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Why do both of these plans involve talking to him about anything

Don't you want to know what happened and why he didn't tell you about it? Do you want me to talk to him? [ They can do this middle school style if she'd really rather. ]

Why so he can keep hiding things and stringing me along? Not interested.

So that you can make an informed decision about whether or not you're going to cut him out of your life instead of an angry kneejerk reaction you might regret later.

He's gonna be out of it whether either of us like it or not the minute I go back anyway. And so will the rest of my family.

For a year, not forever.

If anything isn't that more reason to make sure you're not wasting your time here?

Edited 2014-10-24 02:16 (UTC)

For a year this time. Until the next thing comes around. If it's not curses and Cora, it's Peter Pan. I just got my family back and now I'm gonna lose them all over again. And it keeps happening.

Where are you?

O2 gardens.

[ A little while later, from the 5th floor entrance of the gardens: ]

Where exactly?

Pretty close to the filtration systems.

[ There's no docks, so she takes the next best thing, and watches the water filter through to try and chill out. ]

[ Kate doesn't spend a lot of time in the gardens but she tracks them down. She's got her bow with her and quiver hanging from one hip, but it's hard to say if Emma caught her at the range or if she brought them just for this trip. She takes them off when she's in site, setting them carefully down so she can drop to a seat beside Emma. She's near enough that their shoulders brush but she doesn't touch her other than that just yet. ]

Hey.

Hey.

[ Glancing sidelong, Kate's presence doesn't seem to brighten Emma's despondent look. Just the opposite, even. One more person that she she loves, that she can and will lose, sooner or later. ]

Everything pretty much sucks, huh?

[ It's more or less a rhetorical question; cynicism may not suit Kate but there's no denying this much. She's not done trying to help fix this and make Emma (and Hook) see sense and talk this over, but she gets the feeling that really isn't what Emma needs just at this moment. It might be she doesn't need an arm thrown around her shoulders either, but Kate's going to give that alternative a shot. ]

As a rule?

[ She shakes her head, glancing away and rubbing her hand over her mouth, back to push her hair behind her ear. Worrying at her lip, she hunches her shoulders ambiguously. ]

Ever since I got to Storybrooke, it's been like … Even when we win, we lose. All magic has ever done is take the people I care about away from me. I can't do that again.

[ Emma shrugs her shoulders and Kate sets her arm around them. She is actually a little concerned about it getting flinched off but she does it with confidence, like it's totally normal (because it kind of should be, right?). ]

That sounds rough. Like it'd just wear you down after a while.

[ Though she shrinks under Kate's touch, shaking her head and trying to laugh through her obvious shaky distress, she does not shrug her arm off entirely. The laugh is short, sheepish, and humorless. Laughing at herself. At how ridiculous she feels in this moment, like a child. ]

Not like this ship does. Compared to the Tranquility, even Neverland was a caribbean vacation. [ Which only makes it that much scarier to have Hook and her mother here where they can get hurt. Only makes it that much scarier to know she might keep losing them. ]

[ Kate glances over, uncertain, but leaves her arm there anyway, at least for another moment. She's torn between acknowledging Emma's discomfort or pretending she doesn't notice, not sure which approach is least likely to cause more distress. She ends up just leaving her arm where it is for the moment.

Hearing Neverland spoken of so seriously is a little weird, even for her life, but she just nods and listens and figures this isn't really the time for fairytale inquiries. ]

Yeah, this place is the worst. I'm sorry it sounds like things at home are going to suck, too. I'm pretty glad there's no one here from my future, to be honest.

[ Emma nods, as if supporting Kate's assessment. Everyone should be glad to not have anyone from the future. It means they can't pull the wool over your eyes. Emma had enjoyed being the one with all the answers. She doesn't have that anymore. ]

If I had known … [ She wouldn't have gone to that feast with him. Would have held him at arm's length—or done a better job of it, at least. Now the loss feels real. And the worst part is that it's not just him. It's her parents, too. The parents that she had just begun to let in. ] I would have done things differently.

[ After a beat, it occurs to her to add: ] He probably knows that. It's probably why he didn't say anything. [ Perhaps not giving him as much credit as he deserves, but she can't help but feel it's true. He understands her better than anyone. ]

Instead, I had to hear from Robin Hood.

[ Kate lets the removal of her arm from Emma's shoulders seem casual, not a retreat but just a necessity, so she can lean back and pull her hair (too long after ten months without a cut) into a ponytail. Both hands required, and then she pulls her knees up and wraps her arms around them.

She makes a face of sympathetic displeasure at having to hear from Robin Hood. Even if she thinks Emma's overreacting or handling it badly, finding things out third hand always sucks. ]

What would you have done differently?

What do you think?

[ By now, Emma's aware that she's overreacting, but she's also too stubborn to do anything but barrel on ahead with being pissed. As hurt and scared as she is of losing the people that she loves again, she's well-aware that it's precisely that fear, and not genuine anger, that has her lashing out like this.

It's not just Hook. Not just separation. A world between her and her family. Between her and the people who love her. She turns a begrudging gaze on Kate, dark enough to make it apparent that she realizes what Kate's digging at—it doesn't make a difference now. Inevitable's inevitable. But Emma's predictable. ]

Made it easier on myself.

[ Run away. Held him at arm's length, even further than she's managed to. Hide behind wall after wall and refused to let him get close for fear of losing him. Left him on another fucking beanstalk, just something. ]

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