For Day 1 of Prompt Party 2019.

I received a little prompt asking me what happened with Robin and Roni in my Derailed verse (chapter 120 in this collection), and whether he ever made her remember, so here's a tiny sequel to that.

Unedited. Mistakes are all mine.

It happens casually. Unceremoniously. But then, Robin shouldn't be surprised at that, should he? Love blooms that way, subtly and when you least expect it.

Their little tryst in the bar, the encounter Roni had so fervently insisted was a one-time thing, had happened again for several nights after, not just at the bar, but in each of their beds (and their couches, and their kitchens, and really every available surface on both of their apartments). Before they knew it, they'd been at it for the entirety of the summer, giving each other hungry looks during work hours and satisfying their deepest, most carnal desire for one another once the bar closed.

But something had shifted a few weeks ago, just as the autumn rains had begun to creep their way into the city. A bit of domesticity had seeped into their sexy little routine, reflected in the softness of Roni's gaze as she'd made him coffee on one of their many mornings-after. A few days later, after they'd worked up a sweat at his place, Robin had joined her in the shower, something he'd done plenty of times with Regina, but never with Roni. She'd given him very clear guidelines when this whole thing started, they were to remain casual, no sentimentality or romance; and yet there she was, resting her head and back against his chest as the hot spray hit her breasts, steam wrapping in a cloud around them. Not wild sex, no hard passions, just gentle, blissful intimacy.

He had simply washed her hair with his shampoo, and delighted in the smell of pine that enveloped her dark tresses. Massaged her scalp and planted loving little kisses on her shoulder, basking in the caring warmth she'd finally decided to offer.

Days passed with more and more of these little moments of tenderness happening between them, and neither of them ever said a word about the shift in their dynamic, but Robin mentally documented every single thing. The way her smile had started to grow easier and less burdened when he complimented her, how she'd bite into her smirk and look down when he flirted with her, how little by little she seemed to open up to him, to let him in, to gradually accept her feelings for him.

Of course, nothing has changed for him. He loves her, all of her; no matter what traits of her personality this curse or another seeks to bring out, he will choose her, and love her fervently until his heart gives out with the force of it.

Still, he's surprised when it happens, because while he knows there are feelings involved between them now, Roni has yet to name them, or even admit them out loud. And nothing epic is unfolding at the moment, no big declarations being uttered, no near-death experience to trigger any kind of emotional reaction, nothing. In fact, they're not even talking.

He's half asleep, dozing away in her bed after trying for the twentieth time to read the same line of text in a book he found on her shelf, when she turns to him with a sigh, burrowing closer against his naked chest and grabbing the paperback in his hand, tossing it on the comforter, down by their covered feet. Her lips pucker into a kiss against his shoulder, and then she's tilting her face and looking up at him, smiling ever so softly.

He grins back, leans in to give her a gentle kiss, and that's all it takes.

There's no magic, no wave of power rippling through the town like he's seen it do before when curses break, but there's a gasp from her as she sits up and pushes away from him, her eyes opening and darting all over his face in disbelief, and Robin knows then that he has his soulmate back.

"Ro-Robin?" she whispers, as if speaking his name aloud will make everything disappear.

"I'm here, my love," he assures her as her hand cradles his cheek, and he turns his head so he can kiss her palm. Gods, he's missed her.

"I remember," Regina says through her tears. "Oh, god, I remember everything, I... Henry! Henry was in danger, he... the curse..."

She's overwhelmed, her head falling into her hands, her breathing shallow and quick as the memories rush back, the echo of feelings she didn't know of a minute ago taking their rightful place back in her heart.

"Shh, it's alright, he's safe," he tells her. "He's at Killian's, he's safe there for now. And I promise you, Regina, we will help him get his memories back, and we will save him from this curse," he insists, bringing her close and kissing her brow, rocking their bodies back and forth where they sit on the bed.

"Together," she breathes.

Robin nods, his chin digging into her hair as he does, and then he's pushing away, taking her hands in his and kissing her knuckles. "I'm with you. Always," he says softly, the words familiar and reminiscent of a bittersweet time, when he almost died at the hands of Hades, but was saved by Regina just in time.

Robin hugs her tighter, and it's fascinating, how holding her in his arms calms her almost instantly, how her pulse slows from its frantic tempo as she embraces him. She buries her nose in the crook of his neck, breathing him in, lips planting two hurried little kisses there.

"I love you," she whispers, the words muffled against his shoulder.

"And I love you," he whispers back.

They don't say anything else, they don't need to; simply lie back down and watch each other, fingers caressing skin delicately, slowly, tearful smiles exchanged right before loving kisses.

Robin has never felt happier.