At first, they walked in silence. Well, Robin did. Henry and Roland were chattering away like old friends. Roland was still holding tightly to his old/new favorite toy, while Henry occasionally threw glances in Robin's direction.
Robin was glad the boys were distracting one another, because he was distracted by other thoughts. What had just happened? He would never admit this out loud, not even to John, but he was pretty sure he had almost kissed Regina.
He hadn't anticipated it, had certainly not planned it. It was the furthest thing from his mind when he went over there. At least, he was pretty sure it was. He had gone there for Roland. But somehow, observing her home, seeing how she lived, being alone with her, holding the toy she had made for his son, twice… it had all been so overwhelming. And there was something irresistible about her eyes.
Robin tried to snap himself out of it. He was being a fool. He was only subject to these thoughts because others had told him he had a romantic past with her. He no longer bothered denying it, but he was pretty sure it wasn't as serious as he had been told.
Robin mentally reviewed what he knew. After arriving in Storybrooke, he started seeing Regina. He didn't know for how long, but they had a relationship of some sort by the time Marian returned. When she returned, Robin stopped seeing Regina. He couldn't have felt much for her.
But he must have, because when Marian was frozen, True Love's Kiss didn't revive her. No. That wasn't about Regina. That was just because he had been so removed from Marian, and perhaps his relationship with Regina was enough for him to put his feelings for Marian in the past. It wasn't because he loved Regina, it was just because he had moved on enough to begin seeing someone new. Yes, that must be it. It explained everything.
Except for the potion. The forgetting potion was an extreme step to take for such minor feelings of affection. If he had cared for her, he wouldn't have asked for the potion. And if she had cared for him, she wouldn't have given it to him.
But if he hadn't really cared for her, he wouldn't have needed the potion. Well, maybe. Maybe he was entranced by her. He could see that happening. He had been in her home for only a few minutes and he had almost kissed her. She had a magnetic pull that could certainly cause him to feel… something. So yes, he could understand needing the potion.
His feelings couldn't have been more than that. If he had really loved her, he wouldn't have taken the potion. If she had really loved him, she wouldn't have made it. So his feelings were mild enough that he didn't mind asking her to erase their relationship from his mind. And hers were mild enough that she had agreed.
Robin began to breathe easy for the first time since leaving Regina's presence. It all made sense. They had an attraction - a fairly strong one; he had felt it himself. But it wasn't love. It had merely seemed that way from the outside.
By the time they got to the edge of the forest, Roland had tired of carrying his monkey and handed it off to Robin. Roland picked up a stick and invited Henry to join him in a game of imaginary dragon slaying. With a quick glance at Robin, Henry declined. Roland shrugged and went to play on his own, dashing back and forth through the trees. Henry moved to walk alongside Robin.
With a sideways glance, Henry said, "so… what were you and my mom talking about?"
Robin had been waiting for this. He could tell Henry wanted to ask him something during the walk. Roland had kept Henry's attention, luckily, but now ignored his traveling companions as he raced along the trail. "Nothing," he said, figuring simplicity was the best plan.
Henry smirked. "If you weren't talking then what were you doing?"
Robin's eyes widened. That was not what he meant at all. "No, I mean we were talking. Just not about anything in particular." Henry raised his eyebrows at Robin. He didn't say anything more, but the implication in his look bothered Robin enough to elaborate. "I was only there for a minute before you arrived. We didn't have much of a chance to talk about anything."
Henry paused. "Yeah, why were you there anyway? You knew we were coming right back."
This would be tougher to explain. He had agreed, after all, for Henry to watch Roland. He couldn't tell Henry that he didn't trust the boy's mother - he had promised he wouldn't do that. There really didn't seem to be a good reason he could give. As he tried to find one, Henry spoke again. "Did you go because you wanted to see my mother?"
"What? No. Of course not. I was there for Roland, not for any other purpose. Why else would I be there? That's absurd." Robin stopped talking only when Henry snorted. He was rambling. He had to control himself. "I just wanted to escort you back." Robin paused. That seemed like enough words. Did he need to say anything more? He better not. But Henry was still looking expectantly at him. No. Say nothing. Robin continued silently and decided Henry should be the next one to talk.
"You know," Henry finally said, "I've been thinking about the freezing curse. And how it was broken."
Robin sighed, relieved at the change in subject. "Oh?"
"It was only supposed to be breakable with an act of True Love. You know, with you and Marian getting divorced, it doesn't seem likely that you could have broken a curse so powerful just two days ago with True Love's Kiss. True Love doesn't disappear in two days."
Despite the ease of the walk and their slow place, Robin began breathing more heavily. "Of course it was, Henry. Marian awoke as soon as I kissed her. Like you said, nothing else could have broken the curse. What else could it possibly have been?"
Henry smiled. "I'm glad you asked! The curse needed to be broken by two people in love - true love. Obviously, that's not you and Marian. But the curse broke when you kissed her. So at least one of you had to be in love with someone. Is Marian in love with anyone else?"
Henry paused, waiting. Robin said, "not as far as I know."
Henry continued. "Right. So that had to mean that it was you, and someone else." Henry smiled even wider. "My mom."
Robin sighed. "Henry, first of all, your mother was not even there. And second, I didn't even remember your mother when the curse broke. I couldn't possibly have loved her."
Henry was undeterred. "I know. But she loved you. It was her love that broke the curse." The matter-of-fact manner with which Henry spoke the last line belied the weight of his words. Regina's love for him broke the curse?
Robin couldn't listen to this, so he stuck to his story. "Henry, the curse broke when I kissed Marian. Whatever you believe your mother and I shared, it doesn't change what Marian and I had. That was the love that broke the curse, even if it is over now."
Henry turned and stepped in front of Robin, stopping them both. Henry looked straight into Robin's eyes, a serious look on his face. "I know you don't believe that." Henry's voice was so quiet that Robin could barely hear it over the noise of the camp, where Robin now realized they had arrived. Without waiting for Robin to either concede the point or try to contradict it again, Henry walked away.
…
For the next couple of hours, Robin say by the fire as got dark. Mary Margaret and David left to put their baby to sleep. Marian brought Roland by to say goodnight, and they, too, left. The dwarves and remaining merry men had brought out the ale, and the last part of the night - stories by the campfire - had begun.
Robin was not listening. For the second time that night, he found himself lost in his thoughts about Regina. Henry believed she had broken the freezing curse. Just that morning he would have found it unbelievable. But everything he learned that day made it very believable indeed.
Robin was so distracted he didn't notice Emma approaching him until she sat down right next to him. "Hey Robin. Henry and I are about to take off…" She trailed off as she got a better look at him. "Are you okay."
Robin briefly turned to face her. "Yes, I'm fine."
"You seem distracted."
Robin tried to focus. "It's just this gathering. I'm glad to be doing something positive for the morale of the Merry Men." He even gave Emma a smile, but she did not return it.
"Among your other lost memories, did you happen to forget about my superpower?" Robin gave her a blank look. She grinned. "I can tell when people are lying." Robin turned away. "Come on, fess up. What's on your mind? You're obviously thinking about something. Or someone…?"
Robin threw Emma a brief glance. "Your son had an… unusual theory about the freezing curse that threatened Marian's life."
Emma laughed. "Yup, Henry is famous for his theories."
Robin turned to face Emma. "So he often comes up with outrageous stories?"
"Oh yeah."
"So what he said isn't true."
"Oh no, they're always true." Emma turned to face Robin. "Every crazy theory and ridiculous story he's ever told me has turned out to be true, once I opened my eyes enough to see it."
Robin faced forward once again. So it was most likely true. Regina had broken the curse. With her love for him.
It was outrageous, to be sure. "If she loved me, she wouldn't have given me the potion."
"Uh… are you talking about Regina?" Emma asked.
Robin hadn't realized realized he had spoken aloud, but was too tangled in his thoughts to be bothered by Emma knowing them. He was trying to process why Regina would agree to give him that potion. "She gave me a potion to forget her, so I could be with someone else; love someone else. That's the last thing she would have done if she loved me."
"Actually, it's probably the first thing she would have done," Emma said plainly. Robin turned to her. "You don't know Regina at all if you think she wouldn't give up everything for the people she loves."
Robin was staring at Emma with a penetrating look. What did she mean? He had to know. He waited, hoping she would tell him more. She did not disappoint.
Emma sighed. "Do you know why everyone from Storybrooke returned to the Enchanted Forest last year?"
Robin nodded. "The curse was broken."
"Actually, the curse was broken before that. The reason everyone went back was because there was a new curse. It mimicked the old one, and was a danger to everyone who had been cursed the first time. That included Regina, but not Henry. Regina knew she would be separated from Henry if she went back, but she did it anyway, to save everyone else."
Robin was vaguely aware that his voice was coming out in a whisper. "So she left her son?"
Emma nodded. "She wasn't happy about it. She loves Henry more than anything. She just had no choice, at least about that part. But if she was going to leave Henry, she had to make sure he was taken care of. She sent me with him." Robin straightened. "I was the only one who could escape the curse, since I had done it before. So she erased our memories, and gave us new ones." Emma paused, speaking deliberately. "She made sure that Henry would be happy. Even though it broke her heart to leave him. Even though it meant he didn't remember her at all."
Robin was not entirely sure that he was breathing. Regina had loved her son enough to erase his memories of her, and to be separated from him, for his own good. She was willing to let him go so he could be happy. Even though it meant he forgot her. Even though someone else took her place in his mind. That was how much she loved him.
And that was exactly what Regina had done for Robin. Erasing his memories, putting his happiness before his own, even replacing herself with someone who could be with him when she was not. Robin felt light-headed.
"Robin, are you alright?" Emma's voice came to him as though through a fog.
Somehow, he didn't know how, he assured her he would be fine and wished her good night.
…
A/N: This chapter is shorter than it was supposed to be, but it felt like a nice stopping point, and I decided to post what I had. I didn't want to keep you waiting, so I decided shorter updates more frequently would be better.
There will probably be only a few more chapters. I'm closing in on the end now. Thanks for everyone who's still reading! Also, woohoo, 200 follows! And please keep reviewing, it's the best motivation I have!