II
Chapter fifteen: In our world made of stories / Your words are all over me
David
II
David wakes to a soft kiss to his forehead, and he smiles without even thinking before opening his eyes. He knows that kiss. He knows that giggle too, and sure enough, as he opens his eyes he sees that Emma has crawled up into bed and is sitting next to him on top of the covers. It's a familiar sight, whenever he and Snow oversleep and their daughter wakes before them.
"Hey, princess," he says sleepily, lifting a hand to ruffle her soft curls.
Emma, his brain reminds him, and he's suddenly wide awake. Emma. He's Charming, and she's Emma. He remembers now, after she broke his curse just as she broke Snow's.
Emma. She's their daughter, and their savior, and he loves her so very, very much.
"Hey daddy," she says, and his heart aches. He lifts his head and presses a lingering kiss to her forehead, trying to will all his love into it. He keeps his hand at the back of her neck as he pulls away, watching her face. Now that he remembers, he can see so much of Snow in Emma, and even some of himself.
"Hey mommy," Emma says, and he glances over to see Snow watching them both. She still has one arm across his waist underneath the covers, and he can feel her thumb caress his skin lovingly. Her eyes are bright with tears threatening to spill, but she manages an unsteady smile.
"Hey Emma," she says, her voice shaking.
Their daughter is no fool. She notices things, he knows, and she looks at them both with slightly narrowed eyes and a crinkled forehead.
"Did we oversleep again?" he asks quickly, trying to keep his voice light and normal and failing spectacularly.
"Yes," Emma replies. She's still eyeing him and Snow. "Did someone die again?"
"No," he says reassuringly. He remembers Emma's reaction to Granny's death – oh, Granny - and knows their daughter is starting to learn what death is, despite all his wishes that she would never have to.
"You look sad," Emma says, and he sits up, holding out his arms. She shifts into his embrace, and he kisses the top of her head.
"We're not sad," he says, feeling Snow sit up next to him and lean her head against his shoulder. "Sometimes when people are happy, they get emotional, and that can look a bit like being sad."
"Oh," Emma says. "Why are you happy?"
"Because you're our daughter," Snow manages to say. He can see a single tear streak her cheek as she leans forward and kisses Emma's forehead too.
"I've always been your daughter," Emma says, sounding confused.
"And you always will be," he says. He swallows, trying to get rid of the lump in his throat. "Mommy and daddy have a few things to do today, but how do you feel about a family day tomorrow?"
Emma lights up. She loves their family days, he knows, and the gratitude he feels towards David Nolan for having invented it and thus allowing him to share the memories of them from the past ten years is immeasurable.
"Okay," Emma says, trying to make it sound like no big deal and being just as bad as her mother in hiding her emotions.
"Just give mommy and daddy a few moments and we'll get up and make us all breakfast, okay?" he says, and Emma nods regally and jumps off the bed. A moment later she's vanished out the door.
"Charming," Snow says, lifting her head from his shoulder to look at him. Gently, he kisses the tears from her cheeks, furiously blinking back his own.
"I know," he whispers reassuringly. Oh, he knows. They've been unknowingly raising their daughter for ten years, and realizing that is overwhelming. She would always have been their daughter even if she hadn't been the girl Snow gave birth to, of course, but now that they also have Snow and Charming's memories they know she's also the beloved child they wanted so very much and were forced to let go of.
"I want to tell her," Snow whispers furiously, but he can hear from the defiance in her voice that she knows it's not quite that simple.
"We will," he says softly. "But we have to figure out how, Snow. She thinks Snow and Charming are fairy tales and stories. She's grown up for ten years thinking this world is her world. She's the one meant to break this curse and we don't even know how."
"She's the Savior," Snow murmurs, a mixture of pride and sadness in her voice. He kisses her cheeks again, feeling the same. Their daughter, their wonderful daughter is meant to break the curse and save them all.
"She's already our savior," he says, and Snow nods. "She saved us and she brought us together."
Snow nods again, her eyes still teary, and he kisses her so very, very softly, feeling her sigh against his lips. He lets his lips linger against hers while brushing a few last tears from her cheeks with his thumbs.
"Whatever comes, we'll face it together," he reassures her as he pulls away, and she nods again, and then again. "As a family."
"As a family," she echoes, and he sees the familiar determination of Snow on her face. His wife. He has his wife and his daughter and even with a curse, he can't help but feel very, very blessed by that.
II
They manage to act relatively normal through breakfast, mostly because David and Mary Margaret Nolan luckily were quite physically affectionate people and so, Emma is used to hugs and kisses from them. A good thing, since they just can't help themselves today.
The ten minutes it takes them to wish Emma a good day before letting her head off to play with Ava, Nicholas and Belle is definitely not normal though, and Emma gives them odd looks before she walks away. He almost calls her back, but as much as he would like to hold his daughter and never let go, he and Snow do have quite a few things to sort out.
First thing's first.
They link hands and walk over to Gold's house without a word. The night before, in-between re-exploring each other, they did also talk a lot, and arrived at the same conclusion.
Gold knows.
The man in question opens the door on David's third knock, and seems about to make a comment when he tilts his head and looks at them. David meets his gaze without flinching.
"Rumpelstiltskin," he says after a few moments, and Rumpelstiltskin smiles in that way Charming remembers all too well from their own world.
"Snow and Charming, I presume," Rumpelstiltskin says gleefully, opening the door and giving them an exaggerated bow. "You're early. I wasn't expecting you for another 18 years."
"How do we break the curse?" Snow says, getting straight to the point.
"You don't," Rumpelstiltskin says. Despite his mocking tone, he seems almost happy to see them, Charming notices. "Your daughter does."
"How?" Charming asks.
"Time will tell," Rumpelstiltskin says, making Charming wonder if that means that even the Dark One doesn't know that, or if he simply doesn't want to tell. "Don't worry. We won't age at all until it happens."
"But Emma will," Snow says. "You're saying she'll be the same age as us before the curse breaks?"
"Curses move in mysterious ways," Rumpelstiltskin says, but for a moment he looks almost old, as if letting the act drop for just a moment. Then he smiles. "Emma will break the curse. She is the Savior. She will bring our happy endings back."
"She'll break the curse so we can go home," Snow says, and he can only nod. This world is a world with one unhappy ending there is no escape from. They're living in the ruins of it, surviving, but there is no future here.
They have to get home.
"She broke your curse already," Rumpelstiltskin says, and he gives them another look. "Oh. Of course. True love's kiss. Emma truly loves her parents, and she's old enough to know that now. She awoke you with a kiss, didn't she?"
Chrming says nothing, but he's fairly sure his face is giving him away, because Rumpelstiltskin nods.
"Will it work on anyone else?" Snow asks hopefully. He knows she's missing Red, even if Mary Margaret and Ruby get along quite well.
"No," Rumpelstiltskin says flatly. "It must be true love, not just simply affection or a degree of love. It must be true love. There might be another true love for Emma as she gets older, but for now, you're it."
Snow closes her eyes and leans against Charming, and he kisses her temple in comfort. At least they have each other in this, and he longs to bury himself in her embrace.
Rumpelstiltskin watches them, a faint smile lingering on his lips.
"I assume King George's ramblings about a dragon in Storybrooke are actually real then?" Charming says after a while. It was another thing he and Snow discussed last night. Their returned memories have made a lot of things suddenly make a lot more sense.
"He only knows himself as Albert Spencer," Rumpelstiltskin says, and Charming wonders how it's possible to be so despicable in two different worlds. "But yes. Maleficent is there, in her dragon form. I'm sure you remember her."
"I remember," Charming says evenly. "What was in the golden egg you had me put inside her?"
"Something for a rainy day," Rumpelstiltskin says just as evenly. "If we should ever have need of it, I am sure the brave Prince Charming won't mind slaying another dragon. Or perhaps it will be like father, like daughter."
"We'll keep Emma safe," Snow cuts in, her voice fierce. She would gladly face a dragon to keep Emma safe, he knows, or him. Just as he would.
"I have no doubt," Rumpelstiltskin says smoothly. "I know very well what your love can do."
Charming narrows his eyes, but Rumpelstiltskin simply smiles.
"When the curse breaks, could we bring survivors from this world with us?" Snow asks after a moment, another thing they discussed through the night.
"This world is in ruins," Charming adds. He thinks of the destruction, and even now, a decade on, shudders at it. "Those who survived might want to come with us and make a new start in our world."
"Until the curse is further broken, none of us can leave Storybrooke," Rumpelstiltskin says. "And to bring willing survivors scattered all over this world with us, that would require magic in a world that has none. That sounds rather impossible, does it not?"
"That sounds like the sort of challenge the Dark One just can't resist," Charming says cheerfully, and Rumpelstiltskin looks at him and then smiles.
"It is good to have you back, Your Majesties," he says, and it actually sounds sincere. It must be lonely to remember among so many who don't, Charming supposes. He couldn't imagine doing it without Snow, or to have him remember and Snow not. It's too painful to imagine – and Rumpelstiltskin's complicated relationship with Belle – not quite letting her in, yet not letting her go - suddenly makes a lot more sense to him.
"And what of Regina?" Rumpelstiltskin goes on. "You remember now. You know she cast the curse that brought us all here. So what are you going to do about the Evil Queen?"
Charming doesn't answer, and neither does Snow. They have discussed it, over and over last night, and always ended up at the same point.
They just don't know.
"Ah," Rumpelstiltskin says, leaning on his cane again. "Sympathy for the devil? Or the Evil Queen, in this case."
"She's not just the Evil Queen," Snow says, sounding pained. Ten years of David and Mary Margaret's memories of Regina and Owen has ensured that, if nothing else. Of course, Snow also has additional memories of the woman before the Evil Queen, memories she's told him about.
"Harder to just see the villain when you've also seen the suffering behind it?" Rumplestiltskin suggests, but there is an odd tone to his voice.
Charming thinks of Gold's obvious longing for Belle, the glimpses of pain on Rumpelstiltskin's face, and the few times the Dark One act seems to slip up.
"Yes," he says, looking straight at Rumpelstiltskin, and this time, Rumpelstiltskin actually looks away as if he can face derision and hate, but finds sympathy much harder.
II
Regina and Owen are repairing one of the walls as Snow and Charming watch from a distance. The young man smiles at something Regina says, and then Regina smiles back. Even from a distance, Charming can see the genuine happiness in it.
"I hate her for hurting you so many times," he says, and Snow squeezes his hand. "She cast this curse to separate us and make us unhappy. She forced all of us into this world, and this world ended."
"I know," Snow whispers. She sounds pained. "But Charming, she could have killed us in this world and she hasn't."
"Do you really think she's changed?" he asks. He knows how much Snow would want that, and how much he wants it for her. It makes it harder not to see what they want to see.
"I don't know," Snow admits.
"Can we take the risk that she has?" he says, thinking of Emma. Emma is the savior, the one who is meant to break Regina's curse. If Regina hasn't changed, Emma might be a threat to her.
"If she has changed, and we act thinking she hasn't... Can we risk the harm that might do?" Snow counters softly, and Charming watches Owen laugh in the bright sunlight.
He knows the pain of losing a parent too early. He doesn't wish that on anyone, and certainly not twice. Regina has become a mother to Owen, there is no denying that. Not with the decade of memories David Nolan has of Regina Mills. Charming might remember the Evil Queen, but David Nolan saw an entirely different side to Regina.
"We watch her," he says and Snow nods. "We hope for the best, but we prepare for the worst so we can protect our daughter from Regina if we have to."
"Or if she tries to take you from me again," Snow says, her voice filled with determination and just a hint of possessiveness. It makes him smile despite everything.
"I will always find you," he says, and the familiar phrase makes Snow pull him into a forceful kiss. It reminds him of the boldness he would sometimes lure out of Mary Margaret, and that he now knows was an echo of Snow.
He moans softly as he parts his lips and feels her tongue brush his, and he pulls her more firmly into his arms to enjoy the sensation of her body pressed against his, to enjoy her. Snow. His wife. Emma's mother. Beloved of two worlds.
They're both breathing unsteadily as they finally pull apart, resting their foreheads together. He cups her cheek, drawing his thumb across her skin lovingly.
"I love you," he says, and the way she looks at him tells him she loves him just as much back. That, not even a curse could change.
II
They find their way to Graham's grave almost reluctantly, yet knowing they have to go. There are flowers there from their last visit, and Granny's grave a few feet away has flowers that are probably from Red. There are others they've lost too, they know now, who won't have graves.
They've lost many. Too many.
Snow and Charming owed Graham their lives. David and Mary Margaret probably did as well. A debt of two worlds, now twice as impossible to repay. But if they have a son as well someday, he's going to be named Graham, Charming just knows.
Snow burrows her head against his shoulder, and he wraps his arms around her and just holds her as they silently mourn anew the many lost, now truly knowing whom they lost.
In the distance, a wolf howls mournfully, almost as if joining them.
II
It's harder to look at Sean knowing him to be Thomas, and that Ashley was actually his true love Cinderella, now presumed lost with their child. It makes Charming think of how he would feel losing Snow and Emma, and it's enough to make him pull Sean into a hug.
Sean looks confused at that, but Snow quickly distracts him by outlining their new plans. Another cell next to the one they built to house Albert Spencer just in case they might find someone else who is a threat. Upgrades to their farms and hunting practices, based on Charming's practical knowledge of farming and Snow's experiences from her years as a bandit of how to survive. Erecting additional housing for possible survivors who might find them in coming years (or coming decades, as it might be). No more scavenging trips to central Storybrooke (though obviously, they don't explain it with 'dragon danger' but rather increasing structural damage in town). David is to begin giving sword fighting lessons, and Mary Margaret to give archery lessons – just in case they have to defend themselves.
Sean looks slightly dizzy when they're done. He was used to David and Mary Margaret Nolan being leaders of sorts, but Charming knows he and Snow are being far more decisive and assertive today.
"What's all this about?" Sean finally asks.
"The future," Charming says, and meets Snow's gaze. That is the truth, after all. "Emma made us realize we need to think about the future."
"The future," Sean repeats. "Can we really hope for one?"
"Yes," Snow says with conviction, and Charming smiles at her. Yes. They survived, and they built a community of survivors – but now there is the hope of something better, and happy endings always begin with hope.
II
Belle is smiling as she reads to Ava, Nicholas and Emma, Charming notices through the windows, as they approach Belle's house. The sun is going down, bathing all four of them in a golden light. Like Ruby, Belle has become a sort of aunt to Emma.
"Mommy! Daddy!" Emma calls, running towards them. Snow sinks down on her knees and holds out her arms as Emma runs into the embrace, and Charming watches his wife cling to their daughter with a sort of happy ache in his heart.
Then Emma runs to him, and he lifts her up and spins her around while she laughs in delight. He has memories of David Nolan doing the same hundreds of times, but it's Charming's first, and so, he adds a few extra spins to it.
She's already getting too old for this, he knows, but he will miss it when he can no longer spin his daughter around. Just as he misses not being able to cradle her in his arms any more, as he did when she was much younger.
"Did you have a good day, princess?" he asks as he puts her down.
Emma nods. "Belle taught me a new word and how to spell it. 'Adventurous', that's a good word, isn't it? It's someone who likes having adventures."
"That is a good word," Snow says, giving Belle a smile. "Thanks, Belle. We're having a family day tomorrow so Emma will be with us then."
"Emma told me," Belle says. She looks almost wistful, making Charming wonder if she misses having a family or want to make her own. He gives Snow a quick look, and she gives him a nod.
"You're welcome to come to dinner with us the day after tomorrow," he says, and Belle lights up, as she always does when they invite her. "Ava and Nicholas can come too."
"I'd love that," Belle says. She hesitates for a moment, then seems to decide to be brave. "If I wanted to bring someone else, would he be welcome too?"
Rumpelstiltskin, Charming thinks, and exchanges another look with Snow.
"Sure," Snow says warmly. "If he wants to come."
Emma looks thoughtful as they begin to walk him, with one hand holding his hand and the other Snow's. "Is Mr Gold Belle's boyfriend?"
"What makes you say that?" he asks curiously, wondering just how perceptive their daughter is.
"She looks at him like you look at mommy," Emma reasons. "So I thought maybe that's what boyfriends do. Cos when you get married you kiss a lot, like you and mommy do."
"Oh, I kissed your daddy before we married too," Snow says lightly, and he remembers quite a few kisses before marriage, and quite a few other things too. "But sometimes people love each other without kissing, Emma."
Emma considers that. "Isn't kissing fun?"
"It's very fun with the right person," he says, and Snow blushes slightly. It's also making him realize that sooner or later, either he or Snow will have to have The Talk with Emma, and the thought makes him quickly change the subject. "Mommy and daddy have been thinking about family day tomorrow. What do you say about learning to fight with a sword and shoot an arrow with mommy and daddy?"
Emma looks up at him, her face bright with hope. "Really?"
"Really, really," he confirms. "We'll start with wooden swords and a small bow, but we'll work our way up."
Emma beams, and Charming has to smile at her enthusiasm. It is what they would have taught her in their land, among a lot of other things. She is the daughter of a shepherd turned Prince and dragon slayer, and a princess turned bandit turned princess again, after all.
"Would you like that, princess?" he asks, even knowing the answer.
"Yes!" Emma says, and he can't help himself. He lifts her up and swings her around and she laughs at him until he stops. He doesn't let go of her, though, keeping her in his arms while she puts her arms around his neck. He can feel Snow's arms around them both. "But do princesses fight?"
"My princesses do," he says firmly, and he can hear Snow's soft chuckle. "My princesses save the prince and the world and live happily ever after."
"Like in fairy tales?" Emma asks.
"Like in fairy tales," he confirms, and kisses her temple. "We'll make one of our own."
II
They put Emma to bed together after dinner and storytime and packing for their family day in the forest tomorrow. While she falls asleep quickly, they can't quite tear themselves away for a while, watching her sleep for a long time.
When they finally find their way to their own bedroom and their bed, Snow kisses him gently, then with increasing impatience as he sheds his shirt and works on pulling hers off. He too, feels the ever-present need and want for her become demanding in response, and for once he doesn't bother pacing it.
And so, they kiss and touch and stroke each other until there is only them, skin to skin, underneath the covers. They have each other hard and fast there, egging each other on until she comes while moaning his name huskily, and then he with a strangled noise into her mouth.
Afterwards, she drapes herself across his body, and he caresses her back slowly while listening to her breath slowly calm. He almost thinks she's fallen asleep when she lifts her head to look at him.
"How are we going to tell Emma?" she asks.
"I've been thinking about that," he admits, as he knows she has too. "I don't want to give her a shock or make her feel like the rug has been pulled out from under her. She's just a child. We can't put a burden like being the savior on her so young. We should start preparing her, but I don't want to force her to grow up too fast."
Snow closes her eyes. "I had to, when I lost my mother."
"I know," he whispers, pressing a lingering kiss against her temple. "Do you want the same for her?"
"No," she says, sounding pained, and he kisses her softly. "I don't want to lie to her, Charming."
"I don't either," he reassures her. "She knows stories and fairy tales. Maybe we can tell her the truth as a story, piece by piece. She already knows part of the stories from the storybook Regina made her."
"I've been wondering about that," Snow says thoughtfully. "Do you think Regina wants Emma to break the curse as well? She must know this world has no happy ending for her either."
"I don't know," he says honestly. "Maybe. She did give Emma the book."
Snow smiles hopefully, and he hopes for her sake that she is right to hope.
"So we tell Emma the full story," she says after a moment.
"Yes," he says. "Then we get her used to the idea that stories can be true, and show her that this story is true too when she's ready."
Snow nods slowly. "When will that be?"
"I don't know," he admits. "Rumpelstiltskin said the curse would be broken in 18 years. It may take us a while, Snow. We'll just have to be patient and love our daughter through whatever comes. Just as we will each other. What's 18 years when you have true love?"
She smiles wistfully, and then she leans forward and kisses him a touch desperately.
18 years can be a long time, he knows, but with Snow and Emma with him, he has no doubt they'll get through it.
II
Interlude: Emma and Neal
II
Emma loves the forest. She isn't quite sure why, she just does. Mommy and daddy have brought her to it as long as she can remember, and all the sounds of it are now as familiar to her as their farm.
She runs between then trees, hearing daddy call after her to be careful and to stay close. He and mommy are resting on the blanket after eating lunch, and Emma can tell they're in a kissing mood from how they look at each other.
That's okay, though. Daddy taught her lots of moves with a sword earlier, and then mommy taught her shooting with a bow and even got her to hit a target with an arrow. It was lots of fun, so mommy and daddy are allowed to have some fun kissing now. Emma doesn't mind.
Besides, she likes running between the trees. It's fun, and she runs and runs, until she suddenly sees someone else standing between the trees.
It's a boy. Dark hair, bit taller than her, but not as tall as Owen. He doesn't seem to be noticing her at all, so Emma sneaks closer.
As she takes another step forward, she fells strange for a moment, like she passed through something almost warm.
The boy looks up sharply, looking straight at her. He looks startled, and it's almost funny. "Where did you come from?"
Emma crosses her arms. "From behind you. It's not my fault you didn't see me."
"I saw you now," he argues.
"Too late," she counters.
"Just in time," he throws back.
They stare at each other for a few more moments, neither willing to back down.
"Where do you live?" she finally asks, curiosity getting the better of her. She's never met anyone from outside before, not since the mean man who tried to hurt mommy and daddy. "If you try to hurt mommy and daddy I throw rocks, and I also know how to shoot a bow now."
The boy blinks. "You throw rocks and can use a bow?"
She sticks her lower lip out. "Yes."
"Cool," he says, and Emma decides he might not be as bad after all. "I'm from... Nowhere, anymore. We move around."
"Oh," Emma says. "I live in Storybrooke with mommy and daddy and aunt Ruby and aunt Belle and Ava and Nicholas and aunt Regina and Owen and Leroy and Sean and..."
She tails off as she notices the boy's confused look.
"With a bunch of people," she finishes.
"Oh," he says. "I live down there, with a few boys. But it's secret so you can't tell anyone."
"Okay," she says, wondering why the boy wouldn't want anyone to know where he lives. Maybe he's hiding from someone. "I won't tell anyone about you."
"I'm B- Neal, by the way," he says.
"Emma," Emma says, and holds out her hand. Neal takes it. "Nice to meet you, Neal."
"Nice to meet you, Emma," he says. He smiles, and Emma finds his smile impossible not to smile back at. Neal. She thinks she might like Neal.
Maybe they'll even have an adventure together. That's what happens when people in fairytales like each other, after all.
II
Author's Note: Just a note on Emma and Neal since I have been asked about it. While I have and will change a lot of what went on on the show, the fact that Emma and Neal didn't end too well will be true in this story too, just in a different way. Just so you know, especially if you're a fan of the pairing – or if you don't like it. How that plays into the future and how Hook plays into Emma's life will be seen later on in the story, though this story will always be mainly focused on the Charmings and Snow and Charming.