Chapter 11
Disclaimer: Still only own my OCs.
"What color are you thinking for the nursery?" Will asks as he lays drop cloths down on the floor.
"I'm not really sure. Since we don't want to know if we're having a boy or a girl, I don't think we should do pink or blue," Anastasia responds while putting painters' tape over the baseboards in the room.
The two of them have decided to paint a nursery in both Storybrooke and Wonderland, so no matter where they live their baby will have a personalized room to sleep in.
"I couldn't agree more, luv. We can't have a little lad growing up in a pink room," Will smiles, because he doesn't think a baby girl having a light blue room would be that bad.
"And we can't have a princess growing up in a blue room," Anastasia grins, because she thinks the opposite about the possibility of their daughter having a blue room, not that they know if their baby is a girl.
"Well, I don't know a bloody color that will perfectly suit our perfect baby. Maybe we should get some opinions," Will returns as he puts the last cloth on the floor.
"That's a lovely idea. We can ask Tweedledum, Ryan, and the Rabbits before going to Storybrooke. Then we can ask our friends in Storybrooke before buying the paint," Ana responds, offering Will her hand to help him off of the floor.
"What would I do without you?" Will grins while the two of them walk to find Tweedle and Ryan.
"You'd be lost without me, darling," she smirks.
"Aye. That I would," he responds, squeezing her hand in the process.
The two of them see Ryan in the main hall, and the soldier comes over to greet them.
"Good morning, Anastasia. How's it going, Will?" Ryan says as a greeting.
He's the only one in the kingdom who calls Will and Ana by just their names. Will and Anastasia told the people of Wonderland they don't have to address their king and queen with such formality all the time. The two of them were normal people before becoming the White King and Queen, so they wouldn't mind. However, none of their people are brave enough to test this decree, no matter how true it may be.
"I'm doing fine, Ryan. Listen, mate, we were hoping that you could help us pick a color for our little lass or lad's nursery," Will responds after shaking hands with one of his best friends.
"That I can do. What color were you thinking of, mate?" Ryan questions, his blue eyes shining.
He's also excited about the new baby, because he's been like a brother to Will ever since the two of them were in the Queen of Hearts' army together.
"We didn't really have a set color in mind, but we know we don't want to do pink or blue, since we don't know the baby's gender," Anastasia tells him.
Ryan scratches the back of his neck while looking somewhat perplexed.
"Now, that is a difficult decision, isn't it? Let's see…. How about purple?" Ryan answers after much deliberation.
"That's a nice color," Ana agrees with Ryan.
"That it is. Now, I must ask, what made you choose that color, mate?" Will questions his former brother-in-arms.
"Purple is a unisex color, not for just boys or girls. And, as a bonus, it's generally a color associated with royalty. You are, after all, welcoming a little royal into the world," the soldier grins before patting Will on the back.
"Thanks for your help, Ryan," Anastasia thanks before wrapping her sort-of brother-in-law into a hug.
"Anything for you and Will, Ana," Ryan returns while hugging her as well.
"We'll come get you when we're leaving for Wonderland, yeah? We might need some help with the nursery," Will says when Ryan begins to walk away to practice his sword fighting techniques.
"I wouldn't miss it for the world, brother. I, I mean….. Will. Sorry, slip of the tongue; it won't happen again," Ryan apologizes quickly after realizing his mistake.
"It's quite all right, Ryan. Actually, Ana and I wanted to ask you something else," Will assures, looking at Ryan with an amused look on his face.
"We would like for you to be an uncle to our son or daughter when they arrive. Does that sound like something you would like to do?" Anastasia explains to him.
Ryan stands there, his apologetic face turning into a wide grin.
"You want me to be an uncle to your child?" Ryan gasps, looking at his best friends in shock.
"Aye. Does that come as a surprise to you, mate?" Will chuckles.
"Somewhat, yeah. I would love to be an uncle to your little bundle of joy," he responds in an ecstatic tone.
The three of them exchange smiles before heading their separate ways. Will and Anastasia soon come across Tweedledum in the hedge maze, and Will calls out to get his attention.
"Tweedle, can we ask you something?"
"Of course, my king. What is it?" Tweedle responds, looking up from the topiary he was trimming seconds before.
"Will and I need some ideas for nursery colors. Do have one of preference, darling?" Ana questions their loyal servant.
"How about red, Your Majesties?" Tweedledum suggests after two seconds of deliberation.
"No," Will and Anastasia quickly reply, not wanting to be reminded of Anastasia's past as the Red Queen every time they enter their baby's room, a room of happiness.
"I apologize. I had forgotten that red is now a color that you both don't like. Sorry for that awful suggestion. If you excuse me, I must be going," Tweedle apologizes before running out of the hedge maze.
"Are you all right?" Will asks Ana when the Tweedle has left.
"Yes. Let's go see the Rabbits now," she answers, not wanting to dwell on the subject any longer.
Will understands her response and drops the subject, knowing that she will be okay. He gets her, meaning he knows when to stop talking or to press her for further answers. She would talk when she was ready, of that Will is sure.
"It's King Will and Queen Anastasia!" the White Rabbit's children, Luke and Thalia yell out, running towards Will and Ana.
"Hey there, little ones. Where's your Daddy?" Will greets, placing Thalia on one of his knees and Luke on the other.
"Daddy, come outside, quick!" Luke shouts loud enough for his father to hear him.
"What's wrong? Is someone hurt?" Percy, aka the White Rabbit, asks in concern as he rushes out of the small house.
"Nothing's wrong, Papa. We have guests," Thalia grins, hopping off of Will's knee and going and sitting next to Anastasia.
"Your Majesties, what a pleasant surprise. What can I do for you?" Rabbit returns, addressing his king and queen with respect.
"Actually, we came with a question for you and the children," Anastasia says, which grabs the attention of Luke and Thalia.
"You have to ask us something?" the rabbit siblings chorus, their eyes wide in surprise.
"Yep. We need to know what color to paint our little one's nursery. Do you have any ideas?" Will responds with a smile.
The rabbit siblings stand in thought for a minute before answering.
"I like the color yellow. That would be pretty, almost like the color of the sun," Thalia says with a smile.
"No way. Orange is a better color for the baby's nursery," Luke argues with his sister.
"And why is that?" Anastasia laughs at the oldest one of Rabbit's children's response.
"Orange is the color of the best food in the world, carrots!" Luke happily yells before ducking from his sister's grasp.
The two rabbits chase each other around the small stretch of forest that is close to their house while staying in sight of the three grownups.
"Energetic little things, aren't they?" Will laughs as Luke and Thalia continue chasing one another.
"You don't have to put up with their energy all day. Be thankful," Rabbit jokes, looking at his children playing.
"So, we have a vote for orange and yellow. What's your vote, Rabbit?" Ana asks.
"I think green would be a good color for the nursery," Rabbit answers after a minute of deliberation.
"Thanks, Rabbit, you're a real mate. Now, if it wouldn't be too much trouble, could you dig us a portal to Storybrooke when we come back with Ryan?" Will questions.
"Of course. My wife should be back before then where she can watch the children while I'm gone."
About an hour later, a blue portal breaks in the middle of Storybrooke woods, fortunately for Will. The last thing he needs is Granny to be mad at him again. When he told her about the lost keys and had to explain the hole in her diner, the older woman was not a happy camper, so to speak. Granny had Will spend three months working in the diner in order to pay her back for all the damage he caused, inadvertently, he might add. White Rabbit has agreed to stay in the woods, opting to give the couple some space while they were in Storybrooke.
"Where do you think everyone is?" Anastasia questions when she and Will head through the forest, getting closer to where the Merry Men set up camp.
"Robin's camp shouldn't be too far from here. We can stop by and ask my mates first, if you don't mind, of course," Will replies as he nears the camp.
"Of course I don't mind, darling. This is one of the only times you get to see them. Go on ahead; I'll catch up," Ana tells him, noticing Regina in the distance.
Will presses a kiss to her cheek before walking over to the Merry Men. Anastasia kisses him back and heads in the direction of Regina to talk with the other queen about some things.
"Well, well, well, boys. Who do we have here?" Much speaks up, laughing as Will sits down on one of the logs in the camp.
"If it isn't Will Scarlet! How are things going in Wonderland, Will?" Little John questions, eager to hear how one of his best friends is getting along.
"Everything's fine in Wonderland, just fine. I've been busy ever since becoming the White King, but it's an honor and I actually enjoy most of my duties," Will remarks, looking around at the group of men he used to thieve with.
"That's rich, coming from you, Will!" Alan laughs, sitting his lute down on the floor of the forest.
All the other men laugh at this, including Will himself. Back when he first joined the Merry Men he was a young teenage boy of seventeen, not wanting to do the everyday work that the other men did. Instead, he loved helping in the schemes that Robin planned, often wanting to be the main accomplice to the well-known thief.
"I have a new work ethic now," Will grins.
"And what brought about this change?" Friar Tuck questions, looking at the younger man.
"I bet Anastasia finally knocked some sense into him," Arthur laughs while putting on the soup for tonight's dinner.
"It's about time he got some," Alan smirks, which results in Will punching his friend in the arm.
"The whole lot of you are wrong. I'm a king now, so I can't very well be lazy, can I? And, as many of you may not know, Anastasia and I are four months away from welcoming our first child into the world," Will answers, breaking out into a proud smile at the last statement.
The Merry Men have varied reactions to learning that their friend is becoming a father soon. Much and Alan's mouths hang open in shock; Arthur falls backwards off of the tree stump he is sitting on; and Little John claps him on the back.
"So, Will's going to have his own little outlaw in a few months, eh?" Little John grins.
"We're gonna have to teach the lad the ropes of being a Merry Man," Much speaks up.
"Aye. And he might be a better thief than his father!" Alan laughs.
"Before you lot get too carried away with your plans, there's something you should know," Will cuts into the men's plans.
"And what might that be?" Arthur questions.
"Anastasia and I don't know if we're having a son or a daughter yet. We want it to be a surprise," he tells them.
The Merry Men sigh, their hopes of Will having a son to pass his legacy onto slowly disappearing.
"And you didn't think this would be important for us to know, mate?" Much asks.
Will starts to answer, but is cut off by someone else.
"Will! Will Scarlet!" Robin yells as he comes back towards camp and notices his best friend sitting among the ranks of his Merry Men.
"There's no need to yell. I'm just here, Robin," Will says with a half-smile, standing up at the sound of his friend's voice.
"I need to talk with you in private. Now," Robin says in a slightly commanding voice.
Will reluctantly heads over to his ex-leader and ruffles Roland's hair in the process.
"Hi, Will," Roland says with a dimpled smile.
"Hey, little lad. Why don't you go sit with Little John while your Papa and I have a talk, yeah?" Will responds.
Roland takes off running towards the Merry Men, almost tripping over a log in the process. Both Robin and Will looked concerned for the young boy as he almost trips, but let out a breath when they realize Roland didn't fall and hurt himself.
"What did you need to talk to me about, Robin?" Will asks once they are out of earshot of the Merry Men.
"Nothing. I just thought you needed someone to help you escape all the questions and teases of the Merry Men," Robin smirks before patting Will on the back.
"Thanks, mate. They're all so convinced that mine and Anastasia's baby is going to be a boy," Will responds.
"Well, that's the Merry Men for you. They thought the same thing before Roland was born," Robin laughs.
"That's why they're so insistent, then. They think that their thoughts before Roland was born insured that your first child was a boy. Well, it's not gonna work on my first child. The baby will be what it wants to be, and they can't stop that," Will grins.
"So, what brings you and Anastasia to Storybrooke, Will?" Robin asks the younger man.
"We're painting the baby's nursery and we were hoping to get some suggestions from our friends," Will answers as he and Robin walk back towards the camp.
"Well, you know what has my vote," Robin says with a smile.
"And what might that be?" Will questions, pretty sure he already knows the answer.
"Green, by far. It's the color of the forest and can be used for a boy or a girl," the leader of the Merry Men responds with a chuckle.
"And what about you, Roland? What color do you think would look good in mine and Anastasia's baby's nursery?" Will asks the youngest outlaw.
"Green!" Roland excitedly shouts out as he helps Little John make up the bowls of soup for the men.
"You're trying to be just like your Papa, lad. Aren't ya?" the White King laughs while ruffling Roland's hair in the process.
"Yes, Will. My Papa is a hero, just like you," Roland grins before wrapping his arms around Will's left leg.
Will picks the young boy up and gives him a hug before setting him back down on the ground.
A couple hours later, and after several opinions from their friends, Will and Anastasia finally can go to buy paint for the nursery. Regina had voted for purple, along with Hannah and Madison, making the vote for purple paint up to four. Hook voted for the color blue, saying that the color of the ocean could perfectly suit a little lass or lad. Anastasia didn't agree with the pirate, and neither did anyone else apparently, because he was the only one who suggested blue. Then there was August, who voted for the color green, meaning green also had four votes. The decision Will and Ana made is to have the nursery in Storybrooke purple and paint the nursery in Wonderland green. Will grabs several buckets of paint off of the shelf of the hardware store and lugs them up to the front of the store to pay for them.
"Did you find everything okay?" Bashful asks him.
"That I did. We're painting two nurseries," Will says, answering the dwarf's unasked question of why he and Anastasia are buying so much paint at one time.
"Ah, I see. Good luck on getting the nursery done," the dwarf kindly says after handing Will the receipt for the paint.
"Thanks, mate. Maybe we can get through everything while we're here," Will returns with a smile while walking out of the door of the store.
Will and Anastasia reach the house they bought a few months ago by the ocean and take the paint into the nursery. Their room is right beside the nursery, and both bedrooms overlook the ocean, something that Will insisted their new home had. He was tired of looking out the window of their apartment and seeing Mr. Gold's shop in the distance. Will wanted a house beside the ocean where he could look off the balcony each morning at the beautiful sunrise and have the calming sounds of the ocean for the long nights that are soon to come once the baby is born.
"So, are you ready to start painting, luv?" he asks as he spreads the drop cloths across the floor.
"I'm ready when you are, darling," Ana tells him as she finishes putting the painter's tape on the baseboards.
Will pops the top off of the paint can and hands Anastasia a paintbrush. He dips the paint brush in his hand in the can of purple paint and starts to paint the wall closest to him while Anastasia works on the wall directly across from him. The two of them almost run into each other when they each walk backwards towards the final wall. Anastasia and Will both smile at the other before pressing their lips together for a kiss. After they pull apart though, Ana looks at the wall that Will spent just over two hours painting.
"Will, what were you doing this whole time?" she asks him, laughing slightly as she teases him.
"What in the bloody world do you mean? That wall is perfect, Ana. It's perfect," Will counters, looking at his craftsmanship in approval.
"I would hardly say perfect, darling. You have some spots you missed right here. There, that looks better, don't you think?" Anastasia smiles while placing a dot of purple paint on his nose and another on his cheek.
Will stands there in shock for a minute while trying to see exactly how much paint Anastasia put on his nose. A giant drop of paint falls from his nose and onto his socks, which makes him glad he kicked off his shoes earlier.
"Anastasia, you're going to get it now!" Will playfully yells before grabbing his paintbrush and making a mad dash for Anastasia.
She just barely gets out of the way, not before painting a stripe of paint down Will's back, though. His white T-shirt is now covered in purple paint, and he looks at Ana in a very challenging way.
"I don't know how that could have happened, Will," Ana smiles at him before he starts chasing her again.
Both of them laugh as they run around the nursery and then, deciding they don't have enough room to run in there, race around the house. Will catches Anastasia by the arm as she heads for the stairs and holds onto her wrist, not letting go despite her pleas.
"You want me to stop? Well, my love, I'm afraid I have some payback to serve to ya first," he smirks before raising the paintbrush.
"You wouldn't dare," Anastasia gasps as he moves the paintbrush near her hair.
"Oh, I wouldn't? We'll see about that," Will deviously smiles before taking his paintbrush and swiping it across Anastasia's golden hair, staining it with glops of purple paint.
He lets out a laugh before running down the stairs with Anastasia chasing after him.
"You just made a horrible mistake, Will Scarlet!" she yells as he slips unnoticed into the kitchen.
Will hides behind the wall, letting his breath come back before he continues running from Ana. However, unbeknownst to him, Anastasia has found his hiding spot and is creeping up beside him. Will turns around when he hears a noise and looks right into a paintbrush tipped with purple paint. The paint sticks to his forehead before running down his face and down his cheeks.
"We're supposed to be painting the baby's nursery, Ana, not the baby's Daddy," Will reminds as he wipes the paint away from his eyes.
"But this is funnier," Anastasia smirks before sprinkling purple paint in her husband's hair.
His response comes in the form of painting both of her cheeks before running the paintbrush down the back of her shirt. Will runs off, eager to reach the nursery before Ana does where he can get back to painting. That's when the front door of the house opens. Anastasia and Will freeze and look to see Ryan standing in the doorway, his mouth hanging open in shock and three boxes of pizza in his hands.
"I got back at the wrong time, didn't I?" he asks with a small smirk, looking at his two paint-covered best friends.
Will and Anastasia exchange a smile.
"Actually, your timing couldn't have been better," they smirk before both of them paint swirled designs on Ryan's shirt and face.
"You two are in for it now. I don't care that you're the King and Queen of Wonderland, you are going down!" Ryan challenges in a laughing tone before running upstairs to grab a paintbrush of his own, the pizza long forgotten.
Let's just say the rest of the night was filled with a paint war, which resulted in everyone having to take long showers to get all of the paint off. But, they wouldn't have had it any other way. The nursery did get finished, the one in Wonderland too, in fact. The one in Storybrooke has light purple paint and paintings of castles, pirate ships, dragons, heroes, you name it. The nursery in Wonderland has light green paint with paintings of Sherwood Forest, Anastasia and Will's old cottage and wagon, the castle their baby would grow up in, and other scenes from Wonderland itself. The ceiling is covered with black paint and some light-up stars that Will found in a store while in Storybrooke. Their baby is going to grow up in the most amazing environment, of that Will and Anastasia are certain. The two of them fall asleep in their room at around two AM after spending much of the day and night painting the nurseries for their little angel that would make their entrance to the world in four months. Life could not be sweeter for Will and Anastasia.
Author's Note: And there's Chapter 11! When I started writing this chapter, I thought it was going to be one of the shorter ones, but once I started writing, I just had so many ideas and couldn't stop! :) As always, thank you for your support and reviews; they mean a lot to me! Any reviews left on chapters are greatly appreciated. Until Chapter 12, my amazing readers!
P.S., the next chapter is going to be my prompt from Guest where Anastasia wakes Will up in the middle of the night because the baby is kicking for the first time. I will write it as soon as I can! :)