I promise you, I will get it back.

Regina smiled as she pulled off her coat, thinking of smoldering blue eyes and the smell of smoke and forest. She glanced at her reflection in the hallway mirror, hair mussed and lipstick smudged and eyes bright. She couldn't stop the grin as it grew, and couldn't help but think that "grin" was the last word anyone, including herself, would have ever thought to apply to her.

The day dawned dark and cloudy the next morning. As Regina turned her head to look out the window, a feeling of…something washed over her. She couldn't help but think of other mornings, with Graham, where she'd wake up alone, because not even the man whose heart she literally held captive would stay with her. Granted, she was the one who had kicked him out because of Henry, but even she could see through the very effective walls he put up to mask his relief. She stretched, her hands colliding with the headboard. She sat up and let the covers fall to her waist as she looked (more like glared) at the empty spot beside her in the bed. She was about to fling something (what, she wasn't sure yet) when the sound of a soft knock on her front door made her pause.

Threading her fingers through her hair, she dressed quickly and practically tripped down the stairs. As her hand went to the door knob, though, Regina froze, her old insecurities and fears laying claim to her mind. She turned, as though to tiptoe back up the stairs and pretend she hadn't heard, when a small hand pressed up against the glass, and little Roland of Locksley started making fish faces in the window. She couldn't help the smile that crept onto her face, and her hand rose of its own accord, throwing open the door to Robin and Roland on her front step, a picnic basket in hand. She shot him a questioning glance, but he ignored it, instead leaning in to peck her casually on the lips as he passed into her home, Roland dragging him through the door.

As the pair moved towards the kitchen, the boy's chatter making the house seem alive again, Regina touched her lips in wonder at the effortless, easy way he'd just…kissed her. As if, as if it were nothing, as if they did it every day, as if it were just…normal. He didn't even care that she was the Evil Queen, that she had killed thousands of people in the name of revenge, that she was the half-sister of the witch currently terrorizing the town because of her. She shut the door in a daze, and leaned against the archway leading into the kitchen, watching Roland play with some wooden spoons and pots. She felt the corners of her mouth tilt up as she watched the little boy, so like Henry when he'd been that age. She didn't even notice that Robin had come up behind her until his chin rested heavily on her right shoulder as his arms banded around her waist.

"And what has you so deep in thought this early in the morning, my love?"

"Mm, 'my love'? Yesterday you were still calling me 'my lady'," she kept her voice light and teasing, though her heart stuttered at the ease with which he'd said the words.

He pressed a kiss into the curve of her neck, inhaling her scent of 'just-woken-up' and smiled. "Well, I just figured that with all that's happened recently, we ought to start on making new names for ourselves, don't you?"

"Yes, I suppose we should, shouldn't we?" She smiled softly, her eyes drifting closed as she leaned back against him, relishing in his warmth.

"In which case, my love, I demand that you refer to me now solely as your knight in shining, green leather armor," he teased, tightening his arms around her just a tad.

Her laugh shot out of her like a bark, and a hand came up to cover her mouth as her shoulders started shaking. Roland looked up at them and grinned, joining in the laughter that suddenly rang through the once too-quiet house. He raised his hands above his head to be picked up, and on instinct, Regina scooped him into her arms and set him down on top of the counter, still laughing. And she knew, from that minute on, as she caught the heavy look Robin threw her when she held his son in her arms, that she had absolutely nothing to worry about.

Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize

A/N: by the way, prompts (and reviews and constructive criticism) are welcome :) Enjoy!