Bingo fill: Cuddles (yes, another Regina & Henry fic *sigh*)
Title: How a little star stood up to thunders and the big bad Wolf.
Prompt: Cuddles -|||- Also entry for the Song!fic of the Mystical Boxes challenge. Song: "Twinkle, twinkle little star".
Characters/Pairings: Regina, (8-year-old) Henry
Words: ~808
Rating: G, NO warnings
Summary: Henry is afraid of the thunderstorm and the big bad wolf and seeks refuge in his mom's arms. Mention of the Brother Grimm 's fairytale The Wolf and the Seven Young Kids.
Disclaimer: I don't owe anything related to Once Upon a Time. This is purely for fun (and writing practice). xD
Thunders were hammering the area around Storybrooke and they seemed to echo everywhere. Henry was lying in bed reading his book under his duvet. He didn’t really want to admit it but, since the thunderstorm didn’t seem to pass, he was starting to get jumpy.
He was reading the story of the Wolf and the Seven Young Kids. He didn’t really expect the seven little kid-goats to open the door to the big bad wolf and he gasped in surprise mixed with fear, when a thunder cracked and a moment later the door creaked. He held his breath under the duvet trying to hear more carefully... but nothing.
He decided to turn off his flashlight and go to sleep but the image of the wolf standing outside the goat’s house would not leave his mind.
As another thunder cracked, Henry flinched on his bed. He twisted and turned trying to get comfortable and send the fear away but he just couldn’t. The more he curled, the more his mind raced to fearsome images.
The thought of going to his mom crossed his mind but he was 8 years old; he didn’t want to behave like a baby. He just couldn’t walk up to her bedroom and tell her that he was afraid.
Familiar and quiet footsteps outside his room interrupted his thoughts. The steps stopped and he barely made out the door opening.
Henry turned and saw his mom looking at him.
“Mom?”
“Henry? Are you still awake?” Regina asked a little concerned.
“Mom... I can’t sleep...” he said hesitantly. Regina walked into the room and sat beside him.
“Why? What is it?” she asked him softly.
“I... the storm...” Henry couldn’t bring himself to admit to Regina he was afraid of a simple storm; he knew how she wanted him to be a big boy. How could he bring himself now to admit that he was so scared he wanted to go and sleep with her?
“Baby, is it the storm?” Henry was surprised by her soft tone that only encouraged him to ask her.
“Mom? Can I come and sleep with you?” he pleaded. Regina smiled faintly.
“Yes, sweetheart, you can.”
Henry sighed in relief and smiled while Regina pulled his duvet back; before he jumped off his bed Regina wrapped her arms around him and carried him in her arms. Henry hugged her tight and wrapped his legs around her waist as they headed to her bedroom.
Regina set him down on her bed gently and made the covers before she joined him under them.
Even then, the storm hadn’t lost much strength and seemed equally threatening.
Henry turned to face his mother who rolled to her side and supported her head with her arm while she smoothed his hair and his covers with the other.
“Henry, you know that we shouldn’t be afraid of the storm, right? It’s only a heavy rain.”
“I know...” he said sadly averting his eyes from her. “But... I was reading about the big bad wolf and... well...” he looked up at her “I couldn’t stop thinking that he may be standing outside my door”. Regina smiled again; she also used to have the same fear when she was his age.
“But he isn’t there, you know that. More than that, there are no wolves in Storybrooke.”
She noticed that Henry was becoming restless instead of calming down. She had to keep reminding herself that children do not respond well to logical arguments.
“Henry, do you remember when I used to sing to you ‘Twinkle, twinkle, little star’?” Henry nodded in response and pulled the covers some more. “Well, even when the storm is so intense and scary, there is always that twinkly little star that watches over you, even if you cannot see it.” Henry’s eyes widened.
“Really?”
“Yes, dear” Regina chuckled satisfied that this proved successful but also amused to her son's innocence.
“Will you sing it to me again?” He asked catching her by surprise. After a moment of hesitation, Regina cleared her throat and started singing softly while Henry cuddled closer to her, settling snuggly.
Regina kept singing while taking in the image of her son cuddling and how his eyelashes seemed to get heavier verse after verse...
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are.
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky.
*
When the blazing sun is gone,
When he nothing shines upon,
Then you show your little light,
Twinkle, twinkle, all the night.
*
Then the traveller in the dark,
Thanks you for your tiny spark,
He could not see which way to go,
If you did not twinkle so.
By the end of that verse, Henry’s eyes closed heavily and they didn’t open again. She kissed him softly on his forehead and pulled the covers around him before she got comfortable next to him. Henry may not be able to realize it but this was most probably the last time he’d ever ask her to come sleep in her bed. As she closed her eyes, a knot threatened to come up her throat. As a response, her mind turned to the song again and she kept hearing it in her head just like she used to sing it to Henry when he was younger...
In the dark blue sky you keep,
And often through my curtains peep,
For you never shut your eye,
'Till the sun is in the sky.
*
As your bright and tiny spark,
Lights the traveller in the dark.
Though I know not what you are,
Twinkle, twinkle, little star.
*
Twinkle, twinkle, little star.
How I wonder what you are.
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky.
*
Twinkle, twinkle, little star.
How I wonder what you are.
How I wonder what you are.
