Robin + Hale @theartofruling
Location: the Divine Palace, after Ceremony Day 1 Dinner
Hale wasn't stupid. Since they'd slept with Robin months ago, last summer to be exact, they'd noticed the unspoken things that continued between them. Things that only seem to exacerbate when they'd unofficially moved her into the palace. Into their private wing. Of a realm wherein the war general did not work. Into the (dys)functional dynamics of a family to which Robin did not biologically belong. ...But then again, the Hale family members were notorious for integrating strays. And so, Robin stayed. In Hale's realm, their home, their life. Hell, especially within the nymph's heart. For a werewolf without an official home and what appeared to be a family of her own, it was quite easy for Hale to grant her unadulterated access to their own since then. Day after day. Moment after moment. Both in the Forest and in Eastland. Such a fact hadn't even dawned on Hale until it was time for the Forest's official announcement in declaring them heir and they authorized Robin's addition into the finalized photographs. There the image was added, as if there were no other place for Robin LaFleur to be. By then, such truth was too hard to deny. Even so, Hale didn't dare utter it. ...But the nymph knew. They were aware. Of their own feelings and Robin's own for them. Still, they remained silent.
Still, Hale halted their entire heir naming ceremony to descend, in a room full of strangers, to request Robin at their side. Hale wasn't stupid. Not when doubt clawed at their heels and they reassessed an entire childhood dream, only to look to her for reassurance and guidance in a clear moment of open weakness. To which, she did. Unshaken and unafraid, Robin bolstered them and then joined them, with some hesitance, on stage. It was then that Hale knew. Or rather, was unable to deny the continual truth that they'd lived with her. It'd been utter hell to be apart from Robin for the rest of their evening. The remote control she'd slipped them was a demented comfort to Hale. If they couldn't be with her, then reminding Robin of her continual crossing of their mind would have to do instead. Once the trouble they'd caused, as a result of the remote was rectified, and the pair had been decently satisfied, Hale escorted Robin into a private conservatory on the palace grounds. Not too far from their own wing. Her hand was warm and its weight familiar in their own as Hale led them towards a concrete bench beneath an arch of twinkling lights and a noticeable sound of music played unseen. The very vegetation around them seem to bend towards them as they neared the bench.
Instead of Robin sitting on the bench, Hale brought her onto their lap. "You used to make me nervous as fuck. I ever tell you that?" They shared, glancing down at her. Hale's chest expanded and then lowered with an audible sigh before continuing. "It's not just that great ass of yours, I promise." Hale shared, the smirk on their lips noticeable. "It didn't help though." They confessed with a light chuckle and one of their hands interlaced with hers while the other wrapped around her waist. "It was distracting as hell. Luckily, I persevered." Hale sighed and attempted to focus once more before trying to have her beneath the stars. "What am I to you? What are we - what is this, us - to you, Rob?" They asked, voice soft near her ear.
