Ruby crept slowly up the stairs towards Archie's room. Pongo woke up and began to get up. She shhhh-ed the Dalmatian and whispered at him to lie down. The Dalmatian obeyed, and slowly set himself back into his pillow.

The tall brunette continued up the stairs and looked around. She had pretty good night vision for some reason, and it was pretty easy for her to figure out where Archie's bedroom was. She slowly turned the knob and opened the door, trying not to make it creak.

The town psychiatrist with the ginger hair lay sound asleep. To her surprise, he slept in a rather large bed, with room for more than two. Ruby noticed that he wasn't wearing a shirt to bed. She smiled and wondered if he slept naked.

She made her way to the bed and knelt on top of the man that made her heart flutter. She lightly brushed his hair.

"Archie," she said in a whisper, "Arrrchiiieee…"

Archie felt himself waking up drearily after what seemed like too little sleep. He closed his eyes, trying to fall back asleep before he was truly awake.

However, he noticed someone was beside him. He tried to look for his glasses but he couldn't find them. He figured by the outline that it was Ruby. He tried to wake up but he was still confused at what was going on.

"Ruby?" the psychiatrist said groggily.

Ruby lay down beside him and started kissing his jawline. "Hey Archie," she said in a sultry tone. She moved up his jawline and began nibbling and sucking softly on his earlobe. He could not help a moan escaping his lips, which he could sense made Ruby smile.

Ruby began moving back to his jawline and brushed her lips softly against his. The psychiatrist let himself be enveloped in the kiss, and felt a stirring within his pajama bottoms.

He grasped Ruby's arms and pulled her away slightly. "Ruby, what are you doing?" He knew this wasn't necessarily out of character for Ruby; however he knew that she was being out of character with him.

She bit her bottom lip as she sat on her knees teasingly. "I was lonely downstairs. I wanted company." She moved towards Archie again and brushed her fingertips against his forearm. He felt himself blush all over.

Archie turned on the light and sat up so that he could look at Ruby. She seemed nervous and insecure, so different from the confident woman he had known for years.

"Ruby what's going on?"

She looked unsure where to proceed. He wasn't sure if Ruby trusted him enough to tell him what was really troubling her.

Instead, she decided to deflect.

"I know you like me, Archie." She gave him a shy smile. He knew he was now beet red, most likely making his ginger hair look even more ridiculous.

He was speechless. Archie was unsure how to proceed. Here was Ruby, her hair slightly tousled and her tank top looking practically see through due to the lighting. He was hard; he wanted her so badly and she clearly knew he harboured these feelings. She moved towards him again, straddling him and brushing his hair back.

"I see the way you look at me at the diner. You're always so shy and cute." She kissed his temples and his vision blurred. She smelled like strawberries. He wanted to feel his lips on hers again, but he had to stop himself. He tried to be a considerate man; he always followed the directions of his conscience. And yet he was so enraptured by her.

She laid her hips on his lap. "And I can tell that you want me right now." She settled herself on his erection. He moaned once more and feigned embarrassment for being tempted by his baser nature.

He took her by the hips and laid her on the bed beside him. She looked a little confused at why Archie was pushing her away. The psychiatrist looked at her through his nerdy glasses with a look of sincerity.

"You're right," he said, "I do like you. Like really, properly like you. This is why I don't want to do anything tonight."

Ruby looked at Archie, her big green eyes pouring into his soul. She looked both insulted and disappointed.

"I don't understand… If you like me, why won't you fuck me?"

He sighed to himself. He knew that Ruby dated guys that didn't deserve her, but he wasn't aware how deeply these men have scarred her. He took her hand in his and squeezed it slightly. He whispered her name and kissed her forehead lightly.

"I really like you, Ruby" he said, looking her in the eyes, "and you're right. I really want you, and want to be with you. But it's the middle of the night, and we've had a couple of drinks, so I don't think this is the right time. I want to make love to you, not fuck you, and I want it to be when I know you won't regret it."

Archie saw that Ruby's walls were coming down, and this was because of him. She kissed him on the cheek, although this kiss was much tamer than the ones she previously gave him.

"I feel like an idiot." She said, and laughed.

He squeezed her hand again. "You're not an idiot. I think you are smarter than you give yourself credit."

She smiled sincerely at Archie. Suddenly he realised that Ruby felt out of place. Archie saw that she felt awkward.

"Well," she started, "I guess I should head back down." She started moving towards the edge of the bed.

"Well," Archie blurted out, "If you were feeling lonely, maybe…. I mean, if you want… you can sleep beside me…?" He looked so nervous; he couldn't remember the last time a woman slept beside him.

Ruby had a giant smile on her face and the apples of her cheeks were rosy. "I would really like that, Archie."

Archie had a shy smile as he looked at the beautiful woman in front of him. "Great!" He chirped out, an octave higher than usual.

Archie moved towards one side of the bed; Ruby lay down beside him, nesting the top of her head on his shoulder. Archie wrapped his other arm around Ruby's waist and moved closer towards her. He could feel her breath steadying as he closed his eyes.

She fell asleep to the sound of Archie's heartbeat, and he fell asleep to the smell of strawberries.