Heart of a Thief

Chapter 2: The Search

The entire time that Regina was our searching for Snow that night, her mind never once left Robin. She knew that she should be fully focused on finding her step-daughter, but she could not get Robin's piercing eyes and kind heart out of her head. It wasn't until the early morning rays from the sun started to peek through the trees of the forest that Regina told her knights that it was time to go home. They would accomplish nothing if they didn't get some sleep. They could resume the search for the princess later in the day. Upon reaching her room, Regina was surprised to find that she was not about to be alone like she had hoped.

"I'm sorry to intrude upon your bedchamber without your knowledge, but I couldn't wait until this afternoon to see you again." Robin said when he turned around and saw Regina standing behind him.

"It's quite alright; but what about your son?" Regina asked.

"Roland is safe and is being watched by my Merry Men. I will go get him later in the day if you still wish for me to bring him." Robin replied.

"I would like that." Regina said with a small smile.

"How was your search for the Princess?" Robin asked as he took in Regina's weary appearance.

"It yielded no results. I have no idea where she could be." Regina said as she sat down on her lounge chair by the fireplace.

For a moment, Robin didn't say or do anything. He wanted so badly to comfort the woman in front of him, but he didn't want to overstep his place. Yes, he believed her about them being each other's True Love, but he was still just a lowly thief in the presence of the Queen. Taking a couple steps forward, Robin cleared his throat.

"May I?" He asked, indicating the chair.

"Please do." Regina said with a nod as she scooted over some so that Robin could slide in behind her.

"I can have my men help your second search if you would like, and if it's necessary. I'm positive that they knew the forest just as well as the Princess does." Robin said as he slid in behind Regina, gently wrapped his arms around her waist to pull her towards him and leaned her back against his chest.

"Robin, do you think you and Roland would be able to move into the castle? It's a big castle, and with it just being me and Snow White, mostly me, here, it gets lonely at times." Regina said in a small voice.

"M'lady, it would be an honor to move in, but I cannot just abandon the Merry Men." Robin whispered into Regina's ear.

"They can move closer, can't they?" Regina asked.

"You would have to instruct your guards not to arrest any of them." Robin replied.

"That can be arranged." Regina said quickly.

"Your Majesty, the Princess has returned, and she has requested to speak with you." The same guard from earlier announced.

"Thank you Huntsman." Regina replied as she turned away from Robin and straightened herself. "Send her in." Regina added after a moment.

"Regina, I am so sorry. I know that I should have mentioned that I was going into the forest, but I needed to clear my head, and the guards said that they hadn't seen you for an hour or so, so I just left. I will do my best not to let it happen again." Snow said as soon as she saw her step-mother. "Who's this?" She asked when she noticed Robin.

"Snow, listen to me. If I am not here, and you want to go into the forest, let one of the guards know that is what you are doing and ask them to inform me of so upon my return. I have been up all night searching for you because you had me worried." Regina said as she pulled her step-daughter into a hug. "And this is Robin. He's a new friend of mine; one that might be moving into the castle, along with his son." Regina said.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Sir." Snow said as she dropped into a quick curtsey.

"Please Princess, the pleasure is all mine." Robin said with a deep bow before turning to Regina. "I'll be waiting out in the corridor M'lady." He added with another bow before making his exit.

"Regina?" Snow asked slowly.

"Snow, you have to understand… you know I never loved your father." Regina said quickly.

"We just lost my father, how can you be moving on already?" Snow asked.

"I am lonely Snow. I was forced into a loveless marriage with your father, and I never really let go of my love for Daniel. I met a fairy who said that she would show me my True Love. My true love is Robin." Regina explained.

"But Regina…" Snow tried to say.

"No buts on this Snow, I have invited Robin and his son Roland to come live here with us while Robin's men live in the forest nearby. I might not be the rightful Queen, but until you are old enough to take the throne, I am Queen, so my decision is final." Regina said.

"So you're saying that you are going to step down as Queen once I turn 21?" Snow asked.

"That is exactly what I'm saying." Regina said.

"Okay. I'm going to hold you to that Regina." Snow said before she turned and walked out. "You're free to go back in My Lord." She said to Robin before disappearing down the corridor.

"I promise to explain everything to her…" Regina said as Robin walked back into the room.

"There is no need for you to do that M'lady. It is my tale to tell, not yours. If given the opportunity, I shall explain everything to the Princess. Now, what would Her Majesty like to do while in the presence of an outlaw and a thief like myself?" Robin asked with a warm smile.

"I quite enjoyed what we were doing before Snow came in." Regina said with a small shrug- a motion that a Queen should not be doing.

"We were just sitting My Queen." Robin pointed out.

"Exactly; I have not had much of a moment's peace since the King passed, and sitting with you felt relaxing. It will give us a chance to get to know each other a little better." Regina explained.

"I see…" Robin said as he went to sit down and lightly pulled Regina with him.

Once they were situated, Regina leaning back against Robin's chest and her head against his shoulder, and Robin with his arms lightly around Regina's waist, Robin cleared his throat.

"Would it be out of line for me to ask permission to kiss you Regina?" Robin asked in a low voice in Regina's ear.

"Not out of line at all." Regina replied as she turned her head to face him.

Brushing a lock of Regina's hair away from her cheek with the back of his hand, Robin caressed Regina's cheek before pulling her up so that their lips could meet. Being their first kiss, it was more on the timid side and it didn't go any further than a light kiss. But it was the best kiss Regina had ever had. Ever kiss she had ever had with Daniel had had to be short and hurried, for they did not want to be caught by Regina's mother. When Regina pulled away from Robin to catch her breath, she searched his eyes for something; some kind of emotion that showed that he had enjoyed that kiss as much as she had.

"Kiss me again." Regina demanded.

"Whatever the Queen wants, she shall have." Robin said as he pulled the Queen more onto his lap so that they were in more of a position to deepen the kiss before crashing his lips to hers.

This kiss was much more passionate. Tongues swept against bottom lips begging for entrance to the other's mouth; hands clutched at hair or clothing; and soft moans escaped both sets of lips.

"Robin, we might want to relocate to the bed…" Regina said through short breaths as Robin peppered her throat with kisses.

"Are you sure M'lady?" Robin asked as he pulled away to look her in the eyes.

"Yes. There's only so much comfort that can be found from a chair like this." Regina commented as she got up quickly and pulled Robin along behind her until they reached the bed.

"Regina, you've been up all night, please think this through completely. We only just met yesterday evening. We might be soul mates, but that doesn't mean that we should just jump into that right away. I suggest that you get some sleep. I will stay with you and make sure that no one bothers you, but I don't think it is a good idea to have sex just yet." Robin said as Regina pushed him onto the bed.

"You don't want me that way?" Regina asked feeling hurt.

"I didn't say that Regina. I said that we should wait. Have time to get to know each other to make sure that the moment is right. You lost your first love, and were forced to be in a loveless marriage; do you really want to rush into a sexual relationship so soon?" Robin asked.

"I guess not..." Regina said slowly as she sat down on the bed and curled up by the pillows- effectively putting some distance between her and Robin.

"You don't have to distance yourself from me Regina. I will be right here when you wake up." Robin said softly as he moved to her side and pulled her in to him and lightly kissed her lips.

"Robin… why did you really come back here this morning?" Regina asked as her eyelids started to get heavy.

"I couldn't wait until noon to see you. My heart ached too much to be away from you and if I had waited until noon, I wouldn't have been able to resist you if you had tried to do what you just tried to do." Robin said after a moment.

"May I do something?" Regina asked slowly.

"Of course you may Regina. My heart is yours to do with as you please." Robin said as he kissed her forehead.

"This will hurt." Regina warned in a tired voice.

"Every pain pales in comparison to not being with you." Robin said.

"I'm going to remove your heart for a minute…" Regina said.

"Like, actually taking my heart out of my chest?" Robin asked.

"Yes…" Regina said. She was wide awake now.

"Is that safe?" Robin inquired.

"As long as I don't crush it like my mother did with Daniel's heart… which I'm not planning on doing. I just want to see what a pure heart looks like. I promise to be careful with it and I'll put it right back." Regina said quickly.

"Do what you must M'lady." Robin said as he sat back against the pillows to allow Regina room to sit up.

With that, Regina sat up and straddled Robin's legs to brace her against falling on him. Placing her left hand on Robin's chest to steady her, Regina plunged her right hand into his chest at the spot where she knew his heart rested. Pulling it out quickly, Regina tried not to look at Robin's pain filled expression. She literally held his heart in her hands and despite the pain that he was in from her taking his heart out of his chest, Robin couldn't have been happier. Moving off of Robin so that she could curl up against his side, Regina took special care not to apply any pressure to the heart in her hands. She didn't want to cause Robin any more pain then she already had.

"Now what?" Robin asked.

"Usually when I take someone's heart its so that I can control them, I've never taken a heart and then had to put it back in right away." Regina admitted.

"Show me." Robin said in a low voice.

"Robin I…" Regina started to say slowly.

"I'm asking you to show me Regina. Just this once. After this I will never ask you to do it again." Robin said as he pressed his lips to her neck and she brought his heart up to her lips.

"Make love to me." Regina said in a low voice to the heart.

As soon as the words had left her lips, Robin was working on removing their clothing. But Regina knew that what Robin had said moments ago still held true. They had just met the previous evening and didn't know each other very well. And as much as Regina wanted Robin to make love to her, Regina knew that it wouldn't be as special if she controlled him during the process.

"Please stop." Regina muttered to the heart and Robin stopped only to stare at her longingly.

"Thank you for that Regina." Robin said as he moved to her side and pulled the covers over her.

"Here's your heart back." Regina said as she pushed it back into its rightful place.

"You are an amazing woman Regina. I am lucky to be able to call you my soul mate and my true love." Robin said with a light kiss. And that was the last thing that Regina heard before she drifted off to sleep.

A/N: I know that on the show when King Leopold was killed that Snow was portrayed by Ginnifer Goodwin, but that aging doesn't work for me very well, so I'm imaging Snow as more of a teenager here, rather than an adult. So think of Hailee Steinfeld during this story age-wise for Snow. I'll let you all know when that will change as the story goes on. - Emma