A/N: This darn plot bunny just would not leave me alone. So I am simply giving in to the temptation of it because… well, I guess because I can. This is JUST a one shot. It will not be continued.

DISCLAIMER: Not mine.

I'll stand by you

The initial reaction upon realizing that Marian was alive, was happiness. Of course the Merry Men, who had witnessed their leader's suffering after her death, found themselves elated that she was back – especially as they witnessed the heart-warming reunion shared by Robin, his wife and their son. It was perfect.

Except that it wasn't.

So caught up in the ecstasy of his late wife's very alive presence, Robin did not hear Regina's broken accusation at the saviour and nor did he see her practically dashing from the diner.

Little John did.

He didn't know why he followed her outside into the cold night, he just knew that he had to. He felt inexplicably sorry for her having gotten to know her over the last weeks, having witnessed the happiness she brought to Robin and the happiness he brought to her.

"Your Majesty? Re… Regina?"

Little John's voice was hesitant. Nothing but silence met his call and he sighed, moving a few steps forward – eyes still searching for the petite figure of the Queen.

"Regina? Where are you?"

His voice was a little more confident this time and he spun round when he heard a soft whimper to his left. Sure enough – it was her. She was cradled in an alleyway, her arms folded around her knees and her body heaving with sobs. John moved forward hesitantly and knelt down next to her, a comforting hand reaching for her back.

"Regina?"

Tearful eyes looked up at him and he sighed, taken aback by the anguish in the dark depths of her eyes. He smiled involuntarily when he remembered the first time he had seen those eyes – that time, there was a fiery light in her eyes. She seemed confident and brash, whereas now she was just… broken. He shifted to sit next to her awkwardly, the memory of their first meeting on repeat in his mind.

"You know… there's a buffet inside."

Regina looked at him with confusion and he shrugged, patting his belly.

"I remember a very snarky woman once telling me to show some restraint at the buffet."

She smiled despite herself and shook her head, wiping stray tears from her cheeks.

"You're the last person I would have expected to follow me. To notice me."

How could anyone not notice her? Whether you liked her or not, Regina was a force to be reckoned with and her presence demanded attention. It was one of the many differences between her and his leader's first wife.

Whereas Marian was gentle and preferred to hide in the shadows, Regina was confident and vibrant. Marian was a good wife, there was no doubt about that. She loved her husband and trusted him fully, whereas Regina didn't hesitate to take matters into her own hands. She'd never depend on anyone for help and yet, her and Robin made a team. They were equals. Both women were beautiful too, being a man John could appreciate that. Even in their beauty, they differed. Marian was innocent, virtuous and natural. Regina was sensual, alluring and glamorous. Marian was like a docile cat – good natured, sweet and loving. Regina, however, was a feral tiger – wild, bold and brazen.

It took him a while to realize that she was staring at him quite oddly and he blushed, looking away.

"I saw you leaving. I didn't want you to be alone."

"I'd expect you to want to be a part of the happy, happy reunion."

Her voice was laced with sarcasm and yet, he could detect a note of hurt too. John sighed and shook his head.

"It's different, you know. Her being back… We mourned. All of us. We mourned for her sake, for Robin's, for Roland's, for ourselves… we lost a friend, and we mourned. But then we moved on and you… I'm not saying you replaced her, Regina… But you became our friend too. Our companion. As strange as it sounds, you're one of us."

Regina blinked against the tears that threatened to spill over and shook her head.

"Not anymore."

John put his arm around her shoulders gently and pulled her close to his chest. He was quite surprised when she allowed him to do this, her body softening against his as she let go of the control she held on to.

"Once a part of the family… always a part of the family."

Regina sighed against his shoulder, her eyes closed.

"It hurts too much. I can't… How am I supposed to look at him with her and be happy?"

In truth there was no answer and if there was, he didn't have it. So he simply held her, allowing her to silently weep against his shoulder. Her tears soaked through his shirt and sympathy stirred in him.

He'd never been good with women – much less with crying women, and here he sat with a Queen crying against his chest. Life could not get any stranger.

Regina too, was aware of how insanely strange this was – here she sat on the ground in a dirty alleyway, sobbing into the shirt of a dirty thief. It was no stranger, however, that she had fallen in love with another dirty thief. A dirty thief whose perfect wife was back from the dead. The pain of this thought cut through her like a knife, and a sharp sob escaped her lips. John reacted instinctively, pulling her closer and pressing his lips on her hair in a gentle, comforting kiss. His hand patted her shoulder heavily – and rather awkwardly.

"There, there… things will look up."

Regina looked up at him through teary eyes. Mascara streaks blemished her flawless skin and her mouth was curled up in a pout.

"Not for me."

Quite clearly, the woman was heartbroken and Little John had no idea how to deal with heartbreak. He knew, however, how to deal with disappointment and he smiled down at her kindly.

"Look, do you want to go back and get drunk?"

Regina hesitated. Her instinct was to deny his request, push him away, put up her walls, go home and… probably get drunk. Alone.

Getting drunk with someone was starting to look tempting, so she wiped at her eyes and nodded.

"Yeah… let's do that."

John stopped her when she made a motion to go, pulling her back to him. She nearly crashed into him and his hands shot out to her shoulders, steadying her. Course thumbs moved to her cheeks, wiping at the black streaks that settled there until they were gone.

"There. Good as new."

Regina pulled her fingers through her hair and forced herself to smile. She knew just as well as John that every eye in that diner would be on her when she entered again.

"How do I look?"

He smiled and held his arm out to her chivalrously.

"Beautiful. Are you ready?"

He didn't have to elaborate – she knew what he meant. Was she ready to face everyone? Was she ready to face Marian?

He squeezed her elbow when she didn't answer, nodding at her with encouragement.

"I'll take care of you."

oOoOo

Silence fell over the diner as the door opened to reveal the bizarre duo and Regina smirked, her hand tightening around Little John's arm. He simply responded by resting his hand on her lower back and guiding her in the direction of the bar.

Past the saviour who was looking at her with regret, guilt, pity.

Past the Charmings who looked at her with pity, fear, sorrow.

Past Henry who looked at her with sympathy, concern, love.

Past him.

Robin.

Robin, who looked at her with unreadable eyes. Robin, who looked at her as though there was something he needed to say, but couldn't.

Robin, whose arm was wrapped around Marian's shoulders.

They walked past them and didn't look back.

Robin was more than surprised to see Regina entering on the arm of his most loyal man – as was Marian. Her surprise, however, had more to do with Regina being the so-called Evil Queen. It did not take Robin long to realize that his surprise was rooted in jealousy. Of course, he trusted Little John. The man was his best friend, after all. Nevertheless, that did not soothe the fact that he had to look at Regina with another man.

The same Regina who had kissed him outside the diner less than an hour earlier.

The same Regina who sat next to him on her living room floor and opened up to him about all the heartache she had ever experienced, the Regina who gave herself to him fully – body, mind and soul.

Regina.

The woman who trusted him with her heart.
Robin stood quickly, his eyes fixed on the pair at the bar. Each had an arrangement of small glasses with colourful liquid in front of them and the liquid was disappearing down their throats with troubling speed. Robin glanced at Marian who sat awkwardly in the booth. She seemed out of place here – in Storybrooke, in this time… even in his arms. It was as though she didn't belong.

He knew why he felt as though she didn't belong in his arms right now – the reason for that was currently at the bar, getting drunk with his best friend. Robin leaned down to kiss Marian's forehead, smiling down at her kindly.

"I'll be right back, my love. I just need to… I need to talk to Little John and Re… the queen."

Marian nodded quietly and Robin shot her another smile before heading in the direction of the new drinking buddies. Regina turned her head as he approached and his heart twitched when her hand shot out to grip John's.

Within seconds, the larger man was on his feet and he moved to stand in front of Robin, blocking his sight of Regina.

"Stand down, Little John."

"No."

"John…"

Little John shook his head firmly, glancing at Regina over his shoulder. He looked back at his friend, sympathy shining in his gaze.

"No, Robin. Not now. Right now… you need to leave her alone."

"I need to talk to her."

"And say what exactly? With Marian here, staring at you with nothing but love and expectation?"

"I love her."

Of course, he loved both of them. But John didn't need to ask who Robin meant by her.

"I know you do. But I also know you're a good man and right now… Right now, talking to Regina is only going to hurt her. Figure things out with Marian and then… when you're ready, you talk to Regina. When there's nothing between you anymore."

Robin rubbed over his face tiredly.

"It's not that easy."

"Of course it's not."

The two men stood, frozen in the middle of the diner and John sighed sadly.

"She loves you too. And when the time is right…you'll have your happy ending. But if you talk to her now, both of you are going to say things that you'll regret. Inadvertently, Marian will realize what's been happening and she'll get hurt. She's already confused and scared… if you hurt her now, the guilt will tear you to pieces and seeing you like that… that's not something your relationship with Regina will survive. Get Marian settled in, let her get to know this world before you throw this on her. Make sure this is what you truly want."

"But Regina…"

He wanted her to know how he felt, he wanted her to know that he loved her, he wanted her to wait. He wanted her to be there for him if he decided that he was ready to say goodbye to Marian again.

"Don't give her false hope. That'll destroy her. Wait until you know."

It wasn't a question of whether he loved her – both men knew that. Both men also knew that the battle for Robin's love wasn't between Regina and Marian. The battle for his love, was between his heart's desire and his noble conscience. Robin smiled at his friend tiredly.

"When did you get so wise?"

John grinned and threw his hands up in the air with a gruff laugh.

"Apparently this world has something called shooters… Regina made me try every single one on the menu!"

Robin allowed a laugh to escape his lips and attempted to sneak another glance at the woman who was currently drowning her sorrows in a tall glass.

"John…"

Little John nodded with a kind smile.

"I'll take care of her for you."

With his friend's promise reassuring him, Robin managed to make his way back to Marian and sit down to listen to her excited questions about what life has been like since her death. He looked up sharply when Regina's laugh rang through the diner.

She was leaning forward slightly, her head tilted up and her hand resting on Little John's arms. His friend was looking down into her eyes, returning her smile and covering her hand with his own.

Robin was only vaguely aware of Marian's voice as he looked at the two – giggling like drunken idiots. Of course he was glad that John was taking care of Regina, he'd have it no other way.

Yet, underneath the happiness and relief, another emotion was bubbling and it was getting stronger with every glance shared between them, every smile, every touch.

As he looked at his best friend laughing with the so-called Evil Queen, who had turned out to be the love of his life, Robin Hood had to admit that he had never been more jealous.