For a long time after he left, Regina stood with her forehead pressed against the front door.

What was that?

She had allowed a seed of hope to grow since that afternoon, when Robin looked at her without hatred in his eyes. At the time, it hadn't seemed like much, but now…

He came to see her, alone, voluntarily. He had sought her out. He claimed he was looking for Roland, but he didn't seem to mind waiting. Then he asked her for a favor - for his son, no less. And when she gave him the toy, he didn't take it and leave, like she expected him to. He could have. But he stayed.

No, not stayed. He moved, but he moved closer to her. He moved as close to her as he could get without touching her. And then he did touch her. He put his hand on her cheek. It was such a familiar gesture, it made her ache. She closed her eyes, recalling her last moments with him before the potion took effect. He had his hand on her cheek, he pulled her close, he told her he loved her.

She snapped out of her daze. He didn't. He didn't love her, not anymore. She must have been mistaken, in that moment right before Henry and Roland showed up, when she thought she saw his eyes drifting.

Regina pushed herself away from the door and walked toward the center of the house. She looked around for a few minutes, until finally she remembered she was meeting Tinker Bell at The Rabbit Hole. Regina nodded to herself and strode purposefully toward her bedroom to get ready.

…

Tinker Bell took a long drink from her glass of wine and closed her eyes. She said, "this right here, this is the best part about this world."

Regina chuckled. "Alcohol?"

"Other adults." They both laughed. It had been a long time since Regina laughed like this, but Tinker Bell's stories about adjusting to the land without magic were hilarious. Regina had gone through it alone; everyone else in town had their new fake memories, and didn't realize they were in a different world until they had been living there for 28 years. Regina was the only one unaccustomed to the strange land.

Regina turned to Tinker Bell. "I thought you said showers were the best part of this world."

Tinker Bell shook her head. "No, I said showers are the best invention in this world."

Regina laughed again. "Well it's hard to disagree with that. Showers were my favorite thing when I first got here. But I think the best invention has to be disposable diapers."

Tinker Bell glared at her. "Ew."

"You think that's gross, imagine not having them."

"Well, I can't disagree with that." Tinker Bell grinned. "I'm sure Henry loves it when you talk about his diapers. How is he anyway?"

Regina smiled. "He's great, actually. Especially considering everything he's been through."

Tinker Bell nodded in understanding. "Neverland?"

Regina sighed. "Neverland, being possessed, losing his memories, being held hostage by a crazy witch, regaining his memories, learning to live with two mothers..." Regina trailed off.

Tinker Bell rotated on her stool to face Regina. "You worry about him." It wasn't a question.

Regina nodded with a smile. "It's what moms do."

"He worries about you too, you know. This," Tinker Bell gestured between them, "was his idea."

Regina raised her eyebrows. "My son is arranging playdates for me?"

Tink laughed. "Well, I'm glad he suggested it. I always thought we should be friends."

Tink's smile was genuine, and Regina looked into her lap, growing quiet. After a moment, she faced Tinker Bell. "Tink, I… I really am sorry. For what I did to you when we first met."

Tink shook her head and reached for her drink. "Forget about it."

"No, I mean it." Regina put her hand over Tink's on the bar. "I've never been good at being happy. I didn't think it could last, so I destroyed even the possibility of happiness. And you got caught in the crossfire. I just wanted you to know that I never meant for you to be hurt by my actions."

Tink was surprised at how touched she was. Perhaps she hadn't quite gotten over Regina's betrayal. She turned her hand over and squeezed Regina's. "Thank you." She wanted to say something, but there was nothing more that needed to be said. "Although, if we're being honest," Tink continued, "technically my actions got me banished. I've had a lot of time to think about it, and I suspect Blue wouldn't have been any happier about me stealing the fairy dust if it had worked.

Regina reached for her drink with both hands. "Then why did you blame me for so long?"

Tink shrugged. "I guess you're just an easy target." Regina was surprised until she saw the corners of Tink's mouth twitch as the fairy raised her glass to hide her smile. But the glass was empty, and the confused look she gave made Regina burst out laughing, with Tink joining in a second later.

When Tink caught her breath, she said, "well that won't do," and pushed away her empty glass. She waved the bartender over, ordered 2 shots of tequila and instructed him to "keep them coming." Regina raised an eyebrow at her, but Tink just smiled and said, "try to keep up."

…

A couple of hours and many shots later, Tink and Regina had relocated to a booth. The Rabbit Hole had been mostly empty when Regina arrived, with only a few regulars scattered around. Sitting at the bar offered plenty of room. But as more patrons arrived, the two women felt crowded and found some seats before there were none left.

As Regina downed another shot (definitely keeping up with Tinker Bell, although beginning to have a rough time with it), she grimaced at the taste. Regina grabbed Tink's arm before she could order another round. "I think I'm done for the night."

Tink's face fell. "You're leaving? I think we were having a good time!"

Regina giggled. "I am having a good time, but I need to switch to water." Regina was enjoying the buzz, feeling better than she had since… well, in a while. But her head was starting to spin and she didn't like feeling out of control.

Tink rolled her eyes dramatically and said "fine!" as she pulled herself out of the booth and walked over to the bar. A minute later she sat (well, more like fell) back into the booth opposite Regina, indelicately placing two water bottles on the table in front of her. Regina immediately drank half of hers, feeling the cool liquid settle her mind somewhat. It was so refreshing she almost missed the mischievous look in her friend's eye.

"So," Tink said. "How's Robin Hood these days?"

Regina sighed, shaking her head, and immediately regretting the movement. "He's… with the… because… I don't know." She scrunched up her face. Was that even a sentence?

Tink said, "I heard all about the potion you gave him. Have you seen him since? Is he changed? Does he remember you?"

Regina tried to gather her thoughts under the onslaught of questions. She had come to the bar with a plan, knowing Tinker Bell would likely bug her about her soulmate. She had chosen what she would say to shut down the subject, but 5 shots of tequila later (maybe 6?), she had no idea what the plan was. So she tried her best to improvise.

"Uh, yeah, I saw him. He doesn't remember me, obviously. He was with his family. With his wife." Regina smiled internally. Yes, that ought to work. Mention Robin's wife and Tink should stop asking questions.

No such luck.

"For now. They're getting divorced."

Regina was taken aback. "How do you know about that?" she asked, unsure whether she meant Robin's divorce, or the concept of divorce in general.

Tink smiled. "Ruby. She gives me all the town gossip. Apparently Robin was at Granny's discussing it."

Regina shook her head, slowly this time. Of course Ruby would be the one to know everybody's business. The only thing bigger than that girl's ears was her mouth. Regina was trying to decide how to explain to Tink that this didn't change anything, with Robin still under the curse, when Tink spoke up again.

"Wait, you knew about this? What are you doing here with me?!"

Regina was confused. "You invited me out."

"What? No, why aren't you with Robin? Go after him!"

Regina glared. "Okay, I do not 'go after' men. And anyway, he's not… he doesn't want me anymore. He hates me." Regina's voice grew quiet.

Tink leaned forward. "That's just the potion talking. He doesn't know you. You're meant to be together!" Regina was shaking her head, but Tink was just as stubborn as she was. "You know what you need? You need to get him alone."

Regina froze, flashing back to when she and Robin were alone, only hours earlier. She stuttered. "I… I don't know about that."

Tink shrugged. "Why not? Don't you want to be with him?"

"More than anything," Regina said, surprising herself with her honesty. Her decision to cut herself off had definitely been a sound one. "But he doesn't want to be with me."

"He's confused. Being alone with you will only help him."

Regina exhaled. He certainly hadn't looked any less confused when he left her house. "Trust me, it won't."

Tinker Bell paused. "Wait. Have you already been alone with him?"

Damn. How had she given that away? Regina was so much better at this when she was sober. "Just for a minute," she admitted, knowing she was too drunk to lie effectively.

"What happened? What did he say?" Tink practically shrieked.

"Nothing," Regina insisted. "It was only for a minute."

"Well what did you say?"

"Nothing?"

"So the two of you said nothing to each other?"

"Yes," Regina sighed.

"You just sat there in complete silence?"

"Stood."

"What?" Tink perked up at finally getting some details.

"We stood. We were standing. In silence."

Tink was annoyingly patient in her questioning. "You stood in silence, ignoring each other?"

Regina squirmed. "No." How could she get out of this?

"You stood side by side? Were you looking at something?"

"We were… we stood facing each other." Regina leaned back further in her seat, reclining more every time Tink leaned further toward her. She tried to remind herself that nothing had happened, so there was nothing she actually needed to hide.

Tinker Bell gasped. "So you just stood staring into each others eyes? That's so romantic."

No. No, no, no, Tink was getting entirely the wrong impression. "No, it wasn't romantic. He barely even touched me."

Tink gasped louder. "He touched you?!"

Damnit, she had said too much again. "Barely," she said through her teeth.

Tink folded her arms on the table so she could lean across it even more. "Where?"

Resigning herself to the fact that Tink wouldn't quit until she knew everything, Regina answered her. "In the kitchen."

"No, I mean where was he touching you?"

Regina gave her a small glare. "Don't be gross."

Tink was undeterred. "Did he hold your hand? Or touch your hair? Or grab your arse?"

"Tink!" she yelled, but Tink just waited. "He touched my face."

Tink frowned. "How?"

"How many ways are there to touch a person's face?"

"A lot," Tink said defensively. "Was it like…" Tink lifted a hand from the table, reached a finger out toward Regina and poked her nose, saying, "boop."

Regina slapped her hand away. "No, he did not boop my nose." Tink lowered her hand back to the table, laughing. Regina said, "it was more like…" and she trailed off, lifting her hand to cup Tinker Bell's cheek, losing herself momentarily in the memory. She quickly recovered, though, and pulled her hand away.

Tink was staring at her. She didn't move for several seconds until she finally spoke again. "Holy shit." Regina tucked her hair behind her ears and said nothing.

"He was going to kiss you," Tink said.

"I don't think so."

"No man touches a woman like that without trying to kiss her." Tink's eyes grew wide. "Did he kiss you?" she asked. Her thoughts were slow, and Regina was grateful not to be the only one affected by the alcohol. Regina shook her head. "Well did he think about kissing you, then pull away?"

"I don't know what he was thinking," Regina was intensely uncomfortable with this conversation.

"Well who pulled away?"

Regina thought. "We both did."

"But who pulled away first?"

"We both did," Regina repeated. "The boys showed up, and - "

"You were interrupted?!" Tink practically shouted.

"Ssshhhhh!" Regina shushed her loudly. The bar was rowdy, but crowded enough that they could still be overheard.

But Tink's enthusiasm would not be dampened. "He was going to kiss you! He wants to kiss you!" Tink continued repeating such nonsense sentences in a sing-song voice as the thought sunk in.

Regina was worried. She hadn't even told Tink about his drifting eyes. Maybe he was going to kiss her. That was what Henry had told her to do. And Mary Margaret, and David. But she was afraid.

Regina was pulled from her thoughts when Tink's hand shot out to grab hers. "You know what you have to do."

"What?" Regina asked, startled.

"You have to seduce him."

Regina's eyes flew open as she stared at Tink, expecting her to burst into laughter. But the fairy's face was serious. "What?! Tink, I am not seducing Robin."

"Why not? It's a great plan!"

"No."

"Bat your eyelashes a little."

"No way."

"Sit close to him."

"Not happening."

"Head on his shoulder, hand on his thigh."

"Tink I said no!"

"Why not?"

"BECAUSE I LOVE HIM!"

For a moment, they both sat, stunned. The silence that descended over them seemed to extend beyond their booth, but it all seemed out of focus. Regina was dimly aware of the conversation around her quieting momentarily, before gradually returning to its previous volume. But she couldn't bring herself to care. There it was. She had said it out loud, and now her heart was aching as the truth sunk in.

Tink's smirk was gone, replaced by a look of concern. Gently she said, "I don't understand. Why - "

"I love him, Tink. I love him. But he doesn't love me." Regina didn't pause for long enough to let Tink speak. "Being with Robin was… wonderful. It was everything I never thought I would have. But that's gone now. And it hurts, knowing it's gone."

"But you can get it back," Tinker Bell said, encouragingly.

Regina shook her head. "You don't understand. He may be… intrigued by me. But nothing more. If he was going to kiss me, it would be out of curiosity, or to try to prove his lack of feelings. But I love him." Tink was still shaking her head in confusion. "True Love's kiss is supposed to break the curse. What if I kiss him and nothing happens?" Tink finally stopped shaking her head. They both knew what that would mean. It would be real, concrete proof that he didn't love her anymore. And it would crush her.

Tinker Bell nodded, then pursed her lips. "But Regina… you have to give him a chance."

Regina looked up. She thought her friend got it. "Tink, it won't work."

"You have to try," she insisted. "You walked away from this man once. It was the biggest regret of your life, wasn't it? Don't do it again."

Regina looked at Tink. Her first real friend, someone she could confide in and actually trust. And she thought about her son and his secret operation. And about her soulmate, whom she had found at the most unexpected time, years after running away from him. He had told her about his belief in the power of getting the timing right.

"What do I do?"

Tink grinned. "How did you get together last time?"

Regina thought back to their scattered moments. It was hard to explain - it had just been the two of them, meeting again and again, becoming closer, learning to trust one another. Both of them wary, but open. Regina shook her head. "I don't think that would work in this situation."

"Okay. What would Robin Hood do? If it was him?"

Regina tilted her head. "You mean if I lost my memories of him and he had to make me remember?"

"I mean if he had to win you over."

Slowly, a grin spread over Regina's face. "He would fight for me." She met Tink's eyes. "For us."

Tinker Bell grinned back at her. "Then fight."

…