A/N: I already posted this on tumblr, but because it's a three part fic, I wanted to post it here as well.

Hope you enjoy.

Regina took a deep breath, and with shaky hands added the last ingredient to the potion. It swirled and shimmered a deep blue.

She stepped away from the bench and tried to take steadying breaths.

This was it.

The potion was complete. Robin was due to arrive any minute and then… It would all be over.

'Regina.' His rich voice spoke softly.

Regina spun around to face him. Suddenly blinking back tears. This was one of the last moments she would have with him whilst he still remembered. Very soon everything they'd had would be lost.

'The potion just needs a few more minutes to settle, and then it will be ready.'

He swallowed thickly. He wasn't for a second taking his eyes off her. Off the woman he loved. Because he was all too aware that shortly he wouldn't remember loving her at all.

'Are you sure… Are you sure there is no other way?' He asked.

'I've looked at every avenue.' Regina said. 'If you want your wife back, this is the only way.'

Recklessly Robin closed the space between them significantly.

'I don't want to forget you.' He said.

'I know… I know you don't. But…' She trailed off. Her unspoken words didn't need to be said.

'Regina I… I love you.' He said. 'I love you with a depth I didn't know was possible and I…' He grasped her chin gently with his hand, forcing her to look at him because she had to know. She had to. Confident she wasn't going to look away he caressed her cheek, thumb lightly stroking her cheek bone. Tears were welling up in both their eyes and they let them. 'I want you to know that you have been accepted. There is not a part of you I don't love. The lost broken woman you have been. The evil queen… Especially the evil queen. Oh how I would love to know what our interactions would have been like had we met back then.'

She let out a breathy, forced laugh. 'I would have killed you without a second thought.'

He shook his head. 'No, I don't believe that. I would have charmed you. It's written in the stars. But her… I accept. And I accept and love the woman in front of me. You are stronger than any person I have ever met and anyone who can't see that is a damn fool. You have persisted were others would have broken. You've been to hell and back and yet here you are… The fact you are doing this, for me, only makes me love you more. I do not want to forget you. I do not want to forget what we have, what I feel for you.'

Then don't! Her mind screamed out to him. She could never say it out loud though. He could change his mind. He could choose her instead.

He wouldn't.

'My heart chose you, Regina.' He said. 'Please know… I long for things to have gone any other way.'

'I…' She paused for a moment. She had never said the words out loud to him. She knew he knew. But if she was ever going to say it. Now was the time. 'I love you too.' She said.

The relief and warmth that flooded into his eyes was worth it. She soaked it in. Determined to remember this. That someone actually could look at her like that again.

'May I kiss you?' He asked. 'One last time. Please?'

How could she say no? He might believe her to be strong. But she wasn't that strong.

He leant down and pressed his lips against hers. It took less than a second for both of them to deepen the kiss. Robin's arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her as close to him as he possibly could. At the same time her hands were in his hair, her mind alight as she committed the feeling of his body against her to memory. She soaked in the taste of his lips. She didn't want it to end. Ever.

But it had to.

She pulled away first. He instinctively followed her, pressing a final few light kisses to her mouth. Until she stepped back completely, creating what felt like a vast distance between them.

They both knew the crevasse was only going to grow.

'Ok.' She turned her back to him, facing the potion instead. 'So the way this works is you will forget everything about me. You'll still remember everyone returning to the enchanted forest, you'll remember the time we spent there, Zelena, coming back here of course. Marian returning. But I won't be a part of that. You'll remember the evil queen. But not… me.' She tried to keep her voice steady. But there was no denying the slight shake in her voice.

'And I'll be able to wake Marian up?' He asked.

She turned back to him. Holding the small vial filled with the potion.

'That I still cannot guarantee. But chances are… Yes. Not remembering me means you never fell in love with me. Which means in theory, you should still be in love with your wife. The kiss should work.'

She stepped forward and pressed the vial into his hands.

'I'm going to go step outside. It will probably be quite confusing for you to encounter me straight away. You may also believe I was the one to curse Marian so… I'll keep watch. Make sure nothing goes wrong.'

Robin nodded.

Regina went to step past him and he grabbed her hand.

She looked at him.

'I love you.' He said, one last time. His heart pounding wildly in his chest.

She nodded. 'I love you too. Goodbye.'

She hated how final it actually was.

Regina stepped outside the library. She took deep, steadying breaths. She wouldn't cry. She was not going to cry over this. Not anymore. She had accepted weeks ago she had lost him. This was just more… inal.

Some time later Robin and Marian walked out of the library. Hand in hand. Smiling.

She magicked herself home. And though she said she wouldn't cry she did. She let her soul grieve what had been lost long into the night.