Chapter Text
Chad had been so excited for his day—until he realized that they weren't coming with him.
Because apparently, they'd forgotten to tell him that parents don't go to school with their kids and apparently, he'd never been to one outside of the orphanage before.
“No! No! I sorry! Don't go!” Chad clung to David's legs, bawling his eyes out.
“It’s only for a few hours, honey.” Snow tried to soothe.
“I sorry mama! I sorry! I'll bes good!”
“Buddy, this isn’t a punishment.” David was starting to think that they should just homeschool Chad, but Snow was insistent that he socialize with other kids. “You’re gonna have so much fun, and then we’ll come back and pick you up at the end of the day.”
He shook his head. Frightened still that this was some kind of trick and that they were just lying to get rid of him.
Audrey let go of Aurora's hand.
“You excited for school, princess?” Aurora asked her, cheerfully.
She nodded but she wasn't looking at Aurora; she was looking past her. Unlike Ariana, who was still clinging to Philip.
“What’re you looking at?” Aurora tried to see what had stolen her daughter’s attention.
She saw the Charmings with their new little boy who seemed to be having a hard time.
“He looks…sad. Like PJ when he wakes up.”
“And me.” Philip said, yawning and scratching his chin.
“Well, why don’t we go over and introduce ourselves to him. Maybe you can convince him that school can be fun?” Aurora suggested.
Audrey lit up at the idea and took off, making Aurora think that maybe—just maybe that Audrey had had a similar idea.
Chad was still crying when he felt someone poke him. Causing his crying to slow down, due to the overwhelming confusion he was now feeling as he came face to face with a little girl dressed in all pink.
“Hi, I'm Audrey!”
When Chad didn’t respond, David gently nudged him. “Say hello, Chad.”
“...hi..”
“What class is you in? I'm in Mrs. Gos…Gosh-ling’s class!”
“I think it’s Mrs. Gosling, dear.” Snow corrected, gently. “And Chad, isn’t that the same teacher you have?”
The blonde nodded.
“Do you wanna walks with me?” Audrey promoted, like her grammy would have wanted her to.
David knelt down, so he was eye level with Chad. “Buddy, I know you’re gonna miss me and Mommy, but Audrey here is gonna show you the ropes. You’ll be just fine, and Mommy and I’ll be back to pick you up before you know it, okay?”
“Pwomise?”
“I promise. ” David placed a hand over his heart.
“And I promise too.” Snow agreed, running a hand through Chad’s curls.
Chad sniffled but, ever so slowly, he retreated from David's legs and walked over to a beaming Audrey who offered him her hand and started pulling him to the school.
To Snow’s surprise, David started to sniffle. “Are you crying?!”
“No!...Maybe. He’s just grown so much since we adopted him.” Snow rubbed his arm. “And plus, we never got to do this with Emma. So, I’m glad. That we get to experience the first day with Chad and Leo, eventually.”
“No!” CJ protested, gripping Emma's jacket.
“Calista Jane,” Emma sighed. She had been trying to pry CJ off of her for the last ten minutes. “ Please let go.”
“No!”
Harriet huffed and yanked CJ off, ignoring her kicking, demonic screeching, hitting, and biting as she marched towards the school.
Leaving Emma alone with only Harry.
Emma was fairly certain that CJ’s tiny fingers had left bruises, and she rubbed her arms. “So, kid. On a scale of ten to CJ, how excited are you for school?”
Harry just hopped on his feet. “Uma and Gil and our crewmates and I’s all got the same teacher.”
“That’s nice.” Emma reeeeeally hoped the teacher had the patience of a saint. “You all ready to go in?”
He squeezed her hand. “...yes?”
Emma chuckled. “You don’t sound so sure. Is something bothering you?”
“I misses you already.”
“Oh, baby.” Emma stooped down and hugged him tight. “I’ll miss you, too. But it’s only for a few hours.”
He hugged her back. “Bye mama, love you!”
And then he was pulling back, running into school.
Evie hummed, clutching Robin's sleeve in her own.
“Are you excited for school, little one?” Robin asked her, almost nervous. Whether or not Evie herself was ready, Robin didn’t think that he was.
“Uh huh! I likes school!”
“Great.” This might be the thing that made The Great Robin Hood cry. Walking his baby girl to school. And then he’d have to do it all over again with Margot.
“Have you ever beens to school, daddy?”
“Not like the school here.” He explained. “When I was a young boy, my father hired many tutors to educate me. They came to our manor, not the other way around.”
The bluenette looked confused for a moment before her face lit up in recognition. Clutching the straps of her little red apple backpack tightly in her small hands. “Oh. Like whens my old mommy taughts me?”
“I suppose so. Public school will be very different, so if you’re not up for it…” He was partially hoping she’d agree to be homeschooled, he’d heard enough school horror stories from Henry, that he almost didn’t want any of his children attending public school.
“I misseds school.”
“Very, well, princess. I hope you learn a lot, then.” Robin smiled. He was happy that Evie was so happy.
“Mommy? Whens am I goin’ ta go to school?”
Cruella looked up from the magical talking box, wrinkling her nose. “Why on earth would you actually want to attend a school, darling? Aren’t children supposed to despise it?”
The toddler paused, clearly thinking over her words so that he could answer like the smart little boy he was. “I likes learnin’!”
That was her Carlos.
Her sweet, sweet Carlos who'd be eaten alive the moment he went to an actual school.
The thought made her blanch. “Perhaps in a few years, darling.”
That seemed to be enough to please him for the moment, judging by the smile that replaced his pensive frown. “Cans I watch TV withs you?”
Relieved that the conversation had changed from her baby leaving her, Cruella opened her arms for Carlos to climb into her lap. “Absolutely.”