For OQ Prompt Party Day 7
Prompt 106: Regina accidentally feeds Robin something he's allergic to.
Set in the Love Was There All Along verse, chapter 39 in this compilation.
She never expected to end up at the hospital on their second date.
It was a simple fruit salad, nothing more. And how was she supposed to know he was allergic to honeydew of all things?!
So tonight, instead of a quiet dinner and a glass of wine in her apartment, she'd ended up driving Robin to the emergency room and watching him be checked over by doctors as his face kept ballooning up, his lips red and blotchy as his speech became progressively worse, his tongue swollen as he tried to tell her that he would be fine, that he was sorry.
As if he was the one to blame for this.
They've given him all the appropriate meds, and he is now resting, sleeping off the adrenaline and stress of their visit.
He wakes when she gets up and off his bed, though, the movement of the mattress alerting him to her presence.
"Hi," he mumbles, his hand seeking out hers over the sheets.
"Hi," Regina replies, trying so hard to keep the tears at bay.
"Oh, my darling," he insists, "it's alright. I'm okay."
"I know," she says, but the tears won't stop now that she's let them fall, and he moves a weak hand up to her face, thumbing away the salty moisture and whispering over and over again that it's fine, that it wasn't her fault, that it was no one's fault.
"Neither of us knew I was allergic, it just happened, it's alright."
"I just... I'm so sorry," she says then, because they've only had two dates, yes, but she's known him for years, and it's odd, really, that they'd never encountered this allergy before.
"It's not your fault. Please stop apologizing, I'm alright," he insists, then moves that hand that's holding her face down to his side, entwining his fingers with her and squeezing tight before he brings them to his lips and plants a kiss over her knuckles.
She shakes her head, because she still can't get over it. And it's a simple allergy, something that was treated quickly and handled expertly by doctors who see this kind of thing every day, but it had scared her, had made this tight knot of fear settle in her chest.
He repeats that he's okay, and she takes a moment to look at him. Really look at him. He's still a little red, and his lips are still a bit swollen, but he looks... good. Healthy. Definitely not the horror show she'd witnessed earlier.
"Are you sure?" she asks, her voice carrying a little squeakier than she'd meant it to. Robin nods, but then scrunches up his brow, his eyes focused on hers.
"Although," he says, "I am feeling a little weak... I could use a pick-me-up."
"Do you want coffee?" she asks dumbly, and he shakes his head at her, amusement shining in his eyes as he tells her All I need is a kiss.
She understands his game then, and chuckles wetly as she wipes away the last of her tears, shaking her head as she chides, "You're impossible."
"Not at all," he presses, "I'm sick, and now you must cure me."
It's silly, bordering on ridiculous, but she knows why he's doing it, and it works, makes her focus on the here and now rather than the scary events from before. Still laughing, she leans over him slightly and asks, "Where?"
Robin smirks, then lets go of her hand and points to the corner of his lips. Regina moves in, dotting a gentle kiss over the area and pulling away with a fond smile.
"And here," he tells her then, pointing now to his chin. She rolls her eyes playfully, but leans in again and kisses his chin as requested, then his cheek, then the tip of his nose, following his finger as he points to every part of his face he can reach before he settles on his lips.
That final kiss lasts a little longer, as she lingers in their chaste exchange for just enough time to ground herself in him, in the fact that he's here, alive, and that nothing terrible has happened.
It helps. A lot. And when she finally pulls back and looks at him, she matches the silly smirk on his face with one of her own.
"Come on," she says, offering her hand to help him up, "let's go get you some lettuce."
"Why are you forcing me to eat rabbit food?" he asks then, mockingly offended.
"I am not going through this again," she informs him, "so it's lettuce or nothing."
"Unfair," he pouts, but then she leans in, her lips ghosting over his ear as she promises him he can eat his dessert off of her, and Robin grins.
"Alright, let's go have some lettuce."