Without even opening his eyes, or registering much of anything at all in his sleep stupor, Ruby knew what the alarming noise that had brought him out of a dead sleep was. It wasn't the first time this summer he'd heard it, either. He wasn't angry, though. Not once in their entire friendship (or as they sometimes joked, "rivalry") had he been sincirely mad at Sapphire. Occasionally irritated at her impulsive and obnoxious behavior, sure, but he just didn't get upset with her. She was easy to forgive, and he didn't mind at all.
With little hesitation, he stretched—taking his sweet time, he could pratically feel her getting more impatient—and against his better judgment, crawled out from under the covers and stumbled out of bed. Ruby blinked his eyes open and found himself face to face with his erratic best friend, otherwise known as Littleroot Town's most energetic after midnight, separated only by the glass panels she was tapping on. He rubbed at his eyes with his left hand and fumbled with the latch on his window with his right, mentally readying himself for Sapphire to begin babbling at a mile-a-minute.
He was greeted with the pleasant summer heat, and, of course, Sapphire elbowing him out of her way as she thrust herself up through the window and into the room. He made a drowsy grunt of recognition, squinting to see her in the dark. The corner's of his mouth tilted downward by instict when he realized that she was fully dressed and clearly wide awake. She was planning something.
"Ruby," she leaned forward to clasp her hands down on his shoulders and he heard her panting, "I rushed over here after I heard all this noise in my backyard. You just gotta check it out, you'll never guess what I saw!" He repressed a smile when she started bouncing up and down in her excitement.
"Try me."
"Ruby! They're Eevee! Two of 'em, just playing back there! They're so cute, please come look!" Although her features were undeniably lit up with enthusiasm, her tone was was desperate; afraid that he'd turn her down in favor of going back to bed. She was begging. How could he say no?
"Fine," he mumbled, "Can I put on shoes?"
Sapphire flashed a grin and was out the window as fast as she came, trusting him to follow. Ruby snatched his backpack off the floor, revealing his shoes underneath it. Slipping those on and slinging his bag over his shoulder, he leapt out after her.
"This way," Sapphire hissed in a hushed tone, afraid they'd frighten the Eevee or maybe their parents would wake to overhear the two of them. At ages eleven and twelve, sneaking out of their homes wasn't the smartest or safest way to pass the time. They did it often, however, always on Sapphire's accord. Ruby would never argue, though. It never took much convincing at all for him to do whatever she told him to.
He followed her lead without questioning, shoving his hands in his pockets. Occasionally, he'd smile to himself when he heard her murmur "I promise it's near here" or "I think I just heard it!"
"Over here!" She tugged on his arm—causing his heart rate to speed up a bit, although he'd never admit it—pulling him through tall grass and into a meadow area. He made a note in his mind that he'd have to come here and take photos sometime.
As promised, there they were. The two Eevee were play-fighting and chittering and it was so precious that combined with Sapphire beaming and pratically shaking with excitment he could swear his heart had melted into a puddle in his ribcage.
Ruby's favorite hobby got the better of him and prevented him from silently enjoying the moment. He pulled his camera out of his backpack, thinking he should capture this and add it to one of his scrapbooks. Focus, zoom, and…
"YOU LEFT THE FLASH ON!?" Sapphire's shriek was so resonant that it could have awakened the entire surrounding neighborhood, and Ruby would have argued that it might have been Sapphire's shouting that frightened the Eevee into running away if he wasn't so humiliated. He would have never made an amatuer mistake like that if he wasn't half-asleep.
"I-I'm sorry, I-" Sapphire shushed him harshly and took hold of his hand, yanking him forward.
"We're following them," she declared. No protest from Ruby, as usual. The bright pink shade of his cheeks was proof enough that he should keep his mouth shut.
What happened next was sort of a blur. Rough and tomboyish, Sapphire had always been clumsy, and her reputation proved true when she lost her footing and lurched forward, dragging Ruby down with her.
He recovered quickly, sitting back up and rubbing at the back of his head. His worst outcome appeared to be that he simply had the breath knocked out of him, though the groaning from his left let him know that Sapphire was not quite so lucky.
When he turned to examine her, she was biting her lip so fiercely he feared she might draw blood. "Are you-" She shook her head back and forth sharply before he finished his question, resulting in him rolling his eyes in response. He crawled over to her to observe the damage and she made her best effort to scoot away from him, cringing and squeezing her eyes shut as soon as she put even the lightest pressure on her ankle.
"You're hurt," he confirmed, answering his own question. She made a face at him, as if he was somehow insulting her by stating a fact. "It's starting to turn purple, Sapphire. We have to go home."
She countered by crossing her arms and turning her head away. Stubborn as always. Ruby made a noise of frustration, but his tone remained gentle. Ultimately, this was his fault for scaring off the Eevee, and he felt utterly guilty and helpless. And despite that, seeing Sapphire in that sort of pain made his heart sink. It was quiet for a few minutes.
"I can't walk," Sapphire said finally. Ruby looked up to say something along the lines of "well, obviously" but the look of complete embarrassment on her face cut him short. He wondered what in her mind made her think an accidental injury was something to be so torn up over, especially when he was to blame.
"Okay," he said, jumping to his feet and brushing the dirt off of himself. He walked over to where she had fallen and crouched down in front of her with his arms out.
"You can't be serious," she said, mouth falling open.
"Why not?" Ruby frowned. He didn't know whether it was the idea of letting someone else carry her that had her so taken aback or maybe she was shocked Ruby would offer his help. Although he was willing the bet on the former, the thought of her not believing he showed compassion for her made him feel a bit pensive.
Sapphire bit her lip to keep from arguing any further. As much as she hated it, she knew she couldn't get home on her own feet. She squeezed her eyes shut as if it would make the whole experience less embarrassing and leaned forward to wrap her arms around his neck. He stood up, surprisingly with ease, and took hold of her legs to secure her. He winced when he saw how painful her injury looked.
They were quiet the first few minutes of Ruby piggybacking her home. Sapphire was red-faced and humiliated, but she was never known to keep her mouth shut for long.
"This is so stupid," she muttered.
"I don't mind," he told her. She'd never admit to it, but if it were possible at all, the color in her cheeks may have gotten more vibrant. He liked doing things for Sapphire, just as much as he liked doing things with Sapphire. Spraining her ankle, though, was not very high up on his list of things to do for her.
"I'm sorry you have to carry me," she said after awhile.
"I'm sorry I broke your ankle," he countered.
"I don't mind."
Ruby didn't say anything more, but a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth that he couldn't quite fight back. She tighted her grip, resting her head on his shoulder. He could hear her yawn. Truthfully, if she fell asleep on him and he had to walk the whole way back in silence, he wouldn't mind that, either.