If Rose could take back one thing from today, it would be waking up. That's when her day started going terribly. She wouldn't regret the crazy night she spent with Pan. She wouldn't regret all the wonderful and terrible words that they exchanged. She wouldn't regret the kisses or anything after that. She did, however, regret waking up.
It wasn't even her choice to wake up. Peter shook her awake. Rose propped herself up on her elbow and found that her search and rescue party had finally arrived. They were three days late and looked both surprised and appalled. She wasn't ready to explain this to everyone else. She couldn't even explain it to herself. They hadn't even discussed what they were. Rose already had a good idea of what was going through Peter's head when they both sat up and he grabbed her hand, interlacing their fingers. It was oddly comforting. It occurred to Rose that he was being openly affectionate because he wanted to make Rumple angry and Pan loved everyone's disgusted reactions.
There had been a lot of old wounds that were reopened these past couple weeks. Hopefully, somethings could be let go and left in the past. Whatever was going to happen, whether she was ready or not, at least she wouldn't have to deal with it alone. They had all done terrible things. Most of which, she wanted to forget or at least, move past.
Rose didn't even know why she loved Peter. Maybe it was for the same reasons he loved her. She loved his passion and his fiery personality. Some part of her loved even the darkest parts of him. Rose secretly liked the chaos that he wrought. He made life interesting. Rose loved that he was always up for an adventure. Even though it irritated her, Rose loved that he could be possessive. She never had to doubt his loyalties. She knew he was terrible and she wasn't excusing his past behavior. Rose let out a sigh. It was too early to be thinking about all of this. She shouldn't have to explain this to anyone. They were adults. Well, kind of. They looked like teenagers and still kind of acted like teenagers but they were centuries old. She sneaked a look at Pan and he was smirking. Rumple was the first to say anything after the long silence.
"What is going on here?" He demanded. As if to provoke Rumple, Pan removed his hand from hers and snaked it around her waist, pulling her closer.
"Isn't it obvious?" Pan retorted. Rose rolled her eyes.
"Are you two back together? Just like that? For the last week and half, you've been taunting each other and ready to kill one another. How did this happen?" Belle asked.
"Well, the first day was mostly tension and silence. Last night, we started talking. Rather, I started talking about how I was done being Meg because that wasn't my real name. That was a persona that I stole. I kept it as a way to distance myself from Malc—Peter. One thing led to another and here we are." Rose explained. Everyone seemed to share one incredulous look. Rumple's stood out the most. He looked like he could combust.
"So, did you guys actually talk about your problems or did you just…?" Snow asked. Rose could feel the blush creeping up her cheeks as she hid her face in Peter's shoulder.
"Oh my God." She heard Rumple mutter. This must have been mortifying for him. Rose couldn't even begin to comprehend what her son was feeling. She didn't have to look to know that Pan was smirking. She took a deep breath and looked at the group in front of her.
"Look, I know this is weird but we are married. I know that we have a lot of issues to work through but I don't have to explain myself to any of you. It's messed up but it works. We're happy." Rose stated.
"If it makes you feel any better, we've decided not to have any more children." Peter stated.
"We know we're the worst parents probably to ever exist. I mean, you're the Dark One and you've committed countless atrocities. The worst part is, I don't think I'm going out on a limb when I say, we're lucky that you turned out as well as you did." Rose added. Instead of saying anything, Rumple just left. Everyone else soon followed.
Rose laid back down and laid an arm over her eyes. She felt Peter lay down next to her.
"That went better than expected." Peter exclaimed. Rose removed her arm from over her eyes and stared at her husband skeptically.
"How do you figure?" She asked. He shrugged.
"He didn't yell. No magic was used. Not that he could have killed either of us. All in all, I'd call that a win." Peter stated. Rose nodded in agreement. She laid her head on his shoulder.
"I guess but we're going to have to deal with that at one point or another." Rose pointed out. Pan made a face.
"We could leave for a couple of centuries. Maybe we'll get lucky and he'll be dead when we get back." He joked. Rose hit his chest.
"That's a terrible thing to say about your child." Rose replied, with a laugh.
"First of all, he's no longer a child. He's long past that. We look more like children than he does. Second, he's a terrible person." Pan said.
"Well, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree!" Rose exclaimed. They were both laughing at this point.
Like most of the people in the village, Rose had grown up in a relatively poor family. Her family owned a small portion of farmland and they sold what they didn't need to survive. Rose was the oldest of four children. There was a lot of responsibility placed on her shoulders. Rose was expected to help her mother with the housework and take care of her younger siblings. She loved her younger siblings dearly but they drove her insane. They were always fighting or crying or both. Rose was also sent on errands whenever her father needed her to go. Some days, Rose wished that she could fly away. She didn't want the responsibility that was thrusted upon her. She wanted to act like the child she never got to be. Rose wanted to have fun and be silly. Rose didn't want the mundane life that her parents led.
The chance to make her life a little more exciting came when she met Malcolm. She noticed that he and a couple of other boys had run into the forest. Rose became curious and she decided to follow them. They didn't even notice her. She was sure to stay a safe distance away. A couple of times they stopped and Rose had to hide behind a tree. The boys eventually started laughing and running again. She wanted to know what they were so excited about. She couldn't quite here their excited whispers but she couldn't contain her own excitement. They stopped in front of an abandoned cottage. Rose watched curiously until one of the boys noticed her. He placed himself in front of the others. He was obviously the leader.
"What are you doing here? Who are you?" He demanded. His tone was harsh and Rose didn't particularly like that. She furrowed her brows.
"Who are you? What are you doing at this abandoned cottage? Don't you have work to do?" Rose chastised, her tone was just as harsh. She cringed internally because she sounded like her mother.
"I'm Malcolm. What the boys and I are doing here is none of your business. Run along." He replied, gesturing for her to leave. Rose placed her hands on her hips.
"I'm not going anywhere and you can't make me." Rose challenged. The boy, Malcolm, smirked. He took a step forward and so did she.
"I like you. You've got fire. What's your name, love?" Malcolm asked. Rose smirked.
"Rose." She replied. Malcolm smiled.
"The prettiest Rose I ever did see." Malcolm said and Rose blushed.