#dimples peanut

[justanoutlawfic]

The Forgotten One by justanoutlaw

When Roland crashes Regina's coronation, it leads to a huge rift in the Mills Family. Robin is determined to get her newly found brother to her wedding, while Regina wants to make up for her mistakes.

[justanoutlawfic]

The Forgotten One: Chapt. 3 [Arendelle]

Summary: Regina and Robin head to Arendelle to find Roland.

Also on AO3

Robin carefully folded the last few things into her suitcase. She knew that Alice was lingering in the doorway, but hadn’t bothered to acknowledge her.

 “You sure you don’t want me to come?”

“No, it’s best that it’s just Aunt Regina and me.”

“How are you feeling?”

“You mean outside finding out that my mother forced herself onto my father?”

“You know he still loved you.”

 Robin didn’t look up from her suitcase. She heard Alice’s bare feet move across the floor and slip her hand through hers.

 “He died saving your life. You don’t do that for someone you don’t love,” she whispered.

Robin swallowed, hard. “Even if he loved me…I was forced onto him.”

“I know what this is like, remember?”

 Robin looked up at Alice, into the eyes that she so clearly got from Killian. Ever since she found out that Gothel was Alice’s biological mother, however, she couldn’t help but see bits of her in there. Whether it was the blonde hair or her nose. She even had inherited nymph magic from her. Killian had looked into that face every day and yet still loved her to pieces. She knew that he didn’t resent her. Even so, she’d never know if her father had been the same. She didn’t know w what to think of her mother.

 It wasn’t as if Zelena had shielded her from her past, it was the one good piece of advice that the Queen had given her. She didn’t go into detail, but admitted to not always being a good person. Once upon a time, she had been the Wicked Witch, just as Regina had been the Evil Queen. Robin had respected them for their honesty and it was easy to put their misdeeds in the past, especially considering that none had been done to her.

 Now, however, this particular thing hit close to him. If her mother had never done it, then she wouldn’t exist.

 Robin shook it off. She couldn’t keep thinking about it at the moment. So, she did what she did best and repressed her emotions. Her phone buzzed and saw she had a text from her aunt. She was downstairs, waiting to go. It had taken Regina a couple of years to be able to unite all of the realms and in that time, there had been a monorail system put in place. It made it easy to go from one land to the next. Sure, you could drive, but while Storybrooke was at the front of the realms, Arendelle as near the back. It’d be easier for them to take the highway in the sky.

 “That’s Aunt Regina. We’ll be back in a few days,” Robin told Alice gently kissing her. “Just in time for us to do our cake testing.”

“We can put the wedding on hold, if you want.”

“We’ve waited two years to do this, Al. I don’t want to put it off anymore. We’re getting married in three months, just like we planned.”

 After a few more kisses, Robin walked out of the apartment and down to her aunt’s car. She threw her bag in the trunk before sliding in beside her.

 “Ready?”

Regina nodded. “The express monorail for Arendelle leaves in a half hour, so we have some time.” She pulled away from the curb. “You haven’t spoken to your mom since the coronation, have you?”

Robin shook her head. “No.”

“I did tell her we were leaving.”

“Thanks for sharing my life with her.”

“Robin, no matter what, she’s your mom. I don’t blame you for being angry with her, but she needed to know. During the whole mess after the curse, Emma took Henry out of town without me knowing and I was furious.”

“Henry was a kid, I’m a grown woman.”

“Doesn’t change anything.”

“Whatever.” Robin folded her arms over her chest. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Your mother and I had an agreement.”

“To protect her?”

“No, to protect you.” They stopped at a red light and Regina turned to look at her. “We never wanted you to deal with the pain of knowing any of it. Archie did some research and told us that many parents that have children that were products of these situations choose not to tell them, and it’s better for them.”

“I was forced on my dad.”

Regina shook her head. “He didn’t look at you that way. He loved you so much, the minute he held you.”

“But his life would’ve been a whole lot easier if my mom hadn’t tricked him.”

“He told me that he wouldn’t have changed you for the world.”

“It doesn’t mean that what she did was okay.”

“Of course it’s not.”

“How did you ever forgive her?”

 There was a beat of silence in the car, the only sound coming from the radio. Regina may have left a lot of Roni behind, but her music taste had remained. The Ramones filled the time while Regina pondered the question.

 “It took a while,” Regina admitted. “For a long time, I blamed her for everything. It took a few years, even after we were on better terms.”

“If you felt that way, why did you let us live with you?”

“So I could help with you, make sure you were okay. I love you, Robin. More than you know.”

Robin felt herself soften at her aunt’s words. “Is it true? That you and my father were in love?”

Regina nodded. “We were soulmates, destined to be together. When I was married to the king, Tinkerbell used pixie dust to show me that. I got scared and ran, but during my time away from Henry, I met your father and we fell in love. He was the first person since Daniel that I seriously saw myself romantically spending forever with.”

 Robin saw the look in her aunt’s eyes. She had seen it as a little girl, but could never place it. Now she knew it was love. Her aunt had lost her soulmate and had to hide it for so long. How could she not have seen that?

 “You never told me this.”

“When your mother and I were deciding what to tell you about your father, we decided it’d just be too complicated. How would it look to see that your father slept with his girlfriend’s sister?”

“But to keep it a secret for all this time…that had to have been hard.”

“It was,” Regina admitted, her voice soft. “There were so many times when you started dating Alice that I wished I could tell you. You’d both do these little things and it’d remind me of what your father did for me. The look you had for each other in your eyes, I knew that you two would end up married someday, even before your mom said you were in love.”

Robin nodded, smiling a little. “You were always a second mom to me growing up, but you would’ve been more than that if my father had lived.”

“Your mom would’ve always been in your life, but I would always be there.”

“How could my dad let her be around me?”

“Because he knew that people made mistakes. He didn’t forgive her, but he wanted you to have a mom. Roland lost his, he couldn’t let two kids go through that.”

“You never brought me to see him, either of you.”

Regina winced. “I know. Zelena had promised we would, but life got busy and…well, there’s really no excuse.”

“I always wanted to meet him. I asked all the time, but you two always said it wasn’t the right moment.”

“We made a lot of mistakes when it came to Roland,” Regina said, pulling into the parking lot of the monorail station. “I made a lot of mistakes. He was my responsibility after your father left and I should’ve fought for him.”

“Yeah. You really should’ve.”

 Regina put the car into park and removed the keys from the ignition, before looking over at Robin.

 “Well, that’s what I’m doing now. I just hope it’s not too late.”

The express monorail got them to Arendelle in half the time of the regular. Once they arrived, they went to Queen Elsa’s castle. She hugged them both tight, offered them a place to stay during their visit before handing over the directory so they could look to find Roland. Once they located his address, it was decided that Robin would go see him first.

 Leaving her aunt to catch up with Elsa and Anna, she headed into the village. Roland’s cottage was near the middle of it. Unlike the other houses, there were no gardens and the grass clearly wasn’t maintained. The home needed a few repairs, but other than that, it was charming with itself, built of stone with large windows. There was a stream that ran behind it. From the candle lit in the window, Robin could tell that her brother was home. She went up the broken stone pathway and knocked on the door. Roland opened it a few moments later. He didn’t smell of booze like he had before and was dressed a bit nicer. His eyes were softer and it almost looked like he was smiling.

 “You look so much like him,” Roland whispered.

“Really?”

He nodded. “You have his eyes.”

“Aunt Regina always says that.”

Roland cautiously looked behind her. “Is she with you?”

“Not at the moment, but she is in Arendelle. The other half of her told us you were here.”

Roland sighed. “Should’ve figured that would happen.”

“Look, I’m not here to justify what my aunt or mother did. It’s up to them to try to make that right with you, if they even can. But I wasn’t a part of any of it, I had as little say as you. Probably even less. And to be fair, you never came looking for me when you could. You could’ve attempted to have a relationship with  me when you were older. I didn’t know where you were, but you knew where I was.”

 Roland frowned, his eyebrows knitting together for a moment. Eventually, he stepped aside and gestured for her to come in. The place was pretty bare bones, even for a villager’s standards. There was a small kitchen area, with a table that contained one chair. In the attached den was a tiny couch. She spotted an open bedroom door, which only had a bed and a wardrobe.

 “Not a lot of stuff.”

“I grew up with the Merry Men, I don’t require a lot. Have a seat.”

 Robin did as she was told and watched as he put on a kettle. Once the tea was ready, he brought it over along with the chair from the table. They sat across from one another, sipping their tea and staring at one another.

 “I thought about you, a lot,” Roland admitted. “I wondered if you knew about me.”

“Always. Aunt Regina and Mom told me I had a big brother, that he lived with our dad’s friends. They told me all about you, what they knew anyway.”

“Zelena promised she’d bring you to visit, but it never happened.”

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I’d ask, but there was always an excuse.”

“It’s not your fault.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “Honestly, by the time I was old enough to go looking for you, I was just so angry. I considered going to Storybrooke and yelling at everyone who forgot me. Then I realized that it would hurt too much to see them. As much as I wanted to see you, see how you grew up…I just couldn’t. Maybe that’s selfish…”

“No, I get it.” She took another sip of her tea. “For what it’s worth, I had a good childhood. Mom and I lived with Aunt Regina. They raised me together for the most part. When I was about 15, Aunt Regina moved to the Wish Realm to help Henry out.”

“I saw him at the coronation. How is he?”

“Good. Married, with a kid. Total fairytale life, reminds me a lot of Snow White and David.”

“They were always so nice to me,” Roland murmured. “I shouldn’t have snapped at them.”

“They’re fine. Snow is worried about you, but she’ll be fine.”

“Zelena…what kind of Mom…I mean…”

 Robin knew she had to be careful with what she said. She was angry with her mom, but at the end of the day, she had a normal upbringing (or as normal as one could be in Storybrooke). Yet, she also knew the only side of Zelena that Roland had seen.

 “She was good. A bit too lenient, while also getting frustrated when I’d misbehave. She had a rough childhood and I think she didn’t learn the balance between being loving but firm. She didn’t hurt me or abuse me ever.”

Roland nodded. “That’s good. I’m sorry I told you about how you were conceived. I thought you’d know.”

Robin shook her head. “They always told me that our dad and her had been together once, that was it. Up until the coronation, I didn’t even know that Aunt Regina and Dad had dated.”

Roland scoffed. “Is that really how little she meant to him?”

“It wasn’t like that, Roland. When she talked about him, I saw this look in her eyes that I could never place until now. She loved him, so much. It killed her to never tell me, they just thought it’d be weird to explain.”

“The whole thing is weird. To be honest, I don’t think they realized I knew. Zelena pretended to be my mom and after, they tried to wipe my memory of that time, but it didn’t work. All I knew was that my mom had disappeared again. Then when I went back with the Merry Men, I overheard Little John and a few of the others discussing it.’

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“What was your life like? Growing up with them?”

 Robin had always wondered about her father’s friends. Regina spoke so kindly of them and Henry would show her stories from his book. She hadn’t just wanted to go to Sherwood Forest to meet her brother, but to get to know them as well. They had been such an important part in his life.

 “They were kind to me,” Roland said. “I lived with Little John mostly after we went back to Sherwood. We settled down, he built a cottage so I could have four walls around me rather than a tent. They all helped raise me, but it wasn’t the same as having parents. Sure, they’d tell me when to go to bed and taught me things but it was like they knew. The two people I wanted to be my mom and dad were gone.”

Robin frowned. “I don’t understand why we got split up. I’m not even sure if Aunt Regina even really knows herself.”

“She made her choice. I waited for her to come back for a really long time, but after the Queen came to see me and admitted that even she hadn’t heard from her in a while, I knew.”

“I don’t blame you for being angry with her, but that doesn’t have to affect us, does it? We spent all this time apart, I want to have you in my life. It’s a lot easier with the new realm system, you know?”

“I do, and I want that too. You can visit me here anytime.”

“And you can come to Storybrooke. I don’t live with Aunt Regina or mom, I have an apartment with my fiancé.”

“Fiancé?’

 Robin pulled her phone from her pocket and showed him her lock screen, a picture of her and Alice on their anniversary. He smiled, cupping the phone in his grip.

 “Her name’s Alice,” she explained. “We’ve been together for a while now.”

“She’s beautiful.” Roland passed the phone back. “Who proposed to whom?”

“I did her, two years ago. We get married in a few months and well…I know we barely know each other. It’s just, Alice will have her dad to give her away. I won’t have dad and even before I knew all this, I didn’t want it to be my mom or Regina. It’d mean a lot to me if, even if you don’t want to walk me down, that you were there.”

Roland reached over, putting a hand on her knee. “I’ve missed a lot of your life, I’m not about to miss the biggest day.”

“Even if my mom and Regina will be there?”

“Even then.”

[justanoutlawfic]

The Forgotten One: Chapt. 1 [The Coronation]

Summary: When Roland crashes Regina's coronation, it leads to a huge rift in the Mills Family. Robin is determined to get her newly found brother to her wedding, while Regina wants to make up for her mistakes.

PLEASE READ THIS AUTHOR'S NOTE! I know it's long, but it'll help you decide if this is a fic for you or not.

This whole thing was prompted by @queen-of-the-merry-men, who also helped me with some of the dialogue. It's going to be multiple chapters, but not sure how long quite yet.

I want to preface this with some warnings. This is post-series finale. Literally takes place after Regina's final line. This will discuss Robin's rape, but not in detail. I love Regina, she is my favorite character and if you know me, you know this. Zelena began to grow on me in S7. That being said...there will be times in this fic (starting off in this chapter), that their past actions are called into question and are called out on not being the best. This is especially true for Zelena. This isn't a bashing fic of her, but it says basic truths about what she's done. Same with Regina. If that's a problem, then I wouldn't recommend this fic to you because I don't want to see hate comments about Roland or Robin doing that.

This verse is also going to be pretty much family relationships only, mainly Regina/Roland, Roland/Robin, Regina/Robin, Regina/Zelena and Robin/Zelena. The only romantic ships will be background, canon ones such as Robin/Alice and Henry/Ella. If romance is more your speed, I have other fics for that. Of course, past Outlaw Queen will be mentioned and Dark Outlaw Queen is discussed a bit as well. Robin Sr. will be discussed in a positive light, so, if that bothers you, this isn't your fic. Overall, this is a story of the Hood-Mills family healing.

That being said, if you're still with me, sit back, relax and enjoy...

Also on AO3

“In the end, we can get past it all with hope.”

 Regina smiled as the crowd cheered, looking around at all of them. Snow and David still stood proudly behind her, her sons, Emma, Ella, Lucy, Hope and Hook on one side of the front row with Zelena, Alice, Robin and Nook on the other. She had once told Henry that one day he’d have more family than he knew what to do with, but it turned out that applied to her too. She never imagined she’d be crowned the Good Queen, let alone be overwhelmingly voted as one.

 The cheers and applause died down, but it was followed by a slow, near sarcastic clap. She tilted her head and tried to figure out where it was coming from. A man that looked to be in his mid to late 20s appeared from the crowd. He had longer brown hair and some thick facial hair. It took her a minute to realize who it was, until she saw the dimples. He wasn’t smiling, but they were still evident.

 “Roland,” she whispered.

“I’m surprised you recognize me, Regina,” he said. His voice had dropped over the past couple of decades, which surprised her more than it should’ve. “I see that you’re now the queen of the people. You saved the day once again.”

“I didn’t know you were coming. You look so grown up.” She stepped down from the platform once more and held her dress as she walked closer to him. Regina was close to hugging him, when she realized that he reeked of whiskey. “You’re drunk.”

“Astute observation.”

 Roland pushed past her and looked over at the right side of the room. Robin stood there, looking shocked. Regina realized that the two siblings hadn’t seen each other since the day Zelena and David helped the Merry Men back to Sherwood Forest.

 “My baby sister,” he slurred. “You’ve gotten a lot bigger since I last saw you.”

“You’re Roland,” Robin said, softly. Alice squeezed her hand, smiling a bit at the unconventional reunion.

“I’m surprised you know who I am. I thought everyone had forgotten about me.”

“This is hardly the place,” Zelena cut in, giving him a harsh look. “This is Regina’s big day.”

“Oh, so now you care about Regina?” Roland asked. “Because it sure didn’t seem that way when I was a kid. You disguised yourself as my mom, to hurt her and my father. Heck, if you hadn’t done that then your daughter wouldn’t even exist.”

 Zelena’s eyes widened and Robin gasped, looking over at her mom. Regina suddenly felt as though the castle walls were crowding in around her. She and Zelena had made a decision a long time ago. They would never tell Robin how she was conceived. It wasn’t to protect Zelena, but more so, so Robin could never be hurt by it. To make things less awkward, Robin never knew that her aunt and father had ever been in love. Over 20 years of secrets were suddenly spilling out within minutes, from a clearly very hurt man.

 “Is this true?” Robin asked her mother.

“Sweetheart…”

“I asked you if it was true!”

“Everyone, maybe we should stop this,” Snow stepped in, ever the diplomat. “We can start the reception and you all can step outside…”

“Snow White, always trying to take control of things,” Roland interrupted. “You couldn’t even take control of the town. I remember when you were mayor while Regina pouted over my father. You could barely hold it together.”

“Leave her alone,” Henry said, moving from beside his wife to stand by his mom. “You’re hurt and upset, but you have no right to do this. You’re clearly hurt over Mom and Zelena, but they don’t deserve this.”

“Don’t you get it, Henry?” He looked between the two sisters. “This is exactly what they deserve.” He turned to face the crowd. “Yes, you have your Good Queen. She protected everyone, except the one person she promised to.” Roland let out a bitter laugh. “I suppose she never really changed.”

 Roland’s eyes locked on Regina’s which were filled with tears once more. This time, however, they weren’t ones of joy. She reached out to cup his cheek, but he pulled away from her.

 “Your family ruined my life,” he said. “I just thought it was time you knew it.”

 He pushed past Regina, purposefully bumping her shoulder as he did. The heavy oak doors slammed shut behind him. The silence didn’t last long and soon, everyone was talking at once. Ry was asking Emma about what all of that was about. Snow and David were trying to talk to Regina, but she wasn’t saying a word, she was just staring at the doors. Henry told both of them to give her some space, that she didn’t need coddling right at that moment and Ella was trying to round up Lucy and the other kids to lead them out. Some murmured about how grown Roland had gotten, while others admitted they had long forgotten all about him.

 The biggest blowout was happening between Zelena and Robin. The younger Mills woman kept throwing her arms up in the air, as she demanded answers from her mother. Zelena looked like she was on the verge of tears herself. Alice had a hand on her fiancé’s back, while Killian had taken several steps away from Zelena, clearly remembering his own trauma surrounding his rape.

 “Is what he said true?” Robin demanded. “Just answer the damn question, Mother!”

“I…I was a different person back then,” Zelena stammered.

“That’s not what I asked. Is it true? Did you rape my father?”

“I wouldn’t call it rape…”

“Let’s look at it this way. When he slept with you, did he think you were Marian?”

Zelena bit down on her lip. “Yes.”

“Then that’s rape! I can’t believe this!”

“I never wanted you to know…”

“I can imagine why. You didn’t want to admit to what you had done!”

“That’s not it.”

“Yes it is. God.” Robin turned to her aunt, who hadn’t said a word during this entire thing. “I’m sorry Aunt Regina, but I have to go.”

 She stormed out the exit, Alice chasing out after her. Killian spared Zelena one last look of disgust before following out after his daughter. Zelena turned to Regina, now sobbing. She put a hand on her arm and finally, Regina broke out of her trance.

 “Regina,” she choked out. “What am I going to do? Robin is never going to forgive me!”

“That’s not the issue right now,” Regina said, looking up at her. “What the hell happened to Roland?”

[demisexualbolairelathalia]

that’s the sound of longing

Rating: G

Summary:  Robin takes Alice to get her father's blessing for their marriage. They find someone completely different.

Read on Ao3 here.

“You don’t have to do this, y’know,” Alice said gently, swinging Robin’s hand back and forth. “You’ve already shown me so much of your life in Storybrooke. You don’t have to do this if you’re not ready.” They looked at the gates to the cemetery, and the green grass lined with headstones in front of them. “It’s a lot to ask of anyone.”

Robin smiled sadly and kissed Alice’s cheek. “I saved you from a crazy witch coven with your dad. I…I want you to meet mine,” she said quietly, squeezing Alice’s hand for support. “Besides, I just…I dunno, it feels weird if he doesn’t meet you at least once.”

“Then why do you look like I do when there’s no marmalade?” Alice pressed, squeezing Robin’s hand in a little bit tighter in return. Robin sighed and ran her free hand through her hair, looking agitated. “I’ll tell you what,” Alice offered, kissing their joined hands. “I’ll go in first and introduce myself. Your Papa can give me the “if you hurt my daughter” speech, and then when you’re ready you can join us.”

Robin let out a genuine laugh, especially at the voice Alice used when imitating her own father giving Robin the same speech.

“Besides,” Alice added for emphasis. “You got to ask my Papa for permission to marry you. Can’t I ask yours?”

Robin leaned in to kiss her softly, her throat choked up. But she hoped her thanks and her love and all of her feelings into the kiss. Alice must’ve known, for Alice gently cupped her cheek and pressed their foreheads together when they broke apart. “Love you, Tower Girl,” she mumbled, nuzzling their noses together.

“Love you too, Nobin,” Alice teased, kissing her once more. “All right, any ways to win over your Papa that I should know about?”

“Your guess is as good as mine,” Robin said quietly, a hint of sadness in her voice. Then she smiled and squeezed Alice’s hands gently. “It’s okay. Go ahead. I’ll be behind you in just a little bit.”

Alice smiled and stepped forward, walking on the stone path that weaved its way through the cemetery. Regina had said it was toward the end of the path by the forked tree, and that she would know it when she saw it.

It was no secret to the denizens of Storybrooke that Regina kept Robin Hood’s grave well maintained, even since her reign of being The Good Queen had started. While it wasn’t every day, it certainly wasn’t a rare occurrence to see Regina sitting beside the grave of her soulmate, sometimes crying, sometimes laughing, sometimes just sitting peacefully.

What was a rare occurrence, or at least in Alice’s understanding of how things worked, was to see a young man standing by Robin Hood’s grave. The young man was a stranger to her: tall and fair, but with a nest of dark curls resting a top of his head. The smile on the young man’s face was both sad and wistful, but even then, the dimples were clear on his face.

Alice felt herself slowing down to afford the man some privacy. Whoever he was, he clearly knew Robin Hood, and he deserved to mourn in peace. Still, as far away as she was, she could still hear every word he said.

“I’m sorry it took me so long to come visit. It’s just taken me awhile to get back here. Both because of portals and because…well, it was hard, knowing that you wouldn’t be here,” the young man murmured, placing his hand on tombstone. “They did as you said, and they did a great job raising me. Doesn’t mean I didn’t miss you though. Because I did. Every day I missed so much. It had been you and me for so long, and then you weren’t there anymore. Even learning how to shoot a bow was hard because you didn’t teach me.”

Here, the man stopped for a moment, putting his hands in his pocket and looking up at the sky. Alice couldn’t be sure, but she thought she saw a tear trail down his cheek. It was several moments before he looked back down at the headstone again and continued, “At first I was angry and resentful toward them. How could I go from such a magical world with electricity and ice cream and my family to the Enchanted Forest? But they were good to me and they raised me right. They did right by me. They really did. I just…missed you a lot.”

The young man took another deep breath, steadying himself as he continued to talk, “And then as I got older, I didn’t want to come back. I didn’t think there was a way back, yes, but part of me couldn’t…after all, what did I have here that I didn’t have there? It’s not like I had any more of a family here than I did back with the Merry Men. And Regina and Henry are here, but I…how could I even be sure that they even remembered me? I was so little, and we only had a few months together before I went back to the Enchanted Forest. They had been a family before me, and I was sure they’d be a family long after me too. I wasn’t…how could I be sure I meant anything to them?”

He smiled bitterly, the dimples on his face seeming so out of place with the look in his eyes. “And then, there’s my sister...she was only a few weeks old when I left. Would she even know who I was?”

Alice was so absorbed in the stranger’s story, trying to suppress her own tears, that she didn’t hear the soft footfalls of her girlfriend approach.

“Roland?” Robin croaked out. Alice jumped in surprise, but neither Roland nor Robin seemed to notice her. Their gazes were fixed on each other and a heavy, but not oppressive, silence hung in the air. Tears welled up in Robin’s eyes as she looked at the man standing before her father’s—their father’s—grave. “Roland, is that really you?”

The man turned around slowly, his own eyes filling with tears. “Are you…?” he started, unable to finish around the lump in his throat. Robin nodded, letting out a watery laugh. “How do you…I mean how can you…?”

“Please, I’d recognize those dimples anywhere,” Robin croaked, grinning while she sniffled. “Regina used to show me pictures on her phone of you. And my mom gave me the arrow you wanted me to have.” She smiled hesitantly. “I missed you.”

Something changed in the air and both siblings went running toward the other. When they finally met--and truly met for the first time in either of their young lives--Roland picked up his sister and spun her around. Robin’s face was buried in her brother’s shoulder, her knuckles all but white as she clung to him.

“I’ve got you, Peanut,” Roland whispered, tears running down his cheeks. “I’ve got you.”  Robin seemed to curl into him more, as the two started laughing. “Oh, let me get a good look at you,” he said, setting her down and standing back from him. “You look like him a little bit. You’ve got his chin. And his eyes.”

“Really?” she asked hopefully but didn’t have time to add more as her brother wrapped her up in another hug. “Welcome home,” she whispered, hugging her brother tightly. “Does Regina know you’re here? And Henry? Oh my God, they’ll be so excited,” she told him, wiping her eyes.

“No, I just got in,” Roland admitted shyly. “I didn’t think they’d want to see me.”

“Of course they want to see you,” Robin told him brightly. “You’re our family too.” The two hugged again and Roland sniffled, cupping the back of her head gently.

“Wait, you have a brother?” Alice finally asked, getting her wits about her.

“Who is this?” Roland asked, not quite letting go of Robin.

“Oh, that’s Alice,” Robin said. She bit her lip, her eyes flickering downward before flickering back up. “She’s, um…my girlfriend?” she offered hesitantly. “I don’t know how these things worked back in the Enchanted Forest. But, I brought her to meet Dad.”

“She met my Papa, and they got really close and he gave her a protective father speech,” Alice stepped in, hating how sad Robin seemed to get at the mention of her father. “And I wanted to meet hers. I mean yours. I mean—”

Roland chuckled and let go of Robin for a moment. He stepped closer to Alice and folded his arms. “So what are your intentions with my sister?” he asked, somewhat playfully. Robin and Alice caught eyes and Alice had to hold back her giggles.

“I’m going to marry her one day,” Alice said proudly, puffing out her chest. Robin blushed and smiled fondly at the ground.

“And you promise to be good to her?” Roland asked, his stern voice failing in the wake of his large smile.

“The best that I can be,” Alice replied honestly, shifting from foot to foot. “I can’t promise it will always be good, but I know I’ll always love her no matter how bad it gets.”

Robin came over and held her hand before leaning in to kiss her sweetly. “Right back atcha, Tower Girl,” she murmured softly, nudging their noses together.

“Well, how could anyone say no to that?” Roland asked. “C’mere, both of you.” Before both girls could even blink, they were pulled into a big hug.

“Welcome home, Roland,” Robin whispered softly, resting her head against her brother’s shoulder.

[justanoutlawfic]


A Single Yellow Rose - “You bring joy to my life” “Let’s be friends” Staying Together verse, Alice/Roland.

Also on AO3

Roland paced the living room, trying to keep the negativethoughts out of his head. Today was a happy day, it was one that every highschooler dreamed of at one point or another. His sister was thrilled, she wasgoing with her girlfriend of 3 years (how she and Alice had made it so long wasa mystery to him). She was upstairs with their aunts, Roland had been kickedout of the room when he suggested that Regina was putting a bit too mucheyeliner on her.

Despite how happy everyone was, he couldn’t help butwish that his father was there. Robin Sr. had probably more excited than he wasfor his prom. He took him tux shopping and helped him with his tie. His date wasn’texactly a soulmate, just the current girlfriend he had at the time. Yet hisfather beamed proudly as he and Danielle walked out the door, he had waited upfor him to return from his after party. He was slightly buzzed and his dad hadplayfully chastised him, but was glad that he hadn’t drank and driven.

Now, he wouldn’t be there for Robin’s. It was hard tothink that in a few weeks time, he wouldn’t be there for her high schoolgraduation.

Quickly shaking it off, he heard the door open and amoment later, Alice was in the house. She was wearing a beautiful blue dresswith bits of red here and there. Roland gave her a soft smile.

“Where’s your dad?”

“He’s instructing the limo driver to be careful withus and threatening that if anything happens to us, he’ll kill him.”

Roland chuckled, shaking his head. “You’ve got a good dad.”

“Yeah.” She smiled. “Robin’s still getting ready?”

“My aunts have taken over and I think it’s best thatway.”

Alice giggled. “They offered to help me get ready, butI declined. I’m not that into makeup, this is the first time I’ve worn a dresssince…well, I don’t even remember.”

“They can be a bit much, but they just do it out oflove. I think they just try to make up for the fact that we don’t have our dadanymore.”

“Right.” Alice bit her lip. “As embarrassing as he is,I can’t imagine how hard all of this is on the two of you. Yet, you’re so brave.”

“I don’t know about that.”

“I do. You gave up your life to take care of Robin.You waited to go to college, heck it wasn’t even until this year that you got aserious relationship. I don’t know that I could’ve lived through all that.”

“Well, I do think you’ve played a role in that.” Hechuckled when she tilted her head. “You don’t realize how much you’ve helpedRobin. She went through a really dark period when our father died, she lashedout, she was really depressed. She was doing better when you two met, but Idefinitely think that coming out helped her. Being with you…it’s made her sohappy. I don’t think I could’ve asked for a better person for my sister. You’vebrought so much happiness to my life and to hers.”

Alice’s smile widened and she threw her arms aroundhis neck, hugging him tightly. “Well, I never had a brother before…but now Ifeel like…well at least I have a new friend.”

“I’d say we’re more than friends, you’re a part ofthis family, Al.”

The door opened and Killian walked in, interrupting thesweet moment. A little bit later, Regina and Emma came down the stairs, wipingtheir own tears, clearly emotional over their goddaughter’s big day. Soon, Robinwas walking down the stairs, biting her lip. She had opted for a black dress thatsparkled when the light it hit it. She knew all eyes were on her, but her firststop was Alice.

“You look beautiful,” she whispered.

“So do you.”

They exchanged corsages (Alice’s was a white rose,while Robin’s rose was yellow, which happened to compliment her dress) and akiss. Alice turned to her father, while Robin quickly hugged her aunts and wentover to her brother.

“Wow, you’re so grown up,” he said, a hint of nostalgiain his voice. “It seems like just yesterday you were begging me to play teaparty with you.”

Robin chuckled. “Yeah…a lot of time sure has passed.”

“I wish Dad could be here.”

“He is, in his own way.”

She reached into her purse and pulled out a picture.It was the last photograph that had been taken of the three of them, his armsaround both of his kids, that infamous smile on his lips. Roland grinned,tracing his father’s face.

“Always protecting us.”

“Always. We better get going, we have to pick up somepeople on the way.”

“Right. Just be careful, don’t drink and if you do, don’tdrive.”

“That’s what the limo’s for, Ro.” She kissed hischeek. “Love you.”

With that, she linked arms with her girlfriend andthey headed out the door.

[justanoutlawfic]

“Quit trying to fix me when you need to just fix yourself.” Roland overhears Robin fighting with her girl friend in the Staying Together verse.

Also on AO3

Robin knew that she wasn’t one to give advice aboutmothers, after all, she never had one herself. The closest thing she ever hadwas her aunts, but that didn’t count, not really. Alice had a mother, she wasn’ta good one, but she had one nonetheless. When Alice had come out to her, Eloisehadn’t taken it well in the least. She had said that she’d rather have nodaughter than one that was gay. It didn’t matter much to Alice at the time, Eloisehad never been around much when she was growing up. Much like Robin, she had beenraised by a devoted single father. One that she was lucky enough to still have.

Now Eloise wanted to meet up with Alice and Robin madethe mistake of saying she didn’t think it was a good idea.

“What do you mean?”

“She’s homophobic, for one.”

Alice sighed. “I know, but she’s still my mom, Robin.”

“And what does that mean? You punched Malcolm forcalling you the d word.”

“She’s my mother.”

“She doesn’t deserve to have you in her life. Fromwhat you said, even before you came out, she wasn’t there for you.”

“Well, it’s not your choice!” Alice exploded. “It’smine!”

Robin ran her fingers through her hair. “I know. It’sjust…”

“Just because you don’t want anything to do with yourmom, doesn’t mean that I’m wrong for not wanting anything to do with my own. Quittrying to fix me when you need to just fix yourself.”

Robin’s eyes widened and Alice bit her lip, clearlyrealizing that her words were a mistake.

“Look, I just mean that you have issues with your ownmother…”

“I know I do,” she said quietly. “Look, do whateveryou want.”

“Robin…”

“I’ll see you later.”

That was as close as she could get to kicking Aliceout of the house. Her girlfriend sighed, walking out the door. Robin leanedagainst the wall, shutting her eyes.

“You wanna talk about it?”

Her eyes flickered back open and she found Rolandstanding there. “How much of that did you hear?”

“Enough of it.” He walked closer to her. “I don’t thinkshe meant it the way you think.”

“I know how she meant it. It’s just…I don’t wantanything to do with Zelena.”

“And that’s okay.”

“Eloise has done far worse to Alice. How can she wantanything to do with her?”

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “But, you have to let hermake her own mistakes. You can’t save everyone.”

Robin flinched at the thought of that. “I love her. I don’twant her to get hurt.”

“Sometimes you can’t prevent that. All you can do isbe there for her. If shit hits the fan, and from what I’ve heard about Eloise…itwill, just be there for her.”

Robin nodded, trying to absorb it all. Roland couldn’thelp but smile, thinking about something Will often said, sometimes they weretoo much like their father for their own good. Robin Sr. had wanted to fixeverything he could, help anyone in their time in need. However, sometimes allthat good, could lead to trouble.

As if Roland could predict the future, things withEloise did not go so well. Alice had showed up on the Locksley’s doorstep aftertheir coffee date and didn’t even have to say anything. Robin wrapped an arm aroundher, leading her inside and settling on the couch where they had a horror moviemarathon, devouring tons of junk food. Roland watched on from the doorway, anextreme feeling of pride in his bones.

[justanoutlawfic]

Purple Iris - Wisdom, compliments (Hood-Mills kids)

A prequel to my Prodigal Daughter fic.

Also on AO3

“Did you know?”

His sister’s words caused Roland to look up from hisbills. Now that he was out of college, he was trying to take someresponsibility in his life, even if he had moved back in with in his parentsuntil he could afford a place of his own.

“Know?”

“About Zelena.”

“That.”

“So, I’ll take that as a yes,” Bryony mumbled,dropping down in front of him.

Roland sighed, rubbing his temples. “I only knowbecause I overheard Mom and Dad a few years ago. They said they wanted to tellyou when the time was right.”

“That I was the child of rape?”

“Bry…”

“That’s what it is. Don’t sugarcoat it.” She toyedwith the pen he had dropped. “Why isn’t Zelena around?”

“She took off for Oz a little after you were born, as soonas Dad got full custody of you.”

“She didn’t even fight for me.”

“That’s not true, she did, she just knew she was nevergoing to win.”

Bryony bit her lip. “I just don’t know what to do now,all my life I knew that Mom adopted me…I just didn’t know the story.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t figure out sooner, you’resmart.”

Bryony rolled her eyes. “Compliments aren’t going tohelp me right now.”

“And what do you think would? Being mad at Mom and Dadfor not telling you? They were just trying to protect you, something like this isn’teasy to hear about. They didn’t want you to have to live with it.”

“I just don’t know who I am anymore.”

Roland frowned, remembering his older brother having avery similar conversation with their mother not very long ago. He was the sameage as Bryony and Regina had suggested to him to travel. Of course, he hadpicked a different route.

“You just graduated from high school,” he pointed out.“You’re going to Vassar in the fall, you’re going to be able to find yourself.”

“College? You think that’s the answer to everything?”

He shrugged. “Everyone your age feels lost, I know I did.I went to Boston and it really helped me figure out what I wanted to do. Henrywent traveling and from what he says in his letters and Face Times, he’s doinga lot better himself.”

Slowly, a smile went across Bryony’s face. Maybe herbrother had a point. Normally it was Henry or Aunt Snow who gave the hopespeeches, but for once Roland had some sage wisdom. She got up and kissed hischeek. Maybe a new start was exactly what she needed.

Roland had no clue just how dangerous his talk withBryony was until a few days later. Robin and Regina found a letter from Bryony,one that would tear their hearts in two.

DearMom and Dad,

Idon’t belong here, I’m going somewhere else. I don’t know when or if I’ll be back.I think it’s time I take a page from Henry’s book and start my own adventure. Igot one of the beans you guys harvested in case of emergency.

Love,Bryony

[justanoutlawfic]

For the staying together verse: “I don’t like your boyfriend/girlfriend/partner/etc. I want to kill him/her/them.” From Robin to Roland.

Also on AO3

Robin was trying to keep an open mind. She had pushedRoland to get out there and date, he hadn’t done it since their father died. So,when he brought Chloe home, she really did try to like her.

There was just one problem: Chloe had zero redeeming qualities.

She was always in a terrible mood and was alwaysbegging Roland to buy her things, to treat her to dinner. Even worse, Chloe clearlydidn’t see the point in Roland raising Robin. She knew that they had plenty ofoptions, why had he opted to step up and take the place of her guardian? Whydid he insist on going to all of her archery competitions? She was an onlychild, with parents who traveled often. Clearly, family was not a priority toher.

An even bigger issue was, Roland had no clue about thesecond part. Robin would’ve been blind to it as well and just hated her for beinga high maintenance bitch, but she had overheard her talking to one of herfriends about it at the diner. Robin just walked away, knowing that a fight wouldn’tbe worth it. However, after that day, she knew that she despised Chloe andwanted nothing to do with her.

What if she convinced Roland to abandon her? What if hedid send her to live with Regina and Emma? She loved her aunts to pieces, butshe loved living with her brother even more. They were all each other had.Sure, Roland was devoted to family, but Robin was getting older. As he wasconstantly pointing out, she’d be off at college soon.

So, she kept it to herself for the most part. Luckily,Alice listened to her constantly griping and sympathized, her father didn’t alwayspick the most family oriented women to date. Luckily, though, he’d always ditchthem when he figured it out. Robin avoided Chloe by not being home when Rolandtook her out or whenever she’d come by to watch movies.

She thought her feelings about Chloe were secret,until her brother walked into her bedroom one afternoon.

“You left your Facebook logged onto my laptop.”

“Sorry,” she said, not looking up from the book shewas reading. “Mine still isn’t back from the shop, must’ve forgotten.”

“I didn’t realize it was yours until I got a messageand saw Alice laughing with the thing you last said.”

“Okay?”

“She was agreeing with you that Chloe could easilyplay Mrs. Hannigan in a production of Annie.”

Robin froze, then regained her composure and looked upat her brother. “She does resemble Cameron Diaz.”

“I wasn’t born yesterday, Robin. Why are you trashtalking her?”

She sighed, getting up off the bed. “I hate yourgirlfriend,” she admitted. “I want to kill her.”

“But why? Chloe’s been nothing but nice to you.”

“To my face. She treats you like crap.”

“She does not.”

“Yeah, Roland, she does. Can’t you see that she’susing you? She makes you take her out to fancy restaurants and gets mad if youcan’t.”

“She’s just used to nicer things. Her family’s rich.”

Robin rolled her eyes. “And this is why I didn’t tellyou about this.”

“I think you’re just jealous. I have another girl inmy life, but I promise you’re not being replaced.”

Oh, little did he know…

But if Roland couldn’t even see that Chloe was treatinghim like crap, what were the odds that he was going to believe her?

“Screw you,” she said, grabbing her backpack. “I’mgoing to Alice’s.”

“It’s almost 8.”

“Oh well.”

The next few days were a callback to the ones aftertheir father died. Robin wasn’t talking to Roland, he was frustrated with her.She hated that it had to be that way, but Roland needed to learn the truth aboutChloe on his own.

Much to her surprise, Roland showed up at the Jones’house on Saturday night. Robin had been hiding out there again and was waitingon Alice to come home from work. She quickly walked onto the porch when shefound him on the other side, folding her arms over her chest.

“What are you doing here?”

“Why do you really hate Chloe?”

“I told you, she treats you like crap.”

“There’s more to it, isn’t there?”

“No.”

“You mean you didn’t overhear her saying that me beingyour guardian was the worst mistake of my life?”

Robin stuck her hands in her pockets, looking away. “Shetold you she said that?”

“No, Granny saw us together and chewed me out forstill dating her after she said such things. She figured you told me.”

“Look, you didn’t believe me that she was treating youlike garbage. Why would you believe me about the other stuff?”

“It’s not that I didn’t believe you.” He sighed. “Ijust didn’t want it to be true. I…I really liked her and I wanted to think thatshe felt the same way.”

“Yeah, well, I wish she did.”

“I would’ve broken up with her sooner if you had toldme.”

“That would mean making you choose.”

“Yeah, so?”

“So, maybe I didn’t know who you’d pick.”

Roland’s mouth dropped open. “You honestly don’t know?”

“I didn’t want to.”

He sighed. “Peanut.”

She was caught off guard by him suddenly pulling herinto his arms. It had been weeks and she had missed it. Slowly, she wrapped herarms back around him.

“I would never pick another girl over you.”

“Really?”

“It’s us against the world, kid. Always and forever.”

She let out a small sigh, nodding. She had lost toomuch in her life, she couldn’t lose her big brother. Lucky for her, he wasn’t goinganywhere.