"Hey, Henry. Mind if I join you?" The nine year old shrugged, but he really did want to be with Archie. It was better than being alone today, anyway.
Archie sat on the bench beside him, not saying a word, just being there for him. Like he always was. "I'm fine," Henry told him after a while. Because he was fine, nothing terrible had happened. It was just, the day itself. Just knowing all the other children were spending the day with their fathers while he … he didn't have one.
Archie still didn't respond, like he did sometimes in sessions. As if he knew that Henry couldn't help but tell him the truth if he waited long enough. "I just … I want a father too." The tears he'd been holding back all day started to come. Everyone else had a father. Why couldn't he?
Suddenly, something gentle was wiping away his tears. Archie's sleeve, he realized. During sessions, the psychiatrist had a tissue box, but he obviously couldn't have that here.
But that wasn't quite good enough for Henry. He knew Archie tried not to break professional bounds or whatever, but he didn't care. He hugged the older man, and was almost instantly satisfied by feeling Archie's strong arms wrap around him, comforting him.
"You know," Archie said after a little, when Henry had finally stopped crying. "Today's also Psychiatrist Day." But Henry was nine, he knew when adults were pretending. Archie was just saying that. But, if Henry was spending time with Archie, he might not feel quite so alone today.
"Really?" he asked, and Archie nodded, smiling ever so slightly. "And what does one do on a psychiatrist day?"
"Well, you get ice cream, pizza, and spend time with your psychiatrist all day." Henry loved the sound of that, he really did. But …
"Mom said I have to be home by five."
"I'll call her," Archie promised, as if talking his mother out of something was the easiest thing in the world. "Assuming you want to …"
"Of course I want to!" If Henry couldn't have a dad, the next best thing was his psychiatrist. He loved spending time with Archie, though he did wonder why he didn't have a dad. Did the man not love him enough to be around? "So, what are we going to do?"
Archie paused, a pensive look on his face. "Hmm. When was the last time you slayed a dragon? Because I think a few have invaded Storybrooke since then."
"Oh no, really?" Henry asked, a huge grin already spreading across his face as he picked up a branch from the ground, and handed another to Archie, who was wearing his normal attire. One knight in tweed, and the other in a t-shirt. "We can't let them invade Storybrooke! Come on, Sir Archie! Come on, Pongo the Valiant Steed! Let's defeat the dragons!" He charged toward a tree he'd decided would be the first dragon, Pongo barking along happily, and Archie right by his side. Who needed a father? This was so much better!
…
Henry didn't even realize he'd chosen the same bench until he heard Archie asking "Do you mind if I join you?" Again, he shrugged, and Archie sat down beside him, like he had when he was nine; before Henry had found and lost his father. This time, though, Archie draped his arm over Henry's shoulders, and Henry sobbed into him, effectively staining his tweed jacket. Archie gently rubbed his shoulder, humming something soothing. Henry let it work, he didn't want to be sad, after all.
"Everyone's worried about you," Archie said after Henry had calmed down. And Henry knew they were. This Father's Day, he had people who noticed when things were wrong. Regina and Emma had both tried to cheer him up. Then David, Robin, and Killian had all tried to spend the day with him. But Henry didn't want to spend it with them; David was his grandpa, Regina and Emma were his mothers, and while he was happy they both had boyfriends, he didn't really know Killian or Robin that well. It felt like they were trying to replace his dad. But Archie wasn't trying to, Archie just wanted to be there for him. Like he'd always been.
"I know," he responded simply, not letting go of Archie. He needed the embrace. And suddenly, he realized. Why couldn't Archie be his father? Archie acted like one, being there for him when he needed support the most. Maybe, Henry did have a father to spend Father's Day with.
But, his other father's death had been too recent, and he couldn't call Archie his dad. Yet. "Is it still Psychiatrist Day?" he asked.
Archie smiled slightly, still filled with sorrow though. Because he was worried, Henry realized. Archie was worried about him, like he always was. "Yeah, it is. If you want it to be."
"Of course I do. So, uh, movie marathon? Or …" He looked at Archie, and knew when Archie's smile grew bigger that the psychiatrist could, indeed, read his mind.
"Star Trek marathon?" Henry would want to have an Avengers marathon, watch all the movies based off the comics, but Neal had gotten into that for him. Star Trek was something only he and Archie shared.
"Yeah, Star Trek." Henry got up, Archie soon following. Star Trek and pizza, with his father figure. Henry couldn't imagine a better Father's Day, unless his other father was there, too.