Christmas in Storybrooke: 8/11
Dang, did this story get way more angsty than I had anticipated! This is a rough chapter, I'll be honest, but at least it's short. This chapter also may have a lot of people pissed at me. Listen - this is a story about Henry, from Henry's point of view. Just think for a second all the crap he went through as a kid. Think about how he was treated at times. There's plenty of angry feelings to go around, and Henry unloads on almost every member of his family here (not to their faces mostly, but still). So if you're one of those people who sees your one beloved character through rose colored glasses, well, be prepared to be mad at me. Evil Regals, Ugly Ducklings, Hookers, and Dearies, you may all have reason to be upset after this one. Having said that, I'm hardest on Rumple, so Dearies may want to skip this. I’ve already been dumped on by a hard core Dearie, and I really don’t want to deal with that again, so don't say I didn't warn you.
Summary: My Hallmark Christmas movie fic in which flights get cancelled and Henry’s “best friend’ gets snowed in with him in his quirky hometown for Christmas. Only with magic and fairy tale characters.
Rating: M for suggestive scenes and adult situations, not smut
Trigger warnings: Henry is an adult. Read that again: Henry is an adult. Look at the picset: that’s Andrew J. West. If Henry actually behaving like an adult makes you feel icky, the don’t read this.
Can also be read on Ao3
Tagging @snowbellewells @kmomof4 @kday426 @bethacaciakay @snidgetsafan @teamhook @whimsicallyenchantedrose @delirious-latenight-laughs @winterbaby89 @jennjenn615 @yohoyohoafandomlifeforme @distant-rose @let-it-raines
Chapter Eight: Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
Henry could have easily caught up with Evie long before she got back to his parent’s house, but he first stood there in Granny’s patio like an idiot. Then he went back into the party, unsure what more he could say, what more he could do, if she was so set on leaving. But the more he tried to make small talk with half the town, the more irritation and anger rose up in him. He’d always been the town’s sweet, innocent, Henry. The wide-eyed boy who saw the best in everyone and had the heart of a true believer. In some ways, in their eyes, he would never grow up.
When one of the princesses – Aurora maybe? - clucked her tongue at him drinking a beer, wondering where the time went, he almost lost it completely. What did these people know about the passage of time? He was probably rude, slamming his beer down and mumbling about needing air, and he was pretty sure his Grandma admonished him on his way out the door, but he didn’t care. He didn’t care about the cold or the snow or the slippery sidewalks. His mind was on one thing and one thing alone.
Evie startled when he burst into his attic bedroom, dropping a shirt she’d been folding into her open suitcase. She was still in her Christmas dress, though her ballet flats had been kicked off beside the bed. He strode across the room until he was invading her personal space to such a degree she turned and backed herself into the edge of the bed. He encroached further, and she plopped down on the mattress with a yelp. Her eyes were wide as she gazed up at him.