A/N: Robin is in a coma because of some magical mishap
Stupid noble thief.
Always willing to put himself in harm's way if it means protecting them. Well, look where it's gotten him. Lying here in this hospital bed. Trapped in a coma from a stray bit of magic.
He looks as if he could be sleeping peacefully. A serene expression resting on the features they love so much. Mal's hand rests atop Robin's at his hip, over the rough cotton of the blanket draped over him, Regina sitting stoically across from her. They haven't been able to bring themselves to leave Robin's side. Not for two days now. The longest forty-eight hours of their lives, and one of them has lived for centuries.
The idiot had jumped in front of Regina just as The Black Fairy had unleashed a spell her way, taking the brunt of the attack with a jerk of his body before he'd collapsed to the forest floor. She had been on her knees and at his side instantly as Mal had swooped down and obliterated the bitch with a gush of fire before transforming back to her human form and dropping down beside to her lovers.
But there had been no response from Robin, only the faint drumming of his pulse beneath Regina's fingertips, barely stuttering out any pattern at all as she'd lifted anguished brown eyes to worried blue ones.
. . .
"I couldn't stop him. He just— Mal—" Regina cries, frantically darting her gaze between the blonde and Robin's still form, running her hands over his hair, down the side of his face and along his stubbled jaw. Her heart is pounding, blood racing as her mind struggles to process the events of the last few minutes. She can not lose him. Will not go through this type of pain again. Regina refuses.
What the hell had he been thinking? She never should have let him come to fight with her. Should have insisted that he stay home with Roland and Henry. Then he wouldn't be lying here in the street. He would be safe.
The other woman runs her fingers over Regina's cheek, cupping her face in her hand with sad eyes, struggling to tamp down the panic and fear gnawing at her stomach. She'd been too far away to do anything either. Had watched, helpless, as the man she also loves had been attacked. But one of them has to remain somewhat calm and it appears it's going to fall to her. "Shhhhh… we'll figure out how to help him. We need to get him home, Regina." She'd murmured quietly, sweeping all three of them up in a cloud of silver magic.
. . .
They'd done everything they could think of. Had attempted every spell that had come to mind, rifled through spellbook after spellbook and tried potion after potion only to have nothing work. All of it useless. Neither of their magic had been able to make those clear blue eyes open once more.
That's how they'd ended up here at the hospital. A last ditch effort to find some way to wake Robin up. Though the endeavor has only turned out to be futile.
. . .
"You useless excuse for a doctor!" Regina screams.
Nothing Whale does helps at all. Though even knowing the chances of him being able to do anything were unlikely (Robin's ailment is magical not medical), it does not help. Robin remains unchanged. Even when Regina rages at the useless man, threatens to char him to a crisp, nothing happens. Mal has to wrap her arms around her, drawing her out of the waiting room into the hallway where she lets the brunette weap on her shoulder for a few minutes. Her own tears leaking out of the corner of her eyes and down her cheeks as she smoothes her hand down the back of Regina's skull, stroking the soft strands of her hair.
It feels like a part of them is missing. Another limb. One more moving part to their relationship that is suddenly lacking. And it hurts. More than either of them ever could have anticipated, not to have him standing beside them, offering comfort and reassurance, love.
"What are we going to do, Mal?"
Regina sniffles against her neck, finally able to get herself under a bit of control. She's not one to break down this way. So openly, and in public, even if the corridor is deserted at the moment. Only the muted sounds of beeping machines echoing around them. Maleficent presses a kiss to her forehead, sliding that hand from the back of her head down her spine and drawing her just a fraction closer.
"We'll find a way," she responds, conviction in her tone despite all their failed attempts thus far. She's a damn dragon and come hell or high water she will figure out a way to bring their thief back to them.
. . .
So they find themselves here. This stale, antiseptic infested hospital room, sitting vigilantly as they stare at the steady rise and fall of Robin's chest. Sunlight filters in through the sheer curtained window, casting a warm glow around the room that directly contradicts the darkness that threatens to consume each of them. They're both exhausted. Neither of them have slept more than short fits here and there for the last two days.
As she sits there and watches him, praying for some sort of miracle, Regina notices Robin's five o'clock shadow. It's grown out some. Enough that they should probably think about trimming it. Though all that does is serve to recall memories of Mal teasing Robin in the bathroom in the morning while they get ready. Watching him kiss her and leave dollops of shaving cream behind on her nose and chin. The thought makes her heart clench painfully and her eyes shift to look at Maleficent instead.
The dragon twists the rings on her fingers absentmindedly, a tell tale sign of her distress and another wave of sorrow washes over Regina. She's not the only one suffering. Not by a long shot. "Should we go search some more for a cure in my vault?" She questions the woman opposite her. Because she needs to do something. Sitting here, feeling utterly useless and helpless is not helping matters at all. Weariness tugs at her limbs, straight down to her bones, at the thought of yet another failed attempt to bring Robin back to life, but what else can they do?
Pale blue eyes shift from Robin to Regina and Maleficent studies her a moment before slowly nodding her head, rolling that ring on her finger around and around still. "In a little bit." Moving her gaze back to Robin's sleeping form. "I want to stay with him a little while longer."
Regina hums her agreement, detects the fatigue in Mal's voice as well, and leans back in the uncomfortable hospital chair. She really must do something about that. No one should be forced to endure hours on end in these ridiculous things. There will definitely be some maneuvering in the next budget report. Her brain feels foggy, a bit grainy, as she struggles to stay alert.
All she wants is to curl up in bed with her lovers. To rest her head on Robin's chest, listening to his heartbeat beneath her ear as Mal spoons her from behind, her breathing tickling the back of Regina's neck like it normally would be on a lazy Saturday afternoon. That is how they should be spending their day. Not here.
Anger rises up within her again. Towards The Black Fairy and this situation, even Robin, for being so damn foolishly noble and protecting her. Regina is aware that feeling is a bit misguided. If the situations had been reversed she wouldn't have hesitated to sacrifice herself for either Robin or Mal. So she really has no place to be upset with him, not truly. But dammit, she wants him to open his eyes.
So they'll sit here for a little while longer. And then they will get up and figure out a way to fix this. They have to.
Mal's stroking her thumb along the side of Robin's hand now, as if imploring him to wake up. "Do you think he can sense us? Hear what we're saying?" She asks casually, tone monochromatic, as her eyes never leave Robin's form.
Regina sighs, shifts her chair closer to the bed so that she can grip Robin's other hand between her own, mirroring Mal's movements. "If he can then he should know if he doesn't bloody well wake up soon he's sleeping with the Merry Men for the next month."
It puts a smile on Mal's face, a quiet chuckle escaping her as she shakes her head at Regina.
Rising to her feet, Mal bends over Robin's form as she brushes her fingers through his hair, leaning down to kiss his forehead just as Regina takes his hand cupped in her palms and brings it to her lips.
There's a rush of magic, sweeping over them, through them, feeding into their very souls and the two women startle at the sudden, intense rush of feeling that overwhelms them. Bewildered blue eyes meet puzzled brown ones, each widening as a husky, "Regina? Mal?" croaks from the man lying between them.
Their gazes whip back to Robin just in time to see his eyelids fluttering open, brow furrowed in confusion as he looks at both of them and then glances around his surroundings. "Oh God," Regina cries, standing instantly and stroking her fingers over his hair, cupping his jaw, as Robin blinks furiously at them. "You're awake."
"What—" Robin croaks, has to clear his throat before he can finish, "What happened? Where am—" He's cut off before he can complete that sentence by Regina's lips crashing into his own. The kiss is a bit sloppy, more than a little desperate, but Robin's hand lifts to cup her hip all the same, returning the gesture. She drops her forehead to his shoulder when they part, the desire to weep with relief overwhelming.
Mal's eyes glisten as she smiles down at him and it only serves to perplex him more as he runs his fingers up and down Regina's spine soothingly. His eyes dart between the two women he loves, seeking answers.
"You've been in a coma for two days now." Mal tells him, swallowing the lump in her throat that is relief and gratitude to see him awake and conscious once more. For all her faith in their abilities, Maleficent had been concerned that they would indeed fail. That she would never have the pleasure of being held in Robin's arms again. To have him kiss along her skin, massaging the kinks out of her shoulders, or feel him snuggled behind her as they fall asleep.
She'd been quite terrified that she would have to help Regina tell his son that his father was never going to wake up again. The very thought of her favorite little archer losing his father too much for her to bear. Still, she'd not been expecting this.
The information startles Robin to discover, and a tiny line forms between his eyebrows as he questions, "Two days? But, how did you wake me?" His brain is still rather foggy. Hazy memories of a fiery room struggling to come to the forefront as he tries to remember what had happened. He recalls The Black Fairy, her attack, Regina struggling momentarily to gather her strength again. He'd jumped in front of the spell directed at her without thought or question. It had been instinctual.
"I— I think it might have been true love's kiss…" Regina comments hesitantly, flicking her gaze between the two of them as Robin and Maleficent's eyes widen in surprise. She's had one other instance where that sensation that had swept through her moments earlier had happened and it had been with Henry on the docks. Had returned their memories and been one of the happiest moments of her life. Followed closely by this one perhaps. "When Mal and I kissed you there was this sudden burst of magic…"
"True love's…" Robin parrots, letting the implication of her words settle over him. Of course, he knows that he loves them. Has loved Regina from nearly the moment they had met. And they've been in this little arrangement for long enough that he and Mal have had ample time to develop feelings of their own for one another.
But to be able produce such a rare and beautiful thing between the three of them… that it had apparently taken the joint moment of both of them kissing him in order for them to wake him up is something that he never could have comprehended. A quick glance at Mal shows that she is equally stunned. He sees the same thought process flickering through those watery blue eyes, a pleased and surprised recognition reflecting through them.
He takes one of their hands in each of his, tugging Mal down for a gentle kiss, lingering over her lips a moment before he does the same to Regina, murmuring softly when he pulls away, "I love you both."
Regina's forehead settles against Robin's and she answers, "We love you," tacking on in a demanding and authoritative tone, "Don't ever do that again."
Laughing, Robin tells them, "I'll do my best." Then they're climbing onto the lumpy hospital mattress beside him, snuggling into him, and Robin thinks he's never been so grateful to see the sun shining through the windows as he is right in this moment.