Alice and Robin sat on a bed inside of the farmhouse at Emerald Acres. The chatter between them came to a giggly hush as Zelena entered. She dropped a platter of tea, sugar cubes, and lemon wedges on the bedside table next to them.
"Well, don't stop at my notice. I'll leave soon so you two can gossip about me."
"Yeah, we'll totally continue talking about how your awful snoring keeps us up all night." Robin said smugly.
Alice nudged her lightly in the ribs with her elbow.
"Ow!" Robin yelped dramatically, hoping to get her partner distracted enough and laughing. It was an unsuccessful strategy as Alice only gave her a serious look and the archer let it go.
The realm hopper turned back to Zelena, with her signature toothy grin, piping up, "I think what she meant to say was 'Thank you for the tea but we could never!' Your hospitality is more than enough, Ms. Mills."
The witch turned farmer chuckled before fanning herself as if she was cooling down a blush, replied, "Awww, you're so sweet I could just pinch your cheeks! And remember, just call me Zelena. 'Ms. Mills' sounds so stuffy and is much more suited to my sister dearest, don't you think?" Alice nodded and Zelena continued with a lengthy sigh, "If only my little flying monkey was as nice as you," earning her an eye roll in her direction.
"See?!" Zelena pulled a face of discontentment. "I wouldn't be surprised if I got a heart attack one day from all the stress she gives me."
Robin threw a pillow straight from the bed. It hit her mom's chest with a thud, causing the woman to fall backwards from shock. "Mom, you must be tired if you're falling down already. How about you go take a nap?"
Zelena got up and patted off the dust on the back of her skirt, smiling in cahoots with her daughter as she tossed the pillow back at Robin, who caught it nicely before it hit her head. "I think I might."
The door to the bedroom closed and Robin poured herself and Alice a cup of tea. The steaming liquid was a deep red turned black color instead of green today. Not that it mattered, thought Robin, since she didn't like tea unlike Alice did. She'd rather have sweet coffee than tea, but it wasn't like that existed in the Enchanted Forest. However, the lemon juice squeezed in and cubes of sugar made it a bit better. The archer would have been lying if she didn't admit that she thought her lover's tastes were more acquired. That didn't stop Robin from having tea and jam sandwiches whenever Alice was around or offered it.
Robin slowly mixed a sugar cube into her tea, trying hard not to make a sound with the spoon as she prodded Alice, "What was that about earlier? I thought you were supposed to be on my side when my mom and I get sarcastic."
"Good impressions are important, Nobin," she mused, twirling a strand of hair, "I've only met your mom earlier today while you've met mine multiple times before you even knew me."
Robin made a face at the nickname, bringing Alice's amusement. She concurred, "I can't argue with that. Still, you shouldn't compliment her too much or it will go straight to her head." With a laugh, she put down the spoon and rubbed her side where Alice had elbowed her, "That could have been deadly, you know?"
Alice crawled around Robin on the bed and sat behind her, her arms sliding under Robin's arms and pulling her into an embrace, their back to her chest. "If I wanted to kill you, I'd get to your weak point first," Alice whispered, her breath tingly to Robin's ear.
As Robin looked up at Alice's face, Alice leaned her head over Robin's shoulder and their faces got closer. The archer blushed, her green eyes turning away from the tender gaze, knowing fully well that those lips always gave her pause. As if her girlfriend could read her mind, they were pulled into a kiss, one of Alice's hands freed to hold the back of Robin's head to lead them into a deeper lock, both tasting the sweetness of strawberries they had picked earlier.
When Robin opened her eyes next as they let go, she gasped. "Al, that's not fair! Using a kiss like that…"
Alice was holding the handle of a spoon like a dagger to her chest, grinning from ear to ear. "All's fair in love and war."
Alice moved away as Robin put up hands, calling it a truce and surrendering. Flustered, Robin took a sip of the tea to hide her face, slightly regretting it as her forehead crinkled at the taste. Luckily, Alice didn't see as she was busy squeezing lemon juice into her own teacup.
"So, before your mom came in, you were describing your hometown, Storybrooke? Do they have birds there?" Her blue eyes lit up in delight to learn what could await if they ever visited.
"It was just a small town, where nothing really changes, everything goes around, people have expectations based on who's related to who, and high school is shallow."
"What is 'high school'?" Alice asked, leaning forward intrigued.
"It's something like a place to learn for children aged 14 to 18, but could also be a living hell where all that you do or say is scrutinized, either for teachers looking for the right answer to grade or other kids trading everything to be something more.
"I guess I'm jaded…" Robin sighed. "I tried so hard to be someone I wasn't just to fit in, someone stuck up who didn't care about who I hurt to get there, that I lost who I was." She grimaced at the thought of what she was before she ended up in the Enchanted Forest, a girl striving to be popular and cool, to not be pitied or seen as weird.
"That must have been hard, being stuck in a mental prison for children. I'm glad I wasn't there." Alice shook her head in disdain. "I can't imagine that past you, with your lovely self now. I'm sure you've come a long way since then." She rubbed circles with her thumb on Robin's hand.
"Thanks, but let's just say, I wouldn't be the same if it weren't for you too," she replied, putting her other hand on top of Alice's. "I guess to answer the rest, we do have birds, mostly pigeons, the kind that aren't afraid of humans like here and look for food all the time." Robin let out a small laugh, "There are even people that sit on benches or near lakes to feed them bread crumbs like they're ducks."
"Really?" Alice asked, amazed. She grabbed her tea, engrossed in listening to Robin's answers while drinking the warm soothing beverage.
"Yeah."
"What about the clothes?" Alice lifted up her red skirt slightly with one hand and then picked at the hems of her blouse. "Is it like it is here?"
Robin laid herself down onto the blanket, spread out, her arms as a pillow behind her head, staring up at the fixture that held strings of animal teeth like a collection and shiny bits and bobbles that she found pretty from bird nests and deserted places gathered from her hunts.
"Sort of. Women still wear dresses and skirts, although a lot shorter and not nearly as well made. Like a thousand are made in an hour. Can you believe that?!" Her heart leapt with exhilaration at how far modern day had gone as Alice's puzzled look danced with faint amusement. Robin turned to face Alice, leaning on her side with one hand holding her head, and rapped her knuckles lightly on Alice's corset. "Definitely don't make these anymore. Closets are filled with a lot more tees and sweaters and a lot less linen and leather."
Since Alice seemed to ask, "Huh?" with her eyebrows furrowed, Robin took a quick consideration to display what she meant. "Oh right! Tees are like our blouses but with sleeves cut just below the shoulders and sweaters are blouses that are typically knitted with yarn for colder weather."
"And what about men?"
"It hasn't changed all that much, now that I think about it. Maybe some loose tees, less leather or potato sacks, but suits, pants and button up shirts still exist."
Alice gazed at her lovingly, her legs dangling over the edge of the bed as the candle lights' shadows caressed Robin's features, casting an incandescent glimmer in her eyes and across her cheeks.
"What about relationships? Are they like ours?" Alice asked with a bold and passionate intensity, causing Robin's cheeks to redden.
Robin flipped onto her stomach, pillow under her chin as a cushion, legs moving up and down in the air casually. "I think ours is unlike any other, but in Storybrooke, relationships are more or less the same as here. Men usually wear the pants in the relationships but I don't think that makes a difference when it comes to love, not so long as I'm here with you. You have me tongue tied." She grabbed Alice's hand and planted a kiss on it.
"Awww, I can taste the sugar from those sweet words." Alice delightedly said.
Within seconds, Alice placed her empty teacup on the bedside table and hopped off the bed with a gasp.
"I've got an idea! Close your eyes, Robin."
Robin was hesitant, mingling in confusion at what Alice could be up to, but did so as told. Once the adventurer got something in her head, there was no stopping her from doing it. She heard some shuffling in the room to her left and some opening and closing of cabinets after she was sure the closet in the corner was opened. It was after all, the only doors that still needed some oil on them that she hadn't gotten around to fixing. Robin opened her eyes slightly as soon as she presumed Alice had her back turned.
Her partner was trying to quietly search for something as some of her clothes were strewn on the floor. Then she caught Alice peeved scowl for a glimpse, probably catching Robin gazing at her.
"I wasn't peeking," Robin squeaked. Adrenaline pumped through the archer's veins as she desperately closed her eyes in an attempt of hoping Alice hadn't noticed her peering.
"Aha! An admission of guilt before I even asked," Alice stated proudly, still checking out the cabinets. "Oh, what the guilty think they can hide from me is fun. I'll have you know, I've defended myself in front of a trial in Wonderland before where you're guilty until innocent, so you should be thankful for my mercy to overlook this."
Robin was speechless. She vaguely remembered from the book that people were beheaded in court there but couldn't tell if that happened where Alice's version played out, whether the King of Hearts pardoned the guilty or not. She didn't want to know. As Robin was lost in her thoughts, she could tell that her lover was in front of her, a dark shadow blocking her limited view of light in her currently monochrome world.
Alice tied something around her head, making a blindfold of sorts with what she assumed were her pantyhose or stockings from her Storybrooke High days, feeling the elasticity, lightness, and how well Alice had secured it over her eyes.
"There! Now your magical "contacts" won't help you see through that." Alice exclaimed, satisfied. "You've broken my trust, Robin Mills," she added not a moment later. Alice must have feigned sadness as her voice wasn't wavering but had a hint of disappointment. The disjointed emotions in succession with one another only proved more so.
The minutes passed by in a flurry, Alice recounting a tale of "Papa and the Bubble Mess", a memory of a little girl in a tower demanding every stuff animal join the bath in the washtub as the usually calm Captain Hook was in over his head cleaning the ever growing bubbles with each addition. Robin could tell Alice's vivid storytelling was told partially for her waning boredom and overall for Alice's loneliness as more shuffling took place.
Before she knew it, Alice softly announced, "Robin, you can open your eyes now."
In front of her was Alice, dressed still in her usual white blouse with ornate lace flared sleeves, but the corset was replaced with a black leather waistcoat. The normally skirt-wearing Alice was gone, her red skirt she so often wore thrown in a pile with Robin's other clothes. In its place was a pair of black leather pants, hugging Alice's toned calves and hips in all the right places. In her hair were a few feathers and shells, most likely from digging through Robin's messy stash. Robin was spellbound, her mouth hanging a little agape seeing Alice dressed so tomboyish in her clothes.
Alice rocked back and forth on the soles of her boots, her gaze to the side of the wall, fiddling with her hands in front of her. "Do I look okay? I could take it off if it makes you uncomfortable."
The archer brought herself back down to Earth and got up, walking a few feet over to the rug where the realm hopper stood embarrassed, standing in the middle of the room on display for only her eyes to see.
"Where'd your fire from earlier go? You look breathtaking, Alice," Robin said, tenderly plucking the shells and feathers out of the tender wavy strands of gold atop of her lady love. "Any chance you were aiming to look like your papa?"
Alice blushed, looking a little shocked before minor frustration crept in, "That wasn't my intention, but Papa was who I thought of first running through your clothes. You have quite the handful."
"Yeah, Mom thinks I'm a clothes hoarder too." Robin groaned, shrugging her shoulders. "However, I'm prepared for every occasion!" she vehemently declared. Putting one hand on lover's shoulder, she asked, "So what brought about the outfit change?"
Alice sighed heavily, "I was thinking, since you wear pants, it must be tiring for you to act like the man in the relationship all the time. I wanted you to feel like you have a pal by your side."
"Is that what this is about, Tower Girl? Thanks for thinking of me but I think we have a misunderstanding." Robin grinned as she pulled Alice into a hug since the shorter gal still looked a bit downcast from her still not getting the surprise's point. "Have you forgotten I run around a lot, hunting and doing quests put up on the village bulletin? It's easier wearing pants than a skirt."
Alice looked up longingly into Robin's dashing green eyes as she pulled away. "So, even if I look past that, it's not a tradition where you come from to wear pants to dictate who's the man in the relationship?"
"Nope!" Robin let out a short bursting guffaw. "Hold on, let me explain." She wiped her eyes from the happy tears that this led to. "Wearing pants, no matter if the gender, is common where I come from and 'wearing the pants in the relationship' refers to the person in the relationship who dominates and leads with decisions."
Alice brightened up in realization. Thinking it over, she pouted and snapped back, "How was I supposed to know?!" She felt like Robin had partially made a fool of her but after taking a few deep breaths, Alice knew there was nothing to get too mad over as Robin couldn't have known unless she asked or answered honestly about the surprise.
Before Robin knew it, she was thrown back onto the bed by Alice, who had a mischievous grin on her face. "Whoa!" Robin cried. Alice used her newfound mobility and quickly pinned Robin's wrists above her head. Robin's eyes widened and struggled a bit.
Alice deviously implored, closing in on Robin, "Do you regret letting your guard down in front of me, when I could take you down at any time?"
Robin smirked, her arms going lax, happily giving into being held captive in Alice's grip. "Never if it's you."
