Disclaimer: I don't own OUAT.
A/N: I know, I'm getting pretty shitty with posting things. I'm sorry. Anyway, this is previous Red Swan/Implied Swan Queen. It's inspired by the song "Last to Know" by Three Days Grace. It might make a little more sense if you listen to the song.
Enjoy.
"I thought you knew."
The waitress shakes her head and drops into the nearest chair, her eyes blank and unfocused. She had been dreading this; restless nights filled with doubt proved to be necessary now that she knew the truth. Questions race through her mind, the main one being why. Why was she lied to and betrayed? Why hadn't Emma told her, instead of sneaking around behind her back? "She's a coward." Ruby raises her gaze to meet Snow's with confusion. "She should have told you."
Ruby sighs and looks down at her hands in her lap. "How long have you known?" The guilt etched on Snow's face is answer enough for the brunette and she feels the anger and hurt bubbling in her veins. "You knew that we were together!" she accuses. "You're my best friend! Why would you keep this from me?"
"It wasn't my place to tell you, Ruby. I'm sorry."
"You should leave," Ruby growls, looking away. Snow nods, hesitating before finally turning away. There's no one left to trust, the bite of bitter betrayal left behind by those she cares about.
Glancing around the empty diner, she decides to close early, despite that it's early evening. She can't deal with anyone right now, especially when the world is oblivious to the breaking heart in her chest but not to the obvious truth.
The chilly October wind whips around them as they sit at the end of the dock, watching the sunset. Ruby sits between her girlfriend's legs, leaning back into the blonde, whose arms are wrapped loosely around her waist. "I can't believe it's already been a year," the brunette states, tilting her head when Emma kisses her neck.
"It's been a good year," the sheriff mutters, cupping Ruby's cheek and turning her head to capture her lips. Pulling away after a moment, she smiles. "I love you."
"I love you too," Ruby murmurs, kissing Emma and turning in her arms, pushing her lover onto her back and straddling her hips, trailing her lips down the blonde's neck.
Her cell phone ringing brings her out of the distant memory and back to the present and she sighs, checking the caller ID. She's in no mood to answer to anyone, let alone Emma herself, but when her phone ceases to ring and beeps instead with a text message, she can't stop herself from reading.
Can we talk?
But what is there to talk about? Emma made her choice of avoiding an explanation when she left, breaking Ruby by doing so. Yet the waitress wants answers. Her curiosity outweighs her judgment and she accepts Emma's request, suggesting that they meet soon.
She closes her eyes, allowing herself to inhale deeply, before she opens them and stands. Crossing the diner, she opens the door and steps outside, locking the door behind her. Across the street she sees Henry and Belle, walking toward the library, both of them laughing happily, using hand gestures while they converse.
Turning away from the pair, Ruby jogs toward the forest, pushing all thoughts of Emma from her mind as she loses herself in the trees.
"You know, it really isn't fair that you have to stay late."
The sheriff sighs through the phone and Ruby can imagine Emma pinching the bridge of her nose with her eyes closed. "I have to. There's a lot of paperwork..."
"Can't it wait? You've been staying late every single night for two weeks." Ruby grips the phone tighter. "It isn't fair, Emma. I miss you."
There's a moment of silence and she's sure that Emma's hung up on her. Finally the other end replies. "I miss you too."
Ruby unlocks the door to the diner, hearing a cough behind her, and turns to find Emma with her hands in her pockets and slouching slightly, as though she's preparing for an explosion. Without speaking, the waitress opens the door and enters the diner, the sheriff following. She sets the keys on the counter and sits on the stool, taking a deep breath before spinning to face her ex-girlfriend.
When Emma realizes she's been given permission to speak, she scratches the back of her neck and frowns. "I didn't mean to hurt you, Ruby. I really didn't. I just...I was selfish. We were fighting and things were getting worse and instead of telling you how I felt, I ran away from you."
Ruby stares at her. "You didn't just leave me, Emma. You left me for her. You were planning to leave me for her, whether you realize or not because all of those late nights that you said you were working..."
"I wasn't with her." Ruby opens her mouth to speak but Emma stops her with a shake of her head. "No matter what you've heard or believe, I wasn't lying to you about that." She pulls a chair from a table and sits in it, elbows digging into her thighs and her hands clasped. "I'm sorry for not spending more time with you and for leaving you for Regina without a word. But I'm not sorry that I loved you."
"Then why did you?!" Ruby leaps to her feet, glaring at the woman before her. "If you truly loved me, why would you do something like this? You didn't even have the nerve to tell me yourself."
Ruby sits on a blanket at the edge of the dock with a bag of sandwiches from Granny's, waiting for Emma to join her. Tonight they had planned this date, but judging by Ruby's phone-and she had checked it often-the blonde was nearly an hour late. She was used to her girlfriend's tardiness to their dates, but never had it been this long, at least not without a call with an explanation.
With a frown, she stands and half-heartedly folds the blanket before tossing it over her arm and picking up the bag of sandwiches. As she walks toward the diner, she tries to call Emma's cell phone again, but this time it goes straight to voicemail. She's worried, knowing that the blonde would never turn off her phone, not when she was sheriff of the entire town.
When she returns to the diner, her grandmother eyes her suspiciously. "You're back sooner than you should be. Aren't you supposed to be on a date with Emma?"
Ruby nods in confirmation. "She never showed up," she mutters, dropping onto a stool and crossing her arms on the bar. "I tried to get ahold of her, but all I got was her voicemail." The bell rings behind Ruby and she turns on the stool in hopes that it's Emma, sagging her shoulders when she realizes it's only Snow, David, and Henry.
Henry frowns upon seeing the upset waitress and sits on the stool beside her. "What's wrong, Ruby? Are you okay?"
Ruby shrugs. "Do you know where your mom might be? I really need to talk to her."
The boy's forehead creases with a deeper frown. "She's sick at home. That's why I'm here with Grandma and Grandpa. You didn't know?" Ruby shook her head. "Maybe you should take her some soup!" he offers cheerfully, as though it's the greatest idea he's had all day. "I bet you could make her feel better."
Ruby hesitated, contemplating the suggestion, and she nods with a smile, going to the kitchen to scoop the last remaining cup-full of Granny's homemade chowder. With a take-out bag in one hand, she gestures to her grandmother that she's leaving and heads toward her girlfriend's apartment. She opens Emma's apartment door without knocking and turns to start down the hall to the bedroom, where she assumes the blonde would be if she were sick.
Sounds from the television flow through the door, and Ruby turns the doorknob, pushing open the wooden door. "Hey, Emma, I heard you were sick and..." The take-out bag drops from her grasp and her jaw drops as Emma sits up suddenly, her eyes widened much like a deer in headlights.
Her body shakes with sobs and she's barely aware of Emma's hand reaching out and touching her shoulder. Shrugging out of the woman's grip, she turns her back and wraps her arms around herself, trying to hold herself together. "I don't think I can forgive you, Emma."
She hears the blonde sigh behind her and closes her eyes when the bell sounds from the door of the diner. Without a single word, Emma was gone.