My first Red Snow one shot. The product of a question asked by an anon about my many headcanons ("has Snow had to stop Red from doing something…extreme?").
Obviously this fic deals with sensitive topics (Attempted suicide, Self injury) so if it's likely to be triggering for you, don't read. Seriously, I don't want to upset anyone.
If you're sceptical about Red doing something like this, see HERE for my reasoning as to why she might be susceptible.
Lame title is lame. Why is it that I find it impossible to title these things?
Word count: 1,717
Red fell onto her bed, strangled sobs escaping her throat as she curled her arms around her messy sheets and tugged them to her chest. Squeezing her stinging eyes shut, she inhaled sharply. The usually reassuring scent of Snow which lingered on the covers from that morning only caused the ache in her chest to intensify and she sobbed harder as she pushed the covers away. As much as she wanted to, she didn't deserve to breathe it in after what she'd done.
"What the hell is this?" Red asked angrily as she skidded to a stop next to Snow and James. Snow was leaning against a tree bark and James was standing far too close for Red's liking and Snow's too for that matter. She was clearly squirming uncomfortably but one of James's hands was resting on her shoulder while the other was flat against the tree trunk next to her head so she wasn't in a position to move.
Charming's expression immediately soured when he spotted Red glaring at them "Red." He greeted disdainfully.
"Don't 'Red' me." Red responded furiously, her fists clenching at her side "What do you think you're doing to my girlfriend?"
"I'm not doing anything."
"Your hands say otherwise." Red stormed forward and placing her hands on James's chest she gave him a sharp shove backwards. He stumbled slightly and just barely managed to stay on his feet.
"What was that for?" he glared at her.
"You know damn well what it was for." Red answered venomously "Now if you don't want me to do something worse, I suggest you clear off."
"Red." Snow warned quietly. "Calm down."
"Calm down?" Red looked over her shoulder in disbelief. "Are you fucking kidding me?"
"You know what he's like." Snow said sheepishly. She stepped forward to grasp Red's hand only to be shaken off.
"Yeah, Red, It's just a bit of fun." James said brightly.
Red turned back to him, her expression a mask of fury. "You think it's funny to flirt with someone else's girlfriend? Not to mention the fact that she clearly doesn't want your hands on her."
"I'm pretty sure she doesn't mind my hands being on her." James smirked cockily. "She certainly never complains."
"Please." Red spat. "She doesn't complain because for some reason she cares about hurting your feelings. That's why she doesn't say anything about you following her around like a lost puppy."
James felt his face flush with both anger and embarrassment. He snapped out a response before he could really process what he was about to say. "And I was under the impression that you're the only animal here."
"Charming!" Snow gasped.
Red's eyes briefly flashed gold and she stormed forward. Before James could even think to reach for his sword Red seized his collar and pulled him close with almost inhuman strength. "Do you want to say that again?" she snarled furiously.
James swallowed nervously but never one to back down from a fight, he hastily responded. "I said I thought you were the only animal here. But hey, I'm at an advantage here. At least puppies are domesticated."
Red growled low in her throat and pulled her fist back, fully intent on slamming it into the man's smug face. Her arm was caught at the last second however and Red was spun around.
"Red-"
Before Snow could even get her words out Red lashed out, backhanding her across the face.
Red's tears came thicker and faster at the thought of what she'd done. Her fury towards James had caused her to see red and she'd just reacted. Curling onto her other side she caught a glimpse of something shiny. Her old hunting knife she kept for safety purposes. Reaching out she took hold of the blade and brought it to eye level, tearfully examining it. She shifted into a sitting position and turned the knife so that the blade shone in the light.
Three gasps sounded in unison in wake of the slap that echoed loudly around them.
"Oh God…" Red said, horrified by what she'd done. "Oh God, Snow. I'm so sorry."
Snow's head had been jolted to the right because of the slap and her hand had instinctively lifted to the stinging area. Her eyes watering profusely she slowly looked back to Red.
"I-I'm sorry." Red said again, her eyes flooding with tears. Noticing the red mark beneath Snow's fingers she tentatively reached out to touch it only for Snow to flinch involuntarily. Red's hand flew to her mouth at the reaction and she stumbled back, a soft sob slipping past her lips. "I-I'm sorry."
"Red, it's…It's okay." Snow reassured shakily. She slowly lowered her hand from her cheek, revealing the hand shaped mark that stood out against her pale skin.
Red's teary eyes widened at the extent of the damage she'd inflicted. "I-I'm so sorry."
"Red, stop saying sor…Red?" Snow watched as Red turned and rushed away. "Red, wait!"
Red merely sped up, tears blurring her vision as she hurried home.
"It's the right thing to do." Red murmured tearfully as she moved the blade to her wrist. "I won't be able to hurt anyone else."
She pressed it against the skin there, allowing herself a moment to get used to the sharp pressure. She pressed the sharp blade down and her stomach twisted anxiously at the thought of what she was about to do. The thought was quickly overpowered by the idea that Snow would be better off without her. Images of the many times she'd hurt Snow flashed through her head, culminating in the painful memory of her girlfriend flinching from her touch. Red choked on a sob and blinked rapidly to clear the tears from her eyes. She was aware that there was no way she could bring herself to leave Snow and her slightly twisted logic told her that what she was about to do was the only way. She gritted her teeth and slowly dragged the blade to the right. She whimpered at the sharp sting but continued anyway, watching the line of blood appear. Just as she got to the centre of her wrist the door burst open and she looked up in shock, unintentionally pressing harder on the blade.
It took Snow a moment to comprehend what she was seeing but when she did she gasped out loud and practically fell over her feet in her haste to get to her girlfriend. Thankfully Red was in shock at the sight of her, so Snow had enough time to wrench the knife from Red's hand before any further damage could be done. She threw it across the room as if she couldn't get it far enough away from Red.
"What the hell are you doing, Red?" she asked, glancing quickly around for something to stem the bleeding. She couldn't see anything that would work and she settled on tugging the edge of Red's cloak to press against the bloody wound. Had Red not been too upset to pay attention, she would have noted the irony of the action. "Red." She gripped her girlfriends' chin in a grip that was too tight to be comforting and forced their teary gazes to meet. "Why?"
Red's lower lip trembled as her eyes inevitably shifted to the still prominent red mark on Snow's cheek. "You shouldn't have stopped me." She choked out before a sob escaped her throat. "You would be better off without me."
"What?" Snow's sounded in a disbelieving gasp and her grip on Red's chin loosened, allowing her to pull away "How can you say that? How can you even think that?"
"How can you not?" Red snapped tearfully. "Look what I've done to you!" she shamefully ducked her head, her shoulders shaking with soft sobs. "I'm a monster."
Snow felt her throat tighten and the corners of her eyes burn with tears. She moved onto the bed and wrapped her free arm around Red's shoulders to pull her close. Red immediately began to fight the embrace but Snow, being the stronger of the two hung on without much difficulty.
"Snow, let go." Red sobbed softly as she pushed at Snow's chest in an effort to make her let go. "I don't deserve it."
Snow wanted nothing more than to both arms around Red to shield her from herself but she didn't dare to release the grip she had on Red's wounded wrist in case it was still bleeding. Instead she merely held Red tighter and whispered soft assurances into her ear. "You're not. Don't say that." She bit back her own sobs, trying to stay strong for her girlfriend. It was easier said than done however and as her own tears trickled down her cheeks she buried her face in Red's hair.
Eventually Red stopped struggling and slumped into Snow's embrace. "You'd be better off without me." She said tearfully. "You be safer. All I do I-is hurt you. I don't deserve to..."
"Stop it." Snow said, pulling back slightly to look into Red's eyes though she didn't loosen her grip for a second. "You are not a monster, do you hear me Red? It was an accident. It doesn't matter. It's just a bruise."
Red shook her head, causing unshed tears to spill down her cheeks. "That's not the point. And next time could be worse. You should have let me…"
"Red." Snow snapped sharply, effectively cutting Red off before she could say something Snow really didn't want to hear. "You hurting yourself hurts me a hundred times more than anything you could ever physically do to me. Do you understand? You can't…you can't do this."
Red nodded slowly and Snow embraced her tightly.
"I don't want to hurt you again." Red whispered. "You shouldn't be with someone like me."
Snow closed her eyes at the sensation of Red's tears dripping onto her neck. "You're exactly the person I should be with. The only person I should ever be with. I love you too much for you to…" she faltered slightly and swallowed against the lump in her throat. "You can't ever leave me."
Red stayed silent, soft sobs wracking her body as she tried to focus on the throbbing pain in her wrist instead of the ache in her chest.
THE END.