PART FIVE – NEW YEAR'S DAY
"Jesus Christ, what the fuck is that?" Regina growled as she lifted her head to look at the clock on the hotel nightstand.
"I think it's a party across the hall." Robin groaned, refusing to open his eyes.
"Ugh, it's 4am. Who the hell is still partying at this hour?"
"I don't know. But, I can think of something we could be doing now that we're awake."
Regina looked at him and allowed a small smile to cross her lips. "As much fun as that would be, and it would be fun, I'm still drunk and I can already feel a hangover coming on." She settled back down and wrapped her arm back around his abdomen, trying to get comfortable.
"I'm pretty sure being drunk hasn't stopped you before," he pointed out, remembering exactly how they ended up in their current position.
"Mhmm…I just want to sleep in hopes that maybe tomorrow won't be completely miserable." She shifted her head slightly, resting it against his shoulder.
"Well, good luck. They're being exceptionally noisy."
"Should we call hotel security?"
"That seems a bit excessive, doesn't it?" He looked down at the woman sprawled out across his chest and smiled as the memories of the past few hours replayed in his head. While they may barely tolerate each other and they may not be the best teaching team, it turned out that they could certainly do very pleasurable things to each other.
"Perhaps. I suppose we can try the more civilized approach," she said as she scooted out from under the covers.
"Which is?" He asked her as he turned on the bedside wall sconce, his eyes adjusting to the light as he watched her move off the bed and walk around naked. "Where are you going?"
She looked over her shoulder as she looked for something to put on. "I'm going to politely knock on their door, ask them to turn down the music, and then threaten to call the cops if they refuse." She grabbed the shirt he wore that night that had been discarded on the floor and buttoned it before going over to the chair where his duffle bag was open, grabbing a clean pair of his boxers which she quickly pulled on, rolling down the waistband in an effort to help them stay on her hips.
"And you're raiding my suitcase to do so?"
"Well, it's not like I brought anything up here with me, and someone literally ripped off my dress, so I can't exactly put that back on."
"Sorry about that." He actually looked somewhat ashamed.
She smirked. "Don't be."
"Why don't you come back here and I'll go handle it," he suggested as he started to sit up. "It could be dangerous."
She studied him carefully, noticing him wince as he sat up in bed. "It's probably just some drunk wedding guests who wanted an afterparty. I'll be fine. Besides, you look like you're about to pass out, and you're not exactly the most formidable person anyway…no offense."
"None taken. You do have a point. Hurry back, love."
She rolled her eyes as she opened the door. She heard him collapse back on the bed behind her as she walked out the door. She didn't have to go too far to find the source of the noise, noticing red solo cups strewn along the hallway outside Robin's door and Ke$ha's "Tik Tok" blaring from the room two doors down. She frowned at their poor - and quite literal - choice in music. She walked over and knocked on the door, but when no one answered she pounded harder. Finally, the door cracked opened and she gasped. "Nick?"
"Ms. Mills?" The teen boy looked at her with wide eyes and an open mouth. When he managed to close it, he swallowed hard. "Wha…what are you doing here?"
"Funny, I was just about to ask you that same question." Her annoyance with the loud party quickly turned to anger as she put her hand on the hotel room door to push it all the way open and peer inside, subconsciously knowing exactly what, and who, she would find. Nick quickly tried to conceal the beer bottle in his hand behind his back, a futile attempt given the cases of beer and bottles of liquor scattered around the room. Her eyes settled on someone in the corner of the room, holding a red cup and sitting with a girl she vaguely recognized from the high school, completely oblivious to the situation. "Henry Daniel Mills!" Someone turned off the music when they saw her and it suddenly became eerily quiet.
"Mom?!" He dropped the cup in shock as he stared at his mother, his remaining beer spilling onto the hotel carpet. "Why are you here?" He stood up as he processed the turn of events. "And what are you wearing?"
She suddenly remembered she was essentially half naked in a room full of students from her school, and she knew that no one would doubt what she had been up to that evening. She looked down to make sure she was as covered as possible and quickly tried to regain her composure as she crossed her arms over her chest, though her cheeks were still slightly flushed from embarrassment. At this point she just silently prayed that those standing closest to her couldn't smell the leftover alcohol and sex on her. "Not important. Come here. Now." Her eyes scanned the room as she debated her next move. She technically needed to report all these students for underage drinking and violating the school's code of conduct, but she was still too intoxicated to strategize the best way to handle a room of 50 students disturbing the peace in a hotel, particularly when she herself looked like the embodiment of the walk of shame.
Before she had time to say anything else she felt someone approach her from the hallway. "Regina, what's taking so long?" She closed her eyes and let out a loud sigh as she heard his voice behind her, feeling his hand sweep across her lower back and move to her hip. This was bad. At least before the students didn't know who was responsible for her disheveled appearance. Now, it was painfully obvious that she had spent the better part of the post-midnight hours drunkenly screwing another teacher, a teacher everyone knew she hated. She could practically hear the "teachers are supposed to be role models, Regina" lecture she would certainly get from her mother after this, because there was absolutely no doubt that this bit of news would get to the district offices. "Oh, shit." Robin said as he looked into the room and saw Nick, Henry, and a handful of familiar faces staring back at him, jaws agape. A few had even taken out their phones to document the revelation that their favorite teacher and their least favorite teacher were in some sort of frenemies-with-benefits arrangement. Robin immediately dropped his arm from where it had taken residence around Regina's waist, bringing her thoughts back to the immediate mess she was in.
Regina slowly opened one eye and then the other to look over at Robin for the first time since he approached, and she grimaced. He had put his dress pants back on, but nothing else. "Oh, for fuck's sake" she said under her breath. "You couldn't have put on a shirt?"
"You're kind of wearing it…" he quietly reminded her.
"Mom, please tell me this isn't happening."
For a moment she forgot Henry was now standing in front of her, staring at the couple and clearly humiliated that his mother and teacher were sleeping together and now everyone knew about it. She let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding. "Oh believe me, I wish I could. Get your things. We're going."
"Going where?"
"I am calling a cab and we're going back to the house."
"Uh, Regina?" Robin asked her quietly as he stood in the doorway while Regina waited for Henry.
"What?" She snapped, her tone sharper than she intended. She immediately shot him an apologetic look.
"What do we want to do about the room full of drunk high school students?" He asked as he nodded a head toward the room of underage delinquents. "Clearly we broke up their party and we can't let them drive."
She sighed. "Right. Well, let's let hotel security handle them. Stay here and make sure no one tries to leave, and I can go back to your room and call."
"No need, ma'am." Another voice approached her from the hallway. She looked over to see a hotel security guard arriving, who explained that he had received several complaints called in from various hotel guests about loud music and rowdy behavior. "I've already called the cops and they're on their way to issue citations." The room of students groaned and most looked panicked, making Regina thankful that for a brief moment she and Robin were no longer the main focus.
"Thank you, sir." Regina said as she put her hand on Henry's shoulder and guided him out of the room and down the hall.
"God, this is humiliating," he complained as he walked toward Robin's room with his mother, Robin just a few steps behind them.
"At least your mother was there to get you out before a cop handed you a drinking ticket," Robin chimed in as he stopped to open his hotel room door.
"Oh believe me, he'll wish he had the cops to deal with by the time I'm done with him." Robin opened the door and Regina stepped inside. She looked back at Henry, expecting him to follow her into the room as Robin continued to hold the door open. Instead, Henry just stood and stared at her.
"Oh, there's no way in hell I'm going in there, knowing what happened in that room tonight. I'll wait out here," he said, wrinkling his nose in disgust at the thought.
Regina sighed. "Fine. Do not move. I'll be right out. I just have to grab my things."
Robin followed her into the room and closed the door. "Are you okay?"
"You know, you've been asking me that a lot recently." She picked one stiletto off the ground and started looking for its twin, finding it on the floor of the ensuite bathroom. She looked at it with a puzzled expression, not entirely sure how it ended up there. She didn't remember the shower playing a role in their early morning activities. "And no, I'm not. Not only did half the senior class basically catch us sleeping together, photos of which I'm sure will be all over Facebook by morning, by the way, but I just busted my 17-year-old son at a hotel party drinking after he lied to my face about where he was going to be tonight. So no, I'm not okay. Clearly I won't be up for any mother-of-the-year awards anytime soon. " She stopped rambling but was fighting back tears. She continued to look around the room, not quite sure what she was looking for…maybe should could find her dignity under the bed.
"Look, Regina, I get that this sucks. And I know it's really not the time to have a conversation about what any of this means so I won't even try, but believe me when I say this isn't how I hoped tonight, or rather this morning, would end." She stopped pacing and looked over at him. "But, I gotta say, you do look cute in my clothes."
At that she smiled briefly, but then quickly frowned as she realized that she was in fact still wearing his shirt and boxers and would have to wear that home. Not to mention her hair and makeup were a mess. "Fuck, this is screwed up. And I need to get Henry home before this gets any worse."
He came over and softly ran his hands along her arms. "I know you do. Just take a deep breath and try not to kill him. And you're not a bad mother. Teenagers do stupid things and make mistakes, but Henry's a good kid. You've done a great job raising him."
"Thank you," she said shyly, as she finally allowed a tear to fall down her cheek and while Robin pulled her into his arms for a hug.
He walked her toward the door and handed her his down parka he had hanging in the hotel room closet. "Here, take this. It's got to be freezing outside and you didn't bring your jacket up here. Plus, you're not wearing pants." He laughed, hoping she would see the humor in the situation.
She smiled graciously and took it. "Thank you. Can I ask you one more favor?"
"Anything."
She took her keys out of her purse. "Can you drive my car back to my house later today when you check out? I'm clearly in no shape to drive right now, and I won't have any way of getting back here this morning. I'll be happy to give you a ride back so you're not stranded at my place after."
"Trusting me with your beloved Benz?"
"I don't have much of a choice."
"Okay…on one condition."
She rolled her eyes. "And that would be…?"
"Have dinner with me tomorrow night."
She smiled. "Well, since everyone knows we slept together, I suppose a dinner couldn't hurt our reputations."
"Good," he smiled back at her. "Does this mean you don't hate me anymore?"
"That's debatable. Goodnight, Robin." She winked at him as she opened the door and quietly left the room, leaving Robin shaking his head as he crawled back into bed, already missing her company.
A/N: Well, that's it! I hope you enjoyed it. Thanks again for taking the time to read it, and for the reviews, follows, and favorites! I have some ideas floating around for some longer fics (both more OQ and SQ, because to be honest I love the idea of both ships)...I just have to find the time and motivation to actually write it.