#oq other realms week

[snowbellewells]

Self Promo Sunday: "And All the Trimmings"

These next couple of weeks, I'm going to highlight the Thanksgiving fics I have written over the years. I've always loved the holiday, and there aren't enough fics for it (in my humble opinion) so I've tried to create a few at various times along the way. This one is some Thanksgiving fluff written during 5B as I anxiously hoped for them to return from the Underworld with their hero party still intact and a pirate in tow. Nods to CS, Snowing, and OQ in here; Thanksgiving is a whole family holiday after all! ;p  Anyway, I think that’s it, other than it obviously being canon divergent now, since things did not pan out nearly so happily upon their return from Underbrooke.  Still, enjoy – and please let me know what you think if you’re so inclined!

**Also available on ff.net or AO3, as a part of my one shots collection "Of Swans and Swords and Hopeful Hearts**

by: @snowbellewells

“Charming?” his lovely wife’s voice rings brightly from the loft’s small kitchen right into the erstwhile Prince of the Enchanted Forest’s ears as he bustles through the door of their apartment, arms full of groceries and cheeks red from the first deep chill and frost of the year. “Is that you?”

“Yes, Snow, I’m back!” he calls, bemused smile quirking up one side of his mouth. A chuckle escapes David Nolan’s throat at how happy and excited his Princess sounds. Setting his purchases on the table until he can hang his coat back on its peg, he shakes his head with affectionate good humor and goes to meet her in the kitchen.

If he’s honest with himself, David is nearly as anxious and thrilled as Snow. After all, their entire family, with all its odd, extended members, will soon be gathered here with them for the first Thanksgiving holiday they have celebrated together. His heart swells at the very idea – even if at the same time he has to simply hope the whole thing will really manage to go off without a hitch…or any bloodshed.

“Looking for these?” he asks with happy teasing in his voice as he enters the kitchen, sets the several plastic bags from the market on the counter, and leans over the center island to plant a kiss on Snow’s upturned lips.

“Yep,” she chirps, beaming at him as they part and reaching in to begin unpacking, “I was.”

Charming moves back into the front dining area, preparing the table and making sure they have enough chairs, seeing that the candles and centerpieces Snows wants are out, and letting her get back to her cooking in the meantime. Between the homemade noodles, green beans, and the mashed potatoes and gravy his wife has simmering all at once, Charming is impressed she can keep everything going without setting anything on fire, much less have the whole apartment smelling good enough to make him drool, and he certainly doesn’t want to distract her from it. No matter how long they have been married, or what realm they find themselves in, it doesn’t take long for Snow to prove that she will never cease to surprise and amaze him.

He has just stepped back to survey his handiwork proudly when the doorbell rings. Swiftly moving forward to answer it before Snow comes running, Charming’s smile grows even wider as Henry bursts into the room, greeting him enthusiastically and launching right into a story of their hectic morning. He is followed by Roland, who is practically bouncing up and down, vibrating with rambunctious energy, his deep dimples cracking wide across his face. After their two boys come Robin and Regina, each laden with items that Charming attempts to help take off their hands.

Robin hands over the delectably scented and delicious-looking turkey, beaming proudly as he gives a nod toward the perfectly crisped and golden brown bird on the platter, which has clearly been charmed in some way by Regina to stay warm and ready to place on the table. “Caught it myself, Mate,” Robin says. “Should be a good one.”

Charming sets the turkey on the long dining table he has just finished with, then claps his friend on the shoulder and ushers him in. “I’m sure it will be. Thanks,” he answers.

Robin slings an insulated bag off his shoulder and holds it forward as well. “Regina’s apple tarts,” he explains with both a mischievous smile and a shrug of feigned innocence. The former thief knows the rest of the family’s understandable aversion to the fruit, but he also somewhat adores his beloved’s rather twisted sense of humor and refusal to shy away from her past by making a dish that highlights the difference in her now and just how far she has come. With a wink, he tacks on, “Taste tested them myself, and they’re irresistible.”

The archer moves past, on into the loft to greet Snow and to catch and corral his young son. Regina raises a sculpted brow at David as she enters after Robin, their new little girl sleeping cradled in her arms and a diaper bag slung over her shoulder. Though David knows all too well that having a newborn in the home can be harrying, the formerly evil Queen looks as completely polished and put together as always – not a hair out of place. “Charming,” she greets with a wry nod, somehow managing to inject even the simplest hello with her trademark dry sarcasm. They may be on the same side now, fumbling towards being a truly non-dysfunctional family, but he somehow feels that her half-mocking way of using the name Snow gave him will never change, and perhaps – in Regina’s own way – it is meant as an endearment.

Peeking into the layers of lavender blanket bundled around Robin and Regina’s little daughter to shield her from the biting wind outside, Charming can’t help a soft grin at the sweet, perfect infant sleeping peacefully, the softest wisps of russet curls on her little head and her soft, pale pink skin. “She’s lovely, Regina,” he murmurs in quiet awe, not wanting to rouse little Mariana, and feeling a flood of affection for this woman who once hunted he and Snow, wanting both of their heads, but who also saved Snow’s life as a child, and has clawed her way back from the bottom to right her wrongs.

Before he can close the door behind her, Emma and Killian come tramping up the hall stairs, cheeks flushed and both laughing at some unknown joke between them, but greeting him heartily as they see that he is standing there watching. Emma reaches David first, falling into her dad’s arms and returning his hug exuberantly before reaching back to pull Killian in as well when he hesitates, effectively sandwiching herself between the two of them in a three-way hug. The laugh that rings from his daughter’s throat, light and open and at last free of the guilt and pain she had been saddled with for too long, is all David needs to be as grateful this Thanksgiving as at any he can remember.

“Thanks Dad,” Emma mumbles almost bashfully when she does ease back and both she and her pirate boyfriend pull away. They follow him into the house, their food contributions in hand.

“Aye, thank you for having us, Mate,” Killian adds with a dip of his chin as they all step through the door and he shuts it behind himself. He offers his love’s father a genuine smile when their gazes meet, Emma having busied herself with hanging up their jackets and removing her boots. For a moment, David is frozen in place, forcibly reminded of how Killian had looked just a few weeks before, when they had found him in the black depths of the Underworld. As long as any of them live, David fears the sight of Killian Jones which had greeted them beyond the Veil would be hauntingly branded on their souls. Chained to a dank stone wall in the furthest recesses of Hades’ domain, the shade of a pirate that they’d found was not the dashing rapscallion they knew. Though bearing his torment in stoic silence, he had been emaciated and shivering, the dark rings under his eyes clearly showing that Killian had known no sleep nor peace since he left their world. The rest of the rescue party had stood horrified as Emma fell to her knees before him, tears pouring down her face while she reached out to cup his bearded cheeks in her hands. Worse than all that though had been the blank, almost unseeing despair in blue eyes that had always been so full of life; the vacancy in their depths no longer seemed like Killian at all and had truly made their blood run cold.

To see that spark back in Jones’ smiling gaze, and the dark bruises beneath his eyes fading, reminds David forcibly just how much they do have to celebrate before he clears his throat to respond with hoarse emotion. “Of course. We’re glad to have everyone. Snow’s really trying to outdo herself.”

Without further ado, David soon finds his family gathered around the table, talking, laughing and reveling in the warmth and happiness of the occasion. There is good natured ribbing at Emma’s continued inability to cook and a playful debate over whether or not the bottoms of several of the butter horn rolls she had made were more burnt than a nice golden brown. Mariana wakes from her nap and begins to gurgle and coo at everyone she can see gathered around her. Snow gushes over the pecan pie that Emma grudgingly admits Killian had made, complete with perfectly crimped edges of crust and an ornate little ‘KJ’ carved into the crunchy sugared top. “Figures,” Charming hears his daughter grumble with teasing chagrin, “He can cook circles around me with only one hand.”

Snow is quick to assure her daughter that she will get better with practice, but Killian only smirks at Emma, looking entirely as though he wants her to either smack or kiss the grin off his face. “Well, I had to sign such artwork, Swan,” he counters playfully. “You might have tried to take credit for it otherwise.”

The whole table laughs and carries on, but is quickly more absorbed in eating than talking, just comfortable in each other’s presence and enjoying a quiet moment. David looks to the other end of the long table and catches Snow’s eye, perfectly understanding the misty look he finds there. This was all either of them had ever wanted: a family, all together, happy and safe. It is what they had sacrificed so much for their best chance at preserving. He smiles at his True Love, marveling that two other pairs of True Loves sit in this very room with them, and tucks into his own meal at last. Now that they have all found each other, this family has every blessing it could possibly need.

Tagging a few who might enjoy: @searchingwardrobes @kmomof4 @jennjenn615 @whimsicallyenchantedrose @laschatzi @jrob64 @apiratewhopines @teamhook @revanmeetra87 @xsajx @spartanguard @therooksshiningknight @optomisticgirl @tiganasummertree @kazoosandfannypacks @booksteaandtoomuchtv @sotangledupinit @anmylica @stahlop @xarandomdreamx @bluewildcatfanatic @winterbaby89 @gingerchangeling @gingerpolyglot @scientificapricot

[believingispowerfulmagic]

OQ Realms Week Day 5 - Heroes and Villains Realm “Second Chances”

Inspired by Sean's portrayal of The Dark King in The Magicians. And the fact that out of all the characters, Robin was the only one who didn't have his story drastically changed. He was still a noble thief who stole from the rich and gave to the poor with his Merry Men. So I thought it would be fun if he and Regina swapped Missing Year stories - he being the heartbroken royal and she the thief with a heart of gold and a sweet son he can't resist bonding with. 

            Cold, biting winds blew through the forest. It shook the branches overhead, creating an eerie roar. Regina looked up at the gray skies as Roland whimpered in her arms. She held him closer,            trying her best to keep him warm under her fur cloak. “It’s okay, baby,” she told him.

           “It’s scary, Mama,” he whined, clinging to her. “And I’m cold.”

           She swallowed, losing feeling in her nose as the temperatures continued to drop. “I know, sweetheart. But we need to find someplace safe and then I will build a fire.”

           “Will we find it soon?” he asked, looking up at her with wide and trusting brown eyes.

           “I hope so,” she told him, kissing his head. “You stay close to me, okay? I’ll keep you warm.”

           He snuggled closer to her, warming her as well. “Okay, Mama.”

           Regina continued to drudge through the woods, hoping to find an abandoned house or even a cave at this point. Anything to block out the chilled winds and create a place for her to build a fire. They could then wait out the storm the clouds overhead promised.

           Something landed on her head and then her nose. Regina blinked a few times before looking up, groaning. Snowflakes floated down, ready to coat the world in their cold and wet blanket. “Oh no,” she whispered.

           “Mama? Is something wrong?” Roland asked, concerned.

           “The storm arrived earlier than I thought,” she told him. “But don’t worry, sweetheart. We’re going to be fine.”

           He nodded, trusting her completely. She just hoped she hadn’t lied to him as he laid his head against her chest.

           The snow grew heavier and came down faster as she continued to walk. She tried to blink the flakes away from her eyes but they kept blurring her vision. Her hair started to curl and her cloak grew heavier as it got wetter. She shivered from the cold winds, worried she would freeze before she could save her son.

           She felt herself slow down and her movement grew stiff. An overwhelming feeling of exhaustion washed over her but she fought it, knowing if she fell asleep, neither she nor Roland would ever wake again. Regina was many things but she was not a quitter.

           “Mama, I’m sleepy,” Roland told her, looking like he was fighting to keep his eyes open.

           Panic filled her but she swallowed it down, wanting to keep her tone light. “Me too, sweetheart, but we need to stay awake. Why don’t you sing to keep us both awake?”

           “Okay, Mama,” he said. He began singing his favorite rhyme and his upbeat tone gave her an energy spurt to continue on.

           A few songs later, a figure emerged through the snow. For a moment, Regina wondered if it was Death, come to shepherd them to the next life. She then shook off that morbid thought, wondering if it was a trick of her tired mind. But the figure drew closer, revealing it was a person in a heavy cloak. Whoever it was carried something in their arms but she couldn’t make out what it was.

           In what felt like the blink of her eyes, the figure stood in front of her. They wore a dark clock lined with bear fur and had a black scarf covering the lower half of their face, revealing only crystal blue eyes. In their arms appeared to be a thick fur blanket, which they threw around Regina.

           Warmth seeped back into her body ad her mind didn’t feel as hazy. Though her throat felt scratchy, she rasped: “Thank you.”

           The figure reached up, lowering the scarf to reveal a mouth surrounded by blond scruff and a mustache. Regina now knew her savior was a man. A man who looked very concerned as he looked her over. “The storm is going to get even worse. You can stay with me. You’ll be out of the storm and warm. I have plenty of food and nice soft bed for you.”

           Before she could thank him again, Roland poked his head out to ask: “Can I sleep now, Mama?”

           “No!” The panicked response came from both Regina and their savior. He looked as concerned as her as his eyes met hers again.

           He held out his arms. “Let me carry him the rest of the way. I can keep him warmer.”

           She hesitated, looking down at her baby boy. While the man had saved them, he was still a stranger. Could she give over the most precious part of her life to someone she didn’t know?

           “I know you have no reason to trust me,” he said, “but I promise you no harm will come to him. And I will not leave your side the entire time.”

           He sounded sincere and Regina realized she had no choice but to trust him. Roland was growing heavier in her arms and she knew she would drop him if she continued, not having the strength the man had now. The stranger was also drier and in a warmer clock. He would warm her son far better than she could. It was his best chance.

           “Alright,” she said, shifting Roland so he could take him.

           The stranger held Roland close, wrapping his min his furs. He smiled down at Roland. “I’m going to holding you for your mum for now while we head back to my house. Why don’t you sing for us while we walk?”

           “I don’t know if I can,” Roland replied. “My throat hurts.”

           “How about I sing with you?” Regina suggested, stepping closer to her son and pressing her hand to his back.

           The stranger nodded. “We can all sing.”

           “Okay,” Roland said, starting to sing another rhyme. Regina and the stranger joined him as they started to move forward. Warmth and safety was not far away and Regina looked forward to getting some food and rest.

           Then she would figure out how to repay the stranger for his kindness.

           After all, she owed him both her life as well as Roland’s.

Continue reading here

[justanoutlawfic]

Part 2 for Day 5 of OQ Realms Week: Heroes & Villains and Storybrooke AU.

Evil Queen Snow wants revenge when she finds Regina has fallen in love. The DO helps her set a curse and they end up in a new land. Can Regina and Robin find each other there?

[oqpromptparty]

Hi everyone! If you’d like to take part in this year’s Prompt Party Week, just select any of the prompts from the list below and write a fic, make a video or create some art based on it. Please note that more than one person may choose the same prompt.

You may submit new stories or include the prompts in any of your existing verses (though all your entries must be posted for the first time during Prompt Party Week).

Art/Video makers may use any of the prompts, but there are some Art/Video specific ones at the bottom of the post.

I have condensed some of the prompts that were a little too long and removed some that felt repetitive or have been sent before… feel free to take some liberties with some of the more specific prompts!

If you have any questions, please tweet @OQPromptParty

OQ Prompt Party week will run from 27th May - 2nd June 2019. Please don’t post anything until then.

Prizes:

Everyone who posts a prompt for all seven days of the OQ Prompt Party week will be sent a limited edition, one of a kind Outlaw Queen button/badge. These will never be available again, so don’t miss out!

Each day there will also be the opportunity to win another prize. You will be entered into a prize draw and the more prompts you write, the more times your name will be entered into the draw. I will announce which prizes will be available on each day soon.

There will also be a separate prize for most prompts included in a single one-shot/chapter (crack!fic encouraged).

And now! Without further ado, here are your prompts:

Lonely Robin paints/sculpts a picture of the woman of his dreams and she comes to life.

Roland’s first lost tooth.

“Sorry I thought you were someone else.”

Regina has scars from surviving a fire and thinks nobody can love her, Robin proves her wrong.

Roadtrip AU: Regina and Robin go to DisneyWorld for the first time and take Henry and Roland

Regina is the (little) sister of Robin's over-protective best friend.

One (or both of them) is in a coma, and they keep meeting in their dreams.

The first time Roland calls Regina "Mama"

Fighting Wolves.

A positive resolution or a rewrite of the baby storyline - Robin isn't the father / Regina is the mother.

Robin and Regina pick up a stranger at a bar and have some fun

Henry, Robin and Roland play Mario Kart

Regina over-hears someone talking about Robin in a language he doesn't know and she defends him.

Robin meets Daniel or Regina meets real Marian.

Regina and Robin are professors at the same university, enemy-to-lovers

OQ AU in a Love+Death+Robots scenario.

Enchanted AU: Regina finds herself trapped in the real world, New York City and finds something unexpected: a happy ending.

Regina asking for something she considers weird in bed

Modern AU: Regina is a witch and when Robin discovers it accidentally, his reaction surprises her.

Makeup sex

Regina’s new obsession is bubble tea, Robin just thinks it’s weird

Regina and Robin in a cooking competition.

Season 6 AU: Robin goes to the Wish!Realm with Regina and they both meet their Wish!versions.

MCU AU: Either Robin or Regina gets taken in the Thanos snap. Bonus points if you also wipe out one or more of the kids for maximum angst.

Robin, Regina and the boys in an escape room.

A little private time in Camelot.

Robin is a warlock who cast the first curse, and Regina is an archer who steals from the rich to give to the poor.

Ella Enchanted AU

Robin leaves after he feels betrayed

Summer vacation

Quiet times near the fireplace.

The Princess Diaries 1 and 2 AU

"Only You" AU

One of them gets injured and the other has to take care of them.

Robin and wishHook have to plan a part of Robin & Alice’s wedding (bonus points for a crack fic).

Spilled wine/coffee.

Robin & Regina are expecting twins.

Regina as a sex therapist.

Regina is thrown from her horse, Robin is the one who helps her.

Confessions of a Shopaholic AU: but Regina/or Robin is a hoarder of books instead of clothes.

Atlantis.

Accidental magical body swap

Bedsharing

Good Girls AU - Robin as a stay home dad, Regina as a criminal

Robin is custodian of a cemetery and meets Regina when she buries Daniel and keep meeting as she mourns.

Regina didn’t realize marrying Robin meant that she’d also be getting custody of all the Merry Men

The Sound of Music AU

One of them falling (any kind of fall), the other helping

Person A almost losing a loved one and person B tries to comfort them.

Inspiration from Pet Sematary - Regina or Robin dies and the other buries them in a place that happens to be cursed so that those buried there are resurrected. Regina or Robin is resurrected but are soon to be revealed as being darker and more sinister than they were.

Henry’s graduation.

Letters

Fic based on “Die From A Broken Heart” by Maddie and Tae. Robin and Regina have a massive fight after he shows up wasted with a few buddies... he walks out on her and slams the door behind him and she runs to her mom for comfort. By the end Robin comes to apologize and slowly win her back. AU (Cora is the good guy)

AU - Robin attends a convention with Henry and Roland.

Robin catches Regina full on dancing around in the kitchen while making dinner.

Pregnancy horniness.

Lost AU.

Roland's bedtime routine is exhausting.

OQ wedding + Robin carries Regina bridal style into their house.

Season 7 AU: Roni takes in a stray fox who turns out to be Robin.

Starting a new relationship after having slept together.

Stuck on a crowded train.

Regina and Robin visit New York City.

Regina hates celebrating her birthday, but Robin finds out and does something special for her.

Hiking in the woods.

Regina as a female knight and Robin as her Squire.

Robin and Regina are in Regina’s vault and Robin accidentally knocks over a potion, turning Regina into an animal.

“I didn’t know you speak…”

OQ get arrested for public sex

Grown up, Robyn meets grown-up Roland in the Enchanted Forest.

Regina and Robin take a walk on the beach at sundown.

Chaperoning Roland's first date.

Robin makes Regina a romantic meal and it doesn’t go to plan.

Person A pretends to be alright on their own but they finally accept they want Person B's company.

Regina shares an unusual fear.

OQ falling asleep on the sofa together.

San Junipero AU: Robin and Regina meet through a simulation meant for older people to live freely as their young selves once more.

Edible body paints.

Robin disguised as a priest and seeks shelter at a monastery where he meets novice Regina.

Henry and Roland plan something special for OQ's anniversary

OQ + war

First curse AU: Robin comes to Storybrooke with everyone, he and Regina meet and he instantly falls for her, but she tries to pretend she doesn’t care or isn’t affected by his charms, but fails miserably.

An "accidental" kiss.

He’s in for robbery. She’s in for murder. A prison romance blossoms when Robin Locksley notices a quiet inmate across the fence on her daily one hour out on the yard.

Robin at Regina's coronation.

Leo causes trouble for OQ

Missing year + a spell of kindness

DOQ CAOS AU: Mal & Regina as Hilda & Zelda who both fall for the Human Robin

Regina gets a happy ending massage from Robin.

Robin dealing with ED issues (temporary or permanent)

Robin surprises Regina with a puppy/cat as a birthday gift.

Every day, Regina takes her beloved sheltie to the same local dog park. And every day, she sees the same handsome blue-eyed blonde entertaining his adorable little corgi. Perhaps some day, she’ll muster the courage to say hi. Perhaps one day, it’ll not be her, but the dogs that will decide.

How to Train Your Dragon AU

AU: As a kid/teen/young adult, Person A was kidnapped. Years pass but Person A's family still hasn't lost hope and are still looking for them. Eventually the family hires Person B, the best detective in the country to find Person A and bring them home.

Regina meets Robin’s parents.

Party

Robin Locksley is the lead actor on a fantasy TV show “Happily Ever After.” Regina Mills is the typical troubled Hollywood ‘queen’ whose been cast as Robin’s new love interest only because the producers need a big name to bring in ratings and Regina needs a way to fix her reputation. They might play lovers on screen but off screen they can’t stand each other. Until they get to know one another; then real life most definitely begins to reflect fantasy...

Henry seeks Robin's advice on a very important matter

The Merry Men accept Regina into their group.

Regina is Roland’s therapist - he gets bullied at school and Robin and Regina end up liking one another.

Labrador puppies!

Regina works at an animal shelter, Robin and Roland want to adopt a dog.

A day at the beach.

Robin comes back when Robyn is 8 to find his daughter is a spoiled brat, Little John and Regina split up his children,  Hook got to come back before him and Regina split her soul.

Regina and Robin are surprised to find that Roland has magic.

A (magical) circus visits Storybrooke.

“It’s the reason why we broke up in the first place.”

“I thought you were gay.”

Sharing body heat to stay alive.

Roland is secretly Regina’s biological child.

Gender Swap version of their story. Robin is the struggling to reform Evil King. Regina is the leader of the Merry Men.

OQ/Stargate crossover.

Robin spends a whole day with Henry while Regina spends it with Roland.

“I just want to see you smile”

Visiting a castle in present day.

Bandit!OQ - one gets captured/caught, the other has to save them

OQ modern world AU with no magic.

Season 7 AU: Regina meets Robin in EF2 but he doesn’t remember her.

Robin and Regina go to John’s farm with little Roland who becomes obsessed with a little piglet named Wilbur and spider named charlotte and Regina can’t stand the farm life and has a panic every time she dresses up Roland only to have him get his clothes full of mud- can be modern AU.

Robin gives Regina a ring.

Secret relationship AU.

Stalker.

Robin consoles Regina after one of their kids yells "you're not my real mom."

North of the Wall.

Robin catches Regina doing something awful.

Regina and Robin as a king and a queen of separate kingdoms who fall in love (and unite their kingdoms).

DOQ on vacation.

Lion King AU: While hunting far to find food, Regina reunites with Robin, her childhood friend and betrothed, after years of thinking him dead when his father, the King, was mysteriously killed.

Accidental spell that makes Robin and/or Regina lustful.

Going shopping.

Storybrooke Community Theatre is putting on ‘Snow White & the Seven Dwarves’ and Regina gets cast as Snow White while Robin gets cast as Prince Charming.

"My little sibling has been talking about his/her new friend for a while now but I always thought you were an imaginary friend or something but holy shit you are definitely not imaginary (for real how are you so hot???)"

Regina forms a friendship with Little John.

Monster in the closet.

Dark!OQ's wedding.

Fake relationship AU.

Robin & Regina in a Jaime & Brienne-type relationship (pref minus the incest backstory)

OQ meet again after a long time like on this Nescafé Gold advert: https://youtu.be/jZtEXMBbaZg

Byzantine empire or Ottoman empire AU.

DOQ Roland calls Mal mom.

Three Wishes.

Robin doesn’t reach Regina in time. The crystal hits her but instead of killing Regina, it kills their unborn child.

Mother’s day/Father’s day.

Fic based on the movie “Moonstruck”.

Enchanted Forest AU: Person A is a member of the royal family. An assassination destroys their family, but Person A manages to escape and is believed to be dead. Person A finds out that their power-hungry relative (Person C) was behind the attack and wanted the throne for themself. While on the run, Person A meets Person B, who invites A to their camp. After finding out A's true identity, B and his/her friends agree to help A to stop Person C's tyranny so A can be crowned as the rightful king/queen.

Regina’s past haunts her.

Robin is known as the Vicious King whose first love Marian was murdered because his step son David couldn’t keep a secret. Tinkerbell leads Robin to his soulmate, a beautiful brown eyed peasant woman with a feather tattoo.

Game of Thrones final season watch party.

Robin, Roland and Robyn are incredibly poor, borderline homeless, Regina is the CPS caseworker assigned to investigate them.

A mysterious stranger appears in Hyperion heights, no one knows who he is, but he has a gorgeous voice and he sings at Roni’s bar every Friday, and then rides off on a motorcycle.

After Regina brings Robin back she has a problem letting him go even for a second to the point where it becomes a problem.

Robin is a cop who goes undercover in a deadly dangerous motorcycle club, Regina is the president’s old lady.

Robins soul wasn’t obliterated, but instead was sent to the worst part of Hell as punishment for loving the Evil Queen and Regina just found out.

Robin & Regina get into a fight and have near death experience and angsty make up sex after (canon).

Robin the handyman.

Hunchback of Notre Dame AU.

Regina and Robin are actors on the same Broadway show.

The occupants of Misthaven discover a new land full of murder, betrayal and deaths, a land where the dead walk, a land called Westeros.

Robin and Regina’s daughter’s first prom.

Road trip.

Robin watches Regina and their kids from heaven as they continue with their lives (canon or AU).

Regina talks to Robin for the first time.

Regina accidentally hurts Robin with her magic.

DP with Robin, David & Regina.

Regina and Robin discuss moving into the woods when the last kid is preparing to leave the nest.

The Durrells AU.

Robin isn’t dead when Regina splits herself in two.

OQ stranded on an island.

“Inside my heart is breaking, my makeup may be flaking but my smile still stays on.”

Robin cooking in Regina's kitchen for the first time.

Regina dealing with menopause.

Robin finds out Nottingham & Regina dated (or he finds out that Cora tried to hook them up in the ‘Mother’ ep).

Robin and Regina want to adopt a baby.

DOQ and quirks of living together.

Kissing Booth AU.

“Your curse is to remember.” Robin, who remembers everything, is in Hyperion Heights while Henry, Roland, Robin and Regina, who’s with Facilier, have no idea who he is.

AU: OQ as teenagers/young adults

Robin detests Snow more than Regina does.

Regina proposes to Robin.

“Robyn is eloping with the daughter of a pirate and a nature goddess, Roland is having an affair with a married princess, Henry’s mother in law is threatening to kill everyone and you still want to have a party?”

“I know you care for her, Regina, but I don’t want Zelena around my son.”

Robin and Regina join Twitter and find themselves involved in a fangirl argument over Henry’s ‘Once Upon a Time’ book.

Evil Queen introduces Wish!Robin to Roland or Robin.

Robin travels back in time with Hook & Emma.

Regina and Robin are neighbors who can't stand each other.

“You kissed Snow?!”

Beetlejuice AU: Robin and Regina are both dead and haunt a house with one another whilst trying to find a way to move on together.

Fireworks.

Regina is betrothed to a pompous son of some Lord who lives out near Sherwood Forest that she’s never met before in her life. Robin’s future intended is the spoiled daughter of Princess Cora and Prince Henry who he never even laid eyes on. But how could Regina ever love the man she was supposed to marry when she’s fallen so hard for the forest smelling peasant she met in a tavern? Not to mention how could Robin ever hope to care for some princess when he’s head over heels in love with a brown eyed peasant woman whose smile he sees every time he closes his eyes?

Robin loses his memories, Regina must make him fall in love with her again.

Perfect Date AU (Netflix)

DOQ find out they share a soulmate bond

Waitress AU

Jurassic Park/World AU

Nashville

“If i’d known then what I know now, I wouldn’t have...”

The original meaning behind the lion tattoo

Lost in time

Henry and Roland have a fight

Both Robin & Regina are hot tempered. 

Video Prompts

"I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" by Aerosmith

Pretty Woman

Loving Can Hurt

This is Me

Season 1/2/3/4/5/6/7 AU

Fight song

“Tishbite” by Cocteau Twins

Any classical music

“Don’t Treat Me Bad” - Firehouse

“Paradise” - George Ezra

“Walk Me Home” - Pink

“Here We Go” - Wild

Up Town Girl

Any song from a Disney animated movie

“Shallow” - Lady Gaga

“I’ll Be There” - Jess Glynne

Art Prompts

Historical AU

Angels & Demons

Art a favourite fic

Sunset

Rainbow

Comfort

Anniversary

The 90s

Comic book

Sherwood forest

Fire

Trouble

Romance

Hero

[ourheroregina]

OQ Happy Ending Week - Day 7

Day 7 - Canon OQ Happy Ending

(...)

“Where are we going?” Regina asks, curiously turning to look from one Henry to another.

Both of her boys shrug at her question mysteriously but grin to each other, making Regina arch her eyebrow at them – they are obviously up to something again.

They’ve been celebrating her coronation as the Good Queen when all of a sudden her younger son came to her and insisted that she has to go with him. Confused, Regina excused herself and followed her son. Soon, the older Henry joined them and they led her towards the hall where a few hours ago she was crowned.

Sighing, Regina shakes her head to herself and doesn’t ask any more questions, figures they will not tell her anything anyway.

Their walk is quick and when they finally reach the hall, younger Henry lets go of her hand and pushes the heavy door open while the older one walks her inside.

Regina’s eyes widen in surprise when she sees a few people standing there. Archie is standing in the middle of the podium where a few hours ago the Charmings crowned her, smiling at her warmly. Robyn is standing on the left side of it, holding Alice’s hand tightly, a huge smile on her face.

“What is happening?” Regina asks quietly, looking around the hall. “Queenie?” she asks in surprise when she notices her past evil half standing there too with Wish Robin by her side, a smile on her face matching her niece’s.

Even Robin is not grumpy in Regina’s presence.

“Henry, what is going on?” she asks again, this time more firmly, when she sees Snow White wiping the corners of her eyes as she gives Regina a watery smile, all the while holding David’s hand as tightly as possible.

She stops walking and stares at all of them, trying to understand what is happening. The Queen and Robin didn’t turn up to her coronation (they are still in their honeymoon phase, even after a decade of marriage) but they are here now and so are the people who already congratulated her.

Anxiously, Regina tightens her hand around Henry’s. Something is off.

“Regina.”

An unknown voice calls her name and she turns her head to the side immediately. A young man walks into the hall from the other entrance and makes his way towards her.

Regina feels her legs shaking underneath her.

Her jaw drops open in shock as she takes the man in – his brown messy curls, big dark brown eyes and deep dimples in his cheeks.

“Roland!” She whispers, not believing her own eyes.

When she united all of the realms, she tried to find Roland, however, she was unsuccessful -  she couldn’t find Merry Men, Roland or Queen and Robin, they all were gone somehow. But now all of them are here (she notices Little John, Friar Tuck and Will standing on the right side of the podium), grinning at her as if they were children on Christmas’ morning.

Roland doesn’t waste time, he walks up to Regina and pulls her into a tight hug. Tears of happiness immediately collect in her eyes, and she only wraps her arms tighter around the boy that is now much taller than she is.

She holds him for what feels like forever but when he pulls away, her heart aches at the loss of contact. She might not be his mother but she’s loved him as her own from the day she saved him from that winged-freak. During years after Robin’s death, she’s spent so much time thinking about the boy. She has never forgiven herself for letting him go so easily.

She blinks her tears away and smiles at him, he’s such a handsome young man.

Roland returns a smile and takes a step to the side.

Regina’s heart stops beating, her eyes turn wide when she sees who is standing in front of the podium.

Her whole body tenses when the figure says ‘milady’ and she thinks that her mind is playing some sort of cruel game on her. It must be Queenie’s Robin who’s just said that, and Robin standing in front of her must be an illusion, there’s no other rational explanation to this.

Exhaling shakily, Regina blinks her eyes repeatedly, trying to make the figure go away.

But it doesn’t fade.

Regina’s mouth opens in surprise for the second time as Robin, her Robin takes a step closer to her.  He’s dressed in his clothes from Enchanted Forest and when he approaches her, she cannot help but inhale deeply – whoever this person is, he smells like forest, just like Robin did.

“Your Majesty,” he says and bows in front of her, a smirk on his face.

“Robin?” Regina asks, her lower lip trembling, eyes full of tears. Not knowing what to do, she pinches herself and hisses at the pain – she’s not sleeping. “I don’t understand,” she manages to say, looking from Robin to Henry, shaking her head.

“I’ve missed you,” Robin tells her as he reaches for her and Regina falls into his arms, no longer holding back her tears. Her arms wrap tightly around him and his do the same, pulling her as close to him as possible.

His arms are strong and secure around her, and she doesn’t know if it is actually happening or is someone playing with her mind but it feels so real. Her emotions are in overdrive, it takes everything in her not to sob.

“Are you alive?” she asks stupidly as they part, staring straight into his deep blue eyes, eyes she was born to gaze into.

“I am, milady,” he tells her, smiling warmly at her. There are tears in his own eyes too and his arms only tighten around her as he pulls her to his chest again.

“But… how?”

“Your other half brought me back,” he replies, and Regina can feel his chest vibrating under her ear, she can hear his heart beating rapidly.

He’s actually alive.

“Well, I had some help,” the Queen says, glancing at the Merry Men and Roland. “We’ve been on quite a journey until we found him.”

“What?” Regina asks as she pulls away from Robin and turns to look to the Queen. “Is it some kind of joke? Is it actually happening?”

Still in shock she turns back to Robin who wipes a few stray tears from her cheeks and says, “We’re here now. And this is true.”

And then his lips are on hers.

Her heart threatens to jump out of her chest as they break apart and she blinks her eyes again and again until her vision clears.

“Come,” Robin says suddenly, biting his lip.

Still confused and shocked by what just happened Regina follows him wordlessly. They walk to the podium and when they are standing in front of Archie, Robin turns to look back at Regina.

“Regina Mills, I loved you from the day I met you. We’ve been through so much, but not even death can tear us apart. And now when we are together, I don’t want to waste another moment of our lives. So I’m asking you, will you marry me?” His voice is shaking as are his hands and this time a tear rolls down Robin’s cheek as well.

“Of course,” Regina whispers as she cups her face and pulls him into another kiss, still not sure if it is actually happening.

“Let’s start then,” Archie says when Robin and Regina pull apart, and they both smile goofily at one other before trying to focus on what cricket is saying.

Everything happens in a blur. Before she knows it, they are pronounced husband and wife and Robin is leaning over to kiss her again, and the people in the hall are applauding them.

And as Regina wraps her arms around her now husband’s neck and kisses him back, she realizes that she’ll have a lot of things to figure out.

But none of this matters now because finally, after heartache that lasted for decades, she’s with the love of her life.

Robin Hood might not be her happy ending but without him, happiness just wasn’t real happiness.

Now she finally has everything she’s ever wanted.

(...)

Thank you to everyone who read, reblogged and liked my entries for this week! I hope you liked it!!

[somewhereapart]

Erosion

True Love can break any curse—but can it survive the breaking? An addendum to Parks and Wreck, for OQ Happy Ending Week, Day 5 (Friday)

Read/review on Ao3 or FFnet.

This place is not designed for Happy Endings, and she has always known that. She had made it so.

She had hoped, once, dangerously, that she might be able to slip free of the curse’s clutches. That as the architect she might be immune from it’s wrath—it’s what she’d told herself when she woke up on a chilly New Year’s Day under the warm cocoon of covers with Rob Locksley curled against her back.

She’d convinced herself that they’d be safe from all this, even though she knew, deep down, that they’d been undoing it bit by bit since that first kiss.

The problem is simply that she likes him so much.

No. She doesn’t like him. She loves him, and that was her mistake.

True Love is strong enough to break any curse, even her own, and as the months moved on and on, she’d turned a blind eye to the danger in front of her. The Blue Knight had been joined in the sky by the Queen’s Scepter, and the Celestial Galleon, and she had caught him once standing on his porch, at that cabin tucked back in the woods, staring up at towering oak and poplar. He’d been frowning, deeply, and as Henry had chased Landon around the side of the house, she’d asked Rob what had him so lost in thought.

“These trees are all wrong,” he’d muttered. “There should be a grove of Witches’ Pine here; it’s always grown outside my home.”

Witches’ Pine doesn’t grow in Storybrooke, or anywhere in this realm. It does grow rampant all through Sherwood Forest, and the Dark Woods of the Enchanted Forest.

The words had made her stomach go sour, just like every other little remembrance he’s had. But he’d turned his head and seen her, and then blinked, and then smiled. And forgotten.

Just like the Blue Knight and the Queen’s Scepter, the Witches’ Pine had notched away inside his head and found a home there among the curse’s many lies.

She’d thought perhaps it would go on that way forever, little bits of the-life-that-was spilling over into the-life-that-is in drips and trickles. A tree here, a constellation there, but nothing so much that it would move the sun or sink the moon.

She’d forgotten that a drip here, a drop there, again and again is all that it takes to carve canyons into mountains. To bore holes through the rock solid foundation of her curse.

Six months go by and he stares longer at trees, at people, at her. He looks sometimes like he’s trying to work out the answer to a particularly vexing problem, and she loves him, so she ignores it. She tells herself it’s nothing, that she’s imagining it, that she’s paranoid—until one night he wakes in a cold sweat, panting, the force of his nightmare rousing her from otherwise pleasant dreams.

When she reaches to soothe him, he recoils, barks, “Don’t touch me, you wicked woman!” and for a moment he looks at her like he doesn’t know her.

Or worse, like he does.

She’s stunned, rooted; tears well in her eyes even though she knows she should be strong, she should not cry. She had to know that someday this would happen, that it was inevitable.

This land was not built for Happy Endings—not even, it seems, her own.

And then just like that, he crumples, reaching for her with apologies on his lips, drawing her close and whispering into her hair that he didn’t mean it, not one bit. He tells her that she’s lovely, and that he adores her, that she’s precious to him. Swears he’d been caught between sleep and waking, a nightmare fresh in his mind. He begs forgiveness, and she gives it.

It tastes like ash on her tongue.

He is not the one who needs forgiveness.

.::.

She doesn’t sleep. Lies awake until the dawn touches the windowsill and creeps across the floor, and then she slips from the bed and makes coffee, thick and dark the way he likes it. She grimaces with every sip as she curls her knees to her chest on the old swing on his front porch and stares at where Witches’ Pine should (never) grow.

She has a choice to make. Love him or leave him. Either way, she’s destined to lose him.

He finds her there, sitting on the porch, the dregs of her coffee gone cold. Her bones feel cold, too.

She knows what she needs to do. Even as he sits beside her, the bench creaking under the shift in weight, she prepares herself for his impending distance.

She loves him. He will hate her.

The way she always knew he would.

“Did you get any sleep at all after I woke you?” he wonders, guilt heavy on his tongue.

She frowns and asks, “What was the dream?”

Rob looks away and mutters, “Doesn’t matter now. The mind plays tricks; it wasn’t real.”

She swallows heavily, heart beating hard in her throat and asks, “What if it was?”

Rob squints at her for a moment, then shakes his head, dismisses, “No. Don’t be silly, love. That woman I dreamt of, she wore your face, but she wasn’t you. She was… evil. You’re not that.” His shoulder bumps hers, teasing, playful; it hurts to smile back. “Bold and audacious, perhaps. A bit stubborn, and I wouldn’t want to come between you and your morning coffee. But you’re no Evil Queen. I know you.”

Her eyes squeeze shut; those fault lines he’d put in her heart months ago start to spread and tremble. She will break open and shatter into shards at his rejection, but she cannot go another day lying to him.

Secrets always bear harsher punishments than confessions.

“You do,” she gasps, forcing her eyes open, forcing them to meet his own confused blues. “You’re the only one in all these years who ever has. It’s why I love you… Robin Hood.”

It hits him like a bolt; she can see the recognition dawn on him. His hand releases hers like a trap springing open (so why does it feel like she’s ensared herself?). He shifts, moves away one inch, maybe two. His head turns toward those missing pines, then back at her.

“What have you done?”

.::.

She thought he would be murderous.

He is not.

Strong men can be gentle, and he’s gentle even in this. She can see the betrayal, can watch it percolate and rise as he realizes the woman whose bed he’s been sharing is the very same evil monster who’d haunted his dreams. His land.

“I cast a curse,” she whispers. “I made this place; I changed everything. But you… you’ve been waking up.”

“Why?” he asks, harshly.

She doesn’t know if he means why she cast the curse or why he’s broken free, but the answer to the second question comes more easily, so that’s the one she chooses to answer. She tells him what she’d told Snow White all those years ago (who knew the innocence of Regina’s youth could destroy her so many times over?): “True Love is magic. It’s strong enough to break any curse. And I do love you, Rob. I really, truly do. This land may be woven from magic, but what we have is real. I meant every word of it. Every kiss. Every touch.”

She cries as she says it. He looks at her like she’s grown a second head. Or like she’s a murderous despot who shed the blood of scores of his countrymen in a quest for vengeance.

For a long while, there’s only the birdsong of early morning and the hammering of her terrified heart, and then he tells her, “I think you should go.”

.::.

It’s three days before she sees him again.

Three days where she jumps at every knock on her door. Three days of expecting an angry mob brandishing pitchforks to stalk up her drive. Three days where her heart feels hollowed-out and empty, and three days where Henry asks why his playdate with Landon has been put off again, and again.

She didn’t expect his apparent mercy, but she’s grateful for it. She doesn’t deserve it.

When he comes to her, it’s nearly midnight; she’s already dressed for bed.

He stands on the porch and looks her up and down, that same seeking, searching look he’d given poplars and the stars. “I want to know who you are.”

She thinks maybe he’s forgotten yet again, maybe the curse has remixed his brain once more. So it’s entirely masochistic to tell him, “You do.”

“No.” He’s like steel over candy floss—so firm in his convictions but she can see the tender sweetness of him beneath. The candy-coated comfort of familiarity, of twenty-odd years of nostalgic affection. For the first time, she begins to hope he might be capable of loving her despite the horrors. “I want to know the parts you kept hidden. I want to know how you came to be her. I want the truth.”

She has known of him, always. Since the beginning. He is her head of Parks, he is the thorn in her side, he is her soulmate.

She doesn’t like him. She loves him, down to her marrow.

He knows her better than anyone living, but he doesn’t really know her at all.

So she invites him in. She pours them each a whiskey. And she tells him her story.

He does not seek vengeance upon her many sins. He does not spit venom at her feet. He does not threaten to steal her son, or raze her town, or oust her from the Mayor’s office.

He listens.

And then he makes her an offer: “Regina, would you like to start again?”

.::.

They have no secrets and no lies. Happy Endings have no room for such things.

They still fight, they still bicker. He is still a thorn in her side at every Town Hall meeting, and he still protests vehemently when she proposes a soccer field take the place of that ever-contested plot of land.

He never tells a soul who she really is.

In the evenings, they sit on her deck and map the stars, and compare stories of gods and legends—the ones here and the ones there. One night, after sharing what she knows to be a very dubious retelling of the story of Sylar the Sphynx (he’s stuck in the sky until his riddle is solved, not, as Robin tells it, because a nearby constellation has caught his tail and won’t let go), he asks her, “Do you regret it? Casting the curse? All that you did?”

She ought to. Her story is a tragic one, worthy of constellations. She ought to be Regina the Mad Queen, a cluster of red fire burning in the sky, but she is not.

“No,” she tells him. “It brought me my son. And it brought me you. I could never regret that.”

Robin tilts his head against hers, points to the sky, and never asks again.

[thisisamadhouse]

Keep your memories in a bottle 1/7

A/N: For the OQ Happy Ending Week Day 1. Unbetaed, all mistakes are mine.

AO3 & FF link

Chapter 1

In retrospect, Regina probably should have been more careful with her coronation gifts. She might have been embraced by the people who had once feared hearing her very name, but she knew that there were still a few individuals who had no lost love for her. The bottle of wine had seemed so appealing though, after a long day of niceties and celebrations, that she couldn't resist opening it to enjoy a glass, as she settled comfortably in her armchair on the balcony, relishing in the calm and quiet of the night.

She could feel that something was not quite right just a few moments later, the dizziness so sudden and overpowering that it left little doubt in her mind as to its origin. She tried to get up but she had no balance, and she sent her glass crashing to the floor as she seized both armrests to sit back down, the remaining wine seeping on the stones to form a dark red puddle.

She had to close her eyes, the vertigo too intense to keep them open, and then she lost consciousness.

Regina blinked her eyes open, frowning in confusion, wondering why she was lying on the ground, until the recent events rushed back to her memory: Henry, the boy who had claimed to be her son, and his other mother convincing her to stop Robin Hood's wedding to right their stories -whatever that meant-, their fight with the Ogre Slayer, and putting herself in his way to save the boy, the deadly wound to her stomach and Robin holding onto her hand as she felt her life slipping away…

Robin, who was still looking down at her, smiled through his tears, as he noticed that she was awake. Regina raised her free hand in front of her face, finding it clean of any trace of blood, the unbearable pain from before gone.

"What happened?" She asked him, as he helped her up from the ground, after having checked her over.

"I'm not sure," he replied, keeping her close, even as she seemed to be able to stand on her two feet, though Regina found that she didn't mind. "The young boy used some of your blood to rewrite the story, he called you a hero, a saviour even, and when he was done there was a flash of light, and he, the blonde woman, and that distasteful man disappeared, then your wounds healed. I can't tell you how relieved I was about that part."

She smiled fondly at his heartfelt sincerity, she had not been shown much gratuitous kindness in her life, but with Robin there was no question that it was natural and lacking any kind of ulterior motive.

His eyes clouded over for a moment, and he looked away, still keeping her hands in his warm grip. "I saw you at the church's entrance, as we were saying our vows. I thought that you were going to enter and stop me, but when you didn't…" He trailed off, unable to say the words.

Regina swallowed the lump forming in her throat, and she let go of his hold to cradle his cheeks and catch his gaze.

"I wanted to, I really did, but that boy needed me, I had to save him," she replied.

"I know that now, and given how much I was hoping you would speak up, I should have never gone through with this wedding. Maybe… Maybe, we should try again," Robin offered, and Regina's eyebrows raised in surprise.

"You want me to actually stop your wedding?" She wondered, making him chuckle.

"My bride seems to have run away, so I don't think it could be possible. What I meant was that I would like to make this right."

'Is this your idea of a proposal? Because I find it seriously lacking."

"I shall do this properly then," Robin said, putting one knee on the ground.

"You are actually considering it?" Regina interrupted him. "Are you sure this is what you want? We barely know each other."

"And yet, from the moment I met you, I have thought of little else but you," Robin admitted. "I know that your life has been far from easy, the loneliness, the fear, the hardships. It would be my honor to show you that there is more out there."

Regina tugged him to his feet, shaking her head. "You're insane, Robin Hood."

"Is that a 'Yes'?" He asked, grinning from ear to ear.

She rolled her eyes. "I guess I could do worse," she answered, threading her fingers through the hair at the back of his head to bring him down to her level, and kissed him for the first time.

Regina could still feel the taste of Robin's lips as she regained consciousness, back in her chambers in the reunited Realms. The hallucination, vivid dream, or whatever this was supposed to be, was certainly intended to hurt her, but Regina could never resent any incarnation of Robin she was able to meet, and she just added this memory to the others, reflection of a too short time spent with her soulmate.

She went back inside and considered the bottle of wine, entertaining the thought of throwing it away for only a second before corking it and putting it away.

[oqonholidaysweek-blog]

Prompts

You can find the list of prompts below. Feel free to select any prompt and create OutlawQueen art (fic, manip, video) inspired by it. You can of course combine several prompts in one creation.   

You can submit any creation you want whether it is a new one or an old one. About the fics, it can be included in any of your existing verses. However, note that any ancient work will not be counted as an entry to win a button. 

OQ on Holidays Week will take place from August 20th to 26th, so please, don’t post anything before. 

 In the meantime, don’t hesitate to tweet or DM me at this account @OQonHolidays if you have any questions. 

Here’s the list of prompts: 

1. Regina Roland and Robin, who can’t stand very loud or very crowded spaces, in Times Square. 

2. Regina & Robin vacation in England, they visit the ‘real’ Sherwood Forest and town of Nottingham, see the statue of Robin Hood and touristy Robin Hood themed gift shops. Robin isn’t a fan of his likeness being used to make money. 

3. Entire Hood-Mills family (Robin, Regina, Henry, Roland and Robyn) goes to Disney World during ‘villains month’.

4. Robin takes Regina camping somewhere out in the wilderness where she doesn’t have her magic. Regina discovers she is NOT an outdoorsy kind of woman... 

5. Regina takes Robin to Hyperion Heights for the first time, to the bar and her former apartment, and people still think of her as the wild tattooed bartender Roni. She’s embarrassed of her cursed persona, but Robin wants to get to know ‘Roni’. 

6. Evil Queen takes Wish Robin out into the real world for the first time and decides to take him to New York City. 

7. Robin and Regina go to Vietnam. 

 8. On a family vacation, OQ family finds an abandoned puppy on a beach. Roland and Henry try to convince their parents to keep it and take it back home. 

9. Robin, Regina, Emma, Mary Margaret, Killian (any other character can be included) are all good friends. Robin and Regina's friends realize they're in love but don't act on their feelings. So, they decide to push them a little. They all plan a holiday trip: book air tickets, hotel accomodation, activities. But at the last minute their friends don't show up and Robin and Regina are forced to spend a week with each other on vacation (maybe sharing a room) and ...well, maybe it's exactly what they need!

10. Robin and Regina go to a fan convention for Henry’s ‘Once Upon a Time’ book outside of Storybrooke to support him and it’s just uncanny how well they ‘cosplay’ as Robin Hood and Regina Mills… 

11. Robin and Regina take Robyn to a heavy metal concert out in California. Turns out Robyn wasn’t interested in the music so much as she was interested in the girl from Storybrooke who just so happens to be into this band... 

12. DarkOQ are on holiday in the EF with Roland and get attacked by monsters. 

13. OQ are in holiday with their children and Roland gets lost 

14. Robin and Regina are both skilled contract killers working for different firms meeting for the first time in bogota Columbia during a pretended or real holidays. Of course, they have no idea that the other one is a contract killer, and even less that they have the same target (based on the movie Mr & Mrs. Smith) 

15. A weekend camping trip with the boys [dealer's choice on good or bad trip] 

16. Regina takes Robin on his first plane ride 

17. Honeymooning in Hawaii 

18. A romantic cruise that veers into the Bermuda Triangle 

19. Hiking in the Redwoods [with or without the boys] 

20. Henry or Roland get food poisoning on vacation and need TLC

21. A day at the beach ends with Regina getting sun poisoning 

22. Henry and Roland go to summer camp, leaving Regina & Robin on a staycation at home 

23. First family roadtrip 

24. Robyn's first day at the beach with Robin, Regina, & the boys [Zelena optional] 

25. Robyn gets her first period on vacation with the family 

26. Regina teaches Roland how to swim 

27. Regina and Henry are in holidays on a cruise, the same cruise as Robin and Roland. Robin, Regina’s ex-boyfriend from college. The first time they face each other, things aren’t that simple and a lot of grudge is still present. But as the two kids become friends, their parents are forced to spend time together, and talk about their past...

28. “Best vacation ever!" 

29. “Why did I agree to this trip?" 

30. "Look! I even laminated our itinerary AND synced it to everyone's phones!" 

31. “Your mum is stunning when she lets herself enjoy nature." 

32. Family day at the beach 

33. OQ spends a few days at the beach, without the kids, and things get steamy on the sands... Or above a rock ;) 

34. Regina breaks her leg during her holidays with her parents and sister, and is forced to stay behind while they are out visiting. One day she decides to get out to get some fresh air and ends up running into a certain British boy with deep dimples and ocean blue eyes. 

35. Regina isn't in the mood for a holiday, but her friends drags her with them and in the end she ends up being grateful that she went. Because she meets the love of her life. 

36. Regina takes a well deserved holiday in Mykonos. Her plan? Party, have fun, maybe meet a guy or two for a one-night stands, and forget her awful boss and pressuring job. But when her eyes fall upon the bartender of her hotel, a handsome British man with blue eyes and a sexy accent, her plans to stick to one-night stands completely fall apart. 

37. At Henry’s request, Regina and Robin organize a family trip (Roland comes too) to Maya’s ruins. But as they visit a temple, they unleash a powerful magic that threatens everyone’s lives. 

38. Regina is on a holiday trip with her friend Tink in Spain. At her friends’ request, Regina let’s a fortune teller read the lines of her hand. Regina, a confirmed bachelor, doesn’t believe her when the woman predicts that she’ll meet her soulmate during this trip : a man with a lion tattoo. That is, until she meets a handsome man with intriguing blue eyes, adorable dimples, and a certain tattoo... 

39. “What are you doing in my hotel room?” 

40. Romantic holidays in Paris 

 41. Robin and Regina take their whole family on holidays. Henry meets a girl he has a huge crush on, and Robin has to help Regina deal with her mama bear feelings and let her son enjoy this summer love. 

 42. A week at the beach. Roland almost drowns. 

43. Wish Robin convinces (after several attempts) the Evil Queen to spend a week in the Forest. Whether it ends up being phenomenal or a complete failure is up to you. 

44. Regina, Leopold and Snow take a vacation to one of the other realms of the Enchanted Forest and they meet a certain thief on the road during their journey. 

45. Regina discovers that she’s pregnant a week before a long planned holidays, and she’s extremely nauseous. “I’m ruining everyone’s holidays.” “No, you’re not.” 

46. Regina and Robin go back to Camelot to take a few days off for themselves and they end up waking up an evil everyone had forgotten about. 

47. OQ take their children and Robyn (who’s about 15 yo) on a trip to San Francisco. “Regina, I really like this girl we met on the pier.” 

48. Robin and Regina have marital issues. Their therapist suggests they take some holidays, just the two of them, to work on their relationship without having to worry about the kids. Will it work in helping them remember how much they still love each other? 

49. “I always dreamt to visit Venise.”

50. During the Missing Year, Regina isn’t doing well, she misses her son and feels like she doesn’t belong. A certain thief offers her to take her away for a few days, to help change her mind.   

51. Regina and Robin are best friends who decide to go on a trip to Las Vegas together. As they say, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas 

52. Leopold takes Regina to his hunting lodge in the mountains, she gets lost and almost dies in a blizzard, Robin finds her, brings her back to his cabin to nurse her back to health.

53. Regina and Robin take a few days off for their first Thanksgiving together as a married couple. Regina has a little more to be greatful for than she expected 

54. Robin and Regina are friends. Regina went through a tough break up after a long relationship with Daniel. Daniel was an ass, lied, cheated, whatever. Robin has been secretly in love with Regina, but has waited patiently for her to get over Daniel, and it seems she succeeds.They plan this vacation as friends (it can be with other friends) and in the trip they bump into Daniel. This makes Regina doubtful again, Robin is jealous, maybe Daniel tries to win Regina again, and due to the circumstances Robin has to tell Regina how he feels about her. 

55. Modern AU: Regina dedicates most of her time to her job and her best friend convinces her to finally take a break. Her friend books a trip for her with a travel agency. Regina reluctantly goes to the trip and is in a bad mood, always thinking about her job and what she has to do when she goes back, until she meets the tour leader, Robin. 

56. Regina and Robin in Greece (preferably not at the most popular and crazy crowded places) 

57. Regina and Robin go castle-seeing in England 

58. For father's day (or mother's day, you choose), they plan a surprise holiday, so they can celebrate it somewhere else. 

59. Robin and Regina on their honeymoon; a week in a haute top floor Paris suite where Robin is completely out of his element but he endures it for his new bride 

60. Families were accidentally booked for the same cabin, beach house, airbnb and decide to share the space so neither have to cancel the vacation 

61. Visiting Robin’s family in England 

62. Visiting Regina’s family in Puerto Rico 

63. Regina getting racially profiled at the airport, Robin defends her (either established relationship or first meeting) 

64. Roland and/or Henry get lost at airport or at destination 

65. Home alone holidays AU 

66. Jolly Roger 

67. Ship wreck (AU or Jolly Roger) 

68. Plane crash 

69. Honeymoon 

70. Cruise 

71. Traveling to meet their new baby/child/children (adoption AU) 

72. Mile high club 

73. Every year the children point to a spot on a map / globe and that is where they go now $%*^@#* picked Utah / Iran ???  and is so excited but no one else wants to go. 

74. Time machine.

75. Robin and Regina’s families would spend every summer at their vacation homes so they have been friends since they were kids and casually dated as they were teens. Now, they are both graduated and returning to the same vacation homes, hoping the other shows up 

76. Welcome to jurassic world 

77. Lost AU 

78. African safari 

79. A year after Daniel died, Regina is trying to take Henry on his annual camping trip but they get really lost and she’s pretending they aren’t. Finally, they come across Robin, who is camping with Roland and ..... :) 

80. A booking mishap occurs and Robin and Regina each lose their reservation, but the hotel has 1 room left with a single queen-sized bed. Do these strangers share or do they let this ruin their vacation? 

81. Lifeguard has to save drowning victim. [Dealer's choice on who is in which role and whether beach or pool] 

82. Roland and Henry meet on the beach and make friends, then "force" their parents to make a joint vacation of it 

83. Trying the exotic local cuisine, but who likes it and who's grossed out by it? 

84. Rained out camping or tropical trip 

85. Fights over folding vs. rolling the maps 

86. Who gets carsick the easiest? [Adults or kids] 

87. Who declares war on anyone singing "99 Bottles"? 

88. Robin goes to Vegas for his bachelor party and Regina works as a higher end stripper

89. Robin’s deployed in the military and home on his two week leave so he and the family go somewhere before he had to go back

90. Regina Mills is an executive editor in chief of a book publishing company and a total bitch. After learning she is about to be deported to Canada, she forces her assistant, Robin Locksley to marry her. Regina doesn’t have any family left and the couple travels to Robins hometown, to meet his family. Regina & Robin learn a lot about each other on the trip and start to get closer. (Based on the movie The Proposal)

91. The kids are asleep in the backseat, so road head? Why not?

[ninzied]

Now Is the Time to Know (That All That You Do Is Sacred)

For @starscythe and the beautiful art she made for Dark OQ Week, Day 1: Getting to Know You. Title taken from Hafiz. [ffn | ao3]

Special thanks to @repellomuggletum15 for being a badass beta, and to @robin-of-locksley for inspiring a line in this.

They got acquainted with each other’s bodies first.

One drink had turned into two (he insisted on buying that one as well), and their coy little glances had grown bolder, heating and opening up to one another in clear looks of want.

And oh what a glorious mess they had made of the tavern that night.

It was strange, in the beginning, to know him and yet not – in a purely physical sense, they were nearly identical, these two Robins who had both breezed into her life at a time when second chances felt like something impossible to her.

The same blue eyes. Those same strong arms (the way they learned to hold her, too). Even that scar up his bicep, the long lines of muscle that swooped down his waistline and tensed whenever she traced them with her tongue.

But the similarities ended there.

The way that he moved, the sound of his groan as he pressed into her – trying to remember a different Robin in him was like opening a book to find the chapters had all been rewritten, and it took a few moments of fumbling with this new kind of intimacy for her to realize how little it mattered in the end.

She was not the same Regina, nor the same Evil Queen, and her different with his different came together so naturally that she eventually decided it was useless to question or dwell on it too long.

She’d made a vow not to waste any more time with this man.

—

When they weren’t making love, she felt almost shy around him.

She blamed Regina, in a way. Before, when all she had was her rage, it had been so very easy to take without looking back, to care for nothing but the pure carnal pleasure of killing, or fucking (of laying claim to something, one way or another).

But now, with all of this…lightness in her, every damn emotion had returned to the surface demanding to be felt, and feeling shy with this man was apparently the first means of torture her heart had devised.

Robin touched her freely, kissing the sweat from her neck after a long stroll in the gardens, caressing a hand up and down her thigh at dinner and feigning innocence when she reminded him that they had guests present.

It became habit for her to lean into these moments whenever she felt that traitorous uncertainty again, because it was an effortless thing to let him worship her body when that, at least, had never betrayed itself as weak to her.

She made sure that he wanted for nothing – food and drink and clothing and assurances against boredom that she knew, objectively speaking, he couldn’t care less about – because that, at least, she knew how to control.

Robin had come here with few possessions of his own, save for his rucksack, and a book he kept tucked away in the single drawer that he’d allowed her to empty on his behalf. She never saw him read it, apart from the days when she would schedule trips into the nearby villages, smiling upon her return and dismissing her inquiries with a “Nothing important, my love” before stowing it away again.

And then he would pull her into bed with him, telling her things with his body that would make her forget what else had not been said, until another morning shed its light on their half-tangled limbs and it occurred to her that she might be in bed with a stranger.

There was so much she didn’t know about his past, so much he still didn’t know about hers, and it might have been enough, before, but her heart had begun to want things – things she had not yet learned how to ask for.

Things she was still half-convinced that she didn’t deserve.

—

Robin surprised her, one day, by bringing up Henry.

They’d been fighting about…something. Frankly, it was hard to keep track when they disagreed about more or less everything, but this time was different. More. There had been sharper edges than usual involved, more unrestrained fury over some stupid incident at the stables after her horse had misbehaved.

“What the bloody hell were you thinking, getting back up there? You were very nearly thrown from the damn thing a week ago, what made you think this time would be any different?”

“Well as you can see, I’m fine,” she sniffed in reply, brushing him off when he attempted to help her off the ground.

But he seemed determined not to let it go. “You could have been killed!”

Rolling her eyes at him was, in retrospect, probably not the kindest way to respond, and he’d let her have it then, shouting things about her stubbornness, how soft her heart must have gotten to think she could tame a beast into caring for her.

“He just needs time,” she argued, ignoring the way her back protested when she stood up too quickly, and what did he know about any of this anyway? Since when did sleeping in barns make him some kind of expert on horses? “And I’m learning how to be patient – though certainly not from the likes of you.”

“You know just as well as I that this one can’t be helped.”

She instinctively placed herself between them, everything in her going rigid to keep from betraying her flinch when the horse gave a snort and kicked a hoof into the dirt just behind her.

“You’re wrong,” she told Robin, steely. “He’ll come around. Maybe it’s common, where you come from, to turn your back whenever you feel like it, but I’m not giving up on him!”

His eyes narrowed, a storm obscuring the blue in them. “Yes, and why not endanger yourself in the process?”

“You’re being dramatic.”

“This is not the first time you’ve been reckless with your life,” he thundered, “and for what? Because you fancy you’ll be able to make a difference? By loving something hard enough?”

“Like you would know about loving anything other than yourself.”

“Well that’s rich,” he remarked, “considering all those times I saved your arse instead of my own. Or have you forgotten why we had to leave the other realm?”

“I don’t see what any of that has to do with—”

“He does not love you, Regina! You have to let Henry go!”

He did not seem to realize what he’d said until it was too late, and she felt herself turn to stone as she stared up at this man and recognized nothing that she knew in him. He took an entreating step forward, something like remorse clouding his expression as he reached for her hand.

She jerked away.

“Don’t. Touch me.”

“Regina—”

“I think you should go.”

He had the audacity to move toward her again. “Regina, I know that—”

“Let’s make one thing clear, thief.” She couldn’t bear to look at him now, for fear that the words would sting only her before losing their sharpness. “You know nothing about me. You are nothing to me.”

“I know you don’t believe that.” A hint of his anger returned, and how dare he when he had no right? “What we are is so much more than I can hope to understand, but I want this.” His frustration gave way to something imploring. “Let me make this right.”

“What we are is a mistake,” she corrected, her tone growing cold, clipped. Indifferent. She turned away. “Surely there’s a bed of hay somewhere that can stand to keep you company.”

It was not the first time she had run from this man, and as the sound of him calling her name grew dimmer and dimmer, she wondered if she hadn’t had the right idea that first time after all.

—

He was nowhere to be found when she eventually returned to the castle, spent and half-desperate for a quick, hateful romp to make them forget every horrible thing that they’d said to each other.

She took a detour through the banquet hall, where dinner sat untouched at their usual table, the candle flickering and casting strange shadows across the dishware and cutlery that had been set out for one.

“Did…Robin eat already?” she asked, feeling oddly off-centered when a guard hurried forward and attempted to pour her some wine.

“No, mum. He informed us that you would be dining alone this evening. White or red?”

She held out a hand to stop him.

“Where is he?”

“Err,” said the guard, “I’m…not quite sure. He said he had some things to attend to upstairs, but I didn’t – I don’t—”

She left him to his stammering apologies as she swept out of the banquet hall.

Something twisted and dark had taken up residence inside of her, growing teeth and claws until the blackness began to creep around the corners of her vision. The floor threatened to wobble at every step she took up the staircase, and then she was blindly turning down another set of corridors, to the doors that led into her quarters.

Her bedchambers were empty.

But then, what had she been expecting? Robin, bare beneath her covers and waiting to pull her back under with him?

Everything was in perfect order, exactly as she’d left it that morning, but something pressed her forward, and she found herself standing in front of the wardrobe they shared before she realized what she was even looking for.

She nudged his drawer open.

Her chest tightened, crowding out all the air as a painful thudding reached the very edges of her ribcage, her heart suddenly too big, too loud, too much.

What little that Robin had brought with him – his rucksack, that book – was gone.

He was gone.

She heard nothing for a moment, nothing but the sound of her own shallow breathing, a dull ringing noise that drowned out everything else trying to wedge itself inside her head.

A bird trilled out a distant little song, somewhere, outside, and she longed to be gone with a savage intensity, to be surrounded by the scent of pine and every possible shade of green in the sunlight, to drown in something blue that darkened each time she set herself on fire.

She was out of her bedchambers and down in the courtyards below with no recollection of moving her feet, panic fluttering like so many feathers in her chest to think of what she’d just lost, every reason she should have given him to stay.

The moon was peeking its way out of the mountains to stare her down, starkly illuminating as the jagged rock faces began to glow wherever they’d been touched by the light.

She stumbled a step forward, wanting to fling everything she had out into all that openness, to let it pull her apart until the weight in her chest simply ceased to be.

“You’re back.”

She turned toward his voice with her heart in her throat, and for a moment she thought she had imagined him there.

Robin was sitting on a bench, gazing up at her apple tree with a solemn sort of stillness that she hadn’t known him capable of, and there were many things about him that she hungered to learn, this man who already knew so much more of her than he’d ever let on.

“I thought…” Her words splintered a bit at the edges, and she tried again, “I thought you—” before clearing her throat and finishing lamely, “You skipped dinner.”

The smile he gave her was tentative, rueful. “I had thought you might want to be alone a while longer.”

He was turning his book over in his hands, fingertips trailing lightly down its spine with a tenderness that she felt as though it were her own skin.

“Well,” she informed him stiffly, “as usual, you thought wrong.”

The sound of his chuckle cracked open that heaviness in her, spilling out light, and they smiled at each other like everything had suddenly been made new between them, achingly delicate for how vital it felt.

He shifted over on the bench, the look he gave her warm and inviting, and she moved to sit beside him, primly crossing one leg over the other as she rearranged her skirts.

It was the first time, since she’d known him, that he seemed hesitant to reach for her.

She held her body carefully away from his, suddenly unsure again what to do with herself when they weren’t touching each other in some small way. Silence stretched on, settling in until she felt only something monumental would be able to break it. Her heart crept back up into her throat to beat out a half-petrified rhythm, stirring up nerves in her belly, and she took a shaky breath when their gazes finally met.

He looked at her like he’d seen one world end and another begin in her eyes, so much wonder held in all that blue for her, bright with the promise of things she could no longer bear not to have.

She glanced away again, feeling him do the same and wondering if he had a smile to hide just as she did.

“This book belonged to my mother.”

He held it out to her, and when the weight of what he was offering sunk in she reached to accept it, gingerly outlining the silhouette of a frond that had been etched into its leather cover. It was a journal, she realized, each page crammed to the margins with pen-and-ink drawings of different leaves and fruits and shrubs, agricultural charts and diagrams of life cycles that were signed at the corner with a whorling flourish of Lady Locksley.

“My father was, ah…” Robin stared down at his hands, his expression plainly troubled, and she felt she had to look away for different reasons now. “He was very particular, about the plans he had for his son. And brutally unforgiving when those plans were not realized.”

Her fingers stilled in their tracing of an heirloom tomato, itching to be the one who reached out for him this time.

“I told him, once, that my great aspiration was to repurpose his land and actually make it useful. Become a farmer.”

She couldn’t keep the playful skepticism out of her tone. “That was what you threatened your father with? Growing some banana plants?”

“I liked to get my hands dirty,” he shrugged, the roguish ghost of a smile passing across his features when he glanced over at her again, and she was flustered to feel her cheeks heat in response.

“Not much has changed, clearly.”

He smirked at her before looking serious again, adding, “Besides, my mother – as you can see – was an avid horticulturalist. It felt a noble enough pursuit at the time, in place of all the political madness that had consumed my father’s life.”

“And how did she feel about you defying him like that?” Proud, she imagined, feeling wistful at the thought of it as she turned another page. A single feather had been pressed there to bookmark an illustrated section on birds, yellow-throated warblers and robins with full coats of red every shade of the sunset, their wingtips dipped in black.

“I wouldn’t know,” he told her simply. “She left us, when I was very young.”

Regina leaned into him on instinct, but he had opened as much of himself as he was willing to for the time being, and her hand fell back into her lap when he turned his head away for a moment. He was a proud man, hard and impenetrable at times, and she did not think he would take kindly toward her pity. But his impulse had always been to love, she knew, because she’d carried that same weakness in her own heart.

There was a creeping loneliness that came with never having known love well, but there must have been comfort in that too, when that was all he'd ever known.

Perhaps he was just as frightened as she had been to find out what it truly meant to let himself go.

“It was unfair of me to pass judgment on your love for your son.” He sounded strained, throat scraped raw with emotion that prevented him from meeting her eye. “It’s an admirable thing that you do not have it in your heart to give up on him, no matter how cruel or unmoving or—”

“Murderous?” she supplied, tone wry. In the darkmost corners of her memory, there was a glint of hateful green eyes coming toward her, the flash of steel and then the blur of an arrow that just missed its mark when she screamed for Robin to stop.

“Yes, that as well,” he said darkly. “He’s still your son, and you’re still his mother, and I shouldn’t have…” He shook his head, gathering himself for a second before turning back to her, and it was like staring into a moonlit sea, brilliant and blue and powerfully endless. “Please forgive me, for what I said.”

Unable to hold herself back any longer, she moved to touch her hand to the side of his face, letting her nails catch against his stubble as she skimmed down his jawline. It tensed beneath her touch as he swallowed, a heavy drop of his Adam’s apple before rising again, and she felt more than heard him loosen with a sigh as she scooted closer, knee brushing his thigh.

“What are those?” she gestured toward the wall beside him, an assortment of knickknacks and other small objects lined along the flat stone surface, his rucksack crumpled on the grass below.

“Ah,” said Robin, putting on a smile for her as he reached to grab for whatever lay nearest. “This is the very first dagger I owned.”

“A letter opener?” she questioned archly.

“Which I stole – naturally – from my father’s study when I was about six years old.” An artful twist of his fingers and something metal fell into his palm. “This is my mum’s hairpin, which I used to break into said study.” He paused before picking up the next item in line. “And this is a candle that I nicked from your washroom, while you were busy being in one of your tempers.”

“Thief,” she accused him, smiling.

“A fact you were well aware of when you met me,” he countered, eyes crinkling as she bent forward and blew on the wick, a flicker of light igniting and then flaming to life. He set the candle gently back on the stone before turning to grasp both of her hands in his, a boyish grin transforming the lines of his face in a way that made her heart jump. “Now I believe it’s your turn, Your Majesty.”

She would not let herself look away from this, close enough now to leap from the edge with him, two broken things that could only fall apart before they fit together at last. “What do you want to know?”

He raised his hand to sweep a lock of her hair aside, eyes steady on hers as she gazed up at him, and he dug his teeth into the start of another smile before giving his answer. “You.”

[believingispowerfulmagic]

OQ Realms Week Day 4 - Enchanted Forest “The Queen’s Guard”

“Here’s the latest batch,” Nottingham said, patting the wagon with glee. 

The captain of King Leopold’s guard nodded, looking over the men inside. “This looks to be your best batch yet. They will make good additions to our army.” 

“Yes, they will,” Nottingham agreed, accepting the bag of coins from the captain. He then reached inside the wagon, tugging on Robin’s chains to bring him to his knees. “Watch out for this one. He’s a thief who remained elusive far longer than he should’ve. I hesitated to bring him as I’d rather see him at the end of the hangman’s noose. But he’s strong and very good with a bow and arrow.” 

Robin glared up at the captain, hoping to convey how much he didn’t want to be there in his glare. He hated that he had been caught by Nottingham and was now being forced to serve in the army of a king he detested. Everyone thought Leopold was such a great king but he knew the truth. A truly great king wouldn’t let his nobles tax his people to the point they couldn’t feed their families. 

The captain frowned. “He seems to be rebellious.” 

“He does have a disregard for authority,” Nottingham agreed, “but I still think you can fix that.” 

Nodding, the captain thanked Nottingham. “Always a pleasure doing business with you.” 

“Same,” Nottingham replied, opening up the door to the wagon. “They are all yours. Good luck.” 

The captain took the chains and pulled on them, forcing everyone inside out of the wagon. Robin staggered to his feet, glaring at Nottingham one last time. “This isn’t the end,” he promised. 

“Oh, I think it is, Locksley,” the sheriff replied with a smirk. “Good luck.” 

“Move forward!” the captain ordered, tugging on the chains. Robin stumbled forward before starting to walk forward, his mind racing. He had gotten out of worse situations and he was confident he would get out of this. 

He would not be a soldier for long. 

*****

“Rise and shine, maggots!” Rough hands jerked Robin from his uneasy sleep, sending him toppling from his uncomfortable bed to the uncomfortable floor. It knocked the wind out of him and he struggled to catch his breath. 

The captain towered over him, frowning at him. “I want you up and dressed as soon as possible.” 

“Fine,” Robin groaned. 

“You will address me properly,” the captain said. “You answer ‘yes, sir’ and ‘no, sir’ accordingly. Do you understand?” 

Though he was tempted to make a sarcastic remark, Robin knew that it would not end up well for him. While he wasn’t in a prison cell, he was still a prisoner. And if he wanted to make it out, he needed to pretend to toe the line for now. “Yes, sir,” he replied through gritted teeth. 

“Good.” The captain turned and walked out of the room, no doubt to torture someone else. 

Robin’s roommate chuckled. “You’re going to be on his shitlist your entire time here.” 

“Wouldn’t be the first time I’ve been on someone’s shitlist,” Robin replied with a shrug. 

“Yeah, you and that sheriff seemed to have some history. He was really happy to turn you over,” the roommate said, pulling his tunic over his head. 

Robin nodded, sitting on his cot to put on his breeches. “He’s been chasing me for a long time. I kept giving him the slip, embarrassing him. He didn’t appreciate that.” 

“Clearly. And now he’s gotten his revenge,” the other man said. 

“He thinks he has,” Robin replied, grabbing his own tunic. He pulled it over his head before buttoning it shut. 

His roommate frowned. “What do you mean?” 

“Just that I don’t think I’ll be away from Sherwood for too long,” Robin answered, winking at him. 

“You’re barmy then,” the other man said. “No one runs away from King Leopold’s army. If they try, they die.” 

Robin paused, knowing that was not something to take lightly. Still, he said: “None of them have been me.” 

“Trust me, mate, you’re not special,” the man replied, clapping him on the back. “Good luck to you.” 

“You too,” Robin said, following him out to the courtyard where all the other new recruits stood. He took a spot in line, waiting to see what the day would bring him. 

He was ready. 

*****

He was not ready. 

By the time the sunset that day, Robin’s entire body was sore and he was exhausted. He barely had the strength to eat his evening meal - a bowl of broth with some cold meats - before he crawled back to his quarters. Robin collapsed onto his bed with a groan. 

“You sound the way I feel,” his roommate - who he learned was named Will - said from his bed. 

“Then you feel the same way I do,” Robin replied. “Are they trying to kill us?” 

Will sighed. “I wouldn’t be surprised. Survival of the fittest and all that.” 

“Great,” Robin groaned, closing his eyes for a few moments to try to gather up his energy to change. He doubted the captain would be pleased to know he slept in his training gear. It seemed like that would be important to the man. 

After counting down from five, Robin forced himself to sit up. He undid the clasps of his tunic and winced as he slid it off him. Looking down, he groaned when he saw several bruises on his torso and arms. “Oh gods…” 

“Yeah, mate. I look the same,” Will replied. Robin looked up to see his roommate was just as bruised. 

“Maybe Nottingham got his revenge after all,” Robin said with a sigh. He collapsed back onto his bed. “Goodnight, Will.” 

If Will wished him a goodnight, he didn’t hear it as he fell into a deep, dreamless sleep within seconds. 

Continue reading here

[justanoutlawfic]

‪Part 5 of Day 4 for OQ Realms Week: New Wonderland‬

‪Regina and Robin get to watch their daughter fall in love with Alice from Wonderland (and other places).‬

[queen-of-the-merry-men]

Anger

Prompt #3 for Dark OQ week: First Fight

Summary: A run in with a familiar face causes Queenie to lash out at Robin.

----------------

She’s never been angry at him. Irritated, occasionally annoyed but never truly angry. Not like this.

It hadn’t even been his fault really. He’d just wanted to explore a little, get to know the realm that would be his home for the foreseeable future. He hadn’t meant to run into them or him.

The merry men had been shocked to say the least and he’ll admit that he certainly didn’t react well to them swarming him. He saw the way their faces dropped when he admitted that he wasn’t their precious prince of thieves. And it’d stung. Just like always.

But it only really went downhill when he showed up. That little boy with the familiar round eyes. He’d taken one look at him, shock coloring his face and whispered, “Papa?”

Regina appeared in seconds, a cloud of purple smoke signaling her arrival. She’d looked at the boy, her eyes uncertain and afraid, before turning to him, clenching her jaw and whisking them away with a wave of her hand.

They landed back in the castle, locking eyes in the silence. Something flickers behind her brown eyes. Anger. Regret. Most certainly pain. She doesn’t say a word to him, just shakes her head and stalks over to her potions cabinet.

He immediately follows her, his tone brisk and demanding as he asks, “Who was he?”

“No one,” she growls. Her answer is harsh and immediate. She grits it out as she opens the cabinet and starts searching through the bottles, still not bothering to even look in his direction.

He glares at her back because he’d seen the look in the boy’s eyes. He’d heard what he’d said.

“He called me his father,” he says, seeing her back go stiff at his words.  

She turns back to him, her brown eyes harsher than he’s ever seen them, and she whispers, “Well he was clearly mistaken, now wasn’t he?”

He steps closer to her, his jaw clenched with anger at her refusal to answer him. “I saw his eyes and I’d know them in any realm.” He pauses, still hesitant to say what he knows aloud. “He’s my son, isn’t he? My child with Marian?”

“No he’s not!” she immediately refutes. “He’s Robin’s child with Marian. Not yours! His!”

He can see that she’s furious. Her voice shakes and her hands tremble. A vein in her forehead has begun to show as she yells at him and he’s nearly floored. She’s never yelled at him. She’s sniped and snapped and growled but never yelled. But it’s still not enough to make him back down.

“Take me back. I want to see him!”

“No.”  Her eyes are hard as she shakes her head at him.

“That’s not fair!” he cries. “I have a right to see him! You didn’t even tell me he was here!”

“As if you would’ve cared!”

“I do care!”

“Really?!” she scoffs at him. “Like you cared about Robyn? His daughter with Zelena?”

The mention of the baby girl gives him pause. He’s suddenly reminded that he hasn’t given much thought to her at all, since he’d left Storybrooke.

“Oh what?” she sneers. “Did you forget about her? Did you forget how you looked at her and felt nothing at all? Then walked away and never gave her another thought?”

He clenches his jaw. “That was different,” he growls.

“You’re right it was,” she harshly agrees. “Because a Robyn was a baby! She won’t remember your rejection and disinterest but Roland will.”

She steps closer to him, her eyes positively burning as she stares him down and speaks in a low voice. “Listen to me. Roland is not your son. You will not use him to play out some unfulfilled fantasy you carry! He is a kind, sweet little boy who has already been through far too much in his short life. And I will not allow you to waltz into his life only to walk out when you find yourself bored or unsatisfied with who he actually is!”

He wants to offer up some rebuttal, some argument but he finds none. He can only glare as he watches her pull a bottle from the cabinet and stalk away from him.

“Where are you going?” he spits at her.

“To make sure he doesn’t remember seeing you,” she shoots back. She turns back and he sees a flash of hurt on her face. “It’ll only confuse him.”

She raises her hand and disappears in a cloud of smoke, leaving him to simmer in his anger.

xxxxxx

Hours later she still hasn’t returned and he’s in the courtyard shooting the apples off of her tree. He feels a tiny bit of satisfaction when he sees them fall to the ground but it does little to settle his rage.

How dare she keep him meeting Roland? He felt his heart clench as he remembered the name. She’d said it to him in a split second but it’d filled his mind ever since. He recognized it as the name of Marian’s father, a kind, gentle man. The name she’d told him she’d always planned to give her firstborn son. She’d never gotten the chance to do so in his world, but it appeared she had in this one.

It appeared that he had.

Why is it that every time he learns something about the man that came before him it’s always a different way that he bested him at life? Having things he could no longer imagine, living experiences that he could now only dream of. He thought that it would stop once he left Storybrooke but somehow the ghost of this man continues to haunt him, weighing him down with the weight of a life he never got to live.

And a life he never got to finish, he silently reminded himself.

Robin sighed as he gripped another arrow. Again his mind wanders to Roland, the living embodiment of what might’ve been for him. Perhaps it was best that they didn’t meet. If every person that had come before was an indication, he’d only leave the boy disappointed.

He pulled back on the string of his bow, aiming at another apple when he hears the footsteps behind him. Spinning on his heel he keeps his bow drawn as he looks around the courtyard.

“Who’s there?” he yells into the air, receiving no response. His eyes flicker over to a nearby column just in time to see a cloak disappear behind it.

He lowers his bow, cautiously stepping over to it. He sees a small figure hiding behind the pillar and his throat goes tight. He swallows nervously before calling out, “I know you’re there. It’s alright. You can come out.”

Little by little the boy steps from behind the pillar, staring up at him with nervous brown eyes. Marian’s eyes.

Still close to the pillar, Robin hears him whisper, “Hello.”

“Hello,” he softly repeats taking him in. Neither of them says a word as they study each other.

He’s a small thing. His age isn’t clear but his head barely reaches above Robin’s hip. He has Marian’s eyes and her thick dark hair. He can even see a bit of her in his nose and chin. He spots the pieces of her in an instant and taking them in leaves him breathless.

Silently, he approaches kneels down to the boy’s eye level. He only means to get a better look at him but he sees Roland’s eyebrows knit together and frown tug on his lips. He reaches out to touch Robin’s face, his small hand running across the hair on his chin. He stares for another moment and his chin starts to tremble.

“You’re not my papa,” he softly whispers.

Again, Robin’s throat grows tight as he shakes his head.

“No, I’m not,” he whispers. But I wish I could be.

Oh how he wishes.

Roland’s frown pinches tighter as he backs away letting his back fall against the pillar. Silent tears stream down his face as he sinks to the ground. Robin watches as he cries, paralyzed. His heart cracks as he watches this little boy cry for his father. Of all the people he’s disappointed with his existence, Roland is surely the worst.

It’s not long before he can’t stand it any longer. He has to do something, anything to make him feel better but he’s not sure what. Roland is not his son, and he hasn’t the foggiest idea of how to comfort him.

Still he needs to try.

Taking a deep breath, he sits beside Roland on the ground letting his back fall against the pillar. Hesitantly he brings his hand to his back, softly letting it rest there, hoping it’s enough to let the boy know that’s he’s not alone.

He doesn’t know if this is how his father would comfort him but right now it’s the only thing he can think to do.

Roland sniffles at his touch. “Who are you?” he desperately asks, his voice still thick with sadness.

“I’m…” He trails off unsure of what to say next. It’s hard to explain what he is. Sometimes he has trouble understanding it himself. Finally, he sighs, deciding to go for broke.

“My name is Robin of Locksely,” he says. “And I’m from another realm.”

Roland looks up at him, a bit of hope appearing in his eyes. “From Storybrooke?”

“No,” says Robin, shaking his head. “But I have been there on my way here.”

Roland tries to wipe away his tears. “Why do you look like my papa?”

Again, Robin finds himself at a loss for words. “I… don’t think I’m the best person to explain that to you,” he says. “It’s rather complicated.”

“Are you twins?”

Robin softly chuckles before shaking his head. “More like reflections.”

Mirror images in every way, he thinks to himself.

Roland grows silent, still studying his face. His eyebrows are still pinched together and confusion still reigns in his eyes as he takes in the vision of a man who appears to be so much like his father but feels so distinctly not. Robin remains silent. He doesn’t know what to say to the little boy in front of him. In another life he would’ve called him son but in this one there’s not a word to describe what he is. It’s harder than he expected looking into the eyes of this living, breathing possibility.

When it becomes too much he lifts his gaze to the sky, seeing that it’s fading from shades of orange to ones of pink and purple. His eyes drop back down to Roland when he realizes how late it’s become.

“Does your family know that you’re here?” he asks.

Roland doesn’t say a word, just lets his eyes drop down to the ground. Robin sighs. He must’ve snuck off before they even noticed. He feels a flash of irritation go through him. There must’ve been at least 10 men with the boy when he’d stumbled across them in the forest. Did not one of them think to keep an eye on him?

“Listen,” says Robin, in a voice gentler than he recognizes. “It’s too dark for me to take you back. I have enough trouble in this forest when it’s light out. Why don’t you stay here and wait for Regina? I’m sure she’ll be back soon.”

He realizes now that she must still be out looking for him. He’s sure she’ll have much to say when she discovers that he’s here.

Roland stares at him, hesitant. His brown eyes bore into Robin’s blue and the man can tell he’s trying to decide whether or not he can trust him. In the end his faith wins out.

“Can I sleep in my old room?” he asks.

Robin nods his head. “You can sleep wherever you’d like.”

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

By his own admission, Robin never held much fondness for children. They were often loud, sticky and unreasonable. Always demanding, never giving. Outside of his relationship with Marian he’d never given much thought to having any of his own. But he feels differently about Roland.

He’s not his son. He reminds himself of that over and over but he can’t deny that he feels something for the boy. A connection, a need to protect. Something he shamefully remembers he hadn’t felt in Storybrooke with baby Robyn.

Perhaps it was the fact that he could see so many pieces of Marian in this young boy, pieces of someone he’d loved once before, and would love in any form. Perhaps that’s what tugging on his heart strings. In any case, he’s grown attached within minutes.

He cares for Roland. He wants to protect him, he doesn’t want to see him get hurt and most importantly, he doesn’t want to be the cause for any of his pain.

The moon is in the sky by the time Regina returns. She appears in their bedroom, hardly sparing him a glance as she once again heads over to the potions cabinet.

“Regina…”

She tiredly raises a hand in his direction. “Not now, Robin. I have to find a potion so I can find -”

“He’s here,” he says cutting her off.

She slowly turns to look at him, her fists clenched in anger and frustration. “How did you find him?” she whispers.

“I didn’t. He found me.” He pauses before adding. “He’s a smart boy.”

She lets out a seething breath but he doesn’t give her the chance to speak. “I want to know him Regina. I have to.”

She shakes her head at him, her eyes going soft and tired. “Robin… you’re not his father.”

“I know,” he says. “But I can settle for being his friend. What I can’t do is walk away. Not now.”

She sighs painfully as he studies her reaction. It’s been hours since their fight and her fire has long since drained. No longer filled with rage, she just seems tired, upset and perhaps a tiny bit hurt. In any case, more willing to hear him out as it were.

“Why are you so determined to keep me away,” he questions.

“Because he’s already had someone masquerade themselves as a dead parent,” she reveals. “And it is not an experience I’ll allow him to live through twice.”

A searing shameful heat goes through her as she remembers the amount of time she’d allowed Zelena to hide behind Marian’s face. How much time Roland had spent looking up at her, calling her mother. He doesn’t remember but she does. And she knows that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the pain she’s incited in his life.

In all her life, she’d never failed anyone like she’d failed Roland. She’d never been able to protect him. Not once.

“He knows who I am,” Robin tells her. “I wouldn’t dare lie to him about that. But if you were in my position would you not want to know?”

He can see her jaw tighten at his words but she offers up no response, so he continues to speak.

“If you had the opportunity see the child you would’ve had with the stable boy or with… him… would you be able to simply close your eyes and turn away? Because that is what you’re asking of me.”  

She stares at him, studying his face for the slightest bit of insincerity and finding none. Slowly she walks over to him, keeping her eyes trained on his. Only when their faces are inches apart does she finally speak.

“If he ends up hurt by you… I swear I will take your heart and crush it between my hands. Do you understand?”

He stares her down. “If he ends up hurt by me… I’ll put my heart in your hands myself.”

[ourheroregina]

OQ Happy Ending Week - Day5

Day 5 - Cursed Happy Ending (First curse)

(...)

When Regina opens the front door she smiles to Robin and nervously tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. It seems that she’s relieved that he came but at the same time it makes her anxious. However, she doesn’t voice any of her thoughts and lets him in without a word.

Robin steps inside, closes the door behind him and takes off his coat. He’s been here this morning, drove Henry to school because Regina had some kind of emergency in a mayor office, and it seemed so casual to be here then but now after the evening they’ve had, he feels like a fish out of the water.

He did a very stupid thing tonight. He proposed to her at Granny’s, during the town’s festival.

It felt like a rational, right step in their relationship after more than five years of being together. It felt right to take that step because he loved Regina and Henry, he loved the life they’ve had together.

However, Regina didn’t accept his proposal. Her eyes had turned wide as she’d shaken her head with mouth opened in surprise. He brushed it off, didn’t want to make a big deal out of it because even though he felt hurt, he loves her too much to let something like this ruin what they have.

“Is Henry asleep?” Robin asks, glancing towards the stairs.

“Yes, he is,” Regina says simply as she leads him to the kitchen, not even glancing at him. “We can talk in private.”

“Regina, I’m so sorry that I made you feel uncomfortable,” he apologizes as soon as they walk into the kitchen and she turns around to face him. “I thought that we were on the same page but we’re clearly not and it’s fine. Let’s not make a big deal out of it.”

“I… I would like to marry you,” she tells him hesitantly. He has never seen her like this – alarmed, anxious, insecure. She’s always confident and brave and funny and his heart breaks for her.

“You would?” he asks surprised.

“There’s something you should know about me first,” she adds then as a nervous smile spreads across her face.

Robin nods his head and inhales deeply, ready to listen.

However, Regina doesn’t rush to spill the beans. Instead she nervously tucks a strand of hair behind her ear and tells Robin to sit down on one of the chairs while she opens the cabinet and takes out a bottle of whiskey. She then takes two glasses and pours the liquid into them before turning around and placing one of the glasses in front of Robin, the other is held in her shaky hands.

Robin frowns. He barely recognizes her.

“Your friendship means everything to me,” she starts after emptying her glass and pouring herself another. “I don’t think I’ve had someone as close to me as you in my whole life and I do not want to lose you.” Robin arches an eyebrow at her because her voice starts to shake and she just shakes her head and continues, “Robin… What I’m going to say to you will sound like madness but please listen to me.”

“Regina, what are you trying to say?”

“We are not from his realm. Once upon a time we lived in a place called Enchanted Forest,” she starts, the glass shaking in her hand. “I was the Evil Queen and you were-“

“Robin Hood.”

Regina’s eyes turn wide and that glass drops from her hand, turning into aches as soon as it comes to contact with the floor. Her mouth opens a few times but she doesn’t manage to say anything and just stares at him.

Robin sighs.

“Your curse didn’t affect me,” he reveals making Regina gasp. “One day I was sleeping in my tent in Enchanted Forest as a criminal and the next morning I woke up in some strange small chamber with my son who insisted that he needs to go to kindergarten.”

“How is it even possible?” she asks, blinking her eyes. “This curse was supposed to affect everyone. Only the most powerful sorceress could avoid it but not all of them were able to overcome it.”

“I think it has to do something with true love,” Robin says as he stands up and takes a step closer to her.

“What?”

“You’re my soulmate, I think that’s the only possible reason why your curse didn’t affect me,” he tells her and Regina immediately steps back until her back collides with the refrigerator door.

“How do you know that?”

“After Marian died, I was in a very bad place. One night when I tried to… end my misery, a fairy appeared and said that we all get a second chance. She led me to my soulmate – and it was you.”

Regina blinks her eyes, stunned, but doesn’t say anything and Robin continues, “I didn’t approach you then, you were the Queen after all, and then you became the Evil Queen and I was back on my feet, didn’t want to risk my life and leave my son an orphan in case you wasn’t up for an adventure.”

She just shakes her head. “So you knew… this whole time… and you didn’t want to, I don’t know, break this curse? Your son, he’s… trapped. As are your friends. Even you – you’re forced to live this life with no changes, no adventures, no-“

“I wanted to break it,” he admits. “That first time when I came into your office, I had a plan – I had to make you fall for me and then I would find your weakness, use it against you and make you break this curse, return us to our land.”

At that Regina takes a step back and her hand blindly reaches for the knife. She stares at him, judging every move he makes, her eyes have darkened and he has no doubts that if he tried to as much as touch her right now, his throat would be slit open.

Her eyes are huge and wide and for a moment she glances towards the stairs. Henry is her weakness, and if he was still following his plan, the boy would be the perfect tool to make Regina break this damn curse. But he doesn’t care about any of this anymore.

“But then I saw you and… magic happened, I guess,” he admits with a shrug. “I fell in love with you earlier than you did, before we even kissed. I was hopeless when it came to you and all of a sudden I didn’t care anymore if we were cursed or not, all I cared about was that you were with me.”

Regina blinks her eyes but the knife is still in her hands.

“I mean no harm, Regina,” he assures her, testily taking a step closer and she rises that knife she’s been holding, making Robin stop. “If I really wanted to hurt you or Henry, I would have done it already,” he says.

She must realize that too because Henry’s been spending so much time with Robin lately and she, only a few weeks ago, was blindfolded and tied up to his bed. And he did nothing to hurt her. But he could.

Her whole body tenses, her eyes darkening. “You need to get out of here,” she says, her voice dangerously low.

“I am not going anywhere,” Robin disagrees, shaking his head. “I love you, Regina, and I don’t care what you did in the past. I know who you are now and I swear to you on Marian’s memory, I do not have any more plans to destroy you.”

“You do know that we’ll never be together again,” she tells him, and it seems that she’s gained her confidence back because this time she’s taking a step closer to him, a knife still in hand. When she reaches him, Robin doesn’t step back, he just stares into her eyes. “Everything is over.”

“I will not give up so easily, you know,” he tells her, “because I know that you have feelings for me and so do I. I love you, Regina Mills. And you can try to scare me away but I won’t stop loving you because we’re soulmates, we were destined to be together.”

“How can you love me knowing everything I did?” she asks disrupted. Her hand has fallen down, she’s not pointing the knife to him anymore. “I killed so many people, including my own father, I tortured and murdered and I have not changed. My heart is black, Robin, I still feel satisfaction whenever I see Snow White’s miserable face in the hospital as she sits with her dear dead Charming.”

“I love you, Regina,” Robin says, “I loved you for so long, I cannot even imagine my life without you. I do not justify what you did – but you would be applauded for killing that bastard that was your husband – but it is in the past now. You enjoy watching Snow suffer but she turned your life into hell, so that’s her price. But you’re not a monster, you’re hurt but there’s good in you. I know. Your heart is resilient.”

“You know nothing about the real me,” she shakes her head. “You know about the mayor, bits about my childhood but you do not know what demons I have in my head, you-“

“I don’t care, Regina,” he cuts off her rambling. His hand rises to touch her soft cheek and her eyes close momentarily and he strokes it lightly. When her eyes open, Robin leans over and kisses her, then promises, “I’m with you, always.”

“You don’t understand what you’re talking about,” she whispers.

Her walls are crumbling down around her as her eyes fill with tears. She tries to pull away from Robin but he rests his hand on her lower back, keeping her close. She could easily pull away from him if she really wanted to, but she stays close to him and stares directly into his eyes.

“We don’t have to get married,” Robin tells her, still stroking her cheek absentmindedly. “I don’t even have to live with you. But please, don’t push me away. Don’t break us apart just because you think you’re not meant to be loved. Now that you know the whole truth, we can-“

“I’m not sure I can trust you,” she interrupts him.

“Then I’ll have to prove that I’m worth your trust.”

“It’s not going to be easy.”

“I’ve always liked a challenge.”

For a moment, she looks at him but then her eyes close and she puts the knife on the table, then wraps her arms around Robin and rests her head on his shoulder. He immediately wraps his own arms around her form, inhaling her apple scent.

As he holds her in his arms, the uncertainty of their relationship seems to be miles away. He doesn’t know what will happen now, what she’ll decide but he knows for sure that no matter what happens, she’ll always be his happy ending.

[somewhereapart]

In Sickness and In Health

After Robin gets injured during a reckless heist, Regina tends to him. For OQ Happy Ending week, Day 3 (Wednesday).

Click here to read/review on Ao3.

“You’re such an idiot,” she huffs as she cleans the wound on his back with herbal tonics and antiseptic oils and wishes desperately for some peroxide and Neosporin, and her goddamn magic.

His voice is tense and pained beneath the veneer of joviality as he tells her, “I do believe that’s why you love me.”

An absolute, complete, stupid, reckless idiot.

“It’s not as though we need the riches,” she mutters, “You could have at least waited until this damnable hex wears off.” He breathes in and out heavily, and she tries to hold onto her anger despite how grateful she is to see proof that he’s alive. She still remembers how still the other Robin had been, lifeless and limp without a breath in his body, as she’d clutched him to her in the office that had once been hers.

He has no right to go and die on her again, not this Robin, not the one that’s made for her, she won’t allow it.

“We don’t know when that might be, milady,” he points out, and she rolls her eyes and presses perhaps a little harder than is necessary on the next swipe of the cloth around the raw edges of where so much skin has been scraped off his lovely back.

“That may be,” she admits through gritted teeth, “But at the very least you could have skipped shimmying from a third story window and grating your back on castle walls and rooftops the whole way down.”

“Well, had I gone any lower—ah!”—he hisses as she begins to spread a salve over the angry, pulpy wound and his voice is strained and tight—“I’d have likely been eaten by a dragon.”

“And that’s another thing!” she gripes at him, though she gentles the touch of her hand when she notices the sweat beading along his brow. “Why a dragon? Of all the creatures you could steal from, why the one with wings and talons and fire?”

“Because they have the best hordes,” he shrugs—the move pains him, and she’s glad of it, and then feels guilty that she takes any amount of joy in his misery. But he’s just such an idiot! “And you’ll notice I’ve managed to avoid talon, and wing, and fire despite my back being ripped to tatters. I did that one all on my own.”

“Idiot,” she mutters darkly. Her hands are shaking, she realizes. How long have they been doing that?

“Yes, so you’ve said,” Robin mutters, and he has the audacity to sound annoyed. He has no right to be annoyed, not with her, not after he put himself at risk at the worst possible time and for no actually discernable good reason.

“You could catch fever and die, Robin, and I wouldn’t be able to heal you,” she gripes at him. “This is not the time to be reckless.”

“I made a calculated—”

“I watched you die once, and I have no desire for a repeat performance!”

It’s the last thing she says before she tosses the cloth she’d been using to clean his wounds aside and stalks off, slamming the chamber doors behind her with an impressive bang and leaving him spread across their bed, alone, to stew on what he’s done.

.::.

 Robin wakes hours later, in the dark, still on his belly (no surprise there) with an ache in his neck from the way his face has been smushed against the pillow. He grunts and lifts it to turn to his other side, and the wounds on his back make themselves known, painfully.

He hisses at the rippling fire across his back, but manages to turn his head and finds Regina in bed beside him.

He hadn’t expected her to be there, honestly. With how angry she’d been earlier, he’d imagined she’d spend the night somewhere else, holed up in one of the castle’s many other rooms. They’ve fought before, sometimes bitterly, and he recalls a night where she’d attempted to kick him out of their quarters, refusing to hear a word of sense, but he’d refused to go. He’d insisted he would stay right where he was, in their chambers, until she’d bloody listen to what he was trying to say to her.

So she’d left him there, and spent the next three nights in the east wing study. He’d seen neither hide nor hair of her until she’d strolled into the great hall for breakfast one morning, and taken the meal with him in silence but for two words: “Not yet.”

It had taken until after dinner for her to properly speak with him, but they’d finally made their amends.

So it’s a surprise to see her lying there beside him, in her bedclothes, her dark eyes open and watching him. It does not surprise him that she doesn’t speak. She simply stares at him, a look in her eyes that reminds him far too much of the Regina they’d left behind in Storybrooke. Like she looks at him and sees someone else. The other Robin Hood.

She doesn’t look at him this way often, and usually when she does it galls him. But today, he thinks perhaps he understands. Her last words to him echo in his head, and he grits his teeth against the effort of sliding his hand across the covers toward hers.

She meets him halfway—more than, probably, her fingers sliding swiftly across the expanse of soft cotton the moment his begin to move. They’re warm against his own as they curl and weave together, and then he tells her, “I’m sorry.”

She frowns, and sighs, rubs her thumb across his and answers softly, “I love you.”

He can see how much, can see how worried she is for him, how frightened. It makes him feel a bit guilty for his little errand to be honest—even if the diamond ring he’d pilfered for a very specific purpose is even now burning a hole in his satchel.

He won’t tell her where he got it, he thinks. It wouldn’t do to start their marriage off with a lie, but he thinks she’d probably not be too terribly fond of it if she knew he nearly died in the heist that procured it.

So he’ll keep that little secret to himself and hope she never asks, and tonight he’ll simply tell her, “And I, you. There’s nothing in this realm or any other that I love as dearly as I do you, and I’ve no intention of being parted from you.”

He intends it to reassure her, but she only frowns more deeply, her gaze dropping into the shadowed chasm between their bodies. ��I’ve found life—or more accurately death—doesn’t care all that much about our intentions.”

He doesn’t know what to say to that. She’s known so much death and pain—they both have—that he knows no platitudes will ring sincere.

So he offers the only thing that might bring her comfort, and swears to her, “I’ll be more careful. I promise.”

She softens, just a bit, telling him, “That’s all I ask.” Then she leans in and presses a kiss gently to his lips, sealing his promise and settling both their weary hearts. When she pulls back, it’s to disentangle their fingers and stroke hers gently over his bearded jaw, her nails scratching in a way he always enjoys. His eyes drop shut for a moment as she asks, “How’s your back?”

“Painful,” he admits with a grimace, trying very hard to lie very still, lest he cause himself even more discomfort.

Regina sighs, her breath washing against his jaw, his neck.

“It should be redressed,” she murmurs. “I’ll make more salve.”

The bed shifts as she makes her way out of it, and Robin cracks his eyes back open to watch her. The moonlight streaming in makes her look ethereal, in a gauzy nightgown the color of smoke, the blue light reflecting off her skin to make it glow, her hair somehow even darker against the luminescence of her skin. In the moonlight, it looks inky and soft, plaited over one shoulder in a way his fingers itch to unravel.

She’s so lovely. Stunning, in every way, and all his.

He’s a lucky bastard, he knows that. So lucky that a part of her still fits so finely with a part of him. So lucky that she didn’t skin him alive this afternoon when he came loping home bloodied and exhausted. So lucky she’s here with him now, mixing poultices and potions to see him well.

He’s found a home here with her, a possibility he’d thought lost to him after Marian’s untimely demise. Robin thinks again of that ring in his satchel and wonders if she’ll say yes.

She’d told him once that she had wasted too much time in her life on fear and regret and revenge, and she didn’t want to waste a single minute more. She wanted to take a chance on them and see where it might lead.

So far, it’s led them quite well.

So he’ll ask her—soon. Once he’s back in fighting shape, and she’s gotten her magic back, and their world has been set to rights. He’ll ask for her hand and give his in return, and spend the rest of his days in this bed, fighting and fucking and laughing and loving, his Queen by his side.

For tonight, though, he’ll content himself with the gentle, aching touches of her fingers as they do their best to heal him.

[audreysl0ve]

Dark!OQ Week: Free Day

Rated M.  Rated VERY M. Regina and Robin find themselves in the Enchanted Forest and make use of Snow White’s castle and its lovely accommodations.

Thanks to @repellomuggletum15 @the-alpha-incipiens, @brookeap3 and @starscythe for the encouragement and help with this.

A magic bean takes concentration to be used properly.  Unfortunately, Regina’s mind is anything but focused as she uses that bean.  She meant to transport them to her castle, but certain thoughts bubble in her mind, thoughts that have her second guessing that decision, has her mind racing through several different, safer corners of her kingdom instead.  She’s somewhat surprised when they arrive in the middle of an old trail, a mere mile from Snow’s summer castle.  The nostalgia and happiness of the moment - of knowing that they made it, makes it happier than she can imagine.  She should wait, should make the treck to her castle herself (or hell, use her magic to poof herself there) but there’s such an appeal in bringing Robin to Snow White’s castle.  She can hardly wait to share a lust-filled night in the princess’s bed.  In fact, the debauchery of it all is too powerful to resist.

Besides, Regina’s castle has… memories.  And issues.  And things she needs to discuss with him, places where they cannot go, places where her mind wanders at times, and no, she’d rather not deal with all of that right away.

“This looks like my realm,” Robin says cautiously as they make their journey.

“It’s almost exactly like yours in every way.  Except the people are real, so we are going to have to try to kill less.  Oh and my son won’t be urging every man, woman and child to hunt us.”

“Mm,” Robin says, winking at her.  “Sounds a bit boring, no?”

“Oh, I think we can keep each other’s interest,” she says in that deep, smooth voice of hers.

He looks at her warmly, biting his lip as his eyes take over every part of her body.

They haven’t spent too terribly long with one another, but still, she knows what that look means.  And thank god, because she wants to rip his clothes off just as badly as he appears to want to rip hers off.

But they will both have to wait.

She’s been giving him the same heated look he’s been shooting her, but she turns away now, and focuses on the road before them.  “Come on, I have a lot to show you,” she says, ignoring his suggestive Oh yes you certainly do response.

When he fails to get a rise out of her, Robin takes a an interest in their destination.  He picks up speed, darts through overgrown woods and sighs out a puff of frustration.

“Can’t you… use your magic to transport us there?” he asks impatiently, as they continue their journey.

“Robin of Locksley, man of the forest, now can’t even stand do a one-hour hike…” Regina clicks her tongue disapprovingly, “I guess I have made you soft, after all.”

“Soft isn’t the word I’d use to describe how you make me,” he grunts.  “And I haven’t had time to explore your body without threat of death hanging over us in forever.” He grabs her and pulls her close, arms looped tightly around her waist, lips inches from her own.  “I’ve been dying to pay you proper attention, so let’s just go…” He nibbles on her neck, pressing kisses between small bites, and it’s absolute heaven.

“I want to take you on a stroll through our new town,” she argues, though her voice has that edge of need she can’t hide.  She wants this as badly as he does.

Continue on FF.net

Continue on AO3  

[thisisamadhouse]

Dark!OQ week Day 4: New beginnings

A/N: For Dark!OQ week Day 4 Free day, a mix of the previous days' prompts, inspired by a post on Twitter and Lana saying that the Queen would probably wear a black dress on her wedding day. I hope you enjoy, let me know if I should continue this. Also a late birthday present for my sister from another mister Carol!! Twitter link for the visual

New beginnings

As she stands in front of her full-length mirror, twirling in a slow circle to check on the final adjustments she has made to her dress, Regina feels at peace. It is a new, and quite unexpected, sensation for her, especially considering the whirlwind of the past few weeks, ever since Robin's proposal, ever since she found him in the Wish Realm to be quite honest.

Finding nothing out of place on her floor length, backless, lacy black dress, she adjusts the sleeves on her shoulders and faces the mirror once more. She can barely recognize herself, the easy, wide smile on her lips is such a strange, foreign sight, but she couldn't stop it if she wanted to. Who would have thought that following the other Regina's advice and starting over with Robin of Locksley, elusive thief, would lead her here?

The last time she was being prepped for her wedding, she had felt like a lamb sent for slaughter, unable to escape, her fate in the hands of others, manipulating the strings as if she had been little more than a puppet. This time, a crown of daisies painstakingly gathered and assembled by Roland would replace the heavy, bejeweled monstrosity once placed on her head by the King. This time, the crowd of unknown observers, whisperers and hypocrite well-wishers would be nowhere to be found, instead, merry, slightly drunk men and women from the camp right outside the Castle would cheer and celebrate well into the night. This time, she would walk to a man happy and proud to call her his wife, there would be no disgust, no apprehension for she loved her husband to be. This time, she would choose her new family, instead of being bought by one.

However, the road that led them here hasn't been an easy one. Barely an hour after she joined Robin in the tavern, soldiers from newly crowned King Henry's army barged in, forcing them to flee. When hiding had proven ineffective, they decided to go their separate way, hoping that the guards would be too busy looking for a couple to pay lonely travelers much attention, and that things would calm down in time.

Continue on FF.net