Making mom smile
Justices asked for a oneshot of an eight year old Neal comforting Snow.
He could see her from his hiding place under the kitchen table. She was crying. Neal didn't like it when his mom cried. She always cried today. Dad had told him a couple of years ago why. It was what should be his grandma's birthday today, and because she wasn't here that made mom sad. He could understand. He would be sad if his mom wasn't here too. Whenever Neal went past her though, she pretended she wasn't sad. She would stop crying and put on a weird smile, pretending that she was ok. Neal wanted to make her feel better. He snuck out from under the table and over to her before she could notice. He flung his arms around her neck and hugged her really tightly, like she did for him when he was sad.
"Hey there buddy." She sniffed. "What's the hug for?"
"Because you're sad." He answered her. "I saw that you were crying, and I didn't want you to cry anymore." Snow was very touched. She hadn't realised Neal knew she was crying. She was so proud to have such a caring son. She held him close.
"You're mom's very special little guy." She whispered to him. "And I am so very proud of you. I love you very much."
"I love you too." He answered her. For the first time on that date in years, Snow smiled.