Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time or any of the characters. I'm new to this particular fandom – CuriousArcher, MadArcher, whatever you want to call it. I mean, how hard was it to not love Robin and Alice? They're totally adorable! Thanks, OUaT!
Best Day
By RandomGnome
I, Robin Mills, wished desperately that I had some courage. Not courage to face down a bully or even a monster - those I could do. No, I needed courage for something altogether more intimidating: a woman. She was not just any woman, either. Her name was Alice Jones and somehow, after only knowing this woman for about six months, I had started to realise that I was falling head over heels in love with her. Considering that we had met under less than ideal circumstances - pointing a sharpened arrow at someone's head and then leaving them to rot in a jail cell (not my finest moment) - it wouldn't have seemed likely that we'd even be friends, let alone something more.
Except that somehow, for some reason, Alice had become my friend. More than that, Alice had become the best friend that I had always wanted. She really listened when I talked, she gave great advice, she made me laugh when I needed it and gave me a kick in the ass when I deserved it. Alice was kind, smart, funny, spirited, and just a little bit crazy. The crazy was the best part, though. It made everything we did together just that much more fun, because I could rarely tell what Alice would do next.
I knew that Alice had spent the first 17 years of her life trapped in a high tower in the middle of the Forest. In fact, at one point, the only person she'd had to talk to for nearly seven years was herself. It constantly amazed me just how good Alice was. She always did the right thing, no matter what. Even going so far as to put herself in danger (see above-mentioned jail cell) when felt that it was called for. Some people called her mad or troubled, but I just thought she was special. I like to think that most of her goodness came from her father, Killian Jones.
Alice and her father's story was pretty tragic. First, Killian had been tricked into helping conceive Alice by her mother, the dark witch, Gothel. The way Alice told it, the moment her father understood that the woman with whom he'd had a single night, had used magic to bear a child, and planned on leaving her alone to die in the Tower, he became a different person. Gone was the cruel, ruthless pirate he had been, to be replaced by the loving Papa who raised her until she was nearly 11.
I mean, who doesn't love the idea that their father gave up his entire life to take care of his daughter? It's so perfect - unlike my father, who died to protect me and my aunt. Killian lived for Alice, doing anything and everything to keep her happy, because the witch had laid an enchantment on the tower which trapped Alice inside its walls until such time as she could either break the spell or until she had a child of her own. Dark, right? Except that, as trapped as she was, Alice loved her father and they were okay.
That's when the story took a dark turn. A weakness on Killian's part, Alice's witch mother, and a poison made it so that Alice and Killian could never truly be together again. If Alice and Killian ever got within a couple feet of each other for very long, the poison would end up killing him. If they tried to touch, they would be thrown violently away from each other. It was pretty sad. I never saw it happen, but my aunt told me about it and how devastated Killian was, to say nothing of Alice.
I'd been told the story the first time my mom brought me to the rebel encampment to meet everyone. I was really overwhelmed and only 16, but the story my Aunt Regina told me to explain why there are two Killians, stayed with me. I don't have a million pages to explain why there are two of Alice's father, so I won't. (The first Killian lives far away from the Forest, is married to my godmother, and doesn't have anything to do with Alice.) My family history is more messed up than I can ever explain.
What matters here is that I was born because my mother was an evil witch who tricked my dad - something Alice and I had in common. The difference between us, is that my mom realised the errors of her ways and reformed. She sacrificed her magic to save the entire town I grew up in, so that made her one of the good guys. She and my Aunt Regina raised me until she took me to another realm in order to give us both some peace.
See, even though she saved the town, the people didn't trust her all that much. I got bullied a lot when I was little and Mom hated seeing it. We went to this place called Fallory when I was about seven years old, then came back when I was about 13. Time passed faster in Fallory, so when we moved back to the place where I was born, not all that much time had gone by. All those kids who had tormented me about being the daughter of the Wicked Witch (yes, that Wicked Witch) were still just little kids. My aunt was gone mostly, only coming to visit once in a while, since traveling between realms wasn't all that easy. We stayed in that dumb little town for only a couple of years, then Mom moved us again.
By that time, I'd tried to be a rebellious teenager, dabbling in magic that I had no clue what I was doing with. I ended up getting sort of kidnapped by Gothel. Yep, Alice's mom. I didn't have all that much in the way of magic strength, but Gothel decided it would be enough to set a former teacher of hers loose from a prison. She drained me dry, but didn't kill me - thanks to my mom. Mom had been willing to give up her life for mine that day and I couldn't let that happen. That was the first time I picked up a bow and arrow. It changed my life.
When the dust settled, I gave up what little magic I had to my mom, and decided to take on the mantle of the man who had been my father. I became Robin Hood.
Okay, it didn't happen overnight. I practiced hard with the bow, though that was the easy part. Figuring out just who I actually wanted to be took years. Years and a woman who managed to blow my mind the first time we met.
That's right. Alice.
Because she was so willing to stand up for a crazed Troll against a mob of angry villagers, the night we met, and because I couldn't let said mob leader bully anyone who didn't deserve it, Alice and I ended up escaping. We made it through the forest and back to the tower that had once been her home. There, between some quick thinking on my part, and the use of magic that Alice hadn't known she possessed, we 'defeated' the Troll. And I somehow made a friend.
After that night, Alice and I started hanging out. Even though she was older than me by a few years, Alice was the kind of person that it was really easy to spend time with. Age, to her, was just a number. She'd spent the three years since escaping the tower looking for a cure to her father's poisoned heart, finding nothing. So instead, Alice decided to settle down and asked me if I would mind delivering letters to her father for her. It was the least I could do, and at first, it gave me an excuse to see her.
Soon, though, we spent time together because we liked each other's company. I loved listening to Alice's stories about her adventures in other realms. She seemed fascinated in my tales of the tiny, annoying town that Storybrooke was and what it was like to grow up there. She loved my smartphone's ability to take pictures and store them. She even told me once that she would have punched this one kid who liked to call me evil and make me cry.
"You're one of the least evil people I've ever met, Robin. That girl was wrong and deserved a punch in the nose to teach her a lesson." She had declared to me.
"Yeah, well my mom hated it when I got into fights," I told her. It was true, so I'd try to stand up for myself with words - which never works when you're a kid.
"Well, I'd have done it for you." Alice insisted, grinning.
I think that might have been when I started to fall for her.
Or, maybe it was the night we met and she broke down into tears, making me want nothing more than to be the one who could make it all better for her, take her pain away.
I don't know. It could have happened any time. All I knew was that the more time I spent with her, the more I wanted to. I started to realise that I might feel more than friendship for Alice when the first snows of winter fell and made it impossible to leave my house for a week. Normally, this wouldn't be a problem. My mom kept the fires going with magic, made soup and hot chocolate, and we would 'hang out'. That meant mostly reading silently in front of the hearth fire, and making s'mores. Which we did. Except that the whole time, I kept wondering what Alice was doing, and if she was okay.
I know, there's nothing abnormal about worrying for a friend's welfare, but something about it felt different. It was like being in the dark for a week, without seeing her smile. I missed the sound of her voice, her laughter, the touch of her hand in mine. I started having dreams. They were vivid and I would wake up breathless at the intensity of them. They weren't sex dreams or anything, just… at least they never went that far. Suffice it to say, by the time I could get out of the house, I headed straight for Alice's cottage.
The entire walk through the Forest from my mom's farm to Alice's home, I tried to guess at what kind of greeting I would get. Had she missed me? Would she be happy to see me? I just didn't know. When I got to the cottage, I was surprised to find it very well tended. The little porch was clean of snow, and trails had been cleared to all of the important places like the well, the firewood storage, and all the way around the house. Had Alice one all that?
I hesitated before knocking on the door. Did I look okay? I'd just spent a couple of hours working through knee-deep snow to get there, so I brushed off my trousers the best I could do. My hair was fine, since it was up in a braid and covered by the hood of my cloak. I checked my breath - not minty fresh, but not horrible - and put on my best smile. Then I knocked on the door.
The knock was firm and I could hear it echo a bit inside. A few moments later, the inside lock clicked open and it swung inward. Alice blinked rapidly at the bright winter sunlight. When her eyes were able to focus, she saw who was standing in front of her, and I got my reward. Her smile came first, putting the winter sun to shame. It blazed across her face, making her brilliant blue eyes light up with real joy.
"Hey," I greeted her, trying to sound casual. My heart beat had doubled and it was so quiet I was afraid that she could hear it.
"Nobin!" she cried, and then launched herself at me. Her arms wrapped around my neck and she buried her face in my shoulder. 'Nobin' is short for 'new Robin' - a little joke between us. She thought I hated that name, but I secretly adored her when she called me that.
I wrapped my arms around her slim waist and pulled her close to me. It felt unspeakably good to do it. We had hugged before this, plenty of times - Alice was a hugger. That time felt different, though. I felt something being close to her like that, a sense of connection that I hadn't before. She was warm and welcoming and softly feminine. She smelled of lavender, honey, sunshine, and woodsmoke. It was almost intoxicating.
After I don't know how long, we slowly released one another. I didn't want to. When I saw tears in her eyes as we parted, I got worried. "Hey, Tower Girl, are you okay? What's wrong?"
Alice sniffed and grinned at me. "I am now. Sorry," she swiped at her eyes impatiently with the back of one hand. "It might be silly, but I missed you."
My stomach did a somersault. Alice had missed me! God, I suddenly wanted to kiss her. Whoa! Where had that come from? "I missed you, too." I managed to say around my heart in my throat.
That earned me another hard hug. I revelled in it. I let the realisation of the past few minutes roll over me. I wanted to kiss my best friend. I honestly wanted to kiss her. No matter how many times I repeated it to myself, it kept being true. Hell's bells!
We parted again, eventually, though. Was it my imagination or did she seem as reluctant to let me go as I was of her? She invited me inside and we spent a couple of hours talking. I knew it had to be hard for Alice to be here alone, without anyone to talk to for so long. My friend even confirmed that, at one point, admitting that if it hadn't been for her only other friend, if you could call him that, coming to magically assist her with the snow, she might've 'gone completely mad'.
Hearing that, I immediately offered her a place at the farm with my mom and I. I made it sound pretty enticing, too. For a moment, Alice looked like she wanted to agree, but regretfully shook her head. "Sorry, Nobin. I'd love to, but I can't. Rumple needs me out here as much as I need him. I promised, after all."
"Okay," I replied, trying not to show how disappointed I was. "The offer is always open."
"Thank you. Besides, it sounds like you and your mum have your own ritual. I wouldn't want to get in the way. Though… What is 'hot chocolate'?"
That question led to more and by the time I was done describing ice cream, the sun was starting to set. Damn. Since it wasn't storming, I couldn't find a good enough excuse to request to stay the night. I was going to have to leave to make it home before dark. Nobody liked being out after dark in the Forest. Even though I had my bow and quiver with me, I never really felt safe after dark.
We were both beyond disappointed as we stood on the little porch to say goodbye. The setting sun painted Alice's face and pale blonde hair with pink and violet. Her blue eyes sparkled as she smiled at me before we hugged once more and parted. Once again, I was hit with that intense urge to kiss Alice. I clenched my jaw, fought it back, said my farewell, and took off at a brisk clip.
I had gone about a quarter mile when I realised that my path was clear. The knee-deep snow from before was gone. It hadn't melted. I ran on cold, packed dirt, not ice. When I looked in front of me, I could see the clear ground stretching in front of me like a dark ribbon in a sea of white, leading me home. I even thought I heard weird bubbling giggles bouncing from tree to tree. I knew what that meant.
"Thank you," I said to the thin, starting to freeze again air. I got no response, which I expected, and started jogging again, suddenly needing to get home.
The next storm hit only a couple of days later, leaving me home bound for two days. At the very next opportunity, I raced to see Alice once again, but this time, I brought a thermos that never got cold and never emptied - thanks to my mom's magic - and everything we needed to make s'mores. Now, that was a fantastic day.
So, here I was, on a day in mid-spring, walking down the path on my way to see Alice. I'd been gone for several days, this time, having had to go out with the other hunters for the rebels to get them enough meat for a feast - the May Day Feast, to be exact - that would be held in a few days. Since I'd helped get the food, they'd given me some to take home with me. Mom and I didn't need a lot, so I split up our take and was bringing it to share with Alice. Mom had cooked it already, using spices that only she knew by taste, and added potatoes, carrots, a few new green onions, and garlic. It tasted amazing. I only hoped Alice would like it.
As I approached her cottage, I saw that she was outside today. She'd set up her easel in the clearing before the house, had a stool, and a single table that held a jar of cloudy liquid and the wooden ends of several paint brushes, all of her jars of paint, and a single uneaten muffin. I had to smother a giggle at that. Sometimes, Alice would be so intent on what she was doing that she would forget to eat. I found it cute, but I did what I could to make sure that she ate something whenever I was around.
I set the picnic basket quietly on her porch, then walked up behind her on silent feet. "Whatcha paintin' Van Gogh?" I asked. I knew she wouldn't know who that was, but it was a good way to break her concentration.
Alice jumped at the sound of my voice, then she dropped her paint pallet on the ground, paintbrush and all, leapt to her feet, and smiled in my direction. "Robin! Hi!" A moment later and I had my arms full of my favourite thing - Alice.
I hugged her nearly as hard as she did me - just loving the smell of sunshine and paint thinner as I did. God, she was just so beautiful and warm and perfect!
"Hi," I greeted her when she unwound her arms from my neck just enough so I could see her eyes. I adored her eyes. I'd spent more time that I cared to admit just looking into her eyes. They were blue, upon blue, upon blue - a dark blue ring around her pupil, a softer blue like the sea for her iris, flecked with brighter bits. It all combined to make Alice's eyes look like a clear blue summer sky from a distance. Very few people, I bet, knew what they looked like close up. I considered myself lucky to be one of the few.
"Is everything all set for the festival?" She asked, once she'd extricated herself from my arms. As with every time we'd touched, lately, I found it hard to let her go, once I had her. I was really glad she wasn't telepathic, just then, because the thoughts swimming around in my mind were definitely not the kinds of things you think about a friend. She had smudges of paint on her face - one on her left cheek - blue, a full line on her forehead - yellow, and the tip of her nose was grey. It was simply adorable.
Once we had detangled ourselves, I nodded to her painting. It was of a field of flowers - red and yellow irises, I think - and in the background loomed the vast grey peaks of some very dangerous looking mountains. The sky was a roil of colours from purple and black clouds on one side, complete with yellow-white lightning, to a sky so blue it could have matched the one over our heads. I thought the picture was amazing! I'd seen some of Alice's work before, but this looked like one of those paintings in a museum or art gallery that sold hundreds of thousands of dollars.
"Alice, I love this picture," I told her.
"Really?" She asked, sounding excited. "Do you think Papa will like it? It's for his birthday."
I wasn't going to say that her father would love the painting simply because it came from her. She'd obviously worked hard on it. "It's beautiful, Alice. I think your dad is going to make sure that everyone sees it and knows who made it." Alice's smile in response made me feel like I'd said just the right thing.
"So, what are you doing, today?" Alice asked, sitting down again on her stool and studying the painting. She picked up the paint pallet, dipped her brush into a mixture of blues and added some to the area of the sky that held no clouds. It gave the picture even more depth, in my opinion.
"Honestly, I thought you might like to go on a picnic with me," I replied, trying not to sound too eager. "But, if you're busy…"
She glanced back over her shoulder at me, still smiling. "I'm never too busy for you, Robin. Actually, this one is pretty much done. It just has to dry. Why don't I get this cleaned up and then we can go?"
I felt my stomach do another somersault. "I'll help." I told her.
It didn't take long at all to clean up the paint, brushes, and uneaten muffin. Alice smiled sheepishly at me when I held it up with a raised eyebrow. I added it to the picnic basket - it was some sort of berry flavoured and looked yummy. She'd eat it if I was there to share with. Sometimes, Alice wouldn't eat something because she was afraid to eat it all and not get to share it. Especially if it was any sort of sweet treat - which this muffin seemed to be. She was so damned sweet, sometimes, I didn't know what to do with her. It made me wonder, though, if maybe I wasn't good enough for her.
I doubted she would agree, though, so I pushed the thought away to that little corner of my brain I rarely visited. Today, I was going to tell Alice how I felt about her, and if things went well, maybe even claim a first kiss. I shivered, standing outside in the sunlight waiting for Alice to clean up and join me. I may have been nervous, but I was also excited. I just hoped that I'd been reading the signs, right.
I knew, because she told me, that Alice had never dated anyone (after I explained what dating was). She'd spent so many years searching for a cure for her father that she hadn't even let romance enter into the picture. Now, she was taking care of that crazy Rumplestiltskin, and he could be a little scary where Alice was concerned. He seemed to care for her like a strange sort of uncle. In his own way, he doted on her the way that she took care of him.
It was just one more thing that made me love her.
When Alice came back out, she had not only washed the paint from her face, but she'd changed her clothes, too. She'd even made some concessions to the way the heat had started to rise. Instead of multiple layers of her favourite burgundy skirts, Robin thought there might have only been a single one. Her plain white shirt had short, tight sleeves with splashes of bright blue. Her bodice top was one of my favourites - light blue with wide gold decorative stitching. She was even still wearing the rainbow bracelet that I'd made for her months ago. She was so freakin' beautiful.
"You look great," I told her, truthfully, and was rewarded with another of her sunshine smiles.
"Well, it was getting a bit warm." She pointed out. "What's in the basket?"
"Mom cooked up some of the meat from the hunt. Whatever's left over after our picnic, you can keep and eat later. Or you can share with Rumple." Robin told her.
"Lovely! And I know just the place to have our picnic."
I picked up the basket with one hand and held my elbow out to Alice, who looped her arm through mine and tugged me in the direction she wanted to go. We didn't go far, just down a path in the Forest to a clearing beside a burbling little stream.
"This is a nice place," I commented as I spread the thick green blanket out on the ground. There was a small beam of sunlight that kept it warm, but not too hot. The stream was cute and it gave the entire place a romantic ambiance that I hadn't been expecting. Maybe this would be easier than I thought. Or harder.
Alice helped me to set out the food, making happy little noises as I unveiled each dish. I got such a kick out of how she could find joy in the smallest things. So, once the food was doled out, we ate and talked. We joked and laughed. I tested the water by moving a little closer to her, until our shoulders practically touched and I could catch the scent of lavender if a breeze blew just right. She didn't seem to notice or if she did, she didn't react at all. Hmmm.
Time to kick it up a notch.
I got the muffin out of the basket and held it up between them. "Share?"
Alice's eyes lit up and so did her brilliant smile. She let out a little laugh. "I did wonder where that had gone. Yes, please."
I broke off a piece of the top and held it out to her. Still smiling, she leaned forward and closed her lips around the piece of pastry, taking it delicately out of my hand. My heart let out a thump so loud, I'd have sworn it could be heard a mile away. Alice's eyes closed and she chewed the food slowly, savouring it.
"Good?" I asked, and my voice sounded like someone else. It was lower, huskier. This was what she did to me. A crazy voice in my head shouted at me that it was now or never.
Without another thought, I leaned in and brushed my lips against hers. It wasn't much, but it was enough.
Alice's eyes flew open wide and she stared at me in shock. She swallowed hard and opened her mouth, then closed it. "Did you just kiss me?" She asked, her voice a little shaky.
"I…" I started to say, panic rising. Oh crap!
"You did. You kissed me." She didn't seem angry about it, just surprised. So, I went with it.
"Yeah. I did. I've wanted to for a while now." I admitted, unable to meet her eyes. I just stared at the blanket and at where her hand rested so close to mine. "I really like you, Alice. More than that, I… I'm falling in love with you."
"Robin." She said my name and I had to look up.
She was smiling at me and there were tears in her eyes. Happy tears?
I couldn't help myself. My hand moved before I could even think and cupped her jaw. My thumb moved back and forth across the soft skin of her cheek. Her eyes closed again and I leaned in. This time it wasn't just a brush. My lips pressed into Alice's and… Wow. I know people talk about sparks or something when they kiss. I'd even heard my Aunt talk about my dad that way (it's not as weird as it sounds, I swear), and of course, I'd read about it in books. I had never kissed anyone before that day - I know, lame - and I knew that even after this first, real kiss, I didn't want to kiss anyone else.
Alice let out a hard breath through her nose and pressed her lips more firmly to mine. Her hand came up and touched my face with just the tips of her fingers. A shiver ran down my spine making me gasp a little and my lips parted. Alice's found that little gap and we came together even more, making my stomach flip-flop.
God! Her lips were everything that I'd been imagining - warm, soft, a little sweet, and just… perfect. Time seemed to have stopped, right there in the sunlight of that little clearing. All I could feel, hear, think about was Alice and how absolutely we seemed to just fit together.
When we finally pulled apart, we rested our foreheads together. I was grinning like a fool and so, I was grateful to see, was Alice. She had her eyes closed, as though just trying to take in what her other senses were telling her. When I tried to move my hand, her fingers left my cheek and cupped against mine, holding it in place. She pressed her cheek against my palm.
Finally, her eyes fluttered open and met mine. Her pupils were huge, the blue seeming even more brilliant than usual. She took my hand from her face, but didn't let go.
Nerves hit me, then. I don't know why I asked, "Was that okay?" What I meant was, was it okay that I was falling in love with her?
"That was better than okay," she told me. Her smile hadn't gone away, even as she leaned a little away from me. "That was… Do you mean it? You… love me?"
"I mean it." I confirmed. "I really do. I love you, Alice."
She made a choking sound and the next thing I knew, she'd thrown her arms around my neck, burying her face against my shoulder - the way she'd been hugging me lately. I felt her shoulders shake and realised that she was crying. Instantly, my arms were around her, one at her waist, pulling her close, and the other rubbing calming circles on her back. I stroked her hair - it was even softer than I imagined it could be, like silk between my fingers.
After a short time, she stopped crying and sat back, but not far enough to be out of the circle of my arms. "Are you okay, sweetie?" I asked her, softly. "I didn't mean to upset you."
Alice shook her head. "You didn't. At least not in a bad way. It's just… I'm in love with you, too, Robin. I didn't know how to tell you. I was afraid…"
"I get it. I was scared, too. What if you didn't want to be my friend anymore?" Alice nodded. "Well, just so you know, me being in love with you doesn't change our friendship, Alice. You will always be my best friend."
She sniffled. "Really?"
"Always. Cross my heart." I said. It was the truth. I'd done a lot of thinking and even if she hadn't reacted the way she had, I was determined to stay friends. I couldn't picture my life without her in it, no matter what it cost me. Luckily for me…
"Oh, Robin!" Alice grinned at me, her wide infectious expression making my heart stutter. "This is the very best day of my life."
"Any time I see you is the best day." I told her, only realising how sappy it sounded after it was out of my mouth.
"You say such wonderful things," she said, and then she leaned forward and kissed me.
I kissed her back and marvelled at just how right she was – that day really was the best day of my life.
Author's Note: So, I've seen a few of these first kiss scenarios and I love them! I thought I'd add my two cents. Hope it was cute. It's a one shot. Okay, back to work on my other stuff. Cheers!