He hums.

Every time she wants some peace and quiet in this damn castle he seems to be around, and he's always humming. It takes Regina a little while before she realizes it's always the same song. And she knows it, she knows the song, but somehow the words are just out of the reach of her mind.

It's absolutely infuriating.

For a time, she tries to avoid the thief altogether, but his boy has taken a liking to her and she cannot refuse Roland when he asks to sit with her. She enjoys making him laugh, and telling him stories, and kissing his boo-boos when he falls. It only takes a month for them to fall into this pattern and although Robin trusts the queen to be alone with his son, she cannot always shake him off, much to her dismay.

Mercifully, when he is playing with his son there is little time for humming, because "horses don't talk, Papa" and "trolls don't sing, Papa".

It's when she's walking alone at night in the garden, unable to sleep. He silently strolls alongside her and hums his tune. Regina glares at him but he pretends not to notice and she continues to pretend that she doesn't want him there. He doesn't pry like Snow or Charming and he doesn't judge like everyone else seems to. Robin finds her in her library when she's searching for spells strong enough to protect everyone from the Wicked Witch. Spells that don't involve blood magic. He always shows up with tea or biscuits. She always realizes that she hasn't eaten anything in hours.

If only she could get him to stop humming.

It's one sunny afternoon on the bench surrounding her apple tree while poring over a book on cursed artifacts that Regina finally breaks.

He's sat himself down a few feet away from her, patching the knee of Roland's pants… and humming that infernal tune.

She tries to just shut him out, she really does, but she has had enough. Regina closes her book with a 'snap', not bothering to mark her page, and shifts her body slightly to address the thief more effectively. He gives no indication that he is aware of her building ire.

"Must you constantly be making noise?" she asks with an air of false sweetness.

He lowers the child's garment to his lap, looks up, and states matter-of-factly, "it relaxes me." Then, she watches as he takes in her posture and the crease between her brows, "you should try it, Your Majesty." He smirks and she narrows her eyes at him.

He returns to his sewing and picks up humming again. Still the same tune.

Regina listens for another moment before interrupting again with a sigh, "exactly what song is it that you're always humming?"

Robin looks up again and he can see the thread of genuine curiosity beneath her scowl. It must have really been eating away at her if she's willing to ask him. It makes him smile outright. He doesn't want to read too much into it, but that also means she's been thinking about him.

"I'm surprised you don't know it, milady."

She's proud that she manages not to roll her eyes. Of course he couldn't just answer the damn question.

He turns back to his work once again and briefly she thinks that he won't answer her question at all. Then he sings softly, "don't sit under the apple tree with anyone else but me. Anyone else but me," and after those lines he's back to humming the tune.

She has to turn her head away so he doesn't see her smile, because he may not be looking directly at her, but he's incredibly observant. She purses her lips, but the corners still turn up in spite of her wishes. After a few moments, she composes herself enough to reopen her book and put up at least the pretense of reading. However, after that last bar of song, the thief finally stopped his tune. It's just her luck that he would stop as soon as she tolerates it.

Regina swallows once and breaks the silence, "well if it relaxes you… by all means."

She hears him chuckle then mutter, "with pleasure, milady," before beginning again.

She doesn't retain anything that she reads the entire afternoon.

It takes five months. Five months of this thief intruding upon her time, of not allowing her to be alone, of humming quietly. Five months of her biting back grins and catching him watching her do it, before she breaks again.

It's much the same scenario. She's beneath her apple tree when he finds her and sits. She waits and isn't disappointed when she hears the song – their song, but will never say that aloud. This time she gently sets her book aside and moves to sit closer to him. This time she kisses him, and that does shut him up for a while.

Thanks for reading!