Chapter 42: Family Dinner
The room becomes very quiet, aside from the beeping of monitors and the sounds of doctors and nurses walking about, doing their assigned jobs. Everyone looks at the king of Auradon as he tries to process this new information in his mind. His hazel-green eyes express confusion as he sits in the chair, practically paralyzed. He gazes at Belle; her reddish-brown hair falling in ringlets around her shoulders to frame her porcelain face, her blue eyes gazing from Ben's face to her husband's. The teenager then looks at the man who was likely his father… his short gray hair trimmed to a reasonable length, dressed in a business suit, and leaning on a cane. He then glances at the baby who is sitting on Jane's lap and then at Crystal as she bites her lip extremely hard.
"Welcome to the Gold Family," Crystal says, trying to ease the tension in the room with a joke.
There is another long silence.
"Anyone else hungry?" Emma asks.
…
Mal and her friends are led by the group from Storybrooke away from the hospital in the fading daylight, towards a small looking building that almost resembles a house. The daughter of Maleficent can immediately tell that it is a restaurant based on a chalkboard sitting along the pathway leading to the eatery announcing the daily specials. The restaurant has two neon signs glowing brightly in the evening air, one that says Granny's Diner and the other saying Open. A bell rings to greet the regulars and the newcomers to this centrefold of the tiny Maine town. Each teenager takes the time to examine the place with curiosity and interest.
Gray and beige coloured tiles are laid out in a pattern beneath their feet as they walk cautiously into this new environment. The place has an old 50's diner feel to it, something only the children from Auradon had seen in pictures or had learned in history lessons. The tables, chairs, and booths reflected the era as well, the chairs being set in gray leather, while the booths reflected the design of cushions and were in red leather-like Emma's jacket. Black and white wallpaper, with an image of pine trees, surround the group too, giving an atmosphere of nature and forests. The wall from which they had entered was completely covered in windows, giving a view of the outdoor eating area with umbrellas and picnic tables too. There's a large counter to their right, with round stools for patrons to sit if they desired to. Above the counter is a clock lit up in blue neon lighting and beside it are items available on the menus.
An older woman stands behind the counter, looking sternly at this new colourful cast of characters over her round glasses on a chain. Her green eyes stare at them sternly as she wipes down the counter surrounding her. Her short gray/white hair is styled in an up-do and she wears an ugly looking knitted sweater over a floral print blouse, a weird looking necklace and a flowered apron around her waist. The fashion choices make Evie cringe internally.
A short, grizzled looking man with a thick graying beard, bushy eyebrows and an ever-unpleasant scowl on his face turns to glare at the new arrivals. He sits on one of the stools at the counter and examines each child with more and more distaste with each passing moment. He wears a large brown coat over a flannel shirt and dark pants. He holds a drink of some kind of golden liquid in his hands and stirs in occasionally with a straw.
"So… what happened? Did the circus come to town?" the man asks.
"No jokes Leroy," David says sternly, looking at the drunk dwarf with aggression. "Don't mind him, kids, he's grumpy."
"It's my name and I intend to live up to it."
"Y-You're Grumpy the Dwarf?" Doug asks, not expecting to meet one of his many uncles so soon. While everyone else is meeting their alternative parents, the son of Dopey had yet to meet any of his relations. Truthfully, He should have expected to meet them first since there were so many of them.
"What's it to you four-eyes?"
"That's enough Leroy!" Regina snaps. "These kids are tired, scared, and hungry. They don't need your cynical point of view thrown in there as well."
"I'll say whatever I damn want Queenie. One of these freaks just robbed my brother's pharmacy an hour ago. One with weird coloured braids. Seriously, what is it with you kids and the hair-dye, isn't natural looking hair enough for you?
"Leroy!" Snow snarls, staring at one of her closest friends with anger.
"He's drunk, can I poof him home?" Crystal asks, looking at the others for confirmation that this would be okay. It was safer than him driving or even walking around intoxicated and the situation would become a lot less annoying for all of them.
"You do that, you're getting a pickaxe in the shoulder sister," the dwarf barks back.
Crystal's hand lights up impulsively. "I'd like to see you try Lumpy…"
"I'll give you a limp like your daddy," the drunken dwarf yells back at the spunky and equally sarcastic girl.
"ENOUGH!" Emma shouts, getting everyone to shut up. Crystal extinguishes her magic and sits down in a nearby booth. She prompts her step-mother and her father to join her. They know that they are about to have a long talk with Ben and basically introduce themselves to him.
Belle sits with Gideon across from her step-daughter and Rumple joins them. They all look at Ben and he looks as confused as anyone would because of basically meeting his parents for the first time. He instinctively grabs Mal's hand and squeezes it, as if begging for comfort from her. The daughter of Maleficent wants to wriggle out of his grasp and sit with Dizzy… anyone else in fact, but she feels her body become flushed with heat. Her heart beats quickly and she feels her cheeks go red. Despite everything that has happened in less than 24 hours, she still can't control her feelings for him. First, he supports her in the argument against the adults' accusations of her being the one causing all the trouble, then he betrays her by suspending her from Auradon Prep. Then she rushes off to save him from Uma and her crew, changes into a dragon to protect him, and turns jumps into a portal after him and her friends. She was still willing to protect him from Harry Hook and willing to let a stranger use magic to heal him since she couldn't stand having to watch his painful and slow recovery from the injuries. She can't understand that even though she broke up with him, she still cannot help herself around him. She wants to be near him, to help and protect him, to see the goofy look on his face whenever he's confused, or even just to see his smile. It seems as if their intense fight has been forgotten by the ruler of Auradon as he has Mal sit down next to him in the booth with his alternative families.
"Who's paying for all this?" Granny asks, grabbing a notepad to write down the orders and menus for everyone.
"Put it on our tab," David says, as he, Snow, Neal, Jay, Jane, and Carlos all sit in a booth together. Dude is also present, laying at his master's feet. Most people would assume that a restaurant owner would object to an animal being near her food but considering that she herself is related to canine creatures, she lets it slide just this once. Emma and Killian sit in a booth by themselves; it was likely that they were going to use the time to discuss the addition of Harry Hook to everything, as well as their own baby. They seemed to want to be alone and have plenty of space if said teen decided to show up too. Regina, Evie, Dizzy, and Doug take up another table, Doug and Evie cuddling with each other, while Regina and Dizzy look on, unsure of how to respond.
Crystal's head hits the table in frustration and lets out a heavy sigh. Just after she'd arranged with Granny to remove the family's massive tab, they fill it up again. It's a vicious cycle with everyone she cares about.
The Belle/Rumpelstiltskin Family, plus Mal, sit in relative silence as the menus are passed around. The purple-haired teenager examines all the dishes on the menu, her stomach gurgling with the anticipation of food. She wants something filling that is as tasty as possible. She stares hard at the food offerings in order to avoid glancing over at Ben. She could feel his eyes on her, he's staring at her intently. She's unsure about whether he's trying to smooth things over or is just in dire need of support right now. She knew how Evie reacted when she'd met her "alternate" mother, how Harry had fought with his "father," and while she, herself had yet to meet hers, and this Lily person, she knew Ben would need someone to be there for him as they had this "family meal."
"All right UltraViolet, what will you have?" Granny says.
Mal looks up at the elderly woman. Not one sign of softness or kindness can be seen on her face, she was obviously a woman who should not be messed with under any circumstances.
"Uh…" she bites her lip. "Just a cheeseburger please, with a chocolate milkshake."
"Good choice," the old woman says, writing it down on her notepad.
Ben swallows a heavy lump in his throat. The mention of a chocolate milkshake causes flashbacks for both of them, considering the two had shared this sweet concoction on multiple occasions, they had chosen chocolate because Mal hated vanilla and Ben always joked that fruit and ice cream never really go together.
"And for you Rumple Jr.?" Granny asks.
Ben turns red at this nickname but just shrugs. "A grilled cheese and a chocolate milkshake as well."
Neither of the two teenagers looks at one another, feeling a heaviness in their hearts as this would be the first time they would be sharing a separate milkshake. Mal sighs heavily, while Ben turns back to his alleged family.
"Allow me to introduce myself," Rumple says, holding out his hand. "I am Rumpelstiltskin, the Dark One, and I am your father."
A/N: Awkward and also kind of bittersweet. Please review.