Title: Opportunity
Author: dizzy - in - the - izzy
Rating: K+
Disclaimer: I could use some money for gas...

A/N: So, first off, thanks to those who reviewed my other Red Cricket story. I do greatly appreciate every single one. So, since I'm a huge fan of fluff (and I mean I'd pay you to write me some good fluff) I decided to cheer myself up with some gooey gushy stuff. I wrote another one before this, and I ended up highlighting everything and deleting it, and so this was a second draft, so to speak.

I do apologize for grammatical and spelling errors. I'm very, very tired. Falling asleep tired. But I had to finish this.

note: the little (...) are my way of making a break in the story with out using FFN's break lines. FFN took away my other way of adding breaks in time a long time ago. Darn them.

It's been twenty-four hours.

Twenty-four hours since Belle stumbled onto the ship and miraculously found Archie, even more miraculously alive. It'd been twenty-four hours since she'd seen him walking, thinking he was just a figment of her imagination. And, oh, how she'd been wrong.

Emma had sent him home (though Henry had vehemently protested) and after some negotiating, Archie had retired to his house and bed, Pongo following happily. Granny had promised him a free meal, and a good cup of coffee whenever he felt like eating again, and though he'd tried to graciously refuse, Granny was persistent. Snow never ceased her fretting, and it took Emma's firm look to keep Henry from clinging to the physiatrist. Everyone had fretted, and Ruby had stood back. Until he didn't show up at the diner for his free meal the next day.

(…)

Ruby lies quietly in the bed, her head propped up on a pillow and the blankets just barely reaching her stomach. The warmth of the cotton shirt she wears keeps her from shivering as the cold pushes against the window near the bed. And it helps that there's a very warm body curled up against her.

Archie's head rests on her shoulder, his breath fanning out across her collarbone as he breathes. It's a comforting feeling, and she resists the urge to twitch. She's been completely still for hours, letting him nap in her embrace.

He makes a pained sound, and she smoothes her hand over his hair. He's made the same sound from time to time, and she worries that he's having nightmares. She knows he won't easily admit it, but the whole ordeal had effectively rattled him, and as he sleeps, she gently rubs the knots out of his shoulders.

She moves her hand under the collar of his shirt, to touch his skin, and she swallows thickly. His skin is warm and soft, and as she moves her fingers over the tension she feels, she feels something swell in her chest. She's spends just as much time rubbing the tension out of his back as she does trying to stop the feeling in her chest from spreading.

When she feels as if she'll wake him from her massaging, she stops and lets her hand rest on his mass of curly hair. She's pleasantly surprised at how soft his hair is, and she then proceeds to untangle the strands. It's as she finishes that he stirs.

His hand that's wrapped around her waist moves first, gripping at her shirt for a moment. She reminds herself not to stiffen up, to lay still and calm, and it seems to work as he loosens his grip. He takes in a deep breath, his nose nuzzling against her bare skin, before he moves his head off her shoulder and onto her arm. She offers him a meek smile.

"Feeling better?" she asks, and he simply gapes at her. She resists the urge to giggle, and instead reaches out to pull the blankets up over them both. He suddenly seems to realize where he's lying, and he quickly scoots up in the bed so the blanket cam come up to cover her fully. She smiles.

"I… I think so," he mumbles in response, causing her to chuckle softly.

"You think so?" she replies, watching as he settles on his side, his arm up under his head as he stares at her. She realizes she's staring at eyes not hidden by glasses, and she retrieves his glasses for him before he can respond.

"Well… I feel rested, and less hungry, and safe… so yeah, I guess I am feeling better," he slips his glasses back onto his face, and she smiles as he really looks at her.

"You ate quite feast before collapsing into bed, mister," she jokes, and he indulges in a soft laugh. The sound makes her feel something in her stomach. She elects to ignore it.

"I didn't really feel hungry until I smelled Granny's cooking in the bag you were holding," he admits, moving slightly closer to her. He reaches his arm out and pushes her hair off her face, tucking it behind her ear. His fingers linger on her jaw line, his eyes following his fingers as they move down her soft face. She blushes.

"I knew it'd make you feel better," she manages to whisper as his fingers trail dangerously close to her lips.

"It's wasn't the food that did it," he speaks as he runs his index finger down her nose, and she was so sure he hadn't been listening that she almost jumps at his words.

"It wasn't?" she chokes out as he scoots even closer, this time his fingers trailing down her neck and onto her shoulder.

"Nope," he says as he leans down to place a chaste kiss to her shoulder. She represses a moan.

"May I ask what did then?" she hopes the words come out coherently, and when he pulls his head back up to look at her, she can already see the answer. But she wants to hear it, so she reaches up and holds his face before he can hide it somewhere on her body.

"It was the bearer of the food," he says with ease as he reaches up to place his hand over hers. She feels the blush go further up her face.

"I wasn't aware… of that," she replies hesitantly, and he simply smiles.

"It was nice to have someone show genuine concern, show up with the sole purpose of just offering me company and a listening ear," he lifts her fingers off his cheek and kisses the tips. She's not sure she has any words now, and just shuts her eyes as the feeling in her chest overwhelms her.

"Especially since it was you," he whispers, and she opens her eyes to see his face incredibly close to hers. She blinks twice, and then acknowledges that he expects a response to that.

"What's so special about me?" she seems to blurt out, in a rushed and confused tone. He smirks.

"Well, I happen to enjoy your company greatly," he presses his lips to her fingers again, "and I'm quite fond of you."

It takes longer than usual for her normally quick brain to process what he's said to her. His lips on her fingers make it all the more difficult to think, and she eventually realizes what he's said.

"You're… fond of me?" she puts emphasis on his wording, and he just nods as he moves his lips to her palm.

"I believe I said 'quite fond'", he mumbles against her skin, blue eyes giving up at her with a hint of mischievous lurking behind the emotion she doesn't want to name yet.

She grabs her hand away from him, but before his face can fall as though rejected, she moves into his personal space and places her hands flat on his chest.

"I was not aware of this either. When were you going to… divulge this information?" she finds her sarcastic tone again, and it only seems to make his gaze more intense.

"Sometime in the near future, when an opportunity presented itself," he admits, though he sounds far more confident now than he did ten minutes ago. She feels a soft smile forming on his lips.

"And this was the opportunity?"

"Well, if I hadn't taken this one, I would've asked someone to smack me," he says with a laugh, and she feels the sound in his chest. It makes her giggles worse. He silences her though as he claims her lips with his, and the feeling in her chest finds its way to her toes.

An opportunity indeed.

A/N: So, there you have it! Fluff and gooey and banter and all. Reviews are always and forever appreciated! And don't feel bad to point out if I've made a huge writing error.

-Izzy