We Can Love Again

Stormy Skies

Nothing but pure irritation filled his vision as he marched down the hall back into Roland's room. His day with his mother had started off so well, and now she was siding with Robin, who didn't want anything to do with him. He was right; the man wasn't being nice to just be nice, he just wanted his mom.

Henry ignored Roland's one sided conversation and practically fell face first onto the boy's bed, wanting nothing more than to scream into it. He did love his mother, but staying in the Enchanted Forest wasn't all what he had thought it would be.

"Henry, are you mad?" Roland asked quietly, standing up to nudge his shoulder.

"Henry?"

"Go away," Henry mumbled back to him.

"Do you want to help me sort my room?"

"No. Leave me alone."

He wanted to leave the small house and run, but there was nowhere to run to.

"What do you want me to do with this?" Roland held up Henry's only possession in the Enchanted Forest so far- his arrow he had gotten when he shot the apple.

He instantly flipped around and faced him, a hard scowl on his face as he grabbed the arrow him his tiny hands.

"Don't touch this! It's mine!" He shouted at him, causing a look of pure surprise to sweep over his face. Once the shock was over with, Roland scowled fight back at him.

"Regina said I could look at it!"

He leaned forward and grabbed for it back, which resulted in Henry giving him a hard shove to the ground.

Roland looked up the older boy; he couldn't help but have tears in his eyes.

"She's not your mom! She's mine!" He shouted, clenching his fists together tightly.

Just then, the door opened again. Robin and Regina both had startled looks on their faces as they exchanged glances between the two boys.

"What's going on here?" Regina demanded to Henry over the sound of Roland's crying.

"Just leave me alone!" Henry shouted back towards her. "I don't want to be here anymore! Roland isn't my brother, and you're not my dad! I have one back in Storybrooke!"

His words hung uneasily in the air as Henry pushed past them and soon left out the front door. The two of them stood in absolute silence for a second, not sure what to do or how to react. Robin then started after the boy, before Regina put a hand on his shoulder.

"Let him be for a bit," she said softly, "he didn't mean what he said..."

It was a feeble attempt to make him feel better, but even she didn't know if that were true or not. Then she turned to Roland, who was now sobbing on the floor of his messy room. Scooping him up in her arms, she sat down on his bed and rocked him slowly.

"It's okay," she soothed, "he's just mad. It happens sometimes."

The front of her dress was beginning to dampen with his tears. "He s-said you can't be my mommy!" Roland cried, tightening his hold on her.

Regina thought for a moment, debating on how to handle the issue. "Do you know what a mom does? A mom takes care of her kids. She also cooks, cleans, and makes everyone happy. Now, I do that, don't I?"

Roland glanced up at her and nodded slightly.

"See, I am your mom. It doesn't matter that I've known Henry longer, because I love you two both the same. That's what a family does- they love one another no matter what."