Grandpa still wasn't talking. It wasn't like he ever talked that much. Henry was used to it, and he liked it. Regina had tended to talk too much when she was anxious, and her tenseness had scared him because he had never known what she was going to do. Life with his grandfather was peaceful, and he liked only talking sometimes, when the prince really had something important to say. The rest of the time, they trained together or watched TV, or he followed his grandpa around while he did his job in town.
This was different. He'd barely even gotten a "good morning." At first, he'd racked his brain to try to figure out if he'd done something wrong, but that wasn't how things worked with Prince Charming. Regina had frozen him out sometimes, given him the silent treatment until he finally came crying and apologizing to her because he couldn't stand the isolation. She'd always had to have that power over him; it had always been about her. His grandfather was different. The moment Henry did something wrong, he knew what to expect, a hand on his shoulder, a quiet "Henry," said in a certain tone, and then the prince kneeling in front of him with those loving, disappointed eyes until he caved. It always worked because he always knew it was out of concern for him, not because of his grandfather's ego. This wasn't like that.
It was almost like his grandpa was afraid to talk to him, something he'd never seen before. If anyone had asked, he would have said the prince wasn't afraid of anything. He'd read the stories of all of his grandfather's brave deeds and seen some of them with his own eyes in Storybrooke. He hadn't thought there was anything in the world that could make him afraid.
"Grandpa?" he finally said tentatively, when they were sitting down to a dinner of hotdogs and crinkle French fries.
"Yeah?" The prince looked up as if he was startled.
"Are you mad at me?" To the little boy's surprise, his grandfather put his face in his hands for a few seconds. "I'm sorry," Henry said, a little afraid. It was the first time Prince Charming had ever been unpredictable, and he didn't know what to do.
A/N: This chapter and the next are for Shopowner93, who requested them.
