Everyone has secrets. Everyone has regrets. Everyone has something to run from. Mary Margaret, or Snow White, had a belief that there were people that were purely good and light. Although they were best friends, Ruby didn't agree. Ruby believed everyone had darkness in them, even if it was hidden deep down. Something drove people to make the wrong decisions and it had to be that darkness and that darkness created demons that hid within the shadows of your heart and mind.
Sitting in the diner, the beautiful woman was plagued with thoughts of her own demons. As much as she had come to accept the wolf with, she knew the beast was a large portion of her own inner darkness. The wolf had created her own demon: the death of her Peter. No.
The murder of her Peter. Murder committed by her.
The thought made her sick. She couldn't remember what she'd done. She did remember how his corpse looked when she came to. He'd been eaten. She'd eaten her own love. That made her even more sick.
"This seat taken, love?"
"What?" Ruby said, head shooting up. The one and only Captain Hook stood by her table.
"Is this seat taken?" he said incredibly slowly. Ruby shook her head and gestured across from her.
"I see you haven't taken to this world's clothing, yet," Ruby commented.
"It's much too tight for my tastes," he retorted. Ruby scoffed, looking him over. Her eyes wandered toward the dining counter across the room. Hook watched her, noting her blank stare. He'd never seen the wolf so quiet. Ruby was known to be sociable.
"Are you alright, love?"
"I'm not your love," she scolded. The captain raised his eyebrows in shock.
"Now, now, no need to get testy. I take it that's what your problem is. Love." Ruby didn't answer, fiddling with a bracelet on her wrist and its several charms. "You know, I was in love once."
"Just once?" Ruby chuckled mirthlessly. "I have trouble believing that. Do we even have the same definition of love?"
"Cheeky. The she-wolf is feisty."
"Very much so."
"She was a barmaid in a tavern much like you are here." Ruby rolled her eyes. She wasn't a barmaid, but she was too frustrated to correct him. "Actually, she wasn't a barmaid. All the same, I loved her dearly. She was curious, adventurous, daring. She left everything behind and joined my crew. We had many adventures together."
"Sounds lovely. What'd you do to make her leave?" Ruby said, looking at him.
"I lost her along with my hand one day," he said, limply lifting his hook. "Killed by Rumplestiltskin. Been after the crocodile ever since."
"Oh. I am so sorr-"
"I don't need your apologies, love," he said, waving her off. "So, what's your tragic love story?"
"His name was Peter," she began slowly, hesitant. "My grandmother didn't approve, but we didn't care. He didn't care. He was a bit of a rebel, but sweet. A wolf began attacking our village and I came to the conclusion that he was the wolf, so he had me tie him up. But it turned out I was the wolf and I…" She stopped there. Hook was silent. He nodded, understanding where the story ended. So, they'd both lost someone.
"It wasn't your fault."
"It wasn't my fault?" Ruby repeated. "I ate him! I murdered my boyfriend!"
"The wolf murdered your boyfriend, not you. Just like the crocodile murdered my love. Granted, my monster was in a separate body and mind, but it still wasn't you. You are kind, daring, compassionate, curious, helpful. You, Ruby, are a wonderful person and a dark action that you committed and had no control over does not change that fact," Hook said. Ruby looked at him, her make up getting ruined by tears. "I understand you," Hook managed to say, grabbing her hand.
Ruby really looked at him. She looked past the handsome face, the dark clothes, the well-applied eyeliner, and she really saw him. She saw him in the brightness of his pale blue eyes. He wasn't just a pirate. He was a normal man with darkness and demons eating at him. He was like her. And as she looked into his eyes, Ruby's demons seemed to ease up just a little, because she remembered she wasn't the only one with them.