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Chapter Text

It was weird and awkward at their table now. Neither of the adults knew how to start a conversation, it seemed. Henry sipped on his hot cocoa and considered a joke to ease the tension. He didn’t think the question, “So, what were you in for?” wouldn’t be well received by the woman his mother apparently met in prison. Or her husband for that matter.

He asked it anyway. Banditry was the answer. He took another sip and tried to figure out why they were lying to him. He was beginning to doubt the existence of this ‘case’ his mother moved him across the state for.

Something shattered on the floor. Henry startled. It was a teacup. He looked up. A woman stared at him. Literally wide-eyed and slack-jawed. Her eyes darted across the table. He followed her gaze. Mom. Mom looked at him quickly and got up. Her movement broke the woman out of her stupor.

“I… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you,” she said, looking at him.

“It- It’s okay.”

Mom walked to her, touched her elbow and nodded to the back of the diner. The woman followed, eyes lingering on his face.

“Regina.”

He nearly did a double-take. His mom did not sound like that. Never once had he heard her sound like that.

The woman finally looked away from him. Henry watched them leave, beyond confused.

“Who was that?”

 It was a fairly simple question, but with the way the Nolans were staring at him, you’d think he just asked about the aerodynamics of jetpacks on pigs.

“Uh…” Mrs Nolan smiled uncomfortably. “That’s Regina. Mills,” she added as an afterthought.

 “She’s the Mayor,” Mr Nolan added as if that fact should clear everything up.

His wife nodded. They went back to sipping on their drinks. Henry looked at the both of them.

“How does my mom know the mayor?”

“How does your mother…” Mrs Nolan trailed off.

“Well, they uh…”

They looked at each other.

“Uh…”

“Well, it’s uh complicated, Henry,” Mr Nolan said at last.

Mrs Nolan nodded. “Yes.” She gripped her husband’s arm and gave it a grateful squeeze. “And I really don’t think it’s our place to say. I’m sure your mother will tell you in her own time.”

Well, that wasn’t vague at all.

“Kid.”

Mom stood by the table. She spoke before he could ask her what exactly she would be telling him in her own time.

“You two up for babysitting?”

Babysit? What? The Nolans agreed before he could object, point out that he was right here, and that he didn’t need to be babysat.

Mrs Nolan agreed before even batting an eye.

“Great.” She shrugged on her red leather jacket. “There’s something I gotta do.” She touched his head. “See you later, kid.” She turned to go back the way she came from, stopped and shook her head at herself. Mom left through the front diner door.

Henry looked at it thoughtfully. He turned back to the Nolans.

“Did… did they go out or something?”

Mr Nolan sputtered on his tea.

“No,” Mrs Nolan answered. She looked vaguely ill. “Goodness, no.”

Chapter Text

Maybe it was delusional paranoia that set Killian on edge. The dude did think he was a pirate, Henry reasoned. An earthquake was no reason to go into the-world-is-ending mode and bunker down in the lower level of a ship for like four solid hours. Henry had been bored out of his mind. So much so that when Killian declared he’d take him to the Nolans, Henry actually felt relieved.

It was six o’clock now. He was bored again. And hungry. And Mom still hadn’t picked him up. Or responded to his texts. Mrs Nolan called out that dinner was ready.

They sat at the table and ate. The food was good. So was the conversation. They seemed like really nice people. A bit too squeaky clean for him to imagine his mom being friends with, but nice nonetheless.

It was around seven when she finally came to fetch him.

“Who’s Regina?” he asked while they walked back to the diner.

She froze. He stopped walking and turned to look at her.

“Um…” She had that deer-in-headlights look like when he asked her if Santa was really real or just her putting presents under the tree while he was asleep. “Um uh well… Henry… she… she’s… it’s complicated.”

 That’s the second time he’s heard that. Henry decided he didn’t care for the phrase. “Complicated.”

“Kid," she laughed, "that’s about the most accurate summary I can give you.”

Henry didn’t believe her.

Chapter Text

The sunlight shone through the open curtains directly onto his face. Henry turned his head into his pillow and peeked one eye open. He nearly crapped himself.

“Mom! What are you doing in my room?” he exclaimed, scrambling up.

She sat cross-legged on the floor and grinned manically at him. “Good morning,” she said in a chirpy voice, barely holding in her laughter. “Remember how you would sit like this every Christmas morning? You used to stare at me until I woke up. It scared the shit out of me. I’m so glad you got to experience that fear at least once.”

“You’re insane.”

“You’d be too if you had Chucky as a son.”

His heartbeat settled. “Ha ha.”

“Look… last night you asked about Regina and I couldn’t give you an exact answer.”

“Yeah…?”

She stood up. “She’s someone from my past. Someone who I didn’t always get along with. We… I’ve learned to work with her though, and I need her help with the case we came here for.”

He put the pieces together. “So, you were with her yesterday?”

“Yeah.”

He didn’t know what to do with the information. “Okay, Mom. Are you gonna make me spend the day with the Nolans again?”

She made a face. He groaned and threw himself back into bed, face first.

“Henry, there’s someone I’d like you to meet.”

He finally got to meet Regina Mills, the woman who went in for a hug, and then removed her glove to shake his hand.  

She seemed kind of nervous to meet him. Hid it with careful questions about school, his friends, and his life. It was a short conversation. He excused himself to play on his Gameboy and left the Nolans’ dining room.

He saw Regina and his mom talking by the door before she left. He got it then. It made sense. Walsh. This trip. The ‘case’. All of it. He got it now.

Chapter Text

On his walk with Regina, ice-cream in hand, Henry decided to bring up Walsh.

He admitted it was kind of a test. He wanted to see how she’d react to the news of his mom almost getting married. He wanted to see if… maybe she might be interested the same was he was sure his mother was interested in her.

Regina's reaction surprised him. Instead of asking questions about Walsh, like the Nolans had, she just… listened to him. She asked about him, how he was dealing with the situation, and if he was disappointed that they wouldn’t be getting married.

“I don’t know,” he answered honestly. “I liked the idea of having him around. You know having a family. That sort of thing. But he obviously wasn’t… like… the one or anything for Mom.”

She looked at him sympathetically.

They walked in silence for a few minutes. Henry looked at her out the corner of his eye. It seemed like she was trying to figure out how to say something she didn’t know how to phrase.

Henry had only met a handful of his mother’s boyfriends. Todd, the one she dumped shortly after she introduced them, was kind of… He was avoidant. Not mean or outright rude. Just distant. Todd wasn’t interested in getting to know Henry. It seemed like he’d have preferred to just be on good terms with Henry than to actually spend time with him.

It made him feel like crap, if he was being honest with himself. The others were nice enough sure but they never stuck around long enough to propose to Mom. Except, well… Walsh.

“I think I may have killed the mood. Sorry.”

“You didn’t,” she said at once.

He laughed. “That’s okay.” He looked at her curiously, wondering if she’d give him a straight answer about the situation. “How do you and my mom know each other?”

Her eyes widened.

“I mean I asked her but… her answer was…”

“Vague?” she guessed.

He nodded.

Regina shook her head slightly. “That’s my fault. We didn’t start off on the…” She cut the crap. “We hated each other.”

“That’s a strong word.”

She laughed to herself. “You don’t know the half of it. Murder was contemplated.”

“So… you guys didn’t like each other.”

“Not at all,” she smiled. She looked kind of sad about the whole thing.

Henry frowned. “What about now?”

She considered the question for a moment. “We’re… well, I don’t know if ‘friend’ is the right word. Probably not considering… everything.” She looked at him for a moment. “But we’re… speaking so…”

“Let me guess. It’s complicated?”

She grimaced. “Not my choice of phrasing but surprising apt.”

Henry decided to drop to topic. They were both weird about it.

“Would you like to sit down?”

“Sure.” Henry followed her to the bench.

He thought about Walsh and the few other boyfriends he’d met. Regina seemed to care about him in some capacity. Or at the very least, eager to try. She gave up her Saturday afternoon to babysit her not-friend’s kid. So either she had no plans for the weekend, or she was seriously into Mom.

“We should hang out again.”

Her eyes lit up. “Really?” she asked, tone hopeful.

Oh, she’s a goner, Henry thought. He hummed and nodded. “Yeah. Maybe you could show me some more of the town?”

“I’d like that.”

“You guys have certainly got that small town charm.”

She smiled. “Storybrooke’s not as glamourous as the big apple but we are abundant in charm.”

“You ever been? To New York.”

She shook her head. “Boston, once, but never New York.”

“I used to live there. Boston’s better.” Henry spoke about his childhood there. He told her about moving to New York. Regina seemed really interested in everything he shared. “Maybe I’m biased because I grew up there, but I really like Boston better.” He shrugged. “New York’s cool too. I mean you can’t beat their libraries. You should visit us. After Mom’s cracked her case and we head back.”

She looked surprised. Not by the offer, but by the mention of the case. Regina gave a polite smile and delicately changed the topic.

Chapter Text

Henry was at the Nolan’s again, sitting on their couch, bored out of his mouth. And his mom was late to pick him up. Again. He was annoyed with her. She had been late for two days in a row. He noticed the phonebook on the bookshelf, took it down and looked up the number for City Hall. No answer. He huffed and put the phone down.

He thought for a second longer, picked up his smartphone, then dialled Regina’s cell, because yes, the woman he was pretty sure his mother was secretly in a relationship with gave him her cell number.

Her phone rang a few times, but she didn’t answer. He sent a text instead, stared at it for a few seconds then realised how sad that was so he texted his mom a stream of crying emojis after ‘zombies r close. send help pls’.

After twenty minutes, his phone started buzzing. Mom! He thought. Henry immediately cringed at himself.

“Hey mom,” he answered.

“Kid. Zombie reinforcements are running late.”

“This is the third night,” he groaned. “What are you even doing right now?”

“Tracking down a lead.”

“You seem really invested in this ‘case’, Mom.”

“Well, it does pay the bills.”

“Riiiiight. Your top suspects wouldn’t happen to be the Nolans, would they?” She laughed at him.  “Come on, they’re way too nice to be real. Like, how well do you know them, Mom?”

“How well do you know anyone really?”

He groaned. “You’re not soothing my theory that this town is a Stephen King novel come to life.”

She snorted. “Are you scared of farmla-”

“Emma, can I have my car keys back?” someone on the other end of her line called out. Someone who sounded suspiciously like…

He sat up so quickly he got dizzy. No way! “Is that Regina?”

His mom let out a heavy sigh before admitting, “Okay, so I… lied.” This was not helping his other theory either.

“Figured.”

“I'm at the hospital. Someone... attacked Regina and-”

“What, oh my god, is she okay?”

Mom laughed lightly. “Yeah, she's fine. You should see the other guy.”

“Can I speak to her?”

He knew he was pushing his luck with the request, that she would probably say no, that she would say no unless…

“Sure.”

He was completely surprised when his mom said yes, and more surprised by Regina’s quiet: “Hello?”

A huge grin spread across Henry's face. This confirmed his suspicions that there was something more than just a friendship between them.

“Regina, Mom told me what happened. Are you okay?”

She scoffed. “I'm alright, Henry. The trip to the hospital was a complete overreaction on your mother's part. I was just about to leave, but noticed that someone had stolen my car keys.”

He heard his mom’s voice in the background. “You shouldn’t be driving, Madame Mayor.”

Regina responded, her voice muffled. “I’m not spending another second in your death wagon, Swan.” She returned her attention to their conversation. “Henry, I won't keep your mother any longer. I'll see to it that she gets back to you soon.”

Henry couldn't help but chuckle under his breath as he said his goodbyes and hung up the phone.

He waited by the window of the Nolan’s apartment and watched for his mother’s car. Finally, his patience was rewarded and a sleek black Mercedes pulled up: probably Regina’s car. Mom stepped out and lingered by the driver's window, exchanging a few short words with Regina before she headed toward the building.

He seated himself on the couch and pulled up Mrs Nolan’s book on babies. The moment his mom walked in, he repeated Mrs Nolan’s spiralling monologue about cradle cap, imitating her voice with startling accuracy.

Mom plucked he book from his hand.

“These people are killing me,” he whispered. “They’re trying to suck the fun out of everything. They won’t even let me go to the library.”

“I’ll find you more fun babysitters,” she promised.

Chapter Text

Almost two weeks now, Henry thought. He had been stuck in this creepy town for almost two weeks now, and each day further cemented his growing suspicion that his mom had feelings for the Mayor. Her love-life would not normally interest him this much, but he had nothing better to do with his time, and honestly, his mom being gay would explain a loooot.

“Do you like Regina?” He asked her point-blank one morning when she entered his room – she always woke him up before they headed down to the diner for breakfast.

“What?” Her head snapped in his direction, and she quickly shut the door.

“Do you like Regina?” He repeated.

She was stunned, literally could not speak.

“Look,” he said quickly, “I love you and I support you no matter what-”

“Kid, I… thank you?” She was confused now. “Wait, what is happening right now?”

“I’m trying to guide you out of the closet.”

Her eyes bulged. “Henry-”

“Okay, so my current theory is that you two were together before I was born or something, or before Walsh at the very least, and him proposing to you was probably what made you decide to come back to this creepy ass town in the buttcrack of nowhere and take on this ‘case’.” He made air quotes around the word. “If she’s like The One… or if you’re thinking about getting back together with her then maybe you should just go for it.” He hurriedly rephrased, “No, you should definitely go for it. And if you haven’t because you were worried about me or what I would say… well, you don’t have to be! I’m on board; I approve; you have my blessing, etcetera, etcetera.”

“Henry, that’s- I’m not- what?” Mom shook her head, trying to make sense of the situation. “I’m not here to get back together with Regina.” She stumbled over her words, confused and clearly in denial, Henry thought. “We’re not even… we’ve never… I… There’s nothing there!”

He gave her a knowing look. “You’re a human lie-detector, Mom and you passed on the gene.”

“We were never together.”

He blinked, taken aback by that. Boy, had he read things wrong then. But his Stephen King novel theory wasn’t going anywhere, this was the only viable one he had left. “Okay, fine so you never got your shit together, I can buy that, but that’s all the more reason to try now.”

She gave him a disapproving look and he knew his usual three curse limit was maxed out just by the word ‘shit’. “I’m not going to try now. There’s nothing to try for,” she said exasperatedly.

“There’s nothing?” He repeated, crossing his arms over his chest. “Really? Then why did you pluck me out of school without any warning and move us six hours from New York?”

Mom sputtered. “The case.”

Seriously? He stared at her. “Mom…”

She looked at him, helpless and defeated. “I…” She dragged herself to a nearby chair and collapsed into it. “I thought I was doing better at hiding it. Am I that transparent?”

Finally! He thought, while giving her a sympathetic smile. “You both kinda are.”

Mom laughed sadly.

He sat down on the bed, facing her. “What’s stopping you from telling her? I mean she’s clearly not straight.”

“Since when are you such an expert on sexuality?”

“I’m fifteen and have an internet connection,” he answered, delivery deadpan. “Come on, tell me.”

She laughed, embarrassed. “She's seeing someone.”

“Bullshit.”

Mom nodded in agreement. “Right?” She muttered, shaking her head in disbelief. “I think she even called him her soulmate.”

Oh shit. She was serious. This was real. Regina really was involved with someone else. Shit. Wait, did she say…? “Him? Regina’s dating a guy?” Henry couldn’t wrap his head around it. After seeing the way she acted around his mom, and all their interactions, he was convinced she was gay. Okay, okay, maybe she was bisexual. She had to be bi at the very least. It made no sense otherwise.

She nodded again. “Him,” she confirmed. “They met a few weeks ago.”

“A few weeks... A few weeks ago! Mom, come on, it can't be that serious then. You've still got a shot.”

“Kid…” She shook her head, looked pained. “She's happy. I don't want to ruin... she's happy,” she reiterated. “I've known her a long time. She's not someone to rush into things like this, and if she says she's happy, then she's happy. And honestly, that's all I've really wanted for her.”

Henry's eyes widened in disbelief. “What, so that's it?”

“That's it, kiddo.”

He was quiet for a few seconds, allowing the failure of his second theory to sink in. “Wait, then why are we still here?”

“The case.”

That gave him pause. “There’s actually a case?”

“Of course there’s a case,” Mom laughed. “You think I’d pull you out of school to play sidekick for no good reason?”

He looked away sheepishly. “I mean… kinda?”

Chapter Text

They’re idiots, Henry realised. His mom and Regina, they were idiots. After pressing his mom for information about this guy Regina was dating—Robin Hood was the code name his mother had given—he noticed too many similarities between him and his mother. First there was the physical stuff – they were both blonde with green eyes and a tattoo on their wrists, different tattoos but still. Then there was the other stuff – they were both thieves at some point, lost their first loves and were now single parents to sons. It was too much of a coincidence. He pointed this out to his mom. “He’s basically the guy version of you,” he’d said. She made a face and told him he was seeing things that weren’t there.

They’re idiots, he decided when he came up with Operation Soulmate Crusher. Step 1 was to gather intel of course, so he opted out of being babysat by the Nolans and asked to hang out with Regina instead. A request that his mother sceptically agreed to, and not without very many warnings against conducting any schemes. He painted a halo above his head and smiled sweetly. “What, come on, I like hanging out with her. She’s cool.”

Mom narrowed her eyes at him. “Never say that again. She is not ‘cool’.”

The intel gathering stage of Operation Soulmate Crusher revealed that Regina was not as into Mr Hood as his mom thought. He fake-gasped, “Shocker, I know.” He said this aloud when he was alone in his room at the B&B, and then, “They’re idiots.” She just thought she should be. Henry couldn’t figure out why she thought this. But that didn’t matter.

He stealthily dropped that information into a conversation with his mom. “She’s not that into him, you know,” he said, cutting her off mid-story. She was talking about Killian, how clueless he was with technology or something. He had to interrupt. He had to stop her before she went off and dated the guy version of Regina. Okay, that was too far, and kind of insulting towards Regina. They only really had dark hair and sarcasm in common.

Mom didn’t believe him. So, he gave on trying to persuade her and focused on Regina instead. It wasn’t even that long before he found out she dumped Robin. “He wasn’t the right person,” she said, before offering him a slice of apple pie. Person. Person, she said. She said person. Not man. Person.

He took a careful bite, overly cautious from his mom’s attempts at baking over the years, and instantly forgot about Robin. She could cook! Henry immediately loved her. He had to get his mom to date her.

A few weeks later, he finally snapped.

They were at the library – which was in a clock tower. It was pretty cool, he’d give Storybrooke that much. Regina had just gotten off the phone with his mom, had spent most of it bickering and trading playful barbs (her version of flirting) then smiling to herself at her responses.

He couldn’t take it anymore. “When are you going to ask my mom out?” he asked, staring her dead in the eyes.

She froze. It took a few seconds for her to gather herself enough to respond. Henry remained unblinking for the duration of her internal panic. “Why would I... Why are you asking me that, Henry?”

He tilted his head to the side. “She likes you. You like her. Now, I’m no expert on these things, being only fifteen and not having dated yet, but… I do know that if you like someone you ask them out. So… why haven’t you?” She tried to speak but couldn’t. He took pity on her. “She likes you too, you know.”

That snapped her out of it. “No, she doesn’t.”

“Yeah, she does.”

She looked hopeful for a split second and shook her head, refusing to believe him.

“She told me so herself.” Her eyes snapped up to him. Gotcha, he though triumphantly. “But she hasn’t done anything because she thinks you’re still with that hoodsy guy even though you broke up like two weeks ago. I tried to clear that up, but she didn’t believe me. So, it's gotta come from you.” He stared at her until she nodded. “Great.” He nodded back. He got up and gathered his books. She looked like she was freaking out on the inside and though everyone said he was ‘wise beyond his years’ Henry knew he was in no way equipped to deal with someone else’s internal torture. He could barely handle calculus. “I’m kinda hungry. Can we get lunch?”

“Sure.” She got up quickly, gathering her stack of books from the table they were seated at, visibly grateful for the distraction. She gave him a too-bright smile. “How about someplace other than Granny’s today?”

“I didn’t know this town had more than one take-out place.”

She glanced at him. “Well then you’ll be absolutely blown away to find out about the arcade.”

An arcade? Oh god, that would be awesome! “Can we go there instead?”

“I don’t see why not.”

He grinned at her. Ice-cream, the library, now the arcade and lunch? Ether his mom was going to date her,  or he was gonna to have to trick her into signing his adoption papers and trap them together as co-parents until they finally got their shit together.

Chapter Text

Henry stood peering through the eyehole in the hotel room across his mom’s room. He swiped the key to it while Granny wasn’t looking. Well, 'swipe' was a bit much. He had temporarily borrowed it without permission. There. Better. Mom kicked him out a few minutes ago.

“Beat it, kid,”

He looked up from his seat at the vanity in her room. “Oooh is someone nervous about their date?” He teased. 

“Yes, and I don’t need you around to worsen it so get out. Go order a milkshake downstairs and wait for Killian to pick you up. If you ask nice he'll even take you to kill zombies at the arcade. Just get out of here,” she said, running between her suitcase and the pile of clothing on her bed, trying to find something to wear.

“I think I deserve a little credit for playing cupid. I could help you pick out an- oh, God no, mom you can’t wear that. You’re not going for a job interview. Let me help.”

She tossed him his hoodie and Gameboy. “Out.”

He knew not to argue with that tone and decided to continue with the steak-out part of Operation Soulmate Crusher from across the hall. He continued looking out the eyehole. High heels clacked on the floor before Regina came into view.

What was up with these women? She looked like she was going for a job interview too. Then again pantsuits kinda were her thing, being the mayor and all. Okay, fine, he decided to let her off the hook, instead crossing his fingers that his mother had found something presentable to wear.

Regina paused outside the door, hand raised to knock. She quickly brought her hand back down and adjusted her blazer. She was fidgeting. She seemed kinda nervous. Henry noticed a single yellow rose in her hand. Odd choice, he thought. Mom liked pink tulips. Maybe he should have given Regina some pointers. He thought they knew each other. Okay, okay, it was too late to worry now.

She raised her hand and knocked. About five seconds later, his mom opened the door. Good job Mom, he thought, knowing that she was probably watching her window and had been aware of the exact second the Regina pulled up outside. And she was wearing a decent outfit too! Wow, he was so proud of her. Good, he said, silently thanking the universe.

The inn was relatively empty. He could hear snippets of their conversation, the hellos and uncertain compliments. He could see Regina boldly step forward, hold his mom’s face and then kiss her lightly on the cheek. Mom turned scarlet and Henry muffled a laugh.

The rose must have been an inside joke or reference between the two of them because when Regina lifted it to view, Mom couldn’t stop smiling.

“You do like yellow, don’t you?” Regina asked, with all the confidence of someone who already knows the answer to a question they’d just asked.

Her smile got wider. “I do.”

He watched them walk off, talking like nothing had changed between them when he was certain everything had. He punched the air. Yes! Operation Soulmate Crusher was a success. His happiness was short-lived when he realised he had a day with a delusion wannabe pirate ahead of him.

Chapter Text

Mom and Regina had been on two dates so far and you’d think she would have calmed down or at the very least be less freaked out by picking an outfit.

“Kid, I’m taking you up on that offer,” she said.

Left, left, duck. Yes! Level forty-two here he came! “What offer?” Duck, duck, jump, right, duck, up, left, duck, up, up, d— She plucked the Gameboy from his hands. “What?! Huh-uh, Mooooom,” he whined. “Come on, not cool, give it back.”

She tossed it behind her, onto her bed. “Which one?” She held up two dresses on white hangers in front of him.

“Since when do you even own dresses?”

“Just…” She looked at him in frustration. “Help.”

“Okay, okay.” He looked at the dresses. There was a hot pink one that he immediately scoffed at.

“So that’s a nope,” she said, barely sparing the dress a glance before she threw it in the general direction of the chair of laundry. She looked at the other dress. “This one?”

Black leather. And short. “Um… Sure.”

Her eyes widened and zipped between him and the dress. “Sure?” She repeated, panicked. “Oh, god, should I just… No, I can’t. These are the only two dresses I have.”

Henry tilted his head to the side. “And you have to wear a dress because…?”

She gave him a look. “Because she asked me out to dinner, Henry. Dinner!”

He stared back, unimpressed, and got up to retrieve his Gameboy. “Regina knows what you dress like, Mom. She won’t care. I’m pretty sure you could show up in a bear-claw-stained shirt and she wouldn’t even notice.”

“Oh, she’ll notice, and then she’d point it out either by a joke about how I eat like a child or a comment about chewing with closed mouths, and she’d say it in that low voice she does, leaning so fucking close—I swear she has no concept of personal space sometimes—and I’d end up blushing and stuttering like an idiot and then she’d smirk and… and…” She did a silent frustrated scream. “I just wanna look nice, okay?”

He looked up from his Gameboy. “You want to look nice so that she doesn’t flirt with you?” He said slowly.

“I want to be able to flirt back,” she corrected. “I can’t do that if I’m always acting like a dumbass, if she always has the upper hand.”

“So… hot pink is your go-to?”

“Oh my god. Kid. I need your advice here. It’s either you or Mary-Margaret, help me out please.”

He rolled his eyes. “The black leather dress. It’ll give you the upper hand.”

“Are you-”

“Please do not make me say it again, Mom.”

She breathed in relief. “Okay, thanks.” She got dressed in the en suite.

Henry played on his Gameboy in the meantime, knowing that given how nervous she was he’d have to stick around for the make-up and jewellery portion of this evening too. Let’s try this again level forty-two.

“Okay, honest opinion please.”

Up, up, up, left, no, no, duck. Damnit. “Gimme a sec.” He was losing. No, no, no. Aaaaaand he lost. Damn. With a disappointed sigh, Henry looked up. “Oh.”

“Oh? What does ‘oh’ mean?”

“It means you look… weirdly… nice…?”

“Why do you sound so surprised?” Her eyes got big. “Shit, is it too much? It is. Shit. Shit, shit, shit. Should I change?” Mom looked at her phone. “No, crap. I don’t have time to change, I…” Her eyes got even wider and she ran to the window. “Oh, thank god, she’s not here yet. I… Oh my g-”

“Ma, you need to chill.” He got up and put his hands on her shoulders. Okay, this was weird. “You’re taller than me.” He looked at her heels. “I don’t like it. It’s weird.” He shook his head. Not the point, he reminded himself. He looked her over once more. Mom had gone with the black leather dress, really tall heels with silver spikes on them, matching rings on like eight of her ten fingers, and had tied her hair up in a high ponytail. He looked closer at her face. “Are you wearing eyeliner?”

“Yeah. Killian-”

“Killian?” Henry laughed loudly. “Please tell me the rest of that sentence is that he lent you his eyeliner?”

“He doesn’t share eyeliner, but yes, he did teach me how to use it.”

He burst out laughing at that and so did she, her nerves lessening. Henry rubbed her shoulders. “Feel better?”

“Yeah.” Mom quickly hugged him.  “I know I’m being weird and I’m sorry.”

He shrugged. “I’m used to it.” He squeezed her once before letting go. “Have fun, but not too much fun and remember my bedtime is eleven PM sharp so I’ll need to be picked up from pirate daycare by ten-thirty for the latest.”

“How do you feel about a later bedtime?”

He gasped, mock-affronted. “On a school-night? Not a chance, Mom.”

“You’ve been homeschooled since we got here.”

“Which means we’ll both need an early night.”

“Ugh, you’re the worst.”

Chapter Text

Unfortunately, Henry had realised on day one of pirate daycare that although Killian was more than happy to take him to the arcade, he was slightly uncomfortable there. Most of the games required two hands to play and the few that could be played one-handed, Killian had gotten bored of easily. So, they had to find something else to do.

Regina took him to the horse ranch a couple times last month, and to his surprise, Killian suggested the same activity. It turned out the dude had some equestrian talent in addition to all his nautical knowledge. Henry’s running theory in regard to Killian was that he was seriously into LARPing and had forgotten that he was LARPing.

There was one major plus of the horse-riding hobby he’d acquired.

“Henry!”

He grinned and turned around. “Hey, Violet,” he waved at her.

She was atop Nicodemus, her grey horse, and riding towards him. “This isn’t your usual time,” she said, smiling, as she dismounted and approached him.

That was true. He took afternoon lessons from 3PM – 5PM on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and usually with Regina. Today was Friday and it was just after seven.

The sun was setting just behind Violet’s head, making her hair honey brown and skin golden. She looked so pretty. He said a silent thank you to the universe for letting him be there at that exact moment to see this exact image. Violet’s smile turned puzzled. Henry snapped out of his crush-addled mind.

“I… uh… oh, yeah. No, Killian and I needed do something to pass the time other than practice making knots on his ship again.”

Violet laughed, probably recalling how he’d complained about that particular Sunday.

“Well, you made a good choice. This is much more interesting that knot-tying.”

Killian hmphed. Henry’s face turned red when he remembered the LARPer was behind him this whole time.

“I was gonna take Nicodemus to the stables for a brush down. Would you like to help me?”

He nodded eagerly and followed her.

“I’ll just stay here then,” Killian called out.

Henry turned around and did a quick thumbs up to which Killian pursed his lips. He didn’t care. He followed Violet into the stables, smiling whenever she looked at him.

“Here.”

She passed him a brush and showed him how to groom the horse. He nervously followed all her instructions, eyes moving between grey fur and soft bristles to her eyes and then quickly away when hers flicked up to his.

She giggled.

“What?”

She shook her head. “I was just remembering how we met.”

Henry groaned and dropped his head onto Nicodemus’ back. That was so embarrassing. It was his first lesson, Regina had brought him, and was inside filling out the paperwork or something. He was trying to mount the horse, a white mare named Eden, when he saw Violet. She was wearing the full English riding outfit; a red jacket and boots, white pants (which he later found out are called breeches) and shiny black boots; her hair was in twin Dutch braids, and when he saw her, Henry missed his footing, lost his balance and fell flat on his back in the puddle of mud next to Eden.

Violet saw the whole thing, rode up to him, got off her horse, and asked if he was okay. He’d had a crush on her since then. Love at first sight, he liked to think. He had been trying to work up the courage to ask her out since then too.

She bumped him with her shoulder. “I think Nicodemus is tired. Are you done yet?”

He smoothed out the section he’d been brushing. “Yep, yeah, all done.”

He handed the brush back to her. Their hands touched. Her fingers lingered on his and instead of quickly pulling away like they usually did when this happened, they both looked up at each other. It felt as if time slowed down.

Violet’s eyes were so pretty. Wait. Was she…? Oh my god. She was leaning in! She was gonna kiss him. She was leaning in! She was leaning in to kiss him. She looked at his mouth and then up into his eyes. Henry’s throat went dry. Oh my god!! He closed his eyes and dipped his head forward. The moment before their lips touched, a wave of light, the magical energy of true loves kiss, burst through the land.

Henry froze, inches away from his first kiss, as his memories returned. He remembered everything. Everything! The curse, the poisoned apple turnover, Emma breaking the curse with true love’s kiss, Emma and Mary-Margaret falling into the portal into the Enchanted Forest, his mom kidnapping him, being trapped in the mansion, staying with David, getting Emma and Mary-Margaret back, his mom absorbing a death curse to bring them back, meeting his dad, Mr Gold being his grandfather, Neverland, Peter Pan being his great-grandfather, switching bodies with Pan, being trapped in Pandora’s box, Mr Gold killing himself in front of him, Pan’s curse, his mom sending him away. “A new life for you and Henry. You’ll have never given him up. You’ll have always been together.” He remembered crying in the passenger seat of the bug before his entire life disappeared in purple fog.

“You felt that too, right?” Violet asked, her eyes wide. “That wasn’t us, was it?”

He shook his head, barely able to speak.

She nodded, relieved, then winced. “Do you have your memories back?”

“H-how did-”

“The Ev… The Qu… er, your mom, she asked us not to tell you anything. Well, threatened, but…” She waved her hand.

“My mom.” He backed away. “I’m sorry, Violet. I have to…”

She nodded understandingly. “It’s alright, go.”

He gave her a quick smile and ran towards Killian. “I have to get back to town. I have to get to my moms.”

Killian extended a hand toward Henry and pulled him onto his horse.

Chapter Text

They stopped outside of Granny’s, the town central in any and all emergencies. Henry jumped off the horse and looked around wildly.

“Henry!”

He looked in the direction of the clocktower/library and saw his moms.

“Moms!”

He found himself running toward them. He launched into them in a fierce hug. Happy tears wet his eyes as he felt both their arms around him. A sense of déjà vu washed over him. Five years ago, it was him who had run to them from the clock tower. He had hugged them in this very same spot. And then, less than an hour later, his entire world fell apart.

“Moms. I missed you guys so much.”

“I’ve been here this whole time, kid.”

“And you didn’t even remember me until two seconds ago, Henry,” Mom said with a laugh.

She tried to pull back. Henry held tighter. “I still missed you,” he said, refusing to open his eyes or let go.

She kissed the top of his head. “I missed you too, my little prince.”

After a few more moments, Henry finally let go. He looked at them. They were still dressed up. Their date! He realised.

“Wait… Did you guys…? Was it your kiss that broke the curse?”

Mom looked at Mom. Her eyes turned soft. “Yeah.”

Chapter Text

It turned out he was right about them having feelings for each other. True love’s kiss had proved that, breaking the second curse in the process as well. Henry was glad to be home, to have his memories back, and to finally see both of his mothers happy.

Sure, there was all that stuff with Mom’s half-sister Zelena, but she was locked up safe and sound in the asylum now, and Mr Gold and Dad were in the process of being separated using the serum Dr Jekyll created that Mom had stolen in her Evil Queen days.

He was mildly upset that while he was stuck being bored out of his mind for two months, all these really cool things were happening in the background, but at the same time he understood why his moms lied about it. They were just trying to keep him safe. And now they were all together. Everything worked out in the end. He was happy.

The only thing ruining said happiness was all the boxes taking up his entire room. His things from New York had arrived a few days ago. It was the weekend. He would much rather have spent it at the movies or arcade or the ranch with Violet, but it seemed as if this Saturday would be spent exclusively on unpacking. But first! Breakfast. He needed breakfast.

There was giggling from the kitchen and when he stepped inside, Mom was kissing Mom against the counter.

“Ahem,” Henry cleared his throat. “Can you not do that in front of the eggs please?”

“Henry!” Mom startled, quickly blushing and stepping away from Mom. “Sweetheart, we didn’t see you there.”

“Clearly.”

“Regina…” Mom whined, staring after her, looking betrayed. She then glared at him. “Kid.”

He raised his palms. “Didn’t mean to interrupt the smooch-fest. I just wanted something to eat before I tackle Mount Boxerous.”

“You don’t even have that much stuff.”

“You should see the amount of things your mother has.” She turned to her. “I thought you said you weren’t sentimental.”

“I’m not,” she defended.

Mom passed him a plate and cutlery. “The bacon is almost done. Have a seat.”

“What? No, he can eat in his room.”

Henry, pretending to be offended, looked at her and then at the seat. “Nah, I think I’ll have breakfast with my parents today.” He gave her a faux sweet smile.

“Yeah, your influence is shining through right now, Mills.”

Mom scoffed. “Please, that’s all you, Swan.”

“Is not.” She sidled up behind Mom and wrapped her arms around her middle, kissing her neck.

He groaned. “Can you not flirt in front of me please?”

Mom copied his faux sweet smile. “You’re free to eat in your room, kid.”

The phone in Mom’s office rang. She removed Mom’s arms from around her and excused herself to answer it, touching his head on her way out of the kitchen. He smiled and followed her with his eyes when she left. When Henry turned back around Mom was staring at him with narrowed eyes.

“I’ll give you ten bucks if you finish unpacking by ten and stay out of here till curfew.”

Curfew was at ten-thirty. That was a lot of time alone. Why would…? Oh. Ew! He made a face but considered her offer. “It’ll take me a few hours at the very least. I can finish by one. And make it fifty.”

She laughed. “Twenty bucks and done by noon.”

“Noon? Twenty bucks and you’re trying to get rid of me for ten hours? Be serious, Mom.”

“Fine, thirty.”

“Forty.”

“You’re pushing it, kid.”

He shrugged, knowing he had the upper hand. “I’ll just stay home then. Maybe we can play board games or something. You know bond as a family.”

Her eye twitched. “Thirty-five.”

He pretended to think it over as she went to the stove and flipped the bacon in the pan.

“Final offer,” Mom said, dishing a few strips onto his plate.

Mom hung up the phone. He could hear her walking toward the kitchen.

“Deal,” he said quickly, mentally planning what he would wear to see Violet later.