Once upon a December
Reading Pixie asked for a oneshot of Emma dancing to the song "Once upon a December" from Anastasia when she thinks she's alone. Her parents come home and see her. Emma is dancing with her eyes closed. When the father/daughter part of the song comes on, Charming sneaks in and dances with her. Emma is embarrassed.
Charming took the bags out of the boot. Man these were heavy today. The quicker he got these to the kitchen, the better for his back. So he was very surprised when he turned around to find Snow not unlocking the door, but standing peeping in at the window.
"Snow." He called over. "What are you…"
"Shh!" She said frantically, flapping her free arm that wasn't holding Neal's car seat. She turned around, and Charming saw that she was grinning wildly.
"Come see this." She mouthed. Now Charming was curious. If Snow wasn't even speaking, this had to be something special. Charming began to waddle closer with the heavy bags. As he got closer, he began to hear music coming from inside the house. He quietly dumped the bags on the ground and came closer for a better look at what was making Snow so giddy. He immediately understood. There, in the middle of the living room, was Emma. And she was waltzing around by herself to quite a familiar tune.
Someone holds me safe and warm,
Horses prance through a silver storm,
Figures dancing gracefully across my memory…
At this Charming and Snow could hold back no longer, but they didn't want to interrupt Emma mid-dance. So carefully, Snow pulled out her keys and unlocked the door. Fortunately, the music was loud enough that Emma didn't notice them coming in. Her eyes were also closed as she danced, so she couldn't see them either. Snow and Charming just stood at the door, smiling, as she waltzed through the musical interlude.
Far away,
Long ago,
Glowing dim as an ember,
Things my heart used to know,
Things it yearns to remember…
Charming recognised this as his que. He'd seen this movie. Well, cursed David had watched it when he was younger. Either way, he knew this was the point where Anastasia's father, the Russian king, stepped in to dance with her. Well, he might as well do things properly. So Charming quietly stepped up to Emma. Gentle so as not to startle her, he slipped his hands in hers. She did jump slightly and opened her eyes. Charming smiled at her, chuckling at how red she went. He took the lead and began to waltz her slowly around the living room.
And a song someone sings…
Once upon a December…
The song finished. Snow burst into applause. Emma looked at the floor.
"Aww, don't be like that, we weren't trying to upset you." Charming assured her. "We thought it was adorable."
"Sorry, it just came on the radio and it brought back old memories. I loved that movie when I was a kid. The idea of being an orphan who's actually a lost princess just seemed so perfect. Emma laughed. "Who knew how much I could really connect with the character, huh? Sorry, I know it's a corny thing to be doing." Charming came over and pulled Emma tightly into his arms.
"Never stop being corny. You're a fairytale princess. Corny is in the job description. Besides, if you being corny means I get to dance with my little princess, then I think you should be corny far more often." He joked. Emma laughed awkwardly, not sure what to say. She would always love this movie, especially now she had such a strong empathy with the main character, but unlike Anastasia, she got her parents back. For that, she would be eternally thankful.
