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Nottingham greeted them with snow and ice despite it only being early November. When Robin and Marion arrived at the inn they were staying at, they rented two rooms as per usual.
On the first night, with the wind howling outside and a rapidly falling snow covering everything with a thick blanket of frozen water, shivering Marion got out of her bed, opened the door to her room, and on her tiptoes, sneaked into the room next to her. Without a word, she climbed into the bed, next to a sleeping man, like it was the most normal thing in the world.
In his sleep, Robin scooted closer and gathered her to him like he’d done many times before. No questions asked. And in the morning, she’d be gone. And they wouldn’t speak of it.
The next night, Marion wasn’t feeling well and went to bed early while Robin stayed in the tavern downstairs.
When Marion woke up, the room was cold, and the fire was gone. She got up and opened her door ready to dash through the corridor when she heard two people walking up the stairs.
Robin and another woman. Chatting and laughing. Marion’s face fell. Without waiting to see them, she closed the door and went back to her own bed trying to fall asleep despite the chilling cold.
Later that night, she’s woken up by someone climbing into her bed.
Robin.
“You’re freezing,” he said and gathered her to him. “Why didn’t you come?”
“I thought you had company,” she replied through her teeth, this time unable to relax in his arms. A bitter taste in her mouth.
“Only one woman is allowed in my bed,” he whispered in her hair, and she slowly relaxed in his arms, leaning back against his chest.
“Yeah?” She smiled.
“Yeah,” he confirmed. “I was helping the barmaid carry wood to the other rooms, she was swamped with work. The other barmaid didn’t make it to work because of the snow.” He explained even though she didn’t ask. He didn’t owe her any explanation, they weren’t together.
“I didn’t get any,” she said.
“That’s because I was hoping you’d join me tonight. Your wood is in my room,” he said as he gathered her even closer to him. He nuzzled his nose into her hair and kissed her head goodnight before they both fell asleep exhausted from the long day.
This was their routine. It never progressed beyond just sleeping, with both having too much self-control. But one day… One day, that self-control was going to run out and they were both painfully aware of that.