A/N: Hello, it's me. This is my first Ruby/Archie fic (a pairing I am calling 'Arby' until someone corrects me on the actual name for these two), so if they seem a little out of character I'm sorry. Please let me know if you notice anything off. Also, I do not own 'Once Upon A Time', 'JAWS', 'Strawberry Shortcake', or anything else I mention here. I own my imagination and its products, but anything you recognize probably isn't mine. Anyway, enjoy!
Archie checked his watch. He'd been at the diner almost twenty minutes now and still hadn't seen Ruby. One of her friends, Poppy, was serving instead. When she brought him his coffee (too strong, not at all like Ruby made it), he caught her arm,
"Where's Ruby?" he asked. She smacked her gum and shrugged,
"Dunno. Think she's sick. All I know is she called me at 5 a.m. sounding like hell and asked me to take her shift."
"Who's with her?" asked Archie. If Ruby was rarely sick, certainly this was something that warranted watching. Poppy looked at him like he was crazy.
"What do you mean? She's a grown woman; why would she need someone to take care of her?" The girl walked away, heels higher than Ruby's clicking on the linoleum. Archie fidgeted with his coffee. A part of him wanted to go to Ruby, be sure she was okay and get anything she needed until she was. Of course, the other, more reasonable side of him agreed with Poppy. Ruby was a grown woman; she'd be fine. Besides, it'd be creepy if someone she barely knew came to check on her. And yet… Archie couldn't remember when Ruby'd last called in sick. If she was immune to the small stuff, whatever had her laid up would have to be pretty bad. Mind made up, he threw a ten on the table and left, heading straight to the inn.
From the back, Granny saw him leave. She smiled slightly and shook her head. That boy had no idea what he was getting into.
Archie walked into the inn, the bell above his head the only sound in the place. Now what, he thought. Somehow, his plans hadn't extended to how exactly he'd find her. What if Ruby didn't live here? He shook his head. Surely an innkeeper lives at their inn, if only for economic reasons, he thought. Nosing around a bit, he quickly found a door marked 'Inn Personnel Only'. He pushed it open and sure enough, it looked like living quarters. There was a pained groaning from the back that sounded like Ruby. Archie quickly walked back, pushing the door open.
Ruby sat on the couch, wearing a baggy sweatshirt and loose jeans. She was grimacing in pain but had stopped groaning. Her blue yes flashed to him, first surprised then annoyed,
"What are you doing here?" she ground out. Archie was wringing his wrists,
"You weren't at the diner and I wanted to…make sure you're okay." He said, mumbling the last part. Ruby's sharp hearing picked it up and she said,
"That's sweet, but I'm fine." The obvious pain in her expression contradicted her statement. Archie frowned,
"No you aren't. What is it? Tell me." Ruby was about to tell him to piss off, but something in his earnestly concerned eyes made her stop. Instead she blushed just a bit and sighed in exasperation,
"I'm on my period, alright? And it hurts like a bitch." Archie blushed a bit,
"I'm…sorry. Is there something I can do?" he asked. Ruby spun almost painfully to stare at him. She couldn't quite believe what she was hearing. Most men ran for the hills when they heard the word 'period' in association with her, right after celebrating that they were not going to be a father. Ruby eyed him suspiciously,
"If you have a heating pad, that'd be great." She said. Archie nodded,
"I'll go get it. Anything else?"
"Maybe some tiger meat* and ice cream?" she asked hopefully. Archie pushed back a small grin,
"Tiger meat and ice cream, got it. Any particular kind of ice cream?"
"Cookie dough if they have it." said Ruby. Archie nodded and left, closing the door on his way out. Ruby sighed. If someone had to find her like this, at least it'd been Archie.
Twenty minutes of twinging pain later, Ruby heard the door open and the familiar steps of Archie Hopper walk down the hall. She tried to hide her surprise as he set down the grocery bag. She hadn't thought he'd come back. He quickly unloaded the tiger meat and ice cream, handing Ruby a spoon as she reached for both. He also pulled out a DVD,
"I thought you might want something to watch. It was either 'Strawberry Shortcake' or 'JAWS'."
"Please tell me you got 'JAWS'." Interrupted Ruby. Archie grinned and held it up. Ruby couldn't resist a whoop, "Put it in!" Archie put in the DVD and covered Ruby's abdomen with the heating pad. She sighed as the warmth began to work its magic on her tense muscles. As the 'JAWS' theme started, Archie put his hands in his pockets,
"If there's nothing else…"
"You can stay if you want." Said Ruby. He shook his head,
"No, I'd just get in the way." He said. Ruby sighed and spoke as if talking to a simpleton,
"Archie, do you have any patients today?"
"…No."
"Is there any pressing reason for you to go to work?"
"…Not really."
"Then get over here." Said Ruby, patting the couch beside her. Slowly, he sat down. Ruby instantly leaned into him and he awkwardly put an arm around her shoulders. As they watched Roy Scheider and Richard Dreyfuss first set sail with Robert Shaw, Archie said,
"I thought most girls watched Disney when they had…you know. Just for the comforting childhood memories and all." Ruby smiled at his awkwardness,
"Yeah, most do. Personally, I find this bleeding crap brings out the 'rip tear kill' instinct in me. The world should suffer as I suffer, 'specially when it's this bad."
"Is it usually easier?" he asked. Somewhere he was astounded at how normal this not-normal conversation felt. Ruby shifted at bit, wincing as she did,
"Yeah. This just hurts more because it's a full moon, and everything hurts around a full moon." She said. Archie nodded. Both of them turned back to the movie.
By the time the end credits rolled around, Ruby had a pleasantly drowsy look to her. Archie stood and stretched. Ruby just stretched her arms. He turned to her and smiled,
"Feeling better?" he asked. Ruby smiled back,
"Much. I think I'll take a nap, if you don't mind." She said, already lying down across the couch.
"Not at all." Said Archie. He leaned over and placed a chaste yet lingering kiss on her brow,
"Good-night, Ruby." He whispered. Ruby smiled sleepily,
"Good-night, Archie." By the time he closed the door, she was asleep with a smile on her face.
A/N: *'Tiger meat' is not the meat of an actual tiger. It's some kind of raw meat with spices or something, I don't know. My brother and dad eat it and for some reason I thought the wolf in Ruby would be appeased with it. Well, how'd I do for my first Arby story?