No more sympathy

JRocks asked for a oneshot of…read and see.

Deep down, both Snow and Charming knew they had grown too lenient with Emma. After she broke the curse when she was five, knowing how badly life had gone for her up until that point, neither could bring themselves to give her into any real trouble. Emma got whatever she wanted, when she wanted it. If she said jump, they asked how high. They always found excuses for any of her bad behaviour, normally using her time away from them to justify it. But as Neal was growing older, he was noticing that his sister could do things he couldn't. Which, of course, he didn't think was fair. So naturally, he began to act more and more like her to try and not get into trouble like she did. He rolled his eyes at everything his parents asked him to do. Just like Emma did. He began to refuse to do specific chores and his homework if he didn't feel like it. Just like Emma did. He point blank didn't listen to the sometimes, doing the exact opposite of what he was being told. When his parents told him that his attitude had better stop real soon, that's when he pointed out he was just doing what Emma did. That's when Snow and Charming realised that things had to change with Emma. If they couldn't make excuses for Neal, then there could be no excuses for her anymore. So next time she acted out (conveniently in front of her brother) they put their foot down and warned her there would be consequences. Emma, much like Neal, had some bad learned behaviours. Only hers were from her parents. She had learned that it was ok to blame her time in the system for when she behaved badly, even though she hardly remembered it these days.

"I can't believe you two!" She screamed. "Do you have any idea what I went through the first five years of my life when you couldn't be bothered to look after me?" Snow and Charming remained calm. They knew something like this would happen. That cut them deep, but they had to remain firm.

"Emma, we know some of what you went through during that period of your life was awful, but a, you know fine well it was not as simple as us not being bothered enough to look after you and b, what precisely does it have to do with you being asked to finish your homework?" Charming asked her. This stalled Emma. She stood like a goldfish for a moment, opening and closing her mouth, unable to come up with a proper answer. Eventually, she simply screamed and stomped her foot like a toddler.

"You're both being assholes! Maybe I'm not doing it because it's too hard, ever thought of that? It's not like I got to go to a nice preschool or kindergarten when I was little. I came to Storybrooke too late for those, didn't I? Not that either of you cared!" Emma yelled.

"Of course we cared Emma, but that's not why you're not doing your homework so please don't lie." Snow said calmly. "We all know that the start of your childhood was tragic at times. I think we can say that we have moved on as a family, you included. You're not the only person in this family who's had terrible things happen to them as a child, Emma. Have you forgotten about my parents? How Cora killed my mother and then the Evil Queen had my father murdered as well? How I lost everything that belonged to me?" Snow said.

"Or how I grew up with a drunk for a father until he drank himself to death (AN: Charming doesn't know the truth yet). That wasn't exactly pleasant, but I didn't continue to blame all my problems on it over a decade later. Your mother and I had to fight very hard to get our kingdom back from the Evil Queen. It was never easy, and we lost many good people, but we didn't give up. We certainly never sulked in a corner when we didn't get what we wanted because people stopped giving us sympathy. Even after my mother was murdered by George's men, and she gave up her only chance at life so you could life, I went on. If she hadn't, neither you nor your brother would be here." Charming said. Emma was stunned into silence.

"Maybe you need some time to think on all these things, Emma. Think how your behaviour is going to affect the rest of your life if you carry on like this. You can't continue to let the past decide your future. Come on Neal, we'll go for a walk." Snow said, as she and Charming ushered Neal out the house with them. Emma was still standing in the same spot in the living room, her parents' words circling her head. She knew they were right. She couldn't pin all her problems on those five years in care. It was time to make a change.