Written for OQ Fix It Fic Week Day 4: The events after 4A never happened day

Used the following suggested prompt: Regina and Robin discover that they met and fell in love in the EF until Cora found them, separated them and put a memory curse on them

Regina pushed Isaac into a chair and used magic to bind his hands to the armrests, just in case. He struggled against the bindings, pulling his arms up a few times before he settled back down. Isaac rolled his eyes at her. "Is this necessary?"

"Since you have a tendency to run," she said, leaning against a table and crossing her arms. "Yes."

He rolled his eyes. "Okay, what do you want? Your happy ending too? I know you've certainly have had your share of hard knocks. Out of all my characters, you seem to get screwed over the most."

She let a wry laugh, believing that to be the biggest understatement she had ever heard. But Regina shook her head. "I have my happy ending. I feel I finally belong somewhere. I belong here, in Storybrooke, with my family and my friends."

"Someone's sounding a bit like Snow White," Isaac taunted her. He then pulled against the bindings again. "So why do you want me here?"

"We want to talk," she replied.

He frowned. "We?"

"Yes." Robin emerged from the shadows of her vault, leaning against a spot on the table next to her and crossing his arms as well. He smirked at Isaac. "We."

Isaac's cocky demeanor melted away and his eyes widened. "I heard you two were together here. I figured this day would come."

They glanced at each other, both frowning in confusion. Regina let her arms fall as she stood up straighter. "What day?"

"You mean you haven't figured it out?" he asked, narrowing his eyes as he studied him. "You haven't guessed the truth?"

"The truth?" Robin echoed, his own arms falling to his side as he stared at Isaac.

Regina reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a folded-up piece of paper. She opened it up, revealing the image of her younger self kissing Robin in the tavern where Tinkerbell had first shown her the Man with the Lion Tattoo. Holding it up, she showed it to Isaac. "Are you talking about this?"

His mouth fell open and he looked up at her, surprise in his eyes. "Where did you get that?"

"It appeared one day while I was in the library," Robin said. "Was it your doing? Were you trying to give us a message from the book?"

Isaac shook his head and Regina frowned. "What is it then? Is it an alternate version? A cruel joke? A sign that we can change our stories? What is it?"

"It's not supposed to exist," he snapped. "Your mother destroyed it decades ago."

Regina's heart nearly stopped when she heard her mother was involved. Her hands shook as she pulled the paper close to her chest and Robin wrapped his arm around her. "What does my mother have to do with this?"

Isaac sighed. "That is the real page twenty-three from the book. She destroyed your real story so that everyone's memories changed to hide the truth—you went into the tavern that night, Regina, and met the man with the lion tattoo."

"Whiskey?" Robin asked, holding out a glass filled with the amber liquid to her.

It was late at night and the house was quiet. Henry and Roland were both sound asleep in their rooms upstairs and almost all the lights were off except for the ones in Regina's kitchen. She sat in her pajamas and robe at the table as Robin had filled up glasses at her bar, barefoot and wearing a loose t-shirt and a pair of gray sweatpants.

Regina took the glass and gulped down a large amount of whiskey. The amber liquid burnt as it slid down her throat and she coughed a bit. "Ooh, it's the strong stuff."

"I think we deserve that," he said, taking a large sip of his own whiskey. He set the glass down and stared at the page spread out on the table between them. "So…that's our real story."

"Apparently. I'm not entirely sure why I'm even surprised that my mother was involved. I bet Rumple was too. He probably got her back from Wonderland just so she could track me down and drag me home like a runaway child," Regina said, crossing her arms as she leaned back.

Robin leaned against his hands with his elbows on the table, still staring at the picture. His eyes were distant. "This changes everything. What memories are real? What are fake? Are my memories of Marian real?"

"I'm sure they are," Regina assured him, reaching out for him. "Given everything you've told me and Roland's age, you most likely met her after my mother interfered. So yes, that's all real."

He nodded, taking her hand. His thumb brushed the back of it gently. "Do you…Do you think we were happy?"

She glanced down at the picture of the two of them kissing and smiled. "I think we were."

"Are those memories lost to us now?" he asked, looking pained. "Will we never know what happened to us during the time we were together?"

Regina picked up Page 23. "I think I know something that might work. Isaac may have written the stories away but maybe this page showed up to tell us that the memories survived. We just have to unlock them."

He slid over, kissing her fingers. "I trust you, lovely. Do whatever you have to do."

"I'll get started in the morning," she said, cupping the back of his neck as she leaned closer. "For now, why don't we finish our whiskey and head to bed?"

Robin smirked, brushing his nose against hers. "That sounds like the perfect plan."

Tinkerbell squeezed Regina's hands. "Your soulmate is waiting on the other side of this door. All you have to do is open it and step inside."

"What if he doesn't like me?" she asked, glancing at the door. "What if he doesn't want me?"

"He's your soulmate, Regina. That's a powerful bond that ties you two together. Of course you're going to like each other. And over time, you'll come to love each other. This is your second chance, Regina. Take it," the fairy encouraged her.

Regina nodded, taking a deep breath to try to calm her nerves. Her stomach churned and her heart sped up as her breathing grew shallow despite her attempts. Wiping her sweaty palms on her skirt before reaching for the handle. She gave it a good pull before her nerves could get the best of her, revealing the crowd inside. People milled about, laughing and drinking. Some danced in the back where a band of musicians performed.

Her eyes, though, were focused on one man sitting by the bar bathed in a green glow. She watched as he drank from his tankard, laughing with some of the men who sat around him. Did she just walk up to him? What would she say to him?

The music died down as did the conversations and laughter. She realized that everyone was staring at her. Glancing down, she realized her dress was too fine for a place such as this and she stuck out like a sore thumb. People eyed her silk gown and the jewels sewn into the bodice. She should've asked Tinkerbell to give her a more appropriate dress, something like the drab linens she saw on the barmaids circulating throughout the room.

"What's going on?" the man with the lion tattoo asked. His voice sounded a bit hoarse and he had an alluring accent she hadn't heard before. She held her breath, waiting for him to speak again.

The barkeep, an older man with gray hair and a lined face, motioned toward her with a rag in his hand. "A beautiful woman in a very fancy dress is staring at you, Rob."

"Very funny," the man, Rob, said. "I'm gonna turn around and it's gonna be Little John or something, right?"

"Take a look," the barkeep challenged him.

Regina's knees started to knock together as Rob turned around on his stool, his eyes widening as he spotted her. He stood, approaching her with wonder and awe, his lips twitching into a smile. "Hello," he greeted her, a warmth in his voice she hadn't heard in a long time.

"Hi," she replied softly. She studied her supposed soulmate—who stood a good head taller than her and was broad shouldered. Though he wore a loose linen shirt, she could tell that he was on the lean side and noticed how big his arm muscles were. He was someone who either performed manual labor or did some other work that kept him fit. She then noticed his soft and thick blond hair, cut close to his head though a few locks fell against his forehead. The color matched the scruff on his face, covering his cheeks and square jawline.

But her favorite feature so far were his blue eyes. They gazed on her not with the lust of the king or the wide-eyed adoration of Snow White. Instead, they held a warmth to rival his voice and an openness. For the first time since Daniel, she believed he saw her—and not what he wanted her to be.

He held out his hand to her. "May I buy you a drink, milady?"

"Yes," she said, taking it and relishing his strong but gentle grip as his fingers closed around her hand. "I would love to have a drink with you."

To be continued, I promise!