New Begninngs
These characters are not mine, if they were, Regina bby would be happy already!
A HUGE thank you to my darling beta reader Sofia! Thank you for dealing with my many, many questions, and here's an early apology for the many, many more! You are so wonderful, even though you forced me to kill too many of Mother Technology's virtual trees. Hugs and squishes everybody! Let me know what you all think!
"Why do I have to go to school?"
Roland mumbles, his little fist rubbing the sleep from his eyes. His brown curls are smushed to the side of his head, he blearily stares out the truck's front window. Robin glances at him once from the driver's seat, his sandy blond hair wet from a shower, his beard scruff neatly shaved.
"You're not going to school, little man." He says with a gentle smile.
"I'm going to school, you're going to daycare."
"And Marian's going to school too?"
Roland asks, turning to the girl on his right. Robin turns his glance to Marian, her swirling chocolate features are distant and unfocused.
"Yes, she is."
Roland purses his lips in thought, a dimpled smile graces his face as he gets a grand idea.
"I want to go to school! Can I come?"
He asks excitedly, Robin laughs.
"Sorry little man, you're still too young."
"I'm four." Roland's dimples turn to a pout.
"Just missed the cut, buddy. Tell you what, wait another year and you can go to kindergarten. How does that sound?"
He heaves as big a sigh a four year old can make, but nods.
"I suppose I can wait that long." Robin smiles, giving him a high five.
"That's my boy."
Roland turns to Marian and tugs on her t-shirt. "Marian, are you picking me up after school?"
She jerks out of her trance-like state.
"No sweetie, I'm working my first shift at a diner tonight."
He turns to Robin, a questioning look in his doe eyes. "Sorry, my boy, I'm working too."
"The sports store?"
Robin nods, Roland huffs. "Well then who's picking me up?"
He whines in the endearing way only small children can pull off.
"I am, after work at 7."
"That's such a long time!"
"Think of it this way, you'll get to spend more time with your friends."
"I don't have any friends." Roland points out.
"Well then you'll get a longer opportunity to make some."
He nods at that and Robin sighs in gratitude. They pull into the parking lot for "Blue's Daycare" and Roland grabs Robin's hand before they get out of the truck.
"I don't wanna go." He says, burying his face in Robin's grey shirt.
"Why not? You're going to love it, and everyone's going to love you. How could they not?"
Roland just shakes his head.
"I need you to do something for me. I know this move has been a big change for you, but I need you to be the brave hero I know you are."
"I'm brave." He says, his voice muffled in the fabric.
Roland pops up suddenly, excited, scared, but brave.
"You can do this." Robin says.
"'Course I can." He says, his little chest puffed out.
"That's my brave little man."
Robin says proudly, he opens the truck door and hops out. Roland jumps into his waiting arms, squealing as Robin twirls around before setting him squarely on the ground. Marian gets out too and kneels down to straighten the straps of Roland's monkey backpack. "Have fun today sweetie."
She says, smiling faintly. He throws his short arms around her, kissing her on the cheek as he pulls away.
"Be good."
He tells her seriously, she smiles wider. He hugs Robin and grabs his and Marian's hands as they walk in together.
It's painfully quiet on the way to school, Robin steals glances at Marian. She's staring out the side window, her lips pursed tightly.
"What are you thinking about?" He asks lightly, she scoffs.
"Like you have to guess."
"We're fine, Marian. We'll be fine."
"That's easy for you to say, you're dad isn't a sheriff, and you're not his daughter who ran away."
"He's not going to find you, and you're 18 now, so by law he can't take you away." He says reassuringly, he wraps his free arm around her shoulders.
"I'm sure he could find some stupid law about jurisdiction over a recently turned 18 year old." She mutters.
"And the court loves him, he'll get his way."
They enter the school lot, students mill around the road. It's smaller than Robin's old school.
"Can we finish this conversation later tonight?" She asks, her eyes downcast.
"Sure, we'll talk later." He parks and walks out of the car, opening her door and grabbing her hand as she gets out.
"You can do this." He murmurs against her hair, kissing her forehead once. He thinks the sentence again in his head for himself. He takes a deep breath and tightens his hold on Marian's hand slightly.
"Let's go."
"Hi there! Welcome to Storybrooke High! I'm Mary Margaret, but you can call me Snow." Says a short and peppy-looking girl, hopping in front of Robin and Marian.
"Like the princess?" Robin asks, Snow beams.
"Exactly."
"I can see the resemblance."
The younger girl blushes, Marian elbows him in the ribs. It's true, she has raven hair fashioned in a pixie cut, an exceedingly pale complexion, and lips as red as ripe strawberries.
"Snow!"
Calls a blonde girl in a red leather jacket, she jogs up to her and loops an arm through Snow's.
"Hey."
She says, nodding to Robin and smiling at Marian. Snow keeps smiling widely for a bit before she snaps back to the moment.
"Oh, this is Emma Swan, my best friend. You can call her Emma."
"Hey." She says again.
"This is-umm..."
Snow bites her lip, embarrassed to realize she never got the new students' names. "
"Hello, I'm Robin and this is Marian."
"The new kids." Emma states, shaking his outstretched hand.
"We just moved here a week ago."
"What grade are you two in?" Snow asks.
"Both seniors." He says.
"Oh cool! Emma and I are sophomores. What classes do you have?"
Robin nudges Marian, she says hesitatingly, "Umm.. AP English."
Snow claps her hands together excitedly. "Me too! Here, I'll show you where to go."
She grabs Marian's hand and half leads, half drags her down the hall. Marian's eyes are wide in shock and panic, Robin smiles at her, both sympathetic and amused. Emma laughs.
"Sorry about Snow. She's very..."
"Spirited?"
"You could definitely call it that. So what class are you in first?"
"History."
"Come on, I'll show where that is. Welcome to Storybrooke."
He's never been spectacular at school. He's higher than average, but school has never been his forte. And it was only sophomore year that he finally started to apply himself to studying.
History is one of his favorite subjects, but chemistry is definitely not. This is his second year in this hated subject, he's only taking it again as an AP class so he doesn't have to deal with it in college. At least that's what he reminds himself as he stares at the class door.
He's a bit late, so he knows he's going to get some kind of unwanted attention because of it. One deep breath. Then another. He can do this.
"You're in my way."
Comes a rich and velvety, though demanding, voice behind him. A dark haired girl pushes past him, he briefly wonders if teachers can be that young.
"You're late, I'm just about to start."
A man's voice says from the room Robin has yet to enter. So, not a teacher. He steels his shoulders and opens the door.
"Who are you and why are you late?"
The man's voice is now paired with a grumpy face and blond hair.
"I'm Robin Hood." The class titters. "And I couldn't find my way."
He finishes, smiling sheepishly. The teacher rolls his eyes.
"Well I suppose you didn't become a legend for being on time. Find a lab partner, and hurry up."
Robin nods and scans the room, every table is full except for the one in the very front, with the other late and definitely-not-the-teacher girl.
"Hi." He says quietly, she ignores him.
"I am Doctor Whale."
The teacher states, writing his name on the dry erase board, underlining it once.
"I have a PhD in chemistry and biology, and it's my rotten luck with the fates that I should be teaching you."
He takes a long sip from his thermos and starts his lecture on compounds, mixing some "When I was a young, up and coming professor- not here, mind you" and "When I was studying chemistry, I didn't have nearly this helpful a teacher" anecdotes in between sips from his thermos.
It's not exactly thrilling, and Robin finds his attention caught by his lab partner instead.
She's stunning. With glossy, bitter chocolate brown hair cut to her shoulders, colored red lips pursed in concentration, and dark eyes filled with some fierce kind of determination, she looks like a queen. Or at least, with her business casual attire, a mayor. She's dangerously attractive.
"Stop staring." She mutters, her eyes never leaving Doctor Whale's board.
"I wasn't staring."
Robin says, now studiously looking at his textbook. It makes no sense whatsoever.
"Of course not, you were just stealing glances."
She says sarcastically, he notices a thin little scar on the upper right corner of her lip.
"A joke about my name, how original."
There's a quirk of her lips, not big enough to call a smirk, and then she goes back to ignoring him.
"What's your name?"
Robin asks quietly, she doesn't say anything. He tries to take notes, his mind wanders. He opens his mouth slightly to try again, she glares, his mouth shuts.
"What grade-"
"Mister Hood, I am trying to teach a class here!" Doctor Whale bursts out, his cheeks reddening in irritation.
"Sorry." Robin mouths, ignoring the muffled laughter behind him. Doctor Whale huffs, takes a sip from his thermos, and continues.
Lunchtime. It's easy for Robin to find Marian, she's right in the middle of the cafeteria, surrounded by Snow, Emma, and a couple other girls, and a dog.
"Hello girls."
Robin says as he wraps an arm around Marian's shoulders, plopping his tray next to hers.
"Hi Robin."
Snow says, waving a little from across the table. Emma nods, too busy chewing her grilled cheese to speak.
"These are my other friends, Belle and Ruby."
Belle, her crystal blue eyes intently focused on a book, gives an absentminded, "Hi." She has a charming Australian accent, which Robin would bring up, if she ever looked up from her book.
Ruby, most of her face covered by long, chestnut locks, gives a friendly, "What's up?" By her side is a gigantic husky.
"That's Wolf." Snow says.
"My seeing eye dog." Ruby clarifies.
Robin fumbles for a more polite response than anything that first comes to mind.
"Oh." Is all he manages. Ruby just smiles.
"Car accident when I was 13, Wolf's been with me ever since."
Robin nods, then realizes who he's nodding to.
"Cool."
He groans inwardly at how rude he's being, Ruby laughs.
"Charming." Marian mumbles, a hint of a smile crossing her lips.
"Sorry." He says sincerely, Ruby just waves him off.
"Did you make any new friends?" Snow asks when there's a lull in conversation.
"I got a lab partner in Chemistry, she was pretty interesting. I don't think she particularly liked me."
Emma perks up a bit.
"Does she wear really professional outfits?"
"Yeah."
"And a scar on her lip?"
"Yeah."
He says again, Emma nods.
"That's Regina, Snow's older step-sister."
"Ugh, I don't want to talk about her." Snow groans.
"She and Regina don't get along." Emma says conspiratorially.
"Don't say another word, or I'll tell her you have a crush on her." Snow threatens, Emma smacks her in the arm.
"I do not." She hisses, blushing. Snow crosses her arms, smirking.
"Even I can see it."
Ruby says, a self-satisfied smile on her face as the group laughs, though Emma just scoffs.
"Denial can have a detrimental effect on one's health."
Belle says, her eyes never leaving the pages of her book. Emma throws her hands in the air.
"That's it, I'm going eat with Killian!"
She sticks her tongue out at Snow, grabs her tray, and leaves them for some mysterious Killian.
"What?" Belle says, finally looking up from her psychology textbook. "Was it something I said?"