fic: A Summer of Limitless Bites
A Summer of Limitless Bites
Supernatural; Anna/Ruby; au; R; 2,040 words
"Don't make promises you can't keep."
Written for familiardevil for help_haiti. Thanks to scorpiod1 for betaing.
~*~
Ruby gets topside again--she's not sure how, but she thinks it's Lucifer who brings her back. About half the other demons do too, but she's one of the last to make it out before Sam and Dean manage to close the Devil's Gate. The trap's long broken, luckily, or else they'd all be stuck there in a swirling black cloud that'd definitely draw people's attention. Demons are usually at least a little picky about who they choose to possess, especially if they're planning on staying for a while (no one wants some overweight old guy with diabetes and a bad knee), but there aren't too many people in the area to begin with.
She liked her old meatsuits--the blonde's soft curves and blue eyes; the brunette's girl-next-door charm--and as a human, she was kind of pretty (the word was fair then), had pale skin and long braids, but beggars can't be choosers. The college girl she picks is nineteen and has light brown hair with a streak of blue--typical teen rebellion. She screams when Ruby takes her; for a moment, she feels something like guilt, but the end of the world is coming fast. She's really doing that girl a favor, since she'll be safe when the apocalypse rolls around.
Without Sam, she's out of the loop with hunting. It's not the obvious choice of what she should do, but she's fucked up plenty in this world; she could at least try to make amends. Besides, she knows the coming apocalypse, and thousands of deaths at once, have got to have some kind of repercussions. It's not like she tries to find jobs, because she definitely doesn't go looking for them, but they find her. She takes a pit stop just outside of D.C. and ends up in a haunted gas station bathroom, of all places. It catches her off-guard (why would someone haunt a Shell station?), but she finds a bag of rock salt out back, and manages to ward the thing off before booking it out of there.
She avoids the Winchesters, knows they'd be less than ambivalent to see her (and that's an understatement), but she's in a dive bar in Memphis when they walk in. Everyone knows who they are; they seem to be nothing short of heroes, and the only thing keeping them from looking like those guys in Western movies is the fact that they didn't storm the place with their guns cocked. Ruby knows they each have one tucked into their jeans, but the others are stored in the false bottom of the Impala's trunk. She knows their usual routine by heart--Dean orders drinks ("On the house," the bartender says), maybe hits on a pretty girl, while Sam finds a table in the back corner of the room--and tonight's no different. Except, when he finds a seat at the bar, it's next to her. Definitely different, and definitely not good.
"Do you need me to walk by again?" he asks, lips splitting into a wide grin.
"What?" She'd only half been paying attention--a habit. She's alone all the time now, and since people rarely talk to her, it's a little strange when they do.
"Do you believe in love at first sight or do you need me to walk by twice?" Dean's cocksure as ever, somehow undeterred or disheartened by the apocalypse he and Sam brought on. And if that's not the case, he's doing a damn good job of pretending he's fine.
"I'm not looking for love," she says. Even if she were, it's not like she could feel it. Not like people do. Feigning playfulness, she asks, "Aren't you a little old for me?" and doesn't feel bad when his face crumples a little.
"Whatever." Dean chugs his beer, slams the bottle down, and walks back over to Sam, who glances at her over his shoulder as they leave. It's not a nice look, but he doesn't seem to recognize her, is only frustrated with her for making him deal with Dean's post-rejection self-worth issues.
After that, she's more careful, though there's probably no one from before who'd know her. She doesn't see any other demons (that doesn't mean they're aren't any, because she knows there are); she doesn't think they'd react well to her being alive (being as alive as a demon can, anyway).
She drives to the Grand Canyon--always wanted to see it. The place is completely empty, though; it's not nearly as spectacular without all the overeager tourists. It's just a huge fucking hole in the ground: empty nothingness, like she always feels. She contemplates jumping, but it's not worth it.
*
That angel she'd met, when she was with Sam, the redheaded one--Anna, she remembers--shows up at Ruby's door instead of the pizza she ordered, and dammit, why does this always happen to her?
"Why are you here?" She honestly can't think of a reason. She's not lying to anyone (more than necessary), and she hasn't gotten Sam addicted to demon blood again.
"I know what you're doing," Anna says. "Exorcising demons, burning bones."
Ruby rolls her eyes. "Let me take a wild guess: you want me to stop?"
"Not at all," the angel replies. "You're doing something good." With a smirk, she adds, "For once."
"God didn't send you?" she asks. Even that seems like a far stretch--Ruby's a demon, but just a lowly one, and like Anna just said, she hasn't done anything wrong.
"God is dead." Anna's voice is icy, but Ruby senses something buried deep underneath, satisfaction that she was right, that the others were wrong. "Do you think he would've let this happen?"
Ruby doesn't know. There's no way to tell how many have died so far, and how many more will. There's the story of Noah, of Sodom and Gomorrah. In her own time as a human, she probably would've died of the Plague (so many did) if they hadn't burned her at the stake. There were casualties in World War II, and the Vietnam War, and at the World Trade Center and the Twin Towers; she just never thought God would allow so many to die at once. The world's about to end, though, and he let it get pretty damn bad. "No," she admits. "But that still doesn't explain why you're here."
"Let me put it this way: I think you got a bad deal. And coming between the Winchesters? Not smart. You could say they're..." Anna pauses, considering. "Especially close. You could've had greatness, too, if it weren't for that knife of yours. Rookie mistake, having it on you at a time like that. But there's still hope. I've still got some pull upstairs--I could get you in."
Heaven. That's where everyone in the Middle Ages was supposed to want to go, but it never seemed appealing to Ruby--more boring than anything else, having to be good all the time; after years on the rack, it sounds pretty damn good. "Don't make promises you can't keep."
Anna steps closer, breath warm on Ruby's cheek. "Of course, there are a few strings attached, just pesky little ones, really. I don't think you'll have any problems."
"Oh?" Ruby cocks an eyebrow. "Anything you'd like to share?"
"Later," Anna whispers. "Pleasure before business."
Anna's skin is warm; Ruby's hyperaware that there's still someone in this body, however silent. She kisses Anna anyway, grabs a handful of Anna's red waves and tugs. They're not gentle, or sweet, but no one else has touched her in what feels like forever, and what they're doing now? It feels good. The first time in a new body is always fun, too--sensations are different, and some people have got sweet spots she would've never imagined.
She eats Anna out, back pressed up against the door, Anna's legs hooked over Ruby's shoulders. After, Anna grins wickedly, and tugs Ruby towards the bed.
*
She figures something's up when, a few days later, she hears hellhounds barking and growling just outside their motel room. She's spent the last few days in bed, only getting out to eat and shower, so this really puts a damper on her mood. It was probably going to happen sooner or later, though, and even if she had her knife (fucking Winchesters), she can't actually see where they are before it's too late.
The inevitable (the hounds clawing down the door and into her) has to be coming soon enough; no sense spending her last few minutes worrying about it. "It was a good run," she says, though it's not like anyone can hear her. Anna's off who knows where--she likes to disappear for a few hours and come back, refreshed and with a Cheshire cat grin on her face.
They don't come. But there's a knock on the door, and Ruby opens it to find Anna standing there, a smile pulling at the corners of her mouth. "I took care of it," she says, and Ruby wonders what that means, exactly.
*
Anna, as it turns out, is a huge girly-girl. "Let's have a movie marathon!" she says excitedly, and with a smile like that, how's Ruby supposed to say no? "Back in a sec."
Ruby turns her back to see where Anna's gone (the bathroom was her first thought); a few minutes later, Anna's on the couch, a junk food feast on the coffee table: Junior Mints. Those cheap wafer cookies she loves. Yodels. Potato chips. Cheez-Its. All of Ruby's favorites.
"Aw, is all this for me?" she asks, one hand over her meatsuit's heart. "I'm touched. Really. Can we just get this over with?"
"Well, we might be here for a while." Anna holds up The Breakfast Club, 10 Things I Hate About You, and Bride Wars. "And I'm painting your nails whether you like it or not." She grabs one of Ruby's hands without waiting. "Color?"
"Black," Ruby grumbles.
"I don't have that," Anna chirps. She paints Ruby's nails with this disgustingly cheery shade of bubblegum pink; in return, Ruby uses the darkest shade of purple there is on Anna's.
The movies are worse than Ruby expected--that Julia Stiles girl is so annoying--but she has movie-theater butter popcorn to eat, and throw at the screen when she gets fed up.
"You're such a pig," Anna says. "You could at least save some for me."
"Shut up," Ruby replies, but it doesn't come out sounding cruel at all. "Here." She hands Anna the box of candy. "Don't say I never do anything for you."
*
In Toledo, Anna chants Latin until some lowlife demon finally surrenders, abandoning the little boy it'd been possessing. Ruby knows she's a hypocrite for helping, but there are more demons than ever vying for power. She likes not being in hell, though, and the apocalypse could really fuck that up.
"I'm starving," Anna declares once they're finished. Angels don't need to eat, but she beams them to this diner in Oregon; it's somehow still open--a fact that Ruby's not going to question. Diners mean French fries done right.
The cook's got to have a deal with Lucifer or something. Ruby has a bacon cheeseburger, fries (cut thick, lots of salt and ketchup--exactly the way she likes them), a chocolate milkshake, and--the best part--cherry pie. With fresh cherries. How is that even possible in the middle of winter?
"So what is it that I have to do to get in good upstairs, anyway?"
"Kill Sam Winchester."
Oh, shit. "I don't know if--" she starts. She's already betrayed him (and she did feel bad about that, really, but it had to be done), and now she's supposed to kill him?
"You can," Anna promises. "For me."
Supernatural; Anna/Ruby; au; R; 2,040 words
"Don't make promises you can't keep."
Written for familiardevil for help_haiti. Thanks to scorpiod1 for betaing.
~*~
Ruby gets topside again--she's not sure how, but she thinks it's Lucifer who brings her back. About half the other demons do too, but she's one of the last to make it out before Sam and Dean manage to close the Devil's Gate. The trap's long broken, luckily, or else they'd all be stuck there in a swirling black cloud that'd definitely draw people's attention. Demons are usually at least a little picky about who they choose to possess, especially if they're planning on staying for a while (no one wants some overweight old guy with diabetes and a bad knee), but there aren't too many people in the area to begin with.
She liked her old meatsuits--the blonde's soft curves and blue eyes; the brunette's girl-next-door charm--and as a human, she was kind of pretty (the word was fair then), had pale skin and long braids, but beggars can't be choosers. The college girl she picks is nineteen and has light brown hair with a streak of blue--typical teen rebellion. She screams when Ruby takes her; for a moment, she feels something like guilt, but the end of the world is coming fast. She's really doing that girl a favor, since she'll be safe when the apocalypse rolls around.
Without Sam, she's out of the loop with hunting. It's not the obvious choice of what she should do, but she's fucked up plenty in this world; she could at least try to make amends. Besides, she knows the coming apocalypse, and thousands of deaths at once, have got to have some kind of repercussions. It's not like she tries to find jobs, because she definitely doesn't go looking for them, but they find her. She takes a pit stop just outside of D.C. and ends up in a haunted gas station bathroom, of all places. It catches her off-guard (why would someone haunt a Shell station?), but she finds a bag of rock salt out back, and manages to ward the thing off before booking it out of there.
She avoids the Winchesters, knows they'd be less than ambivalent to see her (and that's an understatement), but she's in a dive bar in Memphis when they walk in. Everyone knows who they are; they seem to be nothing short of heroes, and the only thing keeping them from looking like those guys in Western movies is the fact that they didn't storm the place with their guns cocked. Ruby knows they each have one tucked into their jeans, but the others are stored in the false bottom of the Impala's trunk. She knows their usual routine by heart--Dean orders drinks ("On the house," the bartender says), maybe hits on a pretty girl, while Sam finds a table in the back corner of the room--and tonight's no different. Except, when he finds a seat at the bar, it's next to her. Definitely different, and definitely not good.
"Do you need me to walk by again?" he asks, lips splitting into a wide grin.
"What?" She'd only half been paying attention--a habit. She's alone all the time now, and since people rarely talk to her, it's a little strange when they do.
"Do you believe in love at first sight or do you need me to walk by twice?" Dean's cocksure as ever, somehow undeterred or disheartened by the apocalypse he and Sam brought on. And if that's not the case, he's doing a damn good job of pretending he's fine.
"I'm not looking for love," she says. Even if she were, it's not like she could feel it. Not like people do. Feigning playfulness, she asks, "Aren't you a little old for me?" and doesn't feel bad when his face crumples a little.
"Whatever." Dean chugs his beer, slams the bottle down, and walks back over to Sam, who glances at her over his shoulder as they leave. It's not a nice look, but he doesn't seem to recognize her, is only frustrated with her for making him deal with Dean's post-rejection self-worth issues.
After that, she's more careful, though there's probably no one from before who'd know her. She doesn't see any other demons (that doesn't mean they're aren't any, because she knows there are); she doesn't think they'd react well to her being alive (being as alive as a demon can, anyway).
She drives to the Grand Canyon--always wanted to see it. The place is completely empty, though; it's not nearly as spectacular without all the overeager tourists. It's just a huge fucking hole in the ground: empty nothingness, like she always feels. She contemplates jumping, but it's not worth it.
*
That angel she'd met, when she was with Sam, the redheaded one--Anna, she remembers--shows up at Ruby's door instead of the pizza she ordered, and dammit, why does this always happen to her?
"Why are you here?" She honestly can't think of a reason. She's not lying to anyone (more than necessary), and she hasn't gotten Sam addicted to demon blood again.
"I know what you're doing," Anna says. "Exorcising demons, burning bones."
Ruby rolls her eyes. "Let me take a wild guess: you want me to stop?"
"Not at all," the angel replies. "You're doing something good." With a smirk, she adds, "For once."
"God didn't send you?" she asks. Even that seems like a far stretch--Ruby's a demon, but just a lowly one, and like Anna just said, she hasn't done anything wrong.
"God is dead." Anna's voice is icy, but Ruby senses something buried deep underneath, satisfaction that she was right, that the others were wrong. "Do you think he would've let this happen?"
Ruby doesn't know. There's no way to tell how many have died so far, and how many more will. There's the story of Noah, of Sodom and Gomorrah. In her own time as a human, she probably would've died of the Plague (so many did) if they hadn't burned her at the stake. There were casualties in World War II, and the Vietnam War, and at the World Trade Center and the Twin Towers; she just never thought God would allow so many to die at once. The world's about to end, though, and he let it get pretty damn bad. "No," she admits. "But that still doesn't explain why you're here."
"Let me put it this way: I think you got a bad deal. And coming between the Winchesters? Not smart. You could say they're..." Anna pauses, considering. "Especially close. You could've had greatness, too, if it weren't for that knife of yours. Rookie mistake, having it on you at a time like that. But there's still hope. I've still got some pull upstairs--I could get you in."
Heaven. That's where everyone in the Middle Ages was supposed to want to go, but it never seemed appealing to Ruby--more boring than anything else, having to be good all the time; after years on the rack, it sounds pretty damn good. "Don't make promises you can't keep."
Anna steps closer, breath warm on Ruby's cheek. "Of course, there are a few strings attached, just pesky little ones, really. I don't think you'll have any problems."
"Oh?" Ruby cocks an eyebrow. "Anything you'd like to share?"
"Later," Anna whispers. "Pleasure before business."
Anna's skin is warm; Ruby's hyperaware that there's still someone in this body, however silent. She kisses Anna anyway, grabs a handful of Anna's red waves and tugs. They're not gentle, or sweet, but no one else has touched her in what feels like forever, and what they're doing now? It feels good. The first time in a new body is always fun, too--sensations are different, and some people have got sweet spots she would've never imagined.
She eats Anna out, back pressed up against the door, Anna's legs hooked over Ruby's shoulders. After, Anna grins wickedly, and tugs Ruby towards the bed.
*
She figures something's up when, a few days later, she hears hellhounds barking and growling just outside their motel room. She's spent the last few days in bed, only getting out to eat and shower, so this really puts a damper on her mood. It was probably going to happen sooner or later, though, and even if she had her knife (fucking Winchesters), she can't actually see where they are before it's too late.
The inevitable (the hounds clawing down the door and into her) has to be coming soon enough; no sense spending her last few minutes worrying about it. "It was a good run," she says, though it's not like anyone can hear her. Anna's off who knows where--she likes to disappear for a few hours and come back, refreshed and with a Cheshire cat grin on her face.
They don't come. But there's a knock on the door, and Ruby opens it to find Anna standing there, a smile pulling at the corners of her mouth. "I took care of it," she says, and Ruby wonders what that means, exactly.
*
Anna, as it turns out, is a huge girly-girl. "Let's have a movie marathon!" she says excitedly, and with a smile like that, how's Ruby supposed to say no? "Back in a sec."
Ruby turns her back to see where Anna's gone (the bathroom was her first thought); a few minutes later, Anna's on the couch, a junk food feast on the coffee table: Junior Mints. Those cheap wafer cookies she loves. Yodels. Potato chips. Cheez-Its. All of Ruby's favorites.
"Aw, is all this for me?" she asks, one hand over her meatsuit's heart. "I'm touched. Really. Can we just get this over with?"
"Well, we might be here for a while." Anna holds up The Breakfast Club, 10 Things I Hate About You, and Bride Wars. "And I'm painting your nails whether you like it or not." She grabs one of Ruby's hands without waiting. "Color?"
"Black," Ruby grumbles.
"I don't have that," Anna chirps. She paints Ruby's nails with this disgustingly cheery shade of bubblegum pink; in return, Ruby uses the darkest shade of purple there is on Anna's.
The movies are worse than Ruby expected--that Julia Stiles girl is so annoying--but she has movie-theater butter popcorn to eat, and throw at the screen when she gets fed up.
"You're such a pig," Anna says. "You could at least save some for me."
"Shut up," Ruby replies, but it doesn't come out sounding cruel at all. "Here." She hands Anna the box of candy. "Don't say I never do anything for you."
*
In Toledo, Anna chants Latin until some lowlife demon finally surrenders, abandoning the little boy it'd been possessing. Ruby knows she's a hypocrite for helping, but there are more demons than ever vying for power. She likes not being in hell, though, and the apocalypse could really fuck that up.
"I'm starving," Anna declares once they're finished. Angels don't need to eat, but she beams them to this diner in Oregon; it's somehow still open--a fact that Ruby's not going to question. Diners mean French fries done right.
The cook's got to have a deal with Lucifer or something. Ruby has a bacon cheeseburger, fries (cut thick, lots of salt and ketchup--exactly the way she likes them), a chocolate milkshake, and--the best part--cherry pie. With fresh cherries. How is that even possible in the middle of winter?
"So what is it that I have to do to get in good upstairs, anyway?"
"Kill Sam Winchester."
Oh, shit. "I don't know if--" she starts. She's already betrayed him (and she did feel bad about that, really, but it had to be done), and now she's supposed to kill him?
"You can," Anna promises. "For me."