Sorry for the exceedingly long delay in updating this fic, I was focused on others but got back into it for Realms Week and plan to finish it up before I go back to the others
She's savouring the sweet ache, an incredible sensation, as Robin crooks his fingers just so, sending flashes of heat through her middle as he thrusts again and again into that spot with the perfect amount of pressure. He's down right magic with his fingers, those nimble archer's fingers that can have her seeing stars in moments. She's well on her way to her fourth orgasm of the night as Robin attempts (and is succeeding) at overloading her body with bliss so there's no room in her mind to brood over how awful their situation is.
He'd gone down on her first, licked and sucked and swirled his tongue against her, pushing her from one peak into another, before he'd sunk into her, undoing them both with a steady, measured pace and languid kisses. She'd come with her legs locked around his waist, arms around his neck, and his mouth on hers, swallowing the sounds of the rapture he was bestowing on her. He switched it up after, hoisting her one leg over his shoulder, the other joining it soon after, as he took her with a firm, quick pace that had them both climbing the walls. He'd tried to hold out for her, but he'd already been waiting so long, and she'd urged him on, knowing he would finish her well after.
And that he is. He's sending pleasure pulsing through her with each curl of his fingers inside her, slow and deep as his thumb circles on her clit. The feeling is unreal, her body starting to curl in on itself under the onslaught of intense sensation.
She's babbling, broken encouragements punctuated with gasps and moans as she rises closer and closer. Her eyes are closed, but she opens them and finds him watching her, his pupils blown with lust, staring at how she's coming apart under his attentions.
When their eyes meet, he breathes a reverent, "Beautiful," that makes her heart swell, the pure love she feels for him momentarily distracting her from the edge she's riding.
"Come for me, love," he pants in a way that makes her even hotter. God, this feels incredible, he's incredible. She's so lucky to have him, to have this, someone who knows her body and heart this well. Someone who took the time to get to know her body, who wants to give her pleasure just for the sake of it, who genuinely enjoys bringing her up for its own sake, regardless of whether there is something in return.
They have years to make up for and he's doing a hell of a job. Everything inside is tight and twisting, revving up for an orgasm that's going to be unreal, given how fucking good she feels already.
His other hand reaches up and tugs her nipple firmly, adding to the hot coil inside, winding tighter as the delectable sensations have her eyes rolling back into her head as her hips jerk.
He has to bring that hand back down to hold her in place for him as her hips roll involuntarily and she gets twitchy. Fuck, god, she needs to come, is almost there, but this is amazing, so amazing.
She's nearly delirious with pleasure as he begs, "I want to see your face when you come apart for me. Show me how good I'm making you feel."
She moans at that last one, god, she is, she's going to, she's…fuck!
She falls off the edge with a startled cry as it explodes through her, her vision going white as he stops her body from thrashing too much so he can draw out the ecstasy that's flooding through her. It's delicious and intense, has her unable to do anything but feel, and feel she does, so much satisfying relief she can barely breathe.
"Keep going," she somehow manages to breathe out when his fingers still inside her, still riding out the high, wanting him to draw it out even longer, let her stay like this, trembling and filled with bliss.
"You tell me when," he whispers, and god, she will, but that's not now. She's somehow still coming, the intensity has eased but release is still ebbing through her, the hot waves only waning slightly as the seconds pass.
When it eventually crests off, creeping into uncomfortable territory, she says, "When," opening her eyes to find him grinning smugly at her, a look he's earned.
She can't feel her body at all, is so relaxed she doesn't feel the weight of a single part of it. She's lightheaded, tingly and breathless, panting as she tries to slow her breathing back to normal.
He shifts up her body, pressing a soft kiss to her lips as she struggles to catch her breath, and he lays down beside her, getting under the covers and urging her to join him. He pulls her in close, his hands lazily rubbing up and down her arms in a way that makes her shiver pleasantly.
"Wow…" she breathes, still overcome by how absolutely mindblowing that was. "That was… wow. Amazing. Fuck."
He presses another soft peck to her lips, then agrees, "Yes, it was. You were amazing. Fuck love, that last one, I wasn't sure it was ever going to end."
She nods and chuckles softly, because she too felt that. She wouldn't have complained if it didn't, can't think of anything better than staying that way forever, all blissed out and content.
"I'm still all lightheaded… tingly, can't feel… only good."
He beams at that, "Good, you deserve it."
"God, fuck, you deserve, god, I don't even know, a nobel prize or something for that."
He laughs at her, which is fine, her brain is still very sex-addled, and that's all his doing. This was exactly what she needed, to get out of her head for a while, to let herself feel good, and not get caught up in the horrible situation they might not be able to do anything about.
If she's going to figure out anything, she needs a clear head, something she learned thanks to Robin in Camelot. He'd shown her how much easier it was to find a solution when you actually took yourself away from it for a while, let your brain focus on something else. It was in the hours or days after the massages, picnics, orgasms and deep sleeps, that a breakthrough would come to her.
She's of no use when she's all flustered and panicking, unable to focus on anything but the worst scenario. She always does figure something out, but it's much easier when she allows herself some time away, a break from it all.
She's really hoping this one will be as productive as all those ones in Camelot, but even if it's not, it has at least gotten her out of the negative spiral of what ifs and possible futures she'd started sliding into after she saw Henry. She will not let herself get pulled under by that, has to be stronger than that so she can plan her next move.
She has no idea what that will be, but with Robin's breath washing over her as his hands stroke lightly over her skin, it almost doesn't matter. She feels as close to settled as she can be with what's happened, and that feeling is most conducive to finding a solution.
She's not thinking too hard, so doesn't mind at all when Robin interrupts her train of thought to ask, "Has a couple ever broken a curse before?"
She chews at her lip as she ponders that, because no, they haven't, wondering if he's already come to the same conclusion his question sparked for her. "No, and it can't just be the not knowing your true self because Snow and David kissed plenty under the second curse with no effect…"
"As did we," he says teasingly, and while that's true…
"Yes, but we weren't in love."
"Yet. I was close, I was enamoured with you from the moment we met, and in the Enchanted Forest as well, even with you making fun of me at every turn."
She wasn't the kindest to him then, and she still doesn't really understand how he managed to stay interested given the venom she spewed at him and how miserable she was. No one wanted to be around her, she didn't even want to be, no one but him, and how did she repay him? With harsh barbs and low blows.
"Makes me wonder if you even have standards," she teases dryly, and he whaps her arm playfully.
"I know what pain does to someone. You were struggling, and I've never been very good at sitting idly by when someone's clearly in pain, even when they'd prefer I leave them alone."
"You and Roland, you'd make me forget for a few moments, then I'd feel terribly guilty because what kind of a mother was I to enjoy anything without Henry? So I pushed you away, was mean, but you kept coming back."
He goes to speak, probably an unnecessary apology, but she's not done, "I needed those moments, I just couldn't accept that then, so thank you."
His eyes go soft and teasing, mouth turning up playfully. "You know, for a while my men were convinced one day you would snap and murder me, but I knew better."
"I did consider it," she deadpans, snickering at the wounded puppy dog expression he shoots her in response.
"But my good looks stopped you. I see how it is."
She laughs outright at that, "Yeah, that was it."
"Admit it, you've always found me charming and irresistible."
There is some truth to that, and while she's having fun with this, she's also so soft for him, has this need to tell him, "I did. I've never been able to resist those dimples." Her hand traces his face, feeling his rough skin and stubble under her fingertips, "You are a gorgeous man, Robin Locksley, inside and out."
He's beaming as she leans in and claims his lips for a soft, sweet peck.
"Have I told you how much I love you?" he asks when they break apart, and the corners of her lips turn up.
"Only about a hundred times, but it's not enough."
"I'm never going to stop telling you, just so you know." She's more than fine with that. "I've loved you for over two decades. They say absence makes the heart grow fonder and in some ways that's true. I love you even more now than I did before, which I didn't know was possible. I knew you were my future, just didn't know how far in the future that would be."
She swallows heavily at that, the reminder of what came next, of his untimely demise that was all her fault, the moment she's replayed over and over again in her head, all of the times she'd dwelled on how things could have been different if she'd just…
It reminds her of all the time spent without him, all the time they've lost, and she doesn't want to dwell on that, doesn't want to spend the time they've been given mourning losses of the past.
Instead she offers affection of her own, things he ought to know, things she needs to keep telling him now that she can, "I love you, so much. I can't even express the depth of it. I've never had a love like this before, someone who accepts all sides of me, who knows the atrocities I've committed and is still here. You are far too good for me, and I love you for it."
He shakes his head at her, "Nonsense. If anything, you are too good for me."
She lets out an incredulous sound, almost like a snort because, "You cannot be serious! I was the Evil Queen, I—"
"You have a past, we both do, and you've spent so much time making yourself into a better person. You put in the work and you changed. You didn't take the easy way out, and you don't give yourself enough credit."
"But I'm—"
"No buts! I love you, and I won't stand for anyone, even you, speaking ill of you."
She could keep arguing but she won't, even though he's wrong. It's not that she doesn't believe she changed, she knows she has, she also knows there is no amount of penance that makes up for what she did. No amount of good deeds will bring back the people she killed, the lives she ruined, she just has to live with it. She accepts that.
She clears her throat, "Um, back to before," he shakes his head at her but it's playful enough she doesn't feel bad continuing to change the subject. "We got a little off track, but you were onto something. At first, during that second curse, we thought it was only Henry and Emma because of the saviour thing, and that that explained why true love's kiss from others didn't break the curse. But then it was Henry and me… It's always been parent-child, never lovers."
"There is nothing more pure than the love of a parent."
"Which if I'm right, means Jacinda and Henry aren't the concern. It would be Henry and Lucy."
"But didn't he already…"
She nods, stretching subtly before adjusting herself in his arms, her hand aimlessly playing with the hair smattered across his chest. "Yes, but she doesn't believe anymore, and he wasn't awake. That's the problem we need to sort out. I think in order to break the curse Henry has to be awake."
"And if it's not Lucy, then perhaps you. It's always been Henry, we have no reason to think it won't be again, it's just there is another prospect here."
He could be right except, "I helped cast the curse though."
"As you did the second one, and you still broke it."
That is true, but that was also different, it was her magic, sure, but Snow's sacrifice, she was merely the castor, it wasn't truly her spell. Mind you, neither was this, here she was more an ingredient than anything, so maybe. "It's a possibility. At least now I don't have to actually scheme against Henry and Jacinda, I can just let it happen."
"And in the meantime we figure out how to wake Henry and…" he stops when he sees her face, it must have gone stricken with the thought that crossed her mind.
"I just… if he wakes up, the touch of magic… I worry."
Even with her stuttering he seems to get what she means, "Okay, so we cure Henry first, then wake him up."
That's not quite right either, "No, first we save Lucy, then we cure Henry, then break the curse."
All impossible feats without magic, but dammit they have to try. They have to do something. She won't just sit idly by and wait as her granddaughter sits in a coma. If there's an answer, she's going to find it. She has no idea where to start, and she has a fucking bar to run, but in the downtime she's going to figure this out, she has to.
"How can I help?" he asks, pressing a kiss to her brow as his hand glides through her hair and against her scalp in a way that's so soothing she gets him to do it again.
"What you are doing now is great. The support, the stress relief, having someone to bounce ideas with, it all helps immensely."
"That I can do," he promises in a low voice as he continues massaging her head. Soon, she's practically purring her contentment, lying back against him, sleep starting to pull at her.
She's startled out of that state when her phone buzzes on the nightstand. She wouldn't grab it, except that it's the long staccato vibration she set specifically for Robyn.
She reaches for it, jabbing Robin in the arm and rousing him so she can read it aloud to him,
"It's from Robyn. 'Funny that you should ask, I was actually thinking of going home, but Mom's furious with me. Maybe I could come crash with you for a bit?'"
The look of elation on Robin's face is not one she'll be forgetting. She types out a quick response encouraging her to come, that she'd love to have her, and she is absolutely delighted when Robyn says she'll look into it and that she, too, is excited.
"I'm going to meet my daughter," Robin breathes with so much weighted relief it makes her heart squeeze.
She can't help but wonder, "We haven't… are you… Zelena raised her, does that…" she struggles to find the right word, and doesn't really want to have this conversation, but they need to, "upset you?"
She tenses as she waits, her buzz from before effectively killed by the path she's taken them down. A state that's not all helped when he sighs beside her.
"It's… complicated. It's not what I would have wanted, but I watched, I saw her do better. I know that she loved Robyn and Robyn loved her. At the end of the day, she was happy and accepted, that's all I needed."
"But what would you have wanted?"
"Well, for starters, for John and the bloody Merry Men to not leave, or at least to come back…"
His anger there is misdirected because, "They were in danger and that was their home, I should have—"
"Storybrooke was their home, was safer. Thank god nothing ever happened to Roland, but there were some scares with him and the men that made me wish they'd gone back to modern medicine. I may have bemoaned some of the aspects of Storybrooke while I was there, but make no mistake, I knew it was far better than the alternative. You don't leave a place that can cure most illnesses and go back somewhere where those same things would be death sentences. It's foolish and irresponsible. The Queen did what she could once they moved into the castle, but there were still too many close calls."
Well, it seems her spilt did some good after all. She knew the Queen was with Robin's men from the last time she saw her doppleganger. She'd used it as a flimsy excuse to stay away, because she couldn't bear the thought of seeing them, mostly Roland, knowing that it was her fault they were missing a friend, a leader, a father. It hurt too much to know what she'd cost them and she couldn't bear the thought of seeing it. "And Roland, you…"
Her voice starts to catch and dammit, she needs to be stronger than this, can't keep falling to pieces in difficult situations or conversations. She's Regina Mills, she can handle things better than this.
"Love, I'm not mad," she almost doesn't believe him but his eyes are on hers, pleading and unyielding. "Things would have been different if I'd been alive. I still wanted you in Roland's life, but I know why you stayed away."
That is what pulls her over the edge, has her muffling a sob into his chest because how can he be okay with that? And why did he have to die? Yes, he's back now, but he missed so much and they could have had such a good life. It's unfair and wrong and yet again all her fault. She can't help but think his life would have been better and easier if he never met her, Roland's certainly would have. It's a thought she won't voice, and it's complicated by her niece, who she wouldn't trade for the world. Robyn had asked her once, tearfully after she'd learned the truth of her parentage, if she wished that she'd never been born, and she'd assured her niece that she would never ever want that, that it was complicated but her life was so much better having Robyn in it.
It's all a mess, she can't imagine changing things, just wishes she could have had it all. She feels guilty over abandoning Roland and not being there more for her niece. She really was doing the best she could, as she struggled with the magnitude of grief over losing him, but it wasn't enough, she should have been better, he would have been.
"I just, I couldn't…" she finally manages to stutter out, and she feels Robin's nod though she can't see it with her face still buried in his chest.
"You were hurting, and you blamed yourself. But they never saw it that way, and maybe if there hadn't been your doppelganger things would have been different. Roland got a Regina in his life, and at first he was too young to understand there were two of you."
That makes her think of another complication. "And what about the other Robin, did he…?"
"Not for a while, and it was confusing for both of them at first, but now he's sort of like an uncle to Roland."
By extension her, or well, the other version of her, would be Aunt Regina, just like with his daughter.
It's as if he knows what she's thinking, which is crazy, but he remarks, "I wanted you to be their mother. But that was in a life where I was around to be their father, where we would have been a family. We didn't get that. With what happened, I'm happy you had such a presence in Robyn's life, and the other you in Roland's. It wasn't ideal, but neither was my dying, that really threw a wrench in things."
She lets out a half laugh, half sob, because yes, yes it did. "I just feel like I failed them, less so Robyn, but I wish I didn't kick Zelena out, that I could have been there for more of the moments. I didn't watch her like we planned. By some miracle it worked out, but it could have been…"
"You were the one who had faith in her, and you were proven right. Having Robyn changed her, just like Henry did for you. She had you, that's what's important."
"But Roland—"
"He sort of did and I know why. It killed me to see you suffer and blame yourself that way, but I also saw you checking in on him. You may not have showed him how much you loved him, but I saw it, and I knew you were hurting too much to do anything more."
She did, she would use her mirror to check on Roland, but it's not what he thinks at all. She used it to assuage her guilt, to assure herself he was okay, it was the coward's way out, she shouldn't be lauded for it.
"That's not—"
"Stop. It wasn't all you. The men left, they never came back, things would have been different if they hadn't left. Can you honestly tell me you wouldn't have been more involved if they stayed in Storybrooke?"
He may be placing too much faith in her, but it was easier to justify her staying away because they were off in a different realm.
He goes on, "What matters is that we are here now and this is true. My daughter is coming back and once we've worked out this curse we'll go find Roland and we can all be a family again, just like how it was supposed to be."
They didn't actually have any time as a family because of the constant disasters. They had left Robyn and Roland days after her birth on that ill-conceived mission to the Underworld that never should have happened. Then everything fell apart, their family was shattered, and now there's a distance she's not sure they can ever fully recover from. Robyn and Roland have lived completely separate lives, whatever curiosity they may have had about each other doesn't negate all of that time spent apart.
This is just another reason they need magic, once they have it they can find Roland, but until then there's nothing they can do about that.
She feels him yawn and hers soon echoes his, her body suddenly realizing how exhausted it is. "Let's try and get some sleep, Robin. Thank you for everything, you're… I'm just so happy you're back. I love you."
"I love you too, darling."
Just like her apartment, the actual bar Roni's is an interesting establishment. He finds it fascinating how the curse twists and modifies things, blending in aspects of their former lives and wants that aren't understood until you wake up.
In Roni's it's all the arrow decor. Regina had explained to him that morning after a cheeky comment about it that Roni had been drawn to arrows without really understanding it, that she had hazy memories of picking out all of the arrows as a part of her bar's decor to be niche and different.
It's all fake, of course, but the arrows are for him, they both know that. An unconscious homage to a lost love she didn't know existed at the time.
He feels at home here already, like he belongs, like he was always meant to end up here. He's learning from her how to work the bar, since she can't very well abandon her establishment and he doesn't want to spend a second apart that they don't have to.
She has a variety of beer he's trying to memorize, indulging in a small pour of each to "test them out" so he can better recommend them. It's a ruse that probably would be more convincing if he actually knew the names of them, but she'd humoured him anyway.
He's basically just writing down orders and having her make them unless it's something obvious like a rum and coke that even he can figure out. He's done enough drinking in his day to know some things, but he never explored the full array of alcoholic beverages the land without magic had, so he is having to play catch up. He never thought drinking less would be something he'd regret, or at least not branching out from his usual, but here they are. He's trying now, but carefully so as to not get himself sloshed, he's here to learn and work, he doesn't want that clouded by imbibing too much.
He is doing one thing too much though, checking out Regina, err, Roni (he's bloody terrible at remembering to call her by the right name, and to respond to Archer, so bad that she gave up this morning and decided he gets to be Robin again). He can't help getting distracted though, she's in tight jeans, a black buttoned shirt that's open, and underneath is a skin-tight black t-shirt printed with some image he can't make out. He could pretend he's been trying to figure out what was on her undershirt, but that's a lie, he's just very into this new look of hers, and especially the curls. He never knew her hair could be so wild and sexy. It had always been perfectly done in Storybrooke, and he'd never imagined that that was something she put effort into, had just assumed that's what it looked like. He cannot understand why she didn't just keep it like this before, but apparently, it would be unprofessional for the mayor. He fails to see how that's the case, but also knows he's a man of the forest who will never be able to fully understand fashion and styles, will defer to her considerable expertise.
He's finishing pouring a pint when he hears the door open. He turns to greet the new customer (Regina is off in the corner taking an elderly couple's order) and almost drops the pint when he sees Gothel. He only saw her a few times, while watching Regina and his daughter, but they were enough to leave an impression. This is the woman who tried to murder his daughter, who's fault it is that they are cursed here. She's up to god knows what, and fuck, if he were smart he would have spent his time watching her, figuring out what her angle was. Then he could have actually been of use.
She sits down at the bar, paying him no mind, she doesn't know him, and he uses it to his advantage, plays dumb as he offers to get her a drink, asking how her day is when she refuses.
She's staring at Regina, so he asks, "What do you need Roni for?"
"To ask her something."
This isn't going as well as he'd hoped, but Regina's on her way over now and he sees the moment she notices Gothel.
"What do you want?" Regina hisses as soon as she's near.
"As you may already know, Anastasia is awake."
He doesn't know who that is but thinks that he should, the name is familiar, but he can't quite place it.
"Something you surely had your hand in."
Gothel just smirks, "She has magic, she can help Lucy, if you let her."
Regina arches a brow, "Let her?"
Gothel turns to him, "And who are you?"
"Robin of Locksley. Robyn Mills' father."
She studies him thoughtfully. "Back from the dead. Pity, you wasted it on the wrong person, Regina. Now you'll have to do as I say if you want your granddaughter to live."
Regina's eyes flash, but she keeps the emotion out of her voice. "Why would I ever trust you?"
"It's not as if you have a choice, and you'd join my coven of course. The eighth spot was always meant for you. There's no other witch of your caliber to fill the opening."
That sends a shiver down his spine, remembering the lengths Gothel went to get Regina to contribute to the curse, what she is willing to do to get what she wants. This is not someone they want to cross, but also not someone they want to be involved with.
"How exactly would you wake Lucy?"
Not for the first time he marvels over how smart she is, how quick she's able to respond, that she's getting more information without committing either way.
"I wouldn't, you would."
That catches both of their attention. Is Gothel offering magic? If so, how can they refuse?
"How?"
The answer makes absolutely no sense to him, but Regina nods when Gothel says the necklace, and he trusts she'll explain it later.
"You'll want to get that to me sooner rather than later, who knows how long Lucy's condition will stay stable."
With that she slips off the stool and strides out, leaving them both shocked by the thinly veiled threat.
Regina's clearly shaken, and he feels bad for pushing her, but he knows it's important they start looking for this necklace and he has no idea what he's actually looking for. She's about to have an after work rush to deal with so quickly explains what it looks like: a black strap and a thick greyish stone that collects magic.
Instead of spending the rest of his day learning, he spends it searching, tears her apartment apart with no luck, then moves on to the bar, searching in every nook and cranny. Regina joins him shortly after he's started the back room, having been relieved by her evening staff. She's still technically on the clock and will be all night, but it's slow now, so she'd not needed on the floor. He hadn't realized just how long the hours she'd been keeping were, and he doesn't know how she does it. He is exhausted and barely did anything.
She kisses him before she gets to it, and they both indulge for a few minutes in the feel of the embrace, the taste of each other's lips. It's calming and centring, makes him feel a little better. It's incredible how the smallest of touches from her can do that for him, and he hopes it helps provide at least a measure of the comfort she does for him.
They chat aimlessly as they go through the boxes of crap that have accumulated here, sticking to lighter subjects, avoiding Gothel's threat. They'd planned on visiting the hospital today, during this down time, but finding this and saving Lucy obviously took precedence.
"I think I," his heart soars for a minute, but then Regina's cursing, throwing whatever it was across the room with a frustrated huff.
He comes to her side, cradling her in his arms, assuring, "We'll find it, we will, I'm sure of it."
She leans back into the embrace, and they stay that for a minute, as she sighs out her frustration.
"I just hate this," she whines, and he understands, feels the same and tells her as much.
"Okay," she sighs, pulling out his arms, "let's keep going."
And they do, taking breaks every so often, him doing whatever he can to boost her spirits despite the nerves that are coiling as they start to finish the boxes.
When there's only one left he loses his faith. After all, what are the chances it's in that? The necklace could be anywhere in Hyperion Heights, if it's even here, and they've wasted a whole damn day sorting through messes that shouldn't even be here. He's annoyed it's all so disorganized, but there is no one to blame. Roni did this, and he knows Regina would never have let it get this bad.
He throws his hands up, tries to shake off the frustration that's mounting. It's a futile exercise, but then Regina gasps, and he looks over to find her holding exactly what she described.
Holy shit, they found it. This was not all for nothing. Thank christ! He could nearly cry from the relief, but instead he pulls her up into his arms, lifting her off the ground and spinning her, praising her for her amazing find.
She smiles down at him, and it's as if the world stops, he forgets about everything that led up this moment, is just elated, and it's just them, together, as it should be.
He lets her slide down him, until she's at his eye level, then they are kissing. It's nothing heated, just soft, loving pecks as they appreciate each other and the victory they've had.
"So," he asks, still holding her up, her hands clasped around his neck holding her weight up, the necklace still held in her hands, resting against his back. "What do we do now?"
He knows what they are supposed to do, bring it to Gothel, but there has to be another option.
"I don't know. I mean I guess we could…"
Her face goes pensive and he waits her out, setting her back down on the ground but keeping her close, letting her sort through whatever is in her head.
"Sorry," she apologizes unnecessarily, and he assures her it isn't required.
"The other option, it's… it's to find Anastasia ourselves, or anyone with magic."
He still doesn't know who she is, voices it and gets an explanation that makes him feel stupid, he should have known, did know, just didn't make the connection. He blames the curse, his brain is still a bit foggy, and it makes him that much more impressed by how clear and coherent Regina was in the aftermath. She does not give herself enough credit. She's so quick, able to push through pain and confusion like a champ (he doesn't want to think too much about the why or he'll be enraged) and does what needs to be done. She never panics in a crisis, is the one who makes the difference by acting. He knows what spurred that, she still punishes herself for freezing with Daniel, then again with him. She doesn't realize how valuable she is, how valued, and it kills him. He's vowed to show her, and he's continuing with that right now.
"You are brilliant," he tells her, delighting in the shy smile that peeks out at his compliment. She doesn't really accept it, he didn't expect her to, moves on to what they can do next.
"Gold must know where she is. He aligned himself with them, maybe with this I can get him back on our side."
"Not so fast," comes from the doorway and they both look toward the source and find Victoria.
Well shit, he should have known it couldn't be that easy.
"What do you want?" Regina snarls, stepping in front of him. He's not sure whether it's intentional or not but he understands the instinct to protect, has the urge to throw himself in front of her despite the seeming lack of danger. He has a bad feeling about this, doesn't know why, but his senses are telling him there's something really wrong here.
Regina must be feeling the same way because she darts to the side, reaching for her baseball bat and suddenly there's a gun pointed at his chest, and everything freezes.
This cannot be it. It will not end like this again, he refuses to entertain it. He swallows hard and tries to focus on anything but the barrel of that gun.
"I don't know who this is," Victoria starts, stepping closer to him. He's tempted to try and run, but won't risk the chance that she'd shoot. His best bet is to stay perfectly still to not set her off and hope to god someone comes to their rescue.
"But…" Victoria's now right in front of him, gun an inch from his heart, and fuck, he should have bolted. "He is obviously important to you, and if you want him to live, you'll do as I say."
He can feel his blood pulsing through his veins and staying still is killing him, his body is flooded with energy, poised to escape, begging him to and it's taking everything not to heed its impulse.
"Put the gun down and let's talk," Regina urges, and he can't look at her, he can hear how terrified she is by the gentle shake in her voice, and he cannot bear to see it.
"Regina, you always want everything your way, but are never willing to pay the price," Victoria sneers, and god, she's so callous and cruel. How can someone have such a disregard for others suffering?
"You… you did this," Regina gasps and catches onto her meaning. They'd suspected she'd had a role in what happened to Lucy, but assumed it was untimely Gothel's doing, not hers, had put too much stock in Victoria's affection for Lucy.
He's outraged as he asks, "How could you hurt a child?"
What in god's name made her think it was okay to hurt Lucy like that?
"Because I was desperate to save my own."
That's not a fucking excuse. Lucy is still her step-grandchild, where is the compassion for her?
"Don't look at me like that. You should understand, your girlfriend cast a curse just to save her son, and yet she's absolved. Regina, the Evil Queen, does a dark thing for a good reason and everyone forgave her."
"Because it's not the same!" he exclaims at the same time as Regina's, "Because I'm not a monster."
That gets to her, Victoria's eyes flash and his adrenaline spikes again. He'd distracted himself with the conversation, but his body is again aware of the imminent danger it's facing.
"Neither am I, and when I get that necklace, turn it over to Gothel and wake Lucy, everyone will know it." She raises her gun, at him, and oh fuck, this is it. He's died before, should be prepared, but isn't, is shaking now from the fear as she commands, "Now, hand it over."
Regina's holding out, but urging, "Don't do this, Victoria, the cost of working with Gothel is too high."
"You're a mother, Regina, you know as well as I when it comes to our children there is no such thing." Victoria snatches it from her hand, then slowly walks backward keeping the gun trained on him. This is his chance, he needs to tackle her, is about to but looks over and sees Regina's stricken face, and god, he cannot take that chance, cannot allow her to suffer this loss again, he saw what it did to her the first time. So he fights against everything in him, every instinct to fight, to try and get Victoria. As soon as she's out the door, Regina throws her body into his, he's not sure if she's sobbing or just shaking, but he clings to her, holding her tight as he reassures her that he's here.
"We have to go find her," she breathes into his skin, and yes, yes they do.
They never find her, or well, they do, they find her body out in the garden on their way back from Victoria's office in the early hours of the morning. He's about to call the police when Regina stops him, grabbing the shattered necklace from Victoria's hand with her own that's wrapped in her jacket.
"We need to get out of here," she tells him, and he follows her. She doesn't go back to the bar, takes him down some side street, and he's confused until they come upon a payphone and she uses it to notify the police.
Then she leads him back to her place. As soon as they are inside, she locks the door and tells him, "We've been here the whole time, that's what we tell the police if they ask us."
"Why would they come after us?"
"I don't think I left any prints, but if I did…"
And right, there's always that possibility. "Should we… do you have security cameras in the back?"
"I do, but if you are suggesting what I think you are, we need to keep that footage."
Okay then, he trusts that she knows better than him.
"Who… who did that?" he asks, almost afraid to know what the answer is.
"Honestly, it could have been anyone. The necklace though, I wish I knew if she smashed it, or if it was someone else."
"Why does that matter?"
"If it wasn't her then I might have an inkling of who did this. I, um, had someone's magic trapped in that thing for years. It's what gave me the idea to trap all of it, actually."
Wait, what? He has no idea what she means, and asks, "You did what?"
His question goes unanswered because Regina's phone vibrates with a text from Henry that says, "Call me when you get this." Fuck, fuck. His heart is beating out of his chest anxiously, Regina barely keeping it together as she calls and she asks him what's up, obviously surprising him with the instantaneous response, but then her face is splitting into a grin, so it can't be dire.
She mouths, "She's awake," to him and his heart soars, thank god, oh, thank god. One disaster averted, now they have some breathing room, can try to figure out their next move without that danger lording over them.
She hangs up with Henry after telling him she'll be there later in the day to visit. It's five-thirty in the morning and they haven't slept yet. He can feel the exhaustion creeping in now that he's no longer on high alert.
"I can't believe it," she breathes incredulously, and he understands the feeling, it's so rare something goes right for them.
"Let's go to bed, love, then let's go see your granddaughter."
She smiles broadly, taking his arm in hers and leading him into the bedroom as she tells him, "She's going to love you, they all will."
All he can do is grin at her dopily. He's just so happy. Yes, they haven't done much, but Lucy is safe and they have to celebrate these victories.
