The sting of first love

Amanda asked for a oneshot of Snowing helping Neal through a bad breakup. Set as though there was never a curse. I'm going a bit tongue and cheek with this one.

"Neal, there will be other girls…"

"No there won't!" The fifteen called out dramatically. "There will never be another Rosalie! Never!" Neal slammed his door shut just to get some of his anger and (in his own words) despair out before collapsing onto his bed. Snow and Charming looked at each other, eyebrows raised, as they had one of their silent conversations. Yes, Rosalie had been Neal's first serious girlfriend. Yes, that was bound to be difficult, but he wasn't half being overdramatic about the whole situation. Charming sat on the bed beside his eldest son and patted his back.

"My Rosalie was called Olivia." He told her.

"Mine was Hercules." Snow added, sitting on the other side.

"Everyone has a first love, Neal. Yes, some people are lucky. For some people once is all it ever takes. For some, the journey to true love is a little longer with a few more turns. Rosalie was just one of your turns, and you hers. Soon enough you'll both be able to look back on your time together and smile, thinking of all the good times you shared. It'll get better, you'll see." Charming tried to cheer his son up. It seemed to be going in one ear and out the other with Neal.

"You don't understand. She's obviously cursed or something. There's no way she would just dump me like that for that stupid noble's son Richard. We were true loves! We are true loves!" Neal protested. Snow and Charming sighed. He just wasn't prepared to see sense.

"Not if she isn't seeing it that way you're not." Snow told him. "True love is a two-way street. If she is prepared to hurt you like this for some boy who's half as handsome and probably a tenth as intelligent then it's her loss, Neal."

"I will never be in love again." Neal sobbed. Snow and Charming looked at each other, exasperated. What were they supposed to tell him?

"We'll give you some space." Charming said, as he and Snow got off the bed and left Neal to cry. He would get over this in time. There would be another girl who would catch his eye. He would find true love eventually; they were confident of that. Just maybe when he was a little older.