Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon A Time or the characters. ABC does.
A/N: This is chapter 1- not how long this will be ^^
Crack.
Henry stared at the pieces of oak scattered all over the front yard, light brown fragments of his first present from his grandfather freckling the hunter green grass. Charming stood over him heaving as he attempted to catch his breathe. Leaning down, Charming picked up his wooden sword, wincing as he picked up a piece of Henry's broken sword, a sliver slicing the skin of his finger pad. They had spent the last few hours training in the front yard while Emma and Snow were out running a few errands in preparation for the wedding next week. As Henry dove under Charming to avoid his latest swing, Henry had blocked the attack with his wood sword. The sword buckled under the force of the blow after hours of being worn down in practice.
"Sorry, kid," Charming sighed as he shook his right hand out in pain. "The wood must have started to rot through with all the practicing and after I left it outside in the rain the other night." Charming lifted his index finger, sucking on the blood starting to drip from the splinter. Raising his left hand, Charming placed his hand gently on Henry's shoulder.
"It's okay, Gramps," Henry muttered as the tears started to mist up his vision. Charming's face blurred as Henry raised his sleeve to his eyes. The fuzzy outline of his red and black plain shirt blocked the outline of Charming kneeling in front of him. Charming hand started to make circular motions in an attempt to calm down Henry, knowing he was saddened by the loss of his practice weapon.
Henry wiped his tears as he heard the white picket fence creak as the rusty copper hinges worked to allow August to slip through the crack as he balanced the large periwinkle bird house in his hands and his black bag sliding down his arm. August's smile feel as he noticed Henry rubbing his red nose and his green eyes glistening from the tears that had not fallen yet. Setting down the bird house next to the tree in the yard and throwing his backpack down next to him, August sat down, crossing his legs and reaching his black gloved hand to rub the boy's back.
"Hey, kid, what's the matter?" August whispered as Henry sniffled. Spotting the chuck of wood end pointing towards Henry's bedroom window and the handle hanging from Henry's limp grasp, August realized that Henry had lost his sword. Making eye contact with Charming, August nodded to Charming, silently telling him to take care of his hand. Charming's lips tilted in a small smile and he removed his hand from Henry's shoulder. Picking up the chuck of wood, Charming stretched his arms out and nodded to August and Henry once more before turning to approach the house. August moved in front of Henry and placed his hands on Henry's arms and rubbed his hands up and down. Henry lifted his eyes towards August's crinkled blue eyes. "It's okay, kid. It was too plain for a prince anyway. You deserve a fancier sword like your mom's- well your grandpa's."
August grabbed the handle from Henry's hand, running the black tipped figures across the smooth surface. Raising an eyebrow, August's lips curved into his signature smirk. Henry had stopped crying and watched intently as August's eyes twinkled. August twisted the handle in his hand as he leaned over and reached out for his backpack. Grabbing the strap, August dragged the bag through the dewy grass. Throwing the bag in his lap, August handed the handle back to Henry, who grasped it tightly in his hand as he watched, wondering what August was planning, recognizing the look in his eyes from their discussions about Operation Cobra. Zipping open the bag and reaching in, August pulled out a black folded pack out of the main compartment of the bag. Tossing his bag to the side, August put out his hand and waited. Henry raised his eyebrows and tilted his head as he handed over the handle again. Unfolding the pack, August pulled out a knife and started to carve out a few chucks in the handle that created a wave pattern. Henry sat down in the grass across from August and watched the scruffy man's gloves rotate the handle.
Before Henry knew it, August was handing over the piece of wood. Smiling at Henry, August nodded for Henry to take the piece of wood. Wrapping his hand around the piece, Henry's fingers moved to fit themselves in the groves between the wood. The tips of the fingers fit within the grooves and Henry's palm rested comfortably against the grooves.
"So how does it feel, kid?" August leaned forward with a smile on his face awaiting Henry's answer. August placed the knife back into its place in the pouch and folded it again.
"It feels…. Amazing!" Henry's face light up as he felt the wood underneath his skin. Henry pointed the handle towards August and planted his feet shoulder width apart pointing towards the leather clad man sitting in front of Henry, taking the stance he always took when Charming and he practiced sword fighting when Snow and Emma were out of the house. Laughing, August put up his hand in a defensive mood and Henry lowered his hand. Leaning over, Henry bent his head and took a quick bow, imitating the bow Charming also gave Snow after they danced in the kitchen as they did dished to the music playing on the radio.
"Good," August smirked as he held out his hand. Leaning over, August grabbed his bag again and folded up the "I have an idea. Do you mind if I steal it for a bit?"
"Of course!" Henry smiled as he handed over the crafted handle. August reached forward took the craved piece of wood. With a wink, August placed the pouch and the handle in his bag. Zipping the bag back up, August stood up and looked down at Henry with a smile on his face.
"Alright. How about you stand right there and help me make sure that this birdhouse is in the right spot? I promised your mom that I would have it hung up before she got home for dinner in 10 minutes," August said and he reached around as he rubbed his head. August squeezed his eyes shut and stuck out his tongue in a flash. "I don't want a repeat of what happened when I knocked down your grandmother's favorite birdhouse when we were playing football last week."
Henry laughed and nodded, remembering how Emma had walked right up behind August and smacked him with the back of her hand after he overthrew the football aiming to pass it to Charming but instead hit the small, delicate blue birdhouse that Snow had loved. The birdhouse was knocked down and broke into pieces. August had promised Snow as he rubbed the back of his head in pain that he would replace the birdhouse with a new one to fit the growing number of birds that have been coming around lately. Henry turned around and walked over to the side of the house where a small wooden step ladder was leaning against the blue paneling of the house. Picking up the step ladder that Emma left there earlier with the instruction to give to August, Henry walked back to August. Henry grabbed August's hand and walked with him to pick up the bird house August had set down earlier. Henry set up the step ladder at the base of the tree while August picked up the bird house. Together, August and Henry made sure that the bird house was in place by the time Emma and Snow came back from their errands because neither one wanted to face a disappointed Emma.