Author's note: Written for the lovely Jobeth-S for OQ Celebration's Love from OQ project. Happy Valentine's Day! I hope this short story brings a smile to your face.
Thank you Film for checking it for me!
In some way Storybrooke has its own traditions. The traditions of the Fairytale Land and the ones coming from books and movies of the modern world have blended into special habits and decorations that this little town is proud of.
That happens for every holiday, and Valentine's Day couldn't be an exception - no matter how strongly the mayor of the town believes that it's not an actual holiday, Robin thinks with a smile. It's the same smile he always has when he thinks about the woman he loves.
He brings the image of her trying to convince Snow not to overdo it with the Valentine's Day decorations and he tries to mentally gauge her reactions. He's learnt to read her during their time together, and even before that, in that year they lived under the same roof in her castle.
He suspects that she doesn't really mind the decorations, doesn't really detest this pointless and actually inexistent holiday. But Regina has only had a few happy Valentine's Days when Henry was little and he used to make cards shaped like a heart for her at his arts lesson at school. Then life got more complicated, and Henry is now a fine young lad with his own Valentine.
They've been through a lot together, Regina and Robin, and Robin knows that sometimes she still finds it hard to believe that they've found each other so many times and in so many different ways. So in this Valentine's Day, the first one that finds them united and without any danger lurking in the corner, Robin will make sure Regina sees that she can have a good time. No need to go on a cheesy date like most of the other couples of Storybrooke, no need to dress up just for tonight like it's the only night they can do that. It will just be the two of them, a night together away from the children; not because it's Valentine's Day, but because Regina deserves to relax and have some adult fun every now and then.
Red. Wherever he turns to there's red. And that's one of the similarities between the Sherwood Forest's "Leofdaeg" and Maine's "Valentine's Day". Love is supposed to be red and Robin can actually see it.
Red are his lover's lips, luscious and distracting whenever she decides to colour them that way. They mark her smile, her pout and her kisses. And he loves those lips with or without the deep red lipstick she so likes to wear. She's just as beautiful all natural and fresh when she wakes up in his arms, but the red gives her lips an exciting brush nonetheless.
Red are his lips when she kisses him. A mixture of affection and passion, her kisses leave a red trail on his mouth, sometimes travel down his jawline and neck, and Robin is loathe to wash the proof of her love and lust for him.
Red are her signature apples. Red, and also sweet and tender like she is with Henry, Roland and Robyn. The red apples she used to make that first apple pie that tentatively brought them closer in the missing year, the red apples she often uses to make more apple pies for their family, the red apples that are no longer a threat between her and Snow but rather a welcoming taste for the former Princess. The red apples that somehow now mean family more than anything else.
Red are the berries she secretly cuts and tastes during their walks in the forest. She knows Robin likes them and even though they're not her favourite fruit, it looks like teasing him is in her nature, so when he's busy with their children, she just steals the berries from their branches. It's infuriating and at the same time adorable, and when she lets her tongue out playfully at him, he thinks he falls in love with her all over again, with her and her unmasked face that she's not afraid to show to him.
Red was the dress she was wearing the day after their first kiss. She wore it for him. And they have that day to remember, the hasty but meaningful kisses in the morning, then the events that brought her son back to her and the memories of each other into their minds again, a day that defined the rest of their lives.
Red was the dress she was wearing the night they made love for the first time. She didn't wear it for him. He wasn't allowed to think about her anymore and yet she was constantly in his heart, invading all his senses, breathtaking and sexy in the dress she couldn't have worn for him because it would have been wrong. But their touches, their warm kisses, their bodies melding together and their rapidly beating hearts told them otherwise, told them that it was right.
Red is the light radiating from their hearts, both their hearts. Robin witnesses the changes in Regina every day. She's come a long way and she keeps surprising herself with the way she can so easily use light magic, the way she shows her good heart to her town. Robin is not surprised though, he never has been. He's seen her heart, he's been lucky enough to see who she was before she was ready to show the world. The lightness in her makes the red light shine more and more, Robin is sure of that, and he finds it stunning, finds her stunning.
And there she is, walking down the stairs in a dark green dress that reminds him of the cypresses that stand tall in the forest. It's such an unusual colour for her, Robin doesn't think he's ever seen her in it, but her eyes remain on his as she approaches him and he forgets everything. She reaches for him, a warm hand on his chest, lightly stroking the fabric of his shirt.
Suddenly, it occurs to him that he's underdressed. He's worn black slacks and a plain grey shirt and not wanting to overwhelm her was the reason, not wanting her to think they needed to do anything special just because it's Leofdaeg. Because their love is special anyway, and now her other hand has circled his neck and the one on his shirt is playing with the buttons - distracting, so distracting.
"I wore this for you," she says as his hands fall on her waist and bring her closer. "Everyone sees love as red, but… this is it for me. It's the colour of the place we first met, the place I first trusted you with my heart, the place where we spend the most precious moments along with our children. It's the forest that means so much to you. And I love you."
Robin feels a pleasant tug in his heart and he's breathless. He lets out a chuckle and leans his forehead against hers.
"And I love you, too," he says in a whisper.
Their lips lock in a sweet kiss that doesn't last long, but holds the promise for more to come. Because they have the whole night to be together and discover all the colours of their love.