She was still reeling from the shock of it all.
Robin.
Her Robin.
Her true love and happy ending was quiet literally back from the dead to stay without any huge magical price to pay. A man who was currently standing where Zeus had left him framed in the doorway of her study wearing the same clothes he died in staring at her with all the love in the world was really gauntly back.
"Regina." The reborn outlaw whispers breaking the stunned haze the good queen had fallen into as he closed the distance between them.
Regina rose from her chair on unsteady legs her eyes still glued to Robin's face drinking him in as she rounded the desk for the second time that day. "Regina." the man now standing in front of her repeated in that husky timbre of his that had Regina weak at the knees as her outlaw backed the queen of the united realms up until she was forced to sit down on the edge of her desk or fall back over the top of it. Reminding them both of the time Robin had come to her while she was hiding in her vault to tell her about the code he tries to live by and how that night wasn't going to be one of those days.
His lips tasted even better against her own than her hazy memories and her dreams could conger up even with the 'fresh' memory from the vision she'd had in the dungeon of the Wish Realm waiting for Henry to kill her. Her outlaw swallowed another of her little moans with an even deeper kiss as her hands fisted more in the lapels of his jacket needing him closer while the hand not bracing him against her desk tangled in her hair that was no doubt longer than when he'd seen her last.
"Robin." She begged feeling the scrap of his stubbled chin scraping down her neck as well as the growing tent in his pants when she shifts into a steadier footing while the resurrected outlaw finished with the buttons on her blouse leaving her exposed to his touch.
She half expected him to vanish when her eyes opened at the sound of her front door rebounding against the doorframe but his dark growl and the heat of his body against hers proved that he was still solidly in the room with her.
"Let me handle this." She insisted when he half turned toward the door as the sound of frantic running could be heard on the other side of the closed study door. "Hurry back my Lady." He groaned against her throat making it even harder for Regina to pull herself away from him much less fix her shirt into a more presentable if not unevenly buttoned state as she headed to the door.
"Roland? Margot? What are you two doing?" Regina asked half scolding due to the untimely interruption while also half gauntly curious as to what the other two were up to once she was sure the study door was closed behind her keeping her Robin safe and hers for a little while longer.
"Outlaws vs Pirates." Her niece panted after rolling over the back of the sofa while her half-brother dove for cover behind an armchair. "its sudden death Gina help us out here please." Roland begged after a quick look around at the new layout of battle. "Even when the pirate's side is cheating and letting a defector on her team." He added bitterly
"Aww I love you to tinder foot."
Regina turned to see Alice and her teammate strolling into the still open front door. "Lissa! I didn't know you were coming to visit this time." the villainess turned good queen gaped pulling them both in for a greeting hug.
Despite their friendship being completely curse created she and Alice were still as thick as thieves with Angel 'Lissa' Locksley happily being the little John to her Robin Hood as Alice tells it with a playful laugh and a mildly annoyed glare from Robin and Roland.
Having quickly bonded over having to grow up in the system only to leave and needing to find a way to survive on the streets of Hyperion Heights Lissa had been part of Tilly's two women gang during the curse. A gang that had fast broken up once Tilly had started dating the woman that would turn out to be a spy for Victoria. For her part, Roni had tried to look out for Lissa after her and Tilly's fallout giving her a job and a place to stay only for her to take off without a word once she heard Margot was back in town. The three of them hadn't even seen one another again until a chance run-in during the 'we broke another curse' after party party at the bar.
It was also there that they found that Lissa's real name actually was 'Angel' and not just a nickname Tilly had given her so seem cooler while they were working odd jobs for Weaver in surveying every little thing that went on in the Heights but that she was also dating Robin's half-brother Roland but having been visiting family in the Enchanted Forest when the curse was cast leaving her fiancé with the rest of the Merry Men back in Sherwood she like everyone else had been trapped under the sleeping curse for two years.
Roland had been searching everywhere for her of course and once all the realms had been brought together the star-crossed pair had found one another again and going by the snickering the original pair had been doing as they watched had mirrored Snow and David's reunion by running into each others arms for a kiss right in the middle of main street.
"Not that I'm not thrilled to see you Lis, but do you really think this is asking a lot." Regina asked nodding to the start of the baby bump Lissa was sporting still trying to buy her Robin time to find a decent hiding place given the growing number of people dropping by the house.
Angel laughed at that tossing her sandy blonde hair over her shoulder still watching her targets out of the corner of her eye as she answered, "I appreciate your concerns Genia really I do but if Alice's girl can survive your sister being her mom then my baby Hood can survive helping me chase her Dad and Auntie Targo around to win a game of laser tag." Caressing her slightly swollen stomach as she spoke.
"Hey, don't go their baby momma." Robin snapped but knew it was all said in fun and as a way to try and distract her from trying to coordinate a strategy with Roland.
"You might be my sister by curse Lis, but you still don't get to call her Targo only I call her Targo." Alice reminded them earning a laughed "Love you to Tower Girl." From Robin "If you love me so much then come out here and tell me properly." Alice suggests exchanging a teasing wink with Angel.
"You know I am already hopelessly in love you Jones but not enough to forfeit." Robin corrects "I second that Tony." Roland puts in chancing a running dive toward Robin and the couch for more cover under a hail of missed shots from the other two and also missed cover fire from his sister.
Alice pouted but recover quickly spinning her toy gun around her finger "Have fun sleeping on the sofa tonight love." She says but they can all hear the sarcasm in her voice as clear as day. "You wouldn't." Robin gasped playing along after sharing a node with her brother.
"Don't even think about it Whirlwind." Alice says already leveling her plastic gun in threatening warning as soon as her target had maneuvered enough for her to see while her second-best best friend pointed hers over toward the other end of the sofa with a cooed "put the gun down Nobin nice and easy."
"You are really pushing your luck Ang." Alice groans but knowing her friend was only doing it to get a rise out of her. "Then don't call my boyfriend Whirlwind and I'll think about it." Angel replied.
Regina guessed Margot and Roland had been trying to use the distraction of her Robin knocking something over in the study making a loud clattering noise in their favor, but she was too preoccupied with hoping he was alright to really focus on what was going on right in front of her. She zoned back in while Alice and Angel were coxing their teammate's reluctant true love out of there hiding place hands raised after sliding their guns over to Alice's feet in grudging surrender.
"We should go see what that was." Roland points out as he and his half-sister rounded the back of the couch, but Regina jumped in with a fast "I just left the window open that's all and it's so windy outside lately." Deterring any plans of anyone but herself opening the study door. "I'll clean it all up later it's fine." She promises when the other four send her puzzled looks.
"You know if this was a game with bows and not guns we would be kicking your butts." Roland snapped moving his hands behind his head while beside him Margot was already dropping to her knees in front of Alice her head down sending her angry glare into the floor between them.
Alice and Angel let out duel squeaks in surprise when their toy weapons were somehow sent flying from their hands to be left hanging by the trigger guards in the door frame by a single rather expertly fired arrow. Regina looking quickly toward the study to find her own outlaw giving her a rather stirringly playful wink before the door eases closed again.
"Outlaws win." Robin and Roland chorused rolling effortlessly to their feet with matching smug smiles while high fiveling their victory yet without taking the shots needed to make the stamen official.
"Hu-Uh no way is this fair you two cheated somehow the game is ours." Angel growled still rubbing her hand to get rid of the sting. "Hey, my sister and I might be thieves and yes we might tell the occasional lie when we need to but the only people we cheat and lie to are those who deserve it and you two lovely ladies are most defiantly not those kinds of people." Roland corrected taking Angel's hand in his own pressing his lips against her 'injury'.
Lissa rolled her eyes yet wasn't able to stop the shy smile at the gesture "Don't try to smooth talk your self out of this Locksley." She scolded following Robin and Alice toward the kitchen with Regina following behind them all with one last guilty look toward the still closed door to the study.
"What are you four doing here really?" Regina asks once they were all crowded into the kitchen and a pot of hot chocolate had been set up on the stove to heat up.
The mood tangibly changes at the question. The humor quickly turning to a more somber mood as the two Locksley looked at one another then down at the countertop leaving it to either Alice or Angel to answer for them. "We didn't want you to be alone today is all." Alice says in a quiet voice.
It takes a full two minutes and more than a little gazing around in confusion for Regina to catch on to what they were talking about. That was until her eyes landed on the calendar over her niece's shoulder. "Oh." Was all she could come up with as she counted the ticked off marks to the current date.
The 8th of May.
The day Robin died saving her and his baby daughter from Hades.
"And going by how messed up your hair is you slept at your desk again." His now-grown daughter pointed out over the rim of the mug her brother's girlfriend handed her. Regina blushed at the reminder of what they had interrupted biting her lip to keep from groaning for the same reason. "Dad wouldn't want you sad and on your own now you don't have anything really to distract you today." Roland picked up in a low whisper after taking a long drink from his mug after obediently scooted over to make his shoulder a better pillow for Angel as they cuddled together as best they could sitting at the kitchen island while Alice had hopped up onto the counter and had pulled Margot to stand between her legs to hold her better yet mostly so she could rest her chin against her fiancée's shoulder without too much hassle.
"This is all very sweet but I'm fine," Regina promised looking around the kitchen into everyone's concerned gaze. "Honestly I'm alright." She repeats when none of them seem convinced. "Oh, what fresh hell is this?" she muttered fighting down the throb between her legs at the thought of the man she loved still hiding out in her study waiting for her when the front door opened again just as the second round of hot chocolate whistled that it was finished.
"Hello to you as well sister mine." Zelena greeted strolling into the kitchen with her signature smirk and a greeting hug. "Chad's getting everything settled at the house he'll be by later." She waved away when Margot seemed to be looking over her shoulder toward the door as if she was expecting it to open again. "Hello, Rolo sweetheart," Zelena added moving around the room to give Roland and Angel hugs as well.
"Well have you told them yet?" was her greeting to her daughter making Margot splutter into her cocoa and almost drop the cup completely as she let Alice answer for her while the blonde rubbed calming circles against her back. "No Zelena we hadn't yet."
"Why ever not?" the redhead asks in amazement as if choosing to ignore Margot's pleading watery gaze as she caught her breath from nearly burning her throat on the hot drink.
"Mom drop it." She wheezed in a croaky whisper shrinking back into Alice's hold at all the expectant looks now directed at them. "What's so important that you haven't even told me yet, but you've told Kels?" Roland asked the hurt and betrayal clear in his eyes. "A) because she's my mother and she bullied it out of us and two because it wasn't the right time alright." Margot defended trying to hide in Alice's protective hold only to have Alice clinging onto her for the same reason when Lissa leveled her equally wounded gaze on the couple. "Ditto." Alice squawked tucking her head against Robin's shoulder to hide in vain from Angel's burning eyes.
"Not the right time? Robin this is the perfect time for something like this." Zelena all but yelled at them making Regina wince at the volume but also what it could do to the newly alive again man in her study when her sister continued talking. "I mean for crying out loud darling. My grown-up daughter. My only child as if yet has finally decided to set a date to marry her true love. I'd have thought the whole U.R would have known by now if not your own Aunt."
"What do you mean your grown-up daughter?"
Everyone besides Regina spun toward the cracked voice. Margot and Roland somehow even leveling twin crossbows at the speaker while standing defiantly in front of the woman they loved.
"What did you mean Zelena?" Robin of Locksley asked again acting as if the two that could possibly be his own children weren't holding him at arrow point at the moment as his eyes stayed fixed on the woman that seduced and for lack of a better term for it raped him just to get back at her sister and his true love.
"Robin this isn't the best time for this." Regina piped up interlocking their fingers together while also gesturing for Roland and Margot to loser their weapons. Not that they listened to her. If anything, the move just made them grip onto them tighter.
"How long have I been gone?" Robin asked his eyes now looking down at his true love. "It's compl…." Regina started to say but her outlaw cut her off "How long." He implored needing to know before he went mad.
"In our timeline almost twenty-eight years." Roland answered starting to lower his crossbow after a few seconds of staring at the man that looked like an exact copy of his long-dead father, "Give or take a few years I mean everything's all a bit hazy when it comes to time." He added earning a shaky laugh from Angel and Alice and even Zelena joined in after some thought.
"Twenty-eight years." Robin stammered out his eyes stinging in tears when he thought over the little baby girl in her pink blanket that he had been holding just a few moments ago before facing Hades. "I missed it all." He realized feeling Regina's arms wrapping around him while his legs threatened to give out.
"Papa." The man in front of him yelped dropping his crossbow to move to the falling man's other side worry clear on his face blurred as it was by Robin's tears.
"Roland." The older archer chocked out in realization letting Regina untangle herself from them to let Robin filly collapse into his son's strong arms. "Papa." His adult son answered holding onto Robin just as hard if not harder than his father was holding him.
The sound of something heavy clattering to the floor and Zelena's worried tearful cry of "Robin sweetheart wait." Pulled the reunited pair out of their haze just in time to see a whip of blonde hair that Roland at least knew to be Alice's flash around the corner then the tell-tale slam of the front door and the subsequent roar of a motorcycle being kicked into life out in the driveway.
Robin Sr, Roland, Zelena and Regina all rushed out with Lissa slowly bringing up the rear given she didn't want to put any more added stress on the baby by hurrying even to go after someone she thought of as her sister and the woman she loved.
Lissa at least made it out to the front porch just on time to catch her boyfriend's stolen motorcycle turning off too fast down the block with Robin in front guiding the groaning bike into the hairpin turn leaving Alice clinging onto her for dear life leaving Roland and Zelena standing in the middle of the street with Robin and Regina on there knees at the start of the sidewalk staring at the spot where the bike had been parked just that morning.
"If you're trying their cells don't bother," Angel said seeing Zelena already had her phone out and pressed to her ear. "It won't do you any good." the streetwise girl repeated holding up both Robin and Alice's phones for them to see.