Once Upon a Time 1. You did not break me

**A/N- **hi again! You must be finding this very odd, but I had to do it. Zelena is one of my favorite characters, in fact, after Regina and Emma she and Robin are the ones I love most, and I was very disappointed by the way her arch ended. So, to put my heart at ease I decided to put on paper my headcanon for her, and this is what came out of it. It's set after the episode Kansas (3x20) and it goes slightly AU because the season finale doesn't happen, obviously, and the pairings change. Now, why I paired Zelena and Robin? First of all, as I said, they are my faves after Regina and Emma; second of all, Bex and Sean's friendship is the cutest most awesome thing in the world and I ship it, so there you go. This will be split in four or five parts, depending on my muse, each chapter containing a conversation that represents what I think would be suitable for Zelena's arch, what I wanted to see. Please keep in mind that this is my version of things and it is entirely fiction; also english is not my first language so you'll probably find lots of mistakes and I apologize in advance for that. I hope someone read it and like it! xoxo

**A/N-** about the story/chapters title: as usual it's a song reference. The title of the story it's the name of the song (Elastic Heart by Sia feat The Weeknd and Diplo. You'll find it at the Catching Fire soundtrack; I recommend listening to the whole album, it's pretty amazing), and the titles of the chapters are lines from the lyrics.

* * *

**YOU DID NOT BREAK ME**

It's been a couple of weeks since Zelena was defeated and locked up in jail. Everything is smooth in Storybrooke; no more impending dooms or vengeful villains, not even a complaint about disturbance in the neighborhood. The town was sleepy as it had been with the first curse, and everybody was pretty satisfied with it.

Except a certain young boy. Not that he was unhappy with the quietude of the town, and the fact that no more astray relatives had appeared out of nowhere to try to kill his family. But that possibility had him sulking more often than not. The thought of having to be wary with his own family disturbed him too much.

And his mind kept coming back to Zelena. Aunt Zelena. He had an aunt. His mother actually had a last blood relative alive. Obviously she wasn't blood related to him, but that didn't matter in the least. He had an aunt, and she was alive, and he wanted her to be a part of his life. He wanted his family together, his whole family. He wanted a cool aunt to whom he could go to when his mothers were being obnoxious. He wanted one more seat occupied at the table in the family dinners. He deserved that, and his mom deserved that. She had no family other than him, but now she did and he wanted her to enjoy that.

Regina had offered Zelena a second chance, but the woman refused. Henry knew she only did it because she was too stubborn and proud (must be the Mills blood), but there's no way she actually outright rejected the idea of finally having a family. She just needed a little push.

And that's why he was so quiet these days; he was putting together Operation Green.

Now, sitting with his mothers at a booth in Granny's enjoying their breakfast (the three of them always meet there to had breakfast together when Emma was dropping him off to spend the weekends with Regina), the boy clears his throat and ease his nerves to kickoff his plan.

"Can I ask you guys something?"

"I think you already had too many pancakes, kid" says Emma with an amused smile. She loves to tease him about his passion for Granny's pancakes.

"It's not that. I…" he doesn't give in to the game, too focused on the big task on hand right now. "I want to visit Zelena in jail"

"What?!" both of his mothers exclaim at the same time, with the same wide eyes.

"Why on the planet would you want that?" Emma adds with a disbelieving look.

"I wanna talk to her" the boy merely shrugs.

"About what, sweetheart?" Regina asks with an edge to her tone.

"I don't know, everything. I wanna know her" he says with resolution.

"Why?" Emma asks half surprise, half angry.

"She's my aunt" he simple replies.

"Technically you're not related to her at all", Emma tries to crush his argument.

"Because they don't share blood?" Regina asks turning to Emma with an annoyed glare. "So Henry is not my son?"

Emma sighs; of course she would go there. "That's not what I said. And it's two very different situations"

"I still wanna visit her", Henry cuts in, both to stop an unnecessary argument and to be more categorical with his resolve.

"That's not gonna happen", Emma says putting her foot down.

So Henry goes for the low blow; he didn't want to do this, but he needed to. Turning to Regina he lets out a soft "Mom, please?"

"Don't go do your puppy eyes to her, I've already vetoed", Emma says irritated, knowing too well his game.

Regina ignores her and asks her son with curiosity, "Why is it so important to you that you talk to her?"

"I don't wanna lose her without even knowing her", he answers with a concerned frown of someone who had experienced already too many loss for such young age.

With this, Regina looks at Emma with watery eyes. Emma sighs. She understands him, but that doesn't make it okay to let him visit the psycho in jail.

And Regina knows how Emma is uncomfortable with this, so she tries again to make Henry back down. "Sweetheart, you do remember that she was the one responsible for your father's death, right?"

"Yeah, and that's one of the things I wanna talk to her about" he simply says.

He seems so calm, so sure, and his mothers are taken aback by this. Seems like he gave that a lot of thought, he really wants this.

"Henry, she's dangerous", Emma tries again with a soft tone.

"I know, but she's powerless now and in jail, she's not gonna do anything to me", he argues.

"You can't know that"

"Mom, please? She's family. Not to you, but she's my family", he says back with aggravation. "I don't know what's gonna happen to her now, so please let me know her before it's too late? Please?"

The hint of desperations on his voice makes his mothers give in. Phase one, complete.

* * *

It's been two weeks, three days and fourteen hours since Zelena was defeated and locked up in jail. She knew that because the only thing that was left for her was to count the time of her confinement. Regina brought some books for her to read but it's not like she was just accept the gifts. Though with each passing day she knew she would give in, she was way too bored to ignore it any longer. She really should be building another wicked plan, but she just does not have the strength to do that. So she would just spend her days observing the town from the tiny window of her cell, dreaming about living again.

That was what she was doing when she heard a throat clearing somewhere at the Sheriff Station. She turns her head towards the sound just to find a young boy staring at her, hesitance in his eyes but a sheepish smile on his lips.

"Hi" says Henry tentatively.

Zelena stares back at him for several minutes, trying to figure out what was that all about. Coming up with nothing she decides to ask. "What are you doing here?"

"Visiting you" the boy answers. He's obvious nervous about talking to her, she can see him fidgeting with his hands; but there's a confidence on his smile that intrigues her.

She sits straight in her cot and arches an eyebrow. "Did you mothers send you?"

Interpreting her gesture as receptive to the conversation, the boy relaxes a little. "God no, they don't want me anywhere near the station with you here" he says with a little laugh. "I had to put my best puppy eyes to convince them to let me come here"

Her eyebrows shot even higher. "You are here willingly?"

He grabs a chair and places in front of her cell so they're facing one another. "Yep" he answers simply.

She sends him an incredulous look. "Why?"

"I wanted to talk to you, to get to know you" he shrugs.

She can't hide her curiosity. "Why would you want to know me?"

"Because you're family", he says matter-of-factly.

There's a long pause. Zelena is way too taken aback to react, so she just stares at him in silence for several minutes again. Sensing his growing discomfort, she decides to reply without showing her cards.

"Technically we're not related to each other at all" she comments, expressionless.

He just rolls his eyes amused by how she sounded just like his blonde mother.

"Regina is my mother, you are her sister ergo you are my aunt", he starts explaining. "Family it's not just about blood, it's about having people that care about you and you care about them. You can choose your family" at this Zelena makes a face that looked a lot like understanding but also hurt. It was gone as quick as it appeared, but he was way too observant to let it slip. "But I guess you already know that" he adds knowingly.

She snorts at this. "Why would you think that?"

"That face you made. You had a family before, didn't you? A family you chose?" he asks and she averts her gaze, telling too much just with this. "Who are they?"

"No one" she says without looking back at him.

"What happened?" he insists.

"None of your business", she bites back immediately, a growing angry look on her face.

"If you don't wanna talk about it now, it's cool" he says shrugging. "Just know that you have that option again. Me, my mom and everyone else, we all can be your family now if you want to"

She scoffs. "What makes you think that I care? That I would consider choosing to be in this family?"

"No one wants to be alone" he says looking deeply in her eyes.

There's another long pause. She wants to look away again because she knows she's telling too much with her eyes right now, but she can't tear her eyes from his soft gaze, so understanding, so judgment free, so innocent.

"You're wasting your time. They'll never accept me", she says with a tone that was meant to be firm, but the cracking in her voice didn't help.

"They will" he simply says back.

She adopts an incredulous look. "Because they accepted your mother? It's not the same thing"

"I know, but I also know they will accept you because they are good and forgiving", he explains.

"You're wrong"

"I'm not. And even if the rest don't accept you, my mom does. And I do. You won't be alone anyways" he says with confidence.

She's growing very uncomfortable with his sweet words and attitude. So she goes for a low blow. "Why would you do that? I practically killed your father", and it works as she sees him flinching. She smirks at her small victory.

He then sighs, and stays silent for a few minutes, thinking.

"Did you know that Rumplestiltskin killed his wife when my dad was a child?" he finally asks.

Zelena finds the question odd, but nods anyway, she did know that.

"And did you know that my dad forgave him for that?"

At this she doesn't react. Not because she is surprised by the fact, but because she's surprised that Henry's openly talking about it. How old is this kid again?

He doesn't wait for her to react though. "I choose to consider this my dad's legacy. To learn this from him, learn how to forgive things and open your heart to love your family despite the past", he explains. "I didn't know my dad until last year, and I spent little time with him, but I know he was a good guy. He also made mistakes, and my mom forgave him for that too, but in his heart he was a good guy. And I think he wouldn't want me to hate you for the rest of my life, that's not what good guys do"

He is making a very strong point there. And there's the certainty in his voice, his firm posture. He's way more smart and sensitive than she would give him credit for. And that makes her ease her tone with him though the words are still meant to drive him away. "You two may be good guys, Henry, but I'm not. I don't regret what I did to your father"

"Maybe not now, but one day you will" he says with a shy smile. "And one day we'll be having picnic at the park and you'll turn to me, grab my shoulder and look me in the eyes saying 'Henry, I regret what I did to your father and I am really sorry' and then I'll answer 'I know and I forgive you' and we'll hug and you're gonna ask me if I want another toast. It's gonna be a fun day"

She can't help but chuckle at his daydream. "You really have a powerful imagination"

He laughs too. "I really do. But I'm almost never wrong" he gives her a knowing smile.

She sighs. "You cannot seriously believe that this is going to happen, that I will actually be a reformed villain"

He just nods with excitement. "You'll be more than that, you'll be one of the good guys. You'll be a hero"

"Why on earth you think that?"

"Because that's what we are in my family", he says matter-of-factly.

She can't help the eye-roll. "Well, that's your proof that we are not family", she stops for a split second, and then adds in a lower tone "I'm not like that, I'm wicked".

"If I learned anything about my family is that evil - or wicked, whatever - isn't born, it's made", and that catches her attention. It was the exact same thing Regina said when she offered her sister a second chance. Henry continues, "Just because you did bad things that doesn't mean that you're a bad person. Villains are usually misunderstood or unloved or even manipulated. Not all of them are bad by choice. And they can always choose to be good. My mom did, my grandpa did. You can do it too"

"You are wrong, Henry", she says again but this time she wasn't so sure.

"I'm not. I know that good it's in there, inside you. You just have to reach it"

She hesitates, and then admits in a whisper, "I don't know how".

"We will help you, my mom and I" he says gleefully, noticing that it was working, she was giving in. "It's not gonna be easy and it'll take some time, but we'll be always with you. We can do this together, as a family, and you'll see that it's worth it"

She can tell that he's trying really hard to show her that the side of light is really worth it, which is very strange considering what he has seen in his own family, who his relatives are.

"You don't sound like a child who was raised by the Evil Queen" she can't help the comment.

"Because I'm not. I was raised by Regina Mills, and she's a great mom" he says with certainty. "She's is a great person, and you can be too" he's not gonna give up.

Zelena hesitates again. She doesn't want to be contaminated by his hope, she just wants to sulk with her miserable life and die alone. But those stupid innocent green eyes.

She averts her gaze, feeling a little overwhelmed. "What if I fail? What if I can't handle it? What if I don't make it to the part where it's all worth it?"

"You will. You're strong and stubborn, you can handle it and you won't give up". As she refuses to meet his eyes, he calls "Hey, aunt Zelena?"

_Aunt_ Zelena. This breaks her. She looks at him.

"I believe in you", it's all he says. And it's enough.

She feels her eyes burning with unshed tears, but she tries to hold them. "Why is it so important to you that I redeem myself, Henry?" she asks in a whisper; she already gave in, but she needs to know this.

He shrugs. "I'm tired of my family wanting to kill each other. I grew up with only my mother around and then I found out that I have the most awesome badass family ever and I just want them to be united, you know? I just wanna have a happy holiday with my whole family there and the biggest problem that'll appear it's who spilled apple juice in the kitchen floor. And I think that deep down that's all everyone wants it too", he says trying to make it like it's not a big deal but the rambling already told too much.

There's a log silence again, neither of them really sure of what to say next.

As if on cue, Emma enters the Station. She promised him that she wouldn't intervene but he was inside for too long now and she was worried. "Henry, is everything okay here?" she asks with a concerned frown.

"Yeah, it's all cool. We were just finishing here" he says. He knew he had gotten Zelena to consider his offering, and now she needed time to process the whole thing by herself. "I gotta go now", he adds looking at his aunt, "Think about it, okay?"

She just nods.

He then gets up and follow his mother to the hall. When arriving at the corner of the corridor, a hesitant voice echoes through the Station.

"Henry?"

Mother and son looks back at the woman in the cell.

"Thank you", she says with a cracking voice and a tear striking down her cheek.

The boy just smiles happily at her.

"See ya, aunt Zelena!"

**tbc**


	2. Why can I not conquer love?

**A/N- **first of all, WOW. I never in my life would have thought this story would get this response. Seriously, I thought no one would read it but here we are with follows and reviews and you guys being so sweet and I love you so much, I can't even *sighs*. Okay. I NEED to thank you all for this, it means the world to me; I'm glad y'all think this is promising and that you liked my take on Henry, and I'm specially happy for the guest reviewer who shares my love and wishes for Zelena, your enthusiastic comment fluttered my heart, thank you so much! Now, there's something I want to address, just to make things clear: I've already written this story, it's finished and saved on my computer; but it will take time to upload because, as you know, english is not my first language so I have to read again and edit every chapter before posting it to prevent any horrible mistakes (still you'll find them because I'm dumb). So I'd like to apologize for the mistakes and if the story doesn't look good to you, it's just what I wanted to tell. Without any further go ahead and take a look at chapter two, hope you like it! xoxo

* * *

**WHY CAN I NOT CONQUER LOVE?**

Robin sweeps his forehead with the back of his hand. He's not exactly sweaty as the weather in Storybrooke would never allow such state, but there are wet areas on his body and face, and adding the heavy breathing, he can assess that he's tired and need a break. He puts his hammer back in the tool box and grabs the bottle of water from the ground.

Drinkable water in a plastic bottle. This world is very strange. But oddly enough, Robin likes it. As an outlaw and a nomad he's accustomed to move and adapt to new places, and Storybrooke isn't by far the worst place he has ever lived. It's quite opposite, actually. The people are good and the environment is safe (at least it is now without flying monkeys out there to get you). And living in this realm has its perks. I mean, indoor plumbing? He didn't know who had this idea but kudos mate, it was the best bloody idea in all the realms. Plus the clothing is more comfortable, the living arrangements are more decent, the food is marvelous, and there are things like medical care and electronics and equal rights. Back in the Enchanted Forest, people who were brought to Storybrooke with the first curse seemed to love the life here very much, they always talked about the wonders of this world and how they wanted to be back. Now living this wonders himself Robin had to agree, life's good here.

Especially since he isn't an outlaw anymore. Here in Storybrooke he didn't have to steal from the rich to give to the poor, since there's home and food available to everyone. He isn't a criminal anymore, now he has a job. He's a handyman, working with Gepeto to fix and build things around town. It's a good job; he's good at it and likes it very much. There's something exciting about building things, it's refreshing and challenging at the same time, and it keeps the mind and the body busy.

He leans back on the finished portion of the fence he was putting up around the back yard, and sips at his cup of tea while contemplating the mansion. Regina had come for him about a week ago requesting his work, she wanted a strong fence around her back yard to "protect her garden", but everyone knew it was more to keep her prisoner inside, or angry mobs outside for that matter. It was known to everyone in town that Zelena had been given a second chance by Regina and the Charmings, and now she was living with her sister. But apparently she was in probation since no one would see her outside the mansion. Regina had claimed that it wasn't house arrest, but really, what was it then? Maybe it was Zelena who didn't want to come out, no one really knew. But regardless of what was happening at the Mills home, Robin had agreed to go build the fence; it was a simple enough job.

"I have to warn you, though. Zelena is there and she's allowed to wander around the space within the limits of my property freely", Regina had said when she hired him.

"Does she have any access to magic?" he had asked her.

"Not at all. But I can't guarantee she's harmless either. Although she's been very calm lately, she can be quite hostile when she wants."

"I'm not afraid of her. I can handle it", he had said back with confidence.

"Are you sure? I'm not going to be there to break up any quarreling" she asked with quirked eyebrow.

"I can take care of myself, Your Majesty", he had said matter-of-factly, to end the discussion once and for all.

Now here he is at 108 Mifflin Street building that fence. Contrary to popular belief, his companion had been nothing but welcoming. The first two days he had come over she was nowhere to be found; not that he would look for her but she didn't make her presence known either. The third day she came to the back yard and sat at a chair near the back door, as further as possible from where he was working, and just watched him for a while; it was a bit unnerving but he kept himself together and continued his work. The fourth day she came again and brought some tea that she left in a bench near him, and then went back to sit at the same chair as the day before with her own cup of tea and a book; he was very intrigued by this but didn't say a word, just drank his tea and went back to work. The fifth and sixth day it was the exact same thing. She would always appear when he was already working, bring the tea, sit in her chair and read for a while; then before he finished for the day she would get up, collect the empty cups and disappear back inside the house. Not once sparing him a glance nor saying anything.

Today is the seventh day and as he leans back at the fence, drinking his tea and contemplating the mansion, he decides to go make small talk with the woman sitting at the chair near the back door.

"This book must be really interesting since it's distracting you from the my work of art", he says approaching her with an unarmed smile, but keeping a safe distance just in case this isn't welcomed by the woman.

She looks startled, as she hadn't noticed his approaching. She just stares at him for a few seconds, seeming at a loss of words, but then composes herself and clears her throat.

"I think it's the lack of art on your work that is distracting me from it", she says with an unreadable face.

It's a bitter response, and he should take this as a cue to leave her alone. But there's something that makes him stay, he has no idea what, but he really wants to engage this conversation. Maybe it's her strong voice with that sexy accent. "Ouch. The bite seems to run in the family", he says back with a genuine smile, full of good intentions.

And perhaps she senses that, since she's shyly smiling back at him. She clears her throat again, "Do you need anything?" she asks pointing to the area he's currently working on.

"No, no. Just resting for a bit", he explains. As she doesn't say anything else, he takes a chair across from her and tries again. "So, what are you reading?"

She looks a little suspicious about his actions, but he knows she's not one for backing down, so she plays along.

"It's a series of books that Henry lent me", she says marking the page and closing the book.

"What's about?" he asks to keep the ball rolling.

She hesitates at this. "Witchcraft", she answers with something that you can only call a wicked smile.

There's a moment of tension, then Robin's wearing a crooked smile and a quirked eyebrow. "His mothers allow him to read books about witchcraft?"

Zelena looks surprised that he didn't back down either. "I asked the same to him when he gave me the books", she says recomposing herself. "But then he explained that it's not about witchcraft per se. It's about an orphan young wizard who has to face the greatest dangers of his magic world to defend his people"

He decides to play with higher stakes. "Sounds like a child's book"

She tries to suppress her surprise again at his boldness. "I said the same thing when Henry insisted that I read it", she starts explaining, a satisfied smile on her face, "then he made a speech about me needing to reach my innocence again and renew my values and that the book would help me with that, and I just agreed to read to shut him up", he chuckles at this and she shrugs (in the most ladylike way he has ever seen). "But now that I'm in the third book I'm changing my mind about my first impression. It's not a child's book at all", she adds pensively.

"What's called?" he asks pointing to the book.

"This one is Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban", she answers holding the cover for him.

"Harry Potter is the young wizard?"

"Yes, he's thirteen in this book."

Robin's eyes widens at this. "And he's already orphan and facing the biggest dangers of a magic world?"

"See, not a child's book at all", she says smugly.

He just grins back at her. She's good. "And who is the…", he narrows his eyes to read the cover of the book, "… prisoner of Azkaban?"

"Oh, it's his godfather, Sirius Black". He gives her an encouraging look to keep her engaged, and that's enough to get her to dive into the plot. "He betrayed Harry's parents and that's why they're dead, and Sirius went to Azkaban which is the prison for wizards that's guarded by these creatures…", she then notices the frown on his face and falters, "aaaaaand there's no point explaining all this to you".

He shrugs, looking apologetically. "But you seem really excited about it"

"Yes, well, it's really good writing". She looks down at her lap and fidgets with the cover of the book. "The story is actually very interesting and I'm learning a lot from it", she sighs and adds in a murmur "The little brat was right after all".

Robin chuckles at this. "He does seem to be a clever boy"

And apparently that's a trigger for Zelena. "He is, and that bloody annoys me sometimes. I hate how people seem to always give into his encouraging words and eyes full of hope and belief", she sighs again, "I hate that I'm one of those people. Now I live in constant fear of not living up to his standards".

Robin tilts his head wearing an understanding look. "I don't think he has standards and that you have to live up to them. I think he's only trying to be nice and supportive, and help people become the best version of themselves"

"That just worsens things", she mutters while rolling her eyes. "I know that even if I slip he won't be disappointed, he will just give me a pep talk to get me back on track, saying that he believes in me"

"And that's not a good thing because…"

"It is a good thing, and that's what kills me", she snaps, frustrated. She sighs and adds, "I'm not used to have good things, I don't know how to handle this".

"That sounds like a conversation you should have with your sister. I mean, she's been there right? She knows what you're going through", he offers softly.

To what she scolds. "I not talking about this with Regina"

"Why not?"

She looks back at him and seems ready to make a comeback, but thinks twice when she takes in the sweetness in his eyes. "I'm not ready. I spent my whole adult life hating on my sister, I can't just talk about how I feel with her like we're confidents. We're not there yet", she answers in a whisper.

"I understand", he smiles at her even though there's a concerned frown on his forehead. "Just, don't hold that back for too long; it's not healthy to either of you, especially since you're giving each other a second chance, right? You guys have to do this right"

She studies his face, looking for a catch there. She doesn't believe in his concerns and his supportive words, and she searches his eyes for the proof of his lies. But she doesn't find anything, because there's nothing there. He's being honest and genuine. And she seems so taken aback that she just nods.

"And in the meantime, if you ever need to talk about stuff, I'm here", he adds with a bigger smile.

And that just melts her insides. He can clearly see how her eyes go soft in that moment, filling with hope. At the same time a fear creeps in too, because like she said, she's not used to have good things and she's afraid she might screw this up. There's a battle going on inside her and he can see all in her eyes. He wants very much to reach for her hand and reassure her that it's all gonna be okay, but he knows it's too soon and she would probably freak out if he tried that.

So he decides to give her space to deal with her own struggles. "I should get back to work, this break is gone way too far", he says laughing lightly and makes his way back to the fence.

She just observes him walking away and for some reason she can't concentrate in her book anymore.

**tbc**


	3. I'm doing everything I can

**A/N- **again, thank you to everyone who followed/favorited this, your support means the world to me. I apologize for the delay; I'm back on classes which means less free time to edit my stories or write anything for that matter. I also apologize for the mistakes that I'm sure I didn't notice when reading this five times in a roll. For the guest reviewer who asked if Zelena and Robin will end up together I just want to remind you that, as it says in the summary, this is a Wicked Outlaw story, and I explained my motives in the author's note of chapter one :) Without any further, there you have chapter three. We're coming close to the end. I hope you guys read it and enjoy it, xoxo

* * *

**I'M DOING EVERYTHING I CAN**

Regina is in her kitchen finishing dinner. She's humming an old Guns N Roses song that was playing at the Sheriff Station when she went there to drop a book Henry needed for school work. She scolded Emma and David for listening to music at work but they objected that it was a classic and she needed to live a little. Those two were so much alike that it scared her sometimes, and annoyed her to no end.

After the whole ordeal with Zelena a little while ago, David had handed over to Emma the sheriff position (the bails bond market was weak to non-existent in Storybrooke) and of course she had hired him as deputy again, so now the Sheriff Station was a Charming domain once more. Not that it was a bad thing; Regina actually enjoyed spending time with the two dorks, and enjoyed even more the chance to suffocate them with paper work. Old habits die hard.

Regina has a pretty smooth routine. She makes breakfast and goes to work; sometimes she stops by the school to see Henry and catch up with Mary Margaret. At noon she comes home and makes lunch, going back to City Hall afterwards. At the end of work hours she comes home, sometimes stopping by the Sheriff Station or the Charming loft to see baby Neal, then she makes dinner and talks to Henry on the phone before going to bed. That's it. It almost seemed like she lived alone.

But she didn't; Zelena was there. And some days she would come down the stairs and eat with Regina, being all polite and even making small talk. At the weekends, when Henry is over, she would be more participative (though more due to Henry's insistence than her own will), and it almost looked like they could have a normal relationship. But most days, especially without Henry, Zelena would at all costs avoid bumping into Regina at the house. It irritated Regina because if her sister had accepted the second chance, she might as well try a little harder, right? But at the same time she knew how hard it is to suddenly have to socialize with people whom you nurtured strong feelings of hatred and revenge towards, so she couldn't pressure Zelena either. It was just frustrating as hell.

The sound of throat clearing snaps the former queen out of deep thoughts.

"Can I help with anything?"

Regina turns to the entrance of the kitchen to see Zelena standing there with her hands clasped together. She has a confident pose that contrasts with the sheepish look in her eyes.

Well, this is new.

"You wish to help me with dinner?" Regina asks after a few seconds of contemplation.

Zelena seems about to make a retort but thinks twice. "Yes", she answers simply.

Regina hesitates for a moment, still unsure about what could possibly be her sister's endgame here, but then decides to give her a vote of confidence. "Very well", she says maneuvering her hand with a welcome gesture, "You can be in charge of the salad".

Zelena enters the kitchen looking vaguely annoyed. "Don't trust me with something more substantial?"

Regina sighs; of course she would come armed. "It's already almost finished. And I'm making a recipe that only I know, it's best not to get out of track here"

Zelena proceeds to chop the vegetables. "Is it something Mother taught you?" she asks a little tense, like she is curious about it but at the same time she doesn't want to know the answer.

Regina huffs. "Mother didn't care enough to teach me anything" the brunette replies, not looking up from the saucepan she was stirring. "Only that love is weakness, and she was very wrong about that"

There's a moment of silence. "Do you really think so?" Zelena breaks it, "That love isn't a weakness?"

The former queen glances at her. "Already forgot how I defeated you with light magic?" she says teasingly, trying to make a point without triggering a rage reaction.

Zelena just stands there in silence; the only sounds in the kitchen are the bubbling from the pot and the knife chopping vegetables.

Regina sighs. Well, apparently they were doing that.

"Look, for a very long time I believed what Mother said", she starts, "so I put up walls to protect me, to not let anyone in. And it worked, I was safe. But I was also alone". Zelena looks at her with this. "Power wasn't enough, victory wasn't enough. Life is meaningless if you don't have anyone to share the good and the bad. I learned that the hard way, it was a bumpy road and still is, but ultimately I think I made it", she finishes turning to the other woman with a small smile.

Zelena turns her attention back to the vegetables. "How did you do it?" she asks after a minute of silence. "How did you let go of the anger?"

"I didn't. It's still there", Regina replies. "But every day I wake up and I think about my family, about my Henry, and I push all the darkness to a corner of my heart. And every time the bad inside threatens to surface I close my eyes and think about a happy moment with my son, or even with Emma and the two idiots, then I take a deep breath and everything is fine", she then looks directly at her sister, hoping the words can reach her heart and leave an effect there. "It may be just a small win, but it means everything to me and the people who care about me, who believe in me. And I feel like a hero"

Zelena looks at her, but doesn't hold her gaze. "Good for you" she huffs and turns back to the vegetables.

"And for you, if you tried", Regina only says.

"I can't", the red-headed says back, "I don't have your tools".

"What do you mean?"

Zelena sighs frustrated, and looks up to the kitchen ceiling while venting. "I don't have this feeling of belonging you seem to have with the Charmings and Henry, and don't say that we're all a family because we're not, I certainly don't feel like I have a family. I don't have anything to hold on to"

Regina nods. She's a little hurt that the other woman still refuses to accept them as her family after the efforts they made, but she would be lying if she said that she doesn't understand how her sister felt. "Alright, I understand. It took a while for me to accept them as my family, I don't judge you for not accepting us so fast either" she gives way. "But what about your previous family?"

"My father? Please, he was the one who put me on this anger track in the first place", Zelena says while going back to chopping, with a little more force now.

"I wasn't referring to him. I was talking about Glinda, and the sisterhood of witches from Oz"

Zelena stops at this, turning back to Regina. "How do you know about that?"

"I did my research too", the former queen smirks.

"Then you know that things didn't end up well with them either", the other woman looks away.

"Yes, but I also know there were some good times", the brunette says. "When Snow met Glinda back in the Enchanted Forest she said that you two were friends once, I'm sure you have good memories from that time"

"I don't like to think about it", the red-headed murmurs.

"Why?"

Zelena sighs and turns to Regina with a firm look. "Because I will always remember how they replaced me like I was nothing"

Regina stares back at her for a while, and there's so much she wanted to say. She wanted to say that she understands; when Henry rejected her and chose Emma she had felt the exact same way. She wanted to say that she has to let it go, she has to push away the bad times. She wanted to say that she's unique and can't be replaced. She wanted to say that everything is going to be okay now, and that no one will ever take her place again. She even wanted to cross the space between them and hug her big sister, and say for the uptenth time that they are a family.

But she knows it's too soon, and Zelena won't understand and won't take it well. She knows her sister still holds a huge grudge towards her and pushing this will only drive them further away. And that irritates her. How are they supposed to have a heart to heart and solve their issues if her sister runs away from any touchy-feely aspect of the conversation?

"You see things too horizontally, Zelena", Regina says, incapable to mask her annoyance. "You can't just pick what side of a situation you want and then judge people like that was all they ever did"

"And wasn't that what you did with Snow White?" the other bites back.

Regina hesitates. Touché. "Yes, well, see what I meant when I said I was a lot like you?" she gives way, softening her tone. "But I improved, so I'm certain you can do it too"

Now it's Zelena turn to hesitate. "I'm just tired", she admits with a sigh. "I want to change; I want to give this family thing a chance. But I am so bloody tired of trying this hard and still feel as crappy as I do"

"I know exactly how that feels" Regina says and their eyes meet, understanding on deep brown and sorrow on bright blue. "And it's going to be like that for awhile, just so you know", she adds, to what Zelena grimaces. "But it's worth it. Just don't give up yet. By the end of the line you'll find your happy ending", she finishes, encouraging smile on her lips.

"Did you?" the red-headed asks and the brunette frowns in confusion. "Find your happy ending?" she elaborates.

Regina didn't know how to answer that. Truthfully, she didn't know if she had found her happy ending. Obviously she wasn't miserable, this was actually the happiest she had been in a long time. Life's good now. But there was this feeling she couldn't shake that something is missing. She wanted to say yes to her sister's question, but she couldn't deny that she felt like she wasn't there yet, at the happy ending. So she gave the best answer she could come up with.

"I have my son. I have a family, not the one I wanted, but the one I needed. Be a part of the unCharming family can be actually charming sometimes", she muses, then looks directly at the other woman with a smile. "And I have my sister, my last blood relative alive, and someone I can identify with. I have everything"

"Everything?" Zelena asks unbelieving. "What about a partner? A significant other? Is there someone I don't know about?"

Regina rolls her eyes. "No, I don't have anyone like that, neither have I needed it"

"Maybe not, but that still means you don't have everything", the other woman teases.

"Well, I have everything I need to be happy", the brunette says flatly.

"And you don't need a lover?"

"No"

"Not even to satisfy your physical desires?"

That makes Regina stop and stare at her sister with a half shocked half annoyed look. Zelena just shrugs but she seems to be fighting a laugh.

"I am not discussing my sex life with you", Regina states with the firmest tone she can despite her amusement.

"Why not? I'm your big sister, that's what we do", Zelena offers nonchalantly.

And their eyes meet again, now full of smiles. So this is what is like to have a real sister? This teasing and camaraderie? They can totally get used to this.

Regina is laughing lightly when she answers "I'm doing fine on my own, thank you".

"Oh my, I didn't need that picture in my head", Zelena replies with a disgusted face.

The former queen looks at her puzzled, and then the double meaning of her statement hits her hard. "Damn it Zelena!" she scowls while blushing.

And then Zelena just bursts into laughter. It's such a beautiful sound. Of course Regina had heard her laughing before, but those laughs were mean, superficial, and often at the expense of other people's suffering. Not this time, though; this laugh was genuine, ordinary, and so full of heart. The brunette couldn't help but laugh along.

After a round of laughter, Regina put the talk back on track. "And what about _your_ physical desires, how are you satisfying them?"

"I'm not, at least not since I got here", Zelena says and both of them go back to their tasks, still giggling. "I think your drought it's longer than mine, though"

"And yours will probably end before mine too", Regina replies.

"How so?"

"Well, there is a certain former thief and currently handyman that's been talking about you lately", the brunette explains with a knowing smirk.

Zelena's head snaps at this. "Robin?" she asks and Regina nods. "What is he saying about me?"

"That you seem really changed, and you are very amiable and nice to talk"

Zelena snorts. "He did not say that"

"He did" Regina insists, glancing at her.

"Please don't lie to me to make me feel better, that's just evil", Zelena says back, smirking at her own pun.

"So that makes you feel better?" Regina catches her sister's slip. "His opinion is important to you?"

Zelena turns to her in shock, a blushing in her cheeks. "That's not what I said! And it doesn't matter because you're lying!"

"I am not! You can ask Henry, he was with me", Regina insists and the other woman looks away. "Robin said that you two talk sometimes when he's working on the fence, and he told Henry you were very excited about the books. I asked him if you were causing any trouble and he said it was quite the opposite, that you were being a wonderful host"

"He said that?" Zelena asks in a tone barely above a whisper, still without looking up to her sister.

"Yes", Regina answers grinning; something was going on there. "What do you two talk about?"

Zelena shrugs. "I don't know, stuff", she says as nonchalantly as she can, which it's not convincing at all since she still won't meet her sister's eyes and the blushing descended to her neck.

And then was too obvious to ignore. "Oh my god, you have a crush on him!" Regina says cheerfully.

"No I do not", Zelena says immediately scurrying to the fridge to put away the remaining of the vegetables.

"Yes you do!" Regina says while following the woman with her gaze.

"I do not! Shut up", the red-headed moves to the sink to wash the knife and recipients she used, still not turning to the brunette.

Regina rolls her eyes at her sister's stubbornness. Must run in the family. "You have to talk to him", she says turning off the stove and licking the spoon to taste the saucepan content.

"Now that's just the stupidest thing I've ever heard"

"Seriously Zelena, talk to him! He might be interested too", Regina insists half hopeful half exasperated.

"No he won't. And I am not. End of discussion"

"Since when you're scared of going after what you want?" the former queen asks, now fully exasperated.

At this Zelena turns to her. "I could ask you the same thing!"

Regina turns fully to her with a frown. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Zelena throws her hands up, also exasperated. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe you should ask Miss Swan"

BOOM. The spoon Regina was using to stir the contents of the saucepan now lies on the kitchen floor, while she looks at the other woman with a half shocked half embarrassed expression. She would look very pale right now if not for the brutal blushing that went from her cheeks to her neck in seconds.

"Well, well. That's very revealing, you know", Zelena teases triumphantly.

Regina then moves to grab the spoon while clearing her throat. "There was grease in the spoon", she explains flustered, heading to the sink without even sparing a glance to Zelena's general area. "And I have no idea what are you talking about. Maybe you should stop saying nonsense and go set the table"

Zelena just shakes her head and beams widely. "Of course, sis"

And maybe, just maybe, this whole family thing can actually work.

**tbc**


	4. I've got an elastic heart

**A/N- **greetings everyone! we have reached the final part of this crazy little journey. I want to apologize for the delay, I was caught up with work and uni and ugh so many things that aren't even worth mentioning. but here we are to finish this! it's an epilogue, sort of, as it's very brief and it's just like to wrap it up everything. like I said in chapter one this is my headcanon for Zelena (and Robin) thus it has my twist on it, so if you're not fond of it, sorry not sorry lol but seriously thank you for those who stuck with me and this crazy shit I wrote till the end, you guys are the best and I love you all with all my heart! thank you thank you thank you! without any further I leave you with the final part, I hope you enjoy! xoxo

_to the guest reviewer:_ I guess it's a honest mistake since I do write Outlaw Queen fics too, haha. but my endgame here was always Robin and Zelena, I'm glad you understand me and like them too, and like my story. thank you very much dear :) xx

* * *

**I'VE GOT AN ELASTIC HEART**

It's Storybrooke's Miner's Day. There are booths with pretty much everything. It's the first they have in two years and everybody is really excited about it.

Zelena is watching the fair from across the street. It looks like everyone is having fun and she wished to be there among the citizens, but she doesn't dare to try. She's been in the redemption path for a while now but her human interactions so far have been only with Regina, Henry, Robin and his little boy, and Archie; not even the Charmings have talked to her yet so she's pretty sure no one in town would welcome her at their celebration. On her part, she wouldn't even be here in the first place, but Henry had insisted and Regina had said that people need to see her face because wanting or not she will be a part of this community. She had appealed to Archie, but he had betrayed her and agreed with Henry and Regina, saying that she was ready.

Since this redemption thing started, she had agreed to see Dr Hopper regularly. She didn't want it at first, but one of the conditions in their agreement was that she had to talk to someone, and it was him or Regina herself, and since she did not want to talk about her feelings with the sister she hated for so long, she had agreed to see Archie. Plus, Henry had claimed that "Archie is awesome, he's the official therapist for the Mills Family" and it warmed her heart with a sense of belonging that made her give in. Not that she had admitted that though. At least not to Henry or Regina; she actually admitted it to Archie several sessions later. And the kid was right, Archie looked dumb but he was really smart and a nice guy. He was her only friend.

Well, not her only friend. There was Robin. But was Robin her friend, really? She kept him company when was working at the mansion, and they talked at his breaks, and sometimes over the phone after he finished his work. He had even brought his little boy a few times, and she would have so much fun with him. I mean, how can you not love those little dimples? Her absolute favorite moment when she was telling him a silly story, and making faces and voices, and he said between laughs "you're so funny" with those little eyes totally free of judgment and full of innocence, that she had to grab the bench to steady herself and take three deep breaths, or else she would have had a meltdown right there. Children and their power.

But just because she loved spending time with Robin and Roland, and they seemed to enjoy her company, it didn't mean they were friends. They couldn't all care about each other that much, right?

"Zeleeeeeeeeeeeeenaaaaaa!" a little voice came to her ears, bringing her back from thought island to reality. She then saw Roland running towards her with the most wonderful smile, and she automatically got up to grab and lift him, with a big smile of her own.

He rounded her neck with his little arms and she adjusted him on her hip, trying not to lose balance with his weight. "Oh my God, you're so big and heavy! Next time you're the one who's gonna carry me!" she plays with him while notes his father approaching them.

"No way!" he beams and laughs. Then he points to Robin, "Papa can carry you!"

And she can't help the blush on her cheeks at the thought of Robin's strong arms carrying her. She turns fully to Roland to hide her embarrassment from his father. And she momentarily hates that this redemption thing is making her go soft; the old Zelena would never be embarrassed by this.

"I can carry both of you at the same time!" Robin answers playing with his son too, and Zelena turns her face away and coughs to mask the deeper blush that crept on her face now.

"You're okay?" the former thief asks when she turns back to him, but not quite meeting his eyes.

"Yes, yes. I'm wonderful" she says giving him a genuine smile.

"You are", he says doing a full body check on her, meeting her eyes at the end and winking. And she's caught by surprise, so she doesn't have the time to turn away or disguise the blushing now, especially since can't quite look away from his deep blue eyes.

He smiles more brightly and changes the subject to take the spotlight from her. "I'm sorry about him. He saw you from across the street and wanted to come here. I told him to not disturb you but well, he's the child of a thief, sometimes he doesn't recognize authority."

She laughs at this and Roland laughs too, even though he has no idea of what's happening. "It's all right. He will never disturb me", she says and turns to Roland, pretending to try to bite his cheeks. He squeals and laughs loudly, then he tries to grab her lips to make her stop.

"I have a gift for you!" Roland yells when he finally manages to hold her mouth. She stops trying to free herself and frown. Still giggling, he let go of her lips. "No biting!" he adds while reaches inside the little pocket of his coat.

Zelena looks at Robin confused, but he only looks back at her with a knowing smile. Roland then takes a necklace from his pocket and holds in front of her face with a big smile of his own. It's a toy necklace, a plastic chain with a plastic stone, like those you win as a souvenir in booths for children at fairs. But it's Roland giving it to her; he is willingly giving her a gift, and his smile is so big. She doesn't even know how to react so she just stares at it.

"It's not stolen", Robin comments and that snap her out of her trance. "He hit one duck at the booth and the guy offered him a stuffed animal, but when he saw the necklace he begged for it. He really wanted to give it to you."

"It's blue!" Roland yells swinging the necklace in front of her face. "It's blue like your eyes, and Papa's eyes!" he explains with excitement.

And all she wants to do right now is run. She wants to hide, to get away from this little boy and his father because somehow she knows that they're going to be her undoing.

Roland had thought of her. He saw something and remembered her, a detail about her. He thought of her and his father. As though they were a unit. And Robin didn't mind that, he didn't reprimand his son or tried to talk him out of this idea. He actually seemed almost as excited as his little boy. Is that what having your own family looks like?

She can feel her eyes watering and she tries her best to not cry right then.

"Why you crying?" Roland asks, his face faltering. "You don't like it?"

And she chuckles at that because, really, only an innocent child wouldn't understand the emotions swirling on her face right now.

"It's the best gift anyone has ever given me", she says looking directly at his little eyes and his smile is creeping back on his face. "I love it, Roland. Thank you very, very much"

"You wanna wear?" he asks grinning at her.

"Of course!" and she really, really wants. She would wear it for the rest of her life as a reminder of this moment. Besides, since Regina took her pendant she feels naked without a necklace.

"Here, let me put it on you", Robin offers taking the necklace from Roland. When he closes the clasp, he traces his index finger through the plastic chain, inevitably making contact with the skin of her neck, and she shivers under his touch. She turns to him and as they lock gazes, he says "Beautiful".

Yep, they will most definitely be her undoing.

"Time for ice cream!" Roland yells startling the adults who were too lost in each other's eyes to acknowledge his fussing.

Robin and Zelena exchange awkward smiles, and she put the little boy back on the ground. He immediately runs off to go back at the fair, his father following him while warning "No running!"

Robin takes a few steps before realizing that Zelena isn't following them. He turns back at her with a frown. "You're not coming along?"

She smiles apologetically. "I wasn't invited to the party"

"I'm pretty sure it's a public event", he says with a smirk and she rolls her eyes at him.

"I meant I'm not welcome there"

"Says who?"

"Anyone you ask", she says with the closest thing to a shrug that a lady like her is capable of.

"What, those peasants? They know nothing", Robin dismisses jokingly. "Come, let's show them what real fun looks like", he says pointing the fair with a motion of his head.

She smiles at his insistence. "I'm very tempted but I don't think it's a good idea. I'm still in probation; I'm not allowed to get into with anyone so I can't defend myself if someone decides to attack me", she explains.

"That's okay", he says coming closer to her and putting his hand out for her to take. "I'll protect you"

Zelena then looks from his hand to his eyes while her heart almost breaks out from her ribcage. Now, looking at the pureness of Robin's blue eyes it downs on her all those things she and Regina talked about.

Mother was wrong. Love isn't weakness.

**the end**


End file.

Once Upon a Time, Family, Romance