Hey guys, OQ is my OTP and this is a chapter where things go rather nicely. I guess warning: there's Maleficent and some mentions of girl on girl action in Regina's past. nothing detailed but it's there idk if that offends you, you probably stopped reading my fics years ago. :)
OQ is irreplaceable and unique. No ship replaces our beauty. They may be different or new or good for Regina in its own way, but we have the ship of dreams. Always will. :)
It feels like moments have passed, and then he's waking her up with soft nuzzles, his jaw and lips pressing against her neck, and Regina smiles, feeling light and exuberant, despite the slight pain in her head ready to tackle anything.
"Did you sleep well?" she asks shyly, turning into his embrace so she's facing him (the movement reminds her she had a bit to drink last night, but the slight dizziness in her head subsides quickly – there's no hangover of which to speak of). She knows the answer to her question, can feel the hazy mist of deep sleep that drips off of both of them. Still, it's nice to hear.
"Like a baby," he confirms, nuzzling into her neck and kissing her again. He kisses once more and then ventures to ask, "Is this okay?"
His voice is low and raspy, just short of needy, and she knows he's been trying to give her space, but it sounds like it hasn't been easy. It's not easy for her either, not when she's pressed up against him, underdressed and warm against him, and there was some reason they weren't supposed to be together, some talking they were yet to do (for god sakes she was bare chested in Arthur's arms a few hours ago), but in this moment, in this hazy serene moment between sleeping and truly waking, she doesn't much care.
"More than okay," she responds, pressing a kiss to his chest. He groans at that, holds her tighter against him, moving his arms up and down her back. She sighs contently, allows her mind to drift into thoughts of taking him right here in this tent, fuck every thought of the past, every reason why both she and Robin deserve their time.
But then she remembers he's hurting too, and there's so much unsaid.
"Robin," she sighs as his hand wanders to her ass, smoothing over her curve, his touch somehow soft and firm at the same time. He cups her cheeks gently, and her hips rock into him like a reflex.
"Too much?" he asks, but his hands don't leave her ass, his beard tickles against her.
It's not too much.
"No," she all but moans, "but we should probably..." his hands knead her ass, and she rocks into him, it's morning and it shouldn't be flattering that he's hard against her, but it is, "…talk," his hands encourage her to rock harder against him, and she goes willingly, grinding to relieve the ache she already has for him, "…make sure there's nothing left between us," he draws her in and sucks at the place where her neck meets her shoulder.
"God, Robin," she moans. And when he responds with an mmm she all but forgets her train of thought, wraps her leg around his body and presses into him harder, her mouth searches for his, drawing him into a kiss.
The should have stale morning breath that should ruin everything, but it's been far too long since they kissed, and it somehow tastes sweet, and wonderful, and she just wants more.
And right when he moans, she still thinks of her sister, can't help but flash and see the way he reacted to Zelena in bed like this, and it kills the mood. She's frustrated at her own mind not being able to move past it (she should, god damn it, she should). She considers just ignoring the voice in her head and taking this, having this, but then she thinks of what Robin must think of her, and what just happened last night.
She almost slept with another man a few hours ago, and here she is, rocking against his erection and very obviously wanting more.
"We still have things to sort out," she whispers as she breaks the kiss, and he nods in response, kisses her deeply again.
"I know," he answers, "But we will," he kisses her cheek "work them out," a kiss to her nose, "right?"
They will. She knows they will. Yet somehow the question makes her feel shy, has her hiding her gaze from him, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear and smiling.
"That tent isn't soundproof, unfortunately."
Mal sounds a bit bored, perhaps a bit annoyed, and Regina snickers into Robin's chest, and feels the gentle shake that lets her know he finds the whole thing amusing too.
"Excuse me," she says as she magics some clothes on and goes out to meet her friend.
Maleficent smiles when she sees Regina exiting Robin's tent. "You're really getting around, aren't you?" She asks, more amused than accusatory.
Regina rolls her eyes. "I'll make my way through the guards, next."
"I've been with one of them. Horrible in the sack, at least in his dragon form." Maleficent pointed subtly to the guard on the edge of camp. She giggles. Maleficent. Giggling. It's a sight for Regina to behold. "He doesn't even know it was me."
It was like being in high school girl with her old best friend. "So.." Regina brushes fingers through her hair, a nervous habit that always seems to heighten around Mal. "How long until we get to the crystal cave?"
"We'll be there today," she answers. Her eyes were wild in anticipation. She looks – excited – for some reason, so unlike Maleficent. She's… well, Regina can't place it. She seems anxious. There's a flush to her cheeks, she looks younger, and there's that spark on her eye she hasn't seen in quite some time, and oh, that's it.
"You're….happy." Regina murmurs, as Mal let's lose a thin smile and the final piece of the puzzle fits.
Maleficent contemplates her conclusion this and then shrugs. "Merlin left a clue for me. The crystal. I haven't seen him in a long time. He either wants to destroy me, or wants only me to find him, to help him. Either way…I'm terribly flattered."
It's a type of emotion only Regina can understand. Whether he wants to battle her to her death, scream at her, or embrace her, Merlin had given Maleficent quite a bit of thought.
It's always nice to be remembered, isn't it?
.::.
They grab a quick breakfast, and are off, Maleficent leading the way, reminding people to step lightly, so they don't lose the element of surprise.
Regina resumes her place with Arthur, and apologizes for last night, thanking him profusely for being a gentleman. He smiles and grabs he hand. "I feel I am ready for sainthood, turning you away. When I am judged at the end of my life, I shall name this to the god above as the most amazing good deed I ever did."
He can sound so authentic while spewing such nonsense. So she puts on a thin smile and raises her eyebrows. "You are being far too complimentary."
Arthur just shakes his head. "Men have waged wars over women less than you," he says, again with such sincerity she can not help but, scoff and roll her eyes.
"You lay it on thick."
"Is it working?"
Regina smiles and looked at him, sympathetically. "You have no idea how sorry I am. But no."
He shrugs, almost as if he understands. "I've been there. After Guinevere, I used the affection of more than one warm body to dull the pain."
The implication she used him (true as it may be) upsets her more than she thought it would. Maybe it reminds her of being used in her younger days, but she cannot help but correct him.
So she does, looks at him until she holds his eyes, and voice clearly, "that is not all you are to me."
"No," He seems to concede, "but I'm not your archer." He doesn't like to use Robin's name, it seems. As if he prefers not to think of Robin individually, with his own thoughts and feelings, his own feelings for Regina, his own love for her.
But regardless of how he wants to see Robin, he seems to know there's something deep between them.
She can't argue with him, so she offers him her hand, squeezes it gently because, yes, he was speaking the truth, but the truth can be unfair.
"Do not pity the king of one of the most powerful kingdoms of all the land," Arthur teases. "There are no shortage of women after me. I am just highly selective. But perhaps…I will not confine my search to high born girls anymore. You have taught me more than one thing. If the queen can be with a thief, I'm sure the king can be with someone more common." He flashes that sincere smile that warms her heart. It feels good to be helpful to someone, to improve someone's perspective, for a change.
This was good.
"Speaking of things you've taught me, it's high time I have a talk with my sister. But I doubt she will hear what I may have to say now, after all this time." His eyes focus on Mal and Lily. Mal looks so much lighter today, in the last few days really. Younger, even…innocent in a way. Regina could see a hint of what Mal might have looked in hee teenage years. Before heartache and isolation burned and hardened her.
"Say no more," Regina says with a sigh, "Let me talk to her."
She quickens her pace, scurrying past Robin to link arms with Maleficent.
"I believe your brother wishes to apologize…" she says, and Lily's eye widen while Maleficent rolls to the back of her head. Lily bows out of the conversation quickly, knowing they needed their space.
"I'm sure that's what he told you, dear," she scoffs. "But I have no need for the pretty words of a King trying to impress his latest conquest." Her eyes settle on Regina pointedly.
She's…entertained. Not upset, not frustrated. Just amused with Arthur, and his latest outtakes.
"Hear him out," Regina pleads. "Keep the peace. For now."
"Oh, fine. What's the harm in humoring the poor man," she says, throwing a look back to Arthur with a wry smile. "Look at that face, he's play hf the part of a love sick puppy, staring at you like that."
Regina couldn't help but follow her gaze. Arthur looked away quickly. His eyes darting to some uninteresting shrubbery that lined the walking path. "I let him down gently."
Mal just scoffs and mutters under his breath that he doesn't need to be let down easy, that he can handle this on himself.
For awhile they walk together in silence, Regina giving Mal time to absorb her request and reconsider it.
But when she speaks it's on quite a different subject.
"Does he know about us?" Mal asks, a wicked smile on her face, tongue peaking out to lick her lips, as her eyes wandered up and down Regina's form pointedly.
Regina chuckles darkly. "Arthur? No, not unless you've told him. It certainly hasn't come up..."
"Not Arthur, though…" Maleficent hums, looking back towards him, "Yes, I'd love to see the look on his face when he found out that his sister beat him to the punch yet again."
"Mal…" Regina warns "We don't have time to gloat right now. Emma's...growing more dangerous"
Mal growls a bit at the mention of Emma, "Fine, I'll wait until Merlin is found before I reveal that to him." She turns back to Robin, who hasn't taken his eyes off the two of them since Regina came up beside her.
"And forest boy? Does he know about us?"
Regina rolled her eyes. "We haven't had much time to talk about our past lovers."
"Does anyone know about us?" Maleficent presses. After all these years she still had a commanding presence in front of Regina. She still had that hypnotizing stare that made her feel as if she were the only person in the world.
"I don't know. Do they?" Regina responded cooly, unable to avoid cracking a thin smile. She didn't speak much of her past, certainly not over matters of her heart.
"Ashamed of us, are you, little one?" she asks with a thin smile.
Regina shakes her head and laughs. "Oh no, not at all."
She wasn't. She'd never be.
Regina thinks back to their time together – brief, disjointed, chaotic, but passionate, and fierce, empowering, and almost loving at times. When she first came to Maleficent she was but a child – married with a step daughter, perhaps, dreaming of a bloody sinister revenge, perhaps…but still just a child. She was certainly not a sorceress at that time – could barely start a fire in her hand, let alone master the very meticulous art of curses and potions. In so many ways she was a heartbroken child vying for the approval and attentions of her mother, her teacher, and, though she would never admit it, her husband.
She hated that she was so lonely, so desperate for interaction, that she ever craved his approval, and yet, there were times when she did, and the guilt she bore for those moments gave her nightmares, tormented her, and she told her the nights he sent for her, when he undressed her and touched her and entered her and climaxed within her while crying another woman's name, why those nights were karma for the moments she wished he would just pay her some attention, talk to her, take her away from the painful isolation she felt.
Maleficent had changed that.
They both had been broken when they met – in different ways. Maleficent was an experienced, beautiful wise sorceress who lost her confidence and Regina was a young, still somewhat naïve, angry little thing which much to learn. They complemented one another, and just as Regina helped Maleficent find her spark, so did Maleficent help Regina find hers.
There he been late night celebrating that gave way to gentle touches and kind compliments that turned into raw confessions, confessions neither woman would dare to the world, or to anyone else. But they felt that between them, from the time they first met – that kinship, that understanding, that feeling of finding your other half. Regina hadn't truly experienced it before (as much as she loved Daniel, she never felt that ) and didn't experience again until she met her literal soulmate.
And so those feelings gave way to soft caresses that lead to tender kisses that they traded between one another, until Maleficent's mouth had wandered all over Regina's body and let her feel what she hadn't felt with anyone before, gave her body the love and attention she'd been denied in her life, over and over.
It could have been enough, the two of them. It was enough, in fact. There was one day that turned to a weekend that turned to a week where they did not leave Maleficent's castle. Regina finally said she had to go, that the King might send a search party.
Maleficent had rolled her eyes.
"Let him," she had scoffed, with a roll of her shoulders, "let him try and take you from me. I will destroy him and any army that seeks to take you from me. Do not go back to that man, Regina. Stay with me."
Regina had teetered on the brink of agreeing – Leo and whatever army he'd send (Would he even send for her? Did he even know she was gone?) would be no match for her dragon, and she was happy, or as close to it as she'd ever known with the exception of those few moments where she'd dare to dream of a life of freedom with Daniel. She could almost say it was love – was it? She still, to this day does not know. But they cared for one another. They spoke to one another about their fears, their passions, their interests, their tragic pasts. They cried in one another's arms, fucked until they were sweaty and exhausted, cuddled like old lovers after the passion and energy had been long since spent.
Perhaps it was love.
But it was also comforting. It was such a welcome change .
To not be subjected to the isolation and terror and wandering hands of the King.
To not be compared to a queen she could never be, and criticized by the people she ruled over.
But then Maleficent has asked her one day , "What do you have to go back to, anyway? A life of being ignored, a life where you can only survive by thinking of ways to torture a child?"
It was the reminder of Snow White that had shocked her. For Regina had not thought of Snow White in days. And the mention of her just then had reminded Regina of what she used to be, and was quickly no longer becoming. The reminder of Snow White's existence did not bring the usual firey anger that it once did. In fact, that time, there was no anger at all. A melancholy malaise set over her, and nothing more. Her quest for revenge was all but forgotten while her days and nights were spent warming the bed of a dragon.
Maleficent had been distracting her.
Back then Regina could have almost justified the love, and lust, and passion between them, sweaty nights in a large bed being pleasured in a way Daniel had never dared, seeking to pleasure Mal in a way she'd never tried to please Daniel. She could have told herself that she was young then, that Daniel knew she needed some pleasure in her life, that he would not deny her this.
But as a heartbroken young queen, as the student of the Dark One, she has believed Daniel deserved revenge on the person who wronged him. On the person who cost him his life.
And living with Mal, letting the dragon fill her days in some hedonistic trap – that was distracting her from truly honoring Daniel and proving her he was worth so much more than Snow and her mother thought.
And with that she demanded to leave, pushed herself away, and never truly came back.
There were nights of passion after that, nights where Mal would claw at her back and growl into her skin, nights where Regina would bite her back and draw blood, and that is what it became – an almost violent sense of passion, as they both tried to forget about the gentle kind of love they had once shared. Of course, that was a way of life not befitting of villains anyway, she never should have expected it to last.
Mal did worry about her though, towards the end. She told Regina that she knew her better than anyone. And she cried out her frustration, because she couldn't protect Regina against him, couldn't convince her to leave his guidance. And it must have been hard for Mal, being forced to watch her slip away, forced to watch Regina get lost in bejeweled, velvet clad embrace of darkness.
The brave and powerful spitfire she had fallen for was unrecognizable during those times, Regina knows that now. And maybe Mal had guessed she was gone forever, consumed by the evil she was bred to exude.
But now, now Regina feels oddly the same to the girl she was around the powerful sorcerer. She no longer belongs to Mal, no longer belongs to anyone except perhaps Henry – but still, she feels close to her friend again. Baptized by darkness and fire, Regina had come out on the other side relatively unscathed, adn her old friend was there, by her side.
She loved Maleficent still.
Even if their time had passed.
Right now Maleficent is smiling at Regina in that way that still makes her insides go molten. She leans closer to her, as her hand cups Regina's chin, and then before Regina can really process, she's pressed her lips to hers. Regina responds briefly to the kiss before pulling back, puzzled.
Mal winks at her, shifting her gaze to a very confused Robin.
"There we go, little one. Now's the perfect moment to discuss us with Robin."
Regina rolls her eyes. "Thanks for that," she mutters under her breath, "the guards in particular already think I have slept with every man and woman in my realm, and this no doubt adds to that belief."
Mal looks back at Arthur again, groaning as she sees guards gawking at the both of them. Regina and Mal are touching…more intimately now, and it's drawing unwanted attentions. It clearly amuses her, though it makes Regina nervous.
"You look parched," she comments, handing over her canteen to Regina. "Drink, my dear."
Regina stares at the canteen, uncertain. "If I didn't know better I'd think this was laced with a curse."
Maleficent holds up her arm, pointing to the cuff that kept her from performing magic. "If I could fiddle with potions I sure as hell wouldn't waste it on drugging you." She looks back to Arthur, who's staring at them intently. "My brother….on the other hand."
Regina laughs as she takes a sip, "Cut him a break."
Mal's hand flies to cup Regina's jaw, moving it towards her so she can look her in the eye. The mood shifts to something more serious, as she says, with venom on her tongue, "Cutting people breaks doesn't really sound like me…or you."
Regina shrugs as she takes another sip from the canteen, utterly unaffected by her display. "It doesn't. But do it anyway."
Mal stares her down, blows out a puff of air, challenging her. But Regina just streams back, keeps her expression soft, understanding. They stare at each other like that, til Mal scowls and wipes a hand over her fact. She has changed her mind, it's clear by the way holds herself, the way she is trying to look so aloof.
"Oh, go and send my sad little brother over here and I'll hear him out. But I don't think it'll change much." Mal runs her hands over her hair as if the entire meeting were a bore, but Regina knows her well. She's nervous.
But calling her out on that won't help, so Regina just nods her head, waving Arthur over. She gives Mal a warning look. "No matter what, you're still family."
She choose to ignore Mal's bitter laugh and snarky comment that the family that attempts to murder each other stays together.
Arthur merely nods, kissing Regina's hand and focus his gaze to his sister, and begins some disjointed speech about the past.
But Regina doesn't listen, doesn't care to eavesdrop on those two. She walks back to Robin, noticing his eyes are on her, and he looks...a bit threatened.
"Just tell me today is the last time you have to talk to him alone," he mutters, and Regina thanks whatever being there is above that he doesn't bring up Mal's kiss.
So she starts where it seems appropriate to start. "I have to apologize, I was a bit of an idiot last night. And there's no real excuse for my behavior."
"You ended the night quite right," Robin says looking at with a teasing stare. "Let's not talk about what happened last night, at least not before you came over and sat next to me."
She agrees with a nod, and melts into his side as he wraps an arm around him.
"So….Maleficent?" he asks. She laughs, her cheeks heat as she tries to tamp down the slight fear of that he will see her differently for this. It's ridiculous, This is Robin.
"Long story," she responds with a shrug.
"One you are going to tell me," he responds with a cheeky smile and a wink, "one day."
The last bubble of panic pops, leaving her free to breathe again. There's no judgment in his eyes, nothing but genuine curiosity. She's so, so thankful for this man. And she finds she really does want to share with him stories of her past lovers, her past struggles, her past everything.
"Perhaps one day I will tell you," she muses coyly.
.::.
They trudge onwards, Maleficent suggested they walk through lunch as they were close. And soon, on the side of an impressive rock formation, she called to Regina.
"Here." Maleficent points, a prideful gaze over her face.
Regina realized that Arthur and his magical guards never offered to find the hidden doors. She wondered if they knew how, or if they just didn't trust their abilities. Had Merlin only taught them how to be a dragon? There could be potential for so much more. They were children when it came to magic. Inefficient, unskilled children.
Regina uses her magic to find the hidden door instantly, and they walked in an impossibly beautiful, impossibly large palace. The floor was marble, crystal and glass lined the walls. Fruit trees lined a long atrium, marble pillars were decorated with ornate golden designs. The ceiling was an ice blue, crystal, Arthur noted.
"You built yourself a castle." Arthur notes, looking around. The guards snicker.
"This wasn't a place for me." Maleficent looks bored, unaffected by their laughter. "It was a place for Merlin. I never stayed here."
This must have been where she trapped him. She did, at least, give him luxury and beauty when she trapped him. And from the looks of it, he somehow found an escape. Regina looks for a sign of breakout, as she inspects each wall, each hallway, looking, for weaknesses.
There are many rooms and many different paths to go, but Maleficent was making a beeline for one room in particular. She rushes down the third hallway, to the last room on the right. She gains some distance fform the bewildered and awestruck guards, who are still gawking at the beautiful palace interior.
So when Mal opens the door to that room, no one is around her.
Until of course, she calls out "Merlin! It's you"
Regina hasn't seen Mal smile like that in years, the wild, excited eyes of a woman much younger and freer...
Mal's voice draws the guards into a run, though, as they rushed to the doorway to see if Merlin is in fact there.
It all happens so fast, the guards appear, there is a flash of a giant tail, followed by a loud boom!
Regina runs to the door as well, looking in the expansive room.
There, the crystal ceiling had a small opening now, breaking way to the sky above. Merlin, in dragon form, was soaring up and out.
Everything happens so fast. There is no time to think, only to act. To silence the voices of doubt and rely on instinct.
Now.
Now is the time to stop following orders of anyone else.
Her mind screams for her to stop it already. Stop playing nice.
Stop playing safe.
Do what you think is right and act now.
NOW!
Regina's hand does not shake, does not falter as she raises it in the air and releases her magic. It's smooth, calculated, and quick.
Rumple would be proud.
One waving pulse of magic to release the cuffs on Maleficent wrists, and another quick flick of her wrist freezes the guards in place before they can so much as react.
It's almost too easy, though she's unpracticed and in a new realm, it seems she had no problem stopping them. Even if they were competent, she had this. They were no match for her.
Never were.
But then hardly a split second later she spots Arthur. He's got those damned magical cuffs in his hand, oh – god – the idiot, he doesn't get it, doesn't trust her, and she hates to do this, but he's left her no choice. She's almost disappointed in him as she watches him try to magic the cuffs on her. She stops them in midair, changing their course and floating them carefully into her open hands, while she flicks her hand to stun Arthur's magic out of him.
A freezing spell seemed too cruel after all they had been through.
"GO" she urges Maleficent, firmly.
But Mal is looking back at her with much too much affection. Mal should be following after Merlin now that the magical cuffs are off and nothing is preventing her from doing so. She should be dedicated to the task, but well, Mal's driven by emotion, always has been, and she's clearly swept up in something right now.
"Well, well…the bitch is back." Maleficent says, winking and shaking her head. Pride radiates off of the dragon with so much force Regina can nearly feel it radiating off of her. It still feels nice, being appreciated by the woman she cared – cares – so much for.
But it's not time for sappy sentimental moments, so Regina pushes them away, and urges Mal along. "Go after him. Remember our children." Our children. Because they were both mothers now, and they had to think of what Merlin could do to help their children, protect them from Emma or what Emma might become
And in a swirl of smoke and green and purple, Mal turns into the beautiful, terrifying dragon Regina has come to love. She's out, soaring, escaping through the hole vaulted ceiling above.
.::.
Regina can finally breathe again. She hadn't realized that she's been struggling, not until this moment.
She's been a different person, playing it safe, for the sake of everyone's lives. Waiting for the right moment.
It's not like her to do any of this, but she did it. It had been an exercise in control, and she passed. And, god, may she never have to do it again.
Because she is herself again. Bold, powerful, no longer pretending to be meek and afraid of these pathetic excuses for wizards. She is in control.
She looks to her crew. Snow's smile has overtaken her entire face, David was by her side, looking approvingly. Robin looks more relieved than anything, and then there is Lily, who just looks… excited.
"What have you done?" Arthur asks angrily. He tries to use his magic, but the spell was preventing him from acting. "I trusted you!" he screamed.
Regina can only raise her eyebrows and smirk. "Trusting me was the right move to make."
"Why didn't you do this as soon as you were un-cuffed?" He asks, incredulous.
"You have not been adequately trained in magic. And you haven't honed your craft. I've known for some time that I could easily incapacitate you all, even if you can morph into dragons – which is impressive magic, don't get me wrong. But there is far more to magic than morphing into beasts. Anyway, until this moment, there was no need to overpower you. We both wanted Merlin and agreed on how to find him. Until now." She slaps the magical cuff on him, and nods sympathetically as he reacts to the dull, draining pain it causes. She knows the feeling all too well.
Not so fun, is it?
"What are you going to do with Merlin?" he's angry, furious, and it's all too disappointing. He should know better.
"Exactly what we told you. I have no interest in torturing or killing or even taking him from you. We just need help with the dark one."
"Morgan will never come back. She will destroy Merlin, or push him into hiding further…"
Regina waves the thought off. "He left a clue in her hiding place – a clue for just her. He wants to see her. Your Morgan is a mother now, and Lily remains here. And she is not as powerful as Merlin. I believe she knows that. He is… somewhat of an idol of hers." Regina smiles sympathetically, adding, "much like he is an idol of yours, am I correct?"
"So the past few days was all an act." Arthur ventures. God, he's seething in anger.
Regina knew he wasn't just talking about the times she played the role of the obedient servant, following the rules set for her, pretending to be concerned with the consequences of falling out of his good graces, asking for favors when she didn't need to ask…yes, that was all an act. But he was asking about the heartfelt talks, the feelings she had for him, stories she had told, the bond they had formed.
"It wasn't all an act. I intended to play along with your advances...that's true—" Arthur laughs bitterly and curses to himself, but Regina continues, " —but I enjoyed your company. This was not intended to hurt you."
Arthur groans. "Enough of this. You can't freeze them forever. I can't protect you from them. They know….they know the rules well in advance, and I made them swear to enforce them. Any misuse of magic, and you are to die."
She looks at him curiously. Does he really still think that they are a concern of hers? After what he's seen?
It appears he does, so with a heavy sigh, she speaks bluntly.
"Your guards don't scare me, dangerous as you may believe them to be, they pose no threat. We need nothing more than a cuff on each of them and some simple rope." She magics rope around the guards, the magic tying tight, intricate knots. "There we go."
"And what then, we all sit around waiting for Merlin ad Morgan to arrive?" Arthur groaned. "How long will that take, weeks? Months? Will we starve?"
"They will be back. Give me two nights. After that, do what you wish. Just trust me. This is the right thing to do."
Lily speaks up. "She'll be back. She cares about me. Regina is right."
"Now to place the cuffs on the guards."
It was fortunate that they had access to such powerful devices, especially given their remote location. There had been two cuffs on Mal, and two that had been held by Arthur ever since he took them off Regina. Regina had placed a cuff on Arthur, leaving three cuffs remaining, one for each guard. Perfect.
Lily looks down to her wrists, gingerly rubbing the cuffs that still surround them. She opens her mouth as if to say something, but must think better of it when she eyes Regina. Her mouth closes tightly.
Regina tosses a cuff each to Snow and Charming, and asks them to put it on the right hand of each of their new captives. She saves one cuff for herself, walking over to the guard who took her only means of communicating with Henry. She gets into his face, eyes glued to his, and snarls, "I promised you would regret taking that stone from me.". She puts on the cuff tight enough to restrict blood. "Trust me. You will."
The cuffs aren't as strong at blocking magic as the ones in Storybrooke, and two cuffs would be necessary to restrain an advanced wizard, but one is far and away enough for these weak sorcerers. She doesn't need to worry about them.
Gradually, the freezing spell fades, leaving the guards to speak, and react.
Throughout the trip they've been silent knights on the brigade, never speaking to anyone besides themselves, and barely talking to each other, at that. But now they are loud, spitting at Regina, calling her a whore, cursing her to all hell. Some hate is directed at the king, saying they will now be roasted by the Evil Queen. They warned him but he refused to listen.
"I don't want to tie you up." Regina said looking at Arthur. "But my child's life is at stake, and these are my people. I can't have you hurting them."
"You have my word that I won't hurt you or any of your people." He sneers the words through gritted teeth, looked as if he was fighting back the urge to spit at her, but still, he seems to be telling the truth.
She wants to believe him. The cuff preventing him from doing magic all but ensures he cannot do any real damage. Still, the guards have weapons, and who knows what type of device is hidden in this palace?
She poofs some shackles on him, the chains loose and comfortable, still, they'd prevent him from attacking at least. He groans distastefully.
"Can't risk it" she mumbles.
"You are the Evil Queen," he mutters, "but I am not a King. I am nothing but a fool to think you were capable of anything but… this. And you will pay.."
In this moment, she doesn't see a changed man at all. She sees. vindictive, petty king.
But he's also upset, and has every right to be. So she leaves him to stew over his errors in judgment in silence as she explores the many rooms of the palace.
.::.
Mal is gifted with a wild imagination, but this palace did not only showcase her imagination but her attention to detail, her creativity, and her sense of ingenuity.
Though Mal had never seen indoor plumbing at the time she created the palace, she had obviously dreamed it. She had enchanted some basins in the kitchen to fill with water when one switch is flicked, and drained of all water when another is flicked. It's clever, so clever, but she'd expect nothing less from her Mal.
Regina wonders what went through Mal's mind when she saw indoor plumbing in the modern world – in Storybrooke. Knowing Mal, she probably thought someone stole her idea.
It's a waiting game until she returns, and they've been without food for a bit, so Regina wanders around the palace looking for any supplies necessary to start a quick dinner (the food they had brought – jerky and bread and fruit – is running low). There are fruit trees in potted plants, touched with magic to bloom and stay ripe forever. Regina is looking for some sort of garden with a similar enchantment spell, but stumbles upon a pantry and a small kitchen, instead. There is rice and seasonings and stock and dried beans, some preserved vegetables. Enough to make a stew. It would be a simple dinner, but a filling one.
When she finishes cooking she handed Arthur his bowl first. He takes it, angling his hands just right so the shackles don't pull too much, and moves away muttering things under her breath she knows she would rather not hear.
She sighs. She had almost fostered an understanding, but now, she very much doubts any good will come of those moments with Arthur.
So much for the chance of letting him see that people can be reformed.
But she can't think of that night now, there's too much at stake for her personally. So she lets it go.
Robin is at her side now, and he's helping her pass out food while looking very smug and almost… giddy. She is grateful that he had given her space until now, to settle, plan her next course of action.
And now the dust as settled and it's just wonderful.
"Good to have you back," Robin says at last.
"Good to be back." Regina says, with a smile.
"How's it feel to be the boss again?" He asks as she filled her bowl with food.
"Tiring," Regina countered, as if to say why does it always have to be me? Deep down, she knows she isn't fooling anyone. She likes being the one in control.
And Robin knows that. He smiles and gives her a wink.
"I like seeing you in charge," he admits, and as the words come out he realizes how they sound, and his cheeks redden.
"Is that so?" She asks, an eyebrow raises ash she gives him a coy smile.
She likes to see him blush.
She just likes him.
Loves him, and likes him.
.::.
Maleficent dos not return by nightfall. Regina had hoped she would be, at least to report something. When it comes time for bed, she has a twinge of regret. Perhaps she should not have trusted Maleficent to do this. Perhaps Merlin would just kill her and continue to run away.
Perhaps she will let everyone down.
She tries to push these scenarios out of her head. They are unlikely, and thinking about them certainly did not help.
The palace has bedrooms, a welcome change from the sleeping accommodations they had before. The Charmings retire first.
She ties Arthur up for the night near his men - his choice. He did not want to leave them even for a bit.
Regina walks over to Lily who was sitting by herself at a table, picking at her cuffs.
"Lily?" she asks gently.
"You don't trust me with magic?" Lily asks, looking at the cuffs.
Regina pauses, and decides honesty is the best way to handle it.
"Part of me is scared that if you run off we'll never get Maleficent back. All she cares about in this world is you."
Lily tilts her head, looking at her curiously. "You know that's not true."
Lily gives her a knowing look, and Regina is a bit taken back. Had Maleficent shared that much, or had Lily just picked up on it?
"I know she cares for you."
Regina stares back, unsure what to say, settling on a shake of her head.
"I know she would come back here even if I was gone," Lily continues. "But I wouldn't leave you any way. There's too much at stake for everyone back home. And you know, Emma's still….a friend. I want to stop her from going dark too."
Regina looks skeptically at Lily again. Something had changed in her, over these past few days, something she couldn't place.
She's not as dark as she once was.
"Are you otherwise ok?" Regina speaks softly, looking at her eyes. When did Lily look so bright and open? So much like her mother. "I don't want your mother thinking I've been abusing you."
Lily l chuckles "I'm going to talk to those men, just a bit, before I settle down. I'm sort of on adrenaline after seeing my mom chase after a dragon."
Lily sits next to the men as they spit at her angrily She lets them yellto them. Interjecting a few sweet words of comfort, letting them react to her, almost laughing at the venom they spewed towards her. Regina watches her from afar, unsure what she was telling the, but it appeared to be lessening their anger. Lily was soothing them.
Somehow. In all that darkness, did she really have that power? Power to comfort, to love.
Then Robin makes himself known from behind her, wrapping his arms around her front and pulling her close. It is one of those hugs that feel like magic, the way relaxes every muscle, soothes ever nerve. He rubs her arms softly and then asks. "Want to talk about it?"
She frowns. "Talk about what?"
"Whatever has you staring off in the distance right now, looking confused or puzzled or…I don't know." He spins her around, so he was facing her. "I know there's something serious going on in there" he said, pointing to her forehead. "What is it?"
"If this trip is a failure, I don't think I can battle Emma." Regina says, with a sigh. "Do you see these men? They have magic, but they are woefully incompetent at using it. Like children. I am….quite good at dark magic. Getting better at light magic. But Emma...she has stronger light magic and now she has the power of the dark one. She can make me look like one of these incompetent guards."
Robin laughs. "Not at all likely, my love. You're stronger than you give yourself credit for, and held your own with the last dark one. Emma may be powerful but she's new to magic, like these guards. It will take time for her to even match you, let alone overpower you."
"I'm not sure about that."
"I am. I have nothing but complete trust in you."
"I just wish Maleficent would come back already." Regina sighs.
"I think you need to go to bed and stop worrying about this." Robin motioned her to follow him down the hall to find a room of her own. She links her hand in his.
Everything feels soft and slow and right for a moment.
As they walk down the hall together she picks a random door to open. What is behind that door is better than she had imagined Jackpot.
Her eyes widen, smile broadens, and Robin just… stares at her, thoroughly amused. "So," he asks, "is it a nice bedroom?"
She hakes her head. "Oh much better. A bathroom, with a bath. God I have been dreaming of a nice bath!"
The tub is enchanted much like the basins. It fills with warm water with a switch. She flips it, takes a moment to appreciate how quickly it fills, how warm the water is, and begins to undress, forgetting for a moment that Robin is behind her until he lets out a soft sigh and begins to help her out of her clothes. She smiles at him, seeing he list in his eyes as he looks over her body. She'd be lying if knowing she can affect him this way doesn't please her.
But now the opportunity cleanse herself of the hard journey takes precedent. A small bit of comfort goes such a long way. There are bath oils in the bathroom, and soap, and oh, a fluffy robe.
.::.
As she gathers items for her bath, Robin can't help but stare – she was in her underclothes only now, and she would be stripping out of them soon. She looks just as gorgeous as he remembered, though the days on the road with the lighter eating had made her legs a bit more toned, and it looked like she had lost weight in her arms a little too. She still had ample curves, tempting curves, if anything they stuck out more now that she had lost a little weight from days on the road. His mouth was dry and he wanted to just watch her, in the doorway, until she told him to get out, but he felt he had to speak up.
"Do-do you want me to give you some privacy?" Robin asks, his mouth slightly agape.
Regina laughs looking down at the state of her body, "Sorry, I was a bit over excited about this bath and forgot….everything else."
Robin shakes his head, because my god she should not feel sorry about this. "Please feel free to undress around me at anytime or any place you see fit."
Regina continues to prepare the bath, and Robin stands by the door, watching as she adds scented oils and organizes scrubs and brushes.
She's not feeling what he is, he realizes that. The purpose of this bath is, sadly, not to get naked, wet and slippery with him, this is about relaxation. So as much as he is loathe to walk out on a scantily clad Regina, he loves her more than he lusts after her, and he wants her to have this time.
"I'll leave you to it," he says, trying to control his breathing as she bends down in front of him, her perfect ass very much on display. "I'll uh, be staying down the hall. I saw an open bedroom. Fourth door down the hall, to the right." He hopes she takes this for the invitation it is. He really, really wants her in his bed tonight.
"Alright," she returns in that sultry voice, "I'll keep that in mind.".
He holds out hope that maybe, maybe she will show up, and leaves her to her bath.
.::.
The dirt and grime washes off her body, her scalp no longer hurts, hair free of the oil, dirty, and soot that had weighed it down. She feels much more like herself. Much more in control.
More like a queen.
And she's going to act like a queen, for now. Trust her instincts. Stop thinking of her true self as being toxic, or harming others.
So she stays in the warm water (keeps it warm with her magic, occasionally) until her skin prunes and tense, until her aching muscles stop screaming&
She carries her dirty clothes and puts on a thick, warm robe and makes her way down to the corridor to Robin's room, without even giving it a second thought. .
As she walks down the corridor she realizes the place is meticulously decorated, so ornate. But why should this place be so elaborate? Why were there so many baths and bedrooms if it was truly only meant to be a jail for one person?
Maleficent is guarded about her past, andt Regina had already learned more than most. It seemed she had only learned a small part about who Maleficent was. So much was a mystery, and this palace held some of the most puzzling part of her past.
She knocks lightly on the bedroom door, and it opens in a flash.
Robin is shirtless, skin dripping and glistening with water, the smell of soap mixing with his own woodsy scene. It seems he had found his way to a bath as well.
Her eyes follow a bead of water as it drops down his chest.
"How was your bath?"
His voice knocks some sense into her, and she meets his eyes a bit sheepishly. He gives her a knowing smile. He knows she's admiring him, adn well, it seems he's doing the same to her.
"My bath was wonderful" she sighed. "I feel so much better.
"You smell amazing" he mutters. He combs through her wet hair and his tongue peaks out and wets his lip.
"You smell quite nice too."
"I had myself a little bath. For cleanliness, not for relaxing."
Regina breathes him in. "I see that."
"Mm" Robin responds, his hand is playing with the collar of her robe, tugging it a little. She moves in closer, leaning her head down to rest against his chest. But the movement tugs at her neck. She rubs it just a bit, trying to work out the kink.
"You okay?"
"I think I pulled something doing all those magical theatrics" she said sheepishly. "The bath helped a lot. A good night's sleep will cure it."
Robin frowns. "Come here, now," he says, leading her to the bed and patting the mattress with a directed stare. She goes willingly, raising her eyebrows slightly at his stern gaze, but he doesn't play into it.
She sits on the edge of the bed, shifting when he sits behind her, drawing her robe down to rub at the tender, sore muscles.
"You have to be more careful with yourself," he says into her ear, "you're not indestructible."
His hands are warm, and comforting as they firmly knead her back. It feels like heaven.
"It's just some stiff muscles, Robin. Many that have loosened. No harm done."
"This time." He finishes for her as he continues to rub her back. She groans in response. He presses on, adding, "I love seeing you take charge, use your power, to fight. But that was risky, and you could have been killed. You should have told me your plan. I was here to help, and—"
"It all happened in a split second," Regina reminds him, "I couldn't tell you a plan when I had none myself."
He sighs, presses his lips to the back of her neck as if to appease her. "This is, by far, the worst part of being in love with you, you know. Watching you almost die time after time."
She tries to whip her head around to face him, but he keeps her head straight.
"Shh, you need to relax," he soothes. It's been awhile since they said those words, but he clearly doesn't want to pressure her into returning them, and his concern is nice, makes her love him even more.
"We need to talk" she protests, but then his fingernails scratch up from her neck through her hair, sending tingles all over her body, and god, do they have to talk now?
"In a bit. Just feel for now, yeah?"
And they stay there, almost silent, as Robin touches and rubs and scratches and soothes. He works slowly, pressing little circles into the tightened muscle until he felt it loosen and relax.
He draws out little moans, soft, heady little things that fall out of her, andits absolute bliss, being touched and cared for like this, having someone soothe all her aches, being able to be so open and vulnerable. And soon she feels comfortable to make requests, the Oh! please, just down a little further and right there stay there a bit longer and a that feels so nice, just like that. She can't help but moan them, the little soft sounds Robin makes in response make her thighs clench on instinct.
When she feels completely relaxed, when her muscles have turned oozy and pliant, she sighs a "Thank you,that's enough" into a pillow,, he breathes out a sigh of relief that amuses her. She looks up to find that his eyes are dark and heated, and well, she wasn't the only one who had become sexually charged from that rub down, had she? Regina reaches her hand to intertwine with his.
They had to talk. About Zelena. About Arthur, probably, and about….everything.
And god, did she ever want to do anything else but talk, especially with how badly she wanted a happy ending to that massage.
Robin smiles back at her nervously, then clears this throat. "You should probably stay here tonight. It's late. Too late to find another bedroom. Plus you don't know where everyone has currently taken residence…. you might accidentally walk in an occupied room. You can't un-see Snow and David together. Trust me. I already did that once looking for the bathroom."
Regina laughs. "I'm sure I could manage to find an unoccupied room in this castle," she starts, "but I don't want to."
She turns the thick comfortable robe into her grey silk nightgown. "Better" she said, laying down into bed next to him.
He follows suit immediately, inching closer to her, as if he's feeling her out. He doesn't know where they are (neither does she) so maybe that's why he doesn't lean over to touch her the way she wants, to kiss her like she imagines.
But she is being cautious herself. Her short stint with Arthur may have ruined things, and reaching out for Robin's affections could result in a rejection she isn't quite ready to face. So they lie there for awhile, on their sides, facing each other, lightly caressing each other lazily, but not speaking.
What they need to say will kill the mood, anyway.
Fuck it, they can talk later, can't they? She's nervously waiting Maleficent to bring back one of the most powerful sorcerers that ever lived, and she's on edge and he's…
He's just…
Well, just look at him.
Fuck it.
"You feel like home" she whispers, "It feels nice to be back with you, to sleep with you like this."
Robin cannot help but lighten the mood "you are practically naked and in bed with me, and you look like a fucking goddess and smell like heaven." He breathed in her deeply. "I'm not going to get any sleep with or without you tonight.
Regina smiles and kisses his neck. "Sorry about that." She breathes into his neck. But she's not entirely sorry. She's a little amused.
And aroused. At least as much as he is. Her body wants this, her brain seems to be letting her, thank god.
She leans in and licks his neck, blowing just a bit on the soft damp skin as she draws her lips away.
"Mmm. You bloody well know what that does to me." Robin says, his eyes clenched shut.
She kisses him again on his neck, this time flicking her tongue just a bit before pulling away.
"God Regina" he groans deeply. "This isn't fair."
"It's not," she agrees. He's laying on his back now, and she grabs his hand, the one with the lion tattoo. She smoothes her hand over it, kisses it, then takes a finger and sucks on it. She hears Robin draw back a big sigh.
He's tented in his shorts, unsurprisingly, from the way he's responded to her. She reaches down and grabs him, stroking slowly. Robin freezes, but he doesn't look upset by her touch at all.
Quite the opposite. He's biting his lip hard in that way, and god, she wants him.
So she takes him. She slips off her night gown and straddles him, feeling his erection digging in behind her.
She's in control, and Robin is just reacting. It's different from how she saw him with Zelena, all needy and desperate. She doesn't want that, doesn't think she could yet handle it. So this is good, she can do this.
She pulls his hands up, one to each breast, and Robin is eager to touch them. His touch is soft, at first, he flicks he nipples slowly until they are so hard, he pinches and twists them drawing moans out of her. He must be able to feel how wet she is now, from the way he breathes out Christ Regina and rocks back into her,
They are naked, and so closely lined up, and she's wet, so wet he could just slide into her if she angles just a bit down…
.
But Regina starts by taking his hand off her breast and shoving it between her legs, She's missed every part of him, his hands included.
"Fucking gods, darling, you're soaked," he moans, as his fingers circle her entrance. He slides two inside her, and she begins to ride his hand as he pumps in and out of her, while he pinches her nipple with his other. She braces herself against the headboard behind him and just….takes.
.
"So good" she moans. She can feel everything building, steady and strong as fucks his hand, and yes, this is good, so good, she is going to come, she can come from this...
His kisses are light but heated against her neck, her jaw, her chest. There is more passion now, and she can feel herself moaning with desire. Only he can make her feel like this, like she is soaring high.
He pulls her into a deep passionate kiss, then draws his hand out from her and flips her so she's lying on her back. He kisses down her chest, his tongue swirling right around her breasts before he buses his lips over the dampened skin.
Did he do that thing with you, with the twist of his tongue, you know what I'm talking about? It was kind of a swirl. Wasn't that the best?"
Zelena's voice echoes in her mind. Again. Just like last time.
No.
She won't let her win.
She lets him continue, kiss down her torso, waiting for the tingle inside her to grow, his beard tickles sensitive skin as he makes his way between her legs, but Zelena is in her head, and she can't get her out.
He kisses her thighs the way she loves.
Regina waits for the bad thoughts to pass.
they do not.
They are in the thick of it now, so close to fucking, and he's breathing heavily, so ready, but waiting for her.
Regina winces, and he sees it and stops immediately. He rolls down next to her on the bed, still panting. "What did I do? Are you hurt?"
Regina shakes her head "You didn't hurt me." She says, tentatively. "I want to," she starts, and then she realizes he knows that, can tell, can feel her, how wet she is, and he can hear her desperate sighs, "I keep picturing you with her," she adds, "especially, when you do that, uh, when you kiss like that, with the little swirl I always liked, it just reminds me of the whole thing."
He stops, cringes and sits up. "Oh." he says softly.
Regina sighs, "I don't blame you. She just told me that you uh, kissed her like that too."
She sits up and scoots back towards the headboard, leans against it and bends her knees into her chest.
He follows right next to her, a bit timidly, careful not to touch her.
"I did," he confirms, and she winces.
He takes a breath inward. I"m ashamed of this, but I'm going to tell you anyway"
"You don't need to be ashamed to tell me anything," she says sincerely, looking in his eyes,
"None of this is your fault, she….abused you, she…"
"She made me believe that I made her miserable, and I thought she was my wife," he starts drawing a hand over his eyes. "She hated New York, Roland was always bothering her for some reason — I should have known, what kind of mother would…? But I didn't, I didn't figure it out, and she made me feel like everything was my fault, and —"
"Of course she did, that was her plan the whole time."
"Regina, her plan was to get pregnant and shove it in your face."
Regina looks skeptically, "I'm not so sure, I mean, I'm sure she appreciated that it happened, but…"
"Trust me, she wanted this to happen." He sighs, and looks down at the fabric of the bed, "You keep picturing it, so we might as well talk about it. She pretended to be heartbroken and upset. With everything. She made me feel horribly guilty about being hung up on you, she played every card she could. I was miserable. That memory she showed you? Well, what you didn't see before that is I had just come home from a bar. I was very drunk. I had been thinking of you. I….kept thinking of you," He looks up and at her, so apologetic.. "I'm not proud, Regina."
She doesn't interrupt, doesn't quite understand, until it dawns on her.
"Thinking of me at the bar…?"
"Thinking of us." he says simply, "and I came home, she was there, and you were in my head. And I was drunk, Regina, very drunk. And she had just begged me to start things back up, and I had just been thinking about our time together in the vault, and… well..."
Regina swallowed. "You, uh…"
Robin laughed bitterly. "Shut my eyes and thought of you instead of my wife. And if you think that didn't tear my up inside, thinking about how I couldn't even get it up for my own wife without thinking of the woman who damn near killed her instead, — no offense — well, it did. But, it worked, it seemed to make her happy."
It's all so unsettling. Regina wraps her arms around her legs, staring off into the distance instead of at him.
"That's why when you saw that memory of us together, that's why I said things I said to you. That's why I did things I'd do to you. It was, It was how I got through it."
"Why not use your past with Marian?" she asks,truly confused, you had memories with her that could—"
"I tried. When things felt off I thought of old times… tried to imagine her the way I remembered. The wife I lost meant everything to me but the idea of reliving our past times together never truly excited me. Not anymore."
She turns to him skeptically, "So you had trouble moving on from me?"
"I never really gave it a real shot," he admits, "I guess I tried half-heartedly, but….this doesn't make me a good man. It was worse when she was my actual wife but now I realize a witch tricked me into performing for her and it somehow seems worse. What if my body knew it wasn't her and that's the reason performance was difficult?"
Regina doesn't answer, her mind stuck on another part he mentioned. "But how did you know she was trying to get pregnant?"
"No other reason for her to try to...do as much as she had us do it around...um, certain times." He says, and then groans into his palms. "I"m sorry, there's no other way to say this."
It feels dirty, hearing him say it, and she flinches.
She thinks about it from his perspective though. She easily can. Afterall, she was forced to warm the bed of someone who cared nothing for her, but forced her to perform those duties anyway, who expected her to be bright and exuberant while he awkwardly clawed at her.
She remembers how her mind would wander to anything... or anyone else. Even Daniel. Just to get through it.
She did it, god knows she did it, more than once, many times.
He did the same thing. It got him through a rough patch. And he kissed her like he did Regina because his mind was on Regina the whole time. It's… it makes sense.
"She's a piece of work," Regina finally says with a sigh. "I'm sorry this was so hard for you. I had hoped it wasn't hard… the whole time we were gone."
"You believe me," he says softly, and Regina nods as she grasps his hand, linking their fingers and staring down at them.
"I used memories of you… wrongly," he says, "it's right for you to be upset about this, and —"
"I'm not upset about that," she says matter-of-factly, "and you can stop feeling guilty for it. She tricked you, manipulated you, used the fact you were a good man against you to con you into...God, it's awful. I can't even imagine what you went through."
"I'm fine," he responds, "Don't worry about me."
"You are having nightmares."
He sighs and leans back against the headboard, a hand rubbing over his face.
"Yes," he says after a bit, "but they aren't all with Zelena in them. Some are about Roland's birth, I help Marian deliver, and then… he's a monster. He attacks Marian, and then myself, and… others. Sometimes I'm in a large glass box and it fills with water, and I drown, and sometimes…there's other things, things I don't really care to get into right now." he pauses and sighs, "I never really dreamed before, not vividly like this. So this has been...unusual."
"There's going to be some damage. What she did was horrible." She looks at him, smoothing her hand over his arm. "I'd understand if you didn't want to touch in that way for a bit, while you're still working stuff out."
"No — No, I…" he sighs, "I choose you every time we're together, it feels right with you, it feels...it's what I wanted. What I still want. And it's you." He groans, gesturing wildly with his hands, as if he can't quite articulate how it feels. "It's the opposite, Regina, of what you think. I want to be with you, all the time. When we're together it feels like the whole thing never happened. And I know I was pushing you too hard, and I know this wasn't the best way to deal with it, but —"
She silences his rambling with a kiss.
Everything somehow makes sense. And there's finally a sense of understanding of them, of these last few weeks.
And she wants a release so badly, one with him that doesn't end in her sister showing up to ruin everything, but she also just craves being intimate with him again.
She wants to rejoin him, be one with him.
And if this is helping, if being with her is helping at all, she's not going to deny him.
He kisses her back with all he has, wrapping his arm around her and encouraging her to move on top of him.
"You sure?" he rasps against her mouth.
"Completely," she answers, drawing back to look him in the eye tenderly, her hand running through his hair softly. He leans into her touch.
"So, are we…." He doesn't yet know how to finish the sentence, but she knows what he's after.
"Well," she kisses his neck, "If its all right with you" she licks behind his ear, "I'd like for us to work through this," she presses a kiss to his temple, "and every other challenge," she presses a quick kiss to his lips "together."
"Perfect," he replies, a broad smile before he draws her in for a deep passionate kiss.
She's naked in his arms, and as his hands wander and grope shamelessly at her ass, it has her chuckling a bit into the kiss.
"Laughing at me?" he mutters between kisses down her neck. God, his mouth is amazing. "I'm offended."
She rocks herself against him, the thin fabric of his boxer briefs the only thing separating them.
"No, you're not." she replies with a sly smile, and she shifts up, still straddled against him. "You don't feel offended." She thrusts her hips and rocks into him hard as if to make the point and he smiles sheepishly, all but conceding the point.
"Come here," he says, holding his arms out to her. She moves her body back down over him and kisses him deeply.
He grabs her and flips her just then, so he's on top of her.
She goes willingly. She loves that about him, that confidence he has around her. Even now, when things are...difficult. He still has that way about him.
"Lay back. I've missed you. I have some loss time to make up for."
She rolls her eyes and tries to bite back a smile.
He shifts her legs, moving them apart and positions himself so he's sitting between them, takes one of her legs and draws up and over his crossed leg, his hand stroking up from her ankle to her hip.
Regina arches her back, sighs into the light touch and sighs.
"God I love that," Robin groans, "love when you move like that."
"Fuck me," she sighs, rocking her hips, trying to find his hand, some part of him to rock against.
"I am," he says, hands grazing up and down her thighs, far where she needs him. She lets out a frustrated puff of air.
"It's been so long," she nearly whines. It's not exactly true, hasn't been that long, but it's felt long, hasn't it?
"That's why I'm not going to rush it," he says, fingers coast between her thighs, when they dip between her folds and feels how wet she already is he gives himself a moment, closes his eyes and moans.
"I want you inside me now," she begs, and he shakes his head no.
"You're so beautiful like this," his whispers, rubbing a hand up her body and then smoothing back down her side, "naked and wet and ready for me."
"Robin…" she sighs. His eyes darken at the sound of his name from her lips, and she can almost wait it out, can almost bear this teasing torture knowing that it's having the same effect on him. She reaches down underneath his briefs and grabs his cock, giving it a firm stroke, watching his eyes flutter shut.
He leans down over her, braces himself with an elbow anchored right by her head, and then reaches for her neck with his free hand and draws her into a kiss.
She doesn't break, continues to stroke his cock as they kiss, and she revels in the way he pants and moans into the kiss.
"Slower," he pleads as he rips his mouth from hers, breathing heavy, and she laughs a bit at his desperation. He pouts a bit in response, pretending her laughter has hurt him, but when she tilts her head skeptically he bites his lip in a coy smile.
She does slow her strokes, but sh squeezes a bit tighter, so each stroke is stronger, more firm, drawing out sighs, and she feels him jerk himself into her, thrusting his hips in a steady rhythm until it must be too much, because he stills and moves her hand away.
He kisses down her neck, moving his body down so he can kiss a straight line down her body, giving care to detour to swirl his tongue and suck each nipple as he travels down. He presses a sucking kiss into her belly button, and it tickles just a bit, has her stomach muscles clenching and trembling.
This time, doesn't think of her sister, doesn't worry that this isn't what he wants. Not anymore. When he hooks her thighs over his shoulders and presses his head between her thighs, he looks at her like this is all he ever wanted.
"So wet," he mutters into her sex, and she feels his hot breath against her, so close to where she wants him.
"Robin, please…"
She feels his tongue firmly sliding through her folds, one firm, teasing lick from bottom all the way to her clit. And then he just devours her whole, tongue thrusting in and out of her as he drinks her in, each firm, frenzied laps, sucking and groaning into her, tongue exploring everywhere, briefly thrusting against her clit before moving elsewhere.
It's torture, his tongue just touching her clit on random strokes of the tongue, working her up, but not making her spill over…. but it's hot, the way he eats at her like he was starving, and she knows, can feel herself growing wetter, if it were possible, hears the way he responds to it, the way he moans in response to her ever growing arousal.
She feels him move to where she's been desperate for him just then, stretching and pointing his tongue as he firmly darts against her, and god, that's good, that's what she's wanted now, those licks, that firm, warm friction he's given her before that she found herself craving since their first time, was never really to say goodbye to forever, not really.
He's grinding against her now, strongly, and she feels herself arching and writhing in response to each movement. She can hear his muffled moans, his hard swallows, can almost feel how much this turns on him and it's one of the many things she loves about him, how much he loves seeing to her, truly enjoys making her feel good.
Her hands are threading through his hair now and she's pulling at it, holding onto it tight.
She feels him suck gently at her clit, and looks down at him then to see he's looking up at her. He's quite a sight, red faced and sweaty between her thighs, hair completely disheveled (her fault she knows, she'd been tugging at it). Eyes dark and desperate, but searching for her approval, making sure it's not too much. She nods and smiles let's out a please, yesss, and he returns to his task, lips wrapped around her clit as he sucks deeply, tongue flicking against her as he does.
It's all she needed to come apart, and she does. It feels like being weightless for a moment, and then the tingly feeling wraps around her, making her feel so giddy, so light. She cries out loudly and uninhibited, unrestrained by past demons or fears or worries.
Robin doesn't stop, keeps sucking and lapping, until it's too much, until she squeaks and uses those hands in his hair to pull him away from her, earning a chuckle from him when she does.
"God, you make me come so hard," she says between quick breaths, and it earns a groan out of him, and good. It should.
"You taste….god." He moves up her body quickly, drawing her in for a kiss, his face still flushed, skin hot and damp, mouth still tasting like her, breathing still jagged and irregular.
"You okay?" she asks teasingly when they come up for air.
"More than okay," he says, kissing her nose quick, "I could do that all day."
She laughs at that, draws her hand down to wear he's hard, so hard, almost throbbing hard and reminds him, "you need love too."
He chuckles and then confesses, "you have no idea how close I was to coming just then, when you were off like that...I'm going to need a minute to cool off."
She shakes her head, hooks her fingers into his briefs and slides them off.
"I want you. Now."
He bites his lip when she strokes him, his eyes screw tight while he lets out a puff of air.
"I'm not going to...I won't last."
"I don't care. I want to be close to you," she begs.
Something in him snaps, as if he's giving himself permission to do this, and he bends over her, hooks her leg over his shoulder, uses his hand to guide himself, and pushes into her deeply and quickly, letting out a whimper and a Jesus at the same time she sighs and lets out a choked oh!
He's propped up on a bended elbow, his body is over her, god, he's a fine specimen of a human being. Strong muscular arms and a well defined chest. She lets her eyes roam over him, as she scratches up his back.
Her hips rock against him, she grabs his ass, digging fingernails into the flesh of his ass, urging him to move.
"God, I love that." he groans
"I need you," she sighs, "please, I want to feel you, I want it…" she trails off, suddenly shy.
"How do you want it?" he asks between clenched teeth, staring at her with hungry eyes.
She closes her eyes, takes in a shaky breath. And opens them, stares back at him. "Hard. Fast."
He curses loudly, draws his free arm under her and brings her closer to him while he thrusts in deeply.
He's far too close for her to even think of coming agin, can feel it in how tight his muscles are, in the square of his jaw, the way he's looking at her, how he's biting his tongue, but god, he's taking her deep, so deep, the thrusts are long and quick and rough, and it's what she wants, exactly what her body has been calling out for.
"God don't stop" she finds herself sighing, her body writhing underneath him, and he almost whines in response, his hand grips her back tighter, he straightens the bent arm he was propped against, eyes screwed tight now. Determined to try. Just the image of him like that excites her, sends a shock of electricity straight down to her clit.
"Love the way you feel," he grunts between shuddered breaths, "so warm, so fucking tight around me, love that - just that, love when you squeeze around me, so much, so so much, fuck, Regina, I'm going to come so hard…."
She nods,she knows, she won't quite get there, but she wants to feel him pulsing and moving inside her the way he does when he lets go, so she urges him on, meeting each vigorous thrust with a moan.
"Regina, I'm — you feel — you're the best, the only —-Christ, I love you so much, so so much, I'm— "
"I love you too." she pants in return, and she kisses him hard, stops him from babbling, because she knows he's a second from apologizing for finishing before she can muster another climax and he needn't, feeling close to him is enough, more than enough.
He moans hard into the kiss, and she feels him throbbing inside her, the erratic strokes she already knows well, she wraps one of her legs around his torso tight and pulls him closer to her.
He lowers her leg off his shoulder, pressing a kiss to her inner thigh as he lets it fall, and then slides next to her and spoons her.
He's warm and solid behind her, his body is taut from days of hiking with little to eat, but the way he strokes her arm is tender.
She could lay like this forever.
But she's never been one to have time for sweet moments like this, where they trade lazy kisses and enjoy feeling each other again, it's only a few moments of tender caresses and whispered words of affection before something glows and blinks in her pile of clothes.
"The communication stone." Regina says, jumping up. She answers Robin's confused look, "It's, it's Henry."
She runs to it, naked, and worried. She's about to answer it thank god Robin's a bit ahead of the gang. "Might want to put something on first, yeah?!" he asks her cheekily.
That's right. When she answers this, Henry will see her.
She magics herself back into a robe, adjusts it to hide it from looking to risque, smooths her hair (it's still damp from the shower, a bit messy from their romp, but Henry would never guess that is what she was up to,still, it feels better fix it) She looks at Robin for approval, to make sure she looks presentable for her poor son, and he laughs, smiles, as he slides back into his shorts.
She answers the stone then, sees Henry's face appear.
"Henry! I've got good news. We found Merlin —"
"Mom, listen to me!" the stone almost shakes with his scream. "Mom, she's got it. She's got the dagger. I saw it!"