We Can Love Again

Beside the Fire

Through the eyes of a four year old, the villages of the Enchanted Forest were full of bustling excitement. He hadn't been down to the one closest to his house in about a month, but every time he went, Roland couldn't help but look around in curiosity towards all the wonderful surroundings around him.

After a quick conversation with Emma and the rest of the Charmings, they had shipped both Henry and Roland off with Neal for the rest of the day. The four year old was in no place to protest, but he couldn't help but feel a bit out of place- he didn't know Henry's dad very well. But he was proving himself to be nice so far, the man bought him and Henry some cotton candy as they traveled around from place to place.

"Are we gonna miss them?" Henry asked Neal impatiently, "they might be gone already!"

Neal gave his son a look. "It's not like they're zoo animals."

"Yeah, but it's on my list of things to do while I'm here!"

"Well if it's on your list, then it has to be done," Neal smiled, patting the twelve year old on the back. Things with Emma were going okay, but the area he really wanted to be better in was his relationship with his son.

"Are giants scary?" Roland asked, sounding extremely young compared to the other two.

"Nah, they've pretty friendly ever since Anton fixed their bad relationship with humans. They're pretty interested in things we do."

Still, Roland seemed skeptical. Henry grabbed the little boy's hand as he stuffed another piece of cotton candy into his mouth, dragging him down the cobblestone street alongside Neal.

"Well, how far away are they away from us?"

"If I remember right, they're camping on the far side of the village, right by the edge of the forest. I passed them while I was out hunting yesterday." Neal replied, trying to keep up with Henry's fast pace.

"Robin promised me he would teach me how to use a bow and arrow," Henry told him, a smile sneaking it's way onto his face.

There it was, that name again. He knew Regina had been hanging out with him fairly often, but heck, he barely knew who she was, let alone this mystery man. Neal could care less who she hooked up with; it surprised him slightly that Henry had taken such a liking to a man he just met. And now he was stuck babysitting his son.

"You know, I could teach you how to shoot, Henry." Neal said cautiously, "I'm pretty good at it."

Henry paused for a moment, not wanting to upset his father. "Yeah... I know. But he's Robin Hood, that's kinda his thing."

Neal didn't want to say anything bad in front of the man's kid, so he chose his words carefully. "Did you only agree to let him teach you so Regina would be happy?"

They turned the corner and exited the main section of the village, getting closer to were the giants were. Shifting his weight slightly, Henry looked up at his dad.

"Umm... Sort of, but I really do want to learn from him. He's a really nice guy, he has a lot of stories to tell."

"What... What does he and Regina do together?" He immediately knew he struck a sour cord in his son; his face scrunched up in a perplexed notion.

"I dunno, stuff. It's not like they're dating though, because she would tell me if they were."

"Daddy doesn't tell me what they do, I even asked him for you Henry." Roland said encouragingly, swinging his arm back and forth.

Neal knew he shouldn't have asked him that- he would have to do some researching later. Surely Emma knew something about it all. The relationship he had with the evil queen want a strong one at all; actually, they had only shared small, unimportant conversations between one another in the past. If he took away everything his father knew about Regina Mills, Neal knew just about nothing.