[ruby-red-lucas-blog]

Matchmaking// Ruby + Regina

Ruby had left before the morning came, she'd felt bad for leaving without saying good bye but she'd had an early client and needed to get ready. She just didn't have the heart to wake the older woman. She'd spent most of the next few days in her room with a few customers, only coming out to eat. It was a few days before she could have enough free time to see her new friend, she took a quick shower and heading down stairs and grabbing a soda and two apples before going up and knocking on Regina's door.  She was pretty sure the woman didn't have a client at the moment but she didn't want to interrupt in case and for all she knew Regina could finally have taken the plunge and gotten Emma in her bed, one way or another she would get those two together, if anyone deserved happiness in this place it was those two. "Gina, you busy? I can come back later if you'd like. 

[snowwhiteblanchard-deactivated2]

Morning sunshine// Mary Margaret + Ruby

[snowwhiteblanchard-deactivated2]

Mary laughed at her friends description. “Ruby you are no ugly moth." She looked over at her friend. “It’s okay if I don’t understand it, just know I will be here to listen." She smiled at Ruby and turned over to even her tan.

She immediately sat up at Ruby’s confession. “What? The- the madame?" Mary was shocked and confused. Of all people Ruby went for the Madame. Mary felt somewhat betrayed and shook her head. Not looking at her friend she got up and gathered her things before going inside. She needed time to think about this and absorb this new information.

[ruby-red-lucas-blog]

Ruby opened her eyes and blinked at the sudden turn around in her friend. She'd gone from understanding to leaving in no time flat. She knew it would be a bit touchy to bring up but she'd thought Mary might actually understand and now it felt as if she was losing her friend all over again.  She got up and ran over, wrapping a towel around her as she went and grabbed Mary's arm turning her back. "No. You can't just leave without saying anything like that. It's not as if I chose to feel this way about her! I just do! You said you would be there. You've always said that but you never have been and while I know it wasn't your fault before because you were taken away but it is now if you leave."

[snowwhiteblanchard-deactivated2]

Morning sunshine// Mary Margaret + Ruby

[snowwhiteblanchard-deactivated2]

Mary nodded in understanding. Ruby had always been a “free spirit" as her mother use to say. But that was one of the reasons she became friends with her. Mary had never been able to let go and have fun as much as Ruby. She had always been in a shell; slightly unsure of herself and what to do.

"Maybe you will, maybe she is one of those people that it’s hard to tell whether or not they have feelings for you. I still don’t know how David feels about me. But I haven’t lost hope yet." She grabbed her friends hand and squeezed it. “And neither should you."

[ruby-red-lucas-blog]

"Mary... I couldn't even stay away from her if I wanted to. I'm just... drawn to her. She's the beautiful dancing flame and I'm stuck as the ugly moth. She's gonna burn me up and I couldn't stop myself even. You don't understand." Ruby squeezed her friend's hand back gently and sighed softly looking back up to the high up window, squeezing her hand tighter as she thought she saw her shadow.  "It's the madame... It's Cora..." She whispered sinking back into her chair and closing her eyes tightly waiting for her friend's reaction. She honestly didn't know what to expect from her anymore. 

[ruby-red-lucas-blog]

Sleep over// Ruby + Regina

[onceuponreginamills-deactivated]

Regina pet Ruby’s hair soothingly. “Nothing to show? Ruby, you’ve grown up to be a beautiful, smart, wonderful woman. It doesn’t matter what you do; it’s who you are that counts. And you, my dear, are magnificent.”

“You are plenty worthy. Don’t let yourself think otherwise.” She pressed a kiss to the top of Ruby’s head and then began to hum a song sweetly. 

[ruby-red-lucas-blog]

Ruby wiped at her eyes getting rid of the last bit of her tears before finally relaxing completely into her friend's arms and sighing softly listening to the older woman hum. Nobody had hummed or even sung her to sleep before. She felt more at home in this place then she ever had at her actual home.  "All of that goes for you too, by the way. Emma's a lucky girl. You both are to have found each other. And for the record, you two are adorable together. And that's not your cider talking. Saying that you're like an older sister I've never had, that's the cider talking." She mumbled, snuggling closer as she drifted back into a peaceful sleep.

[snowwhiteblanchard-deactivated2]

Morning sunshine// Mary Margaret + Ruby

[snowwhiteblanchard-deactivated2]

Mary lay down beside her friend. “Well you still have that choice to go back Ruby.” She turned her head towards her friend giving her a sad smile. She had always been envious of Ruby when it came to family. Mary was stuck at the brothel for now but Ruby had always had the choice and she envied her.

She smiled at her friend listening to her talk about this mystery woman. Ruby deserved someone that would make her feel special. “Well whoever this mystery woman is you seem to care for her and I`m glad you have someone. You seemed different when you were talking about her. A good different though.”

[ruby-red-lucas-blog]

"I can't go back, Mary. I have nothing to go back to. I can't go back to Granny's. I wouldn't anyways. If she needed my help for some reason, sure, I would help. But I am never going back to that life. That's not who I am. It never has been. I was trying to fit this mold of hers and I couldn't. It didn't work for me, it never did and never will."  Ruby sighed looking at Mary Margaret and giving the woman a small shrug. "I'm guessing it's the same stupid looking face that you get when you talk about your prince charming. I've been seeing it on a few different people lately, it makes them glow and seem even more beautiful. I haven't seen it on the one face I'd like to though. And... honestly, Mary? I don't expect to. I'm out of her league. So very far out of her league."

[ruby-red-lucas-blog]

Sleep over// Ruby + Regina

[onceuponreginamills-deactivated]

Regina rubbed soothing circles on her friend’s back. “Ruby, you are not a disappointment. You are a beautiful woman, and anyone who thinks you’re a disappointment must be insane.”

She scoffed at the idea of her mother and Gold. “Please,” she said. “My mother would never be a trophy wife,” she said. “And more importantly, she likes you. It’s obvious. Cora may not be the kindest woman in the world, but I couldn’t imagine her ever laughing at you.”

[ruby-red-lucas-blog]

"I guess. I just with I'd have known them. I used to imagine that they would encourage me. Sometimes I still do. That they would visit me in California or some place. They'd be proud and happy for me and everything. But I doubt it now. I don't know. I just don't have anything to show for my life." Ruby muttered holding onto Regina tight and sniffling, leaning into her. "I still don't know how I feel about that. I mean, she's just so... smart and beautiful and so... ugh. I'm not good with words. She ruins my words. I just... I want to be worthy, if it turns out she might even maybe like me a bit more than your average person."

[ruby-red-lucas-blog]

Sleep over// Ruby + Regina

[onceuponreginamills-deactivated]

Regina watched her friend pull away. She shook her head. “You didn’t ruin anything,” she soothed.

The older woman stood and walked toward Ruby, gently running her fingers down the taller brunette’s arm. “I have nightmares, too,” she admitted, lacing her fingers through Ruby’s and softly guiding her back to the bed, easing her back under the covers and brushing away her tears. “I have nightmares of being in a place where my mother controlled me with violence. I have nightmares that I’ll never find love. That everyone in my life will be disappointed in me.”

She rested her head on the pillow, mirroring Ruby and leaving their hands entwined. “I don’t want to be friends with Mary. I want to be friends with the fun girl that apparently has a massive thing for my mother.” Regina leaned in and pressed a small kiss to Ruby’s cheek. “You’re my friend, Ruby. There’s no getting out of that.

[ruby-red-lucas-blog]

Ruby reluctantly let Regina drag her back to the bed and curled up to her, squeezing her hand tight and taking slow breaths to calm back down. Hearing Regina's reassuring words only made it hurt more. She hugged her tightly, burying her face in her shoulder. "It used to not be so bad. I would dream of meeting my parents. Just little things we would do as a family. Then Granny had her heart attack and things turned worse. She turned worse. Nothing I do has ever been good enough."  She sighed and held tighter trying to settle back down. "My dreams used to be good. They were the best parents. Now... all I am is a disappointment. They made me leave. I-I came here but... your mother was with Gold and wouldn't offer me a place. She just laughed, draped across his arm like some trophy wife or something. I was crying and she was just... laughing at me for it."

[ruby-red-lucas-blog]

Sleep over// Ruby + Regina

[onceuponreginamills-deactivated]

In her sleep, Regina felt Ruby begin to move. She was obviously having a nightmare like Regina had had so many times in the past. “Ruby,” she said softly, “It was only a dream.” She reached out and took the younger woman’s hand. “Come back to bed, dear. It’s going to be okay.”

She was worried about her friend. She squeezed Ruby’s hand. “Come on, sweetheart,” she said quietly, trying to soothe her friend. Regina didn’t want to be alone, and she knew too well from experience that if Ruby left, she’d go back to her own room and the nightmares would only continue. Regina wanted to be there for her. She wanted to help the nightmares go away.

[ruby-red-lucas-blog]

Ruby pulled her hand away, crossing her arms and shaking her head. She turned away closing her eyes and stubbornly wiping her tears. She got to the door before sighing and resting her head against it and wiping at her cheeks trying to make them stop. It wouldn't do if someone was out in the hall and saw her come from Regina's room crying. She was the fun one, up for anything and anyone, not the emotional one. Nobody saw her cry and now it seemed all she could do. "I-I'm sorry... it was supposed to be fun... it wasn't s-supposed to be like this. I ruined everything again."  She hit the door hard, sliding down it as she turned around. "You deserve a better friend... Mary would be a good one if you gave her a chance. Emma would be too. A friend and so much more if you let her. You deserve it all. Not a lousy friend that can't even help you enjoy a sleep over."

[ouatwhispers]

Got a Whisper?

[ruby-red-lucas-blog]

Sleep over// Ruby + Regina

[onceuponreginamills-deactivated]

A sad grin fell upon Regina’s lips. She rarely received a compliment along the lines of nice. “Thank you, Ruby,” she whispered quietly as she felt the other woman drift off.

She thought back to Emma Swan. Emma Swan who had her name tattooed on her hip out of love. Emma Swan who, for some reason, wanted to be with her unlike Regina had ever experienced. Emma Swan who… loved her. And that terrified Regina to no end. 

But talking to Ruby made her think…maybe Regina could open herself to love.

[ruby-red-lucas-blog]

Ruby frowned some in her sleep holding onto Regina tighter as her dreams took her away. She often dreamed of what it would be like to meet her parents, how they would love and support her, let her follow her dreams like Granny never allowed. Tonight seemed to not be one of those nights though. In her dream she was sitting in the diner, listening to her parents yell at her. She wasn't good enough for them, they were disappointed and then Granny came in with two bags. She frowned recognizing them as her own. None of her family wanted her. She'd had a similar dream of Granny after her heart attack but never had her parents been involved.  She tossed and turned in the bed, pulling away from Regina as her dream self was forced out of her only family's life. She went to beg Cora for a job only to be turned away by her too. She was on the arm of Gold and just laughed in her face as she turned her away. It was all of her fears coming together and she sat up with a gasp, panting softly and throwing back the covers slipping out of the bed. "I have to go..."

[ruby-red-lucas-blog]

Sleep over// Ruby + Regina

[onceuponreginamills-deactivated]

“But that doesn’t mean I’m someone you should look up to,” she whispered quietly. Regina could see Ruby quickly succumbing to sleep as she snuggled further into her body. “No, I don’t think it’s stupid,” she said soothingly as she began to rub circles on the younger woman’s back. “Falling in love in itself is risky business. You never really know what you’re getting yourself into.”

She gave Ruby a slow kiss to the forehead. “If it feels right, it probably is.”

[ruby-red-lucas-blog]

Ruby smiled some unable to even open her eyes anymore, practically asleep as the older girl began rubbing along her back gently. "You're so much nicer than anyone thinks you are. I don't know why you don't let them see it.  You would be the Queen of this town if they could all see how amazing you are. A really, really amazing friend too."  She gave one last squeeze to the woman before closing her eyes and drifting deep into sleep, curled up to her new friend.

[ruby-red-lucas-blog]

Sleep over// Ruby + Regina

[onceuponreginamills-deactivated]

A light chuckle escaped her lips. “Role model? I suppose I’ve never thought about it that way.” She’d certainly never been one to be looked up to or admired. Quite the opposite, in fact. After all, she was Cora’s daughter.

She shook her head gently. “Cora’s not quite as understanding as you would like to think. She cares about herself. She thinks that love is power, status, and money. I’ve never cared about those things.”

[ruby-red-lucas-blog]

"Of course you're the role model for the other girls. You get all these gifts, your mother treats you the best out of everyone else. This bed is proof of that. In case you weren't sure." Ruby teased leaning into Regina more and yawning again, pulling the covers up higher.  "Do you think it's stupid of me? To be falling for her? I haven't said it, but I think I am. I don't know why. It just.... it feels right being with her. I don't have money, or power, and I sure as hell don't have any kind of status."

[ruby-red-lucas-blog]

Sleep over// Ruby + Regina

[onceuponreginamills-deactivated]

“No, it’s fine,” she responded quietly. “I think ‘bother’ is absolutely the right word to describe my feelings about it.” She had always been a little bothered that her mother would sell her as a sex object. Regina’s arm fell on the pillow above Ruby’s head and her hand began to stroke the younger woman’s long, brown locks. “I’m not upset that I’m here. I mean obviously I’ve got a good setup and I like the girls here, but I’ve always…I don’t know…felt a little trapped by my mother’s expectations.” 

[ruby-red-lucas-blog]

Ruby nodded, curling up closer to Regina and letting herself relax in her friend's arms and listening to her intently. She could definitely relate to not living up to what was expected of her. She was certain Granny had never imagined her own granddaughter would walk out on her in favour of joining the brothel and warming up Cora's bed.  "You're upset about the position she's put you in though, aren't you? To be a role model for the rest of us, the perfect daughter on top of it all. I mean, that's hardly fair of her to do it to you. She expects the world from you and barely gives you anything in return. Maybe if you talked to her about it? Perhaps she could be more understanding?"

[ruby-red-lucas-blog]

Sleep over// Ruby + Regina

[onceuponreginamills-deactivated]

Regina laughed as Ruby jumped into the bed. “I actually got that one because my original mattress was horrible. I would wake up with a sore back every morning. Obviously I can’t do my job when I’m in that kind of pain, so I got a new one.” She slid out of her yoga pants and shirt, replacing them with a silk nightie before climbing into bed next to the younger woman and exhaling contentedly.

[ruby-red-lucas-blog]

Ruby nodded some and wrapped an arm around Regina's waist, kissing her shoulder. "A very generous investment that will definitely require more sleep overs." She smiled keeping her close as she started to drift off to sleep. She hesitated a moment before opening her mouth again. "Does it ever bother you? That you work here? That she made you work here? You don't have to answer. I don't want to upset you? Just trying to know you better I guess."

[snowwhiteblanchard-deactivated2]

Morning sunshine// Mary Margaret + Ruby

[snowwhiteblanchard-deactivated2]

“You are not a whore Ruby no one here is. This place was like a last resort so technically we had no other choice.” Mary never liked the word whore. It made her feel unclean and used. She smiled at her friend. “Of course I know when you’re not telling me something. Just because we haven’t been close lately doesn’t mean I still don’t remember when you are hiding something. However if you’re not ready to tell me I can wait. We still have a lot of catching up to do by the way so I know there are still things we have to share.”

[ruby-red-lucas-blog]

"I could have gone back to Granny's. She would've gladly welcomed me back there, still would I'm sure. This was just my pride getting the better of me. I refused to go back to that diner. So yes, that's what I am. A whore. I get paid to have sex with these people, not to just make them feel better or something. Though I bet they do feel better after." Ruby sighed softly and sunk into the ground looking over at Mary. She'd have to give the girl something.  "You want to know? Fine. I have... feelings for someone that I probably shouldn't. Alright? I don't know why, just... whenever I see her, butterflies are an understatement. I've always enjoyed sex but it's more than that with her. I wouldn't go calling it love but it's amazing. She doesn't even have to touch me before I'm practically ruining my panties."

[ruby-red-lucas-blog]

Sleep over// Ruby + Regina

[onceuponreginamills-deactivated]

Regina pursed her lips at the question. “Hm,” she muttered. “I’ve never liked her. From the moment I met her.” She crossed one leg over the other. “I don’t trust her, I think she feels morally superior, and she stole from me.” She rattled off the items as if it were a grocery list. “Perhaps Miss Blanchard isn’t as perfect as everyone seems to think.” She reached for her drink once more, noting the condensation on the coaster. They’d been there for quite a while. “My, my,” she said. “It’s very late. Perhaps we should be off to bed.” She smiled at Ruby and finished off her drink, slightly watered down from the ice, but still utterly satisfying. “Shall we?”

[ruby-red-lucas-blog]

"I'm definitely going to need sleep to feel like myself in the morning. If I don't want to be entirely hung over that is." Ruby snorted and stood up stretching, groaning some as her back cracked and yawned looking over to Regina and smiling. "This is the best real sleep over I've ever had, and we didn't even have a pillow fight. That's impressive."  She helped clean up the glasses and everything before running in and jumping on Regina's bed and groaning closing her eyes. "Holy hell... Your bed is like heaven. What did you have to do for this sweet fluff of a mattress? I'd love me a bed like this. It would be the perfect end to any night. No matter how long that night might last."

[broken-locket-swan]

A Little Party Never Killed Nobody || Emma + Ruby

[broken-locket-swan]

Emma’s words slurred as they came out of her mouth. “If I did that, she’d kill me and feed me to her mother. ‘m just gonna go to bed.” Emma may have drank more than she thought, but she could hold her alcohol better than most people. The pair stumbled back to the brothel, Emma singing to Ruby the whole way back. The blonde had a bit of trouble going up the stairs and once they were inside, the singing only got louder.

[ruby-red-lucas-blog]

Ruby giggled leaning against the door and holding up covering Emma's mouth with her hand. "Shh! I meant sing to her, not the entire damn house. God you really can be a blonde." She teased before taking off her heels and holding them out to the blonde. "Here, you hold these and I'll carry you up to Gina's room. 'Kay? I'm sure she'd enjoy babying you and nursing you back to sober land. Hopefully for you she sleeps in the nude."