"Will you stop staring at it," Robin laughed, wandering passed her love and setting the last of the shopping bags on the table behind her.
"I can't help it!" Alice squealed, bouncing slightly on the spot and beaming down at the flower shaped diamond ring sitting at the top of her finger. She lift her hand up slightly in front of her so the sun shined through the window and around her fingers, creating a rather dramatic silhouette even as the ring continued to glistened brightly in the centre. "It's so beautiful."
"Yes, and it looks even more beautiful with you wearing it." Robin said proudly, walking around the table back towards her.
She placed her hand against Alice's lower back, pausing long enough for the slightly smaller girl to turn and look up at her before leaning forward and kissing her softly. Alice let out a little happy hum against her lips and automatically leaned her body closer, deepening the kiss slightly before they pulled away from each other all too quickly, keeping their faces inches apart and gazing into each other's eyes for a long drawn out minute.
They both could have stayed like that for the rest of time but unfortunately, they had guests coming and there were still many things for them to do today. So, despite a part of her mind snapping at her for it, Robin pulled away from her love and gave her a light pat on the back to encourage her to do the same. She just caught sight of Alice's pouting expression as she was turning away and moving back to the shopping bags still waiting to be unpacked.
"Come on." She said with a sigh that she tried not to make sound so disappointed. "We still have a lot to do yet. There's only a few hours left before mum and Nook are going to arrive."
"I wish you'd stop calling him that," Alice grumbled, turning to lean back against the sink and crossing her arms stubbornly. "He really hates it," She paused before she smiled and added playfully; "Nobin."
Robin turned and glared at her. "Okay, I get your point. But I already know another version of Hook so how about I just call him 'Rogers' instead?"
"You could always call him papa." Alice teased cheerfully.
"Don't push it."
With a little laugh between them, the two returned to their personally assigned tasks. Robin set about unpacking the last of the shopping they had collected earlier that day at the same time as Alice – after carefully taking off her ring and sitting it on the windowsill directly in front of her so she could keep staring at it while she worked – continued washing up the mornings dirty dishes. They had woken early that morning to get everything done in time and yet there was still so much left and it was already coming past the point of midday. They hadn't even finished cleaning up the rest of the rooms and they still had to plan what they would actually be making for dinner tonight…
Speaking of which…
"Are you… Sure you want to cook?" Robin asked slowly, keeping herself turned away so Alice couldn't see the uneasy expression on her face. "I mean, we could always order take out? How about your favourite pizza place? And we could tell mum to pick up some beignets on the way here, too!"
"No, I want to do this." Alice insisted happily, oblivious to the uneasy knot forming in Robin's stomach. "It'll make the night special!"
Robin bit her lip and decided to try a different tactic. "We don't need a meal to make tonight special." She said, purposely making herself sound a little put out by the very idea.
That made Alice pause, setting the plate she had been cleaning aside and turning around once more, taking a small step towards her and leaning against the back of one of their dining chairs. "I know that. You've already made it special but… I want to do something! I mean… I can't explain but, you made it special by proposing and now I want to be the one to make it special by doing my own thing for today." Robin's expression softened and she smiled over her shoulder, just as Alice grinned, turning back to finish up the washing. "Beside's, my cooking's much better now, anyway!"
Robin's expression immediately dropped and she quickly turned away again, even knowing Alice wasn't watching to see her swallow hard at the memory of the last meal she had made for them. It was a pie that had been burnt on the outside and frozen within. It had been very chewy in places and more than once a piece had gone down Robin's throat while half of it was still between her teeth, causing her to gag and heave it back up into her mouth.
Not a pleasant experience.
Even Alice had been unable to finish her plate, giving up after just a few bites in. They had ended up curled in front of the TV with a bowl of ice cream sat between them, eating until they were full and satisfied that the remains of Alice's meal had been thoroughly rinsed from their mouths and safely covered up in their stomachs.
That had been a fun end to a disastrous start of their date but the memory of the awful meal still lingered on Robin's tongue and she felt her stomach twist at the thought of having to put up with another dinner like that one. No, she couldn't do it again. She needed to tell Alice the truth, now. She needed to make her understand that… Well, she just couldn't cook and they should make something delicious for tonight because it really was so special.
Robin sighed, turning around to do just that, only to find Alice inches from her face, leaning over and kissing her softly. She had snuck up on her while Robin was distracted in thought and pulled back to smile at her with bright happy eyes. And just like that, all of Robin's resolve to tell her the truth melted away and she instead found herself smiling at her, unable to do anything but reach around and wrap Alice up in her arms, pulling her close.
"I love you," Alice said dreamily. "And I can't wait to marry you!"
"I love you, too." Robin smiled. And you have no idea how much… I just hope everyone makes it to the wedding after tonight.
O*U*A*T
That evening, Alice had put on her best dress (a short red one with black rose patterns covering it from the neck to her knees) that Robin had gotten her for an anniversary so they could go out somewhere special in town to celebrate. She made sure to wear no other jewellery beside the engagement ring. She had twisted the ring around to hide the gem and, to be safe, temporarily put on a random finger on her right hand. When the time was right and she did the dramatic reveal, she wanted it to stand out as much as possible.
"Here," Robin offered, taking the red lipstick Alice had been about to apply and tracing it carefully along the lines of her love's mouth for her. "Perfect." Then she purposely leaned forward and kissed her hard, pulling back and grinning. "Beautiful."
"You smudged it." Alice noted irritably, glancing at her reflection in the wall mirror and raising an eyebrow.
"Sorry," Robin said, not looking sorry at all as she put her hands on Alice's waist. "Maybe if I smudge it the other way…" She said, leaning forward to kiss her again.
"Robin!" Alice laughed, trying to push her away but Robin wound her arms and pinned their bodies together, catching her lips and kissing her deeply. After a moment, Alice stopped fighting her and wrapped her own arms around Robin's shoulders, rocking slightly to the side as they kissed. They probably would have tumbled onto the bed and gone even further, had the doorbell not begun its loud echo at that precise moment.
"Damn it," Robin grumbled, pulling away and sighing. "Let's pretend we're not home."
"We invited them," Alice noted, still giggling and lightly patting her shoulder lightly. "Now I need to fix my makeup again."
"Yeah, you've got lipstick all over your face," Robin teased, letting her go.
"So do you," Alice noted, grabbing a tissue from the side and mopping the corners of her mouth. In the end, once she was cleaned up, she grabbed a light pink lip-gloss instead – much less messy.
Robin grinned, grabbing her own tissue on the way out and clearing her lips as she jogged down the stairs quickly. Her own dress was even shorter than Alice's, white with splashes of dark and light blue on the silk like material, as if someone had thrown splatters of paint at her while she spun in a circle in front of them. Her white shoes clicked as she walked down the hallway and she doubled checked that her hair was still alright and the green necklace her mother had given her was safely displayed around her neck just over her chest before finally pulling open the door with a great smile on her face.
"Hey! Come on in!" Robin beamed cheerfully.
"Hi, sweetheart," Zelena said, stepping forward and wrapping her daughter in a tight hug. "Sorry, Chad couldn't make it. But he sends his love and told me to tell you that we'll be hosting the next dinner no matter what."
"That's great, but for now, you're our guest." Robin smiled, turning to Killian and hugging him as well.
"Hey, love. Where's Alice?" Killian asked, glancing around the hallway with something close to impatience.
"Upstairs, she'll be down in a second." Robin hesitated, glancing back over her shoulder before lowering her voice. "Listen, before we sit down to eat-"
"Papa!" Alice said, appearing on the stairs and Robin immediately snapped her mouth shut.
"Alice!" Killian beamed, walking around Robin to catch Alice as she flew down the stairs and into his open arms. Even after all this time, neither of them had grown tired of finally being able to be together and took every chance they could to just hold one another.
Robin glanced towards her mother anxiously but Zelena was too busy watching father and daughter embrace to notice her. She even had a little smile of her own as she watched the two of them. She wasn't exactly Killian's biggest fan but she was truly happy for him and his daughter. Even if only because his daughter was the one to make her own child happier than anyone else in the world possible could.
"I'm so glad you could make it!" Alice giggled, holding his hands tightly in her own like she might never let go. For a moment Robin wondered if Killian was going to feel the ring pressing against his fingers but, in his joy at being with his daughter, he didn't seem to notice anything except her smiling face.
"Of course. I've told you. I'll always make time for you, Alice." Killian said softly.
The two shared in a private moment, smiling at one another and clinging on to each other's hand tightly. They were off in their own world and watching the excited light in Alice's eyes, Robin wondered if she was just going to blurt out about their engagement here and now rather than waiting for dinner to do it together. Robin didn't even have time to ponder whether or not she would mind if she did that when her mother, being her usual self, interrupted their moment without thought.
"Well, let's stop dawdling in the doorway then!" Zelena said, clapping her hand and pushing past towards the kitchen. "Something smells amazing!"
Robin cringed and followed along quickly at her heels. She needed to warn her mother about Alice's cooking skills! Killian would probably be clever enough to catch on before he did or said anything to hurt Alice's feelings but Robin knew from experience that her own mother was not so subtle. And Robin was not going to let her offend her true love. Least of all, just as they were about to announce their damn engagement!
"I made us something special!" Alice stated proudly, dragging her father along behind her as she pulled him towards the kitchen.
"Glad I skipped lunch," Killian beamed.
Robin winced again. A part of her had been hoping that Killian already knew about Alice's cooking skills but then, he and Alice had been separated long before Alice began experimenting with her meals. And now he had confirmed that he had absolutely no idea and was as unsuspecting as Robin's own mother.
Inside the kitchen, the table had been laid out ready and waiting for them. Killian and Zelena sat side by side on one side without hesitation while Robin and Alice set out serving the drinks.
"Ready?" Alice whispered, practically bouncing on the spot. They had planned to wait until they had eaten but Robin wasn't surprised that Alice was jumping the gun. In fact, if Alice hadn't then Robin would have!
"Ready." Robin nodded, temporarily putting her worries aside for their good news.
With that, Alice moved her ring back onto the right finger, biting her lip and looking ready to explode with excitement. But she still forced herself to wait for Robin to turn around first.
"So… There's a reason we wanted to have this dinner," Robin said finally, unconsciously leaning towards Alice as she spoke and looking down at her mother and soon to be father in law.
"You mean besides just a get together?" Killian asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Since when do we just randomly get together?" Zelena snorted, rolling her eyes at him.
Killian paused, as if considering his words before he gave up and shrugged. "I come by all the time." He said. "Normally once a week, if not more."
"Wait what?" Zelena looked back at her daughter. "Why don't I get invited back once a week for dinner?"
"It's no big deal, mum." Robin said quickly. "But you kind of live further away so it's harder for us. Killian lives just down the street, plus he's all by himself and you have Chad to keep you company."
"I'm not some lonely old geezer!" Killian jumped in, frowning slightly.
Zelena snorted, but before she could say anything else, Robin had taken a step forward. "Hey! Enough. Look, we brought you both here for a reason."
"Is everything okay?" Killian blinked.
"It's fine. Actually, it's…" Robin glanced back at Alice who had turned around but kept her hands hidden behind her back.
Taking the hint, Alice moved to stand beside Robin and casually reached up, brushing the tips of her fingers through her hair with an excited little smile once again taking over the expression on her face. At first neither of their parents seemed to get it, so Alice deliberately pressed her fingers against her mouth and waited, watching them in silence for their eyes to finally catch sight of the gleaming stone held up in front of them.
In the end they both caught sight of the ring at the exact same time. It was amusing to watch the moment as the truth dawned down onto them and their eyes widened just that tiny fraction as their mouths dropped open into little twin 'o' shapes.
"Is that…" Zelena began.
"Are you…" Killian said at the same time.
"Yes," Alice beamed. "We're engaged!"
"Oh my God!" Zelena shrieked, jumping up and nearly knocking the glasses flying from the girls hands as she ran around to grab at them.
Killian was momentarily frozen in place as he watched Zelena embrace both the girls tightly, taking Alice's hand and admiring the ring. Alice beamed up at her with Robin proudly looping an arm around her waist, pulling her close so they looked damn near picture perfect.
"Who asked who?" Zelena babbled, grinning at them both.
"Robin did!" Alice said proudly.
"What? Why didn't you tell me you were going to ask her?" Zelena demanded, looking up at her daughter sharply but still beaming at her the whole time.
"I wanted it to be a special surprise for everyone." Robin grinned. Not telling that she also had an irrational fear of being turned down and she didn't want her mother – or anyone – to see her embarrassment, should that have happened.
"Well it is!" Zelena laughed, hugging her again.
"Papa…" Alice said quietly when she saw her father had still yet to rise from his seat.
Finally, his daughter's voice knocked the last of the shock off him. He stumbled onto his feet so messily that he knocked over his chair, but barely seemed to notice, stumbling around the table and reaching out towards her. Alice reached for him in return, meeting her father halfway and feeling him pull her into another hug, tighter than the one before. In fact, the only time he held her more tightly was right after they had originally broken the curse. Back then it seemed like he was never going to let her go and Alice was getting similar vibes here again. He didn't say anything, but then there was nothing to be said between the two and instead they clung to each other in a silence that nearly brought happy tears to Alice's eyes.
"So when's the wedding? Have you set a date?" Zelena babbled, finally giving Alice and her father a second of peace by turning to talk with her daughter instead.
"Mum, we've only just gotten engaged." Robin laughed.
"Still, you can have plans. What do you think summer? Spring? Autumn? Winter? Most people would say summer but that's so obvious. And if you pick the right time in winter then you could get married on a clear white day!" Zelena babbled excitedly. She looked even more excited than she had for her own wedding.
"Mum!" Robin snapped, still laughing. "Chill!"
"I'm sorry! I'm just so excited!" Zelena cackled, grabbing Robin's hand and squeezing giddily.
Still laughing, Zelena let her daughter lead her back to her seat as Alice and Killian finally broke apart from their embrace. They were still smiling with teary eyes and Alice felt her hands shaking when she finally forced herself to let go and her arms swung helplessly back to her side, like she suddenly didn't know what to do with them now they were empty.
"Oh! Dinner!" Alice said suddenly, remembering the meal she had made. "You just wait until you try this, papa!"
"I'm sure it will be lovely, Starfish." Killian chuckled, watching her closely, his eyes drifting towards her ring hand repeatedly like he was afraid it might somehow disapear.
And just like that, Robin's stomach dipped and she cringed. Now she was back to their original problem. She had to warn them before it was too late.
As Killian righted and retook his seat, Robin subtly shuffled over to stand behind them, watching as Alice turned her back and began to dish up. She ducked her head slightly, putting her hand on her mother and future father in laws shoulders, drawing them in. She kept her eyes on Alice in case she turned around unexpectedly but it seemed she was far more focussed on the hot task at hand.
"Wha-" Killian began but a sharp look from Robin made him snap his mouth shut.
"Sh," Robin hissed, keeping her voice too low for Alice to hear over the clanking and scraping of plates and kitchen utensiles. "Whatever she gives; eat, smile and act like you love it."
"What?" Killian frowned.
"Just trust me." Robin hissed.
"Robin, what's-" Zelena began.
"Hey!" Robin said quickly as Alice turned around. "All ready?"
"Ready!" Alice beamed proudly.
"Oh good." Robin smiled, walking around and moving to help serve.
"How does it look?" Alice whispered when she had stepped up to her side.
"Lovely." Robin said honestly. The problem was how it was going to taste.
"Good." Alice beamed at her. She looked so genuinely happy and excited. If Killian or even Robin's own mother did anything to hurt that look on her face, Robin was going to be furious.
Robin put on a big smile of her own before turning to face their parents. "Dinners up!"
"It really does smell wonderful, Alice." Killian said after she had placed the plate down in front of him before taking the seat opposite.
"Well," Alice grinned, looking around at everyone. "Dig in!"
Robin hesitated. Not because she was putting off eating for as long as possible – though that was an added bonus – but because she wanted to watch her mother and Killian closely to make sure they didn't screw up with the first bites.
Her mother dug in first, either more hungry of the two or otherwise Killian was just still caught in watching his newly egaged daughter for a few extra seconds. Luckily Alice was smiling right back at him and didn't notice the way Zelena suddenly stalled after taking her first mouthful, immediately pulling a face and actually opening her mouth to complain! Or spit it out… It was hard to tell which would have been worse!
Robin reacted instantly, reaching out under the table and kicking her hard to silence her before she could start. The kick hadn't been as light as she intended it to be and Zelena accidentally swallow everything, immediately coughing and choking on her food. She leaned forward like she might be sick, but just ended up gasping until she could sit back up and realised Robin was glaring at her.
Then she glanced over and saw Killian and Alice watching her as well, both looking confused. "Sorry." Zelena gasped, finally catching on. "It went down the wrong hole."
Robin relaxed, then looked up as Killian took his first bite. Unlike Zelena, Alice was watching him closely with a great hopeful smile on her face, but also unlike Zelena, Killian noticed and was very slow to react, chewing careful as something flashed across his expression. Then, he looked at Alice and let his face stretch into a smile as he moaned happily, nodding his head with approval and taking another large bite of his meal. Alice visibly relaxed and then turned back to eat her own dinner, pausing for her first taste but afterwards not she ate faster than anyone else.
When Robin turned away again, her mother gave her a meaningful look. It was clear that while Killian seemed prepared to force down his meal, Zelena was not going to manage. But Robin still wasn't going to let her ruin this dinner for Alice. Not now. Not today.
So Robin set her fork down between her and Alice and reached for a drink. When she had a sip she purposely knocked her fork with her elbow and sent it crashing to the ground between them. Robin yelped and stalled just long enough for Alice to be the girl she always is and reach down to pick it up for her. While Alice's head was out of sight, Robin waved her hand fractically and her mother pushed a large corner of the food onto her daughter's plate where the younger woman then ate an equally large mouthful messily with her knife. She swallowed it just as Alice sat back up and gave her the fork back.
"Um, love, would you mind getting me a new one?" Robin asked sweetly.
"Sure." Alice jumped up, taking the fork over to the sink.
With her back turned, Robin took another scrap of her mother's food then watched Killian take a little himself, swallowing back a look of disgust and putting his smile back into place just as Alice turned around to return to them, completely oblivious.
They waited a few minutes after that, making sure Alice caught sight of her mother's plate while Robin and Killian forced down a few more bites in front of her. Then Alice excused herself to the bathroom, giving them another chance to help Zelena finish off.
"God, what even is this?!" Zelena hissed, leaning over the table towards her daughter.
"Shh!" Robin hissed. "Just eat it. It won't kill you to have one bite of it."
"Are we sure about that?" Zelena asked sarcastically.
Before Robin could respond Killian took a deep drink and kocked his glass back onto the table. "I don't understand. She was a fine cook back in the tower…" He paused. "I mean, I did most of it but she was a good helper and after I left, she must have had to cook for herself!" He whispered looking extremely pale.
"She did," Robin grimaced. "But then she left the tower and there wasn't a lot of cooking tools in the places she visited. And then she experiemented with some things and I dunno. She just kind of gave up trying and just ate what was available or what she could buy."
"How do you survive?!" Zelena croaked.
"Look, I do most of the cooking, okay." Robin snapped. "But that doesn't matter. You can't ruin today, mum. Not today. So suck it up, eat your dinner and throw it back up when you get home!"
Just then, Alice appeared, still smiling brightly and taking her seat. Somehow she had not heard their conversation despite Robin's voice rising slightly from a whisper towards the end. Robin smiled back at her and breathed a sigh of relief before turning to her mother and shooting her a serious look. Zelena scowled back at her unhappily but Robin refused to back down. Finally, Zelena turned and caught Alice's eye, forcing herself to grin brightly as she took a visible mouthful of the food before turning back to Robin, her smile tense as she swallowed it down.
"So." Zelena said quickly, pushing the plate around not so absent mindedly. "Let's talk wedding planning!"
Then, as Alice turned to give Robin a quick kiss and a dreamy gaze, Zelena flicked a few more pieces of her plate onto Killian's, ignoring the sharp look her shot her in return.
O*U*A*T
"Well, I'd call that a success." Robin said as she stripped off her dress, tossing it over a nearby chair and stepping into the en suit bathroom where Alice was already brushing her teeth. "Plus, mum and your dad stayed to clean up, which is always a bonus! Less work for us!"
Alice nodded, leaning forward and spitting into the sink before she glanced up and grinned. "Would have been better if the food wasn't so god awful!"
Robin hesitated before grabbing a wipe to start taking off the layers of makeup on her face. "You think so? Everyone else loved it. When you were gone they didn't stop-"
"Robin," Alice interrupted, looking extremely amused. "Your stage whispers weren't as quiet as you thought they were. In fact, you were practically shouting by the time I came back."
And just like that, a sharp pang of guilt stabbed at Robin so suddenly, it left her winded. She wanted to burst into regretful tears for how she may have hurt her love. "Alice…" Robin said, dropping the wipe mid clean at her feet and taking a step towards her.
"And I do have my own taste buds you know," Alice went on calmly, raising an eyebrow at her. "I can taste my own bad food. So if you honestly did enjoy it, then there's something wrong with you because that meal was truly awful!"
Robin paused, the sickness that had slammed into her when she though she had hurt her love began to fade. "Well… When you put it that way."
Alice laughed loudly again. "How you and poor papa and your mum managed to stomach it, I have no idea."
"Well… You managed." Robin said, shrugging with a little giggle of her own, pausing to pick the wipe back off the floor and throw it into the corner bin.
"No." Alice said, shaking her head. "I didn't."
Before Robin could frown at her and ask her what she meant by that, Alice casually reached back and gave the toilet a light kick, smirking the whole time. Realisation dawned on her and Robin was caught between being impressed with her and slapping herself for not being the one to think of it.
"You were so busy watching each other, you never even noticed me stuffing my pockets." Alice said, sticking her tongue out at her before pulling a face. "Unfortunately they were small pockets so I had to come empty them not even halfway through the meal." She said, shaking her head and giggling to herself.
"You sneaky little…" Robin said, biting her lip before reaching over, grabbing her arm and pulling her into a hard kiss.
When she pulled back, Alice was still grinning at her. "I guess this means I won't be cooking for the wedding then?"
"Oh babe," Robin said fondly, stroking a strand of Alice's hair by her face. "You'll be lucky if I ever let you in the kitchen again."
Alice shoved her playfilly before turning to finish tying back her hair. Robin watched her for a moment, smiling fondly even as she reached for a fresh wipe, like she'd happily finish her entire nightly routine without taking her eyes off of her love… Her fiance.
"I can't wait to marry you." Robin said suddenly.
Alice turned to her. "Me neither." She had happily. Then she turned back to the mirror. "Speaking of which! Your mum got me thinking. Do you think we could have candy apples instead of a wedding cake?"