Note: Smut and a much needed talk are ahead in this chapter so be weary as you read if smut isn't quite your thing (or if you want to avoid my terrible attempts at writing it because trust me it ain't that good). I am refraining from rating this M since stories with that rating tend to get buried and are never heard from again so please heed the warning before reading on!

Chapter two

Regina doesn't know how long they're standing there before Emma comes out of the café, the two coffees in her hand nearly meeting the ground as her eyes fall on Robin.

If she weren't still in a state of shock Regina imagines she'd laugh at the look on her face but before she can manage to do anything Emma is right next to them, ogling at Robin like he's some sort of spectacle.

"You found him," she says in awe, looking at Regina with a ridiculous smile on her face and she doesn't even ask how or why, just continues to smile until it dawns on her exactly what's happening and she sheepishly ducks her head.

"I'm sorry; uh, I guess I'll go drink my coffee in the car and you two can…talk."

And before Regina can say anything Emma is gone, shuffling off to the car and leaving the two of them standing in the middle of the street as if they're the only two people on this Earth. She pulls herself out of his arms and straightens herself up, missing the warmth of his body but knowing they need to find somewhere more private if they're going to have the talk they cannot deny is coming.

"We can go to my place," he announces, making her jump before she looks at him with raised brow.

"Your place?" she asks, "Will Marian mind?"

Robin's face sort of blanches at her question and he doesn't have to say anything for Regina to understand.

"I'm sorry," she says and she means it because even if Marian is the reason he walked away all those years ago she still holds a place in his heart and she hates to see it broken.

Robin doesn't dwell on it though, resting a hand on her shoulder and pushing her forward with a small smile instead.

"It's alright, we just weren't meant for each other anymore."

Because I love you.

XxX

She texts Emma on the way to Robin's apartment and tells her not to wait for her if she doesn't want to, insists she can get back to Storybrooke on her own but right now she and Robin just need to be alone.

His place isn't far from the cafe, about a five minute walk, and Regina isn't surprised to see that it's small but the fact is offset the inside which is warm and homely, makes her want to melt into the atmosphere and just be.

He offers her a drink as she shrugs off her coat and she accepts almost too quickly, causing him to chuckle as he pours her a glass of scotch. She watches him move and notes how foreign it all appears because the last time she saw him he was living in a tent on the edge of the forest and now he was here in New York City, in his own apartment pouring her a drink and sinking down onto the couch beside her.

Regina takes a sip of her drink as she looks around his place, noting the pictures of Roland and Marian scattered about, cluttering the tables and shelves he has set up.

"He's grown," she says, nodding towards a picture of the little boy she loves like her own. "He's becoming quite handsome."

"Yes he is," Robin agrees and when Regina turns to look at him he's staring right at her and her skin prickles with electricity that's so intense she's almost sure it's going to consume her.

She swallows nervously before setting her glass down on the coffee table and as soon as her hands are free Robin is on her and Regina hopes and prays he never leaves.

"Bedroom," she pants between searing kisses, "now."

XxX

They undress in a flurry of motion, hands frantically tugging and pulling until her dress is somewhere between the living room and the hall leading to his room and his shirt is open, revealing the expanse of his chest and abdomen.

By the time he pushes her into his bedroom they're both bare and Robin is laying her down on his bed with as much care and compassion as she remembers. He quickly crawls on top of her and his hands are tracing over every inch of skin in a desperate attempt to reacquaint himself as he kisses and nips at her.

"You're so beautiful," he mutters and the tears pool in her eyes, hot and traitorous as he moves across her body. "So beautiful."

He kisses a trail up her neck, brushes away a few stray tears with a soft brush of his lips before he's moving back down her body, across her breasts then moving down to her navel and Regina runs her fingers through his hair, scraping her nails gently against his scalp because she just needs to feel him.

"I need you," she whines after a moment and she hates how much control he has over her, how easy it is just to give in to him and when Robin shows no signs of hurrying his pace she bucks her hips impatiently.

She feels him smile into the skin of her hip and when he pulls back she spreads her legs, looking up at him shamelessly, urging him with an impish grin to just take her right now.

Slowly he moves one hand down her torso, his touch feather light as he skims across the sensitive skin of her inner thigh before bringing his hand to her heat and nearly groaning at how wet and wanting she already is.

He leans down to press hot opened mouth kisses against her skin before taking one of her swollen nipples into his mouth, sucking gently as his fingers tweak the other and he can feel her writhing in indescribable want beneath him.

"God Robin please."

And she must sound absolutely desperate because he finally pulls back and reaches a tentative hand down to her dripping sex, moaning as he aligns himself with her center and she can feel the head of his cock brushing against her aching core.

He takes one look at her before gently nudging forward; never looking away from her and when he's fully seated inside of her they both gasp before Regina throws her head back and whimpers.

"Move," she demands and Robing starts to slowly move his hips against hers as he tangles their fingers together.

He gains a bit of speed as she tightens her grip on his hand, feels him thrust in and out and her head is spinning because god he feels so delicious inside of her.

It's an embarrassingly short amount of time before he has Regina dangling over the edge, mewling and moving against him in desperation before he untangles his hand from hers and moves down to where they're joined. He finds her clit and presses lightly against it, eliciting a moan from her before rubbing gentle circles until she finally cries out in ecstasy.

Her body tightens as she reaches orgasm, clenching around him and letting her nails dig into his shoulders. It's just as she remembers it but with an added sense of urgency because even though he's here now she can't help but fear he'll slip away again and she presses herself closer to him.

She keeps her eyes closed as Robin continues to drag out her orgasm, urging him forward with her soft cries of Robin, Robin, Robin and when he finally falls over the edgy with a breathy shout of her name he collapses onto his forearms and buries his face into the crook of her neck, breathing heavily.

They lay in silence for a few moments before he finally lifts his head to look at her and presses a small kiss to the corner of her mouth.

"I love you," he whispers and beneath the soft light of the city that filters through his window she sees how beautiful he is; how beautiful he's always been.

"I love you too."

XxX

The next morning they wake in a tangled pile of limbs, her hair a startling contrast against the white of his pillowcase. Regina tries to find sleep again but grows frustrated as it eludes her and decides to get up instead, pulls on the white t-shirt Robin was wearing last night and tiptoes out of the bedroom as quietly as she can.

In the kitchen she finds the coffee he keeps in the cabinet and chuckles quietly because the last time she tried to get him to drink the stuff he had scrunched up his nose in distaste and requested a cup of tea instead but it seems things have changed in the years he's been living in the real world.

She turns on the machine once she's done reminiscing and once it lets out a low hum that tells her it's brewing she decides to look around, unable to staunch the curiosity bubbling inside of her because this is a part of him she's never seen and she wants to drink it all in while she can.

He doesn't have many things but Regina doesn't expect him to. There are some books on the shelves and a small TV that probably doesn't get much use, some toys in a chest that no doubt belong to Roland (there's another bedroom at the end of the hall that belongs to him but Regina can't make herself open the door).

Other than the pictures strewn about there's no evidence that Marian even exists in Robin's life and Regina hates herself a bit because the realization seems to calm her wired nerves. While she doesn't hate the woman anymore she still feels threatened and a bit guilty at the thought of her though time has done a wonderful job of slowly allowing those feelings to fade.

Regina's just about to turn back to the kitchen to check the coffee when Robin is suddenly there, his arms encircling her waist and pulling her close.

"You should have woken me; I'd have given you a tour."

His voice is husky and low in her ear, sending shivers up her spine as she jumps slightly in surprise before automatically leaning back against him, his mouth latching onto the spot below her ear. He's bare chested and his hair is mussed from sleep and sex, his smile lazy and his eyes still crinkled with sleep.

It's a sight she was never sure she'd see again.

"I'm sorry, I was just curious," she says quietly, still staring at the pictures and when the shrill beep of the coffee machine sounds she feels him pull away and move towards the kitchen.

She automatically trails after him, gives a small smile when he slides a cup across the counter to her and sets down a dish of sugar and some creamer though she's been known to take it black nowadays. She sips at her drink in silence as Robin goes through his cabinets and comes back to set down two boxes of kid's cereal and some bagels that look like they've seen better days.

"I apologize for the lack of variety," he says, "Roland isn't coming over until Friday and I've yet to go to the shop."

Regina waves away his apology and reaches for the fruity cereal with the rabbit on the box, remembers how she would buy it for Henry and suddenly the lump in her throat from yesterday is back. She wipes roughly at her eyes as Robin looks for a bowl but she's not quick enough and his eyes light up with concern when he sees.

"Regina, what's the matter?"

She tries to wave him away, insists she's fine and it's nothing but Robin knows her (he knows her so well it scares her) and he meets her words with a skeptical look that cuts her down.

"It's Henry," she finally murmurs, "he's just moved here for college and I guess I'm just…not ready for life without him."

Robin says nothing as she sniffles and eventually begins to weep, all of her pent up emotions seeping past the dam she had managed to keep up for Henry's sake and when he opens his arms for her she gladly falls into him and cries until she has no tears left.

XxX

"Why didn't you come looking for me?" he asks her later, after they've abandoned their cereal bowls and decided to sprawl out on the couch, her body wrapped around his as his fingers card through her hair.

The question makes her freeze and guilt twists itself around her gut and bleeds into her heart, makes her gnaw on her bottom lip until she tastes blood. She's asked herself the same question for years, has seen it mirrored in the eyes of those she's allowed to rally around her and every time she finds herself answering it with the same three words.

"I don't know."

Robin hums at the answer, doesn't sound mad or upset but doesn't seem completely satisfied either and Regina knows this is the beginning of the talk they managed to avoid last night (because they've never been good with words). Maneuvering herself until she's able to stare up at him Regina lets out a breath and tries to make sense of the thoughts that have been plaguing her for all these years.

"When you first left I tried everything. Emma, Henry, and I looked and looked for a way to give me a happy ending but all of these other things would start getting in the way and eventually I just started to think that maybe fate was trying to tell me you were happy where you were."

She takes a deep breath, cursing herself because she can feel the tear tracks on her cheeks but doesn't allow herself to stop because he deserves to know.

"I thought –hoped—that you and Marian had found somewhere to be happy together with Roland and every time I started to think about you I would just tell myself I was doing you a favor. And I don't know if it's because I was scared you wouldn't want me anymore or if I was scared that you would and something else would happen to keep us apart but I know now that I was wrong."

Her voice trails off as she nestles her head back against his chest, closing her eyes and feeling his skin beneath her fingertips and it's an agonizingly long time before he finally speaks.

"Did you really believe I would ever stop wanting you?"

Regina smiles despite the tears drying on her skin and whispers "no, no I didn't," feels Robin's body relax beneath hers and for the first time since Henry told her he was leaving she feels that maybe, just maybe her happy ending is still being written.