Personally, Neal's been going around with a lot of mixed emotions since this whole mess started. Doesn't help that he got slapped in the face with a memory from centuries ago--not that the memory itself is bad. No, that's the start of one of the few periods in his life Neal doesn't actually regret living through, thanks. But he knows how it ends, that all too brief time when he'd had a home and a family, surrounded with attempts at fatherhood by men who valued their own self-interests more than a son.
Neal can't shake the anger at old wounds, which is motivation enough for him to avoid Rumplestiltskin and Hook for awhile. Others though, like Emma and Henry? Of course he's going to check on them. As much as he can't shake his anger, there's also this lingering certainty that something disastrous is going to happen. Neal's got no clue why he feels that way, or what the hell Wonderland is going to throw at them, but it's there, so he's going to make damn sure his family (the part he's not pissed at) stays safe.
Regina's a trickier case though. Granted, they actually got on pretty well last time they talked, but that doesn't make them close. He might have left her to her privacy, except when he stops by her door he notices it's partway open. Between that and some stellar motivation to make sure Henry's parents as a whole don't start fucking up like his own? Neal forgoes politeness in favor of peeking in.
If asked what he expected to see, Neal would be pretty hard pressed to give an answer beyond "I don't know." Except now he can tack on "not a barn" to that. Yet that's exactly what he's got, along with a bunch of people back home--some more welcome sights than others. This isn't anything Neal remembers, and it's not hard to guess why. Not with Zelena taking center stage in it all, looking like she's about to get everything she ever wanted.
And just like before, she's got the Dark One's dagger in her hand.
Damn being polite; Neal slips inside now, though he's still quiet about it. He looks over at Regina, wondering if she's even noticed him, but also not really caring. This may be his only shot at actually seeing how this all plays out, and damn if he's not going to find out how it ends.
2/21
Neal can't shake the anger at old wounds, which is motivation enough for him to avoid Rumplestiltskin and Hook for awhile. Others though, like Emma and Henry? Of course he's going to check on them. As much as he can't shake his anger, there's also this lingering certainty that something disastrous is going to happen. Neal's got no clue why he feels that way, or what the hell Wonderland is going to throw at them, but it's there, so he's going to make damn sure his family (the part he's not pissed at) stays safe.
Regina's a trickier case though. Granted, they actually got on pretty well last time they talked, but that doesn't make them close. He might have left her to her privacy, except when he stops by her door he notices it's partway open. Between that and some stellar motivation to make sure Henry's parents as a whole don't start fucking up like his own? Neal forgoes politeness in favor of peeking in.
If asked what he expected to see, Neal would be pretty hard pressed to give an answer beyond "I don't know." Except now he can tack on "not a barn" to that. Yet that's exactly what he's got, along with a bunch of people back home--some more welcome sights than others. This isn't anything Neal remembers, and it's not hard to guess why. Not with Zelena taking center stage in it all, looking like she's about to get everything she ever wanted.
And just like before, she's got the Dark One's dagger in her hand.
Damn being polite; Neal slips inside now, though he's still quiet about it. He looks over at Regina, wondering if she's even noticed him, but also not really caring. This may be his only shot at actually seeing how this all plays out, and damn if he's not going to find out how it ends.