AN: Prompt from stupidstubbornuglywench on tumblr. "How about Whale walks into Granny's with another woman (a random date maybe?) and Ruby gets jealous. Perhaps Whale notices this and teases her about it (as he's intrigued by her reaction)".
unbeta'd
Disc: OUAT belongs to ABC. The story belongs to me.

Every Friday night was date night at Granny's diner. The lights were slightly dimmed and the tables and counters were all adorned with candles. It was nothing overtly romantic, just a touch. Before the curse was broken, it was a dull and monotonous and more than a little sad. Every Friday night the same tired couples came in, sat at the same table across from each other, ordered the same meals and drinks, and usually sat in silence while they ate until they finally left. They rarely ever stayed for dessert. Sometimes there would be an argument, but they were usually ones that are rehashed week after week. But after the curse, date night became an event Ruby looked forward to instead of dreading. Everyone was awakened from the darkness that Regina held over them, and loves were reunited. Now the usual couples returned, happy and excited to spend time together without the lies that tarnished their relationships. New couples having found each other again usually spent the night lovingly gazing into each other's eyes. Occasionally they would ask each other about their lives without the other, but more often than not that subject was avoided for less uncomfortable conversation.

Tonight was one of those nights where everyone was happy and entranced with their partners. Usually Ruby loved these kind of nights, but there was something weird about tonight. Victor was there. With a fairy.

Victor had arrived first, sitting in a booth rather than his usual spot at the counter. Ruby hadn't questioned it thinking he just wanted a change. Ever since the Gregory Mendel ordeal a few weeks ago, Ruby and the doctor had become - something. They weren't friends exactly, she was fairly certain he didn't have any friends. But they certainly were not acquaintances any more. He might have visited the diner at least every other day just as he did for before the docks, but instead of only giving her polite smiles for her service, he might open up to her about his day at the hospital if she asked or listened to her about her day at the diner. He hasn't opened up about his past or personal life since. The most personal he's gotten since then was when he told her to start calling him by Victor instead of "Dr. Whale." That it felt cold to have her call him that after their sharing session.

But even without sharing any deeper details about himself, she's sure that whatever they had was the most substantial relationship in his life here in Storybrooke. As Whale, she saw him talking up the ladies of the town from time to time, drinking with the other arrogant doctors of the hospital; but as the days went by, the sightings of him having a social life dwindled to nothing. That the most conversation he had with anyone that wasn't about medicine was the small talk they shared while she worked.

But there was Victor. Sitting in a booth across from a tiny, sparkling. blonde de-magicked fairy. In the thick of what looked like a very meaningful conversation.

Ruby stood at the counter making the fairy's coffee, biting her lip while stealing glances towards their table every few seconds. The ex-nun was speaking to him, her fingers laced primly on the table in front of her while her stocking and sensible heel clad legs were crossed underneath. Her crossed foot lightly bounced as she spoke, nearly grazing one of Victor's legs. And Victor was absolutely engrossed by whatever she was talking about. He leaned towards her with his elbows on the table, his fingers clutching his own mug of black coffee in front of him. But what spiked - whatever Ruby felt at the sight of them, was the way he was looking at the girl as she spoke. His eyes were focused on her eyes, intensely focused. That whatever she was saying was a matter of life or death for him. She didn't even see him look that way when they were literally arguing over the life and death of Gregory. And during their heart to heart on the dock, his eyes were unfocused whenever he looked at her; he was half there with her and half inside his head.

Only on this night he was fully present at Granny's, in the booth, with the fairy.

Once the she was done topping the coffee with whipped cream, Ruby made her way to the table and when she arrived the two went silent. Ruby set down the coffee with a "Here you go!" and stayed standing in front of the now quiet pair with a forced smile, eyes darting between the doctor and his alleged date.

"So. Having a nice time?" She asked, her gaze more focused on Victor.

"Oh, yes. It's turning out to be a very nice night indeed." Replied Victor, shooting the fairy a pointed smile which she shyly returned. Ruby's irritation only grew and her smile felt even more rigid.

"Well that's...nice." Victor turned to her with a perplexed look which inspired Ruby to immediately turn and get away from them before she said anything more ridiculous than whatever reasons were getting her to act and feel this way.

And for the rest of their time at the diner as they drank their coffees and continued their conversation, Ruby couldn't help but watch them from the corner of her eye. Throughout their conversation, Victor began to smile. A real smile of excitement, it seemed to radiate from him. Ruby felt even worse.

Once the girl finally left after Victor gave her a warm handshake goodbye, he stayed at the booth, his encouraged appearance of happiness turning to one of resolve as he ran his hand through his hair with a far off look in his eyes. Ruby finally got the nerve to return to the table.

"Want a refill?" She inquired as he picked up the empty mug of the the gone fairy.

"No. I'm going to head out soon so I'll just have the check. For both obviously." He motioned to the two mugs with a pointed finger.

"Sure." Coughed out Ruby, her hard smile back in place. She slightly twisted to walk back to the counter when she swiftly turned back to him.

"From the looks of this foreign expression on your face," she motioned a circle with her open hand in front of his smiling face, "That must have been quite the successful date you had there mister." Friendly teasing. That's how she was going to handle this.

For a second, it appeared as if Victor was confused by her comment, but then he looked away and ducked his head and when he faced her again he wore a coy grin, "It was very successful actually. Thanks for asking."

"That's good. Yeah, that's nice to hear. Nice." She was the supportive friend. Probably his only friend so she had to be supportive. Even if her stomach hurt thinking that she might not be the closest one to him anymore, and when she realized that that was why she felt so irritated at seeing him on a date, her stomach dropped. She was jealous. But jealous that he opened up to someone more than her or jealous that he is romantically pursuing someone, she didn't know.

And before she could dwell on it any longer, Victor's laugh broke through her thoughts. "Sorry. I'm sorry, but I can't," he chuckled as he shook his head.

"What?" Insisted Ruby, confused and irritated.

"Well I was going to pull a Whale and say something like, 'I hope I'll be seeing her again and soon, and if she brings her friends along it'll be even better,' but I can't." He laughed again. "That wasn't a date."

She could only blink at him before she asked, "So, that was just a coffee between... friends?"

His humored grin faded as he glanced back to where the fairy was sitting with a heavy look in his eye and he bit his lip, "Yeah. Something like that." He turned back to Ruby who was watching him with a questioningly look on her face.

"Uh, here. I know what two coffees costs. I don't need a check." Victor pulled the money out of his wallet, put it on the table, then slid out of the booth standing barely a foot from her. He looked into her eyes, said, "Goodnight Ruby," and then he turned and left.

"Bye Victor." Ruby could only watch his back as he made his way quickly out of the diner. He was so odd. She would never understand him. And it appeared like he would never let her. She exhaled a sigh, picked up Victor's mug and money, and turned back towards the counter.

Outside the diner stood Victor standing to the side of one of the windows looking in as he watched Ruby walk back to the counter. He bit his lip as he thought back on his "date." The fairies were working directly with the dwarves on finding a way back to their home, and he had requested to talk with them about a way to send him back to his. They sent a pretty blonde who he was sure he hit on pretty hard before in his second past lifetime, and she told him of their dual plans of enchanting a new hat of Jeffersons and growing the magic beans. They were certain that at least one of them had to work, and that there was a very good chance that he would be going back home to his brother.

At the time, he was ecstatic. His whole body warmed in excitement at finally returning to fix what he had done. To truly help his brother after all of the support and love that Gerhardt had given him all his life, and even his afterlife, was a thought that plagued him since the curse was broken.

But then Ruby showed up. And appeared jealous, of all things, seeing him on what seemed like a date. As he gazed at her move about the tables, he thought about the night at the dock and all of those days following where she treated him like a man. She didn't cast him off as a social pariah as the dirty doctor, or the mad one at that.

He felt his gut twist. Maybe he shouldn't have scheduled the meeting here. He thought that he wouldn't be leaving anything behind to get back to what he loved. It only now dawned on him that he might in fact lose something very dear.