Last in the 'I found it' three-parter. Enjoy!
Regina Mills is used to the stares.
She's used to the whispers and awkward atmosphere that often follows her entrance to somewhere, used to holding her head a little higher and pointedly ignoring said stares. Lately though, they've gotten less. The stares she's been on the end of in recent months have been ones of disbelief, or awe, whispers of I can't believe she helped, and while she still ignores them, still pretends she's unaware, she would be lying if she said it wasn't nice being talked about for good reasons for a change.
Today though, as she enters Granny's, the accusation is back in the eyes of every diner. It throws her, and she has to cast her mind back in an attempt to figure out what she's done in the two days since she was last here, that would make her deserve the disapproving looks she's currently on the end of. Nothing, as far as she's concerned.
Still, they stare, and out of habit, her chin raises and her lips purse as she makes her way to her usual stool propped up against the counter. The armor she's found no use for as of late hardening on instinct, and she barks her regular coffee order at the wolf behind the bar. Ruby nods, moves to comply after a brief once over with suspicious eyes. It makes Regina feel uneasy.
She spends the short time she'll be there waiting, drinking her coffee and trying to figure out why on earth these people's attitudes towards her have swung as drastically as a pendulum.
Mary Margaret is the person who enlightens her.
The dark haired beauty stands just behind Regina, makes the former Queen turn in her seat wearing an expression of what do you want? The Princess sighs, disappointment and disapproval radiating from her pores so obviously, Regina is surprised she can't physically see it.
"Please tell me it isn't true. What they're saying about you," she says, clutching her son to her chest, rocking him back and forth to keep his cries at bay.
Regina cocks an eyebrow, scans the room and finds the diner now all looking their way, and once again, confusion seeps through her veins. "I have no idea what you're talking about," she answers.
"Regina, there's no point in lying to me. You were seen."
The frown she's now wearing deepens, and she leans back, almost affronted she's being accused of something that, as far as she's concerned, she's not done. "Seen doing what? What the hell are you on about?" She snaps, because she's exhausted, because as soon as Robin gets here she'll lose him all over again, because her search for Henry's books author has hit every dead end possible, and even though she really shouldn't care, she finds she it actually does bother her that the Snow Queen wants Emma dead. She is not in the mood this snippy Princess, or her false assumptions.
"I know what happened last night, Regina. Quit pretending. I am so disappointed in you, I really thought you'd changed."
Regina gapes at her; she's not usually taken back by anything, but this has surprised her. Last night she spent the hours from dinner to ten with Marian, then went to her vault, then to the camp, then nearly drowned. Last night she'd made some pretty impressive steps towards saving Marian's life, and once again, her confusion deepens. Why the hell would that disappoint Snow?
"Okay, you're going to have to help me out here, Mary Margaret, I have no idea what I'm supposed to have done." Her words bite, and she can feel her temper rising. She can't lose her rag, not in public, or she really will be on the end of all those stares again. Mary Margaret looks as though she's about to retaliate when the bell to Granny's door jingles, fills the silence now sitting on the diner, and both Queen and Princess turn their attention.
Robin tells Roland to go and sit in a booth, that he'll be over in a minute, then moves to join Regina and Snow at the counter. He looks stressed, nothing like the man she left a few short hours before, and for a second, she thinks there was another problem retrieving the plant she needs to cast the reverse spell.
"Regina-"
"I really don't think you should be here right now, Robin." Snow says, then adds "you know, I can expect this of her, but I truly thought you were better than this."
Robin's reply sounds verging on desperate. "This isn't what you think, Mary Margaret, not at all-"
Regina scowls at them. Does everyone in this damn diner know something she doesn't? "Will someone please tell me what the hell is going on?!"
He sighs heavily, then looks into her eyes, back over to his son to make sure Roland is happily oblivious to their conversation. "Will Scarlet saw you coming out of my tent this morning."
Oh.
Oh.
Realisation washes over Regina as she closes her eyes and lets out a sigh. Well the stares make sense now, she thinks. If that scoundrel has made his way through town shouting Robin Hood is having an affair with the Evil Queen whilst poor Marian is lost to a freezing curse, then she never had a hope in hells chance of getting through breakfast without hassle.
"Look, I don't know what's going on here," Mary Margaret starts, "but if you two really can't stay away from each other then please, out of respect, at least wait until we've figured out how to save Marian. She deserves better than this."
"We don't need to wait for anything," Regina snaps, "because it isn't what you think."
"Oh, so you didn't spend the night in his tent then?"
"Nothing happened," Robin says firmly. Regina rolls her eyes, slides off the stool and moves into Snow's personal space. She has the baby, so she can't make the scene she wants to make, but that doesn't mean Regina won't stand up for her and Robin when they've done nothing to deserve such accusations. She has to hand it to the Princess, even with the newborn, Regina getting in her face doesn't make her flinch.
"Not that it's any of your business, but I figured out how to save Marian last night, and went straight to tell Robin. I don't know what that common pilferer thinks he saw, but I can assure you it wasn't that." She doesn't say anymore, can't be bothered to get another scolding from her step-daughter, this time for being so reckless with walking over the frozen lake.
Mary Margaret looks torn, like she wants to carry on arguing - she's clearly skeptical about their protests - but the fact Regina has mentioned a way to save Marian has peeked her interest. "You really think you can save her?" She asks, giving up her disapproval.
Regina gives her a curt nod, "that depends," then turns to look at Robin, asks, "did you manage to get the plant?"
He stuffs his hand in his pocket, pulls out a small cluster of the weeds they fought so hard to get to last night, then gives her a small smile. Regina looks back over to Roland, happily munching away on some pancakes Granny has set in front of him, then takes a deep breath. "Then yes. I can save her."
For a beat, no one says anything. Regina holds his gaze, notices his expression is as grim as hers despite the happy situation this should be. "Well ... there's no time to lose then," he says eventually, and his words make her eyes leave his face. She looks back at the pixie haired brunette to her right (the woman has now stopped rocking her child, stands frozen in place with an uncomfortable look on her face, and good, Regina thinks. She's glad Mary Margaret feels awkward, it will teach her to go around poking her nose in other people's business).
They say very little as they make her way to her - Snow's - office, where they've been keeping Marian's body. She sets Roland up at the table with a large wad of paper and an assortment of crayons, tells him to draw her a picture - anything he wants - and then asks if he thinks he's up to a mission when she's ready for him.
"What kind of mission?" He asks, a curious little frown on his face.
Regina crouches down until he's above her eye line. "I'm going to try and save your mommy ... but I can't do it without your help. What do you say, do you think you can help me?"
He nods firmly. "Like when we were in your castle."
"Exactly like when we were in my castle," she smiles, thinks back to the times she gave in to his pestering and played with him. She would cater to his imagination for hours before realising she was actually enjoying herself too. In some ways, he reminded her of Henry when he was little, those ways had hurt her heart and warmed her soul simultaneously, but the more time she spent with Roland during those days in the Enchanted Forest, the more she began to see he was an entirely different personality altogether.
She leaves him to his colouring before moving to join Robin by the couch. Memories of their morning spent wrapped in each others arms in front of this couch still plague her mind, still make her skin shiver and her knees weak, but she can't think of that right now, because aside from the fact it's totally inappropriate with his son and cursed wife in the room, it physically hurts her heart.
She spends a considerable amount of time prepping her spell, grinding ingredients, whispering incantations, stirring the mixture she's created in the battered old cauldron she'd acquired from her vault earlier that day (before she'd been accused of being a home wrecker). She's is just about ready for Roland when Robin's hand suddenly holds the top of her arm.
She looks down at his fingers; his grip isn't firm, not by any means, but she still feels the hold he like it's an anchor to keep her head from spinning with all the magic that she's performed as of late.
"Thank you," he says. It's quiet, drowning in an array of emotions that make her heart stop and speed up at the same time. There are tears in her eyes, not thick enough to blur her vision, but enough for her to feel her eyelashes moisten.
She shakes her head, swallows thickly, and says, "I'm happy to do it."
It's not a lie. Well ... not a total lie.
Regina takes in a deep breath, asks Roland to please come here, smiles when he obliges without hesitation. "You ready, buddy?"
"What do I have to do?" He asks, looking up at Robin, who reaches down and lifts him to sit on his hip.
"Regina needs something from you in order to wake you mother up, Roland,"
She stays silent while he explains, pulls out the long, thin needle she has already sterilised and then watches as Roland listens to Robin's words. She needs just a little bit of your blood, he tells him honestly, so we have to give you a small scratch on your finger.
"Will it hurt, papa?" Is his first question.
"No," she jumps in, takes the reigns from Robin and holds the little boy's attention. "It will just feel a little bit sharp. I think you're more than brave enough to take that, don't you?"
He ponders her words, then nods once. "Will I need stitches afterwards?" He asks, very seriously, and Regina throws an amused, albeit surprised, look up towards Robin, who is biting back a grin.
"Roland, how on earth did you learn what stitches are?" She asks.
"The doctors sewed up Little John's shoulder when he stopped being a monkey. He showed it me. He says they're called butterflies, but I don't want butterflies because that's for girls." He explains, missing the humour in his words.
Regina lets a small smile play on her lips, avoids Robin's eyes for fear she'll start to laugh, then tells him, "well that's a very good question, but no, you won't need stitches. All we'll have to do it kiss it better."
"Can I have some ice cream after I help mommy, Regina?"
That does make her laugh. "Of course you can."
He offers her his hand, which she takes gently in her own, turns it over so his palm faces the ceiling then pulls the skin on the tip of his index finger tightly. She does it quickly, pushes the metal into his skin then pulls it away so fast she's almost unsure she's done it. He doesn't even flinch, and it makes the 'mother' in her nearly burst with pride, (she bats that down quickly - reminds herself she isn't allowed to mother this little boy like she once used to).
"Well done, my boy. You were very brave," Robin tells him, pressing a kiss to his temple as Regina squeezes a small bubble of blood into the cauldron, then moves to wrap a bandaid around the tiny wound. Roland wiggles his finger, looks at his hand then back up at Regina.
"Is it time for my ice cream now?" Robin sets him on the floor, tells Regina he'll be right back, he's going to call Little John and have him come and collect Roland.
When he's left, Regina slowly lowers herself onto the coffee table in front of the couch. She's more or less Roland's height now, and watches him fondly as he twists his 'injured' finger around, admiring the bright blue material now wrapped around it.
"Regina, why don't you play with me anymore?" He asks, out of the blue, and for a moment, it throws her.
"Oh ... well .. you have your mother back to play with you now," she says, then sees a flicker of disappointment in his eyes. "But I do miss playing with you."
"Me too. Mommy doesn't play like you do, she didn't know how to play the dragon game," he tells her in a very matter-of-fact manner.
"She doesn't, huh? Well, maybe we can teach it to her," she offers, tries not to think back to the hours of playtime they enjoyed together running through her castle fighting an imaginary fire-breathing creature that - Roland assured her - would bite off her feet if she let it catch her. "We could take your mommy to the castle in the woods, can you remember the one I showed you?"
"Henry's castle?" He asks, scrunching his face, and she nods. "Okay! We can show her how to hide from the dragon, then."
Robin interrupts them, closely followed by John, who tries to usher Roland away with a promise of all the ice cream he can eat, but only if he tells the Merry Man all about his war wound, and how he's single handedly saved his mother's life. Roland giggles, goes to join John by the door before stopping in his tracks half way there. He turns, quickly hurries back to Regina and wraps his arms around her neck.
The gesture almost floors her. Tears fill her eyes, a painful lump rises in her throat, and it's all she can do to embrace his little body closer to her own.
"You didn't kiss my finger better," he whispers, his face buried in her hair, and she pulls back slowly, lifts up his hand and touches the bandaid with her lips. "Go and enjoy your ice cream, little one," she says, manages to disguise the emotion in her voice, and watches as he skips happily out of the room with John in toe.
"Are you ready?" Regina asks Robin when they're finally alone. She's standing over Marian's body now, the pot siting beside them simmering with magic, purple smoke billowing out over its edges.
He nods, then breathes out a wait, when she moves her palms over the cauldron in order to begin casting her spell. Her fingers spring back, nails digging in her palms as he reaches forward to grip her wrists and turns her to face him.
They're close, too close, she can feel his breath on her face, feel her skin pucker as his fingers tease their way up her arms and lace together with her own. Her eyes flutter shut, if only to stop the ache in her heart she gets whenever he looks at her the way he is right now. One hand leaves her own, and the next thing she feels is his palm resting against her cheek, hair being brushed away, and if he kisses her she might just fall apart.
She has never wanted him to kiss her more than she does right now.
She drops her head, because he can't kiss her, shouldn't kiss her, and a single tear slips down her skin when his lips meet her forehead. The gesture is loving, caring, and lasts far longer than it should, but it seems to be the only way for him to express how he's feeling without completely crossing a line.
She's grateful when he doesn't move for her lips.
She also hates him for not trying.
She clears her throat, and it seems to snap him out of whatever it is he's feeling right now, because he steps back, leaves the air around her body considerably colder than it was a second ago, then drops his gaze to Marian. His small nod is all she needs to begin casting the reversal spell.
It begins working, and as the woman before her starts to unthaw, Regina feels relief flood her veins. The ice melts quickly, the colour returns to her lips and her skin and her hair, her chest begins to rise and fall slowly, and as an ora of a soft magical glow surrounds Marian, her eyes flicker open.
"Marian?" Robin asks, kneeling by her side.
"Robin?" Comes her voice, and her gaze sweeps from her husbands up to Regina's.
"You were cursed, by the Snow Queen. How do you feel?" Regina asks, her usual surly tone working its way back to her voice.
"I'm ... I'm okay," she says, frowning, like she's confused. Marian moves her hand, presses it flush against her chest then glares up at Regina. "Where-"
"It's right here," Regina says, beats her to the point before she can start yelling at her for taking out her heart. "I had to take it out. If the Snow Queen's curse had touched it, you'd have died."
She moves to the office desk, picks up the box that houses Marian's heart, then walks back over to the couch. Marian sits up, helped by Robin's strong arms, then looks up cautiously to Regina, who stands a little awkwardly for a moment, then places the box down on the coffee table.
"I'll let you put that back," she says to Robin, who nods with a grateful smile.
As she goes to leave the office, she passes the table, chances a glance down at Roland's colouring, and feels her heart squeeze itself at the image that meets her.
It's messy, an array of colours that don't match and but hold an endearing nature the way any child's drawing does. It's of four stick people, each labeled with 'mama', 'papa', 'me' and 'Regina'. Tears stream down her cheeks before she can stop them - he's remembered how to spell her name, and she's reminded once more of the time she spent with Roland during their forgotten year, not just of play time, but of learning too, of a time she would sit with him in the library of the east wing and verse him on reading and writing. He picked it up quickly, quicker then Henry had at that age, and the fact he's remembered correctly makes her chest ache in a way it hasn't in years. Now she doesn't feel like she's just losing Robin, now she feels like she's losing her family.
The need to run takes over, and as she leaves, she can just hear Marian ask, "how do you know how to put a heart back?"
The hurt magnifies tenfold, the memories that question brings have her gasping for air, and when she's out of sight, she throws up her hands, and sends herself home in a cloud of purple smoke.
It's later, much later, when her front door knocks, pulls her from the sorrowful, sour mood she's found herself in since leaving her old office. She's ordered Henry to stay with Emma tonight, doesn't need him around her when she's feeling so shitty. He's the only person she'd answer to, and since he knows to stay away, she stays rooted to the couch and lets the knocks die down. Whoever it is gives up a moment later, and the silence of her mansion presses in around her once again.
She can feel the heat of the fire against her skin as she swirls her - nearly empty - glass of whiskey round, the ice clinking softly against the glass. It's not dulling her mood, but it is taking the edge off ... making her tired too, and hopefully with this and all the magic she's done today, she'll fall asleep without much effort tonight.
When her front door opens, she thinks it's Mary Margaret, come to yell at her more, or shove some pep talk down her throat that will no doubt make Regina seethe with ire. She stands with the notion of meeting her half way and frog marching her straight back out the house, but as she reaches the hall, it isn't her step-daughter that meets her gaze.
He looks slightly flustered, like maybe he's run here, and for a split second, she thinks maybe something has gone wrong with the reversal curse.
'R-Robin?" She asks, scolds herself for letting her voice catch and showing him the vulnerable side she's promised to hide from now on.
He takes two strides, full of purpose, to reach her, moves to hold her either side of her head, angles her face upwards, and pushes his lips over hers in a kiss that could bruise. A groan escapes her throat as she kisses him back hungrily, and the one thousand questions that were screaming in her head a second ago fall away. All she's left with is white noise and a familiar heat that spreads from her stomach, crawls its way across every inch of her skin.
Their kiss is heated from the second it starts, and he walks her backwards until she hits the wall with a thud. She tugs at his hair, rakes her nails over his scalp and joins him in a moan that vibrates from the base of her throat when she pulls at his bottom lip with her teeth, before soothing it with the run of her tongue.
Her chest is heaving against his when they stop, only for air, she wouldn't have even thought about halting that without the need for oxygen, and as she strokes the stubble that lines his jaw, she breathes, "what ... what?"
She doesn't know what she's asking, but he seems to.
"She could hear under the ice," he says, and Regina frowns. "Marian ... she said she heard everything. She knows I'm in love with you."
"Oh. What does ... why are you kissing me, Robin?" She asks, because she daren't hope he's about to answer with the words she's been longing to hear since his wife returned.
"I couldn't do it, I don't want to be with Marian after everything that's happened ... I'm sorry it's taken me this long to admit that to myself," he talks while their foreheads are touching, his voice getting emotional, and she suddenly realises both of them are tearful. "I love you," he says again, and it's like a symphony to her ears. His lips catch her own quickly. "I love you," he says it again, kisses her once more, and it's suddenly like it's all he can say. "I love you," again, and she's laughing now, smiling into each kiss as his arms wrap around her waist and lift her off her feet.
"I love you," she whispers back.
She's not sure what happened when she left the office, she'll find that out later. Right now, all she cares about is that she's in his arms, kissing his lips, breathing him in and feeling their hearts beat in sync.
All she cares about right now is that, finally, she's home.