terribly sorry, officer (baelfiery) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2015-09-02 12:19:00 |
|
|||
If there was one thing that was iron-clad, that Neal knew to be true, it was that family stuck by family - and defining it however you wanted to, whatever the concept meant. Blood, bonds forged with hard work and patience and time, bonds that came easy - it was all the same, and it all meant something. For him, he’d instantly connected with Henry, with his son, and that would probably hold true in any life. With Regina, she didn’t trust easy - but he’d earned it by now, she’d saved his life, and so there wouldn’t be a day or a rough time when he’d turn his back on her. Especially now, when they had Henry in common - and especially after the presence of Neal’s dream father had literally shattered everything. Imploded it, more like. The crypt, for example. It was a mess of rubble and debris - like a fucking dinosaur had stepped on it and squashed the place. A wonder that he and Emma got out alive but what had been destroyed, they could rebuild. Henry had started school, and he seemed to be doing okay. Settling in. Meeting new friends. Reading just as many comic books as ever. One afternoon, after he was finished with his homework, they went to Regina’s to see about doing more work on the crypt - the larger pieces, all that caved in debris, had been removed, so it was a matter of sifting around in the rubble to see what could be salvaged. After all, this was formerly her magical sanctuary. “Make a pile and we’ll let Regina look through it to see what she wants to keep, okay?” Neal asked Henry, who nodded and got to work right away. He wanted to help. In the meantime, Neal would just do some measuring and planning to figure out where and how to start with the new foundation. Hard, sweaty, laborious work - but it was going to get done. This place was bad for business. That was a fact. Things had gotten lost through the cracks, clients upset because of this and that - mostly because she actually hadn’t been available to respond to calls or emails while Shattered Sight (and Rumple, wearing her skin) wreaked havoc among their everyday lives. During then she’d taken the mantle of the Evil Queen, suffocating with so much hatred the only way to let it all out was to hurt everyone she grew to care for. Regina hadn’t really spoken much to anyone since. Perhaps maybe only to break someone’s heart (considering she was on the ‘nicer’ side of evil, how fucking quaint) and when it was necessary (work, anything in regards to Henry), but her preference lately had been to be reclusive and perpetually agitated. So she could catch up on regular life, with paperwork and calls and binder compilations - the only normal, tedious thing lately. A blessing in disguise. It’d taken her a minute to notice the father-son duo outside, doing god knows what and she guessed that teleportation would have made moving easier, but she took the leisurely stroll outside instead. No business professional attire or even red-stained lips today - just designer denim jeans, leather boots and a shirt so casual it looked strange on her. The rubble of her magical sanctuary was hidden by a veil of magic, but once a certain line had been crossed it was visible to naked eyes. Neal and Henry knew the drill by now. “Child labor’s illegal,” Regina deadpanned, hands tucked into her back pocket. “And didn’t I give you today - and the rest of the week, actually - off?” “Yeah, but...I want to use my ‘vacation - ‘“ Neal even made air quotes around the words, because when the hell could he ever take a real vacation; lately, his jaunts out of state had been to track loved ones down or handle custody arrangements in courts. Maybe he just needed to go lie out on a beach somewhere and drink from a coconut or two. “....to help clean this up, because it is kind of my fault.” Well, sort of. Not like he could stop Rumple, but being related to the fucker tended to cause problems sometimes. All the time. Henry had a cardboard box, and he was busy tossing various scraps and items into it - a broken bottle here, a dusty book there. Some of kind paperweight or doorstopper - he didn’t know what most of these things were, he just knew that he had to stay with his dad’s friend Nina for a few days because it wasn’t safe at Regina’s. Weird Orange County things again. “It’s okay, I don’t mind, I want to help too,” he insisted stubbornly. A look of alarm broke across Regina’s face, followed by a cringe at the sight of Henry tossing certain things. “Okay, how about -” Hands went to grab the boy’s shoulders, to pull him away from the mess. Not that she was concerned about the serious things breaking - everything valuable was enforced by a protective spell to keep in tact, though it obviously hadn’t work on the Philosopher’s stone - but she didn’t want Henry coming into contact with these sort of things. “There’s a couple dangerous things lying around and I don’t want you getting hurt - alright? That goes for the both of you.” Magic was dangerous. Most things Regina owned were likely dangerous. She dropped a kiss atop of his mess of hair and lightly pushed him towards the house. “Shoo. There’s some ice cream inside. Less deadly in moderation. I need to convince your stubborn father that this place didn’t blow up because of him.” Henry’s room had already been prepared in the house for whenever he stayed, tailored for his likes. Lately it’d been empty, but while she came to terms with herself, being alone was best for her. Ice cream was a good enough distraction, especially for a kid. Henry scuffed his feet a little, but he couldn’t resist the call of cookies n’cream - so he handed the box to Neal and then went toward the large house, across the yard. Meanwhile, his dad waited until he was alone with Regina before continuing the conversation. Something was...amiss. Obviously, Regina had been stewing since the spell was broken - but maybe he’d also have to be convincing her that none of this was her fault either. “So...” He set the box down carefully, hoping no voodoo jumped out at him. He was determined to get the crypt rebuilt as good as new, though. “If it’s not my fault, and it’s not yours - because it definitely isn’t - then I guess we should be blaming my father, right? Look, I know it’s...” He sighed, swallowing hard. “It’s not like you can just forget. But I knew how important this place was to you, so I thought we’d build it back up. Together.” “The only person I’m throwing the blame at is your piece of shit father,” Regina corrected quickly, because he was right - guilt by association made no sense, and she did all she could to keep Rumple contained. Arms crossed over her chest, she exhaled deeply. “Perhaps it was a bit foolish to think that containing the Dark One permanently would do a damn thing, but it all...worked out.” He was dead, no one innocent had perished and as always, the sun rose again. All hard facts that should ultimately make her feel better. Instead she felt weary. Aged, as the events from this world and the next were taking a deeper toll than she cared to admit. After a quick survey of the progress they’d done, she settled on one of the cement steps that led down below. Rubble still in the way of the entrance, but not so much - a path was being carved, slowly. “It needed a drastic makeover anyway,” she retorted, cracking the faintest of smiles. The help was appreciated. Neal was too stubborn to accept any answer otherwise. “All the walls did was remind me what I used to be there - the mayor’s hideout, chamber of dirty secrets.” Now it laid in ruin in dust but something would rise from the ashes. Something better. “How’s Emma doing?” “It worked out,” Neal agreed, sitting next to Regina on the step. His jeans weren’t anything fancy anyway; some dust and debris wouldn’t hurt, and he was used to rough and rugged work. Hard labor. Building this place back up again would be a good project for the soul. “Emma’s good. Apparently she joined up with the...magic people. Or whatever it is. I think it’ll be helpful for her, and I know she’s glad to have a place for you two to practice.” Then he fell silent for a moment, because he was trying to think of what to say. Not like he wanted to force Regina to spill her guts, but he was just worried about her. “Our hot lives are a mess, but we endure. I think that’s what you said before the Dark One shithead cast whatever spell that was, right?” he nudged her gently. “We still will endure. Wanna talk about anything though? You seem...down.” It was a good idea, Regina thought, for Emma to settle in with the guild. People she could practice with safely - she wasn’t exactly up for playing magic tutor with the fabled Savior of the Charming’s Loins for the time being. Other people to embrace the gift with, other people to learn from - it’d keep her from doubting herself, from going out of control. Brown irises passed Neal a glance as she nibbled the inside of her cheek. Her connection with him was fairly strong, oddly enough; saving him had taught her that she could tap into other sorts of magic. Magic from the heart, when she wanted to protect someone dear to her. He’d indirectly made her a hero, as Henry would say (naive glint in his eye and all). “Actually being evil, here, was…” Irritating. Fucked up. Terrifying, to channel so much hate - the thirst for vengeance, for someone’s spilled blood. “Not something I care to experience again, let’s say. I ended it with Jane and I feel more guilty about being relieved about it, and of course when it’s all said and done, I dreamt about the curse. Shattered Sight. What Rumple cast and used my mirror for.” Okay, that was quite a bit but she trusted Neal - he wasn’t Hans (no one could replace her brother-in-law, their camaraderie), but he came close. He was the only one that would. Regina wasn’t easy to get close to; a red rose with thorns that extended for miles. It was relieving, in a sense, to have a name for that fucking abomination - Neal hadn’t known before, but he was glad he did now. Helped with the closure, or something. “So that’s what it was,” he nodded. “It made people...angry? Made them attack their loved ones? It was rough, yeah. But you and I both know that you’ve more than proved you’re not the same person, Regina. Not that person, I should say. And it wasn’t like you even had to prove anything, but still. One slip back doesn’t mean the whole effort’s gone up in flames, you know?” Especially when the slip hadn’t even been her fault to begin with. But he was sort of surprised to hear she’d ended it with Jane. Neal didn’t pry too much into Regina’s love life though, so he didn’t know how serious the whole thing was, or if it wasn’t - just that they were together for awhile. “It’s gotta be the right time,” he exhaled smoothly, thoughtfully, giving his brow a rub. “And things are difficult now, what with Henry and everything else. Plus, you’re still dreaming.” Emma was too, but she was far behind. Neal was dead, no more dreaming for him. He felt kind of sick about that but at least he’d told Emma about the resurrection of the Dark One - not about his own death specifically, in exchange, but she’d get there soon enough. “Here, with Henry...it’ll work out. I want us to be family, however you want to define that, and I think he does too. So maybe there’s been a lot of shit but it brought us all....together. I always will be grateful for that,” he spoke honestly. Grateful for the second chance too, with all of them. Even with Regina, who was a thorny rose, a prickly personality, the softer parts hidden away for very few to really get a glimpse of. “It’s a curse that lets you see the worst in the ones you loved - so everyone could destroy each other,” Regina explained sourly, mouth curled back into a scowl. Those fancy-shmancy jeans were getting dusty from hanging around this particular disaster area but she didn’t seem to care - the typical snobby sass wasn’t as present lately. “Worse than the Dark Curse, if it was even possible. Once under the spell, you’re immune to it the next time it’s cast.” Which will hopefully happen never. “But while I was under the effects and essentially threatening the lives of everyone, Jane simply thought it was me on a normal day and I suddenly just...gave into the whole ‘evil label.’” Yes, air quotes - she used them, don’t judge. It is what it is now, and she didn’t need someone who thought she’d so easily become what she was afraid of turning into willingly anyway. Jane, at some point, was exactly what she needed at the time; but things changed, she changed, her entire life had transformed into something that was hardly recognizable anymore. One of her spare rooms had been converted into a boy’s bedroom, for fuck’s sake. Same boy was in her kitchen, shoveling ice cream into his mouth. A heavy sigh blew from her lips, and she squeezed her own knees tightly. “But I decided I wanted to focus on Henry. Focus on all - this.” Their unconventional family, which she’d hold onto ‘til the very end - Regina didn’t have anyone else. A mother and a sister out there, maybe, both who she wanted to find out of masochistic curiosity, but neither of them would be all that welcomed here. Too risky. “And Henry, most of all. I don’t want to miss a thing.” “You won’t,” Neal promised, and he understood risky. Having Henry stay here was a risk by itself, but one that they were all willing to take just to have him near and be able to watch him grow up. And he couldn’t speak for the others (though he assumed it was similar), but Neal wanted to make up for lost time - he’d spent too many years apart from the son he never knew he had, and there was no way to get that time back but damned if he wouldn’t attempt to pave the way for a better future. Fuck, he kind of sounded like an inspirational graduation announcement in his own head sometimes. But hearing all the other stuff, it was hard to believe that Regina’s girlfriend thought nothing was amiss when she was cloaking herself in Evil Regal garb and doing herself up to rip hearts out. Hell. Neal had called ‘something is fucked up’ from the start, and he was pretty sure he would have even if he hadn’t known his father broke out of that stone beforehand. Well, what’s done is done. Water under the bridge, right? “And we’re going to tell him, that you’re his mother,” Neal added. “We’re going to give him all the info because he’s staying and he can handle it. He just moved from one conventional family to a more...unconventional one. But I don’t think it matters to him, how unconventional it is.” They were all there, that was enough. “So no, none of us are going to miss a thing. I kinda like the idea of that.” Water under the bridge and Regina had plenty of distractions to take her mind off it all - work, which she was sorely behind but catching up kept her busy. Aside from the art of magic, her work was her trade, her business, the one thing that had remained constant throughout all this. It was therapeutic, having it always there to bring her life back on track, and nothing brought her much life than harshly critiquing someone’s curtains and grotesque wallpaper, mind you. But he was right - Henry could handle it. The truth, even the dreams, if they ever came to him. At least he’d be prepared, or as prepared as one could be when it came to this nonsense. For him to know what he really meant to her was all she wanted - and maybe a little selfish - but he’d know she had a mother’s love for him, too. And she’d do anything to keep him safe. “Henry’s resilient,” she said, nose uncharacteristically scrunched, a ghost of a smile with it. “Sometimes he’s handled things better than we have, on the otherside. Works as a double-agent very well, actually. I’ll have to catch you up on dream events at some point. Preferably over shots.” Yes, skip the wine, go straight to the hard stuff. “Resilient, just like you,” Neal pointed out, that infamous crooked grin reaching his eyes. “A few things transcend realms and lives and all that shit.” Henry was resilient, he was brave, he was heroic - maybe stubbornly so - but his father liked to think that he got a few traits from everyone, from each of his parental figures somehow. “But you do need to catch me up. Bring on the alcohol. I’m interested to hear about what’s been going down as I lay sleeping in the cemetery.” He could kind of joke about it. Sort of. Maybe he was still a little bitter but it was leaps and bounds above where he’d been before. And speaking of that kid, he emerged from the house, eating a popsicle he’d apparently confiscated from the freezer. This was after indulging in cookies n’cream. And Neal waved him over - it was time to finally tell him the truth, a little more of it. They all knew he was staying, and Emma had agreed also - this was the right thing to do. It couldn’t hurt, having him know that he had more parents than he knew what to do with. He was loved. “C’mere, kiddo, we want to tell you something.” Wait. Wait. “We’re telling him now?” Regina hissed under her breath, and yes, perhaps there was almost a sense of panic at the realization. Well, she imagined it’d all be confessed in someone’s living room over some drinks and crackers like some sort of intervention - not at the ruins of her crypt, nestled in her yard, right next to the apple tree that always grew the brightest of red apples. There was the whole nervous gesture of tucking hair behind her ears again, scooting over to the side to make a gap between her and Neal, where Henry could sit and be sandwiched between relatives. Meanwhile the Queen tried not to look like she swallowed an entire hornet’s nest. Why not, right? Seize the day! Henry settled himself down on the steps, still holding his popsicle, his face adorably smeared with chocolate that he didn’t notice. “What do you want to tell me?” he asked curiously. Now it was a matter of like, actually figuring out how to explain it. Neal cleared his throat, as if gearing up for an intense treatise. In a way, it felt like he was. “Remember the multiverse, in your comics?” he started. “Alternate timelines, alternate universes in a hierarchy,” Henry squinted. “Yeah. This is just one universe, right?” “It is, but that’s what makes Orange County special. We, some of us...we get to see another version of ourselves. Through dreams. No one knows why, but it’s kind of like...a crack in the fabric of reality or whatever. And we all share one - me, Emma, Regina.” Neal glanced at her, then back at Henry, hoping he’d understand. But he would - he might even already suspect, in his own way. “Regina was your mom...before. In another universe. She adopted you and raised you. Emma and I are still your parents, but...she is too. We wanted you to know, mostly that there and here you have a ton of people who love you a lot.” Neal was just thanking the deities that comics made this shit easier to explain. Henry simply appeared to be turning it all over in his head. “Will I ever get to see too? My...other self?” Messy boy. Most were, really - she thought back to the memories of raising Henry in Storybrooke, all the annoying little habits and stench-filled socks and the nagging to brush his teeth. Dessert was always very limited because like hell would her son’s teeth be rotted by cavities young, but here she wouldn’t be as strict - Henry needed to be a boy. There wasn’t any rush to age him. Though old habits died hard and she reached over to wipe his face free of chocolate with her hands. “You might,” she told him with a sigh and a loving smile. “Who’s to say, with this place. But we want you to be prepared, if the time ever comes. And me raising you there was just one of those very obvious details you’d first notice. We wouldn’t want to hide that from you. It’s easier for it to come from us, then to see it for yourself and have not had a clue.” Aaack, mom! At least she didn’t spit on a napkin and wipe his face with it. Henry had to be grateful for small favors. “I guess I don’t mind not seeing my other self, or even if I get to,” he shrugged. “I’m just glad I’m here.” He liked it here - this felt like home for him, in a way that Boston didn’t. The boy had loved his adoptive family, he always would. But when Neal gave him that swan keychain in the carnival, back in the wintertime, something had clicked into place. The rest of the pieces fell where they were supposed to go when he’d taken that bus across the country, he was sure of it. Then he hugged Regina, kneeling a bit, his arms around her neck. “Can we get a pool, at your house?” All of Regina’s harbored concern seemed silly in retrospect; she knew Henry would take it all in stride. The insecurity came from her - knowing that if he did dream, he’d dream it all. The good, the bad, the ugly, everything she’d done and then some and while she had earned his forgiveness there, she didn’t know how he’d react to all that here. Even she knew Emma had some difficulty coming to terms with it, and it’d never be easy. But if there was one person she’d also trust to never let her down, to still see the good in her no matter what he saw of her there, it was this very boy. Her biggest weakness and greatest strength. Her arms swallowed him fiercely, though she gave him a look of judgment. “A pool,” she deadpanned. Really, Henry? Really? “That depends. Ask your father if he wants to throw his back helping build one.” Ricocheted right back at you, Neal. Neal laughed, shaking his head. He reached over and ruffled Henry’s hair affectionately - man, this kid was too much sometimes. Not to mention exactly like the way he’d been in the dreams. And Neal wanted to, honestly, do everything he could to shield Henry from that. Knowing about them was one thing, but experiencing them? And the bleedover - the fucking Sleeping Curse (a fate worse than death), taking his own heart out to give to Pan, being sucked into Pandora’s Box after his insane great-grandfather switched bodies with him? No. None of that. Who was to say how it’d transfer to this plane of existence? It wasn’t worth the risk. Valarnet was not for him. “Let’s get some more work done on this crypt, then we’ll see about the pool,” he grinned. “One home improvement project at a time, right, you two?” He assumed Henry wanted one besides an inflatable version. Eeesh. Yes, act like they’d actually discuss the prospect of the pool but first provide with distractions to make him forget. Well-played, Neal, because pools were a bitch and a half to even maintain. They’d have to bring him to the allure of the beach instead; it was there, might as well get his fill of water from something free and not maintained by them. “Help your dad with the debris,” she grabbed his chin and gave him one of those obnoxious mom-kisses on his cheek. “Leave the magic stuff to me. But you can help me sort through them later on, when it’s time to put them away - you could learn a couple things, like how magic works in this other world.” Regina could stand to peel her eyes away from the stack of paperwork anyway - fresh air, time not spent alone and with people she cared for. Admittedly she probably needed that more than the four walls of her office. |