Just a silly little drabble about Red Warrior coming back to Storybrooke together. I'm trying to get comfortable writing in English, so I apologize in advance for any errors. Enjoy!
I own nothing, sadly.
When Ruby comes back to Storybrooke with reluctant "I-don't-wallow" Mulan in tow, she makes it her personal mission to make the girl happy. Of course, it is a task easier said than done – after traveling together for weeks, she quickly learns that warrior's heartbreak is much deeper than she let it show during their conversation with Merida; not that it does much to Ruby's eagerness to help her forget. If anything, it only makes her try harder, especially after seeing Mulan's walls come down those few rare moments and crack the smallest of smiles. When she finally fully laughs at one of her wolf-senses jokes – and that laugh is one of the most brilliant things Ruby's ever heard – it sounds like a victory, not a big one yet, no, but definitely a good one for the start.
So begins her mission to make Mulan happy again. She believes Henry would give it some exceptional codename but, sadly, nothing worthy comes to her mind and choosing something simple (i.e. Operation Dragon) feels like cheating, meaning it has to remain unnamed. More importantly, though, Ruby's got a plan on how exactly to achieve her goal and the first point on it, is to make Mulan feel at home in Storybrooke.
To do that, she begins at taking the warrior shopping. Truth to be told, it wasn't Ruby's initial idea but upon seeing Mulan's reaction to her wardrobe when she proposed she could just wear some of her clothes (well, it's not like she could feel at home in town if she kept running around in her armour, could she now?), it did feel like the best way out. Although Mulan doesn't seem to take pleasure in browsing through apparently endless items of clothing, they end up buying few outfits. Most of her picks are simple and comfortable, obviously different from Ruby's style, but she thinks that they look good on her friend (actually, she thinks Mulan is adorable in that green parka – not that she'd ever tell her, though, as somehow she doubts it would be taken as a compliment by the warrior). If at first she feels uncomfortable in new garments, she doesn't let it show, which Ruby finds rather admirable, yet still wishes she would open up a little bit, like in Camelot, when they parted ways with Merida.
It doesn't take long for Ruby to let in Granny on the mission – partially, at least – since her skills are more or less necessary for the next part. The werewolf strongly believes that good food helps at solving any problems and if there's one meal able to help in getting over a heartbreak, it's Granny's lasagna served with their iced-tea. Mulan has quite the appetite, which isn't all that surprising, considering she works out every single day (it was quite annoying back in Camelot, as she would wake up at dawn, even if they were camping in the woods) and so Ruby, having her job as a waitress back, always makes sure to give her an extra portion, careful to remember her preferences. She learns her friend's tastes quickly – for example, Mulan hates coffee with milk but is quite fond of the drink without any additions; she despises broccoli (which Ruby discovered when she scrunched up her face in the funniest way possible after trying one); she thinks burgers are "an extremely strange meal" yet enjoys eating them; she doesn't really like hot chocolate that much unless it's dark and more bitter than sweet; she could eat pancakes for breakfast all the time…
Ruby also realizes that it's easier to talk things over with her at Granny's, so whenever she brings Mulan her order and there aren't too many clients, she lingers next to her table few minutes longer than necessary. Sometimes she'll talk about their plans for later, as they spend more time together now, though Mulan seems to be slowly making more friends and sometimes she'll just joke about something silly, making both of them laugh (it doesn't discourage her that she's still the one laughing harder).
She knows that there's a long way ahead of them but, as she places plate full of pancakes with a heart made of strawberry jam on top before her and sees Mulan blush uncharacteristically, tiny smile gracing her lips, she knows they're going in the right direction.