Avoiding her
Sammy asked for a oneshot of Snow speaking to Emma about her not wanting to spend time with her, Red and Ella. Emma explains that she feels treated more like a niece than a friend around them so she'd rather have her own friends that weren't also her parents' friends.
Guest: That subject matter has been covered before.
Well now, it's been a while, hasn't it? Sorry about that. Life has been crazy busy here (still is) which hasn't left me much time for writing. On top of that, I've been working through some personal things that I don't really feel like sharing with the internet at large. Plus, if I'm honest, the new season hasn't given me much inspiration or passion for all things Once. However, I said I would make 3000 chapters and I don't break promises. So stick with me, we'll get there. Especially since our Charming family (see what I did there? I know, I'm brilliant) are returning!
That was the fourth time Emma had blown her off. It was always a pretty lousy excuse, too. Snow didn't believe Emma at all this time when she claimed that she had some heavy-duty paperwork to complete. Emma never did paperwork. Even when she was supposed to. If Snow was honest, it hurt. Emma just seemed to want to avoid her at all costs these days. Snow knew she had to set an example for everything she told Emma and gently confront her about how she was feeling.
So Snow decided to take a spontaneous trip to the station herself to deliver Emma some lunch.
"Oh hey mom." Emma greeted her warmly enough. "What've you got there?"
"Grilled cheese, just the way you like it." Snow answered, placing the bag down on Emma's desk. Emma smiled, taking the food out the bag, but her eyes narrowed ever so slightly.
"What put you in the mood to bring me lunch?" She asked her mom, trying to be subtle, but she knew this meant her mom must have some serious stuff to talk with her about. Snow tried to keep her smile light, no matter how heavy her heart was feeling.
"Oh, nothing much." Snow croaked. "It's just…I can't help but feel you're avoiding spending extra time with me." Snow admitted. "I've invited you onto the last four girl's nights and you've rejected every single invitation." Snow explained, all her hurt coming out. Emma instantly felt bad. Her mom had just caught the wrong end of the stick. Emma reached out and took her mom's hand.
"I'm not avoiding spending time with you." Emma told her outright. Snow looked up, her eyes just a little wet. "It's the girl's nights." Emma continued. "Not that I don't like hanging out with you guys, it's just…I'm always going to be your daughter in the eyes of your friends." Emma tried to explain. Snow furrowed her brow, confused.
"Well whose daughter should they be seeing you as?" She asked. Emma smiled.
"No, not like that. I mean…remember when I did go out with you guys last time? How Ella kept trying to make me drink water in between drinks. Or how Red nearly ended up in a fist fight with that guy who apparently looked at me funny? It's not just friendly behaviour, is it? It's because they're your friends and I'm your daughter. It's sweet and all, but when I'm on a night out, I like to let my hair down a little. I'm better off with some of the girls who didn't really know you before the curse. It doesn't mean we can't spend time together though." Snow's warmth returned to her smile. She could understand where Emma was coming from. Sometimes she forgot their similar age came with strange caveats.
"As long as we can still spend some time together, that's all that matters to me." Snow promised her. She couldn't promise that she wouldn't be just as protective as her friends should the need arise, but that was an issue for another day.
