Disclaimer: I don't own Once Upon a Time
AN: Some Charming-Mills family feels tonight, especially Grandpa Charming feels. I'm thinking this could take place during the six weeks that passed between 4A and 4B.
Thanks to everyone for all the great reviews. There are a few guest reviews I'm going to address. Most guest reviews have been very nice. But there are a couple that I suspect are the same person:
To the guest that seems to have a problem with my AU versions. You need to step off and take your Snow hate elsewhere. Or at least have the courage to leave a signed review, cause your troll is showing.
Have a prompt? Leave it in a review and I'll see what I can come up with. :)
Once Upon a Snowing
Grounded
Henry's shoulders tensed and his jaw clenched, as the other boy kept egging him on.
"Your whole family is so fucked up, Mills," the boy, Jeremy, hissed, as his buddies laughed and urged him on.
"I mean, first it's bad enough that one of your Mom's is the Evil Queen and cast one curse...but now your Grandma cast it this time," he complained. He knew Jeremy's father had at one time been a Knight that was loyal to King George's family. He hated his grandparents and had passed that right along to his son.
"Who knew Snow White had it in her? It takes one heartless bitch to crush her own husband's heart," he sneered. Henry saw red at those words and whipped around, punching the other kid square in the eye. Jeremy hit the ground and looked up in shock.
Normally Henry Mills was quiet and reserved, but he had pressed the wrong button this time. Henry had finally reached his breaking point.
Teachers arrived at this point and it was sometime later, that his grandmother hurried in from her classroom.
"Henry…" Snow said in concern, as she sat beside him on the bench.
"Can I see?" she asked, referring to his knuckles that had an ice pack on them. He shrugged and she looked at his hand.
"You did a lot of damage for one punch," she said, examining his knuckles.
"I hit him pretty hard," he mentioned.
"I heard...I'm just not sure why. It's not like you at all," Snow replied.
"He's the biggest jerk in school...and he said some stuff," Henry replied vaguely.
"What kind of stuff?" Snow asked.
"Stuff about our family...some really bad things about you," Henry replied.
"I see...you know you can't let that stuff get to you," Snow said.
"You don't know what he said...I mean it was so wrong!" Henry exclaimed.
"Why don't you tell me then?" Snow asked.
"I...I don't want to repeat it. It just sucks that I'm getting in trouble and he's not! He can't just say stuff like that!" Henry said in exasperation.
"Honey...he used words, because he knows he can get under your skin and not get in trouble for it. Violence...I've had to resort to it so many times. It was for survival, but I don't want that for you," she said sadly. She didn't care what people said about her, but it bothered her that they would use her to accost her grandson.
It was that moment that Regina and Emma chose to burst in.
"Hey kid," Emma said, choosing a laid back approach.
"Henry Daniel Mills...do you care to explain why you're getting into fights now?" Regina snapped.
"Regina…" Snow said, hoping she'd take it down a notch.
"Wow...those are some bruised knuckles," Emma commented.
"Yeah, I remember quite a few times my knuckles looked like that after a fight," David added, as he arrived behind Emma.
"You know, we can work on your form so you don't bang your knuckles up so much," David said, looking at his hand. Three pairs of eyes, one brown and two green shot toward him.
"Charming…" Snow chided.
"You will do nothing of the sort," Regina snapped.
"It's not a terrible idea," Emma commented, as Regina's gaze snapped to her.
"It's not! Look kid, we don't condone fighting, you know that. Still doesn't hurt to know how," Emma said, mumbling the last part. David grinned, Snow hid a smile, and Regina rolled her eyes in exasperation.
"Why did you get into a fight, Henry?" Regina demanded to know.
"Jeremy is a jerk and he kept saying really bad things about our family. I just kind of lost it after a while," Henry explained.
"Kid…" Emma started to say, but Henry huffed in annoyance.
"You don't get it...Gramps, you totally would," Henry implored. David looked at them and then knelt down to eye level with his grandson.
"They were saying things about the female members of your family, I guessing?" he asked. Henry nodded.
"Yeah...and if a man called Grams the terrible name that this kid called her then you would have decked him too," Henry insisted.
"You're right...I would have," David agreed, as the three women looked ready to pounce on him. But he put his hands up in surrender.
"Let me finish," he pleaded.
"I'm not saying that punching people out should be his go to reaction, but I'm not going to lie to him either," he told them, as they relaxed.
"He called Grams heartless, because she used your heart to cast the curse...and some other names," Henry confessed.
"Yeah, I would have probably punched a guy for that too. But there's not a lot people that understand what she did and why. They don't understand the love that this family shares," Charming said.
"I thought giving up my life was the only way to save your baby Uncle. But your Grams...being the amazing woman she is, found another way. She found a way to get us back to you...and save me at the same time. And your Mom helped her do that, so the three of us could come back to you and your other Mom," Charming explained, missing the smiles on the three women's faces.
"I know sometimes people get to us and the first instinct is to deck them...but that's not always the most productive course of action," he explained.
"Your Grams has taught me many things and words can solve problems much better than fists sometimes. We want you to fight and defend yourself, but only if there is no other choice," he implored.
"What if they don't listen to my words?" Henry asked. Charming shrugged.
"There's going to be a lot of people that won't. There's people that will never like us or understand our family. But that's okay, because we know the truth. And if they get to you again, then you can come to any of us and we'll help you through it," he said, as Henry looked at both his moms and his Grandmother, who nodded.
"Okay...thanks Gramps," he said, as he hugged Snow, then Emma and Regina.
"You're grounded," Regina told him softly, watching his shoulders slump. But Henry knew it was fair.
"Okay," he said, as they started out.
"Chin up, kid. Since you're grounded, maybe you and I can get back to those sword lessons?" Charming asked. Henry grinned.
"I'd like that," he agreed.
"Let's go get Neal from daycare and then grab some hot cocoa at the diner," Snow suggested. They agreed, as the five of them headed out for some much needed family time.