#also I do think zelena pulled some small pranks on henry and regina when she lived with them

[doc-jyo]

just some mills sisters headcanons because I love and cherish them.

zelena and regina kind of have that " older sister acts younger than younger sister " relationship in the fandom for the most part (?), but I do love protective older sister zelena

though zelena can be protective of regina, gina did take a while to really let her sister do this

" zelena, stop treating me like a child " " sis, that isn't needed " " I can handle it myself "

that sort of thing

I believe over time, while zelena countlessly treated regina like the younger sister she is, regina warmed up to it. she grew to like having an older sister who protects her and makes sure nobody dares messing with her (but who would, right?)

zelena really started doing this because of their earlier years, back when they were kids

before cora took their memories, zelena had no family who she felt cared about her. when she learned she had a little sister she gained all these feelings, feelings of wanting her safe, wanting to protect her, etc

when she relearned all that in s5, it all just came rushing back to her (a slow process but the feelings did come back)

as the older sister, zelena was naturally protective of her after cora gave them their memories back

she liked the idea that regina could lean on her, that she could be reginas shield whenever she needed it

she finally had a real family and a purpose to someone

I imagine she secretly reveled in all the times regina had come to her for any kind of help, or just for a good sister distraction

zelena can be loud as we all know, but I don't think she'd ever bring up the fact that regina needed her in a " haha you're pathetic " kind of way

but with that, I do think they playfully mess with each other once in a while

whether that's small pranks or just sibling banter

to others, they look like they can't stand each other, but they do love their sister a lot and would do anything for her :]

[justanoutlawfic]

Ressurected: OQ Ficlet

For day 3 of OQ AngstFest! 

Prompts: 17, 19, 22 27 & 46

Also on AO3

Robin used to wonder how someone moved on from losing a spouse. He watched his mother handle it with grace, never once allowing the house to fall apart or fall behind on the bills. She took it all in stride, as if nothing had happened. Though, the nights tended to be harder. He’d listen to her cry herself to sleep at night when she thought he was in bed. It was then he learned that she only kept it together for him.

 He followed suit after losing his own wife.

 Regina Mills had been the love of his life, his soulmate. They met in college, while he was studying architecture and she, pre-law. They had whirlwind romance, only dating 6 months before he proposed. Robin knew that Regina was a planner, she had everything mapped out in front of her. He wanted to be apart of that plan. So, when he graduated and she was heading into law school, they got married.

 They had their first child, Henry, while she was studying and he quickly became the light of their lives. A year after she passed the bar, Roland came along and they couldn’t imagine life getting better. Robin was designing buildings and Regina was slowly working her way up to becoming partner. They went on trips when they could, spent a lot of time with the kids.

 Three months after their daughter, Margot, was born, however, he began to notice a change. Regina was getting more stressed out, though she blamed it on working a high profile case. The son of one of the most powerful judges in town, Neal Gold, had been murdered in cold blood. All signs pointed to Zelena West, who many believed to be responsible for the mass killings in town. The problem was, Zelena was about as powerful as Mr. Gold and she had a pretty good lawyer to back up her case.

 Regina tried not to get too emotionally invested in her cases, but it wasn’t always possible. Here, she had to watch a man that she respected and had worked closely with, break down. Neal had been the light of his life and without him, his world was quickly turning to ash. She couldn’t imagine losing any of her children, it would destroy her just as much. She vowed that she would get justice for Mr. Gold.

 However, Zelena’s legal team was proven to be good, too good. She managed to be found not guilty, after getting much of the evidence destroyed. Regina was devastated, Robin had never seen her so worked up after a case. He held her while she cried and promised her that someday, Zelena would be captured. Regina couldn’t seem to let it go, however. Even though she couldn’t be retried for Neal’s murder, Regina started looking into the other possible murders she was linked to. It absorbed her life and she just couldn’t let it go.

 Zelena would eventually be convicted, but Regina wouldn’t be alive to see it. She died in a car accident years before it occurred. It was the event that turned Robin’s life upside down and it was only then he realized just how his mother found a way to stay strong.

 Robin had gotten the call and broke down at work. His partner, Will, promised he’d wrap things up and told him to head home. Quickly dismissing the sitter, he found his three children playing together. They were 8, 5 and nearly 1, just small children who didn’t understand that mommy wasn’t coming home. So, he had sucked it up and stayed strong for them. Margot didn’t understand, but Henry and Roland did. They had so many questions and Robin had few answers. All he knew was that Regina’s car had veered off the road in a bad storm.

 It made Roland afraid to step in a car for months.

 Robin found himself keeping it together by day and crying at night. The funeral came and went in a blur, he could barely remember what her friends and family said about her. All he could focus on was his children and getting them through all of it.

 It had been 3 years since then and they had slowly been discovering their new normal. The kids went to school, he worked. Roland and Henry were in therapy, Margot still didn’t quite get what was going on. She had no memory of her mother, all she saw of her were the photographs that lined the walls.

 The day had passed and all the children were in bed, leaving Robin alone with his thoughts. Before she died, Regina would come home and they’d have a glass of wine, discuss their day. It was coming up on a weekend too, which would mean planning out what to do with the kids. Maybe they’d go to the cabin nearby or go to the park. The weekends were for family, maybe they’d have a date night if they could get a sitter.

 Now, weekends were spent shuttling the kids to their different activities. They’d occasionally go up to the cabin, but it just hadn’t been the same since Regina’s death. That Friday, however, he wondered if maybe it was just what they needed. Soccer season was over, so the boys didn’t have any games and Margot didn’t have any playdates. He had finally submitted a project he was working on, so his boss wouldn’t be breathing down his neck. Yes, a trip to the cabin would be perfect.

 Just as the dinner dishes were settled, he heard a knock at the door. Wiping his hands on a dish towel, Robin headed over, wondering who could be dropping by so late. He opened the door and his heart skipped a beat when he saw the person standing on the other side, suddenly, his knees were weak and he felt faint.

 The woman before him looked just like his wife. Her hair was shorter, but it was the same shade of raven black that he had fallen in love with. She had deep brown eyes and that scar above her lip (which she had gotten as a child). Instead of a suit she would normally wear, she was in a black sweatshirt and some jeans.

 He didn’t say anything, he just stared at her. This had to be a joke, a sick, cruel joke.

 Then she spoke.

 “Hello, Robin.”

 Robin’s hand gripped the door and he swallowed, though it wasn’t enough to stop the vomit. He pushed past her and leaned into the bushes, the contents of his stomach releasing itself. As he finished, he heaved and felt a familiar touch to his back. He jolted away, backing into the house again.

 “No,” he said, holding out his finger which caused the woman in front of him to raise her hands. “This isn’t real! This is a prank!”

“Robin, I know this is hard, but…”

“No!” Robin repeated, his body shaking. “You…you died. You were in a car accident and you never made it out. This isn’t you! I buried you! This isn’t real!”

 The tears burned in his eyes before falling down his face. The woman took a step forward and took his hand.

 “Robin,” she whispered. “It’s me. It’s Regina.”

“No…no, it can’t be.”

“I know this is hard for you to believe, but I never died. I made it out of the car accident, I’ve been alive this whole time. I’m your wife, the woman you fell in love with. Our first date was at the tavern near our school-Yale University-you had two beers and I just had a martini. We didn’t have sex until our fifth date. That was when you told me you loved me.”

 The tears fell harder and he could see that she was tearing up too.

 “Regina,” he whispered.

“It’s me, sweetheart.”

Robin pulled his hand away and took a step backwards. “Where the hell have you been?”

“Please, let’s just sit down and talk…”

“No, we’re not going inside.” He stepped out onto the porch and closed the door behind him. “If the kids wake up…I don’t want them to see you.”

Regina paled. “How are they?”

“They lost their mother, how do you think?”

“Robin…”

“I have every right to be angry!” He thundered. “You made us all believe that you died three years ago and now you just show up here?!? Where the hell did you go? Why did you leave? I…I trusted you.”

“I know,” she whispered. “It all has to do with Zelena West.”

“Zelena West? The serial killer?”

 Regina nodded, letting out a deep breath. It was a cool October night and he suddenly wished he was wearing a jacket over his t-shirt, but it was too late to go back inside. He continued to stare at her, a mixture of hurt, anger and confusion all building up inside of him. She zipped up her sweatshirt further before talking again.

 “She put a hit out on me,” Regina explained. “She knew that I wasn’t giving up trying to prove that she was a serial killer and she wanted to make sure that I shut up.”

“How did you know this?”

“Because her hitman turned out to be a friend of mine. He told me about all of this and made it clear that I was in danger. I knew that I had to get the heck out of Storybrooke.”

“You never told me any of this.”

“Because then you would be in danger too. If all of us died or went missing together, she’d suspect it. She…she knew how much I love my family. That I’d never willingly leave them.”

“And yet that’s just what you did.”

Regina frowned. “I had to protect you, all of you. As soon as I faked my death, she moved on and I was able to continue working the case to get her put away.”

“You could’ve told me. You know I would’ve helped you…”

“You would’ve talked me out of it, you would’ve convinced me to go to the police but they wouldn’t have been able to help. Then she would’ve killed us both.”

“So, instead you just leave us? You make the kids and I think that you died? Do you know what that did to me? To them? Roland wouldn’t set foot in a car for months, Henry cried himself to sleep every night! Margot doesn’t even know you, all she’s seen of you is your pictures! And I…”

 He bit down on his lip, hard, the tears burning his skin as they fell.

 “I’ve been walking around like a zombie the past three years.”

“I had to protect you,” Regina whispered. “I’m sorry.”

“And now? Why did you come back?”

“Because Zelena is locked away.”

“You just think you can come back here? Like nothing ever happened?”

“I know it’s not going to be easy. I’m well aware of what I did to you guys. I…I never wanted this. The last three years of my life have been a living hell! I’ve thought about you all the time, I had people looking out for you to make sure that Zelena couldn’t touch you.”

“Then you know what this did to us.”

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I know it’ll never be enough, but I really am. I did what I had to do to protect this family, though I wish I didn’t have to do it.”

 Robin continued to stare at her, not sure of what else to say. He had spent the past three years waiting to wake up from the awful nightmare and find her by his side. He had waited for the cops to tell him that it was a joke, that she was taken and held from them.

 Now, there she was and he knew all of it…and it wasn’t enough.

 “I don’t expect things to go back to normal. You don’t even have to tell the kids I’m alive yet…or ever. I understand if too much time has passed, I just…I had to let you know. You’re right, Robin, I should’ve at least told you all those years ago. Even if you had tried to talk me out of it, we could’ve come up with a plan. I am so sorry. I thought I was protecting you and in the end…I just hurt you worse.”

“You did,” he whispered.

“So…where do we go from here?”

Robin sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “Do you have somewhere to stay?”

“I’ve got a room at Granny’s.”

“Good…good. We’ll…we’ll talk about how to go from there, how to adjust the kids to this.”

“And us?”

 Robin wanted to say that he hated her, that he didn’t love her. That all of this changed everything. Yet, the longer he looked at her, the more he knew.

 “I don’t know how to not love you,” he whispered. “I just need some time right now.”

“I understand. I didn’t think I’d come back and everything would be the same again. Things are different now.”

“It doesn’t mean we can’t find our way back…I just don’t know if I can trust you.”

 Regina nodded and took a step forward, gently kissing his cheek. A part of him wanted to pull away, but he didn’t.

 His wife had come back to him.

[justanoutlawfic]

Resurrected: Part 2

AnnyR said: Is there gonna be a second part to this story? I would love to see the kids reactions. :)

@queen-of-the-merry-men​ said:  Um... there’s a follow up to this right? PLEASE TELL ME THERE’S A FOLLOW UP

So...here it is.

Also on AO3

Regina didn’t sleep that night after she left the home she once shared with her husband and children. The truth was, she had barely gotten any sleep over the past 3 years. How could she knowing what she had done to her family? Wondering if she’d ever be able to return to them, if she’d ever get to see how they were doing. She had a P.I on them, who would deliver pictures, but those were all from a glance. She didn’t get to hear their voices or get filled on their days from their perspectives.

 As she settled into her room at Granny’s, she pulled out the most recent pictures that Sidney had sent her. They had all gotten so big. Henry was 11 now, in junior high. She could still remember when he was a baby, with that sweet smell coming from his head. Roland was 8 and played soccer. He had once been the toddler that stumbled when he took his first steps.

 And Margot. Sweet Margot. All of the kids had inherited her dark hair, but she had gotten Robin’s eyes. She teased him that one day they’d turn hazel like Henry’s or brown like Roland’s. Yet, it seemed that they had stayed the same. She had his nose too and his chin.

 Unlike her boys, she knew very little about her daughter. At least she had raised them for 5 to 8 years respectively. Margot had only been 10 months old when she had to go away. Just a tiny baby that was babbling, clearly trying to make out words. She had to leave before she could say “Mama” and she always wondered how sweet that name would sound coming from her little girl’s mouth.

 She knew deep down that Robin owed her nothing. She had disappeared and while her reasons were good, she had missed 3 years of their children’s lives, of his life. She was lucky that he hadn’t moved on int that time, so they still had a chance. It was so far off, but she prayed it could happen. Still, he could very easily have told her to get lost and never speak to him again.

 Instead, he had asked her to meet him for coffee the next day, once he dropped the kids off at school. She knew she had to be careful about hiding her identity. The last thing she wanted was for them to see her or for someone else to and let it slip.

 Reaching for her suitcase, she pulled out the disguise that had served her well for the past 3 years. Zelena had never been the wiser, completely convinced that she was dead. She had no reason to leave Storybrooke, systematically killing off men was all she needed. Taking out the wig, Regina began to brush it, hoping for the day that she could finally take the mask off.

 Robin entered the diner the following morning, exhausted. He hadn’t been able to sleep a wink. A part of him had wanted Regina to sit down with him and talk about where she had gone, how they would move forward but he knew that they risked one of the kids waking up. Luckily for him, he had been able to force a smile and fake his way through breakfast with them before shuttling Henry off to the library to study and the younger kids to Mary Margaret Nolan’s for a playdate with her children.

 He had received a text from an unknown number, that he later realized was Regina’s. She explained that she wouldn’t be looking how she did the night before, that she had to keep up the façade in order to make sure that no one knew that she was back before the kids did. Robin felt that was a bit extreme at first, but looking around the diner and seeing all the familiar faces…she had a point. Storybrooke was a small town with well meaning but very nosy people. A great place for raising kids…not the best place to keep a secret.

 Robin scanned the booths and located a woman that he would recognize almost anywhere. Her disguise was good, definitely no Hannah Montana job. Her wig was realistic, straight auburn locks that cut closely to her chin. She was wearing thick coke bottle glasses and a black tank top that showed off a tattoo he wasn’t sure was real or fake.

 Making his way over, he slid into the booth.  He could see through her glasses that she was also wearing colored contacts, changing her eyes from brown to green. “So…what’s your alias?”

“Roni, Roni Ramirez.”

He flinched, not used to Mills not being part of the equation. When they got married, they had both changed their last names to Locksley-Mills, their kids had it too. “You look…different.”

“I look weird, you can say it.”

“You risked driving around town last night without it?”

“Everyone was in bed, nothing goes on after 9 in this town.”

A small smile tugged on Robin’s lips, that much was the truth. “Where have you…”

 He trailed off when Ruby Lucas approached the table, filling their coffee cups. He gave Robin a strange glance, but then grinned. She had been bugging him for over a year to move on and start dating. He could tell she assumed this was a date. She took their orders before slipping back towards the kitchen.

 “Where have you been?” Robin asked, his voice lowering

Regina dropped the milk into her coffee, swirling it around a bit. “I was sent to Seattle, Washington.”

“You’ve been that far away this whole time?”

“I had to make sure that there was no chance she’d run into me. This disguise is good, but…”

“Not entirely fool proof.”

Regina sighed, running her fingers through her wig. “I got a job at a bar, kept to myself. I barely spent any money, I know you had to take care of the kids on your own there for a bit…”

“I don’t want your money Re…Roni.”

“What do you want?”

 He was silent for a few moments, not sure of what that was. In the back of his mind, he wanted to take his wife into his arms and never let her go. To resume their lives as if nothing happened.

 Robin couldn’t do that, though. He had spent the last 3 years thinking that she was dead. He had to console his children, console himself. He was still adjusting to the fact that all of it was real, that the woman sitting before him was the one he had fell in love with. Not only that, but she had betrayed him.

 “I don’t know how to explain this to the kids,” he mused. “I mean, Margot is still so little, she’ll probably move on pretty quickly. Roland and Henry, though…”

“I want to go off their lead. It’s going to kill me if I see them and they want nothing to do with me, but I’ll understand. Same with you.”

“I need time, Regina. I know you want to work on our marriage and I do still love you, but 24 hours ago…things were different. I was a widower, a single father. We had fallen into a routine. I was planning to take the kids to the cabin. Now…you’re alive and you’re telling me you faked your death to protect you, protect us. It’s all just too much. I need to focus on them, before I can think about our future.”

Regina nodded. “I get it, I do.”

“I think I’m going to tell Henry tonight and then Roland. I still don’t know how to best handle this with Margot, maybe I’ll talk to Archie.”

“Just let me know.”

Robin picked up his son that afternoon, driving him to the beach. It had always been his spot with Regina when he was younger. She’d take Henry for long walks in his stroller and take about a million pictures of him. There was a playground area that Henry used to pretend to be his castle, where he and Regina would bring wooden swords and “duel”.  They even fed seagulls a time or two, though 5-year-old Henry had been deathly afraid of them.

 After Regina “died”, the beach had been a place of solace for Henry. He had run off from the funeral and Robin knew he would find him there. Ever since, it was where he brought Henry when he was particularly missing Regina or just having a bad day.

 He didn’t want to ruin the memories Henry had with his mother, but he hoped that bringing him to the beach would help a little bit. At first, neither of them said anything. They walked through the sand, kicking it a bit as they went. Henry fished through his bag and found some snacks to toss in the seagulls’ direction. Pretty soon, they had reached the playground and sat in it. No one was around, it was a fall afternoon, not many that brave to go to the beach.

 “What’s going on?” Henry asked, his legs swinging. “I’m usually the one that asks to come here.”

“I needed to talk to you about something, kiddo, and figured it’d be best if we did it in one of your safe places.”

“What do we need to talk about?”

 Robin let out a deep breath, rubbing the back of his neck. He looked into Henry’s eyes and wanted to wrap him in his arms already. He tried to act so grownup at times, but really he was still just a kid, a little boy. How was he supposed to do this? Regina had offered to come, but he knew that would only make matters more confusing.

 “Henry…your mother’s alive.”

Henry tilted his head. “That’s not funny.”

“Because it’s not a joke. She…she had to fake her death, to protect us. I didn’t know about any of this until last night.”

“How do you know it’s really her? She could have a twin or it could be a prank…”

“Henry…it’s her.”

 A silence fell over the two of them, Robin clearly didn’t have to say anything else. The only sounds that could be heard were the waves crashing against the shore and the seagulls screeching every so often. Henry gripped his jacket closer to himself and Robin moved closer, to offer some warmth.

 “Why would she do this?” He whispered.

“Do you remember Mr. Gold? He used to be a judge, a friend of your mother’s.” Henry nodded, Mr. Gold had came by their house often with his wife. “Well, when his son died, your mother really wanted to help make sure the person who killed him was put away. However, she wasn’t and she didn’t like that your mom kept poking around. She wanted to hurt her, so your mom had to leave so it didn’t happen.”

“So, she left…so we wouldn’t really have to experience her dying.”

Robin flinched. “Yes.”

“Where is she now?”

“She’s staying at Granny’s. She’s back for good, now that the murderer is locked away and can’t hurt, can’t hurt us anymore.”

 Henry nodded and swallowed, staring out at the waves. Robin wished he could read his mind, ask him what he was thinking. He found himself paralyzed, not wanting to push him one way or the other. He had a right to want to see her, he also had a right to be angry.

 “She’s not going to leave again?” Henry asked.

Robin shook his head. “No, son.”

“And she really only left to protect us?”

“Yes.”

“Is she going to move back in with us?”

“Not right now.”

“But…you’re married. You said you loved mom, you never wanted to lose her.”

“That’s true, but a lot has changed, Henry. She may have left for good reasons, but I’ve spent the last 3 years thinking she was dead. It’s not easy to just jump back into our marriage and pretend like nothing ever happened.”

“You could do it if you tried,” Henry mumbled.

“Hey,” Robin tilted his chin up. “I am trying. I am willing to hear your mom out and work things out with her. Right now, my main priority is helping you kids adjust. Right now you may be okay with it and that’s great. Anger might come later and that’s okay, too. Your mother and I are worrying about you kids first, the way it should be.”

 Henry was silent once more, but only ever so briefly this time.

 “Can I see her?”

“You want to?”

Henry nodded. “I have to make sure this is real.”

 Robin texted Regina to prepare her before heading over to the inn. He knocked on the door and when it opened, Regina was out of her disguise again. She looked down at her son and tears sprung to her eyes. Henry starred up at her, his lip quivering.

 “Henry,” she whispered.

“Mom.”

 His voice broke and he threw his arms around her. Regina hugged him tighter, kissing the top of his head and inhaling it as she did.

 “I’ve missed you so much,” he choked out, as the tears fell down his face.

“I’ve missed you more, my sweet prince,” she said, softly. “More than you’ll ever know.”