Regina thought that every graduation will be easier. When Henry finished school, she spent the whole ceremony crying, she even had excused herself a few times because the sobs couldn't be kept in any longer. She'd sobbed and then came back, sat down beside Robin who squeezed her hand tightly and kissed her hair, letting her know that she was not alone in this, that it was hard for him too.
When Roland finished school, she cried a little bit less though her heart was breaking as much as it did during Henry's graduation. However, she had to be the strong one then, she had to hold Robin's hand tightly and support him as much as she could because there were tears in his eyes and it felt as if he was going to break down at any moment.
Regina thought it would get easier to see her children finish school and go after their dreams. She thought she would learn to see the bright side of graduation, would learn to let go. She saw how happy Henry was, how he enjoyed exploring life even if the things he did made her stomach turn from anxiety. She knew how happy Roland was in college, how he made new friends and met a girl, a girl Regina doesn't like, not yet, but there are huge chances that the girl is his soulmate.
Regina was wrong about graduations. It didn't get easier, now she knows it will never get easier. Her peanut grew up too fast, just like her other children. There is no surprise that she spent this graduation crying her eyes out, holding Robin's hand as tightly as she could, hoping that she'll not start sobbing.
It isn't a sad celebration, and these tears weren't completely from sadness. Of course, she felt sad that yet another child will leave home but it was bound to happen, but at the same time she felt happy because her beautiful beautiful girl is going to start to live a life of her own.
Regina blinks away the tears from her eyes as she stares at the mirror. She takes a tissue, wipes her cheeks and just breathes for a few moments, lets her face dry and then she fixes her make up. However, she doesn't put much mascara on for she's sure she'll cry at Granny's again.
Taking a deep breath, she looks straight into her own eyes, tells herself that it's not the first time her child finishes school. It's such a milestone in Peanut's life and Regina shouldn't ruin it with her crying.
Turning on her heel, she comes out of the bathroom and walks down the stairs to the living room where Robin's sitting with Henry and Roland, laughing at some joke. When she approaches him, he turns to look at her, a small but unsure smile forming on his lips.
"Are you okay, love?"
"Are you?" Regina returns the question.
Robin only smiles in response, takes her hand in his and squeezes. She knows he's just as emotional as she is, if not even more, but he's keeping himself together. She's sure there will be a lot of tears tonight, when the children are sleeping and there are only the two of them.
"Where's Peanut?" Regina asks, looking around the room. She's spent half an hour fixing herself, thinking about life and stuff, there's no chance Ronja hasn't changed yet.
"She needs a moment."
It seems like they all need a moment today.
Regina nods her head, tells them that she's going to see if everything's alright and walks up the stairs to Ronja's room, knocks lightly. Surprisingly, she finds the door unlocked so she walks in.
What she finds there, shocks her. The room is full of flowers (after all she has a huge family, and everyone made sure to attend the graduation) but her baby girl is sitting on the floor, holding a bouquet of green roses close to her heart.
Regina's heart breaks.
"Oh, honey," she says quietly, not wanting to startle the girl and sits down on the floor next to her.
"I'm sorry," Ronja says quickly and wipes away tears from her face, puts the roses away and stands up. She puts the flowers into a vase while Regina stands there quietly, watching as her daughter desperately tries to keep her tears at bay.
It was a surprise to everyone when Zelena showed up. Regina felt how Robin's whole body tensed but she grabbed his hand as they watched how Zelena walked up to Ronja and hugged the girl tightly. They never talked, Zelena and Ronja, the Wicked Witch abandoned the child, but still Regina could see how tears filled Peanut's eyes when Ronja saw her biological mother for the first time in her life.
"Do you want to talk about Zelena?" Regina asks, sitting down on Ronja's bed looking at the girl. She turns around slowly and there are tears in her eyes again, but she refuses to let them fall, just frowns and crosses her arms over her chest.
"I… I have never seen her, I thought she forgot about me, and she showed up and…" Ronja stops when her voice starts shaking, takes a deep breath while her eyes squeeze shut, "She cares about me, in her own way, but she does, mom."
"Of course she does," Regina nods her head, "she just didn't choose the right way to show it,"
"I hate her, I hate her so much for what she did to you, to dad but… when she hugged me, I…" she trails off, her hands falling to her sides as her chin starts to tremble.
"I know, darling," Regina assures her and stands up, walks up to her and hugs her tightly. "And it's okay to have mixed feelings. It's okay to feel confused." She tries to soothe her, holding her close to her heart. "It's okay to feel a little bit of happiness."
Ronja wants to say something but words fail her so instead she just rests her head against her mother's chest. It takes a moment but Ronja puts herself under control and then she's pulling away, smiling, thanking Regina for always being there for her.
Both of them walk down the stairs to their waiting boys and Henry and Roland fake gasps when they see their sister looking like a real princess.
"You look amazing, darling," Robin says, and Ronja only smiles, hugs her father. Then she takes Henry's stretched out hand and walks out of the house to Granny's where their family is already waiting for them to celebrate this graduation.
Robin wraps his arms around Regina, pulls her close and asks, "Is she alright?"
"She will be," Regina assures him. Robin looks uncertain for a moment but kisses her and then they follow their children to celebrate such a huge milestone.