hello everyone! this is it. as always, I'm so sorry for all the mistakes and also thank you for all the follows/reviews/favs, they mean a lot :) enjoy this chapter! xx

They stayed in silence during all the lunch. But it wasn't the cheerful silence he was getting used to, the kind of one he could turn to look at her and find her smiling; it was a heavy silence, which neither of them knew how to end. He dropped his fork on the plate in a thud, then looked at her and took a deep breath, decided to start a serious conversation:

"I've never looked at you that way, ever, and I never will. What I have for you is a huge sense of admiration, Regina. Everything you've been through, everything that son of a bitch has made to you… well, I'm not sure I would be able to get through it, If I were you. I hear everyday on the news of women who kill themselves because they're tired of the way their husbands treat them; or husbands who kill their wives because it's tuesday or because their favorite show is not on when they want to watch it. You're an incredibly strong person. A woman who, in a morning, has taught me more things than life has done in forty years. You, Regina Mills, needed a hero, so that's what you became. Your own hero. And everytime I look at those damn scars on your skin, I make sure that I remember that. That I remember who's standing right in front of me. And I shudder." he had his blue eyes buried deep in hers as he pronounced those words and Regina couldn't help but let a tear ran down her cheek. That man was simply amazing, he was all she had ever wanted from life. And yes, she was sorry for snapping at him as if he was a little boy, but she was also tired of having every single good moment of her life ruined by Victor's memories.
Even when that monster wasn't there, he was still able to ruin her life. She was simply tired.

"I'm sorry I snapped at you." she murmured, biting the inside of her cheek. There she was, the innocent little girl that Robin loved to see. He gave her the sweetest of smiles as he put a hand on hers:
"it's okay. You made a delicious pasta, I can forgive you."

He saw her smiling again after what seemed to have been a lifetime.

After they had lunch and washed the dishes together -Robin washed and Regina put them back in the cupboard- like a real couple, Robin invited her to sit next to him on the couch and turned on the tv. There was nothing particularly interesting on at that time of the afternoon and he knew that, but he decided to take a look anyway.

"oh, yes this! let's watch this, this show is fantastic, the main character is such a badass!" Regina exclaimed as she read Major Crimes among the infos of the program. She suddenly realized how terribly rude she had been to interrupt his activity and she immediately blushed: "I mean… If you don't intend to watch something else…"

He shook his head with the most beautiful smile she had ever seen and handed her the remote control.

Regina wasn't used to that. Usually, the tv was one of Victor's exclusivities, since he stayed in front of it twelve hours a day. She hadn't watched her favorite programs in three years and, when she tried to sit next to him and kindly asked him to watch something they both liked, he literally kicked her off the couch, forcing her to stand up.

She shook her head to what was now just a bad memory and settled next to Robin, who, in the meantime, had taken a huge fleece blanket.

He laid down on the couch -as Victor used to do- but, unlike him, he opened his arms and invited her to lay next to him. Regina considered the whole situation: the couch wasn't that big, they would have ended up on each other in less than a few seconds, she would have ended up falling asleep with the head on his chest and everything would have been so… relaxing? pleasing? Awkwardly amazing.

Fuck that, she didn't care anymore. After all, they had been in that position until dawn that morning.
"are you comfortable? do you need another blanket?"

"No, I'm fine, thanks." and it was true, she was better than ever in his arms. They watched tv for a couple of minutes, until their eyes started to become heavy. Neither of them had slept that night, they deserved a bit of rest. It was just… Regina realized just then that they were about to sleep together for the very first time. Okay, maybe it wasn't like she had imagined it, but it was still a start.

"thank you Robin." she whispered closing her eyes, snuggling against his chest. "for everything."

"ssh, don't ever say that again." and he kissed her temple, but she was already fast asleep to notice.

They were awakened a few hours later from the ring of Regina's phone. He was the first to get up and turn off the tv. He smiled at the sight he had right in front of his eyes: a beautiful, very beautiful woman peacefully sleeping in his arms. Right then, he wished that moment could last forever, for the eternity. He wanted to spend the eternity with Regina Mills.

"hey, sleeping beauty" he whispered, shaking her a little, sweetly. He wanted her to have a peaceful and serene awakening, for the first time in so long.

"mh" she moaned, stretching her legs. Robin smiled for the millionth time: she truly was the most beautiful and sweetest thing he had ever had the honor to see. "what's wrong? is it morning yet?"

"no, milady, it's not. And I'd also like to remind you that I'm your chief and I'll be forced to fire you if you'll take another day off, Miss Mills." he giggled softly; a sound that Regina heard directly in her ear, feeling a shiver run down her whole body.

"mmh, and I'd like to remind you, chief, that you took the day off too today." almost unconsciously, she hugged him tighter, completely ignoring the telephone that was still ringing.

"hey! it wasn't my fault and… I can! I'm the boss!" they laughed again, together, then Regina finally opened her wonderful brown eyes. They found themselves enchanted in a long, intense look that seemed to last forever. They were so close, their lips almost touching but they didn't notice, they were so concentrated in each other… they were about to…

"the phone." he whispered, shaking his head. Regina couldn't help but feel a little disappointed: maybe he didn't want to kiss her? It had to be the reason why he kept on finding every excuse when they were that close. Maybe he found her horrible.

No one could ever find you attractive. Victor's voice resounded in her head like a sick melody and she barely managed to hold back a tear.

"yeah… right." she immediately got up, interrupting whichever contact with him as quickly as she could. Robin wanted to say something, or maybe just damn himself for what he had just done, for being such an idiot; he opened his mouth but nothing came out.

He patiently waited for Regina to finish her conversation, observing the way she nervously bit her lower lip as she held the phone tight in her hands, making her knuckles as white as pearls:
"thank you so much." she concluded and hung up.

She brought her eyes back to Robin and gave him a half smile:
"they… they took Victor away. He's in prison. It's over." her smile grew wider as she saw Robin reacting immediately; he jumped off the couch and wrapped his arms tightly around her in a tender but still passionate embrace.

"it's over, I did it!"

"yes, you're the strongest person I know, Regina." a tear ran down both of their faces but Robin managed to wipe it away before she could notice it.

"I never thought I'd be able to…"

"but still, you did it. You know why? because you're a warrior." it was time for him to wipe away her tears, and so he did; his thumb caressed every inch of her cheeks, from her eyes to her jaw, then he placed a kiss on her temple. It was their gesture, the thing able to make them feel closer and satisfied, almost like a kiss.

"thank you Robin, thank you again."

"ssh, come here." he pulled her in another embrace, but this time she allowed herself to cry on his chest, silently, without even realizing.

"they told me that I can come back home whenever I please, so, if it's not a problem for you…"
"we'll leave whenever you desire. Just say a word and I'll jump on my car." he smiled, but he truly meant every word. They stayed like that for a while, then Robin started to rock her sweetly, as if they were dancing with no music playing. A sweet melody.

"I'm proud of you." and that surprised Regina Mills like a few other things in her life managed to do. Never, not even her parents, had ever told her something like that.

But that man she had known for so little, who she already knew she couldn't leave without; he had just done it. He had said that as if it was necessary for her to know. And he truly meant that, she could tell that by the tone of his voice.

She asked him if it was a problem for him to go immediately but he shook his head gently. They got in his car, both with a huge smile printed on their faces as he turned on the radio.

For the firs time in forever, she wanted to listen to happy music again:
"yesss! this one, this one!" she exclaimed happily, throwing her hands in the air: "my ex man brought his new girlfriend she's like oh my god! I'm just gonna shake; and to the fella over there with the hella good hair" she looked at Robin, making sure he was lookig at her too "won't you come on over baby?" she was acting playfully at first but suddenly her tone and her look turned sexy; as sexy as she had never felt before "we can shake, shake, shake." and she concluded with a wink as the chorus exploded one more time.
Robin felt a sudden need of taking a long, deep breath of fresh air as he realized he was blushing uncontrollably. My God, that woman; even when she was playing, she managed to tease him, as if it all came naturally to her, to be that desirable. As if she was born to do that.

My God.

He pushed his foot on the accelerator, hoping that, that way, they would take less to arrive. He just needed to stop wanting her for a couple of seconds; stop desiring her body, the scent of her hair invading his nostrils, the smoothness of her skin under his fingertips and her mouth… God, her mouth.

Christ, mate, get a grip!

He parked in front of her house and gave her a smile as he watched her getting off his car, after she had thanked him for the millionth time. She walked to the door with her bag in her hand and her eyes stuck on the ground, until he saw her pulling the keys out of her purse.

Robin bit his tongue, looking straight in front of him, on the road.

He had to let her go, at least for then. She had to come back to her world, she had to start over and, with him by her side, she wouldn't be able to walk alone. He needed to stay away from her for a couple of days, then… then he had no idea.
She needed space, she needed time. Of course she couldn't jump in another relationship after an abusive one; but he was going to wait, he was more than sure about that. He was going to wait for that woman all the time she needed.

He brought his eyes back on her, this time with a sincere and more serene smile. A smile that dropped immediately as he saw her falling on her knees, in front of the open door, in tears.

"what the hell…" he jumped off his car and ran to her as quickly as he could: "Regina!"

"I can't. I can't do that, Robin…" he joined her on his knees, wrapping his arms around her body one more time, holding her tight against his chest.
"he's still here, he's everywhere, he's inside my head… I can't do that!"

"ssh, ssh, it's okay now, I'm here."

"I don't want to stay here, I don't want to live in this house anymore, please. Wherever I look… he's there." she was so fragile, he was even scared to touch her. But still, he want to cuddle her, caress her face until every single tear turned into a beautiful smile. He needed her to smile again, to laugh, to sing as she was doing before in his car.

"I have an idea, wanna hear it?" he smiled and she nodded "but before, you have to wipe away those tears, okay? as your chief, I'm ordering you to get rid of them." he tried to make her laugh and, fortunately, he manage to make her smile, at least.

Regina couldn't help but thank God one more time for that amazing angel she had by her side. Without him she would have been completely lost.

She quickly dried her tears but he, obviously, didn't let her do it all by herself: with the sleeve of his shirt he completed the job, then he smiled:
"why don't you take some of your things and you stay at my house for a bit?"

Regina's heart started to beat crazily in her chest, as if she had suddenly started to run:
"Robin, I…"

"in the meantime you could sell this house and, when you'll have the money, you'll buy a new one and then you'll leave. No hurry, really. It's not a problem." he wanted to hide that, but his heart was racing too, hoping with every inch of its being that she could simply say yes.

"I don't want to give you any kind of problem with your job, too…"
"you won't. we won't tell anyone and, if they see us together, we'll just tell them the truth. Regina, we have nothing to hide; what we do is perfectly legal and we're not hurting anyone."

Again, she rested her head on his abs, inhaling his scent. Yeah, maybe it was the right thing to do, maybe it was really the perfect way to start over again: sell the house that had always been a prison for her, tortures included.
She would have lived with Robin for a bit. As friends, obviously. And when she'd have found a buyer for her house, she would have left. Simple as that, it could work. It was totally innocent.

They were going to be just friends.

"okay."

and yes, I'm going to make you ache for a kiss!
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