A/N: A two shot for Jessie Hodges and an entry for the St. Patricks Day Contest on my FB page (check out my profile for the link! Couldn't have been done without my fellow OUAT writer and friend ooncer! Thanks a million girl!

Disclaimer: Once Upon A Time and all character's and familiar dialogue from the show belong to Disney/ABC and the show's brilliant creators and writers. No profit is being made from this just having fun with my favorite show.

1

The Luck of the Irish

Henry Mills stood on the porch of the Gold's salmon colored Victorian twiddling his thumbs nervously. Today was St. Patrick's Day, the day of luck. He had made himself a promise that by the end of the day, he was going to ask Grace out. The Gold's were having a party and he wanted to invite her. Only he didn't have a clue how to even talk to a girl, let alone ask her out. Especially not one as pretty as Grace. Not to mention the fact that her father was the Mad Hatter, if he found out what Henry was trying to do and decided he didn't like it…well, Henry wasn't sure what he would do. Most of the time Jefferson seemed like a nice, simple, caring man, but Henry knew that whatever had happened in Wonderland still affected him somehow, and that those traits showed themselves mostly when he was angry. And making the Mad Hatter angry was not something Henry wanted to do. He'd thought about asking Emma or his grandparents to help him with his little conundrum, but quickly dismissed the idea. He could just imagine it…


"You want to know how to ask her out?'" Emma asked when her son confessed his dilemma.

Henry nodded, solemnly

"Alright then, kid. Here's what you do. Walk up to her and say 'Hi, Grace. I was just wondering if you would go out with me?"

"Oh, very funny, Ma!" Henry huffed, rolling his eyes

"Emma!" chastised Mary Margaret, who crossed over from the kitchen and sat down next to her bemused grandson. "Henry, this is a big deal!" her eyes shone with excitement and she took a notepad from the coffee table drawer. "If this is going to be a real date, you'll need to formally ask her out. Then we'll need to get you a tux and some new shoes because you can't just go in your-"

"A tux? Mary Margaret, he's asking her to a St. Patrick's Day party, not the senior prom!" Emma chimed in.

"I agree with mom, the idea is to let her know I like her, not scare her away!"

"Honestly, kid? Just wear your jeans and a green shirt. That's what everybody will be wearing."

"He can't wear jeans on a first date!" cried Mary Margaret, appalled.

"I did," Emma admitted, half smirking, half sheepish.

"Yes, well that explains a lot," the brunette murmured under her breath, thinking of her daughter's past boyfriends, a jail inmate and a flying monkey. Now she understood how Emma attracted such...oddballs.


Henry shook his head, laughing to himself. That might not be exactly what they would say, but he knew his mother and grandmother would have very...different opinions on the subject, and he was already nervous enough. He wondered what they would think if they knew he was asking Rumplestiltskin of all people, for dating advice. Since the whole Neverland incident, everyone had been on better terms with the pawnbroker, especially after the Wicked Witch had brought him back from... well who knows where he was? Still, Henry knew his parents and the rest of the family, Charming and Snow especially, were wary of making deals with the former Dark One. As it stood though, Rumple was Henry's only lead right now. He'd remembered Red saying a while back that Rumple and Grace's dad Jefferson were good friends, so hopefully his grandfather knew something that could help Henry impress the Hatter's daughter. Taking a deep breath, he stepped forward and rang the doorbell.

Rumple opened the door, dressed in a long robe and fuzzy slippers, his hair sticking up at all ends. Henry had to bite his lip to keep from laughing out loud, "Henry? Lad, what are you doing here so early?" the pawnbroker asked.

"I, er, was wondering if I might be able to ask you for some advice?" Henry stammered nervously.

"Advice? At 10:30 in the morning?" Rumple huffed.

"Er...um...yes?" Henry cringed as his voice cracked on the last word. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea… "It couldn't wait til a more suitable time?" his grandfather sighed.

"Er...um...I kinda have a deadline…"

"A deadline?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"That sounds ominous, my boy. You'd better come in."

He motioned for Henry to step inside and led him into the kitchen where he poured some coffee for himself and got out the fixings to make hot chocolate for his grandson, "Now, what is it Henry? " he asked as he heated the milk and stirred in the the cocoa with a spoon.

"Well, you see, the thing is…" he trailed off, wondering how best to phrase this. He cautiously sat down as Rumple brought over the drinks. He gratefully accepted the hot chocolate, wrapping his hands around the steaming mug. After a long sip, he took a breath and tried again. "I want to ask Grace to come with me to the party tonight." he blurted.

"Ah," Rumple smiled knowingly, "Finally talked to her did you?"

"No, not...exactly," Henry looked down sheepishly, "Actually I haven't said anything to her in weeks. That's the problem!"

Rumple's brow furrowed, "And why is that?"

Henry fidgeted, "I don't know!" he groaned, flustered. "She just makes me so nervous. I never know what to say," he moaned.

His grandfather laughed a bit at the boy's distressed face.

Henry glared, "Grandpa its not funny! What do I do?" his pleading gaze searched the pawnbrokers face frantically.

Rumple chuckled and patted his grandson's hand, "You forget dearie, that it was Belle who courted me, not the other way around. Perhaps you should ask her how she did it."

"How I did what Rumple?" Belle asked, pitter pattering into the kitchen in a light blue nightgown and nearly making Henry jump out of his skin. "Good morning love." Rumple purred, getting up from his chair and wrapping his arms around her waist affectionately, "Henry here was just asking for some advice about Grace. He wants to take her to the party tonight." Gold smiled and Belle beamed at her grandson.

"Oh Henry," she sympathised, "I'm sure Grace would love to go with you. There's no need to be nervous."

"I hope so. I'm just not sure how to ask her," he admitted sadly. "I mean, how do I do it without things getting….weird? Mom and Neal have been going out for months now and they still act fidgety around each other. I really like her and I want to go with her, but I don't want to ruin our friendship."

"How about asking her to go as friends first?" Belle suggested, "Then at the party, if it's going well, you could ask her to go out another time? That way, you'll have the whole party to talk to her and work out how to ask." Henry had to admit it did make sense, even though he had wanted the St Patrick's Day party to be their first "date". At least it would ease him in gently and Belle was right, there was less risk of damaging their friendship that way.

"You know," interrupted Rumple thoughtfully. "I think I might have just the thing in my shop that could help," he smiled and picked his keys up from the counter.

"Really?" Henry beamed and breathed a sigh of relief, standing up to follow his grandfather. Rumple placed a kiss on his wife's cheek and Henry thanked her for the advice before the pair set off in the direction of the pawnshop.


The little bell tinkled as they entered and immediately Rumple walked through to the back and rested his cane against a pile of ancient books. "Just wait here, laddie," he smiled as he ventured deeper into the cluttered storage room. "And be careful not to touch anything!"

Henry did as he was told but carefully made his way around the shop, looking at the different items on sale. He picked up several items, inspecting them and playing a game with himself, trying to guess who they belonged to. He was eventually interrupted by a satisfied "Aha!" and his grandfather appeared clutching a large wooden box.

He cleared a space on an antique desk and set the box down before waving his hand over it slowly. A green light illuminated it for a second and Henry looked up at his grandfather, eyebrows knitted in confusion and curiosity. "Just a little protection charm," Rumple said by way of an explanation. With the utmost care, he flipped the lock and lifted the lid to reveal a smaller box of emerald velvet.

Henry's heart stopped for a moment. "Er, grandpa, I can barely ask Grace to the party,I don't want to propose to her!"

Rumple smiled with genuine amusement. "Relax, my boy," he said and he pulled up the lid of the box. It creaked a little as he did so and Henry peered over to see inside. On a bed of green silk sat a coin so golden and shiny that he could almost see his reflection in it. There was a shape in the middle that Henry had never seen before.

"What's that?" he asked, his curiosity peaked.

"That, Henry, is the Celtic Cross. It's one of the symbols of St Patrick."

"St Patrick, like the party tonight?"

"The very same." replied Rumple with a smile, "St Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland. I managed to procure this coin from a powerful magician who enchanted it in such a way that whomever has it in their possession is sure to be lucky."

"So, if I ask Grace to the party with this, she'll say yes?" Henry asked with a hint of doubt. "Indeed," his grandfather confirmed. "All you have to do is turn it over in your hand four times and you can't fail."

Henry grinned. He should have known that his grandfather would have something like this up his sleeve. Perhaps it hadn't been such a bad idea to ask him after all.


Ps: If you are reading this, you must like OUAT :) If so, come check out an AWESOME Fanfiction and Art Facebook group I started with WritelkeUmeanit, Emilie Brown, and our fellow Oncers! Its called OUAT Fan Fiction and Creations. The link is on my profile. Hope you enjoyed, and hope to see you there! :D