#OQPrincessWeek - Day 7: Teenage Princess Locksley.
Knowing this day would eventually come didn't make him dread this day any less. The day he would finally have to face the fact that daddy's little girl wasn't so little anymore, that she grew up.
"Sir, did you hear what I say? I know people don't do this often these days, but I would like to have your permission to date your daughter" Neal repeated what he had just said with the greatest certain he could put in his voice.
Regina noticed that her husband wasn't hearing anything at all; he was in some kind of shook, so she decided to help. She held his hands and squeezed it, trying to bring him back to reality. It worked. Robin saw Neal and Claire in front of him holding hands, his daughter's looks pleading for her father to say something.
"I… Claire, I won't let you date anyone right now."
He saw the anger in her eyes, and he knew soon the anger would be replaced by sadness. He felt tears forming in the corner of his own eyes and he couldn't stay there anymore. So he turned around and went upstairs, walking in his bedroom and burying his head in the pillow to muffle the scream that wanted to leave his chest.
He knew he needed to let go of his girl, he couldn't keep her under his wings forever. But that letting go thing was so hard. He had to go through with that with Henry and Roland, but somehow with his daughter was being harder. He couldn't explain why. It was more than letting his daughter dating; it was accepting she was growing up. It was accepting she wouldn't be only his anymore. He knew it was selfish, but he just wanted to spend more time with her. And he knew as soon as she started to date and fall in love with someone, she would rather spend all her free time with that lucky person.
He stayed in the bed alone with his thoughts, losing track of time.
"I hope you're thinking in ways to apologize to her because I just spent one hour trying to calm her down and wiping her tears away." Regina said as she walked in the room but she regretted her words when saw the puffy eyes and red nose her husband had.
"Oh Robin…" she said softly and walked closer to him, getting up on the bed and hugging him tight.
He just looked like a lost puppy. Like he was caught up in a situation he didn't know how to handle and he wasn't ready for it. He sighed feeling his wife's arms around him, feeling some comfort in the familiarity their warmth had.
"I was a real jerk, wasn't I?" he muttered.
"Well, I can't lie to you baby." Regina said as she caressed his hair. "You should have been nicer. But I understand what you're going through. I'm going through it myself too. However, it seems it hit you harder."
He looked at her and saw as she got lost in her thoughts. He knew exactly what she thinking. Some kind of retrospective was happening inside her head, just like it was happening in his mind. He remembered the day their princess said her first word.
She was babbling all day in her baby language and when the night came, as Regina washed Claire's body and Robin watched from behind, she said "mom" as she laughed and played with the soap bubbles she made during the bath.
"Did she just…?" Regina looked at Robin with wide eyes.
And before he could reply, Claire said it again, loud and clear.
"Yes my love, I think she did." Robin smiled; enjoying the big smile that appeared on Regina's face.
Her eyes got tearful, and seconds later the little girl looked at him and raised her arms full of soap, opening and closing her hands as she said "Father", calling him to join them. He was already immensely happy to her saying something for the first time even if it wasn't dad, but hearing her say mom and then dad not much later it was awesome. Inexplicable.
He then remembered the day Claire bruised her knee when she was learning how to ride a bike without training wheels and she ran straight to her dad's arms.
"It makes me feel better thinking Claire could've fallen for someone worse." Regina said, taking him out of his thoughts. "Neal is charmer like his father and he has his mother's heart. He's a good guy. We have to keep that in mind."
He nodded, knowing that she was right. They watched Neal grow up and they also saw Neal and Claire getting closer and closer. He shouldn't be surprised that they wanted to take their relationship to the next level. Instead, he realized he should feel glad that Neal was a gentleman and a very respectful guy and cared about the opinion of the father of the girl he was in love with.
"I'm going to talk with Claire now." he tried to get up, but Regina's hands on his arms stopped him from getting up.
"It's late and it took me a while to get her to sleep. Talk to her tomorrow."
He admitted that's a very good point and he sat back on bed.
"You're so smart. I love how well you can handle with emotional difficult situations." he said staring lovingly at her.
She smiled blushing and looked down. When she looked up, she gave him a look that he knew all too well. A look filled with nothing but lust and love.
"Maybe," she started as she ran her hands up and down his arms. "If we have another baby, perhaps it'll make things easier?" she finished as a mischievous smile appeared on her face.
"Uhm, I would like that." he bit his own bottom lip as he brought his body closer to hers.
"But my internal clock is saying tic tac. We're running out of time." she stared at his lips, her face only few inches away from his face.
"We must hurry and not waste time then" he closed the distance between them, crashing her mouth with his.
She quickly parted her lips, allowing him to fully explore her mouth. He laid them on bed, his body on top of hers and he started to undress her. She didn't want to feel his skin; she needed to feel his skin against her hands. She started to unbutton his shirt as he got rid of hers. They both were thankful for the fact that they were wearing clothes easy to take off, and it didn't take long for them to be naked in front of each other. Regina rolled them over, making her staying on top and she bent over to kiss his tenderly. He placed a strand of hair behind her ear as she smiled gracefully. He positioned himself between her folds and after one slow move he was inside her.
In the morning, he made sure to wake up early. He took a quickly shower and cooked her daughter's favorite breakfast and put them on a tray. He went to Claire's bedroom and got inside as quietly as he could. He observed the room, noticing how it changed during the years. The decoration of the wall before covered with a small tree and birds, now replaced with posters of boy bands the girl liked.
He closed the door and the movement made the girl fidget and turn. She slowly opened her eyes. She stretched her arms and yawned. Then she realized her dad was there. He expected her to look at him angrily, but she smiled. He realized she already had forgiven him. She had her mom kind heart.
"I want to say I'm sorry for yesterday, I truly I am."
He said as he placed the tray he had brought with him on her bed.
"I forgive you dad. I just couldn't understand why you acted like that."
"I was, and still am, afraid of losing you." he admitted. "I'm afraid you'll forget your old man and won't want to spend much time with him anymore."
"Oh daddy." she said holding his hands and squeezing it. "You'll never lose me. I'll still need you, I'll still look forward for our archery lessons, even though I'm getting even better than you." she playfully mocks.
"That last past it's not true." he huffed and she laughed.
Her laugh brought a smile on his lips.
"I feel like sharing. Eat breakfast with me." she said mentioning for him to sit on the bed with her.
They started to eat, and he gathered courage to say what he knew he needed to say.
"I came to a decision last night." he said after eating a piece of bread. "It's not fair for me to forbid you to date Neal. Please tell him to come here again today. I'll give him my permission."
"Really, daddy?" she said surprisingly happy.
"He makes you happy, doesn't he?"
"Yes, he does." she said as the curve of her lips went up."
"Then I don't see why not let you date him."
And this is the last prompt :( Aw, that was fun! I loved writing for OQPrincessWeek and I hope you liked reading it as well. Please, leave a review or tell me your thoughts on twitter inlovewithlanap