By His Side
Feb. 2nd, 2015 04:33 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
katleeptTitle: By His Side
Author: Kat Lee
Fandom: Once Upon A Time
Character/Pairing: Outlaw Queen (Robin/Regina), Roland, Surprise Other-Disney Character
Rating: G/K
Challenge:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
abc_onceupon: It's not my fault.
Warning(s): None
Word Count: 1,835
Summary:
Disclaimer: All characters within belong to their rightful owners, not the author, and are used without permission.
"Surely you are not suggesting this is my fault?" Her regal lips had been thinned by her anger, but now they open as she laughs. It is laughter by a woman made very dangerous when she becomes angered, a deadly chuckle like the ones she once threw at her stepdaughter and her friends, but the man now faced with it only smiles.
"He certainly has not learned such behavior from me," he returns calmly instead.
"So says the self-proclaimed King of Thieves."
"I never gave myself that title. I earned it."
"Yet you doubt your son would steal while having witnessed you take what you want many times."
"I admit I am quite adept at taking what I want when I want it, Regina," his words parry back, "but I only take from those who can afford to give."
"Their family is hardly as poor as they appear, Robin. They do own a plantation, after all."
"It hardly thrives."
"Papa -- "
Robin sighs and drops back to one knee before his child. "Roland, I am very disappointed in you. We must return to your classmate's family and see at once that you return his toy."
"But, Papa -- "
"No buts, young man. We shall continue this conversation later, but for now, let us return before they are done with their shopping and return to their plantation, such as it is." He looks back up at Regina, from underneath his knitted brows, as he speaks the last four words.
She huffs quietly but will not continue to make a scene in front of his child or before the peasants who still think the worst of her. She eyes those who are making a wide berth around them even now with the dark scowl of the Evil Queen she once was and could easily be again, if not for Robin; her own child, Henry; and other such influences. The thought of Henry lifts the corners of her mouth. As they turn together to retrace their steps, she whispers heatedly and low enough that only Robin can hear her, "You certainly would never catch my son stealing such a trinket, or anything else for that matter." After all, she has and will always do her best to deliver anything he wants for him, including an unsteady peace with his birth mother.
"I may be a thief, Your Majesty, and you may have enjoyed calling me on my profession last night behind closed doors," Robin retorts, smiling at the way Regina's high cheekbones darken slightly, "but I am a thief with honor. My son shall be the same, when he is old enough to know the difference, but he has a few years yet before he will be ready to follow the family profession."
She opens her mouth with the intention of pointing out that they need no longer steal, but then shuts it, realizing the implications such a statement would make. She is not yet ready, after all, to tell Robin that she has no plans for him to ever leave her side for long. He, his son, and even his men have no need to want anything with which she can not readily provide them. His smile grows at her silence. "Ah. Thief have your tongue, milady?" he teases, his eyes glimmering.
She loves the way they shine and has to resist the urge to pull him behind the closest door. It will not do for the town to see what he has become to her or for his son to witness them acting like lustful teenagers. Instead, she meets his smile with a warm one of her own. "Ask me that again later, thief," she commands softly.
"I will," he promises, enjoying the flush of heat in her smooth skin.
They come to a stop within just a few feet of the child for whom they have been searching. Robin looks imploringly at Roland. "You know what you must do?" he asks, dropping again to one knee.
"But, Papa -- "
"No, Roland. Now you know you've done wrong. You do not steal from your friends, and did you not tell me you consider that lad to be a friend?"
"Yes, Papa, but -- "
"No buts, Roland. Now do what a good man would and return to your friend what has been taken from him."
"But I didn't take it!" Roland almost wails.
Robin pulls slightly aback, startled by his son's revelation. "Roland," he starts after a moment.
"Excuse me, sir?"
His head, as well as Regina's, swings to look at the child who has just spoken. The boy moves slowly, cautiously, as though he is afraid of them. Regina takes a single step back into the shadows, recognizing that uncertain fear and believing herself to be the cause of it.
"I'm sorry, sir. I wasn't meaning to eavesdrop, but I've got really good hearing, you see, and, well, I heard what Roland said. He didn't take the toy." The blonde boy shakes his frizzy head. "I gave it to him."
"But . . . you were so proud of it," Robin speaks as Roland bows his head and lowers the little, wooden toy in the shape of a dog.
"I was. I still am," the other boy admits.
"Your parents can scarcely afford to give you another any time soon."
"I know, but I'd rather Roland have it."
"Why?" Robin glances to his son, wondering if his boy has been making mention of wanting something amongst his friends which Robin has not been providing. Is he upset by his split with his mother? Is he missing spending more time alone, away from Regina, with him? Has he not been being a good father?
"Well, sir," the lad continues hesitantly, "I . . . I, hum, thought it was an honor to give my toy to the young Prince who liked it so much."
"Prince?"
Regina is surprised to note that the blonde child has one brown and one blue eye. She is even more surprised when both look up at her, the brown one peeking up from underneath a shock of blonde hair. "You are his parents, are you not?" he asks simply.
A smile flutters over Regina's startled face but doesn't quite curve her lips. "I . . . " Robin searches for a way to explain their relationship to the child. "I am his father," he says at last.
"Yes, and the Queen, who is no longer evil, is your lady. That makes her sort of a mother to Roland here. Family isn't what you're born with, sir. It's what you become. When I was born, I only had a few brothers and sisters. Now I have nine hundred and ninety nine."
Robin's mouth opens, shuts, and opens again. He has to remind himself how to work his jaw and to hold his tongue appropriately before admitting his shock. Regina slips quietly up beside him and bends down to look closer at the boy. "So you just gave Roland your toy?"
"Yes, ma'am, as a sort of thank you, ma'am. Roland's one of my best friends, and I'm happy he's got you and his papa and his other mama. I'm happy he's helped to make you happy," he adds sheepishly, "so you can be good again."
He looks up at her nervously, but Regina is not in the least offended by his words. Instead, she is touched, he sees as she smiles back at him. "It's my gift to the young Prince," he adds, still nervous.
"Thank you . . . What is your name?"
"They call me Lucky, ma'am."
"Thank you, Lucky. I want you to do something for me, child. Go to your parents and tell them to expect a visit in a few weeks from the Queen. Tell them there is no need to make preparations or a huge presentation. I am going to have Gepetto make nine hundred and ninety nine more of these toys."
"Wow! Really, ma'am?"
Regina's smile grows. She doesn't quite know what it is about this boy, but she somehow knows that if he was a puppy, his tail would be wagging. "Yes, indeed. It may actually take a few months."
"A few weeks will suffice," Robin speaks, finding his tongue at last. "My Merry Men shall assist the toy maker."
"Wow! Thank you! Thank you!" Lucky beams and begins to almost dance in place, struggling with his enthusiasm to keep from racing off to tell his friends and family.
Regina smiles at him. "You may take your leave now, young Lucky," she declares, standing erect once more.
The boy darts off, eager to tell every one else, as Robin looks to Roland. "I'm sorry, son," he says simply.
"I was trying to tell you."
"I know." He smiles at him. "Can you forgive me for thinking ill of you?"
Roland frowns, confused by his choice of words, but at last, he speaks, "Yes, Papa. I forgive you for . . . for whatever that is."
Robin laughs. It is a deep and joyous sound that races through the main street of Storybrooke and which makes Regina beam. He gathers his son up into his arms and hugs him tightly as he stands. Then he faces her. "I fear I owe you an apology as well, milady." He takes her hand, which she doesn't try to keep from him, and loyally kisses it back.
"You need not apologize, thief," she returns, but her words are gentle now and she is still smiling. She tucks into one of his arms while he continues to hold Roland in his other. Robin beams at them both, and in that way, with Regina tucked snugly into his side and carrying Roland in his other arm, they start their trip together back to her home.
For the first time in a long while, Regina's heart is light. She doesn't notice the stares they are given but rather the smiles that chase across the faces of the peasants watching them before they quickly duck away from them. They are not yet ready to face their Queen, but they are nonetheless happy for her, for her joy and for her love.
She overhears a conversation they are passing as they walk through town together. "Wow! The Queen actually said she was going to get you and all your brothers and sisters one of those toys?" a dark-haired boy asks.
"I told you she's a lady, Berlioz," a blonde girl, younger than her brothers, tells him. "Oh, I'm so envious, Lucky! Tell us everything!"
Lucky proceeds to tell the other, three children exactly what happened, what was said and done, but not before catching the Queen's eye again. He smiles nervously at her, but the smile she gives him is full of warmth, love, and a new confidence unlike anything she felt when she was the Evil Queen. He smiles back. She snuggles closer into Robin's side and readjusts her gaze on the road ahead. The day, her world, and her life have never looked more beautiful than they do by his side.
The End
Author: Kat Lee
Fandom: Once Upon A Time
Character/Pairing: Outlaw Queen (Robin/Regina), Roland, Surprise Other-Disney Character
Rating: G/K
Challenge:
abc_onceupon: It's not my fault.Warning(s): None
Word Count: 1,835
Summary:
Disclaimer: All characters within belong to their rightful owners, not the author, and are used without permission.
"Surely you are not suggesting this is my fault?" Her regal lips had been thinned by her anger, but now they open as she laughs. It is laughter by a woman made very dangerous when she becomes angered, a deadly chuckle like the ones she once threw at her stepdaughter and her friends, but the man now faced with it only smiles.
"He certainly has not learned such behavior from me," he returns calmly instead.
"So says the self-proclaimed King of Thieves."
"I never gave myself that title. I earned it."
"Yet you doubt your son would steal while having witnessed you take what you want many times."
"I admit I am quite adept at taking what I want when I want it, Regina," his words parry back, "but I only take from those who can afford to give."
"Their family is hardly as poor as they appear, Robin. They do own a plantation, after all."
"It hardly thrives."
"Papa -- "
Robin sighs and drops back to one knee before his child. "Roland, I am very disappointed in you. We must return to your classmate's family and see at once that you return his toy."
"But, Papa -- "
"No buts, young man. We shall continue this conversation later, but for now, let us return before they are done with their shopping and return to their plantation, such as it is." He looks back up at Regina, from underneath his knitted brows, as he speaks the last four words.
She huffs quietly but will not continue to make a scene in front of his child or before the peasants who still think the worst of her. She eyes those who are making a wide berth around them even now with the dark scowl of the Evil Queen she once was and could easily be again, if not for Robin; her own child, Henry; and other such influences. The thought of Henry lifts the corners of her mouth. As they turn together to retrace their steps, she whispers heatedly and low enough that only Robin can hear her, "You certainly would never catch my son stealing such a trinket, or anything else for that matter." After all, she has and will always do her best to deliver anything he wants for him, including an unsteady peace with his birth mother.
"I may be a thief, Your Majesty, and you may have enjoyed calling me on my profession last night behind closed doors," Robin retorts, smiling at the way Regina's high cheekbones darken slightly, "but I am a thief with honor. My son shall be the same, when he is old enough to know the difference, but he has a few years yet before he will be ready to follow the family profession."
She opens her mouth with the intention of pointing out that they need no longer steal, but then shuts it, realizing the implications such a statement would make. She is not yet ready, after all, to tell Robin that she has no plans for him to ever leave her side for long. He, his son, and even his men have no need to want anything with which she can not readily provide them. His smile grows at her silence. "Ah. Thief have your tongue, milady?" he teases, his eyes glimmering.
She loves the way they shine and has to resist the urge to pull him behind the closest door. It will not do for the town to see what he has become to her or for his son to witness them acting like lustful teenagers. Instead, she meets his smile with a warm one of her own. "Ask me that again later, thief," she commands softly.
"I will," he promises, enjoying the flush of heat in her smooth skin.
They come to a stop within just a few feet of the child for whom they have been searching. Robin looks imploringly at Roland. "You know what you must do?" he asks, dropping again to one knee.
"But, Papa -- "
"No, Roland. Now you know you've done wrong. You do not steal from your friends, and did you not tell me you consider that lad to be a friend?"
"Yes, Papa, but -- "
"No buts, Roland. Now do what a good man would and return to your friend what has been taken from him."
"But I didn't take it!" Roland almost wails.
Robin pulls slightly aback, startled by his son's revelation. "Roland," he starts after a moment.
"Excuse me, sir?"
His head, as well as Regina's, swings to look at the child who has just spoken. The boy moves slowly, cautiously, as though he is afraid of them. Regina takes a single step back into the shadows, recognizing that uncertain fear and believing herself to be the cause of it.
"I'm sorry, sir. I wasn't meaning to eavesdrop, but I've got really good hearing, you see, and, well, I heard what Roland said. He didn't take the toy." The blonde boy shakes his frizzy head. "I gave it to him."
"But . . . you were so proud of it," Robin speaks as Roland bows his head and lowers the little, wooden toy in the shape of a dog.
"I was. I still am," the other boy admits.
"Your parents can scarcely afford to give you another any time soon."
"I know, but I'd rather Roland have it."
"Why?" Robin glances to his son, wondering if his boy has been making mention of wanting something amongst his friends which Robin has not been providing. Is he upset by his split with his mother? Is he missing spending more time alone, away from Regina, with him? Has he not been being a good father?
"Well, sir," the lad continues hesitantly, "I . . . I, hum, thought it was an honor to give my toy to the young Prince who liked it so much."
"Prince?"
Regina is surprised to note that the blonde child has one brown and one blue eye. She is even more surprised when both look up at her, the brown one peeking up from underneath a shock of blonde hair. "You are his parents, are you not?" he asks simply.
A smile flutters over Regina's startled face but doesn't quite curve her lips. "I . . . " Robin searches for a way to explain their relationship to the child. "I am his father," he says at last.
"Yes, and the Queen, who is no longer evil, is your lady. That makes her sort of a mother to Roland here. Family isn't what you're born with, sir. It's what you become. When I was born, I only had a few brothers and sisters. Now I have nine hundred and ninety nine."
Robin's mouth opens, shuts, and opens again. He has to remind himself how to work his jaw and to hold his tongue appropriately before admitting his shock. Regina slips quietly up beside him and bends down to look closer at the boy. "So you just gave Roland your toy?"
"Yes, ma'am, as a sort of thank you, ma'am. Roland's one of my best friends, and I'm happy he's got you and his papa and his other mama. I'm happy he's helped to make you happy," he adds sheepishly, "so you can be good again."
He looks up at her nervously, but Regina is not in the least offended by his words. Instead, she is touched, he sees as she smiles back at him. "It's my gift to the young Prince," he adds, still nervous.
"Thank you . . . What is your name?"
"They call me Lucky, ma'am."
"Thank you, Lucky. I want you to do something for me, child. Go to your parents and tell them to expect a visit in a few weeks from the Queen. Tell them there is no need to make preparations or a huge presentation. I am going to have Gepetto make nine hundred and ninety nine more of these toys."
"Wow! Really, ma'am?"
Regina's smile grows. She doesn't quite know what it is about this boy, but she somehow knows that if he was a puppy, his tail would be wagging. "Yes, indeed. It may actually take a few months."
"A few weeks will suffice," Robin speaks, finding his tongue at last. "My Merry Men shall assist the toy maker."
"Wow! Thank you! Thank you!" Lucky beams and begins to almost dance in place, struggling with his enthusiasm to keep from racing off to tell his friends and family.
Regina smiles at him. "You may take your leave now, young Lucky," she declares, standing erect once more.
The boy darts off, eager to tell every one else, as Robin looks to Roland. "I'm sorry, son," he says simply.
"I was trying to tell you."
"I know." He smiles at him. "Can you forgive me for thinking ill of you?"
Roland frowns, confused by his choice of words, but at last, he speaks, "Yes, Papa. I forgive you for . . . for whatever that is."
Robin laughs. It is a deep and joyous sound that races through the main street of Storybrooke and which makes Regina beam. He gathers his son up into his arms and hugs him tightly as he stands. Then he faces her. "I fear I owe you an apology as well, milady." He takes her hand, which she doesn't try to keep from him, and loyally kisses it back.
"You need not apologize, thief," she returns, but her words are gentle now and she is still smiling. She tucks into one of his arms while he continues to hold Roland in his other. Robin beams at them both, and in that way, with Regina tucked snugly into his side and carrying Roland in his other arm, they start their trip together back to her home.
For the first time in a long while, Regina's heart is light. She doesn't notice the stares they are given but rather the smiles that chase across the faces of the peasants watching them before they quickly duck away from them. They are not yet ready to face their Queen, but they are nonetheless happy for her, for her joy and for her love.
She overhears a conversation they are passing as they walk through town together. "Wow! The Queen actually said she was going to get you and all your brothers and sisters one of those toys?" a dark-haired boy asks.
"I told you she's a lady, Berlioz," a blonde girl, younger than her brothers, tells him. "Oh, I'm so envious, Lucky! Tell us everything!"
Lucky proceeds to tell the other, three children exactly what happened, what was said and done, but not before catching the Queen's eye again. He smiles nervously at her, but the smile she gives him is full of warmth, love, and a new confidence unlike anything she felt when she was the Evil Queen. He smiles back. She snuggles closer into Robin's side and readjusts her gaze on the road ahead. The day, her world, and her life have never looked more beautiful than they do by his side.
The End
