Prompt: Robin & Regina cuddle and wake up in each other's arms
Prompt: Robin gets Regina children's books in Braille so she can still read with Henry when he stays over and robin stays over one night too. And Regina isn't mad about it and neither is Henry

(...)

When Regina met Daniel, she was barely a teen. Trapped by the unbearable pressure of her mother, she was suffocating. She longed for love and affection and when she met that wonderful boy in the stables, she's fallen for him in a blink of an eye.

When she thinks about it now, she realizes that it's been foolish of her to fall this hard this quickly. Back then, nothing mattered as long as she was with Daniel, the young man who loved her and saw more than flaws in her.

Regina was very naïve back then. Daniel could've used her, broken her heart and left her.

But he didn't.

He was Regina's happiness for so long. They've learned so many things about life going side by side. Regina was sure she would spend the rest of her time content by his side with the life and family they've manage to create despite everything the world (and their families) had thrown at them.

The thought of being in another man's arms has never crossed Regina's mind, not even after Daniel's death. The emptiness that was left within her felt immense. All she could feel was sorrow and great pain of everything and everyone she's lost. To be fair, most of the time Regina didn't think it was possible for her to recover.

But life surprises us, sometimes.

And here she is today, sitting on the couch in her small living room, in the arms of a man who is not her husband. Her head is pillowed on his chest as he rubs her back soothingly.

It's Daniel's birthday, and the heartbreak is still there, and it might never stop hurting this much. She might forever feel like there's a tiny part of her heart that's missing, but she's realized it now that it doesn't mean she can't try to find happiness again.

Robin is extremely understanding of her pain. He doesn't feel betrayed that Regina is still mourning her late husband while being in a relationship with him. He supports her no matter what.

Sometimes Regina wonders if Robin's been this kind and compassionate all his life or if the accident and the loss made him this way. She'll never find out, but it doesn't really matter who he was before. She knows him now, and watches him grow as a person every day, she gets to be by his side when he slowly rebuilds his life, and that's all that matters.

Blinking a few times, Regina snaps out of her train of thoughts.

She feels Robin's soothing touch as his palm moves up and down her back. There's bile in her throat, and even though she's not actually crying, an unbearable pain is tearing her heart apart.

Regina knew this day was going to be a tough one; it always is. When Robin has come this morning, unlocking the door with a spare key she's given him, Regina was still in bed, her blind eyes opened and starring into the eternal darkness, tears rolling down her face. He made her a cup of coffee and waited until she finally collected herself, got out of the bed, showered and joined him in the kitchen.

They practiced for a bit for Regina insisted that she's fine, but her thoughts kept drifting away, and it wasn't long before Robin suggested that they take a break today from everything. So they cuddled on the couch, and as Robin hummed quietly a sad melody, Regina let her heartbreak tear her apart.

She wondered if having Robin by her side today would make it worse, but now when she's in his arms, she realizes that the pain is still the same, and the assuring words that he keeps whispering into her hair don't break her heart even more. She's accepted the fact that she's trying to move on in her life even if her husband isn't with her.

Daniel will always be a part of her, but she can quit her life just because he's no longer by her side.

(…)

Regina is almost asleep when all of a sudden the ringing of the doorbell echoes in the quiet apartment, startling her.

"Regina?" Robin groans when she abruptly sits up. He must have fallen asleep as well, if his slurred voice is any indication. "What happened? Did you have a nightmare?" he asks and then he's shifting as well, one of his hands cupping her cheek gently and turning her face towards his to study her expression, the other fumbling for his phone.

"Someone is outside," she says, moving to get up from the couch clumsily, still a little bit disoriented.

"You stay here, I'll open the door," Robin assures her with a quick kiss to her hair and then he's getting up from the couch and making his way towards the door.

Surprised by the unexpected guest, Regina straightens on the couch and just breathes for a few moments, pushing the sleepiness away.

Robin opens the door and greets someone and she's listening closely to figure out who's at the door. She's not sure but she thinks she hears Henry's voice and before she can help herself, she manages to let out a surprised , "Henry?"

"Mom!" Henry exclaims happily from the hallway, making Regina's heart stop in her chest.

With a huge smile spreading across her face, Regina immediately gets up from the couch and makes her way into the hallway quickly. She wobbles a few times, and when she hits the end of the coffee table with her knee there's a curse word at the tip of her tongue but then all of a sudden familiar arms are wrapped around her waist and the smell of her favorite kids shampoo is attacking her senses and nothing seems to matter anymore.

Her arms wrap around Henry tightly, and she has to press her lips tightly to stop the sob that's threatening to break free.

She's missed him so much.

"Sweetheart," she whispers when they break apart. "I'm so glad that you're here."

With her hands cupping Henry's face, she feels him smile. "I came here to celebrate Dad's birthday. I brought his favorite cake."

"Oh," Regina lets out a breath, feeling that bile returning to her throat, preventing her from speaking or even breathing properly. However, she forces herself to stay calm and smiles despite the wetness in her eyes, "That's wonderful. Let's go straight to the kitchen to make some tea then."

"Maybe I should go," Robin clears his throat, and it has Regina turning from Henry towards him.

"I-" she opens her mouth, not sure what to say. She wants Robin to stay, but how would Henry feel about this? They haven't really discussed the situation with Henry yet.

"No, stay, Robin," Henry says, surprising Regina and making her turn towards her boy.

"Are you sure?" she asks, stroking his cheek with her palm. "It's okay if you want to celebrate alone," she adds in assurance.

"I'm sure." He assures her with a smile and then Henry is making his way towards the kitchen.

Surprised, Regina quickly wipes a single fallen tear from her cheek and turns towards Robin. He takes a few steps towards her and closes the distance between them, his arms wrapping around her waist loosely.

Placing her hand on his cheek, she runs her palm over his stubble. Overflown by emotions, she quickly pecks his lips and then makes her way to the kitchen with Robin following right behind her.

(…)

It turns out that Henry is allowed to stay with Regina for the night, and before Regina can help herself, she's tearing up again, from happiness this time.

They spend the rest of the day together, sharing stories about Daniel first, and if Regina spends half of the time crying, her boys are right there to support her. Later they move from the kitchen to the living room, cuddle on the couch and continue to talk some more, Henry telling Regina all about his school and friends and all the fun stuff he did during the summer.

Time flies by when Henry is around, and Regina doesn't even realize how the day goes by. It's after eleven, and Henry is yawning every few minutes, and if she's being completely honest, she's exhausted from the emotional day she's just had.

They decide to call it a night and Henry wishes Robin good night before going to his bedroom, Regina following right after him.

"I have a surprise for you," Regina says when they enter the room.

"What is it?" Henry asks, sitting down on his bed.

Taking a book from the nightstand, Regina smiles, "Robin bought me books in braille, so I can read bedtime stories for you again."

The day when Robin has given her the book, Regina didn't feel like reading it to Henry. She didn't even want to think about it back then because her heart was still broken over asking Robin to leave her alone when he did such a nice gesture for her, when he obviously cared for her so much.

But it's all in the past now.

For a moment Henry is silent and Regina wonders if he perhaps thinks that he's too old for bedtime stories now, but doesn't know how to tell her that or if there's something else wrong. However, before she can ask him if everything's alright, he throws himself into her arms, his shoulders shaking when he whispers, "I missed this so much, mom."

Regina has to inhale and exhale deeply a few times to push the emotions away, her hands wrapping around Henry and holding him tightly.

"I missed this too, sweetheart."

Henry quickly disappears in the bathroom to brush his teeth and change into his pajamas and then he returns a few minutes later, gets under the covers immediately and lets Regina tuck him in as best as she can before she sits down on the edge of the bed and starts reading.

(…)

It's been a while since Regina's gone with Henry to his room, and Robin paces back and forth in the living room, wondering what he should do. It's late, and he should probably leave, but he does not want to go without saying goodbye to Regina, without kissing her lips one more time and making sure that she'll be alright after this emotional day.

He could just go into Henry's room and say that, but he doesn't want to intrude. It's the first time they're having a bedtime story again, and Robin doesn't want to interrupt such a precious moment for the mother and son.

So he waits patiently until the clock strikes midnight and then he finally sighs and decides that he might have to interrupt the moment, after all. Sighing, he gets up from the couch and makes his way towards the bedroom.

When he peeks into the room, he finds Henry sleeping while Regina is sitting quietly on the edge of the bed with a closed book in her lap.

"Regina?" Robin whispers, not wanting to wake Henry up. "I'm going to go."

She turns towards him and blinks her eyes a few times as if snapping out of the daze. Slowly, she gets up from the bed and leans over to kiss Henry's forehead - she misses it a bit and instead kisses his hair. Then she turns towards Robin and he takes her hand, quietly leading her out of the room and closing the door behind them.

"Stay," Regina says once they're out of the room.

"Regina," Robin trails off. "I would love to, but don't you think it will seem weird for Henry? He doesn't know me very well and –"

"He knows you well enough and he likes you. What's the point for you to go home so late in the night only to return tomorrow morning?"

For a moment Robin hesitates. Regina is right, there's no point to go home and return first thing in the morning, but at the same time he doesn't want to overstep. Henry seems to like him, and Robin really doesn't want to ruin that. He is about to say that he doesn't mind going home and returning when he notices the way Regina's looking at him, her cheeks still a little bit pink, eyes puffy from all the crying she's done today.

He doesn't want to leave her like that.

"Are you sure you want me to stay?" Robin asks, putting his phone away for a moment and cupping her face between his palms so he can judge her reactions.

"I am," she assures him and then presses her lips against his in a sweet kiss.

"Alright then."

Robin turns off the lights in the living room and lets Regina lead him into her room in complete darkness. She changes into her nightgown while Robin stays only in his boxers and when they both lay down on the bed, Regina finds her way into his arms automatically.

"Thank you for today," she says before kissing Robin's lips. "Goodnight, Robin."

"Goodnight, Regina," he whispers and kisses her one last time before putting his phone on the nightstand next to the bed.

It doesn't take long until the sweet scent of her lulls him to sleep.

(…)

When Regina wakes up in the morning, she's way too warm. She is about to move away from the source of heat when she realizes that it's Robin, and instead of moving away, she smiles and presses herself closer to him.

Slowly, she rolls onto her side and lifts her hand until she cups his cheek. She starts tracing his face with her fingertips, imagining his features for the hundredth time. She knows his eyes are like the ocean and he has wrinkles around his eyes and dimples in his cheeks when he smiles, and he has light hair, but she still wishes she could see him, could see those eyes gazing at hers, those dimples popping in his cheeks, making her stomach flutter.

It's not going to happen, though.

But Regina supposes it doesn't matter that much. She might never know what he actually looks like, but it means nothing as long as they share this deep connection that they have. It's like their souls have found each other and helped them find a meaning in life again, and it's so much more important than appearances.

When they met, they've both been broken, but now, piece by piece they are building themselves back up again. She's noticed the change in Robin, and every time he laughs, her heart bursts with happiness. He meets his friends more often, is more at ease, and even though he still refuses to go to the orchestra, he plays every single day at home.

And that's enough.

For now, it's more than enough.

Her life is so much better now, too. Henry might not live with her, but she sees him more often, and talks to him on the phone on a daily basis, and until she really gets herself together, that has to be enough.

"What are you thinking about?" Robin's hoarse voice snaps her out of her daze, and she turns towards him surprised that he's awake. She smiles when he nuzzles his nose in her hair and leaves a kiss on her neck before capturing her lips with his. "Good morning."

"Good morning," she returns when they break apart. "How did you sleep?"

"It was the best sleep I've had in a very long time," Robin replies, making Regina chuckle and shake her head at him. Robin laughs as well, and she feels his lips curling up into a smile, dimples appearing in his cheeks. "What's on your mind?"

Regina sighs.

"I just never thought I would have this," she admits, her eyes watering instantly. "Just last Christmas I was certain that my life ended the day my husband died and I lost my child and sight and look at me now, Robin. I have you by my side and Henry and…" she trails off, a tear rolling down her cheek.

"Oh, Regina," Robin whispers into her hair, kissing her head a few times as his arms tighten around her. "I feel the same. You're the reason I am where I am today. You make me want to be a better person and to fight through everything that life throws at me. I'm forever thankful that John and Will made me go to the rehearsal that day when I met you."

"I'm thankful for that, too," Regina chuckles a bit despite the a few tears falling down her cheeks, and then she feels wetness against her fingertips on his cheeks. Overwhelmed by emotions, she leans over until their lips meet in a kiss.

"Now that we've got over our daily crying session, I'm going to make us coffee," Robin teases after a moment, shifting a bit as if to leave the warmth of the bed.

As he starts to pull away from Regina, she tightens her hold on him and shakes her head. "Stay here with me for a little bit longer."

Robin chuckles, but settles in the bed again.

As Regina lays in his arms, her fingertips drawing random patters against his chest, she realizes that her life might be forever sightless, and his soundless, but Regina will be the sound that Robin dies to hear and he will be her light at the end of the tunnel.

And in the end, they'll find happiness again.

THE END

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

First of all, I want to say a huge thank you to the anonymous person who sent me a wonderful prompt on tumblr a few years ago which started this story! And also a huge thank you to everyone who sent additional prompts that let this story continue!

Second, I want to thank every single one of you who took their time to read, follow, leave kudos and reviews for this story! THANK YOU for keeping up with my crazy update schedule! I'm so grateful that you didn't give up on this story even when it took me months to update it!

This story is special to me and I'll forever treasure it in my heart! I think it's my most successful story since most of you know me because of it! So thank you, guys, for letting me share this wonderful universe with you!

THANK YOU!

I hope you enjoyed this journey as much as I did!

Stay safe!

Lots of love,

ourheroregina