XX
"You just had to give him a mohawk, didn't you?" Robin slung her bow over her shoulder, watching her son marvel at the forestry on their way to her old farm. "Five-year-old kid and he looks like he's about to steal Emma's Bug." Her wife could hear the teasing in her tone.
"I think he looks cute," Alice beamed with pride at her work.
The blonde had woken up at the crack of dawn, disturbing Robin from her slumber as she untangled herself from a mess of entwined limbs, waking her son up to get him ready for the special visit they had planned for the day.
She had never attempted the hairstyle before, but when son told her he wanted to look 'cool' like the picture of Neal Charming they had seen at a family gathering last week of the man in his teen years (on the mantle of the Charming's fireplace, to Snow's disdain), she knew by his look of wonder and curiosity that the determination to attempt it would be worth it in the end.
Alice also knew she would travel through Wonderland blind a thousand times, face any Jabberwock, or outrun plenty of Bandersnatches if it meant her son's happiness.
But of course, she had to have a little fun at the boy's insistence to be just like his mother without knowing it.
"Cool?" She had asked him, "why would you want to be cool?"
He gave her that soft huff that reminded Alice of something Robin often did and sheepishly whispered in her ear, as if Robin could hear them from the bedroom down the hall despite being in a deep slumber.
"Because Mommy is cool and I want to be just like her."
"Oh?! What about me? Do you think I'm 'cool'?"
"No!" The blonde would have been hurt if she didn't know how much her son adored both of his parents. "Mommy is cool, but you're brave. That's what Grampa says. He says you're his brave Starfish, and that I'm just like you."
She would have burst into happy tears from the thought, but a squeeze of her wife's hand pulled her out of the memory of this morning as they walked closer and closer to their destination.
"Babe," the archer continued, "the tips of his hair are green. Which means…Oh no."
Before the woman had a chance to explain the problem, she saw a tuft of red hair appear outside of the doorway as Zelena Mills gushed in excitement towards her grandson's new look.
"Monkey? What's this?!" Zelena marveled at his hairstyle as Locksley ran into his grandmother's arms, who picked him up and hugged him tightly.
"Gramma! Look what Mom did! I told her I wanted it green 'cause its our favorite color!" Robin couldn't help but smile at the interaction, and Alice put her head on her shoulder.
"Are you ready for a fun weekend?" Zelena asked, and that's when Robin stepped forward with a duffel bag of her son's clothes, placing it down to give the redhead a kiss on the cheek.
"Please don't keep him up with movies and sweets like last time. It took us all night to get him to bed after we left your place."
"Sweetheart, if you didn't want me to spoil my grandchild then you shouldn't have had children. It's my right as a grandmother."
"Oh, both of us know, that's why we hired a watchdog to make sure you follow everything we ask of you."
"A watchdog? What do you mean a bloody watchdog? Who could you have possibly hired to come into my home and watch my grandson?"
"That would be me, love." Rogers walked out from behind a tree, as if he had been waiting there this whole time to announce his appearance. Upon seeing the look on Zelena's face, Robin couldn't help but stifle a laugh.
"You think I'm going to share my weekend with…" Locksley jumped out of Zelena's arms and ran towards Rogers, hugging his legs tightly. "Grampa!" He grinned, and Robin looked up towards her mother.
"Yes, yes, I do think you're going to share your weekend with Rogers, 'Gramma', because he is Locksley's other grandparent. And Alice has assured me he will stick to our regimen of minimal sweets and spoiling."
The witch had thought her daughter was joking when she saw Alice walk towards Nook and pick up a bag he had also brought with him. "What…What's in there?" She asked, and Alice sweetly smiled, letting the woman know the bag contained her father's clothes.
"Am I entertaining the entire bloody Enchanted Forest? Anyone else behind those trees? Is Regina coming too?"
"We thought she would, but she's busy getting Lucy ready for her first ball. Kid is growing up quick."
"Of course we had to pick the other best person for the job," the blonde woman beamed at her father, and Nook nodded.
"Aye, Starfish, don't worry. The lad will be in good hands."
After saying their goodbyes (and Robin needing to practically pry her wife out of the crushing embrace she had given their son), they turned to make their way back home, ready for their three-day child-free weekend.
"Robin, Monkey, why don't you go inside and put your things away. Gramma needs to have a word with the pirate." Zelena gave the boy a kiss on the cheek and nudged him towards the screen door.
"If you think for one second you can come in here and—" she started but was cut off.
"Lass, if you think I'm going to allow our children to dictate how we're going to spend time with our grandson, then you're as mad as Alice was during her 'Tilly' years."
Whatever the witch was suspecting the pirate to say, it surely wasn't that.
"Aren't all the best people, though?" Zelena smirked, and Nook let out a laugh, unsuspecting of the witch's newfound formality.
"Aye, love. Now, we have three parent-free days with our grandson. And I say we throw that boy one hell of a party, don't you?"
"Didn't think you and I would ever agree on this, Captain," She muttered, hand on his back as she led the man inside.
XX
"Can't you use your magic to stop that incessant beeping?" Robin groaned, nudging Alice softly.
"I'm not the one who has to have her magic box with her at all times."
"Cellphone, babe. We've gone over this plenty of times. I would get you one too, but I'm sure by the end of the day something somewhere would be set on fire."
"That was one time!" Alice muttered, referencing a toaster oven Robin had brought back from Storybrooke.
"Anyway, time to get up, we need to get the little monster back from his grandparents. You think Nook had any trouble with my mom?"
"I think Papa did just fine with Locksley and with Zelena." She smiled, grabbing Robin's wrist and pulling her back down onto the bed.
"Five more minutes?" She whispered, and Robin nodded, becoming intertwined in the blonde's embrace once more.
XX
"So! So Gramma let me watch Disney Movies, and we made candy apples and ate popcorn and…And…"
Robin couldn't keep herself from leering at Zelena, while Alice looked at her Papa proudly.
"Oh, and Grampa took me on his pirate ship! And we did some sword fighting and he watched the movies with us! And guess what?! Gramma and Grampa showed me the Robin Hood movie! It was so cool!"
Rogers gave Alice a sheepish look as he bowed his head in shame after his daughter's expression changed to one of disappointment.
"This is what we brought you along for! To prevent this!" Robin gritted her teeth, watching her son bounce around excitedly.
"Monkey, we're his grandparents. The only ones he has. Of course we're going to spoil him wicked."
"What kind of pirate would I be if I didn't break the rules every now and then?"
Robin turned to Alice and let out a sigh as she placed her palm over her face in defeat.
"We're going to have to get this kid new grandparents," she murmured, prompting Alice to giggle and Zelena and Nook to roll their eyes as they said their goodbyes and brought their son back home.
XX