Short version; not dead. Hi :D
Sorry I took so long with this but I needed a break from writing, and I've had a lot going on lately. Although I managed to get this done for OUATDay, so – over a bit of deliberation – I decided to post it. Because it's a very special day and we should all share the feels!
But anyway, thanks to Sarah for checking this over for me – she's my personal spell-checker :D
And thanks to everyone who reads and sends me nice messages. You're all wonderful people who should get yourself a slice of cake.
Mwah!
…
The first day without Robin, Regina busied herself in the library, combing through old books with nothing of value in them on autopilot as a way not to worry about the thief. The second was spent in the stables, sending away the staff and tending to the horses as a way to keep her mind occupied. The third she was back in the library again, reading yet more magical books and - for the first time since being back in her old castle - was able to concentrate without a single distraction.
It hadn't occurred to her how much time she actually spent with the thief until he wasn't there.
It wasn't even as if she had done anything productive while he had been gone. Yes, she had read a fair amount but she had nothing to show for it apart from a few paper cuts and a throbbing headache. God, she needed to get it together. And if the rather loud growl from below was any indication, her stomach agreed with her.
A magical shift in the air and a tingle down her right side had Regina sitting straight and completely still. It wasn't a second later before Tinkerbell materialised in the chair beside her with a green shimmer. Wonderful. Just what she needed.
Regina tried to hide the startled jump in her chair, masking it as merely shifting to look at the fairy instead of the knee-jerk response she had never really been able to shake since childhood. Once her brown eyes met her friend's hazel ones, Regina's glare served as an unspoken dare to antagonise her.
"You missed lunch again," Tink stated, apparently not paying heed to the Queen's warning as she folded her arms and returned the glare.
Regina was about to retort but her stomach growled again at the mere mention of food. Traitor.
"I'll go down to the kitchens and get something later," Regina dismissed with a wave of her hand.
"Nope, you're going now."
Regina didn't get chance to respond before the fairy was out of her seat and pulling Regina out of hers.
"Tinkerbell, honestly, I'll go down later."
But Tink was having none of the Queen's protestations, linking their arms and refusing to allow Regina the chance to wriggle out before she turned and tugged them towards the door, starting a path down the corridor and leading towards the kitchen.
They were quiet for a short time, their footfalls becoming synchronised as Tink hummed a low tune before stopping and speaking up; "That's the second time you've missed lunch in the past three days, Regina."
"I'm aware."
"Are you ok? I know you're worried."
"I'm not worried…" Regina protested automatically. "I'm just concerned."
Tinkerbell chuckled. "You know they're the same thing, right?"
"I just meant I'm concerned for Roland," she admitted, even though she had resigned herself to there being more than that to it days ago. Tink stared at her as if she knew the same thing, and – unable to think of anything else to stop her from looking at her like that – Regina stole her words from her thief; "He's already lost his mother, I'd hate for him to lose his father too."
Tink raised a brow and pursed her lips, turning to face Regina as she delivered a knowing; "So, it's nothing to do with what's going on between you and Robin then?"
"I-" Regina started, before she realised she didn't actually have anything witty with which to deflect the accusation.
Tink filled in the gap, declaring a confident; "I know you likehim."
Regina scoffed, trying to come up with something to distract the fairy with. "'Like'? Are we gossiping teens now, Tink?"
"Fine; is this to do with the fact that you love him?" Tink countered without missing a beat.
"Woah," Regina's steps halted, her arm slipping from the fairy's grasp as her mind span. Her eyes grew wide and – to the Queen's horror – slightly pleading as she warned; "Don't go there, Tinkerbell."
The fairy turned to face her friend as she shrugged and pointed out; "You said 'like' was too childish."
"That doesn't mean you have to skip straight to… that." Regina grumbled, before mumbling with distaste; "I get enough of the lovey-dovey talk from Snow White."
Tink cocked her hip, folding her arms again and smugly smiling as she declared; "Regina, I know you care about him."
"Tinkerbell…"
"Really?" The fairy started, a frustrated frown etched into her features as her accent became a little more pronounced in her irritation. "After everything that's happened are you honestly going to tell me that you don't care for him? Even though you apparently completely lost it in the council chamber at the mere thought of him going near Zelena?"
"I…" Regina started, intending to try and say something to appease Tink and get back to finding the foodher stomach was now craving. "I don't want him to get hurt."
"Because you care about him?"
"Fine, yes; because I care about him," Regina admitted in a harsh whisper. "Are you happy now?"
She didn't need to ask; the beaming smile threatening to break Tink's cheeks answered before the enthusiastic nod that freed strands of hair from the fairy's bun.
With a disgusted scoff and a roll of her eyes, Regina linked arms with the fairy and forcibly continued their path towards the kitchen.
"Of course, if you tell anyone I said that," she started, "I'll turn you into a Christmas Tree topper."
…
The Queen's late lunch turned into a long afternoon, and it was past eight in the evening before Tink went back to Nova, and Regina made her way back to the library.
Though she never actually got there.
It was after about half her journey when she passed the dining hall and heard Snow's distinctly airy voice filter through the ajar doors; "it'll be ok, he'll be back soon."
Regina initially felt the urge to walk past, to just head back to her room and relax after her socialising with Tink for hours. But something drew her into the nearly empty dining hall.
It wasn't three steps in before she saw Snow, Charming and Friar Tuck hunched around a bench halfway into the room. It wasn't two steps more before she realised it was Roland in the centre of them.
Her once slow steps became quicker and surer as she made her way over to Robin's son.
Regina didn't even make it half way there before there was the patter of small feet and the young boy was in front of her, grasping the edge of her skirt and pulling the fabric to hide his face from view. Her eyebrows knitted together in confusion, and she raised her gaze to see Snow, Charming and Friar Tuck staring back at her with the same puzzled expression. When she looked back down, there were wide, innocent eyes staring back at her.
Regina gracefully bent down until she was level with the child, and it was then that the light caught the wet tracks on his cheeks along with the unshed tears in his red, puffy eyes.
"Do you want to tell me what's wrong, Roland?" the Queen softly asked as she swiped away the tears with her thumbs.
Roland sniffled and rubbed his eyes with his fists, "can you save my papa?"
If the little boy's tears hadn't clenched and tugged at her heart, the way his voice cracked would have done so.
The maternal part of Regina instinctively lowered her voice and softened her edges, asking him; "why do you think your papa needs saving, dear?"
"Because I heard Thomas said that the Merry Men wouldn't come back because they were stupid and went to go and fight a witch. He said they all dead."
Regina shook her head, "Roland…"
"But you saved me." Apparently the boy wasn't listening to her; a trait that must run in the family. "When… when the monkeys tried to hurt me you saved me. And you saved Will when he was poorly with good magic. And you were going to help papa when a bad man hurt him. Can you save my papa now, majesty? Please?"
"Roland, listen to me. Your papa; he's going to be ok. If there is anything I know about your dad, it's that he can take care of himself." Regina combed her fingers through the little boy's hair, sweeping it out of his eyes. "Now, your father, his merry men and a few knights of the castle are not going to be going anywhere near this witch, okay? They're just going to have a little look around the woods, that's all; a long walk around the forest."
"Really?" Roland sniffled.
Regina gave a comforting smile. "Really. I gave the orders myself. And did you know it's against the law to go against the Queen's word?"
The boy's eyes widened. "It is?"
Regina smiled. Growing up in a family of wanted outlaws probably didn't teach the boy much in the way of the legal rights and wrongs, so she confirmed; "it is indeed. And I told them not to go anywhere near the witch, okay?"
He nodded, sniffling again, "Okay."
"There we are." Regina gently wiped away the tracks on his cheeks, then put a finger under his chin so the boy's gaze met hers, softly declaring; "no more tears."
Roland took the Queen's hand in both of his, bringing it to rest against his heart. "Thank you, majesty."
"You're welcome, sweetheart."
There was a clearing of someone's throat from ahead of them, and Regina looked up to see the Charmings and Friar Tuck staring at the two of them with frowns on their faces.
Looking back to Roland and smiling with a playful roll of her eyes, Regina wrapped an arm around the back of his knees and scooped him up onto her hip.
She walked towards the group, with the intention of questioning Friar Tuck about this man who upset Roland. With every step forward she remembered little Roland's angelic face covered in tears, and the trio looked warily between them at the sudden stormy look on the Queen's face.
"Who is 'Thomas'?" She asked, in a tone she had used before on the rulers who had assumed they could rule her.
The Friar took an unconscious step back. "He's not one of ours, your majesty; he's been delegated to cleaning duty along our corridor."
"When you next see him you tell him to watch what comes out of his mouth, or at least who is around him when he opens it." She inclined her head towards Roland after her order - who now had both arms wrapped around her neck and his face buried into her shoulder.
Friar Tuck looked at Roland questioningly, then his wary gaze turned to Regina. "What's the matter with him?"
"He's worried about his papa," Regina explained, leaning her head to rest atop Roland's.
"I'm sure he's fine, sweetheart." Snow assured, reaching out to lay a hand on his back, but Roland just snuggled further into Regina. The princess turned to her husband, musing; "It's a pity we don't have telephones here, they would sure come in handy in times like these."
Charming turned back to the Queen. "Regina, could you not magic something up?"
"Magic like that doesn't grow on trees," she snapped, before grumbling; "and Zelena took a few of the things that could actually work like that when she turned this place into her personal B&B."
"What about the necklace that papa took?" Roland asked, his voice faint from where his face was buried in her neck.
"Necklace?" Regina repeated, smirking at the mental image of Robin wearing some of her elaborate jewellery. But then she realised what this 'necklace' was and her smile faded.
He wouldn't? Would he?
It only took Regina a split second to realise; he would.
Huffing and turning to Friar Tuck, she moved to hand Roland over to him, but the boy just tightened his grip around her and refused to be parted from his Queen. With a small smile, Regina stood straight again, raising her hand to smooth over Roland's brown curls.
"What's wrong?" Snow inquired, starting to lift her arms to see if she can persuade the boy to go with her - though the whole group knew it was a fruitless effort.
"Nothing's wrong," Regina assured, before explaining; "I just need to check something."
"Where?" Friar Tuck asked, suspicion seeping into his voice as he looked from the Queen to his friend's son and then back to the Queen.
"My chambers." Regina looked at Roland, one of his arms had moved from around her neck so he could put his thumb in his mouth. Regina's gaze turned to Friar Tuck, her statement of "I won't be long," said with a hint of question, unwilling to take Roland away if Friar Tuck forbade it - though she'd have a few choice words if he did.
The small nod the Merry Man gave her brought a small, grateful smile onto her face. With a short nod in return, Regina turned on her heel and walked over to the doors, shifting Roland's weight to one arm as she pulled on the handle, whispering soothing, insignificant things to the little boy as she left.
…
Partway through their journey to her chambers, Roland asked if he could walk - something Regina's tired arms were very grateful for - and the rest of the way there was spent with his little hand enclosed in hers.
When they arrived at the Queen's ornately carved doors, the little boy's eyes grew wide and his lips parted in awe. Then when Regina guided him into her room, his jaw fully dropped and his feet rooted to the floor.
Regina turned when her hand was suddenly left vacant.
"Roland, are you alright?"
His response was a whispered; "your room is huge."
With a chuckle Regina looked around the room that she had chosen for herself after returning with the Charmings and some other Storybrooke residents in tow. "Yes, I suppose it is."
Roland seemed to get over his shock rather quickly, moving around the room to admire the Queen's plush bedding, then her shiny floor, then her giant wardrobe… Never staying in one place long before he was off somewhere else. Regina could barely keep up, smiling at the young boy's energy, remembering when Henry was that age and running her ragged.
Her smile faded at the thought of her little prince. It had been a long time since she was chasing after him, trying to wipe away food from his cheeks, or get him in the bath, or letting him win a game of escape the tickle monster…
Such a very long time.
"Regina," Roland called, picking up an ornate, silver trinket box from her dresser and shaking it when he liked the tinkling rattle from inside, "what's in here?"
Regina's train of thought derailed as she took hurried steps towards him and held the box still in his hands. "That's jewellery and some other precious things of mine."
The boy removed his hands and placed them behind his back, looking to the ground and muttering, "sorry, majesty."
With a sigh and a small smile, Regina ruffled the mop of brown curls. "It's alright, Roland. We need this box anyway."
"We do?" He asked, peering up at her with a little excitement in his eyes.
Regina hummed in affirmative before placing the box back on her dressing table, lifting the engraved lid and gazing at its contents.
Roland couldn't resist the urge to look too, so he squirmed his way into the gap between Regina and the table and peered inside.
It took a second for the Queen to find what she was looking for, but when she did, she held it up with a triumphant smile.
The dark gem hung on plaited leather, gently swinging back and forth as Regina closed the lid on the small box.
"That's the necklace that papa took!" Roland declared, missing Regina's eyebrow raise and her slightly irritated mm-hmmm. "Do you have one too?"
"I do indeed," Regina stated, before the image of an upset Roland from a few minutes ago returned in her mind and an idea took form. She gave the pendant to Roland, wrapping his fingers around the stone before she revealed that it was a magic necklace.
The little boy's eyes widened. "I'm holding magic?"
Regina smiled, "Yes, you are. Now, do you want to help me?"
Roland's excitement bubbled over, and he started to bounce on the balls of his feet as he shouted an enthusiastic; "Yes!"
"I want you to close your eyes, and think of your papa," Regina started, kneeling down in front of him and holding his hand between her own. When he complied, Regina let a trickle of magic filter through her fingers and activate the stone, lighting up the black gem so it glowed a deep purple within Roland's fist. With a smile, Regina leaned towards the young boy and told him; "say 'hello'."
"Hello," Roland stated, though his confusion had the word sounding more like a question.
There was a small pause before Roland's eyes snapped open, wonder etched across all his features as the biggest grin Regina had ever seen appeared on the boy's face. "Papa?"
The boy's gaze excitedly searched the Queen's chambers, but she smiled and pointed to the pendant in his hand, and the boy looked at his hand in amazement. Regina grinned and stood, wincing as a loud, excited shout of "Papa!" hurt her ears a short moment later.
It took all of two seconds for the young boy to start telling stories of what he had been doing whilst his father was away, talking so fast Regina was a moment away from reminding him to breathe. But the unbridled joy and happiness on his adorable, little face had her absolutely loathing the thought of interrupting him.
Pushing the silver box back into its place next to her mirror, Regina took Roland's free hand in her own and started leading them back into the dining hall where the Charmings and Friar Tuck were waiting for them.
…
Upon opening the door, Regina found three pairs of curious eyes fixed to her every move as she walked towards them, Roland still clinging onto her hand and chatting away.
The moment she was within earshot the questions started.
"What's Roland holding?"
"Who's he talking to?"
"Did you check what you needed to?"
Regina turned to face each of them in turn as she answered; "A magical amulet. Robin Hood. Yes, I did. Anything else?"
When there were no other questions, the Queen turned back to the boy at her side, scooping him up to sit on the clean table to the right of her and smiling as she ruffled his hair again.
"Regina, what is that thing?" Snow asked as she came to stand directly behind her.
"I told you; it's magical amulet," Regina repeated with a little bite, before taking note of Charming's glare and explaining; "the gem holds magical properties, Roland has one half, Robin has the other. When both parts are held it acts as a communication device."
"Is it dangerous?" the Friar asked, wariness seeping into his tone.
"Of course not," Regina assured. "I wouldn't let Roland have it if it was."
"Where was it?"
"In my room."
"What was Robin doing in your room, Regina?" Snow asked with a knowing smirk and a tone that implied everything.
"Stealing that, obviously," Regina quipped, not rising to the bait.
All of a sudden, Regina's vision was hindered by a small hand clutching her amulet, and she looked to her right to see Roland and his big brown eyes staring at her, "papa wants to talk to you."
Regina looked to the amulet and then back to Roland before taking the necklace in her hand and jumping right in with; "Steal anything from me again and I'll have you beheaded. Understood?"
"Nice to hear from you too, your majesty," he quipped, and Regina's heart stuttered as she suddenly realised just how much she had missed the thief's voice.
Nevertheless, she managed to save face - releasing a frustrated sigh before inquiring; "What were you thinking?"
"Well, now if anything untoward happens I can call you for help," Robin explained, as if it was common sense.
"I'm not going to be at your beck and call," Regina retorted. "It would be best for everyone if you just didn't get yourself into danger in the first place."
"Ah, but I'm kind of attracted to it you see?" Robin drawled. Regina could see his flirty smirk in her mind and she cursed him for it, "it's beginning to become somewhat of a problem."
"Well I'm sure you can handle yourself; you're a grown man now." Her tone was meant to be patronising, but it came out slightly more suggestive than she would have liked. And she immediately regretted it when she heard his low chuckle.
"That I am… as I'm sure you recall."
Oh she recalled, she recalled very well. Too well. Before the conversation headed into a direction not suitable for company, Regina attempted to wrangle the conversation back into decency. "Was that all?"
"That was all."
She heard Robin's low, throaty chuckle and cursed him again. When he came back she was going to punish him. Thoroughly. Regina couldn't quite decide if she would fuck him into the ground, or bury him in it; it would depend on what state he came back in.
If he even came back at all.
No; he would come back. He had to. He was Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and a wanted outlaw. If he could evade her knights for years, he could evade whatever Zelena could throw at them. Surely?
"Regina? Are you still there?"
Blinking back into the present, Regina took a second before she assured; "Yeah. Yes, I am. Was there anything else?"
She heard an intake of breath and was suddenly a little nervous about what else he wanted to say. She hoped it was nothing Robin, the somewhat mushy, slightly emotional, just-the-right-side-of-romantic talk that had her fighting to stay in control of herself. Especially whilst she had the Charmings breathing down her neck.
"I want you to keep the amulet," Robin declared, and Regina let out a little sigh of relief. That, she could do. "That way if we ever need help you will know straight away; there is no need for people to hurry around the castle searching for you."
Regina looked to Roland, remembering the way his face lit up when he had heard his father's voice and frowning. "Your son-"
"-can have the amulet when he's with you," Robin finished, before adding; "I'm sure he won't mind spending a little time with the Queen."
"Your men might."
"They can be overprotective sometimes, especially Tuck – the designated baby sitter," he admitted, and they both let out a little chuckle. "But I know you won't let any harm come to him. And if anyone says otherwise let me talk to them on this thing."
The determination in his voice made Regina pause; he trusted her with his son, and not just whilst he was out fishing at the edge of the castle grounds, but whilst he was goodness knows where and going to be away for eleven days. That was a rather big step.
Robin didn't seem to notice the way he had moved Regina to silence, talking continually as if he could not get used to the idea of conversing with someone who wasn't physically present; marvelling out loud at the benefits of long distance communication, though listing the drawbacks of not being able to read the visual cues of the other party such as the quirk of a brow or the roll of the eyes…
The Queen quickly put an end to his incessant mumblings; "Robin, you're rambling."
"So I am. Apologies, milady. It's just this is rather new to me."
"I know. Look, just…" Regina didn't know what to say next; 'Be careful'? 'Come back safe'? They all sounded as if they would be said by a loved one. And Regina was many things, but not that. Though she knew the thought of not seeing him again scared her. Surely he wouldn't be so stupid as to antagonise the witch. Then again, if he was stupid enough to involve himself with the Evil Queen… perhaps she should be worried.
"'Just…' what? Milady?" Robin asked after she had gotten lost in her thoughts again.
"Just…" Regina started again, then pausing as she tried to work out what to say. She settled on; "don't do anything stupid; you're needed here."
It was a fairly neutral response, not giving too much away or providing Snow with even more ammunition for the girl talk she had been trying to get Regina to participate in lately. And yet she still knew that they'd read into it, especially at the flirty smile appearing on her face when Robin drawled; "As milady wishes."
"Thank you."
"You are most welcome, your majesty," Robin replied, sounding so overly prim that Regina wanted to slap the smirk no doubt gracing his lips off of his face. "Now then, I'm afraid I must leave you; my men and I are going to set up camp and they're absolutely hopeless without me."
Regina tried to very hard to mask the way her heart dropped at so little time spent talking with Robin. Though realising that he could call her any time – and her him – until he returned, Regina was able to manage a humoured; "I can believe that."
"We'll talk again soon?" Robin asked as if he knew her mind, and Regina smiled at the eager hopefulness in his tone.
Her smile grew as she declared; "of course."
"Well, I will wait with baited breath until then, your majesty."
"Oh shut up," Regina laughed, "normal people just say 'goodnight', you know?"
"How boring," he quipped.
With a roll of her eyes Regina relented. "Fine; until then."
"I look forward to it," Robin admitted. Then the stone's purple hue faded and Regina suddenly felt just a little more lonely.
"Regina?" Roland asked, eyes on the blackened gem as he tugged on her lace sleeve. "Regina, is papa gone now?"
Ruffling her hand through the boy's irresistible curls, Regina gave him a small smile. "Just for now. You can talk to him again soon."
"Promise?"
"I promise. You can come and see me tomorrow, and we can try and talk to him then. Sound good?"
Roland's enthusiastic shout was coupled with a few bounces before he hopped off the table and ran in front of Friar. "Can I, Tuck? Can I? Please?"
The man looked warily between Robin's son and the Queen, clearly in some kind of internal debate as his gaze switched between the two. But Roland's wide eyes and pouty lower lip swayed the outcome towards the little boy's favour - as it always did.
"Alright, but you have to let me know where to find you," Tuck compromised.
Roland was quick to agree, repeating several emphatic promises of 'I will' before charging back to Regina and barrelling into her legs.
Regina couldn't help the grin that broke out onto her face, catching glimpses of Snow and Charming looking at her with joyful smiles with enough emotions in their eyes that she felt slightly nauseated.
Choosing to ignore them, Regina grasped Roland's arms from around her waist, intending to pull Roland back up onto her hip. But just as she grasped the little boy's hands, the Friar stepped forward and scooped him under his arm.
"Apologies, your majesty," he began. "But I'm afraid it's this little tyke's bedtime."
Roland's small frame immediately started squirming, until the Friar rearranged the boy into a fireman's hold over his shoulder.
"Say goodnight to the Queen, and the Prince and Princess."
Roland's squirming stopped in defeat, recognising the authority in his guardian's tone. "Goodnight, Prince and Princess. Goodnight, Regina."
There was a chorus of responding "goodnight"s and "sweet dreams"s, and as Friar Tuck walked away, Roland waved at the Queen from over his shoulder.
Then Regina was left with the Charmings.
She turned around, took one look at the way the Prince and Princess opened their mouths - presumably to make more unnecessary comments regarding the nature of her and Robin's relationship - and promptly turned around, placing one foot in front of the other at a hasty pace to get to the sanctuary of her chambers.
By the time she got there, the weight of so little sleep, a bit of stress and a lot of worrying caught up with her. It wasn't long after she arrived before she slipped between her luxurious bedsheets, sinking into her mattress and finally feeling calm enough to try and get some well needed rest.
…
Rest never came.
It was ridiculous. Regina felt as if she had been lying in bed for hours, and yet she had been unable to fall asleep for any longer than a few minutes at a time.
She had tossed and turned, feeling completely drained, and yet her thoughts had refused to quieten and let her have a moments' peace. It had surpassed the utterly frustrating stage and was heading into the someone-just-knock-me-out stage.
The sky had been inky blue when deep sleep finally claimed her, though she was dragged into fitful dreams full of hurt and heartbreak, where Zelena made good on her threat to destroy those she cared about. Sweaty and tangled in sheets, Regina had awoken yet again, her heart pounding, breathing uneven and her hand outstretched towards the side of bed where Robin should have been lying.
The Queen closed her eyes and huffed. This wasn't her; Regina wasn't one to toss and turn for days on end. Especially not over a thief.
Except a voice in her head cried out that it was no longer that simple; he wasn't just a thief, and she damn well knew it.
Regina supposed she had known it for a while, but had just chosen not to think about it. Sorting through everything and admitting that perhaps she had found something – or someone – that made her feel happy seemed rather daunting. But now it was all she could think about, and with the thief not here, and her castle's business being rather quiet, there wasn't really much to distract herself with to pretend otherwise.
So, despite her wishes, the thief had been in the forefront of her mind. His warm smile and dimpled cheeks and bright, blue eyes she could get lost in…
She turned to lie on her back again with a huff.
This was ludicrous; she was not some lovesick teenager pining after her crush. He would only be gone for two weeks, and yet here she was on the third night moping. Gain some self-control, Regina.
She would not pine. She would not mope. She would go about her days as normal and-
"Regina?" She heard, and her heart skipped a beat.
Robin?
Seriously? She was hearing his voice now? God, she was going insane!Next; she'd be seeing him around the castle and…
"Regina? Can you hear me?"
Wait, that wasn't her imagination. That was…
Thenshe remembered; the pendant. The one lying against her chest and emitting a faint, purple hue.
Thank goodness; insanity could wait.
Her hand rose to hold the gem and her breath caught in her throat as she whispered; "Robin?"
"Regina!" Robin exclaimed, his voice rather loud and somewhat joyful.
The sound had a wide grin spreading itself across Regina's lips from cheek to cheek. So much for not being some lovesick teenager…
"Robin… Hi."
"Hello." There was a pause before; "I admit, this is still rather strange."
"I guess it is a foreign concept to you," Regina chuckled. "But almost every Storybrooke resident had a telephone; we're rather used to talking over distances."
"Ah. Well, forgive me; It appears I must familiarise myself with even more of your customs."
"I'm sure you'll get used to it soon," Regina comforted, internally musing that she'd like for this 'strange' method of communication to be used so often the novelty would have worn off for him. But that was for her own thoughts only.
"I hope so," Robin commented quietly, before perking up and asking; "How's the castle?"
"Still in one piece," she quipped, before adding; "quiet. It's rather boring without a certain outlaw stirring up trouble."
Robin hummed in over-exaggerated thought. "Is this outlaw a handsome fellow that a certain Queen finds irresistible?"
Regina grinned. "He might be."
"I shall take that as an affirmative, milady."
Regina rolled her eyes, of course he would. "How are your men?"
"Also still in one piece, unfortunately not quiet."
"When are they ever?"
"Touché."
There was a short pause, though it was long enough for Regina to miss Robin's accented voice - and subsequently roll her eyes at herself as she pushed the thought back out of her mind.
She heard Robin ask; "How are you?"
Trying to summarise all her feelings into something that wasn't too emotionally baring, she settled on; "Rather tired, it's been a few long days."
Robin hummed in agreement. "If you are tired, then why are you up at such a late hour in the evening?"
"Couldn't sleep," she admitted, before realising how transparent she was being and wishing she had come up with something the thief couldn't use against her.
"Dare I ask; are you missing me, milady?"
Regina gritted her teeth together. Of course she missed him, so much more than she thought she would, though she'd be damned if she admitted anything of the sort to anyone.
"Of course not, thief," she answered, the retort lacking all of the usual bite and teasing with which her barbs would usually be delivered. She blamed it on lack of sleep.
He read right through her - as he always did - declaring a rather confident; "I can tell when you're lying, your majesty."
At a loss for any witty retort, Regina merely protested; "You're not as good as you think you are."
Robin scoffed. "No; I'm better."
Regina rolled her eyes, humouring him; "if you say so, dear."
"So… If you're not completely missing me with every fibre of your being," Robin started, his teasing tone bringing a smile onto Regina's lips. "What's keeping you up so late?"
"Nothing…" she sighed.
"Regina…"
"I'm just…" Regina started, pausing when she once again tried to package all of her emotions into a little box, and label it with something that didn't scream 'I miss you, come back to me.'
"Worried?"
That'd do. "Yeah."
"Me too," he comforted. "But things will be ok, you'll see."
"I wish I had your optimism," Regina retorted, a brow raising even though the thief wasn't around to see it.
Robin didn't even miss a beat before he countered with; "I wish I had you here."
A fond smile stretched across Regina's lips, warmth blooming through her heart as she mused; "Smooth."
"Smooth is good, right?"
Regina chuckled, contemplating teasing the outlaw a little, but instead choosing to concede; "Yes, Robin. Smooth is good."
"Good," he responded, sounding somewhat smug.
Regina couldn't find it within herself to come up with something to try and take the thief down a notch, so just gave in and chuckled.
There was a comfortable silence for a short while, broken by Regina's yawn before she heard Robin's echo hers.
"Robin?" She asked, lowering her voice until it was something akin to a whisper.
Her reply was a gruff 'yeah?', and Regina couldn't help but smile at the thought of a drowsy Robin trying to stay awake just so he could talk to her. Then Regina scoffed and decided the thief wasn't going to leave the castle again; in his absence her mind was filling with all sorts of romantic nonsense that had no business being there. "Nothing. You should go to sleep."
"So should you," he countered.
"I will," Regina began, before she smirked and teased; "As soon as you say goodnight."
Robin - being the stubborn outlaw that he was - declared; "You first."
And so the war began.
"No. I asked you."
"And I declined. After you, your royal highness."
"Nope; peasants first," she teased with a chuckle. "I insist."
"I'm not saying goodnight first."
"Neither am I."
Robin tutted. "Then we're going to be here for a long time, your majesty."
"Unless you give in."
"Me? Surrender? Never!"
They both laughed at Robin's uncharacteristically loud battle cry, though Regina soon reminded him of his place. "I am a Queen; I have conquered entire realms."
"Well, you haven't fought against me," he countered.
"Robin…"
"Regina…"
Pausing for a few seconds, Regina tried to mask another yawn as she realised just how tired she actually was. Perhaps now that she knew her thief was alright and not in immediate danger she could finally get some rest.
With a sigh – and vowing to hold out next time – Regina conceded with a slightly irritated; "Goodnight, Robin."
Robin responded with a softer; "Goodnight, Regina."
At the realisation that any moment she'd be without Robin's voice for goodness knew how long, something had her calling out the thief's name before he left. And when he hummed in acknowledgement, Regina spent a second taking in a breath and pressing her lips together in hesitation before she confessed; "I do miss you, you know."
"I know," he responded, and Regina waited a couple of seconds before she cleared her throat, prompting him to reply in kind. Robin chuckled, lowering his voice as he confessed; "I miss you too, Regina."
Smiling and closing her eyes – and then having difficulty opening them again - Regina softly declared; "We'll speak tomorrow."
"Try and stop me," Robin vowed.
That fond smile graced her lips once again, and it didn't fade until she was pulled into deep slumber, her eyelids falling shut as she became tangled in dreams of her thief.
