Love, From OQ

@daneeelleee, A little birdie told me you were fond of Spoons, so this is a sneak peek for you as part of your @lovefromoq present! I am posting early because tomorrow is a bit mental for me, I hope you don’t mind. :-) Happy Valentine’s Day! It’s been a pleasure chatting with you over the last couple of weeks! Xx

They were supposed to go out an hour ago; they have reservations at the little Italian place on West, a cozy booth with wine bottle candle holders and wicker-encased Chianti, but as her hips drag lazily against his own, a delicious friction-induced moan rumbling from her throat in response, he decides the reservations can wait.

The boys are across the street with the babysitter, pajama clad and pizza stuffed and probably having a marvelous time, so if they simply enjoy the opportunity to snog on the couch like a couple of horny teenagers without the chance of interruption, instead of actually making it out of the house like proper adults on a real date like they planned, he’s not going to complain. Especially when she sucks on his bottom lip like that, before swiping her tongue along the seam of his mouth, her hips rocking against where he’s already hard, tenting the denim, rhythm matching the lazy, indulgent pattern of their kisses.

Dinner can definitely wait. He’d much rather spend the evening with warm palmfuls of her curves and the taste of Regina on his tongue.

“My heart’s racing,” she whispers, licking her lips, the touch ghosting along his own they’re still so close.

“Mine too,” he mumbles, diving back in for another kiss.

“No, Robin,” she says, pressing a hand to his chest, leaning a bit further away. “Not in,” she pants, breath coming in short gasping puffs, “the good way.”

His eyes pop open as she rolls off of him and flops onto the couch cushion, pressing fluttering fingers to the hollow of her neck. He watches as her lips move silently, counting he assumes, chest heaving with every breath.

“Shit,” he hisses, hands hovering over her not sure if touching her would make things better or worse, but desperately wanting to make some kind of contact, to make sure she’s okay. “What can I do?”

“Water,” she breathes, “get me some water.”

“Water, yeah, I can do that.” He stumbles off of the couch, rushing to the kitchen as quickly as he can with his now abating erection still pressing painfully against his jeans. He fills a glass with cool water and moves back to her side.

In the time he’s been gone she’s pulled her bag into her lap, shaking fingers pulling out a small, square pillbox. She pops open one of the clear plastic flaps, plucking an oblong white pill from inside that she slides under her tongue. She clicks the container closed, tosses it aside, then reaches for the glass of water, taking a long drink, tipping her head back so the pill can slide down her throat.

“Thank you,” she says, setting the water on the side table. “Guess this gives a whole new meaning to hot and bothered, huh?” She grins, but it’s a bit weak, her voice still thin and airy.

“Yeah. Guess so,” he agrees, rubbing a hand up and down her arm. “Feeling any better?”

“I’m fine, or I will be in a minute. Sorry, this is not how this evening was supposed to go.”

For ouatbones, my @lovefromoq giftee!

Plot: Robin goes against his boss to save Regina from Cupid.

Also on AO3

Robin knew he only had a limited amount of time. He couldn’t let another person become a victim.

Being a fairy wasn’t the fun a lot of people expected it to be. Being under the constant rule of Blue was terrible and if you dared to question her, you risked losing your wings at the least, being executed at the worst. Robin tried to stay in line, so he could help people. He knew he was one of the few fairies that actually cared about giving people happy endings, rather than just controlling the general population.

There was one fairy he hated almost as much as he hated Blue: Cupid. He thought he was doing good, going around and creating love for others. However, it was against their will, which negated the purpose of it being true love. What made it worse was that Cupid could be bribed to connect to people, even if it was for the worse.

Which was exactly what Cora was trying to do with her daughter. Regina refused to have anything to do with her mother’s choice in suitor, King Leopold. The man was twice her age and had been known for going after much younger women. Regina had managed to escape he mother’s clutches and was living a quiet life in the village. However, if Cora had her way, she and Leopold would have a “chance meeting” on St. Valentine’s, causing them to “fall in love”.

He couldn’t let it happen. He had known Queen Eva, Leopold’s first wife. She had been miserable being married to him and was even trying to escape with their young daughter. It wasn’t meant to be, however, and she died of a mysterious illness before they could escape. Robin couldn’t let Regina be his next victim.

On St. Valentine’s, Robin told Blue that he was heading off to collect pixie dust from the mines and instead headed towards the village. He could smell Cupid’s sweet pink dust from a mile away and knew he had to act quick. Swooping in, he arrived at the tavern where Regina worked and walked inside. Hiding his wings, he rushed inside and his eyes darted around. Finally, he spotted her.

Robin had watched Regina grow up and living with Cora, she always had the finest clothes, with matching accessories galore. That day, however, she was dressed in rags. Yet, he saw something on her face that he hadn’t seen when she was living in the Mills’ manor…a smile. She served the ale and chatted with the patrons, she was happy with her life.

There was no way that Cupid was going to take that from her.

Walking over to where she was, he carefully placed a hand on her arm and whispered into her ear. “You need to come with me.”

Regina raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”

“Cupid is lurking nearby, he’s been hired by your mother to make sure you fall in love with the king. To stay safe, come with me.”

Regina’s eyes darted around and she found Leopold walking inside. That meant that Cupid wouldn’t be far behind. Quickly tossing off her apron, she gulped and turned to face the man in front of her.

“Get me out of here,” she whispered. “Please.”

“As you wish.”

Robin snuck her out the back of the tavern and sprouted his wings once again, they were a brown color. He pulled out a vile of pixie dust and sprinkled it on Regina. A moment later, the two were gliding through the air.

“Holy shit,” Regina mumbled, as they soared. “This is is…crazy.” “Welcome to my life.”

“I didn’t get your name.”

“Well, if it was up to Blue, my name would be Brown. But I prefer to go by Robin.”

Regina grinned. “It’s nice to meet you, Robin.” She paused for a moment. “Where are we going?”

“A new village, one where your mother and Cupid cannot reach for you. I’ve arranged for you to get a job there.”

“Why do you want to help me? All my life, Blue has caused me nothing but pain. I thought fairies…”

“Fairies can be evil, but I don’t want to be like that. I want to help people.”

Soon, they had arrived in the new village, landing peacefully on the ground. Regina smoothed down her clothes and Robin reached into his pocket, pulling out a sack of coins.

“I’ve arranged for you to have a loft above the bar,” he explained. “This should help you until you get on your feet.”

“How can I ever repay you?” Regina asked, taking the coins from him.

“Just do something nice for someone else.”

She stared at him for a moment, before tilting her head. “You know, you don’t have to be a fairy to do good for the world.”

“Pardon?”

“Stay here, with me. You can work at the tavern too, we can…we can help people together.”

Robin smiled. “You hardly know me.”

“You saved my life. I know you have a kind heart. Please, Robin. Stay here with me.”

“Well, how can I refuse an offer from such a pretty lady?”

Here is my @lovefromoq gift for @findingtallahassee 😘

The shadows blanket the road this far out. They stretch from the tops of the evergreen trees and cast most of the road in darkness. Except for tonight, there are a few bright beams filtering down from the full moon in the sky. The only sounds come from the crickets and wildlife beyond the pines and it’s a solitary, lonely kind of peaceful.

She’s made a habit out of coming here; slipping out just after Henry’s gone to sleep and spending a precious few hours hoping. Hoping for what, she isn’t quite sure. Maybe for the resolute acceptance of how things have turned out. For her heart to stop aching and move on already. Sometimes even, she’s loathe to admit, she wishes for a freak accident that would take Marian away and right the universe again.

But mostly, she hopes he’ll appear out of thin air, grinning how he does, as he steps back into Storybrooke and into her life.

She knows it won’t happen, that he might as well be in another realm altogether. She understands why he’s gone, respects it even, but it doesn’t keep her from peering out down the road and wondering where on the other side he could be tonight.

The pavement is cool beneath her thin slacks but she likes sitting at the very edge where she can pretend the red line in front of her crossed legs is the only barrier keeping them apart. As if the two of them sit apart, the protection spell a curtain that only need be pulled back and they’d be face to face. She lifts the flask next to her and the moon beams off its shiny surface as she indulges in another sip. She’s not drunk, but the alcohol numbs things just enough, blurs the edges so she doesn’t actually cry. And it would be all to easy to let herself embrace her emotions and sob in self pity.

He was supposed to be her second chance; her redemption for the awful woman she’d been—and he was, for however brief a time. His integrity made her better. His morals brought her back to that seventeen year old girl she once was. Just “Regina”, not “Her Majesty” or “The Evil Queen”. He saw the real Regina under all those layers of guilt and anger and regret. And perhaps what makes her feel more despondent than anything is that she’ll never get a third chance. She got so unexpectedly lucky with Robin. She didn’t deserve him to begin with, but only he could have been her soulmate. Only he could understand every sordid detail of her past and still have the audacity to not only love her, but choose her.

Regina runs a hand through the front of her dark hair as she sighs. She misses him. She misses having another person unconditionally in her corner, misses not always feeling like the third wheel, misses the smell of damp earth and aged redwood.

She wants to scream to the heavens, or this “author”, or whatever higher power there might be that it’s so unfair! Only she knows damn well how fair her pain is; how cosmic and condemned her story has read. It’s her punishment for choosing revenge when she could have chosen forgiveness. Daniel’s death was the great catalyst of her life. And while she knows there are many who let their grief morph into hatred, there had been another way. It would have been harder, maybe taken longer, but she might have come out the other side a better person; a hero.

She won’t make that mistake again.

While it feels just as bad as it had years ago, even worse actually; she cannot tarnish what Robin stood for, just to try to ease the ache. If anyone was undeserving, it was that man. He had made mistakes the same as any of them, sure, but he worked for his redemption. Robin had found a way to do what she never could. He turned his pain into purpose. A purpose full of love and selflessness and renewal.

And now he’s been hurt once more, entangled in the web of her retribution; collateral damage for the penance she was paying. He had not known just what loving the Evil Queen would cost him, even if she had truly made a change. Yet, he had opted to accept the shit hand he was dealt and if only it weren’t for her he wouldn’t be hurting because of it. He might even be overjoyed to have his late wife back; his family reunited.

She prays for that as she slowly pushes herself to her feet now. She decides it’s the only thing she can do to wish him well, Marian too. If only she could have granted him a memory spell before he’d gone so he could forget about the wreckage she’d brought into his heart. Of course, her thief would never have taken the easy way out. And Regina can’t help but to hold on to the thought of him remembering her, remembering the true, sacred, magical connection they shared.

She suddenly has to lift her fingers to her face to brush away an errant tear. She will not feel sorry for herself, at least not anymore tonight.

Staring out down the still, vacant road out of Storybrooke, she sniffles and squares her shoulders to reign in her emotions and she hopes above all else that Robin finds the kind of happiness she knows he deserves.

This chapter of her story is closing, and she needs to let the dust settle on the pages and find a way to move on. If her heart is going to take it’s time mending, then she must stop her late night visits. She has a son at home and new, delicate friendships, and a town that seems forever under threat, and a population of people who she owes debts so great she may never repay them. But she must try.

She turns on her heel and heads back to her silver benz parked just off the shoulder, opens the door and gives one last, longing gaze down the vacant road.

In her mind, the protected barrier shimmers and parts and her handsome thief appears, Roland at his side, tiny hand clutched in his. Regina abandons the door, unconsciously letting her feet carry her forward a few paces. She let’s her eyes slip closed and smiles wide with the image of them behind her lids.

“Regina”, he says.

And it’s not until she reopens her eyes that it occurs to her the tone of his voice had not been quite right.

“Regina!”

As if awaking from a dream, her focus snaps back to reality and he’s still in front of her, rushing towards her more accurately, his arms outstretched. The the next moment she can feel him against her chest, can smell his woodsy scent right under her nose.

“Oh thank God, Regina!”, he nearly cries in relief and it’s all she can do to catch her brain up to what’s happening. Maybe she’d had more to drink than she thought? He pulls out of the embrace, but doesn’t completely withdraw his touch. He must have sensed her shock, perhaps too overwhelmed to see her to notice she didn’t hug back.

“Regina?”

Her eyes scan over his body, willing herself to believe it’s really him, but they land instead on the dimple faced child grinning up at her.

“Gina! We come to visit you!”, his little voice hits her ears and she raises her eyes back to Robin’s anxious gaze. The acceptance breaks around her and she throws her arms around his neck, afraid he might disappear.

“Robin!”

It’s the only thing she manages to say while she’s this overcome with emotions. He holds her back, just as tight and whispers her name quietly against her head and she finally finds her voice.

“Wha—why—what are you doing here?”, she breathes in disbelief. Her hand falls to Roland’s head below and caresses his locks to finally acknowledge him, but she needs to grasp her current reality before she makes a fool of herself.

“It’s Zelena”, he tells her with a bit of disdain, “We’re all in danger. I had to come back to warn you all, to help fight”

He glances down at his now frightened son and lifts him into his right hip for a soothing hug while Regina blinks in confusion.

“What are you talking about? Where is Mari—“

“We can’t talk about it now”, he cuts her off urgently, gesturing with a discreet nod to the boy in his arms. “Listen, I promise I will explain everything later. But we don’t have a lot of time to gather the others and make a plan”.

He slides a gentle hand down her arm as if to assure her it’ll be alright despite his ominous warning. Roland wiggles in his grasp and his father sets him on his feet a moment before he bounds off a yard or two and squats down to examine a rock on the pavement.

“I’m just so happy to see you, Regina”, Robin cups her cheek in his chilled palm, “didn’t think I would again”.

His words rush off his tongue before his lips are pressed to hers, desperate and needy, fueled by the current perils only he knows they face and his all consuming love for her. It is a reunion kiss that can only come from resolutely believing they’d be separated permanently.

Regina responds with all the heart she can muster, their lips moving fluidly together as if the last few weeks had not eclipsed. When they finally break for air they are both grinning like fools, foreheads resting together as their breathing falls in sync, and she swears she suddenly feels whole again, as if her arm had been missing and has just now been returned. She lets the feeling wash over her, soaks it in selfishly for a minute because she knows how fleeting this absolute contentment is now.

There are still a thousand questions running through her head, a dark cloud churning and billowing over their little town and every life in it, but with Robin’s hand in her own things feel possible.

She tightens her grip and they start toward her car, ushering Roland away from his picture in the dirt as they go. They let their hands slip apart to round the car and Robin opens the back so Roland can hop inside excitedly, insisting that he’s mastered belting himself in. Once he’s safely buckled and shut in, Robin pulls his handle but catches Regina’s eyes over the hood.

They both have a flurry of emotions hidden in their expressions, but one sticks out above them all and Regina knows this one to be the only true importance in the world.

“I love you”, Robin declares, the lines around his eyes wrinkled from the joy on his face.

Her chest swells with such happiness that her dark eyes moisten with tears and she doesn’t care that her voice cracks when she finally speaks the words herself.

“I love you”.

This whole thing became a monster, so I guess this can be considered the start of a new verse for me. It’s based on one of my favorite book series, Delirium.

I really hope you enjoy the beginning, and I will be posting the entire first part this weekend. (: I hope you had an amazing day today, and many thanks to @lovefromoq for putting this event together! 💕

Regina still cries sometimes. The anniversary of her father’s death is one of those times.

She wonders if that’s something that would upset him. Anyone else would find it alarming, perhaps even enough to report her. But her father had always been a bit more lenient about these things than anyone else, despite the surgical procedure he’d had that was supposed to make him feel otherwise.

It was twenty years before her father had been born when the government had identified love as an official disease. An umbrella disorder under which many other disorders had been reclassified as symptoms, like depression, anxiety, insomnia. And by the time her father had turned eighteen a cure had been all but perfected to keep the public safe against love.

It’d become a mandatory operation — a surgery on the brain, performed on the spot of the head just behind the ear. It was a clean procedure by the time her father had gotten it, leaving behind nothing but three small dots as evidence. A scar most people wore proudly as the mark against amor deliria nervosa.

Happy Valentine’s Day to @sweetsmiles1! I was your Love, OQ Secret Admirer! I hope you enjoy the fic I wrote for you and that you have a great Valentine’s Day! 

cc: @oqcelebration

           “Happy birthday, Mom!” Henry entered her bedroom, carrying a tray loaded with pancakes and coffee.

           Regina sat up, smiling at her son. “Henry. You didn’t have to do this.”

           He gave her a look as he set the tray down over her legs. “It’s your birthday. Of course, I want to celebrate. And breakfast in bed is tradition. Eat up!”

           She chuckled and cut into the pancakes, a sign her little prince was growing up. When he was younger, her breakfast was usually cereal and orange juice. He eventually graduated to toast and learned to make coffee. Now, he was making pancakes. What would he be doing next?

           “Thank you, Henry,” she said. “This was so thoughtful.”

           He grinned, folding his legs underneath him to look at her. “What else do you want to do? It’s your special day.”

           She chewed her pancake for a bit, carefully wording her answer. “I think I just want to have a normal day, Henry. That’s all. No fuss, no distractions. Just go on like it’s any other day.”

           “But it’s not another normal day,” Henry insisted. “It’s your birthday and we should celebrate, Mom.”

           “We are celebrating. You’ve made me breakfast and then we’ll have some cake tonight, just you and me. Okay?” Regina tucked two fingers underneath his chin, smiling at him as she prayed he would back down.

           He sighed, his shoulders sagging. “Is this about Robin?”

           “No,” she said, meaning it. “You know I’ve never been big about celebrating my birthday. I’d rather celebrate yours.”

           “Because I’m worth celebrating,” Henry replied. When she nodded, he then countered: “I think you’re worth celebrating.”

           Her heart melted and she put the tray aside so she could hug him. “If it means so much to you, then I guess we can go to dinner at Granny’s and you can invite the Charmings. How’s that?”

           His smile lit up the room. “That sounds great, Mom. I know everyone will appreciate it.”

           “Yeah, yeah,” she replied before holding up a finger. “I draw the line at Granny’s wait staff singing to me. Do we understand?”

           “Don’t worry, Mom. It’ll be a quiet affair. I promise.” He hopped off the bed. “I need to go call Grandma. You enjoy your breakfast.”

           Once Henry was gone, she pulled the tray back and dug into her cooling breakfast. It was just one dinner with the Charmings. She figured the worst that would happen was an off-key rendition of “Happy Birthday” over the cake while the entire restaurant tried not to stare. It seemed tolerable.

           She hoped.

Regina took a deep breath before opening the door to Granny’s diner that night. She had spent the afternoon pampering herself in anticipation (and at Henry’s insistence she relax), soaking in a bubble bath and then using a facial mask as well as other products for her skin. Dressed in red, her power color, Regina definitely felt confident.

It still didn’t mean she was prepared to spend an entire evening with the Charmings and their annoying optimistic tendencies.

She stepped inside and spotted Henry waving at her from one of the booths. Regina waved back and started to head toward the booth. The other patrons nodded in acknowledgment of her, a change from just a few years prior when most wouldn’t have made eye contact with her. As she approached the booth, one waitress smiled as she passed. “Happy birthday, Madam Mayor.”

“Thank you,” she forced herself to say. She then turned on her son. “What was my one condition?”

He grinned. “Relax, Mom. We had to give Granny the cake, so everyone found out. But I made it clear that there is to be no singing.”

“Don’t worry, Regina,” Emma piped up. “I think it’s a bit embarrassing to have the staff sing to you as well.”

Snow beamed up at Regina. “Thank you so much for letting us come to your birthday dinner. It means a lot.”

“I guess it does,” she agreed, sliding in next to Henry. It felt both strange yet right to be celebrating with her stepdaughter and her family.

Hook cleared his throat, picking up the menu. “So, Your Majesty, what will it be for your special day?”

“And don’t think of ordering something super healthy,” Emma added. “Calories don’t count on your birthday.”

Regina gave her a look over the menu but couldn’t help her amused smile as she perused the options. Granny’s menu hadn’t changed much over the past thirty years but she still looked every time, just in case something new had snuck its way onto the list of offerings.

In the end, she decided to have a grilled chicken sandwich and French fries. It was enough to keep Emma from teasing her and they all soon fell into an easy conversation as their food arrived.

By the time their dishes were cleared away, Regina felt quite relaxed. Though she wouldn’t admit it out loud, the dinner had been exactly what she needed for her birthday. She rubbed Henry’s back, smiling at him in gratitude. He must’ve picked it up because the smile he gave her back seemed a bit smug.

Granny approached the table, carrying a red velvet cake with lit candles. She placed it down in front of Regina. “Now, I know you don’t want my staff to sing, but can a few friends sing for you?” she asked.

Regina bit her lip before sighing. “I guess. Just as long as it doesn’t turn out to be the entire diner.”

“Fair enough,” she replied. “But it’s just everyone at this booth. Is that fine?”

“Yes,” Regina conceded. “Just…not so loud.”

Granny rolled her eyes. “Okay. On three. One…two…three…”

The singing wasn’t too bad and Regina found herself cringing only once. It was blissfully short and then Granny was saying: “Make a wish and blow out the candle.”

Surrounded by her smiling family, Regina realized she had no choice. Yet she didn’t know what she was going to wish for. Maybe she could just blow out the candle without making a wish…

You know what you want. What’s the harm in wishing for it? asked a traitorous voice in her head that sounded suspiciously like Tink.

It won’t come true. It can’t come true. I’ll just end up with a broken heart, she argued with herself.

Come on, Regina. You’ve seen the power of wishes. Just believe.

“Regina?. The candle is starting to drip wax over the frosting,” Emma said. “Make a wish and blow.”

Regina glared at her but took a deep breath. She blew out the candle as her wish echoed around her mind:

I wish Robin and Roland would come back to me.

Everyone clapped and Granny picked up the cake. “I’ll go get this cut up and be right back.”

She walked off as Snow pulled something from her bag. It was a small wrapped box with a purple bow on top. “I know you probably didn’t want any gifts, but I found this and knew it was for you.”

Curious, Regina unwrapped it and lifted the lid. Sitting on a bed of cotton was a beautiful tan father with dark brown tips. Her heart beat faster as she picked it up, rolling the feather between her fingers. “Is this…?”

“I think so,” Snow said. “It looks like a feather from an arrow and both David and Hook said it looked like the ones they saw on Robin’s arrows.”

“It must’ve been floating around Storybrooke since Zelena lost it,” Henry said, smiling at her. “And now it’s come back to you.”

Regina smiled, holding the feather to her heart as she looked at Snow. “Thank you. This means a lot to me.”

Granny returned with a tray laden with slices of cake. “Okay, who wants a piece?” she asked.

As the others reached for their slices, Regina tucked the feather inside her purse. Perhaps her wish had come true after all, even if not in the exact way she had meant.

Lots of love for katastrophic37 (twitter) / @evilqueens ! I hope you have a wonderful day. It was a joy to be your secret Valentine. Happy Valentine’s Day! ♥

>> Robin and Regina enjoying a cozy and quiet Valentine’s Day at home. Made for LoveFromOQ 2018.<< 

http://archiveofourown.org/collections/LoveFromOQ/works/13678020

For ouatbones, my @lovefromoq giftee!

Plot: Robin goes against his boss to save Regina from Cupid.

Also on AO3

Robin knew he only had a limited amount of time. He couldn’t let another person become a victim.

Being a fairy wasn’t the fun a lot of people expected it to be. Being under the constant rule of Blue was terrible and if you dared to question her, you risked losing your wings at the least, being executed at the worst. Robin tried to stay in line, so he could help people. He knew he was one of the few fairies that actually cared about giving people happy endings, rather than just controlling the general population.

There was one fairy he hated almost as much as he hated Blue: Cupid. He thought he was doing good, going around and creating love for others. However, it was against their will, which negated the purpose of it being true love. What made it worse was that Cupid could be bribed to connect to people, even if it was for the worse.

Which was exactly what Cora was trying to do with her daughter. Regina refused to have anything to do with her mother’s choice in suitor, King Leopold. The man was twice her age and had been known for going after much younger women. Regina had managed to escape he mother’s clutches and was living a quiet life in the village. However, if Cora had her way, she and Leopold would have a “chance meeting” on St. Valentine’s, causing them to “fall in love”.

He couldn’t let it happen. He had known Queen Eva, Leopold’s first wife. She had been miserable being married to him and was even trying to escape with their young daughter. It wasn’t meant to be, however, and she died of a mysterious illness before they could escape. Robin couldn’t let Regina be his next victim.

On St. Valentine’s, Robin told Blue that he was heading off to collect pixie dust from the mines and instead headed towards the village. He could smell Cupid’s sweet pink dust from a mile away and knew he had to act quick. Swooping in, he arrived at the tavern where Regina worked and walked inside. Hiding his wings, he rushed inside and his eyes darted around. Finally, he spotted her.

Robin had watched Regina grow up and living with Cora, she always had the finest clothes, with matching accessories galore. That day, however, she was dressed in rags. Yet, he saw something on her face that he hadn’t seen when she was living in the Mills’ manor…a smile. She served the ale and chatted with the patrons, she was happy with her life.

There was no way that Cupid was going to take that from her.

Walking over to where she was, he carefully placed a hand on her arm and whispered into her ear. “You need to come with me.”

Regina raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”

“Cupid is lurking nearby, he’s been hired by your mother to make sure you fall in love with the king. To stay safe, come with me.”

Regina’s eyes darted around and she found Leopold walking inside. That meant that Cupid wouldn’t be far behind. Quickly tossing off her apron, she gulped and turned to face the man in front of her.

“Get me out of here,” she whispered. “Please.”

“As you wish.”

Robin snuck her out the back of the tavern and sprouted his wings once again, they were a brown color. He pulled out a vile of pixie dust and sprinkled it on Regina. A moment later, the two were gliding through the air.

“Holy shit,” Regina mumbled, as they soared. “This is is…crazy.” “Welcome to my life.”

“I didn’t get your name.”

“Well, if it was up to Blue, my name would be Brown. But I prefer to go by Robin.”

Regina grinned. “It’s nice to meet you, Robin.” She paused for a moment. “Where are we going?”

“A new village, one where your mother and Cupid cannot reach for you. I’ve arranged for you to get a job there.”

“Why do you want to help me? All my life, Blue has caused me nothing but pain. I thought fairies…”

“Fairies can be evil, but I don’t want to be like that. I want to help people.”

Soon, they had arrived in the new village, landing peacefully on the ground. Regina smoothed down her clothes and Robin reached into his pocket, pulling out a sack of coins.

“I’ve arranged for you to have a loft above the bar,” he explained. “This should help you until you get on your feet.”

“How can I ever repay you?” Regina asked, taking the coins from him.

“Just do something nice for someone else.”

She stared at him for a moment, before tilting her head. “You know, you don’t have to be a fairy to do good for the world.”

“Pardon?”

“Stay here, with me. You can work at the tavern too, we can…we can help people together.”

Robin smiled. “You hardly know me.”

“You saved my life. I know you have a kind heart. Please, Robin. Stay here with me.”

“Well, how can I refuse an offer from such a pretty lady?”

So, this may be a complete wreck but I’d like to draw your attention to a few things before you read you’re present ;)

1. Im pretty sure I gave away my identity already because… 2. I’m working off my iPhone (it’s sad but it’s true lol) and… 3. Mobile Tumblr just refusesss to make things easy on me. 4. And also, I waited to write this last minute like most other things in my life.

But aside from all that, I do hope you find even a tiny bit of enjoyment in this. Our beautiful sunken ship deserves a bit of light today ❤️

P.s. I’d love to write for you again in the future if you’re ever interested.

HOPIN’ AND WISHIN’ AND PRAYIN’ (An Outlaw Queen fic)

The shadows blanket the road this far out. They stretch from the tops of the evergreen trees and cast most of the road in darkness. Except for tonight, there are a few bright beams filtering down from the full moon in the sky. The only sounds come from the crickets and wildlife beyond the pines and it’s a solitary, lonely kind of peaceful.

She’s made a habit out of coming here; slipping out just after Henry’s gone to sleep and spending a precious few hours hoping. Hoping for what, she isn’t quite sure. Maybe for the resolute acceptance of how things have turned out. For her heart to stop aching and move on already. Sometimes even, she’s loathe to admit, she wishes for a freak accident that would take Marian away and right the universe again.

But mostly, she hopes he’ll appear out of thin air, grinning how he does, as he steps back into Storybrooke and into her life.

She knows it won’t happen, that he might as well be in another realm altogether. She understands why he’s gone, respects it even, but it doesn’t keep her from peering out down the road and wondering where on the other side he could be tonight.

The pavement is cool beneath her thin slacks but she likes sitting at the very edge where she can pretend the red line in front of her crossed legs is the only barrier keeping them apart. As if the two of them sit apart, the protection spell a curtain that only need be pulled back and they’d be face to face. She lifts the flask next to her and the moon beams off its shiny surface as she indulges in another sip. She’s not drunk, but the alcohol numbs things just enough, blurs the edges so she doesn’t actually cry. And it would be all to easy to let herself embrace her emotions and sob in self pity.

He was supposed to be her second chance; her redemption for the awful woman she’d been—and he was, for however brief a time. His integrity made her better. His morals brought her back to that seventeen year old girl she once was. Just “Regina”, not “Her Majesty” or “The Evil Queen”. He saw the real Regina under all those layers of guilt and anger and regret. And perhaps what makes her feel more despondent than anything is that she’ll never get a third chance. She got so unexpectedly lucky with Robin. She didn’t deserve him to begin with, but only he could have been her soulmate. Only he could understand every sordid detail of her past and still have the audacity to not only love her, but choose her.

Regina runs a hand through the front of her dark hair as she sighs. She misses him. She misses having another person unconditionally in her corner, misses not always feeling like the third wheel, misses the smell of damp earth and aged redwood.

She wants to scream to the heavens, or this “author”, or whatever higher power there might be that it’s so unfair! Only she knows damn well how fair her pain is; how cosmic and condemned her story has read. It’s her punishment for choosing revenge when she could have chosen forgiveness. Daniel’s death was the great catalyst of her life. And while she knows there are many who let their grief morph into hatred, there had been another way. It would have been harder, maybe taken longer, but she might have come out the other side a better person; a hero.

She won’t make that mistake again.

While it feels just as bad as it had years ago, even worse actually; she cannot tarnish what Robin stood for, just to try to ease the ache. If anyone was undeserving, it was that man. He had made mistakes the same as any of them, sure, but he worked for his redemption. Robin had found a way to do what she never could. He turned his pain into purpose. A purpose full of love and selflessness and renewal.

And now he’s been hurt once more, entangled in the web of her retribution; collateral damage for the penance she was paying. He had not known just what loving the Evil Queen would cost him, even if she had truly made a change. Yet, he had opted to accept the shit hand he was dealt and if only it weren’t for her he wouldn’t be hurting because of it. He might even be overjoyed to have his late wife back; his family reunited.

She prays for that as she slowly pushes herself to her feet now. She decides it’s the only thing she can do to wish him well, Marian too. If only she could have granted him a memory spell before he’d gone so he could forget about the wreckage she’d brought into his heart. Of course, her thief would never have taken the easy way out. And Regina can’t help but to hold on to the thought of him remembering her, remembering the true, sacred, magical connection they shared.

She suddenly has to lift her fingers to her face to brush away an errant tear. She will not feel sorry for herself, at least not anymore tonight.

Staring out down the still, vacant road out of Storybrooke, she sniffles and squares her shoulders to reign in her emotions and she hopes above all else that Robin finds the kind of happiness she knows he deserves.

This chapter of her story is closing, and she needs to let the dust settle on the pages and find a way to move on. If her heart is going to take it’s time mending, then she must stop her late night visits. She has a son at home and new, delicate friendships, and a town that seems forever under threat, and a population of people who she owes debts so great she may never repay them. But she must try.

She turns on her heel and heads back to her silver benz parked just off the shoulder, opens the door and gives one last, longing gaze down the vacant road.

In her mind, the protected barrier shimmers and parts and her handsome thief appears, Roland at his side, tiny hand clutched in his. Regina abandons the door, unconsciously letting her feet carry her forward a few paces. She let’s her eyes slip closed and smiles wide with the image of them behind her lids.

“Regina”, he says.

And it’s not until she reopens her eyes that it occurs to her the tone of his voice had not been quite right.

“Regina!”

As if awaking from a dream, her focus snaps back to reality and he’s still in front of her, rushing towards her more accurately, his arms outstretched. The the next moment she can feel him against her chest, can smell his woodsy scent right under her nose.

“Oh thank God, Regina!”, he nearly cries in relief and it’s all she can do to catch her brain up to what’s happening. Maybe she’d had more to drink than she thought? He pulls out of the embrace, but doesn’t completely withdraw his touch. He must have sensed her shock, perhaps too overwhelmed to see her to notice she didn’t hug back.

“Regina?”

Her eyes scan over his body, willing herself to believe it’s really him, but they land instead on the dimple faced child grinning up at her.

“Gina! We come to visit you!”, his little voice hits her ears and she raises her eyes back to Robin’s anxious gaze. The acceptance breaks around her and she throws her arms around his neck, afraid he might disappear.

“Robin!”

It’s the only thing she manages to say while she’s this overcome with emotions. He holds her back, just as tight and whispers her name quietly against her head and she finally finds her voice.

“Wha—why—what are you doing here?”, she breathes in disbelief. Her hand falls to Roland’s head below and caresses his locks to finally acknowledge him, but she needs to grasp her current reality before she makes a fool of herself.

“It’s Zelena”, he tells her with a bit of disdain, “We’re all in danger. I had to come back to warn you all, to help fight”

He glances down at his now frightened son and lifts him into his right hip for a soothing hug while Regina blinks in confusion.

“What are you talking about? Where is Mari—“

“We can’t talk about it now”, he cuts her off urgently, gesturing with a discreet nod to the boy in his arms. “Listen, I promise I will explain everything later. But we don’t have a lot of time to gather the others and make a plan”.

He slides a gentle hand down her arm as if to assure her it’ll be alright despite his ominous warning. Roland wiggles in his grasp and his father sets him on his feet a moment before he bounds off a yard or two and squats down to examine a rock on the pavement.

“I’m just so happy to see you, Regina”, Robin cups her cheek in his chilled palm, “didn’t think I would again”.

His words rush off his tongue before his lips are pressed to hers, desperate and needy, fueled by the current perils only he knows they face and his all consuming love for her. It is a reunion kiss that can only come from resolutely believing they’d be separated permanently. Regina responds with all the heart she can muster, their lips moving fluidly together as if the last few weeks had not eclipsed. When they finally break for air they are both grinning like fools, foreheads resting together as their breathing falls in sync, and she swears she suddenly feels whole again, as if her arm had been missing and has just now been returned. She lets the feeling wash over her, soaks it in selfishly for a minute because she knows how fleeting this absolute contentment is now.

There are still a thousand questions running through her head, a dark cloud churning and billowing over their little town and every life in it, but with Robin’s hand in her own things feel possible.

She tightens her grip and they start toward her car, ushering Roland away from his picture in the dirt as they go. They let their hands slip apart to round the car and Robin opens the back so Roland can hop inside excitedly, insisting that he’s mastered belting himself in. Once he’s safely buckled and shut in, Robin pulls his handle but catches Regina’s eyes over the hood.

They both have a flurry of emotions hidden in their expressions, but one sticks out above them all and Regina knows this one to be the only true importance in the world.

“I love you”, Robin declares, the lines around his eyes wrinkled from the joy on his face.

Her chest swells with such happiness that her dark eyes moisten with tears and she doesn’t care that her voice cracks when she finally speaks the words herself.

“I love you”.

Thank you so much for this. I have tears in my eyes, it is so beautiful! I honestly had no idea it was you, but you…you gave me their first I love yous and they’re together and happy…and happy Valentine’s Day! You are so amazing and sweet. <3

Here is the rest of your @lovefromoq gift @drevazambrano!  I do hope you enjoy it and that your Valentine’s Day has been fabulous so far. :D

The entire story can be read on either AO3 or ff.net.  

She can’t breathe.

He’s there, no here, right here, right in front of her, in her house, standing with their son…just…here…in her house….How?  Why?

“Robin?”

Her lips are numb as his name escapes her, traveling on a puff of air released by a shock so profound she cannot move. He’s looking at her as if she’ll shatter, and maybe she has, she just hasn’t realized it yet.

“Regina.”

She closes her eyes as his voice trails up her body, wrapping her in talons from the past that led her to the present in which they now stand. Then she blinks her eyes open and stares back at him, taking him in, wondering what he’s thinking, afraid of thinking too much herself lest she short-circuit and collapse onto the floor.

“How?”

Neither of them have moved, their gazes fixed on each other, the air between them thick enough to keep them upright.

“It was me.”

Happy Valentines Day! 

Love finds each other no matter what universe

this is my @lovefromoq gift for the lovely @ninzied! surprise!! :P my first gif! and the three pics after the read more