Till Death Do Us Part

Prompt 79: Alzheimer's - one of them gets it and the other takes care of them. A non-magical real world AU where it's Robin and Regina's 60th wedding anniversary, only Regina has alzheimer's and Robin is taking care of her.

Pairing: OutlawQueen

Word Count: 1,105

"Good morning my lovely wife!"

Robin turned over on their bed and kissed his sleeping wife on the forehead. He smiled down at her and reminisced on their lives together. It hadn't always been an easy road for them, Regina was stubborn and Robin was quick to tell her so, but the passion for each other always won even when they didn't think it could. Sixty years together and they were still madly in love with one another, even the days when Regina didn't remember all their adventures, she would sit and listen to Robin and have that little spark in her eyes when something clicked and for a moment, she'd remember. She'd look at her husband and laugh at how old he'd gotten and kiss his wrinkles and then he'd laugh right back at her and tell her that she had definitely aged better than him, and she would blush and slowly the world would fade and she would forget again. It was definitely hard for Robin to look at the love of his life and see her slowly forget herself and their time together, but he loved to retell their stories of their younger years and see her laugh and giggle as she would still stubbornly always agree with her past choices. She would laugh and the wrinkles on her forehead would become more prominent as would the ones next to her eyes.

People say that love fades over the years, but Robin just kept falling for his wife every day. Today was no different and he thought that maybe he could fix them a nice and lovely breakfast just the two of them before their sons and daughter came over to take them out to lunch. He had slowly made his way down the hallway, mindful of his bad knee due to an archery accident decades earlier, and looked around the walls and saw his and Regina's life adventures together. A photo of them in Brazil and another one in Egypt. Regina hugging their daughter, Addison, on her graduation day, another of her and Roland dancing at Henry's wedding. Robin holding his granddaughter, Lucy for the first time as she wrapped her fingers around his. A candid photo of Regina laughing at something Henry said last fall with the sunset behind them. They tickled his stomach as he made his way into the kitchen and pulled out a carton of eggs and some bread. He figured a nice and easy breakfast of eggs on toast and some fresh fruit on the side would be good for him and his wife's digestive tract.

Robin was stirring together the eggs mixed with butter and milked and poured them into the skillet and slowly began to gently pull the eggs across the pan until the liquid became a soft solid. Robin placed the bread in the toaster and as the eggs were finishing, the toast popped up and filled the room with a lovely aroma.

Regina began to stir as her husband came into the room balancing a tray with two plates of food which made her smile at him.

"Good morning Robin, what's all this for?"

Robin had to hide the pain on his face as his love looked puzzled and he gently reminded her it was their 60th wedding anniversary, she looked so confused until recognition bloomed in her eyes and tears began to well up as she apologized for forgetting such a special day and he leaned down and kissed her cheeks and told her not to worry, that her being here was the best present he could recieve and that she needed to eat up in order to be healthy for the day they had planned. They sat together silently, Robin cutting up Regina's food for her and exchanging loving glances and soft smiles. When they were finished Regina suggested a nap before they got ready to see their children, one to which he eagerly accepted. They both laid down together, foreheads touching and Regina whispered to him how much she loved him and how this was the best sixty years of her life. He smiled at her and gently pressed his lips on hers and she rolled over to lay her head on his chest as they both their breathing began to slow and they drifted off into another land.

At exactly 11:30 sharp, Addison arrived to her parents house and saw that her older brothers weren't there yet, typical. So she sat in her car when she heard the familiar roaring of Henry's motorcycle roll up and she got out of the car to hug her brother. They both smiled at each other knowing that his was probably the last wedding anniversary their parents would spend with each other. Roland arrived not two minutes later with a bouquet of flowers that he knew his mother would love. They walked inside the house together and were shocked to not see their parents on the couch together looking through old photos like they usually would on their anniversary.

"Mom? Papa?" Roland called out as he walked into the kitchen and saw the small mess his father made and got a vase and filled it with water for the flowers.

"Well they're definitely awake, papa made mom breakfast."

Addison looked outside to the apple tree and didn't see them swinging on the porch swing either.

"Momma, Ro brought the flowers you love, don't you wanna see?"

Addison called out towards her mother's study as Henry made his way into their parents bedroom and found them cuddled up together, seemingly sleeping. He called out to his siblings and they smiled at their parents until Roland noticed something.

"Are they-are they breathing?"

Addison gasped as Henry ran to his mother and found no pulse and did the same to his father and found them both to have passed. Henry looked up as his brother and sister began to cry and he walked over to hug them. His father had always joked that when Regina died, he would have to die too because his heart wouldn't be able to beat without her, little did he know how true that was.

Days later, the Mills-Locksley siblings found out that Regina died due to complications from her disease and Robin died of a heart attack, they died within minutes of each other. Most people would be devastated to lose both parents on the same day, but Robin and Regina's children felt peace knowing that their parents had a love that transcended past death and that they were now at peace together dancing among the stars.