A Thief and a Queen

A Late Dinner and a Conversation

A/N: Written for Day 5 of Inspired by OQ based on a first curse manip of Regina and Robin in Regina's kitchen made by willow1411. Set in my Beyond the Call of Duty, giving a glimpse of them as Regina allows herself to be with Robin despite worrying about the stability of her curse and relationship with her son.

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Regina pulled up to her house and turned off her car. She sat there for a few moments, closing her eyes. Fatigue settled into her bones and made her feel heavier than she was. The thought of walking to her house tired her and she wondered if she could get away with sleeping in her car for the night.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

She sat up straighter, her eyes now wide open. Her heart raced as she slowly turned her head to the window. Relief flooded through her when she saw Robin's concerned face there and she opened the door.

"Are you okay?" he asked, holding out his hand. She took it and let him help her out of the car.

Regina sighed. "I'm just tired. It's been a very long day."

He rubbed her back. "Then come on inside. I'll heat up some dinner for you."

"Thank you," she said, leaning against him. "You're the best."

"I try," he replied, ushering her into the house. He closed the door behind them. "Henry is up in his room doing homework and Roland is watching TV. Or at least he was. Since he hasn't appeared to hug you, I think he fell asleep on the couch."

She rubbed her sore neck. "I think he has to the right idea."

He gently gripped her shoulders. "What kept you this time?"

"Gold," she replied. "Every time he has an issue with his tenants, he comes to me and rants at me."

"Who does he have an issue with now?" he asked.

She sighed, following him into the kitchen. "The sisters. He really wants to get rid of them."

Robin paused, frowning. "Why?"

There a couple reasons for Gold's actions. Now that she knew he was awake, she believed he was trying to get rid of the fairies before the curse inevitably broke. She didn't know if magic could exist in this realm but even without their magic, the fairies would still wield a lot of power. Many of the people cursed believed in the inherent goodness of fairies, something she would argue wasn't so, and would listen to them over the Dark One and the Evil Queen. So to avoid being taken down by them, he probably wanted to scatter them and maybe find a way to get around the barrier around town to send them away from Storybrooke.

But she couldn't tell Robin all of that. He was still cursed and had no clue about their true identities. So she stuck with the reason she would've ascribed to Gold before she knew he was awake.

"The convent is prime real estate here in Storybrooke," she explained. "So he keeps trying to evict them so he can rent it to someone who can pay more."

He shook his head. "That's a shame to do that to a group of people who just want to help people and who are here to serve Storybrooke."

"I know," she replied. "But Gold doesn't care about that. He just cares about himself."

"How does he own half the town?" Robin asked, opening the oven to heat up her plate.

"I wish I knew," she said bitterly, watching him pour her a glass of wine. She had gone back over the curse in her head many times over the years but couldn't figure out how Gold had set himself up to be so well off in it. And she knew she hadn't done it.