For Day 5 of OQ Happy Endings Week (Cursed)

Robin is brought to Storybrooke with the first Dark Curse

She doesn't like the town mechanic.

For one, she has no idea who he was in the Enchanted Forest, which adds an unpredictability to him that Regina is not fond of. But it's more than that. There's something about him that unsettles her, makes her guard flare up before he's even close enough for her to hear his "Good morning, Madam Mayor. How may I be of service?"

"My car won't start," she all but spits, arms crossed over her chest as she stares at him disdainfully.

He's unfazed, smiling pleasantly and showcasing a very tempting set of dimples she hadn't noticed before.

"Hm. 1988 Mercedes Benz 560SL, correct?" he asks casually, smiling still. And that must be it, she thinks as she nods in reply. That ease with which he regards her must be what shakes her so much. This whole town lives to fear her, to cower in her presence and behave like the meek little leeches that they are, but not this man. He does not cower, rather grins and looks genuinely happy to be in her presence. Even treats her like a regular person, in fact. Like she's just Regina and not the evil Mayor.

There's a part of her that sighs with the relief of it, but she forces the darkness within her to chase away the warmth seeping into her skin. He's a mechanic. She's here for his services, nothing more.

"Mind if I take a look at the patient?" he asks, and Regina curtly agrees, pausing in her strides when he adds, "I'm Noah, by the way. Noah Woods."

"The car is just out there," she says by way of a reply, hoping her rudeness will deter him from trying to strike up a conversation.

"Ah, what a beauty," he sighs when they reach the Benz, his hand hovering over the hood as he stares reverently. "You own quite the masterpiece, Madam Mayor."

"Yes, yes, can we get to work, please?" she questions, impatient, and it makes him chuckle, his head nodding at her as he lifts his tools onto the tree stump she's parked next to. Regina gets the keys out of her coat, handing them to him and watching expectantly. He thanks her, seemingly all business now, and gets to work.

She watches him open the hood, lifting the lid and mounting it on the support rod, making sure it's secure before he starts to assess the issue. He pokes and prods at different parts of the mechanism, and Regina tells herself that the way a stray lock of his hair falls over his eyes is not in any way attractive. That she's just seeing things.

"Alright, I'll need you to start the engine for a moment, if that's alright?" he instructs, his tone calm and pleasant as he hands her the keys back, his hand brushing hers a little longer than it probably should. And there's that voice in her head again, almost screaming with glee at the fact that he's treating her so kindly.

For heaven's sake, he's fixing a car. Nothing else. She cannot be this desperate for affection.

She ignores that warmth yet again, climbs into the driver's seat of the Benz and waits for his signal.

"Alright, try it," he says from behind the hood, and Regina turns the key, the engine spattering as it tries and tries but doesn't quite manage to start.

And then the lid of the hood is coming down, a loud thunk resounding in the quiet street as it closes, and Noah is back by her window, cleaning his hands on a rag as he waits for her to exit the car.

"Your battery's dead," he informs her at last. "I can have a replacement here in the morning."

"That would be most helpful," Regina agrees, and then, because it's the polite thing to say, "Thank you."

He's smiling again, shaking his head at her and insisting, "Please, I'm happy to help."

He has a son.

A little dimpled, curly-haired wonder that takes to her instantly, dragging her along to play with him while his father removes the expired battery and installs the new one. It makes time pass surprisingly fast, and when he comes back in, wiping his hands yet again on that rag, Regina finds she doesn't want to leave.

"Are you sure everything's good to go? I won't be stranded on the way to work again?" she asks, though she's forgotten to add that hint of annoyance to her voice, too busy chasing the boy's plastic horse with the plastic dragon he's given her to play.

"I'm sure," responds Noah. "But if you wish to stay a while longer, you're more than welcome to join us at home for a quick lunch, I'm sure Finn would enjoy that, wouldn't you, my boy?"

Finn nods, begging, "Pleeeease? I can show you aaalll my toys and we can eat ice cream!"

Regina laughs at his offering, and it's the first genuine laugh she's had in the eight years this curse has been in place.

Still... "I'd love that, but I have to go to work."

"On a Saturday?" Noah interrupts.

"Sadly I'm the Mayor all the time, including weekends," she tells him, and she feels herself smiling at him a little forlornly, conveying just how much she really does wish she could stay, but those pending issues with the water supply won't solve themselves.

But the boy looks defeated, saddened that she won't be joining them, and she hasn't seen that in such a long time that it moves her deeply, to have someone who wants her there, who wants to spend time with her. The father is not much different than the son, his usual grin wiped away by disappointment. It almost melts her resolve.

"An open invitation, then," Noah says as he hands her the keys to the Benz, and that easy smile is back, directed exclusively at her, "For whenever you have the time. We'd very much like to see you again."

That makes her look down, makes her feel shy as she tucks a lock of hair behind her ear, adjusts her coat and scarf unnecessarily.

"I'd very much like to see you again," he says then, focusing his gaze on her while his son barrels himself against her legs in a hug, but Regina is too shocked by Noah's words to return it.

"I... I'll see what I can do," she stammers when the boy pulls away, offering him one last smile and running her hand through his unruly locks before turning and walking slowly to the door.

She doesn't like the town mechanic. She doesn't. Not at all.

And yet, when he calls after her, uttering a hesitant "I'll see you soon, Madam Mayor," that stays suspended between them, she can't help but turn back and give him hope, the hint of a flirty smile decorating her answer.

"I prefer Regina."