#ruby x gilbert

[illustratedbydae]

Guys would you be interested in me writing some of the old (43) requests I have? They're like descendants, anne with an e, teen wolf, etc.

[romancequeen]

STUBBORN LOVE

Summary:

A Ruby story, in which we get to know her a little better.

After spending some alone time with Gilbert, Ruby realizes she is not in love with him after all. But perhaps someone else might be found of him. After befriending Gilbert and accepting that he is not the one for her, with Diana’s help Ruby is determined to make Gilbert and Anne be together, at least, to be in speaking terms again. But she really plays cupid, and perhaps her luck with love started to bloom once again.

What to expect: two years time jump. Ruby being her awesome self. Ruby insights in her life. Shirbert, of course. Study pals. Jealous!Anne. 'Damn boy you whipped'. Skimming and shenanigans. Denial!Shirbert. Oblivious!Shirbert. Ruby & Diana friendship. Ruby & Gilbert friendship. Diana & Anne friendship. A ball (Prom/Graduation night) with Cole and Aunt Josephine. There's a bit of Diana x Jerry.

Notes:

Hello! It's me, a Ruby stan! I just wanted to write this fic because I'm awfully worried of how Ruby acknowledging Shirbert is going to be conducted. I really do not want Anne and Ruby to end their friendship, so in this Ruby has actually a pivotal role in the situation. Also, I love my girl Ruby so much and I wanted more of her and her story. Thank you for thinking this story is interesting, I promise I'll finish this fic. Enjoy!

Chapter 1: A New Girl

Ruby had turned sixteen a few weeks ago, the last one on her group of friends to her displeasure. It was annoying enough to be the tiniest one, but she was also the youngest, hence she always feeling like a child and the last one to know or understand anything, not to mention that the girl’s teasing of her age and stature sure didn’t help. But now everything was different, she was settled to make things different. She was sixteen, she was a woman and as one she would behave. She made a list of the things she yearned for. Number one? Gilbert Blythe.

As long as she could remember the curly hair boy was always on her mind. She was certain it was love. She was in love with Gilbert Blythe and he... well, he was very polite to her. But she was Ruby Gillis, ‘Romantic - Girl’ as she was proud to say and she didn’t need much to know they were soulmates - “He is just too amiable.” she assured herself “Or maybe I’m a very good pretender and he hasn’t noticed.” but she laughed at the thought of it, one thing she was sure is that she hadn’t been discreet over the years and neither had Josie, he had to be aware of her feelings. “Oblivious much are we Mr. Blythe.” But again, he hadn’t made any kind of courting or heroic action in her behalf since her house caught fire, and this was years ago. “Perhaps, I indeed have been more subtle about it, I’ve been extensively focused on my studies.” She was determined then. She ought to be more straightforward than she had fancied to, if she wanted to marry the man of her dreams.

Monday morning couldn’t arrive sooner. The beautiful sun rays came through the thin curtains as the singing of the birds from the magnolia tree near her window woke her. “Oh, how romantic.” she thought to herself, it was indeed the perfect day to make Gilbert Blythe fall in love with her.

She was usually accompanied to school by Jane and Tillie and sometimes Billy would walk with them as he had to make the same path as his sister. But today her only companion was a little cream coloured rabbit that followed her for some of the path. She took that as a symbol of good luck, that everything was going to play out just as she needed them to.

When she arrived at school none of her friends had arrived yet and there were only some boys playing fetch by the side of the building, so she made her way into the school where He was already there, in the front of the class, by his study corner. The sight of him filled her with delight, he was indeed so handsome with his nose buried in a book as he was doing anything else. This was her chance, she would be her most adorable and interesting self he wouldn’t know what hit him. As she was making her way to the front of the classroom Miss Stacy entered the room “Oh good, you’re here. Miss Gillis, can I speak with you for a moment?” “Oh no, gone opportunity.” As she approached her teacher Miss Stacy began talking with a concerned smile in her face “Ruby, I know how hard you’ve been working on to get into Queen’s Academy, however I’m afraid with your recent scores in biology it won’t be enough to pass.” Ruby’s eyes began to water up and with a distraught voice she replied “Oh no, Miss Stacy, oh no, that’s all I’ve ever wanted. I - I can’t just be a wife I have more qualities than that.” as she started sobbing her teacher put her hand on her shoulder in a comforting manner and said “Ruby, calm down, you’ve been excelling in every other subject, we just have to work harder in this one, that’s why Gilbert here will tutor you for the next month or so.” As she looked up, cleaning her tears she asked in a tone of surprise and confusion “Gilbert -” but before she could continue he was standing next to Miss Stacy and interrupted her “Yeah, Ruby. Miss Stacy thinks it’s going to be a good practice for me and I’m glad to help.” Oh, she couldn’t be any more content. Alone time with the love of her life? With his help she’d surely get into College, oh just the thought of them falling in love between study time and going to Queen’s together and getting married- “Ruby?” with the call of her name she realized she hadn’t responded to the situation. “I’m sorry, what?” and Gilbert started speaking again “Miss Stacy said we can use the room after class, with the others who are also going to be tutored, does that work for you?” “Yes. Yes, it does. Perfectly.” “Okay, how about every Tuesday and Thursday?” and with a little pitched noise she agreed to it, he just nodded at her while going back to his book. Sometimes she really could make a fool of herself.

Queen’s Academy assessment was in less than two months and all of those who were taking the test were starting to get nervous.Only a few of her classmates applied to do the exam. Which was good, less competition, but the folks in Charlottetown worried her. They were definitely a threat. She sure was thankful she had had Anne to help her and now she had Gilbert.

Anne Shirley Cuthbert really changed Ruby’s life. Before she befriended Anne her life options were dictated by her family interests, just like her sisters, she should marry for love, but he ought to be a rich lover. How foolish does this thought seemed to her now, of course she wanted to get married in the most romantic way, even more, if she dared to say. Specially since Anne explained to her the concepts of “life mates” and “a love bond”. She knew that that’s what she wanted, and she was glad for Anne, because before it such ideas as to become more than just a lovely doting wife had never crossed her mind. She felt robbed. How could she ever think of missing out in this great adventure; Spending the rest of her life with the man who would be her equal partner and neither of them were to renounce of their wishes. It couldn’t be any more romantic.

Anne gave Ruby a new perspective in life, and she was going to take full advantage of this new her. She was very proud to say she was going to be the first woman of her family to attend college, although it took some convincing on her mother’s side, but surprisingly enough her father couldn’t be anymore thrilled. “Finally! One of you girls have a better purpose in life.” she remembered him saying when she decided to ask for his permission. “Oh! don’t misunderstand me, my child, I love your sisters with all my heart and your mother. But now that we have only you in the house, I can see how sometimes she turns blue, almost spiritless. And I dare to think I failed her, had she not be so preoccupied with my needs and I’m afraid your sisters are all in the same path of emptiness.” Hearing her father be so vulnerable in that moment took her aback, he had always been a very caring father, how could he not, having five girls in the house and he was a good husband, how could he think such things. “Father, don’t be so harsh on yourself. Mother is far from unhappy and she certainly doesn’t regret this life. After all, she has everything she ever longed for.” she said, hoping it would ease her father’s mind. “Don’t worry yourself child, because you, you my darling daughter, will be different. You will have a career to fulfill you besides having a devoted husband and your many children.” She was glad her father was so supportive of her intentions, she wouldn’t know what to do if her wishes were to be denied.

Also if it wasn’t for Anne she could have never be among the best of the class. Not that Ms. Stacy controlled either instigated that type of behaviour, but they sure did. Of course Anne and Gilbert were always tied together at first, the years passed but their strife never stopped. Next there was Jane Andrews, who was truly set on making the new Andrews stance of educated wives swell. She was indeed focused on that, as she had skipped a year and now were in the same class as Ruby. Right after there was Diana Barry, who was excelling in every subject, even though her parents frowned upon her wishes to attend college. And in contrasting to Diana, there was Josie Pye who had to attend Queen’s, as her mother wouldn’t have any other way, and Josie definitely wasn’t going to disappoint. She and Ruby even studied together from time to time.

And as of Ruby, since last year she had proudly stolen Charlie Sloane’s spot. How dissatisfied he was with this new arrangement. He had gotten used to the glory of being the second most intelligent boy in class. So when Ruby started to best him in every subject, even excel in most of them, their classmates made it noticeable that he wasn’t that intelligent after all. Which for her, it actually didn’t make any sense, he was still the second best boy in class, she was just equalizing to it. In reality, she thought that kind of comparison to be cruel on her behalf, as if everybody just thought of her as pretty, nothing else. That’s why when Charlie started trying to reclaim his position she was mostly fierce of showing everyone she was just as good, no, she was better and definitely not just ‘pretty’.

First it was actually annoying. He was always challenging her, and he just had to be the last one to speak, but as she accepted the situation and was decisive to win it now, it had turned out to be an academic rivalry, a healthy one, she supposed; She really thought he would just give up, but it had been months and he sure was keen on getting his spot back. It was starting to bother her, he was just too persistent and impolite, he drove her up the wall. She even nicknamed him as ‘Charlie Sloathe’ as just of how much he annoyed her. But she wouldn’t back down and, afterall, if he aspired to become a doctor and enter Queen’s Academy he would just have to work harder, just as she had been doing, orelse he did not earned to be one. But nonetheless, their rivalry enticed her, despite loathsome-ing him most of the time, but it was one more reason to keep her focused on her goals.

[illustratedbydae]

Ruby Gillis x Gilbert Bylthe | swimming lessons

Last week, Josie Pye proposed to all of her classmates a trip to the beach. Of course, everyone was thrilled. It was june and the weather was warm enough for them to go for a swim.

Ten people announced themselves coming, most of them friends of Josie or at least people she knew a little. There was this one girl that wasn't exactly happy about it.

Ruby Gillis wanted to go so badly, but there was only tiny problem. She was the only one that had no idea how to swim. The blonde girl was too ashamed to say that out loud, so Ruby decided to stay quiet. Until, an unexpected person noticed how unusually quiet Ruby was.

Gilbert Blythe was the one to notice how incredibly sad she looked and he knew for a fact that it wasn't in her nature. Ruby was always cheerful and laughing, so when she stood all by herself during lunch time, Gilbert went to ask her what's wrong.

" Gilbert? What are you doing here?" she asked, a bit surprised when he sat down near her.

" I've only come to see what's up with you. You weren't yourself since Josie Pye said that we should go swimming tomorrow. "

Ruby avoided his gaze, looking anywhere but at him. How could she tell him the reason she was upset? It's pathetic. Maybe he'll laugh and Ruby Gillis couldn't take that from him.

" I'm fine, Gilbert. "

" You don't look fine, Ruby, " the curly haired boy sighed, " I know we're not exactly best friends, but I'm sure you can trust me with whatever that's going on with you. "

" But you'll laugh, " Ruby murmured, barely audible, but luckily Gilbert understood what she said.

" I won't. I promise, " he assured her, looking around to notice they were the only ones left in the classroom, everyone else being outside, " Plus it's just the two of us here, anyway. "

After another three minutes of contemplating, the girl decided to say what was bothering her, the words coming out easier than expected, " I don't know how to swim," Ruby confessed, " I never had the chance to learn, unlike the others, my parents never took us to the beach since they couldn't keep an eye on all of us, " she explained, referring about how they were too many sisters for their parents to handle.

Without hesitating too much, Gilbert found himself talking, " What if we'd meet tomorrow morning and I'll teach you how to swim before the others get to the beach? "

Blinking in surprise, Ruby was speechless. Did she hear that right? Gilbert Blythe, her dream boy, just offered to help her with swimming? It was too perfect to be real, but it was. And Ruby couldn't contain her happiness.

" You'd really do that? For me?"

Gilbert nodded, " Of course. So see you in the morning, around nine?"

" Of course. "

•

The following morning Ruby Gillis woke up early to make lunch for her and Gilbert, she arranged everything carefully in a basket and then went to pick her outfit for the day.

She told her mother about the little trip with her friends to the beach, so Mrs Gillis had prepared for her a nice swimming suit : it was a one piece, a light pink color, without sleeves and with shorts. It had some floral decorations, making it more elegant in a way. Ruby silently thanked her mother, before putting it on. The next clothing item she chose was a pink dress with small dots that she put over the swimsuit. Next, she got her shoes and walked out of the house.

It was a nice warm morning, the sun was already shining on the blue sky and the birds were singing in the trees. It was a splendid beginning of the day as Ruby would say. The girl was walking through the woods, it was a fifteen minute walk until she finally heard the waves of the ocean crashing into the rocks.

Gilbert told her to wait by the end of the woods, so that's where Ruby was headed to. From afar she was able to see his slim silhouette sitting near a tree. The girl smirked lovingly looking at him. He was early. She walked faster as the distance was getting smaller, her heart beat beating loudly.

" Ruby," the taller boy smiled turning his head to face the lovely blonde. The girl returned the smile, " Gilbert! Did I make you wait?"

Gilbert shook his head, moving a little further from the tree and walking to Ruby, " No, not at all! I just didn't want to make you wait, since this whole scenario was my idea," he chuckled reaching for the basket she held, " Let me help you with this and let's be on our way. I found a nice spot on the shore!"

Ruby let him take the basket, even if it wasn't really hard for her to carry either, but as he talked, Ruby got lost into his beautiful eyes. The two of them started walking slowly to the shore, one thing Ruby was surprised to see was a blanket nicely arranged on the soil with one more blanket on top, " You came here to arrange this?" she asked surprised.

" Uh, yes. I've been here for some time, " Gilbert chuckled. The one thing Ruby didn't know it was that he actually spent a lot of time searching for that spot. Gilbert woke up around five in the morning, his thoughts keeping him awake. He was nervous about this whole 'teaching her how to swim', so Gilbert took everything seriously and decided to impress her. What harm would be in that? They were just two friends spending their morning together.

Gilbert placed the basket on top of the blanket and looked down at Ruby, " So, you're ready?" he asked smiling. She only nodded, looking carefully at him as he took of his white shirt, " Well, I'm pretty much ready, " Gilbert shrugged, putting his shirt on the blanket and walking a little bit further away to give Ruby some privacy.

The smaller girl held her breath as she took off her pink dress, revealing her swimsuit. She knocked off her shoes and placed everything nicely near Gilbert's shirt, " I'm done as well," Ruby muttered. Gilbert turned around, his eyes widened a little at the sight of her. It was for one of the times that he just looked at her and saw her for how beautiful she truly was, " Nice swimsuit, looks good on you, " Ruby blushed looking at him, " Thanks."

Gilbert reached out his hand for Ruby to take, the girl was hesitant at first but then without questioning it anymore she grabbed his hand, he guided her to the water, warning the girl that it may be a little cold in the beginning. Ruby didn't say anything, she just looked at him mimicking his movements.As their feet touched the water, Gilbert let go of her hand and started to splatter himself with the water to get his body used to the temperature. It wasn't really cold, but their bodies were warm, so he knew better than jump right into the water.

Ruby followed his example and put some water on her hands and neck, " Now what?" she asked nervously, " Now give me your hand again and trust me. "

Ruby stared at him for a few seconds as if saying ' easier said that done ', but after a while she decided to take a leap of faith. Of course she trusted Gilbert Blythe, he was one of the two boys she trusted, the other being Cole Mackenzie. Ruby took his hand and followed him deeper into the water. She was a little scared and Gilbert noticed that when she grabbed his hand with both of hers.

" It's okay, Ruby, nothing will happen. I promise. "

" Okay, " she said, breathing deeply, " I trust you. "

As they adventured into deeper waters, Ruby couldn't help herself but try to drag Gilbert back to the shore, " I don't reach the sand anymore, Gil," she said scared, trying to pull him back, but of course her strength wasn't compared to his.

" Ruby, try to stay calm. Don't panick, all you have to do is keep moving your feet and hands as soon as you let go of my arm," he explained but seeing as Ruby's expression hasn't changed, Gilbert slowly pulled his arm away from her and moved away into the water, " If you keep moving your feet and arms you'll be able to swim to me, move them like this," he said, moving his arms as a demonstration, " See? It's not that hard. Don't think that your feet can't reach the ground. Just look at me. "

Ruby nodded slowly, closing her eyes for a few moments to try and calm her breathing. When she opened her eyes again she did as Gilbert told her. Ruby focused all of her attention on him and with slow and calculated moves she started going forward to him.

" That's great! You're doing it. "

The girl smiled as she almost was only a few centimeters away from Gilbert, but in a moment of not paying attention a small wave came straight to Ruby, hitting her face, some of the water getting in her nose and mouth making her cough. Gilbert rushed to pull her closer, letting Ruby wrap her arms around his neck.

" You're okay?"

Ruby nodded, opening her eyes only to see Gilbert's face a few inches away from hers. A deep shade of pink came across her cheeks as she looked into his eyes, " T-Thanks," she said wanting to pull her hands away put Gilbert stopped her, " It's okay. You can keep them around my neck until we get into smaller water. "

" Okay. "

Gilbert let the waves push them closer to the shore until Ruby could touch the sand with her feet, " I think you can let go now, " he spoke softly, fixing his eyes on her face. As Ruby didn't make any move to distance herself from him, Gilbert smiled, " Ruby?" but the girl didn't reply, she just looked into his eyes, letting the world around her disappear, " Yes?" she said somehow dreamy.

He wanted to say again that she could let go, but looking into her eyes and seeing how much happiness was there Gilbert couldn't repeat those words. There were days when he'd look at Ruby when she wasn't looking and Gilbert knew how marvelous she was.And there were days when the boys would tease him about Ruby's crush on him, but Gilbert never believed those rumors. He never believed Ruby liked him. But now as he had a glimpse of her eyes, he could see something he never saw in any other girl's eyes. Something pure that made him want to make her happy.

" Nothing. It's just - uh, you have pretty eyes. "

Ruby giggled, "Thank you, Gil,"

Neither of them moved, they stayed in that sweet embrace until they started to get cold. That's when they got out of the water and decided to go sit on the blanket, " Here, " Gilbert said, putting the other blanket around their shoulders as he moved closer to Ruby. The girl was sure she was blushing again, but at this time it became something normal when Gilbert was this close to her, " Thanks for today, " she said, making eye contact with him, " There's no problem. I barely taught you anything, " he laughed dryly.

Ruby shrugged, letting her head rest on his shoulder. It was a peaceful silence between them. Gilbert was actually surprised the smaller girl wasn't talking, she was usually so talkative - almost as talkative as Anne, but now she wasn't saying a word. Gilbert looked down at her, noticing the huge grin on her face. So he grinned as well.

They had indeed a nice morning and their little piece of heaven was disturbed only when they've heard Josie Pye's voice, " Gilbert? Ruby? "

The girl pulled away from Gilbert, her eyes searching for Josie. She was at a few meters away from them, besides her sitting the other girls and boys from school.

" Since when are you waiting here?" Josie asked staring at their wet clothes. Gilbert got up from the blanket, leaving the mattress only for Ruby, " For some time, " he replied moving forward to greet the guys, " And Josie? You have some terrible timing, " Gilbert murmured looking back at Ruby.