It comes to Regina one night as they brush their teeth. "I want another tattoo."
Robin tilts his head, minty fresh toothpaste foaming from his mouth. He holds up a hand before spitting into the sink. "Of what?" He fills up a small paper cup.
"That's the thing, I don't know."
She drops her robe a bit and turns, craning her neck to get a view of her bare shoulder. When she got the rose, it represented pain. Longing. How much she missed her husband. Regina's never been against tattoos, she just never saw herself getting one. Roni, though, she was the type to have tattoos. Her friends constantly questioned why she didn't have more than the rose. Regina claimed the rose hurt too much but the truth was, she wanted each of them to have some sort of meaning. She didn't want to return to her old life and regret getting Def Leppard lyrics tattooed above her ass.
No, instead you got a symbol for a Poison song.
Fingertips brush against her skin. She gently smiles at his touch, warm from the tap water. Tiny droplets fall against one of the thorns.
"And to think," his eyes connect with hers in the mirror smudged with lipstick from Margot playing in there earlier. "You're the one that refused to get matching tattoos with me when we were in college."
Regina scoffs. "One, we were wasted. Two, you wanted to get Dan the bulldog."
"Dan is an icon."
"Dan is a fat, stuffed bulldog that the alums worship."
Robin chuckles, his touch gently turning into a massage. She melts into his embrace, a content squeak escaping from her lips. "Well, I think whatever you get, it'll look great. Another song homage perhaps?"
"Maybe?" Regina hums. "I don't know, honestly. This tattoo represents my time away from all of you. In a way, it was a punishment." Robin frowns. "I mean, I wanted it, but I also felt I deserved the pain. I used to imagine the rose coming to life and ripping my skin apart. Maybe then it'd be enough penance…" She sighs. "I love this tattoo. I don't regret it. I get to keep Roni in a way but I want this one to be happy."
Robin leans down and kisses her shoulder blade, his tongue just barely tracing against the thorns that poke from the rose.
"I think," he murmurs. "A tattoo representing both Regina and Roni is in order."
Regina turns around, caressing his cheek. "Really?"
"You know if you ever met a bulldog while you were bartending, it'd be a perfect time to revisit the Dan idea…"
Regina rolls her eyes and smacks his chest before returning to her nighttime ritual.
It doesn't take long for the tattoo idea to come to her. It's their biweekly family movie night where attendance and comfy pajamas are not optional. Roland and Henry pile on the floor with separate bowls of popcorn, candy and the soda Regina relented they could have. Margot cuddles up in Regina's arms with her juice box and plush sea otter. Wyatt lays on Robin's chest, eyes fighting sleep. It was Roland's turn to pick and Regina expected something with superheroes or soccer. Instead, Happy Feet appears on the screen. Regin has vague memories of taking the boys to see this at a library years ago, though she can't remember the plot outside a dancing penguin. It was never a favorite of the household.
"Why this one?" Regina asks.
Roland shrugs. "We're learning about penguins at school. Seemed appropriate. They also took all the Marvel stuff off Netflix."
Robin snorts, pressing kisses to Wyatt's head when he whimpers from the sudden noise. Regina shakes her head, pushing some hair out of Margot's face. The early 2000s cartoon has what one would expect. Songs, talking animal, the whole schtick. Regina barely follows the plot, more concerned with everyone has enough snacks. It's not as gripping as say, The Lion King (which they can't watch or Henry has nightmares). She goes from stroking to putting tiny braids in her only daughter's hair.
"Where is the mommy penguin?" Margot pipes up. Regina's head pops up, rubber band in hand. The male penguins are huddling their eggs close.
Roland speaks before anyone else can. "Dads are the ones that protect the eggs while the moms hunt."
"Do the mommies come back?"
"Of course." Roland shoves a handful of popcorn in his mouth. "They come back with food."
"Both do something important," Henry chimes in, putting Sour Patch candies between his fingertips. "Mom protects them from afar, dad does it up close."
Regina's eyes remain glued to the film. Norma Jean doesn't return until Mumble has hatched but her love for him is immediate. Her reunion with Memphis tears her up. A mother who had to leave to provide security for her family. The father who stayed behind, nurturing and loving the child even if they weren't what he expected.
A month later, Regina sits in the chair, her fingers interlaced with Robin's. The bones in her calf shake beneath the heavy needle that permanently inks her skin. Two emperor penguins gazing at each other with love in their eyes. Four chicks in their embrace, playing. The children that welcomed the mother back with open arms, even if it hurt to not have her for a pivotal moment in their life. A mother that has returned home to her babies, to the husband that took incredible care for them even through a difficult time.
Roland's book says for the most part, penguins mate for life. Hardships arise but they will always come back to one another.
Who would've thought Regina would relate so much to a chubby bird that can't fly?