Happy Holidays, mihnn!
Title: Round Fifteen
Recipient: mihnn
Author: Anon
Rating: G
Characters/Pairings: Henry Mills, Regina Mills, Emma Swan
Word Count: 1,169
Warnings: None.
Summary: Henry gets into a bit of trouble with his mothers and thinks about which parent he likes better- Regina or Emma.
Author's Notes: This is some mixture of Season 1 with some Season 2 things in it. An AU, perhaps? It's kind of a floater between all the drama of Season 1. I really hope that you like my story, MiHnn! It doesn't have everything you asked for but I included one of your prompts!
Henry Mills glanced around the schoolyard quickly and when he didn’t see anyone coming, he discretely slipped out the small red leather notebook that came everywhere with him. Sometimes, he felt more protective over the notebook than his Once Upon a Time book.
"Hey, what are you doing?"
Henry looked up, startled. When he saw Grace, he quickly shoved the notebook to the side as she sat down next to him. “Oh, nothing,” he stammered. "I’m just sitting here, doing nothing."
"Whatever you say." Grace looked like she wanted to pry more but thankfully, she didn’t say anything.
Whew, that was a close one, Henry thought. Next time, he would have to be more careful. Nobody could ever read this notebook. Never.
----
Regina clenched her hands as she stood outside Emma and Snow's apartment. She really didn't want to ask Emma for help, but now she was desperate. She rapped on the door twice and waited.
After waiting for about a minute, the door opened to reveal a confused Emma. "Regina? How can I help you?"
"Have you seen Henry?" the other woman asked, worry seeping into her voice. "It's already 7:30 and he should've been home hours ago. He's not here, is he?"
"No, I haven't seen him. Maybe he's at the beach," Emma suggested. "Did you check there?"
Regina nodded. "I've looked everywhere. I went to the diner, the forest, the toll bridge, the beach…"
"Alright. Don't worry; we'll find him," the blonde said soothingly. "Why don't I check at Granny's again?"
----
Emma burst into Granny's, causing everyone in the diner to look at her. "Have you seen Henry?" she asked the nearest person.
"Yeah, he's sitting right there," said the man, pointing over to the counter.
"Henry!" Emma snapped as she spotted the brown-haired boy sitting calmly on a bar stool at Granny's. "What are you doing here?"
"Just hanging out," Henry replied evasively.
"Do you know how scared we all were? You can't just go wherever you want without telling anyone," Emma said, trying her hardest to stay calm.
"Mom doesn’t mind," Henry retorted defensively.
"Oh, really? That's what you think?" the blonde scoffed. "She does mind. In fact, she came to my house asking where you were."
"Okay," Henry muttered. "Calm down. I was just about to go back home anyway."
Emma extended out a hand. "Come on, let's go back to your mom. She's waiting for you."
Henry hesitantly took the offered hand and together, they both walked to where Regina was waiting.
----
"I'm so glad you're alright," Regina exclaimed when she saw Emma and her son. She pulled Henry into her arms and just held him. "Next time, tell me where you are, okay?"
The brown-haired boy slipped out of his mother's grasp and bowed his head in response. "Okay, mom. I'll tell you where I'm going next time."
"Regina, can I talk to you for a second?" Emma interrupted.
"Sure." Regina led Emma into a corner of the room and looked at the other woman expectantly. "What is it?"
"Don't you think Henry needs to be punished more? His behavior today was unacceptable. I know that you don't like me telling you how to parent him but I think that lately, he's been taking advantage of his freedom."
"You know, I shouldn't have even involved you," Regina exclaimed. "Henry is a good kid. He never does anything bad. I really don't mind that he wanders around Storybrooke. I was just worried about where he was. He doesn't need to be punished for such a small thing, got it?"
"Of course. You're his mother. Whatever you say."
"Glad you understand."
Emma smiled tightly in response. "Well, I'm going to go now. Bye Henry," she called as she moved towards the door and exited the diner.
----
Henry sat at his desk and pulled out his precious notebook from it's hiding spot underneath the paneling in the desk. He cracked it open to a brand-new page and wrote at the top:
Emma vs. Mom Round 15
He set his pen at the top of the page and slowly began writing.
Emma lost today. She never loses. But, today, Emma wasn't being her usual, carefree self. It was really strange. I guess I'm used to Emma treating me like an adult. But today, she acted as if I had committed some huge crime.
Mom, on the other hand, was really calm about the whole thing. I mean, I hadn't done anything wrong.
Mom wins Round 15.
Henry set down his pen and closed his eyes, lost in thought. What if I was wrong? he wondered. I really wasn't following Mom's rules and I guess I was misusing the trust Mom gives me.
----
Henry took a deep breath as he stood outside Emma's door. You can do this. Just apologize. He knocked gently on the door.
"Hey Henry," Emma said. "What's up?"
"Nothing much. Can I come in?"
She nodded as she opened up the door to let the boy in. "Do you want any breakfast?" she called as she went towards the breakfast bar.
"No thanks. Actually, I just wanted to apologize to you."
Emma looked up from pouring her coffee, confusion written across her face. "Why? What did you do?"
"I shouldn't have stayed in Granny's without telling anyone," Henry admitted. "And, I wasn't being very appreciative when you came to look for me."
The blonde just laughed. "It's really okay. Sometimes when adults get scared, we tend to yell instead of thinking logically. Don't worry about it."
Henry just nodded in acknowledgement. "I'm still sorry though."
"Just be careful next time. Let your mom know where you'll be." Emma advised. "Then, we'll never have to re-visit this situation again."
"Thanks mom. I have to go now but do you want to eat lunch with me this afternoon?"
"Sure kid," Emma agreed. "But let your mom know where you're going. We don't need a repeat incident of last night."
Henry chuckled. "No, we don't," he agreed and gave his mom a hug before pulling the door open. "See you later!"
----
"Mom, I'm sorry about last night."
Regina glanced up from her laptop and looked up at her son. "It's okay. Tell me where you'll be next time."
"I will," Henry agreed. "Promise."
----
Later that night, Henry slid his hand under the bottom of the desk and pulled out his red journal, smoothing the cover down. Do I really need to compare them like this? he questioned. But, he knew that he had to. This was the only way that Henry could remind himself that Emma and Regina could never be the same.
He'd always known that his adoptive mother and his birth mother were different. Emma was definitely nicer but Regina was more of a mother. After all, Regina had taken care of him for all his life. Who was better? He didn't know. Maybe he'd never know. Nevertheless, the journal would give him some semblance of who was really the better parent.
Recipient: mihnn
Author: Anon
Rating: G
Characters/Pairings: Henry Mills, Regina Mills, Emma Swan
Word Count: 1,169
Warnings: None.
Summary: Henry gets into a bit of trouble with his mothers and thinks about which parent he likes better- Regina or Emma.
Author's Notes: This is some mixture of Season 1 with some Season 2 things in it. An AU, perhaps? It's kind of a floater between all the drama of Season 1. I really hope that you like my story, MiHnn! It doesn't have everything you asked for but I included one of your prompts!
Henry Mills glanced around the schoolyard quickly and when he didn’t see anyone coming, he discretely slipped out the small red leather notebook that came everywhere with him. Sometimes, he felt more protective over the notebook than his Once Upon a Time book.
"Hey, what are you doing?"
Henry looked up, startled. When he saw Grace, he quickly shoved the notebook to the side as she sat down next to him. “Oh, nothing,” he stammered. "I’m just sitting here, doing nothing."
"Whatever you say." Grace looked like she wanted to pry more but thankfully, she didn’t say anything.
Whew, that was a close one, Henry thought. Next time, he would have to be more careful. Nobody could ever read this notebook. Never.
----
Regina clenched her hands as she stood outside Emma and Snow's apartment. She really didn't want to ask Emma for help, but now she was desperate. She rapped on the door twice and waited.
After waiting for about a minute, the door opened to reveal a confused Emma. "Regina? How can I help you?"
"Have you seen Henry?" the other woman asked, worry seeping into her voice. "It's already 7:30 and he should've been home hours ago. He's not here, is he?"
"No, I haven't seen him. Maybe he's at the beach," Emma suggested. "Did you check there?"
Regina nodded. "I've looked everywhere. I went to the diner, the forest, the toll bridge, the beach…"
"Alright. Don't worry; we'll find him," the blonde said soothingly. "Why don't I check at Granny's again?"
----
Emma burst into Granny's, causing everyone in the diner to look at her. "Have you seen Henry?" she asked the nearest person.
"Yeah, he's sitting right there," said the man, pointing over to the counter.
"Henry!" Emma snapped as she spotted the brown-haired boy sitting calmly on a bar stool at Granny's. "What are you doing here?"
"Just hanging out," Henry replied evasively.
"Do you know how scared we all were? You can't just go wherever you want without telling anyone," Emma said, trying her hardest to stay calm.
"Mom doesn’t mind," Henry retorted defensively.
"Oh, really? That's what you think?" the blonde scoffed. "She does mind. In fact, she came to my house asking where you were."
"Okay," Henry muttered. "Calm down. I was just about to go back home anyway."
Emma extended out a hand. "Come on, let's go back to your mom. She's waiting for you."
Henry hesitantly took the offered hand and together, they both walked to where Regina was waiting.
----
"I'm so glad you're alright," Regina exclaimed when she saw Emma and her son. She pulled Henry into her arms and just held him. "Next time, tell me where you are, okay?"
The brown-haired boy slipped out of his mother's grasp and bowed his head in response. "Okay, mom. I'll tell you where I'm going next time."
"Regina, can I talk to you for a second?" Emma interrupted.
"Sure." Regina led Emma into a corner of the room and looked at the other woman expectantly. "What is it?"
"Don't you think Henry needs to be punished more? His behavior today was unacceptable. I know that you don't like me telling you how to parent him but I think that lately, he's been taking advantage of his freedom."
"You know, I shouldn't have even involved you," Regina exclaimed. "Henry is a good kid. He never does anything bad. I really don't mind that he wanders around Storybrooke. I was just worried about where he was. He doesn't need to be punished for such a small thing, got it?"
"Of course. You're his mother. Whatever you say."
"Glad you understand."
Emma smiled tightly in response. "Well, I'm going to go now. Bye Henry," she called as she moved towards the door and exited the diner.
----
Henry sat at his desk and pulled out his precious notebook from it's hiding spot underneath the paneling in the desk. He cracked it open to a brand-new page and wrote at the top:
Emma vs. Mom Round 15
He set his pen at the top of the page and slowly began writing.
Emma lost today. She never loses. But, today, Emma wasn't being her usual, carefree self. It was really strange. I guess I'm used to Emma treating me like an adult. But today, she acted as if I had committed some huge crime.
Mom, on the other hand, was really calm about the whole thing. I mean, I hadn't done anything wrong.
Mom wins Round 15.
Henry set down his pen and closed his eyes, lost in thought. What if I was wrong? he wondered. I really wasn't following Mom's rules and I guess I was misusing the trust Mom gives me.
----
Henry took a deep breath as he stood outside Emma's door. You can do this. Just apologize. He knocked gently on the door.
"Hey Henry," Emma said. "What's up?"
"Nothing much. Can I come in?"
She nodded as she opened up the door to let the boy in. "Do you want any breakfast?" she called as she went towards the breakfast bar.
"No thanks. Actually, I just wanted to apologize to you."
Emma looked up from pouring her coffee, confusion written across her face. "Why? What did you do?"
"I shouldn't have stayed in Granny's without telling anyone," Henry admitted. "And, I wasn't being very appreciative when you came to look for me."
The blonde just laughed. "It's really okay. Sometimes when adults get scared, we tend to yell instead of thinking logically. Don't worry about it."
Henry just nodded in acknowledgement. "I'm still sorry though."
"Just be careful next time. Let your mom know where you'll be." Emma advised. "Then, we'll never have to re-visit this situation again."
"Thanks mom. I have to go now but do you want to eat lunch with me this afternoon?"
"Sure kid," Emma agreed. "But let your mom know where you're going. We don't need a repeat incident of last night."
Henry chuckled. "No, we don't," he agreed and gave his mom a hug before pulling the door open. "See you later!"
----
"Mom, I'm sorry about last night."
Regina glanced up from her laptop and looked up at her son. "It's okay. Tell me where you'll be next time."
"I will," Henry agreed. "Promise."
----
Later that night, Henry slid his hand under the bottom of the desk and pulled out his red journal, smoothing the cover down. Do I really need to compare them like this? he questioned. But, he knew that he had to. This was the only way that Henry could remind himself that Emma and Regina could never be the same.
He'd always known that his adoptive mother and his birth mother were different. Emma was definitely nicer but Regina was more of a mother. After all, Regina had taken care of him for all his life. Who was better? He didn't know. Maybe he'd never know. Nevertheless, the journal would give him some semblance of who was really the better parent.