Fluffy prompt for Outlaw Queen found on Tumblr. Written for il-etait-une-fois-nos-reves on Tumblr. AU in which Marian never came to the future, Regina never captured her, and she died during childbirth because magic always has a price, and magic saved Roland but took Marian.
Disclaimer: I own nothing, not even the plot.
When Robin is upset, Regina learns two things can happen. Either he will talk to her, knowing she'll be there to listen or doesn't say a word at all. She discovers when he's upset and not in the mood to talk about it, he likes to lie with her in silence, his head resting on her stomach, listening the calm sound of her heartbeat and it's her fingers in his hair that always soothe him. Because that's what they do. They're here for each other. She is there for him the way he's there for her. Support, love, protect.
"Roland is asleep, finally. He had such a long day today, playing at the park with Henry and August, and all that ice cream they had afterwards, you'd think he would have been asleep hours ago." Regina said as she walked into the living room, adjusting the cuffs of her sleeve, not looking up, and shook her head in confusion. "I will never understand how children can have so much energy. Henry was like that, too, you know, he used to-" Regina stopped her prattling when she rounded the couch to sit next to Robin, but found him sitting on the floor, staring into the fire. Robin sat with a pained look on his face. He sat with one leg stretched out in front of him, and the other bent up with his arms folded on top and his chin resting on is arms. He didn't seem to notice Regina had entered the room, nor that she had spoken to him.
"Robin?" Regina said, slightly concerned as she glanced between him and the fireplace that his gaze was fixed on. His eyes were glossed over, almost like there were tears in them that would not fall. They were dark, despite the glow of the fire that danced across them. It looked like was somewhere else, in his minds eye, somewhere she couldn't get to, and it scared her. "Robin? Are you alright? Robin!?" Regina said worriedly as she bent down beside him, and shook him a bit. He seemed to come out of whatever daze he had been in with a deep, unsteady breath as he looked around him in a panic, trying to remember where he was before his eyes settled on Regina's concerned face.
"Regina, what's wrong? Is it Roland? Is he hurt? Where is he?" Robin asked frantically as he started to get to his feet before Regina stopped him.
"No!" Regina said quickly, grabbing his arm and pulling him back down on the floor next to her. "No, Roland is fine. He got his bath, and he's sleeping in Henry's room. He likes Henry's better than his. And I read him a story." Regina explained, then added, "Well, I read him seven stories. He was afraid of the shadow's cast by the trees outside the window. I think there's a storm coming." Regina said, still looking at Robin with concern. "Are you alright?" she asked when he didn't say anything.
"Yes, I'm fine." Robin lied, avoiding Regina's gaze.
"No, what's wrong?" Regina asked, put her hand on Robin's cheek, and turned his face so he would look at her. "You're thinking about her again? Marian?" she asked, knowing she was right.
"Regina, please..." Robin said pleadingly. "I had a nasty row with some of my men today, and I just don't feel like talking right now, so can we please not?" Robin said, a bit harsher than he meant, but took Regina's hands in his, and gave them a squeeze to show he meant no offense to her.
"Alright, but you know I'm always here for you if you want to talk. You know that, right?" Regina asked, looking him in the eye so he knew she was serious.
"Yes, I know." Robin said half halfheartedly, with a smile that didn't reach his eyes, which looked so sad and pitiful Regina felt like crying.
Instead, she stood up, held out her hand to him, and helped him up. Regina led him to their shared bedroom by the hand, and they both changed their clothes in silence. She wore one of her long sleeved, button up, two piece cotton pajama sets, while Robin "borrowed" a pair of pants from another of her pajama sets and a grey t-shirt he kept in the top drawer of her dresser for when he slept over. Regina came out of the bathroom and noticed Robin still had that far off look on his face as he pulled his shirt over his head.
After a thought, Regina silently walked over to Robin, wrapped her arms around his middle, and pressed her cheek against his back, letting a few tears of her own fall as her heart ached for him. She suddenly thought of what she'd read or heard somewhere about lovers where when one hurt, the other did, too, and could not agree more. After a moment, she lifted her head to look a his face as best she could.
"Are you okay?" Regina asked him quietly.
"No, not at the moment, but you're here, Regina, so I will be." Robin said, turned in Regina's arms, wrapped his arms around her, and squeezed her tightly to him. Robin held her so tight, Regina thought he would hurt her, but then he relaxed his grip on her, and released a sob he didn't know he'd been holding in. Regina felt his body start to shake from his silent sobs, but when she tried to pull away so she could see his face, he held her close as his ears fell on her back. All she could do at that moment was hold him close to her and rub his back soothingly. They didn't speak, they just stood there for a long while. Eventually his silent sobs didn't stay silent, and he was crying into Regina's shoulder, and his knees buckled a few times, but she held him up, and held him close anyway.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Regina asked when he finally pulled away to look at her. His eyes were red and puffy, his cheeks were flushed, and there were tear stains on his face, and he looked miserable. At that moment, all Regina wanted to do was to kiss him until the pain in his eyes was gone and he was his usual cheerful self again, but she didn't, because tonight wasn't about her.
"I do, but I can't." Robin said, shaking his head. "It's too..." he started to say.
"Too painful." Regina finished for him, and he just looked at her in slight bewilderment. "It's okay. I get it. I've been there. I understand." Regina said, stroking his cheek affectionately.
"Thank you, Regina, you truly are a blessing." Robin said, giving her a small smile. She was about to correct him on the "blessing" part, but decided against it, and led him over to the bed instead, where they both climbed under the covers. Regina lay on her pillow closest to the window, and Robin moved in close to her, and lay his head on her shoulder, but immediately lifted it again when he felt something wet. He reached across Regina, ignoring her questioning look, and switched on her bedside lamp.
"Oh, look at that!" Robin exclaimed with a chuckle. "It seems I've soiled your shirt!" he said and rolled over on his back, laughing.
"Well, I need a shower, anyway." Regina said, and even though she didn't see the humor in the situation, she laughed with him, anyway, despite herself. After a few minutes, when their laughter had subsided, Robin looked at Regina, and propped himself up on his elbow, looking very serious.
"What is it?" Regina asked. Robin didn't answer right away, he just stared at her.
"I love you." He said, and bent his head down and kissed Regina's forehead lovingly.
"I love you, too." Regina said when he pulled away, and caressed his scruffy cheek.
"Come, now, let's get you out of this wet shirt." Robin said, and helped Regina get her shirt off. After they'd wrestled the shirt off her, Regina lay back on her pillow, and Robin threw the shirt in the general direction of her laundry hamper, and looked back at her now exposed skin. Even with her sports bra on, Regina felt very exposed at the moment, but at the same time she didn't want to cover herself up. Robin placed his hand on her abdomen, right above her navel, and gently stroked her skin with his thumb, watching her face for a reaction. He smiled at her when she furrowed her brows at him and squirmed a bit under the heat of his touch, and she had goosebumps all over from the coolness in the room.
Robin sat up then, took his shirt off, and motioned for Regina to sit up as well. When she did, Robin pulled his shirt over her head, and helped her into it as if she were as helpless as a baby. Regina pulled the shirt down, and plopped back on the bed just as rain started pouring outside. Robin laid down next to her and, hesitantly, put his head down on her stomach, and wrapped his arm her waist. Regina ran her fingers through his hair, twisting his hair into curls, and playing with the longer strands. After awhile, Regina reached over, turned off the bedside lamp, settled herself in a more comfortable position, and soon the two were fast asleep.
A/N: This was a lot sadder and longer than intended. I wasn't sure how to end it, so this is what you got.
il-etait-une-fois-nos-reves: Pretty sure it's nothing like what you wanted, but I tried, so you can't blame me.