I failed to see the flaws in the details I adored
And played god, I played god
Said oh my god, the devil's in the detail
Oh lord, I just didn't look there
- The Hoosiers, Devil's In The Detail
He stared blankly at the maps laid out on the countertop. There was one for every state and a few for other countries. He'd almost been looking forward to it – not just going to find Bae, but to see all these places he had read about. Being trapped in Storybrooke for all this time would have slowly driven him insane, but his ultimate mission to track down his son kept him steady.
But now…
He stood stiffly at the counter, teetering dangerously. His mind had gone completely blank. The man known for his constant scheming couldn't summon a simple thought, couldn't comprehend.
A map of Maine caught his eye, and he snapped. He whirled his cane around, forgetting in his rage that he had a lame leg. The glass countertops were the first to go, and then he spun and dragged the cane across the nearest shelf. Everything breakable in his path was broken. He probably would have wrecked the entire shop, but his leg gave out on him and he tumbled to the floor. A few shards of broken glass sliced through his palms, but he scarcely noticed the pain. All he could do was sit with his back against the ruined counter, his legs stretched out in front of him and his cane lying forgotten a few feet away.
Finally, he felt his brain creak into gear. He absentmindedly picked the glass out of his hands and healed the cuts as the cogs began to pick up speed. There had to be a way around this. He might not have seen this hitch coming, but he'd faced hitches before. Perhaps never one quite so… hitch-y, but the curse was broken and his magic was back.
He could do this. He had to do this.
Slowly, he picked himself up off the floor and set about cleaning up his shop.