fic: This Is How the Story Ends
Fandom: Once Upon a Time
Language: English
Rating: PG-13
Word count: ~6.000
Spoilers: 2x22
Relationships: Dr. Whale/Ruby
Warnings: Hurt/Comfort.
Disclaimers: I don't own OUaT.
Summary: After they finally get back to the Enchanted Forest, Ruby still misses something and she gets help from an unlikely source. Written for the 2013 Rare Pair Fest.
Download link on AO3
This Is How the Story Ends
„Tell me a story,” the monster in front of her says. Its green skin stretches over sharp cheekbones, as it smiles, showing too many teeth.
Ruby wonders how exactly she ended up here, on a small dirt road which sneaks through a dense forest, with a hungry looking creature her only company. She guesses she may deserves this, after all when Mary Margaret and the others got back from Neverland and they finally found a way home to the Enchanted Forest, Ruby couldn’t just sit around and help her friends to bring the land back to its former glory. No, she missed - still misses - something, maybe a part of her, so after the ogre situation seemed to be well-contained, she went off questing, thinking that adventures and a long journey would help her somehow.
Maybe it’s only the wolf in her who thinks everything can be solved with a run - a simple physical exercise where you only have to focus on the muscles flexing and the air burning your lungs, where you don’t have to analyze your emotions and dissect everything around you to make a perfect choice. Running is easy. (Ruby still doesn’t know if she’s running away from something or toward something, but secretly she hopes the latter.)
As she scrambles for any solution to this particular situation, momentarily she curses herself for being reckless and defiant enough to go chasing after some insubstantial urge to escape, and now because of it she’s on a magical path, she literally can’t stray from - except if she dares to risk a curse on herself and she had enough of them already.
As David said back in Storybrooke, Mary Margaret did the talking, and now, she really doesn’t know how she could talk herself out of this. Yes, she’s stronger than a human but a quick assessing glance to whatever that stands in front of her tells her she has no chance, if the size of the muscled body is anything to go by. So her only resort seems to be her wit.
“So let me get this straight,” she says, aiming for nonchalance, like it’s just another Sunday for her, but in reality no matter how many creepy-crawlies she faces, a small amount of fear and doubt will always be there. “If I tell a story, you let me pass.”
“Yes, that is the toll of the road,” the monster replies, and its eyes gleam in a way that tells Ruby, it’s not that simple. But it’s never easy with magic and deals; it’s a shadowy, dangerous labyrinth, where it feels like every step can lead to her bloody death. The ignorance of magic is something she deeply envies from her cursed self in her weakest moments and this is one of them.
“And there isn’t any catch?” Ruby asks, but doesn’t really think she’ll get an honest answer, she only stalls for more time, because she has a tiny little hope that some miraculous solution will present itself. “Say, if you don’t like the story, you will eat me or something?”
“No.” It’s one little word, but Ruby has never heard anything more threatening and an involuntary shiver runs down her spine.
“Okay then.”
Before she even starts to think of some story - a fairy tale, a book she read, anything - to retell, the creature reaches out and with a puff of purple smoke a heavy looking, leather-bound book appears in its clawed hand. Without further questions and instructions she knows she has to read from the book, and she feels an overwhelming rush of relief because she knows her mind is too preoccupied with her problems to think straight, concentrate and fabricate an entertaining tale. Maybe the monster really just can’t read, maybe, it’s really that easy, at least that what she tells herself as she gently accepts the ancient tome, her hands slightly trembling.
When her fingers brush the hard, worn cover, she feels a rush of energy crawling up at her skin, and it’s crazy, but she thinks she can feel the book’s malice. And it’s maybe a trick of her over imaginative mind, but she swears, just for a moment it’s like a still beating heart is in her hands.
She gulps, and straightens her posture; she participated in battles, she’s not fragile, she’s a fighter, a survivalist, a soldier, maybe magic is not her playground, but she will not back down. Because in the end, good always wins, the hero prevails, and everyone has their happy endings.
But are you really the hero of this story? It’s a soft, poisonous whisper in her mind, and it’s not the first time she hears it, doubting herself, but it’s the first it sounds like someone else is accusing her, not just her own demons tearing into her.
She shakes her head, as if that could clear her mind, and opens the book. For a second the fear hits her like a rock: the pages are blank. But before she could say anything, ink squeezes out from the paper and forms into words, as if an unseen hand is writing the story now. She glances at the monster one last time, then sucks in a deep breath to hide the quiver in her voice and starts to read.
“Once upon a time, in a faraway land filled with magic, lived a young girl. In that time, every village has its strong walls, to keep out the danger that lurked outside in the forests. While most of the people were content with their life, the girl from a very young age was a curious, and though most children at her age learned quickly that they shouldn’t ask questions, she never ceased her chase for answers.”
“No matter how hard her grandmother tried to keep her safe, the girl’s ‘What’s behind the wall?’ inquiries transformed into late night strolls to the wall and insistence of becoming a trader between villages, a task only the bravest men undertook. Her grandmother used to say the gods surely forget to give the girl a healthy dose of self-preservation, but she didn’t mind it.”
The story hits her hard, and Ruby knows the creature’s magic tailor-made it for her because of some twisted and sick reason. She takes a deep breath, and tries not to show how easily a few words can get under her skin, and she continues defiantly.
“But bravery and stubbornness wasn’t something the villagers appreciated in a girl, so she was always like an outsider. She wasn’t alone, yet she felt lonely, and at nights when she looked up at the starry sky, she wished with all of her heart that someone would be there for here, to ease her pain, even if that companion would be from outside the wall…”
Ruby knows that feeling, that kind of loneliness, which leaves an emptiness inside her chest and makes her yearn for impossible things. A sudden wave of dizziness sweeps over her, and all of her memories she tried to bury, come to the surface. She fights it; she doesn’t want to remember, not here, not now, maybe not ever. She feels herself drowning in the midst of her clamoring thoughts, and they make her see bright red on stark, white snow and everything comes spilling forward, like slowly seeping blood. These are her memories which might have to do everything with her running far away…
~oOo~
This is how it starts: Her world is falling apart on a bleak and gray day, while he stands by her side.
Ruby feels like she’s standing on the edge of a deep and dark crevice, only a mere inch away from falling, when Belle comes into the diner and tells her everything about what happened. Ruby should have known things weren’t going to be easy, but she felt somehow cheated. They averted the town’s utter destruction, and yet Mary Margaret, David and Emma didn’t earn their happy ending - or at least a brief time of peace -, no, their prize is another bloody quest. Sometimes Ruby asks herself why they’re all fighting because it seems they only give Fate a chance to get more creative in its twisted game.
As Belle tells what the spell would do - protect and conceal them - and at what cost - Mary Margaret, David and the others would never return -, the room erupts in chaos. The panic is spreading and soon all of them are shouting, arguing about what they should do. There is a feeling that is almost palpable: they collective hopelessness crushes them and almost drowns them. Ruby knows they all had hard times in their lives, but they are so used to following, to someone give them strength and provide guidance that now they can’t seem to concentrate and they fall into pieces.
Ruby wants to scream but she suppresses the urge and shoots a meaningful glance at Granny, who only nods, knowing what she wants.
“Quiet!” Granny bellows and the effect is immediate, because honestly, she can be imposing without a crossbow too.
“We don’t need to use the spell,” Ruby states, and when the arguments rise, she holds her hands up. “We’ll vote now about it, but just consider it: Mary Margaret and David did a lot for us, the least we can do is take a risk for them. To give them a chance at going home.” She doesn’t say what they know, they don’t really have a chance per se at going back to the Enchanted Forest, at least not now. But to say it, even imply it, otherwise would be fatal, and she had to deal with an upset town marching to the borderline once, she doesn’t really want to do it again.
“And what if these anti-magic hunters come back?” someone asks.
“We fight them, as we always did,” she says firmly, and a cheering erupts from the dwarfs. “We organize patrols at the border, we do everything to keep out the humans from outside and we try to find a way to home. And if it’s really necessary, we can use the spell.”
The cheering is more uplifted now, and though she doesn’t feel so confident, everyone looks ready to go into battle.
“But who will lead us? Who will be the new sheriff?” Archie asks, because he’s clever enough not to phrase it in a way that would suggest that their leaders are gone and how frightening that is.
“I nominate Ruby,” Granny says suddenly, and in the split second of silence which follows, Ruby’s heart beats painfully in her chest. No one would really want her to guide them, she’s not a beacon of light in darkness, she’s the very monster they’re afraid of, lurking in the night.
“I agree,” a familiar voice says, and everyone soon joins with their loud approval.
And what shocks Ruby is that the first one to support her after Granny is Dr. Whale - Victor, she corrects herself -, and when she looks at him, she sees something akin to trust in his blue eyes, and it brings back that moment when she saved him. She doesn’t know what they share here and now, but it seems to give her strength to not fall apart right then.
~oOo~
Later, when she hastily appointed a few patrols for first shift, she retreats to the police station to work out some kind of strategy for every possible situation. The thing is she feels lost. She could survive alone in the wilderness and fight monsters but being responsible for everyone is a big task, one that weights on her like a heavy rock, but she knows someone has to do something, and she owes Mary Margaret this.
She stares at the haphazardly strewn papers which she scribbled half-formed ideas on, and sighs heavily, when the door opens and she hears footsteps. She tenses for a second, and curses herself that someone could surprise her. She was so immersed in her desperation, anyone could have sneak upon her and kill her. Way to go, Ruby thinks to herself, I’m proving already what a big spectacular failure I’ll be.
She relaxes when she recognizes that mixture of smells - exotic wood and spices, something that makes her think of a calm forest, something like home -, and sure enough, a few seconds later Victor comes in.
For a few moments an awkward silence weighs on them, but before Ruby can muster out anything, he speaks up.
“Granny told me that you are here.” He pauses for a second, seemingly searching for the right words, finally, he just shrugs. “I thought maybe you need some help. I’m not saying I’m an expert on strategic and military things, but…”
“No, yes, I mean, thank you, I’d appreciate it” she babbles and she really doesn’t know why she’s nervous, as she motions for him to sit down. “I’m not very good at it either, I mean, I fought with King George’s army and helped in the siege of the Queen’s castle…” she trails off, and it occurs to her how strange it’s to talk about castles and wars, when she’s sitting in an office.
It’s like this since the curse has been broken: there are moments when she feels like she’s going insane, she’s the wolf and she’s Red Riding Hood at the same time, and she remembers reading fairy tales as Ruby, the ordinary girl, who wanted adventures. Sometimes she has hard time believing that she’s a werewolf, because they’re just myths, monsters from stories, and sometimes she gets homesick for the Enchanted Forest to run wild and be free. (Archie says it’s normal, but it’s not like there were any precedence for a cursed induced multiple set of memories as some disorder.)
“Well, I think it was brave what you did back there.” Victor’s words pull her from her reverie.
“Brave? I don’t think so. It’s just… someone has to do it.” She shrugs, embarrassed by his intense gaze. “Anyway, I should be thanking you, you know, for supporting me.” She doesn’t say thank you for a lot of things she wants to: For not saying she’s a monster not enough to replace the princess, for not judging her after she told her about the blood on her hands.
“Someone once said that if there’s a chance to fix something, it’s worth trying.” He smiles an easy smile. “It’s the right thing to do, and as I’ve heard it’s all the rage with the fairy tale characters.”
Her stomach drops at those words. She doesn’t say she’s not doing the right thing, but the easy, selfish one. She doesn’t want to be alone, she needs Mary Margaret, not just because she’s family but Ruby is eager to get back to following someone, especially if that someone will assure her everything will be okay.
~oOo~
This is how it goes: She builds up a wall around herself, because it keeps out the pain - she doesn’t get hurt and she doesn’t hurt others accidentally. He still finds a way in.
“Granny told me that you were here.”
Ruby doesn’t jump or flinch when she hears that sentence that echoes a night, which seems like a lifetime ago, though it’s only been a month. She senses him coming, but she doesn’t move, doesn’t take her eyes off the water stretching before her.
“She’s worried about you,” Victor says, the concern is painfully clear in his voice.
“I’m staying, I hope you know that,” she counters callously, and she wonders for a moment when she started to feel this cold.
Everything is distorted to something numb and gray, and she just doesn’t care. She can’t care about anything when half of her family is in on a quest in another world, and she can’t even follow and help them. The least she can do is some extra patrolling, even if Granny shoots pointed looks at her, she couldn’t sleep anyway, so what’s the harm in being on the lookout.
“I know, I wasn’t planning to dissuade you,” he says surprisingly softly. Ruby has a hard time to associate it with the womanizer she thought him pre-curse. “That would be above my paygrade anyway.” He laughs a little, and then when Ruby still doesn’t react, he stands in front of her, forcing her to look at him. “I brought you this, at least you could eat.” He lifts up a basket full of food
As Ruby watches his gentle eyes and kind smile, she’s reminded of heroes and knights. The light from the street lamp behind him paints his hair golden and it just strengthens the image in her mind. He doesn’t belong here, not in the night, not with her. And he looks like some brave boy who wandered off the right path in the forest - with a goddamned basket, no less -, standing in front of the big, bad wolf, Ruby thinks the cosmos has a sick sense of humor.
But she doesn’t send him away, she’s not sure she could, even if she tried - he didn’t seem effected by the cold shoulder she’s been giving everyone the last month. So it’s no surprise when he sits beside her, but it’s a surprise how close, and what’s more shocking that Ruby doesn’t mind. The heat emanating from his body somehow washes away her fears and gives something other than her duty to concentrate on.
“You really should eat.” Victor is the one to break the silence. “And just to assure you, I didn’t make any of these, it’s all Granny.”
A small smile tugs at her lips, and she gives in, reaching for one of the grilled cheese sandwiches.
“You know I missed those,” he says, startling her, she doesn’t anticipated small talk. “Your smiles. You’re awfully quiet and somber these days.”
It should have sounded cheesy, but it only hits Ruby hard how everyone else doesn’t seem to notice the change in her or at least doesn’t seem to mind. (Everyone except Granny, but she’s worried even if she doesn’t have to.) Ruby can’t answer, so she just shrugs.
“What do you like to do?” Victor asks which earns him a raised eyebrow. “I mean, I know it might sound stupid, but even if there’s a war life goes on. It’s not a crime to smile and do things that make you happy.”
She muses over it, but doesn’t voice her fear that she lost herself long ago, maybe on a cold day when blood splattered the snow.
“Running,” she blurts after a while. “It’s not that interesting.” She shrugs embarrassedly. “But it makes me feel alive.” She doesn’t elaborate, doesn’t describe the thrill it gives her, doesn’t want him to think she’s that much of a wolf.
“Well, then you should do that… Obviously, outside of the patrolling, run for the fun of it.”
“And you?” Ruby asks. “What do you do for fun?”
Victor laughs a little, and it’s not that a happy sound, something bitter taints it but she can’t quite put a finger on it.
“Reading,” he answers but her look prompts him to add, “My father didn’t think a young, capable man should spend as much time his nose buried in books, as I was. But I think I already established what a screw up I am.”
“Disappointing family, that’s familiar.” Ruby doesn’t really know what makes her admit this. But somehow in the night it doesn’t seem so real, as if even she says the words, they’re just a dream and she could wipe them out later. She’s not sure if she continues it for her own sake or because of Victor’s questioning gaze. “My mother… she wanted me to be only a werewolf… which would sound good, a loving pack and all, but she forced me to choose between her and Snow.”
She sees her actions as Ruby again, and she’s more terrified and disgusted than ever: she killed someone. Her own flesh and blood. What kind of a monster does that?
Victor doesn’t ask anything, he seems to miraculously understand the unsaid words. He only reaches out and squeezes her hand. It makes her feel less alone, and she can almost believe they’re just two ordinary people, not two lost souls. (But at least they are lost together, Ruby thinks suddenly.)
They sit together like that, watching the night sky blurring together with the sea, painting an endless canvass of stars everywhere. It feels a lot like a beginning and Ruby can’t help but think it surely will end, as everything in her life, in a bloody and broken mess.
~oOo~
The alcohol’s buzz and the mellow music make Ruby feel warm, quench her worries, and silence the malicious whispers of guilt. It softens the world’s edges and she can put everything on hold as she downs another shot.
“I think, I should have thought through this.” Victor voice is slightly slurred. “Drinking with a werewolf wasn’t a good idea. But you can get drunk, right?”
“Are you trying to get me drunk with inappropriate thoughts in mind?” Ruby asks, and it can be interpreted as lighthearted flirting - in another life, one without magic, she would only be a girl with an easy smile, drinking with a good-looking guy - but she doesn’t care now.
“Purely scientific thoughts,” comes Victor’s reply, but then he amends. “Not that kind… Considering my reputation as Frankenstein…” He trails off, wildly gesturing around. “I give up, you know what I mean.”
For a moment she’s reminded of who they were - are - and how ridiculous this scene is: Red Riding Hood and Dr. Frankenstein walks into a bar…
“Oh, no, no.” His voice pulls her out of her reverie. “No brow furrowing, we have a night off, it’s ‘no worries’ time, remember?”
The answer is right on the tip of her tongue, but she swallows it and gives in to the temptation to just feel normal and not to anticipate some attack.
When they finally stand in front of the Rabbit’s Hole, saying goodbye, somehow it isn’t happening. She feels a pull towards Victor, as if she’s captivated by some sort of gravity like power. She isn’t sure who took the few steps to the other, but he’s standing so close she can feel his breath on her lips, and her every sense is filled with him. All she has to do is lean forward a little, and though she wants to do it more than anything, she’s also so scared. She needs him, he filled a hole in her life she didn’t really think about, and she fears that with this kiss she can lose it forever.
But she doesn’t have the chance to pull away, because he moves forward. It isn’t really a kiss; just a brush of lips and it’s so much more than she ever had. It feels like she’s standing on the edge of a crevice, but instead of falling, all that waits for her is flying.
She can’t enjoy this moment, because an insistent little voice speaks up: Do you want to lose him too? Do you want to hurt him, splatter his blood around? Because in the end she taints and ruins everything she touches, so she pulls away from him and runs, leaving a dazzled looking Victor behind. (She’s so good at running.)
~oOo~
This is how things fall apart: She’s too scared and stubborn, he’s too kind, she runs and he lets her.
It’s a cold late autumn day; she can even feel the sharp tinge of the coming snow in the air, when Belle shows up with a bottle of wine, some takeout and an apology.
“I was too wrapped up in my own misery,” Belle says, as they’re settling down to eat. “I was a lousy friend.”
Ruby waves it off. “I wasn’t a top friend material either. I should have, you know, ask about how you were…”
Now it’s Belle’s turn to wave, and they’re leaving it at that, neither of them mentioning how they both had been shattered and cut into pieces by the loss of their loved ones, and how both of them had been pulled down by the weight of guilt they failed to see anyone beside themselves. As they forgive each other, they forgive themselves, because friendship is another kind of magic: two people who accidentally meet, bounded by a pure, selfless desire to help the other, trading broken pieces and smiles till each of them have a good part of the other forever with them.
“I know what you’re doing,” Belle notes sometime after midnight, when Ruby’s mind wanders off to magical deals, glass shoes and tragic endings.
Ruby only lifts one eyebrow, but dread smothers her like a heavy blanket.
“You’re running.” And before Ruby could cut in, she holds up her hands defensively. “I’ve been there, trust me, and not only once. But what I’ve learned is no matter how much you think it’ll hurt, you can’t run away from love. It’s worse to keep out every feeling, it’s not safe, it’s not living, you have to take risks.”
Before Ruby could open her mouth to protest, Belle silences her with an ‘I’m expert in the monster area’ comeback, and it makes Ruby think of how this ordinary girl could sit here with her and smile so sincerely. Maybe Belle doesn’t have any magical abilities or extraordinary fighting skills, but sure she has the biggest heart, and Ruby wonders how come it still beats after so many breaks.
It’s then when she muses about the role of monster first time in a long time. She can’t come up with a clear-cut definition, and oddly, it doesn’t sadden her.
~oOo~
Not long after the first snow all hell breaks loose. It’s not a well-planned attack as they assumed, it’s not some people sneaking in, playing tourist, and not a slaughter in the night, but just as brutal.
It happens when Leroy reports he saw a pirate ship, nearing the docks, and a lot of them go out to see if it’s really the Jolly Rogers. Ruby can’t believe their luck, and sure enough, the alarms which Mother Superior set up goes off, and Ruby knows it’ll be a bloody fight, as she catches the first glimpse of black smoke chasing the ship.
Whatever came through the portal after their friends, it isn’t their only problem. Ruby can smell the familiar and sickening coppery scent, and immediately reaches for the knife in her boot, and starts for the town’s center.
She doesn’t know how - and really it doesn’t matter then - but whatever/whoever was in the other world managed to coordinate the attack on Storybrooke simultaneously. It’s clear they didn’t want all of the townspeople rushing to help Mary Margaret and the others, so they sent their human, anti-magic lackeys from the other side.
It’s a blur of motions, chaos, screaming and blood, but Ruby doesn’t stop to think, she doesn’t need to, she’s good at fighting. She cuts the enemies in half with precision, and the thrill of adrenaline puts a feral grin on her face, which would have anyone running. And they’re winning, she’s aware of that; the hunters surely mistook their lack of protective spell for sloppiness, and didn’t anticipate that they’re more than ready to fight in every possible manner, because they trained for it.
She has hope that again the heroes will win, because Mary Margaret and David are finally here, but that light is snuff out by a sudden cry of alarm from Granny, a sudden burst of pain, a feeling of being jerked aside and falling hard to the ground. And the blackness engulfing everything.
When she wakes up it’s to warm hazel eyes, the familiar scent of wild flowers, and Mary Margaret’s kind smile. As she tries to sit up, pain shoots through her head, and decides to stay lying in what appears to be a hospital bed.
“What happened?” Ruby asks, dread clenching her throat.
“We won,” Mary Margaret beams, then seeing her look, she adds, “No one got hurt, at least not seriously. You did a good job organizing them.” She smiles, and it says a lot of things: I’m proud of you, I love you, I missed you.
“I’ve learned from the best,” Ruby replies, and she can breathe a lot easier than in the last three months.
“And,” Mary Margaret continues, eyes glinting suspiciously like on a day a lifetime ago. “Dr. Whale saved you, I mean, not like surgery, but literally jumped in front of you and take a bullet. Care to elaborate on that?”
“But he’s fine, isn’t he?” Ruby croaks, while she feels the room spin around her.
“Considering.” Mary Margaret grimaces. “The hunters used some anti-magic poison, and well, he isn’t strictly speaking magical, so that wouldn’t be the problem, but the bullet part is. But Gold was in a good mode, so he healed him. I don’t know if Whale’s ego survived…”
Ruby relaxes and lets out a breath she didn’t realize was holding. And then Mary Margaret tells her everything: How they defeated Peter Pan - who apparently was some kind of supervillain, it’s even strange to Ruby, and that’s saying something - and though he’s still alive, he’s cursed and can’t escape his island without Henry. (It’s a tale too long, Mary Margaret says, with prophecies and ancient blood feuds, your typical heroic story.)
But all in all, everything is fine, at least for now, and on top of everything, they found some magic beans in Neverland, so finally they can all go home. Home - it leaves an ash like, bitter taste in Ruby’s mouth, because she isn’t sure where her home is anymore. She tries to rationalize it’s because of the curse, or because she wants a second chance at her life and there are too many memories haunting her in the Enchanted Forest, but deep down she doesn’t believe it.
~oOo~
Ruby finds Victor in the hospital; somehow it seems important and urgent to see him alive and well - not that she doesn’t believe in Mary Margaret’s words. When she steps into his room, he’s shrugging on his shirt, and she’s too shocked by the pale pink scar which runs through his stomach that she doesn’t even register how openly she’s staring at his almost bare abdomen. She has an impulse to reach out and run her fingers over his scar, to know it’s really healed and it’s not causing any pain and the thought runs forward unstoppable like an avalanche: she briefly wonders what his skin would feel like under hers…
She shakes her head to clear it, and forces herself to look up into his eyes. He looks oddly fragile and small; his pallid skin makes the dark circles under his eyes more prominent.
“Should you be up already?” she asks, though it’s not what she come to say, though she isn’t sure what would that have been.
“I’m fine,” he answers. “Really, I had worse. And trust me, I run around with only one arm. Well, okay, it’s maybe not the most helpful imaginary -”
“Thank you,” Ruby cuts in, rushing each word, fearing otherwise they’ll get lodged in her throat. “You saved my life.”
“Anytime.”
She knows it’s a turning point: she could reach out and have everything she ever wanted, and something she denied herself for a long time. It’s like standing on the edge and taking a leap of faith. And Ruby can almost feel the warm skin under her hands and the soft lips on hers, but…
“So, I guess, you heard, we’re coming back home. Are you excited?” Victor asks, while he buttons up his shirt, averting his gaze.
“Yes,” she croaks out. Because it hits her: They were never meant to even met, they live literally in different words.
“Well…” Victor looks up and something dark runs through in his eyes. “At least I can try to fix my life and to help my brother, finally.”
Ruby doesn’t really know what happens after that, everything rushes past in a blur, but she strangely feels as if she has lost something important.
~oOo~
“It took a long time until a handsome young man arrived at the village, and the girl even forgot her particular wish. Though the other girls had an eye for the charming and mysterious man, he only was interested in the loneliest and bravest girl, who finally finds someone to trust and talk with. They quickly became friends and then more, exchanging kisses under the wall’s shadow.”
“But not much later their happiness was disturbed when it seemed something broke through the walls in the evenings, leaving dead bodies in its wake every night. The villagers tried to fight the monster, organizing search patrols, instituting a curfew, asking for help from the other villagers, but it was to no avail. Our curious girl couldn’t resist this challenge, and she decided to take on the beast by herself. One night when she went out armed with only a meager kitchen knife and a torch, she was met by her beloved, who smiled at her with pointy teeth and blood red lips…”
Ruby’s stomach does a flip then, but it’s because of the scents from her long buried memory than from the story. Anger flares up in her, like a white hot pain, and that’s when she decides that it’s enough.
“Let me guess,” she says vehemently. “Then the boy turns the girl into a monster and they happily eat the whole, goddamned village?”
The monster only tilts its head, like if it’s amused. “Oh, do you know this story then, Ruby? You know what it means, don’t you? You are just like me, a monster, nothing more…”
Ruby doesn’t say anything, only shrugs, and instinctively reaches for the knife in her boot, and with one solid, smooth motion, she stabs it into the book. For a second, she think, she miscalculated the situation, but then it starts beating frantically, like a scared bird’s wing, and ink gushes out of the tear like blood.
“I know I’m not the hero of the story, but you know what?” Ruby feels as if she finally found that something she was looking for. “That doesn’t mean I don’t get a happily ever after. Maybe I have to fight for it with tooth and nail, but who doesn’t.”
And she knows where her path will take her: to the Mad Hatter and to another world. It’s quite easy after she gets to repair his hat, and though Jefferson is a little paranoid and distrustful, he takes her to Victor’s world. (She makes him promise to bring visit Mary Margaret, Granny and Belle, if they want to, and though he grumbles that he’s not a public transportation, he agrees.)
Ruby knows it’s worth it when she sees Victor’s surprised and wide eyes and tentative smile. She doesn’t hesitate to kiss him, everything else can wait, she has to convey everything she can’t put into words: because the heart is that kind of a tricky thing, meanings get lost with words, but not with action.
As they lips meet it feels right, and Ruby knows she finally got her second chance, and even if an ending is looming above it, she doesn’t care. And that’s when she realizes that her home is right here with him.
~oOo~
This is how the story ends: With a long-awaited kiss, a sincere promise and a world full of possibilities and dreams. Though they’re not the heroes, and they make mistakes and they have to make up for it and maybe have to fight for their happiness along the way, but it’s just as good enough as a happily ever after.
Language: English
Rating: PG-13
Word count: ~6.000
Spoilers: 2x22
Relationships: Dr. Whale/Ruby
Warnings: Hurt/Comfort.
Disclaimers: I don't own OUaT.
Summary: After they finally get back to the Enchanted Forest, Ruby still misses something and she gets help from an unlikely source. Written for the 2013 Rare Pair Fest.
Download link on AO3
This Is How the Story Ends
„Tell me a story,” the monster in front of her says. Its green skin stretches over sharp cheekbones, as it smiles, showing too many teeth.
Ruby wonders how exactly she ended up here, on a small dirt road which sneaks through a dense forest, with a hungry looking creature her only company. She guesses she may deserves this, after all when Mary Margaret and the others got back from Neverland and they finally found a way home to the Enchanted Forest, Ruby couldn’t just sit around and help her friends to bring the land back to its former glory. No, she missed - still misses - something, maybe a part of her, so after the ogre situation seemed to be well-contained, she went off questing, thinking that adventures and a long journey would help her somehow.
Maybe it’s only the wolf in her who thinks everything can be solved with a run - a simple physical exercise where you only have to focus on the muscles flexing and the air burning your lungs, where you don’t have to analyze your emotions and dissect everything around you to make a perfect choice. Running is easy. (Ruby still doesn’t know if she’s running away from something or toward something, but secretly she hopes the latter.)
As she scrambles for any solution to this particular situation, momentarily she curses herself for being reckless and defiant enough to go chasing after some insubstantial urge to escape, and now because of it she’s on a magical path, she literally can’t stray from - except if she dares to risk a curse on herself and she had enough of them already.
As David said back in Storybrooke, Mary Margaret did the talking, and now, she really doesn’t know how she could talk herself out of this. Yes, she’s stronger than a human but a quick assessing glance to whatever that stands in front of her tells her she has no chance, if the size of the muscled body is anything to go by. So her only resort seems to be her wit.
“So let me get this straight,” she says, aiming for nonchalance, like it’s just another Sunday for her, but in reality no matter how many creepy-crawlies she faces, a small amount of fear and doubt will always be there. “If I tell a story, you let me pass.”
“Yes, that is the toll of the road,” the monster replies, and its eyes gleam in a way that tells Ruby, it’s not that simple. But it’s never easy with magic and deals; it’s a shadowy, dangerous labyrinth, where it feels like every step can lead to her bloody death. The ignorance of magic is something she deeply envies from her cursed self in her weakest moments and this is one of them.
“And there isn’t any catch?” Ruby asks, but doesn’t really think she’ll get an honest answer, she only stalls for more time, because she has a tiny little hope that some miraculous solution will present itself. “Say, if you don’t like the story, you will eat me or something?”
“No.” It’s one little word, but Ruby has never heard anything more threatening and an involuntary shiver runs down her spine.
“Okay then.”
Before she even starts to think of some story - a fairy tale, a book she read, anything - to retell, the creature reaches out and with a puff of purple smoke a heavy looking, leather-bound book appears in its clawed hand. Without further questions and instructions she knows she has to read from the book, and she feels an overwhelming rush of relief because she knows her mind is too preoccupied with her problems to think straight, concentrate and fabricate an entertaining tale. Maybe the monster really just can’t read, maybe, it’s really that easy, at least that what she tells herself as she gently accepts the ancient tome, her hands slightly trembling.
When her fingers brush the hard, worn cover, she feels a rush of energy crawling up at her skin, and it’s crazy, but she thinks she can feel the book’s malice. And it’s maybe a trick of her over imaginative mind, but she swears, just for a moment it’s like a still beating heart is in her hands.
She gulps, and straightens her posture; she participated in battles, she’s not fragile, she’s a fighter, a survivalist, a soldier, maybe magic is not her playground, but she will not back down. Because in the end, good always wins, the hero prevails, and everyone has their happy endings.
But are you really the hero of this story? It’s a soft, poisonous whisper in her mind, and it’s not the first time she hears it, doubting herself, but it’s the first it sounds like someone else is accusing her, not just her own demons tearing into her.
She shakes her head, as if that could clear her mind, and opens the book. For a second the fear hits her like a rock: the pages are blank. But before she could say anything, ink squeezes out from the paper and forms into words, as if an unseen hand is writing the story now. She glances at the monster one last time, then sucks in a deep breath to hide the quiver in her voice and starts to read.
“Once upon a time, in a faraway land filled with magic, lived a young girl. In that time, every village has its strong walls, to keep out the danger that lurked outside in the forests. While most of the people were content with their life, the girl from a very young age was a curious, and though most children at her age learned quickly that they shouldn’t ask questions, she never ceased her chase for answers.”
“No matter how hard her grandmother tried to keep her safe, the girl’s ‘What’s behind the wall?’ inquiries transformed into late night strolls to the wall and insistence of becoming a trader between villages, a task only the bravest men undertook. Her grandmother used to say the gods surely forget to give the girl a healthy dose of self-preservation, but she didn’t mind it.”
The story hits her hard, and Ruby knows the creature’s magic tailor-made it for her because of some twisted and sick reason. She takes a deep breath, and tries not to show how easily a few words can get under her skin, and she continues defiantly.
“But bravery and stubbornness wasn’t something the villagers appreciated in a girl, so she was always like an outsider. She wasn’t alone, yet she felt lonely, and at nights when she looked up at the starry sky, she wished with all of her heart that someone would be there for here, to ease her pain, even if that companion would be from outside the wall…”
Ruby knows that feeling, that kind of loneliness, which leaves an emptiness inside her chest and makes her yearn for impossible things. A sudden wave of dizziness sweeps over her, and all of her memories she tried to bury, come to the surface. She fights it; she doesn’t want to remember, not here, not now, maybe not ever. She feels herself drowning in the midst of her clamoring thoughts, and they make her see bright red on stark, white snow and everything comes spilling forward, like slowly seeping blood. These are her memories which might have to do everything with her running far away…
~oOo~
This is how it starts: Her world is falling apart on a bleak and gray day, while he stands by her side.
Ruby feels like she’s standing on the edge of a deep and dark crevice, only a mere inch away from falling, when Belle comes into the diner and tells her everything about what happened. Ruby should have known things weren’t going to be easy, but she felt somehow cheated. They averted the town’s utter destruction, and yet Mary Margaret, David and Emma didn’t earn their happy ending - or at least a brief time of peace -, no, their prize is another bloody quest. Sometimes Ruby asks herself why they’re all fighting because it seems they only give Fate a chance to get more creative in its twisted game.
As Belle tells what the spell would do - protect and conceal them - and at what cost - Mary Margaret, David and the others would never return -, the room erupts in chaos. The panic is spreading and soon all of them are shouting, arguing about what they should do. There is a feeling that is almost palpable: they collective hopelessness crushes them and almost drowns them. Ruby knows they all had hard times in their lives, but they are so used to following, to someone give them strength and provide guidance that now they can’t seem to concentrate and they fall into pieces.
Ruby wants to scream but she suppresses the urge and shoots a meaningful glance at Granny, who only nods, knowing what she wants.
“Quiet!” Granny bellows and the effect is immediate, because honestly, she can be imposing without a crossbow too.
“We don’t need to use the spell,” Ruby states, and when the arguments rise, she holds her hands up. “We’ll vote now about it, but just consider it: Mary Margaret and David did a lot for us, the least we can do is take a risk for them. To give them a chance at going home.” She doesn’t say what they know, they don’t really have a chance per se at going back to the Enchanted Forest, at least not now. But to say it, even imply it, otherwise would be fatal, and she had to deal with an upset town marching to the borderline once, she doesn’t really want to do it again.
“And what if these anti-magic hunters come back?” someone asks.
“We fight them, as we always did,” she says firmly, and a cheering erupts from the dwarfs. “We organize patrols at the border, we do everything to keep out the humans from outside and we try to find a way to home. And if it’s really necessary, we can use the spell.”
The cheering is more uplifted now, and though she doesn’t feel so confident, everyone looks ready to go into battle.
“But who will lead us? Who will be the new sheriff?” Archie asks, because he’s clever enough not to phrase it in a way that would suggest that their leaders are gone and how frightening that is.
“I nominate Ruby,” Granny says suddenly, and in the split second of silence which follows, Ruby’s heart beats painfully in her chest. No one would really want her to guide them, she’s not a beacon of light in darkness, she’s the very monster they’re afraid of, lurking in the night.
“I agree,” a familiar voice says, and everyone soon joins with their loud approval.
And what shocks Ruby is that the first one to support her after Granny is Dr. Whale - Victor, she corrects herself -, and when she looks at him, she sees something akin to trust in his blue eyes, and it brings back that moment when she saved him. She doesn’t know what they share here and now, but it seems to give her strength to not fall apart right then.
~oOo~
Later, when she hastily appointed a few patrols for first shift, she retreats to the police station to work out some kind of strategy for every possible situation. The thing is she feels lost. She could survive alone in the wilderness and fight monsters but being responsible for everyone is a big task, one that weights on her like a heavy rock, but she knows someone has to do something, and she owes Mary Margaret this.
She stares at the haphazardly strewn papers which she scribbled half-formed ideas on, and sighs heavily, when the door opens and she hears footsteps. She tenses for a second, and curses herself that someone could surprise her. She was so immersed in her desperation, anyone could have sneak upon her and kill her. Way to go, Ruby thinks to herself, I’m proving already what a big spectacular failure I’ll be.
She relaxes when she recognizes that mixture of smells - exotic wood and spices, something that makes her think of a calm forest, something like home -, and sure enough, a few seconds later Victor comes in.
For a few moments an awkward silence weighs on them, but before Ruby can muster out anything, he speaks up.
“Granny told me that you are here.” He pauses for a second, seemingly searching for the right words, finally, he just shrugs. “I thought maybe you need some help. I’m not saying I’m an expert on strategic and military things, but…”
“No, yes, I mean, thank you, I’d appreciate it” she babbles and she really doesn’t know why she’s nervous, as she motions for him to sit down. “I’m not very good at it either, I mean, I fought with King George’s army and helped in the siege of the Queen’s castle…” she trails off, and it occurs to her how strange it’s to talk about castles and wars, when she’s sitting in an office.
It’s like this since the curse has been broken: there are moments when she feels like she’s going insane, she’s the wolf and she’s Red Riding Hood at the same time, and she remembers reading fairy tales as Ruby, the ordinary girl, who wanted adventures. Sometimes she has hard time believing that she’s a werewolf, because they’re just myths, monsters from stories, and sometimes she gets homesick for the Enchanted Forest to run wild and be free. (Archie says it’s normal, but it’s not like there were any precedence for a cursed induced multiple set of memories as some disorder.)
“Well, I think it was brave what you did back there.” Victor’s words pull her from her reverie.
“Brave? I don’t think so. It’s just… someone has to do it.” She shrugs, embarrassed by his intense gaze. “Anyway, I should be thanking you, you know, for supporting me.” She doesn’t say thank you for a lot of things she wants to: For not saying she’s a monster not enough to replace the princess, for not judging her after she told her about the blood on her hands.
“Someone once said that if there’s a chance to fix something, it’s worth trying.” He smiles an easy smile. “It’s the right thing to do, and as I’ve heard it’s all the rage with the fairy tale characters.”
Her stomach drops at those words. She doesn’t say she’s not doing the right thing, but the easy, selfish one. She doesn’t want to be alone, she needs Mary Margaret, not just because she’s family but Ruby is eager to get back to following someone, especially if that someone will assure her everything will be okay.
~oOo~
This is how it goes: She builds up a wall around herself, because it keeps out the pain - she doesn’t get hurt and she doesn’t hurt others accidentally. He still finds a way in.
“Granny told me that you were here.”
Ruby doesn’t jump or flinch when she hears that sentence that echoes a night, which seems like a lifetime ago, though it’s only been a month. She senses him coming, but she doesn’t move, doesn’t take her eyes off the water stretching before her.
“She’s worried about you,” Victor says, the concern is painfully clear in his voice.
“I’m staying, I hope you know that,” she counters callously, and she wonders for a moment when she started to feel this cold.
Everything is distorted to something numb and gray, and she just doesn’t care. She can’t care about anything when half of her family is in on a quest in another world, and she can’t even follow and help them. The least she can do is some extra patrolling, even if Granny shoots pointed looks at her, she couldn’t sleep anyway, so what’s the harm in being on the lookout.
“I know, I wasn’t planning to dissuade you,” he says surprisingly softly. Ruby has a hard time to associate it with the womanizer she thought him pre-curse. “That would be above my paygrade anyway.” He laughs a little, and then when Ruby still doesn’t react, he stands in front of her, forcing her to look at him. “I brought you this, at least you could eat.” He lifts up a basket full of food
As Ruby watches his gentle eyes and kind smile, she’s reminded of heroes and knights. The light from the street lamp behind him paints his hair golden and it just strengthens the image in her mind. He doesn’t belong here, not in the night, not with her. And he looks like some brave boy who wandered off the right path in the forest - with a goddamned basket, no less -, standing in front of the big, bad wolf, Ruby thinks the cosmos has a sick sense of humor.
But she doesn’t send him away, she’s not sure she could, even if she tried - he didn’t seem effected by the cold shoulder she’s been giving everyone the last month. So it’s no surprise when he sits beside her, but it’s a surprise how close, and what’s more shocking that Ruby doesn’t mind. The heat emanating from his body somehow washes away her fears and gives something other than her duty to concentrate on.
“You really should eat.” Victor is the one to break the silence. “And just to assure you, I didn’t make any of these, it’s all Granny.”
A small smile tugs at her lips, and she gives in, reaching for one of the grilled cheese sandwiches.
“You know I missed those,” he says, startling her, she doesn’t anticipated small talk. “Your smiles. You’re awfully quiet and somber these days.”
It should have sounded cheesy, but it only hits Ruby hard how everyone else doesn’t seem to notice the change in her or at least doesn’t seem to mind. (Everyone except Granny, but she’s worried even if she doesn’t have to.) Ruby can’t answer, so she just shrugs.
“What do you like to do?” Victor asks which earns him a raised eyebrow. “I mean, I know it might sound stupid, but even if there’s a war life goes on. It’s not a crime to smile and do things that make you happy.”
She muses over it, but doesn’t voice her fear that she lost herself long ago, maybe on a cold day when blood splattered the snow.
“Running,” she blurts after a while. “It’s not that interesting.” She shrugs embarrassedly. “But it makes me feel alive.” She doesn’t elaborate, doesn’t describe the thrill it gives her, doesn’t want him to think she’s that much of a wolf.
“Well, then you should do that… Obviously, outside of the patrolling, run for the fun of it.”
“And you?” Ruby asks. “What do you do for fun?”
Victor laughs a little, and it’s not that a happy sound, something bitter taints it but she can’t quite put a finger on it.
“Reading,” he answers but her look prompts him to add, “My father didn’t think a young, capable man should spend as much time his nose buried in books, as I was. But I think I already established what a screw up I am.”
“Disappointing family, that’s familiar.” Ruby doesn’t really know what makes her admit this. But somehow in the night it doesn’t seem so real, as if even she says the words, they’re just a dream and she could wipe them out later. She’s not sure if she continues it for her own sake or because of Victor’s questioning gaze. “My mother… she wanted me to be only a werewolf… which would sound good, a loving pack and all, but she forced me to choose between her and Snow.”
She sees her actions as Ruby again, and she’s more terrified and disgusted than ever: she killed someone. Her own flesh and blood. What kind of a monster does that?
Victor doesn’t ask anything, he seems to miraculously understand the unsaid words. He only reaches out and squeezes her hand. It makes her feel less alone, and she can almost believe they’re just two ordinary people, not two lost souls. (But at least they are lost together, Ruby thinks suddenly.)
They sit together like that, watching the night sky blurring together with the sea, painting an endless canvass of stars everywhere. It feels a lot like a beginning and Ruby can’t help but think it surely will end, as everything in her life, in a bloody and broken mess.
~oOo~
The alcohol’s buzz and the mellow music make Ruby feel warm, quench her worries, and silence the malicious whispers of guilt. It softens the world’s edges and she can put everything on hold as she downs another shot.
“I think, I should have thought through this.” Victor voice is slightly slurred. “Drinking with a werewolf wasn’t a good idea. But you can get drunk, right?”
“Are you trying to get me drunk with inappropriate thoughts in mind?” Ruby asks, and it can be interpreted as lighthearted flirting - in another life, one without magic, she would only be a girl with an easy smile, drinking with a good-looking guy - but she doesn’t care now.
“Purely scientific thoughts,” comes Victor’s reply, but then he amends. “Not that kind… Considering my reputation as Frankenstein…” He trails off, wildly gesturing around. “I give up, you know what I mean.”
For a moment she’s reminded of who they were - are - and how ridiculous this scene is: Red Riding Hood and Dr. Frankenstein walks into a bar…
“Oh, no, no.” His voice pulls her out of her reverie. “No brow furrowing, we have a night off, it’s ‘no worries’ time, remember?”
The answer is right on the tip of her tongue, but she swallows it and gives in to the temptation to just feel normal and not to anticipate some attack.
When they finally stand in front of the Rabbit’s Hole, saying goodbye, somehow it isn’t happening. She feels a pull towards Victor, as if she’s captivated by some sort of gravity like power. She isn’t sure who took the few steps to the other, but he’s standing so close she can feel his breath on her lips, and her every sense is filled with him. All she has to do is lean forward a little, and though she wants to do it more than anything, she’s also so scared. She needs him, he filled a hole in her life she didn’t really think about, and she fears that with this kiss she can lose it forever.
But she doesn’t have the chance to pull away, because he moves forward. It isn’t really a kiss; just a brush of lips and it’s so much more than she ever had. It feels like she’s standing on the edge of a crevice, but instead of falling, all that waits for her is flying.
She can’t enjoy this moment, because an insistent little voice speaks up: Do you want to lose him too? Do you want to hurt him, splatter his blood around? Because in the end she taints and ruins everything she touches, so she pulls away from him and runs, leaving a dazzled looking Victor behind. (She’s so good at running.)
~oOo~
This is how things fall apart: She’s too scared and stubborn, he’s too kind, she runs and he lets her.
It’s a cold late autumn day; she can even feel the sharp tinge of the coming snow in the air, when Belle shows up with a bottle of wine, some takeout and an apology.
“I was too wrapped up in my own misery,” Belle says, as they’re settling down to eat. “I was a lousy friend.”
Ruby waves it off. “I wasn’t a top friend material either. I should have, you know, ask about how you were…”
Now it’s Belle’s turn to wave, and they’re leaving it at that, neither of them mentioning how they both had been shattered and cut into pieces by the loss of their loved ones, and how both of them had been pulled down by the weight of guilt they failed to see anyone beside themselves. As they forgive each other, they forgive themselves, because friendship is another kind of magic: two people who accidentally meet, bounded by a pure, selfless desire to help the other, trading broken pieces and smiles till each of them have a good part of the other forever with them.
“I know what you’re doing,” Belle notes sometime after midnight, when Ruby’s mind wanders off to magical deals, glass shoes and tragic endings.
Ruby only lifts one eyebrow, but dread smothers her like a heavy blanket.
“You’re running.” And before Ruby could cut in, she holds up her hands defensively. “I’ve been there, trust me, and not only once. But what I’ve learned is no matter how much you think it’ll hurt, you can’t run away from love. It’s worse to keep out every feeling, it’s not safe, it’s not living, you have to take risks.”
Before Ruby could open her mouth to protest, Belle silences her with an ‘I’m expert in the monster area’ comeback, and it makes Ruby think of how this ordinary girl could sit here with her and smile so sincerely. Maybe Belle doesn’t have any magical abilities or extraordinary fighting skills, but sure she has the biggest heart, and Ruby wonders how come it still beats after so many breaks.
It’s then when she muses about the role of monster first time in a long time. She can’t come up with a clear-cut definition, and oddly, it doesn’t sadden her.
~oOo~
Not long after the first snow all hell breaks loose. It’s not a well-planned attack as they assumed, it’s not some people sneaking in, playing tourist, and not a slaughter in the night, but just as brutal.
It happens when Leroy reports he saw a pirate ship, nearing the docks, and a lot of them go out to see if it’s really the Jolly Rogers. Ruby can’t believe their luck, and sure enough, the alarms which Mother Superior set up goes off, and Ruby knows it’ll be a bloody fight, as she catches the first glimpse of black smoke chasing the ship.
Whatever came through the portal after their friends, it isn’t their only problem. Ruby can smell the familiar and sickening coppery scent, and immediately reaches for the knife in her boot, and starts for the town’s center.
She doesn’t know how - and really it doesn’t matter then - but whatever/whoever was in the other world managed to coordinate the attack on Storybrooke simultaneously. It’s clear they didn’t want all of the townspeople rushing to help Mary Margaret and the others, so they sent their human, anti-magic lackeys from the other side.
It’s a blur of motions, chaos, screaming and blood, but Ruby doesn’t stop to think, she doesn’t need to, she’s good at fighting. She cuts the enemies in half with precision, and the thrill of adrenaline puts a feral grin on her face, which would have anyone running. And they’re winning, she’s aware of that; the hunters surely mistook their lack of protective spell for sloppiness, and didn’t anticipate that they’re more than ready to fight in every possible manner, because they trained for it.
She has hope that again the heroes will win, because Mary Margaret and David are finally here, but that light is snuff out by a sudden cry of alarm from Granny, a sudden burst of pain, a feeling of being jerked aside and falling hard to the ground. And the blackness engulfing everything.
When she wakes up it’s to warm hazel eyes, the familiar scent of wild flowers, and Mary Margaret’s kind smile. As she tries to sit up, pain shoots through her head, and decides to stay lying in what appears to be a hospital bed.
“What happened?” Ruby asks, dread clenching her throat.
“We won,” Mary Margaret beams, then seeing her look, she adds, “No one got hurt, at least not seriously. You did a good job organizing them.” She smiles, and it says a lot of things: I’m proud of you, I love you, I missed you.
“I’ve learned from the best,” Ruby replies, and she can breathe a lot easier than in the last three months.
“And,” Mary Margaret continues, eyes glinting suspiciously like on a day a lifetime ago. “Dr. Whale saved you, I mean, not like surgery, but literally jumped in front of you and take a bullet. Care to elaborate on that?”
“But he’s fine, isn’t he?” Ruby croaks, while she feels the room spin around her.
“Considering.” Mary Margaret grimaces. “The hunters used some anti-magic poison, and well, he isn’t strictly speaking magical, so that wouldn’t be the problem, but the bullet part is. But Gold was in a good mode, so he healed him. I don’t know if Whale’s ego survived…”
Ruby relaxes and lets out a breath she didn’t realize was holding. And then Mary Margaret tells her everything: How they defeated Peter Pan - who apparently was some kind of supervillain, it’s even strange to Ruby, and that’s saying something - and though he’s still alive, he’s cursed and can’t escape his island without Henry. (It’s a tale too long, Mary Margaret says, with prophecies and ancient blood feuds, your typical heroic story.)
But all in all, everything is fine, at least for now, and on top of everything, they found some magic beans in Neverland, so finally they can all go home. Home - it leaves an ash like, bitter taste in Ruby’s mouth, because she isn’t sure where her home is anymore. She tries to rationalize it’s because of the curse, or because she wants a second chance at her life and there are too many memories haunting her in the Enchanted Forest, but deep down she doesn’t believe it.
~oOo~
Ruby finds Victor in the hospital; somehow it seems important and urgent to see him alive and well - not that she doesn’t believe in Mary Margaret’s words. When she steps into his room, he’s shrugging on his shirt, and she’s too shocked by the pale pink scar which runs through his stomach that she doesn’t even register how openly she’s staring at his almost bare abdomen. She has an impulse to reach out and run her fingers over his scar, to know it’s really healed and it’s not causing any pain and the thought runs forward unstoppable like an avalanche: she briefly wonders what his skin would feel like under hers…
She shakes her head to clear it, and forces herself to look up into his eyes. He looks oddly fragile and small; his pallid skin makes the dark circles under his eyes more prominent.
“Should you be up already?” she asks, though it’s not what she come to say, though she isn’t sure what would that have been.
“I’m fine,” he answers. “Really, I had worse. And trust me, I run around with only one arm. Well, okay, it’s maybe not the most helpful imaginary -”
“Thank you,” Ruby cuts in, rushing each word, fearing otherwise they’ll get lodged in her throat. “You saved my life.”
“Anytime.”
She knows it’s a turning point: she could reach out and have everything she ever wanted, and something she denied herself for a long time. It’s like standing on the edge and taking a leap of faith. And Ruby can almost feel the warm skin under her hands and the soft lips on hers, but…
“So, I guess, you heard, we’re coming back home. Are you excited?” Victor asks, while he buttons up his shirt, averting his gaze.
“Yes,” she croaks out. Because it hits her: They were never meant to even met, they live literally in different words.
“Well…” Victor looks up and something dark runs through in his eyes. “At least I can try to fix my life and to help my brother, finally.”
Ruby doesn’t really know what happens after that, everything rushes past in a blur, but she strangely feels as if she has lost something important.
~oOo~
“It took a long time until a handsome young man arrived at the village, and the girl even forgot her particular wish. Though the other girls had an eye for the charming and mysterious man, he only was interested in the loneliest and bravest girl, who finally finds someone to trust and talk with. They quickly became friends and then more, exchanging kisses under the wall’s shadow.”
“But not much later their happiness was disturbed when it seemed something broke through the walls in the evenings, leaving dead bodies in its wake every night. The villagers tried to fight the monster, organizing search patrols, instituting a curfew, asking for help from the other villagers, but it was to no avail. Our curious girl couldn’t resist this challenge, and she decided to take on the beast by herself. One night when she went out armed with only a meager kitchen knife and a torch, she was met by her beloved, who smiled at her with pointy teeth and blood red lips…”
Ruby’s stomach does a flip then, but it’s because of the scents from her long buried memory than from the story. Anger flares up in her, like a white hot pain, and that’s when she decides that it’s enough.
“Let me guess,” she says vehemently. “Then the boy turns the girl into a monster and they happily eat the whole, goddamned village?”
The monster only tilts its head, like if it’s amused. “Oh, do you know this story then, Ruby? You know what it means, don’t you? You are just like me, a monster, nothing more…”
Ruby doesn’t say anything, only shrugs, and instinctively reaches for the knife in her boot, and with one solid, smooth motion, she stabs it into the book. For a second, she think, she miscalculated the situation, but then it starts beating frantically, like a scared bird’s wing, and ink gushes out of the tear like blood.
“I know I’m not the hero of the story, but you know what?” Ruby feels as if she finally found that something she was looking for. “That doesn’t mean I don’t get a happily ever after. Maybe I have to fight for it with tooth and nail, but who doesn’t.”
And she knows where her path will take her: to the Mad Hatter and to another world. It’s quite easy after she gets to repair his hat, and though Jefferson is a little paranoid and distrustful, he takes her to Victor’s world. (She makes him promise to bring visit Mary Margaret, Granny and Belle, if they want to, and though he grumbles that he’s not a public transportation, he agrees.)
Ruby knows it’s worth it when she sees Victor’s surprised and wide eyes and tentative smile. She doesn’t hesitate to kiss him, everything else can wait, she has to convey everything she can’t put into words: because the heart is that kind of a tricky thing, meanings get lost with words, but not with action.
As they lips meet it feels right, and Ruby knows she finally got her second chance, and even if an ending is looming above it, she doesn’t care. And that’s when she realizes that her home is right here with him.
~oOo~
This is how the story ends: With a long-awaited kiss, a sincere promise and a world full of possibilities and dreams. Though they’re not the heroes, and they make mistakes and they have to make up for it and maybe have to fight for their happiness along the way, but it’s just as good enough as a happily ever after.