Their relationship couldn't have been stronger from that point on.
Robin sat down with the boys the following day, apologizing to them for his actions and explaining why he was wrong. Roland was starting to fully adjust to the idea that his father had a girlfriend and begged to stay over often so they could be a family. Considering it was only a short distance, Henry helped Robin transport the little boy's mattress to the living room of Apartment 13 so he could be comfortable on those nights.
With the later weeks of August approaching, the Locksley boys needed to prepare for their vacation to England to visit with Robin's parents. Deciding that her and Henry could use a vacation as well, Regina contacted her mother in Spain and planned their trip for the same week. She saved all her vacation time during the year, not ever getting sick or just working through the rare times when she was, so she could travel somewhere with her son each year.
Cora was excited to have them. She'd been in Spain for the better part of a year, studying the culture and more of the language. Her husband was a native speaker and she'd learned an incredible amount of Spanish during their 40 years of marriage, but it was different to experience it in the country itself. It was beautiful and eye-opening. The only thing that might have made it better was having Henry Sr. by her side. But knowing her daughter and grandson would join her for a week made it feel like he was there anticipating their arrival as well.
She had to admit the concept of a siesta was marvelous. It was her favorite part of the Spanish culture. She believed Americans should adopt it to create a more wholesome environment in the ever-growing age of technology. She was thrilled to see Henry wasn't distracted by such trivial things, especially at his young age. He enjoyed time with family, perhaps from keeping his mother company or making up for his lack of a father all these years. Regardless, Cora was happy to see how mature he was and was proud of her daughter for raising such a bright, well-mannered young man.
During their vacation, she toured her family around the major cities like Barcelona and Madrid, making a point to teach them about the cultural importance of each famous landmark they'd seen. Regina was quite familiar with Spain; between her various vacations there with her parents as a kid or the entire semester she spent studying abroad in undergrad, she found it to be even more beautiful each time she returned.
The food was impeccable, to say the least. No matter where they went, the Spanish cuisine was exquisite. It reminded Regina of her father's cooking, warming her heart to feel his presence with each day she spent in his native country. Henry asked many questions about his grandfather, noticing the way his mother and grandmother recalled him in their memories with great fondness. He felt honored with the knowledge he gained from each of their stories that he was named after such an incredible, loving man.
After a particularly long day of tourism, Henry turned in early for the night. They would be returning to the States the following afternoon and wanted to be well rested for their flight. Regina took the time to be close to her mother, not having seen her for so long. They sat on the veranda of the home Henry Sr. inherited from his parents. It was passed down to his daughter who willingly allowed her mother to stay, rather than rent it out, as long as she handled the upkeep of the residence during her time there. It seemed like a reasonable trade for the times Cora allowed her to take Henry to her winter cabin in the Poconos of Pennsylvania.
One thing Regina greatly admired about her parents was, in spite of their love for one another, they still managed to keep their finances separate. She remembered asking during her days in law school and discovered they never signed a prenuptial agreement. They had a mutual understanding that their success was their own and she respected that, wondering if that was something her and Robin might be able to do when the time came. If the time came.
The Mills women sat comfortably on the veranda in their silk pajamas, sipping their wine as they swung on the patio swing her mother added to the yard. They were more alike than they ever realized, especially as they aged. They sat close, snuggling up to one another for comfort and affection that they refused to admit they needed out loud. But it was true. They missed one another.
"So will you be living here permanently?" Regina asked.
"I don't plan on it. I just haven't been able to find the will to leave just yet," Cora responded with a sigh.
"It's like he's here," she stated, wanting her mother to know she understood. "I wouldn't want to leave either."
"He'd be very proud of you, Regina. I hope you know that," the older woman said. There wasn't much emotion in her voice. She merely stated a fact. A fact that meant the world to her daughter.
"I do," she replied.
"I am too, you know," Cora said, her daughter turning to face her then. "Especially with everything you've been through. Henry is an exceptional young man."
"Thank you," Regina smiled, happy to hear the sincerity in her mother's voice.
"He seems to have taken quite a liking to this Robin fellow. Are things serious between you two?"
"Quite serious," she replied honestly. "He's wonderful with Henry and I just adore Roland; he's like my own son."
"So this is something you expect to be long term then," it was a statement, an observation, to which Regina nodded. "And you love him?"
"Do you know what I remember most about you and Daddy?" She watched her mother sip her wine, not answering to allow her to finish her thought. "The way he looked at you. Every time, that I ever saw, he was happy. Even if you had a disagreement, he never looked at you like he wanted you to leave or that he was tired of being near you. Of course there was love in his eyes; he looked at me that way too. But with you, there was more. There was respect, mutual respect, and a comprehension of who you are. And acceptance of that."
"I was a difficult person. Your father was the only one who actually enjoyed putting up with me," the women shared a soft laugh of remembrance and appreciation before Regina continued.
"I wanted that. I searched for it and I thought I had it with Daniel. But when he--" she paused and her mother placed a comforting hand on the younger woman's knee. "I stopped believing it was possible for me. And then I met Robin and--"
"You found it."
"He looks at me like I'm worth something, even when I am so frustrating it would be easier for him to just walk out," she explained and Cora nodded.
"You're not just something; you're everything," she added, knowing full well what that feeling was like for her with Henry Sr.
The women looked at one another and smiled, their hands touching. They understood one another and in a way, they always did. It just took a long time for them to open their eyes to it.
"It's good to see you're finally smiling again," her mother said after a few moments of silence. "I'm glad he makes you happy; you and Henry."
"We're a family," Regina put her head on her mother's shoulder and added, "I'd like you to be apart of it."
Cora tapped her daughter's knee affectionately. She let her head rest against hers and smiled to herself as she seriously considered Regina's request.
***********************************
The flight back to the States was long and exhausting. Regina and Henry, both cranky from their jet lag, found themselves using the entire day to rest upon their return.
In her bed, glasses secure upon the bridge of her nose, she checked her email and caught up on a new case she'd been assigned during her travels. She was able to work while she was away, Cora having access to the company email, but couldn't get much done. She wasn't looking forward to work the following day, but she was certainly excited to see her lover again after such a long absence.
They'd spoken everyday while in Europe. He was able to contact her via email since the overseas roaming fees would be astronomical on her next phone bill if they called or texted. They made do with what they had and the effort they put into keeping their communication strong pleased her immensely. Everyday, there were various photos attached of Roland with his grandparents (Robin resembling his father completely with the exception of his blue eyes and dimples) or playing with their Golden Retriever, Sadie. She'd made sure to attach photos of her own; mostly ones of Henry standing in front of famous monuments, but she included the occasional picture of herself. She sent one of the three of them, including Cora, so he could catch a slight glimpse into her family. Her mother was impressively youthful in her Golden Age, giving Robin an idea of what to expect from his lover in the years to come.
With only a week left of summer for her son, she found that he was growing exceptionally more affectionate with her. He wanted to spend more time with his mother before the stress of his sophomore year began. Henry knocked on her bedroom door as he asked, "Can I lay in here with you for a while? I'm having trouble sleeping."
"Of course, my love," she smiled and pulled back the covers for him on the unoccupied side of her bed. He wiggled his way under the blankets beside her and hummed as he closed his eyes, reveling in the comfort of her warmth. She closed her laptop and placed it on the nightstand, resting her glasses atop the Apple symbol of her MacBook. "It won't take long for our bodies to readjust. Just don't think about it."
"Do you remember that bedtime story you used to tell me?"
"I could never forget it," she smiled, running her fingers through his brown hair that reminded her so much of Daniel's. It was amazing to see how he resembled his father more and more with each passing day.
"Once upon a time there was a Queen; a powerful leader respected by all her subjects," Henry began, his eyes still closed as he settled into the beginning of his REM cycle.
"And although she seemed to live a life of luxury, she felt there was something missing. She was lonely in her empty palace so she sought a companion that might keep her company," Regina adjusted herself more comfortably beside him as she continued the tale. "She received many suitors, all hoping to woo the beautiful royal. But she was smart and could see through their deceit as each one courted her; all seeking power, not a single one in search of companionship.
One day, the Queen sat in her royal garden with unbearable sadness having lost hope in her search for someone to share her life with. But a little boy wandered before her, lost and scared without a family. With great compassion, the Queen comforted the child and learned that he, much like herself, was alone and in need of a mother. Without hesitation, she invited him into the palace. She offered him food and shelter, which he politely declined. Instead, the boy asked if she might provide him with love, for he needed that far more than material goods."
Regina felt his chest rising and falling slowly, his breath evening out. She remained silent, believing he had fallen asleep until he said in a very tired whisper, "And from that day forth..."
"And from that day forth," she picked up the story where she left off, "the Queen vowed to love and protect the lost boy who wandered into her garden, gaining the same from him for the rest of her life. Her palace was no longer empty and she never felt lonely again; having sought out a King, but was blessed with a Prince."
***********************************
The next evening, Regina and Henry joined Robin and Roland for dinner in Apartment 8. She'd stopped at the market on her way home from work for some groceries, knowing the Locksleys had just arrived back to town early that morning and were most likely too exhausted to run errands.
Henry was already in the apartment reading with Roland when she arrived; she could hear Robin mumbling with frustration from the bedroom. She placed the bags on the counter and went to tend to the grumpy Englishman. He was struggling with one of the suitcases, the smaller of the two so she assumed it was Roland's.
"What seems to be the problem?" She asked leaning against the doorframe and crossing her arms over her chest.
"This independent phase with Roland. I want to allow him to do things on his own, but then it gives me a headache when I have to fix it," he struggled with the zipper and she realized it was most likely caught on the fabric. She walked toward him, the door clicking closed behind her as she wrapped her thumb and pointer finger around the belt loop of his jeans to pull him away from his task.
"May I?" She asked, tilting her head toward the suitcase. He shrugged and gestured for her to take a stab at it. She turned toward the bed, her backside now pressed against his front, and leaned down to be eye level with the luggage.
His hands rubbed a sensual pattern along her hips as she tried to focus. He traveled upward along the width of her lower back before each of his hands was hovering above her ass. She smirked, knowing it drew his attention because of the particular pair of dress slacks she'd specifically chosen to wear for the day of his return; they hugged tight to her wide hips and under each firm cheek, lifting and accentuating her feature perfectly.
He squeezed and groaned from deep in his throat, his hunger for her evident in the way he bit his lower lip. It had been ten days since he last saw the irresistible woman before him; he was starving for her. He kept one hand on her backside while the other moved to the back of her neck, moving slowly down the length of her spine. She closed her eyes with a sigh and felt shivers on the very place he was tracing with his fingertips.
Regina freed the zipper from the fabric and slowly pulled it along the track before opening the top. The little boy's clothes overflowed from the bag, an abundance of small knick knacks he'd collected in his travels mixed within. Nothing was folded, having been shoved inside by the seven year old, and the soles of his shoes were face down on his clothing. She chuckled to herself, deciding she would deal with the mess and do the boy's laundry after they ate.
She stood and turned to face him, a smirk still present at the corners of her mouth. His eyes peered down at her ever-enticing lips before returning to her almond-shaped gaze. There was that look; the look she spoke to her mother about. In those eyes she saw not only love, but respect, admiration, gratitude, attraction, desire; she was everything to him and she only hoped he could see the same from her.
Robin wanted her, craved her. His arms were draped around her hips, his hands pressed into her rear end kneading circles against it with his palms. During every rotation, his fingertips would graze the bottom of each cheek where they dipped down to meet her toned thighs. He pushed their hips together, letting her feel his arousal trapped inside his dark, blue jeans against her pelvis. She bit down on her lip, her palms meeting his pecs with a sensual force as she ran them along his entire torso.
Their foreheads glistened with the faint appearance of sweat, their body heat rising from the sexual tension building within them. They wanted one another, no, needed one another; their pleasure centers throbbing desperately for attention. Robin couldn't take it anymore, the pressure building so quickly inside him he thought he would burst just at the sight of her. He crashed his lips into hers, his tongue meeting them immediately begging for entry to be reunited with its partner. She was happy to oblige and opened her mouth in his, their tongues tangling in an embrace of their own.
He lifted her from the ground, her legs wrapping around him instinctively as his hands gripped roughly at her firm bottom. Their lips parted when she felt her back slam into the wall of his master bedroom, a gasp escaping her lungs from the force. It wasn't painful in the slightest; Regina liked it rough.
Their lovemaking in the past had been about chemistry, exploring their connection to build trust. What they hadn't experienced together was unbridled passion. They'd never given in to their natural, animalistic impulses that were so clearly present for one another. But they finally could. They'd reached a point in their relationship where they could recognize the intimacy in hair pulling, nail digging, and flesh biting as bodies pounded into one another and voices shouted with overwhelming pleasure.
Regina wanted that; she wanted Robin to take her and, for lack of a better word, fuck her hard on every square inch of his bedroom. There was an intense excitement in the physical evidence left over from a night of rough sex; bruises from his firm grip on her hips as he pounded into her, scratches from nails dug too deeply into her back when he cried out her name, imprints of his teeth where he dared to bite into her as he came. Even the inability to walk properly was something she couldn't wait to feel after a night like that with Robin. She wanted all of it and more from him; anything he was willing to give, she would take with great pleasure.
"Daddy?"
The door swung open and her feet were back on the floor within seconds. He was leaning over her, his forehead against the wall as he caught his breath. He couldn't turn toward his son, his erection still extremely visible through his pants. Regina hid her quiet laughter of embarrassment when she buried her face into the crook of his neck.
"Yes, my boy?" Robin muttered, his words muffled due to the short distance of his lips to the white surface of the Sheetrock.
"I'm hungry. When are we eating?"
Regina looked up at the child, her chin still resting on her lover's shoulder when she replied, "Very soon. Daddy and I were just finishing a little talk and then I'll start cooking. Ask Henry to help you find a light snack to hold you two over. How's that?"
"Okay, thanks Regina," Roland said and started to leave, but he turned back to ask, "Is Daddy okay?"
"He's fine, dear. I guess he missed my hugs," she wrapped her arms in a tight embrace around his waist as she released a laugh.
"You do give the best hugs," the little boy giggled and left the room, the door remaining open as they recovered from that potential travesty.
"Why the fuck did we have children?" Robin asked with a frustrated groan and her laughter intensified. He moved his hands down to the front of his jeans to readjust himself as he softened.
She kissed the prominent bend in the structure of his jaw and said, "Let me get our little nuisances fed."
"No, let them starve," he pouted and she shook her head with playful disapproval. His voice changed to a wildly seductive tone when he added, "I've been hungry for far longer."
"Later, my love. I promise, I'll give you more than you can handle," she bit down on the tense muscle between his neck and his shoulder before freeing herself from his embrace. She walked to the door and heard him sigh heavily behind her to which she smirked with satisfaction.
***********************************
"Can we please have ice cream?" Roland begged as their parents cleared the evidence of their meal.
"I'm sorry, sweetheart. I didn't know we needed more so I didn't pick any up from the market this afternoon," Regina replied as she scooped leftovers into plastic containers.
"We could go to Any Given Sundae," the boy suggested.
"Not tonight, Roland. We had a very long day. Another time," Robin said from the sink, his hands busy at work scrubbing the dirty dishes.
"You just don't want to go so you can stay here and hug Regina all night," he snapped back, his hands on his hips in an uncharacteristic tantrum. Henry laughed from the living room and his mother shot him a glare of disapproval. He stopped immediately and rolled his eyes as he returned to composing a text to Grace.
"Excuse me, who do you think you're speaking to in that unpleasant and exceptionally rude tone? It couldn't have been directed at me," his father's voice was deep and stern, but not angry; simply seeking to reprimand rather than frighten.
"Actually father, it was," his son returned with a smug little attitude he'd never encountered before.
"Roland John," he raised his voice, but merely to get the boy's attention and to let him know how serious he was. Regina had never seen the man discipline his son like that before. For the most part, the kid was very well behaved and polite. She was surprised by the sudden change, but also impressed with the way Robin was handling it. "That's enough."
The child released a loud, aggravated sigh and plopped down next to Henry on the couch. He crossed his arms and remained in a pouty position, waiting for someone to acknowledge him and get his way. Regina chuckled silently to herself and saw the way Robin tensed from the situation. She approached him and wrapped her arms around him from behind. He relaxed instantly upon her touch and she placed her chin on the back of his shoulder as she whispered, "Go take your son for ice cream. Once he's Henry's age, you'll wish you'd taken him more often. Trust me."
Robin sighed, knowing she was right. And school would be starting up again soon so their time together would lessen dramatically. When he continued to do the dishes, she reached forward and shut the water. "Go. I'll finish this. Enjoy him while he's still little."
Robin turned and dried his hands on her apron, "I love you."
"And I love you," she stood up on her toes to place a gentle peck on his lips before letting him pass to speak to his son.
"Alright, Roland. How about we make a deal?" The boy sat up, interested in what his father had to say. "I'll take you for ice cream if you learn to knock before entering a room. Seems like a fair trade, don't you think?"
Regina laughed as she picked up where he'd left off with the dishes and heard a mumbled 'Gross' from her son on the couch. Roland didn't notice and if Robin did, he didn't acknowledge it. The little boy agreed excitedly and ran off to find his shoes.
"Mom, I'm leaving. Grace and Jefferson are waiting outside," Henry said as he stood and gathered his things.
"Alright, sweetie. Be careful and have a good time," she pecked the air with her lips in an attempt at blowing him a kiss as he exited the apartment. He'd been invited by the girl's father to attend a preview of an Off-Broadway play for which he'd designed the costumes. Considering the show would be ending rather late, Jefferson offered the spare bedroom in his apartment for the teenage boy and Regina approved. She might have been hesitant if she didn't trust the man as much as she did.
She finished loading and starting the dishwasher before drying her hands and wiping down the table. Before long, the Locksley boys were on their way out the door. She received big hugs and kisses from both of them, matching dimples in full view on their cheeks that warmed Regina's heart.
And just like that, the apartment was empty. She took a deep breath, appreciating the brief silence. She decided to pour herself a glass of wine to compliment the rare moment in her life where she got to be alone. After a small sip, she placed the glass on the counter and moved on to her next task: Roland's laundry.
She separated the little garments, placing darker clothes in one basket and lighter ones in another. She picked up the dark basket and opened the washing machine door located in the alcove at the end of the hall. She loaded the machine, poured the detergent, and pressed start.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Regina furrowed her brow. It couldn't have been Henry. She watched him pack his belongings to be sure he didn't forget anything. Perhaps Robin had forgotten his keys again or just came running back for one last kiss. She smirked and walked through the foyer, answering the front door without looking through the peephole.
"What'd you two forget?" Regina's smile disappeared in an instant.
"Who the hell are you?" The stranger asked in a very unsettling tone.
"I could ask the same of you," the brunette replied, crossing her arms.
"I'm looking for Robin Locksley. Do you know where I can find him?"
"Depends on who's asking," she answered protectively. Her first impression was not a positive one, but she had no idea who this was.
"My name is Marian," the woman said and Regina nearly collapsed. "I'm his wife."