#ruby sapphire su

[dirlcutto]

- Isn’t it love?

[emmazippy577]

Love At All — Chapter 4

| Prologue | Previous | Next |

Another donation and some dirt about the whole “Greg” thing :P

Warnings: nothing really. Brief mentions at abuse and kidnapping. But I mean VERY brief.

Sapphire tapped her fingers happily at the steering wheel as she returned to the home. She glanced in her rear view mirror, adjusting it to see the empty five-gallon bucket sitting in the back seat. She couldn’t help but laugh outright at its presence, and her smile stayed put as she looked to the passenger seat. There were only a few tens sitting there now, along with the unidentifiable letter that had accompanied the donation.

Miss Sapphire

Thanks. Did a fundraiser this time.

There was no return address, no signature: the messy scribbles looked like that on the lottery cards they had received.

The five gallon bucket, which had been filled entirely with pennies when it was left by the door with this note, was nearly as humorous as the scratch cards. So, again, Sapphire couldn’t help but giggling as she turned into the home.

"Have fun?" Rose asked when Sapphire returned an hour or so later. Pearl was leaning forward in her chair, looking very pleased with herself— she had been left in charge while Sapphire had visited the bank.

"Yes," Sapphire continued to giggle lightly, the bills from the passenger seat now folded neatly in her hand.

"How much was it?" Pearl asked, standing up and coming from around her desk.

"Three hundred and nine," Sapphire answered. When the other two's eyes went wide, Sapphire laughed again. "This is just sixty of it. The rest is in the bank."

"Oh?" Pearl questioned, a thin brow raised.

"Yes. I just finished paying the bills two days ago. And with all the work you two have been putting in, I felt that a small bonus would be nice," she quickly shuffled through the bills, counting thirty each. "It's not a lot. But it could get you dinner someplace nice, I'd imagine. Or half a tank of gas." She shrugged. "That and an evening off -- and off-call seemed respectable."

"Off call?" Rose's eyebrows raised in surprise. "Are you sure?'

"I have a favor to cash in at Beach General if an emergency arises," Sapphire smiled. "So, yes, tonight you're off-call, and you," she nodded to Pearl, "are off the clock. So, go have fun."

—

"Do you think other people can tell?"

"How would they be able to?" Sapphire questioned genuinely that night. It had been nearly a month since she had seen the red girl again. It was late in the evening, most of her work had been completed for the day. Even if it hadn’t been, recently, Sapphire felt her talks with Lapis growing more needed, as an old anniversary arose for the taller woman. Aside from that, Lapis seemed to be opening up more and more, daily, and Sapphire was fond of her and their discussions, despite the sensitive topics.

"Animals can smell fear, I guess. People are intuitive. I know I don't always act, you know, normal. I just, sometimes I feel like the poster child for someone who's," Lapis sighed, her eyes falling. "... You know."

"I would never ever in a million years consider you the stereotype for someone who's been kidnapped or abused. You may feel you’re struggling, but you are far more hard on yourself than anyone else is."

Lapis nodded, absent for a moment. "That's true, I guess."

"Sapphire," Pearl knocked on the door with her elbow, struggling to do much else as she fiddled with her skinny jeans.

"Aren't you supposed to be gone?" Lapis asked, innocent despite her harsh monotone.

"I'll be leaving in a minute," Pearl countered, then returned her attention to her boss. "I just wanted you to know that everything's locked up."

"Thank you," Sapphire laughed quietly. "Now, go enjoy yourself, Pearl. Everything will be fine here."

"If you're sure," Pearl muttered in reply. Her eyes reached Sapphire's, breaking through the ice for a moment of desperation. At this, Sapphire stood and excused herself to Lapis, before pulling Pearl into the hall.

"I know it's hard," Sapphire began, her hand on Pearl's shoulder. "But you really should try to enjoy yourself."

"She's bringing him," Pearl sighed, her eyes turning away. "We're going to a play and she's bringing him."

"You're going to a musical and she's bringing her musician boyfriend," Sapphire gently replied, "and her very best friend." Pearl's frown deepened and Sapphire tried to rework her reasoning. "I know you are scared for her, as anyone would be. But it isn't fair to impose our fears on her. And from what I've seen, Greg is a good man."

"I'm not one of your patients, Sapphire! I'm not afraid of men," Pearl whispered viciously.

"Not the way that w-- that the other women here are. But you are afraid of them, especially in concern to her," Sapphire retorted, an icy frustration rising in her, but was quickly extinguished by her better sense.

So a thick silence settled between them, which Pearl finally broke with a sigh. "She doesn't treat me like I'm less capable, for my age or my body or..."

"She sees you how you see yourself, when you're not looking," Sapphire replied softly. "And that isn't something to take lightly. It may not be the affection you want from her, but does that make it worth ruining every moment that you have to share with Greg?"

Pearl inhaled deeply before speaking again. "You can't make me like him."

"Only time can. And for how much she cares about you both, and both of you about her, time seems to be in favor of you being able to tolerate him... And at a musical, you don't even have to talk to him. So, it'll be that much easier for you to have fun." Sapphire put a hand on the intern's shoulder once more, a smile on her face. "So have fun."

[emmazippy577]

Love At All— Chapter 1

|Prologue| Next |

Chapter Warnings: some minor injuries, mentions of captivity, pretty tame overall

A second meeting and a donation.

It was only a few days later when they met again. The sky, this time, was clear. The curly haired girl knocked gently on the glass door as it, again, neared midnight.

"Hello, again," Sapphire greeted in her calm way, welcoming her in. She took note of a black eye— she couldn't patch that up like she had the scrapes.

"Hey. I'm sorry to bother you again, but you said I should stop by again, and I took it to heart-"

"As you should have," Sapphire smiled and led the girl to the same small doctors office. "May I see how your hands are?"

The guest immediately nodded and offered her palms to the lawyer. Her hands were certainly cleaner, though there were some open wounds beneath the bandages. "They look better. You should have rested them more though."

"It isn't bad," the guest offered. "I just work with them a lot. Blisters happen." Sapphire nodded and rewrapped them carefully. "Would you like to take the bandage off your cheek or would you prefer that I do it?"

"Yeah, I can," The dark-skinned girl mumbled before ripping the bandage from her face with a small grunt.

"That looks better too."

"It is. Thank you, again, by the way."

"It's my job," Sapphire smiled slightly, "don't worry about it." The owner took a slow breath as she went to grab frozen peas for her guest's black eye.

Sapphire smiled to comfort; that was all. It could hurt her face to smile so much, since her normal expression was often stoic.

It was the opposite with the bruised woman. It didn't seem to fit that the guest's expression was plain. Her face was more becoming of a smile, or at least a cheeky grin, though Sapphire hadn't imagined what it might appear like for her to wear one.

"Does that help?" Sapphire asked when the girl greeted the bag of frozen vegetables with a sigh.

"You've got no idea," she relaxed, her spare hand mussing her own curly hair. "Thank you so much."

"Anytime. If you need anything, please remember that you're always welcome here." The visitor nodded and shrugged, following Sapphire to the foyer. "If it helps at all, you can always ask for Sapphire. If I'm not here, I'm only a few minutes away."

"Thank you, Sapphire, it means a lot," the girl tried out the name. "I will, next time I need to."

At this, Sapphire smile was far less forced. "You keep those peas. And be careful."

"I will."

—

"Sapphire," Pearl, a receptionist working on her psychology degree, radioed the lawyer. "There's an envelope here addressed to you."

Sapphire, used to bills and other mail being addressed directly to her, answered that she'd be down when she was done. She returned to the guest she had been speaking too. "I appreciate you waiting on that. Now, back what you were telling me, Miss Lazuli?"

The taller woman nodded, "I just can't stop thinking about it -- I was locked away from the real world for years, Sapphire. It consumed everything I am."

"You are more than your that, Lapis, I promise you. But I know that doesn't change how you're feeling right now."

"Everything just happened so fast. As soon as I was free, I, I was with her."

"Does that unsettle you?" Sapphire questioned carefully, knowing that Lapis preferred her company to the therapist.

Sapphire wasn't a psychologist, but she had more than enough experience in how to talk with the women at the shelter. She did run it, after all: the manager of her own women's shelter, only answering to the benefactors and donors.

Despite her trade, she chose to be a friend with a listening ear and a shoulder to lean on, rather than mere council. She charged nothing for her appointments and time, discussed with the police if requested, and had even testified on a number of occasions. It was a wonder she ever had any of her very limited free time at all.

Lapis had only been living with them for a month, but the new resident had taken a quiet liking to the lawyer-by-trade. Lapis wondered sometimes if they would mesh so well, once she discovered herself, whom she had never gotten to truly meet. But even if they didn't mesh well, Lapis was under the impression that she and Sapphire would remain friends as she healed.

They talked for the rest of the hour.

—

"Sapphire!" Pearl called out, as Sapphire made her way through the foyer. "The mail."

"Oh, right," Sapphire muttered and gratefully received the stack of papers. "Thank you very much, Pearl." Pearl smiled proudly and continued with her typical assignments of filing and offering quick diagnoses.

Sapphire sat and opened the letter, which was addressed in sloppy handwriting, rather than the usual black sans font. There was no return address, but the envelope was thin enough to be safe.

Miss Sapphire,

Thanks again. Won these last night. Thought if there was any luck in them, you guys deserve it.

P.S. Guy I won them from said they were from Motomart.

There was no signature, but three scratch-off lottery cards included in the envelope. Sapphire raised an eyebrow and chuckled at the odd donation.

"What is it?" Pearl asked, looking up at the rarity that was Sapphire's laugh.

"Pearl, do you have a coin?" Sapphire smiled, giggling again as she held up the cards, "we received an anonymous donation."

Pearl raised a brow at the sight of the lottery tickets, but dug a penny out of her desk quickly.

"An anonymous donation of... Drumroll, please, Pearl," Sapphire giggled, unable to stop herself from being uncharacteristically goofy.

She hadn’t slept well last night, she reasoned to herself, and this had caught her off guard.

She scratched off the first, row by row. "... Of five dollars." The second, "nothing, and..." The third, "fifty-two dollars. For a total donation of fifty-seven U.S. Dollars, redeemable anywhere Cash Case Cards are sold!" Sapphire glanced at the note again. "... More specifically, redeemable at Motomart!" Sapphire interrupted herself with another fit of giggles.

Finally, the lawyer cleared her throat. "Pearl, on your lunch break, would you like to cash these in? You can take the seven for the gas."

"Sure, Sapphire," Pearl humored her.

"Thank you," Sapphire returned to her subtle smile, as she typically did, before making her way to her other tasks.

[emmazippy577]

A lil comforting rupphire

[emmazippy577]

Love At All— Prologue

| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |

So! Who’s in the mood for a slow burn Rupphire fanfiction?

Sapphire DuFroid, a lawyer and the young owner of the women’s shelter just outside of town, lets in a new curly-haired visitor in the midst of a midnight rain storm. In more ways than one, she is soon to realize.

Warnings: lots of mentions of abuse, in the first chapter, mostly physical. I’ll do warnings per chapter. Rated T for now. Following chapters will be longer :)

It was storming outside, Sapphire noticed vaguely. After reading her fair share of romanticism, she stopped fearing terrible things happening when the skies turned grey. It was a plot device from centuries ago that had been ingrained in her as a child; but now that she was grown, she knew better. Worse things had happened on nights when she swore she could see every galaxy.

She ran her fingers through her bangs before closing the file cabinet. Now, her only tasks were to finish reading these papers, to play monitor, and to wait until morning came.

The stillness permeated everything, and the woman reveled in it. This was the most quiet and relaxing the days ever were, here at the shelter. This was the perfect time to just breathe.

A knock on the glass door interrupted this revelry.

Sapphire stood and glanced through the glass. When she noted the form of a young lady outside, she rushed to let her in, the lost stillness forgotten.

"Hey," the girl's gravelly voice greeted cautiously. Her hair was drenched, but even still, Sapphire could tell it was naturally buoyant. "I'm sorry, I wouldn't normally come, but.." Her dark face flushed even darker. "My hands-- I couldn't... Fix it myself." Sapphire's eye left the gash on the girl's cheek and fell to bruised wrists and bloody palms.

"Come inside," Sapphire greeted gently, holding the door open for the stranger to walk through. Sapphire glanced outside either way before relocking the doors. "Follow me, please." The injured woman followed obediently, her brown eyes focused on the heels of Sapphire's shoes.

Sapphire led the newcomer to an empty examination room. At night, doctors were solely on call here, but being the owner of the shelter, Sapphire was well versed in first aid. All the same, she couldn’t think of any incident where she was without help when trying to help another. Pushing this aside, she recalled her own training dutifully, and invited the guest up onto the small table.

"I really am sorry," the stranger mumbled, watching Sapphire retrieve a collection of glass jars. They looked more like a southerner’s drinking glass than something to carry medical supplies, but the entire room was more sterile than anything the darker woman had seen in her life. "I know I shouldn't be wasting your time, with all the other gir-"

"The other ladies are asleep," Sapphire interrupted, bringing along cotton balls and alcohol. "And you are just as important as they are, Miss." From under blonde bangs, Sapphire noticed a few tears creeping from the girl's eyelids.

"Thanks," she sniffed, wincing at the sting the alcohol brought to her palms. There was an odd silence that followed as Sapphire bandaged hands and the gash on the girl's cheek. The lawyer stepped back to look at her work, almost smiling at her success.

"Thank you," the patient sighed in relief, relaxing slightly.

The guest could just barely see a blue eye peeking from under those pale bangs. Her entire focus rested on it, and the blue eye examined her entirely in return. There was a moment of perfect understanding, they both acknowledged to themselves: She’s never done this before. She knows as little about this as I do.

The guest's mind flitted away from the moment of unexpected intimacy, and she broke the quiet, comprehending stillness. "I, I have to get going. I gotta be back by three."

"You would be safe here," Sapphire commented, helping the girl down. Another moment of understanding, of rules the guest had no say in, of security Sapphire offered so hopefully. "You would be safer here."

"I," the girl shook her head, her curly hair following suit. "No, it's not what you think. And I really do need to get back."

Once again, Sapphire comprehended how little she knew. But she knew that this woman understood Sapphire's purpose: that Sapphire only wanted to help; but that she could, nor would, do anything without the guest's expressed permission. They knew too little for more than this gentle respect of their ignorance of one another.

"I can't stop you," Sapphire answered, followed by a gentle pause. "But you can come back, anytime. I would like to see how that cut heals." They had come to Sapphire's desk, from which Sapphire grabbed a few pamphlets. “I'm always here, and you're always welcome here.”

Sapphire handed the leaflets to the guest, who frowned at the titles: Abuse and How to Handle It, Signs Of Abusive Relationships, Moving Out. She kept her gaze down and mumbled to herself, “it’s not like that.”

As intended, Sapphire didn’t hear her. “Now, may I have your name?"

"Um," the curly haired girl stuttered for a moment. "No, I'd -- no -- is that okay?"

"It's fine," Sapphire offered a small calming smile. "You'll be a Jane Doe. Don't worry."

The bruised woman breathed a sigh of relief. "I, uh, owe you one. Thanks."

"Anytime," Sapphire nodded, leading the her to the door. "Be safe getting home. Please, if you need anything, we're always here."

"Thanks," the stranger smiled. Desperate to get home, the patient pulled up her hood, wordlessly braved the rain again, and jogged out of sight.

Something in her gut told Sapphire she would be seeing that girl again. The thought was terrible, yet somehow Sapphire anticipated the night they might cross paths again.

She didn't realize it would be so soon.

[xul]

IT'S ALMOST BEEN A WEEK AND THE HIATUS HAS ALREADY MURDERED ME AND DESTROYED EVERYTHING I LOOKED FORWARD TOO.