For Monday (Day 1) of OQ Prompt Party 2018.
This is a specific prompt I received for Robin to propose to Regina on my holiday story A Home for Christmas, I'd recommend you read that first if you haven't yet. This story is also paired with prompt 84 from the list: Robin proposes to Regina on a bridge.
Robin never imagined getting married.
Even after he'd adopted Roland and decided to settle into life as a parent, he never truly thought he'd meet someone he'd like to spend his life with, someone he'd like to share Roland with.
Regina has proven him wrong on all counts.
He still cannot believe how fast he fell in love with her, how easy it was to settle into a routine after Henry became her son. The paperwork had been only the start of a very intense journey, and Robin has been with her through its entirety. He's seen them adapt to each other, has supported Regina through the toughest challenges of parenthood, giving her a shoulder to cry on whenever she and Henry argue, telling her time and again that no, he does not mean it when he says she's not his real mom, he's just being stubborn. But mostly, he's watched them grow closer and closer, strengthening that bond that was there from the moment they met at his foster home.
After his adoption two Christmases ago, Regina had enrolled Henry in the same school as Roland, and she and Robin had fallen seamlessly into this little schedule, meeting for a quick bite after drop-off and reuniting again just before pick-up. Most days, they'd all go back to Robin's and have dinner there, talk about their day and laugh at Disney movies together. It would catch Robin off guard sometimes, how well they fit together, how much of a family they were without even trying.
So when the time came for Regina to look for a new place for her and Henry, one where the then-eleven-now-twelve-year-old could have his own space and not just a makeshift bedroom within her living room, the solution had been all too simple.
Move in with me, he'd asked her, and there had been joyful tears in her eyes when she'd nodded in answer.
Their days are hectic, filled with critical moments at work and all manner of chaos that life in New York City can bring, but also filled with movie nights with the boys, with sleeping and waking with Regina in his arms, and Robin has never been happier.
It's why he now finds himself outside Tiffany's, with Roland and Henry in tow, their eyes widening at the display of rings before them.
"So shiny!" Roland yells, looking over the numerous options and charming the saleswoman with his dimpled smile. She's wearing a dress in the store's iconic blue shade, her long, platinum blonde braid swishing slightly as she laughs at Roland's excitement. Robin's attention, however, turns to Henry, who hasn't said a word.
He'd taken him aside after dinner a couple of weeks ago, while Regina was busy helping Roland choose a bedtime story to read, and asked for his blessing. They were friends, sure, Robin had been big brother to Henry before Regina ever came along, but she's his mother now, and the right thing for Robin to do was make sure Henry was okay with him proposing. The boy had approved, of course, his face lighting up at the idea of the four of them officially becoming a family, but it looks like he's having second thoughts now.
"Henry?" he asks, and sees the way he shakes his head slowly from one side to the other before he looks up at Robin with a low Yeah.
"Are you... are you still alright with this?" Robin asks, dreading the answer.
"Oh. Yeah. Yeah, I... I am. It's just..."
"What?"
"It's stupid," Henry says, looking away from Robin and pretending to be interested in a pair of earrings in the corner display.
"Hey," Robin says, crouching down before him and giving his little shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "It's just you and me. What's wrong?"
The boy sighs, smiles and shakes his head, telling Robin, "I didn't know you wanted me to help you pick a ring. I could have found out what Mom liked or something. I mean what if we choose the wrong one and she says no?"
"I'm sure she'll like it when she knows you helped me pick. In fact I'm counting on it. She loves you more than anything, my chances of her saying yes are a lot better if she knows you chose he ring."
They chuckle together at that, and then Henry smiles at him, that infectious giddiness shining through as he says, "I can't believe it's finally happening. I always wanted you to be my dad."
It's something they've both known, but never spoken of, given Robin's inability to adopt him. The words squeeze at his heart in the most pleasant way, and he straightens, gives the boy a one armed hug as he stands beside him and comments, "You're a special lad, you know that?"
Henry nods, jokes, "Mom says I'm her prince," and then laughs when Robin rolls his eyes mockingly.
"Well, my leash, what ring will you have me buy for Her Majesty, the Queen?"
"This one, Daddy this one!" Roland pipes up, running the five steps that separate him from Robin and dragging him to the saleswoman. "Elsa says this is the biggest one!"
It's big, alright. A giant diamond set in a thick platinum band with a smaller, yet somehow just as opulent diamond on either side. It's quite attractive, but not quite Regina.
"That's a great choice, son," Robin starts, "but don't you think it'll be hard for Regina to make those apple turnovers you like so much if she's wearing such a big ring? Might get in the way."
Roland frowns, but concedes, looking up at Elsa and saying, "It has to be smaller."
And then his eyes light up when they scan the display, his finger pointing and smudging the glass as he shouts, "That one! It's so sparkly!"
He's chosen a rose gold band now, with a pear-shaped diamond framed in miniature diamonds, a row of them encrusted all the way around the band.
"Well, does Regina like pink?" Robin ask.
Roland frowns again, shaking his head and complaining, "This is hard," as he keeps looking, stopping on a sapphire ring, the big round stone the centerpiece between two square-cut diamonds, the band made of solid gold. More of an accessory for a rich elderly woman's hand than Regina's delicate ring finger.
Robin interrupts before his son can even point at it, giving Elsa a sheepish smile and apologizing.
"No worries," she tells him with a grin, "I think it's sweet you want your sons to help you. And we have a whole store for you to check out. Take your time."
"I'm sure we'll find something," he assures her, taking Roland's hand and squeezing to comfort him.
"I still like the sparkly ones the most," his son defends, eyes staring longingly at a whole row of rings with stone-encrusted bands and shiny, big diamonds on top.
"I understand, son, but think of it this way, it has to be something that reminds you of Regina. Something a bit more simple, maybe," he starts, looking more to Elsa now as he describes what he's looking for, in hopes she'll know what to get, and if he gets a little carried away, well, they can all blame that on how unbelievably smitten he is with his girlfriend. "We need something... classy, not too showy, something that she'll love but not feel overwhelmed by. Something that will make her feel like a queen even when she's in jeans and a T-shirt. Something that symbolizes how beautiful she is, how smart and kind, something that will remind her of how much we love her every single time she looks at it."
"Something like this?" Henry calls then, his tone weighed by the importance of his discovery. Roland runs to him, and Robin walks just behind him to the other side of the store. Elsa is already making her way from the other side of the display, and they all pause where Henry stands, Robin's gaze following the boy's and settling on a single ring inside a case marked Vintage.
The thin, concave white gold band houses three miniature diamonds on either side of the classic four-prong base, adding just the right amount of sparkle to the star of the show, a single round-cut diamond that is not too big or too small, but just right for Regina's delicate hand. It's simple, and elegant, and breathtaking.
"That's the one," Robin says, giving Henry a congratulatory pat on the back. Roland scowls at the choice, insists the bigger ones were better, but all it takes is Elsa saying this one is one of her favorites, and the little boy's opinion changes entirely.
"It's so pretty! And still sparkly!" he says, and Robin mouths a Thank you to Elsa, her answering smile spreading as she takes the ring out of the display and asks if he's sure about his purchase.
Robin looks down at Henry, at the satisfied grin on the boy's face, and wraps an arm around him, turning to the young woman and informing her, "We're sure."
The ring goes into a little black velvet box, and that, in turn, goes into the ever-famous blue box, a white ribbon finishing the gift wrap before it goes into the Tiffany bag that Robin dangles from his fingers, passing his card to Elsa with his other hand.
They leave the shop with confident smiles on their faces, and Henry's curiosity comes through during their celebratory ice cream outing, his nose scrunching up as he chews the last of the toppings on his spoonful and asks, "So how are you gonna do it?"
"Yeah, Daddy, how are you gonna ask her?!" pipes Roland, his mouth covered in vanilla ice cream.
"Well," Robin says, "I have an idea..."
It's not often that Regina sleeps past her alarm. That chime of her cell phone at 8:15 is what keeps her life running like a well-oiled machine. Breakfast for the boys, coffee for her and Robin, and a hug goodbye as he heads out to do school drop-off. By 10:00, she's in her office, ready to tackle whatever new outrageous ideas her clients have for their spaces that day.
On weekends, though, when there's no school to prepare for, and two boys sleeping like the dead in their room until brunch time, she likes to indulge. A bubble bath on Friday night, something to relax her enough and buy her an hour or more of sleep the next day; a particularly scrumptious dinner, a decadent dessert with her boyfriend when the boys have gone to bed; or her favorite, morning sex.
She wakes with that very intention on Saturday morning, her cell showing her it's barely 9 o'clock, and she stretches her arm out behind her, looking for Robin, smiling wickedly to herself as she thinks of all the things she wants to do to him. She knows how much he loves it when she wakes him up like this.
But where her hand would usually find the warm, naked skin of his torso, it finds only the bedsheets, cold and abandoned already. Frowning, Regina turns to confirm, and sure enough finds him gone.
She's pulling her robe tighter around herself as she steps out of the room when Henry greets her with an overly joyous "Morning, Mom!"
"Good morning," she smiles, tying the sash of her robe as quickly as she can before she extends her arms to him. He's twelve now, and not exactly too happy about her displays of motherly affection (it pains her that the times where he'd let her hug him and kiss his adorable cheeks in public has gone by so fast, frequently curses the fact that she didn't find him sooner, but she wouldn't change the past two years for the world), but today, he jumps into her embrace like he used to, squeezes her tight and even kisses her cheek. He hasn't done that in months.
"What's gotten into you today?" she asks. "Not that I'm complaining."
"It's just an awesome day, that's all," he defends, shrugging, but she knows his face better than her own at this point, and can instantly notice the satisfied smirk he's trying to hide.
"Henry, what's happening?" she pushes, and he takes a deep breath, smiles at her before he answers.
"Robin wanted us to play a game," he finally admits. "You have to get dressed. He and Roland are waiting for us at the park!"
"The park?" she asks, completely confused even as her son gently shoves her in the direction of her and Robin's bedroom, telling her to hurry up.
At Henry's request, she's slipped into something comfortable and casual, her black skinny jeans and the soft, purple cable-knit sweater she loves, her black boots and thick gray trench coat completing the ensemble and bundling her just enough for the lingering chill of March in New York City.
Spring is just around the corner, and the park is still in transition. Little buds of cherry blossoms and magnolias peek in tiny pink and white dots on the branches of every tree, a few early bloomers already starting to open to the sunshine above. The duck pond is overcrowded with ducklings and their mothers, quacking and swishing their little tails back and forth, but there are still patches of water that remain frozen, the ducklings slipping adorably on the ice as they walk.
It's her favorite time of the year, this transformation, watching everything turn from cold and dreary to alive and colorful, and she'd be mesmerized by the sight if she wasn't so shocked by what she finds waiting for her in the middle of Gapstow bridge.
Robin stands there, looking far too pleased for his own good, a giant bouquet of purple peonies in his hand as he smiles at the sight of her. Roland waves enthusiastically, but doesn't move from his father's side, and Regina is frowning her confusion until Henry turns around and smiles at her.
"Remember the first time we all hung out together here in the city?" he asks, and Regina nods. How could she forget? They'd built a snowman just a few feet beyond this very bridge, then walked down another as the sun sunk in the horizon, Robin holding her hand while the boys ran ahead and played in the snow.
"I always think of that as the time you and Robin fell in love. Robin says it was the day you met, but I think he just says that to make you all giggly," Henry tells her, and Regina blushes at the words, a bit embarrassed that her and Robin's feelings for each other were so obvious even then.
"Hey, now," Robin defends, wrapping his arms around her, the blooms he holds pressing into the back of her coat. "I mean it. The moment I saw your mother, I was done for."
Regina laughs, shakes her head in mock exasperation, and then leans in to greet Robin properly, ignoring Roland's Ugh, not again as she chastely kisses her boyfriend hello, asking in a low, curious voice, "What's all this?"
She sees him swallow, sees him lick his lips nervously as he takes a step back from her, looking down at Roland and Henry, who gives him a thumbs up and whispers "Go."
Robin chuckles at the order, handing the peonies to Roland.
"No, these are for her," his son whispers. "Pay attention, Daddy!"
That breaks the nerves for a moment, and they all laugh at Roland's remark, but then Robin is reaching into his pocket and pulling out a black velvet box, and all humor leaves her, her laughter turning into a gasp.
"I need her hands to be free for this, can you hold them for a bit?" he asks his son, who Ooohhhs and nods energetically. Regina is too stunned to say anything, simply watches as Robin sighs and then sinks down to one knee.
"I've been trying to come up with the proper speech for this," he starts, shaking his head at himself, "and nothing I think of seems to do you justice. You are... extraordinary, everything I never even knew I wanted. We've had so many adventures together, and I can't imagine life without you. Regina, you are my future, and I want to spend the rest of my life making you happy."
She looks to Henry, who proudly announces, "And I picked the ring," making her laugh through the tears she wasn't aware were falling, her heart feeling fuller than it ever has before.
"What do you say?" Robin asks, smirking at her from the floor. "Ready for a new adventure?"
She hasn't even looked at the ring, her eyes still focused on Robin, on the nervous, yet excited look on his face as he waits for her answer, his smile bright and full and gorgeous. The boys are now standing behind him, both of them bouncing excitedly as they wait, and it's only a few seconds, just long enough for Regina to register the question, but it's like time seems to slow to a stop in that one moment, just so she can commit it all to memory before she rasps a simple, heartfelt "Yes."
Henry and Roland erupt in cheers, whooping and fist bumping as Robin rises and kisses her. Regina has her hands on either side of his face, holding him to her as his arms wind around her waist and lift as he laughs into the kiss. When he puts her down, his eyes are steady on hers as he whispers, "You've made me the happiest man on Earth, you know that?"
She laughs, kisses him again, and then lends her hand to him so he can place the ring on it, sliding it into place as if it was always meant to be there. He hugs her then, breathes her in, his exhale long and deep, and it's almost as if she can feel his nerves just blowing away with the wind.
"We're getting married!" Roland announces barreling himself into Regina's legs just as Henry jumps into the hug, and it's there, during their family embrace full of laughter and cheer, that Regina finally makes a decision that's been plaguing her for a long time.
"Robin," she whispers later that night, when he's all naked and wrapped around her, slipping away into the comfort of sleep.
"Hmm?" he acknowledges, squeezing her a little tighter, his lips landing a kiss on the back of her shoulder.
"I want to meet my father," Regina finally admits. "I... I want him to see our family, I want him to be at the wedding, if he so wishes."
He lifts away from her, waiting for her to turn, just as he always does when something's on her mind. Regina shifts just as predicted, lying on her other side so she can see into his eyes, so full of love and support and pride.
"I think that's a great idea," he tells her, smiling before he leans in for a kiss, his hand cradling her cheek., thumb rubbing over her lower lip when they part. "I'm proud of you."
She whispers an I love you then, burrowing closer into his hold. He responds in kind, the words carrying a new addition that makes her heart soar with happiness.
"I love you, too, Mrs. Locksley."
Regina can't wait to hear that for the rest of her life.