Neal shakes his head automatically, stubbornly rejecting that whole technology possibility. He knows, he knows that neither Regina nor Emma could get their juices flowing, but the thing is... He proved magic was here, he proved it to Raven Reyes when the heating went out. The way fires would put themselves out any time you tried to carry them out of the lobby, the way it snuffed like someone blew out a candle every single time. That wasn't technology, that was some kind of... barrier, some kind of curse or spell. He couldn't find the words to prove it to Emma and he can't find the words to argue now, but he feels like he's right. Stubbornly, adamantly.
Not that it makes any difference. Magic, technology, whatever it is it's driving him up a wall.
"It's working," He mutters, frustration in his tone, eyes skirting to the side and staring out the window rather than at Hook. It's not that he's too proud to admit weakness, it's just... a sensitive issue. "She keeps looking at me like it's my fault, and the thing is-"
He cuts himself off, head dipping down, a scowl tugging at his lips, a furrow in his brow. Eyes flicker to Hook again, "I don't know, I kinda feel like it is. Not that she's dead, I mean, but that I didn't... I couldn't tell that she was leadin' me on. That whole time, I thought..."
That it was real. That he was in love. That they were in love, that she actually gave a crap about him, that it was true, and he wasn't smart enough to see the signs. That he was so desperate for a happy ending, or so desperate to tell himself that he couldn't man up and go after Emma because of what they had, he blew off Emma's suspicions entirely, he was so stupid.
"I brought her around my son," He adds on, disbelief and a trace amount of disgust in his tone. God knows what she could have done to Henry if he stood in the way of her goals. It could've been Henry or Emma on the other side of that gun instead of him, and that would've been on Neal.
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Not that it makes any difference. Magic, technology, whatever it is it's driving him up a wall.
"It's working," He mutters, frustration in his tone, eyes skirting to the side and staring out the window rather than at Hook. It's not that he's too proud to admit weakness, it's just... a sensitive issue. "She keeps looking at me like it's my fault, and the thing is-"
He cuts himself off, head dipping down, a scowl tugging at his lips, a furrow in his brow. Eyes flicker to Hook again, "I don't know, I kinda feel like it is. Not that she's dead, I mean, but that I didn't... I couldn't tell that she was leadin' me on. That whole time, I thought..."
That it was real. That he was in love. That they were in love, that she actually gave a crap about him, that it was true, and he wasn't smart enough to see the signs. That he was so desperate for a happy ending, or so desperate to tell himself that he couldn't man up and go after Emma because of what they had, he blew off Emma's suspicions entirely, he was so stupid.
"I brought her around my son," He adds on, disbelief and a trace amount of disgust in his tone. God knows what she could have done to Henry if he stood in the way of her goals. It could've been Henry or Emma on the other side of that gun instead of him, and that would've been on Neal.