Chapter 21
Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.
Anastasia is angry with Will. Actually, angry is too mild of a word to express her emotions. She's downright furious with him, and rightfully so. Last night he had come to bed with her after they fed Michael and Penelope their 12:00 bottles. Will had wrapped his arms around her like he does every night, and even got up to check on the twins when need be. None of those things bother Anastasia in the least bit, in fact, she loves how devoted Will is in his jobs as a husband and father. No, that's not why the White Queen is furious with her husband. What makes her mad is that she woke up this morning to an empty bed, the warmth on Will's side of the bed almost completely gone. Anastasia had looked around the room for any sign of him and not seeing him in their bedroom went into the nursery to look for him. All Ana found in Michael and Penelope's room were the sleeping twins, so she again started to look for Will. Anastasia had gone back into their bedroom, checking to see if he had left her a note telling her where he had gone. It isn't like Will not to leave a note when he gets up early in the morning. So, the White Queen leaves Ryan in charge of the twins while she tries to find where her husband has disappeared to. She runs into Tweedle on the stairs, so she decides to ask him if he's seen Will this morning.
"Tweedle, have you seen Will this morning? I can't seem to find him," Anastasia asks her servant, not caring that she's still in her nightdress, all she cares about is finding out where Will is.
"I don't know, Your Majesty. I figured he was still in the royal bedchambers with you. I'm sorry; I don't know," Tweedledum answers before excusing himself to his duties.
Anastasia lets out a sigh after her Tweedle walks away, still wondering where Will could be and why no one has seen him this morning. Ryan had given her a similar answer that he had no clue where Will was. She goes around asking more of the castle workers, still not getting any answer as to where her husband can be. He should be here in the castle; he is the White King for crying out loud! Now, Anastasia knows that it's not Monday, meaning they don't have Royal Court to attend today, but still. She's going to have a stern talking with Will whenever he decides to show up. Deciding she's going to have to start the day without him, Ana heads back upstairs to the royal bedroom to get dressed for the day and get Michael and Penelope up where she can watch them along with doing her royal duties. Will is never going to hear the end of this as long as Anastasia has a say so.
Will returns to the castle around four o'clock in the evening, and he tries to slip into the castle unnoticed. Unfortunately for him, he gets seen by Anastasia after taking two steps over the threshold of the front gate.
"Will, where have you been all day?!" Anastasia demands, her voice raising after every word that comes out of her lips.
"Hello to you too, luv. I'm okay, thanks for your concern," Will remarks with a small smirk.
Anastasia however, has had it with her husband's antics today.
"Oh, so you think this is funny do you?! You know I have royal duties to do and have twin two-month-olds to watch, Will Scarlet! What in the world could be more important than being here to help?" Ana continues to yell, a few tears slipping down her cheeks as she lets her thoughts run wild.
"Ana, listen to me," he says, cupping her chin in his hands and looking into her blue eyes, trying to comfort her.
She nods and looks into his dark brown eyes, starting to feel horrible for snapping at him like that.
"Look, luv, I didn't tell you where I was going on purpose. I wanted it to be a surprise for tonight. Can you ever forgive me?" Will explains himself, hoping she'll accept his apology.
"You still haven't told me where you've been. Maybe then I'll forgive you," Ana answers, looking up at him.
"I went to Storybrooke to pick up a few things for today and tonight. It is a very special day after all," Will returns, giving her the full explanation on what he's been up to today.
Anastasia stands there in confusion, not knowing what today is and why it's very special in Will's words. She doesn't know why this day is any different than any other day that they spend together. Ana finally gives in and decides to ask him what today is.
"Why is today special, Will?" she asks, knowing that she probably is going to feel a little bit dumber after he tells her what today is and why it's special.
Will lets out an amused chuckle before realizing that Ana's dead serious and does not know what today is.
"Why, today's only one of the single most important days in the world. It's the day you were born, Anastasia," Will smiles, knowing that it's just like Ana to forget days that revolve around her.
The White Queen gasps in surprise as she realizes that it is, indeed, September 26, her birthday.
"My birthday's today? I completely forgot about it! But you remembered. You truly are the best man in the entire world, Will Scarlet," Anastasia smiles while wrapping him in a hug and then pulling out of his warm embrace to give him a long, passionate kiss on his lips.
"You forgot your own birthday? That's a first, even for you," Will smiles, giving her another quick kiss on the lips.
Every year they've been together, Anastasia's told him not to make such a big deal out of her birthday. Most years he's complied to that rule that she's made, but this year is different. She has a new position in his life now, as his loving wife and the mother of his children. That means he can throw the old rule away and spoil her like the queen she is.
"I'm sorry I didn't trust you, Will. It's just- almost everyone I've trusted in life has either left me or abandoned me. I just couldn't believe that you would do that to me, too. That's why a part of me still believed that you must have had a valid reason for leaving without a word this morning," Anastasia admits, to which Will looks at her with an I will never leave you expression in his eyes.
He adds another kiss to her lips, not caring that he's kissed her at least three times since he's been home.
"So, do you forgive me, Ana?" he smiles, knowing very well what the answer will be.
"Of course I do, darling," Anastasia answers, a huge smile on her face as well.
Will holds a finger up in the air, telling his wife to wait for a second as he pulls something from behind his back.
"These are for you," Will says before handing her a full bouquet of white roses, which makes Anastasia grin with such blinding strength that Will can't help but smile along.
"They're beautiful, Will. Thank you so much," Ana says before wrapping her arms around him yet again, breathing in his familiar scent.
"You're quite welcome, luv. That's only the beginning of how I'm going to spoil ya tonight. Go get dressed in somethin' more comfortable and I'll take ya somewhere in about an hour," Will explains, wanting Ana to understand what he has in mind for her birthday later on.
Anastasia smiles before running off towards their bedroom to get dressed in something both formal and casual at the same time. Will heads of towards the other room to find Ryan holding Michael and Louis holding Penelope, and decides to let them in on his plan.
"All right, mates, I'm taking Anastasia out tonight for her birthday, so I invited Alice and Cyrus over to watch Michael and Penelope while we're gone. However, I have a while before I have to go, so I would like to watch my children for the time I have. Thank you mates for helping Ana watch them today while I was out," Will says before taking his children from his friends, holding them close to his chest.
With that, Will walks up the stairs towards the master bedroom, preparing to go sit Michael and Penelope in their cribs to try and get them to go to sleep before Alice and Cyrus come over to babysit. Michael falls asleep in Will's arms as they head up the stairs, but Penelope is still wide awake. Will easily slips Michael into his crib before trying to do the same with his daughter. When Will tries to gently detach his daughter from him, the little princess begins to cry, and Will tries his best to shush her. She's a Daddy's girl, that's for sure, of that Will knows. Realizing he won't get his daughter to settle down by placing her in her crib, Will decides to take her into the bathroom with him while he gets ready for his night with Anastasia. The White King heads into the bathroom to shave before his date with Anastasia. Upon picking up the razor, Penelope begins to thrash in his arms, which makes Will hesitant to shave while holding his daughter. If he hurt himself or his beautiful daughter in any way, he would never let himself live it down. Fortunately, Ryan walks by the bathroom, so Will calls out to his best friend. The soldier comes into the doorframe of the bathroom, wondering why his best friend would be calling him.
"Is something wrong, Will?" Ryan asks, hoping that all is going well for the king of Wonderland.
"Here. I need you to take Penelope for a bit. She's makin' it awfully hard for her Daddy to shave without almost slitting his own throat," Will says with a small smile before trying to hand his daughter over to his best friend.
"Ah, no. Penelope and I don't get along," Ryan says, knowing that his niece always cries when she's in his arms.
"Don't be soft. She thinks you're brilliant," Will persuades, trying to get his friend to take Penelope for just a few minutes where he can shave without worrying about cutting his neck in the process.
Ryan doesn't seem to believe him and crosses his arms over his chest. Will decides to try something else.
"Look, she's laughing," he says, trying to hand Penelope over to Ryan, which just causes the princess' cries to get louder.
Yep, she's a total Daddy's girl.
"An hour, at most," Ryan sighs in defeat.
Will smiles in triumph before handing Penelope over to Ryan and tickling his daughter's stomach with his hand and making funny noises to make her smile.
"Be good," he whispers before walking back to the sink.
Ryan lightly laughs before turning on his heel and walking into the nursery to sit in the rocking chair to sit with Penelope. Will finishes getting ready and goes back into the nursery while he's waiting for Anastasia to finish getting ready. He takes Penelope from Ryan's arms and settles her down in her crib to get some rest. It is then that Alice and Cyrus arrive in the castle and Ana finishes getting ready.
"So, you have both of our numbers if you need to contact us," Anastasia reminds, sticking an extra copy of emergency contacts in Alice's handbag for extra measures.
"We've got them, Anastasia. I doubt we'll need to call you, though," Alice says, assuring her two friends that Michael and Penelope are in capable hands.
"Well, the twins will wake up in about two hours for their bottles and then they should go back to sleep," Will adds in.
"Will, they will be fine. I assure you, Alice and I are quite capable of handling your children for the night. After all, we need practice for when our baby arrives in April," Cyrus tells Will to try and get the new father to stop worrying.
It is then that Will wraps an arm around Anastasia and they start to walk towards the castle door. That's when a light flashes, and Tweedledum is standing there with a goofy grin on his face, holding a camera.
"I thought you would want a picture of this, Your Majesties," he explains, hoping that Will and Anastasia aren't mad at him.
"Thank you, Tweedle. You can retire for the night; Alice and Cyrus have things under control," Ana answers with a small smile at her servant's antics.
The White King and Queen then leave the castle and take a portal to Storybrooke to enjoy their night out for Anastasia's birthday.
"So, luv, what do you think?" Will asks as he pulls Ana's chair out for her in the restaurant.
"I like the change of scenery. I never knew Storybrooke had any restaurants besides Granny's," Anastasia says with a laugh, which puts a smile on Will's face.
"Neither did I until this afternoon. Robin and Regina recommended for me to bring you here. I figured it must be good if the Queen was recommending it," Will responds with a chuckle.
The restaurant was a nice Italian restaurant that not many Storybrooke residents know about, so it is relatively quiet when Will and Anastasia enter. That and since it's an odd time of the day, not normal dinner time or not late enough for the bar to be open, there weren't that many other people there. The two of them talk and laugh throughout the meal, discussing anything and everything over pasta and breadsticks. Anastasia smiles throughout dinner, and it makes Will's heart soar knowing that he can make Anastasia this happy. When they finish dinner, Will slips his leather jacket over her shoulders and they walk out into the brisk September night air of Storybrooke. Will begins to pull Anastasia towards the woods before whispering in her ear.
"Do you want to see some falling stars?" he asks with a smile on his lips, to which Ana eagerly nods her head in response.
He leads her further into the woods where he set up a picnic blanket for them to lay on, complete with a bag of marshmallows, chocolate, graham crackers, and a small fire. Anastasia grins upon seeing these, s'mores are one of her new favorite desserts that Will's introduced her to in the past year after the drama in Wonderland. They head over to the blanket to sit and watch the stars while making s'mores. Will leans against the base of the tree to prop himself on, with Anastasia resting her back against his chest, holding his hand as he roasts the first s'more over the fire. He hands her the first s'more when it's done before starting one for himself. Several s'mores later, both of their mouths are covered in chocolate and marshmallow, to which they both laugh at. Will uses the sleeve of his shirt to wipe the marshmallow off of Ana's face, and she uses one of the napkins to wipe the remaining chocolate off of Will's mouth. After wiping off all traces of the s'mores, Will pulls Anastasia in for a kiss, enjoying being with her on her birthday and her not complaining that he's spoiling her too much. Ana returns the kiss, her hand finding its way to the back of Will's head, running through his short brown hair as they continue to kiss. They break apart for just a split second before kissing again, both of them not wanting this night to end. After the second kiss, Anastasia turns to where her back is resting against Will's chest again, and she rests her head in the crook of his neck, looking up at the stars.
"I believe I was promised falling stars, and yet….. just stars," Ana teases Will slightly, resulting in a smile from Will.
"Be patient. It's almost time," he persuades, hoping the information Henry gave him is right.
A few seconds later, there are several shooting stars in the sky, along with some flashes of light from the meteor shower. Anastasia looks at the sight in front of her in wonder, never seeing something like this before in her life.
"That's incredible," she breathes, enjoying every moment of watching the meteor shower.
"You know, they say, one kiss under the falling stars, and it brings you good fortune," Will whispers, a smile on his lips as he says this.
Ana turns and looks at him, a confused look on her face.
"If you want to kiss me, Will, you don't have to make up a story," she giggles, wondering where on Earth Will got the idea for that tall tale.
"It wasn't a story," Will defends himself as he rests his head against Anastasia's shoulder.
"Then where did you hear it, darling?" Ana challenges with a smile, pretty sure she already knows the answer.
"Cyrus told me that, thank you very much," Will answers, a smirk on his lips as he answers.
"And you actually believed him? Will, you know he used to make up any excuse to kiss Alice before they were engaged," Anastasia laughs, and Will has to laugh along with her, just to hear their laughs echoing in the night together.
After they stop laughing Will takes something out of his jacket, holding it out to Anastasia.
"Here you go, Ana. I got you something for your birthday," he tells her with a wide grin, producing a long black box in front of her.
"Will, you didn't have to get me anything," Ana says as she takes the box from her husband.
"I wanted to. You need to be spoiled on your birthday for once where I can show you how much you mean to me," Will replies, not caring how corny his response may sound to anyone who may be eavesdropping.
Anastasia opens the box and lets out a gasp when she takes out the present. Inside the box is a gold necklace with the words "Will and Anastasia" engraved at the top with Anastasia's birthstone, a sapphire in the center of the necklace. On the sides of the necklace are Will, Michael and Penelope's birthstones, a ruby for Michael and Penelope and a turquoise for Will.
"Will, it's beautiful. Thank you, darling," Anastasia tells him, wrapping her arms around his back and chest as she hugs him.
He wraps his arms around her and presses a kiss to her lips before whispering "You're welcome" in her ear. Will takes the necklace from her hands and slips it around her neck, resting the pendant on her collarbone. Anastasia turns around to face him and tell him how happy he's made her today.
"This is the best birthday I've ever had, Will. It is amazing, all thanks to you," Anastasia admits, looking into his dark brown eyes with love in her light blue ones.
"Anything to see you happy, Ana. I'm glad you enjoyed yourself," Will grins before they stand up to head back to Wonderland to relieve Alice and Cyrus from babysitting Michael and Penelope.
Yeah, it was worth letting Anastasia get mad at him for being gone all day if it meant that he could bring her out for a night of fun and celebration for her birthday. Will's going to make her enjoy celebrating her birthday each year, he's sure of it.
Author's Note: And there's Chapter 21! I hope you enjoyed, and it would be amazing if you left a comment with what you thought. This week's been kind of crazy; we've only had one day of school, that being Thursday, because they cancelled it the other days due to snow and ice. That's the reason I've been able to get quite a few chapters up this week; I've had time off from school. Thanks as always for your support, and reviews are always appreciated. Until Chapter 22, my amazing readers!