This was submitted to me by loboselinaistrash from a drabble post I reblogged:
"Luck? Nope. Skills." - "If it's skill then do it again."
Set during season 6.
David adjusted the bow in his arm, holding back the arrow, looking around quickly. He felt like a child in the moment, sneaking around with a weapon. Back in the Enchanted Forest, he was skilled with a sword. Emma had taught him how to successfully shoot a gun so he could be a proper co-sheriff. There was just one weapon that he wasn't adequately trained for: archery.
He had recently asked Snow and Ruby to give him lessons with the weapon. Snow had learned from Hercules in her teens and Granny was just as skilled as both of them combined, so of course her talents were inherited by Ruby (though she preferred to use her wolf side in battle). He expected to pick it up quickly, but his wives weren't making it that easy. They insisted that he start off with a beginner's bow and wooden arrows. Something about it being for his safety and everyone else's. Without the curses, he'd be a man in his 60s! He had even taken a shot from Ruby's and nailed the target with no problems.
"Beginner's luck," Ruby had told him.
David smirked. "Luck? Nope. Skills."
"If it's a skill then do it again."
He had tried, only to fail, hitting the opposite tree. Before asking if he could try again, Snow insisted that he put it away before he took out someone's eye.
With Gideon being controlled by Fiona, they were all taking shifts so Emma was never alone until they could figure a way to stop the fairy. Emma insisted she didn't need a babysitter, but they didn't listen. They were not going to lose her again. Ruby and Snow were spending time wit her, so David stole the latter's bow and snuck off into the woods.
He released the arrow and it hit the target. Feeling accomplished, he went to load another, but got distracted by birds rustling through the trees. He let go of the arrow too soon and it went soaring down into his leg.
"Shit," he cursed to himself, sliding down a tree and wrapping his arms around the wound. He knew better than to remove it from the area and pulled out his cell phone. An ambulance would take too long and he knew his family would find out eventually, so he just bit the bullet and called Ruby.
Her Camaro came zooming over the dirt path not 10 minutes later. He had decided to wear shorts that day, so the wound was open for all to see. Ruby jumped out of the car along with Snow and Emma. All looked panicked, though there was a look of disappointment in his wives' eyes. Emma rushed to his side and inspected the wound.
"I can take care of this," she said.
Emma lifted her hand to the area, but her hands began shaking, her eyes glossing over. It was clear that she was having yet another vision. Snow put a hand on her back and slowly, her hands returned to normal. David winced, both from the pain in his leg and the amount his daughter was going through. The visions had stopped for the most part, but when she was stressed, they returned.
Magic was released from her palms and the arrow was removed, returning to Snow's archery bag. The cut soon healed as well, though she stopped her father from getting up.
"I removed the wound, but you're still going to be in pain for a bit. Let Mama and I help you to the car," Emma explained.
She and Ruby helped him up and lead him to the car, Snow grabbing her bag. The ride back to the loft was silent for the most part, outside David asking where Neal was. (Ashley had agreed to watch him in case they had to go to the hospital.) Ruby kept her eyes firmly on the road, as did Snow. Emma was simply rubbing David's arms, knowing that her mothers' silence proved just how angry they were. Both had hot tempers, but one could tell they were furious when they got scarily quiet. Emma could remember even Mary Margaret being the same when she had attempted to kidnap Henry. She didn't even know that she was her mother at the time, but she knew to take her words of advice seriously.
Once they got back to the loft and Emma had helped her mothers get her dad set up in bed, she offered to go get Neal from daycare. She knew that none of her parents wanted her to be alone, but she insisted it would be okay and that she'd head to Regina's afterwards. It was better than her pretending to not hear what they would be arguing about up in her room.
David watched his wives walk around slowly, propping up his leg and getting him some tea. Both stood in front of the bed when they were done, arms folding over their chests.
"You both look scary right now, could probably give Fiona a run for her money," he tried to joke.
Snow cocked an eyebrow. "This is funny to you? You could've blinded yourself and you're making jokes."
"You have to remember this is the man that woke up from a coma and went for a walk," Ruby quipped.
"See, Ruby's joking," David said. "You can't be that mad."
"We're not mad." She sighed. "We're just disappointed. David, what the hell were you thinking? I'd expect this from Henry, maybe even Emma, but you?"
"You said learning to wield a sword took time, I thought you'd understand that archery was the same," Snow added.
"We don't exactly have time in this situation," he mumbled.
Snow and Ruby exchanged a look before sitting on either side of him. The joking charm in his eyes was gone and he looked suddenly terrified.
"What does that mean?" Snow asked.
"Fiona is getting worse by the day and we still haven't found a way to get Gideon's heart back. I know Rumple's trying, we all are. But…I just want to be prepared. I know he says that Emma is destined to fight the final battle alone, but maybe it doesn't have to be like that. I'm not stupid, I know Emma can fight for herself, she's just like her mothers." He spared them both a small smile. "I just want to be able to help her, I can't lose her, not again. I don't want to fail her again."
Snow frowned. "David, you have never failed her."
"Do you forget that you fought off dark knights while holding her and she didn't get a single scratch on her?" Ruby pointed out. "Or all the times you've been there for her since."
"I just feel so helpless right now," he whispered.
"I know." Ruby rested her head on his shoulder. "So do I."
"Count me in." Snow snuggled up into his side. "This isn't something we can prevent, so we just need to be prepared to fight and we will. We are not going to lose our daughter, I will fight for her until my heart stops beating, we all will."
"We just can't do that if you're impaling yourself," Ruby told him. "Plus, we're kind of attached to you, you know."
David slightly chuckled. "Good to know." He gave each of them a kiss.
"Please just don't do this again, we'll continue the training, I promise," Snow said, seriously.
"I promise. I know this was stupid, never again. For now, I think I'll stick with my strengths."
They all stay snuggled up together, David wrapping an arm around each of his wives. The silence was back again, still scary as before. Snow was right, they would fight with their daughter with all they had.
They just hoped it was enough.
As always, I do accept prompts! Whether it be on here, my Tumblrs: just-an-outlaw & justanoutlawfanfiction or my Twitter: justanoutlawfic.
