This oneshot was inspired by SaraDallArgine's amazing art! Because it's based on the scene from the show, most of the dialogue isn't mine, and of course, none of the plot or characters are either. Huge thank you to Clare for betaing this! Enjoy, and let me know what you think!

Robin was patrolling the woods around Storybrooke for the Prince and Princess, as many of the other Merry Men were currently doing. Although the Prince and Princess hadn't asked them to, they were all concerned that the Wicked Witch might try to create more winged monkeys. Tuck, always concerned for the innocent, had suggested that they take shifts surrounding the perimeter of the town, always making sure that they didn't step too close to the town line. That way, none of their fellow citizens unintentionally fell victim to the witch's wicked ways.

As he wandered through the woods that were both so similar and yet so different from his home in Sherwood Forest, all Robin could think about was Regina. Though he had only met the woman known as the Evil Queen a few days before, his instincts told him there was so much more to her than people had seen when she ruled over the Enchanted Forest. As he had told her on the day they met, the moniker didn't suit her. She was bold and audacious, as he had mentioned, but sometime during the first curse that had brought her and so many others here, she had changed. He doubted that she would tear out someone's heart if they had done her wrong, as she had during the height of her reign- though she may throw one of her many fireballs at them, he acknowledged, chuckling. He was Enchanted by her feisty spirit, that she was the most resilient person he had ever known- and that was an opinion he had formed without knowing anything about her past. Someday, he hoped that she would trust him with her secrets.

One of the things that had drawn him to her after asking the Prince and Princess about her was that she was a mother, but her son couldn't remember her at the moment. He suspected that having a son was what had started the change in her, the cause of her gradual transition from the Evil Queen to someone who was between the dark and the light. He knew that Roland's birth had changed his whole world. Not only had he become a father, but if they had never had a son, he didn't know what would have happened to him after Marian's death. He would likely be a shadow of his former self, more prone to violence. Maybe he would have left the Merry Men and traipsed through the woods alone, not caring if Nottingham or the Queen's guards captured him. He owed everything he was to his son and his heart ached for the Queen, knowing that she had to be distraught every time she so much as caught a glimpse of her son. The meal at Granny's diner after Neal's funeral, and the funeral itself, had been a perfect demonstration of her anguish. While he of course attended to honor Neal, as others had spoken of his noble friend's honorable deeds, he had spent much of the time watching Regina. As he had been attentive to her, he noticed that her gaze had never strayed far from the boy he had discovered was her son, pain and longing in her eyes. It was clear to him that he was her whole world, and Robin knew that even if some didn't believe that she had started to change, her son was the reason for any change in her.

Then, because there was never a dull moment in the Land Without Magic, the witch had interrupted their meal honoring Neal. Though he had, of course, made sure that she was nowhere near Roland, Robin's eyes had never strayed far from the dark-haired Queen who was the focal point of the Wicked Witch's wrath. Though he knew that she was strong and would deny any sign of weakness, Robin suspected that Regina was nervous about the upcoming battle between her and her sister- anyone would be.

As if his worry for her had summoned her, he spotted Regina sitting alone on a log, a letter in her hand. What she was doing there alone and the contents of the letter, Robin didn't know, but he wanted nothing more in that moment than to make sure he did everything he could to let Regina know how amazing she was, that there was nothing stopping her from defeating her wicked sister that night.

Regina sat staring at Rumple's letter to her mother, the words repeating themselves over and over in her mind. She had had confidence that she could defeat the Wicked Witch until she had found this letter, a letter from the man who had been her mentor, and all of that confidence had left her. She had little faith that she could do anything against her sister now, and she was bracing herself for defeat, something she wasn't used to. However, if that defeat came with a reprieve from the torture that was seeing her little prince but him not recognizing her at all, she would welcome her defeat with open arms.

Suddenly, she heard rustling in the trees behind her, the crackle of twigs snapping under someone's foot. She turned and saw the thief watching her from the trees at the edge of the clearing where she was contemplating her imminent demise. "We have to stop meeting like this," he told her, and she knew he was referring to when they had first met, when he had shown up in a similar way.

That wasn't important, though. What was important was that the un-Charmings had likely sent him, and if that was the case, as she suspected, she wanted him gone. She would give him the benefit of the doubt first, though, and verify his intentions before taking any action against him. Brushing a strand of hair back from her face, she asked, "Did the Charmings send you to give me a pep talk? Because I don't do well with pep talks."

"No, nothing of the sort," he assured her as he stepped from behind the trees and approached her. "After Zelena's threat, I decided to patrol the woods in case she decided to build the ranks of her simian army."

He had come close enough that he was beside her now, and without invitation, he sat beside her on the log. "How are you holding up?"

How was she holding up? Her half-sister was threatening the town, none of them could remember the last year of their lives, Rumple didn't think she could think Zelena, and worst of all, her son didn't remember her. How did he think she was doing? "I'm not a flying monkey, if that's what you mean."

He chuckled, then grew serious once more. "So are you going to tell me what's in that letter you've been staring at?"

Furious, she turned and glared at him. "What letter?" She had folded Rumple's letter and put it in her pocket the second she had heard him- how had he seen it? Even if he had, she didn't want to admit her weakness to him, even if he was the man with the lion tattoo, the man she was supposedly destined to be with. She didn't admit weakness to anyone.

"This one?" he clarified, and to her astonishment, he held up the very same letter she had just been reading. Before she had a chance to ask him how he had taken it, he answered her unspoken question: "I'm a pickpocket by trade, I spent many years learning how to rob from magicians."

How did he- it didn't matter. All that mattered was that, "You're lucky I'm saving my strength for that witch." And that I'm trying to change for Henry, even if he doesn't remember me right now, she thought, but didn't say. At the height of her power, the Evil Queen would have torn his heart from his chest and crushed it if she had caught him with her personal belongings, or at the very least thrown a fireball at him.

His eyes were full of something she couldn't quite name- concern, maybe? But why would he be concerned about her of all people? Didn't he know who she was? He claimed she was bold and audacious, but he was the bold one. No one else, except perhaps Snow, would have the courage to ask her about her feelings.

Then he did it again! "I think deep down, you actually want to talk about what's in there." Of all the arrogant things to say… she would show him. She didn't need anyone.

"What makes you think you know me so well?" she challenged. Maybe if she pointed out that this man didn't know her at all, he had only heard the stories of who she had been, he would leave her alone.

"Well for one thing, I'd be charred to a crisp right now if you didn't," he pointed out.

As much as she hated to admit it, he had a point. "True."

"So can I read it?" he asked, holding up the letter, which he had unfolded.

Could he read it… Honestly, she didn't know. On the one hand, trusting anyone with the letter's contents had her instincts screaming at her to deny him his request. After all, opening up to people, trusting them, had never worked in her favor before. What had happened to Daniel had taught her that lesson all too well.

On the other hand, though, he was different from anyone she had ever met. He was the only person who kept her on her toes in a way that didn't make her feel threatened, had shown her nothing but kindness, and to top it all off, she had seen him with his son. No one who showed that much love for his adorable child could be completely bad. Finally, she acknowledged, "I'm not stopping you." She'd let him decide whether he read it or not.

It was immediately apparent that her passive permission was all he needed. He began to read, and as he read, she kept her gaze averted, fixed on nothing in particular as his voice washed over her, the words no less painful than they had been when she had been reading them on her own.

"Cora dear,

I finally got my hands on your firstborn. Never thought I'd find her, did you? Now I know why. She's the most powerful sorceress I've ever encountered, even more powerful than you. Stunning, in every way."

Here he paused as he looked up from the letter, and when she risked glancing in his direction out of the corner of her eye, Regina saw a host of emotions that she was surprised to find: admiration, and was that… adoration? Love? He had no business directing that type of feeling toward her. It had been proven over and over again: everyone she had ever loved was lost to her, and he would be no different. He only confirmed her suspicions when he commented, "Rather complimentary, I'd say. Why is this troubling you?"

She sighed. Admitting this wasn't easy, by any means. "I've seen that letter a hundred times before. In my darkest moments, I'd go to it for comfort. For solace. For a boost when I needed it. Because I… Because I always thought it was about me."

"It's about Zelena," he sighed, clearly beginning to understand why she was upset.

She nodded. "Rumplestiltskin thinks she's more powerful than I am."

"Why care what that imp thinks?" he demanded almost furiously, with the tone of someone who had clearly dealt with Rumple before.

She hated admitting this, but it was the only way he would understand her fear. Trusting him- trusting anyone- was foolish in the extreme. When she remembered the lion tattoo, though, it surprising gave her strength. This man was supposedly her soulmate. While she still wasn't entirely sure she deserved that level of happiness or even believed that he was the man she had seen at the tavern all those years ago, she felt that she could start slowly by trusting him with this fact: "Because if the man who taught me everything I know about magic thinks that she is more powerful than I am, then there is no way I can win this fight."

She could see that he was about to begin one of those awful hope speeches Snow was so fond of, so she reminded him, "I said no pep talks."

"I know," he acknowledged. "While I want to encourage you, that wasn't what I was going to say. I was going to suggest that you figure out what she's after and find a way to make sure she doesn't get it. So what do you suppose she would want from you?"

That was easy. "My heart. What she'll do with it, exactly, I have no idea, but there are a number of ways she can hurt me, and others, with it."

"A valuable artifact indeed," he murmured, that strange look in his eyes for the second time that afternoon. "So how do we protect it?"

She glared at him. "We don't do anything. I need to take it out of my chest, protect it with the proper enchantments, and put it somewhere she won't find it."

"If you'll allow me, milady, I may be able to assist in that area," he offered. "We can hide it under a tree near my camp, and I'll guard it with my life. She won't think to look for it there, yeah?"

"True… but, as you reminded me earlier, you're a thief. How do I know you'll protect my heart instead of handing it right to her?"

His gaze mesmerized her with its intensity as his hand slid into hers, their fingers now intertwined between them, resting on the log. Normally she would have immediately retracted it, but she was too stunned to do anything. "I live by a code, milady: to be truthful, righteous and good. To live with honor. I promise you, you can trust me to guard such a valuable possession."

Her breath caught. As much as the mayor in her wanted to point out that it was impossible to be an honorable thief, she couldn't deny his sincerity, so earnest that it sent a shiver down her spine. Then once again the memories of the day Tink had pointed him out in the tavern window assailed her, and while she no longer shrank back from the reminder of what her life could have been, she did wonder exactly how it would have been different with this man by her side.

She thought of what the fairy had said that day. She was still skeptical that she could ever have a happy ending with this man- she was a villain, after all. However, if they were destined to be together, surely she could trust him with this one simple task. If nothing else, it would be a test of his loyalty. "All right," she agreed. "Let's go find a safe place to hide my heart."

They walked together to an area of the forest where they could see his camp through the trees, talking quietly as they went. After inquiring, she discovered that he had indeed dealt with Rumple before, when he was trying to save his late wife. The way he spoke of her was almost like a caress, and her heart ached at the reminder that she and Daniel had never shared that step in their lives, despite their plans to do so. With that reminder, she looked at Robin and wondered for the millionth time why she was risking trusting this thief. Daniel had told her to love again, though, and while she still didn't think a happy ending wasn't in the cards for her, after the conversation between herself and the outlaw, when he had been nothing but caring and passionately against those who meant her harm, she felt that maybe, just maybe, she could trust him.

They reached an area where they could see the Merry Men's camp through the trees, and at the base of one of the many trees around them, he turned and declared, "I think this tree should suit our needs nicely. Do you agree?"

She nodded and reached inside her chest. His eyes widened- clearly, though he knew what she was hiding in this place, he hadn't expected her to do so in front of him. Or perhaps despite his dealings with Rumple in the past, he had never truly seen magic at work, and now he wouldn't want to help her. As bones, veins and arteries moved aside to do her bidding, she kept her gaze locked on his. His expression slowly morphed from one of apprehension to one of wonder and amazement when she extracted her battered, blackened heart and conjured a small black bag to store it in. After casting the necessary enchantments to ensure that Zelena couldn't control her if she happened to get her heart, she put it in the bag, then placed it in the small hole Robin had dug at the base of the tree. Standing once he had covered the bag with dirt, he asked her, "Are you satisfied?"

"I am," she confirmed, brushing off the tiniest speck of dirt that had managed to cling to her gloves. She stuck out her hand. "Thank you for helping me."

"Anything for you, milady," he informed her sincerely, grasping her hand and pulling her closer.

She didn't know what came over her. Worry over Henry and the fight ahead? Some hidden part of her that had become just like Snow over the years? Whatever it was, she suddenly found herself throwing her arms around him and breathing in the scent of pine that unsurprisingly clung to him like a second skin.

His arms came around her and she took a minute to just breathe, thankful that for some unknown reason (it wasn't unknown, she saw a hint of the reason peeking out from underneath his green jacket), she felt comfortable around him in a way that few ever made her feel. It likely helped that he was a leader and a parent too, and therefore understood some of the pressure she was under. While yes, the un-Charmings were technically parents, none of them had raised a child on their own, and therefore didn't know the constant anxiety that came with the responsibility of caring for another human being. Whatever it was, she felt comfortable around him in a way that was completely unfamiliar to her, and while it scared her, she found to her surprise that she didn't regret it- yet.

Zelena stood in the middle of the town square, the clocktower the imposing backdrop behind her. Regina watched her as she approached, and she couldn't deny that she had a formidable presence. She had been double checking that her heart was as safe as it could be, and Robin had assured her that everything would be all right. Against her better judgement, her mother's voice in her head telling her that love was weakness, that simply trusting another person showed weakness, she had believed him. Now her nerves were on edge again, the reality of what she was about to do threatening to overwhelm her.

She managed to compose herself, though. Despite everything, she was determined to not let her fear show.

"Anybody else want to give it a go?" Zelena called out, and she knew it was time to make her entrance. Here goes nothing.

"I do," she proclaimed as she stepped into the center of the square, the town's citizens making a path for her.

After more discussion that was so unlike the banter she shared with Robin, the fight began. It was immediately apparent that as she suspected, her sister was much more powerful than she was. Regina held her own though, using every piece of magic she had ever learned from Rumple, Maleficent, and her mother's spell books to stay afloat.

Things came to a head at the top of the (now broken, she'd need to arrange repairs tomorrow, Regina thought) clocktower. As she had suspected, her sister tried to take her heart and, not for the first time, she was thankful that she had trusted Robin to keep it safe somewhere far away from this fight.

After expressing her fury that she wouldn't be getting what she wanted, Zelena summoned her broom and flew off into the night, much to Regina's relief. She had barely a minute before Snow, David and Emma came up to the room where she was now catching her breath.

After updating them on the details of Zelena's plan that she had discovered and what they likely meant, Regina set off to ensure that her heart was, in fact, safe.

Robin stood alone by the tree where they had hidden Regina's heart earlier that day. As he had promised, he had never once left the heart's location, or revealed what he was guarding to anyone, not even Roland or Tuck, who had been like a father to him in the many years he had been one of the Merry Men. With John a victim of the witch's wicked ways, Robin had had to rely on the other man to advise him over the last few days, and though he was older and therefore less capable physically (though still vivacious for a man his age), Tuck had always given the best advice, especially in matters of the heart. Robin hadn't been very subtle about his admiration of Regina, and though the other Merry Men had teased him mercilessly about it, some even going so far as to question his sanity, Tuck had never doubted his judgement. Unlike some of their brothers, he was willing to acknowledge that Robin knew Regina best, and though he may be a bit biased where she was concerned, he was fit to judge if she had changed since her days in the Enchanted Forest.

As his thoughts shifted to Regina and the events of earlier that day, he smiled. He had been amazed and truly honored when she had entrusted him with her heart. He knew that she would give such a valuable artifact to only those she trusted implicitly, and he still wondered at precisely why she had trusted him with something so precious.

As if he had summoned her by simply thinking of her, he heard panting and turned to see Regina running toward him. "Did the plan work?" he called out to her as she ran up to him.

"That depends, is it still here?" she asked, still panting heavily from exertion.

"Right where you left it," he promised her.

As he stooped to retrieve Regina's heart from the base of the tree, she sighed. "Then it worked. I just needed to find the one thing I had that Zelena didn't."

"And what exactly was that?" he asked as he stood and returned her heart to her.

As she reached out to take it from him, he noticed that her gaze was fixed on his tattoo. He remembered when she had run from him in Zelena's farmhouse. Though she had explained why she had acted in that unusual way at the funeral earlier that day, he suspected there was more to it than simply following a clue trail, and her current fixation on his tattoo proved it. He didn't know its significance to her, but hoped that she would tell him one day. Perhaps someone she once loved had had a similar tattoo, or the lion meant something to her? He hoped to find out.

She hesitated in her answer. Clearly, the sight of his tattoo had affected her. "My heartless mother."

As he put the bag where they had stored her heart in his pocket, wondering what to say to make her stay, she blurted out, "My sister was right about something." When he turned back to her, she was looking down at her heart when she continued, "She said I don't always realize what I have right in front of me."

"What's that?" he asked, his curiosity piqued. She couldn't possibly mean him… or did she?

Instead of giving him a straightforward answer, though, her only response was, "Just that I don't always appreciate things."

His heart swelled. Even if there was never anything more than friendship between them, she had just admitted in no uncertain terms that she appreciated him, and to be appreciated by someone as remarkable as Regina Mills was more than he could ever ask for.

Her trust in him was proven once more by her actions when, to his astonishment, she handed him her heart and asked, "Would you mind holding on to this for a bit longer?"

Surprised, all he could think to ask was, "You're really going to entrust something so valuable to a common thief like me?"

Smiling, she pressed her heart into his hands. She leaned closer, the scent of apples overwhelming him as she softly reminded him, "You can't steal something that's been given to you."

For a moment, he was stunned speechless. The woman who was similar to him in so many surprising ways, who had once terrorized the Enchanted Forest, was trusting him with the safekeeping of her heart. He hoped to know her better, to be entrusted with the secrets of the heart he now guarded. To that end, as she started to walk away, he reminded her, "You still owe me that drink."

He could hear the smile she was wearing in her voice as she answered, "Yes, I suppose I do." He got no details from her as she continued back into town.

Shaking his head, he buried her heart once more and sat at the base of the tree where it resided. He knew she was mysterious, that she held secrets close to her chest. But he couldn't deny that he wanted to know more of the woman that was Regina Mills.