Alice threw the chequered blanket into the air, spreading it out as much as she could before she ducked down and let it flutter back towards the ground. Once it was down on top of the grass, Alice dropped to her hands and knees, crawling on top and spreading her palms across the surface to smooth out any bumps or crinkles it might have left over. While she did her best to make sure it was straight with no hard pieces of stones still sticking out of the ground from underneath, Killian came back from collecting the broken branches and twigs, setting them down on the side in a neat pile before carefully arranging them to make a small campfire for the girls later in the evening.
"Here, love." Killian said, gathering and placing a small bundle of stones close to the blankets edge. "Put those on each corner, it'll keep the wind from blowing it up, just in case." There wasn't much of a breeze at the moment but that could always change later on.
After Killian had moved back to the firewood and was a safe distance away again, Alice collected the stones and did as he said, placing each of them on their own corner and pinning the blanket in place. Once that was done, she grabbed the bags that Killian had brought her from town and began to unload them onto the blanket. She was careful with how she placed everything, following the instructions that her father had offered her when they had met up earlier that morning. It was simple advice, mostly placing things in an order that she planned to eat them, so they were within easy reach, yet Alice found herself following everything he told her closely, like her very life depended on doing it exactly how he had described or else the night would be ruined.
"You think Robin will like this?" Alice asked as she began setting up the food with some of the more sugary snacks in the middle under a protective cover – another one of her papa's ideas.
"Of course, she will," Killian said, cheerfully finishing off his own task before turning to face his daughter.
"What if it rains?" Alice said, biting the inside of her lip and looking nervously towards the sky, like she expected to find a series of dark clouds already hanging overhead.
"It won't." Killian grinned. "Everything will be fine. Trust me."
Killian was trying his hardest not to show his amusement so obviously on his face in case he upset her, but it was getting harder and harder to keep a – somewhat – straight face the longer Alice continued to fret over all the things that could possibly go wrong. He had missed out on so much of her life since they were cursed, and this was his first time seeing Alice so flustered and self-doubting over what would happen between her and her girlfriend. Which, even Killian could clearly see, was really pointless because no matter what she did for her, Killian knew that Robin would love it, just because it was Alice who did it for her.
"Papa," Alice paused from where she was laying down the flowers her father had brought for her down beside the food in the centre. "Thanks again."
"I'm happy to help." Killian said, smiling at her.
"I know, but I still really appreciate it." Alice glanced down at the flowers. They had been her father's idea. She had gone to him for help on what she would need to plan a romantic picnic and he had not only gone above and beyond with ideas and suggestions but insisted on physically coming to give her a hand setting it all up as well. "I don't want to mess this up."
Killian paused, reaching behind him slightly and digging his hook into the tree bark. In a way it was a different form of clenching his fist, but mostly it was the only way for Killian to physically restrain himself from rushing to her side and doing what he always wished he could; hold her. He would have given anything – he'd even have given his other hand – if he could just comfort his daughter properly when she needed him in times like this. Instead he would have to settle for talking it all through at a distance and hope that was enough.
"You won't." Killian insisted. "All you have to do is have fun and everything will be perfect for you both, I'm sure of it."
Alice paused, reaching to stroke some of the silk like petals from the flowers. She wished she had her father's confidence, and normally she did, but whenever she was around Robin everything changed. She second guessed almost everything she did or said with a knotted stomach and jelly legs that never seemed quite able to support her comfortably. It was embarrassing, so she worked twice as hard to feign an air of confidence, almost to the point where she nearly believed it herself.
"Alice…" Killian said softly, digging his hook deeper into the tree in frustration. "You have nothing to worry about. Don't think so much into it. Just enjoy yourself."
"I will." Alice nodded, smiling at him and casually changing the subject. "So, what about you, papa? Any plans for today?"
Killian laughed lightly, letting go of the tree and returning to the firewood. There wasn't much left for him to do to it now, but he wanted an excuse to keep himself busy and distracted. "Oh no," He said lightly. "Those days are long behind me now, sweetheart."
"They don't have to be." Alice said, shrugging.
"Since when do children encourage their parents to date?" Killian snorted. "Shouldn't you be deterring any other woman from getting into our life?"
He was just joking around and having a laugh, but Alice found it hard to join in. "I don't like the idea of you being all on your own." She confessed, looking down at the blanket and tracing her finger over one of the blue squares.
"Alice, I'm not alone." Killian said softly, looking up at her. "I have Henry, and Regina, and Tiana and all of the resistance. And even if we can't be together like we used to, I will always have you… You are the only true love I'll ever need in my life."
"I just want you to be happy." Alice admitted. "Like I am with Robin."
"Funny," Killian chuckled. "Because nothing could make me happier, than knowing you are."
Alice beamed at him shyly and for a second, they were silent, because no other words were needed. Then Killian stood, dusting his trousers off with his hand and looking over towards her.
"Why don't you separate the flowers, put a couple of each on the stones and pick out the best looking one to sit in the middle." Killian said casually.
"Like this?" Alice asked, dividing the flowers and laying them on top of each of the stones before picking out a single pink tulip and leaning it up against the plastic cover.
"That looks perfect." Killian said, nodding his approval.
"Alright," Alice said slowly, glancing around before she picked up one of the apples. "I was thinking …" Alice began, reaching into one of the bags by her feet, her voice trailing off when she reached in, only to realise it was empty. Alice paused, turning to the blanket and looking over the surface in front of her but everything was already spread out and ready. There was nothing out of place but there was something missing. "Oh no."
"What is it?" Killian blinked.
Alice groaned loudly, leaning back on her heels. "I forgot to pack my dagger. I needed that to cut everything up properly."
"Oh," Killian hesitated. "Well, we could run back…"
"There's no time," Alice said, looking up towards the sky. "It will take too long to get there and back again."
"Well, that's not too bad." Killian said gently, glancing over the food. "I mean, you could still eat everything as it is without cutting it all up."
"I guess..." Alice mumbled, sounding and looking close to tears. "I just… Planned it to go differently."
"Hey, easy now, it's not the end of the world." Killian said quickly, taking a step forward and wincing slightly at the knowledge that he could risk getting no closer.
"I know but… Robin did such an amazing job last year for our first Valentines together. I just wanted to do something that was at least halfway as nice, and I can't even do that." Alice groaned, slapping the empty bag away. "I mean, who forgets the most basic stuff like a single knife?"
"Maybe we can use something else to do the job?" Killian suggested, glancing around but all that he could see were a series of smooth stones and dirty brittle sticks for the fire.
"Forget it." Alice mumbled, standing. "We'll just… Make do." She waved her hands helplessly.
Killian hated seeing her like this. He may have helped her with a series of suggestions and such, but this had been her idea to begin with and she had worked so hard to set it all up. Even when Killian had tried to help, she had insisted on doing the most of it by herself so that it could truly be her gift. And now, in her mind at least, one little mistake had ruined it all. That wasn't fair, and Killian loathed to see her like this. There had to be something he could do for her.
Suddenly, inspiration struck. "Don't you worry, love!" Killian grinned. "I've just the thing."
O*U*A*T
"Wait!" Alice cried.
She jumped up from the spot and ran over to the opening in the tall hedge, beating Robin just before she could step into the clearing and see the decorated picnic that had been carefully laid out. She stepped in the way and grinned at her as soon as she came into view. Neither of them had particularly dressed up for the occasion, but they had changed into their nicer casual clothes and, as per usual, Robin looked stunning even with her bow and arrows settled in hand.
"You look beautiful," Robin grinned, leaning forward and pecking Alice softly on the lips.
"Hey, that's my line." Alice laughed when she pulled back, reaching over and grabbing her hands before she pulled her back for a second, harder, kiss in return.
When they finally pulled apart, Alice bouncing slightly as she moved around behind her, reaching up and covering Robin's eyes with her hands. When she was satisfied that Robin could not see anything past her fingers, she began to lead her through the hedge and out into the stretch of field where the picnic waited for them. Somehow, despite how much effort she had put into making it perfect, it still didn't look quite like Alice imagined it would in her head, but she was happy with it none the less and was eager to show it off.
"Ta da!" Alice cried, releasing Robin's face and jumping to stand by her side, waving her arm at the set up in front of them.
Everything was as it was when Killian had left her. The only difference now was that Alice had lit the fire for warmth and removed the container from the food, back into the bag, tucked out of sight just before Robin's arrival, making sure it looked perfectly displayed upon first look.
"Oh, wow, Alice, this is amazing." Robin whispered, looking slightly dazed with a light in her eye as her face dropped in shock before pulling back into a slow smile.
"I had a little help." Alice admitted. "Papa, gave me some ideas and helped set a lot of it up."
"Well it looks amazing. You and your father are a pretty good team." Robin said, taking Alice hand and dragging her over to the picnic, sitting them down on the side closest to the fire. "This looks so mouth-watering. I'm starving!"
"Well, help yourself!" Alice beamed, sitting close to Robin's side and reaching for a slice of apple. They weren't so evenly cut as she would have liked, but she did what she could with what Killian had given her.
"Happy Valentine's Day, Alice." Robin said, pouring the freshly squeeze juice into a pair of matching cups before handing one over to the other girl.
"Happy Valentine's Day, love." Alice said, clunking their cups together and taking a small sip before she set it aside. As soon as Robin had lowered her own cup, Alice leaned forward and caught her in a deep kiss, wrapping her arms around her tightly.
Robin blindly set her own cup down before she wrapped her arms around Alice in return, pulling her so hard they nearly lost their balance and fell on the food. Instead, without breaking their embrace, they swayed to the other side and fell onto the grass, still clinging to one another the whole time. The soft burning fire wasn't the only thing keeping them hot by the time they eventually pulled away from one another, grinning and staying close so Alice could smell the soft peppermint leaves Robin had been chewing on the way here. Something she only did when she was anxious. It was good to know Alice wasn't the only one a little nervous and she found Robin's habit to be cute enough for another quick kiss.
"We should probably eat first." Robin giggled finally, brushing her nose gently against Alice's before pushing herself back up.
"Yeah, plenty of time for that later." Alice said, grinning from the ground for a second longer before she also forced herself back into sitting position.
"So, what do we have here?" Robin asked, looking over the food, still wetting her lips greedily. Her own nerves for the evening had kept her from having a proper meal all day and she was glad it had. There was so much laid out for them here!
"Well, a bit of everything." Alice said. "Mostly fruit, since I didn't really have that much for shopping and I'm not the greatest hunter, but papa chipped in a bit at the last minute and got some pies and sandwiches and some sweet deserts." Alice explained. "We can also cook anything over the fire, if it's your fancy."
"Simple, and exactly what I fancy." Robin said, nodding her approval before she reached down and picked up a few pieces of sliced banana. She turned, grinning to Alice as she threw them in her mouth. "You know me so well."
Alice still had no idea if Robin sometimes lied to make her feet better, or if she generally liked the simple things she did, but she loved her for saying things like that either way. Twisting around she leaned against her and they began to eat as well. Alice had brought far too much food for just the two of them, but she would rather have brought too much than too less.
"Wonder what a cooked apple taste like." Alice suddenly mused.
"Ew." Robin laughed.
"Oh, come on, you're not at least a little curious?" Alice asked.
"Curiosity is your department my love," Robin smirked.
Alice returned the smirk before holding out her hand. "Let me borrow an arrow."
"Ew!" Robin laughed but gave her an arrow and watched her skewer the apple through the end, as well as several other bits of random fruit before turning and cooking them over the fire.
It took her longer to cook it all than she thought it would, before she was finally turning back around and holding the skewer out in front of her, examine the slightly toasted fruit. Alice hesitated then took a small bite from each piece. Robin watched her closely the whole time, noting the fruit she shrugged off and the fruit she looked ready to spit out almost as soon as she put them in her mouth. It was hard not to laugh but she also found herself a little curious after all. After years of travelling and keeping on the move to avoid trouble, Robin was used to having most of her food fresh as possible. In fact, the idea of anything else was pretty bizarre.
"Okay, your turn." Alice said, holding the skewer of half-eaten food out to her.
"No way! I never said I'd try it." Robin said, pushing her hand away.
"Please, for me." Alice pouted playfully, leaning close to kiss her cheek and nuzzling into her neck softly.
Robin tried to ignore her, but Alice began kissing along the side of her neck and whispering pleads into her ear, gently sucking on the skin until she left a small purple bruise in its place.
"Okay, fine," Robin said quickly as she moved to kiss her neck again, blushing slightly at how breathless she sounded. "I'll try one piece." She said, trying to retain some of her dignity.
Alice beamed, holding the skewer out to her once more and allowing Robin to pick off the apple, one of the pieces she had seen Alice shrug off. When she placed it in her mouth, she was surprised that it didn't taste as rotten as she expected to. However, she understood Alice's shrug off, because while it wasn't vile, it certainly wasn't anything to go crazy for either. Robin certainly preferred the juice of freshly picked apples, that was for sure.
"Happy?" Robin asked.
"Ecstatic!" Alice beamed, leaning over and kissing the love bite she'd left under her ear before turning to some of the bite sized pies and carefully placing them by the fire to warm through.
As time wore on, they continued to make their way through the picnic food. They didn't have a particular order, going back and forth between eating some of the sandwiches that Alice had prepared to the pies Killian had brought for them and repeatedly finding themselves digging into the few of the treats they were meant to be saving for last as well.
Because they spent most of their days together, there little to catch up on and instead they found themselves talking about the future instead. Despite two full years of officially being together now, Robin had yet to visit Wonderland and it was a place that Alice was eager to show her (there were other places she wanted to share as well, but unlike Wonderland, they were not so easily accessed – and they also had to be careful about time differences that might cause Robin some trouble with her mother). But despite the obstacles in their way, Alice still hoped to share each of the worlds she had seen with Robin. But while Alice was fully eager to simply go blindly into a situation and just see what happens when she gets there, she knew Robin preferred being prepared, which included everything from weapons to food supplies to a quick exit strategy should things take a wrong turn at any point. When Alice first realised this, she thought it would be irritating, but found she enjoyed those times with Robin. It wasn't something she had done before, so it was a new kind of exciting to plan things out, like a secret mission.
Things had been quiet for a while now, but since they lived in the Enchanted Forest, it was almost guaranteed that at least one major thing, if not a series of minor things, would go wrong eventually. Maybe then they would have the perfect excuse to drop everything and go on an adventure together…
At one-point, Alice lay down with her head resting in Robin's lap. She shut her eyes and let Robin surprise her with food she either cooked and collected cold, rubbing them softly against her lips, asking for permission to feed her the next piece, whatever it was. Every now and then Alice would try and guess what it was she had been given, but it turned out, Alice was a terrible guesser when it came to the taste of foods.
"In what land does a melon piece taste like a grape?" Robin challenged.
"Well they're both sweet!" Alice argued.
"It was a green grape." Robin countered. "They are nowhere near as sweet as a piece of melon."
Alice stuck her tongue out at her. "Hey, try cooking a piece of melon."
"Is there anything you eat that you won't also cook first?" Robin challenged.
Alice grinned, opening her eyes and raising her brows suggestively, causing Robin to laugh aloud and lean down, kissing her quickly before she reached for chunky piece of melon. She skewered it into her bow – she was going to need to give this a proper clean after tonight – and grabbed a few pieces of bread and cheese from the sandwiches to join it before she set it standing upright in the ground by the fire. While she waited for it to cook, she turned back to Alice, stroking her hair gently and watching the peaceful girls face after she had closed her eyes once more. She almost looked like she was sleeping.
"You've gone quiet." Alice said, cracking one eye to look up at her.
"I'm always quiet." Robin noted. "You're the one who hates silence."
"It feels awkward." Alice said defensively.
Giggling and continuing to stroke the hair on her forehead, Robin reached for an apple. Most of them had been cut up and prepared before her arrival but most of those were gone now, leaving only a few whole ones in its place.
"Where's the knife?" Robin asked, glancing over the blanket. Only now realising that there was a reason as to why she was using her arrows as skewers, instead of anything proper.
"Uh… Funny story." Alice said, sitting up and twisting to face her. "I kind of forgot it."
"So, you, what? Cut everything up and then brought it all here?" Robin laughed.
"Actually, I brought it all here, then realised I forgot everything." Before Robin could ask how she managed to cut everything, Alice reached behind them, into the bag that was now sitting by one of the stones on top of the blankets corner. She pulled out her father's hook and held it up shyly. "Papa helped me out."
Robin was momentarily shocked before she burst out laughing. "You stole your father's hook?"
"Of course not. He loaned it to me." Alice said defensively.
"To cut food?" Robin grinned, raising an eyebrow.
Alice shrugged. "He wanted to make sure this night went perfectly."
Robin felt the laughter die and she smiled softly, reaching over to take Alice's hand in her own, entwining their fingers. "I'll have to thank him the next time I see him."
Alice nodded slowly, moving to lean against Robin, placing the hook carefully down on the side. "I miss him." She whispered after a second of silence.
Robin didn't need to ask what she meant. She saw him just that morning sure, but that wasn't the same as being with him. Not when they couldn't even risk getting to close to one another for fear that it would cause her father harm. It was as bad as if they hadn't seen each other in years. And there was nothing any of them could do. The only thing that could probably save them would be True Love's Kiss, but there was no way for Alice or Killian to do that when a single touch would be the death of him.
With nothing else to say that could comfort her, Robin wrapped Alice in her arms, kissing her temple gentle before silently holding her. They sat there for a long time, the sun had begun a slow set before they began to smell something sickly and burnt in the air and realised they had forgotten about the food they had set aside to cook by the fire.
"Woops…" Robin said, picking out the arrow from the ground and holding the pieces in front of Alice. Only a half of it had been burned, while the rest was still fresh. "Uh, still want to try the cooked melon?"
Before Alice could give her a reply, the melon suddenly broke off the arrow and dropped to the ground, quickly followed by the melted cheese. They girls stared at the sticky-looking mess between them and burst into giggles. It wasn't funny, but after the sudden seriousness, it felt like the most hilarious thing to happen and by the time they were done laughing, there were happy tears in Alice's eyes again.
"Okay, that has officially put me off the rest of this meal." Robin said, pulling the toast from her arrow and throwing them back down onto the blanket, turning and leaning over to give Alice a quick kiss. "But it was all lovely. Thank you so much for my Valentine dinner."
"I'm glad you liked it." Alice said, standing. "But the days not over just yet."
"There's more?" Robin blinked.
"Yes." Alice grinned, moving the stones and beginning to pack up everything but the food, which she either tossed to the trees to be eaten or into the fire to dim the flames. "We need to finish what we started when you got here."
O*U*A*T
They made it back to Alice's temporary home – an abandoned one room cabin – just after the sun set, but they stayed up long afterwards, rolling around in the bed together and making an excessive amount of noise between them. That was the one benefit of Alice's home compared to Robin's. Normally they always ended up back at the Mills family farm, mostly because Robin's bedroom was a lot warmer and more comfortable than the places that Alice stayed, but the one thing Alice's cabin could give that Robin's home couldn't was the promise of privacy. There was no fear or any family members overhearing them or, worse, walking in during the middle of things.
So, despite the fact that the bed was a touch too firm to what Robin was used to, and the blankets were the scratchy kind of wool that wasn't so bad when you were tucked under but was very noticeable once you'd climb out of, neither girl regretted the position they ended up in. If only because that position included clinging to one another, skin to skin, and happily out of breath.
They were both hot, a warm layer of sweat being the only thing between them anymore, but already Robin could feel the chill that lingered in the cabin. She reached over, not so willing to get dressed just yet, and instead pulled Alice's body against hers, sharing their body heat and layering a series of kisses down along her neck and shoulders. After a few moments, Robin began to slide down, moving her kisses further along Alice's chest and stomach instead. She was still feeling that content urge to just lay down and fall asleep by Alice's side, but as of late Robin found herself growing stubborn. Stubborn enough that she didn't want her nights with Alice to end. So, no matter what it was, Robin found herself doing everything to keep the night going for as long as possible.
"When do you have to be back?" Alice whispered. There was no need – especially when you took into considering that she had been shouting very loudly just a few moments ago – but suddenly the moment felt like it should be a quiet one. Sad even. That sad, quiet moment just before Robin had to return home, leaving Alice alone for a long and lonely night.
Robin lifted her head, pushing the wool blanket up to watch Alice's face as she said cheerfully. "I don't."
"Really?" Alice blinked.
"Yeah, aunt Regina said she'd cover for me and give mum a hand with the farm chores." Robin said, crawling up to kiss Alice gently. "So, you have me all night."
"Why didn't you say so?!" Alice demanded, wrapping her arms around her neck.
Before Robin could explain that she thought Alice had already realised this, she was pulled down for another deep kiss. Robin dropped to lie by her side, pressed her body close and sliding a leg between Alice's thighs, pushing open Alice's mouth and fighting for dominance for a short second before she relented and let Alice take control.
Even later into the night, when the girls were officially too tired to do much more than lie side by side, arms loosely wrapped around each other, they still were both doing their best to avoid the sleep clinging to their eyelids, trying to force an end to their perfect day. When it became almost too dark for them to even see each other, Alice sat up to light a candle, placing it carefully on the side where her father's hook was resting.
"When are you going to give that back to him?" Robin asked as Alice tucked herself back down under the blanket with her. It was freezing cold outside of the bed now and neither girl was willing to embrace it long enough to get dressed. Not when they could so easily just embrace each other instead.
"I'll try and give it back to him tomorrow," Alice mumbled, reaching over and pulling Robin close, pressing her face against Robin's and letting out quiet sight of satisfaction.
"Want company when you do?" Robin said, resisting the urge to yawn.
"If you're offering." Alice grinned.
"Yeah, I need to thank him partly for the best valentine's present ever." Robin beamed, reaching a hand up Alice's face to twist her fingers lightly into her hair.
Alice's smile dimmed slightly, and she nodded, burying her face against Robin for a moment. She hated how perfect moments like these were ruined by the reality of her situation with her father. It just seemed so unfair that she could be so happy one moment, lying in Robin's arms like nothing else in the world mattered, and then so miserable the next when she thought of how the chances of her ever being reunited with her father were growing slimmer and slimmer with every passing day. What if she never broke the curse? She'd always assured herself with the idea that they would eventually find a way to be together again but… What if they didn't?
"Alice… Talk to me…" Robin whispered, pressing kisses into the side of her face that was not hidden against her.
"It's nothing." Alice said, sniffing and forcing a smile. "Just coming to the realisation that I'm probably never going to have it all. I can have you. But I can't have everything."
"Is this about your dad?" Robin asked.
Alice let out an unfunny laugh. "Isn't it always?"
"I wish I could do something…" Robin said quietly, rubbing her hand gently over Alice's lower back.
"You're already doing all you can by just being here." Alice whispered, kissing the side of Robin's mouth and shutting her eyes. "Just promise you'll be here when I wake." She mumbled sleepily.
"Of course." Robin promised. "I'll always be here. And even when I'm not right by your side, I'll be close by and I'll always return. I love you, Alice."
"I love you, Robin." Alice mumbled.
That night, long after Alice had fallen asleep, Robin stayed awake. She pondered her own parental situation. Like Alice, she only had one parent. Neither of them had known their other parent, either because of death or abandonment, but that was where their similarities mostly ended. While Alice only had her father to raise her, Robin had her mother, her aunt Regina and the whole of Storybrooke to tag in and help out when need be. She grew up in a community of people willing to help and none of them would ever let her not know everything about her deceased father that she could possibly know. Meanwhile, Alice had grown up in a tower, isolated from the world with only her father to raise and comfort her.
And now, the witch who cursed them had taken even that from her. The only person she had ever known to love her, was physically stopped from being there for her. She had Robin, but that didn't take away the pain from being unable to embrace the one and only parent she had ever had. Robin couldn't even begin to imagine what that would be like. Even if she could imagine being cursed to never be able to embrace her mother again, that didn't leave her alone like it did Alice.
Robin kissed Alice's sleeping forehead. Her love was probably one of the strongest people that Robin had ever met. Despite the misery of her life, despite having everything taken from her, she was still pushing through to the next day. She wasn't sure if she would have been able to keep up with her if she was in the same position.
Robin wished she could help her. She hated feeling so useless. All she could do was hold Alice in the night and make her feel loved, but she could do nothing for the pain of losing her father. Because in a way, even if she could see him at a distance, Alice had lost her father. And as much as Robin wanted to help, there was nothing she could do. Yet, she couldn't just drop it and go to sleep. She still found herself thinking that there must be something. There had to be a way for Robin to help reunite her love with the only parent she had ever known.
Suddenly Robin found herself wide awake, even more so than before. She had no idea what the time was, so she quietly climbed from the bed and walked over to the far window, looking out towards the sky. The moon was still out and bright, partially covered by the clouds but not overhead. It was late, but still Valentine's day for a few more hours at least.
"Robin?" Alice mumbled.
She had been woken with a start by Robin's rush to climb from the bed, accidentally jostling Alice when she had to climb over her to look out the window across the room from them. She pushed herself up, covering herself against the cold and climbing to her feet, making sure to stay wrapped in the wool blanket tightly as she stumbled over to where Robin was shivering in the moonlight. She was still half asleep, but the cold air was quickly waking her, and she only stumbled twice before she reached the other girl, instinctively wrapping them both in the blanket, protecting her from the cold night air that left goose bumps over her skin.
"Are you alright?" Alice said, resting her chin on Robin's shoulder. "What happened?"
"Nothing." Robin assured, turning and cupping Alice's face between her hands. "I just realised I hadn't given you your Valentine's present yet."
"That's all?" Alice said, yawning with a slight sleepy smile. God, she looked so cute. "You could have just given it to me in the morning."
"No. It has to be now. On this day." Robin said firmly.
"I don't understand…" Alice mumbled, frowning slightly.
"Alice. My original present was going to be a trip down to town tomorrow to buy you a new cloak or something, and I still will do that. But it will be an every day gift. Because of my Valentine gift, I give you my word." Robin began seriously.
"What? Just the one?" Alice grinned.
"I give you my word," Robin continued firmly. "That for as long as you are the love of my life and long after – though I assure you, there will never be an after – I will help you find a way to reunite with your father."
The smile died off of Alice's face and she stood, stunned. "Robin…" She said finally.
"I don't care if it takes all our lifetimes. I don't care how hard it is or what I must give up to make it happen." Robin vowed. "We will find a way to break your curse. Together. Together we will make everything right and you will be with him again. I swear on the life of my own mother, and the death of my own father. It will happen."
Tears filled Alice's eyes and began to trail down her cheeks. She opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out. Instead she pressed her lips together and reached up, covering Robin's hands with her own. She didn't even care when the blanket fell off them both and landed in a heap at their feet. She sniffed as she felt Robin gently brush one of the tears off of her cheek with her thumb and lean in to kiss away the other before she then slowly move and kissed Alice's lips. Her touch was so gentle, like she was worried Alice might break if she were too rough.
Finally, Alice shut her eyes and mentally calmed herself. When she opened them again, Robin was still leaning closer, watching her carefully and cradling her face. They were both shivering from the cold now but neither bothered to make any attempt to pick up the wool blanket. Instead they watched each other for a full minute of silence.
Then: "Robin." Alice took a breath then smiled. "Do you always have to one up me when we exchange gifts?"
Robin's intense expression broke away and burst into a giggle, ducking down to grab the blanket and rewrap it around them both, pulling Alice close. "What can I say, I'm a natural gift giver."
"Show off." Alice grinned, blinking away the last of the tears and smiling softly. "But we have no idea how we'd even begin-"
"Don't even try and give me any form of talk about how we can't do this." Robin said quickly.
"We could waste our whole lives searching for a way-" Alice began.
"If my entire life is spent on an endless adventure with you, then it will never be a waste." Robin insisted.
Alice's mouth hung open, but she couldn't bring herself to argue. If there were any gift great enough to leave her speechless, it was this one. So instead she leaned forward, kissing Robin and pulling her back to the bed.
Her exhaustion from moments ago was gone. She was going to show her gratitude in ways she couldn't quite put into words.
And in between that gratitude, midnight passed, and valentines came to a passionate end.