People must be thinking he was drunk. Funny thing they were probably thinking it because he wasn't having any drink.
Victor glanced down at his coffee and chuckled ironically to himself. It was almost midnight and he was drinking coffee. All alone in a corner, elbows on the counter as the girl on the other side of it glided back and forth serving beer and cocktails to the other customers.
She was so beautiful…
Victor gulped down a shot of coffee pretending it was scotch, that it would wash away some of his inner blueness and could lull his mind enough for him to lose the leitmotiv of his thoughts.
Ruby.
Ruby smiling at that guy who had been shamefully hitting on her all night.
Ruby accepting a considerable tip from the man whose eyes had barely left her ass in over an hour.
Ruby laughing because two boys were trying to steal her attention by showing her some awkward magic tricks.
Ruby. Just Ruby.
Just her.
He didn't even know how long he'd been sitting there. He only recalled walking in and receiving a welcoming smile from her and a freezing glare from Granny – both of which he was pretty used to – and then everything was a foggy mess. And he hadn't even touched a single drop of alcohol.
His mind had a dangerous tendency to drift away when Ruby was nearby. He liked to imagine things, however badly these day-dreams hurt him.
Ruby handing him a pint of beer and secretively hiding a napkin under it with her number scribbled in a corner.
Ruby crossing paths with him in the streets at some point of the day and asking him if he would like to help her with the grocery shopping.
Ruby cursing under her breath because she'd lost an earring or something and himself being the one helping her finding it.
Small things. Silly things.
They would have been enough, for him.
It had been a shock to him to see her, when she'd dropped her aggressive look for a more natural one.
He'd always liked her, but seeing her like that, so clean and pure, had shot some kind of poison into his heart which was now consuming him from the inside. Beautiful, beautiful Ruby. You could turn her insideout, she would still be painfully beautiful. He loved the fire burning inside her. He always had. Only recently he had discovered this fire had a name.
Wolf.
He heard her laugh again and tried to lock the sound out of his head. All he got was a picture of her in his arms, rolling over the floor laughing hard as he tickled her.
He gulped down the rest of his coffee in a shot and wished it was scotch, or whiskey, or anything alcoholic.
When he looked again, Ruby was gone, but the bunch of guys at the counter still had that longing look in their eyes. He watched them shove a few dollars on the counter next to their empty glasses and was glad to see them heading outside. Before leaving, one of them cast Victor a pitying look, then closed the door behind himself with a half snigger.
As the crave for alcohol increased, Victor tried to remind himself why he'd vowed to do his best to limit his alcohol consumption. It was almost funny how the reason why he needed drinking was also the same he wanted to avoid it.
And then, as if Temptation itself had been reading his mind all along, a very alluring pint of beer literally appeared in front of him.
He blinked in dismay.
"Don't worry, it's on the house."
His heart stopped.
Before he could even process the source of this voice, long white fingers pulled back the stool next to him and another pint of beer was settled next to his own.
Ruby sat down by his side as though it was something she did every night. She had taken off her waiting clothes and what was left was a white shirt whose sleeves were rolled halfway up her forearms and a pair of tight dark jeans she should have been forbidden to wear.
Victor still had no idea what was going on.
Ruby took up her tankard and waited for him to toast with her. Too bad he wasn't reactive enough.
Or at all.
She had to literally put the other tankard in his hand to get her toast.
She took a sip and watched him do the same. Then she smiled.
"Isn't it much better to share rather than sitting here alone?"
Of course it was, but how was he supposed to tell her he could barely fantasize about having a drink with her?
Ruby gazed at the empty cup of coffee. "I think I've never seen you drink coffee at this time."
Victor was still trying to figure out how this was possibly happening, but told himself he'd better catch up before she would start thinking he was as stupid as he was feeling right now.
"I'm trying to be… uh… healthier, I guess."
She rose her eyebrows in surprise, but looked quite impressed.
"Why, that's good! Oh, don't drink that then!" she added on a sudden comprehension. "I'm so sorry, you shouldn't have drunk that if you're trying not to – "
Victor, much to his own surprise, found himself laughing.
"I'd drink a glass of – I don't know – cat pee, if you offered me that."
Ruby cast him a flattered lopsided look.
He couldn't help himself. As goofy as his quips could be, she always accepted them wholeheartedly.
"In this case, I promise I'll never offer you anything that's not worth drinking."
"This is good," he said as he put down his tankard, licking some foam off his lips. "Better than coffee, to be honest. Thank you. I kinda needed it."
Ruby drained the last few drops of her beer and shrugged.
"I could tell. You weren't looking very happy, lonely man."
Victor met her eyes and found some real concern in them.
Could she possibly really mean she had been keeping an eye on him? How could he have missed that?
"Well, I don't exactly come here seeking for company, you know."
"I thought you came here seeking for drinks, in fact. But now it turns out you're going healthy, so I'm at a loss for guesses. By the face you made while you drank it, I would say you certainly don't come for the coffee."
They laughed together, but under his laugh he felt an invisible hand grip his heart and squeeze uncomfortably.
Of course he didn't come to Granny's for the coffee. There weren't many men coming to Granny's for the drinks or the food, however good they were, but Ruby didn't seem to be remotely aware of this.
"Okay," she said suddenly, standing up with such energy he could hardly believe she had just finished an eight-hour shift. "Time to go, I'm sick of this place, for today."
Victor's momentary state of serenity vanished in a blink. Disappointed and a bit hurt, he opened his mouth to say bye, but Ruby turned back and gestured him to stand up.
"Come on, what are you waiting for?"
Does she mean… me… going with her?
Victor's brain failed to provide a prompt response. He was so astounded his muscles weren't even connected with his mind any more. In fact, while his thoughts were still stuck by disbelief, his legs indulged Ruby's request.
They talked about their day and what they'd hated about it.
She told him about the rude woman who'd yelled at Granny for the unacceptably cold water in the toilets, and how Ruby had yelled back that the water wouldn't have been cold if only the smart ass had turned the sink handle to the hot side.
He told her about the very entertaining patient he'd had that morning, a lively old lady who apparently had a crush on him and had been telling him dirty joked during her whole knee surgery.
"So when I told her we were done with her knee caps, she said: 'What about heading northward now?' and the nurse gaped at me with such a face I just couldn't keep myself together any more. I had to rush out of the room brushing tears off my eyes for the restrained laugh. Someone actually asked if I was okay."
Ruby was giggling gracefully and Victor felt strangely proud of that. He liked that he could amuse her like that.
At some point, for no apparent reason, she grabbed his arm and started walking arm in arm with him, her face so content and satisfied you'd think there was nothing else in the world she could ever wish for.
"You know, I wanted to join you all along, tonight," Ruby said as she stepped over a pool on the ground. She rolled her eyes. "But it wouldn't have been very professional of me to give up my shift halfway through it, would it? Granny would have chewed my head off."
A warm tingle rose in Victor's chest. He tried to keep it at bay, but it spread so quickly and intensely he was afraid she might notice, somehow.
"Thank you, by the way," he mumbled quickly. "For joining me, I mean. It was a nice addition to a… well, to a meaningless night."
Ruby stroked his arm through the fabric of his jacket and gave him a bright smile.
"Anytime. We do get along pretty well, you have to concede that."
"We might have some chemistry, all in all," he said, feigning a wistful tone. "I wonder why I've never noticed."
"Oh, you haven't?" Ruby elbowed him playfully. "And I thought the flying sparkles were obvious enough!"
"When you long for something too much and too long, it gets hard to tell when it turns into real."
There was no joking in this. He was deadly serious. And this seriousness was probably going to ruin the relaxed atmosphere but he had some trouble handling his filters, when it came to her.
To be completely honest, he had troubles handling anything.
Ruby's only reply was a pinch on the back his hand.
"Ouch! What was that for?" he whined.
Ruby snorted and pierced him with her gorgeous green eyes.
"Didn't you need proof that this was real?"
Victor couldn't stifle a disbelieving laugh. He loved this girl. Everything about her was amazing.
"You could have… I don't know…"
"Alright, softie, next time I'll just give you a kiss!"
"Careful with that," he half laughed. "I may take it as a promise."
"Well, who knows… let's give time to time." Ruby looked at him intently. Her beauty paralyzed him.
Victor stopped and just returned the look with equal intensity.
"I cherish your friendship, you know?"
"I know. I cherish yours, too."
By the way she eyed him – almost regretfully – Victor knew there was more.
"But?"
She stopped walking and slowly let go of his arm. He felt like he'd just been deprived of the ground beneath his feet.
A light crease appeared on Ruby's forehead, making her take vaguely sad look.
"Sometimes I have the feeling you don't want me around."
Her eyes turned sideward to him and cut into his heart like sharp blades. Did she truly believe that? And, above all, did it truly hurt her so much? Did she care so much about what he felt about her?
Could it really be?
"Don't say that," he replied, almost harshly. "You know it's not true."
His own brows furrowed in regret. How could she even think he wouldn't want her around?
"It's just…" she began with a nervous half laugh. "You once used to watch me from afar… Now you're just there, pretending not to see me."
He wanted to put his hand over her mouth and stop her, because she had completely misunderstood his behaviour and she now probably thought he'd lost all interest in her after what she'd told him that night at the port. He needed to tell her, to let her know how wrong she was, how, after that talk, his admiration and adoration for her had only increased beyond any imaginable limit.
"Trying to pretend not to see you," he corrected quietly, not daring looking at her.
Ruby fell silent. She dug her hands into the pockets of her jacket and leant back against the wall behind her, her hair falling forward like a curtain hiding her face.
"I was not expecting you to admit this."
She swallowed.
Victor realised he was only making things even worse. But there was no way he could tell her all the truth without ruining what he'd managed to build up with her, whatever it was.
"Ruby," he moved a step ahead to face her. His hands were shaking from the wish to touch her. A small smile of bemused disbelief formed across his lips. "You're crazy if you think I could ever desire anything but having you as close to me as possible."
He grinned sheepishly and dropped his gaze, unable to do anything more than that. He had already said too much.
After what felt like an eternity, he finally saw Ruby look up to him. She was smiling tentatively.
"So my little personal tragedy didn't scare you away?"
"Why would it?" he asked, genuinely surprised.
Ruby shrugged.
"I don't know. It's how people normally react."
"What happened to Peter was a tragedy, and it wasn't your fault. It was the wolf, not you. Now you are the wolf, it's never going to happen again."
Ruby faced away, her features hardening.
"You can't know that for sure."
"That's nonsense," he remarked sharply. "Ruby, look at me," he begged. "Look. At. Me." he said again, stressing every single word until she indulged him.
The expression she bore was bold, as if she was challenging him to convince her she was wrong.
And he would. Damn right he would.
"If anyone is afraid of you, they're stupid fools, and you're crazy if you believe they're right. Do you understand?"
She bit her lower lip and inhaled slowly.
"It's ridiculous," he added, softening his tone. His hand instinctively rose to touch her arm, but somehow he managed to ball it up a fist and hold it back before she could notice. "It would be like being scared of driving a car because it could explode."
Ruby kept a blank face for a moment, then, little by little, the blankness melt down into a light, fascinated smile.
A tingly sense of pride bloomed within Victor's chest.
"Well now, what a witty tongue you have, Dr. Hopper."
He looked away, grinning embarrassedly. He prayed he wasn't blushing.
"It's just the truth."
"It's the truth as you see it," she remarked, but her evident gratification didn't fade the slightest. "But it's nice to know there's someone who can see the difference between a killer and a…"
"Helpless victim?" he offered, earning a grateful glance from her.
They resumed their walk by an unspoken agreement. They were wandering aimlessly, for the mere pleasure of strolling together and enjoy the warmth of such a beautiful night.
"You must have been a very good brother," she said out of nowhere, after a while.
Victor felt an odd mixture of sorrow and fond memories wash over him, but it didn't hurt as it usually did when he thought back of his brother. Maybe it was Ruby's presence sweetening even the bitterest of thoughts.
"Would you tell me about him?"
Had it been anyone else asking, he would have spat a rude reply and just walked away. But she was probably the only living person he trusted enough to tell this tale. He wanted to give her this piece of himself. He wanted her to be the only one to have it.
So he told her everything.
He told her about his childhood and how hard it had been for him to keep up with his father's expectation, ever since he was born. Young Victor had never been a happy child, until his little brother Gerhardt was born. But Gerhardt had been able to please and satisfy all their father 's dreams , while Victor had chosen to trade his father's love for the pursuit of his scientific aspirations.
"You still did it for him," Ruby argued quietly at that point. "You wanted to bring your mother back, so that he could see the worth of your work. So he could be happy again, and proud of you."
"It was never enough, though," he sighed dejectedly. "And after losing Gerhardt, there was no one left for me."
"Not back there."
Such was Victor's surprise that he tripped into a root sticking out from the ground. But Ruby's wolfish reflexes caught him just in time.
"Careful there!" she said playfully. Her hands - one pressed into the middle of his chest, the other on the small of his back – felt like burning embers against his body. "You almost fell!"
They stood so close to each other he could smell the scent of her skin.
He tried to breathe as steadily as he could, bet her closeness was driving him crazy.
You can spare the "almost", you know?
"Thanks."
"Anytime," Ruby said brightly. She had no idea the effect she had on him.
Victor straightened up and cleared his throat, but Ruby's hands didn't leave him.
"Not back there."
"You need to stop saving my life, otherwise I'll never manage to pay you back," he quipped, hoping she couldn't sense his pulse increase.
Either she didn't, or she didn't want to make him uneasy.
"You could start by buying me a drink – or a coffee, if you prefer – next time you come at Granny's."
"That doesn't pay off a double life rescue."
Ruby patted his arm and pulled him away with her, smirking mischievously.
"I said you could start."
Victor gaped, unable to utter a sound, and she giggled heartily.
"Do we have a deal, Dr. Frankenstein?"
Her smile would grace his dreams for weeks. For months, probably.
Or forever.
He smiled back, wondering if his own smile was as precious to her as hers was to him. He didn't know what she was up to, but it made him ridiculously happy to see her seeking for his company. It didn't make any sense, but if she didn't care, why would he?
"I guess we have a deal, Wolf Girl."
Ruby enveloped her arm more tightly around Victor's and skimmed her cheek against his shoulder.
"Just in case you can't read between the lines," she said. "There's someone here for you in this new life."
She looked up at him, expecting a response, but all he could do was smile again and just watch her beautiful face looking at him in the pale moonlight.
"You really must be crazy, after all," he whispered adoringly. He didn't even bother to conceal his feelings anymore.
Ruby rolled her eyes.
"You're the one arm in arm with a werewolf, to be fair."
"I'll get a leash, next time."
Ruby's elbow hit his ribs, causing him to chuckle guiltily.
"Sorry, that was lame."
"No," she reassured him at once. "I like that you can joke about it. Everyone usually just pretends I'm an ordinary girl."
"It's a shame to treat an extraordinary girl like she was ordinary."
Both he and Ruby froze together. Victor didn't know where that had come out from, but he surely hadn't intended to say it out loud.
But Ruby didn't seem too displeased. It was a compliment, after all. He hoped she knew that.
"You really like me, don't you?"
"Is that even a question?"
Ruby bit a flattered grin between her teeth and started walking again, her cheeks tinting up a bit.
"No," she said, as her fingers gently brushed up and down Victor's arm. "Not really. That's more an answer, in fact."
A/N: so I did it. Frankenwolf friendship with a touch of romance. I hope you monsters liked it! I apologise for the lame title, I had zero ideas. Sorry. Also, sorry if I missed some typos... it's past midnight over here, bear with me. As usual, reviews are welcome, you all know by now!