OQ One Shots (#OQPromptParty)

Prompt 109- Regina Takes Roland to Robin's Grave To Say Goodbye to Both Of Them

Regina

Hurt was no longer the main weapon that had the power to hurt me anymore, it was just the haunting numbness that overtook my body preceding and following Robin's burial. The whole service felt like my ears were ringing and the motions were spiraling around me, with only one focus, the curly haired boy who stood stoic beside his father's casket, a smaller size of all the Merry Men who were grieving the loss of their leader, and man that they called family.

My heart felt like lead and all I ached to do was hold him in my arms and protect him from any more painful hurtles that would be shot in his direction. But, I wasn't expecting the largest hurtle being flung towards me out of the blue. They were taking him from me. The knock on my door following the funeral was one that wasn't foreign to me, due to the constant visitors, but the slender man with dark circles under his droopy eyes was someone I was not expecting. Will Scarlett had informed me of Robin's wishes for his son to be raised in Sherwood Forest where he felt comfortable and safe from any threat that Storybrooke often held.

My wind had been sucked from me, and although I knew that being his guardian was slim, I had expected to see the curly haired child around town, and hopefully be the comfort he needed when his loss felt harder to bear than usual.

However, the date had been set in stone, and it had been eyeing me in the face for days. And when it rolled around, it felt like I couldn't move, and I couldn't bring myself to say goodbye to the little boy that I had grown to love like my own.

I dragged myself out of bed and managed to dress myself for the occasion, jumping at the sound of the doorbell, sucking the life out of me as the hour for them to leave grew closer and closer.

Henry had already gotten the door, and I could see him from the top of the stairs, kneeling on one knee to hug the small boy tightly, both of them not willing to let go of each other.

"Hey, I'll be right here, you just call and I'll come running, okay? Remember..?"

"Brothers forever!" Roland cheered, tears being wiped by my older son off of his tiny face. I wanted to weep, but I knew that I couldn't make this more dramatic for him, so I simply wiped my eyes and walked down the staircase.

"Ready to go my Little Knight?" I questioned, watching his eyes light up as I held my hand out to him, nodding at Will Scarlett before walking out and down to the car. I had as much time as I needed with him, since they were only a portal away, so I intended to use all of it.

I had planned a day to the park, then ice cream and then maybe a final dinner at Granny's, but I found myself driving down the local road that formed into the forest where the cemetery sat, pulling up to my father's mausoleum where Robin was buried beside.

"Where are we going, Gina?" He asked softly, his tone soft now that it was only the two of us. I swallowed and turned back to face him once I pulled into my spot, trying to formulate an answer since I didn't even know why we were there.

"I just thought that I would take you to see Papa, I know how much you miss him." I admitted, watching his face drop into a pout before he tried to hide it from me with his hands.

"Hey, it's okay to miss him, I miss him lots too." I urged, offering a smile before stepping out of the car, helping him out before his hand clutched mine.

We stepped up to the lion crested tombstone and sat in silence, the little boy simply running his fingers over the stone before inching a bit closer. I watched carefully as he took a seat on top of the fresh earth, leaning his head on the headstone before taking a deep breath.