A/N- first of all, WOW. I never in my life would have thought this story would get this response. Seriously, I thought no one would read it but here we are with follows and reviews and you guys being so sweet and I love you so much, I can't even *sighs*. Okay. I NEED to thank you all for this, it means the world to me; I'm glad y'all think this is promising and that you liked my take on Henry, and I'm specially happy for the guest reviewer who shares my love and wishes for Zelena, your enthusiastic comment fluttered my heart, thank you so much! Now, there's something I want to address, just to make things clear: I've already written this story, it's finished and saved on my computer; but it will take time to upload because, as you know, english is not my first language so I have to read again and edit every chapter before posting it to prevent any horrible mistakes (still you'll find them because I'm dumb). So I'd like to apologize for the mistakes and if the story doesn't look good to you, it's just what I wanted to tell. Without any further go ahead and take a look at chapter two, hope you like it! xoxo

WHY CAN I NOT CONQUER LOVE?

Robin sweeps his forehead with the back of his hand. He's not exactly sweaty as the weather in Storybrooke would never allow such state, but there are wet areas on his body and face, and adding the heavy breathing, he can assess that he's tired and need a break. He puts his hammer back in the tool box and grabs the bottle of water from the ground.

Drinkable water in a plastic bottle. This world is very strange. But oddly enough, Robin likes it. As an outlaw and a nomad he's accustomed to move and adapt to new places, and Storybrooke isn't by far the worst place he has ever lived. It's quite opposite, actually. The people are good and the environment is safe (at least it is now without flying monkeys out there to get you). And living in this realm has its perks. I mean, indoor plumbing? He didn't know who had this idea but kudos mate, it was the best bloody idea in all the realms. Plus the clothing is more comfortable, the living arrangements are more decent, the food is marvelous, and there are things like medical care and electronics and equal rights. Back in the Enchanted Forest, people who were brought to Storybrooke with the first curse seemed to love the life here very much, they always talked about the wonders of this world and how they wanted to be back. Now living this wonders himself Robin had to agree, life's good here.

Especially since he isn't an outlaw anymore. Here in Storybrooke he didn't have to steal from the rich to give to the poor, since there's home and food available to everyone. He isn't a criminal anymore, now he has a job. He's a handyman, working with Gepeto to fix and build things around town. It's a good job; he's good at it and likes it very much. There's something exciting about building things, it's refreshing and challenging at the same time, and it keeps the mind and the body busy.

He leans back on the finished portion of the fence he was putting up around the back yard, and sips at his cup of tea while contemplating the mansion. Regina had come for him about a week ago requesting his work, she wanted a strong fence around her back yard to "protect her garden", but everyone knew it was more to keep her prisoner inside, or angry mobs outside for that matter. It was known to everyone in town that Zelena had been given a second chance by Regina and the Charmings, and now she was living with her sister. But apparently she was in probation since no one would see her outside the mansion. Regina had claimed that it wasn't house arrest, but really, what was it then? Maybe it was Zelena who didn't want to come out, no one really knew. But regardless of what was happening at the Mills home, Robin had agreed to go build the fence; it was a simple enough job.

"I have to warn you, though. Zelena is there and she's allowed to wander around the space within the limits of my property freely", Regina had said when she hired him.

"Does she have any access to magic?" he had asked her.

"Not at all. But I can't guarantee she's harmless either. Although she's been very calm lately, she can be quite hostile when she wants."

"I'm not afraid of her. I can handle it", he had said back with confidence.

"Are you sure? I'm not going to be there to break up any quarreling" she asked with quirked eyebrow.

"I can take care of myself, Your Majesty", he had said matter-of-factly, to end the discussion once and for all.

Now here he is at 108 Mifflin Street building that fence. Contrary to popular belief, his companion had been nothing but welcoming. The first two days he had come over she was nowhere to be found; not that he would look for her but she didn't make her presence known either. The third day she came to the back yard and sat at a chair near the back door, as further as possible from where he was working, and just watched him for a while; it was a bit unnerving but he kept himself together and continued his work. The fourth day she came again and brought some tea that she left in a bench near him, and then went back to sit at the same chair as the day before with her own cup of tea and a book; he was very intrigued by this but didn't say a word, just drank his tea and went back to work. The fifth and sixth day it was the exact same thing. She would always appear when he was already working, bring the tea, sit in her chair and read for a while; then before he finished for the day she would get up, collect the empty cups and disappear back inside the house. Not once sparing him a glance nor saying anything.

Today is the seventh day and as he leans back at the fence, drinking his tea and contemplating the mansion, he decides to go make small talk with the woman sitting at the chair near the back door.

"This book must be really interesting since it's distracting you from the my work of art", he says approaching her with an unarmed smile, but keeping a safe distance just in case this isn't welcomed by the woman.

She looks startled, as she hadn't noticed his approaching. She just stares at him for a few seconds, seeming at a loss of words, but then composes herself and clears her throat.

"I think it's the lack of art on your work that is distracting me from it", she says with an unreadable face.

It's a bitter response, and he should take this as a cue to leave her alone. But there's something that makes him stay, he has no idea what, but he really wants to engage this conversation. Maybe it's her strong voice with that sexy accent. "Ouch. The bite seems to run in the family", he says back with a genuine smile, full of good intentions.

And perhaps she senses that, since she's shyly smiling back at him. She clears her throat again, "Do you need anything?" she asks pointing to the area he's currently working on.

"No, no. Just resting for a bit", he explains. As she doesn't say anything else, he takes a chair across from her and tries again. "So, what are you reading?"

She looks a little suspicious about his actions, but he knows she's not one for backing down, so she plays along.

"It's a series of books that Henry lent me", she says marking the page and closing the book.

"What's about?" he asks to keep the ball rolling.

She hesitates at this. "Witchcraft", she answers with something that you can only call a wicked smile.

There's a moment of tension, then Robin's wearing a crooked smile and a quirked eyebrow. "His mothers allow him to read books about witchcraft?"

Zelena looks surprised that he didn't back down either. "I asked the same to him when he gave me the books", she says recomposing herself. "But then he explained that it's not about witchcraft per se. It's about an orphan young wizard who has to face the greatest dangers of his magic world to defend his people"

He decides to play with higher stakes. "Sounds like a child's book"

She tries to suppress her surprise again at his boldness. "I said the same thing when Henry insisted that I read it", she starts explaining, a satisfied smile on her face, "then he made a speech about me needing to reach my innocence again and renew my values and that the book would help me with that, and I just agreed to read to shut him up", he chuckles at this and she shrugs (in the most ladylike way he has ever seen). "But now that I'm in the third book I'm changing my mind about my first impression. It's not a child's book at all", she adds pensively.

"What's called?" he asks pointing to the book.

"This one is Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban", she answers holding the cover for him.

"Harry Potter is the young wizard?"

"Yes, he's thirteen in this book."

Robin's eyes widens at this. "And he's already orphan and facing the biggest dangers of a magic world?"

"See, not a child's book at all", she says smugly.

He just grins back at her. She's good. "And who is the…", he narrows his eyes to read the cover of the book, "… prisoner of Azkaban?"

"Oh, it's his godfather, Sirius Black". He gives her an encouraging look to keep her engaged, and that's enough to get her to dive into the plot. "He betrayed Harry's parents and that's why they're dead, and Sirius went to Azkaban which is the prison for wizards that's guarded by these creatures…", she then notices the frown on his face and falters, "aaaaaand there's no point explaining all this to you".

He shrugs, looking apologetically. "But you seem really excited about it"

"Yes, well, it's really good writing". She looks down at her lap and fidgets with the cover of the book. "The story is actually very interesting and I'm learning a lot from it", she sighs and adds in a murmur "The little brat was right after all".

Robin chuckles at this. "He does seem to be a clever boy"

And apparently that's a trigger for Zelena. "He is, and that bloody annoys me sometimes. I hate how people seem to always give into his encouraging words and eyes full of hope and belief", she sighs again, "I hate that I'm one of those people. Now I live in constant fear of not living up to his standards".

Robin tilts his head wearing an understanding look. "I don't think he has standards and that you have to live up to them. I think he's only trying to be nice and supportive, and help people become the best version of themselves"

"That just worsens things", she mutters while rolling her eyes. "I know that even if I slip he won't be disappointed, he will just give me a pep talk to get me back on track, saying that he believes in me"

"And that's not a good thing because…"

"It is a good thing, and that's what kills me", she snaps, frustrated. She sighs and adds, "I'm not used to have good things, I don't know how to handle this".

"That sounds like a conversation you should have with your sister. I mean, she's been there right? She knows what you're going through", he offers softly.

To what she scolds. "I not talking about this with Regina"

"Why not?"

She looks back at him and seems ready to make a comeback, but thinks twice when she takes in the sweetness in his eyes. "I'm not ready. I spent my whole adult life hating on my sister, I can't just talk about how I feel with her like we're confidents. We're not there yet", she answers in a whisper.

"I understand", he smiles at her even though there's a concerned frown on his forehead. "Just, don't hold that back for too long; it's not healthy to either of you, especially since you're giving each other a second chance, right? You guys have to do this right"

She studies his face, looking for a catch there. She doesn't believe in his concerns and his supportive words, and she searches his eyes for the proof of his lies. But she doesn't find anything, because there's nothing there. He's being honest and genuine. And she seems so taken aback that she just nods.

"And in the meantime, if you ever need to talk about stuff, I'm here", he adds with a bigger smile.

And that just melts her insides. He can clearly see how her eyes go soft in that moment, filling with hope. At the same time a fear creeps in too, because like she said, she's not used to have good things and she's afraid she might screw this up. There's a battle going on inside her and he can see all in her eyes. He wants very much to reach for her hand and reassure her that it's all gonna be okay, but he knows it's too soon and she would probably freak out if he tried that.

So he decides to give her space to deal with her own struggles. "I should get back to work, this break is gone way too far", he says laughing lightly and makes his way back to the fence.

She just observes him walking away and for some reason she can't concentrate in her book anymore.

tbc