A Thief and a Queen

An Education in Love (Part I)

Prompt: Both are teachers, however, Person A is a new teacher and the new heartthrob of both other teachers and students. Their rooms are right across the hall, but they get off on the wrong foot and don't like each other at first. But they develop feelings and eventually start dating in secret. However, when Person B gets hit on, Person A gets jealous and it ends up with a cute make up kiss!

It was no secret around Storybrooke Academy that Regina Mills and Robin Locksley barely tolerated each other. Their feud had begun before they even knew they were coworkers when it was said he wasn't watching where he was going, spilling his coffee all over her dress. School legend said that she had torn into him but he had bit back, making for a very heated scene in Granny's diner. It only ended when she had to go home and change, arriving at the first faculty meeting late and without coffee. It was then she learned he was replacing old Mrs. Hubbard, who decided to give up the cold Maine winters and move down to Florida with her yappy dog. Which meant that he was teaching fifth grade—the same as Regina.

The two continued to clash as their teaching styles conflicted. He was too free-wheeling and loose for her ("Children need boundaries!") and she was too uptight and by-the-book for him ("Children need space to find out who they are!"). She hated how he would sit on the desk ("What kind of example are you setting for the children?") and he would blast her for being too formal ("You need to connect with them."). He was too friendly with the students ("You're the adult!") while she was too distant ("You don't have to scare them. At least be approachable."). The list went on and on, kept by Emma Swan and Killian Jones, who both taught eighth grade at the Academy.

(They were also running a pool for faculty and staff to place bets on how long it would take before Robin Locksley and Regina Mills were tearing each other's clothes off and having hot, passionate hate sex).

Robin became one of the most popular teachers at the Academy, much to Regina's annoyance. Their fellow teachers loved him, thinking him charming and talented. ("He's just new. Wait until that wears off. Then you'll see the truth.") And the parents thought he was the best thing to happen to their children. ("It's the accent. Makes them think he's more intelligent and cultured than he is.") Robin's students adored him, crowding around him whenever they could and vying for his attention. ("He's far too friendly with them. They need boundaries.")

The worst part though was that her son, Henry, absolutely adored the man. Henry was in fifth grade this year and to avoid claims of favoritism, was assigned to Robin Locksley's class. After the first day, Henry came bounding into her classroom with nothing but praise for him. It hadn't stopped and by the end of September, Regina was even sicker of Robin's name.

She always wanted Henry to have a father figure since his own was taken before he was out of diapers. Regina and Daniel had been young parents but they had been navigating the world together. It wasn't fair that the drunk driver had walked away from the accident but Daniel hadn't. Not when she and Henry needed him.

As Henry grew up, she knew there was a void in his life that no one outside of Daniel could completely fill. But there had to be one man who could at least partially fill it. She had had a few boyfriends after Daniel but only Graham had come close to being worthy enough to being a part of Henry's life. But he thought she was too controlling and she wanted more of a commitment, so that flamed out after a few years. While there was Henry's third grade teacher, David Nolan, and the school counselor, Archie Hopper, she still worried he lacked a true father figure.

Now he seemed to have found one and it was Robin Locksley of all people. Someone up there was laughing at her.

And it was most likely her own late mother.