Don't ask
A guest asked for a oneshot of Emma always being paranoid about asking her parents for anything. She thinks they might refuse her or tell her off because of her childhood. Snowing confront her about it.
It was the little things Snow picked up on first. An extra slice of toast at breakfast, or maybe a ride somewhere if Emma planned to be drinking during an evening. Snow had understood Emma being more nervous asking for bigger things. Most people were. Emma was a particularly independent person, so Snow got her not liking asking anyone for anything. No, it had been the little things that made it all click together for Snow. Emma got nervous asking them for anything.
When she spoke to Charming, he said he had noticed as well. She had apparently been writing with a tiny pencil all day once at the station rather than ask him for a pen. Knowing there was obviously a problem, the parents sat her down and asked Emma about it. Emma seemed uncomfortable answering them, but her parents encouraged her.
"Growing up, asking for, well, anything wasn't always the best idea." Emma began. "Most foster parents don't like the hassle of actually having to look after the kids in their care. They just want you to sit quietly and play with broken old toys with your stomach grumbling. If you had the nerve to ask for something, at best you got yelled at a lot of the time, at worst…well, it wasn't very nice." Snow and Charming winced, but didn't push the matter. "It's kinda drilled into you to get what you need on your own from a young age. Asking for it never got you it." Snow and Charming never liked hearing how cruel the system put in place to protect Emma actually was to her. There were always what ifs about placing her in the wardrobe, hearing about things like this didn't make that any easier. Charming placed his hand on Emma's shoulder.
"You can ask us for anything, Em. Anything at all, whenever you need it." Charming assured her. Emma smiled at him.
"I do know that. Really, I do. It's just hard to shake off the past, ya know?" Charming squeezed Emma's shoulder reassuringly before him and Snow shared a look. They both did indeed know the damage that had been done.
