It has been a week since Henry confessed his feelings on his grandpa to his mom and Henry was excitedly getting dressed so he could have dinner with his grandpa and Belle. Regina was still getting used to the idea of Henry spending time with Rumple, but didn't object. Especially not after what Henry went through in the Enchanted Forest. If only Emma saw it that way.
"Regina, you're letting him go over there again!?" exclaimed Emma, outraged. Henry tried to ignore his mothers' arguments as he waited for the go ahead from Regina.
"I really don't see why you are getting worked up Emma" said Regina, rolling her eyes exasperatingly. "The man IS his grandfather after all. Henry has a right to see him whenever he wants."
Henry smiled at the way Regina defended him. It's funny how it used to be Emma defending him and Regina being the worrier. Now it's reversed and Henry couldn't help but laugh at that. He was grateful he lived under Regina's roof right now because that way, Emma couldn't forbid him from going to Rumple's mansion.
Emma let out a sigh. "I know he's the closest thing left to Neal, but that doesn't explain WHY he wants to go over there all the time now." Just the other day she saw the two of them strolling down the streets just talking and Henry even helped out in the pawnshop a few times. Voluntarily!
Regina and Henry shared a glance, knowing why Emma was curious. Henry didn't really go into details about his adventure in the Enchanted Forest to his birth mom. All he told her was he met up with Rumple, he sent him back, end of story. Only himself and Regina knew there was so much more to the story.
"Mom, I know it's weird seeing me hang out with my grandpa after all he has done to us, but I really think he's trying to change ESPECIALLY now that Belle is in his life again" said Henry, trying to defend his reasonings. "Besides, Belle is there and he's always on his best behavior with Belle around."
Emma couldn't argue with that, but still felt hesitant. She knew she couldn't win though, against her strong-hearted son and his adoptive mother. "Fine, if Regina is okay with it then I am too." For now, anyways.
/
"Thanks for inviting me over for dinner" said Henry at the table, after eating a piece of steak.
"Thank you for helping me cook Henry" said Belle, smiling at her new grandson. Since Belle didn't really know how to make steak and Rumple was still at work, Henry decided to help her cook and it turned out pretty decent. They also made mashed potatoes and green peas to go with it.
"I didn't know you could cook Henry" said Rumple, dabbing his face with his napkin.
Henry gave a sheepish smile. "Yeah, well, I sometimes help my mom cook, especially if we're having guests over." His smile suddenly brightened. "My mom's a really good cook! You two should come over for dinner sometime!"
Rumple nearly spit out his water and Belle giggled, clearing her throat a bit nervously. "That would be nice, Henry, but I'm afraid we're not yet on good terms with your mother."
"Especially not me" murmured Belle, low so no one could intentionally hear, especially Rumple. Henry, however, did. He frowned in response. Regina still had to make amends with Belle after what she did to her. Henry suddenly felt guilty about forgetting about it and letting it continue this way without apologies. Regina made amends with the Charmings, so why couldn't she with one of the sweetest women in Storybrooke. That would be the next thing he would do for sure.
The rest of the evening went pretty smoothly. After the three ate dinner, they sat on the couch and began to just talk about different things. Henry would ask how married life was and how things were in the pawnshop while, in return, they asked him about school and what else was going on in his life. Henry never felt closer to them.
/
One morning, while Belle was tidying up her husband's pawnshop, she heard the bell ring. She saw it was Henry and was about to greet him, but stopped abruptly when she saw who was behind him.
"Regina" said Belle, slowly inching backwards. She somehow knew Regina wouldn't harm her again, but she didn't exactly trust her.
Regina didn't say anything so Henry decided to speak. "My mom wanted to tell you something." He then turned towards his mom expectantly. "Mom?"
Regina looked down at Henry and sighed. She could never resist Henry, not even now. She turned towards Belle, trying to be sincere. "Belle, I-I want to apologize for…...well, everything I did to you in the past. It…...wasn't right."
Belle stared at her for a moment before smiling nervously. "Well, thank you for that. What's in the past, stays in the past."
Regina looked at her son and smiled, cupping his chin. "I'm learning to apologize for my mistakes." Henry smiled up at his adoptive mother, so happy she had changed her ways. Even if she could resort back to her old ways sometimes, he still wouldn't give up on her. He did that once and promised never to do it again. Now he was going to make the same promise to his grandpa.
"Hey Belle, where's grandpa?" asked Henry, noticing he was nowhere in the pawnshop. Usually, nowadays, he would rarely be seen by himself, always by Belle's side. He was very protective of her, which was understandable because of past events. The only people Rumple really trusted to be around his precious wife was Henry.
"Oh, he's out doing some errands" said Belle.
"That's okay, we just needed to see you anyways" said Henry, getting ready to leave with his adoptive mother. "Tell grandpa I said 'Hi!'"
"Will do!" called out Belle as the mother and son duo left the pawnshop.
/
"Mom, I've decided to start a new operation" said Henry, smiling up at his mom as they got home.
"What for?" asked Regina.
"For grandpa" said Henry. "I'm going to get him to open up to me and then hopefully, once he does that, I'll welcome him into the family and get everyone to see that he's not so bad. I even already have a name for the operation!"
"Oh, and what's that?" Regina asked, intrigued.
"Operation Lone Wolf" said Henry, smiling.
Thank you all for your patience and the ideas you submitted to me about the operation name. They were all great, but I decided to use Bacon Pancakes' operation name of Lone Wolf. I'm planning on updating a lot more, especially since I have to finish this before getting ready for college.