#henriella

Henry: [aloud] Did you hear the one about the skeleton who couldn't go to the party? He had no body to go with!

Ella: [laughs] That's really funny.

Henry:...

You bet your sweet bippy I do, and since I’m on a bit of a Glass Believer/Henriella kick, let’s do it!

I think that during the resistance movement, a lot of Henry’s focus date-wise was getting him and Ella away from the camp. It’s hard to create a completely romantic atmosphere when you’re surrounded by weapons, people, several extended family members, and this sweaty and focused atmosphere.

So Henry drives Ella off on his motorcycle and the two mow through the forest for a while. Henry packs a picinic basket and they find a clearing in the woods or a nice lakeside and have themselves a romantic dinner. During those dinners, I think that Henry tells Ella all about the fascinating aspects of his world. I head canon that Henry brought along with him a cellphone with a battery that was enchanted by Emma to never die and be filled with pictures of his family and friends back home, and Henry took some pictures of modern conveniences too (Ex. Refrigerators, TVs, microwaves, cars, radios).

But they also steep themselves in Ella’s world too. They stargaze on clear nights and during the summer, they watch the fireflies dance through the air (A suggestion from Tiana -- a nice callback to “The Princess and the Frog”). Henry helps Ella catch a few in a jar and then the two of them release them. I also really like the idea of Henry and Ella dancing alongside the fireflies.  

...Okay, so apparently I’m making fireflies a thing for these two because I’m now imagining that Henry learns about this old wive’s tale about how following a pack of fireflies leads you to -- I don’t know -- the sweetest berries in all the realms or something like that. I can just see Henry and Ella holding hands as they follow the fireflies (Ella tells Henry he can’t use the motorcycle because they’ll scare the fireflies away), feeding each other the berries, and talking about other legends they’ve heard (Maybe that’s where Henry hears about that treasure from the beginning of the “Breadcrumbs” flashback).

Charming taught Emma how to love from the moment she was born and was carried in his arms as he fought his way to the wardrobe. That love persisted through a curse and nearly three decades, and only strengthened after they were reunited 28 years later.

Emma then taught her son how to love, from the moment she gave birth to him and gave him up to give him his best chance. That love, the love that her father taught her whether she was aware of it or not, only intensified when Henry came back into her life 10 years later.

Flash forward to now. Henry expresses his love to the people closest to him the same way that it was taught to him by his mother, and to her by his grandfather. 

bonus:

you have the best parts of your father in you, he would be so proud. he didn't need (or for a while even want) a fantastical story filled with magic, he just wanted a good life with the people he loved. he never got the chance to use this, but from what i've heard, i'm sure he'd want you to have it now, to find your tallahassee. p.s. no, he didn't steal it

OUAT AU: