Work Text:
She had almost grown accustomed to smell of the woods
Over the years Regina had become used to nothing but the best, expensive perfumes, incense, Strawberry body wash and scented candles. But there was something oddly comforting about the natural, earthy smell of the woods. The smell of him...
He spends the whole day constructing battle plans. He starts off positive; full of ideas.
"We need to use what you've got and she doesn't, because that's what makes you special," He says, leaning up against a tree.
"Right," The waiting has calmed Regina almost completely, but there's something about him that stops her from relaxing, staying focused. She tried her hardest not to stare at his pale blue eyes that appear almost green in the light, at his scarf outlining his neck, his skin smooth and warm-looking. She coughs and realises he's staring at her.
"Well?" He says, "What do you have that Zelena doesn't?"
"Uh..." Her mind goes blank except for his soft brunette hair, and his mustache, a mustache !
She coughs, forcing herself to focus. "Friends ?" She can't help but sound unsure. Does she really have friends?
"Good! That's Good!" Robin stands up straight.
"Except she said there can be no interference..."
"Oh," Robin falls back onto the tree, "Quite right," He chews on his thumb and Regina crosses her legs, trying not to get distracted again, but come on! He's chewing his thumb!
"Anything else?" He mumbles hopefully.
"Just several miserable years with my no-hearted mother," Regina sighs. There's a pause, but Regina can see the question burning on his lips. His pink, soft lips...
"No-hearted?" he sounds almost scared to ask; she can't really blame him, she does have a reputation.
She ends up launching into an account of her miserable childhood including her mother killing her first love and pushing her past breaking point, not even withholding her banishing her mother to a different realm and capturing a pirate with a hope to come back with her mothers heart. She ends up telling him her whole life story, right up to her mothers death. She can still see the look in Cora's eyes... 'you would have been enough'... Regina sniffs and looks away. She finds him so easy to talk to, she realises that she had only meant to say that her mother never kept her heart in her chest. She finds she has been talking so long the sun is starting to set, and soon she'll have to go and fight.
"So you see," She mumbles, biting back a tear, "My mother couldn't love me, because she never kept her hearth with her." There's a pause, and Robin places a comforting hand on Regina's leg, and the contact sends shivers running through her like electricity and she's sure he must have heard her breath hitch in her throat.
"That's IT!" Robin shouts suddenly, so loud Regina jumps a mile as he jumps to his feet. "Your heart! You shouldn't take it with you," She smiles at him.
"That's an excellent idea," She says. No matter how many times she does it, it's still a strange feeling to plunge her hand into her chest. She doubles over, the feeling not entirely painful, but horribly uncomfortable. A small part of her brain notes that Robin watches the whole thing, a concerned look on his face that makes her heart beat a little faster and creates another feeling deep in her gut that isn't caused by her hand. She pulls out her heart, and for a moment she's worried that he'll be disgusted by her, by her black heart turned dark over years due to all the horrible things she had done. A blush creeps into her face, she's almost ashamed. But when she looks up into his eyes he doesn't seem sickened, or disgusted. Just concern. It's touching.
"Are you alright?" He asks softly. She nods, handing him her heart. He seems to pause, shocked. "Are you sure?" He asks.
"I want you to take care of it for me, w-while I'm gone," She stares at the heart, glancing up at him for a second before returning her gaze.
They find a place to hide it in the hollow of a tree, and Regina sits back down on the log to watch the sunset. Robin joins her, and despite the fact her heart is buried in a tree she finds that he still intoxicates her, still makes her feel jittery and warm. How? she wonders, but then he places a reassuring hand atop hers and all coherent thoughts disappear from her mind.
"You could just, not go," he says gently. Regina turns her hand so their palms are touching and she laces her fingers in his. She stares at their hands, and he stares at her, straight into her eyes. She shakes her head slowly, trying to remember how to talk, how to breathe.
"Zelena would kill everyone there until I showed up," She still can't look him in the eyes. He slowly strokes her hand with his thumb, and Regina is suddenly aware of how much space is between them- 15 centimetres at most- and suddenly she wants to make it less.
"You're very brave," is voice is low and warm, and sends a feeling shooting through her that she didn't even know she could feel. She stares at their hands, entwined together and bites her lip. she darts her eyes upwards, to his lips, and lowers them to her feet. When she speaks, her voice is barely audible.
"I might not see you again,"
The sun drops below a mountain and the pair are bathed in a soft red light which makes it seem like he's glowing. Slowly, he reaches out a hand and runs it down the side of her face. Her lips part and her breathing is almost embarrassingly heavy, but neither of them seem to notice. Using his finger, he slowly pushes her chin up until their eyes meet... and when they do... she can't breathe. She's utterly breathless.
"You will," He whispers, and pulls her chin in. And then they're kissing, so soft and light that Regina isn't sure it's really happening. The hand that was on her chin snakes around her neck and cradles her head, his fingers curling in her hair. She pulls up her free hand and grabs his waist, almost for support. He releases the hand that was holding hers and pulls an arm around her waist, pulling her in and closing the gap between them. He presses his body close to hers and a low moan escapes Regina's lips; he catches the noise in his mouth.
When the sun disappears entirely, Regina finally breaks away. They sit there for a moment, foreheads touching, and he slides his hand from the back of her neck to caress her face. When he drags his thumb along her lower lip she can't help but nip it playfully.
Eventually, she forces herself to stand up and break contact with him- although it gives her an ache where her heart should be.
He looks up at her and she's pleased to see he's breathless too. "I'll wait for you," his voice soft and as gentle as any caress. It's not a question; it's a promise
She watches his chest rise and fall and for a moment she considers it- considers staying here with him and forgetting about everything else, everyone else. But instead she replies with a soft smile, and she turns and leaves, using every inch of effort not to look back.
But she knows that whatever goes down tonight, she will return. To him. No matter what