Work Text:
Emma. Could. Not. Breathe.
Her parents… Mary Margret and David… Snow White and Prince Charming.
Breathe In.
Her son sat with his grandparents. The sat at the table in Mary Margret’s kitchen, the story book between them. He was smiling into his cup of hot chocolate as her parents told him stories about other characters… people that lived in the town
Breathe Out.
She stood in the doorway of the apartment trying to wrap her head around everything. It was all so…
Breath In.
True Loves Kiss. Fairy Tales. Magic.
Breathe Out.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. “Fuck.”
She backed up out of the doorway, hitting the wall behind her across the hallway from the door. The three inside turned and looked up at the small thump. She turned and ran down the hallway, to the stairs, and fled down the stairs out into the street. She ignored the voices calling after her.
Breathe In.
She stopped outside for a few seconds when the cold harsh rain met her, before she moved off, running down the street going nowhere but away. She shuttered as the rain soaked her clothes right away, freezing her to the bone. She shuttered, wishing that she had her jacket, but that was up in the apartment.
Breathe Out.
She could barely hear the feet slamming on the cement behind her, but she new it was David. Prince Charming. Her Father. She stopped running and looked up at the construction of the new play castle. She shivered as the sound of feet became louder and all together stopped beside her.
Breathe In.
“I can’t…”
She turned to face the figure and was right in knowing it was David. Prince Charming. Her Father. “I can’t…”
Her words were choked off by a sob that ripped through her.
He reached forward and tried to pull her forward, but she pulled back.
Breathe Out.
“Emma,” he tried.
“No… no… I… I hated you.” She stutters and the last three words slip out before she can stop them. He pulls away, like he was slapped. Those three words broke the swell.
“I hated you and her. I hated you. I thought that you didn’t want me, that you didn’t love me. I couldn’t ever understand how you could just abandon me. I grew up with people that didn’t want me; I grew up thinking that no one would ever want me. I hated that other people had families that loved them, had mothers and fathers. I just… I can’t… I can’t… this is all too much.”
Prince Charming watched as his daughter sobbed, shaking in the rain, moving backwards away from him.
“None of this is normal. How do I process all of this; that my parents are my age because of a magical curse, that my parents are Snow White and Prince Charming that my son was being raised by the evil queen that did this to us all, and that I am … how do I process this? Everything was so much easier when you were faceless and I could hate you in peace, when I didn’t know that you were even alive and that you were happy together.”
“Emma…”
“No! You can’t fix this! I can’t… I… I can’t breathe!”
Emma found herself falling to her knees, her fingers digging into the cold muddy grass beneath her. Her breathing was ragged and she knew that she was having a panic attack, something that hadn’t happened since before she gave birth to Henry.
“Emma!” He dropped down besides her, grabbing her shoulders. “Emma, breathe. What’s happening? Emma!” He pulled her up to him, the top of her head resting on his chest. The rain continued to pour onto them, both shaking from the cold and Emma shaking from her labored breathes.
Emma finally pulled away about 15 minutes later, breathing in a sharp breath. She looked up at David. Prince Charming. Her father.
“What is going on Emma? What was that?”
Emma couldn’t speak; she just stared at him for a while more. When he opened his mouth to speak again, she beat him to it.
“I used to get panic attacks. I was in a bad foster home, yelling and screaming, and one day I snapped and I started getting them because I figured that was what my life was always going to be, yelling and screaming and no one caring if I was sneaking out and getting into trouble.”
“Emma…”
“Don’t,” Emma said, pulling away and standing up. “Just… don’t.”
He stood, and stayed in place, eyeing his daughter.
“Emma, listen. You found us, your mother and I, your son; we are all together now, we can make this work. Lets just go back to the apartment, we are going to be making your mother and son worry.”
Emma nodded, she was too numb and cold to care, but at least she didn’t feel like she was going to explode anymore. As they started walking back, Emma stayed about and arms length away from him. She figured if she touched him, the damns would break, she would cry more and have another panic attack and she could feel another one under the surface. He seemed to get it, knew that he couldn’t reach her right now, or nothing would work in the future. So he stayed away, walking next to her and breathing loudly, trying to remain calm.
They walked a few blocks when Emma’s small yellow bug pulled up next to them, Red sitting in the passenger seat, Snow driving, and Henry in the back seat. Charming saw his daughter still, as Snow threw the gear into park, pull her seat belt off, and race from the car. She ran around the car and pulled up in front Emma. Charming moved to put an arm around Snow as Ruby/Red and Henry climbed out of the car and rush over to their sides.
Breathe In.
Emma looked at them all and she barely had a moment to realize what was happening when Snow launched herself forward and pulled her into a hug. It took Emma a minute to realize that Snow was crying. She looked up into Charming’s eyes before he moved forward and joined the hug. She felt arms around her waist and knew it was Henry.
Breathe Out.
After a few moments, they pulled away, neither of her parents oblivious to the fact that she didn’t fully join the hug. She looked down at Henry, before bending her knees to be at his eye level.
“Sorry, Henry.”
“It’s okay Emma,” he said, reaching out with his hand to grab hers. “Are you okay now?”
“I need time,” she replied before looking up at her parents, Prince Charming and Snow White, “I need time. None of this makes sense, and I just need time. And I need you to respect that.”
Snow looked like she wanted to protext about something, but Charming answered, “We will try, but there is so much time to catch up on, so much time missed. We can talk later, but soon.”
Emma took a moment, let out a shaky breathe, and nodded.
She just needed time, and to be able to breathe.
As they all climbed into the car, Ruby/Red, driving, Henry in the back seat with his grandparents, and Emma in the passenger seat, She drew in a breathe and found it didn’t hurt as much as it did an hour ago.
She just needed time, and this all might work.
Breathe In.