Title: Home Sweet Home
Disclaimer: No one belongs to me if they did Zelena would've stayed dead and there would be no baby storyline.
Couples: Outlaw Queen, Snowing, Captain Swan, Rumbelle, Frankenwolf, & a little StableQueen
Summary: AU Modern. After finding a black box Regina knows her boyfriend, Daniel, is going to propose. The problem is she's still married to her High School Sweetheart Robin Locksley. Now, before Daniel proposes and finds out the truth Regina has to return to Storybrook to ask Robin for a divorce after leaving six years earlier. Back home she realizes what she really wants and what she's been missing all along. Based loosely off of Sweet Home Alabama.
Author's Note: This is my first Once and Outlaw Queen story. After binge watching all four seasons, I fell in love with Outlaw queen. And also developed a passionate hatred of Zelena. So I had to write a story and this is what I came up with. I found that a lot of the stories were pretty intense and angsty and I thought some humor would be fun. Please review! I appreciate the feedback!
Chapter 1 Back To Storybrook
Regina Mills was having an awful day. The worst kind of day where nothing seemed to be going right and there was no silver lining. She had woken up late for court, spilled coffee on her favorite white blazer, and had to cancel her training session because one of her clients had decided to break into their ex-wife's new boyfriend's apartment and urinate in his closet.
Finally she arrived home after a long day to realize she had forgotten most of the files she needed to work on back at the office.
If things couldn't get any worse she had found a little black box hidden in the cereal she reserved for shitty days. It was the cereal with way too much sugar and filled with artificial flavoring she was addicted to. She had one bowl every time she had a bad day, which was pretty infrequent, or when she did something particularly amazing. Like when she helped Mrs. Davis crush her cheating good for nothing husband in the divorce. Or when Mr. Fry had won the divorce case against his bitch of a wife and had gotten full custody of their children. She reserved the cereal for the difficult and the proud days.
Now, that she was staring down at the sugary substance her heart fluttered as she sat in front of the cereal she had poured into the porcelain bowl. The little black box sat on top of the colorful pieces of sugar and she had no idea what to think.
Whoever hid this ring doesn't know me very well.
Regina cringed at the thought knowing full well Daniel was the one who had hidden it, because he was planning on proposing. And in his defense he did know her well – well not as well as some people who would remain nameless, but still very well.
Oh shit.
The realization that he was going to propose to her hit her like a ton of bricks. She felt nauseous at the thought and she threw down her spoon into the dry cereal. She reached a hand forward to pick up the box and examine the contents, but she halted her action before she could complete it. She put her hand on the table and stared at the black box as if it were a bomb waiting to explode, and it kinda was.
As she sat staring at the box she suddenly heard the apartment door open and quicker than lightening she stuffed the black box back into the cereal container. She hurriedly put the sugary confection back into the container on top of it and then threw the box in the back of the cupboard before opening the refrigerator to pretend to be considering what to make for dinner.
"Regina!" A voice called out and she plastered on a happy smile before turning to face her boyfriend of three years.
"Daniel." She greeted kissing him briefly on the lips.
"I hope you're hungry. I brought home Chinese." He said waving the bag in front of her.
She tried to hold back her grimace and took the bag from him to put on the counter.
"I'll get some plates." She said hoping that he got soup, since she didn't particularly like Chinese. She liked Thai, Vietnamese, Cambodian, anything but Chinese and she'd reminded him enough times to where she hoped it would stick.
She listened as she got some plates out as Daniel yammered on about how his day went. She began to tune him out as she ate the broth of her Wonton Soup and her mind went back to the black ring box sitting in the cereal.
She wondered when he was going to propose or if he'd just bought it for when he finally planned to do it. She speculated whether it was an heirloom or he had picked it out himself. She pondered where he'd do it, in public or a private setting. She hoped it would be private, since she hated big displays.
But the biggest thing that she was thinking about was how the hell she was going to get Robin to sign the divorce papers.
It had been almost six years, since she had last seen him and despite sending him a set of newly minted divorce papers each and every year he refused to sign on the dotted line.
She'd changed the papers so that he kept the house they had once shared. She had changed the papers so that he was able to come out with more money. She even changed the papers so that she'd be the one walking out with nothing, but regardless of how she wrote the papers up he refused to sign.
She cringed inwardly at the thought that she was going to have to drive north to the one place she hated above all else. She was going to have to go home to Storybrook and demand he sign the papers.
Otherwise she wouldn't be able to say yes when Daniel finally proposed and she needed to say yes when he proposed because she loved him and he was perfect for her.
At least that was what she kept telling herself.
The wind whipped through Regina's hair as she zoomed down the highway and into the little town she had ran away from years before. She had told Daniel that she had to go out of town for a client. He wouldn't suspect anything and he couldn't ask since they were both lawyers and honored all of their clients' confidentiality. So the lie made it easy to sneak out of the city, rent a car, and drive north to Maine.
As she neared hell she could already taste the crisp fresh air that only Maine provided.
She thought about how Daniel was going to propose on the way up to Storybrook and as excited as she felt about what he had in store she felt odd about it.
It was the same sensation she received when she was in court and the other team was looking at her like the cat that ate the canary. They knew something she didn't and it was that feeling right before they unveiled their secret weapon that was eating at her. It was like something was missing and for the life of her she had no idea what.
She figured that it was the divorce that was long overdue with Robin that was bothering her and she needed to take care of it before Daniel found out or God Forbid his mother, the Mayor of New York. She shuddered at that thought and pressed harder on the gas pedal as if that would magically help her arrive in Storybrook quicker.
Daniel's mother already hated her, she couldn't even imagine what would happen if it got out that she had already been married – was still married to her high school sweetheart.
The marriage to Robin definitely needed to be taken care of. She figured she drive into town, go to Robin's house – their house – have him sign the papers, she'd stop for some food, then make the long drive back to New York.
It was planned perfectly and she was fully prepared to be in and out of Storybrook so fast no one would even know, especially her mother.
She was ready to make Robin sign the papers, especially because that allowed her to be with Daniel.
Forever.
Because she really wanted to be with him forever.
Not Robin. Daniel. Forever.
Except for the times when Daniel forgot to get the groceries or made her have long drawn out lunches with his mother, or when he brought home Chinese knowing she hated Chinese. Those times she didn't really wanna be with him forever.
Sometimes she found herself thinking of nights under the stars and by the fire drinking bad beer and telling stories together. Sometimes she thought about when Robin would come home with Italian, her favorite, or when he'd cook dinner for her. She remembered times when Robin would wake her up with soft kisses and surprise her with delicious coffee and Danishes.
She pushed those thoughts away and tried to concentrate on Daniel and the present.
Divorce Robin.
Marry Daniel.
Divorce Robin.
Marry Daniel.
Divorce Daniel.
Marry Robin.
Shit, she was so screwed up.
She turned on the radio for the remainder of the drive and tried to concentrate on thoughts that were neutral, like work, her calorie intake, and whether she should get a milkshake from Granny's. She tried not think of Robin or Daniel and she kind of succeeded, until she pulled up to the small rustic wooden home she had lived in for all of two years.
She sat in the car staring at the place she called home and felt the squiggling set of nerves take residence in her stomach. She grimaced and put a hand to her abdomen as if to calm herself. She closed her eyes and tried to do the deep breathing exercises to ease her anxiety, but nothing seemed to work. She realized with fright that she was about to walk into her husband's house and actually demand a divorce. Did she even want to get divorce?
Yes, Regina you do. Think about Daniel. Think about the life with Daniel. Two successful attorneys. One day Daniel will take the place of his mother as Mayor, or become a Senator. I'd be a high-powered divorce attorney. I would have everything I've ever wanted.
She took a deep breath grabbed her purse with the freshly minted Divorce papers she had taken the time to re-write, print, and put into a binder. She opened the door to her car, stepped out into the fresh Maine air, took a deep breath, and then proceeded to be hit with a stream of water drenching her two piece Tahari skirt suit and black Italian leather shoes.
Regina screamed in surprise and threw her hands up to cover herself, but the damage was done. The hose had been sprayed at her and she was sufficiently soaked.
"What the f—" she began opening her eyes to find herself standing face to face with a little boy with bright brown eyes and a mop of curly brown hair.
She blinked rapidly wondering if she'd pulled into the wrong house, but then they heard someone running toward them. She turned to let her eyes rest on her husband – soon to be ex-husband Robin Locksley.
She gulped taking in the familiarities and the changes in him. He was just as tall as she remembered, but he had scruff that had not been there when they were in their late teens. His hair was cut in the same way, but he had more muscles and was more built than she remembered. His eyes were the exact same, though and she saw the familiar warmth in them that always seemed to make her melt into a puddle.
"Regina." He said surprise evident in his tone.
"Robin." She greeted trying to look dignified despite her soaked outfit.
She watched as he walked toward the little boy and reached down to unpeel his tiny fingers from the hose.
She heard him say something quietly to the little boy and she felt a surge of envy. So Robin had moved on and had a child without her. He had moved on and still refused to sign the divorce papers.
She couldn't believe his gall. She felt the sudden onset of anger well up inside her and she opened her mouth to begin yelling at him for being such a selfish prick for knocking up some woman while they were still married, but he turned to her before she could utter a word.
The blue eyes that had haunted her dreams for years gazed at her with joy, she felt some of the anger melt.
She cleared her throat uncomfortably and tried to ignore the flip her stomach did when their eyes met.
"This is Roland." Robin said picking the little boy up.
"Hello, Roland." Regina said smiling slightly at him. She looked into his dark eyes and saw such childish innocence she felt her heart melt.
She had thought a lot about what their children would look like. She'd always hoped they would get Robin's smoldering blue eyes, but she knew because of genetics they'd presumably come out with brown ones. For a smidgen of a moment she wondered if this is what it would be like if they had gotten the chance to have kids. The three of them in the driveway, both men ganging up on Regina, Regina easily being melted by the soft pout and puppy eyes the child possessed. She stared at the child trying to see some inkling of Robin, but she saw nothing and a small part of her was thankful for it. The child took after his mother and Robin was nowhere to be seen in Roland. She wondered whether their children would look more like Robin. She shook her head and reminded herself why she was here.
"Can you say hello, Roland?" Robin said nodding at Regina.
Roland mumbled a shy hello and ducked his head into Robin's neck.
Regina smile slightly and then turned to Robin.
"So—" she began, but was swiftly cut off by Robin.
"What are you doing here? I would've thought you would be breaking up rich couples in New York." He said disdainfully.
She scowled and bit back an icy retort. When she had told him she wanted to be a lawyer when they were in High School he had encouraged her to be an Environmental lawyer or a Civil Rights lawyer. He had wanted her to do some good in the world and she had too, at the time. She wasn't sure how she ended up in Divorce, but it was good money and somehow along the way she'd forgotten about doing good and started concentrating on power and success.
But that was beside the point. She needed him and until she got what she wanted she knew she had to play nice.
"I need you to sign the divorce papers." She began reaching for her wet leather purse on her arm and digging through it to find the carefully put together binder.
"No can do, love. We've got plans." He said over enthusiastically.
Regina frowned, "what do you mean? It'll only take a second. Here I have a pen and everything."
She leaned forward and presented him with the binder and the papers.
Robin smirked and took a step back. "Sorry, love."
She watched incredulously as he took another step back and headed towards the truck parked in front of the house. She moved to go after him, but she slipped in her wet shoes and stumbled, righting herself before either Robin or Roland noticed.
"Wait! Robin! Please! Just sign the papers!" she called out as he put Roland in the truck.
She heard him laugh, but he didn't respond. Instead he ignored her and drove away in the old truck he'd had since they were in high school.
She stared after the truck feeling her stomach plummet to her toes as she realized her carefully laid plan had blown up in her face. She now had to spend more time in this hellhole than she'd planed. She cursed her fate, took off her shoes, and then stomped toward the house ready to prepare for the second battle when he came home. She refused to leave this town until Robin Locksley had signed the papers, that was her plan and she was sticking to it.
(A/n: So what do you think? Please review!)