"It's getting late. I should head home."

Regina's words caught Robin off guard. He was surprised, and disappointed. And surprised at his disappointment. He didn't want her to leave. He wasn't prepared to be separated from her yet. He stood with her before she could get away; luckily she agreed to let him walk her home.

As they moved quietly through the town, Robin's mind was raging. She had come to his camp, appearing like a vision in the night. Then she told him that she was there to win him back. He wasn't sure how to react to that. He was not in love with this woman. She might be in love with him, though. Should that bother him?

Their conversation had been pleasant. He even made her laugh. It was a hypnotizing sound - he had never heard her laugh before. And when he looked at her, she had the most beautiful smile he had ever seen. He had forced himself to look away from her mouth, only to find her smile to be just as visible in her eyes.

Regina was an enigma. Robin once had feelings for her, he knew, yet he had taken a potion to forget her. A potion that she made. Regina said it was her idea. It made so much sense he only marveled that the possibility hadn't occurred to him before. Robin wondered how he had reacted upon hearing her suggestion, but she refused to tell him.

As they left the forest and walked the streets of the town, Robin tried to think of something to say. He had more questions. And he wanted to hear her voice. Yet the walk was so pleasant, he couldn't find anything worth interrupting it for. So he walked by her side, intensely aware of each time his hand swung close to hers. If he moved it a mere two inches he could grasp hers. Before he could decide whether to act on the impulse, they arrived at her door.

Regina turned to face him. Robin stopped, close to her, but not too close. It felt unreal. There was something he was missing, he could tell. Something she wasn't telling him. He searched her face for what she was hiding, but soon found himself staring into her eyes once more. She wished him a good night. Not finding an excuse to stay, he turned away from her.

Robin walked slowly back toward his camp, his mind churning. He didn't know how to resolve the two conflicting realities in his head - the one where he was so in love with Regina that only a magic potion would erase his feelings, and the one in which he was willing to erase her from his mind. He would not easily give up a love such as the one he imagined was between them. So why had he?

Robin thought hard about all that he knew. Regina's actions no longer seemed strange. Of course she would offer to sacrifice herself, of course she would send her love away to save him and others. What was more difficult to discern were his own feelings. They were gone now, washed away with that potion. But before - before the potion - what were his feelings then? Strong enough to need the potion, but not so strong that he didn't want it. He imagined caring for Regina, enough for her to love him as she did. If she suggested he should abandon her, what could possibly make him agree to that?

Did he think he was in love with both women, and had to choose? Because since taking it, he hadn't felt in love with Marian, not really. Only that he should love her. Now that Henry had explained the breaking of the curse, he was able to accept that they no longer shared True Love. He would always care for Marian, but he hadn't been in love with her for a long time.

John had said he felt obligated to stay with Marian. Emma had implied it as well. He wasn't - at least, he hoped he wasn't - the kind of man who would abandon a woman he loved, who loved him, for an obligation to one he did not love. There had to be another reason. A specific, strong reason that he would take the potion. It was a bold choice to make. There had to be something powerful to motivate it.

He froze at the edge of the forest as it suddenly hit him. Of course. There was one thing, only one, that would make him take that potion. It was the only thing that made sense, but he had to know for sure. Robin turned and ran.

This time, knowing the way, Robin arrived much more quickly. He was breathing hard when he arrived at Regina's now-familiar mansion. He ran right up to Regina's door and, finding it unlocked, let himself in. "Regina!" he called.

He had realized something. The one missing piece of the puzzle, without which the rest was so difficult to accept. The one that, once it clicked, made everything fall into place.

Robin closed the door behind him and entered the foyer, calling out for her again.

"Robin?" Robin turned to see Regina hurrying down the stairs barefoot to meet him. "What is it? Is something wrong?"

Robin immediately strode over to her, reaching her before she descended the final two steps. This kept her at eye level with him. "Tell me the truth," he said aggressively. She didn't ask questions or break eye contact; she merely nodded. "The potion. How did you get me to take it?"

Regina breathed in, but didn't speak. This was the second time she was avoiding the question, leading Robin to believe he was right all along. "Robin…"

"You lied, didn't you?" Her eyes went wide at that, but she didn't deny it. "That's the only way I would have agreed to do it." Regina walked past him and continued into the living room. Robin followed her and continued talking. "You lied to me. If I loved you as you, and everyone else, say I did, I would fight to be with you." Robin saw Regina's shoulders slump as he stopped, a mere arm's length from her back. "You told me you didn't love me."

Robin waited for Regina to react. After a minute of saying nothing, she turned around. She was looking down, but Robin could see tears running down her cheeks. Robin continued, his voice softening. "Nothing could have taken me from you if I thought you loved me, too. I must have believed you didn't care for me. Which," he brought his hand up under her chin to lift her face, "you obviously do." She was crying silent tears, but her gaze didn't waver. She stared boldly at him, though he could see fear in her eyes. He whispered, "you did it for me. You made me believe a lie so that I could save Marian." He looked at her for confirmation. He needed to know. He needed to be sure.

Regina breathed deeply, and blinked the last of her tears away. Her voice was quiet as she said, "I did what I had to do."

There it was. Now Robin could see it. He could see the love in her eyes. He reached up his other hand and used both to cup her face, wiping her tears away with his thumbs. Her expressive eyes were steady on his, looking at him as though he was her world.

She had done so much for him. Even now, after having lost everything, she had come to him. She was fighting for him. He felt his heart swell in that way that only happened around her. Her eyes grew a little wider as she breathed in. This time, he didn't fight his gaze as it dropped to her mouth. He moved closer to her, and her eyes drifted close. He tilted her head up to meet him. As his lips descended onto hers, he felt an overwhelming surge of warmth move through his body.

...