AN: Based on a prompt I received for Glass Believer: beach sunset + „That wasn't all too bad"
For more notes see bottom!
Henry kept rubbing circles along Lucy's back a few minutes after her breathing had evened. The day had exhausted her, despite the fact they were on vacation in Aurora and Phillip's kingdom. But staying out in the salty air by the beach had its effect on the young girl. She had fallen asleep way too fast for his liking. So he prolonged the moment on his own by staying by her side a bit, before he got up and left the bungalow on his tiptoes.
His careful steps led him out to the porch and down the few feet on the sand. Three deck chairs were facing the coast line. The sun had set while Lucy fell asleep, but the scene was still lit in a range of gloomy blues and pinks.
In one of the chairs sat Ella. She held one of his note books, but her gaze was fixed on the water. Lost deep in thought, she didn't seem to notice him.
"Hey, thief" Henry called out.
As intended, that caught her attention. And after just a second, she managed to mirror Henry' teasing grin.
"Well, how could I steal from you? I thought we vowed to share everything?" she shot back at him, almost a little to enthusiastic.
"Yes, that we did." He leaned over to place a kiss on her temple before settling in the free chair next to her.
She smiled down at her hands, but then her brow furrowed. Sadness settled in her eyes and she started fumbling with the front page of the journal.
"Heart, what's wrong?"
"Nothing, really."
He raised his eyebrows. She could never hide when something was troubling her, and in the way she mumbled those words without looking at him, he knew something was off. And she knew just as much.
"Well, I read a bit of what you wrote in your journal here. These stories of knights in armor, rescuing princesses, slaying dragons… That stuff."
"It's my writing journal… when I get ideas for stories I scribble a few paragraphs down there." It was an odd little hobby that he got stranded with after his time in Seattle, when he thought he was a fictional writer. Although it wasn't of much practical use to him now – after all, he wasn't a writer in the conventional sense, and didn't plan on ever releasing a novel. So why bottle up ideas?- it had become a habit in the Heights, and he kept it. Just as many kept parts of their cursed selves with them. He did enjoy telling stories that popped into his mind. He enjoyed the idea that even in this epic realm of story, where seemingly everything had happened, still there was potential for more to unfold. "But why do those stories trouble you?"
She nibbled her lip. She looked so insecure. Henry wondered just were his fierce warrior princess could find a reason to be so insecure?
"Henry are you… are we... is this enough for you?"
His mouth fell open.
"I mean, fixing cars and motorcycles in Storybrooke, riding Lucy to school… it seems so mundane compared to what you write in this. You wanted to find your own story… can what you found even make you happy?"
A laugh escaped Henrys mouth. "Ella, are you really asking me this?"
He immediatly bit his tongue when she pulled her chin in. He started over, in an attempt to better reassure her.
"Ella, there is nothing I would want to change about our life. True, I set out to find my own story. And there once was a time when I hoped for adventures that would look just like those of my family before me. Then I met you, and when I did, I was afraid I would be too unexciting for you."
She still looked so unsure. Where did these thoughts come from? Just ten years ago, he had been worrying about offering her legends, and a ring with an epic backstory. He took her hands and squeezed lightly. Could he find the right words? He was the Author after all, he had to.
"At some point I realized: I don't meed to relive my grandfathers tale, or that of my mom. I don't need a great story, I only want a great life. And I found that, with you, and with Luce."
It was her turn to raise an eyebrow. "Really? Is that it? Our boring little family life?" Her chin gestured in the direction of the bungalow. "It's very different from the adventures you describe in here."
In response, he cocked his head sideways. „You call our daughter helping in breaking a curse and us uniting the Realms of Story boring?"
She let out a sigh, and with that, the tension finally escaped her shoulders. "I guess I was just afraid you weren't as content with our life as I am. Because I am. It is more than I ever dared to dream after my family fell apart. And reading this made me afraid that you longed for a new, more exciting chapter in your story."
"Remember that gorgeous lake I proposed to you at? It didn't bear a legend when we got there. But now? Now it's the lake Henry Mills proposed to Ella Tremaine, and offered all of his heart and love to her, and she accepted. Our life, our story is unfolding everyday. And that isn't all too bad, is it?", he teased. "It's our story, for me it doesn't have to compare to anything else to be just as epic. Our life isn't boring to me. It's amazing and full of excitement."
The corners of her mouth turned up, slowly. But in true Ella fashion, she still chose the deflecting sarcasm: "Yes, very exiting: sunburns and shirts forever ruined by oil stains."
And in true Henry fashion, he responded with sincerity: "Yes, very exiting: living life with the people we love. Watching our daughter, my uncle and my half-sister grow up together, how weird that may be, and raising them on what we know: kindness and hope. Preparing them for their own battles, and successes."
And there, he knew he did it. She smiled again, truthfully this time, and met his eyes. With the waves still lapping at the shore and her hands still in his, he took a few more moments to breath in the beauty of the moment. There was a calm between the storms they overcame, and the storms still to come – after all, Lucy still had to go through puberty. But for now, he basked in enjoying the shared smiles between him and his wife in the star light, before he broke he silence again. „What, no comeback this time?"
"Well," she laughed, "Appears you stunned me again with your idealism. - Henry Mills." Her dark eyes pierced into his and his breath got caught in his throat. After all the years, hearing her say his name still threw him off.
"Well, Ella Mills," he managed to respond and smirk back at her, "there are other ways to make you speechless I could think of."
And those weren't all too bad, either.
AN: Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed it.
Comments and feedback are much apprechiated! You can also prompt me in a comment here or through an ask on my tumblr (bixisarusher) and I'll see if I get to write it out soon.
Cheerio! :)