Hey! This is my submission for Day 2 (Tuesday) of the OQ Prompt Party.

Prompt: |9| "Robin and Regina used to date/were married. They're no longer together but still love one another."

Trigger warnings: Brief, brief, super brief mention of miscarriage :(

Side note: Sweet Child O' Mine by Taken By Trees (cover), helped me give birth to this one, i sincerely don't know why. But thought y'all should know.


"Do you ever think back on that night?" Robin asks from his place next to her as they begin walking down the pier.

There had been many nights in their marriage. Happy nights. Grieving nights. She supposes, though, that he means that particular night. The one where they screamed at each other, and they had never screamed like that before, they had never disrespected each other like that before.

It had ended with him packing his things, and her not feeling an ounce of regret.

Regina nods quietly, but keeps on walking right next to him, sighing softly.

It's three am, there's nobody out and it's her last day on her hometown. Sure, she should be packing Henry's stuff along with hers and probably catching a few hours of rest, but then again, they haven't truly had a chance to be, just be. After all, it's been fifteen years. Fifteen years during which neither spoke a word to one another, just came sort of into a mutual understanding.

"I think about it almost every day," he confesses on a low voice after a moment of silence as they come to a stop at the end of the pier, the sound of the waves softly hitting the wood the only sound in the summer air.

"Yeah," she replies simply, her thumb, absentmindedly going to play with the non-existent ring on her finger.

He sighs after a moment and shakes his head. "I love my wife and my kid, Regina. I love them so much I would die for them."

And she understands.

She understands the confusion and the slight shame, because she had felt the same with Daniel. She loved him, deeply, truly. But one simply doesn't forget their first love, particularly when both Robin and Regina had felt like they were meant to be. Destined to be together. Ah, life.

"But there's a small part of me that wonders how it would've been like if I had just stayed," he confesses softly, eyes gazing straight ahead.

Regina sighs at that and nods at him, also staring at the expanse sea in front of her.

And she could roll her eyes and laugh loudly at the spot they find themselves in. The same place he'd proposed twenty years ago. When they both had been eighteen and madly, madly in love. As expected, she doesn't feel that slight ache at the memories, instead she welcomes them with open arms. They've grown up. They've grown wiser. They understand the way life works. The way marriages work.

But still, she thinks back on their past. Marriage had been done quickly. They had been inexperienced with the harsh realities of the world, the sometimes strenuous work that marriage required, and it had quickly dissolved, with her moving away a few weeks after their separation.

They could point fingers all night long, but it won't get them anywhere because they know, they know they each had their faults. He should've been supportive. She should've been understanding. He shouldn't have walked out. She shouldn't have left her mouth get ahead of her. They shouldn't have shut out each other after losing a baby. They should've talked more instead on relying entirely on sex for intimacy. And more and more and more. But they had been young, young and stupid and so in love, yet so easily offended. Schedules conflicted. Plans changed constantly. Studies got harder with every passing year. Stress. Stress. So much stress. No communication. And soon enough they had separated, divorced and became estranged lovers.

Until a week ago, when she returned for her mother's 65th birthday and she'd bumped into him at Granny's.

She chuckles lightly at the memory, because Granny's breath had hitched behind the counter, and everybody had been expecting for them to lash out at each other. But it's been 15 year, and they've matured, they've grown up. So instead of lashing out, instead of the fight that half of Maine had been expecting, Robin and Regina had smiled kindly at each other, engaging in a short conversation that had confused the citizens of Storybrooke.

Regina shakes her head and swallows hard. "Yeah well, I wasn't that easy to get along with," she says on a shrug, trying to lighten to mood, only to smirk in relief when she hears him chuckling softly to her right.

"Still," he whispers after a quiet moment and shakes his head. "I should've stayed."

"Maybe," Regina replies as she turns to face him, because there's really nothing else to say. It doesn't change anything now. He's married and a father. She's still a grieving widow and a mother. They've already healed those wounds, thankfully. So there's really no point, there's no point in dwelling in the past when it's exactly that past what molded them into the person they are today.

It's life, real life, and life isn't like the movies. It doesn't end with her riding off on a motorcycle during sundown with the greatest love of her life.

No

Real life is this.

It's having to tell your greatest love that maybe, just maybe, this is what destiny had planned for them all along. That maybe they were just meant to be a chapter in each other's life, not an entire storyline. That maybe their fate was to meet, but not to be together. That whilst they are soulmates —because they are, she can feel that down to her very bones, they aren't life partners.

After all, they owe who they are right now to one another.

Because if Robin hadn't walked into that chemistry lab at the young age of 16, precisely at 8:53am, she would've probably gotten another lab partner who would've made her dread going into the lab, instead of him, the one who stared at her as she smiled brightly at the chemical reaction taking place, the one who wholeheartedly supported her decision to become a chemist. And if she hadn't walked into his room on an early Saturday morning to review their notes for their upcoming exam, she wouldn't have seen him play the guitar, wouldn't have been able to build up his confidence, let go of his fears, ultimately pushing him to pursue his studies in music.

It's life.

It's real, it's strange, and it certainly works in mysterious ways.

"I still wouldn't change it for the world," she shrugs after a few minutes of comfortable silence, of contemplating their life. And when Robin turns to face her, an understanding smile on his face, she continues. "I wouldn't have had Henry," she whispers, smiling brightly, her eyes shining with tears at the thought of her very resilient and loving ten year old. "And you wouldn't have had Roland," she finishes on a chuckle, smiling warmly at the thought of the sweet and energetic five year old she met earlier that week.

He smiles brightly at her at that, eyes shining with unshed tears too as he nods and chuckles lightly.

"So I think we did pretty great for ourselves," she finishes after a moment, sniffling lightly before she wipes the corner of her eyes, still smiling brightly.

"Yeah," he agrees, grinning. "Not too shabby," he replies in his typical fashion, eyes gazing at her in awe and love.

Because it is love. She knows that, recognizes it from the very same love that vibrates within her. The one that is kind, the one that forgives, the love that heals.

And here they are, two ex lovers, soulmates, who have forgiven one another and have healed without even having to utter a word during those fifteen years.

It is love.

Regina chuckles at him tearfully and nods.

They stay like that for a moment, gazing silently at one another before she's clearing her throat.

"I have to go. I still have to pack and check Henry's bag," she whispers after a moment with a shrug.

Robin swallows hard and nods from her side. "Of course," he says after swallowing hard and pushing his hands into his pockets.

And they just stare at one another for a few moments again.

Not talking.

Just staring, smiling kindly. And it's as if they're lost in their own trance. Their own little world. Their mind taking them back to kisses shared in this very same pier. To saying yes excitedly not knowing what it would mean for them. To cuddles. To weekend studies. To the many adventures they shared while they were together. To positive pregnancy tests. To losses. To gains. To their life as it is right now. Not too shabby.

Regina sighs after a moment, shakes her head before she lays a gentle palm on his cheek, tracing lightly that slight dimple as she smiles brightly, eyes still shining with unshed tears and that undying love.

Slowly she pushes herself up to her tiptoes and leans in slowly. He leans forward almost instantly and meets her halfway, both sighing when their lips meet after years, oh, so many years. She slowly angled her head to the side, allowing for their lips to meet more firmly as she kisses him slowly, oh so slowly, the mere action bringing her back to simpler times. Back to when their naive selves thought that kissing could solve everything. Back to stolen kisses in her family home's patio. Back to hushed kisses in his room, while his family cooked downstairs. Back to their first kiss as husband and wife, in front of ecstatic family members that whooped and hoorayed for the newlyweds.

They part for breath when their lungs burn for oxygen, foreheads touching, his palm still on his cheek as they share the same breathing space for a moment, just a moment before they have to go back to real life. But they're kissing again, softly this time, a simple pressing of lips before they lean in even closer, lips meeting more firmly because this is it, this is the last time.

And when she breaks the kiss on a sigh, thumb still tracing his dimple, he smiles at her and cracks open his eyes.

"I love you, Regina Mills," Robin utters, a secret whispered in the night only for her ears.

"I love you, Robin Locksley," she whispers too, smiling.

"Please take care," Robin says on a sigh after a moment, a small tear falling from his eye, but he quickly brushes it away as he takes half a step back.

"I will," she whispers, wiping the corner of her eyes.

They just stare at one another, smiling sadly and nodding, the waves crashing softly in the background, and then she's taking a step back, whispers her goodbye on a soft breath before turning to walk down the pier and to the direction of her family's home.

She doesn't once turn around, because she knows, deep in her heart, that he's facing the horizon, waiting for his moment to walk down the pier and head the opposite direction, to his wife and kid, just like she's walking down to her kid and life.

Life

And she cannot help but smile to the heavens, letting out a grateful breath of having had at least this opportunity with the man who will go down in history as the greatest love of her life, her soulmate, just as she is his.

Life