Monday's Entry for Prompt Party 2019! Prompts used - #3: "Sorry I thought you were someone else." #6: Regina is the (little) sister of Robin's over-protective best friend. #55: Robin catches Regina full on dancing around in the kitchen while making dinner.


Robin and John have known each other for years. They're thick as thieves. Their families know each other, they're practically one big family at his point. Almost three years ago, John's mum remarried to Henry Mills which threw his daughter, Regina, into their crazy family dynamic, but it was a welcomed change. Over a summer, John gained a little sister, and Robin gained another friend. And they were practically inseparable.

John's parents are gone for the weekend, so, naturally, that means they will have to stay out past their curfews, but unfortunately for Robin, John seems to have taken this to mean that they can afford to arrive at the party late.

Robin's been sitting in his car for over ten minutes, periodically honking the horn in hopes that it will spur his friend along.

It doesn't.

Robin turns off his engine, unbuckles and ventures his way into John and Regina's house just to be entirely engulfed by Elton John and Kiki Dee's Don't Go Breaking My Heart that's blaring from every speaker in the house.

He's about to make his way upstairs when Regina's voice calls, "I'm in here!" over the loud music from the kitchen.

Immediately, he begins to laugh, stifling it as much as he can with a hand over his mouth. Regina's standing, over the stove, with her back to him bobbing from foot to foot animatedly to the beat to the song. Unlike he and John, Regina is taking advantage of the free kitchen and her parents' absence all while wearing sweatpants, a baggy shirt and a messy bun - nothing she'd ever consider for school.

Singing at the top of her lungs to both Elton and Kiki's melodies with a committed swivel of her hips, she moves effortlessly from one end of the countertop to the other, collecting whatever ingredients she needs for the heavenly smelling dish she is making. She gives the large pot a final stir, bopping her shoulders up and down as the song gears up for another chorus, and that's when she turns around and notices that she's been performing to an unexpected audience.

Her face drops, the plump of her cheeks warming and becoming pink for him to see. She reaches for her phone and turns the music down until it's barely a whisper in the room.

"I'm so sorry," she apologises with a hand over her forehead. "I thought you were someone else," she explains, "I thought you and John had already left, and I'm expecting Mal…"

"No need to apologise," he says with a chuckle, grinning in amusement. Truthfully, he enjoys seeing her in the comfort of her own home. She's notorious for being the tightly wound sibling, going above and beyond to put on some sort of a facade, as if she has something to prove, and that's what has had him the most interested in the three years he's known this family.

Then things like this will happen, she'll laugh at a joke or suggest something crazy at a party, or she'll dance away like no one is watching to one of his favourite songs. His mum once told him a long while ago that dancing is a shortcut to happiness, and given how free she was just then, he's willing to bet his soul that it's true. He's never had the courage to even bring it up to John, but his heartbeat changes completely when she's around, especially when she's like this.

"John's upstairs?" she asks about her brother, and Robin nods with a shrug noting that they're running late. Regina is hardly surprised, joking, "That hair of his just needs to be perfect."

Robin chortles at John's expense, affirming her with a, "You're not wrong there." He hears that the song is reaching an end and nods towards her phone on the counter. "What's next?"

"I like to be surprised," she tells him, joking that, "It adds to the performance."

They wait out the short silence between songs together, both eager and curious to what Regina's next karaoke adventure will be when another excellent song starts to play: Only You by Yazoo.

"I love this song," Regina groans happily, turning the volume up a little more.

"Me, too," he nods, smiling at the way her hips have started to swing from side to side again. "Well, I shall leave you to your encore," he jokes just as John enters the kitchen.

"Are you ready to go?" John asks.

"Am I ready to go?" Robin scoffs.

"Children," Regina scorns them both playfully, much too much like John's mother for either of their likings. "Go and have fun. And don't get into any trouble."

Chuckling, John throws his sister a wave, shouting over his shoulder as he walks away, "Don't burn down our kitchen," as an attempted witty retort.

Shrugging, Robin laughs with Regina and bids her goodnight before following John out to his car. They settle in their seats, buckling in, and Robin freezes momentarily before turning the key in the ignition.

"Let's go before Gina wraps us into whatever weird dinner party she's throwing," John jokes, smacking his hands melodically against the dashboard.

Robin laughs shyly, dropping his hands to his thighs and look over at his best friend.

"I'm going to marry her, you know..." he says softly, not surprised at all by John's shocked single laugh.

"Over my dead body," John counters jokingly, taking a couple of seconds to realise that Robin's entirely serious. "Whoa, no. Absolutely not. No."

Robin laughs again, his eyes rolling at John's endless childishness and pulls out of the driveway.

"You can marry her the day you beat me in an archery competition," Johns says sternly, his arms crossed over his chest.

"That's hardly fair," Robin smirks. "I can't marry her tomorrow if I haven't even asked her out yet."

"And you never will," John says, leaning back into his chair in a bit of a childish huff.

"Whatever you say, Little John."