AN: !FemaleRobin! Loosely follows cannon OUAT through 3x17. No Walsh.
Emma's magic lesson had been a success, sort of. At least she felt more comfortable with her own power than she had before the lesson. Regina hadn't said anything on their walk back to town and Emma could tell something has bothering her. "What is it?" Emma asked with a heavy sigh.
"What is what?" Regina asked defensively as they continued to trek through the woods.
"We could've teleported back to town by now," Emma pointed out. "But instead we're walking on foot so...What is it?"
"Nothing," Regina sighed and they continued to walk in silence.
"Here's the thing Regina, I know you," Emma said demonstrating her inability to let it be. "So I know when it's nothing and when it's probably something. And I'm guessing it's something."
"And to think I almost forgot how insufferably annoying you can be," Regina cut Emma a quick glare as they continued their hike in silence. Emma opened her mouth to pester again and then decided against it. They were approaching the edge of the woods when Regina suddenly halted in her tracks.
Regina inhaled deeply, "There's something I've been meaning to tell you." Emma said nothing. She could tell by the tone in Regina's voice that she was serious.
"When I created your memories," Regina exhaled. "I saw into your past. How you actually spent those ten years the first time." Emma's eyes connected with Regina's."It wasn't intentional, the invasion of your privacy. It's merely a requirement of the spell. So that the fake memories blend with your real ones."
Emma ran her fingers through her long hair and started to speak but Regina cut her off, "Emma, I just wanted to let you know that I did my best to make your memories happy ones."
"Thanks," Emma smiled nervously. "I guess there wasn't really much for you to work with but the parts that were made of Henry's real memories were nice."
Emma's brow furrowed as she thought over all of her memories from the past years and then it dawned on her what Regina might be getting at. "This is about the gay thing isn't it?"
"Women seemed to enjoy your company and you theirs," Regina smirked. "Quite frequently. It certainly made you happy. So I made sure to leave that in. "
"Oh haha," Emma shook her head. "I'm sure you can't wait to tell Snow and Charming that their little baby girl prefers women...Occasionally." Emma added pointedly.
"I'm not going to tell your parents, Ms. Swan," Regina shook her head. "Your sexuality doesn't bother me and I respect your decision to keep your past love affairs to yourself. Of course, as a side effect of the blending of memories, Henry is all too aware of guests sneaking out of his mother's room after they've thought he'd gone to sleep."
"Only this time around it's not Graham but Lauren that he remembers seeing half naked in the bathroom," Emma concluded as she pieced together her real memories and the ones created by Regina. "And I who had the conversation with him about grown up recreational activities. Yeah ok, that makes sense." Emma wasn't sure that it did. She made a mental note to skip the memory rewrite lesson. It sounded like a headache.
"I believe he should remember responding to the guest the same way regardless of their gender."
"Thanks, I guess," Emma said. "But what is it that you really wanted to tell me?"
Regina took in another deep breath, "Years ago Tinkerbell-"
"Knew it," Emma interjected. "I saw the way you two looked at each other in Neverland. The get a roominess of it all."
"Tink and I never," Regina snapped defensively before realizing that Emma was joking.
"You don't have to lie Regina," Emma playfully grinned at the woman who was shooting her a death stare. "She's cute I guess. Not really my type. She seems like she'd be a real pillow princess though."
"Ms. Swan," Regina let out a huff as she spoke, "will you stop talking long enough to listen to what I actually wanted to tell you?"
"I'll try," Emma smiled at her once again.
Regina proceeded to tell Emma about her unhappy life married to Leopold. How Tinkerbell came to her destined to find her to help Regina find her Soul Mate. Most importantly how Regina wasn't ready at the time. But now it seems that Regina might have another chance with her mysterious tattooed soul mate.
Emma asked as she bit the inside of her lip, "You've met him? Your happy ending is just waiting for you?"
"She," Regina softly clarified, freezing Emma in her tracks. "Robin Hood, actually." Emma's jaw dropped.
Robin was two inches taller than Emma. Her hair was a few shades darker, more of a dirty blonde. It was cut much shorter and always pulled back in a high pony. Robin had brilliant blue eyes. Emma's were green. They both were muscular, both thin. The list continued in Emma's head. She couldn't stop compiling the ways in which Robin was similar to wasn't even sure why she was comparing herself to Regina's soul mate but she couldn't stop.
She ended with the fact that Robin never abandoned Rolland. The noble thief was better than she was in every way that mattered and there was nothing Emma could do about it. "Robin seems great," She admitted defeatedly. "If you like the unwashed smell of forest." Better hygiene. She definitely had that on the archer.
"Maybe, I do," Regina said as glanced to the ground.
"Maybe?" Emma scoffed. "She's your soul mate, that should constitute a hell of a lot more than maybe."
"Do not, misunderstand me. Robin is amazing, truly," A smile formed in the corner of her mouth as she began to speak about the woman. "She treats me like a queen. Bows her head in my presence and calls me ' Your majesty.' She's great leader and an even better mother. Plus, have you seen her arms and shoulders?"
Emma blinked tryingnot to take offense, reminding herself that she didn't need to be defensive, "Have you told her you two are meant to be?"
"No and I won't," Regina stated factually. "At least not until I think we've fallen for each other. I want us to have a choice in the matter and I think she deserves the same." Emma nodded as she felt the clinching in her stomach ease.
Regina ran her fingers through her hair. "I've never been with a woman before. I have no idea how to woo women ."
"The same way you woo men," Emma mocked the way Regina said the word 'woo'. She found it hard to believe that Regina ever doubted her ability to woo anything. "Just wear something tight and slightly revealing." Emma smirked. "That may describe everything in your wardrobe."
"Robin doesn't seem interested in cleavagey attire," Regina answered flatly.
"You sure she's a lesbian?" Emma playfully questioned which resulted in a death stare. "Just kiss her. If it's there you'll know." Regina looked to her feet. "Or you know, ask her out on a date that could work too."
"Can you not mock my anxiety," Regina mumbled. "This is my soul mate we're talking about I just want it to be right. Besides I've never even kissed a girl."
"We can remedy that right now," Emma grinned.
"Your confidence isn't always as charming as you think it is," Regina cut her another glare. "If you want to kiss me you could just ask politely."
"I was just offering to help," Emma said with a shrug. "You don't want your first kiss with a girl to be with Robin. Especially if it's a bad one." She took a step towards Regina then narrowing the space between them.
"I am not a bad kisser." Regina argued, stepping toward her and her eyes slipped towards Emma's lips. Regina wet hers in anticipation.
"What was that?" Emma asked pulling away from Regina and looking toward the trees.
"It's probably your parents about to catch you 'lesbianing' with the Evil Queen," Regina rolled her eyes.
"No, I definitely heard something," Emma placed her hand on the handle of her gun that rested in her jacket pocket. There was another strange sound and Emma stepped toward the noise.
A winged monkey leapt out of the bush and flew full speed at Regina. It got a good scratch across the face before Regina was able to propel it away with magic.
The monkey circled and swooped high in the sky. As it began its approach toward them once more, Emma drew her pistol and shot. The bullet ripped the creature's left wing and sent it spiralling to the ground. Halfway through the fall the creature transformed into a human.
"That hasn't happened before," Regina said in shock as she and Emma rushed toward the person.
Long black hair covered the former monkey's face. Emma pushed away the hair to reveal a familiar face. "Mulan?" Her left arm was bleeding badly. She was unconscious but breathing.
"Mulan?" Regina asked. "This is her, you're sure?"
"It's been a while, but yeah," Emma answered as she ripped off the sleeve of her shirt and tied it close to the wound. "We need to get her to the hospital."
"We need to send word to Robin," Regina added as she nodded in agreement with Emma. "Mulan is one of her missing Merry Men, or women, as the case may be." The look on her face let Emma know that this was news to Regina.
The night before the Storybrooke inhabitants returned to the Enchanted Forest
Mulan sat by a quiet lake several hundred feet from the loud and fairly drunk Merry Men. They had just partaken in liberating a small group of indentured elves from a group of evil sorcerers. Mulan sat with ink in a quill using the moon as a source of light. On the page before her she scribbled a confession to Aurora.
"Whoever she was," Robin said as she sat next to Mulan who quickly tucked the letter she was writing away. "Surely she's not worth all of this. It's been weeks."
"Don't," Mulan said in a near grunt as she turned her back to her fearless leader. "Don't talk about things that you don't understand."
"You're strong and beautiful," Robin said, tucking a loose strand of hair behind Mulan's ear. "I understand that if the object of your affection couldn't see that it's her loss." Mulan turned to Robin then. She hadn't told Robin the whole story. She couldn't confess that she let her fear and the knowledge of Aurora's pregnancy get in her way.
Robin had been a great companion through it all without knowing any of those details. Thoughtful and kind, Robin taught new skills every day and they'd become close. Robin was Mulan's closet confident, perhaps ever.
"There's someone out there for you. I promise," Robin smiled at her. Mulan loved the way the moonlight made the woman's blue eyes sparkle. She bent forward and placed a gentle kiss on Robin's lips. To Mulan's surprise, Robin pulled her in close and deepened the kiss. It was pleasant and warm and stirred a desire deep in Mulan's stomach.
I'm sorry," Mulan said as she pulled away.
"What for?" Robin asked.
"I kissed you," Mulan stated hesitantly.
"And I kissed you back," Robin said as she leaned in to kiss her again and Mulan pulled away.
"I love another," Mulan said sincerely.
Robin laughed slightly, "That would be a problem if I was asking for your heart. I am not. It was just a kiss. It doesn't have to be anything more or less. Though I will admit I enjoyed it. Did you?"
Mulan smiled shyly and nodded, "It was nice. I enjoyed it. A lot. We could do it again."
"Perhaps another night," Robin kissed her on the forehead. "I should get back to Rolland."
"Another night," Mulan smiled and watched as Robin walked back toward her tent. "Another night," she repeated the words to herself and sighed. When Robin was out of sight , she pulled the letter to Aurora out, tore it into several small pieces and let it scatter to the wind.
Tinkerbell and Regina waited outside the hospital room while Emma talked to Whale inside. Tinkerbell was tending to some other patients when Regina and Emma teleported in with the wounded Mulan. Emma called her parents from the hospital and asked them to get word to Robin. Regina and Tinkerbell had not yet seen the archer or the Charmings.
"And Emma bought that?" Tinkerbell laughed heartily when Regina was done recapping the other events of the day. "Regina Mills, the inexperienced nervous lesbian."
"It's true," Regina responded in a hushed voice. "Most of it. Besides, what would you have me say?"
"Miss Swan, as you know, this tension between us has been building for quite some time," Tinkerbell spoke in a low seductive voice. "Robin is the love of my life but I couldn't possibly consider exploring that relationship further when I'm having conflicting sexy feelings about you."
"Please, stop that," Regina scolded. "You do a terrible impression of me."
"Why don't you and I clear the air by doing unspeakable things to one another."
"Stop!"
"I would more than enjoy you tasting my forbidden fruit," Tinkerbell continued in her faux-Reigna voice.
"Tinkerbell, please don't say another word," Regina's eyes went wide as Emma approached from behind her blonde, curly haired friend.
"Let's have moderately rough sex and then some apple pie." Tinkerbell trailed off at the end of the sentence realizing Emma was there.
"Knew it," Emma said with a grin after hearing what little she did of the conversation.
"Ignore whatever you think you may have heard," Regina commanded. "What did the doctor say about Mulan?"
"She's unconscious but-" Before she finished the sentence, Robin's fist landed squarely on her jaw. She stumbled backward just a bit. It wasn't a hard punch but it caught them all off guard. Robin and the Charmings seemed to appear out of nowhere. "But she should recover just fine." Emma finished and rubbed her jaw.
"That's for harming one of my Merry Men," Robin said to Emma. Emma so desperately wanted to punch her back but decided against it. Robin turned her attention to Regina, "I'm sorry you're hurt, m'lady." She caressed the scratch on Regina's face gently.
"One of your women you mean," Emma corrected Robin. "A woman who was a flying monkey when I shot."
"When will we be able to question her?" Charming asked.
"You will do no such thing," Robin turned to him with anger in her eyes. "Mulan isn't guilty of anything."
"We don't know that," Emma scoffed and stepped toward the taller woman. Robin's eyes flared with more anger as they stared into Emma's.
"Any information that Mulan might have about the Wicked Witch could help us defeat her," Snow said attempting to ease Robin's anger.
"That may be but I will not allow your Sheriff to interrogate her like some common criminal," Robin barked not taking her eyes off of Emma. "When she's awake, Mulan will come with me and when she's ready to talk to the authorities she will."
"Yeah, that's not going to happen," Emma felt her body tighten and her fist clenched. "Less than an hour ago she was trying to claw Regina's face off. What makes you think Zelena's power over her is gone?"
"We won't make any decisions about this until she's awake," Regina said as she placed one hand on each of their shoulders. "Until then, I suggest we take shifts watching over her."
"Fine," They answered simultaneously relaxing only slightly.
"I will take first shift," Robin adamantly volunteered.
"Not alone you're not," Emma protested. "You could try and run off with her."
"Great it's settled then," Charming said. "You and Robin will take the first shift. Your Mother and I will come relieve you in a few hours and if needed Tink and Regina will be by in the morning."
"Agreed," Robin said with a tight lipped smile to Emma who nodded back. They both then went into Mulan's room. Neither of them said a word to Regina as they passed her nor did the Charmings as they turned to leave.
"That should be interesting," Tinkerbell said with a smile to Regina.
"Indeed," Regina nervously sighed.