It's been 3,000 years since I've updated this. I'm sorry. About 45 years ago there was a prompt on one of the OQ fic weeks about Hook and Robin planning a part of Alice and Robyn's wedding. I had promised to do that fic and never got around to it. So...happy quarantine! This is part one.

Set in Wish Realm, AU Season 7


It was a cool morning. Robin pulled his jacket a little tighter around him as he set about his morning routine of making tea for the camp. He'd learned long ago that while Regina was a fantastic cook, she failed miserably in the morning beverage department. Besides that, she had finally stopped getting up and the crack of dawn and he was intent to let her sleep as late as possible to make up for the years of sleepless nights she'd endured. Henry was just as hopeless, having grown up with the modern conveniences of Storybrooke, a kettle over a flame was completely foreign to his son. He was trying, adapting more and more everyday and Robin was sincerely impressed with the man he had grown into in their time apart. The move had been good for Henry, for all of them really. While this wasn't their Enchanted Forest, the atmosphere was similar enough to remind him and Regina of their home and the place they fell in love. This place smelled like home, Robin inhaled deeply as the water began to boil and the tea and herbs came alive. It was a gift to be able to share these traditions with his children.

The sun was steadily rising, staving off a bit of the morning chill. Soon there would be the rustling of people emerging from their tents and stumbling toward him, but for now it was silent except for the young woman who had been pacing behind him for the last 15 minutes. She was muttering to herself now, Robin could make out a word or two every now and then. "Robyn" and "marriage" had caught his ear and he made no efforts to hide the smile they brought to his face or the tears to his eyes. His daughter was desperately in love with Alice; he'd never seen her as happy as she'd been this last year.

"Alice," Robin said with a smile in his voice. "Everyone will be up soon, if you want to talk you should probably come on over here." He was met with dead silence, the pacing and muttering stopped instantly as Alice stared at him from her not-so-well hidden spot. Robin pulled out a stool to sit and gestured to the empty one across from him. It took another full minute, but Alice joined him, sitting straight up and staring at the table top. "Alice," Robin tried again, trying to gently coax her into a conversation.

"Iwanttomarryyourdaughter," she blurted out so suddenly they both flinched. She stared wide-eyed at Robin, waiting for him to laugh or cry or yell or do anything at all, but he just smiled, told her 'I didn't quite get that'( even though he'd understood her perfectly well) and leaned forward waiting for her to continue. Alice took a breath, then another before once again meeting his gaze. "I want to marry your daughter," she said slowly and deliberately. "I want to spend the rest of my life loving her and being loved by her and I want you to give me your blessing to do so, but even if you don't I'm going to ask her becauseI I feel these feelings when I'm with her that I've never felt before and it hurts, you know, when she's not around and people don't want to hurt they want to be loved and I love her I truly do and I promise you, Sir, that I will never ever hurt her and…"

"I'm going to stop you right there," Robin interrupted, putting his hand over hers. Alice stopped talking immediately, mouth hanging open staring at him. But Robin hadn't denied her request, he squeezed her hand and put a finger to his lips as his daughter plopped down on the stool next to Alice, resting her sleep-disheveled head on her shoulder.

"How do you get up so early," Robyn grumbled, letting her head fall from Alice's shoulder to the table top.

"The sun is awake, so we should be to," Alice said matter-of-factly as she pulled Robyn's hair out of her face.

"We're going to have to work on your sleep patterns," Robyn giggled as Alice continued to pet her head.

"Robyn didn't grow up with the sun as her alarm clock," Robin placed a mug of tea in front of Alice, another in front of his daughter; he knew she would want in a few minutes when her mind caught up. We had to drag her out of bed every morning. I don't think that will ever change," he kissed the top of his daughters head then leaned close to Alice, whispering in her ear "nothing would make me happier." When he pulled away, giving his soon-to-be daughter-in-law a wink and a smile the rest of their camp was beginning to gather around them. Regina had left yesterday with Henry and Ella and wasn't due back until tomorrow. He missed her, especially since he'd been given such wonderful news to share.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

The next morning, Robin entered the dining area and found that for the first time he wasn't alone. Alice was squatting in front of the stove, coaxing the fire to life. "Good morning," Robin said, heaving the buckets of water and pouring them into the pot Alice placed over the flame.

"How did you do it?" Alice asked, standing and taking the empty buckets from Robin's hands. He'd learned quickly after meeting her, that Alice lacked subtlety. He liked that about her. She was direct and to the point and always wore her emotions on her sleeve. She was a good match for his often reserved daughter.

"How did I do what?" Robin reached for the tea leaves on the shelf, but Alice was already holding them out to him. She learned everything quickly. Maybe they could trade off this morning routine every once in a while and he could stay curled around Regina a little while longer.

"Propose to Regina?" she clarified, plucking Robin's 'secret ingredients' from the shelf and passing them over to him. "Was there some grand romantic gesture fit for a queen?" she curtsied deeply, stumbling slightly over her skirts. "Was the whole kingdom there?" she was picturing it in her mind. A castle filled with people in elegant gowns all stopping their dance to watch Robin drop to his knee… "Or did you do a really simple, private thing? " she sat cross-legged on the ground near the fire. "Was Henry there? Or Robyn? Or were you alone?"

Robin chuckled, more to himself than Alice as she looked up at him, awaiting his story. "I actually never did," he admitted with a shrug.

"She asked you!" Alice slapped her thighs, bouncing up in excitement. "I can picture that. She is the one who wears the pants in the relationship after all."

"She certainly is," Robin said, unbothered by her assumption. He's happy to play second fiddle to someone as formidable as Regina Mills. "But that didn't happen either." Alice pulled herself on to a stool, confused gaze following Robin as he grabbed 2 glasses and a bottle of whiskey from the shelf. This morning was cooler than the last and he figured Alice needed the warmth as much as he did. "Regina and I aren't married," he poured the drinks and pushed one over to Alice, "Not in any official means."

"You're kidding! Why not?" Alice asked accusingly.

"I...We…" Robin stumbled, he truly had no answer for her.

"It's obvious you love her."

"More than life."

Alice didn't understand, but she'd been trying not to ask so many questions. She felt at home here with these people. She got to be as close to her father as the curse between them would allow and she got to love Robyn. So she sighed, letting the issue she had with Robin and Regina's marriage status drop. For now. "Well, how would you do it if you had done it?"

"I was going to. Several times, actually. Had a ring and everything." He still does. And though he hasn't thought about it in a long while, the ruby tucked inside his quiver jumps to the forefront of his mind. "I would do it privately," he tells her. "I would take her somewhere that was special to the both of us and I would tell her about the life I wanted us to have together."

"I like that. I don't think I could do it in front of people. I get nervous and my words get all tangled in my mouth and come out upside down. And I want it to be special. I want her to feel special."

Again, Robin felt the tears prick his eyes. He'd wanted nothing more for his daughter than for her to be loved the way Alice loves her. "I know that whatever you decide will be special and perfect for the two of you."

"Thank you, Robin," Alice popped up suddenly. "And thank you for letting me be a part of your family," she grabbed his shoulders and quickly kissed his cheek before skipping off into the woods.

He watched her until her blue cloak disappeared into the trees, then turned to see Regina settling on the stool Alice had abandoned. "Is this for me?" she gestured towards the untouched whiskey on the table, shivering as she pulled her cloak tighter around her shoulders.

She was different here, relaxed like she was in those calm years when their biggest struggle was math homework and deciding between Marvel or Star Wars for movie nights. He knows it's because she's got her children back under her wings. "It was for Alice, but she...had somewhere else to be," he smiled, pushing the drink into her hands with a sly grin pulling at his dimples.

"What do you know?" Regina asked, knowing all his looks well enough to know he had a secret he wasn't going to keep.

"Why aren't we married?" Robin asked as he took her hand, kissed her knuckles and sat across from her with their fingers intertwined.

Regina choked on the liquor she'd just swallowed. "What on earth brought that on?"

"Alice asked me for permission to propose to Robyn yesterday," he smiled softly, thumb stroking over her knuckles.

"Hmmm," Regina smiled, squeezing his hand. "I knew that was coming. I kept telling you our baby girl was in love."

"They're a good match."

"They are," she agreed, finishing the drink and loosening her furs as the liquor began to warm her. "Is that what's got you in the wedding mood? Because you will be helping me plan this wedding. I have lists."

"How can you possibly have lists when the proposal hasn't even happened yet?" he didn't doubt her, she was still the hyper-organized Mayor Mills deep down even though she'd traded her blazers for leather and furs.

"As I said, I knew it was coming. A mother knows these things and this one likes to be prepared," she told him.

"Alice asked me how I proposed to you and when I told her we weren't married she was shocked, to put it lightly. She asked me why, and I couldn't for the life of me think of an answer."

"We were too busy being pulled apart and crashing back together," she said sadly as memories of all those tragic goodbyes came flooding back. "Something was always coming, always falling apart, and when everything stopped we were just together. I never needed a ring or a title, Robin. I know you aren't going anywhere."

"I'm not," he assured her. "I see you as my wife, the mother of our children. I have for years. And I've thought about asking you a hundred times. Even back in our Enchanted Forest. But, as you said, the timing was never right."

"Someone once told me 'it's all about timing'," she crosses the table and sits next to him, turning them so she can take his face in her hands and kiss him softly.

"Maybe it's time," he says when their lips part, then says nothing else.

"Robin,?" Regina leans back, still holding his face, but far enough where she can look him in the eyes clearly. "Did you just propose to me?"

"No," he answers quickly, not missing the flash of disappointment in her eyes. Adds, "Not yet. You'll know when I do."

She smiles at that. The genuine wide smile that causes those wrinkles at her eyes that she hates and he simply adores. It's about their daughter now, her wedding and her future. But maybe, after, they could get their second chance once more. "I look forward to it, she stands, placing one more kiss to his forehead as she hovers over him. "Now, get up. I have a wedding list for you."