This was supposed to go up on Christmas Day, but, well, things happened, so as an apology I'm giving you guys a double update, stick around for the M-rated chapter after this one!
It's been two weeks, and Regina cannot get enough of him.
They haven't slept together yet, but his flirtatious comments have become bolder, her kisses hungrier, their touch needier. Just last night, she'd dry-humped him on his couch, a quick romp that ended all too briefly when his doorbell announced Roland's return from the grocery store with Ruby. She'd gone home horny and unsatisfied, but all the more willing to let him have his wicked way with her the second they get a chance.
He's also attentive, and sweet, and so very warm as he hugs her when they enter the Mexican restaurant in White Plains, their attention focused entirely on each other for a few stolen seconds while the boys pick their table.
They've agreed not to tell the kids anything until they know if this thing between them is going anywhere (and it is, they both know it already, have discussed in hushed voices and between kisses how much they both want this to last, but they're biding their time for now). And tonight, they're having dinner together before Henry packs up an overnight bag and heads back to the city with them... to spend the night at Regina's.
It's a trial run, Tink had said (Robin and Henry call her that so much that Regina's fallen into the habit now), a way to see how parent and child get along while under the same roof, to test out any possible kinks that need to be smoothed over. She's not worried about that, though, not really, not when her son looks at her with that beaming smile, excited beyond measure to be spending the night at his future home.
So as much as she wants to touch Robin, and kiss him with the ease she's picked up during their dates (there have been five so far, each better than the last), tonight is not for them, tonight is for Henry.
Their waitress shows up, a young blonde whose name tag reads Ashley in pretty bold letters. She greets Robin with friendly familiarity, and he asks after an Alexandra, who based on Ashley's nonstop gushing, is her daughter.
"I come here with Robin a lot, Ashley is always our waitress," Henry fills in, leaning into Regina's shoulder from where he sits beside her, one hand half-covering his mouth so that it remains a little secret between them. "She's awesome. She sneaks extra chips and guac into everything we order and sometimes gives me some to take back."
His enthusiasm as he describes the woman is enough to make Regina trust her, like her, even, and as she listens to Ashley's brief conversation with Robin, she learns that she is married to the handsome man working at the bar, and that their daughter is just about to turn one.
And then she turns expectantly to Regina, and Henry hurries to make the necessary introductions before Robin can.
"Ashley, this is Regina, my mom," he says, and Regina's heart stops. Her everything stops.
"Your... mom?" she hears Ashley say, but it's muted, like she's underwater somehow, the sounds not registering properly.
"Yeah, she's adopting me! Isn't that cool?! I'm moving to the city with her when the judge says yes."
That jerks her out of her reverie. She hasn't told Henry yet that the application has been approved, is almost bursting with the news that he'll be spending Christmas in his new home. But time is running out, Christmas is only five days away and still the paperwork hasn't been fully processed, so Regina keeps her mouth shut, just in case they have to wait a little longer.
"Henry, that's amazing!" Ashley celebrates, then gives Regina a very enthusiastic handshake. "Congratulations to you both."
She thanks her with a smile, still a little shocked at Henry's casual use of her new title. The booth they're squeezed into doesn't offer a lot of space, so Robin's hand easily finds hers under the table from where he sits across her, gives her fingers a reassuring squeeze and rubs his thumb over her knuckles in silent support. The look of pride he throws her way is more than enough, but she welcomes the contact, savors this secret moment of affection.
As Henry foretold, they get extra chips and guacamole on every plate, and when Regina mentions how good the salsa is, an extra serving of it miraculously appears next to Henry's soda refill.
They pay for dinner, and while Robin is busy bundling Roland up and hoisting him up into his arms, Regina adds a generous tip to the one he's already left, and promises Ashley that they'll come back to eat here even after Henry moves in with her. She's taken such a liking to the girl that she even offers to treat her to coffee next time she's in New York.
"I'd like that," the blonde replies, beaming at her before she crouches down and whispers something in Henry's ear that makes him laugh.
"Yeah, I know. I think she's amazing, too," he replies, a grateful smile forming on Regina's face as her son takes her hand and they walk out into the cold.
There's a Starbucks nearby, and Roland begs for hot chocolate, tugging at the collar of Robin's jacket. Henry stays silent, gives her a nervous look that tells her he wants hot chocolate, too, but is afraid he'll be pushing his luck. Not for the first time, Regina vows to erase those insecurities from his life. No child should grow up afraid of being abandoned by the people they care about.
So while Roland works his puppy-eye magic on Robin, Regina squats down in front of Henry and looks at him knowingly.
"Please don't ever be afraid to tell me what you want, Henry. Whether it's hot chocolate or help with your homework or a trip to Disneyland. I may not always grant it, but don't ever think that you're asking for too much, or that I'll leave you if you do."
She whispers the words, her eyes intent on his. He looks so small, and so shy, Regina feels the need to press on, "Sometimes I'll ask you for things, too, and you may not always want or be able to give them, and that's okay. We just have to make sure we are always honest with each other, alright?"
He nods, his eyes looking glassy now as he opens his mouth and closes it.
"Henry," she pushes, because she knows he wants to say something, and she has just cemented the importance of communication in this new relationship they're embarking on.
"Can I ask for a hug?" he mumbles, and Regina chuckles, nods her head and tells him Of course, welcoming him into her embrace.
"Hot chocolate would be nice, too," he says against her shoulder. She laughs again, tells him that sounds like a good idea, and her gaze moves up to Robin and Roland, who are absorbed in their little game of "Who Can Hold Out the Longest" until Robin loses to his son's charm, sighing as he looks down at the pair of them.
"Hot chocolate it is," he says at her nod.
It's when they're entering the Starbucks, when the kids choose to stay outside in the square and play in the snow while their beverages are ready, that Robin grabs her.
His strong arms loop around her waist, pulling her to him as he drags them both into a corner and kisses her. Regina moans in surprise, her lips molding perfectly to his as she presses closer to his body, biting her lower lip when he lets go of it.
"What was that for?" she asks, letting him tuck a stray lock of hair behind her ear.
"For earlier," Robin says with a shrug, "I saw the look on your face when Henry referred to you as his mother. I just wanted to convey how happy I am for you both."
She smiles tenderly at him, her hands playing with the buttons on his shirt, her eyes glued to the movements as she contemplates that wonderful moment yet again.
"And you're quite a good kisser," Robin adds then, in that flirty, wonderful tone she's grown addicted to. "I couldn't resist."
Her apartment is closest to Grand Central, so when their train pulls in, it's the first place they go to. Henry is hoisting his overnight bag over his shoulder, insisting he can carry it on his own, chivalrously refusing Regina's help. Roland is riding piggy-back with Robin, his high-pitched giggles joining the melodious baritone of his father's laugh, and Regina's heart is so full she can't help wishing that this never ends.
The boys watch a movie while she and Robin brew some decaf. They'd both foregone the hot chocolate earlier, so of course a cup of coffee is in order, or at least that's what they tell their sons, but the truth of the matter is she's not yet ready for the night to be over, and will welcome any excuse to make Robin linger.
With Henry and Roland focused entirely on the song Woody and Buzz are currently singing on TV, she feels confident enough to steal a kiss, and Robin is so pleasantly surprised by it that he goes in for a second peck, quick and sweet, his arms wrapping around her waist and squeezing for a moment before he lets go and takes a seat on one of the wooden stools by the counter.
Their coffee cups are used mostly to hide their idiotic grins, silence stretching between them and enhancing that electric current that flows from his body and into hers. She wants him. Badly. And from the way his eyes darken when she puts down her cup and licks her lips, he's not faring any better.
He and Roland leave after the movie is over, and both of them kiss her cheek goodnight, though Robin's lips land just on the corner of her mouth, and stay there just a few seconds too long, enough to make her shiver, enough to make Henry notice.
"Hey, Regina?" he asks after their guests have left. They're in their pajamas, lying on their stomachs at the foot of her bed, propped up on their elbows as they watch Miracle on 34th Street together.
"Hmm?"
"Is there something going on between you and Robin?"
They're eating thin mints from a box she'd bought for this overnight visit, but her half-eaten cookie falls back into the box at his question. They've been so careful, how did he...?
"What makes you think that?" Regina tries to play dumb, but he can see right through her, and it surprises her how easily they've fallen into the habit of reading each other better than they do themselves.
"You both smile all goofy at each other all the time, and he's always looking at you like you're a queen or something, it's weird."
"Are you—" she starts, but catches herself, decides to confess first.
"Yes, Robin and I have been spending some time together. We... we like each other very much, Henry. But if you're uncomfortable with it, if it's too weird, then it stops right now. You are my priority, always."
"You would really do that for me?" he asks, and her heart sinks, because yes, she will, she will definitely do it if that's what he wants, but that doesn't mean it will hurt any less.
"Henry, you're my son, whoever I date is part of your life, too, I won't bring someone into it that you're not comfortable with. Robin was your brother before he was my— before we started seeing each other, so if you want me to stop dating him, if you want him to just be your brother, I completely understand."
"No, I-I'm okay with you guys being together, that's not why it's weird," he says, his brow furrowing, and Regina is so relieved by the first part of his sentence that she almost forgets the second one.
"Then why is it weird?" she prods gently, shifting her weight from one elbow to the other as she turns slightly, the better to look at him.
"I've just never seen Robin with a girl before, it's..."
"Weird?" Regina supplies with a smile, and Henry replies with a sheepish one of his own, nods his head at her as he tries to explain.
"Yeah. He's always been alone, and I always thought he was happy like that, but... he looks happier now. You make him happy."
"He makes me happy, too," Regina tells him, her emotions half-choking her voice. "And so do you."
"I do?" Henry asks, like this is news to him. And it occurs to her that it might be.
"Henry, the happiest moment of my life was when you agreed to be my son," she says sincerely, because nothing compares to that day, to the sensation of ecstatic fulfillment and pure love that had coursed through her very soul when he'd flung himself into her arms and accepted her as his mother.
The box of cookies lays forgotten at the corner of the bed as Henry sits up. Regina mimics his actions, and is then swept up in a hug so fierce it almost knocks her over.
"I love you, sweetheart," she murmurs into his hair, holding him close.
And then Henry breathes her in, exhales deeply, and gives that happiest moment of her life a run for its money when he whispers "I love you, too, mom."