I have some friends on Twitter that have this delightful habit of giving me plot bunnies, so I've decided to refer to them as my Evil Twitter Bunnies. Creative title I know! Anyway, one of them, perhaps one of the most EVIL of the ETBs, made the comment that I could probably make her ship Regina and Leopold. Now one of the things I'm most proud of with my Schoolies Fic is that people have told me that I've made them ship other pairings. I have my OTPs that I adore, but I'm all for sharing the love, and I like the idea that maybe I could prompt some fellow Oncers to look beyond the pairings they love and consider other ones. So anyway, when Robin made the comment about Regina and Leopold I decided to take it as a challenge. I know it's not a popular pairing, and fan fics have made Leopold into a creep, but maybe this story will give you a different perspective.

At the moment this is a stand alone fic, but if anybody wanted me to add more to it then just let me know and I'll see how I go. Thanks for reading all my waffle and Robin - you fabulous Evil Twitter Bunny you - I hope this lives up to your expectations!

This wasn't what she wanted. When Regina had dreamed of married life she had envisioned a future with Daniel. She didn't expect an opulent lifestyle, but she had known she'd be happy. He would work in a stable and she would raise their children. They would be poor but they would be together.

Of course Cora had destroyed all of that. Just like Cora destroyed everything. Oh Regina wanted to blame her stupid little step daughter but she knew, deep down, that it was Cora's manipulation that had caused the problems, and she couldn't deny that Cora was the one that had murdered Daniel.

So now Regina found herself married to a man old enough to be her father, and lumped with a daughter that had been at least partly responsible for the death of her love. Yes it might have been Cora's fault but it was so much easier to hate Snow White. The stupid little girl should have known better, should have known to keep her mouth shut!

There wasn't much she could do about it now though. She had to suffer through a marriage that was all her mother wanted, without it being anything like what Regina had dreamed. Why hadn't Cora married the damned king herself? Surely Regina and her father would have been better off without her in their lives.

This was not what he wanted. Leopold had always loved his wife. Yes he had been tempted in the past, but as soon as he met Eva he knew she was the one for him. When they had been blessed with their beautiful daughter he thought he could never be happier. When Eva had died Leopold had felt his heart die with her, and it was only for the love of Snow that he managed to go on.

As time went by he realised that he couldn't be all his daughter needed, and he considered looking for somebody to come and care for Snow. He had thought perhaps a governess would be a good choice, a woman that Snow could grow close to, become friends with, admire. He had never considered marrying again. To do so seemed such a betrayal to Eva.

But then Regina had swept into his life, and he found himself being convinced that it was the right thing to do. Cora managed to convince him that it was just what her daughter wanted, that she was already in love with Snow and would love nothing more than to be her mother. So Leopold let himself be convinced, and truthfully it wasn't really too much of a strain. Regina was certainly beautiful. He knew he would never love Regina, not the way he had loved his Eva, but he could care for her, and if she truly loved him, the way Cora implied, well he could be a good man and a good husband to her. It wasn't what he had planned, but perhaps it was what was best. Both for his daughter and for his kingdom.

"You don't really want to be married to me do you Regina."

It wasn't a question, not really. It was a clear statement and Regina flinched before she managed to school her face to calm, focusing instead on the apple tree before her.

"Of course I do your majesty," she gave him a smile without meeting his gaze. "Any woman would be honoured to be your bride."

Leopold just gave a sad shake of the head.

"Regina, we have been married three months now, please don't feel you have to continue to lie to me." When Leopold saw Regina's glare he realised he'd put that the wrong way, and he rushed to reassure her. "I'm sorry, forgive me. I just meant, well, it is clear that this was your mother's wish, rather than your own." He was smiling, but it wasn't a happy smile. Regina couldn't help but glance around at the mention of her mother, and Leopold frowned before realisation dawned. "Oh my heavens. You're afraid of her aren't you."

"No!" Regina pulled back, focusing on the tree. "Why would I be afraid of my mother? She only wants what's best for me."

Leopold moved to stand beside her, tilting his head to better look at her.

"I want what is best for my daughter." He replied. "But what I want more than anything is for her to be happy. Is that the case with your mother?" Leopold couldn't help but gasp when he saw the look of abject fear on his wife's face.

"Please your majesty, you don't know what you're talking about. My mother…" but the moment of honesty seemed to fade, and she straightened her back, resuming the pruning of the apple tree. "My mother wants what is best for me."

Leopold stood there for a while longer, trying to puzzle out the young woman before him. Then he gave another sad sigh and nodded his head.

"I'm sure you know better than I do," he conceded. Then he stepped away. "Don't be outside too long Regina, the days are getting so cold." He waited for her to murmur a reply before he swept out of the courtyard.

"A trip to the Emerald Lakes sounds lovely, it's beautiful this time of year."

Regina tried so hard not to cringe when she heard her mother's voice, but it was very difficult. Still, she managed to force a pleasant smile to her face as she entered the sitting room and joined her mother and husband.

"Ahh, Regina, so good of you to join us. Finally."

Regina was NOT going to apologise for being late, when she hadn't realised she had been required.

"Hello Mother, your majesty." She nodded to her husband, and waited until he smiled gently at her before she sat down. She was the queen here, but she knew better than to forget her place, especially when her mother was around. "Are you planning a trip mother?"

"We're going to the Emerald Lakes," Cora didn't gush, not really, but this was as close as she came. Leopold quietly cleared his throat.

"Actually Cora I fear I may have been misleading. I was actually speaking of taking Regina away. I realised that I had been careless, quite the lax husband, and never gave my beautiful bride a honeymoon. It has all been arranged, Snow will spend some time with some cousins of mine, and I will take Regina to our house at the Lakes. Please feel free to extend your visit in the castle while we are gone."

Regina blinked at her husband in surprise, and struggled not to laugh at the innocent way in which he spoke, even as Cora tried not to explode.

"Oh your majesty, you are too generous, but I'm sure my daughter would feel far more comfortable with her mother present. It would be best if I accompanied you."

"On my honeymoon?" Regina spluttered. She caught the expression on Leopold's face and there was something there that made her feel brave. "Really mother, I do think that it would be terribly inappropriate for my mother to come with me on my own honeymoon. What would people think? They might believe that I didn't trust my own husband, or even worse that it was my mother that wanted to be married to him." She gazed at her mother, looking truly scandalized, and when she saw Leopold's approving grin she had to swallow hard to not giggle.

Cora looked like she was sucking on a lemon - even more so than usual.

"Well as long as you feel comfortable my dear." she managed to say. "After all, I would hate you to find yourself in a position where you didn't know what you were doing. It would be terrible if you made a mistake."

Oh it was so hard not to laugh.

"I'm sure, mother, that his majesty my husband would be more than willing to offer me advice, should we find ourselves in a position that I did not understand, and perhaps this is one instance where my husband would be better suited to helping me than my mother."

This was the first time Regina had come close to even discussing sex with her mother, and it was all too easy to pretend that they were discussing matters of state. But really, they were meant to be going on their honeymoon. What sort of advice was her mother going to give her?

Cora clearly decided, perhaps for the first time ever, that she would be better off saying nothing at all, and so she rose to her feet as graciously as she could.

"I bow to your superior knowledge my queen," Cora's tone was so bitter Regina half expected to see the words drip onto the floor and melt the tiles like acid. "Please excuse me your majesties." She gave a small curtsy, barely dipping her head before she swept from the room.

It wasn't until the footsteps faded from sound that Regina finally dared to look at her husband, and when she lifted her gaze to his she couldn't help but giggle. Soon, for the first time since they had met, Leopold and Regina were sharing laughter.

When they finally managed to settle down, Leopold kept smiling.

"You are a truly beautiful woman Regina, it's a pity you are not able to smile more often."

Regina's smile vanished then, and she looked down, feeling embarrassed.

"Your majesty is too kind," she murmured, and Leopold sighed.

"Please Regina, you are my wife. You do not need to call me 'your majesty' all the time. I would have hoped that perhaps we could at least be friends." Regina blinked in surprise and looked at the man before her, before she gave a shy smile.

"Friends." The word tasted foreign to her, but then she let her smile grow. "Yes, I would like that your… I mean Leopold." Leopold smiled again and nodded.

They sat in silence for a while, as a servant brought them cups of tea. Finally, however, Regina decided she had to know what her mother had been speaking of, and she brought up the concept of the trip.

"So, a honeymoon?" She wished she wasn't blushing, but she couldn't help it.

"Ahh, yes," Leopold looked a little sheepish. "Please don't fret my dear. It is just, I felt that might be the best excuse."

"Best excuse?" Regina's eyes widened as she looked at her husband, and he cringed again.

"My apologies. I do manage to say the wrong thing so often around you Regina," he gave an apologetic smile. "I merely felt that you deserved a break, a chance to be away from certain influences, and I thought that this might give you the best chance."

Regina stared at the older man before her, and she had to blink away tears when she realised what he was suggesting.

"You would do that? For me?"

"Of course my dear," Leopold reached out a hand to place over Regina's, and she was glad she had taken the seat beside him rather than across the table. "Regina, I know this marriage is perhaps not what you wanted for yourself, but I do want you to be happy. I realise it is not always easy for you here, you have been thrust into the position not only of queen but of mother, and while I can see you are doing performing both roles beautifully I can appreciate that you are perhaps not hearing that." He tried to refrain from scowling. He really did need to find a way to reduce his mother in law's influence on his wife. "I will be accompanying you, so I realise that it is not quite the complete break you might hope for, but I can assure you that there will be absolutely no expectations placed upon you, and you will be free to enjoy the time away however you see fit." The stresses he placed on certain words made it clear what he was saying, and Regina couldn't help her smile. She twisted her hand around so she could thread her fingers between Leopold's, and she gazed at him.

"Thank you my husband. And I assure you that your presence will not be the discomfort you perhaps fear it might be." How could it be, when she was being given this freedom? She looked at him then, and it felt almost like the first time, and her smile grew. He wasn't Daniel, and she knew she would never love him, but he was distinguished, and he was a good man. The love he had for his daughter showed that.

Regina caught herself wondering what it might have been like to have her mother love her as much as Leopold loved Snow. She knew that Henry loved her, but Henry would never stand up to Cora, and that just made Regina feel like she would never be quite enough.

"Well thank you Regina," Leopold was blushing slightly, and wondering at how odd his life had become. Sharing blushes and feeling guilty about actually being present on his own honeymoon. But Regina made him tongue tied, and even though he would never love her the way he loved Eva he was finding that he was becoming increasingly fond of his young bride.

This marriage was not what either of them had wanted, or imagined, or planned for, but perhaps together they could make it something they could survive.