A/N : Yeah, I know, one more OS in two days XD But this is another birthday present, another prompt requested by a dear friend, and I do hope, Yamariah, that you will enjoy reading this as much I enjoyed writing it.

24h later, I wish you again a happy birthday!

Thank you Melis for the help again! You rock!

And I truly hope that you guys, will love this. I warn you, it's full of feels, full of angst, full of drama, but also full of love and romance. Please, do not hesitate to share your thoughts about this!

You might recognize a very tiny extract making you think of the movie Pride and Prejudice. In case you're asking yourself the question, yes, it was made on purpose :-D

Disclaimer : I own nothing but the fic's idea, the characters aren't mine.

"Regina?"

She slightly turns her head, trying to open her eyes, sighing weakly in answer to his call. He brings a hand to her forehead, winces at how warm it is, especially to his cold hand. Regina's skin has always felt particularly warm to him, especially since his body is as cold as ice, but now, he has to force himself not to pull away, because she is a living fire burning the inside of his palm.

"I'm here, my love. I'm sorry, I didn't know! I came as soon as I heard."

She smiles, leans into him, into the soothing and fresh feeling he brings her, attempting to open her eyes again, and this time she succeeds, stares at his beautiful features, his shining blue eyes tainted with evident concern. She weakly brings a hand to his face, digging into her own strength, the little she has left, trying to sound confident, but she knows he knows her enough to read between the lines.

"That's fine, I knew you would. I-"

She breaks into a cough fit, a hard one, one that makes her whole body painfully shake, her hand coming to cover her mouth as she curls up on her side in an attempt to lessen the pain. She feels his hand on her back, another one on her cheek, a strength pulling her forward and she meets the softness of his chest a moment later, lets him surround her with his care and tenderness, the love he carries for her, the infinite loyalty he shows towards her despite the different worlds they belong to.

"Damn, Regina! How did this happen? You should have told me, my love. The healer said you've been carrying this disease for a while. I could have helped! I would have found a way to heal you."

She takes a moment after her cough has stopped, savors the comfort of his embrace, swallows a couple of time to ease the tingling in her throat.

"Because I've seen it before, and I know there's nothing you can do to stop it." She murmurs, trying to reason with him but she knows it's pointless. He's blinded by his love for her, and she was trying to protect him, but he's too stubborn to let her.

He's an immortal.

She's a human.

Being together is against the laws of nature. How could they expect this to work, when he already lost his entire family to death? When his wife and child died of illness, just like she herself is now. When he stood powerless in front of their graves, knowing that he arrived too late, that they never saw his face one last time before closing their eyes forever.

She hid the truth from him because she couldn't bear the thought of him going through the same hell again. Because she couldn't stand the sight of his beautiful eyes obscured with the knowledge that he was going to lose her too. She loves him too much for that.

"I'm going to find a cure." He assures firmly, thumb caressing her cheek. "I am not losing you, Regina. I promise you, I will find a way."

Robin closes his eyes, overwhelmed with his own feelings, the tragedy of their lives. Their story is beautiful, a dream come true, a life of expectations finally fulfilling, the feeling of being complete sating them both.

He remembers the first time he saw her.

A slim figure walking in a market, smiling, making small talk from time to time, apparently knowing everyone. He was hidden from day light inside his carriage, but the moment his eyes caught the sight of her, there was nothing else.

Nothing but her thin, slightly bronzed skin, dark eyes showing a good and bright soul, long curly black hair falling in waves over her shoulders, her smile so wide it was illuminating her face.

Over the next days, he stopped at this exact spot all day long, waiting until he could see her again, until the simple sight of her could fill his cold heart with the purest of warmth, the most soothing of feelings.

And she did.

Every day, at the same hour, she was there, at the market, just as beautiful and radiant as the first time he saw her, just as mesmerizing, and after weeks of observing her, Robin took a step forward.

He had asked his servant to learn her name, her social status, anything he could find about her life. He learned that she was named Regina, that she was living with her father in a place smaller than his bedroom, and was working day and night to provide enough money to feed the two of them, her father being too old to keep working.

So one day, months after the first time he saw her, as night had fallen and he was finally allowed to step outside his carriage, he knocked on her door.

He, a powerful Lord, Robin of Locksley, feared by his enemies, having no such thing as friends, only acquaintances required for business, knocked on the door of a no one, a young woman named Regina Mills, living in a small village by the border of his land, in a house the size of a small shop.

Having your heart as cold as ice allows you to keep emotions at bay, and since his wife and son died, since he signed the pact allowing him to become an immortal and rid his heart and soul of this eternal grief, never did he ever feel the pounding of the beating organ against his ribcage. But that day, as his acute hearing caught the soft sound of her boots against the floor, the brush of her skin against the doorknob, the way she held her breath as she opened the door, he swore that he felt it again. Something he had forgotten how it felt like. A heartbeat.

"Yes?" Regina questioned, not opening the door fully, a soft smile on her lips despite the late hour and strange presence facing her.

"Regina Mills?" Robin asked, although knowing very well that she was her, the woman invading his thoughts since the first time he laid eyes on her.

"That's me. May I help you, sir?"

With all the audacity he possessed, with all the kindness he could find and had forgotten how to use, he replied "I think I am the one who can help you, Milady."

It was settled.

He offered her a position in his castle, a place as a servant, yes, but promising her in return to take care of her and her father, to make sure they would be given everything they needed, and that she could also spend time by his side, enjoying the last years of the old man's life with him, and not away at work killing herself to bring just enough food to feed him, and not herself, and hiding the truth from him.

He stayed true to his word.

Robin allowed Regina to spend as much time with her father as she wanted, as long as the tasks he was asking her to do were fulfilled. She never missed one. She always, from the beginning to the end, made sure that his requests were satisfied.

From keeping him company on a particularly lonely evening, to sewing the flaws in his curtains, forbidding day light to enter his private library. From cleaning his favorite room from floor to ceiling, to accepting a walk with him at night, in the large gardens surrounding the castle.

She asked him once, why he was requesting from her a presence more than what an actual servant was supposed to do, especially considering that he had other people there to serve him.

"When I first knocked on your door, I lied to you…" he watched her brow knit in confusion. "I'd been watching you for a while, Regina." Before she moved away, frightened by his revelation, he paused their walk, holding up his hands, speaking calmly, trying to be reassuring. "I saw you, at the market, several times. I remember your smile, more than anything. An elusive but satisfying smile I thought about every time I closed my eyes."

He took her hand hesitantly, careful not to scare her, surprised when he found her looking at him with a serenity many people don't possess, with kindness in her eyes and an endless trust. "I am a lonely man, Regina. I own a castle, and a large land. I have servants bending to my will, more money than I can count. I am not the kindest man, and I've made a lot of enemies over the years. But I am alone. I have no friend, no family. I was honest when I told you I would take care of your father, and you. I meant every word. Because I've seen many lands, met many people. But the sincerity I can read right now in your eyes, the care you're showing to others, that, I haven't found in a very long time. I was selfish when I asked you to come here. I did it so you could be safe, so you could live a good life. But by being here, you took away some of that loneliness that I was burdened with. You restored life into this old castle. I am not asking you more than what you're doing, Regina, because just your presence here, is already everything. It's more than I thought I would ever be granted with. You are very dear to me, Milady. I swear to you, I will never do anything to hurt you, but I will also do everything within my power to make sure that you are safe, and live the life that you deserve."

Regina listened, silent, calm, her fingers closed over his, attentive. When he was done, she looked down to their linked hands, fingers brushing the back of it, bringing them to her lips and pressing a kiss there, looking him in the eyes when she simply said "Your hands are cold."

From that day, their relationship changed. She was seeking him, even when he wasn't calling for her. She was taking his hand, squeezing softly, bringing him comfort with a simple touch. She opened herself up to him, as he did to her.

Until one day, she found him in front of two graves, a large bouquet in hand, fingers brushing the top of the stones.

She was about to leave, probably realized it wasn't her place to be there, but he had heard her before she even entered the small private vault underneath his castle.

"I don't mind you staying." He said, his back on her, his stance the same as usual.

She climbed down the last stairs, still hesitant. "Are you sure?"

He turned to face her then, holding up his hand for her, inviting. "Yes. Let me introduce you."

She walked her way to him, taking his hand, stopping by his side and feeling his icy palm settle at the base of her spine. She didn't know back then why his skin always felt so cold, but she never minded.

She faced two gray stones carved with names, and a drawing beneath each one. A girl, and a boy. An adult, and a child. A mother, and her son. Turning to Robin, the pain buried deep down but still present in his eyes, she understood. His wife, and his son.

"This is Marian, and Roland." He told her with a voice carrying an evident guilt, but the pain seemed less sharp that it must have once been. "We were a family. A happy one. At a time when this castle was filled with a child's laugh, and expressions of love. I gave them all I had, and they were my whole life. Until I lost them."

She looked at him, sympathetic. "What happened?"

"I was traveling, far more than I am now. I was across the land, when the news reached me that they had fallen sick. Dysentery, they said. By the time I came back, it was too late. Half the castle had died, and they had been the first ones to be taken."

She took his hand, holding it between her own, kind, soothing, empathizing his pain.

"I never got to say goodbye." He confessed. "I never got to be here when they needed me the most."

And Regina understood. She realized why he was making sure that she was never too far away from her father, that every time the old man's strength were faltering, he was sending for her, asking her to come back immediately. At this moment, she had never felt more grateful for anything in life, than the presence of this man by her sides.

"I'm sorry, Robin." She said truthfully. And then, because she knew they were both thinking of the role he now played in her life, she added "Thank you."

Regina looks at him with the same expression she was wearing that day, forcing through her raspy voice. "I didn't want you to suffer another loss. I didn't want you to know I was dying."

"When did you realize?" He asks, bringing her hand to his lips.

"A little before you told me you loved me." She admits sheepishly.

Robin closes his eyes, his forehead resting against her hand "Oh, Regina…" He looks up, the back of his fingers caressing her cheek. "My love, you should have told me."

"But I-"

Her chest shudders and quakes as a cough fit takes her, her whole body trembling, a painful cry escaping her lips, a tear slipping free. Robin is quick to wrap his arms around her, to hold her, rubbing her back, pressing kisses to her temple, her forehead, not letting go of her until she's still in his arms, head resting against his chest, breath even.

How could their beautiful story turn into this nightmare?

"Robin?" Regina knocked on his door, waiting. Where has he been? "Robin, are you here?"

She frowned, pulled on the knob, finding the door open. The room was entirely plunged into darkness.

Stepping inside, she walked to the window, grabbing a curtain, pulling on it to let the outside light enter and allow her to see her surroundings.

A sudden scream pierced through the entire room, a painful growl followed by a loud thud, and Regina startled, turning around quickly enough to catch the sight of a figure rolling from the bed to fall on the other side, hidden from daylight.

"No light!" She heard, recognizing Robin's voice, hurrying in closing the curtain, rushing to his side.

"Are you alright?" She questioned with concern and guilt, hands hovering above his over his face.

"Leave!" He ordered between gritted teeth, his voice a harsh groan.

"Let me take a look!" She insisted, but he pushed at her hand.

"Leave!"

But she saw him. The moment he removed his hand, she saw it.

His skin.

His teeth.

The wrinkle expression of his face, torn by a malediction rendering him allergic to light, to love, to life. The long and sharp teeth allowing him to feed, his thirst never quenched, his struggle a daily one.

The way she froze in front of him didn't go unnoticed, as well as the fact that her fingers were covering his, closing over them and slowly, kindly, forcing them away, revealing his face.

"Don't-" he warned, but the surprise of her gesture had taken away his resolve.

"Let me see, Robin." And then, to reassure him, she added with a kind smile "Let me see you."

He relented, raising his eyes to look at her, baring his face to her innocent eyes, her tender fingers brushing over the strange relief of his features, the kindness of her gaze and attitude washing over him.

"Why didn't you tell me?" She questioned, helping him rise and then sit on the bed, taking place next to him, noticing the way he repeatedly glanced at her neck, swallowing hard and forcing himself to meet her eyes.

"I didn't want to scare you."

Regina chuckled, a honest, genuine chuckle sending a pang of love through his entire body, even though it was said to be impossible.

"I am not scared."

"You should. In days like this, I could-"

"I know you won't hurt me." She cut him.

"How can you be so sure? I am not even certain how long I will be succeeding in resisting the need to feed from you."

"Because no one has done more for me, than you have. You may be a creature of the night, but you're a good man, Robin of Locksley. And I am not afraid of you."

xxx

He has taken place on the bed next to her, lying on his back. She's curled up against him, breathing soundly, exhausted, still feverish and shivering, coughing regularly.

"Do you think there's something after life?" She asks, her eyelids closed, body relaxed in his embrace.

"I don't know, my love. Death isn't something I'm supposed to know. But I hope there is."

"I'm going to see my father again." She breathes, trying to sound relieved, but he knows she's as scared by all of this as he is.

"He must be hating me so much."

She lifts her head to look at him, frowning. "Why's that?"

Robin pushes a strand of hair away from her face tenderly.

"Because I failed. I promised him I would take care of you, and I failed."

Robin crossed the yard at fast speed, heading straight to their room. He just came back from a long trip, and he had barely set a foot outside his carriage that his butler had warned him.

It was Henry's last moments. Regina's father.

So he ran as fast as he could, only slowed down when he entered the corridor leading to their private apartment, finding himself hesitating before opening the door, peaking his head inside.

And there they were.

Henry, as pale as snow, lying on his bed, breath slow, eyes already grey. And Regina, sitting right by his side, bringing a wet cloth to his forehead, her body straight. It's only when he stepped closer that he heard it. The small, almost imperceptible sound of her tears rolling down her cheeks.

Without a word, he came to stand behind her, and although he had made no sound, she spoke in a strangled voice.

"It's the end."

He said nothing, but brought a hand to her shoulder, and she covered it with her own.

"Robin?"

The weak voice startled them both, making them look up at the man struggling to speak, trying to keep his eyes open while he was talking.

Regina bent forward, urging him to save his strength, but he shook his head to shush her "Take care of her…"

"Daddy-" Regina argued, but her father cut her again.

"Protect her. She's the most precious thing I have."

Robin squeezed Regina's shoulder, making her look at him with confusion, kneeling next to the old man, taking his hand in his.

"I give you my word, Henry. I will do everything in my power to make sure she lives a long and happy life."

It's only then, with his fears appeased, a weak Thank you breathed between two painful exhales, that Henry's head fell to the side slowly, his eyelids closing, features relaxed.

And that Regina broke apart. She let go of her usual reserve, burst into tears, almost bending in half over her father's dead body, but a presence anchored her to this world. Strong, powerful arms winding around her and supporting her as she was grieving the loss of her family, of everything, everyone, she had lost. The only thing helping her through it, was Robin's presence by her side, and the assurance that he would keep his promise, until the end.

xxx

She has fallen asleep.

Finally, after hours of struggle, of horrible cough fits making her feel like her ribcage was about to break, Regina fell asleep.

Robin is propped on his elbow next to her, fingers tracing a lazy path up and down her arm, sometimes tangling in her silky hair now covered with sweat, due to her feverish state.

He hates this.

He hates this situation. The fact that she felt like she had to keep everything to herself, including her fears, to protect him from burying yet another love. The fact that she's the one dying when she deserves the world. The fact that their story has just begun, and it's already coming to an end.

Not now.

Not like this.

Robin asked every man and woman working for him, every person acquainted with the malediction that stroke him, to find a way to save her. He ordered, actually. Because he made the solemn promise, that if Regina was dying, he would end the life of every person he could find, until the pain of his heartbreak would stop. And they knew he would do it.

In the meantime, Robin doesn't leave her side. He stays with her every second of every day, not missing one more moment, fearing every time that it would be the last.

He bends forward, presses a kiss to her forehead, lingering a little.

How did it come to this? It had been so perfect, even since the beginning. Especially since their first kiss…

He admired the way she turned around, looking at herself in the mirror, not bothered in the slightest by the fact that his reflection wasn't there, and that's just something else he loves about her. She accepts him without hesitation, with no fear, no conditions.

"This dress is absolutely beautiful, Robin." She exclaimed, in awe. "You shouldn't have bought it for me."

"Since you don't have to stay here now that your father is gone, it's only fair that you have new clothes allowing you to go back to the other world. I can give you titles, properties, money. Everything you need to create the life you truly want."

She turned to him, smiling, ducking her head to the side as she challenged.

"And how do you know what I truly want, Robin?"

Robin swallowed. He knew what he wanted her to be, but he was unable to picture her feeling the same. It'd be selfish anyway, locking her here with a man not dead, but not really alive either, unable to give her the life she deserved.

"I guess that you want to be free, Milady."

Regina walked closer, her smile growing, sparkles glistening in her eyes.

"Free?" She questioned.

"Yes."

She took his chin between her thumb and forefinger, sliding her hand to caress his cheek, cupping the base of his neck.

"What if I have a different definition of freedom than the one you have?"

Watching her move closer, he put a hand to her forearm, stopping her.

"Regina-"

"Don't." She said softly. "I know you want this."

"But you are-"

"About to kiss you. And you are not going to stop me."

And before he could really comprehend what she was saying, her lips were pressed to his, flush against his chest, hand wrapped around his neck, holding him to her but there was no need, he gave willingly into it, answering the kiss with a fervor he wasn't sure he still had.

It was only when she pulled back, a few seconds later, lips swollen and breath short, that she voiced it clearly. "I want to stay here, Robin. I want to stay here with you." And then, just to make sure he understood "I choose you. I choose you over the rest of the world."

Robin shakes his head.

This is too much.

This is unfair.

He would give his life for this woman, would trade everything he has if it means she could live, even without him.

For the first time in years, he feels something raise in him, something he hasn't done in a long time. Something he thought was impossible. But yet, Regina made the impossible become possible.

So Robin cried.

Surprising himself, he feels tears beginning to raise and gather in his eyes, and Robin allows them out. Nothing matters anymore, there are no rules left. Regina resuscitated his dying heart, she warmed his icy skin, made him feel breathless, happy, amazing. She made him laugh until his ribs hurt, made him discover the beauty of a walk in the moonlight, when the moon was a curse to him.

They spent so many wonderful moments together, and he refuses to accept the fact that soon, it will all be over.

"Does it bother you?" He asked, watching her settle flat on her belly next to him, propped on her elbows, slightly turned to look at him, her beautiful bare back and shoulder revealed to him as the sheet slid along her soft skin.

"What?"

"What I am. To so many, I am a monster."

"They're idiots."

"And you're too good." He said kindly, brushing a strand of hair away, tucking it behind her ear.

"I don't see a monster when I look at you, Robin. I only see the man I love."

He froze, startled, not expecting this last sentence, especially not voiced as an evidence. He found himself suddenly at a loss for words, and she must have noticed, because she chuckled.

"Don't be so surprised! I thought it was obvious."

"What was?"

"That I am in love with you."

He stayed silent, staring at her without moving, without even trying to speak, because he knew he would have failed. He was in love with her since the beginning, there was no questioning that, but saying the words wasn't a step he was ready to cross.

"You don't have to say anything." She reassured, pressing her naked body to his, always smiling "I just want you to understand why I don't mind this…" She tapped his chest playfully with the tip of her finger "your cold skin…" glanced at the candles surrounding them and lightening up the room which curtains are closed "the darkness you constantly live in…" she lifts her hand to his face, caressing his hairline "the man hiding behind the mask."

Her eyes met his again, and she concluded, with all the sincerity she possessed, and Robin knew that she meant every word.

"I love you, Robin of Locksley. All of you. Even your darkest sides."

xxx

Regina wakes up to an empty bedroom. She looks around, and Robin is nowhere to be seen.

Good, she thinks. He needs a break from all of this. He shouldn't be looking after her as she's living her last moments. She shouldn't make him endure one more ordeal, one more heartbreak.

She remembers the moment she realized what was happening, that the illness slowly growing in her wasn't just a banal cold, but a dangerous disease, from which she might not pull through. One that she had watched her mother and sister die from. One that had been in her blood for years, only coming to the surface now.

She remembers waiting for weeks and keeping it from Robin, recognizing the symptoms with each new one appearing, trying to hide her concern between soft smiles and tender touches, warm embraces and passionate kisses.

She remembers his declaration, the proclamation of his love for her, the way she felt, actually felt, his heart beating beneath her palm resting on his chest, even though he told her it hasn't been for decades before he met her.

That's why she decided to keep it a secret.

"I love you, Regina." He confessed. "I love you with everything I have. You make me feel alive, something I thought to be impossible when I lost my wife and son, when I was hit by this curse. And yet it happened." He took her face between his hands "You happened. And I am the happiest man in the world."

From that moment, when she saw his heart open in front of her, she knew she preferred to make him believe she was well, than having him waiting for death to take her, praying every day that it wasn't the last one.

She knew there was no cure for her illness. She knew all his money wouldn't save her.

So she lied.

For months, when he was worrying about a lingering cough, an unexpected shiver or particularly warm forehead, she assured him that she was fine, it was nothing.

She went to the village, bought some medication she knew had helped her sister with the symptoms, and treated herself, knowing very well it was only a smoke screen, that inside her, her body was starting to die.

She takes a deep breath, a shaky one, but realizes her mistake immediately.

The cough breaking her chest is more violent than the others she experienced, and this time she doesn't manage to calm it down. She fights to make it stop, but ends up choking on her own mucus, feeling it fill her lungs and throat and mouth, suffocating her. She feels panic rise in her, blindly grasping at the sheets, the pillows, everything around her, knocking her bedside table over, the glass of her cup crashing on the floor, the bowl of soup shattering in million pieces, her fist hammering against the wall, knowing that he will hear her.

She's ready to die, but she's too scared to die alone.

xxx

Robin closes his eyes in relief. They found it!

A cure! A solution to their problem! A way for him and Regina to be together forever, until the end of times.

Just like he wanted to, since the first day he laid eyes on her.

Just like he had planned to ask her to, even though back then he was well aware that she would have stayed mortal and he was bound to see her age, and someday, die.

If he had known, he would have never left the castle…

"This one is perfect!" He said, turning the diamond once more between his fingers, examining it closely.

That was it! The day! After two weeks of travels, he was finally going to return home to his beautiful Regina, and, against all odds, ask her to marry him. She was going to say yes, of that he was certain.

Robin paid for the merchant, waved the man outside his carriage where he climbed in to show Robin his treasures –a trick he found to intimidate people and not make them question the fact that he was never stepping outside his carriage in the middle of the day-, a smile to his lips, the contentment of a man in love settling upon him.

His Regina.

She was so perfect it felt too good to be true. After years of living together, months of closeness, weeks of declarations, he now was sure. She was meant to be his, just as he was meant to be hers.

He entered his castle with a lightness of mind he hadn't felt in a very long time, not noticing the lack of servants welcoming him, and he crossed the corridors without stopping once, heading for where he knew she was waiting for him.

The library.

Her favorite place.

He knocked on the door, didn't wait for her to invite him inside, looked up from the floor and-

He faced an empty room, and he frowned, a strange feeling resembling uneasiness settling within him.

One that was confirmed when he heard the voice of the healer behind him.

And his world collapsed when the man told him the truth.

Even today, despite the time he spent by Regina's side, despite her several attempts to explain him her reasons, he still thinks she was wrong. And he's sure, that she knows she was too.

"So all I have to do is to make her drink some of my blood, and then bite her so I drink hers, and that will be it?" He asks again, wanting to make sure he hasn't mistaken.

"Yes, master. As long as she's alive when it's done"

"And it's safe for her?"

"If you stop on time. If you drink all her blood, she won't survive."

"Alright, then I-"

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Robin freezes, halts his sentence, focusing.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

He turns on his heels and leaves the room so fast he almost stumbles, catches himself at the doorjamb, running as fast as he can, crossing the castle and storming into the room as Regina is starting to lose consciousness, mouth opened in a vain attempt to breathe, hand wrapped around her throat, but Robin can hear that she's failing, and he rushes to her side, gathering her into his arms.

"Regina!"

Her eyes are wide with fear, her lips losing their color, her fingers gripping him the second he makes contact, head resting in the crook of his neck as she vainly tries to get some air, but she seems calmer since he arrived.

"My love, look at me!"

He forces her chin up, her mouth closing easily, her eyes falling close, body sagging against him as her grip on him lessens, and suddenly, Robin is seized by fear.

"No! No, Regina, look at me!" He pushes her hair away from her forehead, adjusting her in his arms "Don't leave me! Please, my love!"

He doesn't think.

His face turned into the monster he hates so much, and he doesn't hesitate one second, digs a tooth into his wrist, tears falling down his cheeks as he presses the cut to Regina's lips, watching his blood dripping into her mouth, but she doesn't react, doesn't drink it.

"Come on, my love! Come on! Drink this, please! It will save you!"

He trembles, unable to keep his mind clear, letting a few more drops falling into her throat before removing his wrist, hoping that it's enough, getting a good hold on her, holding his breath before bringing his canines close to the skin of her neck, his eyelids falling shut as he tastes for the first time in decades, the fresh flesh and blood of a human.

Thirst takes him, overwhelming him, hunger, and power, and a frenetic instinct screaming at him to keep going, to empty her of her blood, to quench his thirst and throw the body afterwards, but his mind is quick to remind him whose blood he's drinking.

He pulls back all of a sudden, a bit stunned, feeling dizzy, a strength he had forgotten about coming back at him, and he lets go of her as carefully as he can, taking a few steps back, catching himself to a nearest wall. It takes him all his willpower, all his conviction, all the love he has for her and is pounding in his ribcage, to force him back to the surface, to help him coming back from the murderous instinct, the primal need to feed, to avenge, to kill. To make sure that everyone pays the price for the death of the woman he loves to the point that life doesn't matter to him anymore.

But he stops.

Despite his promise to kill everyone around, he stops.

He stops, because he remembers her, and her voice, her kindness, how she cared for others more than she did for herself. How she believed in him more than he ever will. How she begged him to accept her death, and to love again. Something he knows to be beyond his power, but at least sparing the lives of innocent, is something he can do.

xxx

He spends several hours staring at her in silence.

Now that her body is cleaned and carefully dressed, now that her hair is brushed and her makeup done, she looks like she's asleep.

She's lying inside an opened coffin made of glass, in his crypt, where he can lock himself with her for hours, for days, for weeks if needed, crying for an unbearable loss, grieving the death of the most amazing human being he ever met.

She seems so peaceful like this, so calm. She is as stunning as ever, even in her death. At her finger, Robin has slipped the ring he had planned to offer her as an engagement ring before their love story turned into dust, and he can't help staring at it.

He's been here for hours, refuses to let her go, refuses to look away.

Until there's a knock at the door, a voice calling his name, and he turns his head slightly to scream at whoever is disturbing him to 'Get the hell away from here!'.

So he doesn't see it.

He doesn't see it, but he hears it.

A soft, almost imperceptible brush of fingertips against a rigid surface. When Robin looks back at Regina, he stills, not wanting to admit it, not wanting to believe it to be real when it could only be an illusion.

But it's not.

Her fingers move, and he looks up at her face.

It's small, but it's noticeable.

And before he has time to realize, Regina opens her eyes.