Once Upon A Time crossover with Glee which is really more of a collision than a crossover. Only the first chapter is going to be a crossover with Santana being the only relevant character. All other prompts from Red Beauty Week 2013 will be chapters that continue the story started here.
To give a little context: The Glee kids are doing a mini tour of the East Coast post New York Nationals loss. Since Rachel wouldn't want anyone to miss out on their undeniable talents, they've started in Maine.
Ruby strikes up a conversation with Santana who notices something about her relationship with the resident book worm.
Santana opens the door on the Podunk looking diner smirking at the name, 'Grannies'. They've been riding in their tour bus for three hours and as much as she's gotten used to most of the freaks in Glee club by now she knows that her tolerance for both Finnocence and Wheels diminishes greatly when lacking caffeination.
Santana gives a cursory glance to the usual, unwashed, daytime diner crowd, checking that there are enough seats in between to fit everyone. Along the way she spots an old woman who must be 'Granny', manning the register. The woman looks like she could take on a grizzly bear and win. Not by by size but by the death glare. When Granny meets her eye Santana gives as good as she gets.
The bell tinkles on the door again and Santana smiles because she knows by the shoe squeak alone that Brittany has come in behind her.
Ruby makes her way into the diner, feeling agitated and knowing full well that she's too close to the wolfs moon to be serving customers. It's about to get way too busy for her to stay in back though. She can hear and smell a bunch of teenagers all getting out of a bus out front. Half of them are boys, maybe even a few footballers, going by the reek of testosterone.
She bites back the urge to growl and posture, concentrating on 28 years worth of waitressing experience instead her old life, her wolf life. The fact that Belle is sitting at a table with her nose buried in a book helps her smile and relax a little. Ruby has found lately that both she and her wolf are happy when Belle is happy; Belle always seems happiest when she's reading.
Its a good thing since Ruby has to focus. She approaches Granny at the register to make sure she knows about the group coming in. Apparently she does. One of the kids, dressed up in a cheer leading uniform—complete with high pony and bitch face—has walked in and already caught her attention. They're in an intense staring match and Ruby has to give this girl props for being able to hold her own against an old wolf like Granny. Ruby is hesitant to interrupt but conveniently she doesn't have to.
The bell above the door is nocked again and their staring match is broken. The cheerleader doesn't blink but she visibly relaxes and the sweetest smile replaces the scowl. She glances toward the blonde that followed her in, seeming to already know who's behind her.
Ruby wonders if there's a little wolf in the girl. She definitely sensed the blonde before she made any effort to turn around. Even Ruby was barely able to pick up the rustle of the skirt, the sweet smell of sherbet and twizzlers, the sound of sneakers squeaking against the linoleum.
When the girls link pinkies and smile at one another Ruby decides that they must be the kind of best friends that just have a sixth sense about each other. Ruby looks over at Belle. They're friendship is new, though they've already experienced their own troubles. Locking Belle up in the library was stupid and she regrets it immensely but they seem to be moving past it. At least Belle seems to have forgiven her. Maybe one day they can be as close as these two cheerleaders seem to be.
"What's wrong Brittany?" The brunette cheerleader asks.
The blonde—Brittany hadn't seemed overly upset about anything but her answer shows that the other cheerleader's instinct was correct. "Rachel won't get off the bus and Quinn is doing that thing where she is pretending she can't fix it. Finnface said I should 'go get Santana'." She says the last words in a booming voice presumably imitating one of the footballers. "I don't care if Rachel wants to stay on the bus and make sex eyes at Quinn but I did want to come find you so," she shrugs to say 'so here I am'.
The smaller girl who must be Santana visibly melts under her friend's gaze. Ruby blushes, though she can't decide why. She wonders if she looks at Belle like that. The cheerleaders leave in a flurry of red polyester and Ruby realises that she currently is looking at Belle exactly like that.
She turns away as she hears Santana yelling toward the bus outside. "Get off the damn bus Berry. We's got burgers to consume."
Ruby doesn't know who Berry is but she makes sure the grill's fired up and the meat's ready to go.
Santana glares at the useless bunch of miscreants she calls her team mates and—whether she like it or not—her friends. She scrambled back on the bus to find Rachel with her arms and legs folded into a knot of un-cooperation in the second to front row of the bus. In the second to last row is Quinn. She's performing the most active rendition of pretending-to-read that Santana has seen since the pregnancy. In between them both is the rest of the glee club who still, even after two years of this crap, don't know how to nothumour Rachel's insanity.
They're all talking over one another and Santana has already had enough. She does what Mr Schue should have done five minutes ago—or hell, a year and a half ago.
"Shut the fuck up losers," She yells to get their attention. "Before I contact each one of your parents and tell them exactly who you've been boning and what illicit substances you've been consuming."
That shuts them up nicely.
Santana looks at Brittany for a little guidance. Britt just gives a shallow nod and Santana knows they should be good now. She starts over in a quieter voice. "I'm sorry I yelled. I'm hungry and ya'll needs to be off this bus before we can order from Judgy McOldperson inside. Now anyone who isn't involved in the most sexually charged standoff in history needs to be off this bus before I count to three." She steps out of the narrow walkway. "One… Two…" She doesn't need to get to three before the majority of Glee club is outside.
Even Mr Schue and the piano guy have disappeared for some presumably homoerotic rendezvous. That leaves Santana alone with Brittany, Quinn and—for reasons Santana still can't entirely fathom—Rachel Berry.
"C'mon Britt Britt. Let's go get some meat," Santana says, hooking her pinky with her best friend(maybe girlfriend but who's to say).
The hoard of—apparently unaccompanied—teenagers descends on the diner like ravenous… well, wolves. Ruby pulled a week's worth of lunchtime burger meat, lasagna and fries out of the freezer but it's still barely going to be enough. She can't help the very wolfish whine that slips out of her when the last orders are put through. The two girls from before came back ordering two salads with burger patties on top. They also add one salad with bacon plus extra bacon along with a garden salad, no meat, no dressing, to go. Santana mutters something about vegans and shares a look with her blonde friend as she pays for the lot.
The two sit together at the counter, effectively separating themselves from the rest of the group who have occupied the booths along the opposite wall. Even with all the coffees, hot chocolates and sodas to put out, Ruby can't help but watch the two girls as they occupy themselves with each other. Ruby hasn't really had many(or any) good friends in all these years in Storybrook. She can't help but envy these two and wonder what it would be like to have a best friend. She wonders if she's even capable of being that devoted to one person. She's devoted to Snow and Granny of course but they're family.
Ruby glances over to where Belle hasn't even looked up from her book once with all the commotion. She wonders what adventure her book is taking her on that she would be so disconnected from the world around her. Ruby has found herself thinking this a lot since Belle has been spending so much time at Granny's. So much time, Ruby is actually disappointed if she doesn't see Belle at least once every day.
Walking back to the counter with her first tray emptied of drinks Ruby's gaze shifts from Belle(who's lips are pulled to the side in a familiar look of concentration) to the girls who have turned in to face one another. The brunette, Santana is leaning toward her friend with one hand tucked under her own leg and the other stretched out across the counter. The other girl, Brittany has both her hands on the counter, playing with Santana's fingers. Their heads are close, like they're sharing their deepest secrets.
Ruby heats a fresh pot of tea for Belle and takes a cup over to replace the empty cup in front of her. Granny's had never stocked leaf tea before Belle showed up in town but now Ruby makes sure it's always in stock.
Belle marks her page with a bookmark as Ruby approaches and even though Ruby knowsshe didn't make a sound, her wolf feels Belle's attention shift to her.
"I thought you might like a fresh cup," Ruby tries not to stutter as Belle turns that sharp, intelligent gaze on her.
"Thank you so much. I can feel a teenager-induced headache coming on. I think this will do just the trick, don't you?"
Ruby just nods, not really certain what she's agreeing with.
"Did you grab one for yourself?" Belle asks.
"Oh, no I can't stand tea,"she says as the filter between her brain and mouth disappears. This seems to happen a bit when she's under Belle's gaze and when she's wrapped up in the smell of her, the heat of her so close she can feel it.
Belle quirks her head to one side. "I thought you said you ordered it for yourself since no one else really—"
Ruby actually slaps her hand to her head. She'd told Belle that she ordered the leaf tea for herself because Belle had refused to let Ruby order it just for her sake. "Right, um. Yes, I meant I can't stand tea during the lunch rush. I need to stay on my toes you know. Coffee or I'm dead."
Belle still looks confused but Ruby won't let her stupid mouth embarrass her any further. She twirls quickly to face the opposite direction and make a smooth exit back to the counter. As she spins though she sees that Santana has scooted her chair to within an inch of her friend's. Santana's hand has moved from under her own thigh to over Brittany's knee and the blonde doesn't seem to mind in the least as she holds that hand where it is. Her other hand is running light fingertips up and down Santana's free arm. It's such an intimate gesture, Ruby completely forgets the idea that these girls have anything like a plutonic relationship.
Somehow Ruby trips over her own feet on the way back to the counter. She doesn't fall but she does drop the serving tray and Belle's empty teacup goes clattering along the ground. Thankfully it doesn't smash but she still manages to gain the attention of every person in the diner.
So much for wolf grace.
The first person she makes eye contact with is Belle who is already half out of her seat. Ruby holds up a hand and gives a quick gesture to say that she's fine. Belle hesitates for a second before she glances around the diner then resumes her seat. The second person Ruby sees is Santana. The girl is down on one knee, picking up the cup and saucer from where they'd rolled to just under her seat. By the time she and Ruby are both standing straight again the noise of the footballers and the geeks they surround themselves with has resumed.
"Thanks, er… kid," Ruby says, feeling an odd compulsion to hide the fact that she already knows this girl's name. Fact is, she knows every kid's name at this point. She just happened to learn this girl's name first.
"Santana," the girl says in the haughty way only good looking sixteen year old girls can get away with. "Can I give you a hand?"
That surprises Ruby to no end and it must show.
"Britt's Dad runs a coffee shop in Lima. I'm all over this," she explains.
Ruby wonders why Santana is the one to be helping if it's the other girl's family who owns a shop. The gentle smile that Santana gives Brittany tells her that Brittany probably hasn't lifted a finger in Santana's presence in a long while(poor choice of words, but still).
Ruby thinks over everything that still needs to go out for lunch, calculating how long it will take Granny to have everyone's meals ready. She makes a quick decision. "Okay, just don't hurt yourself."
Ruby grabs a plain black apron from behind the counter.
She glances at Belle to make sure she doesn't see her willingly participating in child labor then looks to Santana who has followed her gaze to Belle. "You are at least a Sophomore or something right?"
Santana bristles as her eyes come back to Ruby. "I'll be a Senior next year thank you very much Little Red."
"Little Red?" Ruby huffs out a laugh at how quickly this girl came to exactly the right conclusion. Not that Santana can know how right she is.
Santana shrugs as she ties the apron over her red skirt. "You work for 'Granny'," she puts air quotes around the name. "You're wearing like, an abnormal amount of red for anyone who isn't a Cheerio. Add to that big old moon eyes and the innocent bungling…" she shrugs as she grabs a stack of take away cups.
"And who's the big bad wolf?" Ruby can't help but ask.
Santana gives her a devilish smirk and Ruby immediately regrets asking that question.
"Why?" Santana asks, stepping into Ruby's personal space. "Do you want me to eat you?" She bares her teeth in a grin.
Ruby blushes, unsure how someone so young and so short can be so intimidating. Before she can stutter out a response Brittany makes a small cough sound.
"San, be nice," Brittany doesn't even look up from the colouring in sheet she somehow grabbed from the kids' table but Santana steps back immediately. Ruby thinks she hears a muttered, "Good girl," from Brittany but she can't be sure.
Ruby wonders again if the girl isn't a little bit wolf.
They get back to work. Santana pours sodas while Ruby makes coffee and Granny cooks up a storm with their kitchen hand. Everything moves pretty smoothly and Ruby has to admit that Santana is good at this. She jokes with her friends and smiles(smirks) at the customers. She even collects a few tips, not even flinching before putting every cent into the tip jar behind the counter.
Ruby checks that Belle is still comfortable and content where she is every now and then. Especially when Santana is leaning against brittany's chair and running a hand over her shoulder while they look at the blonde's colouring efforts. Ruby finds herself just looking at Belle and wondering what she's thinking or feeling. When Santana's hand drifts up to fiddle with the ends of her friend's hair Ruby can't help but think about what it would be like to be so familiar with Belle. Even when Santana sits down to eat her lunch her right hand tangles with Brittany's left as they eat happily with opposing dexterity.
The few times Santana catches Ruby looking are suitably mortifying. She knows that it's silly to let herself be flustered by a teenager but this one just has this way of being so judgemental and knowing that it makes Ruby feel immediately self conscious.
When plates start emptying Santana is the first to start clearing them and even finds her own way to the sink in the kitchen. Ruby is about to show her how to use the dishwasher but Santana has already pulled the lever and pressed all the right buttons.
"Impressive," Ruby says as Santana flips her drying cloth over her left shoulder.
"Yeah, well I've had practice," Santana says with a shrug, though she still seems happy for the praise.
"You spent a lot of time in your friend's coffee shop?" Ruby hears an awkwardly forced casual edge to her tone even though she hasn't even come close to asking about their relationship. She just really wants to know what it's like to have a friend that you're so comfortable with, that you obviously care so much about.
Santana leans casually against the bench behind her, crossing her arms and looking at Ruby with a challenge. "Every summer since we were twelve," she confirms. "But that's not what you want to know."
Ruby hesitates, feeling instantly restless. "I don't know what you're—"
"She's pretty," Santana interrupts. "Your friend. You should ask her—"
Ruby's eyes go wide with alarm and she grabs the girl's arm, quickly dragging her out of the kitchen and away from her grandmother.
"Hey, hey watch the goods," Santana grumbles pulling her arm out of Ruby's grip.
Ruby strains her senses, making sure that no one in the restaurant is showing any signs of hearing. Everyone seems to be occupied with whatever they'd already been doing and honestly she doesn't even know why she panicked. She's an opened minded person and so is Granny. She just isn't ready for anyone else to know about, well about all the things that she isn't even sure she knows yet.
"Sorry," Ruby offers automatically. "I shouldn't have grabbed you but I…" she trails off, glancing over Santana's shoulder, back into the diner where Belle still sits. Ruby could find her anywhere. The scent of old books, flowers and general Belle-ness is perfectly familiar to her. It haunts her dreams.
Santana follows her gaze, looking more openly curious and analysing than she had been before. "Oh, your at that place," she says in an annoyingly knowing tone."
Ruby has to repress a small growl. "What place?" what can this teenager know?
"Hey, it's fine. I guess we all go through it at our own pace. Some are just a little slow on the uptake I guess."
"I have no idea—"
"Oh, please don't pretend like you don't know. Okay, fine maybe you don't want to know. Maybe you've been telling yourself that it's not true but I know that you know what I know you know."
Ruby blinks running the words back over in her mind. "Was that meant to make any sense to me?"
She huffs. "Okay, look. Maybe you are just good friends. Maybe looking at her all day is a way to keep track of her tea intake. I don't know. I do know that look though."
Ruby's attention is completely focused on the cheerleader now. "What look?" Can anyone else see what this girl has?
Santana sighs, like she's preparing to share something important. "The look that says, 'please see me today'." She looks over at her blonde friend who is quietly chewing on the end of a pencil as she analyses her artwork. "I used to look at her like that. I counted all of her smiles and lived for the next one I'd get to see." Santana's voice is small, like she's admitting a truth that is too new to say any louder.
"Used to?" Ruby wonders aloud.
"Now I don't have to ask or wonder because I know she sees me." Her eyes are soft like they were every time Brittany's attention was turned to her.
"So you are…" Ruby trails off not confident of the right vocabulary.
"Not quite," Santana admits quietly, her gaze returning to Ruby's. "But I know we have a shot."
"How?" It's a small word for such a huge question.
"Because I admitted my feelings. First to myself. Then to her."
"And she…" Again, Ruby struggles with the words.
Santana shakes her head, a flash of pain in her eyes reflecting an obviously still fresh memory. Ruby supposes that at seventeen most memories are pretty fresh.
Santana leans against the wall and just looks at her friend across the room. "She did, but I was still too scared."
"Oh." Ruby mimics her stance against the wall and looks at Belle. This friendship and these feelings are too new, too fresh. Ruby doesn't really know what she might be admitting to. "And now?" she asks, like she's waiting for the end of a fairy tale(she supposes that she is).
Santana sighs, her smile becoming broad. "Now I have a chance to be happy."
Ruby can't help but smile because she can see that they already are. Whether Santana can see it, Ruby knows it's the truth. "Because you're brave," she mutters, mostly to herself. She thinks of the way they seem to gravitate together. Her wolf can sense even more, the way their hearts beat almost in perfect unison, how their scents contain traces of each other, how they complement each other at the most microcosmic level. "You two look good together, you know."
Santana raises an eyebrow as she smirks at Ruby. "Yeah well, that's cause we're both hot messes."
Ruby laughs, wondering how being a 'hot mess' can be a good thing.
"You and the nerd look good too by the way."
Ruby can't help but blush.
"You should definitely tap that."
Before Ruby can get any more flustered they hear the beep of the dishwasher finishing and Santana goes to clear it for the next load. Ruby busies herself with collecting the rest of the empty plates and not looking at Belle. If she did look, then she's sure her face will melt off from the heat of her embarrassment.
The kids finally start heading back to the bus and Ruby is feeling pretty glad about that. Eventually Santana and her… girlfriend are the only two kids left. Knowing what she does, it makes Ruby smile to see Santana so relaxed. She doesn't even hesitate to wrap her arms around Brittany's shoulders, even placing a sweet kiss against her cheek.
Ruby collapses into the booth opposite Belle and kicks her feet up on the opposite seat. Belle marks her page and puts aside her book. She smiles and Ruby can't help but think 'Do you see me?'.
"How do you feel?" Belle asks.
"Exhausted," Ruby admits with a wry smile.
"Aw, well at least it's over now right?" Belle gives her a comforting smile and places a warm hand against her ankle where it rests on the chair beside her. "Did she help?"
Ruby startles at the question. "With what?"
Belle cocks her head to one side. "With the lunch rush."
"Oh, that. Right, of course." She looks back to where Santana is drawing Brittany out of her seat.
She tries to pull her toward the door but Brittany catches both her arms up. She ignores Santana's half hearted attempts to pull away, manually shifting one of Santana's arms around her waist and holding the other one at shoulder height in a close dance. Ruby's wolf can feel the rhythm of their waltz even if no one else can hear it. They share a few more words, with a few more smiles and finally Brittany shifts then both into a turn, guiding Santana in a quick twirl.
Santana giggles as she opens the door for Brittany who nods her head graciously on her way out. Santana spots Ruby and pins her with a commanding glare. Her eyes flick between her and Belle and she points aggressively to say that Ruby should do as she says. It makes Ruby smile because that girl, for all her undeniable swagger is about as threatening as a care bear.
The door closes and the diner is empty. Except for Belle.
"Weren't they adorable," Belle sighs, her chin resting in the palm of her hand.
"A bunch of school kids?" Ruby stalls with an awkward shuffle.
Belles's voice is gently scalding as she says, "No, those two. Isn't it nice? Finding their true love when they're so young."
"You really think they were in love? Two girls?"
"Of course. I might be a little naive about this world but I still can spot true love you know."
Ruby wonders if Belle knows that her hand is still resting on her leg. It's very pleasant feeling Belle's thumb making small circles against the skin just above her ankle boots so she doesn't want to draw attention to it. "I guess I wasn't sure, what with the whole locked in the dungeon for a long time thing."
Belle shrugs because she never talks about that. "So what did you two talk about anyway? Did you impart some wisdom?"
"The other way round I think."
"Really?"
"We talked about being brave, when it's important."
"Then I know she'll have learnt something from you."
"How do you know that?"
"Because you're the bravest person I know."
Ruby smiles at the compliment, her heart fluttering as she looks into Belle's eyes and thinks 'I hope you'll see me tomorrow'.