[No, Emma doesn't start with any questions. She thinks it's best to listen first; see what he's willing to tell and how comfortable he is with the conversation. There's a choice involved in keeping silent; he can stop if he decides he doesn't want to do this, or change the subject if he'd rather talk about something else. It doesn't take long to realize that he's struggling with this, he has a few tells that give him away, but when the words come, they're ones paint a picture.
He doesn't remember having a human care for him as a child. There were no parents, no siblings - just the wolves to raise him. Whatever happened to his parents happened early enough that he was as much an orphan as she was.
It's different. In the world she grew up in, they had a system in place for unwanted children. Someone found her and August and put them in foster care, and for the first few years she had a family. What she remembers most about them is that they sent her back, when she was small and scared and couldn't understand what her family had done to her. Kindness came in the form of people who felt sorry for her, but it was still present. She couldn't count on anyone to take care of her, yet she knew basic human sympathy at an early age. All Graham saw was disapproval.
Mary Margaret isn't capable of being cruel. Emma knows from experience that her mother always takes people as they are. It's a simple act in theory and a hell of a lot harder in practice; to show compassion to everyone, whether they're a friend or an enemy or a complete stranger. She's a hero, plain and simple, and sometimes Emma wonders if she'll ever measure up.]
You were afraid of getting hurt, I don't think that's as terrible as you're making it out to be.
[ He was protecting himself. It's a skill Emma also picked up along the way; the one where if she approached people with the lowest expectations possible, she couldn't be too let down when that was as much as they were able to offer her. The problem was that it left her with a hollow feeling; the kind that came from only having herself to rely on.]
And I would never judge you for who you were in the past, you know that.
[The same way he knew she served time and offered her a job in law enforcement anyway. They've both grown from who they were when they were young and on their own. It's why they're able to talk like this now, when years ago, it wouldn't have been an option for either one of them.]
But I know that it's easier to expect the worst than to open yourself up to the possibility of being vulnerable. That's what I do. That's why I couldn't believe in the curse.
[Remembering the kind of guilt that left her with makes his easier to understand.]
That version of you may not have wanted to be my friend, but he's a part of you. That means he matters to me too, you know? [She gives him a weak smile, a little uncertain but still grateful for what he's offered her.] Having a little background information actually makes him a little more familiar than I'd like to admit.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2016-10-01 11:58 pm (UTC)He doesn't remember having a human care for him as a child. There were no parents, no siblings - just the wolves to raise him. Whatever happened to his parents happened early enough that he was as much an orphan as she was.
It's different. In the world she grew up in, they had a system in place for unwanted children. Someone found her and August and put them in foster care, and for the first few years she had a family. What she remembers most about them is that they sent her back, when she was small and scared and couldn't understand what her family had done to her. Kindness came in the form of people who felt sorry for her, but it was still present. She couldn't count on anyone to take care of her, yet she knew basic human sympathy at an early age. All Graham saw was disapproval.
Mary Margaret isn't capable of being cruel. Emma knows from experience that her mother always takes people as they are. It's a simple act in theory and a hell of a lot harder in practice; to show compassion to everyone, whether they're a friend or an enemy or a complete stranger. She's a hero, plain and simple, and sometimes Emma wonders if she'll ever measure up.]
You were afraid of getting hurt, I don't think that's as terrible as you're making it out to be.
[ He was protecting himself. It's a skill Emma also picked up along the way; the one where if she approached people with the lowest expectations possible, she couldn't be too let down when that was as much as they were able to offer her. The problem was that it left her with a hollow feeling; the kind that came from only having herself to rely on.]
And I would never judge you for who you were in the past, you know that.
[The same way he knew she served time and offered her a job in law enforcement anyway. They've both grown from who they were when they were young and on their own. It's why they're able to talk like this now, when years ago, it wouldn't have been an option for either one of them.]
But I know that it's easier to expect the worst than to open yourself up to the possibility of being vulnerable. That's what I do. That's why I couldn't believe in the curse.
[Remembering the kind of guilt that left her with makes his easier to understand.]
That version of you may not have wanted to be my friend, but he's a part of you. That means he matters to me too, you know? [She gives him a weak smile, a little uncertain but still grateful for what he's offered her.] Having a little background information actually makes him a little more familiar than I'd like to admit.