A/N: Missing Year, before casting the dark curse. Diverges from canon, Zelena adds the memory spell before Charming is killed.

Prompt: Outlaw Queen + "You love me, right?"

The cauldron bubbled and smoked in front of her, filling her lungs with a familiar purple air that was thick, like breathing in water, and smelled of something burning. Of something dark and evil.

All that was left was the heart, though they could add the final ingredient whenever they decided the time was right. At least at this point, Regina had held up her end of the bargain. Now all she had to do was wait for Snow and Charming to finish their final preparations for their return to Storybrooke, and for Snow to tell her it was time to rip out Charming's heart.

Her chest tightened as she watched the green and purple magic oozing in the cauldron. The thought of what was in everyone's near future constantly nagged at her, making her stomach roll with anxiety. It was the uncertainty that gnawed at her, thanks to her wicked sister's forgetting spell, now that they were doomed to return to Storybrooke without their memories again. Would they forget who they were entirely? Their time here? Their time in Storybrooke before?

She couldn't forget Henry, not when she would be so close to finding him, closer than she'd ever thought she'd be again. Her heart had jumped at the idea of finding Emma and Henry, that her nightmare would finally end when she could hold her son again, that she'd no longer wake screaming in terror, clinging to Robin while she waited for the waves of fear to subside.

Robin. Oh god, how she couldn't forget him either. He had become a part of her, her soul mate, always by her side, supporting her and encouraging her, yet reminding her when she was being stubborn or petty, often with a stupid grin plastered to his face as he did so.

She needed him in Storybrooke, she would be alone again and she couldn't take it; she didn't want to give up yet another person she loved. She was comforted knowing that he would have Roland, that sweet little boy she had grown to love as her own. She would be losing him too, and all of their precious time together; baking pies, walking in the forest, her bedtime stories and her lullabies, all of it would be gone, and Regina would have never existed to her little knight.

Those two boys had won the Queen's broken heart, and helped to mend it in ways she never thought were possible. How could she lose them? The pain was unimaginable. Though she supposed she wouldn't know what she was losing…

Snow rushed in then, the loud boom of the doors making Regina jump and turn to her former stepdaughter, shooting daggers from her eyes. She stopped once she saw the wetness on Snow's cheeks, and her heart ached for the younger woman. She knew the pain that Snow was about to endure, she had done it herself 30 years ago and the wound still sunk deep even to this day.

"We're almost ready, and everyone is really anxious downstairs."

Everyone's anxious in here too, Regina thought, gripping her stomach as she started pacing circles in front of Snow. "Okay, if you're ready, get Charming and let's do this."

"Regina wait," Snow grabbed her arm, halting her next step. "You haven't moved from this room since Zelena added her spell to the curse. Don't you want to say goodbye?"

Her breath hitched as Snow slid her hand down to Regina's. Her eyes stung and she dropped her gaze to the ground. "It's not like I won't see him again. We're all going to Storybrooke together."

"But you won't know who he is, you should talk to him." Snow squeezed her hand lightly, and she placed her fingers under Regina's chin to push her focus back up. "Go tell him how much you love him right now, you don't know when you can again."

Regina breathed deeply only to exhale quickly, nodding and giving Snow a watery smile before she rushed out of the room.

:::

She found him in his chambers, propped up on his bed next to a sleeping Roland, who was curled into his blankets and pillows happily. For a moment she wished he were awake, that she could say goodbye to her little knight, but in her heart she knew it was better this way. He'd never know what had happened. Robin lifted his head as she entered slowly, and he jumped up to meet her across the room, taking her hands in his immediately.

"You're doing it soon?" He watched her carefully, his eyes a raging blue sea, soaking in every inch of her face as she nodded solemnly.

"Charming and Snow are almost ready. So I just wanted to…" Her mouth dried as she tried to finish her sentence, the words trapped in her throat. "To…"

She wrapped her hands around his neck and pulled him into her, locking his lips to hers. He pulled her closer, sliding one hand around her waist while the other tangled in the long dark curls that hung down her back. The were gentle at first, pressing all of the unspoken words of affection into each other, before deepening the kiss, sliding tongue against tongue in one last moment of weakness and lust. They broke apart breathless, and pressed their foreheads together as they stood clinging to each other, neither willing to let go.

She wanted to tell him, she wanted to say the words that she hadn't dared to say yet. The weight of saying it was too much, it pulled at her heart and made the pain too real, she had already opened herself to falling in love with him, but saying it when she had to leave him, it made her feel like it was too late. She waited too long, had been too afraid of letting herself accept his love to tell him how she loved him too, oh how she loved him. The words sat on the tip of her tongue; the pain of holding them back brought tears to her eyes.

"You love me right?" It was Robin who whispered hoarsely, the words pushing through the sadness welling in the back of his throat. "I'm being selfish, I know I shouldn't push you, I just… if I never see you again…"

"I love you, Robin." She whispered, barely there but it was enough, and he heard her. "I love you more than I ever thought I could." She tucked her head into the crook of his neck, breathing deeply, enjoying the scent of forest one last time.

"I love you, Regina. And I will find you again. I promise." His fingers ran through her hair, his firm grip on her waist never ceasing until there was a gentle knock on the door behind them. She clenched her fists into his shirt, the knot in her stomach tightening while silent tears slipped from her closed eyes.

"Don't forget me." She breathed into his skin, her wet cheeks brushing against his neck before she pulled away.

"I wouldn't dream of it."