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

[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.