Once back on the road Robin and Regina had headed in the direction of a small town that Regina knew of nearby. As they walked they occasionally saw wanted posters with her face on them that had been put up along the road. Robin was surprised to see a few with his own face as well, although only sporadically compared to the number with her on them.
"They didn't waste any time on this," Robin said, realizing that they must have been put up the night before, right after their escape. It was disconcerting to know that soldiers looking for them had been so close to them as they slept.
"When Henry puts his mind to something it's very hard to deter him," Regina said, feeling a little pride for her son, despite the fact that his mind was now set on killing her. As they talked they arrived in a town only to find that buildings and alleys had been wallpapered with the same wanted posters.
"Gods almighty," Robin said looking around. "Do you know of any spells you can use to disguise yourself?"
"I'm not great at them," Regina replied, looking somewhat dazedly around at the hundreds of copies of her face that looked back at her from all directions. "Why don't we go back to the road and I can transport us to a different town."
"Sounds good," Robin said. Together they walked back to the outskirts of town and, making sure they were alone first, Regina waved her hand, taking them to the outskirts of another town. They were dismayed to find this town was also covered in flyers. It took two more attempts before they found a spot that had not yet been wallpapered. They found a decent looking tavern and bought a loaf of bread along with some cheese and fruit, and ravenously tore into the food as they sat at a table considering what their next move would be. Robin felt their best move was to live in the woods until everyone had forgotten about the Evil Queen. Regina doubted that would happen anytime soon and had serious issues with sleeping in the woods for the foreseeable future. They left the tavern dejected, with no plan, and with very little idea of what to do next.
As they headed out the door Robin looked to their left to see a group of soldiers coming down the alley posting the wanted flyers. He grabbed Regina's arm and steered her to their right. The alley dead-ended shortly ahead, but a street shot off to their right before that and they turned down this street to get away from the soldiers. They stopped short as they saw another group making their way up this street towards them, stopping each person and handing them a flyer. "Shit," Robin muttered under his breath.
Regina knew that she couldn't magic them out of there without being noticed, and there were no open buildings or shops they could duck into. As her mind whirled trying to come up with a solution that didn't involve exposing herself (not that it really mattered at this point, she supposed), she felt Robin's hand tighten again on her arm, and he began directing her backwards. She felt herself gently bump up against the wall of the alley and she grabbed his waist to steady herself as Robin's elbows came up on either side of her face, trapping her against the wall. She panicked for a moment, but then looked up to see his warm blue eyes inches from her own, calm and reassuring.
He leaned forward so that his cheek rested against her forehead. "My arm is blocking your face from sight, but if duck your head and turn it into my neck and under my chin you should be solidly hidden," he whispered.
Regina nodded and turned her head into his neck. She breathed in his scent- forest obviously, but also something a little spicy. Truthfully with him close to her like this she felt like there was an army of butterflies in her stomach and she was having trouble catching her breath. "You really think this is going to work?" she said softly.
"I don't think they want to intrude just to give us some fliers," he replied. "I'm going to move the arm that isn't blocking you to your waist, is that ok?"
She nodded, and he moved his arm down to hold her waist beneath her cloak.
"The…" he stopped to clear his throat, embarrassed, "… busier… we look, the less likely they are to interrupt us I think," he said.
She took his arm and moved it all the way up her side. He drew in a sharp breath, his hand clenching where his fingers wrapped around to her back, and she could feel his palm pressing gently against the side of her breast. "Then you better look busy, thief," she said, and he could hear the smile in her voice. He took another deep breath (her hair smelled amazing) trying to keep his composure and trying not to think about what her body would feel like pressed against his if he kissed her senseless against this wall. His entire body felt like it might explode being this close to her and not being able to act on any of his desires.
The sounds of the soldiers were drawing nearer and Regina burrowed into Robin's neck more forcefully. He gently nuzzled her, his face sinking into her hair, and he tried to whisper quiet reassurances to her. "Just keep your face hidden; they're about to walk past us and they're not going to bother us," he whispered.
He heard a rough voice yell "Look what we have here, men!", followed by a few catcalls as the soldiers noticed them. Robin felt Regina tense as a different voice said "That's right; take her right there against the wall!", and the group laughed. Robin tensed himself, ready for a fight, but the sounds of whistles and jeers made their way past them, and slowly died away as the soldiers turned onto the alley where the tavern was.
Robin and Regina both let out sighs of relief, and Robin pulled himself back and looked down at her to make sure she was ok. She looked up at with a quiet "Thanks," and she wondered if actual sparks were flying from them as his eyes bore into her own. Fearing she might jump him momentarily she looked away and dropped her hands from his side. He stepped back reluctantly and looked in the direction the soldiers had gone.
"What do you say we get out of this town and back to the relative safety of the woods," he said.
"Please," she said. They set off down the street, headed for the outskirts of town, and once they were alone she transported them to an isolated clearing.
It was already afternoon and Robin decided he wanted to go for a quick hunt and get a hot meal in his stomach. Regina agreed to make a fire while he hunted and began clearing away brush on the ground.
"Are you sure you can manage the fire?" Robin asked.
She threw him a look as she conjured a fireball in her hand and said "I think I've got it."
He chuckled and set off with his bow and arrows, returning an hour later with two skinned rabbits to find a roaring fire. They cooked the animals over the fire and then settled on some large rocks to eat.
"So," Robin began, "Day 2 of our new lives. So far we've been banished from every town in the realm, and are being actively hunted by the entire royal army. But it beats Day 1."
"That's only because on Day 1 we were almost burned alive," Regina replied glumly. "And I'm not certain Day 2 beats Day 1. Day 2 is when I discovered what my second chance really is: living in the woods, sleeping in a tent, and eating charred rabbit in forest clearings."
"Is it that bad?" Robin asked.
"It's not the life I would choose, but I guess I will have to adjust. And I guess this is only fair," she said shrugging. "Regina spent years paying the price for the things I did. Now I get to pay the price for what she did." She grew silent and stared into the fire looking quite miserable.
"Ironic that she's now the poster child for redemption, yet you happen to land in the one place where she isn't," Robin said.
Regina laughed mirthlessly. "Ironic indeed. If only I could go to a place where everyone knew Regina redeemed, like—" she stopped short and looked at Robin with wide eyes.
"What?" he asked, stopping chewing mid-bite.
"Robin! That's it! If I can get to the Enchanted Forest then I could live in my old palace, and the people there would be willing to give me a second chance!" she said, excited.
"The Enchanted Forest? Where is that? Is that back in Regina's world?" Robin asked.
"No, it's the world I was originally from," she replied. "If I can get ahold of a magic bean I can go there!" Regina set her food on the rock next to her and stood up, making her way towards the fire where she began to pace back and forth, hands on her hips. "I'm going to need a bean," she mused to herself, "which unfortunately means I'm going to be paying a visit to Rumplestiltskin."
"Hang on. You weren't here the last time so you don't remember this, but that man does not like you. You can't go to his castle," Robin said adamantly.
"He's the only person that can get me a bean, and I need to get out of this God-forsaken place," she said to him absentmindedly, already starting to make a plan in her head to get a bean.
"You're just going to leave this realm?" Robin asked, starting to get annoyed at her flippant tone.
"Why not? There's nothing here for me," she replied casually. There's him, a small voice said in the back of her mind.
There's me, he thought miserably, wondering if the feelings that had slowly been growing for her were entirely one-sided. Setting down his food as well, he angrily pushed himself off his rock to make his way towards her. "Regina, you can't just go traipsing off alone into a new world! You don't even know what's there!" He knew he had no reason to be yelling at her like this, but he felt terrible at the thought of never seeing her again and wanted to yell about it.
Regina's own temper flared at his tone and she spun to face him. "Excuse me but I can go traipsing off wherever I please! Just because you want to sit around in this world eating roadkill and sleeping on the ground doesn't mean the rest of us have to buy into it! What are you even still doing here?!"
"You are infuriating, do you know that?" he yelled. "I don't eat roadkill and I don't sleep on the ground! Even if I am, I'm just doing it because I've been running around with you for 2 days! And what I'm doing here issaving your ass!"
She stormed towards him, thrown off at hearing Robin's echo in his words. "I'm well aware that you're better off without me here, trust me!" she snapped, sounding equal parts pissed off and miserable. "Feel free to leave at any time!"
"You have no idea what my life was like before you got here so don't you dare assume that you know whether I'm better off! And I will stay with you for as long as I damn well please!" he replied.
"I didn't ask for your help, and I don't need it!" she fumed, leaning towards him menacingly as she spoke.
"A simple thank you will suffice!"
She reeled backwards. "Will you STOP repeating things that he said to her!?"
"Will you stop pushing me away? Because I'm not him, and I'm not going to leave you!"
She was taken aback and stunned into silence.
"I, for one, am quite enjoying getting to know you," he continued, taking a step towards her. "So would you stop assuming that I'm going to leave? If you truly want me to leave you alone I will respect your wishes, but I'd really like to stick around if it's ok with you."
She gaped up at him for a few more moments staring into the deep pools of blue that were staring back at her, then finally seemed to pull herself together. She looked away from his eyes to focus on a spot on his shirt, taking a deep breath and speaking quietly. "Of course you're welcome to stick around, Robin. But tomorrow I'm going to go steal a magic bean from the most powerful man in the land, and then I'm going to transport myself to a new world where I have no idea what's happening or whether it's safe, and honestly I have no intention of ever returning to this world. I can't imagine that you want to sign on for that."
Robin tilted her chin up with his hand, forcing her to look into his eyes. They were only inches apart at this point, and he could see tears just beginning to pool in her gorgeous brown eyes. His eyes flicked down to her lips which were slightly parted, and he heard her breath catch in her throat. He looked back up at her eyes and slowly leaned in, closing his eyes just before his lips met hers. His kiss was tentative, not wanting to push her at all, but he was happy when he felt her lips respond against his own. Her hands came up to lightly grasp at his sides as she leaned into his body. His hand, which was still lightly resting on her chin, slid back to the back of her neck while his other came up to her lower back, softly pressing her against himself. His lips danced from her top lip to her bottom lip and back again, and he felt he could do this for hours and never tire of it. He knew that deepening the kiss was a slippery slope given both of their fiery natures and the verbal fireworks that had exploded between the two of them, and he regretfully pulled back from her after a few moments. She opened her eyes to gaze back at him, and he tucked some strands of hair that had become mussed behind her ear before bringing his hand to rest with his other at her lower back.
"Sounds like a new adventure, and I'm always up for one of those," he replied.