thiefwithhonor | (no subject)

Robin had been thinking of doing something nice for Regina since she'd done so much for Roland and he earlier that month. It was hard, though, to plan such a thing in a place he did not know and with the ever present knowledge of the fact he certainly had to watch the coin - or paper bills, here - he spent. But he'd recently acquired work, and with it came a little extra to use as he wanted to, beyond the little he needed for necessities. It allowed him, finally, a bit of room he needed to do what he'd been wanting to do.

It took some asking around (the others who worked where he did had even offered some advice, based on their own experiences), but he eventually found someplace suitable to take her out for dinner. While it was certainly not extreme extravagance, he had heard more than once that it had a pleasant atmosphere and the promise of good food, which was exactly what he wanted. After that, it was the matter of tending to where Roland would be while they were out. He approached David after some consideration - he was honestly the only person he knew he could absolutely trust with the task - and requested the favor of watching his boy for the evening he planned to surprise her. He was thankfully fine with the idea, and it seemed like the pieces were in place.

What he had asked of Regina that day was if she wanted to spend a quiet night with Roland and him (she had agreed, of course - honestly, it was rare lately that she wasn't around at some point). What he actually did was drop Roland off early, dressed neatly, and showed up at her apartment early with a small array of red roses. He had settled on them after some time debating what he wanted to bring - in the end, he went with the bouquet that seemed simple yet elegant.

In the end, he only hoped he was doing things right. Properly. The city and time was all strange to him and it had been a long while since he'd attempted to court anyone, but he felt confident some tokens of affection never really changed. Still, as he stepped up to the door, he started to wonder if perhaps he should have told her ahead of time, even though he had made it a point to come early enough to give her time to get ready. He pushed through the nervous doubt by reminding himself it was certainly too late to change anything now.

He knocked on the door soon after.

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Robin would have pulled her seat out had he gotten up first. As it was, he simply smiled and interlaced with hers the moment she reached out to take his hand.

"I suppose it works out that you make me happy as well," he mused, though he did not take the words lightly. It had been a long time since he allowed himself to feel this way, and it meant a great deal to be reminded it was reciprocated.

"What you said, back in Storybrooke," she began as she walked with him out of the restaurant. "About this being a second chance? I do see that with you, Robin. But more than than that, you..."

Regina trailed off; she had never been good at this, or perhaps she'd forgotten how to be good at this somewhere in the time she'd learned to conceal her feelings, to push away her weakness so that no one could use it against her. She struggled now, but finally came up with the words she wanted.

"You give me hope for the first time in a long while."

Robin was quiet, letting her speak. He even understood her own sudden silence as a moment of needing to collect herself. It was hard for her, he knew that. After the conversation they had had before, to hear her speak of hope was something truly wonderful.

"That I could help you find that humbles me. I still do mean it, you know," he said, glancing toward her as they continued to walk at an easy pace. "That this is surely a second chance. For both of us. What you have done for me and Roland has been immeasurable."

It had been a long time since he had been happy. Too long. And his son - well, to see him take to her so well was heartening.

Pausing with him there on the sidewalk, Regina tugged at his hand softly. He was typically the one to stop her, to slow her down and simply be in a moment. But she stopped him now and pulled him into a kiss, one hand still in his. That she could do this freely was amazing to her; someone who wanted her as much as she wanted them. Smiling against his mouth, she pulled back after one more kiss to his lips.

"Then I'll keep doing it," she finally replied. "As long as I can."

Robin had been about to stop her to do exactly what she decided to do herself. His hand squeezed hers as she eased in closer to kiss him. His free hand lifted to cup her jaw, thumb softly smoothing over her cheek. It warmed him in a way few things did. And when she did pull away to speak, he could not contain the smile on his face, nor would he ever want to try.

"M'lady, nothing would make me happier," he spoke, honest as always.

Regina turned her cheek into his palm, her eyes closing as she spoke. "All of the sugar we could ever possibly want will still be there on our next date," she murmured.

"Would you be terribly disappointed to go home instead?" She pulled away from his hand enough to look up at him, a small smile tugging at her lips her eyes searched his.

Robin admittedly found himself thinking along the same lines and was happy to hear her vocalize what he'd been considering suggesting. So he hadn't been the only one.

"I wouldn't terribly mind returning home, no," he replied, unable to hide his smile. "I believe Roland would enjoy it as well. He ought to be there when we go."

Regina took his hand in hers again, lacing their fingers together, then tugged him back that way. "Then let's go, and next time I want to cook a nice meal for you, just the two of us. Have a nice bottle of wine, and..." She had an image of something, of something she hadn't done before, but had always thought she might.

"...And dance. Barefoot."