Outlaw Queen One Shots

Up In Smoke

A/N: If you smoke, have ever smoked, or have quit smoking at some point, this may be a slight trigger. I don't think it'll be too bad, but if you have a history of smoking, you might want to be careful reading this one shot because it does contain some smoking and talk of smoking. So just be aware of that, but otherwise, enjoy!

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She checked all the upstairs bedrooms and bathrooms. No one there.

She tiptoed quickly downstairs and found the living room, office, guest room, and den to be empty. She peeked around the doorway to the kitchen, not far enough to be seen, and saw him there, reading a newspaper and nursing a cup of coffee.

Surprising, since it was four in the afternoon, but she paid it no mind as hurried back up the stairs, her soft footfalls unheard in the kitchen.

She was in her walk in closet in no time, sliding down the wall next to the dresser so she was hidden from view should he come in. She let her head fall back as she took the cigarette out of her mouth, and sighed, blowing out smoke.

She groaned in satisfaction and took another long drag, but quickly snuffed it out and fanned the smoke away when she heard his footsteps on the stairs. She stood and busied herself pretending to organize the drawers on their dresser praying he wouldn't smell the smoke.

She heard him come in the room, saw him stop in the doorway in her peripherals.

"Regina," he began in a suspicious tone of voice, "Why is there smoke in the air?"

She threw him a sly grin and said, slapping her hip, "Maybe because I'm smokin' hot."

She winked and went back to rearranging her drawer.

"Regina," he said sternly.

She sighed and leaned against the dresser, dropping her head into her hands.

"I'm sorry, Robin," she whispered. "I'm sorry."

He sighed, finally entering the closet and standing next to her.

"You promised me you'd never smoke again. Regina, you're two years clean! Didn't that feel good, to be free of that?"

"Yes, but... Smoking... takes the edge off. Like when you were an alcoholic. It makes me feel better."

"Better about what, exactly?"

"I don't know... I've been under a lot of stress lately, Robin. I really am sorry, and I'm not proud of it."

"Then stop," he said gently.

"I tried! When I first started again, I only smoked one and I told myself I wasn't going to have another. And then a little while later... I had another... It's hard, Robin."

"I know, love. But I'm going to help you. So you can start by giving me your pack of cigarettes."

She reached into the pocket of a winter coat hanging at the back of the closet and handed it to him, along with another she had hidden in a shoebox full of pictures that resided on the top shelf.

"Those are the only packs I have," she said honestly.

"What about the one you were working on when I came in here?"

"Can't I just finish that one? It's not like I'll be smoking after this anyway, so what harm is it really doing?"

"Regina, give it to me."

She sighed and pulled the half finished cigarette out of her pocket, placing it in his open palm. He walked out to discard the items, then returned a few moments later and pulled her into a bear hug.