stolenwatches | broken

broken | bargaining

[ Thinking back, the past couple weeks had just been one big blur of action, but Neal just feels elated now. Finding out he had a son but that Emma gave him up for adoption had been a bittersweet moment, but getting to meet him and bond with him over the past couple weeks has been a treasure.

Seeing Emma get to meet her parents for the first time, as well as introduce them to him and Henry, is something that, as cliched as it sounds, gives him a warm feeling inside.

It's later, when the celebrations are winding down in the diner, that he excuses himself under Emma's knowing look to head for his father's shop. The past few years have been nothing but good for him, and he finds that the pit in his heart was gone, and in its place, a quiet acceptance and with the curse broken, a readiness to start anew.

Neal enters the pawn shop, and lets the door close noisily behind him with a chime of the bell. ]

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[Rumple could feel it the moment the curse was broken. So... Emma had finally arrived. Had Bae come along with her? The last few years had been full of torturous waiting as he pretended that nothing was wrong while agonizing about whether or not he'd made the right decision by letting his son leave the first time he'd come to Storybrooke.

Surely everyone was celebrating... except Regina, of course. Rumple chose to remain in his shop, half expecting a lynching for the both of them once people got over the initial elation of the savior's arrival. If they come, what can he do? There's no magic here. Sometimes he'd hoped he might find Belle here someday, despite Regina's assertion that she was dead. But if she was alive, she hadn't been brought here by the curse.

So when Rumple hears the chime of the bell, he remains where he is, sitting on the armchair in his office. Whoever it is, he can't find it in himself to stand and find out. Let them come to him.]

[ Neal waits for a few more moments, taking the chance to look around the shop a little. It's amazing how little has changed since he was last year.

He frowns slightly when no one comes out to meet him. If his father wasn't here, where else could he possibly be? It wasn't exactly like there was an abundance of places to go in Storybrooke.

Neal goes to where he remembers his father's office being, the room where he'd found out the truth, and knocks on the door briefly before opening it. ]

[A knock? Well, if someone is after his blood, he doubts they'd be polite enough to knock.

Rumple turns the chair toward the door, raising his gaze to the face of his son. Surprise registers briefly in his expression before fading back into neutrality. A large part of him fears Bae is here to tell him he's done with him completely, though there's still some hope that isn't the case.

Not wanting to push his luck, he remains silent, waiting for his son to speak up first.]

[ He expected some kind of greeting, or reaction, so the silence is a little unnerving. So, too, is the lack of the animosity from himself. All he feels is... something like peace. He's been running for so long, but now he has something to come home to. And if Emma could somehow find it in herself to forgive and take him back after he ran out on her, as she kept reminding him, well...

Neal closes the office door behind him, before folding his arms. ]

The curse is broken. But you knew that.

[Rumple sits forward in his chair when Bae closes the door behind him. He takes that as a welcome sign; that he wasn't planning on spitting out a few words and then running off.

a nod in response to Bae's comment.] I know.

[His eyes scan his son's face for any signs of hostility. Seeing none, he slowly rises to his feet, grabbing for his cane and walking over to him.]

And you've come to see me before the angry mobs arrive.

[ Neal shakes his head with raised eyebrow, not moving away as his father approaches almost tentatively. ]

Wait, is that why you were hiding in here? [ because that really was the best way to put it... hiding in his shop. ] You thought they'd want revenge on you?

[What can he say? A coward without magic. That's what he was before, and that's what he is now. All the magic did was make it easier for him to hide it, though not everyone was fooled.]

I'm not hiding. There was simply no reason for me to leave.

[But now that Bae is here, he thinks he might have the courage to face whatever lies ahead. Unable to keep up the neutral facade any longer, he drops his cane and wraps his arms around his son in a tight hug.]

But now I see I was wrong. I'm so sorry, Bae. [And now comes the raw emotion, built up over the years.] Please give me another chance to make things right. No magic this time.

Right. [ As far as excuses went, that was a pretty weak one.

Neal's reaction this time to the sudden hug isn't nearly as violent as last time, but though he doesn't move, neither does he reciprocate the hug. Once upon a time, he would have been overjoyed that his father was renouncing magic, but some things were just too little too late.

When he steps back, Neal nods in acknowledgment of his father's words. ]

I'm not the only one you need to be apologizing to. You can't stay in here forever.

[While it would have been nice if Bae had returned the hug, Rumple will have to be satisfied that he didn't push him away. In fact, his words seem to suggest he will, in fact, give him that second chance.

He grimaces at the suggestion he go and apologize to the others. While he chooses not to admit he doesn't regret what he did because it led to finding Bae, he really isn't in a hurry to say "sorry" to the others. And he expects his son knows well enough a simple apology isn't going to do much good.]

What would you have me do, then?

An apology would be a start. You can also get out of here and start helping. [ Neal folds his arms, not looking incredibly impressed right now. There's so much stuff that he can think of, just off the top of his head, and his father can't even think of one? ]

There were a lot of families broken up by the curse. [ And family has always been a sore point for both of them. ] You said you knew everything in this town. So use that knowledge.

[Helping... somehow, he doubts anybody will want his help. People have (rightfully) come to distrust his motives, regardless of what he does. But maybe if they see positive results, that perception will slowly start to change. He'll do it to please Bae.]

Very well.

[Grabbing his cane again, Rumple starts toward the door.]

If there are still those in need of guidance, I will do what I can to assist.

Not right now.

[ He puts out an arm to stop his father.

There's a lot of work to be done in the upcoming days, but just for tonight, people are still waking up and remembering their lives before Storybrooke. They need some time to adjust, before getting a rude awakening about who was behind the curse, aside from Regina.

Instead, Neal looks at his father. ]

You said you wanted a second chance with me. But do you even know who I am?

[ After three hundred years, there was a reason he didn't go by 'Baelfire' anymore. He's not that same kid, who made a deal with his father, and expected it to be honoured. ]

[Help them, don't help them... he wants to please Bae, but he isn't sure how. He does agree that now probably wouldn't be a good time, but was willing to do it if that was what it took to make his son happy.

That question, instead, eats up his attention. Rumple does hesitate for a moment, but then answers with complete conviction.]

My son.

[He doesn't care if they've been separated for centuries. This man is his flesh and blood. The one person Rumple truly cared about with all of his heart since he'd learned Milah was pregnant at the war camp. He wants to learn about what Bae has been through and how he's grown. But no matter what, he is his son.]

I haven't been anyone's son for centuries.

[ Accompanied by a sardonic smile. It's the truth, harsh as it may be.

If his father wants a second chance, if nothing else, he needs to understand this. Neal is not the boy he abandoned, and if his father was expecting that, to start again where they left off, well, that wasn't gonna happen. He's a man now, with a family, a son, of his own.

A son that... his father doesn't know about. And he isn't entirely sure he wants to tell him yet. ]

[That statement is painful to hear, but doesn't shake Rumple's conviction in his words.]

You will always be my son.

[No matter what's changed, that very fact cannot be denied. Bae may have spent all these years hating him, but Rumple spent those years full of regret. Their points of view are certainly opposing, and he can't easily change his own.]

But I do hope I will have the opportunity to learn what sort of man you have become.

[ He steps aside from the door, and leans against the desk with arms folded.

Neal's tried very hard over the past god knows how long not to think about his father, but initially he did wonder. What his father did with the magic he'd chosen over him. If he was happier without him. Obviously, now, he could clearly see that wasn't the case but still. ]

You know, I'm curious about that too. What exactly did you do, after you abandoned me? I mean, aside from creating a dark curse.

[He would rather keep the topic of conversation on Bae, rather than himself, for obvious reasons. The things he's done... are not things to be proud of. But Bae did live with him for awhile as the Dark One, so he has some idea of what he could expect.]

I tried to find another way to go after you. Creating the conditions for the curse to be cast was my main focus throughout the years.

[Everything had to go perfectly... but that wasn't so easy. Seeing the future was sometimes very hazy. He had to work with what he could see.]

To be honest, I would rather hear about you than talk about myself.

Creating conditions. Do I even want to know what that means?

[ It sounds cold and manipulative, just like his father, so Neal feels he can hazard a pretty good guess about what conditions. ]

Maybe I don't want to talk about myself.

[ To be honest, he's not sure what he wants still.

He came because he didn't have a strong desire to run in the opposite direction. But now that he's here, Neal realizes that he also hasn't regained the strong love that he had for his father when he was young. There's just... a lot of mixed feelings.

He sighs and rubs the back of his head. ]

What do you want to hear? A lot of crap's happened.

I can explain later, assuming the others don't beat me to it.

[It is cold and manipulative, but he's always told him it was for this greater purpose. It never occurred to him that his son wouldn't want him to do whatever he could to reunite with him.]

I wish you would. [He's very eager to know what Bae's been up to, if not mildly ill thinking about all the difficulties he must've encountered, and through it all believing his father had abandoned him for good.]

Why don't you start from the most recent? For example, how did you come to meet Emma?

[ At Emma's name, Neal raises an eyebrow. Of course he'd be interested first in how he knew the Savior of his curse. ]

What, you're gonna tell me that wasn't part of your master plan?

[ He doesn't really believe that his father could've somehow paved the way for this, but he also doesn't want to talk about Emma right now. So he deflects. ]

[He wants to sigh, but doubts that'll make Bae any more pleased with him than he already is. So instead he merely shakes his head.]

I had no idea that would happen.

[Even if he'd wanted it to, for some odd reason, he can't have affected what would happen in this world with him back in the Enchanted Forest.]

You two are together, I take it?

...Yeah.

[ That's about as much a concession his father will get, because he didn't come here to talk about Emma, let alone Henry. He came because he said he would, and to try and put his past behind him before starting a new family. ]

Is that all you wanted to know? About my love life? Nothing about where I was, after going through that portal?

[And now he's doing his best not to look exasperated. Rumple knows he has no right... he deserves to feel whatever ire Bae holds toward him. The sooner that all gets out, the sooner they can work on repairing. At least, that's his dearest hope.]

Of course not. I want to hear everything.

[Though he privately admits that the older the information, the more painful it'll be to hear. He absolutely hates thinking of Bae alone as a child, and can only imagine how his son must have felt through all of that.]

Where would you like to begin?

[ Well, he did ask for everything. ]

How about the part where I ended up in Neverland? I met a pirate there, you know, and he told me some stories about you that I couldn't believe were true.

[ Neal is deliberately leaving it open-ended, and waits to see how his father responds to that. It's been so long, he's honestly put it behind him. But it's as good a way as any to find out exactly how much his father has changed from what he remembers. ]

A pirate in Neverland.

[His mind immediately focuses on one possible explanation for that. Hook. What other pirate would think to tell his son bad stories about him? He should've killed him... really should've.

The issue of Neverland is more troubling to him, however. He thinks of his father, and how he'd tried to turn Bae against him. Hook and his father. Two people he'd have very much hoped Bae would never encounter.]

What did he say?

[ If his own suspicions weren't enough, the look on his father's face spoke volumes. Neal held back a sigh and just closed his eyes briefly.

There was a lot of history for him, back on that island. If his father really wanted to know what happened to him after he fell into the portal, this was something that was going to come up sooner or later. Might as well be on Neal's terms. ]

Why don't you tell me?

[When he'd spoken to Hook and Milah on that ship, the things she'd said... the hatred she'd directed toward him in contrast to the love she'd show Hook had been too much for him. He had been blind to the extent of Milah's disdain for him while they were married. Learning about it after so soon after he'd failed Bae had been too much for him.]

He told you about what I did to your mother.

[His tone is tired, resigned. It had been so long ago, and yet Rumple knew he could never be forgiven for certain monstrous acts he had committed. Hiding anything here would be pointless, since there would always be at least one person who knew of something or other he'd done.]

[ Neal had half-expected his father to dodge the question again, but his words surprised him. He looks down briefly, before tilting his head up to look his father in the eye. ]

Yeah. He told me how you ripped her heart right out of her chest.

[ He'd been horrified, to put it mildly, to hear the description from Hook all that time ago. ]

[In a way, he's relieved. It saves him the unpleasantness of having to describe the process himself. On the other hand, he can only imagine this knowledge will make it that much more difficult for Bae to give him another chance.]

I did.

[There's no denying it.]

I have done many... many things that I regret. I don't expect to be forgiven for them.

[His only hope is that the passage of time will allow Bae to let it go, if not forgive.]

Good. You shouldn't.

[ His words are stilted, though, as painfully truthful as they are. Him forgiving his father of a whole mess of things is something Neal doesn't even know if he's capable of. If his father came into this... reunion, with the expectation of forgiveness, he likely would've walked straight back out of the shop.

Neal lapses back into silence, thinking back to all those years ago. Meeting Hook... ]

I, uh, jumped ship after learning that. [ After learning why his mother left him, that the pirate he'd started to become fond of was only after his father's blood. ]

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