*A/N: I haven't had a decent idea in quite a while. So when this sparked in my mind, I kinda took it and ran. Hope it's good. Takes place after the gang returns from Neverland (no Panry switching occured).
Ingredients: A bit of implied SwanFire and OutlawQueen, some Regina-Henry mother-son feels, and a ton of SwanQueen and Swan-Mills Fam feels.
Disclaimer: I don't own OUAT or the characters.
Emma and Neal tried. They did, and Henry knew it. He saw it. Appreciated it. But it wasn't at all better than when they weren't together. Emma was almost always crying. Neal had turned to drinking; Henry was sharp enough to see through his attempt to hide it. The fourteen-year-old was anything but happy. They didn't make much of a family, that much was certain. He didn't want his birth parents to be together if they didn't love each other and were only getting hurt.
One afternoon, Henry went for a walk. He needed to get out and away from the house. Time, space to breathe, to think. Things were so different from two years ago. Of course, nothing ever stayed the same.
When his parents got together, Henry moved out of Regina's and in with them. It was hard for his mother of twelve years and it hurt him too.
But he wanted to give his parents a chance; for them be the family they might have been years before. Regina was very understanding of
his wishes. It hurt her, he knew, but she had it in her to let him go. At the time, it seemed like a good idea.
Henry still went to see Regina when he could. Emma let him stay overnight every once in a while. But things kept changing, as they
would forever. Regina met Robin. The two of them got along quite well, and Regina seemed to adore little Roland. Henry felt a bit betrayed; it was
as if the little boy was his replacement. In that moment, he fully understood how Regina must have felt when he'd left her all alone in the
big manor. But he was happy that she didn't have to be alone anymore. And then Henry began high school.
It was a fast transition, from primary to secondary school. The last genuinely happy memory Henry had was graduation. Regina had
been there with Robin and Roland. At the time, they were just friends. Emma and Neal hadn't been arguing at all. Mary-Margaret and David
were there, and Rumple and Belle. Henry felt like everything was perfect. He was happy and the people he loved were happy.
That only lasted for so long. High school wasn't at all like Henry had imagined. No one just randomly walked up to you and made friendly
conversation, no one was always smiling, and not everyone was polite. Everyone had their own little groups; some even fit into more
than one. Henry felt awkward, different, and alone. Every day of his first year, he focused on his work, waiting until he could go home to his family or go visit Regina.
-x-
Henry didn't know how long he'd been walking, but he ended up at the docks. Suddenly the memory of being kidnapped by Greg and
Tamara came to mind. He had looked over his shoulder and seen his family running after them, calling his name. They went so far and fought so hard to get him back. Especially Regina, Emma, Neal and Rumple. Before any more memories surfaced his thoughts, Henry turned away and headed for the park.
Henry sat down on the grass, thankful that it seemed like no one wanted to be out today. He thought about lying down and he just did it. He lay there. Staring up at the semi-cloudy sky, wishing it would swallow him and spit him back out to two years ago. Back then, he thought of one thing and that alone. Now, he thought of one thing, and suddenly everything at once. Whereas he was carefree then, he worried about everything now. He didn't feel the same and it was uncomfortable as hell. The tears welled up in him and he'd lost the will to hold them back any more. What was this?
"I hate my life," he murmured, crossing his forearms over his eyes.
Teardrops slid down his temples into the soft grass. The wind blew quietly, taking the sound of his sniffling with it.
"Save me," he whispered.
-x-
"...Henry?"
Henry quickly wiped his eyes with his sleeves and sat up so suddenly he bumped heads with the person who'd called his name.
They groaned in unison, "Ow..."
Henry rubbed his forehead, eyes closed as he apologized. When he opened them, he was greeted by Regina's soft smile.
"Mom!"
"Wow, I...I really miss hearing that."
Henry couldn't help himself. The short cry he had earlier wasn't enough. All his pent up emotion exploded into sobs and cries. Regina was shocked and her maternal nature kicked in. She sat on the grass and cradled Henry in her arms. She didn't hush him, but instead let him cry.
"Oh, honey...that's alright, let it out...don't hold back. I'm here."
She felt him gripping her jacket tight and wondered what happened to him that broke him down like this. In the years that they had spent
together, Henry had always been a strong, confident boy. The boy Regina held in her arms now was clearly not so. Eventually, Henry calmed down enough that Regina could speak to him.
"Baby, what happened? Tell me," she cooed, "Who hurt you?"
Henry sniffled and cleaned himself up with a tissue Regina handed him. He exhaled hard and shook his head. Slowly, his eyes met her worry-filled ones.
"I really miss you..."
-x-
A/N: Thanks for reading! Hope you liked it. Working on the rest, will upload ASAP. Peace~