All of Me ~ #Wattys2015

Fate

Robin and Regina walked in silence and found themselves in the woods. He helped her sit down on a log and followed suit, holding her hand tightly in his. They were at a loss for words.

"You made it very clear that no one is ever going to love me," Regina said, staring out into the trees. Robin looked at her, confused. "That's what I said to my mother before I drank the potion that night. I kept myself from reversing the curse this entire time."

"But now we know it's broken. There are no limitations on our future," he said and she looked at him.

"Is this something we're ready for? I mean, the only reason we weren't careful before was because I thought it was impossible," Regina said.

"It's something we can consider now at least," he mentioned.

"It would be nice, but I want to be sure my body can support a baby. I don't think I could go through this again, Robin. I've said it before: nothing is worth the loss of a child. I want to know we won't lose another one."

"Well, you have your follow up visit tomorrow. We can ask where we go from here. So at least we'll know for sure if it's safe," Robin suggested.

Regina nodded and they were quiet again for a few minutes, still holding hands and sitting close to one another. Robin looked at her often, smiling as he did so. She could feel his gaze on her, but continued to look forward. She thought about their future together and where they would go from here.

"Would you ever consider marriage," Robin asked suddenly. The question took her by surprise. She didn't expect him to be the type of person who discussed it first. She always imagined he would just ask her one day. But she was glad he did because she often thought about whether or not she would accept his proposal.

"Would I consider it? I suppose. But do I think it's something I see for our future," she paused. She didn't want to hurt his feelings, but she needed to be honest. "I don't think so."

"I see," he said.

"Robin, we've both been married before. You lost Marian, twice now, and I spent years in a marriage only seeing it as a life sentence. I don't need a ring or a piece of paper to know that I love you and that I want to spend the rest of my life with you," she said and noticed that he still wasn't understanding where she was coming from.

"When I hear the word marriage, I only imagine heartache. I planned to marry Daniel and he died. I married the King against my will and spent each day hoping he and Snow would die. With you, the darkness is gone, without having to be married. I want to spend our lives creating beautiful memories and if marriage is associated with that, I'm afraid it will only cause misery for us. That seems to be our fate."

He looked deep into her eyes and knew that her words were true and heartfelt. He understood that this was coming from a place of fear and pain, the memories of her past a shadow over the beauty that could be.

"I understand," he said simply, clearly disappointed in her answer, but respecting her nonetheless.

"Robin, listen to me," she said, placing her hands on his cheeks forcing him to look at her. "That doesn't mean I'm not willing to marry you. I just think right now, I'm not ready. But who is to say I'll never be ready? You came into my life at a time I thought I wasn't ready to be loved and you changed my perspective on that. You're constantly making me see things in a new light. One day I may wake up and change my mind about marriage because of you."

His eyes lit up. There was still hope. Robin was an old fashioned gentleman. He believed in traditional values and intended on marrying her one day. Even if it wasn't until they were old and about to die. He would call Regina his wife.

"Just don't give up on me, okay" she added.

He leaned forward and kissed her passionately. He stood up and lifted her into his arms, pulling her as close to him as possible, and spun her around.

"I wouldn't dream of it," he said, making her blush as she remembered the first time he spoke those words to her in the Enchanted Forest.