A/N: Thanks so much to those of you following and reviewing, spread the word! So hopefully this chapter satiates the sadness I'm sure this fan fiction has brought you, as Regina suffering is literally the worst thing in the world. Her and Robin will be reunited this chapter!

Chapter 5

Fortunately for Regina, Zeus' information had proven completely accurate. Rumple was indeed able to open a portal to the needed realm without any more difficulty than for any other. On the down side, Zeus had not disclosed much about said realm, and therefore, she had absolutely no clue what to expect from it. Not that she cared in the slightest. Regina would do anything to see Robin again.

Much to Regina's displeasure, Emma, Snow, and David had all decided, more like demanded that they accompany her on her journey. It wasn't necessarily that she didn't appreciate and or desire their aid, she just didn't want to have to be concerned with anyone but her and Robin's safety. She didn't want to make the same mistake that Emma had made in taking everyone along to the Underworld… The more people, the more concern. And Regina was extremely keen on harnessing all her energy towards rescuing Robin. However, as Emma and David had astutely pointed out, if the fake olympian crystal used on Robin sent him to this realm, it had also sent Hades to the same place after Zelena used it against him. Regina didn't feel particularly inclined to inform the Charmings that if she did happen to encounter Hades, she would have no qualms about murdering him. For real this time.

Henry was most displeased that he had not been extended an invitation on their journey, but Regina had made it absolutely clear to all members involved that she absolutely would not waver on bringing Henry along. The answer was a definite no. She didn't want anyone there that might hinder her focus should danger present itself, and she knew she couldn't possibly wholly focus herself on Robin Hood if she thought there was even the slightest chance Henry could be in harm's way. And for once… Regina knew she had to make the selfish choice and order Henry to remain in Storybrook. Even if it hurt her to have him upset with her.

Zeus certainly hadn't been exaggerating when he said that this realm was 'relatively unexplored and uninhabited'. Uninhabited was the understatement of the century, there wasn't a living soul in sight.

However, Zeus had also failed to mention the sheer beauty of the alien landscape… If Regina didn't know better, someone certainly could have convinced her that this really was heaven. The terrain was pure, luscious green grass, stretching on endlessly over the whole visible surface. The skies were clear, cloudless and purely blue. All around them were extensive, rich forests, covered in thick foliage. There was a light floral scent in the air, most likely originating from the scattered, colorful flowers throughout the grass.

"So… How do we find Robin Hood? There isn't exactly anyone we can ask," Emma said, after a long moment of perplexity. Regina didn't answer immediately, as she was unable to tear her eyes away from the surrounding forests. She knew he was in there. Where else would Robin go, other than to his true home?

"We need to split up and search the forests," Regina finally replied. Understanding dawned on the Charmings, as they also recalled Robin's love of the forest and natural landscape.

"Definitely we should search the forests, but I don't know how good of an idea splitting up is. We shouldn't forget that Hades is here too…" David trailed off uncertainly. Regina conceded defeat on this point. Even though she certainly wasn't afraid of Hades, she definitely didn't need anyone else's unfortunate encounter with him on her conscience.

"Fine. Snow and David, take the west forest. Emma, the south. And I'll handle the north," Regina responded to this nonchalantly. Regina was confident that Emma would not have the same aversion to splitting up as her father.

"I'm pretty sure that still qualifies as splitting up," David argued, raising an eyebrow in contention. Regina's eyes rolled so far back into her head that she felt as though she could almost see the back of her skull. She had not been expecting this level of resistance, and had really been hoping to avoid explaining why she was so keen on splitting up…

"Excellent, Charming. I was really hoping I wouldn't have to spell this out for you, but my interest in splitting up stems from the fact that when I find Robin, I don't really want our reunion to be witnessed by the likes of you three," Regina snarked. When she found Robin, Regina had every intention of throwing herself into his arms and never letting him go. Regina had never been terribly fond of public displays of affection, or really touching at all, except for certain obvious… exceptions. However, having spent the last week believing that she would never feel Robin's touch again… Regina now couldn't imagine ever being in the same room with him and not touching him.

"…And that's the end of that discussion. Let's get this show on the road," Emma quickly interjected, ending the debate. Regina couldn't recall ever being so grateful for Emma's sense of discomfort with personal topics. With that, the three parties split off into their designated portion of forest.

—-

Regina had no idea how long she had been meandering through the woods. The sun had set, and darkness had completely fallen on the trees. Her feet were absolutely killing her, and every bone in her body yearned to sit down. But there was no way in hell that Regina would rest until she had found Robin Hood. She briefly considered the possibility that he was in a different direction of the forest, but she felt as though if that were the case, someone would have found her already. How annoying it would be if one of the Charmings found Robin rather than her…

"Robin?!" Regina called out loudly, as she had been doing periodically for hours. However, as she called his name this time, she could have sworn that she heard rustling in the trees nearby. This instantly captivated her attention, as she had become accustomed to utter silence and stillness in response to her calls.

"Robin?!" she called out again, louder this time, desperation and excitement managing to creep into her voice. She quickened her pace, much to the anger of her aching feet, almost to the point that she was running as she anxiously pushed twigs and branches out of her way.

"Robin?!"

"REGINA?!" she suddenly heard a desperate voice calling back. A voice she would recognize anywhere.

"Robin, where are you?!" Regina immediately shouted back in response, unable to keep the emotion out of her voice. Much to her confusion, she could feel her eyes welling up with tears. She literally couldn't fathom her own happiness in the moment, she had never felt such a relief in her entire existence.

"I'm trying to get to you!" Robin's voice responded loudly. Regina momentarily closed her eyes and forced herself to concentrate on where his voice was coming from, rather than just obsessing over the fact that she had actually found him.

"Don't move, I'm coming to you!" she called back.

Regina was literally sprinting through the woods at this point. She couldn't believe that in a matter of seconds she was going to see Robin again. She simply could not process it.

After maybe another twenty seconds of running, she stopped dead in her tracks when she finally, finally, saw him. His back was to her as he stood next to a campfire that he clearly had built, which dimly lit the small clearing they were now in.

Just as Regina resumed her sprint towards him, Robin perceived her presence and simultaneously turned around to face her. There weren't words to describe the way her heart leapt at seeing that enormous, goofy grin stretch across his ruggedly handsome face when he saw her.

Regina couldn't possibly ever explain the feeling of when Robin's strong arms finally wrapped securely around her body as she collided with his chest. Or the masculine, piney smell of his neck as she almost involuntarily nestled her face into it. Or the feeling of his soft, sandy blonde hair as her fingers tangled themselves into it. Or the sound of his gentle, accented voice repeatedly breathing her name into her ear as though overwhelmed with affection. Robin's arms were wrapped so tightly around her that both his hands were able to rest lightly on the curves of her waist. The feeling of her own body lightly shaking with tears of happiness was distant, as she much more pressingly tried to comprehend the fact that he had somehow been returned to her.

Regina had no idea how long they remained in their embrace, before they both mutually began to slightly retreat, so that they could actually look at each other for a moment. Regina briefly considered how many times they had stood just like this. Robin's hands lightly gripping around her hips, his thumbs gently rubbing her sides. Regina's hands placed solidly on Robin's strong shoulders as she stared up at him. Their faces much closer together than necessary for ordinary conversation. Yes, they had stood this way probably hundreds of times throughout hundreds of conversations, and every time Regina had loved, but never before had it felt like this. So perfect, so right. As Robin held her now, and she memorized his wonderfully handsome face as she had so many times before, she couldn't believe she had ever even considered giving up on him. Nothing was worth losing this.

"You found me," Robin said breathlessly, looking at Regina with such adoration that she almost passed out from the way it made her heart race.

"How could I not?" Regina found herself responding softly, unable to tear her eyes away from Robin's clear blue ones.

As she stared at him, taking in every inch of his adorably handsome face, which was currently molded into an expression of such affection that she could hardly breathe, she knew exactly what she wanted to say next. Words that she hadn't dared utter before she'd thought he was dead, words she could never summon the courage to say even though she knew with absolute certainty that they couldn't be more true.

"Robin, I-" she began hesitantly, staring intensely at him. Regina wasn't in the habit of so openly expressing her love with anyone other than Henry. Especially not a man she felt… this way about. Robin, as though he was directly reading her mind, took her face gently into his strong hands and grinned softly.

"Yes?" he chided lightly, knowing exactly what she was about to say to him. Robin tried to prepare for the way it would feel to hear it from her lips. He hated to admit it, but he had secretly been dying to hear her say it, practically from the moment he met her. Of course, as the man, it was traditionally his job to say it first, but he had always felt that the dynamic of his relationship with Regina required her to say it first. His feelings for her were obvious, he never attempted to hide them, and he knew that she already knew he loved her. On the other hand, Regina was much more guarded and careful with her emotions, so he had always planned to let her say it first. He didn't ever want to pressure her into something she wasn't ready for. This was certainly not to say that waiting was easy, though.

"I love you," Regina said after a long pause, during which she attempted to gather her courage. However, much to her surprise, Regina did not feel vulnerable and afraid after disclosing this, as she had expected. She just felt… Unburdened. As though she had been carrying around a cumbersome secret and had finally told someone. Of course she had known how she felt about Robin for some time, but she had just never felt comfortable enough in their relationship to tell him.

And his reaction certainly didn't hurt her newfound comfort. The ecstatic grin that Robin responded with made Regina's heart race about a thousand miles a minute.

"And I love you," he responded clearly, staring into her eyes deeply for a moment before he kissed her. Regina's heart swooned at hearing his words, and the feeling of his gentle lips on hers. Until then, she had been unaware of how much she craved to hear him say it.

Robin hadn't really intended to make this a particularly long or passionate kiss, but those intentions seemed to evaporate into thin air as he was reminded of the dangerously addictive heaven that was kissing Regina. His hands tangled into her soft, thick dark hair as hers strongly gripped the collar of his white button down shirt. Regina's tongue lightly traced the outline of Robin's lips, and he involuntarily let out a moan of pleasure. His lips eagerly enveloped hers over and over again, their tongues moving together in a perfect synchronization that had both of them gasping for air as they allowed themselves to release the yearning and desire they'd been holding in their week long separation.

Robin's hands began to wander along Regina's perfectly sculpted body, just as she began to explore the stubble of his face with hers. Regina caught Robin by surprise as she suddenly pushed him back against a nearby tree, escalating the intensity of the kiss significantly. Robin's hands involuntarily shot down to grab the flawless curves of her waist, and he attempted to pull her even closer. Robin groaned loudly as Regina pressed her lips against his neck, sensually licking and sucking and biting everything she possibly could. It was amazing, even just being away from her for a week had made him begin to forget just how strong of a hold she had over him.

However, as much as Robin was enjoying this (and he was really enjoying this), he actually was somewhat more interested in talking to her, and just being with her rather than doing… other things. At least for the time being. There just were so many things he wanted to say to her, all he had been doing since he lost her was realizing all the things that he had never said and wanted to. At least he had managed to tell her that she was his future before Hades had fake killed him. But what disturbed him was the fact that she had actually been unsure of that beforehand, that she actually thought there was something she could do that would make him leave her or give up on her. He wanted to make it abundantly clear to her that he was never going anywhere, that he was practically enslaved by the intense strength of his love for her. At this point, Robin honestly wasn't sure if he could leave her even if he wanted to.

He wanted to apologize for Zelena, and the child he had unintentionally spawned with her. Of course he loved his daughter, and couldn't bring himself to truly regret her existence, but when he retrospected about the way he had handled the entire situation, as far as Regina was concerned… He was disgusted with himself. He had expected her unending support, and she had given it to him. He had thoughtlessly placed Zelena's needs over hers, because Zelena was carrying his child, and he hated himself for it. Rarely had he ever thought to check in on Regina's mental state. He realized that he had scarcely even apologized for sleeping with another woman. Of course, in his defense, he had believed it to be his wife, and that he would never see Regina again. And he had used this defense when she had expressed her hurt at what had happened. But in the past week, when he again believed that he would never see her again, his mind had darkly considered the fact that Regina might eventually move on with someone else. The thought had destroyed him, the idea of another man touching her with his hands made him feel physically ill. And these horrifying thoughts had finally made him consider how Regina must have felt when she found out about him and Zelena. And he could hardly wait to apologize for it, having gained this new perspective.

He also was struggling to suppress his desire to finally discuss making a future with her. Before Hades had attacked him, he had assumed that they would discuss their plans after they rescued his daughter. But while he had been separated from her, he had been practically crushed by his infinite regret of all the things he failed to do with her, or at least tell her that he wanted to do with her. He knew with absolute certainty that there would never be anyone else, that there would never be anything or anyone he would want more than he wanted Regina and a life with her.

"Regina," Robin managed to murmur in the brief moments in which their lips were not pressed together.

"Hmm?" Regina breathed in response, returning her focus to his neck so that he could say whatever it was he needed to. Robin's hands fell to her hips again and he almost lost his train of thought at the way she felt in his hands. Good lord, why did she have to look like this…

"Wait," he managed to get out. Regina, however, did not heed this request with any respect, and pressed her lips back against his.

"Not likely," she replied lightly as she began kissing him again. Robin's eyes practically rolled back into his head with pleasure as he almost fell prey to her perfection again, as he always did. His hands instinctively moved onto her perfect ass, and he let himself kiss her back ferociously for a moment, savoring her.

"Regina…" he trailed off again, finding himself still incapable of pushing her away. He was a man, she was a goddess, after all.

Regina was confused as to why Robin kept trying to interrupt this, and finally paused to stare at him.

"What is it?" she asked him confusedly, knitting her eyebrows together. He smiled, completely enchanted.

"I hope you don't take this the wrong way… But all I've been able to do for the past week is think about all the things I never said to you, and I just… I really want to say them," Robin found himself saying sheepishly, praying that she didn't find this to be completely ridiculous. Much to his surprise and pleasure, however, Regina's eyes softened at this and she smiled.

"Me too. Sorry, I just got a little… Caught up in the moment," Regina responded with an irresistible smirk. Robin's heart sped at seeing that little smile, knowing it so well, as it was signature Regina. And anything classic to Regina was completely bewitching to Robin.