Fic: Love is in the Greenwood (Robin Hood, 3/3)
Title: Love is in the Greenwood
Author: lotusflower85
Rating: R
Characters: Robin, Marian, gang, Robin/Marian, very slight Will/Djaq
Setting: Post-season 2, but AU, so no major spoilers.
Words: 7,713
Summary: Love is in the greenwood, dawn is in the skies. Marian deals with the unexpected challenges of marriage and children.
A/N: Written for the Robin/Marian ficathon at saythewordsthen. The request was by songandsilence and was: Futurefic with fluff/angst, Rob/Maz and babies, rated above PG. Split into three parts as it became much longer than I originally intended. This is part III, and where the fluff is found. Apologies to Flist for the concurrent posts!
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Locksley Manor, five years later
Marian shifted the baby in her arms and turned to the woman seated beside her. “I’m glad you’re here.”
Djaq smiled and looked the child fondly. “I’m sorry we were not here for her birth. Or Thomas’ for that matter.”
Marian laughed lightly. “I think you were a little busy yourself at that time.”
The front door banged open and in charged two children, laughing playfully and unfortunately, quite loudly as well.
“Thomas,” Marian admonished her five year old son. “I just got Katherine to sleep,” she told him, indicated the peaceful child in her arms.
“Sorry Mama,” Thomas looked contrite, disheveled fringe falling into his eyes. “We were just playing.”
“I’m sure.” Marian shifted her daughter to one arm and with the other brushed Thomas’ too-long hair back from his face. “Did you lose your father?” She had sent the children out with a contingent of minders, and yet they had returned alone.
“They’re coming,” Thomas answered.
“We were just too quick for them,” Djaq’s daughter, Robyn, piped up from beside her mother.
Katherine shifted, and Marian adjusted her again, praying she didn’t wake up. It had taken her and Djaq what seemed like forever to get her to sleep in the first place. “Why don’t you two see if you can hurry your fathers up,” Marian suggested. “Before you disturb your sister any further.”
Djaq patted her daughter on the back and nodded encouragingly. The two children scarpered out of the room as quickly as they had entered it.
“He seems like a handful,” Djaq noted with equanimity.
“He’s not too bad, usually,” Marian told her fondly. “He just gets excited very easily. It’s this one who is going to be trouble,” she said, indicating her daughter. “Thomas was such a quiet baby, but Katherine,” she sighed. “I can tell she will be wild.”
“Just like her mother,” Djaq noted, smiling.
“Yes, well, I could live without her causing me the trouble I caused my father.” Marian heart twinged a little at the words, regret that her father could never have seen her this way - happily married, a mother - everything he had wanted for her.
“You seem so different, Marian,” Djaq looked at her appraisingly. “I remember a woman to whom the idea of this life would have seemed…not unwanted, but…” she stopped, seemingly unable to find the right words.
“I know what you mean,” Marian replied, not the slightest bit offended.
In truth, she sometimes missed the way they used to live their days as if every one could be their last. There was a part of her heart - and Robin’s too - that longed for those heady days when he appeared at her window, covered in dirt and sweat and glory, anxious for praise or even chastisement because to both of them, words of jest had always been tantamount to words of affection. It was strange to think she missed fearing for his life every time she saw him sneaking around the castle, believing that a simple hood would hide him from watchful eyes - fearing every time the Sheriff looked in her direction that her true allegiances would be discovered.
While Robin could revel in the notoriety of being Robin Hood, they had both decided to keep her identity as the Nightwatchman secret in case, Robin had wisely pointed out, there was ever need for it again. She was seen by the villagers only as Robin’s wife, not as someone who had come to their aid just as much as he had. There seemed to be an injustice to that which she tried not to let bother her. But sometimes it seemed she had willingly placed herself in the boxes she had always tried to break free from.
“I did have my doubts,” she told Djaq, knowing she would understand. “And everything happened so quickly - our marriage, Thomas, coming back here to Locksley, I wasn’t entirely sure that I was ready for all that.” Marian paused, and bit her lip in contemplation. “But maybe that was the way it had to happen,” she continued, “I had to get used to it that way.” She looked down at the baby in her arms and smiled contentedly. It was good to have a family and, she who had only ever had her father, felt blessed to see all of Robin’s former gang surrounding them, and loving her in her own right. They knew the truth, after all.
And Robin - who was so sweet and loving, even if occasionally he was a little too attentive and never let her have a moment’s peace. It had been a struggle for them to cope living with each other in a domestic setting (it had been years since Robin had even slept in a proper bed) and with a small child to care for. It had been a learning curve for both of them, months and years filled with heated arguments followed by stony-silences, but eventually their disagreements proved rewarding. Marian had known Robin as a boy, a teenager, a young man and finally as a husband, yet it had taken some time to get to truly know and understand him. They each had to make sacrifices, and had learnt to compromise. Marian considered them both happier for it.
“What about you?” Marian asked Djaq playfully. “I seem to remember you once not wanting anything to do with babies.”
Djaq smiled mysteriously. “Sometimes it seems happiness comes to us from where we expect it least.”
The door banged open again, but this time an entire troupe bounded in. Thomas led the way, followed by Robin with a younger, blonde child in his arms, Much carrying Robyn on his back, Will and Allan, who were both watching Much very closely, Carter, looking amused, and finally Little John bringing up the rear. They all stomped their way into the hall of Locksley Manor and Marian had no hope that her child could sleep through the racket. True enough, Katherine opened her eyes, fidgeted, and started to scream.
Marian turned to the brood hopelessly. “Now look what you’ve done!”
All of the men suddenly looked very guilty, and chorus of mumbled apologies followed. All, but Robin, who simply grinned cheekily. “Now, now, my love,” he said teasingly. “She just didn’t want to be left out of all the fun.” He passed the blonde child to Much. “There’s yours back,” he told him. “I’d better go tend to mine.”
Much took the boy carefully, who was looking rather concerned at all the noise and willingly went into his father’s embrace. Will took Robyn off Much’s back, gave her a sloppy kiss on the cheek and set her down on the floor. Robyn giggled and wiped her face, before bounding off towards Thomas.
Marian whispered words of comfort to her daughter and rocked her gently in her arms. Robin appeared at her side and pressed a soft kiss to the corner of her mouth. “How are my women today?” he asked mischievously.
“The one that is half yours is annoyed at all the noise when she was trying to sleep,” Marian quipped. “And the one you only claim to be yours is trying to rectify that situation.”
“The one that is half mine is just excited to see me,” Robin jested as he ticked one of Katherine’s toes. “And the one that only claims not to be mine is jealous of the attention she’s getting.” He reached to take the baby and Marian willingly passed her over. “Isn’t that right, my little Kate?” he addressed her and almost immediately the child’s crying transformed into laughter. “Besides, Marian,” he kissed her again. “You can do all the claiming you want later on tonight.”
Marian didn’t blush - nothing Robin ever said shocked her anymore. Djaq obviously tried to hold in her laughter, something Allan and Carter, who had seated themselves in their usual chairs by the fire, had not managed. Robin grinned at her as she shook her head in mock-disapproval.
“Much has invited us all over for dinner tonight at Bonchurch,” Robin thankfully changed the subject, seating himself beside Marian and making silly faces at his daughter.
“That is very kind of you, Much,” Djaq said.
“Eve all but insisted,” Much told them, but the tips of his ears turned red under the praise. “She’s over there now, scaring all the cooks into creating a perfect feast.” He smiled fondly at the small boy in his arms. “And Jack likes the company.”
Will shot his wife a look of beaming pride. “So we finally get to meet this Eve then?”
“Yes,” Much replied. “At the very least to show that she was not just a figment of my imagination, like you all were always saying.”
“You’ve got the proof right there in your arms, mate,” Allan chimed in.
Much tightened his hold on Jack ever so slightly. The small boy looked around the room forebodingly and buried himself deeper into his father’s shoulder.
“I always believed you Much,” Little John said, and reached for the child. Jack lost his dour expression and gleefully jumped into John’s waiting arms. He was the only person, save his parents, with whom little Jack lost his chronic shyness around.
Robyn, who apparently felt it was an injustice not to be held like the other children, abandoned her game with Thomas on the floor and flew towards where Allan, Will and Carter were seated. Obviously deciding that she could get a hug from her father anytime, Robyn leapt into Allan’s lap.
“Oof!” Allan exclaimed as she knocked the air out of his chest.
“Robyn,” Djaq said warningly.
“S’alright, Djaq” Allan answered, grinning at the little girl. “She’s got style, this one.”
“I think you’ve made a friend for life, there,” Carter noted, leant back in his chair and smirked.
“Yeah,” Allan agreed, tweaked Robyn’s nose. “And if your Mum and Dad ever try to take you back to the Holy Land I’ll hold you hostage,” he told her solemnly.
Robyn seemed enthusiastic about the plan, and looked towards her father. Will shrugged. “You’ve won me over.”
Marian looked at Djaq pointedly.
“Why else do you think we’re here?” Djaq asked, smiling secretively.
“To impose on my hospitality just like all those other miscreants over there,” Robin spoke up, nodding towards the men at the fire.
“You’d be lost without our company,” Carter called back from across the room.
“Yeah,” Allan agreed. “What would your lives be like if you didn’t have us around to entertain you?”
“For one thing, we’d have a lot more children,” Robin replied and winked at Marian suggestively.
“Robin, please,” Little John looked disgusted, and used his large hands to cover Jack’s ears.
“What?” Robin looked back towards Katherine, who had fallen asleep again. “Doesn’t hurt ‘em.”
“It hurts us,” Much pointed out. “We don’t need to hear about…that sort of thing.”
Robin just laughed and refocused his attention on his daughter. Marian was content in watching them when she felt Thomas tug on her skirt.
“I picked these for you, Mama,” Thomas said, and held out a bunch of wildflowers that she hadn’t noticed he’d been clutching since he returned to the manor.
“Thank you, Thomas.” She took the flowers and allowed him to climb into her lap. She glanced at Robin who shrugged, and pretended that he hadn’t been watching her. “They’re beautiful.” She gave her son a fierce hug.
Her life may not be as exciting as it once was, she reasoned. Marian now had what she had been fighting for all those years, what she had yearned for - that sense of normalcy, of love and family to fill her heart and soul. The people in the room, in her house, bound to her by blood, and something deeper, through their common sacrifice, through shared times of deepest sorrow and wildest joy. Her husband who had become her partner in every sense of the word, who kept her days entertaining and was always willing to let her sharpen her wits on him. And of course, her children, who she had never asked for but had been blessed with, all the same. It was enough, she decided.
In fact, she rather liked it.