A/N: So, I'd like to give a quick shout out to Robin for the artwork she did for Study Hall. I love it! Thank you again! And one more to Chelsea, whose sarcasm is unparalleled and sponsored my favorite moment of this chapter.
His name is Henry.
And if karma ever had it out for Regina Mills, now was surely the time it'd chosen to make its fatal wound.
How it happened, she has no clue, but it certainly did, and not a singular soul can understand why she's suddenly turned into an absolute basket case, but that has not stopped a particular Robin Locksley from trying. As her week dwindles down to the dregs of Friday afternoon car duty, he still hasn't let up on the matter. It's when Roland and Henry are scurrying away, hand in hand, to their car, that he takes his chance to walk up behind her and bid them farewell, making sure to enunciate Henry's name just enough to grate her nerves. He's realized that the name is what shakes her but she's been stubborn and unrelenting, leaving him to push every button to get her to break.
It was Tuesday afternoon when he first confronted her over it. David and Ella had called them in for a brief meeting about the boys, once again, and to give them a more detailed background and plan for them without the boys' presence. She didn't mean to shudder when David said Henry's name but it was a visceral reaction, one far out of her control. She'd hoped that nobody noticed but, of course, Robin had to pick up on it easily. And he wasn't going to just ignore it either because he followed her down to her classroom, asking her along the way what was troubling her. Naturally, she balked at him and asked why he cared so much, a facet he defensively denied, though that hadn't stopped his pestering-and it's still continuing.
She doesn't understand why he has to be so damn nosy and why he can't accept that some things are just none of his business, but he's persistent and successfully driving her crazy, which is why she shoves him, probably harder than she means, but if he wasn't being such an asshole, she wouldn't have had to. He asked for it.
"Getting testy, Ms. Mills?" he's teasing her.
"No, just trying to figure out how many of these children I can bribe to keep their mouths shut with ice cream and candy after I murder you," she hisses back at him quietly, tilting her face just so that he can see her feigned smile.
He swoops behind her to lean up onto her shoulder, hovering his chin there and leaving mere centimeters between their faces. He's been doing it all week, touching her in various places—nothing inappropriate but he just seems less… inhibited when it comes to being near her and he keeps at it, most likely because she's yet to have fended him off. Honestly, she doesn't mind at all. She's never been one for possessive grabbing or anything, but gentle, warm, and comfortable touches always give her solace. Not to mention, she's been deprived of any touch from Graham for nearly two whole weeks (which is finally over tomorrow, thank goodness) so filling the void whilst he's gone isn't wrong.
Of course, not to say that she's using Robin to fill any kind of void like the one Graham left but he's been a presence, that's all.
"My bets on the one with the glasses," he points at his culprit. "He won't last a day."
Regina snorts out a tiny laugh and swats at his finger. "Stop," she scolds.
"Just warning you, you should always keep an eye on the quiet ones."
Her face turns before she thinks about it, leaving her lips to graze gently across the space between them, missing his cheek by a millimeter, if that.
"You want to kiss and make up, is that it?" he smirks to the road.
If Regina Mills is being completely honest with herself, then she'd admit that she has considered what it would be like to kiss Robin. Truthfully, though, who wouldn't? He's attractive and apparently (and surprisingly) women seem to like him so there must be some appeal. And so what if she's wasted a few minutes thinking about what it would feel like to have Robin's warm lips caress her own.
That doesn't mean anything. It's simply curiosity.
"You wish," she shoots back coolly.
"Is that so terrible?" he asks, dropping his voice deep and low and making her legs feel a bit like jelly.
She moves out of his framework, then, to get a proper look at him. She's certain that she has hallucinated or something and Robin said no such thing, but the tilt of his head and the rise in his brow begs to differ. It was flattering to say the least but also wholly unnerving. It must be a dream, she's certain that it has to be. Although, that might not be exactly be a good thing either.
Her eyelids begin to blink rapidly, "I'm sorry, what?"
"Oh calm down, you," he waves it off, as he walks past her to the last three children waiting to be picked up by their parents.
Regina isn't all that sure how to respond, mostly because she can't figure out how serious Robin is about the situation. Although it's not really about how serious he is, but rather how serious she is, which she could easily tell herself was not at all but the flutter in her chest says otherwise. God, she needs Graham to return. She's been too lonely for too long.
That's a ridiculous notion, though because she doesn't need anyone, she's okay with being alone. Her libido, on the other hand, doesn't really prefer loneliness but that's something she can handle and take care of, if necessary, on her own.
It's like the world hears her cry because as she's returning to Robin's side to retort something about being smoother when hitting on a lady, another car is pulling up, one that does not belong to the remaining children. Her brows knit together as her confusion formulates into a singular question, "Graham?"
When the vehicle approaches, the window rolls down slowly to reveal that very identity that she'd just put into question. She reiterates his name in the same manner for him to hear. He isn't supposed to be back yet, and not that she isn't totally pleased over his prompt return, she's nevertheless caught off guard.
She's so focused on her own thoughts that she nearly misses him saying, "Yes, I'm here to pick up Regina Mills."
"What are you doing here?"
He lifts his index finger, prompting her to wait a moment as he scrambles out of his car and over to the other side where she is standing. He doesn't even answer her question, but instead envelops her in a bearish hug, lifting her feet off of the ground and spinning her in a solitary loop. Once her feet touch back to the ground, she repeats herself.
"I came home a day early because I missed you so much," he tells her while leaning in to peck her softly on the lips.
She pulls away rather quickly, not being one for PDA. That's supposed to be a private matter, one not shared so openly with the public, and especially given her current audience. "I missed you, too."
He lets out a sigh of relief, "Phew, I was worried there for a moment."
She scoffs but does not elicit any words, partially because she is lost for them but also because she can't get a word in edgewise before Graham is speaking again, "Who's this?" Her gaze follows his to the silhouette of Robin, who's standing idly beside her, hands shoved deep into his pockets and staring off to the road leading up to the school.
"Oh, uh this is Robin, he's my, uh newest coworker," she stammers out a sorry excuse for an introduction, still trying to get her bearings.
"Ah, yes hi," Robin greets absentmindedly, taking several seconds afterward to rip his gaze from the road and put them onto Graham. "Robin Locksley, pleasure."
"Likewise," Graham answers with a nod, one that Robin returns in likeness.
An awkward silence dares to creep into their conversation but Regina interjects before it can get too far, "He, um, took over Mary Margaret's position this year."
"Oh, cool."
"Mhm."
The silence gets more daring this time and wins over as Regina scans her brain for something to say but once again, Graham beats her to the punch. "So," he drawls, turning her back to face him, "what say we have dinner tonight? I've missed those with you."
"Yeah, I have a few things to do here and then I'll need to go home and change but, yeah."
"Sounds wonderful."
He kisses her again, trying to heat it up again but Regina is having none of that. "Graham," she admonishes.
"Sorry," he mutters into the space between them. "I've just missed you."
"And I've missed you, but you should go home and I'll call you when I'm done here, okay?"
"Yes, fine, okay." He gives her a final peck that she doesn't resist, knowing that it's just that, before he walks back over to the driver's side, gets in his car and drives away.
She turns back to look for her remaining company but she finds them leaving her behind too, as Robin is ushering them back into the school building.
"Sorry about that," she pants once she reaches them again.
"It's fine," he brushes her off.
"It really wasn't, though, it was unprofessional."
"Regina," he grabs her arm (there he goes touching her again), "it's fine, really. Hey, go finish what you need to, I got this handled here."
"What? No, I can stay. Graham can wait."
"No, it's fine. Go."
Then he abandons her, for good, in the hall.
[:]
Regina missed Graham, really she had, but when she was getting ready for dinner, she only felt apprehensive and less inclined to even do it and it seemed like Graham wasn't that far from her frequency either because dinner was, well… awkward—not painfully awkward but enough so that she felt out of place. They'd kept a steady conversation, but one that was polite and standard.
How've you been?
Good. You?
Good. How was your first week back?
Pretty good, the kids are great and the staff is… the staff. How was Colorado?
Good, exhausting, but good.
Did you have fun?
Yes.
And so on in a neverending marathon of who can keep the conversation off the ground the longest. They'd managed too, both of them able to keep it afloat, but not without a few not-so subtle pauses and eye avoidances. Regina had made it a point to stupidly question if it was always going to be like this now, and she got her answer, loud and clear once dinner had finished.
She's sitting there silently watching Graham who'd just said that he needed to tell her something. A lot of things fly through her mind all at once. Perhaps, he is going to say that she was right and that the 'I love you' was premature or maybe just the opposite and he stands his ground and tells her that if she can't say that she loves him, then it's over. Although, it could be unrelated to their relationship status entirely, maybe something happened during his trip like a job offer or the decision to move to Colorado; and even though that's absurd because one, he'd call with a major life decision as soon as he made it and two, Graham considers all things in his life before doing anything rash, she can't help but convince herself that it's one of those two because the other options aren't ones that she's very fond of. Well, aside from the one where he simply admits that she is right and takes the 'I love you' back.
"I…" he begins carefully and apprehensively, causing her palms to slicken up. "…was hoping it would be alright if we ended the night a bit early. Not that I'm not having a lovely time because I missed you," he grabs her hand from across that table, "really, Regina, I missed you very much, but I'm really tired and worn out from the trip and I think I could use a good night's rest."
She feels a rush of air leave her lungs in relief. That's not a problem at all, she can handle going home and seeing Graham another day. Sure, she'd like to spend the rest of the evening with him but if he needs a little space, she'd be more than happy to oblige. Besides it isn't really that early, it's 9:30 now because several obstacles impeded them from an early dinner.
"You can stay, if you'd like but I just-"
"Graham, it's fine, I'm a little tired, too," she reassures. It's a lie, though; she isn't tired at all, really, in fact, she could probably run a marathon with how awake she is.
But maybe she could stay and cuddle up in bed with him and do couple-y things. No, no, she knows that isn't what she wants and she'll regret it as soon as she wakes in the morning and climbs out of his bed like she always does, gathering her things and tiptoeing out into the hall.
She thinks of Robin then, whom she'd first encountered in a scenario quite like that, and her mind wanders off to curiosity over what he's doing, if he was at that Rabbit Hole bar, getting lucky with some girl who inevitably lives here in this apartment complex and will bring him here to fuck her, only for him to grace Regina with his presence in the morning.
What is she doing?
This is about her and Graham. Robin Locksley has no business in her life, let alone her thoughts.
"Regina?"
She shakes herself out of her reverie and returns her attention to Graham who is looking at her confusedly. "Yeah? Sorry."
"Look, I mean if you want to—we can—"
"No, it's fine." She rises from her chair and walks over to where he's sitting to plant a soft kiss on his lips. "Really, you get the rest you need and we'll talk tomorrow."
"I actually have plans tomorrow," he tells her sheepishly, gazing pointedly at the tile beneath her feet.
Oh. Well no matter, right? "Then, we'll see each other whenever you are free again, okay?"
"Yeah," he answers distantly.
Is something wrong, or is she imagining it? He'd seemed fine when he first arrived back home and met her at the school but now she feels that he's far away. Regina does not want to be that girl who has to know every little detail and beg to know how their lover is feeling every second of the day. She doesn't need to be in his head, she simply just needs to accept that he has other things going on besides his relationship (or whatever the hell it is at this point) with her.
He gets up while she's reprimanding herself silently. But before her thoughts can get much further, Graham is guiding her to the door, grabbing her purse with his other hand and handing it to her. Then a simple, sweet goodbye preceded Regina standing alone in that danky hallway she hates so much and the door being closed in her face.
Now what?
[:]
She knows she shouldn't because she's never really desired to be friends with Robin Locksley. Ever since she met him, that has been her least desire, but that doesn't seem to stop her this time around. Instead, she's sitting in her car switching her phone back and forth between each hand, debating on her cardinal rule with Robin. Unfortunately, he is the only one in the know about Graham, and though she doesn't want to be a lunatic over nothing, she just wants to hear from someone else that she's not a nut job—or even that she is and that there is nothing to worry over.
Oh screw it.
Her courage shines its way through and she clicks the phone next to his contact name.
One ring. Two. Three.
On the fourth ring, she considers it to be a mistake and that her earlier projection on Robin's whereabouts might just be true. But it's none too bothersome because as that fourth ring is coming to an end, it is finalized with a weary hello, delivered by Robin.
"You're awake," she states dumbly.
"I am."
She worries for a moment over the sleepiness in his voice, that, perhaps, she'd woken him, or that he was just about to go to bed, "Did I wake you?"
"No," he sighs. "Although, you should learn some etiquette, calling people in the middle of the night like this," he jokes.
"I don't think I need to be told about etiquette by a thief," she snaps.
He tells her that her conjecture is fair with a chuckle then follows up with why she's calling. She asks if he's terribly busy, to which he tells her he's not and then she feels as the words just tumble off of her lips, telling Robin at lightning speed how she feels that Graham is suddenly distant and weird and that she knows she's being anal and incredibly insane but no one else knows about 'the thing' and that's why she's calling.
"All because he made you wait outside the apartment door for a minute?"
"It's not just that, he is a totally different person than the one you met at the school. But I don't know why he did that, either." She loathes herself so much for the way she's speaking now but she can't help it. "I—ugh—I thought that maybe he was surprising me for something but then I get there and dinner is just waiting for us."
"Maybe he was putting the final touches on dinner?" he offers.
"Okay but then why would he lie and say he needed to get dressed?"
"Maybe he did."
"I've seen him naked plenty of times, Robin."
"Maybe he just didn't want you see this time around?"
"Why?"
She's getting irritated despite the fact that this conversation is going quite similarly to the way she planned. Or maybe she had planned for Robin to join her in conspiratorially deciding that Regina is not crazy and something is definitely up with Graham.
Robin must be able to tell because he's suddenly diverting. "What are you doing right now?"
She's stunted at first by the question. "Sitting in my car," she finally informs him slowly.
"Perfect, even more convenient."
She's puzzled and makes him aware but doesn't get much of an answer except that he's texting her an address and that he'll be waiting outside. She assumes that it's an address to his place but honestly she has no clue where Robin has directed her. She cranks up her car anyway, and clicks on the address in iMessage for her maps to pick it up and take her to the location.
And it turns out to be just that, she discovers, as she pulls up to an apartment complex where Robin is waiting outside in the ugliest faded denim jeans, which probably need to be returned to the 90s where they came from, a dark heather colored Grateful Dead t-shirt, and a forest green leather jacket. Despite the hideous nature of his attire, he still looks decent and not totally atrocious, so she can't complain. Although, she tries, rolling down her window to tell him to 'get back to the DeLorean quick!' He just chortles his way to the car, saying something about how a return to the 80s sounds incredibly appealing compared to this day and age.
When he's gotten into her car and started to buckle his seatbelt to safely secure himself, she tells him that she didn't peg him for a Deadhead.
"I'm full of surprises," he beams. "So shall we?"
"Where are we going?"
"On adventure but it's a surprise, just drive. I'll tell you where to go."
"What?!"
"Drive, I'll give directions," he repeats calmly.
She scoffs, "Oh yeah, so that you can lead me to somewhere to be murdered. I'm not driving anywhere without knowing where it is first."
He's crazy. He's totally lost it because he must think that Regina Mills is the stupidest human being alive. Like she would just drive anywhere, without any notion of where they are headed or what they are doing. That immediately screams bad idea and surely he would know that, yet he is persistent that she drive to wherever this unknown location is.
"Oh, would you just take the branch shoved up your arse out for one night and do something a little reckless?"
"This is not 'a little reckless,' this is entirely irresponsible. How do I know you aren't really planning to murder me?"
"Because you know I'm not a murder." He looks at her knowingly, and he's right. She doesn't believe that Robin has a murderous bone in his body. And she's certain that anywhere that they're going is totally innocent but… well, nothing. She doesn't have an honest excuse why she isn't putting the car in drive and allowing Robin to guide them to the mystery location. "D'you trust me?"
She does, she knows she does. She's not exactly sure why she does because he's a complete stranger to her, but she nevertheless feels trustworthy of him and believes that he'd never hurt her or intend to do her harm. Rather than responding, though, she just pulls out her phone and starts to type, prompting Robin to ask why she's doing such a thing.
"I'm texting Kathryn, in the case that you are taking me to murder me. I'm telling her if she doesn't hear from me by tomorrow afternoon, then to call the police."
"You know telling the murderer that kind of information is counterproductive? Because what would stop me now from going to kill Kathryn, right after I finish you off?"
Unfortunately, he's right and a wry smile creeps onto her features to let him see. "I really hate you, do you know that?"
"Also, probably not something you should say to a murderer but I'm impressed to see that you are capable of feeling strong emotions. Given, it's the wrong extreme, but I suppose you have to start somewhere."
Regina merely rolls her eyes. She nearly said that she only feels that way towards him but thankfully her brain thought farther and considered his sly answer about her only having strong feelings for him, which is certainly false, but inevitably something that Robin would use against her. So she chooses to keep her comment to herself, put her phone down and put the car in drive. "Okay, smart ass, where to?"
"We're doing this?" he asks incredulously.
"I'm not scared of a challenge."
He nods in her direction, "A confident woman. I like that," then returns his gaze back to the road, "Very well then, take a right at the light, and then keep going, I'll tell you when to turn again."
She does as she's told and they end up cruising down the highway to silence. Regina isn't fond of silence, especially when another person is nearby. That said, of course, she loves peace and quiet every now and again but silence can be deafening and her thoughts can continuously echo off the walls of her skull, trying to break free and end the surrounding silence. But sound can drown them out. She reaches over, then, to the volume knob on the radio and turns it slightly to the right, just enough got some form of a melody can fill the spaces in between. However, that turns out to be a mistake as soon as the lyrics hit her ears.
No, no drama, no, no, no, no drama
So don't pull on my hand boy,
You ain't my man, boy,
I'm just tryn'a dance boy,
And move my hump.
Regina's eyes go wild as her hand shoots toward the buttons in the middle to change the station, but her hand is caught by Robin's and her eyes fly up to his, where a light is twinkling in them, and he's shaking his head. He begins to join in with Fergie on her round of 'my humps,' shimmying his shoulders to the beat and grinning like an idiot. He breaks at 'lovely lady lumps' to shout over the music for Regina to join him.
"Oh, no, no, no, no," she negates and shakes her head furiously.
He yells out a, "You know you want to," just in time to add into the 'she's got me spendin'.'
"No, I don't." Spendin' all your money on me and spendin' time on me.
He just sings the next 'she's got me spendin'' even louder. "C'mon," he nearly whines this time during Fergie's line. "Watcha gonna do with all that junk, all that junk inside that trunk?"
Maybe it's the thrill of the moment, or the dare in Robin's eyes but the lyrics finally fall from Regina's lips with, "I'mma get, get, get, get you drunk, get you love drunk off my hump."
Robin claps his hands together and halfway cheers her on as she reluctantly sings the lyrics. His smile is contagious, making the corners of her lips tilt further and further up until she is also grinning like a fool and singing along to My Humps at the top of her lungs, with her doing the Fergie stuff and Robin completing it with the remaining Black Eyed Peas' parts.
She isn't quite sure what happened, but it all feels like an out of body experience, because she isn't like this; Regina Mills does not sing trashy songs like My Humps at the top of her lungs nor does she just go out with someone on a whim with no clue where she's headed. This isn't her and somewhere deep down she wants it to stop, to shut back down and get Robin out of her head, but the rest of her just wants to relish in the excitement and allow Robin to show her a good time—in the most innocent of ways, of course.
When the song ends, Robin is laughing. "Congrats, I didn't think you had it in you. Wait, no that's not true, I knew something that resembles a normal human being was in there somewhere."
"I only did it so you'd stop doing that thing with your chest," she retorts.
"Oh, was my chest distracting?" He moves it again, brow raised.
She pauses for a moment to whip up a decent excuse because, yes, watching his deltoids bounce up and down was very distracting. "No, the dancing was irritatingly distracting and could have led to an accident had I not put a stop to your shenanigans."
"Right," he smirks to himself.
She just grips the steering wheel harder with her left hand until her knuckles start to whiten and uses her right hand to find a new station because now the song has shifted to the 'made for weddings' Ed Sheeran song that is played far too much on the radio. She tries to find another variety type station on her satellite radio because Variety is always her favorite (a little bit of the 80s, a splash of the 90s, all the new stuff, and then occasionally fan favorites from any decade) but she stops first on the popular pop stations.
How dare we sit quietly
And watch the world pass us by
She loves this song but suddenly the lyrics make her feel strange. Attempting to overlook it, she tells Robin how she loves this song and just like that it hits her, like a bullet speeding train right at her. She was dancing—no, grinding—on Robin to the beat of the very song coming out of her speakers.
Her cheeks light up to a bright red as Robin says, "Yes, I'm quite aware over how much you like the song."
"Oh my god. Was it bad?"
"No, not too bad, at least during this song. The couple beside us loved you, though. Pretty sure at one point during the evening, the guy asked if we were swingers." Her mouth gapes open. "Don't worry, I said I wasn't." A pause. "Though, I might have suggested that you'd totally be into it."
"You what?!"
"You agreed."
Her incredulity only deepens. "I would never."
"You did, swear."
Never in a million and one years would she ever agree to something so stupid like the idea of being a swinger. This is ridiculous. Robin Locksley is clearly a bad influence on her life. She thinks to turn around and end this little parade of 'fun' because she can just imagine all the terrible things that he would get her into tonight. She should have known that she couldn't be friends with him, it was practically doomed from the get go. And yet, despite all that, her foot only presses the gas a little harder and gets them closer to their destination and forcing herself not to turn back.
"Calm down, I told them I didn't want my girlfriend doing that shit while she's with me." He finally offers.
"I'm not thanking you for that."
"No need, my pleasure, honey."
"Don't you mean darling?" She shoots back at him and it shuts him up as expected. She beams at her clever thought to the other night Robin when had so thoughtfully called her darling, which had caught her off guard at the time, but now she would use to her advantage.
"Sure, whatever you'd like to be called sugar plum." He smiles, not letting Regina best him. "Now what else is on this blasted thing?" He presses the 3 to return to the another variety channel. And the sounds of The Night is Still Young have been replaced by Journey's Faithfully, which Robin gets extremely excited for. He cries out a yes! and turns it up even louder than with My Humps.
She can't resist with this one. Faithfully has always been a favorite one of hers, one that she'd even dare to roll down the widows, letting the world into her little bubble for those 4+ minutes, to belt the lyrics as loud as she can, just as she's doing now with Robin. She's using her best air microphone with her right hand as Robin faces her from the passenger seat with a mean air guitar.
Somewhere, in the middle of the song, he tells her to turn left at the light and the right at the next light, then it's a straight-shot. And the sounds of Faithfully and lots of laughter carry them all the way there.
Two strangers learn to fall in love again.
[:]
"Robin, where the hell are we?" is the first thing they hear when they've reached their destination.
"The clay pits," he tells her as he unbuckles his seatbelt.
She doesn't move though because she isn't going anywhere. "Are you kidding me? That's trespassing!"
There's a small area of little clay hills at the foot of the mountain around where they live. It's not unheard of; many kids talk of coming out to it to party or hangout, as well as other things. The properties around it aren't so kind when it comes to the trespassers. Stories of the cops breaking up parties are usually at its heaviest over the summer and then occasionally litter their way throughout the rest of the year, peaking around holidays. The cops, however, have gotten pretty lenient about it and often times, the kids get tipped off before they show up and can clear out. The town has come to a general understanding but there are a few properties on the pits that are still hard asses about it.
"Which is why I led us to the far end, so that we're far away from the properties," he says as he's getting out the car.
"How do you know about this place, anyway?" She asks after she follows him out of the car.
"I hear things…"
"At the Hole that you frequent?" she retorts.
"The very 'Hole' that I remember spotting you at not too long ago, hm?"
Her smile falters, "I don't know what you're talking about." Her arms cross over her chest and her chin tilts into the air.
"Mhm."
Robin begins walking away from the car, assumingly expecting Regina to follow, but she doesn't and instead yells after him, "Hey! I'm not dressed to go walking around in clay!"
"I saw sneakers in your backseat!" he hollers back over his shoulder, still walking.
There are tennis shoes in her back seat and that just happened to be a lucky break from him, but his lack of forewarning still pisses her off. She rolls her eyes, groans and grabs the tennis shoes that are in her back seat, chucking her heels back there to replace them. She doesn't bother to put them on, but runs barefoot after Robin to catch up. "And what about my dress?"
"It's lovely, why do you ask?" He knows what she means and she lets her irritation bleed through onto her facial features. "Oh relax, it'll wash out," he says as she balances on him to put on her new footwear.
"It doesn't come out that easily."
"Then I'll buy you a new dress if it means that much," he answers nonchalantly.
"What if I like this dress?"
"Regina."
The way he says her name gives her heart a reason for a little flutter. He knows she's being annoying just for the sake of it and so does she. She's not sure why, why she likes pushing his buttons and fighting him on the silliest things but it's like second nature to her.
"If you use the 'live a little' trope one more time, I'm going to kill you."
"You call me a murderer and yet, here we are with you threatening to kill me twice in one day. Perhaps, we should turn back and I should fear you, hm?"
She chooses that moment to mock him, "Oh where's your sense of adventure, Locksley. You're too boring. Do something fun for once."
"Okay then, challenge accepted. Let's go." He tugs on her hand and pulls her down the first slope into the pit.
"Robin, if you throw dirt on me, I swear to god," she warns as they scurry down the hill.
He chuckles, "No worries m'lady. No dirtball fights for us."
When they reached the bottom of the slope, Robin speaks first, "So what are you gonna do about your lover boy?" His grip on her hand loosens but doesn't entirely give up and neither does hers on his.
Her hands are cold after all.
"I have no idea," she sighs out. She really doesn't, which is partially why she is in his company, because he's the only one who can advise her on the matter. She cares for Graham, but she doesn't know that she'd jump in front of a speeding bullet for him. They just started this stupid little thing, why do they need to jump to love and commitment? And why the hell can't Graham just understand that she needs space and time? She tells Robin all this, who asks if she's ever asked that of Graham out loud.
"Not in so many words. But if he knows me well enough to love me, then he should pick up on that," she answers defensively.
"Ah, you never disappoint."
"What does that mean?"
"You expect the man to just read your thoughts?"
"I do not. But I shouldn't have to spell it out for him and I shouldn't have to tell him that out of obligation. I should be able to say it whenever I want and he should want me too, as well, that way he knows my feelings are genuine. And you are supposed to be on my side," she huffs.
His grip tightens once more on her hand and he stops walking, turning so he is facing her. "I am and I don't disagree with you there, but Regina, sometimes you have to give the man a vowel. And look, if you want to end it then you need to say so. If it isn't going anywhere then you need to be honest. Tell him exactly how you feel and then, together, you can decide what your next step is."
Again, it's not like this is not what she should hear, but she is angry with Graham's expectations. She doesn't know what she wants Robin to tell her, something resembling anything to the fact that Graham is wrong and she is right, end of discussion.
"I don't know why I'm even bothering asking your opinion of love when you philander all over the city," she dismisses.
"I have loved before, you realize."
"Oh what happened? Did she tragically break your heart causing you to become this great love cynic, who ditches England to fuck every girl in America as revenge?"
"I'm not a love cynic. I totally believe in the concept." He moves into the position they were in at the carline but is closer, this time, where his lips are brushing her ear. "I just like sex better that's all."
His breath tickles her neck and earlobe, nearly making her squirm, "Of course, you do."
"Can you blame me? It's a wonderful gift we've been given and one I just happened to be spectacular at giving, as well."
"I think you're far too confident."
"With sex?"
"Yes."
"Is this where you are going to do the Meg Ryan fake orgasm thing because I'm just dying to hear the way you scream when a man isn't satisfying you, which must be often, what with the stick up your arse," he counters.
"I beg your pardon?"
"You heard me."
"You think you could be satisfactory?"
"More so." He lifts his brow and then starts to walk off and waits for Regina to return to his side before adding, "No, but anyway, Marian and I didn't work out. And I left, not her."
"What happened?"
"Lots of things. We got on well enough, and I loved her, I did, but truthfully, if I didn't take a step back then I wouldn't know if I cared for her simply because I did or if it was because my parents wanted us to."
She nods in understanding, realizing that Robin means that his relationship was arranged by his parents, presumably to keep the family money in the family. She hadn't known that Robin was rich, though, not surprising, but she feels her perspective change a little bit. Unfortunately, this is not one of those times where she can avoid relating to Robin. She knows all too well what it feels like to be pressed beneath the thumb of an oppressive parent, who forces their children to do their bidding because they weren't fulfilled by their own lives.
"So did you just leave?"
"Sort of." He kicks up a bit of clay as they continue walking. "Marian knew I wanted to visit the states and so I told my parents that I wanted to before I got married. My father said I was foolish and my mother just got cross. And one day, I finally just left. I left a note for Marian at our place, telling her I needed to go and didn't contact my parents until after I'd gotten to New York."
"Have you spoken to Marian?"
"No, too much of a bloody coward, to be honest."
"Well, I'm assuming you decided that you realized that you love her because of your parents?"
"No, actually, quite the opposite." He shakes his head. "I loved Marian and I still do but in a way that I know I can't return. I want her to be free and be her own person and find love on her own, not because it was pushed together. She doesn't need to be some housewife because that's just how it's supposed to be. Plus when I found out she had a thing with Keith, I knew we couldn't stay together."
"Keith?"
"This total jack ass I went to primary school with but Marian had a thing for him," he shrugs.
This is a side of Robin Locksley that she had not seen and had not ever expected to see. She grows a massive level of respect for him because while the whole escape plan started selfishly, it had continued chivalrously. "Very valiant of you."
"Something like that," he sighs.
"No, really, Robin, it is."
"Yeah, sounds like she's happy too. Friend of mine from back home says she moved up north with Keith and their living in a cottage and having the time of their lives. She's disowned now, but as long as she's happy."
"And if she ever ended up unhappy?"
"Then I'd take care of her, but without my parents' money. I'd take care of her with money that I earned myself."
Regina is confused. "If you love her that much then why do you insist on being apart?"
"A few reasons. One, we fought like cats and dogs, couldn't agree on shit and we'd just go back to doing the same thing. Two, I don't like doing anything my parents want me too, and that may be a bit selfish but whatever. Three, I don't want her to ever feel like an obligation—had I stayed with her, she'd feel that way and if we got back together now, then she'd feel that way still. And four, because I always want her to be happy."
She admires him immensely in this moment and she thinks that perhaps she'd misjudged him all this time, that beneath the crass and rough exterior is a man who is kind and caring and an actual gentleman. He sacrificed his own potential happiness just to take care of this Marian woman. Had any man loved her that selflessly, she'd have been whisked off her feet long ago and maybe wouldn't have grown to be so volatile towards love. Though, she'd come close with Daniel but she let that go of her own volition. But other than that, she's never experienced a deep level of love like that.
Never, meaning Graham's profession of love was one of selfishness, demanding to be loved in return, rather than love her unconditionally, doing all things to assure her happiness. And that's when she knows that things must end with Graham.
Robin had managed to help and didn't even realize it.
"Well, and I'll deny it if you tell a soul," she raises a finger in his face, "I'd say she's pretty lucky."
"Thank you, Regina. So, what about you? Who turned you into the love cynic that you are?"
"Yes well, like you, I've lost people I care about, more than I'd like to admit," she frowns.
"Like a Henry? Was he an old lover?"
She stops walking and stares at a light far off into the distance. Henry was not a lover but her father. Regina had loved Daddy, and yes, technically she had lost him but she isn't going to divulge to Robin any of the details of what happened as far as that loss went. All those memories are safely packed away with the rest of Phoenix and where they will inevitably stay. "No. He was my father and that's all you need to know," she says shortly.
"Was?"
"I don't want to talk about, Robin."
And once again she shuts down over Phoenix.
"Okay, then who do you want to talk about?"
"Daniel."
"And what did Daniel do?"
She tells him about how she and Daniel had been high school sweethearts and were really happy and planning to be together for the rest of their lives until she'd gotten pregnant. He stops in his tracks when she says that and turns to look at her in bewilderment. She falters for a second, then proceeds with how it'd happened near the end of their senior year and Daniel promised to stay behind, despite the fact that he'd gotten a free ride to UCLA on a football scholarship. Daniel was of meager means and had no other way to pay for college but he was decidedly staying—until Regina had a miscarriage.
Her story is broken by Robin stepping toward her and grabbing her hand, while breathing out an apology.
"Not your fault. I partied a lot that year; I didn't know I was pregnant."
"Is that what did it?"
"I don't know and I didn't care to find out."
She goes on to talk about how Daniel, then still insisted on staying to take care of Regina but they'd just fight a lot and he'd resent her when he could have become a big football star at UCLA. Regina chose to make her own move of valiance by forcing Daniel to leave her behind and go to UCLA. He was an amazingly sweet (and very stubborn) guy, who fought with her every step of the way, even after sending in his acceptance of funds and housing papers. And even on the way there to UCLA, he'd asked if she was sure.
A few months later, Regina was home bussing tables at a café in her hometown (to the immense disdain of her mother) while Daniel became a hot shot. Phone calls dwindled from daily to weekly to every now and again to 'I just can't I'm busy,' especially after she got accepted for the spring semester at Arizona State. She was proud of him and was glad that he'd found a life there. She wanted nothing more for Daniel, which is exactly in the middle of the spring semester, she drove up to where Daniel was and ended things. And they'd agreed mutually that it was for the best, then went their separate ways, no culpability, no resentment, just the end to a chapter.
"D'you miss him?"
Regina focuses her gaze on their interlocked fingers. "Of course I do, but only sometimes. We stayed in touch for a long time until that too faded into nothingness. But I'm not bitter over it. It was a long time ago and it just opened the door for whatever the hell I'm still waiting for."
He's quiet for a moment before mumbling, "I'm really sorry about your miscarriage. I can't imagine."
"It's funny, because I didn't want to be a mom at the time and then as soon as I got the reprieve, I regretted it," she sniffles, not because she was crying but that's what Robin takes it as and is suddenly embracing her, enveloping her in a blanket of warmth and rubbing her back. Suddenly, she does feel like crying, allowing Robin to see her vulnerability, which she isn't going to do, but she realizes she at least isn't afraid to.
"Well, we all get a second chance. Yours will come someday," he murmurs into her hair and she feels so comfortable, in that moment, that she links her arms around him a bit tighter and dares to rest her head on his chest.
A brief moment passes before he releases her and she shivers from the sudden lack of warmth.
"You cold?"
"Cold natured and it's pretty windy tonight. Again, not really dressed for the occasion."
"Here." He starts to wriggle out of his jacket and swings his arms behind her to drape his jacket over her shoulders.
"What are we going steady?" She jests, pulling the jacket closer around her.
He laughs, "Suppose so, should we seal it with a kiss?"
"Yeah, in your dreams," she replies sarcastically with an eye roll.
He hasn't moved and is so close, she can feel the breath coming out of his nostrils. "Mhm," he hums, inching even closer.
He's right there.
She could kiss him, just this once. Move just a little bit closer and press her lips to his. She's curious, just needs to satiate her inquiry, just once. Sure, before this moment, she'd considered kissing him but now was different—now, she'd seen a different side to Robin Locksley that makes him very kissable now, someone worth kissing.
Do something daring, Regina.
He must be on the same level as her because his voice has dropped to a low, grumbling whisper. "I could kiss you right now."
He could and she wouldn't do a damn thing ."Not stopping you."
"I see that." He leans even closer until their lips are practically brushing against one another.
But what if she likes it? What if she wants to kiss him more than once? And it would effectively ruin their working relationship. And they sure as hell couldn't be friends. This is a bad choice and as adventurous as it is, it would have terrible consequences.
"But… I do have a boyfriend," she mutters against him.
"Ah, yes, true."
"And you're technically engaged…"
"Yes, although I'm fairly certain I effectively ruined that one."
She laughs onto his lips. "You'd never be able to stay away."
"Mmmm, yes but I've always been one to break the rules."
A beat.
"I'm out of excuses." And her stomach is fluttering like crazy.
"I've got one." His warm breath is such a tease on her lips.
"Oh?"
"We should probably get back to the car."
Damn. He's right, too. And this shouldn't be happening. She needed an excuse to get out of this moment and now she's gotten it. She should concede but she doesn't want to. Lingering for just a moment longer, she takes him in for a breath and then finally builds up the courage to pull away.
"Shall we m'lady?" He extends his elbow for her to take, and then together, they walk back to the car, leaving their almost kiss to get swept up by the wind.
[:]
The drive back is quiet, to the point where Regina almost thought Robin had gone to sleep. But eventually he'd pulled out his phone to quickly look at something. "Thanks for going on this adventure with me."
"Thank you, for inviting me."
"I misjudged you, Regina, you are a good bit of fun and are definitely one for a challenge. I'm impressed," he discerns.
"And I misjudged you, you are not a total cad."
"I'll take that as a compliment."
"Robin, you understand that you cannot share anything that happened in that clay pit," she chides.
"I know."
"And that last part—"
"—was rather interesting. I definitely thought you would cave but I guess you have more will power than I thought."
"I have plenty of will power."
"That you do. Alas, maybe next time."
She grimaces in his direction, "There will not be a 'next time.'"
"Mhm. We shall see."
They're once again encircled in silence and they stay like that until they reach Robin's complex. It looks pretty sketchy at night; however, she shouldn't pass any judgment because the same could be said about her own establishment.
"So, this is your place?"
"Indeed, did you want to come in for a night cap?"
She considers it, just briefly and then respectfully declines. She knows that she shouldn't because it will only lead to the two of them getting into trouble and she thinks that he understands the same because he immediately concurs with her, beginning to unbuckle.
But he turns to face her one last time, "Seriously, thank you for this evening, Regina. I didn't know how badly I needed one. And I rather enjoyed getting to see this side of you." Then he lifts the hand hovering on the gearshift, raising it until it meets his soft, warm lips. He presses them to it for a breath and then climbs out of her car, closing the door behind him, waving and walking back to the building.
She hadn't realized how cold her hands were until that moment.
Shit.
His jacket.
She flings open her door, calling out to him and racing to the sidewalk. As she reaches him near the door, she dances her way out of the jacket and extends it to him. Do something daring, Regina. And she does just that; as he grabs the jacket, she takes that opportunity to lean forward, heading straight for his lips, ready to feel them on her own and not just the back of her hand. But at the last second, she hesitates, dodging just a little to plant them on his cheek.
"Me, too," she finally says. "Until our next adventure."