I promise I haven't abandoned my AU season 6 with Robin, but this is just...I mean...WE GOT A RING!

Engagement

When Robin had set out the night before he never thought it would be anything other than a fairly routine trip, a chance to further get to know this band of aptly named Merry Men that another version of him had forged a family with. They'd been hesitant of him at first, some still are, but Tuck has been welcoming. He's listened patiently and intently to their unbelievable story, then shook Robin's hand and pulled Regina into a warm hug. Since then, the man has become the only true friend Robin could ever claim to have. Asking Tuck to accompany him to acquire an item that would change Regina and his lives had seemed natural; as did the endless ribbing he received the entire trip back to the castle. It was all in good fun, Robin could tell the older man was happy for him, happy for them, and the jovial back and forth had continued until the ground shook and the skies turned black.

"What the bloody hell is that?" Tuck asked, pointing to the east and the billowing darkness that was fast approaching. Robin didn't bother to respond. Both men quickened their pace as the black magic seemed to nip at their heels. It was a race back to the castle that Robin had no intention of losing.

She's standing on the balcony when he enters the courtyard, breathless from the sprint. He can't see her features, couldn't possibly make out the hardened determination there, but he knows. Somehow he just knows what she is about to do. He screams her name as he sees the red of her cloak flutter out with the raising of her arms, but her name is swallowed up by the wind and the CRACK of magic that explodes out of her palms. He stands frozen below, awestruck at the sight of her wielding such power. In his mind he always knew her capable, but to see her standing alone against the force of this dark magic, to see her holding it back by sheer strength of will…Robin has no words to quantify the mixture of adoration and terror that courses through him.

Regina is at the eye of the storm. Her magic flows freely, stronger than she's ever felt it before and she knows it's because she doesn't draw on the rage that always simmers just below the surface, but of the image of a boy, realms away, who called her mom and who she will not leave to face this darkness alone. They just need time. Her family can escape if she just holds on. She swears she hears Robin call her name when the force against her is almost too much. His voice carried to her by the winds and it gives her that little bit of strength she needs to hold on.

He watches her until the destruction forces him inside and then he's running again, desperate to reach her while he still can. The darkness pushes; Regina pushes back. She holds out until she knows she can do no more, until she knows she's given her other half every second she possibly can. Even through the menacing cyclone, she feels him behind her. She drops her hands to take his, exhausted, as he pulls her to his chest, shielding her as best he can against the inevitable. She feels his heart beating steadily under her hand before she feels nothing at all.

Robin's watching her now as he does each night from the shadowed corner of her balcony. He adores this nightly ritual that she thinks she keeps to herself. Loves to watch her undo all the trappings of her alter ego and slip into the skin she's growing more and more comfortable with each passing day. He'd spent brief, chaotic moments with the other Regina, but often wonders if she ever stared her demons down the way his Regina does. Maybe he's biased, but he doubts that she is as much of a force as the woman he watches in the mirror.

He thumbs the ring still in his pocket, flips it over and over between his fingers as his gaze roams her bare back, her curves, but always back to her eyes. He'd thought about being conventional; dropping to one knee, reciting some love sick poetry, presenting the jewel as he bowed before her as if waiting for a blessing to be bestowed. But their journey had never been conventional; their love never followed any script. In fact it seemed to defy them all. She was a woman, split from herself; he, a man that shouldn't exist. And yet they had found each other. Loved each other in a way that was uniquely their own.

His life became an adventure the moment she walked into that tavern. It was a slow burn to love (the slowest he thinks) but worth every scorch along the way to be able to say that he has found himself in the dark heart of his not-quite-evil queen.

She runs her brush through hair again, the perfect curl refusing to give up its shape. There's a far off look in her eyes tonight, a smile pulling at her painted lips. He wonders if she thinks of her son, of the life she gave up for a second chance at a happiness of her own. Or of the family that her almost sacrifice helped to save. Or of him. Or of the simple fact that they are alive after everything and allowed to go on to whatever adventures they create. His heart beats faster thinking back on what they could have lost, of how precious each second of life is, and how he doesn't want to squander another moment of it. His mind is made up in an instant and he's scrawling a message on the parchment in his pocket, pulling thread loose from the cuff of his shirt, and fastening the diamond his lucky arrow. (No need tempting fate when his future is so near.)

She doesn't even flinch at the hiss of the arrow past her ear, or the whack of it embedding in her vanity mirror. It's hardly the first arrow that has nearly taken off her head. She knows it's his, glances at it with a coy smile before she sees ring hanging from the shaft, still swaying with the momentum of impact. It's only seconds before she moves, but it feels like an eternity before she reaches for the ring, holds it securely in her palm as she tosses the string aside and reads his proposal. Ready for a new adventure? Her smile is instant, bright, elusive, yet always satisfying. It's the only answer he needs.

She turns towards the balcony and finds him leaning against the wall, bow slung casually over his shoulder, smile matching her own. She moves towards him slowly, reaching for his hands when she's close enough, letting him pull her forward to close the distance. "Ok, thief," Regina says as he takes the ring from her palm and slips it onto her finger. "Where do we begin?"

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