They froze instantly and held their breaths. With eyes wide open, she looked at her lover and gasped: „Henry!"
What do we do now – he had wanted to ask. But the last thing he realized was how the panic in her eyes turned into a silent apology... just before he disappeared in a cloud of purple smoke.
Regina herself hopped off the kitchen counter and barely managed to button up her pyjama top that was thankfully long enough to cover her private parts before her son stood in the door.
„Henry!", she said, still slightly out of breath, „What a nice surprise... What are you doing here?"
„Grandma told me you're sick? I wanted to come over and check on you, see if you need anything."
„Oh yes, right!", she coughed on cue, „Don't worry about me, it's just a cold."
„Are you sure? You look terrible!", he came towards her, his face full of concern, „You're really flushed and sweaty and your eyes are all shiny. You probably have a fever."
She blushed even more and waved it off. „Oh no, I don't think so, I'm just really hot, that's all." ... Because just twenty seconds ago I was getting laid by your best friend, she thought to herself.
„Is that why you're not wearing any pants?", he pointed to her PJ bottoms that were lying on the floor halfway between them where Killian had pulled them off.
She looked down as if she only noticed it now. „Oh... yes! Yes, it is."
„You should though, you know, even if you feel hot. You're still sick. That's what you always told me when I was sick. Remember?", he smiled.
She had to smile as well. „Of course! You're so right", she shrugged and laughed slightly uncomfortably, „What was I thinking?"
When she walked over to pick up her pants, Henry gasped. „Geez, mom, you're bleeding! On your thigh!"
„I... what?", she looked down and startled herself when she saw the blood running from a cut going along her outer thigh, two or three inches long, „Wow, I... I didn't even notice! I must have... cut myself while preparing breakfast somehow."
That bloody pirate with his damn hook for a hand... Finally his excitement seemed to have gotten the better of him. She slowly moved her hand over the wound until it disappeared as if nothing had ever happened, then put her pants back on.
Henry was completely lost by now, his mother's behavior was more than just a little bit strange, and he was seriously getting worried about her.
„So, initially I was thinking about bringing you some chicken soup", he looked over at the kitchen counter where there were already bread, eggs, waffles, plus the bacon that was most certainly burning in the pan by now, „Looks like you didn't lose your appetite, at least."
„Oh well, you know how important it is to make sure you eat properly even when you're sick and don't feel like it."
„Right... Mom, are you sure you're okay?", he put a gentle hand on her shoulder, „Come, let me take you back to bed, I'll bring your breakfast upstairs."
„No! No, I'm okay, really. But, I'm tired, actually, and I think I'd like to be alone now."
„Are you sure?"
She nodded. „I am. Please?"
He sighed, apparently he wasn't sure at all. „Alright then... But, I call you later, okay? And you text me, every hour, and let me know you're alright! And if you need anything, anything at all, you tell me, okay? Promise!"
She had to chuckle to herself. Such a sweet, caring young man they had raised! And since he was a father himself, he had gotten even more protective towards his dear old mommy.
„I promise! Thanks for stopping by!"
She gave him a hug.
„Take care, mom, and get well soon! I love you!"
„Love you too, bye!"
One last smile, and he was on his way.
Finally she took care of the burnt bacon, then took a deep breath and waved her hand, upon which her boyfriend reappeared – by now he had pulled his PJ pants back up, he was shivering and he was furious.
„What the bloody hell was that? Where did you poof me, what was that wretched place?!"
„Oh, calm down! That was my vault."
„Your what?"
„My vault. It's in the basement below my family crypt at Storybrooke cemetery. It's sort of my second ‚office'... It's where I keep my spell books, my potions and probably still one or the other heart I never got to give back."
He frowned. „Wha... What the hell, Regina?"
„Henry was about to come in, you'd rather have him see you standing between my legs, butt-naked, while you have a massive hard-on? Or... had", she looked down and gestured at his groin area, „Apparently that little excursion of yours killed the mood?"
„I was freezing in that bloody dungeon of yours! I could have just hid in the closet, like any normal secret lover, or sneak into the room next door."
„There was no time for that! You were still in me the second before he walked in!"
„Then why didn't you just poof me back to bed? Why the bloody hell did you poof me into your vault, of all places?!"
She lowered her gaze as her heart was pumping painfully inside her chest. „I... It just was the first place I could think of", she murmured quietly, already fighting her tears.
Killian was shocked all of a sudden, at how quickly her mood had changed, and it made his intestines squirm. He swallowed and whispered, not a bit angry anymore, but calm, loving and caring: „Come here, love!"
He gently took her in his arms and held her tight. „I'm sorry for yelling. What's wrong?"
She snuggled up to him and listened to his heartbeat to calm herself down, taking a few deep breaths. „I don't want us to fight on our first day together. I'm sorry, Killian!"
„Neither do I. And I don't want you to cry either, huh?", he gently lifted her chin with his hook, forcing her to look at him, repeating his question from before, „What's wrong?"
She looked into his eyes for a while, soaking up the comfort he gave her, then she began explaining, quietly: „It's the first place I could think of because... because it's where Robin and I for the first time... It's where we spent our first night together."
„Eww...", he could not suppress his first reaction of surprise, then hugged her tight again, „I understand. It's alright!"
He gently rocked her in his arms until he could feel her body relax. It felt odd knowing that while making love to him she'd be thinking about her deceased former lover. But then again... he knew that if he wanted a relationship with her, Robin Hood would forever be a part of it, somehow, and he would forever need to share her heart with him, even if just a little corner.
„You think my hard-on is massive?", he finally whispered with a smirk, trying to lighten the mood.
She raised her head to look at him, then raised an eyebrow.
„I think your ego doesn't need to be pampered any further today", she gave him a pat on the chest and turned back to saving what she could of their breakfast, „And by the way! You left me with a bleeding cut on the thigh, Captain! So we should start looking into using protection. Not for your ‚Jolly Roger', but your peculiar, shiny accessory there."
They spent the rest of the day in bed, talking, laughing, kissing, cuddling, making love, discovering each other's bodies as if they didn't already know them from another life, and just relishing being this close to someone again, physically as well as emotionally, trying to wrap their hearts around this so very foreign feeling of not being alone anymore. It made her almost nauseatingly happy, and scared her to bits at the same time. Not just scared of losing him, scared of being vulnerable – in a way, love was weakness after all – but also scared of simply not knowing what to expect and what to do. Being by herself, caring for herself and fighting for herself – it's what she knew well, it's all she had ever done. But all things considered, she had spent shockingly little time of her life in a real, loving, romantic relationships with a partner, she simply didn't know much about how to be a good girlfriend, how to share a life with someone, and she was afraid she'd mess it up.
On top of that, if their little argument from this morning had taught her anything she hadn't already known anyway, it was the fact that Killian wasn't much like Robin Hood, who had always been her rock, her calm in the center of the storm, but he was much more like Regina herself. They both had a hot temper, they were hypersensitive, and fights between them would probably flare up on a regular basis, so she'd better get used to them. And yet, she fully trusted him that he wanted nothing but protect her, keep her safe and make her happy. With every minute that she spent with him, she was more and more convinced that she wanted nothing more than a future with him, being with him, looking into his eyes, seeing him smile at her and being held by him like that. Not a single doubt was left in her mind: she loved this man with all her heart.
In the evening, he finally had to get up and get ready for work. He didn't want to, but they agreed that it might look too suspicious if they both called in sick the same day. At least, they got to share a pretty hot and intense shower before he would leave.
While he was finishing up in the bathroom upstairs, she snuggled up with a cozy blanket, a good book and an even better glass of wine on the sofa in front of the fireplace. She'd miss him terribly while he was out working, but she was already looking forward to him coming home, to kissing and hugging him again. At least she'd make sure she'd pass the time of his shift as comfortably as she could.
When she heard the front door open and close followed by steps in the hallway, she looked up and frowned. Then, for the second time today, she saw her son's tall silhouette appear in the doorframe. „Hey mom!"
„Henry! What can I do for you?"
„Well, I didn't hear anything from you since I left this morning, so, I wanted to check on you. And I brought chicken soup this time!" He held up a Tupperware with a proud smile.
Regina forced herself to reciprocate the gesture. „Aww, that is so sweet of you, thank you! I'm already doing much better."
„That's great!", he took off his coat, scarf and shoes – this time it seemed he was intending to stay a while, „You look much better too! But... should you already be drinking wine?"
„Oh, one glass won't hurt anyone. Come, sit! How was your day?"
While Henry was telling her everything he had done that day, Killian came walking in carelessly, not noticing their visitor at first. „Alright, love, I'm heading out, I see you... Oh... hey, mate!"
„Hey, Killian?", his confusion was palpable, his friend was the last person he'd have expected to see here after his mother had kicked him out just a few days ago after their epic fail of a date, „What are you doing here?"
Regina had turned around and shot him a pleading look.
„Oh, I, uhm, I just had some last things to pick up, so I dropped by on my way to work."
„Yes, and it has taken you quite some time!", the coldness in her voice all of a sudden made him shiver as she gave him a taste of the Evil Queen he never got to meet, „If you think of anything else you forgot, don't bother coming here again, I'll have it sent to you."
She turned her back on him again, reaching for her glass indicating him that the conversation was over. „Good night, Captain."
Killian just stood in the door, desperately trying not to take it personally. He knew she was just playing and not being serious, but it still hurt hearing her speak to him like that. How he had been looking forward to kissing her goodbye! But tonight, it seemed like, this was just not going to happen, so he just nodded and left.
„You're really tough on the poor guy", said Henry.
„Yeah? Well, I have no kind words left for him. It's better for the both of us if we stay out of each other's lives."
He nodded and sighed: „Such a shame though..."
„Henry! Please don't start this again."
„I know, I know! I'm sorry! Maybe you just have gotten over the idea of you two being a couple way faster than I. Anyway, I'm gonna go make my bed."
„What, why would you do that?"
„Well, because eventually I'll want to go to sleep?"
„But... here?!"
„Yes! I'm not leaving you alone over night, you're sick."
„Oh, honey, that's so sweet of you, but really not necessary! You can't sleep in your old bed, you're... well, to be honest, I lost track of how old any of us are, but way past thirty for sure!"
„Doesn't matter. What did you say about your wine? One night won't hurt anyone. Or are you kicking me out?"
„What? No, of course not! This is your home, Henry, it will always be, and you are always welcome here."
„See, that's what I thought!"
While he was upstairs preparing his old room, Regina tried to reach Killian on the phone.
„Hey, love!", he finally answered.
„Hey! I'm so sorry we didn't get to say goodbye properly."
„Yeah, me too. But don't worry, I'll be home in a few hours and I'll make it up to you twice over."
She sighed. „About that... Henry has actually decided to stay the night."
„What? Then... how am I gonna sneak in later?"
„Ideally not at all. I think it's best if you didn't come back tonight. If he saw you here... it's too risky. I'm so sorry! But just the fact how he's acting again today, and not just him, you have no idea how many messages and missed calls I had when we got up earlier! And just because I said I had a cold? I mean, I appreciate how close we all are and how much they care, but they just won't leave me alone, Killian! I want to be alone, though, alone with you. Just a few more days, okay? Promise..."
„Alright, alright... I'll sleep at the bar. All my stuff is still there anyway."
„If you like, you can sleep in my vault."
„Thank you, but no, thank you! That thing saw me naked before I even had the chance to properly introduce myself, and I'd prefer to stay away from that eerily creepy place as far as I can. Or, you know what? I'll check at Granny's... maybe there's a vacancy for me."
„As long as you're comfortable", she sighed, „I just miss you so much! Is that crazy? You barely left."
He answered with a smile: „It's not crazy at all. I miss you too, love! And I love you, Regina."
By now her voice was merely a whisper, she was too scared that Henry would sneak up on her again and hear her: „I love you too, Killian! I see you tomorrow, as soon as we can."
„Aye! Sweet dreams... of me, of course."
„Of course", she chuckled.
Then they hung up, just in time before Henry came back, carrying a bowl of chicken soup he had heated up for his sick mother and a cup of camomile tea.