A/N This is a Faith and Trust flash forward, and takes place right after Robin and Regina graduate. So there will be some spoilers for things that haven't happened in the main story yet, but they'll happen soon!
"Henry, Roland, are you ready to go?" Regina called up the steps. For their graduation and engagement gift, Mary Margaret and David had pooled resources with Cora, now demon-free, to give her daughter, Robin, Henry and Roland a four-day vacation to Disney World, which would last almost a week due to the time it would take to drive there. After conferring with the other adults in the boys' lives, who believed that while Robin and Regina were still young, they were responsible enough to handle this trip, and indeed, they would need the practice, as they had started the adoption process not long ago, the plan was agreed-upon, the trip arranged, and now, the day of their departure had finally arrived. The only problem was, they had to make their way out the door on time, which was proving to be a challenge.
"Almost!" Henry replied, running down the steps to meet her, dragging a sleepy Roland with him.
Regina frowned. She had encountered a tired Roland enough over the years to know that it would be easiest to just carry him to the car, but as a seven-year-old, he was too big now for her to carry. "Robin, can you give us a hand please? We have a tired little Jedi knight who needs some help getting to the car."
"Of course," Robin said, appearing in the doorway. He scooped Roland up in his arms and carried him to the car, Henry running excitedly behind him.
Several hours later, both boys were awake and to entertain them, Regina suggested that they should watch one of the many movies they had brought for the trip. They had borrowed David's car for the trip, which had a DVD player for the long ride with two restless boys.
"I want to watch The Force Awakens!" Henry exclaimed, shoving the DVD towards Regina so she could put it in the DVD player.
"No!" Roland protested, trying to snatch the DVD out of his brother's hand. "I want to watch Oliver and Company!"
"It's a really long ride," Henry told him, with all the wisdom of an older brother, "We'll have time to watch both, and I think The Force Awakens should be first!"
"Nuh uh, Oliver and Company is better!" Roland insisted.
Robin quickly glanced over at Regina before returning his attention to the road, and she could tell from his expression alone that he wanted her to end the boys' argument as soon as possible. While they were driving steadily on I-95, traffic was thick, and Regina knew Robin needed as few distractions as possible to get them to Orlando safely.
She turned in her seat to face the brothers. "Boys, agree on a movie right now, or there will no movies for either of you for the rest of the day. Henry, I think you should let Roland watch whatever he wants to watch now, and you can watch what you want later. You know your brother will probably fall asleep right after the movie's over, so you can watch whatever you want then."
Both boys looked chagrined. "Okay," they agreed sullenly. Roland handed her Oliver and Company, and as the opening credits began to play, Regina and Roland began singing along to the first song.
"Crisis averted, thank you for that, sweetheart," Robin said quietly, taking his hand off the wheel for a moment to squeeze hers.
"No problem, anytime." Regina answered.
They had left Storybrooke at around six a.m., so by the time they arrived at the hotel it was long past Henry and Roland's bedtime.
Over the years, the four of them had had many sleepovers, so Regina and Robin knew that Roland's bedtime routine would take awhile, so they started right after they brought the luggage into their hotel.
"Roland, it's time to get a bath," Regina said, trying to usher the boy to the bathroom.
"No! I don't want to take a bath! I want to look at what rides I want to go on and characters I want to meet at Magic Kingdom tomorrow! It's my first time, so I want to make sure it's perfect!" Roland insisted.
"Roland, honey," Regina said, trying her hardest to be patient with him, which was increasingly difficult after the long ride. "It's the first time any of us has been to Disney World, so I think we should all get to decide what we do, don't you?"
"Exactly- if it happens after I go to bed, I won't get to decide what happens!"
"Roland," Robin reasoned, "Your brother's going to bed now too. And Regina and I have already made a list of rides and activities we think you both will enjoy. So you can both decide tomorrow what we do first."
"Fine, but only if we can play some too," Roland huffed, following Regina into the bathroom.
Once Regina had finally gotten Roland into the tub, a whole new process began. Robin and Regina had made the mistake of packing some of Roland's bath toys that traveled with him wherever he went. When he had brought them from Granny's, where he and Henry had spent the night two nights previously, Regina hadn't been able to say no to adding them to the plethora of items that would already be in the car, Roland's dimples the irresistible force that had made her give in.
"Vroom!" Roland cried, water flying as the boat he was holding was sent from one end of the tub to the other. He cheered. "The crocodile is gone and Captain Hook and Mr. Smee save the day!"
At the sound of a throat clearing, Regina turned to find Robin smiling down at them. "Don't you love how we all think that the villains are actually the heroes, even the boys?"
Regina smiled and nodded, carefully standing, avoiding the puddles, to give him a quick kiss. "Gee, I wonder where they get that idea from," she teased. It was no secret to anyone that the Evil Queen and Robin Hood were two of Robin and Regina's favorite Disney characters, so their friends had long ago dubbed them Outlaw Queen.
"What can I say, they clearly have learned to have very good taste," Robin smirked.
Regina turned her attention back to Roland. "Okay little pirate, time to get out and read a bedtime story."
"No! I want to play more! Please?" Roland begged.
Regina saw a familiar look enter Robin's eyes as he looked down at the youngest of the brothers. "Roland, I think Regina's getting tired, so if you don't get in your pajamas soon, she won't be able to read you a bedtime story. Would you like me to read you one instead?"
"No, Gina reads stories the best!" Roland protested. He immediately climbed out of the tub, and Regina, shooting Robin a grateful smile, wrapped a towel around him.
A half hour later, Regina collapsed on the pullout couch next to Robin. "I had to read him three bedtime stories before he finally fell asleep. What did he eat that gave him so much energy?"
"Chips or that drink from Zaxby's?" Robin suggested, pulling her close and kissing the top of her head.
Regina groaned, cuddling as close as she could to her fiancé. "The drink, that was it. We should remember this this week and in the future, so we make sure it never happens again."
"All right, we will," Robin agreed.
They were so comfortable on the couch that before she knew it, Regina's eyes were closing. She heard Robin whisper a soft, "Good night, querida," as she fell into a deep sleep.
The next morning, Robin and Regina were woken bright and early by two very excited brothers.
"Can we go to Disney World now? Pretty please?" Roland pleaded, trying to jump on top of where they were lying side by side on the couch, Regina wrapped in Robin's arms.
Henry, still excited but always mature beyond his years, pulled Roland off. "They get it, they're awake, now let's go get ready!" He ushered Roland out of the room, but not before the couple sent thankful smiles his way.
Robin's grip on Regina tightened. "Let's cuddle for five more minutes, it'll take much longer than that for the boys to get ready."
"Which is why we need to help them," Regina reminded him. "And we need to make sure we have everything ready- sunscreen, tickets, money, the list of what we want to do…"
"All right, all right, you win, we'll get up," Robin groaned, his arm moving from Regina's waist to her shoulders and gently pushing her so she got off of the couch.
An hour later, they were entering the most magical place on Earth. Roland and Henry's eyes were wide with wonder, and Regina had to admit that she was amazed as well. They were on Main Street USA, and Cinderella Castle stood before them in all its glory. Most people were walking toward the castle, but Robin steered Regina, Henry, and Roland off to the left, toward Adventureland.
"What are we doing?" Regina asked him. Most of the rides they wanted to start with were at the top of the park, in Fantasyland.
"Taking advantage of the best view in the park," Robin told her.
"If you say so…" Regina skeptically replied, watching over her shoulder as hordes of guests flocked toward Cinderella Castle.
But as was usually the case, Robin was right: the view just off of Main Street USA was the best vantage point by far from which to view the iconic castle. A lush verdant lawn spanned the distance between the castle and the path they were traversing, which set the castle against the most beautiful backdrop Regina could have ever imagined in a theme park.
"You were right," she admitted, kissing him. "Definitely worth the detour."
"Can we take a picture or whatever it is we're doing here so we can get on rides soon please?" Henry begged.
They laughed simultaneously. "All right, all right," Robin relented, letting go of Regina to pull the boys close. "How should we do these pictures?"
"I can take a picture of your family, if you'd like," a woman behind them offered. "That way, you can all be in the picture."
Robin and Regina readily agreed. After handing the woman her phone, Regina pulled Henry closer to her, while Robin picked Roland up, settling him on his hip. They all smiled at the camera, as the woman counted down, they all shouted, "MAGIC KINGDOM!"
After a day of magic and wonder beyond their wildest dreams where they rode rides and met so many characters, Robin and Regina returned to their hotel room with two exhausted boys in tow. The bedtime routine that night, thanks to Regina and Robin's foresight in not allowing the boys to have any sugar past a certain time, went much more smoothly than the night before. After one story and a round of kisses to each boy's forehead, both brothers were fast asleep, with Robin and Regina soon following them into slumber, arms wrapped around each other.
Regina woke slowly to a small voice whispering, "Mama, Mama, wake up!"
She opened her eyes to see two orbs that were so dark she could barely distinguish them from the darkness of night. "Roland? What's wrong, munchkin?"
She could just make out his frightened face. "Mama, there's a monster in the closet!" he whispered frantically.
She got up, trying not to wake Robin, whose arm was draped over her, and took Roland's hand in hers. He was somewhat small for his age, so her hand still dwarfed his, a fact she was thankful for. He had grown up so fast that she welcomed any signs that the three-year-old boy she had met four years ago still lived on inside him.
She followed him to the boys' room, where she could hear the soft banging that had likely scared Roland.
"Do you hear it? Do you hear the monster?!" he asked, his eyes wide with fear.
"Roland, there's no such thing as monsters," Henry's groggy voice chimed in from across the room. "Go back to sleep."
Roland's gaze flickered from Henry back to her, unsure of whether to believe his brother or not. "Mama, can you still look? Please?"
"Of course," Regina soothed him, her fingers sifting through his dark curls. She opened the closet as Roland shrank away from it.
She immediately saw the source of the problem. A drying rack that the hotel left for guests to dry bathing suits on was leaning against the closet door, making it impossible for her to open it completely. She reached one hand in to pull the drying rack away from the closet door, then laid it on the ground.
Regina turned back to Roland. "See, nothing to be afraid of. It was just the drying rack."
His face still showed traces of apprehension. "Can- can I come sleep with you?"
She gave him a warm smile. "Of course, you can."
"Baby," she heard Henry mutter from his bed.
Her arm wrapped around Roland's shoulders. "Henry, be nice to your brother. Everyone's scared of something, and Roland just so happens to be afraid of a noise he heard in the closet tonight."
Her admonishment was met with a sleepy grunt as the elder of the two boys rolled over and went back to sleep. She looked down at Roland. "Do you still want to sleep with us?" she whispered.
He hesitated for a moment, then nodded. He followed her back to their room, then climbed into bed with her.
"Good night, Roland," she whispered, still trying to make sure they didn't wake Robin.
As she drifted off to sleep, she could have sworn she heard Roland whisper, "Good night, Mama."
When Regina woke up, her arms were empty. Roland must've woken before her and gone back to his and Henry's room.
Suddenly, she remembered. Last night, for the first time, he had called her "Mama." At the time, she had still been too tired to notice the change, but the event revealed its significance in the light of day. Her heart melted at the knowledge that he had seen her as his mother, but at the same time, she didn't want him to get too attached- they were just starting the adoption process for the boys, and the social worker had told them not to tell the brothers anything until all papers had been signed and everything was finalized.
She turned in Robin's arms and kissed him awake. "Guess what!" she said, her voice both a whisper and an excited shout in his ear.
His eyes opened as he leaned in to kiss her. "What?"
"I don't know if you heard everything that happened last night, but Roland called me 'Mama!' Which I'm a little apprehensive about, I'll admit, since the social worker told us not to tell them anything… but still!" she told him, grinning from ear to ear.
Robin's answering smile was as radiant as her own. "That's wonderful! And before we know it, the boys will likely be ours- so this is just a step in that direction, a confirmation that this is right, that they're meant to be our sons."
She hummed in agreement, kissing him. "That day can't come soon enough."
And with that glorious thought in their minds, they got up and got ready to continue their adventure in the place where dreams come true, their own dreams almost a reality.
This chapter contains prompt 177, prompt 160, prompt 5, prompt 199, prompt 58, prompt 76, prompt 115, prompt 134, and prompt 8 for OQ Prompt Party 2019. Hope you enjoyed reading this, and please leave a review!