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Regina was not used to sharing her bed. Even when married to the king, she slept alone as they had their own bedchambers. He would to hers or she would be summoned to his the nights he required her to perform her “wifely duties” and then they retreated back to their separate quarters after he finished. Once he was dead and Regina started to take lovers, none were allowed to stay once they were finished. She dismissed each one, trying to protect herself from what she had been told was a weakness people would use against her.
After several years in Storybrooke, Regina had wanted more than just sex but found she didn’t know how to ask for it. There had been times she almost managed to ask Graham to stay the night, to hold her as they slept, but he was used to gathering his clothes and leaving. He was always gone before she could gather her resolve to ask him to stay.
There were times she shared a bed with Henry when he was little. She would carry him to her bed when he was sick so she could keep an eye on him and he often had sought cuddles after a nightmare. Regina would even curl up next to him in his own bed, anything to comfort her little prince. But he grew up and those days became a thing of the past. Once again, it was just her in her big bed, wishing for someone to share it with her.
Now, though, she had Robin. They had been taking their relationship slow, then his wife came back from the dead, then he went to New York, they learned his wife was really her sister using a glamor spell and she was pregnant, they went to Camelot, her sister gave birth and they went to the Underworld to save Hook. Hades was now gone, Zelena was being managed and Robin had moved in with Regina and Henry so they could all be a family along with Roland and baby Margot. Her big empty house was full of laughter and warmth and chaos, which made her happier than she ever thought possible.
Her bed wasn’t empty anymore either. One side held the imprint of Robin’s strong body and his pillows smelled like forest. She curled up against him at night, listening to his heart beat as she drifted off to sleep. Roland sometimes joined them if he had a nightmare, his little body tucked between theirs as his curls tickled her nose. And sometimes Robin would bring Margot back to bed after her early morning feeding, letting her doze on his chest. Regina loved to wake up to that sight, finally having the family she dreamed of for so long.
Regina and Robin had blended their families easily enough. His and Roland’s transition from living out in the woods to living in a house was a smooth one. It seemed both woodsmen preferred the comfort life in the Land Without Magic offered, like air conditioning and indoor plumbing. They were able to divide up the housework and Roland actually seemed to enjoy doing his chores. She and Robin also figured out a schedule with baby Margot, with her taking the midnight feedings while he took the early morning ones. They shared diaper duty but she took over bath time, enjoying the time spent washing the beautiful baby girl.
That wasn’t to say there weren’t some bumps along the way. While both were devoted parents, she tended to be more overprotective than Robin. He believed in letting Roland run around and explore, even if it meant he got a few cuts and bruises along the way while Regina had to resist the urge to wrap the little boy in bubble wrap to keep him safe. It had led to a few fights between them about Roland’s playtime and in the end, Regina agreed to give him some space but Robin did start setting a few boundaries to keep the boy a bit more safer.
Once they got past the bumps, though, it was usually smooth sailing. It was why Regina discovered something shocking almost a year after Robin and Roland had moved in.
She was a cover hog.
Roland was the one who revealed it to her. He called out to her one night and she slipped from bed to check on him. She found him sitting up in bed, clutching his stuffed monkey as he cried. Regina flipped on the light and saw that while he was pale, his cheeks were splotchy. She pressed her hand to his forehead as he sniffed: “I don’t feel good, Mom.”
“I think you have a fever,” she said, feeling how hot his skin was against hers. She frowned. “Does your tummy hurt?”
He nodded. “And my throat feels scratchy.”
“Okay, sweetheart,” she replied softly, almost cooing. “I’m going to get you some medicine and then why don’t you sleep with Papa and me?”
“Okay,” he said, holding his nose up as it started to run. She handed him a tissue and left to get the medicine bottle from the bathroom.
Roland downed the cherry flavored liquid with no fight and she held the bottle as he reached for his hand. “Come on, let’s head to bed.”
He nodded, taking his blanket off the bed. Regina frowned, confused. “What are you doing, sweetheart?”
“Taking my blanket so I have something covering me,” he said, trying to clutch it and his monkey at the same time.
She tilted her head. “But you’re going to share the covers with me and Papa.”
“You take all the covers for yourself,” he told her, no judgment in his tone. He was just stating a fact.
It still was a surprise. “I what?”
“When we sleep, you roll yourself and Papa says you make a ca…cac…Like a caterpillar makes when it turns into a butterfly,” he explained.
“Cocoon?” she supplied.
He nodded. “Yeah. You make your own cocoon with the blankets and we don’t have any. Papa doesn’t mind but I get cold.”
“Oh,” she said, feeling herself heat up as she wondered how long Robin had gone without telling her this. She tucked some hair behind her ear. “Well, let’s not take that blanket. I need to wash that one to get rid of the germs. Let’s get you a non-germy one.”
“Okay,” he said, taking her hand again as he hugged his monkey close to him. They walked from the room, stopping at the closet to get a spare blanket, before heading into the bedroom. Robin was sound asleep but she noticed for the first time that the blankets were all on her side of the bed—he was uncovered.
Roland climbed into bed, settling next to his father. She covered him with the blanket she had gotten from the closet before getting in next to him. Regina covered all three of them with her blankets before curling around Roland. “Good night, my little knight.”
“Good night, Mom,” he said, yawning as his eyes closed. He fell asleep and a few seconds later, Regina joined him.
Roland ended up having the flu. Regina and Robin tended to him throughout the day as he lounged on the couch, wrapped in a blanket and cuddling his monkey. She let him watch all the movies he wanted, even if it meant Robin had to grit his teeth through the Disney version of Robin Hood.
Despite their focus on the boy, there was something she knew she had to talk about with Robin. She got him into the kitchen, crossing her arms as she asked: “Robin, do I hog the covers at night?”
He furrowed his brow though he gave her a little smile. “What?”
“Last night, Roland told me that I hog the covers,” she explained. “And when I came back to bed with him, I realized you weren’t covered. So…do I hog the covers?”
Robin sighed. “You have the tendency to cocoon yourself, yes. Not all the time, though.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” she asked, horrified.
He reached out, rubbing her arms as his smile grew. “It wasn’t a big deal.”
“Not a big…? You were sleeping without a blanket!” she exclaimed, not able to understand why he wasn’t putting up more of a fight.
“I used to sleep in the woods,” he reminded her. “I can sleep anywhere, with or without a blanket. I’m fine, Regina.”
She shook her head. “It’s not fine. You deserve to have a blanket as well. I can’t be selfish.”
He pulled her into a hug, cupping the back of her head. “You’re not being selfish by being a cover hog. It’s okay.”
“You’re too good,” she told him, resting her head in the crook of his neck. “You can’t just keep appeasing me.”
Robin gently eased her until she was standing straight again, looking into his eyes. They shone with love and adoration. “I’m not just appeasing you, Regina. I honestly don’t care that you steal the blankets from time to time. I get the honor of sharing your bed every night. That is more than enough for me.”
She rested her hand against his cheek. “What did I do to deserve you?”
“Just be you,” he told her with a smile. He leaned in, pressing a sweet kiss to her lips. She relished it, just like she cherished every kiss, as she felt just as lucky as he.
When the kiss broke, he pressed his hand to her cheek. She leaned into it, sighing contentedly. “You really don’t mind when I steal the blankets.”
“I really don’t,” he replied. He then gave her a cheeky grin. “Especially as it gives me an excuse to cuddle you.”
She laughed, hugging him until Roland called out for them—reminding them they had a sick son to take care of. Holding hands, they returned to the living room and focused their attention on Roland.
Though most of her attention ended up being on tending Roland and making sure Margot didn’t get the flu from him, Regina didn’t forget about her new revelation. After everyone was feeling better and she had decontaminated the mansion, she went out shopping. She returned home and that night, handed Robin a present. “Here you go,” she said.
He took it, confused. “I apologize, milady, but I can’t seem to recall it being any occasion where we would swap gifts.”
“It’s not,” she assured him, sitting down next to him on the couch. “This is just because I love you so much.”
“You don’t have to get my anything,” he insisted, though he pulled off the wrapping paper. He held up a green, red and blue plaid blanket with a confused smile. “A blanket?”
She nodded, moving closer to him. “This one is just yours. So when I decide to cocoon myself, you always have a blanket.”
He chuckled, settling it on his lap. “I thought I told you that I like to cuddle with you when you do that. You didn’t have to get me my own blanket.”
“It’s only right,” she insisted. “You deserve to have something covering you every night.”
Robin hugged her. “Thank you. And I think I’ll start using this blanket now.”
She grew confused until he gave it a good shake and in one smooth motion, covered them both with it. He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her against his side, holding her close. “There, the best of both worlds. I get to cuddle you and we have a blanket covering us,” he told her.
“Well, who am I to argue with that?” she asked, smiling as she snuggled against him. She knew she would have to work on her cover-hogging ways—no matter how much Robin insisted it wasn’t an issue to him—just because she loved him and wanted to be fair with him.
But for now, she was going to enjoy a mid-afternoon snuggle with the man she loved.