Well looky here; an update… *gasp*, *faint*, shock horror and all that jazz :) Just think of it as me reuniting you with KH in honour of Regina being reunited with Robin (kind of) 3

I know I haven't updated in several months, and I am sorry that I left you all hanging like that but I was trying to work things out and wade through a lot of personal shit and believe me when I say that writing was not a priority for me during that time.

My tumblr is mysterious-song, and you will find any updates/announcements/information about my writing in the 'zoe writes' tag. This includes the reasoning for not writing often, or tiny little oneshots that I haven't posted here, or replies to demands like 'more Knocking Hips' or 'update soon' because I admit I got very frustrated at those over the past few months.

I really need to thank my darling Bela and Sarah who checked over this and have given me the boost needed to post it (because I may have been – and still am – shaking slightly with nerves… :S). And also Emily and Mickaela because they are wonders of my life and I love them dearly.

So, yes, I really hope this is ok. You may need to skim read the last chapter or two if the details have faded since I last posted. Also, please just drop me a note of encouragement if you like it because I am so very very nervous about posting this after so long (if you couldn't tell from my rambling…).

Oh God, here goes…

"Regina, I need to talk to you."

With a roll of her eyes and a sigh, Regina turned to see Snow walking towards her.

"I was just about to head back to the library, Snow," Regina started, spinning again to resume her journey to the books and papers and dead-ends that had plagued her for the past three days, "so if you don't mind; I'm rather busy."

Snow nodded, taking hurried steps until she had fallen in line with her step-mother. "I know; I just wanted to see how you were doing with the magical spell we got from Merlin."

"Well, the paper is blank; my name has faded. And despite knowing about possible kinds of magic the spell could be, I have nothing else to go on," Regina admitted, sounding a little defeated.

"Have you looked in all the books?"

"There are over a thousand books in this castle, do you think I have time to sit and read through them all?" Regina snapped. She tried not to be so harsh, she honestly did, but the frustration at dead end after dead end had grated on her so much it was impossible to reign in her temper, and there would always be that part of her that loathed the princess, no matter how much she cared for the girl. "And in case you haven't noticed; I also have a Kingdom to run."

"You should take a break then," Snow offered, her face lighting up with a kind smile.

Regina stopped, her face tightening in anger. "I cannot take a break because whenever things appear to calm down, it is just a matter of time before we're thrown headfirst into something else. Some of us actually care about this Kingdom and want to run it properly; a simple 'break' is out of the question."

"Ok, sorry," Snow murmured, looking down and wringing her hands together.

Regina was a mere moment away from snapping a harsh 'you should be' or a sarcastic 'of course you are dear,' but the sincerity in her eyes could not be faked and it somehow made her anger deflate.

"I'm frustrated." Regina grumbled, and it was as close to any kind of apology for her outburst as the princess would get.

Snow stood in front of her step-mother, placing her hands on her shoulders, "you'll get there. I believe in you."

That simple encouragement made Regina's heart clench.

This girl, the small, little princess that had been saved from a runaway horse – and then had been forced to live on the run as plan after plan to wipe her from existence had failed – had found it in that pristine heart of hers to forgive and move past it all. Regina could never imagine understanding how.

"Thank you dear," Regina said, and neither of them commented on the slight difference in her voice tone.

"Anytime, Regina." Snow smiled.

Before Regina could think up something to shift from the uncomfortable moment rife with emotions she'd rather not explore, an excited shout of 'majesty!' brought them both into reality.

The Queen turned, beaming when she saw Robin's little boy running towards her.

He narrowly missed a gentleman carrying a mop, bucket and broom walking in front of him at a slower pace, ducking to avoid the handles, and Regina couldn't help her reflexive exclamation of; "careful!"

The man chuckled, offered her a smile and assured her; "it's fine, your majesty."

She nodded at him before incessant tugging at her hand pulled her attention back to Roland. Regina chuckled, lowering herself to her knees and grinning at the over-excited boy in front of her.

It only took Regina raising her eyebrows in question for the endless ramblings about the adventures he and his father had gone on to begin; they had been playing in the gardens, he had helped search for treasures in the rooms in the Merry Men's corridor – though Robin had previously explained to Regina before that the 'search' involved cleaning whatever they touched and she had chuckled knowingly – and he had sang his new favourite song to anyone who asked…

Regina met Robin's eyes over the head of his son whilst he rambled about making all the Merry Men pictures and she couldn't help her grin from stretching her cheeks and crinkling the skin around the corners of her eyes.

Snow watched the scene with a grin of her own, watching Regina immediately brighten as soon as the little boy had caught her attention. A hand hovered on her stomach as she watched Roland talk about his past couple of days with such joy and imagined listening to her child's incessant rambling someday.

"And now Papa said I have to go fishing with John." Roland said as he ended his long stream of narrative.

"Fishing? Wow!" Regina exclaimed with wide eyes, "I bet you catch the biggest ones."

"No, Will catches the biggest ones," Roland giggled, before leaning forwards and whispering; "but we all tell Papa he does, because otherwise he gets grumpy."

Regina couldn't help the laugh that bubbled up out of her at the boy's words, and the second laugh as she caught sight of Robin's scowl.

"Majesty?" Roland asked, his excitement fading as he clutched at the hem of his green tunic.

With a small frown, Regina dipped her head to catch his eye, asking; "What is it?"

It was in a small voice that the boy asked; "when can we bake a cake?"

Regina inwardly groaned; she had forgotten all about that, the spell from Merlin had taken up the majority of her thoughts – those which weren't occupied by the thief – and she hadn't seen neither Robin nor Roland for the past few days.

Robin stepped forward, "Roland, my boy, I've told you; Regina's been busy doing very important things…"

"No, Robin," Regina interrupted, "I promised him we'd make a cake."

"Can we make one now, majesty?" Roland asked, his cute, little features arranged in a pout with puppy-dog eyes that nobody could refuse, not even the Evil Queen.

She was just about to wholly agree, when she remembered; "I thought you were going fishing?"

"Papa can go instead. Please?"

Both Regina and Robin looked at each other, silently checking if the boy's requests were ok. With a smile, Robin nodded towards Roland, giving her the privilege of granting his wishes.

"It was chocolate cake, right?"

Roland noted the smile on the Queen's face and didn't even bother to answer before he bounced on the balls of his feet, practically leaping forwards and wrapping his arms around Regina's neck before she had even registered the movement.

She stood, hoisting him onto her left hip as she smoothed a hand over his hair.

Robin stepped closer to her, asking; "are you sure this is ok?"

"It's fine, really,"

With a firm gaze, Robin turned to his son. "Now, you must behave for Regina, ok? Be a good boy and do as she says."

"I will Papa." Roland nodded. "I promise."

Robin smiled as he ran a hand over his son's hair. "Ok."

Regina shifted Roland higher on her hip, "don't worry about us; my little knight and I will be perfectly fine, won't we?"

"Yeah," the little boy enthused, "and we're going to bake the best chocolate cake ever!"

Robin mmm'd. "I can't wait to taste it."

"Who said you're getting any?" Regina quipped.

She managed all of two seconds before her smirk gave her away, and they both chuckled.

Robin was just about to ask again if Regina was ok with this, but before he could, she read his intentions and stopped him with a hand on his bicep. "We'll be fine, Robin. Besides; apparently I should take a break anyway."

Regina turned to garner Snow's reaction to the jibe, but the princess was observing her and Robin and Roland with knowing eyes and a satisfied smile, of which Regina did not wish to ever be at the receiving end. She turned back around quickly and pretended she saw nothing, pushing down the urge to act all cold, distant and pretend nothing was going on to get rid of that smirk.

But Robin smiled that smile, and Roland tightened his grip around her neck, and to hell with it; Snow already knew anyway.

"We'll see you later," Regina prompted, her voice soft.

"Alright," Robin conceded, finally able to shake out of his thoughts about how wonderful the sight of Regina and his son was to say – or rather ask; "I'll come and see how you're doing when I'm back?"

Nodding with a smile, Regina answered in the affirmative, and for a few seconds the trio just smiled at each other.

Robin ran his hand through his son's hair again, bending down to give him a kiss to the cheek, "right, be good."

He straightened, smiling at his son's insistent; "I will! Papa."

When Regina turned to look back at Robin, he had his lower lip between his teeth in the same way he always did when he was thinking a little too hard.

She didn't get the chance to ask what was on his mind before he cupped her elbow and leaned towards her, gently pressing his lips to her cheek in a very chaste kiss that had her heart fluttering all the same.

In the back of her mind, Regina knew Snow was watching, probably with a Cheshire cat-like grin, and the knowledge made Regina feel awkward and nervous and it suddenly felt like a first kiss all over again.

Though when Robin pulled back, looking as nervous as she did, she smiled in reassurance and his resulting grin made the momentary, self-conscious nerves worth it.

"See you later," he offered before walking backwards a few steps, opening his hands out with a foot's distance between them, stating; "I'm going to go and catch some big fish."

Roland chuckled, and Regina brought her right hand up with her thumb and forefinger a few inches apart, correcting him.

With a huff and his arms folded in front of him, Robin turned his head and walked down the corridor in an exaggerated, petulant tantrum that the Princess, the Queen and her little knight couldn't help but laugh at.

The light, melodious laugh from behind her drew Regina's attention to the fact that Robin had kissed her cheek – in front of the princess – and then had walked off and left her to answer to the knowing glances and personal questions.

He was going to suffer dearly for that.

"Come on," Regina said before tightening her hold on Roland and making a very quick half turn, laughing at the boy's chuckle at the sudden movement. "Let's go and make a chocolate cake."

She saw Snow's mouth open but before a single syllable could exit her mouth Regina levelled a glare at her, with a firm, warning; "Not a word."

Snow closed her mouth obediently, but the smirk remained long after Regina had walked past.

Regina set Roland down just before she reached the kitchen's doors. She'd chosen the secondary kitchen that was only used when cooking for a large audience, and although it somewhat lacked in equipment compared to the primary kitchen, it had everything required to make a cake, and it was unlikely to be very busy.

Sure enough, when they entered, there were only two people in there. The woman nodded and smiled at Regina – having informally spoken to her many times before in Storybrooke, but the man went into a regal bow and then left, ushering his companion out with him.

It wasn't a large kitchen by any means; the length exceeded the width by far and there were only three islands fitted in sideways, work stations either side with cupboards filled with pans and bowls and spoons, and shelves stocked with spices and flavourings. The large furnace in the centre of the left wall gave out lots of heat, necessitating in windows being open for the majority of the time, even when raining, and it always seemed to smell of freshly cooked bread.

When Regina looked at Roland he was clearly itching to get started, his gaze flitting around the room like a butterfly; never in one place long enough to truly see anything.

"Go on then, choose a workbench." Regina said, smiling when he ran to the one furthest from the door, right under the window, and stood on his tip-toes to see over the edge of the table. As it was still fairly early in the day, the sound of birds' song drifted through with the small breeze. Regina walked over with a smile.

On her way there she grabbed a small stool, and as soon as she was stood near the bench she placed it down to her right and helped the small boy climb up on it, before stepping up to the wooden surface herself.

She frowned as she started taking in the small crumbs around a pot or two, and the bottles of spices on the shelf above her had their labels facing the wrong way. She was not even going to look in the cupboards underneath her without preparing herself first; goodness knows what state they were in.

Turning to face Roland she clasped her hands together in front of her, "Right then, what's the first thing we do when we're going to make food?"

Roland looked down to the work bench in thought, pursing his lips as he tried to recall what he usually does when his father and the Merry Men did the cooking. "Get out plates and bowls?" He asked, turning to her with expectant eyes.

Regina chuckled, "not quite; we wash our hands first." Then when she saw Roland deflate a little she added; "then we go and get plates and bowls. I doubt you wash your hands much when you live in a forest, hmm?"

Roland shook his head and Regina rolled her eyes. Typical.

Roland jumped off of his stool and went to run to the wash basin, but Regina stopped him with a hand clutching the back of his shirt and; "ah ah, not yet."

The little boy huffed and sighed, "what?"

Regina raised her eyebrows in a silent reprimand at his tone of voice before she turned him to the back of the room where there were a row of aprons hanging on a series of wooden notches fixed to the stone wall.

"We wouldn't want you to ruin your clothes, would we?" Regina offered in explanation.

Roland shook his head and walked over to the garments, tugging at one and trying in vain to get it off the hook. Regina couldn't help but laugh as she walked over, unhooking the apron Roland had been pulling at and then the one that looked cleanest – which just so happened to be on the peg to the left of it.

Once she had placed the cleaner apron over her head and made a bow at the small of her back, - ensuring the front of her puffy blouse, fitted waistcoat and leather trousers were sufficiently covered – she bent down and held out the top loop for Roland to put his head through, and then laughed at the length of the apron – or the shortness of the boy – when he stood straight; the fabric ended a good foot after it touched the ground. Chuckling to herself, Regina tucked the end up underneath the front until the bottom edge was just below his knees. As she held it in place with her left hand, she used her right to wrap the strings around the front of his torso before she made a tight bow behind his back.

She leaned back on her haunches to admire her makeshift child's apron, it wasn't anything a seamstress would be proud of, but it would have to do for now.

"Now we need to go and wash our hands." Regina stated, standing and placing a hand between Roland's shoulder blades to direct him to the water basin.

Roland ran forwards, diving in between the work benches with whooshing noises.

"Roland, honey, no running in the kitchen please." Regina warned.

"Okay, majesty,"

By the time Regina had walked over to Roland, more of the water had gotten on his apron than it did on his hands, but when Regina had dried herself off and had taken Roland's little hands into her palms, they looked clean enough.

Once they were back at their station and had two bowls, a cake tin and several spoons in front of them, Regina turned to face Roland.

"Now then, do you know what ingredients we need to make a chocolate cake?" She asked.

Roland shook his head and then stopped, looking to Regina and tentatively asking; "flour? And sugar?"

"That's right, well done." Regina praised – smiling at the boy's beam – before asking; "do you know what else?"

The little boy's features scrunched together as he thought it over again, "do we need chocolate?"

"To make a chocolate cake? Of course we do," Regina stated with a grin, "I may even let you eat a little bit before we put it into the mix, but we'll keep that between us alright?"

Roland nodded seriously. "Ok, majesty."

"Roland," Regina started with a smile, "you can call me Regina."

"Why?"

The little boy's confusion made Regina's smile widen. "That's my name."

"Oh," Roland nodded, his gaze downwards as he absorbed this information. Then he looked back up at her, a nonplussed frown on his face as his head tilted; "But you're Queen."

The Queen laughed. "I am, but I let my favourite people call me Regina."

"I'm your favourite?" Roland asked, excitement in his eyes and wonder in his voice.

"Of course, my dear." Regina smiled, "now, is my favourite boy in the castle going to help me get the ingredients?"

With an enthusiastic nod, Roland hopped off his stool before Regina could reach out to help, taking a few quick steps in one direction, and then the other, before turning to Regina with a sheepish smile.

Laughing, Regina made to walk past him, taking his hand in hers and leading him towards the pantry at the back of the room where all the ingredients she'd need – except for the large quantity of chocolate and cocoa powder that she would produce herself – and goodness knows what else were kept.

The little boy walked in to the reasonably sized room and looked around in awe. The walls were covered in shelves holding jars of jams and pickles and sauces, vegetables to the left, fruits to the right, loaves of fresh bread held in large sacks on the floor, along with a few more marked potatoes and flour. Roland reached up, his fingers just skimming the bottom clove of a garlic garland that was hanging on a nail embedded into the wooden frame. He looked around the room and his eyes lit up when he spotted a bunch of grapes lying on top of a barrel. Without thinking he ran over and pulled one off, popping it into his mouth and smiling as he chewed it.

He turned around with a guilty expression when he heard Regina's questioning; "excuse me?"

With his hands behind his back he looked down at the ground, scuffing his shoe into a couple of green leaves on the floor, muttering "sorry."

"That's alright." Regina grinned. "Just ask first next time, ok?"

"Ok. Please can I have another grape please?"

"Of course," she chuckled, watching as he grinned and pulled off another, and then looked back in question to see the Queen's nod before he pulled off one more.

"Do I get one too?" Regina asked with a small smile.

Roland nodded, shoving both the grapes into his mouth and then looking at the bunch before picking off one at the top and running over to her. "I picked this one for you. It's the perfectest."

Regina couldn't help the 'aww' that escaped her, but she managed to pull back on the urge to pepper kisses all over his cute, little face and settled for just one of the top of his head. "Thank you, my dear."

He held it up to her in his little hands and Regina bent down so she could eat it straight out of his fingers, giving a teasing nip to his palm that made him shy away and giggle.

"Now then, as much as I would love to stay here and let you feed me grapes, we really need to sort out these ingredients."

Roland nodded seriously, "What do we need?"

"We need some flour," Regina started, procuring cups that would hold just the amount they needed.

She scooped up flour in one cup, giving it to Roland to hold, before declaring 'and we need some sugar', doing the same and giving the second cup to Roland to hold in the other hand.

"We need two fresh eggs," Regina walked over to the basket of straw laden with the eggs harvested that morning and held one in each hand. She turned to see Roland – hoisting both the cups of flour and sugar to lay on his arm and rest against his chest, outstretching the other to hold the eggs – and saw the immediate carnage of letting a four year old boy carry all these ingredients; "I'll hold these."

"We'll need a little olive oil, but I'm sure that is on our bench, and I'll magic us the chocolate when we're there." Regina mumbled under her breath, mentally going through the list of what they need, before remembering; "butter."

In the time it took her to retrieve a chunk of butter – that was a little over what Regina estimated was the right amount but it saved her from returning for more – Roland had ran away with thoughts and had a pensive frown on his face.

"Regina?" He asked, sounding as if he was trying out the name before it overtook 'majesty', "Is papa your favourite too."

Regina froze, lifted her gaze then turned her head to face him. "What makes you ask that?"

"Papa calls you Regina all the time, and you said you only let your favourites call you Regina." Roland explained. "But if he's not your favourite then I can tell him off when you're not there."

"Well," Regina started with a chuckle, before the boy's words registered; "wait… your father talks about me when I'm not there?"

Roland nodded. "Yes."

"What does he say?" Regina asked, and then kicked herself for sounding like some lovesick teenager hanging on every word her crush said.

"He just says that you're really nice. And very wonderful." Roland confessed, a blush tinging his cheeks. "And papa told me a bedtime story about a beautiful Queen who lived in a big castle and it was all about you."

"Oh," Regina breathed, a little taken aback.

"Is he?" Roland prompted, inquiring with curious eyes.

"He's… not as bad as the others." Regina compromised, preparing to leave the conversation there.

Though Roland knew better; "So he is your favourite?"

"One of them." Regina resigned. "But don't tell him, because he'll get this stupid smile on his face…"

Roland nodded enthusiastically, "like this," and then he smirked – in a pretty decent imitation – the smug smirk his father got when his ego had been inflated.

Regina couldn't help but laugh; "that's the one. So just keep it between us. Deal?"

"Deal," the boy smiled, and Regina couldn't resist the urge to ruffle his hair.

"Right, come on you," Regina started, nudging him back out in the direction of the kitchen, "let's go and bake the best chocolate cake ever."

About an hour later and they were still only on the mixture.

They had ended up talking about their favourite foods, and drawing flowers and trees in flour and sugar that had spilled onto the table, and as soon as Regina had cleaned one thing, it was messy again not a second later.

Regina had forgotten how tiring and lengthy baking with a young boy was. She swore Henry never used to cause this much trouble.

Henry…

The thought of her little prince made her heart clench and stomach drop, and she had to turn her head away for a moment to try and compose herself.

"Regina?" Roland asked from beside her, leaning forwards – perilously close to dipping his curls in the chocolate mixture – to see the Queen looking quite upset. "Why are you sad?"

The mere thought of the Queen being unhappy had Roland's voice quivering slightly, and the fact that the little boy seemed to care that much had a watery smile appearing on Regina's face.

"I'm ok Roland," she assured, running a hand through his mop of brown curls, "I was just remembering someone I miss very much, that's all."

"Oh, well when I miss my papa I just give him a big hug next time I see him." Roland admitted, thinking out loud before turning to her and saying; "You should do that too."

"Hug your papa?" Regina asked with a dismissive laugh.

"No!" He said, "the person you miss."

"If only it was that simple my darling," Regina sighed.

Then, not wanting to put a dampener on the time spent with this marvellous little boy, Regina stood so she was slightly behind him, declaring; "we really need to get this in the oven soon, dear."

"Ok."

And just like that the boy let it go, stirring furiously with his tongue sticking out from the corner of his lips and frowning when he had to wrap his arm around the bowl to stop it from moving too much.

Regina's laugh covered the sound of the door opening and closing. And as she stood behind him and held the bowl, her peripheral vision didn't cover the man leaning against the door jamb with a smile on his lips and adoration in his eyes.

Robin had come back from fishing early. It had been an unlucky day and they had caught nothing in the hour where all Robin could think – or talk – about was Regina and his son. And then of course John had given him 'friendly' advice consisting of 'watch your back' and 'don't get in too deep' to which Robin sighed and rolled his eyes as he had heard all of this before – and he came to realise that he had ignored it the first time as much as he did the second. And when John had tried to sway the conversation into more salaciously male banter regarding the Queen, Robin had put an end to it and had insisted they pack away.

They had no sooner returned to the castle than Robin started making his way towards the main kitchen. Half way there he realised it was more likely she went to the smaller one he had once found her in, it was mere weeks after they met and she was preparing herself a snack in the small hours of the morning – and when he had inquired as to her business there, she had promptly told him to 'go back to wallowing in swamps' before haughtily lifting her chin and walking past him with the best smelling food he had ever known.

And so he had found her there again, and she had looked nothing like she did the first time; she was smiling at his son, her whole face lighting up with laughter before she moved to help him, steadying the bowl as his enthusiastic actions had it skidding all over the table top.

When Roland's head tilted back to look up at Regina with a beaming smile, and Regina tilted her head down to look at Roland with the same wide grin, Robin felt his heart pound in his chest.

If he never saw anything else ever again, he could die happy treasuring this one moment for the rest of his life.

As it happened his son chose that moment to notice him, and he wasn't entirely sure what expression he had on his face, but it was enough to seemingly have Regina's breath hitching when she finally noticed him too¸ and he felt the need to school his features into something… less obvious.

"Papa!" Roland shouted, dropping the spoon in the bowl with a thunk and then jumping down from the stool.

Before he could begin his race to his father, Regina hooked a finger in the apron string around his back, giving a gentle reminder of; "hands."

With a nod he obediently went around to the sink. As he was scrubbing in the water to get rid of the stickiness on his fingers, Robin decided to walk over to where Regina was standing.

"Has he been ok?"

Regina couldn't help the smile spreading over her features, looking over to where Roland was inspecting his hand and then dunking it under the water again. "He's been brilliant."

When she looked back again, Robin's gaze hadn't shifted from hers, though Regina saw his hand move towards to bowl out of the corner of her eye and she promptly tapped the back of it in warning. "No."

"No?" Robin asked, putting on a pout that would have had her kissing him had he not just tried to steal cake mixture from her.

"No." Regina affirmed, before calling out; "Roland, tell your papa he's not allowed any of our cake mix."

"Papa, you're not allowed any of our cake mix," Roland parroted without question, and Regina thoroughly enjoyed the affronted look on Robin's face as he realised his son was now siding against him.

Though the smug smirk faded when Roland added; "Regina said only we can taste it."

Ok, so maybe he wasn't completely siding against his father, but it was close enough for Regina.

"Oh," Robin started, "I see how it is; you're allowed the mixture but not I?"

Regina nodded with an affirmative hum, trying to remain nonchalant even when Robin leaned so very close into her space to whisper in her ear; "you don't play fair, milady."

Regina had a retort on the tip of her tongue, but when he pulled back she caught a glimpse of chocolate at the corner of his mouth and immediately knew what he had done.

Damn thief.

"You want to know what's not fair?" Regina asked, stepping forwards into his personal space. His eyes searched hers, flitting to her lips with a smile and a nonchalant shake of his head before he met her gaze again. "Distracting the cook so you can steal some of the food."

The smile on his face faded at the knowledge of being caught, and as Regina quirked a brow in reprimand, he casually shrugged his shoulders as he sank his teeth into his lower lip and grinned.

Regina couldn't find it in herself to even pretend to be angry at him for any longer, and she chuckled, dropping her head onto his shoulder to muffle her giggles.

"Papa!" Roland exclaimed once he had walked back around to the work bench, "you have chocolate mix on your mouth."

Robin swiped the corner of his lips, but only succeeded in smearing traces of it towards his cheekbone. Regina and Roland both looked at each other and laughed.

"It's still there papa." Roland managed between giggles.

Robin went to try again but Regina beat him to it, brushing her thumb over his stubble to wipe away the part he hadn't been able to remove.

Once she was done she grasped Robin's chin and directed his face towards his son.

"What do you think, Roland?" She asked, turning to face him. "Better?"

The boy tilted his head, over-exaggerating his contemplation before nodding, "better. But you're not allowed near the cake mix anymore papa."

Robin let out a melodramatic whine, "but Roland…"

"No, papa," Roland insisted, "Regina said you can't have any, and we have to do what Regina says."

The Queen barely held in her laugh, but still managed to direct a smug, so there expression at Robin before they both chuckled.

Taking pity on his adorable pout – though how she could think a grown man adorable she would never know – Regina gently tapped his cheek and compromised; "You can watch."

"I prefer to do," Robin quipped.

"Well I know that," Regina drawled with a wink, and their gazes held and heated as the thoughts proving the truth of his statement got naughtier and naughtier.

Roland – oblivious to the very mature direction the adults' minds were taking them – whined; "Papa, go away."

Robin huffed, folding his arms and tearing his gaze away from Regina's. "Are you going to ask nicely?"

"Please?" he grinned.

Robin looked to Regina expectantly, who smirked and lowered her tone to tease; "Would you kindly move away, sir?"

His jaw tensed and Regina smirked even more.

That smirk only grew as he stood directly next to her, quieting his tone to ask her; "Are you calling me Sir on purpose?"

"Now, does that sound like something I would do?" Regina mocked.

"It does." Robin quipped, resting his hand on the small of her back and tracing his fingers up and down her spine, following the shivers he initiated. "Do you know what that does to me?"

Regina's 'yes' was smug and Robin found himself wishing his son had busied himself with something other than stirring the bowl again right next to them.

"You're wicked," he stated.

"No dear; Evil," she corrected, before teasing; "now be a good boy, and go and stand over there."

"Where?" Robin asked as he took one step backwards. He wasn't going to make it easy for her. "Here?"

He regretted his decision when she shook her head and said 'more' in that sultry tone of hers that drove him to the brink of insanity. Apparently, she wasn't making this easy for him either.

"Here?" He sighed, taking another step back.

But Regina shook her head and instructed; "Don't stop."

Robin gulped. He knew what she was doing. And it was bloody working.

Damn Queen.

He dreaded asking if where he stood now was ok, lord knows what she'd say next.

Apparently she had already decided, looking him up and down, pursing her lips to try and curb her grin, before stating; "Right there."

Robin lost his mind.

He was grateful he was four steps away from her because if she was within arm's reach…

Don't even think about it…

Robin frantically arranged his thoughts into something more suitable for when he was in the same room as his young boy. If only Regina allowed him the same courtesy.

Though aside from a scandalous wink and a tantalisingly evil smirk, she said nothing else – a fact for which Robin was eternally grateful – choosing to turn back to his son as if she hadn't just been feeding such very dirty thoughts into his father's mind with five simple words.

He huffed as he pulled out the stool from the work bench he was next to and sat on it.

"Right then," Regina started, moving back behind Roland and peering over the edge of the bowl to check the mix was stirred well enough, "you taste that, make sure it's delicious, and I'll grab the cake tin."

Roland nodded seriously, picking up the wooden spoon with a large dollop of chocolate cake mix on it and licking his lips.

Regina smiled, turning to search for the tin she had pushed aside not too long ago.

But then her thoughts suddenly drifted to Henry again, many a memory floating through her head of a few times her little prince helped with baking; a 2 year old more interested in making a mess with whatever he could find than helping his mother; a 4 year old messily writing 'I love you mommy' in flour on the work bench then beaming with pride; a 5 year old sneaking sticky fingers into the cake mixture for a quick taste when he thought she wasn't looking; a 7 year old protesting that he knew how to do it 'all by himself' and then getting upset when it wasn't as good as his mom's…

Blinking moisture from her eyes and clearing the lump in her throat, Regina located the tin with a victorious grin and turned back to her little 'helper' for the day. The pang of her bittersweet reminiscing faded to laughter when she saw Roland's face; the boy had somehow managed – in the few seconds she had her back turned – to smear the chocolate mix all around his mouth, up to the apples of his cheeks, and even some on the underside of his nose.

"You're supposed to taste it, Roland; not paint your face with it."

She chuckled as she picked up the damp cloth in front of her that they had used to clean away excess ingredients, opening it out before muttering "come here" and splatting it over his face.

Rubbing vigorously, Regina laughed when she felt his cute, little features scrunch up beneath the thin material, his small hands coming up to wrap around her wrist as he giggled.

"There we are," Regina declared as she pulled the cloth away to leave a chocolate-free, little boy, "all clean."

Robin smiled, caught up in watching his son interact with his Regina as they milled about in the kitchen. He couldn't help but wonder if this was how his future would be; him seated on a stool away from everything, forced to just watch his son and his wife bake cakes because he stole some of the mixture without permission, watching them laugh at how messy they had both gotten despite not caring in the slightest about the flour and chocolate on their clothes…

He couldn't imagine anything better.

Robin's eyes widened when the stark realisation hit him. He was starting to imagine his future, with Regina in it, by his side, and his son's, baking cakes and being maternal and teasing him when Roland wasn't looking…

He had thought of his future before, had imagined a female presence in his – and his son's – life, but she had always been faceless, her features blurred as if he couldn't quite make out what he wanted.

Apparently, now he had.

Regina Mills.

Perhaps John was right; Robin knew he was falling fast for the Queen, but he didn't realise just how fast. Maybe he needed to take a little step back, just until he had his head together and was as resolute in not letting this become a full blown relationshipas Regina did.

But this woman was a siren; drawing him in deeper and deeper, and he doubted she even realised it.

Letting his feelings for her develop would only bring heartache, surely; she had stated that she didn't want anything more than a distraction.

But what kind of distraction involved baking cakes with their child, working with friends to tease him, and having something so strong he swore he could sometimes feel what she felt?

Robin was torn. His thoughts made his head spin. He had given up trying to define anything regarding Regina Mills very quickly after he had met her; she was a woman who defied labels. Why should their 'distraction'be any different?

He'd just have to try and avoid any situation where he could forget himself and start daydreaming about sharing his life with her again.

He could manage that. Surely.

Robin was brought out of his musings by the woman in question calling his name, looking slightly frustrated as she huffed a strand of hair out of her face.

"Hey, Robin, could you pass me a spoon from that cupboard?" she asked, pointing to the lower cabinet next to where his bent knee was.

She obviously needed a clean one – as the two on the table were unclean and Roland had a firm grip on the third - but she had one hand holding the bowl for support and her arm just wasn't long enough to reach anywhere near another one.

When he didn't move and scowled Regina huffed again and mocked; "please?"

Still frowning, Robin stood, opened the doors, grabbed a spoon and held it out to her.

Noting the change in demeanour Regina didn't even attempt to take the utensil, preferring to ask; "Are you ok?"

"Fine." He assured, holding the spoon out further in a gesture for her to take it.

Not believing him for a second, Regina reached forward but bypassed the handle, wrapping her fingers around his hand and pulling him closer to her instead of letting him walk back to his stool again.

She kissed him. It was a short kiss – by their standards – but it was enough to soften his mood considerably. And when Regina pulled back and smiled at him, raising her brow in a silent repeat of are you ok?, the corner of his mouth tugged up in the start of a grin too.

He didn't know how she did it.

But she had just waltzed back in through every promise he had made to try and stay distant for a little while.

And as he watched Regina now, ushering him backwards with a smile before turning to his son and helping him spoon the mixture into the tin in front of her, it was a wonder how the thought ever came into his head in the first place.

He didn't have a prayer of staying away from her.

Another hour later and Regina was walking back to her room with a smile, replaying everything from her long morning that fed into the afternoon. The way Roland's face had lit up as they had watched the cake rise as it baked, the way Robin had glared and mouthed 'wicked' when she bent over at the waist to grab a new bowl from the lower cupboard, and the way she had mouthed 'evil' with a wink in correction. They had eventually given in trying to keep Robin away from the chocolate, and he had ended up trying to squeeze between Regina and Roland – the latter of whom was having none of it – to helpwith laying the melted chocolate on top and sandwiching buttercream between the two layers. Though his version of 'help' consisted of stealing a few swipes around the rim of the bowl and mockingly picking fault with everything, then making everyone laugh as he just made it worse when he tried to make it better.

Regina had shooed them away afterwards, tidying and cleaning when Roland had become a little whiny and wanted to divert his attention to something more fun. She had told Robin to take him back to their room; he had been good all day and he deserved to have a break. The fact that Robin had tried to stealthily commandeer the bowl of chocolate before he left did not go unnoticed by Regina, but in respond to her protest he had put a spot of chocolate on the top of Regina's ear, and before she could scold him he had traced his tongue over the sweet substance and gruffly told her that he wanted something for them to play with afterwards.

Her cheeks had flushed then, and they flushed now at the mere thought of his definition of 'play', but as she saw George waiting for her, resting against the door of her chambers with his arms folded, she fought to get her thoughts under control.

"George?" She called out, smirking at the way he jumped, "what are you doing here?"

"I was just checking in on you," he replied, smiling and tucking his hands into his pockets, "how are you?"

"I'm fine," Regina replied without thought, but then amended it to; "I'm great, actually."

"I'm glad."

"Are you alright?" She asked, noting that he seemed to be holding something back.

"Yeah, I'm good," George smiled, before enquiring; "How's Zelena's curse?"

Regina grinned. "Gone."

"For good?"

Regina nodded in affirmative with a hum.

"Good."

Regina paused and refrained from saying anything else as she tried to think of whatever he could be trying to keep quiet about. She gave up and just sighed; "spit it out George."

"I need a favour," he grimaced, unsure as to what the Queen's reaction would be.

"Oh?" She said as she raised her brow, teasing; "just because we're friends does not mean I will do you any favours."

George smiled, the tension leaving him. "No; you'll do me a favour because I'm handsome and charming and will owe you."

"Well…" Regina started, pretending to consider, before mocking; "one out of three isn't bad I suppose."

"I'm wounded, your majesty." George said as he placed a hand over his heart in an affronted, melodramatic fashion.

With a roll of her eyes she asked; "What do you need?"

"It's my birthday next week." George started, and when Regina just raised an eyebrow at him in a silent and..? he continued; "I believe Robin and the rest of his team are planning a surprise party."

"Right, and the problem is?" Regina wondered, gesticulating between them with her palm held up in question.

"I don't like surprises."

"You and me both," Regina admitted, "but what do you want me to do about it?"

He grimaced again, taking a deep breath and then saying all at once; "Just tell me what they're planning. I'll act surprised, they won't know any different…"

"But all their hard work to keep it secret would be for nothing," Regina pointed out, sounding slightly distressed at the thought of Robin's – and Roland's, because there was no way his little boy wouldn't join in – efforts going to waste.

"But if I don't like it then everyone will know because I cannot lie to save my life." George whined, before adding; "I can't hide disappointment very well, it's just not who I am."

"I don't know; you seem pretty talented at the dramatic arts to me." Regina retorted.

"Oh shush," he sniped with a glare, then not talking long enough for Regina feeling the need to fill the silence.

"If I find out, I'll only tell you if I think you won't like it," she ended up compromising.

"But-"

"No 'but's," she interrupted, before reaffirming; "That's what I'm going to do."

"Ok, fine," he grumbled, folding his arms in front of him.

"What do I get in thanks for this anyway? I'm expecting bouquets and wine at the very least," the Queen declared.

"I'm sure your method of extracting information from Robin will be enjoyable enough, don't you?" George teased with a smirk.

Regina's jaw dropped, "that is-"

"True," George interrupted.

Regina corrected him with a raised brow – fighting the smirk; "inappropriate."

"But still true," he grinned, amused at the reaction he had gotten out of the monarch.

Regina rolled her eyes and looked away, praying that her cheeks didn't look as flushed as they felt.

When he prompted "isn't it?" with a teasing smile, Regina quipped; "That's none of your business." Though the smirk at remembering certain activities would just not fade away.

She looked back at George with a smile and saw his hopeful, expectant look and couldn't help but pity the man.

"Fine," she groaned, "how many days do I have to work my magic?"

He beamed. "Nine."

"Got it."

As Regina grabbed the arm of his long t-shirt and pulled him a few steps away from the entrance to her chambers, he chuckled and asked; "Anything I can do to help?"

"Sure," she replied as she walked past him and pushed open her door, leaving him to wonder whatfor a few moments. Just before the outside world was shut away from the Queen's chamber, she laughed and called out; "stay out of my way."

The first thing she noted was the smell of chocolate that permeated the air of her chambers.

The second was the bowl Robin had stolen from the kitchen lying on the table by the side of her bed, and a small, silver spoon resting against the edge.

She smirked as she walked over, choosing not to acknowledge the fact that he had broken into her room to put it there, or perhaps she'd just have him make it up to her later…

Regina swiped her finger around the rim of the bowl, leaving a faint chocolaty smear as she lifted the hand to her mouth. But before it reached her lips there were four fingers and a thumb wrapped around her wrist, stopping her intended movement.

Her hand was brought backwards over her shoulder, her finger taken into a warm, wet mouth which belonged to the only person who would dare to come into her chambers and essentially steal food from her fingertips.

Regina turned her head and was met with the sight of Robin smirking around her finger, his tongue pressing and swirling against her skin to remove all traces of the sweet substance. She couldn't help but bite her lip when he sucked as he slowly drew her hand away from him.

Damn thief.

Keeping hold of the wrist in his hand, Robin tugged so Regina had no choice but to turn her body to face him. It took all of two seconds before his lips were on hers.

Smirking into the outlaw's mouth, Regina reached behind her, dipping her finger into the bowl and twirling it to prevent making too much mess. She trailed it from his ear to the collar of his shirt, pulling away to smile and wink before she moved to swipe her tongue in a firm lick back up the path she'd taken.

Gripping her hips and lowering his head to bite her shoulder, Robin groaned and nosed the thin blouse that she had decided to wear out of the way. Why she couldn't just wear easy to remove clothing, he had no idea.

Robin placed a hand under Regina's chin and tilted her head to the side. Reaching past her, he took the spoon out of the bowl and drizzled an uneven line along her neck. Some of the mixture managed to get on the black cotton of her shirt but Robin couldn't bring himself to care in the slightest.

The chocolate disappeared fairly quickly; his tongue smoothing over her skin before he scraped his teeth along the junction of her neck, drawing a sigh from the Queen's lips.

His hand reached around to her back, where there were the laces to a half corset that was securing this damned blouse to her skin and hiding her body from view. Robin tugged, managing to untie the knot and loosen the laces somewhat.

"You faring any better with that this time, outlaw?" Regina teased, remembering the past couple of times where he'd been too impatient and frustrated to remove her corset without a little help.

"See for yourself," Robin smirked as he stood back and took the offending garment with him.

"Well done thief," Regina mocked, before pursing her lips and adding; "are you expecting a reward?"

"Removing this damn shirt will be rewarding enough." He growled.

With a quirk of her eyebrow, Regina stepped back into his space, leaning on her tiptoes to whisper in his ear; "so remove it."

His hands came to her shoulders, pushing her back down to the height she was before – which was still a few inches taller than she actually was; her and those damn high heeled boots she loved to wear.

Regina grinned, her hands coming up to his shirt that he had tucked into his waistband and tugging upwards, initially in a flirty manner but then she got impatient and growled when the offending garment would not work with her.

"Leave it on," Robin ordered, batting her hands away and inching his own her under blouse, encountering soft, warm skin wherever he touched.

"No." Regina insisted, "I want it off."

Her lack of success from the repeated attempts had her frustrated. With an impatient huff she waved her hand and the shirt was gone, her fingers free to trail up his torso before her nails lightly scraped the same path back down.

Robin moaned. "That's cheating, milady."

"That's being resourceful, thief." She teased before she looked down and something on his right arm caught her eye.

"What's this?" Regina asked, reaching for his wrist.

"It's nothing." Robin dismissed.

He wrapped his arms around her and tried to pull her back to him, but she stopped him with her hands on his chest; "Tell me."

"It was Roland's idea." Robin started, reaching again to remove her blouse before Regina grabbed his hand and stopped him in a silent demand for more of an answer. "He was confused as to why the Royals had a Coat of Arms and we – the Merry Men – didn't."

Regina smiled. "And so he made you one?"

"Every single one of us." Robin smiled, looking at the piece of one of Little John's shirts that had been cut and wrapped around his – and everyone else's – wrist with a picture of a tree, a bow and arrow and his name followed by 'Merry Man' in barely legible writing.

"That's sweet."

Robin hummed in agreement. Then feeling impatient he muttered "talking of sweet," before taking her lips with his. He grabbed the elasticated hem of her blouse and waited until he was somewhat satisfied with her kiss before he pulled upwards, reluctantly parting to remove the item of clothing from her body and loosening her hair in the process.

There was a lock of hair that had almost fallen, precariously being held by a pin, and Robin twirled it around his finger and freed it, a few more strands falling to frame her face alongside it.

"You've officially ruined my hairdo now, are you happy?" Regina quipped, acting affronted but wishing it was completely undone so he could run his hands through and tangle his fingers and do that thing where he tugs in just the right way to send shivers down her spine.

"Depends on your definition of 'ruined'," Robin stated, reaching up to remove the other pins holding her hair back.

His hands brought her long tresses to her front, his fingers running through her raven hair before he let the locks fall to cover her bare chest. "Better."

Regina looked down at the hair covering her breasts and then looked back up to Robin with an eyebrow raised in a silent 'are you serious?'

He chuckled and pushed the hair aside, his thumbs tracing the underside of her breasts before they returned to smooth back and forth over her nipples, correcting himself; "This is better."

Regina closed her eyes in a slow blink, letting out a sigh before biting the corner of her lower lip and humming.

"Now then," Robin started, moving his hands around her sides to slide them between the tight leather adorning her lower half and the smooth skin of her backside, "we have a problem."

"We do?" She asked, eyebrow raised, humouring him as he got the leather past her hips then realised that removing her boots first might be a good idea.

"Mm-hmm." With a hand on her stomach he pushed her back until she had to sit on the bed behind her. "I think…" He got to his knees and pulled one boot off. "…We have all this chocolate…" He placed the boot next to her bedside table and then removed the other one. "…And I'm not entirely sure…" He grabbed the leather, forcing her hips up and tugged, shuffling back to facilitate a swift removal. "…where to put it."

Regina tried to contain her smirk – and failed. "Oh?"

"Any ideas?" Robin grinned as his eyes swept over her figure.

Reaching to her right, she took hold of the spoon and twirled it, taking it out the bowl and holding it up between them, her eyes roaming his chest.

Robin grinned, and then Regina schooled her features into something resembling innocence, teasing "none," before she wrapped her lips around the spoon, watching his expression change into frustration and then something mischievous.

When her mouth was no longer occupied she barely had time to blink before he pounced, crashing his lips to hers and pushing her until she moved back enough so he could lean over her. Wrapping an arm around her waist, he pulled her to him so he could shift her up the bed to lie on it fully, before bringing a knee either side of her, laying more of his weight on her.

Robin blindly reached over, dipping a couple of fingers into the bowl and drawing them back, putting them to Regina's mouth. He intended to trace her lips with chocolate before stealing another kiss, but she had other ideas; parting her lips and running her tongue along the pads of his fingers with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

Robin watched her, entranced. It was a simple thing but damn it felt good.

He withdrew, burying his hand in her hair with a muttered 'God…' and then pulled her lips to his, his tongue determined to take every last trace of chocolate from her mouth.

The spoon was dropped on silk sheets in favour of Regina's hands roaming everywhere; the toned chest, the strong arms, the firm ass… And her lips quirked into a smile as she realised it was all hers.

Suddenly feeling very proprietary and having the urge to cover him in chocolate, Regina groped blindly for the spoon again with her eyes still closed and her lips still connected to Robin's.

Her fingers wrapped around the handle, and she shifted her torso to the right so she had a better chance of actually reaching the bowl. But before she could move any further the metal was taken out of her hand and Robin broke their kiss to sit up and dip the spoon in chocolate himself.

He held the spoon above her stomach and slowly let the mixture fall, drawing a very uneven 'R' from where Regina had squirmed as the sensation had tickled her skin.

Shuffling back until the edge of the bed was at middle of his shins, he lowered his head to lick the long strip of chocolate that ran up to the bottom of her ribs. Regina sucked in a harsh breath, holding it in whilst he traced the semi-circle about her navel, then as he followed the last part in a diagonal line downwards Regina couldn't help but squirm again – though this time it was not from being ticklish…

Robin placed kisses from one hipbone to the other, smirking at Regina's gasp when he reached halfway and remained there for a small while, his fingers trailing patterns on the sides of her thighs that had her aching to nudge him just that little further down...

Not one for patience, Regina raised her legs and forced Robin upwards until he had to place a hand next to her head to steady himself. With a grin she flipped them, shifting so she was astride his hips and thoroughly distracting him with her lips, teeth and tongue over his skin.

When Regina leaned away to get her own scoop of chocolate, Robin was left dazed, so much so that he looked at his empty hand with a frown and wondered where he had dropped the spoon.

Regina smirked, sitting straight and biting her lip. She started to draw a heart on his chest, and then kicked herself because what the hell was she thinking? She was not some doey-eyed teenager with a crush; she was the Evil Queen for God's sake.

Thinking quick, she turned it into a flower instead. It wasn't much better than the heart, but at least she didn't look like a lovesick, little princess. Though the grin on Robin's face at her design suddenly had her doubting that assumption.

Wanting to wipe the smile off of his face, Regina trailed kisses down his neck, sucking and biting until he was moaning and breathing heavily underneath her, his smirk vanishing in favour of bitten lips.

Where to start? She hadn't really thought the flower through properly. She hadn't really thought the heart through either, though that would have been easier to clean off than this. But Regina was nothing if not determined.

Her lips trailed down, and her nails dragged up. The resulting groan she achieved was almost as perfect as the one Robin released when her tongue started to smooth away her artwork.

Regina felt Robin's heartbeat pick up under her lips, and as his hands fisted in the sheets at the side of him she heard his breath stutter and felt a swell of pride that she could make the great Prince of Thieves an inarticulate mess with her mouth and chocolate.

With a smug chuckle, Regina trailed her tongue along the lower petal, sucking and laving at the skin until she got impatient and moved onto the next one.

In the time it took her to do all six, Robin had gotten more and more frustrated and needy, tangling a hand in her hair and pulling her up to kiss her lips.

She had faint traces of the mixture on her chin, where she hadn't quite finished licking off one petal before moving on to the next. But Robin remedied that as his mouth travelled to whatever skin he could reach, before marking her neck with kisses and bites that drew gasps and moans from the Queen's lips.

Her hips started to move against his. The first grind brought a moan from both their throats at the delicious friction, before Regina fell into a lazy rhythm that slowly pushed them both further into heated desire.

Robin trailed his hands down Regina's back, his blunt nails dragging across her skin and making her shudder against him with a sigh. Regina moved a hand into his hair to tug his head back into the pillows, diving for his lips and grinding against him a little harder.

She barely had time to curse his damn trousers for existing before he had flipped them, commandeering her mouth again before he slid a hand between her legs, smiling at the breathy moan from beneath him when his fingers started moving against her.

Her hands moved to his trousers but went no further when he started drawing circles around her clit for she could do nothing but gasp and arch her spine. When she regained movement she fumbled with the fastenings, getting frustrated at not being able to undo them in her lust-induced haze, and not being able to do them the more she got frustrated.

With a groan Regina pushed him away from her, using enough force to have him off of the bed and taking a step back.

He looked at her in confusion, but the fire in her gaze and the lust in her voice when she lowly ordered 'remove your trousers' had him struggling for breath and forgetting how to think for a moment.

When he came back to himself he inwardly grinned, choosing to slowly move one hand to the band of his trousers, slowly moving the other to join it, then slowly working at his fastenings in an unhurried pace belying the urgency with which he needed the woman in front of him.

Regina's jaw clenched, her fierce glare flitting from his hands to his face and resisting the urge to shove his hands away and just tear at the material until it did what she wanted.

His thumbs hooked in the waistband and Regina bit her lip. Then he stopped and Regina let out a growl.

"Robin. If you don't…"

His trousers fell, his erection sprang free and Regina's lips pursed in a smile as she leaned forward to drag him back on top of her.

Robin had none of it; evading her hands to take the spoon, gather chocolate on it and then hold it above where he was hard and aching.

"There?" Regina asked sceptically.

Robin's mouth upturned and his brows rose in the facial equivalent of a shrug; "Why not?"

She scoffed. "If you think you're putting that inside me with chocolate cake mix on it, you have another thing-"

Robin tilted the spoon and watched as he drizzled a wavy line from base to tip.

Regina's jaw dropped, though she wouldn't be able to say if it was from the sight in front of her or the fact that she had threatened him and he had done as he pleased anyway. Though she should not have been surprised at the latter; he was hardly one to listen to orders.

"Oops." Robin teased, not looking apologetic in the slightest.

Regina pursed her lips in a smirk, "and what are you hoping to do with that now?"

"Have you lick it off," Robin winked.

"Are you going to ask nicely?" She mocked with an eyebrow raised.

"Do I need to?" He countered. "Or would you prefer me to order you to lick my cock?"

Regina scoffed. "You have a dirty mouth."

Robin hummed in affirmation, leaning forwards until his lips were hovering over hers, "I want to dirty yours."

Regina's smirk turned into a grin and she gripped his right bicep with her hands, pulling so he was sat on the bed to her left. Then, in one smooth motion, she was kneeling between his legs and looking up at him with a deliciously evil look in her eyes.

"God…" Robin whispered, his hands gripping the edge of the bed

"And I haven't even done anything yet," She teased with a smirk and a raised brow.

"You don't need to," Robin stated, taking in the sight of her before him, "I only need to look at you and I'm imagining all the ways to make you scream my name."

"Are you going to share?" Regina asked as she trailed a series of soft bites and kisses from his knee up to the middle of his thigh.

"With you doing that?" he breathed, "I don't think I'm capable."

"I can stop if that makes it easier," Regina started, moving to lean back.

Robin stopped her with a hand tangling in her luscious, black waves and a firm "no."

Regina chuckled and Robin amended himself to a gentler; "don't stop."

With a smirk Regina trailed her hands up his calves and rested them on top of his thighs, before continuing to lay her trail of kisses higher and higher…

The Queen couldn't resist pausing just shy of where he obviously wanted her – a little payback for thinking teasing her with the removal of his trousers was appropriate – breathing over him and smiling as he twitched.

Taking pity on his agonised groan, she curled her tongue around the side of him and shifted forwards, catching the droplets of chocolate that threatened to fall before they had the chance, drawing a moan and a sigh from the thief. Her hand came to wrap around the base, gently squeezing as she dropped kisses on him in no particular pattern, managing to rid him of at least a little of the chocolate.

Taking the tip of him into her mouth, Regina dragged her nails of her free hand along the inside of his thigh, smirking around him at the harsh intake of breath.

His moan encouraged her to take him deeper, a pleased hum escaping her and making Robin tighten his grip on her hair. She hollowed her cheeks and pulled back until she could look up at him without straining, smirking as she twirled her tongue around the tip of him, enjoying the way his head lolled back before she averted her gaze downwards, lowering her head until her lips met the top of her hand.

Robin let go of her hair to reach behind him for support, the other hand flailing in the air for a moment before coming to rest on the one she had wrapped around him, prompting her to start stroking in slow movements in tandem with her mouth.

"God…" Robin groaned as his hand moved to grip the edge of the bed, pulling at the sheets with white knuckles.

In no time at all Regina picked up the pace, trailing nails up his thigh until she had his balls cupped in her hand, thrilled at Robin's attempts to say something coming out as mere garbled ramblings.

She slowed down, teasing him and making him groan as his rapid ascent slowed to a steady climb. But it didn't last long before he tangled his hand back in her hair and started guiding her head up and down at the pace she was going at before.

Regina moved her hands to his thighs and let her jaw go slack, letting Robin control how fast and how deep he wanted to go as she shifted to rest on her heel so she had something to help relieve the burning ache between her legs.

On one particularly harsh thrust, he pushed his hips too far forward and Regina coughed, digging her nails into his skin. Robin pulled out and ran hands through her hair.

"Are you alright?" He asked, voice laden with concern.

Regina let out a soft, ironic laugh, if only everyone had treated her like this when she had bedded them.

"I'm fine." She said, then when she saw scepticism show through his smile, added a teasing; "you're just so big…"

It got the desired effect; he looked halfway between laughing and taking her right there.

Biting her lip, Regina went to resume making the outlaw come apart, but he had other ideas; halting her with a hand on his shoulder as he gruffly voiced; "I want you."

She let him pull her to lie underneath him, swallowing as she felt him hot and hard against her as he mouthed at her neck and ground against her.

When she wrapped a leg around his waist and raised her hips to meet him he groaned in her ear, vowing; "I'm going to take you so hard you pass out."

Regina smirked, rolling them over, lurching forward and fisting her hands in the sheets either side of his head.

"Not if I make you pass out first."

Robin woke up a while later to find the other side of the bed empty. And whilst he was used to waking up alone in his own bed, waking up alone in someone else's was not all that common.

He sat up, wiping the sleep from his eyes and squinting in the slowly descending darkness to try and find out where his Queen had got to.

He had managed half a sweep of the room before he noted an unmistakable figure on the balcony, a silhouette that was likely to be held in his memory forever, the image of poise and grace with soft curves and long hair.

With a smile, Robin threw the covers away from him, donning underclothes before padding barefoot towards where his Queen stood in a simple robe. He had made it halfway across the cold floor before he noted the reason for her standing there.

The sky was alive.

The inky blue, twilight sky, full of dark clouds that hid the rays of the moon and the twinkle of the stars, was lit up with hundreds upon hundreds of lightning bugs. The insects created swirling patterns that waved and crested, the golden light becoming bright for a moment before dissipating when the bugs moved to their next grand display.

It was at times like these where Robin was reminded why he had always found nature so breath-taking.

"What's this?" He asked, coming to stand behind her and then leaning to the left so he could see the sky over her shoulder.

"It doesn't happen here often; only once every couple of years," Regina started, her voice soft and content, completely absorbed in thought. The lack of huskiness in her tone made it seem light, made her sound so much younger. "When I was new to the castle, when I was so tiredof my life, I'd look for some sort of sign that things would get better. That they could get better, one day."

Robin sighed and frowned, his gaze falling to the floor. In times where it was just them, just him and Regina having fun and bringing pleasure to each other, it was easy to forget that she had this dark history that followed her everywhere.

"I stumbled across this display of fireflies one night when I was feeling… down, and it brought a smile to my face." Robin watched as a small, serene smile tugged at the corners of Regina's lips at the memory. "I mean they're just insects but I… I don't know, they just helped me forget for a little while. It was nice."

He snaked his arms around her from behind, humming as he pressed a kiss to her temple and tightening his embrace for a moment before he rested his chin on her shoulder. Regina brought her arms up to rest over his where they were wrapped around her torso, her palms over the backs of his hands as her fingers entwined with his, sighing as she leaned into him and they both watched the lights dance across the sky.

"Regina…" Robin started, pressing a kiss to her shoulder.

Regina hummed in question, feeling a little too content to bother with the effort of using her vocal chords to speak.

All the things that Robin wanted to say flashed before him. Things like "I won't let you feel like that again" and "I want to make you happy" gotstuckon the tip of his tongue. He almost said them, almost let a couple of his more sentimental thoughts towards her loose, but she turned her head to look at him and his words died away.

She looked content, a light shining in her eyes that he rarely saw – that anyone rarely saw – and the realisation that he was lucky enough to see the 'Evil' Queen like this made a smile tug at his lips. Her attention was drawn to them, and before he knew it she had craned her neck a little to press a kiss to his mouth.

It didn't last long; she was pulling away in a matter of seconds. But the smile she gave him after – warm, caring, sincere – was worth her turning to face the sky before he could properly taste her lips.

Robin didn't need to say anything; she knew. Whether she wanted to admit it or not, Regina knew that he cared for her.

He held her tighter, just wanting to enjoy the moment they were in. All Robin wanted was to stay like this; feeling content, his Regina in his arms, both of them at peace in this crazy world of hers.

He just wanted to enjoy this calm moment before life decided it was time to throw something else at them.