The Golden Rule - Outlawqueen

Old habits die hard

When Robin opened the door for her, his sight threw Regina off course. He wore the same white shirt and blue jeans he had worn one day ago. This time, the sleeves were rolled up and exposed a pair of sturdy forearms. Toned skin, solid flesh and... a tattoo. It looked like a coat of arms. A black shield with a rearing lion in it. Simple yet beautiful.
She felt this incredible need to touch the plain picture of the animal. Majestic and strong like the man in front of her. She wondered how it would feel like to grab his broad shoulders and his biceps. How he would tense up when her fingertips stroked his smooth skin.
A sweat strain let the fabric of his shirt stuck to his chest and emphasize his impressive muscles. Stimulated her fantasies. That was definitely not good. Heat rose from inside her core, filling every part of her body. Her cheeks burned. They were probably as red as a beetroot.
Damn it! Why does he have to be so sexy?, she thought frustrated and tried to raise her eyes to his face. She swallowed, biting her lip. He leaned against the doorframe and smiled at her. The deep blue iris emitted sparks, while he glimpsed at her body. Or more specifically, at her cleavage. The casual blouse she was wearing had the color of green olives. Her black jeans fitted like a second skin. She had not been sure about her outfit, but the way he looked at her told her she made the right choice.
"Regina, it's good to see you" he began to speak. His voice was queerly husky and the British accent more than seductive. She could not help but feel a certain satisfaction. At least she was not the only one who was staring.
Robin cleared his throat and made way for her to come in. "Roland already told me that you wanted to come over."
"Thank you." A faint smile crept on her face, when she entered the apartment.
"Thank you" he replied. "It's very kind of you to help us with the remaining things."
"Hey, Mom! Long time, no see" her son grinned. He knelt on the ground of Roland's room and tried to assemble a shelf.
Regina's smile broadened. "Indeed."
She followed Robin through the corridor into a room that might be the living room. At least there was a couch and a television stood on the floor. The rack was still missing. Shoals of boxes lay siege to the room. There was utter chaos.
"The cartons next to the couch are full of books. You could assist me putting them in the shelf." He pointed at the wooden piece of furniture and frowned pensively. The way he bit his lip and ran his fingers through the short hair made her blood boil. Did he even know what an effect he had on her?
She was sure she was not the only woman imagining him naked.
Stop it! You're here to help your neighbor and not to rip his clothes off, she called herself to order.
He possessed a considerable collection of literature. Mostly romances, a lot of Thrillers and some plays written by Shakespeare. She could not help but think of their discussion one day ago. The corners of her mouth twitched as she tried to imagine him with clothes from the theatre, speaking Romeo's parts in Early Modern English.
"I didn't expect you to read Pride And Prejudice" she said and stroked the cover.
"It's a classic" he replied with a smile upon his lips and stopped the process of putting the novels away. "And a good one, if you ask me."
"That's something I can agree on."
She handed it to him and their hands touched. Pure electricity flowed through her veins and warmth filled her body. They remained in this position and her eyes pierced into his big hands. Carefully she glimpsed up just to ascertain that he was as captivated by the moment as her. After a little while they regained their composure and the lion tattoo seemed to move when Robin tensed his forearm muscles to put Jane Austen's work with some others into the shelf. His flowing movements had a certain elegance that made Regina get weak in the knees.
"No criticism?" he referred amused to their conversation about Shakespeare.
She shook her head. "Exceptionally not."
His gaze met hers and dragged her into the depth of his ocean blue eyes.
"Who are you and what did you do with the woman next door?" he teased with a stunning smile.
"Shut up" she chuckled giving him a push. It was not enough force behind it to keep him out of balance but it was sufficient to reap a confused look.
"I began to read one of your novels" she told him while they continued sorting. After Roland and his father had left her apartment on Friday evening, she had lent one of his novels from Henry. And it really got her attention. The way he expressed the feelings of the characters and the atmosphere, made her want to read more and to become totally engrossed into the story.
"Really?" he asked. "Which one?"
"Old habits die hard" the black-haired woman replied. It was about a man who became a thief after the death of his girlfriend. But he recognized that he needed to get his life in order.
"And what do you think? The absolute truth, please. I can take criticism."
"I like it" she admitted. "I mean, I have read only hundred pages so far, but it's powerfully written. The idea of a broken man who wants to forget his past is quite realistic."
What she did not tell him was that she was able to identify with the protagonist. He dealt with the loss of a beloved person and tried to find his happiness again. It was the same situation, Regina had experienced ten years ago with Daniel. Her Daniel. In the blink of an eye, her whole life had changed. She remembered him lying on the cold floor. Pale and lifeless. His brown eyes staring into the distance. He was long gone and yet the only man she had ever loved with her whole soul. It was not easy to get over him. She did not even knew if she would ever get over him.
"I'm glad to hear that" Robin responded and ripped her out of her dark thoughts. She also did not want to think about Daniel right now.
"You know" he continued. "After my wife left us, I tried to deal with the fact, that I wouldn't see her again. Writing everything down made it easier for me to accept that."
"Isn't it a bit cruel to kill her off?" Regina asked. "I mean even if it's just fiction."
"Well, you might be right. But she actually died. I'm widower for six years" he explained and gave her a smile. But she saw that he was just trying to cover his pain.
Gee! You really have a talent for putting a foot in it...
"I'm sorry" she whispered. Without thinking about it, she reached out for his hand and squeezed it gently.
"Don't be. You didn't know" he answered, returning her movement. It was a harmless symbol of condolence yet very intimate. It showed her that he respected her as a person and made her realize that she respected him as well. That she felt a certain devotion for him, although she met him only yesterday.
"But I do know what it feels like to lose someone who meant a lot to you. I'm a police woman, I know what I'm talking about" she joked to overplay her own sorrow about Daniel and raised a real smile from him. A smile which let these wonderful dimples appear beside his mouth and emphasize laughter lines next to his eyes.
The black haired woman was curious about how many aspects from his book matched the reality. She was inquisitive about what happened to Roland's mother.
"So, you-"
"Robin?" Henry's voice echoed through the apartment and interrupted Robin. "We're ready with Roland's room. Is there something else we can do?"
Hectically, they let go of each other's hand.
"There is" the man answered. "Come into the living room, please."
The boys helped them with the last novels and afterwards Henry and Robin took care for the last furniture that had to be assembled.
Regina and Roland passed the tools to them, while the curly head strived to keep the conversation running. He told them about Oxford and how different it was in comparison to New York. She had never been in Oxford but the kid aroused her curiosity. He related to the sights and their old apartment. Told them about their old neighbors who were - in his opinion- not as kind as the ones he met in this building.
Roland was also excited about school. It was a new experience for him and the woman remembered quite well how nervous she had been on her first school day. A little girl with long dark hair and shy glimmering eyes.
"Believe me, lad: School's not as cool as you might think" Henry said getting up. Sweat beaded his forehead and his cheeks were slightly red.
"I doubt that" the younger one responded.
Robin chuckled and looked at the two children. He placed a hand on his son's shoulder and squeezed it gently. The other one scratched his bristly chin.
"When I was at your age I couldn't wait either. But something is telling me, you're going to join Henry's opinion in a few years."
"Daddy, that was certainly hundred years ago" he grinned. While a wide smile crept on Henry's face, his mother could not hold herself back and let out an amused laugh. Robin on his part stared at his son as if he had confirmed to get married.
"Are you telling me, I'm old?" he grunted and poked his son in the ribs. The way they teased each other showed Regina how strong their relationship was. Their eyes radiated the love they felt for one another and although she did not know a thing about Robins wife, she knew that the two of them were a little family. Like Henry and herself.
The ringing of her cell phone interrupted the dialogue and only the name on the display caused an annoyed eye-roll. Could not she get one day off?
"Emma" she sighed. "What's the matter?"
"I'm sorry to disturb you during the weekend, but Graham called me a few minutes ago. There's a corpse nearby the East River. He wants us to inquire into the case."
"Where exactly?" she asked. The black-haired woman was far from being pleased about the news, but unfortunately she had to follow the orders from above, no matter when.
"Manhattan Bridge. The crime scene unit is already there."
"Alright... What about you?"
"I'm on my way and you should hurry as well. You know how impatient Graham can be."
"Yeah, I know" she answered. "I'll be there within a quarter."
"See you then" the blond responded and Regina hung up. As much as she wanted to spend the rest of the day with her son and the Locksleys, duty called. "I'm sorry, I need to go. There's a new case waiting."

---

"The victim is Andrew Dickens" Belle French, one of the forensics, told them. "He's got an occipital lesion, probably caused by blunt force trauma. But it wasn't the cause of death."
"So, what was it?" Regina wanted to know. She looked down at the man in front of her. He lied on his stomach in a pool of blood. His limbs were peculiarly twisted. He was not that old. Twenty-five. Maybe thirty.
"It seems like he fell of the bridge. Presumably, somebody knocked him off" she explained.
"Murder?" Emma asked and put a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear. Regina bit her lip. It was a part of her job, but every time she saw a corpse, her mind wandered to Daniel. Years had passed since his death and she still felt this huge hole in her heart. This feeling that something important was missing in her life. Especially after her conversation with Robin.
"I think so" Belle replied. "But it's not sure. We can only hypothesize."
Graham told them that a jogger found the victim and wanted Regina and Emma to visit his parents to break the news of his death to them.
The black-haired woman hated it. She hated to watch the sorrow of relatives. Hated to be the reason of it. Well, sort of. But in the end it was what they had to do. And she loved her work. She would never want to do anything else.

Hey, guys! 

I tried my very best to update as soon as possible and I hope you like the chapter :)
Who of you saw the latest episode? I don't want to spoil those, who haven't, but I'm still not over what happened.

Regal Mills