July 21 - Fake Relationship; Regina and Robin pretend to be a couple for a purpose (e.g: family reunion, wedding, etc.).

Family Matters

"So have you found a date to our dear mother's vow renewal yet, sis?"

Regina Mills rubbed her forehead. She should've just let it go to voicemail when she saw Zelena's number pop up. There was no way her sister was calling for just a friendly chat. It wasn't in Zelena's nature.

Taking a deep breath, Regina raised the phone back to her mouth. "I don't think I'm going to make it, Z. Things are crazy for me with Gold's re-election campaign. I don't think I can take a weekend off."

"You know Mother and Gold are close. I'm sure she can give him a call and get you some time off. Henry would love it."

"Henry is busy that weekend." Regina sighed. "Do we really want to celebrate their dysfunctional relationship? Mom just wanted his money and Leopold didn't want to be alone. They aren't exactly happy."

"Oh, Regina. Still clinging to that fanciful notion that marriage is about happiness. You sound like dear Mary Margaret."

"Don't mock our stepsister. She's not that bad," Regina said.

"You've always had a soft spot for her," Zelena said. "You two belong together though. Believing in true love."

"Just because you've never experienced it, Z, doesn't mean it's not real."

"Yet I'm married and you're not."

"I was married."

"Past tense. You're not in a relationship now." Zelena gasped. "That's the real reason why you're trying to weasel your way out of this. You don't have a date!"

"I do too have a date."

"Oh." Zelena sounded stunned. It wasn't often Regina was able to surprise her. "You do? What's his name?"

She took a deep breath. "Robin. We've known each other for a while but just started seeing each other"

"Well, then I can't wait to meet him. See you then, sis. Ta!" Zelena ended the call.

Regina closed her eyes as she let the phone fall onto the couch. She had always had a problem with her mouth working faster than her brain. When her mind had caught up with what she had said, at least it supplied her with the name of someone she trusted. Robin Locksley had been her friend for a long time and she loved spending time with him.

The door clicked open and she popped up. "Mom! I'm home," Henry called out.

"How was your day, sweetie?" Regina stood, hugging her son. "Did you have a good day at school?"

"Tell your mother your good news, Henry." Robin leaned against the wall with his arms crossed as he smiled at the boy.

Henry grinned. "Ms. French told me today that thanks to Robin's tutoring, I'm already averaging a B plus in math but if I ace the next test, I could get an A minus for the quarter."

Regina let out a little shriek of joy as she embraced her son. Over his head, she mouthed "thank you" to Robin. He shrugged in return, motioning to Henry as if to say it was all her son.

"Good job, Henry. We'll have a celebratory dinner. Go to your room and get ready." She kissed his forehead.

Once Henry was in his room, Regina smiled at Robin. "Really, thank you. You've done wonders with him."

"Henry's a smart kid. He just needed someone to make it a little less confusing." Robin leaned against the island in the kitchen. "So, do you need anything else?"

Regina hesitated before leaning forward as well. "Funny you should ask that. My mother and stepfather are renewing their vows in a lavish ceremony in a few weeks."

"And you need a date." There was a twinkle in his blue eyes.

She sighed. "Yes. Are you doing anything the weekend of the twelfth?"

"I'll have to double check but I don't think so. I'll give you a call later." He straightened up and headed for the door.

"Robin, wait." She sighed as he turned around. "You don't have to do that. I can just make up an excuse."

He doubled back, taking her hand. "Regina, we're friends. Friends do favors for each other. I have no problem putting up with your family for a weekend."

"There's a bit more. I kinda told my sister we were seeing each other."

Robin paused for a moment before laughing. "Is this some sort of rom com?"

"Shut up." She rubbed her face. "Look, as I said, you don't have to do it."

"Regina, I'll be okay pretending to be your boyfriend. It might be fun." He winked at her before leaving.

She pressed her hand to her stomach, trying to calm the butterflies fluttering around it. This was Robin; he had no interest in her past friendship—of that she was certain.

"Mom? You okay?" Henry walked into the kitchen, frowning.

Regina took a deep breath, letting her hand fall away as she smiled. "Yes, of course. Now, where do you want to go to eat?"

Henry's favorite babysitter, Emma, was able to watch him for the entire weekend. "Please don't let him have too much sugar or stay up too late. Or watch scary movies. We don't want a repeat of the last time I left him with you for the weekend." Regina gave the blonde woman a look.

Emma nodded. "Yeah, probably wouldn't be a good thing. And don't worry, I won't let the kid go nuts. Again."

"Good." Regina turned to her son, hugging him. "Be good for Emma. I'll see you Sunday night."

Henry hugged her back. "Okay, Mom. I love you."

As Regina picked up her bags, Henry looked at her with a smirk. "Have fun with Robin."

"Whatever you're thinking, stop." Regina pointed at her son with a stern look. "Got it?"

Henry nodded but the smirk didn't go away. Once she was gone, Henry looked at Emma. "Think they'll realize they're madly in love this weekend?"

"God, I hope so. I'm sick of the stolen glances and yearning looks. If it doesn't happen now, I'm locking them in a closet." Emma ruffled his hair. "Come on, let's go order pizza."

Robin let out a low whistle as they pulled up to the Blanchard mansion. "You grew up here?" he asked.

She shook her head. "I only spent a few years here, after Mother married Leopold when I was fifteen. Before that, the four of us lived in a nice house across town. It wasn't a mansion but it was big enough. But more importantly, it felt like home. This was just a house."

"I get it." Robin squeezed her hand. "So, shall we go put on the performance of our lives?"

"You still can back out. My family can be a handful."

Robin laughed. "I look forward to the challenge."

"You may come to regret those words." Regina opened the door and smiled at the older man who stood next to the door. "Hello, Marco."

"Miss Regina, so good to see you. Did you bring Master Henry around with you this time?" Marco helped her out of the vehicle.

She shook her head. "You know I like to keep him far away from this place. I'd like to stay far away from this place."

"Well, I am glad you're here." Marco winked at her before hurrying over to Robin, who had started to take their bags out of the trunk. "Oh no, sir. The staff will see to your bags."

Robin stepped away from the car, taking Regina's hand in his. "So what is there for us to day?"

"You and Miss Regina can head inside," Marco suggested. "Your bags will be up shortly."

Regina tugged Robin toward the house. He patted her hand. "Slow down, there's no need to rush."

"I want to get inside before…" Her voice died away as the door swung open. Cora Mills-Blanchard, a tall woman with a regal bearing, walked out of the house. Robin could tell Regina took after her mother in looks, but that seemed to be where the similarities ended. Regina's smile was always warm, once he had gotten her to smile again. Cora's smile, on the other hand, chilled him even on this warm spring day.

"Regina, darling. It's been too long. You shouldn't stay in that dreadful city all the time. It does nothing for your complexion." Cora reached out, pinching Regina's cheeks. "Look at that. It's all from the city's awful air."

"I think she looks beautiful," Robin said. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer.

Something flashed in Cora's eyes but she kept her smile up as she took in Robin. "And you are…?"

"This must be Robin, the new boyfriend." A tall woman with long red curls bounded out of the house, stopping next to Cora. She held out her hand to him. "I'm Zelena, Regina's sister."

"Ahh, yes. She's mentioned you a few times. Nice to meet you." Robin shook her hand.

She smiled. "And you."

"Well, Robin, welcome to our home," Cora said. She then turned to Regina. "Why don't you and Robin go get freshened up? Robin already has a five o'clock shadow."

"This is more than a five o'clock shadow. And no, I will not shave it as you are quite passive-agressively telling me to do." Robin smiled but his eyes were hardened, proving he wasn't going to back down.

Cora's smile faltered a bit and she turned her attention back to her daughter. "Well, Regina, haven't you found yourself a charmer. Then again, you've always had questionable taste in men."

She returned back to the house, Zelena following like a faithful puppy, as Regina ducked her head. Robin frowned, noticing she brushed at her eyes. When she raised her head again, she had a fake smile on her face. "Let's go to the room, okay?"

Once they were in the room, Robin rested his hands on her hips and pulled her close. "Regina, we don't have to stay. Just say the word and I can fake an emergency."

"Thank you, Robin, but Mother will see through it. We just have to get through tonight and tomorrow. Think you can handle that?"

"Can you?"

She looked over at him, finding nothing but concern in his eyes. Regina shrugged. "It's only a couple days."

"A couple days of your mother unfairly tearing you down." He stepped closer and she could feel anger radiating off him. It was anger for her, for how her mother treated her.

Regina didn't look at him, instead focusing on unpacking. "Mother is very exacting. She expects everybody to live up to her standards."

"She's cruel, merely a bully." He tucked his fingers under her chin, gently guiding her face to look at her. "We're friends, right?"

"Yes, of course."

"Then let me be your friend. This is a toxic environment for you. Let me fake an emergency and take you far away from here."

For a moment, she considered taking him up on his offer. To run away and never see these people again. But at the same time, she knew she had to stay. So she put on a smile and shook her head. "This is my family. They're all I have, so I have to do this. Thank you anyway.

"Now, get dressed. Mother does not tolerate people being late." Regina moved over to his bag. "You don't have to wear anything too fancy. I think a polo shirt and a pair of dress slacks will do."

Robin tucked her hair behind her ear. "Before I do that, I want you to understand one thing. If I'm going to be your boyfriend for this weekend, I am going to act like it. That means defending you against even your mother. Are you okay with that?"

"Just don't push too many buttons. Mother is more dangerous than she seems," Regina warned. She gathered her clothing. "I'll go get dressed in the bathroom."

Once the door closed behind her, Robin sat down on the bed. He rested his head in his hands. When he first agreed to this weekend, he thought his only problem would be hiding the true extent of his feelings for Regina from her. Now, he had to make sure he didn't kill her family before the weekend ended.

Piece of cake.

Regina wore a simple sleeveless black dress paired with pumps and her pearls. She left her hair down and kept her makeup simple. Not that it mattered to Robin. He would've thought her beautiful in a burlap sack. But his opinion didn't matter this weekend. They had to pass Cora's inspection.

She met them at the doorway, looking over her daughter first before examining him. Robin bit his tongue, not wanting to ruin the dinner before it started. He hoped his light blue polo and navy blue pants passed muster with her.

Cora sniffed but nodded. "It'll do. Why don't you have a seat and Regina can introduce you to everyone?"

"Yes, Mother." Regina wrapped her arm around his and led him toward the table. She threw a lot of names at him and he struggled to keep up.

First was her stepsister Mary Margaret and her husband David Nolan. Mary Margaret gave Regina a big hug and did the same to Robin. "So nice to meet you. I'm glad you were able to come with Regina this weekend," she said, voice bright and warm.

"So am I," he replied as he shook David's hand.

Regina then moved on to introduce him to Zelena's husband, Walsh. Unlike his wife, he seemed as pleasant as the Nolans. He wondered how he had ever ended up married to someone like Zelena, who proved to be more like her mother in temperament though not in appearance like Regina.

Leopold Blanchard was a graying man who seemed to have kind eyes and smile. Robin wondered why a man like him stayed with a woman like Cora. The only thing he could think of two things: a fear of being alone or blackmail. He strongly suspected the latter.

For the first half of dinner, Zelena, dominated the conversation. She was eager to talk about her job as a corporate raider as well as Walsh's very successful furniture company. "They're about to become bigger than Ikea," she said, resting a hand on his arm.

"Now, Zelena, I wouldn't say that," Walsh said, trying to be modest. "But it would be nice."

She laughed. "Now darling, don't be afraid to brag. You're doing so well."

"What about you, Regina? How goes your latest campaign?" Cora fixed her other daughter with a cold stare.

Regina shrank back. "It's going well. We started the next round of TV commercials and the feedback so far has been very positive."

"I talked to Gold recently and his numbers have gone down in the polls," Cora pointed out. "Now if Zelena was running the campaign…"

"She's not," Robin said. "Regina is and I think she's doing an admirable job. So does Gold since he has kept her as his campaign manager for a few elections now. I'm sure he told you that."

Cora pressed her lips together, cold eyes focused on him. "And what do you do?"

"I'm a teacher."

Mary Margaret's eyes lit up. "You are? So am I. Which grade?"

"Seventh grade," Robin replied, smiling. "You?"

"First. I love working with the little children."

"My son is in first grade."

Now Cora's eyes lit up, but in a way that reminded him of a hunter who spotted his prey. "You have a son?"

"Yes," Robin said. "His name is Roland."

"So are you divorced?"

Regina put her hand on his thigh. "Mother!" she rebuked.

"What?" Cora was the picture of innocence. "I'm just trying to get to know your new beau."

He patted her hand before fixing Cora with a cold glare. "I'm widowed, just like Regina. That's how we met, actually. We were in the same bereavement group."

Cora snorted as she turned to Regina. "You went to one of those? Did I go to one when I lost your father? No. I mourned and moved on. That's what you have to do. Not talk about your feelings with others."

"Sometimes talking can be very beneficial," Mary Margaret said. "And Regina lost Daniel suddenly."

Zelena rolled her eyes. "Please, Mary Margaret. Mother's right. Regina shouldn't have displayed her weakness in front of others."

"Grief isn't weakness," Robin snapped. "And it takes strength to lean on others instead of hiding away. To admit you need help."

Regina grabbed his hand, brown eyes pleading. "Robin, you don't have to…"

"I told you I was going to defend you. I don't care who they are, they do not have the right to talk to you this way."

Clapping startled to him and he looked up to find both Cora and Zelena applauding. "Bravo," Zelena said. "You are a very good actor."

Robin frowned. "Pardon?"

"Tell me," Cora said, "how much is my daughter paying you to pretend to be her boyfriend?"

Everyone froze, waiting for their response. Robin let out a strangled: "Pardon?"

Zelena laughed. "Please. My sister just so happened to find a man to bring after I realized she didn't have a date? I wasn't born yesterday. Are you really widowed? Do you even have a son?"

"Yes," Robin said, "and yes. I haven't lied to you."

"So you're really dating my daughter?"

"Mother, the truth is…" Regina started.

"The truth is we're not dating yet," he said before smiling at her. "But I would really like that to change."

Regina let out a small gasp as she smiled, eyes searching Robin's. He knew she was looking for any lie but she wouldn't find any, having meant every word. Under the table, their fingers laced together.

Zelena made a gagging noise. "I think I'm going to be sick."

"Zelena, be nice. She's your sister," Walsh said. "And I think she deserves happiness."

"I don't care what you think."

Cora put down her wine glass. "Well, I think we've had enough excitement for tonight. Why don't we turn in for the night?"

In her room, Regina leaned against the door as Robin plopped down on the bed. He watched her with tired eyes. "I'm sorry. I'm afraid I lost it when they accused me of being an actor."

"That did hurt." She took a few steps closer. "Did you mean it? That you want to have a romantic relationship with me?"

He paused for a moment before whispering: "Yes."

She sat down next to him but the only parts of them that touched were their knees. Both kept their hands flat on the bed as she considered everything.

In many ways, Regina didn't think she would've made it through Daniel's death without Robin, who sat down next to her in their bereavement group and had broken down her wall one lame joke at a time. He had understood her pain—the only other person in their group who had lost their spouse at a young age due to tragedy, not old age or sickness like the others. They had had many conversations over coffee outside of their group and over time, Robin and Roland became part of her family like Emma had.

She knew her feelings for him had changed when he offered to take Henry to a father-son event for scouts. As one of the den mothers, Regina had watched Robin interact with her son and found herself wishing that Robin could be Henry's stepfather. However, she convinced herself that he didn't feel anything more than friendship for her.

Had she just missed the signs?

"How long?" she asked.

Robin shrugged. "Couple years, I guess? And I have Marian's parents to thank."

"What?"

"Yeah," he laughed. "Apparently Roland kept raving about you to them and they asked if you were my new girlfriend. When I told them you were just a friend, her mother said it sounded like we had a lot more. And I realized she was right."

Regina tilted her head. "Yet you did nothing until now?"

"I didn't know how you felt and I didn't want to ruin what we had. You're now the most stable maternal figure Roland has, aside from his grandmother. I didn't want to take that away from him."

She rested her head on his shoulder. "Well, aren't we a pair? I've probably wanted more for almost as long."

"We definitely deserve each other."

Lifting her head, she met his eyes and the two of them dissolved into laughter. They fell back onto the bed, Robin's arms wrapping around her as they laid on their side. He rubbed her back as he smiled. "Can I kiss you?"

"Yes," she breathed, eyes already fluttering closed. His lips were warm against hers and ignited a fire inside her. She rolled them over, deepening their kisses as she heard him switch off the light.

"She's not your daughter! You don't get a say in how I talk to her."

"When you married me, she became my stepdaughter. I think that gives me a say."

"And now you want it? Please. Just go back to keeping your head in the sand, Leopold. You're good at that."

Regina frowned as she burrowed herself deeper into Robin's warm embrace. He kissed her forehead. "Are they always like this?"

"Not really," she whispered back, afraid to speak in anything louder. "Leopold usually avoids confrontation like the plague and just lets my mother do whatever she wants."

A door slammed somewhere in the house and she flinched. His arms tightened around her, pressing her closer to his bare chest. "Should we just stay here?"

"I wish we could." She opened her eyes, looking up into his hypnotizing blue ones. They shared a good morning kiss before she slid out of bed, holding the top sheet against her body.

Robin propped himself up on his arm, watching her with a hunger that brought a blush to her cheeks even as excitement grew in her core. "You don't have to cover yourself, lovely. Not after last night."

"I know. But the locks don't really work. Mother made sure of that so she could barge in on the three of us whenever she wanted," Regina said. "So you may want to cover up yourself…"

Her eyes trailed down to where the blankets draped over hip and covered the lower half of his body. She licked her lips, something that didn't escape his notice. Robin smiled and patted her side of the bed again. "We have time before the ceremony."

"And I need to shower," Regina said, walking into the bathroom. She then leaned out of the door. "You do too, you know."

He launched himself out of bed and raced into the bathroom with her.

A small group of people had gathered on the lawn of the Blanchard mansion as the May sun beat down on them. Regina was glad she had gone with a pale pink silk sleeveless dress and paired it with a white hat. Robin, though, was stuck in a suit and fanned himself with the program. "Where are they?"

"I don't know." Regina turned to Mary Margaret, who sat behind her. She wore a flower short-sleeved dress though she fanned herself as well. Unlike Robin, David had already shed his suit jacket. The two leaned forward as Regina asked: "Were they ready when you left?"

Mary Margaret sighed. "To be honest, they were still arguing. Zelena stayed behind to try and smooth things over."

"Or make things worse," David muttered.

Robin glanced toward the house and straightened up. "Well, speak of the devil."

Zelena hurried down the aisle, her gold dress whipping around her legs until she arrived at the front. She cleared her throat and everyone gave her their attention. "My family and I thank you all for coming today," she started. "But I'm afraid the ceremony won't take place today. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause."

As the other guests began to murmur, Zelena approached Regina and Mary Margaret. "Up to the house. Now."

The two women followed her, David and Robin trailing after them. Regina was glad because her gut told her this wasn't going to go well. Not with her mother's explosive temper.

Zelena led them into Leopold's study, where he sat behind his desk with his arms crossed. Cora sat across from him in her white cocktail dress. She stood as Regina entered, standing nose to nose with her daughter. "This is all your fault," she hissed.

Regina staggered back into Robin's protective embrace. Mary Margaret's eyes widened at the scene and she turned to her father. "What's going on?"

"Cora and I are getting a divorce," he said.

"Over my dead body!" Cora snapped her fingers and Zelena followed her out of the room.

Robin turned Regina in his arms. "Are you okay?"

"Just confused," she said, looking at Leopold. "What's going on?"

"I'm old and I'm tired. I no longer have the energy to tiptoe around that woman, trying to keep her from exploding at every little thing. I should've done it a long time ago, but I guess part of me thought I could change her." He shook his head. "I was old enough to know that would never happen."

Mary Margaret approached him, hugging him. "Oh, Daddy."

"But how is it Regina's fault?" David asked.

Robin shrugged. "Her mother is looking for a scapegoat?"

"Yes and no." Leopold sighed as he looked at Regina. "After how she treated you last night, I could stay silent no longer. I apologize for not speaking up sooner."

Regina paused. "I forgive you. It's hard to stand up to her."

"Even though I'm ending my relationship with your mother, I hope you don't end your relationship with us." Leopold hugged Mary Margaret closer.

"Of course," Regina said. "I think Mary Margaret is more of a sister to me than Zelena."

"Really? Because I've always thought of you as a sister." Mary Margaret rushed forward to hug Regina, who returned it. "No matter what you decide, you will always be part of my family."

David stepped forward, wrapping his arm around his wife. "I know you wanted to wait until after the ceremony, but since it's not happening and I think we could all use some good news…"

"What's going on?" Regina looked between the two.

"I'm pregnant." Mary Margaret beamed. Regina and Leopold rushed forward together, hugging her as Robin shook David's hand.

David smiled at Robin. "I hope we see more of you in the future."

"I think you will," Robin replied, sharing a smile with Regina.

Marco had Regina's car pulled around as Mary Margaret stood with her. "You can stay here until tomorrow," she said. "Daddy won't mind."

Regina squeezed her hands. "I know. But I don't think Mother is going anywhere anytime soon and it's best if I got out of here."

"Okay. Call me though so we can have lunch soon." She hugged Regina, who returned it as she promised to do that.

Sliding into the car next to Robin, Regina took a deep breath. "So, ready to go back to the city and tell our sons the good news?"

"Yes, though I do recall seeing a bed and breakfast on our drive up here yesterday." He gave her a flirtatious smile. "Maybe we can spend the night? After all, I said I would pick up Roland tomorrow evening and you did pay Emma for the entire weekend."

"I like the way you think." She leaned forward, kissing him.

Sunday night, Robin and an excited Roland escorted Regina up to her apartment so they could pick up Henry for a family dinner. Regina paused outside the door, key still in the lock. "Do you think he'll be happy that we're dating?" she asked Robin.

"You're dating?" Henry threw the door open, his smile bright. "Really?"

Robin gave her a look before turning back to her son. "Yes, if you're okay with it."

"I am," Roland said, taking Regina's hand.

Henry nodded. "So am I."

"Good," Regina said, kissing her son's cheek. "Now why don't you go grab your coat and we'll grab something to eat?"

He raced back into the apartment as Emma appeared in the doorway, shrugging on her coat. She smiled at the two. "About time. You two deserve to be happy together."

As she sauntered down the hallway, Robin cupped Regina's cheek. "That we do," he said, kissing her.

Once Henry came out of the apartment, teasing his mother the entire time, the four made their way out for the first night of their lives as a family.