Chapter Text
The ride back was luckily uneventful.
Since they weren’t in a rush this time, they took a little longer to get back home. But the rest of the night was quiet. Robin managed to sleep through half of it on John’s shoulder, face still buried in the blonde’s hair. The prince didn’t have the heart to wake him up. The ginger was sleeping so soundly that John and Scarlet were able to have full on conversations without him waking up.
“And then, Richard tripped and fell down the stairs. But he managed to land so smoothly, the other lords didn’t even realize a thing.” John snickered, making Scarlet laugh as well.
“Oh my god, how does he get away with that.” She got out between giggles, covering her mouth with her hand. John just shrugged in response.
“No idea. He’s like some sort of fairytale princess.” The prince concluded, making Scarlet laugh again. John grinned at the story himself.
“There was a time where I saw him nap under a tree and a deer laid down besides him.” That one made Scarlet full-on cackle, leaning over on her horse. She lifted her head again with a smile, eyes widening slightly when she recognized the bridge.
“Look at that. We’re almost back home, this is the border!” she exclaimed, turning to John. Said prince let out a relieved breath, closing his eyes and leaning his head back.
“God I’m so glad. My ass hurts from riding on horseback already.” He dramatically complained. The Maiden had to hold back a laugh at his reaction.
“Not to mention Robin on your back.” She said, pointing towards the sleeping ginger. The blonde turned his head, getting a glimpse of Robins vibrant ginger hair. He huffed, grinning a bit.
“Eh, he’s okay. He’s so warm, it’s like a blanket hugging me.” He responded, making Scarlet raise an amused brow. John saw her expression change, sending her a suspicious glance.
“Why are you staring at me like that?” He questioned. Scarlet just turned to look forward again, the smile never leaving her face.
“Nothing, Nothing. Just never thought I’d see you so cuddly with Robin.” She answered innocently. John blinked a few times before his cheeks tinted slightly red. He quickly moved his head away from Scarlet.
“That’s- It’s just the circumstances!” He quickly spluttered out. Scarlet just hummed along.
“Sure Sure…” She cooed, still having a devious smile on her face. John shot her a small glare which only made her laugh more.
“mhh…r’we home yet?” a third voice murmured out, slowly lifting their head from John’s shoulder. The other two quickly turned towards Robin, whose face was still half asleep. But at least he was sort of awake. John had to smirk at his expression.
“Yep. Almost there. 10 more minutes.” Scarlet confirmed, watching Robin lift his arm to rub the sleep out of his eyes. He looked around again, observing the part of the forest they were in. the ginger eventually hugged himself close to John again, resting his head on his shoulder as he stared at everything. The blondes face quickly turned red again, feeling Robins breaths against his skin.
Scarlet watched all of this while holding back a laugh. You know, they kind of looked cute together. With Robins arms wrapped around John and whatnot. But Scarlet had to help John before he’d faint, considering how red he has already become.
“Don’t make yourself too comfortable Robin or else John is going to turn into a tomato.” She chuckled, gaining a sharp glare from the prince again. Robin blinked a few times, tilting his head at her confused.
“Huh?” he said, lifting his head off from John and looking down.
It took him a good 3 seconds before his eyes widened, the last bits of sleep being booted out of him. Robin yelped, immediately leaning backwards and getting his hands off John, almost causing him to fall off the horse. His own face was growing red, barely balancing himself before opening his mouth.
“John I’m so sorry.” He hastily got out, clearly embarrassed he just smushed himself against John out of nowhere. Scarlet couldn’t hold back her laughter anymore. The prince immediately missed the warmth, the cold air hitting him full force now.
“It’s fine you idiot. Now lean back forward, I’m cold and I gave you my coat.” John grumbled, using one arm to grab Robin and drag him forward again. He let out another surprised gasp, holding onto John again, this time both of them had red faces. Scarlet watched the entire exchange absolutely entertained.
“You two are irreplaceable.” She laughed, riding a little ahead so the two couldn’t bite anything back to her. The two idiots just stared at her, still holding onto each other.
Luckily, those last ten minutes passed quickly and they soon arrived at the crossroad separating the paths leading to the castle and the forest. Little John and Tuck were already waiting there for some reason, immediately approaching the three of them.
“Robin!” Tuck exclaimed, being the first one to crash into the ginger once he dismounted his horse. Robin chuckled, hugging the boy right back.
“Hey Tuck. Hey Little John.” He greeted them casually, as if he wasn’t just kidnapped. The taller boy came up to him, staring at him silently before pulling him into a hug as well.
“Don’t you ever scare us like that again.” He muttered, pulling away and giving Robin a stern look. The ginger just chuckled, sending him a reassuring smile.
“I won’t, promise.”
While the three boys reunited, Scarlet and John stood to the side, quietly observing them. The maiden darted her eyes to the prince for a moment, managing to catch him with a soft smile on his face. She smirked, leaning a bit closer towards him and whispering in his ear.
“Your smile is visible by the way.” She cooed, immediately chuckling when John shooed her away, a little embarrassed. But apparently not enough to keep watching them.
“God forbid I have feelings.” He snarked back, Scarlet’s response being a knowing smirk. But she just hummed, also focusing back on the boys now who were finally done hugging. Now that they were done, Little Johns expression shifted into a more serious one.
“We spotted the bandits wagon not long ago. We would’ve raided them earlier but we wanted to make sure you all got home save.” He explained, making all of them alert again.
“Bet they are enjoying my gold alright.” John scoffed, rolling his eyes while complaining. Robin just sighed, crossing his arms and speaking up.
“Yeah. They still have the gold and all of my stuff. I don’t think paying them a visit would be such a bad idea.” He said, sending both his friends a mischievous glance. Tuck and Little John mirrored his expression, sharing a quick nod and getting their equipment ready.
“Let’s show them what happens if you mess with one of us.” Tuck snickered and all three of them smirked in agreement. John and Scarlet just watched in the meantime, sharing an amused look before focusing back on them.
“If you guys will go and face them, me and John will head back into the castle.” Scarlet told them, immediately gaining all of their attention. John nodded in agreement, ready to fall face first into his bed and sleep all of this away. But before he could do that, Robin came up to them again.
“Alright then. But first, thank you two again for getting me out of there. I honestly thought that was it for me.” The ginger said, awkwardly laughing at the end while scratching the back of his head. Scarlet sent him a soft smile, but it quickly turned into a smirk once she glanced over to John.
“Don’t thank me, thank Jonny here. He’s the one who paid out of his own pocket to save you.” She swung an arm around John’s shoulder, pulling him close and watched as his face heated up red in complete embarrassment. Tuck and Little John peeked past Robin, staring at him a little surprised.
“Did you have to pay more than the sum on the posters?” Little John asked, watching the prince try to wave it all off.
“It- it was barely over and not a big deal.” Before anyone, mainly Scarlet could protest, John already shoved her along towards their horses.
“Anyways, you have bandits to rob, we have beds to get to. Make sure to scare them or something, bye.” He quickly threw out, mounting his horse with absolutely no care or hesitance and riding off towards the castle, giving them a last wave before hiding his face from them. The trio blinked as Scarlet rode after him, shrugging when they asked what that was about.
“…so, do we go now?”
“Sure.”
“We’re rich! This whole action thing was the best idea we’ve ever had.” Doug laughed out, flicking a gold coin in his hand which promptly landed in his face. Jack besides him laughed as well, resting his legs on their table and twirling his knife in his hand.
“Yeah, and we also got rid of that pest Robin Hood once and for all.” He laughed, throwing his knife at their wagon, hitting the wanted poster with Robin on it. Filtcher smugly tried to do the same, except with Robins bow and arrow. but he missed the target completely, the arrow didn’t even manage to get past the chair. He grumbled, throwing the bow to the side somewhere. The other two bandits laughed at his failed attempt, rubbing salt in the wound.
“Hey! It’s not as easy as it looks!” Filtcher tried to say, just getting more agitated when the other two burst out into even louder laughter. Just when he was about to protest more, a sudden smoke bomb hit their table, impairing their vision and making them all scream out in the process. The three immediately got up, crashing against the table and the chairs.
“He’s right, it’s way more difficult than it looks.” A way too familiar sly voice broke through the fog. All of their eyes widened, with Jack starting to groan almost instantly.
“Oh god damn it, don’t tell me he’s back!” Jack yelled out in frustration, readying his knife and trying to break through the fog. But when he finally got out, he was met with a club to his face. The hard wood smashed right into him, effectively making him stumble backwards and fall to the ground unconscious. Little John above him smirked, looking back up the trees and sending Tuck a nod.
“Jack? Jack where are you!” Doug shouted into the fog, whipping his head around once it dissolved and trying to find his two buddies when another sack hit him. this time, it didn’t release a fog cloud, but a bunch of itching powder instead. His skin started to break out in hives and he fell to the floor, unable to control the urge to scratch himself.
“ARGHH!” He shouted out, gaining the attention of Filtcher who just stood around aimlessly until now. The bandit stared at his two fallen companions, lifting his head to see Little John approach him. the man let out a growl, readying his fists and walking towards the boy, when suddenly, he heard an arrow whizzing through the air. He couldn’t react fast enough, and soon enough, there was a net hitting him from behind, pinning him to the ground just above Doug, effectively restraining them both.
“Well, well. Look how the tables turn hm?” Robin chuckled, walking towards them, his bow finally back in his hands. Tuck jumped down from the tree he was perched on, quickly jogging towards his friends. Together, they looked down at the three bandits, defeated and out of commission on the floor.
While Little John tied all three of them together, Robin and Tuck went through their wagon, retrieving Robins gloves, shirt and hood, as well as the gold they received as payment.
“Holy moly, that’s way more than the original price!” Tuck exclaimed, staring into the bags of gold with fascination. Robin chuckled, taking one of the bags and leaving the other one for the younger. He rolled his gloves back up, happy to finally have all of his stuff back. Once he exited the wagon, he saw Little John already taunting the bandits.
“Kidnapping one of us wasn’t your best idea, was it?” He scoffed, twirling his club in his hand while staring daggers at the bandits. They just scoffed, sending him equally pissed glares. A smile grew on Robins face. The way his friends care about him really warmed his heart sometimes.
“We got everything.” Robin announced, gaining Little Johns attention. The bandits turned their heads, staring at Robin with anger.
“How did you escape? We thought you’d be halfway across the country by now!” Jack hissed, his words making Little John clutch his club a little tighter. Robin just crossed his arms, smugly staring down at them.
“Let’s just say I have more allies than you know.” He cooed, hearing Tuck giggle behind him. The leader just rolled his eyes, trying to appear dark and threatening. Little John huffed, approaching the three of them and grabbing Jacks hood, roughly pulling him close, getting into his face.
“And if you dare to kidnap any of us again, I will make sure none of you ever get to use your hands again.” He threatened, gaze piercing through them. Jack, the usual cocky one, seemed oddly intimidated for once. Tuck used that opportunity to throw down another one of his itching powder sacks. Hearing the bandits yells of agony as they broke out in hives again was music to their ears. The three of them rolled on the floor, still tied to each other as they writhed in place, eventually managing to stand up and run away, falling over every two steps.
The three boys watched with a laugh, enjoying their revenge for a little while longer before returning into the woods, finally getting to relax again after that wild day.
John quietly sat the hidden room next to the throne. The one they stored the king’s scepter in, but he wasn’t here to steal it for once. He was idly sitting at the desk, enjoying the silence as he sorted through some letters addressed to the castle. Well, he WAS enjoying the silence, until he heard footsteps approaching. He ripped his gaze from the letters, looking up towards the entrance to see Maryan step through, the two bags of gold hanging heavy from her shoulders. He raised an eyebrow, yelping when the princess dropped the two bags on the desk with a huff.
“Here are your bags of gold. The Bandits didn’t spend any of it I think but you love counting your gold anyways so I wouldn’t put it past you to do so anyways.” Maryan quickly said, rolling her shoulders once she got rid of the weight on them. The prince blinked, taking one of the bags of gold and opening it while she spoke again.
“And…thank you again, for doing this and saving Robin. It really means a lot to us.” She admitted, fidgeting with her gloves a bit. The blonde didn’t respond at first, an unreadable expression on his face as he stared at the gold.
Eventually, he sighed, pushing one of the bags of gold back towards Maryan.
“Keep the 900. I agreed to pay for the bounty, so I’ll keep the excess amount.” He casually said, focusing back on the letters. Maryan froze, slowly turning her head towards the prince. She stared at him as if he grew two hears.
“Come again?” Maryan tried, not sure if she heard that right.
“I said, keep the money. Donate it to some useless charity or whatever. I don’t care.” John repeated, this time a little annoyed. Maryan still stared at him, mouth agape and in shock.
“You…are willingly giving us the gold? Without any strings attached? Just like that?” She asked again in utter disbelief. John groaned, looking up at her again with annoyed eyes.
“Yes. Now go before I change my mind.” He hissed, turning away from her to focus back on the task at hand. Maryan kept standing there, blinking confused for a few seconds before silently taking the gold, walking out the room flabbergasted.
Once she was outside the room, she stopped, turning to look back at the door once again.
“Huh, maybe he really is changing…”