002: thank you for being a (vampire) friend

[sheriffing]

Who: Emma Swan + Stefan Salvatore
Where: Lagomarcinos
When: this month.
What: food, friendship.
Warnings: ???
[Closed]

[ sometimes Emma can't help but wonder if this was what the dark curse was like for everyone in storybrooke; going through the motions, having memories slot in piece by piece. at the moment, she knows enough to know they're all screwed, but there are still plenty of blanks to be filled in. she's followed the rules for long enough to collect what information she could, though that process requires patience that she typically doesn't have.

at least she still remembers to eat, and it's walking by Lagomarcino's that serves as a reminder. she can't smell sweets and candy without stopping in, which quickly gets her from the front of the shop to the line at the deli. she'd considering her options if another customer didn't catch her attention first.

Damon Salvatore is a friend, and along with remembering him came mentions of Stefan. Emma knew they were friends, she just didn't quite grasp the weight of that without seeing the guy in person. the memories might be fake, but he immediately feels like someone who's been missing from her life for too long. maybe it's time to fix that.]

Comments

[immoderation]

[ Stefan is aware of Emma... In theory more than in practice. He knows she's their neighbor and that she works at the school, too. He knows that his brother regularly talks to her and small details of their interactions have naturally leaked into their own conversations. But he's never found himself in such close proximity of her before. In fact, the only reason he does know that it's her at all is because the moment their eyes meet in Lagomarcino's he's suddenly flooded with memories of her, and in this very deli no less. ]

You want to split this? [ He cracks a genuine smile, gesturing down at the sandwich and pickle in his plastic basket that he hasn't yet started to eat. It should be more disconcerting, considering in his brain he knows that she's a stranger. But his heart insists otherwise and it's like operating on pure instinct. ]

[sheriffing]

[ it didn't take long for Emma to realize that these memories are harmful. they distract everyone here from what they should be doing by grounding them in this life when they need to be fighting their way out. she's not the person she remembers being, which doesn't mean quite as much as it should when there are feelings to back it up. she has friends here, and students (all people who she's protective of). it's not like she could just leave them to suffer through whatever the town has in store for them, even if she could find a way out.

since none of that is going to happen today, she can't help but nod to his offer. they've shared meals, and conversations, and secrets with each other before. the memories are barely starting to kick in, but she knows she can trust Stefan.] Sure - if we split the sandwich, we can justify something sweet later.

[ said like they don't have memories of always splitting a sandwich. she claims the seat across from him, leaning forward with a small smile. this isn't like being around a stranger, and it gets her every time. it gets all of them, doesn't it? ] What sort of trouble have you been getting yourself into lately?

[immoderation]

[ Emma is common sense incarnate. That's probably why Damon continues to like her as well as he does, even in the present timeline where they know their memories are, in essence, utter bullshit; his brother is able to schmooze his way through any crowd but has really always been drawn to the no-nonsense types.

She'll definitely make a good ally in the weeks and months to come. That's mostly how Stefan has been choosing to approach these memories. As clues about who they can or should trust. (If the orchestrators of this madness have slipped up anywhere, he firmly believes it's in this; bringing people so together is equally good for rebellion as it is for peace). ]

[ At her question, his eyebrows shoot up in a somewhat exaggerated manner. ]

Well... I apparently just remembered that I have a wife. [ These days, there's almost always an underlying meaning to anything he says like this. These Salvatores have really mastered the art of double-speak. Not directly incriminating themselves of their disbelief but putting enough suggestion behind their words that it can probably be ascertained by like-minded types. ]

[sheriffing]

[ their memories are all lies, but their instincts aren't. she's always gone with her gut before, so Emma sees no reason why that should be any different here. there are people in this town who put on smiles and play games, fill in the picture-perfect life so much that it's twisted into something dishonest. she knows because she gets a feeling about them - the feeling most of them are surrounded by lies. what she takes away from stefan and damon is that their memories reflect something of who they are at their core. it's a reason to keep those connections here.

she's about to reach over to help herself to half of their usual when she hesitates at the mention of Stefan's marriage. she knows it's a thing, but Damon started talking before he had the details. besides, he's been guarding those around her and she's been trying not to pry with the literal strangers who just became two of her closest friends.] I heard. Damon told me about it when he showed up at my house in a towel.

[ she gives him a long-suffering look to match the mental image, because there's nothing quite like living across from the Salvatores.] Who's the lucky lady?

[immoderation]

[ Stefan makes a face of barely contained disgust, in sympathy. Of course, he knows the real reason why that might have happened. ]

Elena Gilbert. [ Well, Salvatore now, obviously. ] Katherine's sister. Well, practically doppelgänger.

[ The fake backstory there is actually so much less bizarre than the truth, in this case. But Stefan can still appreciate how weird it must be for other people to hear it for the first time. Two brothers marrying two sisters. It's either totally romantic or completely crazy. ]

[sheriffing]

Elena?

[ that's probably not the wife Damon was expecting, considering all Emma knows of the woman is that she's Damon's girlfriend. she winces visibly, as if she has some small degree of awareness about how complicated that has to be. but honestly - oh, if she only knew.]

And they're -

[ she'd ask if they're actually sisters, but that gives too much away, doesn't it? instead, Emma just sighs.]

How's that working out for you?

[ she can't imagine that marrying his brother's girlfriend is all that exciting for him. as much as she hates being on her own, it's better than some surprise husband popping up.]

[immoderation]

It's... Awkward, to say the least. [ Stefan fiddles with the corner of the paper lining the basket before carefully picking up his half of the sandwich and taking a bite. ]

Elena and I dated... First. [ It's a bit of an off the cuff statement that doesn't make any sense on the surface level or really give anything away. But Stefan suspects that Emma will get it because her reaction seems to indicate that she knows at least the basic truth -- that Elena is meant to be with Damon instead. ]

Of course, she doesn't remember either of us right now so she's going to stay with Caroline for awhile. [ Probably 2 weeks, if the pattern continues. ]

[sheriffing]

[ it makes just enough sense for Emma's eyebrows to stretch for the ceiling. his brother's girlfriend who he dated first. an ex, formerly with his brother, who he has memories of marrying and starting a life with. this keeps getting better and better.

it's hard to know who to feel worse for in all of this.

she reaches over for her half, taking a bite or two in silence. memories tell her that they've done this dozens of times, and that lunch with Stefan was always something she looked forward to. those memories are a lie, but that doesn't stop her from caring that his life has been turned upside down by the games this city plays with its residents.]

What happens after she remembers?

[immoderation]

I don't know. [ It's not that he hasn't ever thought that far ahead but the present has demanded most of his focus, with the excuse that it's a bridge they can cross once they come to it. ] I guess that's up to Elena and Damon.

[ He takes a breath.

It's loud enough in here, between the music and the chatter of the other customers, that they probably aren't able to be singled out by any of the cameras unless someone on the other end is particularly adept at reading lips. ]

You probably haven't seen Elena since she woke up in the hospital. So I don't know what your "memories" of her might be filling in for you. But her and Katherine? There's more than just a family resemblance... They look identical. There's a reason for that and it's not because they're actually related.

[sheriffing]

[ he's right, her memories of Elena aren't anything more than bits and pieces. she can place the association, knows they're sisters who married brothers, but there's no face to go with a name. what he says helps that along, enough that identical triggers the thought of twins until he keeps going.

she's starting to make a habit of talking out in the open. usually it's about Henry, and she's the one spilling secrets. this time it's fake memories complicating an already ridiculous reality. she has to wonder what's worse, having the people who matter to him here and having to deal with all all of this, or being like her and having to fight it out alone.]

Then what's the reason for it?

[immoderation]

Elena is Katherine's doppelganger. They share a common bloodline but they were born over 500 years apart, if you can believe that. [ And something tells him that she will. That gut instinct is why he's decided to have this conversation at all. ]

[sheriffing]

Let's just say it's not the strangest thing I've ever heard of. [ which makes one of them five hundred years older than the other. she hasn't met Katherine yet, but what she knows of her fills in the blanks on which one has seniority. they must be fun at parties.]

Where do you fit in with all of this?

[immoderation]

[ What an unknowingly complicated question. ]

I met Katherine when I was 17 years old... In 1864. Elena was born in 1992. [ To put things into perspective. ]

[sheriffing]

You look good for your age.

[ she can do the math in her head, he's over a hundred and fifty years old. but the number on its own isn't complicated, she's betting it's the circumstances. by her standards, Katherine is old, Elena is young, and Stefan falls somewhere in between. presumably, along with Damon.]

[immoderation]

[ That draws a smirk out of him. ] Thanks.

[ A beat. If he's surprised by her relative lack of a reaction then he doesn't show it. But he's still betting that she'll want to know why.

So, he decides to stop being cryptic and just lay it out on the table. ]

We're vampires. Well, Elena isn't. [ Anymore. But that's a story for another time. ]

[sheriffing]

[ what saves her from any reaction at all is that Emma is aware of the cameras. her expression doesn't falter, even if it otherwise might. it's surprising, but not earth-shattering. she's seen wizards, magical creatures, Enchanted Forest zombies, why not vampires?

maybe that's not a fair comparison.]

That explains you looking good.

[ it explains them being alive at their age, and probably Damon's towel encounter of a few days ago. something weird went down.]

[immoderation]

No, I'm pretty sure that's just good genes. [ Ha ha. ]

You took that better than I was expecting. [ It makes him even more curious about her, truth be told. ]

[sheriffing]

[well if anything was going to get her to crack a smile, it's Stefan patting his own back.]

I have some experience with the unusual. Not with anyone else like you, but... my son, Henry? I gave him up for adoption when I was teenager. [ she's quick to push past that part of the story, it's not something she's proud of.] Ten years later, he showed at my door on my twenty-eighth birthday. Said I needed to go home with him to break a curse.

[ and as much as her heart aches to tell it, there's visible relief in how she looks at him, in her body language, in being able to tell someone who she is.] I didn't believe in anything back then, but Henry did. And he was right.

[immoderation]

[ Stefan falls silent, listening to Emma as she gifts him with this unexpected bit of knowledge. It does help to inform her rather nonchalant reaction and he finds himself nodding along with her right to the very end, which is when his brain starts trying to piece together the information she's just dropped into his lap, into something that makes sense in the context of his own world and experiences. ]

Then... Are you... A witch? [ He ventures to guess. ]

[sheriffing]

[ the vampire knows about witches, it's a start. being honest means going beyond the whole magical thing. he's told her who he is, she'd like to be able to do the same - but he's a vampire, and she's still left thinking what she's going to offer up will be a little hard to believe.

that's why she's having this conversation with Stefan, when she hasn't been brave enough to share it with anyone else. memories tell her that they've always been close; there's a chance he'll take the insane reality of her life for what it is. there's also a chance he'll think she's full of shit, but she believes him. he has to know that comes from some strange experiences.

she takes a moment to consider his question, as if she's deciding how far she can take this, and ultimately ends up shaking her head.] No.

[ she's not a witch. her magic is the result of true love, and it comes with a different title. . . . so if she's trying to brace herself for his reaction, it's only because this is a lot to throw at someone in the middle of a quick lunch.] I was born in the Enchanted Forest.