Author's Note: This takes place after the second curse but Regina and Robin's established relationship is similar to the one in the Enchanted Forest. They do not like each other.

Regina Mills finally put the pen down and rubbed her aching knuckles with her left hand. She closed her eyes and groaned, mentally scanning the work she had gotten through and the amount of paperwork she had due the next day. When she opened her eyes, she was faced once again with stacks of papers filled with her own handwriting which had turned sloppier towards the end. It had been a long day and she was aching to get home, draw herself a bath, and possibly fall into a blissful sleep after, without any rude interruptions. Yes, she was going to do that. Already beginning to feel a start of an ache on her eyelids due to being awake for over 18 hours, she looked around to locate her bag and reached for it to start packing her stuff. She just couldn't wait to go home. But of course she was interrupted by her phone ringing.

She didn't even think twice once she picked up the phone, hoping to get rid of the person at the other end of the line so she could leave her office as quickly as she could.

"Hello?"

"Oh Regina, thank God you're there."

She closed her eyes and sighed. Her, again.

"What is it now Miss Swan? Because I can assure you, I have no time for-"

"Bugs."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me." The blonde said over the phone. "Houses are crawling with them."

"That can't be, someone from the Environmental Protection Agency was supposed to come in for a monthly check weeks ago." With that, her hands instantly reached for her drawer, eyes searching for the piece of paperwork, proving her argument.

"Supposed to but didn't."

"I don't understand-"

"Long story short, we can't go home."

Regina closed her eyes once more and brought a hand to her face to rub the delicate skin on her forehead. Between her work and Henry, that was the last thing she needed right now.

"Okay I guess I'll head over to my place, grab my stuff and check myself into a hotel."

"No!"

"Excuse me?" she raised her eyebrows."

"You can't go home. I already called the uhm… pesticide people and they're at your house right now."

"You did what?!" the brunette snapped.

"What was I supposed to do? You're the mayor; you're supposed to take care of all this."

"Miss Swan-"

"Just get your ass over to Granny's."

"What about Henry?"

"Henry's with me, here. See ya!" with that the phone line got disconnected and Regina just stood there, dumbfounded. She didn't have a change of clothes! I'm going to kill that woman she thought to herself and grabbing her bag, she headed for the door.

At the other end of the town, in Granny's diner, Emma let out a huge laugh after hanging up the phone with Regina. Soon after she was joined by Henry and Mary Margaret.

"She bought it?" Henry asked excitedly, slipping into the booth right next to his mom as he eyed Mary Margaret who also sat opposite from them.

"Oh yeah!" the blonde replied with a huge grin on her face.

"And who's getting Robin?" Mary Margaret spoke.

"I spoke to Will, he's taking care of him." Henry replied and earned a good job from his mom.

"Now it's Granny's turn." With that they all turned to look at the old woman behind the counter who gave them a thumps up in return.

Regina practically dragged herself to the diner; her feet almost giving up beneath her. It was the last place she wanted to be right now. Of course she was never opposed to having breakfast here with her son on a quiet Saturday morning, but right now all she needed was her own house and her own bed. She even dreaded the idea of a social contact.

So when she opened the door and heard the little bell ring, she instantly cringed and her discomfort grew even more when she saw her step daughter waving at her from the distance. It was going to be a very long day.

Not even bothering to wave back to Mary Margaret, she made her way to the back of the diner and into the entrance of the little bed and breakfast that Granny ran ever since she cursed them. Even after the second curse, the old woman insisted on running the diner even though no one was obligated to play their former roles anymore. But much to Regina's dismay, the townspeople loved Granny and no one opposed her decision.

When she moved past the diner, however, she was surprised to find a certain outlaw sitting on one the couch in front of the reception, looking rather bored.

"What the hell are you doing here?" she found herself say. She wasn't exactly on good terms with the thief and the last thing she wanted was to see his face. She had zero tolerance left and wasn't up for their usual daily banter which drained half of her energy and yet strangely made her crave it more. But every day she managed to shake off the thought and go on with her day.

"Waiting." Was his short and snarky response.

"For what exactly?"

"Same thing as you apparently."

"And what would that be?"

"A room. Will didn't let me go back to my tent because of a bug problem thanks to a certain mayor." He answered, his blue eyes eyeing her up and down with a sarcastic expression on his face.

Again, Regina was not up for their daily banter but here it was anyway instigated by him.

"Your tent always has a bug problem because of the fact that you live… where is it that you live again? Oh that's right, on a muddy spot in the middle of nowhere." She bit back at him.

"It's called the forest."

"It's dirty."

"It's nature!"

She rolled her eyes and faced away from him, not even bringing herself to sit down on the couch next to him while they impatiently waited for Granny to show up.

"But of course you wouldn't know that because that your royal ass of yours hasn't seen anything but the luxury of your own office." He suddenly spoke, startling her.

She turned to him, eyes wide as ever as she started at him with a furious expression on her face. Upon seeing her flushed cheeks, flared nostrils, and raised eyebrows, Robin gave a smirk which only angered her even more.

"You better keep your mouth shut, thief, or else-"

"Or else what?" he suddenly stood up so he could be at eye level with her. She took a step towards him and it didn't go unnoticed.

"Or else I'll-"

"Restrain yourselves guys, I don't want blood on my carpet."

Upon hearing those words, they both snapped out of their trance and turned to find the grey haired woman standing right behind the counter with an ironic smile on her face.

"What can I get you?" she asked.

"A room!" they spoke at the same time with voices still loud, remnants of their little fight earlier.

Regina tried to calm her breathing. She wasn't going to let him ruin her evening so she just hoped that Granny would give her her key as quick as possible so she could leave the company of the outlaw and retire to her room.

"Alright." The older woman spoke and reached down to take out a couple of papers hidden in one of her drawers.

"Just fill these out and here's your key." With that she placed a one single key on the counter and looked up to face them with another annoying smile plastered on her face.

"Excuse me?" Regina spoke and was quickly backed up by Robin.

"What's this?"

"It's a key." Granny spoke, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"There's only one." Regina pointed out after a beat, taking one step closer to the counter so she could clarify her observation that yes in fact, there was only one key on the counter.

"Oh did you want two keys? I'm sure we can arrange that."

"Yes, we want two keys to two different rooms." Robin spoke and also took another step towards the old woman, coming to stand right next to Regina.

"I'm afraid that's not possible." came Granny's automated response.

"I beg your pardon?" the brunette asked, her tone getting angrier by the second.

"There's only one room left."

"I don't understand, how about those keys?" Robin asked, one hand coming to point towards the stack of keys that were hanging on the wall.

"All reserved." Granny answered without looking back at the wall, which raised suspicion.

"That can't be-"

"I'm afraid it is, so sign the forms please."

"No, you don't understand." Regina took another step and rested her hands on the counter which separated them from the grey haired woman. "I can't stay with him."

"Nor can I with her." Robin completed her sentence from behind.

"And that is not my problem." Granny responded, a smile tugging at her lips but she refused to give it away as she eyed the two of them.

"This ridiculous. Where's Emma? I will stay with her."

"She's staying with Henry."

"Then I will stay with them-"

"I'm afraid that room is for two people only." Granny quickly countered earning a sigh from Regina.

"And my boy-" Robin started but was interrupted by the old woman.

"With Will Scarlet."

"And let me guess, that room is also full?" he asked with an annoyed expression.

Granny leaned against the counter and addressed Robin.

"That is correct."

There was a pause and an obvious tension before Regina groaned in annoyance.

"This is stupid. I can't stay with him. What if he steals something from me?"

"What am I going to steal? Your overpriced blazer?" Robin spoke now addressing her."

"I bet you would sell it or give it to the poor." She replied, turning to face him.

"Even the poor aren't interested in your clothes." Robin said and his fingers gently brushed her jacket while making his point. But it seemed Regina got furious with the contact, staring at him with her mouth hanging open.

"How dare you touch me?!"

"What? Never experienced the touch of a real man while you're sober?"

"No but you're about to experience the slap of a real woman."

"Oh bring it." He took a step towards him, eyes never leaving hers. There were inches between them and the tension was enough to make everyone in the room uncomfortable which was unfortunately Granny for the time being and she was dying to get out of the situation.

"Are you two going to sign the forms or what?" she suddenly said, interrupting the couple.

At that moment Regina realized, she was in no position to argue. She had been working for God knew how many hours, her back ached, her feet refused to carry her and she could barely keep her eyes open and frankly she was trying very hard to keep herself awake for her little banter with the outlaw.

So maybe it was because of the exhaustion but without turning to look at him, she grabbed a pen and quickly signed the forms, and passed it to him so he could do the same. He paused for a second, probably getting himself to believe that she actually agreed to staying with him, but he gathered himself together and quickly signed the papers himself so they could finally go up to their room.

He wasn't surprised when Regina grabbed the keys before he did and tried to head for the diner only to be interrupted by Granny once more.

"It's closed."

"It's 7 pm." Regina turned to look at the old woman.

"I'm closing early so either go up to your room or get out."

Regina sighed and closed her eyes. Life was playing a cruel joke on her. Feeling the weight of her handbag which reminded her how she desperately needed a rest, she quickly averted her gaze from both the old woman and the outlaw; she turned around and headed for the stairs which led to their room. Deciding it was the best thing to do, Robin followed her, giving Granny a quick nod on his way out.

After making her way to the 3rd floor and cursing Granny on her way up, Regina finally found the door to her, well their, room and fumbled with the keys. Her headache was growing worse with each passing second as she desperately tried to open the door when she heard him speak from behind her.

"Are you also incapable of opening a door?"

She paused and let out a long sigh, and decided not to answer him. Instead she concentrated on the lock before her and forced the door open with a huge thump. When she walked in, however, she froze on the spot as her eyes scanned the empty hotel room.

"What? What is this, some kind of a sick joke?!"

"Why, what's going-" but before Robin could finish his sentence, he was also faced with the situation in the room.

Only one bed.

"Hell no!" Robin exclaimed, taking a step back towards the door. "I'm going back to the forest."

"Are you forgetting the overpopulation of bugs or are you willing to make friends with the insects too?" Regina snapped without looking at him, her eyes still trying to get used to the sight of that one bed.

Her remark stopped Robin dead in his tracks. She could be a snob but she was right. Besides, even if he went back to the forest, he wasn't going to be able to take Roland with him, who was already getting used to the luxury of the bed and breakfast and was quite happy staying with Will, who made various jokes to keep the boy entertained. Who was he to deny his son that little fun? So, closing his eyes momentarily, he felt himself give up and slowly walked back into the room.

"Well, I'm open to suggestions." He spoke, coming up from behind her.

"We can't share." Regina replied, eyeing him and his three day old scruff that made her want to stare at him even longer but she quickly averted her gaze.

"So one of us has to take the floor considering there's no sofa." And indeed there wasn't. That old hag was crappy at managing hotels.

"Obviously not me." Regina scoffed.

"No, we wouldn't want that pretty little ass of yours to experience that pleasure now, would we?"

"Call my ass pretty one more time and yours will be flying out the window."

Robin only smirked at the brunette which annoyed her even more. Who did he think he was?! He was nothing more than a common thief. A common thief with gorgeous blue eyes and an adorable son, but that was it. He was an outlaw and he had no respect whatsoever.

"I'll step outside for a while to check on Roland. They're staying upstairs with Will."

Regina's heart melted at the sound of Roland's name. He was the only thing she liked about the thief; his adorable dimpled little boy who for some weird reason loved Regina as much as she loved him which was different for her. She wasn't used to people liking her and strangely, this boy did. She was one step away from asking Robin if she could tag alone but she restrained herself. She could always see Roland later.

"Will you be okay while I'm gone?" Robin asked, a smile playing his lips.

"Don't worry. I won't miss you." She replied, eyes never leaving his.

"The feeling's mutual, your majesty." He spit back, words filled with sarcasm and distaste towards her.

With that, he turned around, walked out of the door and left her all alone in the empty hotel room. Upon meeting with silence, Regina let out a long sigh and closed her eyes. Well this was all she wanted after all, some peace to herself, but why did she feel a pang of disappointment beginning to form in the pit of her stomach? Shaking her head, she quickly brushed off the feeling.

Dropping her bag on the well-made bed, she thought this over. She didn't have a change of clothes and it was going to be tough sleeping in her power suit, but that was something she had to figure out later on. For now, she needed a shower and somehow she was thankful that the outlaw wasn't there.

So she peacefully took her clothes off and after laying them on the bed, she made her way towards the bathroom and stepped into the shower, hoping that the warm water would wash away the ache in her lower back and legs. And it really did, the water was helping as she set the temperature to a scalding one and leaned her head against the bathroom wall, closing her eyes and enjoying the feeling. She was finally alone; not in the way that she expected but alone nonetheless and her plans for tonight were to go over her paperwork one more time before going to sleep early. She just hoped to God that thief wouldn't annoy her so she could end the night on a peaceful and quiet note.

As the warm water washed away her troubles, she heard a sound of someone opening the door and closing it behind them. She snapped her eyes open. Was he back so soon?

Quickly turning off the faucet, she stepped out of the shower, droplets of water spilling everywhere from her body and making their way to the floor as her eyes searched for the towel.

Oh no.

Oh my God.

The towels were in a drawer next to the bed.

Her eyes grew wide at the realization as she quickly searched for something to cover herself with, anything. Mentally cursing herself for leaving her clothes on the bed, she thought over her options but only one came to her mind. With a weak and desperate voice, she found herself calling over to Robin.

"Robin?"

"Yeah?" came the outlaw's voice from the other end of the bathroom door, oblivious to her problem.

"Would you mind fetching a towel for me?"

"Get it yourself." He yelled back at her and she groaned in frustration.

"I can't." she found herself replying quietly.

There was a pause before he spoke.

"What do you mean, Regina? Are you okay?" his voice came from a much closer range now. She guessed he probably stood up and walked towards the door. She just hoped the God that he wouldn't open-

"Regina?" and he forced the door open. But she acted faster and pushed the door right back and closed it again before he got a chance to see her body covered with nothing. Water was still dripping off of her and to be honest, she was starting to get cold.

"No, don't!" she quickly said.

"Why, what's wrong? Tell me you're okay!" his voice sounded worried and it caused her to pause momentarily before she spoke.

"I'm fine. I just need a towel."

"Why?"

"Look at the bed, you idiot!"

Following her instructions, Robin's curious eyes turned to the bed with a blank expression but when he saw the clothes carefully spread out on the mattress, his lips curved into a smirk.

"Oh…." He spoke with realization from the other end of the door.

"Yes, so if you don't mind." She said, waiting for him to hand her the much expected towel but from what she could hear, he was just standing there and not moving towards the drawers.

"So the queen needs me, huh?"

"I don't need you, I need a towel." She bit back with frustration.

"Say the magic word."

"Now!"

"I'm sorry, that's not the magic word." With the he turned around, walking back to the bed with a huge grin on his face. He was going to torture her until she begged for mercy. So maybe their stay in this hideous hotel wasn't going to be so boring after all.

"I will kill you, thief!" Regina yelled from the bathroom and her fist came into contact with the hard surface of the door and she winced in pain. Was he really doing this to her?

"Still not the magic word!"

She sighed and took a moment to calm herself as she quietly counted to ten. She needed to relax and not decapitate him. Yes, his son needed him alive. You're not going to murder him, Regina she said to herself, get a hold of yourself. So she breathed in and when she opened her eyes, she was ready to do what he wanted just to get out of the cold.

"Please?" she found herself saying with a hushed tone.

Instantly, Robin walked back to the bathroom door and spoke.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you?"

"I said you are a bastard!"

"You're not getting that towel. Bye."

"No wait!" Regina quickly said, stopping him on his tracks. "Please?"

"Please what?"

"Please you insufferable thief!"

"That's not my name." Robin was enjoying this far too much and he could hear her taking deep breaths to calm herself. He just hoped that she wouldn't try to kill him in his sleep later during the night.

"Please, Robin." His name rolled off her tongue coated with sarcasm but it didn't stop his lips from breaking into a huge smile as he walked to the drawers and grabbed a towel big enough for her to cover her body.

When he cracked the door open, she let him, but much to her surprise, he didn't open the door all the way. So the thief was a gentleman after all. She raised her hand and moved it past the doorway, reaching for the towel the outlaw was offering.

For Robin, it was a challenge not to peek inside. He knew Regina needed her privacy but he couldn't help but to wonder what she looked like behind the wooden door that separated them. He watched her arm reach for the towel and take it from his hands, still wet from the shower as his eyes accidentally caught a sight of her exposed neck. Her dark brown hair was in a high bun in order not to get her hair wet as the couple of locks that escaped the knot were exposed to the water and now were sticking to her long slender neck. He even caught a sight of her face, wearing a thankful expression and his breath got caught in her throat upon seeing her in such a natural state. But before his eyes could drink in her beauty, she shut the door again and he was left with his mouth hanging open.

Get yourself together, he thought to himself and pried his eyes away from the wooden surface as he walked to towards the other end of the room with a sigh.

He just hoped that the bug problem would be fixed soon because he didn't know how much longer he could stay all alone with the woman who made his breath hitch since the first day they had met.