Notes:

Hii everyone, I'm sorry it's taking a while, but here's the new chapter. Thank you so much for your comments and kudos, they make me so happy. I'm glad that you like the story. I hope you like this chapter too. See you in the end of chapter notes!

In the previous chapter

"Regina, are you sure you're okay? Your voice…"

She didn't let him continue his sentence because if Robin continued, all her walls would fall. "I'm fine. I'm on an important meeting break."

"Understood. You can't speak freely."

Robin was surprised by the fact that he still understands when Regina is lying. A single glance, a single word would have been enough for him to understand her feelings. The woman never had to tell at length, because the man knew what was good for her.

Over the years, Regina had learned to hide her feelings, even in the worst situations, she managed to get in front of the cameras and make things right. There wasn't a single piece of news Robin missed about her, he couldn't have fought his longing otherwise. This obviously did not blunt the man's power over the woman. Something was wrong with Regina right now.

"Yes."

Lie! I try to fight my emotions. Help me, please, I'm getting lost.

"Okay. Whenever you're available, let's check out our schedules and determine."

"Can I call you back tonight?" Although she didn't want to hang up, Regina couldn't find the courage to speak more. Seconds later, every word she said inside could come out.

"Sure… See you soon."

Robin fought the urge to get up from his seat and as quickly as possible to the door of Storybrooke Palace to reach the queen. For the past few days, he had felt a great anger towards the woman. There were even moments when he didn't want to see her again, but those moments disappeared as soon as they came. The moment he heard her voice, a great love and compassion reappeared in his heart. The words may not have come out of his mouth, but he called out to that broken soul: We will fight, my love, we will fight for our family.

The Queen was only able to leave the meeting room where the Queen returned after her emotional complexity in the evening.

At that time, preparations were being made to sign an important agreement for the future of the country. She was going through an important period both in her duty as queen and in her personal life.

As soon as she got back to her room, the first thing she did was call Robin as she had been thinking all day. She was in a state of flurry because of the conversation they had made earlier in the day. She knew that the man had known there was a problem, he always had. She tapped the green button on the screen, thinking she can parry.

She was tapping her foot on the ground unconsciously as short ringing sounds were heard. She was tingling with excitement to be able to hear his voice again and to plan the next meeting.

"Hello." Her eyes closed when his British accent was heard. How she could live with longing for this voice for 16 years?

"Hi, Robin. I'm sorry about the conversation at noon, it was an important meeting."

"It's okay, I got it. Your voice was hectic. There wasn't a problem, was it?"

Despite his anger and resentment, he was still thoughtful and kind, which only made the queen fall in love with the man once more.

"It is not clear whether there will be a problem yet. I have to make an important decision." For a moment, she forgot all about the situation they were in and felt as if they were having their daily conversations with Robin's kind words.

She shook her head slightly and brought herself back to reality. She should have stopped acting like that when talking to Robin. The two were no longer lovers, the lawyer didn't have to listen to and comfort her. Nothing was the same. The man would speak to her only for their son now. If she didn't want to make things harder for Henry, she'd have to learn to look at her ex only as her son's father. She would even realize that if she could stop hiding behind her son and see the truth, she had to do it for her own mental health.

Robin was on the other end of the line, trying to suppress his desire to comfort her with sweet words. He wanted to tell her that he trusted her, that she had made the right decisions over the years, and that he was sure she would do it again, but he didn't think Regina would take it very well. After all, even though her mother and the king had been dead for several years, the first thing she did wasn't run into his arms. She could come when the danger was gone, right? Obviously, Regina wanted to keep her relationship with Robin just for their son. The life she didn't want when she married the king was attractive now that the whole kingdom was hers, she could now freely enjoy the blessings of queenhood.

"I'm sure you have great lawyers but, if you need a legal aid I can give direction." So, was that? All he could say was about official business again? "I'd say if I need." She said with the same officially.

Not knowing that they were hiding their mutual feelings, they thought they were the only ones who wanted more than formality. If it weren't for this misunderstanding, on their way to reunite their families, they would be driving the highway, not a field. You know the story of two stubborn goats, right?

"Were you able to check the available days in your schedule?"

"Are you available on Wednesday?"

The Queen hadn't even looked at her agenda, she knew she was available for the next three days. But she still didn't say it was okay tomorrow. She needed to contain her inner complexity or else the moment she saw Robin in front of her, she might have knelt down before him and begged him to love her again.

She heard a few pages being turned from the other side. "I have a few appointments in the morning. How's the afternoon?"

"In your office?"

"I can come to the palace if it's okay with you. I don't like to bring my personal problems to work."

I'm not a personal 'problem', thief! I'm the mother of your son, the woman you fell in love with-you once loved.

"See you on Wednesday then."

"See you."

The next day she called Henry and told him about meeting Robin. She said that he said that he wanted to meet the boy after discussing everything between them. The excitement in Henry's voice gave the queen a good shot of her mood, making the day easier.

But it wasn't enough for the night. Hours later, she still couldn't sleep properly with the excitement of she will see the eyes that activate the butterflies in her stomach like when she first saw it. Fortunately, she was used to sleepless nights.

In the morning, Zelena, who wanted to see her sister before the important day started, stopped by the palace. She found Regina in her chair in her room, waiting for the breakfast table to be set. She was watching her tree in the garden as usual, not even noticing that the red-haired woman had entered.

She called out for wouldn't scare her before placing her hand on her shoulder. "Good Morning."

"Oh, Zel." She turned to her sister and smiled. "Welcome." She grabbed her hand and squeezed it lightly.

"I thought we'd have breakfast. I'm glad I came, why aren't you dressed? Aren't you ready for the big day?"

"If it was possible to stop time, I would do it right now." She took a deep sigh.

"Why is that? I'm not used to a Regina who doesn't want to see her thief." She laughed.

"It's not that I don't want to see him, Zel. Such a thing is not possible anyway." She said the last sentence in a quieter voice.

"What then?" She sat next to her and took her hand.

"I am afraid. I don't want him to look at me like that again."

"How?"

The queen was silent for a few seconds and turned her eyes to the tree. She searched for the words to describe those looks.

"Disappointed, devastated. As if everything was a nightmare… I saw in his eyes that I had ruined our lives that day."

"It wasn't you, Regina. It was our mother. Stop blaming yourself."

"Why were we never able to resist her, Zelena? She was a strong woman, yes, but... I don't know. She wasn't the only strong person in the world."

"She made us believe she was the strongest person in the world, that's how she raised us. We know it's not now because-she is not here anymore. But if she was, we would still be under her domination as she places it in our subconscious. Our mother may not have been the most powerful person in the world, but she was the most powerful manipulator."

"So this was my destiny? Didn't I have any will of my own?"

"I know she hurt you a lot and she still does, but it's time to put the past behind you. Now it's your time, my queen!"

"Don't call me that." She was disgruntled.

"You're the queen of my heart, 'little one', you know." Regina joined in as Zelena laughed.

"Thank you my 'elder sis'." She gave a little devilish smile.

"Come on stand up! We will prepare you. Robin is going to fall in love with you again today!"

Regina who is giggling got up from the couch, wishing it was true, even as a joke.

Robin felt like it would be better if he canceled their meeting that day. During their rendezvous, his mind was constantly wandering behind the walls of the palace, possibly lost both of his clients with insufficient guidance.

Eventually, now it was the time. He was finally here. Inside the life that took the woman he loves away from him.

Why had he proposed to meet at the palace? The moment he walked through the door, his excitement gave way to restlessness. Seeds of hatred were planted in his heart towards every single item around him. That's when Regina got it right. Hadn't she lived here for years with the same feeling?

"Mr. Locksley, I will inform our queen of your arrival. Please take comfort." The blond woman led him to a room with comfortable armchairs.

Robin nodded and entered the room. He hadn't expected Regina to greet him, he had arrived five minutes early. He responded to the situation with a small chuckle. Punctual lovely woman! Wait what?

He gathered his thoughts as they dispersed. He couldn't get through this day thinking about Regina that way. The reason he was here was to resolve the issues between them and to reconcile for their son. It was just that, was not it?

"I am worrying about her."

He frowned when he heard a man's whisper-like voice.

"How has she been managing since then?"

Zelena? Was Zelena here?

He knew he shouldn't have listened, but he couldn't suppress the urge to listen. He approached the open door, careful not to make a sound. The red hair he hadn't seen in years shone in front of the wall just ahead. He was sure now that she was his old friend, even though her back was turned. She was talking to the man who was with Regina when she got to his office. So who were they worried about?

"You know she is with her usual mask. I'm having trouble understanding her mood. Ruby and I stand by the door of her room, waiting all night long. We're afraid she'll hurt herself again."

Robin's heart began to flutter with anxiety. Were they talking about Regina? So… Had the woman hurt herself? When? How? Why?

When her mind was filled with questions, she realized that he had lost their speech and focused again.

"Continue like this for a while. I don't want you to leave her side, especially after today's meeting."

"Don't worry, I never leave."

"Ruby mentioned something happened at the meeting the other day. What happened?"

"We are about to sign an agreement, you know. Your Majesty attaches particular importance to this issue. But she wasn't like she was at the meeting that day. Her eyes remained focused on one point for minutes, when we called her, she did not hear. Then when she came to her senses, she said she wanted to take a break and left. She stayed in her room for about half an hour."

"Another crisis?" The red-haired woman's concern was evident in her voice.

"No, I didn't hear any noise, but when she came out of her room, one of the vases was broken, she said she hit the table and the vase fell over, but..."

The man fell silent when the sound of heels came from the stairs, and Zelena hurried away and headed downstairs. Robin entered the room and sat down on one of the armchairs.

He didn't even have time to process what he had heard before Regina walked in. All the formal and dignified speech he had built in his head disappeared when he saw the queen wearing a maroon shirt and black tight skirt. Her sweet pink lips curled into a gentle smile.

Robin's facial expression was embroiled, the opposite of her clarity. The chocolate eyes he loved in his mind screen were red from crying, her painful gaze inflicting deep wounds in the man's heart.

The smile he saw on the news was not real. It was not a simple inconvenience. That day... He could lose her, again.

The meeting in question must have been the day they spoke, for example, As Robin had guessed, the problem was personal, not about meeting. The tremor in her voice was because she was crying. She was crying while talking to him, but at that moment he had chosen to become a victim of his pride.

Regina's smile faded when she saw the man's sad eyes. She reduced the gap between them, but kept it at a certain level.

"Robin, is there a problem?"

He blinked his blue eyes a few times and tried to send out the rushing tears.

What were you thinking, for God's sake? Isn't it enough that you sacrificed yourself for us once? Just when I think I found you again, you still want to leave. This time completely! How do you think I will live? Knowing that I couldn't help you, couldn't hold you while you fell... Do you believe I can survive without you?

All his words and more fell into silence, and he rushed forward, his arms wrapped around the brunette woman. His head was placed in her neck cavity automatically. He filled his lungs with the scent that he had longed for years.

Regina had expected everything for this meeting; Robin to yell, get angry, blame her... Not a hug.

All the years they were apart, she had dreamed of being in these arms whenever she was her mother's puppet, her husband's doll, when her heart longed for the son and love she had left behind -which means every minute of sixteen years-. It was only her dreams that kept the queen alive.

She regretted every second she couldn't respond because of her wonder and excitement. Her arms on either side of her body moved up, her trembling hands timidly found a place on Robin's back.

Her eyes closed, and she surrendered to her momentary peace.

It was as if every moment they stayed there, life flowed back into their body. It was as if the time that stood on that hill years ago decided to rejoin life.

When Robin returned to his own world, he opened his eyes. He was ashamed that his body was acting independently of him.

"I-I'm sorry." Reluctantly, he went back. "I did not want to disturb you."

"I was not disturbed."

It was only after this that he showed the courage to meet his eyes with hers. Contrary to what he had expected, the queen was looking at him with all her love. As before.

"I- what..."

The woman who is seeing that Robin was having a hard time putting words together, intervened. "You don't have to explain."

"Thank you."

"Shall we go upstairs? We welcome guests here, not an isolated environment."

The man had already learned the hard way that it was not isolated. He nodded and followed the woman who guided him.

The queen opened one of the ornate upstairs doors and stepped aside for him to pass. Familiarity struck his face as he entered the room. He recognized Regina's taste in decorating immediately . Unlike the whole palace, this one was simpler and more intimately furnished. The scent of spring inside was suppressed by vanilla. She obviously spent most of the days in this room.

Two armchairs facing each other and a small table stood in front of the glass that completely covered one wall. The vision of Regina, sitting in one of these armchairs and watching the garden, appeared before his eyes.

The desk was placed in such a way as to see the garden. There was a large closet in the back.

The remaining parts of the walls were covered with bookshelves. It almost gave it a wallpaper feel.

It was surrounded by details that shouted from every corner that it belonged to Regina.

"You want to drink something? Coffee? Tea? Beer?"

She listed everything he loved, but forgot his favorite thing. Robin had a small smile on his face.

"This room makes me think you're still making cider."

Regina lowered her head slightly and let out a quiet smile. She reached her locker and took out a tall bottle and two glasses.

She filled the glasses and handed one to Robin before sitting down in the chair by the window.

"Thanks." He closed his eyes and muttered in delight as he swallowed the sip he took. "Mmm just as I remember it."

"Apples aren't what they used to be, it doesn't turn out exactly the way I want them to."

"You were collecting from the tree in the lake house. No apple was as delicious as them."

The woman nodded with a sad smile. She glanced at the tree in the garden with sidelong. Like Regina, it had never loved its new home. It was as if it kept on living just because it had to.

Robin still hadn't noticed the tree, probably because he hadn't taken his eyes off her and turned to the garden, but even if he did, it was doubtful whether he would have recognized it. He knew the taste of cider, why shouldn't he recognize it?

"Don't you go anymore?"

"Not very often."

Everywhere in that house where we dream of the days when we go with our children on holidays and be just us, is full of unfulfilled dreams. Going there only hurts me more.

While silence were swallowing their sense, the words were mandatory, even though they wanted to spend hours in this state.

"I didn't react well in our last meeting."

"You were right."

"Regina…" He turned his direction fully to the woman. "Please tell me everything without rushing it."

The woman who is pressing her lips together, set her glass down on the table and nodded.

"It all started the day we went to the royal ball. I didn't understand why my mother insisted on taking me there. I didn't like such environments, you know. She introduced me to countless important people that day, including Leopold. If I knew what her intentions were, I wouldn't have stood there for a minute, Robin, I swear. I didn't know anything." She said. "I was offended by the looks and the suggestive words, but I didn't find it worth magnifying. I think that was one of my biggest mistakes."

"You didn't even find it worth mentioning to me."

"Because I didn't care. After all, my mind was completely blown."

"You were sick."

"Do you remember?" She smiled involuntarily.

"I've had the opportunity to revisit everything in the last few days." He said. "You didn't want to go to the hospital. You just said you had a cold, and it went away on its own. You have found out, haven't you?"

"I didn't want to worry you. One morning Zelena forced me to go to the hospital, I found out there. It was two weeks after the prom… I was so happy that I spent every moment thinking about how I would tell you."

"It was the last time I saw you cheerful."

"I wish I had told you the moment I found out, maybe things would have been different." She took a big sip from her drink. "I realized that I was too late when I was threatened by my mother."

"I can't believe she has gone this far."

"She could has gone further. When she said she could kill you-I've never seen her so determined. She could do anything."

"I see but, I get stuck on the question of why you didn't tell me the truth."

"I scared. You didn't grow up with her, Robin, you can't understand this fear. I was even afraid to breathe at the time, terrified that my slightest movement could cost you your life."

"Maybe if you had told me we would have come to the same decision. But we got there together. I... I thought about what I was doing wrong for years. I blamed myself for losing you because I couldn't give you the life you deserve-"

"There was no such thing as the life I deserved, Robin. The life I wanted was always with you. I would never leave you for all this." She gestured around with his hands. "I wouldn't leave you for anything but your life... And stop deceiving yourself, if I told you, we wouldn't have come to the same conclusion.I put myself in your position over and over, thinking about your reaction. I created thousands of scenarios. You never gave up on me, on us. You would try to fight my mother... Because I would have done the same. If I were you, if my own life was in danger, I would stay with you at the cost of my life."

As much as Robin didn't want to admit it, he knew she was right. Each would put the other's life before their own. So Regina had already done...

"How about Henry?"

"When I refused to abort Henry, my mother forced me to give him up for adoption. If the king found out, he wouldn't want to marry me. If we didn't get married, I would be punished. This time she would go beyond physical hurting me. We always returned to the same point. I thought about giving Henry to you, but it was too risky. It wouldn't take long before she caught my trick. Watched you for years, Robin, she thought I didn't know, but I did. She followed until she was sure you had no connection with me."

"So you were following too? Was my life being watched?"

"I... I just wanted to know you were okay." She averted his gaze.

"I wish I could do the same."

When two pairs of sad eyes met, they told their feelings without the need for words.

"Henry wants to meet you."

"I want more than just meeting. If he wants..."

"I'm sure he will. He has such a big heart to try to forgive me, he is such a smart kid." Her proud expression as she spoke of their son touched Robin's heart.

With that expression, they could come out of parent meetings and were happy with his success and how well they raised their child. Instead, he was listening to their child whom he never knew, from her mother who did not know him very well like himself.

"How long has he known?"

"Emma raised Henry knowing he was adopted. But she said her biological parents were dead. We revealed the truth a few weeks ago."

"How did he react?"

"Not so good. He kicked me out of the house." Her eyes filled with pain when she remembered that day.

Robin put the pieces together with ease, the news he had seen a few weeks ago fit the flow. The crisis Zelena and Graham talked about should have happened after that. With all his soul, he felt the despair of a mother who was rejected by her son, her life becoming meaningless. He wishes he could be with Regina that day, she didn't have to take on all this alone, but she had kept him out of it, as she had done in recent years.

"Regina... I understand you, I'm trying to understand." After hearing the whole story, now it was his turn to explain what he had been thinking for days, his feelings. "But I can't forgive you."

The mask that hung on the queen's face throughout the confrontation made it difficult to see the woman behind her and to understand her feelings without her words. Yes, she had conveyed her regrets, fears, and love to the man in front of her with her words, but this was not the woman Robin expected to see in front of him. This was not his Regina. She continued to hide behind her queen walls, which she had used to protect herself for years, but he knew that love was the greatest power. One day, he will break down those walls as they were built and reach the woman he loved.

He also knew that if he wanted to help Regina, he had to help himself first. While the woman had been trying to survive in this palace for years, Robin was struggling to be reborn from her own debris on the other side of town. It wasn't easy to get over the love of his life burning his heart to ashes, and he hadn't done it anyway. So, first of all, he had his own walls that had to be demolished.

After his last words, he saw Regina's teeth pressed lightly against her lip. It was the first time he saw her mask, which shook from time to time as she told the story, shaken so much.

Already the woman who had been suffering from the burdens that had been placed on her shoulders lately seemed even more depressed by the weight of his words, Robin realized that what he wanted to say needed to make more sense of it.

"I can't forgive yet. We both need time. Thank you for being clear to me about everything. I will do the same to you."

"Our lives have been tied together for years. So at least for me. You took my soul with you the day you left me on that hill. I was never complete without you. Now, if you want it too… I need to be healed to come to you fully."

His Regina is here. Not the queen. It's not a mask. His Regina. Her eyes shine with pure love. Now Robin is sure that his feelings are mutual. They will find each other again.

"Robin…" Her trembling voice came out small. "All I want is you and Henry."

"We will figure it out together." He smiled.

"We will."

Notes:

I think we've had enough of OQ, now I guarantee we'll keep it that way. :)

Thank you for reading. Let me know what you think, please, and stay with OQ!