The first time it happened, Mary Margaret Blanchard thought nothing of it. She was walking in a forest. Her hair was longer, and she was wearing clothes that she imagined were what Robin Hood would have worn. There was a clearing up ahead, and she saw something moving at the edge. As she got closer she realized it was a large bird, a turkey in fact. She also realized that she had a spear in her hand and that she had raised it, ready to strike the bird. There was a movement in the clearing, just out of her sight, that startled the bird. That was when she had woken up, the sounds of Emma making breakfast in the kitchen disturbing her sleep. The dream was quickly forgotten as Mary Margaret went about her day.
The second time it happened, Mary Margaret shrugged it off. It was the exact same dream, this time she could have sworn she saw a flash of red before she woke up. When she woke upawakened, Mary Margaret laid still for several minutes, thinking about the dream. It wasn't like she hadn't ever had a reoccurring dream before, but this one was different. She couldn't put her finger on it. Finally Sshe shrugged to herself before getting up, wincing as she heard a crash of a mug falling to the floor and the curses of her roommate.
The third time it happened, Mary Margaret tried to stay in the dream as long as she could, trying to see what the flash of red was. All she saw before she woke up was what looked like a red cloak. This time when she woke, it was the middle of the night. She sighed as she looked over her shoulder and out the window. It was the full moon tonight. After about ten minutes of restless tossing and turning, Mary Margaret realized that she was now wide awake and that sleep was not going to grace her anytime soon. Mary MargaretShe let out a small huff as she got out of bed. Maybe a walk would help. She pulled on some shoes and a light coat before quietly leaving her apartment and making her way outside. It was a clear night, and the moon shone brightly, making the few streetlights unnecessary. Mary Margaret walked down the main street, lost in her own thoughts. When she looked up, she saw that Granny's Diner was just up ahead. In front of it was parked the unmistakable red car that belonged to Ruby,. wWho, Mary Margaret realized, was sitting on the trunk of said car. Mary Margaret stopped next to the car and, smiling smiled at Ruby, who smiled back.
"Hey there Ruby," the schoolteacher said, "You're up late tonight."
"I could say the same to you," replied the waitress, giving the other woman a wolfish grin. " I couldn't sleep, so I thought I'd come out here." She glanced up at the moon. "It's a beautiful night tonight."
Mary Margaret smiled, looking up at the moon as well. "It is," she replied. Ruby patted the space next to her, moving over to give the other woman room to sit next to her. "So, you couldn't sleep either?" she asked as Mary Margaret sat down.
"I don't know what it is," Mary Margaret said, shaking her head. "I've been having this dream, the exact same one for three nights in a row. It's not a bad dream, but there's something… unsettling about it."
Ruby rested her elbows on her knees, and in turn her chin on her knuckles as she watched Mary Margaret and listened, frowning slightly. "The same thing has been happening to me. What is this dream about?" she asked.
Mary told her everything:, the woods, the large bird, the spear, and the flash of red. Ruby was silent for a moment, taking in what the other woman told her. Mary looked at her, waiting for her to speak.
"You're going to think I'm crazy," the waitress finally said, before looking at Mary, "But I think we've been having the same dream… but from different perspectives. I know, it's crazy," she added quickly before the other woman could react. "It's just that in my dreams, I'm in a clearing, walking towards the woods, and there's a large bird, and I think I startle it or something startles it and it kinda runs away and…. And I'm wearing a red cape." Ruby blushed and looked down at her hands. The whole thing was ridiculous. Seriously, these kinds of things don't actually happen. Right? Mary Margaret looked at the other woman, trying to figure out if she was mocking her or not. When Ruby blushed, Mary Margaret realized she was completely serious. The schoolteacher frowned in thought.
"Do you think it's really possible?" she asked. "It sure sounds like we're having the same dream. But…. Why on earth would we?"
The younger woman shrugged. "Maybe we're connected or something."
Mary Margaret raised an eyebrow. "Connected?"
Ruby shrugged again. "You know how when you wake up after a dream, you pretty much start forgetting what the dream was about? The details become fuzzy, and you realize how some things were just not quite right with it, and that's what makes it a dream? This… this doesn't feel the same. Every detail is clear and sharp in my mind, nothing really seemed out of place. Like… like it's a memory."
"The funny thing with memories is that you usually remember them," said Mary Margaret.
Ruby gave out a frustrated huff. "I don't know then," she said, hopping off the car. "I think I'm going to try and go back to sleep. 'Night," she added, sticking her hands in her jacket pockets and walking towards the inn, sulking slightly. She knew the idea of her and Mary Margaret being connected in some way was probably crazy; she and the schoolteacher were pretty much on opposite ends of the spectrum personality wise, but the feeling that there was something more to this was nagging at her hard.
Mary Margaret sat on the trunk of the car, watching the other woman walk away, feeling bad for criticizing her. But really, the notion was ridiculous. She had known the waitress for as long as she could remember, and aside from occasionally going out for drinks with her and some of the other girls, they really had nothing in common. After a moment she sighed and slid off of the car trunk and walked home, trying to think about anything BUT but the conversation she had just had.
The next day Ruby and Mary Margaret avoided talking to each other, apart fromexcepting the schoolteacher's morning coffee order. However, tThe previous night's conversation consumed both of their thoughts, however..
Emma snapped her fingers in front of her roommate's face for the third time that evening.
"What is up with you?" she asked, giving her friend a strange look. "You've been acting weird all day. Didn't get enough sleep or something?"
"Yeah… kinda," replied Mary Margaret in a spacey tone, staring into the cup of coffee her hands were hugging in front of herhugged between her hands. Emma gave the brunette a concerned look as she slowly took the coffee out of Mary Margaret's hands.
"Maybe you should go easy on the caffeine," she said.
"Yeah…. Maybe," said Mary Margaret in the same tone, still staring at the spot where her coffee had been, not even registering that it had in fact vacated her hands. Could she and Ruby really be connected in some way? The practical part of her mind scoffed at the idea, but there was a little nagging voice in the back of her brain that kept insisting that it was possible.
After tossing and turning for over an hour, Mary Margaret finally fell asleep that night. The dream was the same as it had been for the past three nights; the forest, the turkey, the spear, and then, the flash of red. But this time Mary Margaret didn't wake up. As the turkey flew away and she drew closer to the clearing, a figure finally appeared, donned in a red cloak.
"Hey! It's me," said a familiar voice. Mary Margaret stared at the person in front of her. "Red," she said, but she didn't know why. It was Ruby standing in front of her. She looked different, more natural without all of the makeup the waitress was known to wear.
"The spear, Snow," replied the other woman, nodding to the weapon in Mary Margaret's hand. And that was when she woke up. Snow. Ruby had called her Snow. And she had called Ruby Red. No, she thought. This is just my mind playing tricks on me. I'm just buying into what Ruby said last night and now my mind is just inserting her into the dream accordingly. Anyway, what kind of names were 'Snow' and 'Red'? Those were the kinds of names you'd hear in a fairytale. Like Snow White and Seven Dwarves and Little Red Riding Hood. Mary Margaret bolted up, her blood running cold. Snow White. That was who Henry thought she was in his book. And Little Red Riding Hood…. Didn't Emma mention the other day the Henry thought Ruby was her? Now you're just being paranoid, she chided herself. This was all nonsense. Henry's book wasn't real. It was all just residing in her subconscious and forming itself into her dreams. That had to be it. Right?
Ruby sat in her bed, idly playing with a strand of her hair as she thought about the dream she just had. It felt like déjà vu… but stronger than déjà vu. She knew that Henry thought they were all fairy tale characters… what if the kid was right?
The next day Ruby waited anxiously for Henry to come into the diner. He finally came in that afternoon after school, waiting for Emma to join him apparently. The waitress swooped over to the booth, a cinnamon hot chocolate already prepared for him, setting it down in front of Henry before sitting down across from him.
"Hi Ruby!" he greeted, licking a bit of the whipped cream off of his hot chocolate.
"Hi Henry., Llisten, you think we're all fairy tale characters, right?"
Henry frowned a little, clearly thinking she was mocking him. "I know you're all fairy tale characters," he replied.
The waitress licked her lips somewhat nervously. "Right. So… who am I?" she asked.
"Little Red Riding Hood, obviously," Henry said, watching her curiously.
"And Mary Margaret… she's…. Snow White? Right?" said Ruby, trying not to sound too crazy herself.
"Yeah…." He said, taking a sip of his hot chocolate. "Why are you asking this stuff?"
Ruby tried to shrug nonchalantly. "Just curious. Do Little Red Riding Hood and Snow White know each other?"
"Yeah!" Henry replied enthusiastically, "You're very, very good friends."
"Really?" asked the waitress. "But we're not really that close…"
Henry sighed dramatically and rolled his eyes. "The Evil Queen's curse takes away everyone's happiness. You guys madke each other happy, so the curse separated you two," he said, as though this should have been perfectly clear to Ruby.
"O-oh ok," replied the brunette, a little taken aback at the kid's tone. She saw Emma come in the door and said bye to Henry before going back behind the counter, thinking about what Henry he had said. It couldn't have been more than five minutes later when Mary Margaret walked into the diner. As soon as Ruby saw her, she grabbed the other woman's arm and practically dragged her to the back room.
"OwW! Ruby! WHATWhat?" said the shorter woman, taken by surprise by the waitress.
"Did you have the dream last night?" she asked, watching Mary Margaret intently.
"Wha-yes, why?" the school teacher replied, rubbing her arm where Ruby had grabbed it.
"I called you Snow. And you called me Red. Henry says that we're Snow White and Little Red Riding Hood. We're supposed to be 'very, very good friends'" she said, complete with finger quotes.
"Henry says a lot of things. He's a little boy with a big imagination," said Mary Margaret irritably. "You're not seriously buying into his fairytale idea are you?"
"Well… it makes sense doesn't it?" asked Ruby, blushing a little. She knew she sounded ridiculous but it all seemed like the most logical explanation. Mary Margaret gave a short, disbelieving laugh.
"No, it doesn't make sense. What makes sense is that we're both thinking about it way too much and we just need to drop it," she said, turning to leave.
Ruby grabbed her again. "So you have been thinking about it?" she asked, her eyes searching Mary Margaret's. Mary Margaret sighed softly as she turned back to Ruby, reluctantly giving in to the nagging voice at the back of her mind.
"Yes. I have done…. aA lot of thinking actually. And…" She threw her hands up in defeat. "I just have this little nagging voice in the back of my head that won't leave it alone. Like it's actually plausible. Like…" This time Mary Margaret blushed. "Like I'm supposed to be a lot closer to you than I am."
"You feel it too?" asked Ruby softly.
"That there's supposed to be more to us than this?" asked Mary Margaret, gesturing to the two of them. "Yes."
They stood there for what felt like eternity, staring into each other's eyes, each as confused as the other. It was only when the stark yelling of Ruby's grandmother threatened to fire the waitress if she didn't get her butt out here and do her job that the two broke eye contact, both suddenly feeling very awkward. Ruby looked at the floor nervously.
"I guess I should," she said vaguely, pointing at the door to the rest of the diner.
"Yeah," replied Mary Margaret, nodding and following the waitress out of the room, not looking at anyone, particularly Emma and Henry, who were still seated at their booth, as she walked out of the diner. Ruby busied herself behind the counter with dirty dishes. Henry looked at Emma with raised eyebrows.
"Those two are acting weird," he said.
"Mary Margaret has certainly been out of it," muttered Emma.
"I think they're starting to remember," said Henry, the hope evident in his voice.
"If you say so, kid," replied the blonde.
Ruby almost couldn't wait to go to sleep that night. She needed to see what happened in the dream. She needed… she needed to see who she was really supposed to be. She had never felt right in Storybrooke, like she was never REALLY really being herself, no matter what she did. The dream… it felt right. It felt real. She considered taking a couple of NyQuil to knock herself out, but decided against it. It might prevent her from dreaming. And she didn't want that at all. So she waited. Ruby She closed her eyes and tried to relax. After what felt like eternity she huffed and turned onto one side, and then the other. It was several hours later when she finally found that comfortable spot on her stomach, that Ruby fell asleep.
The dream was the same as it had always been. She was in a field, walking towards the edge of the woods, carrying a large basket with fruit, meat, and cheese in it. She noticed a turkey nearby and her approach to the woods sent it flying. She peered into the woods, only to back up a little as she saw Mary Margaret hefting a spear.
"Hey! It's me," she said, the dialogue so familiar to her now.
"Red," came the anticipated reply.
"The spear, Snow," Ruby answered in turn, looking at the spear in Sn-, no, Mary Margaret's hand. Mary Margaret looked at it before lowering it.
"Sorry," she said, walking out of the woods towards Ruby, "Wasn't expecting you for a month."
"It's been a month," replied Ruby, grinning at the other woman.
"Has it?" asked Mary Margaret. Ruby nodded, dropping her basket as Mary Margaret pulled Ruby to her and kissed her hard. Ruby's eyes flew open, gasping for air. She remembered this. This particular moment in time, the emotions, the feel of… of Snow's lips against hers. Snow was her… lover. But how? Why? Ruby scoured her brain, trying to remember the events that led up to this memory, and what happened afterwards, but she came up with nothing.
Mary Margaret flew out of bed, pulling on a coat as quickly as she could. She wasn't one hundred percent sure exactly what was going on; all she knew was that she needed to see Ruby, and she needed to see her NOWnow. She didn't care that it was the middle of the night. She needed to see the woman who she suddenly remembered having feelings for. Mary Margaret practically ran down the street towards the bed and breakfast. She laughed as she saw Ruby running her way. They stopped under a street lamp, both suddenly very shy as they looked at each other. The street was completely silent and dark, the only light coming from the streetlamp they were standing under. Ruby licked her lips and gently reached her hands out and took Mary Margaret's in her own.
"What… what is going on?" asked the schoolteacher almost timidly.
"I don't know," replied Ruby, looking at their hands together. It looked right. It felt right. They were silent for a moment.
"I remember that happening," said Mary Margaret, "I remember being so happy to see you. But… I don't remember why I was in the woods. I don't even know where those woods are. I… I don't remember what happened before or after those moments with you."
Ruby shook her head. " I don't either," she said, squeezing Mary Margaret's hands gently. Ruby blushed at what she asked next. "Can I… can I kiss you?"
Mary Margaret looked up at her, nodding silently. Ruby leaned in slowly, biting her lower lip gently before softly pressing her lips to the other woman's. Before either of them knew what was happening, Mary Margaret's hands reached around Ruby, pulling her closer, as Ruby's hands went into Mary Margaret's hair. Neither of them noticed the pulse that radiated from where they stood, lips still locked together, the kiss getting more intense. When they finally broke apart, there were tears in both of the women's eyes.
"Snow…"
"Red…" They held each other for several minutes, processing the memories that had come crashing back to them when they kissed.
"I remember," murmured Snow. "I remember everything."
Red smiled, pulling back and looking at her lover's face, gently wiping away the tears on her cheek with her thumb. "Me too." She chuckled softly. "Do you believe in fairytales now?" she asked, grinning.
Snow White laughed. "I don't know if I believe in fairytales, but I believe in you and me."