanted. He would take care of her, make sure that she was always happy.

At last she looked up. "Can we go to sleep now?"

He nodded. "Of course. Whatever you need. Your toothbrush is in the cabinet." When they had gone off to college together, they had started keeping necessities at each other's places, just in case one of them needed to make a quick getaway. It was at moments like these that he was glad he had had the foresight to bring it with the few things he had already moved to the new apartment, just in case.

As she got up, Robin tried to avert his eyes from the sway of her hips as she walked into his bathroom and shut the door. Once there was a closed door between them, he banged his head against the headboard. What kind of friend was he, that he was thinking these things when what Regina needed was someone who was there for her, not just another slimeball who couldn't keep his eyes off her? He really needed to get his hormones in check, and fast. He got up and changed into his own pajamas, then turned off the light and got in bed.

She emerged, her dark curls falling over her shoulders. She had taken off her jeans, long ago telling him that they were far too uncomfortable to sleep in. For that reason, he had laid out a pair of boxers for her on the edge of his bed. She put them on now, then climbed in beside him. "Thank you," she whispered. "When he kicked me out, I just- I didn't know where else to go."

"Anytime, you know that," Robin assured her. "What are best friends for?"

She rolled over to face him, and he could still see the pain in her eyes, but her gratitude and appreciation for him shone through as well. "Yeah, but I feel bad because it always seems like it's me who's taking advantage of you."

"Nonsense," he protested. "Remember when I was crushed when Marian died in that car crash?"

He could see from her face that she did. He had dated Marian when they were all in high school. He had had a crush on Regina at the time, but she had shown no interest in him. Marian had caught him crying in the back of the library one day and suggested that they start dating to make Regina jealous. It hadn't worked, but during the time they were together, Robin had grown to care for Marian, though nothing could ever hold a candle to how he felt about Regina. Still, when Marian went away to Belize to visit relatives that summer, Robin had been devastated to learn of her death two weeks later.

Regina had been there for him through mourning Marian's loss. The true nature of his relationship with Marian was the one secret he had ever kept from Regina (apart from his true feelings about her, of course). If she hadn't just been kicked out of her apartment by a guy who supposedly loved her, he would take this opportunity to set the record straight. He longed to tell her how much he loved her, the way he loved her, but now just wasn't the time.

"Okay," she said slowly. "But still, I don't know what I'd do without you. Promise me we'll always be friends, that we'll always be there for each other?"

He closed the distance between them and whispered, "Always," in her ear.

Even in the darkness, he could see her smile. She turned back around and he held her close. Hopefully this was the start of better things for Regina- and Daniel's rejection would give him the opportunity he had been longing for.

This is for prompt 77 of OQ Bedsharing Week: one just went through a breakup and they have nowhere else to stay, so they go to their friend, who just moved into a new place and the couch isn't in the apartment yet. Hope you enjoyed this, let me know what you think!