A Thief and a Queen

Comforting Regina

Written for OQ Fix It Fic Week Day 5: Off Screen Day

"Are you okay?" Robin asked her, wrapping her arm around Regina's shoulders. They sat in the park, right by the lake, watching as a few ducks swam through the cold water.

She shook her head, still feeling numb. Pain would come—it always did—but for now, it seemed he kept it at bay. And for the first time in a very long time, she believed she wouldn't have to deal with the pain alone. Robin would be there for her, to hold her, kiss her and rock her until the worst of it passed.

It was a concept both alien yet comforting to her.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked, rubbing her arm. It provided a little warmth as they sat there, huddled close together.

"About what? About how my sister chose to kill herself rather than accept my offer of a second chance? Rather than try to form a relationship with me?" she asked bitterly. "Or about how a certain blonde Savior wants to take my son away from me?"

Robin sighed, kissing the side of her head. "Don't look at it as Zelena rejecting you. She just couldn't see past now. All her plans, everything she had bene focused on for years, everything she had expended her energy and time on, the reason she got out of bed, the thing that she thought gave her life, it was all gone. She no doubt felt she had no purpose, nothing to live for and that everything was meaningless. Unfortunately, she decided that she would never find something else to give her purpose, unlike some other people in her position, and so she chose to end it all."

"Other people in her position," Regina mused. "Are you talking about me?"

With their memories returned, she could now recall their first adventure together when they broke into her palace. And she remembered how he pleaded with her not to use the sleeping potion on herself. How she had wanted to end all the pain by falling asleep forever (or until Henry came, no matter how impossible that appeared) but putting those thoughts aside after meeting Zelena.

"Yes," he said, tucking a piece of her hair behind her ear. "You thought there was nothing to live for after losing Henry but you found something to put your energies toward."

"You mean revenge? Destroying my sister?" She frowned, once again staring at the ducks as they dove their heads into the water. "I guess I accomplished that last part."

He gently cupped her chin and guided her until she was looked at him against. Robin smiled softly. "You may have started out seeking revenge but really, you've been trying to protect and save us. Which you did. Need I remind you about the light magic you used the other day?"

She grinned at the memory of the white magic emanating from her hand hands and then knocking her sister over, stopping her nefarious plans. And she even saved Zelena, stopping Rumpelstiltskin from killing the witch. "I did save everyone, didn't I?"

"Yes, you did," he said, sounding very proud of her. He kissed her forehead. "Zelena wanted your heart because it was the most resilient. She wasn't as strong as you, milady, and that is not your fault."

Regina closed her eyes, again seeing the image of her sister on the sheriff stations' security footage. She seemed to move about her cell before retreating to the back, using the last of her magic to destroy herself. It made her heart stutter before she took a deep breath. Robin was right. Zelena just hadn't been strong enough to realize the opportunities that had been offered to her and that wasn't Regina's fault. She let out the breath, releasing her guilt with it.