Prompt: Robin buys Regina kids' books in Braille so she can still read to Henry!

For the last few weeks, things between Robin and Regina were difficult. She seemed distant all the time, had even cancelled some of their dates and didn't attend rehearsals. Her smile wasn't sincere anymore. Her expression was conflicted, even the way she held herself seemed odd.

Robin didn't know whether it was their little make out session that threw her off so much, or if there was something else going on in her mind because she refused to share whatever was troubling her. Robin respected that, even though the unknown drove him mad.

When they were on a date last week after the practice – it took lots of convincing until she finally agreed to have coffee with him - she looked miserable. Her replies were short, her head ducked down. Robin noticed that her fingers were drumming against her thigh the whole evening, and his chest tightened as an uneasy feeling settled in the pit of his stomach.

They were about to leave the café when all of a sudden her phone rang. Her face lightened up immediately after picking up, and Robin didn't need to ask who was calling, the smile of her face was eloquent enough – it obviously was Henry.

As Regina told him later, the boy was allowed to come and visit her the upcoming weekend.

For the first time in weeks a sincere smile spread across Regina's face, her eyes were full of unshed tears, but there was a spark awakened within her. She looked almost like herself again.

Robin felt relieved to see her like that, but her smile soon disappeared and by the time he walked her to her apartment, Regina was melancholic again. When he asked if she wanted to talk about whatever was troubling her, she refused and closed the door right in front of Robin's face without as much as saying goodbye.

Robin decided to give her space and he didn't call her the whole week, he was even prepared not to approach her at the rehearsal, but then she didn't show up at all, and he became concerned.

That's why he's standing in front of her door on an early Saturday morning, clutching a bag from the bookstore in one of his hands while he knocks on her door. He's shifting his weight from one leg to another nervously as he waits for her to open up.

It doesn't take long for Regina to appear in the doorway.

She greets him with a wide smile, her sightless eyes are shining with joy. She's dressed in a pair of black pants and a dark red blouse, and Robin swallows hard – she looks absolutely stunning. Her head is turned down a bit as if she would be looking at someone less tall than Robin.

"Good morning, milady."

The smile drops from her face as soon as she hears his voice. Her gorgeous face turns into a frown as she presses her lips into a thin line.

He manages to pull out his phone just before she speaks.

"You aren't supposed to be here," she states, crossing her arms over her chest as if she's annoyed.

Well, that's new.

Robin obviously ruined her mood, so he tries to lighten things up, jokes, "You shouldn't open the door to everyone. What if I was a criminal?"

It turns out to be an entirely wrong thing to say. Her mouth drops open in what he guesses is shock, and before he can realize what he's said, her eyes are full of tears.

Shit, shit, shit!

Damn it!

"Regina, I'm so sorry," he apologizes quickly but when he stretches his hand out to touch her, she shakes his hand off and takes a step back. "I didn't mean that. It was a stupid joke. I didn't think. I'm sorry."

He's a bastard.

For a few moments, she just stands there in front of him, her arms wrapped around herself as she tries to hold herself upright. All kind of emotions flash on her face; one moment she looks ready to punch him, the other it seems like she's going to fall apart at any second.

Only when the shaking of her body turns stronger, she finally breaks down. Her lips part as tears start falling down her already flushed cheeks.

Robin closes the small distance between them immediately, walks up to her and wraps his arms tightly around Regina's shaking body.

She struggles against him at first, tries to push him away but Robin doesn't let go. He whispers assuring nothings and kisses her temples a few times until she finally collapses into his embrace, her arms gripping at his sides as she cries.

They stay in the doorway for a while, holding tightly onto one another, taking comfort from each other's presence. Soon her crying becomes much calmer; the violent shaking doesn't torment her body with every breath she takes.

Only when her breathing turns back to somewhat normal, Robin loosens in arms from around her and takes a step back. Regina releases him reluctantly, her hands staying on his arms even after he's pulled away.

Gently, Robin cups her cheek and lifts her bowed head up. Her cheeks are wet, eyes red and puffy. It makes Robin's heart clench in his chest – for the last few weeks that's all he's been seeing and he hates that, hates that fact that she's been hurting for so long.

"What happened?" he asks in what he hopes is comforting voice.

Regina tries to duck her head down again but he strokes her cheek and doesn't let her hide herself from him, not anymore. He's given her plenty of space, but whatever it is that's troubling her is breaking her apart and Robin cannot stand by and watch her suffer anymore.

"Don't lie and tell me that you're fine, Regina," he adds then, his thumb brushing away another falling tear. "Please, talk to me."

He has both of his hands on her cheeks, stroking lovingly so when her lips start moving, he tries his best to understand what she's saying – there's no way on Earth he'll stop the comforting touch to get out his phone.

"It's… Yesterday… It's been three years since I lost Daniel."

Her lips are trembling as is her jaw, but she manages to pronounce the words in the most understandable way possible. Once the sentence is out of her mouth her eyes squeeze shut, but not even that helps to stop the tears.

"Oh, Regina," he whispers and pulls her into his arms again, his own heart breaking for her.

He's a bastard. He came here joking about the robbers while her life was torn apart by these criminals. What was he even thinking?

He holds her close for as long as she needs and only when she's fully calmed down, they make her way further into apartment, Robin grabbing the bookstore's bag from the ground – it must have fallen down sometime between the comforting touches.

Regina sits down on the couch in the living room, and almost immediately ducks her head down again, her hands rested on her lap. Robin sits at the other end of the couch, putting the bag he's brought beside himself.

"I'm so sorry, Regina," Robin says when he notices that her lower lip is trembling again.

He hates to see her like this; hates that she looks as if she's ashamed of herself.

Without words Robin understands that she needs a moment to collect herself, so he tries not to stare at her and looks around the apartment instead. There are two empty cups placed on the coffee table in the living room and the photo frame that's been broken a few months ago is standing in its usual place, repaired.

He thinks that her friend has visited, helped her to clean up the apartment and prepare for Henry's arrival.

When Robin turns to Regina again, she stills looks emotional, her hands are trembling but her head is lifted a bit and she looks ready to speak.

Robin asks her to wait a moment, then quickly fishes his phone out of his pocket, unlocks it and focuses on the screen (it takes a lot of will to tear his eyes away from Regina and focus on his phone).

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to break down like that," she apologizes, her cheeks turning redder from what Robin supposes is embarrassment.

She has nothing to be embarrassed about, though, and Robin tells her that, and then assures her that she doesn't have to be embarrassed about her feelings, not with him.

Regina nods her head, even though she doesn't look convinced by his words. Then she wets her lips and says, "Henry is coming over because we need to be together this weekend. We've been through hell because of this, and… no matter how broken I am, we still survived this, together."

"You're not broken, Regina," Robin shakes his head disapprovingly even though she cannot see him. "You've said so yourself: you've gone through hell, and you've survived. You're so much stronger than you think."

She looks ready to argue, but then sighs, her shoulders slumping again.

"I think this weekend Henry needs me as much as I need him."

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Robin asks softly. "You haven't been yourself for so long and I didn't realize what was going on. I would have supported you."

"You like me, Robin," she says, a small but sad smile making its way onto her face. "We're almost dating and I keep thinking about my late husband. I should be able to move on, but I can't-" her lower lips starts to tremble but she inhales deeply, and forces herself to continue, "I still cry every single night over Daniel. Do you realize how wrong it is that I spend my days making out with you and then at night I cry over my dead husband?"

"How is it wrong, Regina?" he asks, his own heart breaking at her pain. It makes him feel even worse now that she's told him that he's bringing her pain unintentionally. "Daniel's been a part of your life for so long, and you loved one another. I don't see why missing him is wrong."

Her face turns into a ridiculous expression and he thinks she scoffs at his words.

Robin rushes to say, "We're friends. Despite my feelings for you, I'm your friend first. You can always talk to me about Daniel and how you feel about him. I don't mind."

Regina bites her lips, nervously fiddling with her fingers.

"It feels wrong, Robin. I feel like I'm betraying both of you. You're so good to me, and I keep thinking about Daniel, and I love him but my heart starts beating faster whenever you're around and-"

"Would you feel uncomfortable if I talked about Marian?" Robin cuts off her ramblings with a firm question.

"No, of course not."

"When why do you feel that you talking or even thinking about Daniel is wrong?"

"Because I love him, Robin!" she exclaims, her eyes filling with tears again. "I can't let him go, I love him. And you make me feel things, wonderful things, but all I feel in the end is guilt. I still love him, and I don't know if I'll ever be able to forget him."

"You don't have to forget him, I don't even think it is possible. And that's okay," Robin assures her in a steady voice. He stretches his hand out and takes hers trembling one in his. He strokes his thumb over the back of it, giving it a tight reassuring squeeze.

"I've been feeling awful for weeks," she admits and she looks awfully uncomfortable saying this. Inhaling deeply, she adds, "I've started taking my medication again to help me deal with my feelings and anxiety."

"That's okay."

She furrows her brow at the lack of judgment in his reply, he thinks, then continues, "My emotional state always gets worse when the day approaches but this year… I feel like I'm falling apart, you know. I should be happy because I get to see Henry more and I have you, but I'm feeling awful as if I'm betraying Daniel."

Robin's heart clenches in his chest. He has always known that Regina still loved Daniel, he knew that she was unsure about her feelings towards him. She's asked to take things slow many times, and he respected that, never pushed her. What he didn't know was the whole situation was tearing her apart.

"Have I ever told you that Daniel died to save me?" The vibrating of his phone snaps him out of his thoughts and Robin quickly reads her words. "They probably wouldn't have killed him if he wasn't trying to protect me."

Robin reads intently every word she says. She's never shared anything about that horrible night, all he knew was from the newspapers – Daniel was shot, Regina was pushed down the stairs, Henry jumped out of the window of his room and despite the broken arm he ran to their neighbors to ask for help in the middle of the night.

"They probably wouldn't have killed me either," she continues, her expression unreadable, "but he still defended me. Daniel protected me."

"I'm so sorry, Regina."

Robin squeezes the hand he's been holding, not knowing what else to say to comfort her. It seems that whatever he does brings her only pain.

"Emma told me that Henry still screams in his sleep." A tear falls down her cheek and Robin cannot help but swipe it away. Regina flinches at the unexpected touch. "And I cannot be there to comfort him, to tell him that it's okay, that it's over. I was his mother and didn't protect him from so much pain. Oh, and let's not forget that I got his father killed in the process."

"Regina, you're not responsible for what happened," Robin starts, but she's not listening to him.

She seems angry when she says, "I got to live. And now every day I try to move on, I feel like I'm betraying Daniel. And it's tearing me apart. I didn't deserve to move on, I-" She trails off, pulling her hand away from Robin. Her palms hide her face from him as she starts crying again.

She's rocking herself back and forth, and all Robin wants to do is pull her into his arms and hold her forever, but instead he sits there and watches her, feeling his heart breaking in his chest.

When she calms a bit and straightens, Robin asks a question that he already knows the answer to.

"Do you need some space?"

"Yes, I do. Please."

Robin swallows hard over the lump in his throat and forces out a quiet "Okay."

"I promise to reach out to you when things get better but right now… I really need some time." admits, and a tear falls down her cheek. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry," he tells her, his fingers itching to touch her warm face but he doesn't. Not when she asked for space. "We all stumble sometimes and need some time to heal."

It's obvious that she needs time to sort things for herself, no matter how much he wishes she would let him be there for her. But he'll respect her, he will always give her whatever she wants.

Robin wipes a single tear away from his cheek and clears his throat before saying, "I brought something for you."

He takes the children's book out of the bag and hands it to Regina. She frowns running her hands over it, and then she opens it, her fingers tracing the tiny dots on the pages.

"It's a book for Henry, so you can continue your bedtime stories ritual," he explains.

How funny life sometimes can be. He came here to bring a book to make Regina and Henry happier and yet he'll walk out with a broken heart. And he's pretty sure his heart is not the only one that's broken.

Regina opens her mouth and closes it without saying anything, her eyes becoming full of tears as she shakes her head. She looks genially touched by this gesture and stretches her hand out to seek out Robin's. When their fingers intertwine, she says, "Thank you."

Robin squeezes her hand tightly, before releasing her reluctantly, and stands up from the couch. "I should go before Henry comes." He tells her, clearing his throat. Regina nods her head, and brushes another falling tear away from her cheek. "Have a nice weekend, Regina."

She nods meekly and turns her head down.

"Will you be alright?" he asks quietly.

"I will."

"You know you can always call me," he reminds her. "If you ever need something, don't doubt. Call me. I'll always be there for you, no matter what happens between us."

"Thank you."

He clears his throat, "Well then. Goodbye, Regina."

"Goodbye."

He walks out of her apartment and just before the door closes, he turns around and notices how Regina burrows her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking.

His heart is begging for him to turn around, but he forces himself to keep going.

He forces himself to let her go.

.

.

(...)

Thank you so much for still reading this story! If you have any prompts for this verse, feel free to leave them in the reviews or send them in to me on tumblr, twitter or curiouscat. I'm called ourheroregina everywhere!