Stealing From a Thief by ruthlessly-ruthless/ anonymous.mystery95: Chapter 1 (Prologue)
Stealing From a Thief by ruthlessly-ruthless/anonymous.mystery95: Chapter 1
Summary : "He knew her heart was being stolen from him once more, but this time he had no one to blame but himself. And goodness, if that didn't make it all the more painful." In which Marian ships Mad Queen, Robin is conflicted and Regina really needs to learn how to close doors.
Fulfilling Fears by anonymous.mystery95/ruthlessly-ruthless: Chapter 1
Fulfilling Fears by anonymous.mystery95/ruthlessly-ruthless: Chapter 1
Summary: Rule One: Never break your soul mate's heart. Rule Two: If Rule One is broken, ensure their best friend isn't a magic wielding fairy. Rule Three: If Rule Two is broken... there's no hope. Or, when living in a world where one's fears could easily become reality, Robin will have to face the nightmare that has been haunting him for months. And his only hope for salvation may not come. Robin’s stuck in a nightmare where Daniel, not Marian, has come back.
Pairing: Snowbarry. Barry/ Caitlin.
Words: 3 240
Information: Part 1: Tumblr, FF. Part 2: FF
...
If Cisco and Doctor Wells thought they were being discreet in their attempts to distract him, to keep him so busy and utterly exhausted that he could not imagine thinking about Caitlin and her lack of presence they were sorely mistaken.
Caitlin was all he could think of.
He rushed through every task asked of him, his mind only a few miles away with a certain brunette woman. They couldn't deny that his speed had improved, that his concentration seemed both on point and so distant. Because he wanted to be with Caitlin, he needed to. Last night- lord, last night- had been unbelievable, amazing, confusing, utter perfection and if these tasks were in the way of their reunion then they would simply need to get done. And so he did them until finally, with the resigned look on Doctor Wells mixed with the hopeful optimism on Cisco, Barry knew that they had no other tasks, they had nothing to test, to experiment on. He was finally free to go home.
.
When he sped into her apartment, he was not expecting the sight that he was welcomed to. Because there she was, beautiful, sweet Caitlin, lying in a STAR Labs jumper and sweats on her couch, asleep. In his STAR Labs jumper, asleep. His heart stuttered at the sight of her there in his clothing and thoughts of her in his clothing, in a large array of his clothing, sleeping, waiting for him to come home, ran wild in his mind.
He crouched in front of her, taking in the sight. He gently ran his fingers across her skin, not resisting the urge to run his fingers through her unruly locks, brushing them away from her face. And it was this that roused the sleeping beauty in front of him, her eyes opening a fraction taking in the sight before her.
"Barry?" Her voice was rough with sleep, the image in front of a blurry image, but one she had seen enough in her dreams to know instinctively.
"Yeah Cait, it's me." He could hear the smile in his voice, falling more in love with her in that moment.
"Oh." Her eyes had closed again, the soft murmur giving way to a soft smile at the sound of his voice, with the knowledge that he was here, with her, where he should always be.
"You wanna get up now?" His voice was so soft, so hesitant to break whatever was allowing him this precious moment.
"Just five more minutes, I'm too comfortable here." The plea won him over immediately, he would have served the world on a silver platter if she had asked for it, but this - five minutes of them, alone - he would have no problem doing. It all felt so domestic, and he couldn't help but envision a future five, ten years down the track, with the same scene occurring, hopefully with a ring on a certain finger, maybe with the slightest hint of a bump on her stomach.
She shuffled, unable to find the perfect position she was in before. Huffing in sleepy irritation, she grabbed his hand and, placing it between her head and the arm of the couch, she sighed happily before falling asleep. But not before dropping a kiss on the inside of his wrist. He watched her in wonder, his heart threatening to burst from within his chest at her actions, his world stilling, pausing at that very moment, revolving solely around her.
"I love you Cait." It was a ghost of a whisper, a confession only uttered with the knowledge that she wouldn't recall it, wouldn't run from it. He didn't even intend to admit it aloud again, but the words refused to be held captive within him for any longer.
"L've you too." But then she said it back. And screw five minutes, he would have spent a lifetime in this situation with her, with that declaration spoken so freely between the two. So he remained leaning beside her, memorising every detail on the face that graced his dreams, not wanting the moment to end. But it did eventually, his arm having passed the stage of merely going numb and was now shooting pain down his arm.
"Cait, come on, it's time to get up." He slowly arose from his position, his hand still nestled between her and the couch. Tilting her face just so, he was able to relieve the pressure on his hand, but he couldn't bring himself to break the connection between them. He moved his fingers slightly, his other hand mirroring the first, stroking, caressing, the smooth skin beneath it. "Come on, sleepyhead."
She awoke slowly, his voice drawing her from her slumber, reality crashing down on her in fragments. Barry could pinpoint the moment she gained full comprehension of where she was and what she was now facing. He tried to hide the hurt he felt as she scurried out of his embrace, curling into herself on the other side of the couch, watching him with frightened, wary and - guilty eyes?
(And he wondered whatever could she be feeling guilt for? For it was him that ravaged her last night. It was him that ignored her rejection. It was him that needed to be on his hands and knees, pleading for her forgiveness, for her love.)
"What are you doing here Barry?" She was defensive, he could tell, and he was unsure how to venture forward.
"I came to speak to you."
"And so you broke in?" It was a quiet screech, and he quickly figured out that reminding her that she did give him a key and so, technically, under the eyes of the law, there was no break in committed would not be the wisest course of action.
"Well, you didn't come into STAR Labs today." She could hear the concern behind his words but no, she was avoiding him, she couldn't face him, not now, and here he was coming to her. She attacked him last night, took advantage of his state so why? Why was he here? Why was he torturing her like that, looking at her with those eyes of his, not a hint of disgust or judgement present.
"Is that supposed to be some sort of revelation to me?" Her words were like acid, burning him. He had never been on this side of the doctor, but now he was he longed to never return. "I am entitled to time off, you realise that, don't you?"
"I know, I - I just thought that it may have been because of last night and well, I thought we should talk about it now." Her eyes narrowed at the mention of last night.
"What do you remember of it?"
"I-" the feel of her lips, her skin, the strangled moan that escaped her lips as he kissed the sensitive spot behind her ear. He cleared his throat and looked down abashed at how distracted the memories got him to be. "Everything."
"Well, if you remember everything there is nothing to discuss, is there?" She was shutting him out, he realised. She - Caitlin Snow - the woman who opened up to him so easily, and he her. They were kindred spirits, her and him, and now, seeing her this way, he felt bereft of her in his soul.
"Caitlin, of course there is. That's the reason why we should." He reached out to her, ignoring the pang of disappointment as she recoiled from his hand.
"Well, my life isn't focussed upon catering to your every whim and wish. If you came here for an apology for engaging in such acts than here it is: I'm sorry Barry. It was only done to keep you occupied until I could get some help. Now please, my door's that way." And sure enough, her outstretched finger was pointing at her door and her eyes indicated that was exactly where she wanted him to be. Sighing in defeat he nodded, and turned to the door. But as he twisted the doorknob, he paused. And refusing to face her, to see her looking at him like that again, he spoke.
(Because he heard the slight tremor in her voice, saw the minute trembling of her finger, and he had one thing he had given up on moments before. Hope.)
"Did you ever wonder why her touch never worked on her parents?" The question stunned her momentarily, the question so left field she couldn't understand why he was bringing this up now, not when she was breaking her heart so efficiently - a clean break now decidedly more easier to handle than have him do it with such ease. He was utterly in love with Iris, hearing him say that he didn't mean the words he spoke would have done nothing other than crush her and really, she wouldn't be able to come to work and see him everyday if that were to happen.
"Well, I would assume that given they helped form her genetic composition, it made them impervious to the effects of her touch."
"And you never wondered why I was never attracted to the others, that it was you, only you. You never questioned why no one was attracted to someone too young or too old?" He had turned around by then, taking in the expression on the doctor's face, wondering if he had pushed it too fast too quickly.
(But it had been a year, he'd been in love with her for a year - he'd missed his opportunity with Iris because he had waited too long, he wouldn't make the same mistake with Caitlin, his heart couldn't take that.)
She looked at him unblinking, the new terrain they were rapidly approaching unfamiliar and confusing.
"I have this theory, you see, that it didn't induce lust, but lowered the inhibitions in relation to lust, or love. And that's why her parents were immune to her touch - they had grown to distant to have any feeling towards the other. They knew of the other's affairs and didn't care. There was no love, no lust, nothing. I think that's why they were immune to her." His eyes were burning her, trying to tell her something. She was on the cusp of comprehension, the sweet taste of knowledge so very close, but the leap of faith required was something she couldn't do. "It may have lowered them so much so that the lust or whatever romantic emotional response was exaggerated in certain cases, but it must exist initially for there to be any effect. And I think that's why I felt it toward you and none of the others." He heard her intake of breath at the confession, he felt her searching gaze sear into his soul as she looked for the truth to his statements once more."Well, that's what I wanted to say." And he turned around, reaching for the door again, cursing his stupid idea that maybe she did feel something, that it wasn't just a distraction until the firepower had arrived.
"Barry."
And there it was, his name flowing from her lips. So full of a reluctant hope that it stopped him in his tracks.
"What are you saying Barry?" He could hear the fear trembling her voice, the thought of loving someone almost as scary as rejection. He turned around and found her so much closer than before, the sheen in her eyes now visible. He could see the war going on inside of her - to shut him out or let him in, and he hoped that she would let him in, oh god he hoped that would be the case.
"I'm saying that when I told you I dream of you, I wasn't lying." He took a determined step forward, watching her. Her eyes shone with unshed tears, the emotions of the past day finally releasing itself. She finally felt comfortable showing these emotions, because Barry was there and he wasn't leaving her. Her comfort, her hero. Her Barry. "When I told you I fantasise about you, I wasn't lying." There was in intensity that flashed in his eyes as he continued, refusing to let this be something brushed away as an effect of yet another metahuman. "I do Caitlin. I think of those things, yes. But I also imagine the dates, children running around in the backyard, doing scientific experiments, blowing things up." With every step his voice had dropped in volume, emotion clogging his throat, and here, in front of her it was barely a whisper. His hand reached out, caressing her face and he marvelled at the way she melted into his touch, he stood in awe at her beauty as her face relaxed, as her eyes fluttered closed at the contact. She nuzzled into his hand, seeking his heat and love, needing it to warm the icy cold grip fear had upon her. "Of me calling you Doctor Allen."
"Doctor Allen?" Her voice quivered as she repeated his last words. It wasn't lost to her that his father had been a doctor, a Doctor Allen, and to have him want it to be her, a title that he held in such high esteem, one surrounded by a tragic past - to have him say it with such adoration, as though she was able to wipe away the darkness surrounding it- her heart throbbed at the implication.
"When I told you I love you, I wasn't lying." He smiled weakly, afraid that she would run, afraid that her fear would make her run. But she didn't; her eyes flung open, eyes probing for the truth, for that to be the truth. She suspected after he arrived that maybe he did have feelings for her - but she didn't believe it to be as strong as love. She never allowed herself to imagine the future he was portraying for her, but now she did, and it was glorious.
"But - but Iris?" He shook his head slowly, the expression on Caitlin's face breaking his heart. Had he been so evidently in love with Iris before that Caitlin couldn't see how helplessly in love he had been with her now?
"I'm telling you now, unaffected by whatever the metahuman was able to induce, that I love you - and not in the platonic way you've imagined. I'm not lying or exaggerating, I do love you. Not Iris, not any longer. This," he brought her shaking hand to his heart, pausing, allowing her to feel the steady beat underneath her palms. "This belongs to you, it beats for you Caitlin."
And before he finished her name she was in his arms, pressing herself against him, kissing him. He stumbled at her momentum, his mind blank to all except her, the feel of her lips against his own, the way she moved, the passion she kept hidden behind the walls of her heart. And no, it wasn't the lust inducing or inhibition lowering powers that made him doubt that the lightning gave him speed because he felt that he was floating with her in his arms - it was her, all of her. He finally regained some form of sense and kissed her back, smiling under the assault of her lips, hands refamiliarising themselves with the contours of her body, heart and mind yearning for the physical intimacy of the last night, especially following his declaration.
He gripped her tightly, afraid that this would all come crashing down around him, that she would still run, and now that he's tasted her, held her, touched her, he wasn't sure he could survive like that, live seeing her everyday and not cracking.
"I love you too Barry." It was whispered against his skin, the moment too fragile to break. It was a mantra, flowing from her heart and lips, each word punctured with a peppering of kisses across his jawline and down his throat. She could feel his tension slowly seeping from his body with every time she uttered it; she knew he was afraid she would shut him out, that she would do as she did before.
She lingered at his pulse point, enjoying the thump underneath her lips, taking comfort in the feeling. Because he was here, he was alive and he was in love with her.
She pulled away only slightly, eyes locking and breaths so ragged their chests were physically brushing against each other with every attempt to draw oxygen into their lungs.
"You- you love me?" His voice contained such awe, and she realised for the first time that maybe she wasn't the only person that was unsure in their standing with the other. He had been in love with his best friend for almost two decades, to imagine that she could reciprocate seemed so bizarre and unlikely he had almost expected rejection.
"I love you Barry." She smiled at the confirmation, her heart lighter as the words were made audible. They seemed so insignificant, so underwhelming, but it was the best she could do to verbalise her feelings, to express to him just how much he meant to her.
"And you won't try running away from me again?" The fear that she would still run lingered in his mind, and she needed to quell that immediately. Because she could never run from him, not after the past twenty four hours, not now that he was here, pouring out his heart, his dreams for the future - dreams that involved her in no minor capacity - to her. She pulled him close for one more kiss, soft and quick, but still leaving the both of them breathless.
"Never, you're stuck with me now Barry." Her voice dropped at his name, her tongue wrapping around the syllables as the sultry tone teased him, a mischievous glint in her eye indicating that she remembered everything from last night to, especially a certain confession about his name coming from her lips. She saw his eyes darken as soon as it left her, the power she felt almost as intoxicating as his hands and lips on her. They had both felt the atmosphere shift, the lighter one replaced by one which conveyed the raw desperation and need for the other.
"Good." His voice was gruff, and it sent a shiver down her spine to know that she was responsible, that it was her that affected him in such a way. "Because I would really like my sweater back." And her laughter quickly changed into something else entirely.
.
She couldn't recall the stumbling around in her lounge room, of how she ended up pressed against her wall, a very loving, a very real Barry Allen responsible for it all. But she did, and his laughter was muffled against her lips, his smile as he pulled away to breathe lighting up the dark crevices of her broken heart. And she couldn't help but respond in kind; she felt whole and happy once more and it was all due to the man in red, saving her every single day.
He didn't know when they started lingering in their embraces.
Okay, well, he did. But that event was amazing, incredible and so, completely exhausting, he dare not consider it the moment that everything changed. (It was more because she did not have the strength to move, let alone get up and leave him.)
He didn't know when or how they moved from leaving immediately to lingering, from lingering to small talk. From the small talk to the quiet confessions that they hardly acknowledged to themselves.
'What was he like?' His calloused fingers were wandering aimlessly across the smooth expanse of her naked back, tracing shapeless patterns into her skin, silently marking her as his. He felt her stiffen against his touch, yet she refused to turn around, to face him, and he was unsure whether he should be on guard.
'Who?' There was an edge to her tone, a warning to not go where he intended to, but he ignored such advice, plowing onward with the question.
'Daniel. You call out his name sometimes.' It touches his heart and crushes it in equal measures when he hears that name. Because while the knowledge that she feels safe enough around him to be vulnerable is touching, it does nothing to calm down the primal part of his mind which lights up at the thought of another's name on her tongue, of someone else on her mind.
'Don't you dare mention his name. Not to me, not to anybody.'
'But you do want me to mention it, you want to talk about it, to be set free from it. You want to love again. But you don't think you should, don't want to dishonour their memory like that, you don't think you deserve anyone else other than them.' And he was right, oh god he was so completely right that it hurt. To hear the words out loud, to hear someone verbalise her deepest fears and darkest secrets was strange and confusing, it was uncharted territory which she hoped would remain that way. She didn't know what to do or what to say and so she responded the only way she knew how: with anger.
'Don't presume to know me, Agent.' She attempted to get up, to get out, but his arms banded around her waist, pulling her flush against his chest, keeping her with him.
'But I do know you.' He held her until she stopped struggling, until she listened to what he had to say. 'I know you because I know me. I see the same sense of loss in your eyes that I see in mine. I know what it is like to have nothing and no one, to lose yourself in your mission and tasks because there is no one to come home to, no one who would care if you. To approach everything with a reckless abandon because somewhere, deep down, you are hoping that you won't succeed, that you'll be reunited with them once more.'
She felt the tears prickling behind her eye lids. Tears. She was surprised her body knew how to produce them anymore, it had been so long. (Since Daniel, since before Daniel.)
'I envy you a little you know that.' He sounded so casual, as though the topic would be as banal as the weather. She would have assumed it would be, if not for the way his grip on her hip tightened, if he didn't pull her that much closer to him. 'I mean, your mother may be a cold, manipulative murderer, but in a cruel, twisted way, she does love you.' A coarse bark escaped his lips and she flinched at the pain it carried. 'My mother died when I was but a teenager and my father disowned me as soon as he legally could. You at least have a family, I have what? Nothing.' His voice cracked, but he felt no shame. She was still there, listening, and that was all he could have wanted. 'My wife died in childbirth. The kid did too.' He sounded so lost, so defeated, when talking about them, that - goodness know's why - Regina felt the need to turn around, to comfort him. And so she did. 'We were going to call him Roland after her father.' He leaned forward, nuzzling his head in the crook of her shoulder, taking comfort in her presence. 'God, if there were any way to save them, I would have taken it no matter what the price. But life just isn't a fairy-tale, there is no magic available to make everything better.'
She wanted to tell him that he did have someone, that he had her for as long as he wanted, but the words were caught in her throat in an uncomfortable lump, refusing to budge.
She raised a hand, caressed his cheek, a part of her relishing in the feel of his stubble against her skin, but a larger part enjoying the way his eyes fluttered closed at the contact, the way his face seemed to relax, the tension slowly seeping out of his body. She loved the way that it was her that could do this, that he knew her secrets, her sins, but still enjoyed the moment between them. (Because it was a moment, just one in a small collection of them. And she felt perfectly fine with that - and it was that which worried her.)
When his eyes did open, her breath caught when faced with the intensity he felt, that he directed towards her, that was for her. And she couldn't have stopped the smile even if she had tried. She didn't know what he could see in her own, but she had a very strong suspicion it was what she could see in his.
He should have known something was completely off when she opened up so easily. He should have been worried when he was able to look in her eyes and she all the bottled up emotions without obvious consequence. But he didn't. Instead he pulled her closer, relishing in the moment, his heart beating a little faster when the soft sigh of contentment and adoration passed her lips. She nuzzled closer, breathing in his scent, breathing in their mixed scent, all sweat and sex and just them.
'I almost defected once.' A broken laugh escaped her mouth after that and Robin felt his chest tighten at the confession. He looked down at the woman in his embrace, memorising every detail about her, about this. She refused to look him in the eye, instead outlining the ridges of his chest, her fingers leaving a trail of fire in their wake. There was nothing sexual about the movements, but the affect it had on him was powerful all the same. 'My boyfriend- fiancè', she corrected, 'felt uncomfortable with the work my mother was training me for and had been begging me to leave.' He knew better than to talk, not with her being so open to him, not with her trusting him with something so valuable. 'He knew I hated it, but my mother is my mother and if there is one person you don't betray, it would be her.' However evident the disdain was in her tone, it was not strong enough to hide the quiver in her voice, the only sign that she was affected by the recollection of events. 'But then he proposed, and the thought of raising our children together was so unbelievably amazing. I knew then that I couldn't remain so I approached an agent from the NSA who would help with the defection. I would provide information, and in exchange they would provide passage to Canada and new identities for the both of us.' Her breath was becoming laboured, the flood of memories threatening to overcome her, and the circles his fingers were rubbing into her skin weren't as soothing as he had hoped. 'That stupid agent, that bloody stupid agent.' Her voice was trembling, the emotions, before almost unnoticeable, now overcoming her entire being. She looked up at him, her eyes glazed with unshed tears. 'I told her that her manager was our mole in the NSA, but the idiot discarded my information. "He's like a father to me, he would never do anything like that."' Regina sneered, but the affect was lost as the absolute devastation shone in her eyes at the memories. 'She told him about the agreement, about the information, about my fiancè-' And that is when the broken sob escaped her lips and took over.
'Oh Regina,' it was meant to be comforting, but when he heard his voice, heard how affected he really was in the situation, he realised words were probably not what she needed. He pressed kisses to the crown of her head, wanting to whisper words of comfort, but knowing that empty platitudes would do nothing.
The kisses were peppered to every stunning feature he could touch, her forehead, her eyes, the stream of tears glistening in the light. He kissed her nose and intended to bypass her lips for her chin, but she had different ideas. As he lightly skimmed over them, she arched upwards, catching them wholly against hers. He almost pulled away, but she followed him, and he decided that if this is what she wanted from him, this would be what she received. She could have asked for the world and he would have endeavoured to serve it on a silver platter. But she wanted this, she wanted him, and so he continued to kiss her, to comfort her in any way he could.
He thought it was over, he needed it to be over, because he didn't think his heart could handle any more, he didn't think that he could see her, investigate her and be objective. The urge to sweep her away from all this darkness was already hard to control, but anything else would push him off the precipice he was dangling over.
'My mother gifted me his heart in a box. "After all, that's what you wanted, wasn't it? His heart?" '
And in that moment he felt his heart break all over again.
And he was falling.
(What he hadn't realised was that he had already been in free-fall for quite some time.)
'All my life she told me love was weakness, but I never understood what she meant until then. I was blinded by my love for Daniel to see how MM was using me. God, she probably didn't even care that our lives would be in jeopardy if she told Leo, just as long as she had her information and got to play hero.'
Robin, to his credit, didn't falter when MM's name was brought up, everything about her compulsion to be involved in the mission, about saving the younger Mills made so much sense.
And so he held her while she was shook, trying to escape the suffocating feelings she had no chance of avoiding. Her tears were burning his bare skin, unrelenting in their strength, unforgiving in their destruction. It pained him to not be able to do anything, to be forced to simply endure her pain along side her with no chance of relieving it. He couldn't not do anything. He took her chin under the crook of his finger, tilting her face up towards him. And he kissed away her tears, following the trail down from her eyelids, down her cheek, nipping at her jaw before kissing her lips once more, attempting to soothe her agony.
It was a soft caress of lips, but it held such pain and danger. Much like the calm before a storm, it's beauty overshadowed by what would come, and what would be left in it's wake. He continued to kiss her until the tears subsided, until the shaking that wracked her body ceased. She drew away first, breathless and lighter than she had felt in years.
'I should go.' She seemed almost shy confessing it, like a blushing bride; she seemed unsure with her actions, hesitantly pulling away from his warm embrace, longing to return to it, to the bubble they created, untainted by reality. Slowly, reluctantly, she gathered her clothes, putting it back on, getting ready to leave him. And as always, he watched her. He drank in her form and gave up on ever returning to a world without her in it.
'Run away with me.'
It slipped out without a chance for him to even consider it, but once it was spoken, he knew he would never regret suggesting such a thing.
'What?' She looked at him shocked, hands pausing at her buttons as she looked at him, baffled by his words.
'Run away with me.' His enunciation didn't change, his speed didn't slow. He knew her confusion was not based upon not hearing, but not understanding. 'I have a few aliases I've established over the years. We can stage my death and run away together, I could get a job and you-' Like an avalanche, his plea had grown in speed and intensity. He paused then though, taking in a deep breath, ' -and you could get a new start, with me.' His hand reached forward to grasp her, to pull her closer but his movement seemed to snap her out of whatever trance his words had placed her in.
'No. Are you insane?' She hissed it, recoiling as his fingers brushed against her. 'I am a monster, a villain. I use people and I kill them.'
'I know, but I honestly don't care. All I care about is the woman inside, all I want is your heart, because M'lady, well, you already have mine.'
She looked at him so confused and afraid he felt his heart break a little more for her. 'I am a broken, broken woman Robin. I don't think I have a heart to offer you.'
'Well I guess we'll have to use mine for the both of us.'
She wasn't expecting that.
'Why? What do you see in me?' Her walls were crumbling down and they both knew it. He took a step forward, but unlike before, she didn't take a step away.
'A second chance Regina. You can call me crazy, but I am damn sure you're mine.'
'But I'm a murderer, I couldn't - I don't deserve-' The thought seemed so preposterous in her mind, so inconceivable that this man, this good, honourable man, could be interested in her to the extent of throwing away his life.
'Everyone deserves a second chance. Even you.' He could see the doubt, the self-loathing that plagued her still there. So he kissed her. It was hard and heavy, his desperation radiating off him in waves, threatening to pull her under with him. His fingers fumbled with her buttons, trying to bring her back to a level of undress matching his, hands shaking as he touched the woman who had somehow gotten a hold of his heart. But she resisted the pull, calmly responding to the kiss, the ferocity dampening, but in no way affecting it's intensity.
If Regina were anything like a romantic, she would have claimed to feel whole in that small moment. If Robin was willing to admit the truth to himself, it tasted awfully like a goodbye kiss.
She refused to face him, knowing that his eyes, so blue, so intense, so full of something for her would be able to break down her barriers so easily. So she felt his gaze burning through to her soul for the last time.
'We can't do this anymore.'
He knew she meant it all, the meetings, the sex, the opening up, the emotions that weren't supposed to develop by did so on their own accord.
And the logical part of him knew she was correct, that it should have been said long before then.
(His heart felt a pang of loss so strong, it was only rivalled by the loss of his wife and only son within the space of those three godawful minutes.)
He had five minutes to download the information before the bodies he left behind would be discovered...
...if he was lucky.
Opening up the computers in the Control Room he cursed his luck as he faced the encrypted files of the Mills Mafia. They were too advanced for his level of skill and the only person who could possibly decode the files, The Librarian, had been caught by the man only known as the Dark One, so she was optimistically assumed to be dead. (When it was rumoured that he would know if you uttered his true name aloud, death was considered to be the merciful option.) It had been a mission gone wrong, just another in the series of misfortune they optimistically called an black op.
Plugging in the USB drive, he did the basics. Delete footage of his presence, loop the video feed that was being recorded to the mainframe, disengage anything that had the potential of recording him. With one eye firmly watching the live video recordings, he followed the instructions the Librarian had left if anything were to happen to her.
He looked at line upon line of code, something he had no hope of understanding. He was an assassin and a thief for goodness sake, how was he supposed to understand any of this? Simply deciding to download it all, he continued on with determining where exactly he should place the wireless keylogger, without it being noticeable.
He was so engrossed with his work that he didn't notice anything until it was too late.
He didn't notice her until it was too late.
(And he would come to realise that it was uncomfortably true in more ways than one.)
.
..
.
'My advice is, unless your intention is to download every virus known to mankind, you better stop what you're doing.'
He stiffened at the voice, feminine in nature, oozing seduction and sex appeal, and -for more than one reason- he felt the urge to turn around to see the woman who had caught him in the act.
She appeared from nowhere. Not a sound was made, no alert was sounded, the video feed showed no evidence of a soul, it was as though magic was responsible for her presence there. And there, in all her glory, was the devil in disguise, Regina Mills, the ultimate femme fatale if he ever had the misfortune of meeting one.
Her eyes glinted in the darkness, and he became aware of how long she spent examining the perfect model of alluring temptation, before him. (He blamed the heels that adorned her feet, they begged, pleaded with the wearer to have them on. To only have them on. And he couldn't deny that the image his mind procured was enticing.)
'If you had bothered decoding more than the first few lines of the encryption, you would have noticed that it was a series of viruses that would serve to copy all the information on your network while corrupting it in the process.' She smiled proudly, and that served to put him more on edge than anything else. 'My personal favourite is the poisoned apple algorithm.'
'Huh?' It was a grunt, escaping him before he had a chance to mask his confusion. She however, went on as though he hadn't made a sound and he found himself annoyed by that.
'You think your getting something nice and juicy, while the virus spreads through your system, poisoning everything in it, shutting it down without the user even realising. I'd assume for an organisation like yours it would be a curse you couldn't be rid of.'
She walked towards him, while he simply watched her warily, she seemed to come alone, and while that meant the odds would have been in his favour, she did know the layout of the place, she knew of his presence when he went to such lengths to hide it, she knew how to maneuver without alerting him of her's. All in all, he did not have the advantage, which meant that he would simply have to wait, to observe the woman in front of him. To find her weakness and exploit it. (Never, in all the worlds, would he have imagined it to be him.)
'Who do you work for, anyhow? I can't see the CIA getting involved with this, and the FBI are so ridiculously slow in their investigation I'm almost insulted with the caliber of agents they sent after me.' The tilt of her head should not look as sexy as it did, but he couldn't deny the appeal of danger to a soul like his. (How else could he justify a job such as this one?)
She wasn't an idiot, she did remain a good distance away from him. She could see the muscles underneath his clothing, and she was not going to risk seeing if they were as strong as she suspected.
'M'lady?'
'Ahh, British then.' She nodded thoughtfully to herself, ignoring, but not discarding his presence. 'So MI6 finally decided to make a move, I'm surprised actually. Didn't think they would bother getting around all the red-tape the American's put around.' He stood quietly, wondering why she was talking to him, what her endgame was. 'Sometimes it seems to be more for our benefit than the country's. '
'How did you get in here?' He cracked, so sue him. He had a file on Regina Mills shorter than the alphabet. If he needed to go fishing for information from the woman herself, he would bring the tackle and whatever else would be required.
'By walking.' Her voice was droll, bored and clearly expecting more from the agent in front of her. 'What? Did you think you were the only person who knew how to loop the video feed?'
'But-'
'Name.' She smiled saucily at him, and he realised that he should have left beforehand, regardless of the risks at hand, because this situation, now, was infinitely more worse than anything he could have faced.
'Agent.' He may be caught, but he would not reveal anything - especially to her.
'Well then Agent, you can just call me Your Majesty.'
'Your Majesty I was just curious as to how you hacked the feed without having access to the controls.'
'Please tell me your joking.' His unwavering stare indicated that no, he was not joking. 'I'm pretty sure I could have cracked that code in under five minutes on a flip phone. Trust me, I may have left myself a backdoor, but that is hardly considered my best work.'
'You designed this?' The disbelief and wonder slipped though his tone, nothing in the meager profile reports readied him for that information. Though he had a feeling that it would be almost impossible for anybody to be ready when meeting the fiery woman before him.
'Please give me some credit. There is more to my life than having a fantastic body.' He bit his lip at the mention of her body because, good god, that outfit seemed tailored to his every weakness.
She pulled the drive from the computer and slid in in between her cleavage, his eyes following her every movement and lingering once it was placed securely. The cheshire smile that was spread across her face alerted him to the fact he was not as subtle as he would have hoped to be, but at that point he was well passed caring. He was a trained agent, if he was so affected by lust he couldn't execute a simple mission, he didn't deserve to hold such a position.
'I'll give you five minutes to escape before the guards are alerted to your present Agent.' That snapped him out of whatever daze he was in. She was a criminal, a murderer, he would be insane to believe that she would willingly give him all that time to escape, however it would incomprehensible to not take advantage of whatever time she did give him. But first he walked to her, so unbelievably close, each and every curve on the woman's body pressing deliciously against the hard ridges of his own, and she simply watched him, her eyes dark and calculating, wondering what game he was playing.
'It was a pleasure meeting you, Your Majesty.' His voice was low, smooth, his accent more pronounced and from this position she could definitely appreciate the way his shirt clung to his muscles. She bit her lip at the thought of those muscles tense, braced around her as he held himself above her, the shirt no where in sight. 'It's a shame it'll never happen again. Not unless you're handcuffed. And locked up.' She felt as though she were on fire, her mind flooded with different ways they could both get what they wanted. But, in that instant, he had disappeared.
She didn't have the slightest chance against an accent like that, with a self assured thief who seemed to rub her in all the right ways, lighting her up with barely a word.
She would have to ensure that it did happen.
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'Agent Locksley.'
He opened the door with a gun in his hand and not a single piece of clothing on his torso. Licking her lips subconsciously, eyes raking over his fine form, she couldn't determine which piece of information was more of a turn on.
'How did you find me?'
His voice was gruff, clearly being awoken from whatever sleep he was able to grasp, but nothing about his defensive posture or the fact that the gun was still pointed towards her could detract from the way she saw his eyes darken, his pupils dilate in lust. He wanted her and she was determined to let him take her in much the same way she intended to take him.
'I think the only way to describe your aliases is pathetic. But you know I'm not here to talk technology Locksley, nor am I here to talk about the mission you seem to be on.'
'My aliases have served me perfectly thus far.' She snorted, it was rather unladylike and in any other instance she may have felt shame at having such a reaction escape without her control. Instead, she found herself eager, preparing for a battle of wit, something she was sorely missing in her life.
'Hood. Your alias is Robert Hood. The fact that none of your targets had found you earlier both astounds and disgusts me.'
'Regina.' It was just her name but damn, hearing it come from his lips, with that accent and his deep, rich timbre, it did things to her. 'Regina.' It was just her name but damn, hearing it come from his lips, with that accent and his deep, rich timbre, it did things to her. 'How did you find me here?'
'I've been researching this mission of yours.' He stiffened at the mention of her researching the mission, her technological gift something he wouldn't take lightly, but if she noticed she said nothing of it. 'Seems that the British are still trying to express their superiority over us Americans. I'm surprised you were able to gather so much information about us in a short span of time.'
A small part of his sighed in relief; she may have known the details surrounding his part of the mission, but she didn't know the full extent of it's entirety. Because it wasn't just him who was working on this mission, it wasn't even his mission. It was, in actuality, the NSA's. When the Americans with all their eternal optimism, approached MI6 asking for an expert marksmen they had put forward his name without a question; after all, his shot's never missed their mark. The Australian, code-named the Librarian, had already agreed to working on the hacking aspect of the mission and, if necessary, any undercover work. Add in a couple of mercenaries, who really, were almost like wolves with their bloodthirstiness, and the rat-tag team had been formed.
And he was the weakest link.
But they were safe and that was all that mattered.
'Your sources won't be speaking to you anymore. Well, not unless you pull out an ouija board, but I think they would be too afraid to contact you from the other side. Fear is quite an effective tool.' Cute. That is all that was running through his mind when she scrunched up her nose at the mention of fear as a tool she you wield on even the dead. He should be alerting the other's about the deaths, should be reporting that his identity was now compromised, but he wasn't. He was just reflecting on how cute she looked like that.
'Well, aren't you going to invite me in?'
'No.' The astonishment was not disguised in the slightest and her smile widened at it.
'Tsk, tsk, tsk. Were you ever taught manners Agent Locksley, because I am of the persuasion that they are severely lacking.' She waltzed into his apartment, without a care in the world, and if he were honest, he found that to be some kind of amazing.
'What are you doing here Regina?' The roughness of his voice had failed to disappear and they both knew that it was no longer due to sleep. Or his lack of it. And so, when she dropped her coat and he was able to see what exactly she was wearing underneath it - or rather what she wasn't - he couldn't hide his hunger, he never attempted to.
Cute was definitely not the right word to describe this woman.
'I'm just here for a simple conversation.' She smirked at his silent response, taking in his jaw slacken expression and the fire in his eyes which simply set her soul (and libido) ablaze. She approached him slowly, reveling in the fact he seemed to be a statue, frozen in his position, vulnerable to her.
(It was those heels, those bloody heels.
Seemed his wish was granted after all.)
'Unless you want to do something else.' She was a minx, a seductress, a siren. And like any man, he couldn't resist her call, even if he knew it was leading to his downfall. 'Like what you see, Agent?' She raked her fingers down his chest, a trail of red being left in their wake. She admired her mark upon him, and although it was fading away, the brand would remain. She didn't like to share her things, and he was hers, hers to do with - or do away with - whenever and wherever she pleased. (And oh, she had a feeling he would be very, very pleasing.)
'Well, I can't deny that you look absolutely stunning. At every angle and in every way.' They were so close now, the feeling of his heart beating underneath her fingertips sent a shiver of pleasure down her spine. She could easily kill him, he would have no chance. But she didn't.
Not when he pulled her to him like he just did, giving into the temptation that was there. The skin-on-skin contact fanned the flames instead of relieving them, her eagerness was insatiable and she needed release.
'Yes.' It was hissed out, the warmth he emitted both exciting her and affecting her more than she would care to admit. 'Just... just don't get attached Locksley.' He could feel her against him, every heave of her chest pushing her more firmly into him. She felt more than she heard his words, the rumble from deep within his chest vibrating against her, the thrill it sent manifesting itself in the shiver that wracked her body.
'I wouldn't dream of it.'
And then, with his acknowledgement, they collided.
Clothes went flying everywhere, her skin - oh her soft, supple skin - so visible, so available for him to take, to explore, to feel. And he did do that.
He understood the rules, they went without saying. So when the name 'Daniel!' passed through her lips, he said not a word.
(But then again, she said nothing when 'Marian' was the name he cried out.)
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..
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They didn't make it to the bedroom until the third round.
(They didn't make it to the bed until the fifth.)
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..
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She brought the handcuffs with her the next night.
Inspired by a conversation I had with anotherouatwriter months ago on FF.net, where I was lamenting over the fact that I had previously only written spy-fics before and she told me to write one for OQ (she may not remember, but it still occurred and deserves credit for the idea). Now excuse me while I run away and hide.
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AU: spy!Robin, Mafia!Regina; it was just supposed to be casual sex - stupid emotions.
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'You know I'm only using you for information.'
He took the whimper that escaped her lips as affirmation that she did indeed hear and understand his statement.
(It could easily have been the result of the attention he was currently lavishing upon her neck, collarbone, slowly making his way south, but the balance of probabilities leaned towards the former option.)
'If you're screwing me for information about my mother, you're taking the wrong approach.' The sentence was disjointed, interrupted by the moans she could not hold back; her voice was deep and rough, it was almost primal in its sound and Robin took pleasure in knowing that it was him that was able to do that to her. (He would also question why it would be the cause of such pride, but that would come much, much later.)
'No, I'm sleeping with you because you are a bold and audacious woman, a sexy, seductive, evil vixen-' And - bloody hell - definitely skilled with her hands, as she seemed so intent upon proving at that moment. 'But I am using you and I don't want you thinking that when we catch you and convict you, because we will, I'll be there to save you. Because I won't.'
'Ditto, dear.' The snark was instinctive, and his retaliation was very much enjoyed by both parties. 'And how, pray tell, are you using me for anything other than my body?' Honestly, in the lusty haze she had descended into the moment he touched her, she didn't care what he did just as long as his mouth kept doing - oh! - that.
'I would tell you, but I don't to alert you to your weaknesses in your system. Just watch yourself, 'kay?'
'You say that every time we meet up Agent Locksley, it's almost convinced me you're starting to care. And we can't have that now can we?' He could hear the smirk in her voice, malice dripping off the words, reminding him that, no, she wasn't this innocent woman who he happened to spend his nights with, she was a murderer and a notorious one at that. He scoffed at her statement, intent to show why he was really here, intent on pushing away that thought immediately. Because she was right. He was starting to get attached to their little arrangement, he was starting to get attached to her, and given such a thing could result in both of them getting a bullet in the head, it was not something he wanted to reflect upon, especially when she was going - oh goodness - that. But it wouldn't leave him, the unsettling feeling that it would all go downhill, both the mission and his emotions, wouldn't leave and it was putting a damper upon their activities. So he pinned her down, his large calloused hand holding down her dainty wrists easily, thighs stopping any movement of her legs, ignoring the glare she directed towards him when he did so, pushing aside the pleasure he feels when she deliberately jerks her hips upward to his.
'I have a code of honour, Regina.' She scoffed at that, he was a highly paid assassin, one of MI6's finest, even if his weapon of choice was archaic to say the least (not that she had the right to judge, especially given that her mother practically ran the black market and well, the apple never did fall far from the tree.) 'And I don't want to hurt you anymore than I have to.'
(He would never forget the first time he told her that he was using her, that she was merely a means to an end. She laughed in his face at that, "who knew a thief had honour, even one as rubbish as you." Then she proved why she had garnered a reputation as an evil, evil, witch, because her mouth- absolutely sinful.)
'What makes you think you could?'
(What he would never understand, what he could never understand is that she was falling in very much the same way, not that either would admit to such a reckless thing. Because a lesser person would be dead at the mere thought of pinning her down the way he so casually did just then.)
'Just be a dear and finish what you've started.' If casual was all they could afford, that would be all that she asked for. Heck, that was all that she wanted.
He couldn't help the smirk that slowly spread across his face.
That, he could do.
(And it had nothing to do with the way she ground out his name from her clenched teeth over and over. And over.)
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They were never one for cuddling afterwards, so he just remained on the bed, watching her as she went across the room, picking up her clothing from all four corners of it (she wouldn't be able to find everything though, he ensured that much.)
'So, how's your infiltration coming along?' She wasn't a fool, nor did he warn her in vain. They were on opposite sides in this war and she would take every opportunity she could to gain intel (not every opportunity though, not if it meant hurting him.)
'I'd tell you, but then I'd have to kill you. And I do so enjoy you alive.' She could hear the laughter in his voice, and it made her feel lighter, as if the lives of thousands of people weren't upon her head.
'You know, this would never have happened if you just successfully broke in the first time.' She would always revel in the memory that he had broken into their base only to be caught by a 5 ft woman in ridiculously high heels. (The memory wouldn't compare to the first time she had broken into his base, albeit for more carnal reasons.)
'Oh, the mission would have definitely continued afterwards. We may have hit a small stumbling block, but the mission is so much larger than you imagine.' That was as specific as he could go, after all, knowledge that the NSA and all their "we will find them" rubbish was involved would be detrimental to the mission, nor could she know that the ASIS was also playing a vital role (though, the one known as The Librarian was taken into enemy hands in the fight. He would worry about what secrets were revealed if she hadn't saved his life before. Right now, he was more compromised than she could ever be). 'And it's not my fault that you are magic when you work your technology. If you ever decide to get out of organised crime, I'm sure I could work something out for you.' It was the first time he had suggested that he wanted her out of the organisation and she couldn't help but pause at the last button, eyes flickering towards him for no longer than a second before turning on her heel and walking towards the door.
'Until next time?' She was going for confident and seductive but that affect was not achieved, the emotions escaping the bottle she had locked them in (and since when did this become emotional and not just mindless sex). She cursed the small quiver that could be heard in her voice, undoing all the work she had spent for the past months. Hardening her heart and voice, she walked out with parting words aimed to crush. 'Forget it, I'll be breaking in some of the new recruits.' If only Graham was alive, the heartless bastard, I wouldn't need this thief. (She decided to ignore the word "need" that had somehow slipped in.)
She left him there, stunned. Motionless. The unavoidable sense of doom encompassing him, weighing him down, leaving the smallest part of his heart light with something.
'Yeah, next time.' He was mumbling to himself, hating convoluted mess he found himself entangled in, hating the possessive nature that suddenly discovered at the thought of anyone's hands on her, anyone other than him. But above all else, he hated the realisation that the ending he had been so desperate to avoid was the only inevitable conclusion in their story.
They were both completely and utterly screwed.
(And by screwed, he meant "going to die.")
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There may be the prequel too. Maybe. I'm thinking "Honeypots and all things sweet."