This fic happens in the Expect the Unexpected verse.

"Henry, Mama, Papa, come on!"

"Slow down, Roland," Regina chided gently. "You have to wait for us. We need to get a taxi, remember?"

Robin couldn't help chuckling when Regina aimed a frustrated glance in his direction. Their children were always excited to go on an adventure, and their first trip abroad was certainly the biggest adventure of their young lives. Robin was thrilled to share this adventure with them, to share part of his history with Regina with their sons and daughter. Their life in the States had afforded them an opportunity for them to meet his grandparents once or twice, but now they were too old to comfortably make the long trip, so Robin and Regina had decided that it was time for the kids to start experiencing different cultures, and that they were old enough and mature enough to fly on a plane for the first time. They had wanted to do it sooner. By the time they felt Henry was old enough, Roland was in the picture, and then Andrea, so this was the first year that all of them were old enough to go. He couldn't wait to show his children where he had grown up, the different landmarks that they had up until now only seen in books. There was one landmark in particular that he and Regina couldn't wait to show their kids, one that was near and dear to their hearts. Once they were there, Robin had a story he wanted to share.

They loaded their suitcases into a rented car and were off to their destination, Robin caressing the back of Regina's hand all the while, especially when they spotted the familiar Marriott emblem on a sign. They hadn't been to this spot since the beginning of their story, and Robin couldn't wait to share that story with their kids.

Henry looked between them as Roland rushed ahead. "Something's up. What are you not telling us?"

"Roland, son, wait for us. We need to get our room number so we know where we're going," Regina called out.

Robin made sure Andrea's hand was still gripped in his as he answered their oldest with a smile, "You'll see."

They walked up to the desk, and Robin was astonished when he saw a familiar face on the other side. "Tink?"

"I don't believe it," she breathed, her eyes shining as she clapped her hands. "Robin and Regina, right?"

"That's us," Robin nodded as Henry frowned suspiciously and Roland looked at the decorations around them. "You're still working here?"

Ouch, that question was rude, but Tink seemed to take it in stride, nodding. "I'm the assistant manager now, though. I'm so happy you're back, and together, and have the two cutest kids-" She broke off, frowning suddenly. "You are together, right?"

Robin nodded, sliding his arm around Regina's waist. "We'll have been married for seven years this May."

"That's wonderful news!" Tink exclaimed. Robin was a little surprised she didn't start jumping up and down. Truthfully, he wanted to do the same himself, especially here, where it all began. He fell more in love with Regina every day, after all. "I'm so happy for you two!"

"So are we," Robin assured her.

Regina cleared her throat, tugging on Robin's arm and pointing down at the pile of suitcases at their feet. "If you two don't mind, the kids and I would like to put some of this stuff down."

"Of course," Tink nodded as she suddenly started typing furiously. "You're in room 23 again. We've remodeled a little, so there are two queens in there now instead of the king size bed. And I can have a rollaway sent in as well, of course."

Robin relayed that information to Regina and she muttered, "Those would've been useful…"

He couldn't help chuckling and telling her, "You were perfectly happy with the way things turned out, and you know it."

There was a knowing twinkle in Tink's eye, the gleam of a matchmaker seeing the results of their work, but thankfully, she diverted attention away from them and placed it on their children. "So what are you looking forward to most about being here, guys?"

"Who said we don't live here?" Henry asked, one eyebrow raised. Clearly, he didn't like being seen as a tourist, and Robin honestly couldn't blame him.

"You wouldn't be here if you did," Tink pointed out. "Besides, other than your father, none of you have accents."

Robin wondered just how long the ruse would last, then Andrea piped up, "We don't live here! Henry, you're being silly."

Robin smirked at Henry's crestfallen expression. His game had been ruined by his own sister, and he was sure Andrea would be hearing about it at some point in the near future.

She cleared her throat. "Shall we, kids?"

"Right," Robin said, patting each boy on the back while Regina made sure Andrea's hand was in hers. "Say goodbye to Tink, everyone. It's time to go."

"Bye, Tink!" his kids chorused.

They walked away, tracing the familiar route that Robin and Regina once had trod many years ago. Robin held up the card, ready to slip it into the lock, when Roland cried, "Wait!"

Robin looked at his son. "What is it?"

He held out his hand. "Can I do it?"

"Of course," Robin said, gauging if he could reach it without assistance. He could only just reach on his tiptoes, and once the green light told them they were in, Robin helped him push the door open, holding it for Regina, Andrea and Henry as Roland rushed in, immediately jumping up on one of the beds, while Andrea ran to join him.

"No jumping on the bed, you two," Regina advised. "We're not at home."

"But it's the comfiest bed ever!" Roland praised, flopping down on it dramatically.

Andrea sighed as she collapsed on the other bed. "Yeah! It's just like a princess bed."

Robin grinned. "The comfiest bed ever, fit for a princess?" he questioned. "Even more comfortable than your beds at home?"

"Well…" Roland paused. "Maybe a little less comfy than home."

"Glad to hear it," Robin said, looking at his watch. Perfect. "Kids, what do you all say to this idea: you change into your swimsuits and we go for a swim before dinner?"

"Yeah!" they cheered as Regina rolled her eyes.

"You do realize that they'll need to shower after and won't have dinner until 7:00?" she asked, fingers moving as rapidly as she seemed to think their night would go if they tried to fit so much into one night.

"A short swim," Robin amended. "Besides, we can always order pizza or takeout. They don't need to be clean to eat that."

She sighed, then nodded.

Once they rushed down to the pool, and jumped in, Henry asked, "So why did we come to this hotel? You've been here before, Tink said so. What's so special about it?"

"You don't think we just came back because we liked it here?" Robin asked. "You know your mother, she only likes the best," he added, his wife nodding her agreement once she had been clued in to their conversation's contents.

Henry shook his head. "No, this is different. There's something special about it."

Robin grinned. "You're right. There is."

"And…?" Henry asked, his eyebrows raised.

"All in good time, Henry," he said, flopping on his back in the water and doing a few lazy strokes. "Now, who's up for a little Marco Polo?"

"Me!" all three kids chorused, immediately declaring their father it and swimming frantically away, giggling all the while.

After a half hour of the game, by which point all five of them were exhausted, Regina held up her hand and called a halt. "We need to head back and order takeout. Is pizza okay, everyone?" she asked, her eyes gleaming. Both parents knew the answer to that question.

"YES!" they all shouted in unison.

Once they had gone back to their room, Henry asked, "So what's so special about this hotel?"

Robin laughed while Regina rolled her eyes. "You're not going to give up until you find out, are you?"

Henry shook his head. "Nope."

"All in good time, I promise," Robin promised him. "It just might be your bedtime story tonight."

"Okay," Henry agreed, but Robin could tell his acquiescence was reluctant. Secretly, he was glad to see it. He would never tell his son, but he and Regina had both rued the day that he stopped asking for a bedtime story, opting instead to read to himself before falling asleep.

Once they had ordered the pizza (sausage and pepperoni with some sweet peppers, and a white pizza with spinach and peppers- Regina had insisted on the veggies), Robin instructed Henry to shower in the half hour prior to its delivery so they would have one less to deal with afterwards.

A half hour later, they were digging in, and Henry asked, "So who's telling the story, you or Mom? What's this story even about?"

Robin smirked at Regina and she held up her hands. "Oh no, you don't. You mentioned this story, you're the one telling it."

"But love, it's the story of us," he coaxed, taking her hand under the table so plates and cups- not to mention the pizza- were left undisturbed.

"The story of how you met?!" Andrea clarified, her eyes shining.

Regina sighed, smiling, and nodded.

"And it's the whole reason we came here," he reminded her.

She sighed. "How about you start, and I'll jump in if I think it's necessary."

"All right," he said, "Once upon a time, in this very hotel-"

"Not now!" she interjected frantically, swatting him with her napkin. "We have to finish cleaning up from the pool."

Robin sighed. "Sorry, guys. It seems you'll have to wait just a little bit longer."

To his relief, the prospect of an interesting story kept Roland and Andrea's bathtime quick. He was surprised. Usually, Roland insisted on playing with all of his bath toys before he would consent to being taken out and dried off. However, tonight his toys were at home, and his interest was piqued by the story he and Regina had to tell. Meanwhile, Andrea always got tired easily, but she seemed especially eager for bedtime tonight, and couldn't stop asking questions like "How did you meet? What did you do on your first date? Was it love at first sight?"

Robin laughed. "All in good time. Your questions will be answered, I promise." They had decided long ago, long before Regina had become pregnant with Roland and they were in the process of adopting Henry, not to tell their future children about how they met until they were in the hotel where it had all taken place. Some would argue that the entirety of their stay in the hotel would have held more meaning for the children if they knew the story beforehand. In fact, Belle had threatened to do that very thing on more than one occasion. Thankfully, however, Regina had only given birth to Andrea recently, so apart from Henry's love for fairy tales, they hadn't had to worry too often about their love story slipping out before the time was right. Yes, they had made sure to introduce Roland to fairy tales as well, but he was more inclined to enjoy stories about nature. The closest he got to enjoying a love story was The Lion King, and Andrea was only just now old enough to start asking these questions. So their story tonight would be a new one for all three of them.

At last both boys were ready for bed, Roland in his Ice Age pajamas, Andrea in her Belle PJ's and Henry in his Captain America ones. "Can we hear the story now? Please?"

"All right," Robin smiled. "Once upon a time, there was a blizzard on the same day that your mum and I were about to head home for the holidays. All flights were canceled, and of course, our dorms were closed for the holidays. So, your mum and I had no choice but to seek shelter in a hotel, just like almost everyone else who was flying that day."

"Wait," Henry interrupted. "Dad, why didn't you just stay with Gigi and Pop?"

"Ah, that's a very good question, Henry," Robin answered. "You see, thanks to the blizzard, your Gigi and Pop weren't able to come pick me up, especially since they live two and a half hours away from here. Lucky they couldn't, or I would've never met your mum. I got a hotel room through my airline, and headed straight there. Once I got there, I thought it might be a nice idea to shower, since I had gone to the gym right before leaving for my flight."

He saw Regina make a face. Apparently, he had never told her that particular detail. "Gross! How on earth did I not figure that out? Why didn't you shower after I took my bath? Did you at least shower later?"

He shrugged. "I put on deodorant, it was fine. Besides, you know I showered later. After all, you definitely would've been able to tell."

Roland and Andrea both said, "Ewww!" while Henry asked, "Guys, can we get back to the story?"

Robin cleared his throat. "Anyway, as I was saying, I was about to check the temperature of the water to see if it was just warm enough for me to step in when your mum stepped into my bathroom!"

"You mean my bathroom," Regina clarified with a smile.

"Huh?" Andrea asked.

Regina laughed. "You see, your dad was actually in the hotel room that was supposed to be mine! But the airlines were all reserving rooms at the same time, so they had accidentally double-booked this room to both of us. Tink told us there were no more rooms left, so we had to share."

"Was it love at first sight?" Andrea asked, stars shining in her eyes.

Regina laughed. "No, of course not, silly! He was in my bathroom! Why would I be paying attention to things like if he's handsome or not?"

Robin shook his head. That may have been her immediate reaction. He, however, had a different story to tell. "Your mum may have been annoyed with me, but I immediately noticed how beautiful she was, and still is, the moment I first set eyes on her. Especially once she changed for dinner. She was definitely someone I wanted to get to know."

"You guys went on your first date that night?" Henry asked. "But you had just met, and Mom didn't like you."

"It wasn't a date!" they protested in unison.

"We just wanted to get to know each other better before we were forced to spend the night in the same room," Robin elaborated.

"Sure…" Henry replied, the word as drawn out and skeptical as his young age could make it. "You expect me to believe that when you said you thought she was beautiful that night?"

"I still have that dress," Regina said quietly.

Robin's eyes went wide. What the two of them could do with that dress… He hadn't seen her wear it in years, and she was always the one who cleaned out their closet (not without his help, of course, but he was never as involved as she was), so he hadn't known she had kept it after all these years. "Anyway, we went to dinner and chatted. I had overheard her talking to your grandpa when she was taking her bath, but I didn't want to scare her off, so I just asked her some questions to get to know her, and told her about myself, of course."

"You only did that because I asked you about yourself," Regina recalled.

He kissed her temple. "True, but I wanted to get to know you first. You were, and always have been, my top priority."

She kissed him chastely, not without a cry of, "Eww!" from Roland.

"Funnily enough, my friend Mulan was there because she worked there, and she thought we were on a date too," Robin told the kids. "Right up until we left the restaurant. She still swears that there was a spark between us that night, that it was our first date whether we admit it or not- even though it wasn't." He smiled. "That came later."

"What did you do on your first date?" Andrea asked eagerly.

Robin shook his head. "Not tonight, sweetheart. You have to go to bed soon, and we haven't even finished this story yet."

"Aww, please?" she begged, her hands clasped under her chin.

"Another night, sweetheart, I promise," he told her, kissing her forehead. "Don't you want to know what happened after we got back to the hotel?"

She frowned. "Didn't you just go to sleep?"

"Yes," Regina said, giving Robin a look.

He ignored her, knowing that this next part of the story was the most important. "When we got back to the hotel, your grandmother called your mum. You see, she wasn't happy because she always threw a big Christmas party every year, and thanks to the snow canceling our flight, your mum wasn't able to go. She said that since she missed what she thought was the main event, your mum should just stay in England and study, even though your grandpa was really, really sick and your mum wanted to make sure she could see him as much as possible."

"Grandmother was mean," Roland declared, and Robin nodded. It was in moments like these when he could tell that he and Regina were parenting their children well. After all, not all children knew right from wrong.

"You're right, Roland, it was mean," he affirmed. "Your grandmother was doing what she thought was best for Regina, but sometimes, what our mummies and daddies want for us isn't always what's actually best for us. So I offered for your mum to sneak on the plane in my suitcase so she could be with her daddy."

"Was that when you realized you love him?" Andrea asked, glancing at Regina.

She chuckled. "Not yet. But it was the first time I realized that I could trust him. I wasn't quite sure if I could rely on him, not yet- can any of you picture your dad actually stuffing me in his suitcase?"

They all three giggled, Robin and Regina along with them.

"Did you have to actually do it?" Henry asked, looking from one of his parents to the other.

Robin saw Regina shoot him a look, but she needn't have worried. "That, I"m afraid, is a story for another time. You see, the flight home is its own adventure."

"Aww, man!" they all pouted.

"At least tell us one thing," Andrea pleaded. "Did you fall asleep holding her, Papa?"

Robin couldn't help smiling. "I did, right in this very room. I couldn't stand seeing her so sad, so I had to do everything I could to make sure her bad dreams stayed away."

"I bet Papa chased all the bad dreams away," Andrea declared. "You're the best at that, Papa."

"Well, thank you, princess," he responded gratefully. Protecting his children and wife from the evils of the world was all he had wanted since the day he had met Regina. It was nice when that dream became a reality, despite the awful circumstances that usually came with it. "Now, I believe it's time for bed."

The kids all groaned, but reluctantly acquiesced.

Soon, their snores filled the room as Robin and Regina laid awake, him spooning her from behind, lazily tracing patterns on her waist and kissing her hair. "It's hard to believe it's been eight years, almost to the day," Regina murmured.

"It is," Robin agreed. "After all this time, I'll never be sorry that the room reservations got mixed up."

She hummed, turning and kissing the tip of his nose. "Me either."

They traded kisses like that long into the night. There was no doubt about it: their first stay in this hotel was the start of their greatest adventure, one that even now was only just beginning.