Hello there my dears,
I've only just realised that we passed half way a couple of days ago, so I'm having mixed feelings about that. But hey… Never mind.
Also, to those who have reviewed the last couple of days, I will get back to you, I've just been a bit busy.
Without further ado…
Enjoy.
…
With enough energy to bottle and sell, Roland and Henry accompany Regina to the park so they can spend some time in the snow with others and let off some steam - with a promise from the eldest of the two to be extra careful due to his still-healing injury. Originally, Regina let Robin sleep in after he'd been up half the night tossing and turning, but it appears Sarah had other plans and summoned her father into the land of the living.
Regina had texted him to see if he wanted to join them, but he had declined, instead choosing to send incessant photographs of their adventures; 'the princess who wakes daddy then falls back to sleep a second later', 'the princess who thinks milk goes better on daddy's shirt than in her stomach' and 'the princess and the thief who miss mommy and their boys'...
The last one brings a smile to her face, and has her calling out to her sons that they're going to head back home in five minutes - she misses out the part where it's all because she wants a kiss from her fiancé.
On the way back home, Henry suggests taking them a different way, past the Convent which is decorated like Santa's grotto. Once Roland has 'oooh'ed and 'ahhh'ed over the pretty lights and reindeer statues and snowmen, it doesn't escape Regina's notice that this route also takes them past the animal shelter.
Her eyebrows raise and she sends a knowing glare to Henry who just shrugs his shoulders and pretends to be oblivious.
...
Regina diverts them to the other side of the road, not quite ready to head into the kennels without a clear objective in mind, and she just about thinks she gets away with the entire puppy debacle until she hears a bark and Henry suddenly vanishes from sight.
"Pongo!"
Sure enough, when she turns around, Henry is on his knees, supporting himself with one arm whilst the other tries to fend off the onslaught of affectionate licks from Archie's Dalmatian.
The man himself greets Regina with a friendly smile, attempting to start a conversation before Pongo notices Regina is here. He manages two words before the dog is leaving Henry and bounding over to the boy's mother, demanding her full attention.
With a small roll of her eyes, Regina bends at the waist, her hands framing Pongo's face as her fingers scratch behind his ears. A smile appears on her face, answering back to his barks as if they were in a normal conversation, lowering to her knees and laughing when his nose hits hers.
Roland comes and joins them, his small hands trailing over the dog's fur, giggling when Pongo's wagging tail repeatedly hits jacket sleeve. When Regina lets the dalmatian place his affectionate kisses on her face instead of wherever he can reach, Henry considers that 1-0 to the puppy brigade. But then his grin fades when Regina makes a spluttering sound and exclaims; "not in the mouth, Pongo!"
"Apologies, Regina," Archie says as he attempts to reign in his dog, "he's just very excited to see you after so long."
"Well, I've been rather busy," she explains, standing. "My town seems to have constantly been in danger lately."
"Of course," he nods, before inquiring: "But you're okay? You know my door is always open if you need to talk, Regina."
"I know, thank you, but I'm okay," Regina answers, gratefully smiling at him before thinking over her current situation, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear as she admits; "I'm great actually."
"I'm very pleased to hear that, Regina." Archie's eyes light up and his smile widens as he gestures towards the hand she has just altered her appearance with, offering; "and congratulations."
"Thank you."
Regina gazes at her ring, the princess cut diamond set in a gold band, two rows of smaller gemstones crossing and meeting in the middle. She still feels a surge of happiness whenever the reflected light catches her eye, feels giddy with the realisation that her soulmate has chosen to spend the rest of his life with her...
Speaking of which, she is still really needing a kiss from her fiancé.
"I'm afraid we really need to get back to the house," she starts, "but it was nice seeing you again, Archie."
"You too, Madame Mayor," Archie replies, picking up Pongo's leash as he inquires; "See you around?"
With a smile, Regina inclines her head, "I hope so."
And with that they part ways, Henry and Roland giving Pongo one last rub, Regina scratching under his chin before they head back home and Archie heads to the park.
"You know, a couple of years ago when Archie was... missing, I managed to look after Pongo perfectly fine all by myself," Henry states, giving his mother a glance from the corner of his eyes.
"That was only for a couple of days, Henry," his mom points out.
"Yeah, but... It still proves that I'm capable of taking care of one. And with Roland and Dad it'd be a lot easier. Just saying."
Before Regina can respond, Henry takes his brother's hand and quickly walks them down towards their home.
...
Once they're back, the kids dive on the sofa, scuffling over the remote with laughs and giggles until they accidentally land on 'Animal Planet' and watch their mom's reaction when it shows cute dogs doing 'the funniest things'. Her head tilts and a small smile appears on her face, and the boys grin and give each other a subtle low-five before they get chastised for dumping their shoes at the foot of the couch in a race to get rights to the television.
As Regina takes their discarded shoes and places them by the door, Robin starts to come down the stairs to meet her. A smile lights her face as she climbs the few steps needed to stand directly in front of him, wasting no time in pressing her lips to his in a kiss she had been craving all morning.
Snaking an arm around Regina's waist, Robin holds her to him and lifts her feet off of the carpet, laughing into her mouth at the startled noise she makes when he takes the final few steps down into the foyer. When he places her back onto the floor their kiss heats; Regina's back gets pressed against the wall, Robin's body gets pressed against hers, and his wandering hands thread into her hair as hers make their way under his shirt.
Letting out a content hmmm, Regina melts into her soulmate, pulling him even closer before wrapping her arms around his shoulders.
"I'm not complaining," Robin starts when he parts to breathe, "but is there a particular reason for this welcome?"
"I missed you," she explains, pressing a kiss to the tip of his nose, "and I love you."
Unable to fight his grin, Robin leans back down for another kiss, professing his love between each press of their lips until they can do nothing but smile.
...
Not too long after the kids have settled down from their trip to the park, the boys are off out again; Henry had found the adults in the hallway - refusing to acknowledge their slightly flushed cheeks and giddy smiles - and had explained Snow had called, inviting him to lunch with his other mom and Killian.
Regina fusses, as she always does; "take your phone in case you need me, and I can come pick you up whenever, please don't stay too late - or let me know if you're staying the night."
"We're not staying the night, mom. Grandpa's going to drop us back."
"'Us'?"
"Oh, Roland has been invited too, is that okay?"
Regina looks to Robin, and Robin looks to Regina, and after a few seconds they both turn back to their eldest son and nod.
"Cool, we'll go and get ready."
With that he disappears, grabbing coats and scarves and boots before he heads back into where Roland is. They're back in the foyer within a few minutes, saying goodbyes and doing last minute checks.
"Enjoy yourselves," Regina calls out as they start to walk towards the door.
They both call out "we will" but turn back at Regina's loud; "hey!"
Regina taps her cheek, and with an exaggerated groan Henry walks back around to acquiesce to his mother's demands for a goodbye kiss, and when she raises her brows at Roland, the young boy follows suit.
After they've gone and Regina's seen them both get into David's truck through her front window, she turns and starts to tidy up the place a little. She moves all of Sarah's toys into one corner, takes the boys' empty cups into the kitchen, and she's just about to fold the newspaper on the coffee table and put it on the shelf underneath when she notes what page it's on.
Storybrooke Animal Shelter: Pets for adoption.
"They're not exactly being subtle, are they?" Robin asks as he steps behind her and puts his hands on her waist.
With a smile, Regina responds: "I don't think 'subtle' is in their vocabulary, dear."
"So..." Robin starts, leaning into her a little closer. "The boys are out of the house."
"Yes, they are," she observes, already feeling a smirk tugging at her lips.
"Sarah's asleep in her room..."
"Indeed, she is."
"I was thinking..." Robin trails off as he presses a line of kisses up Regina's throat.
Her head tilts back, her hands reaching behind her and fisting in the fabric of his trousers. "About..?"
"About..." he starts, taking the lobe of her ear between his teeth and gently tugging, "taking you upstairs..."
Regina turns her head into him, muttering a breathy uh-huh...
"Getting you out of your clothes," he continues, his fingers tracing around to her front, toying with the buttons on her blouse.
Regina bites her lip, arching her spine and grinding her hips against him, whispering; "And..?"
"And completely," he presses a kiss to her shoulder, "and utterly," he presses another to her neck, "ravishing you."
"I'm not stopping you," Regina breathes, raising a hand and burying her fingers in his hair, enjoying a few moments of his mouth on her skin.
"Good," he mumbles, pressing a last kiss to behind her ear before he turns her to face him, bends at the knees and hoists her over his shoulder in a fireman's hold, laughing at her surprised squeal before making his way upstairs and doing precisely what he set out to do.
...
"What kind of dog would we get?" Roland asks, not half an hour after they return from the Charming's lunch party - that turned into a dinner party too.
Robin raised his brows, firmly pointing out; "We haven't agreed to buying one yet."
But Henry teamed up with his brother, turning on the sofa to face his mom as he declares; "We saw this beautiful American Cocker Spaniel in the kennels, mom. She loved us."
Regina's features scrunch into a frown. "When did you go to the kennels?"
The boys turn a little sheepish as Henry mutters; "David took us earlier today."
"When you were supposed to be having lunch with Snow?"
The boys grimace as they look up to Regina, offering a tentative; "Yes?"
Her eyebrows raise in an unimpressed glare, but Henry continues his persuading; "But she's adorable, mom. Her name is Lady, and she gets along great with kids and she's kinda already trained…"
"Henry..." Regina warns.
"I'd take her for walks..."
Roland pipes up, raising his hand as he shouts; "And me too, I'd help!"
"And who's going to tidy her mess, hmm?" Regina asks, folding her arms in front of her.
The boys take a little longer to answer that one, but they still promise to do that too.
"And who's paying for the dog? The supplies? The food? The vet bills?..."
Roland nudges Henry's arm in a silent encouragement. "Well, we figured with you being Mayor you'd earn enough to cover that,"
"Oh, did you now?" Regina asks, her rhetorical question needing no answer but still receiving a nod from Roland.
"We'll have to see," she dismisses, before turning back to the tv and stating, in no uncertain terms; "If you boys even mention the word 'puppy' one more time tonight, I'll send you both to bed an hour early."
The boys cross their arms and huff, missing Robin and Regina's smile over their heads.
