"I still don't see why this is necessary," Regina complained. "I have magic, remember? It's not like I'm defenseless."
Robin just smiled and handed her the bow. It was a modern contraption, different from the longbow he had used in the Enchanted Forest, and Regina raised an eyebrow skeptically as she took it.
"What?"
"Do you even know how to use this thing?" she asked. "It's not like yours."
"I'm well aware," he said. "But this one will be better for you to learn with. Now, shall we begin?"
He positioned her about ten feet away from the target. She snorted derisively.
"Regina, you're not going to be able to do what I do right away," he said. "You've got to start small. When you started learning magic, I'm sure you didn't start with ripping out hearts and throwing fireballs."
"Actually, I started by throwing my mother through a portal into another world. Fireballs and hearts were a few weeks into my training."
Robin's eyes widened, and he waited as if expecting her to laugh and tell him she was joking, but her expression was dead serious.
"Rumple didn't believe in starting small," she explained. "He was more of a sink-or-swim kind of teacher."
Robin had half a mind to storm over to Gold's Pawn Shop and give Regina's former mentor a piece of his mind. But he just shook his head disapprovingly.
"Well, in this, we will be starting small," he said. "A bow and arrow is a weapon, and a dangerous one if you don't know how to use it properly."
She rolled her eyes and reached for the quiver on her back. She had meant to pull out an arrow smoothly, but she ended up fumbling and dropping it. He was grinning as she stooped to pick it up.
"What now?"
He came up behind her and gently turned her to the side, so that her body was at a right angle to the target. She smiled and turned to look up at him, distracted by his touch. When she went in for a kiss, he shook his head.
"Later. Now focus."
He showed her how to aim the bow and notch the arrow. It was harder than it looked, and her muscles strained as she drew it.
"No, no," said Robin. "Don't hold the arrow in your fist. Do it like this, with three fingers, and hold the fletching, not the shaft."
"You know those words don't mean anything to me," she said with a laugh. "This is pointless."
"No, no, you're doing fine. Now hold the bow steady, and aim for the target. No, a little lower than that. Okay, let it go."
The arrow flew through the air and struck one of the outer rings of the target. Regina threw down the bow with a huff.
"No, that was quite good," said Robin.
"I'm standing ten feet away! Anyone could have hit it at this distance!"
"Do you want to try again?"
"Do I look like I'm giving up?"
So she tried again. And again. And again. He had to hand it to her, she was nothing if not persistent. Finally, she hit the bull's eye. He smiled at her as she stood there, with her hair pulled back and her body drenched in sweat, clutching the bow, an expression of triumph on her face.
"I knew you could do it."
In an instant, the bow was lying on the ground and Regina was in his arms, kissing him passionately. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. Her hair smelled of apple shampoo.
"I love you," he murmured, pressing kisses into her neck.
"I love you, too."
The world around them dissolved into smoke, and they collapsed onto the soft mattress in Regina's bedroom. Robin grinned. He might not always be fond of magic, but he had to admit, it did have its advantages.