Once Upon a Second Chance

(24) - The Price of Beauty

The large group of people were once again sitting at Granny's, the heart of Storybrooke. They had already eaten and ordered, expenses payed by Mr. Gold, much to the reluctance of the kids. However, the pawnbroker insisted. And the adults assured them that as long as he didn't ask for a price for his hospitality, they should accept it because the dude was loaded. After all, what could you expect from a man who can spin straw into gold?

The kids were sitting in their usual groups about their usual business, but there was one in particular who seemed off—two, actually. Uma noticed Harry was unusually quiet as well as distracted. She looked at him for a moment before following his gaze until they landed on a certain pink princess that was sitting at a table outside, staring off into space.

"...Harry?" Uma said hesitantly, knowing that a moment that was bound to come sooner or later had finally arrived, the moment where she could tell Harry that she doesn't reciprocate his obvious feeling for her that were confirmed the other day when Harry had tried to kiss her.

"Yep?" He diverted his attention to his captain.

"You do know," Uma said with a slight shaky voice, "that you and me..." she made awkward gestures with her hand, "in the way you want—the way you have wanted in the past couple years—the way you can't deny... it's never going to happen?"

Uma wanted to just rip off the bandage, but still tried to keep her voice as gentle as possible. The reason she had never straight-up discussed with Harry his crush on her was mainly because she was afraid of how it might compromise their friendship. She needed to give him closure—especially since she did feel guilty about all of the teasing and flirting she had participated in over the years only for her to reject him and let her first mate and best friend know that she could never actually look at him in that way.

But Harry gave a reassuring smile and nodded, "Aye... I know."

Uma grabbed Harry's hand. "...You deserve someone who makes you happy, who knows your worth and treats you right... someone who loves you." Uma smirks as she eyes Audrey through the window.

Harry opened his mouth to say something, but knew he could never hide anything from Uma. And it wasn't exactly subtle. Uma wasn't one to believe in 'love at first sight' or all that mushy stuff, but she saw the way Harry and Audrey looked at each other right before they danced. That was the first time she's ever seen Harry fall flat on his face like that before.

The side of Harry's mouth twitched upward as Uma gave him a look. "When did ye become so mushy?"

Uma sat back as she groaned, "Ever since the barrier came down."

"Ye... really think she could like someone like me?" Harry asked, unsure. She had pulled him into a dance at the engagement party, but at the end of the day... she's a princess—and he's a pirate.

"Of course she'll go for you. If she's dated guys Chad Charming before, the girl's standards must be have severely dropped after dating Ben," Uma laughed, causing Harry to playfully glare at her.

"Why did I just hear my name?" a certain blonde boy perked up. Jane tried to wake him up to meet the others at Granny's in the morning but refused to get out of bed. Ashley called him to tell him to meet them at the diner. After the incident earlier, the parents made sure to exchange phone numbers with the children to be able to call them in case they ever needed to check in.

Uma and Harry looked at each other a moment before bursting into laughter.

"Ye know, I would have expected ye to first one to disapprove of a relationship with her," Harry said, not expecting Uma to be supporting the idea of a romance with a 'prissy pink princess', as they called them on the Isle.