If he's being honest, he thinks about this right away.
They are in the hazy afterglow of their second time, Regina had just told him that she loves him for the first time, and all he can think about is how their future marriage would last.
They had just suffered a terrible trauma, had mindblowing sex, and his mind goes to proposing and settling down with her. Most people would think that it is far too soon, but it really doesn't feel that way at all.
He gives Regina time to catch up, though. Though sometimes he wonders if she needs it. She breaks up with Graham hours after he's inside her. It's a huge mess, but she does it, adrenaline probably still pumping from the trauma.
She tells him she can't stand to spend another night in the wrong person's bed.
So she sleeps in Robin's bed instead.
It's just supposed to be temporary, while she waits for Graham to move out of her apartment. But Robin never wants her to leave.
Those first two weeks after the breakup are stressful and frantic with interviews, charity events for the families of their fallen employees, and organized memorials. There's so much grief all around them that Robin thinks he might collapse under it if he didn't have Regina by his side. They relieve the survivors guilt and stress with wild and passionate sex, sex that lasts all night and into the early hours of the morning.
When Graham asks if he can stay in the apartment until their lease is up, she agrees, and looks for her own new apartment.
And all the places she's looking at are much too big for just herself, and she wants Robin's input on everything…
And they haven't talked about it, but they both know this new place will be their place, in time.
So it may seem ridiculous to be looking at rings after just three months of dating, but there are special circumstances, you see.
And buying a ring is a perfect opportunity to show Regina that he understands her, that she made the right choice with him. And then there's the fact that Robin wants to differentiate himself from her pathetic ex-fiancée, to show her how much better he is for her and has always been for her, in every way. He's naturally competitive, and Graham might not be competition anymore, but the feelings are still there.
He's in the entertainment industry, and he knows enough about what looks good on screen. He knows more about women's accessories, makeup and dress just by virtue of his years of experience in media.
He traced one of her rings a few weeks ago, and it is still plfiled away in his wallet, behind a credit card he doesn't use. She's a 5.25 just like he had guessed
He can pick a classy, sophisticated ring for her in his sleep. The stone should be two carats, brilliant cut, small imperfections only, and encased in a thin platinum band. Easy.
But he doesn't want easy.
He wants special. He wants something that speaks to her.
Regina Mills.
She will never take his name, and he wouldn't want her to, anyway. She's developed quite the reputation with that name, both in her professional and private life. Regina Mills is no nonsense journalist, but also beautiful and smart, stunning and talented.
But her true last name is Millán, and that's what she would have stayed. But her father changed it before she was even born to help hischances in his own business career, and frankly the name change has helped her as well.
But she's proud of her heritage, and she loves feeling connected to it.
He wants to honor that, somehow.
She's told him of her grandmother, of her father's mother. Memories of playing with her pearls, and if one elegant ring in particular. An ornate band with a ruby center. The ruby was dull, she confessed, had a large imperfection down the center, but she loved the band, the engraved beauty that made the ring so perfect for her grandmother.
That's the ring.
Well, that's the band. She can't wear a gemstone center. Not at work. It will contrast with her outfits, draw attention away from her words.
But that band...
Robin likes to think of himself as confident in all situations life may present him. He's bold and assertive, is intimidated by no one.
But his hand still shakes as he dials the number of Regina's father.
He's talked to the man before. He's never met Regina's mother, but her father was sure to show up a few weeks after she had gotten the job at the network. He was proud as ever, smiling and complimentary of his daughter. And Robin instantly bonded with him — a bond that grew every time Henry visited. They shared glasses of bourbon and rum between set takes, they joined together to tease Regina over her little idiosyncrasies. Robin always liked Henry, and he knew Henry liked him.
But that was before, when Robin was nothing but a good friend. And this is now, and thinds are different. Regina told her father about her and Robin quite early in their relationship. She had to, because press was relentless in the wake of the terrorist attack, and Robin and Regina were the story. Their escape, their companionship, and, as reporters almost immediately picked up on, their love made a terrifying event into a hallmark lovestory complete with happy ending.
So she was open with family that she had fallen for Robin in the wake of the terrorist attack, if for no other reason than to beat roving reporters to the punch.
And he heard Henry accepted their romance. That Henry called him a good man, that he was happy for her, but he's never seen the man alone since he and Regina became real. He's watched Henry hold Regina, and thank the lord she is in one piece. He's held out his hand to Robin in gratitude for all that he did for his little girl...
But they have never had a real conversation on his intentions with his daughter. It's only been three months, afterall.
He's never been more sure of anything in his entire life than the fact that he and Regina belong together, but convincing her father is another story, and if he's being honest - truly honest - he's terrified to speak to him right now.
"Hello?" Henry answers soft and warm, and Robin breathes a sigh of relief.
"Henry — Mr. Mills," Robin realizes he's clueless on how to address the man that will be his father-in-law soon. "This is Robin Locksley."
"Oh." Henry's voice sounds… curious. "What can I do for you, Robin? Is my daughter alright?"
"Oh yes," Robin rushes to assure, "she's just fine. More than fine, she's wonderful. Perfect, truly. The fact that she is so perfect is why I want to speak to you tonight."
"Really?" Henry asks, "if this conversation is going where I suspect, I must say, I'm not surprised at all. Though it is certainly earlier than I expected."
"I'm crazy about her," Robin breathes in a sigh of relief. "Thoroughly unequivocally in love."
"I know," Henry says with a laugh, "I've known since the moment I met you. You looked at my daughter as if she were gold."
And Robin won't ask for permission, because it's archaic and old fashioned.
"I… am inquiring about the location of a ring that meant very much to Regina. Her grandmothers. An ornate band with a ruby center. I just wondered if it was possible it is somewhere—"
"My brother has it," Henry says quickly, "He just told me it wouldn't sell because the ruby is damaged. But yes, I know the ring. Why?"
"Because Regina loves that ring," he starts, and then takes a deep breath. "And because...I want to marry her, and I can think of no perfect ring to propose to her than her The second it's out in the universe he realizes what a leap it is, and holds his breath.
It had been so easy with Marian, so simple. But with Regina there are risks, because if he fucks this up, he loses his best friend. And that won't do.
It had been so easy with Marian, so simple. But with Regina there are risks, because if he fucks this up, he loses his best friend.
It's absolutely terrifying.
"Well," Henry says after a few moments of silence. "It seems my daughter has chosen the right man this time."
He makes arrangements to have his brother sell the ring to Robin that day, and Robin looks for the perfect diamond to replace the damaged ruby.
A part of her past, a part of her present, symbolizing her future. Perfect.
Now all she has to do is say yes.