Author's Notes:

Special Thanks to ale_nena for contributing ideas and feedback.

Setting: Misthaven non-magical modern AU. The society and political system will be based on a combination of modern countries, with a probable bias toward the American system as I am an American. However, all characters are fictional and resemblance to real people or events is purely coincidence.

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The air was cool and crisp. Just on the edge of unseasonably cold for early fall. His breath coming in white puffs illuminated by the blue and red flashing lights.

Everything seemed to be moving slowly around him...much more slowly than he remembered.

He watched the swirling lights for a minute before the whoop of sirens suddenly pierced through his consciousness and, it felt like, his skull. Visions of twisted metal hitting him like a ton of bricks.

He jerked, sitting up. He was surrounded by darkness and his head was pounding.

Taking a deep breath, Robin recalled where he was. He was in his room at the Mills estate. After taking a moment to recover himself, he tossed away the covers and swung himself out of bed.

The low recessed bulbs lit his way to the locker room. At one of the sinks, he splashed cold water on his face and stared into the mirror at his own tired eyes. It had been a long time since he'd had one of those dreams. Not since before he moved to Unity City, in fact, and he was not exactly happy that they were back.

With a sigh, he shoved himself away from the sink and shuffled back to his room. Inside, he picked up his phone from the nightstand. The time read 12:30 AM. He'd only been asleep for about an hour.

Dropping the phone, he plopped down on the edge of the bed. He knew it'd be a while before he managed to get back to sleep. He could still feel the adrenaline racing through him.

Standing from the bed, he flipped on the light on his desk and turned to open the wardrobe. He got out the outfit he usually wore when going for a run. After changing into his workout clothes and tying his trainers, he threw on an old hooded sweatshirt.

Digging through the desk drawer, he retrieved a small flashlight to guide his way, and his phone on the off chance someone needed to get ahold of him.

Just as he was reaching for the door handle, his phone buzzed in his hand. Glancing at it, he noticed an alert of a new text from Regina.

He stared at the phone in amazement at her timing.

Swiping, he opened the text and read it.

"Hey, are you sleeping?"

Laughing he typed back a response, "Just woke up, actually. What are you doing up so late?"

A response came quickly, "Working late on some paperwork and could use a break. What about you? What are you doing? Why did you just wake up?"

"No reason," he lied, "Just going out for a run."

"In the dark?" her next text asked.

"Sure," he responded.

"Is that safe?"

He laughed again, "I can take care of myself, Ms. Mills."

"What would you say if I went out running in the middle of the night?" she asked.

He sighed. She was right, the security team would never let her do something like that, but he also knew that telling her it was different if it was her wouldn't go over well.

Finally, he typed out an answer, "I won't be long."

"Why are you wanting to go running at this time, anyway?"

Back to the issue he really didn't want to think too much about. Trying to ignore the unpleasant memories, he responded cryptically, "Just want to blow off a little steam so I can get to sleep tonight."

She waited a little longer before sending her next text, "Is that so?"

The next one came almost immediately after, "Are you sure you wouldn't prefer an indoor workout? ;-)"

He'd be lying if he said he wasn't already intrigued before her final text arrived, "I might want to work off some energy too…"

"Might?" he asked.

"If you're...up...for it."

Robin laughed out loud at that text. That phrasing was so cheesy for the normally witty Regina Mills, but he still couldn't help but smile.

"I'll be up as soon as I can," he texted back.

"I certainly hope so," she answered.

Shaking his head, Robin slipped the phone into his pocket. He was still keyed up from the after effects of his dream, but, naturally, he was interested in an invitation like that. Storing the flashlight back in his desk drawer, he decided to just not dwell on it and enjoy Regina's company since she was, apparently, in a certain mood.

The halls were empty as he made his way around to the side stairwell and hiked up to the second floor. That floor did not have lighting in the hallway, but he was familiar enough with it by now to find his way to Regina's door in the dark. A small shadow of light shone from underneath it, letting him know he was at the right one.

He rapped gently with his knuckles. The door opened almost immediately and Regina took his hand, pulling him inside. Leaning over, she kissed him deeply.

Cupping the sides of her face, he returned the kiss.

When they finally broke apart for air, she pulled back to look at him. Her brow wrinkled as she stared into his face, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," he answered. She simply continued to look at him in response, so he went on, "Just a little bit of insomnia tonight."

"Oh yes, that's right," she grinned, "You promised me a workout, Locksley."

"I did, hm?" he teased.

Reaching past him, Regina flipped off the overhead light and lead him by the hand through her sitting room into the bedroom. As they stepped inside, Robin spun her around by her arms, slamming her back against the door.

She gasped in surprise, but accepted a kiss eagerly. Their tongues dueled for dominance as his hands went to the belt on her fluffy robe. As he untied the belt, the sides dropped open. Reaching in, Robin found his hands encountering warm, satiny skin and nothing else. Pulling back, he looked down at her naked body under the robe.

She smiled at him as he looked up, evidently pleased by his surprise.

"Were you sleeping like this or did you take off your pajamas for me?" he asked.

Nipping his bottom lip, she answered playfully, "Wouldn't you like to know?"

In truth, he wasn't sure which possibility he wanted to be true more. Both were a turn on. Therefore, instead of answering he simply pulled her to him, claiming her mouth again and pushing her robe off her shoulders.

As it fell off, she pulled back from him, her fingers playing at the drawstring on his sweatpants, "You're wearing too many clothes."

Rumbling in his throat, he continued to kiss her as she undid the drawstring and began pushing his sweatshirt up over his head. He moved back just long enough to shrug it off, but she was already pulling up the shirt he had on underneath. As both hit the floor, he moved his hands back around her ribs and up her shoulders, causing her to sigh in pleasure.

Turning her back around, he teased her lips with his own as he gently backed her up to the bed until her legs hit the edge, causing her to tumble backward.

He admired her breasts bouncing as she landed. With a laugh, she lifted one knee, bracing her foot on the mattress to push herself up to the pillows. Laying back, she eased one hand back under the pillow, behind her head.

Giving him a lidded look, she let her toes creep up his leg to his hip, "Are you just going to stand there staring all night?"

He chuckled, "It is a very nice view."

"Hm," she hummed, dragging her foot over to his groin, gently massaging, "Are you sure wouldn't rather join me down here?"

He took a deep breath as she eased gentle pressure up and down his rapidly stiffening cock. Swallowing, he grabbed her foot firmly between his hands and answered, "I always want that."

Through his grip, she wiggled her toes against him, trying to tease him further. He rubbed the back of her ankle for a second before swinging foot out, spreading her legs wide open.

Her breath caught at the eroticism of the action, instinctively tilting her hips to allow him better access.

Moving up onto his knees, he joined her on the bed, letting his hands slide up to her knees and lifting them up to kiss the inside of each one.

Eyes fluttering, she nudged his backside and ordered, "Lose the pants, Locksley."

Quirking his lips, he stepped off the bed long enough to toe off his shoes and slide his sweatpants down his legs. This time he didn't draw out getting back into bed, settling comfortably on top of her, their chests pressed together and his cock laying against the skin of her inner thigh.

As he dove into her lips, Regina pulled his head down to deepen the kiss, tangling her hands in his hair.

They explored each other's mouths until the need to breathe became too great, at which point Robin let his lips travel down her collarbone to capture one of her nipples. She gasped as he sucked hard on the tight nub, each pull of his lips creating a similar pull of arousal between her legs.

"Ohh," a soft moan escaped her lips, turning into a sharp cry as he bit down. Immediately soothing the sharp sensation with broad swipes of his tongue, Robin released the nipple with a pop, leaning up to look at her through wide eyes. She expected him to move on and give her other breast the same treatment, but instead he said roughly, "Turn over."

She was momentarily surprised, but the assured, almost authoritative, tone of his voice was very arousing. Turning her body, she rolled over until she was resting on her stomach. Bunching the pillow under her chin, she got comfortable as Robin ran his hands up the backs of her thighs, urging her legs further open.

Gripping both sides of her ass between his hands, he kneaded her flesh slowly. Her eyes fluttered closed just as he leaned over and bit down on one gorgeous mound.

Gasping, she tossed her hair aside to look at him over her shoulder and complain, "Robin!"

He grinned innocently, "What?"

Rolling her eyes, she turned away, lowering her chin back down onto the pillow as his hands travelled further down, thumbs spreading open her lower lips. It was too dark to really see as much as he would have liked, but he could feel the slickness of her arousal beneath his fingers.

His erection bounced as he pushed himself back to lower himself onto his own stomach. Luckily, Regina's king sized bed was big enough for both of them to lay flat, even with him between her legs.

She gasped again as his tongue made contact with her sex, licking her with one broad swipe. Gripping the pillow, she moaned as his teased her sensitive inner lips, tongue easing her open and pushing into her. The hot, wet feeling of his tongue deep inside her causing her to pant heavily.

A disappointed whimper fell from her lips involuntarily as he eased his tongue back out, and she instinctively canted her hips back, trying to follow that amazing feeling. However, he stopped her, lifting his hands back up to her ass and holding her in place.

"No!" she protested, "Don't stop!"

She could feel him grin against her flesh as his tongue traveled in maddeningly light strokes down to her clit. Her breath caught in excitement as she anticipated his lips and tongue on the sensitive organ, but, instead, he circled around it, avoiding giving her any of the direct simulation she so desperately craved.

She let out a frustrated groan as his tongue started another slow journey up her labia in wet swipes that felt so, so good, but never lasted long enough to build up the pleasure. He teasingly prodded her entrance with the point of his tongue, but passed by it, continuing to slide upward.

Her eyes flew open when she realized what he was doing. No one had ever done something like that to her and she wasn't quite sure how she felt about it.

Noticing her tension, he went very slowly, massaging her hips soothingly until her body relaxed under his ministrations. To her relief he didn't go far, stopping teasingly close to the unexplored part of her.

She bit down on her lip, feeling herself shivering at the taboo nature of what was happening. It felt amazing and so naughty that she could hardly think straight.

"Robin," she moaned as he continued his teasing licks, "Please..."

He also moaned against her sex, pressing a gentle kiss against her before pulling away to sit back up. She was momentarily disappointed by the loss of sensation until she felt the bed shift as he walked his way up between her legs. Gripping her waist, he slid her a little ways down so that he could shift his knees up and over to either side of her hips, his legs pinning her to the bed he knelt over her. The trapped, dominating feeling of the position was both alarming and exciting to Regina.

Breath coming quickly, she reached over to grab one of the throw pillows on the empty side of the bed. Shoving it underneath her, she let it help elevate her hips, urging him to fuck her.

"Do you have any..." he breathed.

"Nightstand," she answered without him having to finish the question.

The bed creaked as he leaned over her back to open the nightstand drawer. Sitting back, she vaguely heard him opening the foil packet.

He went still for what felt like forever before finally settling back over her, the hard, thickness of him sliding between her buttocks to her wet sex. Easing her open with his hand again, Robin pushed himself inside her as deep as he possibly could.

"Oh Gods," he moaned, without even realizing he'd spoken as her heat surrounded him. Moving his hands back to her waist, he admired the curve of her hips, rocking his own so that his cock moved slow and shallow within her. The feeling ramped up both their pleasure as he slowly built to deeper, harder thrusts that had her sliding up the sheets. Holding onto her hips, he plunged himself back into her wet pussy.

For her part, Regina knew she should have been concerned about the way the headboard slammed against the wall each time he thrust himself into her. She may have been the only person on this floor, but that didn't mean her suite was soundproof. However, she couldn't bring herself to care. She was too lost in the feeling of him fucking her hard and deep, his balls slapping against her clit with each thrust, driving her out of her mind with pleasure.

She cried out, gripping the pillow hard and burying her face in the fluffy material to muffle the noise.

She could feel sweat beading at the small of her back, shivering as each thrust shook her, making her body tremble.

Gasping when he hit a particularly good spot, she lifted her face from the pillow to glup in air.

"Yes...oh, Regina..." Robin breathed out, leaning further over her to plant his hands on either side of her shoulders. The leverage and the deeper angle the position allowed was all it took to push her over the edge.

Shaking, she screamed into the pillow as she came so hard she saw stars.

Through the hazy afterglow she could feel Robin gripping her ass, crying out in his own release. Lifting her head, she turned to catch her breath, letting her cheek rest on the pillow.

After a few moments Robin's weight lifted off the back of her thighs as he slid off the bed, padding to the bathroom. Lazily, Regina flopped over onto her back, letting the chilly air cool down her heated skin.

She dozed for a moment before she heard, Robin walking back into the room. Opening her eyes, she held out her hand, "Help me up."

He did so, the two of them laughing as they both swayed unsteadily.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah," she laughed, continuing on to use the bathroom quickly. By the time she got out the temperature of the room, which had felt nice moments ago, was now way too cold.

Shivering, she made her way back to the bed and slipped under the covers, seeking out the warmth of Robin's body.

Pulling her into his arms, he let out a contented sigh.

"Feel better?" she murmured into his chest.

He hummed, pressing a kiss to her hairline. Relaxing into the cushiony mattress, he stroked her back gently, eyes sliding closed. He let his mind clear and drift through the blackness until he felt his hand jerk in an effort to fight sleep.

Taking a breath, he glanced over to the clock on her nightstand. It was after 2 AM.

Tapping her gently, he whispered, "I should go."

As he moved to slide out of her arms, she groaned, "No."

Her grip around his abdomen tightened and she pulled herself closer, wrapping one leg over his. Looking at her in surprise, he chuckled at her sudden octopus impersonation, "Regina, it's getting late."

"Stay," she muttered tiredly, burying her face in his chest.

She was asleep within a few seconds, snoring softly. Robin looked down at her, knowing he should probably try to ease his way out again, but having her holding tightly onto him and begging him to stay, along with the warm comfort of the soft sheets and her bare body, had his limbs feeling heavy. Letting his head relax back into the plush pillow, his eyes slid closed as he gave into the pull of sleep.

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High pitched beeps jolted Robin into consciousness, sending him sitting upright with a shout, heart racing in a manner reminiscent of that last recurring dream he'd had.

However, the alarming sound wasn't coming from inside his memories but from inside the room where he currently was. He wasn't alone either. His sudden shout waking up Regina, who also screamed in alarm, fumbling her way out of the tangled sheets.

She glanced between him and her nightstand with wide eyes.

"Robin?!" she demanded, whipping around to grab up her phone and turn off the alarm that had nearly given him a heart attack. As the sound stopped, she checked the time.

She swore, looking up at him again, "It's morning? What are you still doing here?!"

He blinked, "You asked me to stay."

"What?!" she asked, tossing back her thick comforter and standing from the bed, "What are you talking about? You can't be here! What if someone sees you?"

Picking up his shirt from the floor, she tossed it to him, "The housekeeping staff could be on this floor, you need to go!"

Catching the shirt, he shoved the covers back, "Look, I'm sorry. I didn't expect to sleep until morning. I usually wake every two hours or so."

"Yes, fine, whatever!" Regina said as she lifted her robe from the floor and wrapped it around herself, "Just hurry up!"

With that she made a beeline for her walk-in closet, not looking back at him. He stared after her for a moment before finally sighing and pulling his shirt on over his head. Standing, he padded over to the foot of the bed where his shoes, underwear, and sweatpants were spread across the floor.

As he was tying his shoes, Regina emerged from the closet and asked, "Are you ready yet?"

Looking up at her, he thought about snapping back at her bossy tone but decided it wasn't worth the effort. Instead, he simply stood from the bed.

Seeming to take the cue, Regina threw open the bedroom door and lead him through the sitting room to her suite door, cracking the door open, she glanced out, shoving him through quickly. Before he could turn back to say goodbye, she slammed the door closed.

It gave him pause only for a moment, but, the fact of the matter was, that she was right. If any of the housekeeping staff happened to be on this floor, he'd have no way of explaining his presence.

Making his way around to the side-staircase, Robin walked down to the first floor. The basement was sure to be very active at this time of the morning, so, risk being about equal, he decided to exit at the first floor so that he could stop into the kitchen for a cup of tea.

The foyer in front of the elevator was empty as he walked past, but he didn't quite make it to the kitchen without running into anyone. Just as he was about to slip through the kitchen doors, Henry emerged from his office, walking toward the dining room.

Catching sight of him, Henry did a double take, "Robin!"

He paused, trying not give away any reaction, as he turned to the older man, "Morning, Sir,"

"Good morning to you," Henry said with a jovial smile, which fell slightly as he took him in, "Why are you wearing sweatpants?"

Glancing down at himself, Robin cleared his throat and answered, "Just coming back from a run."

Henry glanced at his watch and stood quietly for what felt like forever before finally saying, "Early start. Good for you."

Robin simply answered, "Yes Sir."

"Well," the older man shrugged, "I should be getting to breakfast. Who are you assigned to today?"

"I'm not quite sure," he answered honestly, "I think Mrs. Mills."

"Ah," Henry nodded, "Well, I'll see you later."

"Have a good day, Sir," Robin answered, letting out a relieved breath as the older man walked easily back toward the dining room.

He wasn't quite sure if his boss had been suspicious, but, either way, that wasn't an encounter he wanted to repeat any time soon.

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Late that night, Lot pulled her silver mini up to the front gate. Yawning, Regina thanked him, retrieved her briefcase from the footwell, and got out of the car.

Tiredly, she made her way up the steps and punched her code into the keypad to open the door.

The house was warm inside and felt pleasant. The smell of dinner lingering in the entryway. Regina knew she'd missed it, but having to work so late had stolen most of her appetite. She would probably just pick up some fruit and cheese from the kitchen...maybe a glass of wine.

As she stepped in, she found Mrs. Lucas and Marco sitting at the table, talking quietly amongst themselves.

"Good evening, Miss Mills," Marco greeted her.

"Good evening," she said tiredly, lifting the strap on her briefcase over her head so she could hold onto it while preparing her snack.

Getting out a plate, she filled it with an apple and a few slices of cheese from the fridge. Setting it aside, she stepped over toward the pantry.

As she stepped back out, she noticed Mrs. Lucas was watching her intently.

"Everything alright?" Regina asked.

"I was just about to ask you that," the older woman responded, "I heard some kind of knocking sound from your room last night."

The can of nuts Regina had retrieved from the pantry slipped from her hand, rolling across the counter as she dropped it in surprise. Grabbing it, she looked over at the estate manager and asked, "Oh?"

"I thought there might be a problem with the plumbing or maybe the ventilation."

Taking a deep breath, Regina answered, "Well not that I noticed."

"You really didn't hear that?" the older woman asked in surprise, "It woke me up!"

Clearing her throat, Regina shrugged, "I guess I slept pretty heavily last night."

"Hm," the housekeeper sniffed, "Well I might have someone from maintenance check in later. Make sure there's no problems building up."

Dumping a pile of almonds onto her plate, Regina screwed the cap onto the can and answered, "Sounds like a good idea."

Moving quickly, she put the nuts back and poured herself a glass of wine from one of her favorite bottles. Not waiting around for the other woman to think up more questions, she gathered up her meal and hurried toward the elevator.

When she stepped off on the second floor and got behind the door to her suite, she finally managed to relax.

Setting her plate and wine glass down onto the coffee table in her sitting room, Regina dropped her briefcase and made her way into her bedroom. The bed had been made, as usual, and everything looked neat and in place.

Mrs. Lucas' plan to have someone come up to check around was unnerving but she reminded herself that there was nothing for them to find.

Unbuttoning her blazer, she walked into her closet, where she was relieved to step out of her high-heels and chance into a comfortable pair of pajamas. Hanging up her blazer to be dry cleaned later, she gathered up the blouse and underwear she'd shed on the floor and opened the hamper to dump them inside.

She paused when she saw what was sitting on top. It was dark green hooded sweatshirt that she knew didn't belong to her. Setting her clothes inside, she lifted the sweatshirt. In almost imperceptibly faded blue letters, the shirt read 'Sherwood EMS' across the front.

Her lips dropped open as she recalled that Robin had been wearing the sweatshirt last night. In fact, she remembered pulling off him before they moved on to bed. He'd left it there that morning!

She was alarmed for a moment, but realized that the housekeeping staff must have simply found it on the floor while making the bed and put it in the hamper without taking note of it.

Still, though, this morning had been far too close. They couldn't afford to get careless again. Not with everything they'd been through.

She shook out the sweatshirt, intending to fold it to give back to Robin next time she had the chance. However, as she did so she caught a whiff of the deep woody scent that was so Robin.

She indulgently pressed her nose into the fabric, finding that, not only did it smell wonderful, but it was so soft and nice.

She smiled to herself, recalling the feeling of his arms around her as she drifted off to sleep last night.

With a rueful sigh, she let the fabric drop away from her face. She knew she couldn't ask him to come up again. It was very late and they couldn't take such a risk two nights in a row, especially not after having been heard by Mrs. Lucas.

Making a snap decision, she pulled the hoodie open and shrugged it on over her head. Rubbing her arms, she let the warmth surround her as she padded back through the bedroom to where she'd left her meal.

Settling down into the couch, she picked up her wine and flipped on the television to relax a little while she ate.