Getting inside, the first thing Robin did was taking her bow off her shoulder to place it next to the door, farther away from the fire so the leather coating wouldn't shrink while drying. The heavy leather coat followed as she hung it close to the door, too, scrunching her nose at its smell.

Weirdest scent of this world? Wet leather.

Drying her face with a sleeve she turned around to Alice who just dropped her bodice vest to the floor. It fell with a wet thud. Her white blouse left little to the imagination and Robin jerked her head away with a gasp when her eyes traced the contours of rosy peaks staining against the fabric.

Robin swallowed. Hard.

Heat trickled through her veins and pooled below her stomach.

It was just her luck to turn around at that particular moment. She would never be able to cauterize this image or banish it from her mind.

Fortunately, Alice seemed to have missed her reaction. While Robin tried to chase away the image she told her to make herself comfortable.

Robin was almost certain she might never be comfortable again as she stood rooted to the ground, her face heated and heart thundering in her chest. Further thumps followed resounding through the hut, procuring further images of Alice undressing inside her mind and making the harsh whistles and pounding of the rain resemble a whisper.

Clearing her throat, she tried to concentrate on something – anything else.

And so she discarded her doublet giving her tunic a chance to dry as well.

Dry, like everything around here should be and most definitely everyone.

Sucking in a deep breath Robin opted for rekindling the fire.

Bowing in front of the fireplace, she picked up a few logs from the basket and put them onto the starving flames. Her tunic clung to the skin of her back but other than that she felt too warm, too uncomfortable and way too vulnerable without her doublet and coat.

"What will I ever do without you?" Alice's voice came from behind her.

Shifting around on her toes Robin looked up at Alice, who walked over with a blanket wound around her figure, smiling gratefully down at her. "I don't know. Maybe you would turn into a walking Popsicle while dragging a stupid cart around during a storm."

"A what?" Alice snorted while sitting down on the carpet, rearranging the blanket draped over her shoulder, freeing her arms.

"A Popsicle... It's an ice lolly," Robin let herself fall back on the ground, next to Alice who still looked totally confused. "Ice cream on a stick?"

"Your world has the most strangest things."

Robin chuckled, "Says the one who's been to Wonderland and other places." She nudged Alice playfully in the side, only to frown when she graced an awfully cold piece of her skin. "My god, Alice! You're freaking freezing!"

"Perhaps I am ice riding a stick," the other commented with a guilty smile.

"Come here," Robin said waving Alice towards her, only thinking about the other girl's well being at the moment, scolding herself a little for having forgotten Alice's state.

Alice scooted closer and Robin moved to sit behind her, placing a leg on each side of Alice and wrapping her arms around the cold girl to help her warm up.

Alice leaned her back against Robin with a sigh. She shivered and her eyes fluttered close, making Robin notice how she has cleared her face from the smeared eye shadow completely, as she looked over the shoulder of the bright blonde.

Robin's heart stopped for a second before it restarted with a powerful jolt.

Alice was a natural beauty, looking so innocent and soft right now, relaxed against Robin.

Robin wished she had thought this through. Because cuddling in front of the fireplace with the girl, who struck her heartstrings into various melodies, between her legs, was one of those things that made not so platonic feelings punch into her chest. Gulping she tried to ignore the tingle rushing over her skin and the heat flushing through her body, when she took in Alice's sweet scent. She hoped Alice couldn't feel her pulse racing against her back.

Trying to calm down Robin focused on her mission to simply give warmth to Alice, instead of the feeling of the other girl in her arms or the way the drying tips of blonde hair tickled against her cheek and neck. It was a Mission Impossible. Running over buildings like that douche Tom Cruise seemed a lot more easier in this moment.

Dozens of heartbeats passed until she felt Alice move.

"I am sorry I've put you through this," she mumbled lowly. "You didn't have to stay."

Not wanting to give Alice's insecurities any feed Robin shrugged nonchalantly, "It's fine. I'm glad I could help. Though, I think you should have left the cart."

"I couldn't," Alice murmured despite Robin's attempt of a joke. "Living by myself, taking care of myself while doing the things I've done with my papa is something I need to managae."

The scales fell from Robin's eyes as she realized why Alice had been so insistent about the damn cart. "You didn't want to fail," she stated hardly above a whisper.

While Alice was the brightness of summer and the magic of fall, she could be the solitude of winter, too. Carrying her burdens of having been alone, separated from her father for half as long as they'd been together and not having been able to find a cure for her father's heart, was her baggage.

Alice lowered her head. "It might sound stupid. When I left the tower I was seventeen and had lived by myself for years."

"Believe me, it doesn't," Robin replied, tightening her hold on Alice and ignoring the flutters cirlcing in her stomach. "When I wasn't good at magic I felt like I failed everyone's expectation of the Wicked Witch's daughter. I've tried some questionable witchcraft to make up for it. And you know what I learned?" She waited for Alice to rise her head and look at her over the shoulder before she continued, "Sometimes, it is just our own expectation we project on others. It's not worth putting your life at risk for them."

A small smile appeared on Alice's lips. Slowly her eyes brightened. "Thank you. You always find the right words to comfort me."

"I'm not," Robin blurted out and received raised eyebrows in response. She chuckled lightly. "I'm not searching for words to make you feel better. I just say what I think is true."

"That's even better then," Alice said. The light in her eyes changed. There was something magical resting in the depth of the sky blue orbs. "You comfort me without trying."

Robin hummed in agreement. Her gaze darted over Alice's face from her smiling eyes to her curled lips. Back and forth, enraptured by the sight.

She felt Alice shift in her arms ever so slightly; her shoulder brushed over Robin's chest bone; her arm grazed her breasts, sending electricity through Robin's body.

Their eyes locked over Alice's shoulder.

It was becoming harder and harder to breathe.

The bittersweet coil of anticipation dried Robin's tongue.

Tension thickened her blood and made her fingertips tingle.

Something popped in front of them and they both jumped at the defeaning noise.

Alarmed Robin looked ahead into the flames. The fire crackled and a burst log sank into a pile of embers. The sounds of the fire tuned down again to the volume of the storm outside.

"Jeez," Robin uttered breathlessly while recovering.

Alice giggled amused. After a while she said, "So we've covered that I've been preparing for winter more or less effectively. What's the news with you?"

Robin leaned back as her heart danced in joy for the first thing on her mind was the idea of being in the Enchanted Forest and close to Alice for as long as she wanted. "I might stay in the Enchanted Forest for good. My mum said she wants to start a life here and built a farm, away from the bunch of nauseously cheery family members."

When her mum had confronted her with this idea Robin had been able to read her like a book. It wasn't about getting away but about growing roots and starting something new since Robin was already grown-up. But she granted her mum the sassy cover-up.

"That's great!" Alice cheered with a grin. "Except for the nausea, of course."

Robin chuckled, "She said, if she heard Henry say one last time, 'She's a smart girl,' about his sprout she might turn green again for a different reason than envy."

Alice's eyes widened, "Your mother was green?"

"Have you never heard of the Wicked Witch of the West in one of the places you've been?" Robin wondered.

"I've been to Oz but I don't think that witch was your mother because the Wicked Witch there had been vanquished by some girl a long time ago," Alice explained.

"That's strange. My mum was never defeated. She ruled in Emerald City for years before coming to the Enchanted Forest." With knitted eyebrows Robin searched for an explanation. It had been almost two decades since her mother had left Oz. Maybe the people there celebrated her disappearance as victory. Based on her mother's stories this wouldn't have been unlikely but why making up the girl who she could only assume to be Dorothy?

It suddenly crossed her mind that Ella wasn't the same Cinderella she had gotten to know in Storybrooke as Ashley either. The realms weren't a straight thread but a four dimensional net.

"Oh..." If she hadn't had her arms wound around Alice she would have bumped a fist into her hand. "I get it now! There is a Enchanted Forest 2.0 so there are probably 2.0 versions of Wonderland and Oz."

"I don't follow." Alice frowned.

"It's complicated," Robin replied puffing. "I have troubles keeping up sometimes, too. My family has been there and done that. It's hella messy. Let's just say this realm is a copy of the one my family emerged from with its people having similar life stories. They are different versions of themselves."

"So there are other versions of us as well?"

"I guess so. Earlier I walked into somebody who needed help and he said something about Robin Hood having vanished from this realm. He probably was another version of my father and not actually my father. Just like my mum isn't the Wicked Witch of Oz 2.0. I am kinda curious what happened to him, though."

"Does it matter?" Alice asked placing her right hand above Robin's. She leaned her head to the side, smiling contently at Robin. "I think there cannot be any version of Robin Hood better than the one sitting behind me."

A blush exploded on Robin's face and she looked away. She never was a girl ashamed of receiving compliments but having one coming from Alice, especially such a huge one, was different. All of the compliments she gained during her time as Miss Popular of Storybrooke High couldn't add up to this singular one. Her reaction was embarrassing, though.

'Here you go again with being uncool in front of Alice,' she chastised herself.

She cleared her throat and gazed at Alice again who still looked at her as if she truly believed in what she said. But if she was being honest, Robin was a good version of Robin Hood only because Alice had made her the best version she could be, by reminding her about what Robin Hood was really about.

Even now Robin had a long road up ahead to live up to the name and the man behind it who always had thought of others first and in the end even had sacrificed his own life for that of his soulmate. Adding up to the list was that Robin Hood was a total myth in the so called Land without Magic. Even Mother Theresa or Gandhi would have a hard time getting this mythical and legendary in the long run.

Alice's voice startled her out of her reminiscence asking cautiously, "Did I say something wrong?"

Robin forced out a smile. "You're selling me high. In the world I come from Robin Hood is one of the best known tales all over the world and has been for centuries."

Alice face split into a grin. "What about my story?" She chirped hopefully, making Robin forget her embarrassment and the jab of melancholia altogether with her unconcealed and adorable enthusiasm.

Robin laughed and teased Alice leaning forward again, almost resting her head on Alice's shoulder. "Competitive now, are we?"

Alice smile transformed into a mischievous smirk. "My papa used to say there is no fun in life without challenges."

Robin chose to satisfy the bubbly blonde's curiosity, "Your story isn't as old but I'd say it is as famous as mine. If not more. Although the tales of Robin Hood aren't my story but that of my father. I am not the actual Robin Hood but the daughter who inherited the name."

Alice hummed contemplatively, making Robin feel the tremor of her voice in her own chest. "It's so weird that you come from a world where everyone thinks our lives are nothing more than stories. It's almost as if somebody trapped us on pages."

"That's actually close to how it happened. There is an author recording all the stories. Currently it's my cousin Henry," Robin said before recalling something about Henry destroying the pen. He was the author, though, wasn't he? Shaking her head in confusion she added, "Or was. To be honest, I did not understand every story passed on during the weekly Sunday get-together at Granny's. Like I've said it's messy."

Alice nodded. "I am getting a headache just trying to follow. People say I am troubled but your old world seems to be more trouble."

"I guess the important thing is that we know we're real and all those other realms and versions are, too. I'd like to see Oz one day even if it is not the same my mum came from," Robin admitted.

"We should go there then!" Alice suggested, turning around between Robin's legs to face her, forcing Robin to retrieve her arms. She did not get a chance to feel disappointed, though, thanks to the joy dancing in Alice's eyes. "Perhaps after winter so we wouldn't have moved the cart in vain," Alice added.

"Thought you wanted to stay put," Robin commented carefully. She did not want to get her hopes up. The very idea of taking a trip with Alice felt like hearing a fairy tale she didn't know was true for the very first time in her life.

"It's not because of a place that I remained where I am. Plus, I could continue my search for a cure to lift the curse of the Poisoned heart on my papa," Alice continued her argumentation, seeming very delighted at the idea of going to Oz.

"Didn't you say earlier you've been in Oz?"

"It was a mere detour," Alice said matter-of-factly as if talking about boarding a bus. Maybe realm jumping was the same to her as taking the school bus had been to Robin. "Before I left the Infinite Maze, the Chesire Cat told me to get the Silver Slippers from Oz so I could cross between realms more swiftly to reach the Enchanted Forest."

"Woah, hold on! Stop right there." Robin scooted back to stare at Alice, trying to follow the weird tale. "The Cheshire Cat told you to go to Oz?"

"Aha," Alice nodded and pursed her mouth. "More or less. He talks in riddles."

"Then you went to Oz somehow..." Robin continued caught between wonder and disbelief. Oz had always been a special realm to her, probably because her mum came from this weird place unlike everyone else who only knew stories about the Enchanted Forest. Oz had always been mystical and familiar at once.

"Through a portal. You better watch your steps in the Infinite Maze. Rabbit holes are scattered all over the place," Alice said with a knowing grin.

"And then you've obtained the Silver Slippers?"

"Yes, I found them in the Deadly Desert while crossing it with a sand ship and with the help of the Shaggy Man; one of the nicest men you could ever meet."

"Okay, now I am the one getting the headache." Releasing a deep breath, Robin tried to complete the picture Alice had just drawn. Infinite Maze, Chesire Cat, Oz, Silver Slippers, Deadly Desert and the Shaggy Man. Alice truly had been on the most unbelievable adventures. Though, when thinking about her own family's story, it probably had the same effect on people if summed up briefly like this. "Okay. I will just accept this. Do you still have the slippers?"

"No, it was too much power and there were a lot of dodgy people who wanted them. I've returned them to the girl who they belonged to. Dor – Dori – something. She gave me a hand full of magic beans in exchange. They are more suitable for running, anyway."

"Dorothy?"

"Yes! Amazing! How did you know?" Alice beamed at her.

Robin laughed sharply and said smirking her wicked smile, "Just a lucky guess."

Alice face fell from amazement to joking suspicion. "She has a story, too, hasn't she?"

"Apparently everyone has," Robin confirmed in a mocking tone. Though her sense for joking dispensed when she thought about the other girl. Honesty clouded her voice, when she told Alice, "But I think yours is my favorite."

"And you are my favorite version of Robin Hood," Alice responded with the same honesty and sincerity.

A/N: XD Please, don't hate me for this cliffhanger. This part is roughly 3k long and I needed to find a spot to insert the cut. Plus, I am a bit diabolical and love to squeeze hearts just in the right way. ;)

Oh, and you know the usual deal. Leave a vote and/or comment and make this writer happy. ':D