An Impromptu Rescue

No More Hiding

He watches tears brim within her eyelids as Regina merely shakes her head in response.

Moving his hands to tangle within her hair, Robin tells her, "Because despite what you want me to believe, I do know you." At his words, the brunette releases a shaky breath as a few more tears escape the her eyelids. "I love you, Regina." he continues, catching the stray tears with the pads of his thumbs, "Nothing is ever going to change that."

For a moment, Regina simply stares at him, stunned. But then she grasps the lapels of his jacket, pulling the thief down to meet her lips. She kisses him fiercely and Robin lets her, getting lost in the feel of her mouth pressed to his.

The couple remain like that for a while, getting lost within the feel of being in each other's arms as they caress and rediscover the crevices of each other's mouth.

Upon feeling his lungs burn with the need for air, Robin places one last firm peck against her mouth before pulling back. "I love you." he murmurs in the space between them.

"I love you too." Regina replies as she gives him the brightest smile he's ever seen.

Returning it with a grin of his own, the thief rests his forehead against hers and declares, "We'll make this work, Regina, I promise."

He notices how the woman inhales sharply, but not thinking anything of it, Robin wraps his arms around the brunette's waist to pull her against his chest, his mind running over all of the possible ways in which their relationship could continue to flourish.

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They remain in silence for quite some time and Regina can practically hear the clogs turning within the thief's head. She knows that he's thinking of ways in which they could make things work between them.

And though she desperately hopes they could, the brunette knows it will be anything but easy.

They both have responsibilities towards others; Robin to his men and the residents of Nottingham whilst hers are to her kingdom and putting things right. Regina's well aware that it will be anything but smooth sailing, but after all the evil she has done, she owes it to her people to try.

The next few weeks are going to be incredibly messy, but maybe, when the worst of it has blown over, she can return to Robin and the people who have made her feel more at home than anyone else. Regina knows he won't like the idea of being separated for so long, but it's the only way she can ensure he won't become caught within the crossfire.

Suddenly, the brunette realises there is one other factor she had forgotten to cover:

Rumplestiltskin.

Though she's not entirely sure when, Regina has come to the realisation that she no longer wants to the learn the horrifying craft that is dark magic. After all, she never wanted to learn magic in the first place – but like most things, she was given no choice. As a result, magic has only managed to provide her with heartbreak and suffering.

Now Regina has finally had enough and cutting that imp from her life will be the first step towards her freedom.

However, the brunette is also aware that by cutting all ties with Rumplestiltskin, she would be making a superb enemy out of him.

An enemy that would stop at nothing to ensure her unhappiness and who wouldn't hesitate to harm those she loves.

So, as she buries her head against Robin's chest, Regina realises what she has to do, "Robin–"

"Look, I'm sure the men aren't going to mind if we camp in Misthaven for a while." the thief states, clearly not having heard her, "There's plenty of manors around the place to keep them busy."