Holidays
Day 1 of RoseWick Week, unfortunately it’s the only prompt I managed to do. Please enjoy!
She had to be quick and quiet, or she would lose the element of surprise. Boots in hand, Ruby gently tip-toed her way down the brightly lit hallway that led to her apartment. Passing one of her neighbours who were about to walk their dog in the early morning. Earning a sideways glance and a shake of their head.
Finally, she reached the door. Slowly. So very slowly, she pulled her key out and carefully slotted it into the opening. As gently as she could, she turned the lock and opened the door. Light from the hallway flooded the entrance of her home, and she quickly got inside to stop any more light from getting deeper inside.
Click
Ruby froze as the door closed behind her, sending the quiet noise echoing through the place. She held her breath, straining herself to hear anything inside. The seconds ticked by, and she slowly exhaled as she silently set her boots down on the mat and headed deeper inside her home.
Quickly, she made her way down the short hallway, avoiding the spots that creaked past the bedroom towards the kitchen.
“Hello, Red.”
Ruby stopped in her tracks and grimaced from the voice in the living room.
“Fuck…” Ruby hissed as she turned towards the darkness, only to see Roman Torchwick’s face lit up from the flame of a match as he lit a cigar. He was consumed by the shadows when he waved the flame out, and the glowing embers left an imposing scene. “I thought you’d be asleep,” she scratched the back of her neck.
“Me? Asleep?” He said, incredulously, “When it’s, oh I don’t know, thirteen hours past the time you said you’d be back, so we can finally enjoy a winter solstice holiday together?” Roman clapped his hands together, and the lights went on in the house, illuminating the two of them and bringing life to the room.
“When did you install a clapper?” Ruby asked, looking up at the light.
“Last week while I was bored but irrelevant,” He got out of his chair and walked towards her, a cigar between his fingers as he gently poked her nose. “You lied to me,”
“I didn’t lie!” Ruby said with a point at the man’s chest. “The mission went longer than expected,”
“No, it didn’t” He let out a small laugh. “I know what happened. You got back early, checked out the board and found a small mission nearby, figured, ‘Oh, I can do that quickly and get back for anyone can notice,’ and only after you were knee-deep in muck did you realize it wasn’t as easy as you thought it was going to be,”
Ruby bit her lip; that was precisely what happened.
“Hey, I made some extra on that mission because it was such short notice, so you’re welcome!” Ruby said as she stood up for herself.
Roman blinked a few times and nodded. “Alright, that’s true, but we were supposed to have a relaxing holiday for once. And, once again, you went galavanting off with that oversized gardening tool and your, absolutely destroyed cloak.” Ruby pulled her cloak off and took a better look at it. It was true; it was more strips of rags than actual clothing at this point.
“I’m sorry,” Ruby mumbled as she tossed the fabric onto the couch, only to be pulled into a tight hug by Roman, who pressed his lips to the top of her head as she wrapped her arms around his body. The smell of ginger spice and tobacco filled her nose as she finally relaxed in his embrace.
“I just worry about you, Red,” He murmured into her hair. She just nodded and said nothing, just enjoying the warmth of his body against her own. “You need a shower,” He said finally after a while.
“I’ll get one before bed,” She said as they moved away, and Ruby looked at the tree the two of them decorated. Still void of presents under it. “You didn’t get me anything?” She pointed out as she gestured to the empty space at the bottom of the tree.
“You didn’t get me anything!” He counted with a hand on his hip.
“Ha!” Ruby pointed at him as she moved into the room and pulled the footrest infront of his chair out. “That’s where you’re wrong, bucko!” She pulled the top off, and inside was a space for remotes and lots of junk the two of them collected. Sliding a small wooden panel over, she lifted it and grinned as the tray with the remotes was pulled away, and Ruby pulled out a small wooden box.
“A false bottom,” Roman shook his head. “And where I thought you hadn’t learned anything from me,”
Ruby just stuck her tongue out at him and handed him the box. When he opened it, she saw his eyebrows raise as he set his cigar down in one of the many ashtrays she had across her apartment, just for him. Then, he pulled out another cigar from inside the box and ran it under his nose and smelled it. “You got me a full box of Atlesian Black Woods?” She nodded as he began to shuffle through the box. “I’m pretty sure they only make these for CEOs of the SDC because that asshole has a patent on them.”
“Weiss owed me a favour, and she ransacked his stash while he was out. But there’s one more thing in there,” Ruby said as she waited for him to find the last part of the present. He gave her a glance and began to dig through the cigars until he found it. Ruby grinned as he pulled out his favourite lighter.
“I thought I lost this; you have no idea how long I spent looking for it.” He said as he flipped the top open and let the flame dance for a few seconds before snapping it shut.
“I found a guy who could repair and touch it up,”
“Well, you did put a bullet through it,” Roman lamented as he traced the grin that was stamped into the side of it. “Saved my life, even,”
“So,” Ruby said as she sat in his chair and smiled up at him. “How did I do?”
Roman smiled and nodded. “Pretty good, considering all you did was ask Neo about cigars and bribed her to steal my lighter,”
“Wha- no, how dare you!” Ruby took offence to that, considering that was exactly what she did. “Besides, I don’t see your present to me under the tree either!” Roman eyed her up, set his present to the side before picking up his cigar again, and walked towards the footrest.
“That’s where you’re wrong, Bucko. You know what’s better than a false bottom?” He asked as he reached inside the rest, and a click came from inside. “A second false bottom,”
“You’re kidding me,” Ruby begged. When Roman lifted the bottom out of the footrest, Ruby let her head fall into her hands and groaned out. She thought she was so clever! But that was probably the first place he looked if he went snooping for his gift!
Looking up from her hands, Ruby saw Roman pull a green wrapped present and hold it out to her. Slowly, Ruby took it from his hands and felt it sag in her hands. Then, tearing open the green tissue paper, Ruby saw a red cloth hidden inside. Getting excited, Ruby stood from her spot, pulled the fabric out, and shook it out to its entire length.
A new cloak unrolled in her hands. Rich red on the outside and black on the inside. She ran her hands against the inside and felt the soft, warm fabric. “So,” Roman asked as he blew some smoke away from her. “How did I do?”
“It’s perfect,” She set it aside so she would not get her new cloak dirty and stepped closer to him. She grabbed his shirt and pulled him down to her level, and pressed her lips against his. His arms wrapped around her body again, and he returned the kiss. “Thank you,” She whispered to him when they pulled apart.
Gently, he brushed some hair out of her eyes and smiled at her. “Anything for you,” He kissed her one more time before jerking his head to the side. “Get a shower, and I’ll make you something to eat, then we can watch the sunrise; sound good?”
“Perfect,”
