Disclaimer: I do not own "The Wolf Among Us" / the comic "Fables" or any of the characters in them. I also do not own the movie that I got my title from, "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo". Nor do I own any of the songs or bands that I list.
This story is rated "M" for Mature content includes intense violence, blood, gore, strong language and slight sexual content. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!
Hey guys! I realized how horrible the first chapter was edited. So, I just recently got a new editor and asked him to fix it up! Thank you Ian you're the best! He's also the one who will be editing my stories for now on, so if we all can give him a big round of applause, he will greatly appreciate it!
I'm also sorry for the delay on this chapter. At first I hit a writer's block, I had absolutely no clue how to continue it. But then I went in for surgery (x2) and ran into a lot of complications and just had no time to write. But I'm better now! Yay! So now I'm getting back into the kick of things, and I am super excited to be writing again!
Also, if there is anyone who is super artsy who is reading my story, please send in some cover ideas! I'm an artist but I can't to the amazing art on the computer and I am the worst photographer EVER! So if any of y'all would like to send in an amazing cover photo for this fanfic, I will love you forever!
With that being said...
Enjoy ^·^
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Rubie
I tumbled through the door of my apartment. I was out of breath, yet the sobs of my past escaped me, echoing through the empty apartment. I cried the entire way home. I tried to stop the tears from flowing down my cheeks, I really did. I tried sucking it up like I did for so long, I tried telling myself: 'it's okay, it's alright he can't hurt you anymore'. But nothing worked. What The Woodsman did to me, what I just did to him. It was a movie playing over and over in my head. I would never give mercy to The Woodsman for what he did to me, but the way I reacted was cruel. Forgiveness was too much to ask for.
I slammed my door shut and didn't have the strength to go any farther. My feet seemed to have been swept out from underneath of me. I came in contact with the floor in front of my door, and continued to bawl, unable to stop.
Rubie, stop! I shouted to myself over and over. That didn't work. It just seemed to make me cry even harder. So, I just let them go. Everything that I held inside of me. The rape, the hatred, the bad dreams, losing my grandmother. Everything.
I wished that there was someone there with me, for me. Why did I push Bigby away? I asked myself. He offered to come with me. He wanted to be here. My weeping escalated when that thought crossed my mind. Bigby, my boss, my friend... my only friend that wanted to help me. And you pushed him away, just like you do to everything. You don't want to get too attached to someone or something that will disappear. So instead you have become this hollow piece of shit. I hugged my knees even closer to myself as I began to shake violently.
I was on the floor for what seemed like forever, but I knew that only a few minutes had passed. Even when I was young, whenever I cried, it didn't last very long. My wailing slowly turned into little gasps of air. The tears that flooded my eyes trickled down my face.
I'm glad I got that off my chest. I thought to myself. Maybe I could go onto an early vacation. I could bake something for everyone and tell them 'Bon voyage !' That's what I'll do. I'll bake something. My thoughts ran through my head one right after another. I chuckled slightly at myself. Even when I was a child, if one small thing was going wrong in my life, my first and only instinct would be to bake.
Old habits die hard I guess.
I slowly pushed myself off the oval rug that welcomed me home. I put all of my weight against the light blue wall to keep myself from falling. My knees kept wobbling, nearly buckling in on themselves, trying to force me to lay on the ground once again. I refused. I was a weakling for a half an hour, no more of that bullshit tonight, Rubie. Just keep standing. I cheered myself on. My knees stopped quivering and I nodded in victory after a long effort. I wiped under my eyes to get rid of the remaining tears that slid down my face and pushed myself away from the wall.
I stood perfectly still, making sure that I wasn't going to fall over. I took a deep breath before I began to stumble my way through the living room and to the kitchen. I pulled my hair out of its loose ponytail and put it into a poor excuse of a bun. It didn't bother me. I just needed my hair out of the way so I could bake.
When I reached the island of the kitchen, I steadied myself against it and rubbed my eyes once again. Somehow my eyes were dry and irritated from crying, yet they were still able to shed tears. How the hell is that even possible? I wondered to myself.
I looked down at the counter and saw my walkman that I bought a few years ago. Maybe a little bit of music will cheer me up, I thought. I smiled to myself as I grabbed the black and silver walkman off of the kitchen counter. I put on the headphones and turned up the music on max volume. I smiled widely as I was greeted with the song "Back in Black" by AC/DC.
When this kind of music came out, a decade or so ago, I was very skeptical about it because I was used to the bands like The Beatles and The Beach Boys. But now, this heavy metal stuff that they are coming out with is awesome. It's the only thing I ever listen to anymore. I do admit that I sometimes put The Beatles or The Beach Boys record on the record player and jam out to them for an hour or so. But their time has come and gone. The music has evolved, and so shall we, or else the fables stick out like a sore thumb.
I hummed along with the music as I washed my hands. I turned the oven on bake, setting the temperature for 375°. I then rummaged through the cupboards, finding every measuring cup and ingredient needed for my grandmother's famous blueberry cookie sandwiches.
I began to pour the different ingredients into a bowl and heard heard five thumps in the music, thinking that it was strange that I never heard it before. Probably because you've got your music so damn high, Rubie. It came again, but this time it was only three, and it didn't quite go with the beat. For a moment, I thought that it might have been someone at the door. I quickly pushed that thought out of my head though because, Who's awake at this hour?
Bigby
Bang, Bang, Bang.
The side of my palm slammed against Rubie's door, loosening the plaque that displayed the door number '304'.
"Rubie... Rubie, it's me, Bigby," I spoke through the door.
I got to the door of her apartment as quickly as all the distractions would allow me to.
After Rubie ran away from stabbing Woody, I desperately wanted to follow her. Hug her closely to me as she wept the past away. The girl that Woody was beating on, however, held me back and said that Rubie needed some time to think, which made me even more pissed. Who the hell are you to decide when I should or shouldn't talk to my friend?, I thought in anger.
I decided to try and ask the girl questions once again. She kept talking to me in circles. I'd ask her a question, she would either answer it with a question or ignore it completely. She even asked me if I liked her ribbon. I got irritated after that. I just saw Rubie have a PTSD episode and you have the nerve to ask me about your accessory? What. The. Fuck.
Shortly after that, I saw that Woody had somehow vanished and the girl left my company. So, I quickly turned on my heels and ran towards The Woodlands.
I knocked straggling Mundies down and out of my way, not bothering to apologize. I slid across the hoods of cars as they were about to hit me. I wanted to make up for the time I had lost.
I encountered Beauty and she spoke so slow and gentle that it took at least five minutes to tell her that I wouldn't tell Beast I saw her. Then it was Beast as I climbed up the three stories of stairs to get to Rubies apartment.
I banged against the door again. "Rubie... Rubie open up. I just want to talk to you." I sighed. "I just want to help you." I murmured to myself.
I was getting ready to knock on the door again, until I heard the most horrifying noise I have ever heard. It was Rubie, screaming. I heard glass break and something fall to the floor. My heart stopped and I felt sick to my stomach. I didn't even have time to think. My body was reacting on instinct.
I stepped back from the door slightly, and kicked it down.
Rubie
The song "Back in Black" had ended a while ago and I could still hear the strange bang in every song. It has got to be the walkman, I sighed. Probably gotta buy a brand new one. I have dropped this one quite a few times.
I looked at the clock on the wall of my kitchen and determined that it was time to take out the cookies. The song "Another One Bites the Dust" by Queen began to play on my walkman. I smiled and hummed the tune as I opened the oven door. While being distracted by the music, I forgot the most important thing. An oven mit.
My left hand clutched around the cookie pan and I instantly felt pain ripple through me. My throat became raw with my scream and tears entered my eyes again. I let go of the searing pan and moved backwards until I came in contact with the island. I caught myself on the counter with my right hand, but pushed my grandmother's favorite china plate off in the process, smashing it into a million pieces. I instantly fell to my knees, looking at the plate I broke, knowing that I had no way to fix it. I had no idea what I was crying about. The pain in my hand or that one of the last things of my grandmother's that I owned was just destroyed.
I heard the cracking of wood and a slam of a door, but I paid no attention to it. I was too caught up in grief to care.
I nearly jumped out of my skin when I felt two strong arms suddenly wrapped around me. I screamed even louder as I tried to pry myself out of their grasp. My heart pounded against my ribcage with so much force I was surprised it didn't break a hole through my chest.
One of the arms that was wrapped around me left. The hand took a hold of the headphones that were still blaring "Another One Bites the Dust", then ripped them off my head.
"Rubie, its Bigby. Red, it's okay, I'm not gonna hurt you," He said in my ear. I relaxed into his embrace. "Rubie what happened? Are you okay?" He asked me with worry lingering in his voice.
I lifted my left hand and felt him flinch at the sight. "Another one bites the dust." I chuckled out painfully.
Not even a millisecond passed before he had me to my feet and at the faucet. He turned the water on cold and told me to hold it under the water as he got the first aid kit from the bathroom.
When he left the room, I looked back at my grandmother's china. Tears rolled down my cheek once again. Today is the worse goddamned day ever, I thought.
That's when Bigby decided to come in. He looked at the tears that freely rolled down my cheeks. "Does it hurt that much, Red?"
I shook my head viciously.
"Then what is it?" Bigby asked, setting the first aid kit on the table before walking over to me.
I shook my head again as I spoke. "That was my grandmother's favorite plate. What a stupid thing to cry about."
Bigby looked at me for a moment before turning his gaze to the broken china. He walked over to it and knelt down, picking up every piece with gentleness that made me wonder if the fable before me was truly Bigby. He stood up carefully, turning around, allowing me to see the busted plate. The tears ran down my face like a river when I saw it. Not even the most powerful sorcerer will be able to fix this, I thought sadly.
Bigby carefully set the pieces down on the counter next to the sink before looking at me. I, however, looked everywhere else except at him. This is so embarrassing, Rubie. Crying in front of your boss? What the hell is wrong with you?
"Rubie... you crying over this is okay."
"Really?" I asked quietly, still avoiding his gaze.
He nodded. "Yes, you cared for your grandmother. It was devastating for you to lose her. And if this..." He gestured towards the plate. "Was the last thing you had of her's, you don't have a reason not to cry, alright?"
I nodded slowly. Bigby took a hold of my chin gently and lifted it up to where I was looking at him, but the tears lingering in my eyes made my vision foggy.
"Now I know someone who is pretty good at fixing chips in plates and cups. I can give this to her and see what she can do about it, okay?" He ended with a sultry smirk.
"You'd do that? For me?" I asked with a smile.
"No, I'm doing it for all the other plates that are going to miss it more than you." Bigby spoke with sarcasm. He shook his head and chuckled. "Now, let's worry about that hand of yours... how the hell did you do this anyways, Red?"
I let out a sharp chuckle. "Funny story. I got home and I couldn't stop crying..." Shit, why the hell did you say that? I cleared my throat. "...and I like to bake when I'm stressed. So, I decided to bake my grandmother's- Ohmygod! The cookies!" I spun around, decorating the room with water droplets.
Bigby grabbed a hold of me. "I'll get your cookies out of the oven. Just keep that hand under the cold water, alright?"
I nodded, spinning around slowly and putting my hand back under the ice cold water. I watched as he walked over to the oven and took the towel from off the handle, folding it three times before he took out the cookie pan. He set it on top of the stove before closing the oven and turning it off.
Bigby walked back towards me, and turned off the faucet. He dabbed as tenderly as he could, but no matter how soft his touch was I still hissed and flinched in pain as he touched my skin.
The tears subsided, allowing me to get a good look at Bigby. A quiet gasp escaped my lips at the sight. He had a cut going down his forehead, stopping at his cheekbone. There were bruises forming on his cheek and under his right eye. Blood was still trickling out of his nose. The Woodsman's hand print was clearly visible on Bigby's neck.
I let my right hand gently dance on his cheek, he slightly cringed at my touch. "Bigby... you look like shit," I said with little humor in my voice.
"Geez, tell me what you really think." He said, chuckling.
I think you're cute.
Did I really just think that?
Bigby lead me to the kitchen table. I sat down and he took the spot right next to me. He rummaged through the first aid kit, taking out some burning cream and gauze.
Bigby asked for my hand and I gave it to him. He daintily dabbed the burning cream on my hand. I had to bite my lip to keep myself from groaning in pain. When he was done, he wrapped my hand delicately in the gauze.
"There. All better." Bigby said with a smile.
"Not you, though" I mumbled out. "Can you give me a wet cloth, please?"
Bigby hesitated before he stood up and grabbed the towel from the oven. When his back was turned to me I felt as if the air was sucked out of the room. There was blood covering his back. How the hell did he get blood all over him? My mind thought back to when the Woodsman attacked Bigby, and what he had said: Rubie. . .there's glass. . .in my back.
Oh god.
Bigby set down a bowl of water on the table and plopped down in front of me with the wet towel in his hand.
"I'm going to say that I'm sorry before I start. This is probably going to hurt."
"I'm sure I can tough it out," he answered back.
I dabbed Bigby's face in silence, all the while he was looking at me with this sort of puppy dog look in his eyes. It made me feel super conscious about everything that I was doing.
Bigby's nose twitched as I carefully wiped away the dry blood. I wiped his cheeks that were doused with The Woodsman's blood, making his face red and irritated. I dabbed at the blood that had ran down his cheek before getting to the source of the bleeding. I had to stand up to get to the cut on his forehead. He flinched occasionally as I hit tender spots in the gash.
When I was all done, I sat the bloody cloth down in the bowl, and took out some gauze from the first aid kit. I folded up a piece, placing it where his cut was. He hissed in pain and I murmured a soft apology. I then took another strand of gauze and wrapped it around his head to keep the piece I folded up in place. I tucked the loose section of the gauze in between his forehead and the gauze bandage.
I sat back looking at my handy work for a moment before I smiled. "Now can you take off your shirt while I grab a clean bowl of water?" I asked as I stood up to wash out the blood from the bowl.
He cocked a brow. "Why?"
"Because your back is still bleeding." I answered as I filled up the bowl with crystal clear water.
"Rubie, you don't need to fuss about me. Really, I'm fine."
I sat down the water bowl before facing him. "I know you're the 'Big Bad Wolf' and all, but I don't want you bleeding all over my couch. I'm pretty sure you have a hand full of questions that you want to ask me."
"That I do." Bigby answered. He stood up, his height making me seem like a small infant in comparison. His hands fumbled with the tie that was loosely around his neck, in an immense struggle as he tried to take it off.
A sad smile appeared on my face as I got closer to him. I carefully pushed his hands out of the way. He looked at me quizzically.
"Let me help you," I said. "Your hands are probably in shock from knocking The Woodsman around."
Bigby just nodded, looking a little embarrassed that he couldn't even pull off his tie.
I untangled the knot that Bigby created. I took his tie off and set it on his chair. I could feel his pulse increase as I unbuttoned his shirt. I was confused for a moment on why his heart rate was increasing, until I realized what I was doing. I was taking his shirt off. My face turned a bright crimson and I ducked my head down, hoping and praying that Bigby didn't notice it. My hands shook violently as I unbuttoned his shirt, making me curse at myself internally.
"Red, are you alright?" Bigby asked, unable to look me in the eyes.
"I'm fine." I answered frantically. I finished unbuttoning his shirt, and helped him push off his shirt. He folded it up messily, setting it on the chair. I nervously played with my hands, hoping that Bigby would just sit down without me needing to ask it out loud.
Bigby just shrugged and sat down in the kitchen chair so that his back was facing me.
I sighed heavily, thanking whoever was listening that Bigby decided to ignore my nervous tone.
I turned towards the first aid kit an scrounged around for the tweezers. When I finally found them, I faced Bigby's back and slowly began to pluck every tiny piece of glass that was imbedded in his skin. Bigby would hiss in pain every so often and I would cringe, mumbling apologies.
When all of the tiny shards of glass were discarded from his body, I grabbed the wettened rag and dabbed his skin free of blood that trailed down his back. I quickly got another dish rag to dry his skin.
I threw the rag down onto the table and grabbed the gauze. "Okay Bigby stand up for me." I said politely.
"And what if I don't want to?" He grumbled.
I crossed my arms and arched a brow. "Then you can't ask me your questions and I'll kick your sweet ass out of my apartment."
Bigby mumbled something that I couldn't quite hear, but he got off of the chair, facing me. I tried so hard to keep eye contact with him, but my eyes betrayed me and lingered down his body. My mouth became drier than the Sahara Desert, so I tried to swallow what little saliva I had in order to moist my mouth.
"See something you like?" He asked horsely. My eyes shot back up to Bigby and there was something in his eyes that I didn't recognize, yet I know that I have seen it before.
I laughed nervously. "What?! No I don't see anything I like! I mean you look nice and all but I'm not interested, but you body is very nice. I mean.." I closed my eyes and slapped a hand over my mouth, screamed in my head; Rubie shut up, just shut up!
I slowly peeled my eyes open, revealing a humorous glint in Bigby's eye's and a sexy smirk plastered on his face. A shiver when down my spine, but I wasn't sure as to why. Weird.
I chuckled nervously and held up the gauze that I had in my hand. "So, do you mind if I put this around you?" He shook his head and raised his arms. I held the gauze in one place and reached around his body to grab the gauze roll.
I tried to concentrate on tending to his wounds but my eyes just kept roaming his chest every time I got closer to him. I had to bite my lip to keep any strange noises from escaping my mouth.
When I was finished wrapping him up I tucked the end of the gauze like I did with his head. "You can put your shirt on." I mumbled as I turned around and started packing up the first aid kit.
"Rubie." He said, with concern lingering in his rough voice, as I heard his feet shuffle closer to me. I hummed a 'what' too afraid that if I spoke, he would hear the nervousness in my voice. I stopped packing up the first aid when his hands wrapped themselves around my wrists. I gasped as he spun me around to face him. I was expecting him to start talking, either questions or a lecture, but nothing happened not for a long while. He didn't move, I didn't move. It was like the world was frozen.
After a while I saw his hand move, but I kept put. I didn't look up, I didn't move, I didn't speak. I closed my eyes for a few seconds and in those few seconds I felt warm, gentle fingers on my chin. Bigby? What are you doing? I thought as I opened my eyes. He didn't say anything as he gently lifted my head up so that we were face to face.
"Why did you... what hap..." He sighed. "Are you okay?"
I let out a breath of air trying to make it sound like a chuckle. "I just saw my worst enemy, who still claims to have saved my life, I over reacted by stabbing the bastard." My vision became blurry with unshed tears. "So, no I'm not okay." I smiled at him even as the images of my past crossed my mind.
Bigby moved his fingers away from my chin and tenderly stroked both of my cheeks.
Shit, you're crying again Rubie.
"I'm sorry." my voice cracked out as I tried to back away from him, only to run into the table.
"Rubie, you don't have to be sorry." he said closing the distance. "It's okay to show what you are feeling. It's even better to explain why you're feeling it."
No no no, don't let him know, you can't. You cannot be seen as weak.
But you want him to know. You want to let go of everything that has happened. You need to talk about it.
But you don't want to be treated differently, do you? I mean look at the way he's already talking to you. He's treating you like a little kid, like "Little Red Riding Hood".
I instantly wiped my tears and plastered a wonderful fake smile on my face. "I'm fine." I said even as hot tears streamed down my cheeks. "I'm fine." I said trying to convince him and to snap me back to my senses. Bigby tried to wipe away my tears again but I swatted his hands away repeating "I'm fine" over and over.
Bigby caught my wrists holding me still. His hazel irises burned into my electric blue ones. "Rubie, you are not fine. I know you aren't. Stop lying and admit it." His voice told me harshly.
That's when I broke. The sob that I tried holding back erupted from my throat, making it sound even worse than before. It shook throughout my whole body, making my knees buckle in on themselves. Bigby caught me however and held me close to his chest.
'I'm sorry' were the only words that I was able to say. Bigby held me closer to him, if that was even possible, and cradled the back of my head. "It's alright Red," His rough voice grumbled with kindness.
He didn't say anything after that, except for whispering comforting words and rubbing my back. All the while, I was hugging Bigby as tightly as I possibly could, crying my eyes out in the process. And he never let me go, his grip on me never lessened. It made me feel loved. Something that I haven't really felt in a long time.
As my weeping slowly dwindled down, Bigby led me through my kitchen to my living room so we could sit on the dark red sofa. He still held me close as we sat there waiting for the last of my tears to stop. When they finally did stop, Bigby pushed me up gently so that I was sitting upright.
"Rubie, I understand that you need your own personal space and everything, but whatever happened to you really affected the way you did your job today." He said to me in a calm voice. "I need to know what happened to you so that we can try and prevent this from happening again."
I looked down at my hands that were fiddling with each other. Do I tell him? I want to but what if he judges me for it? What if he can't accept what I want through?
"Please, Rubie," his voice cut through my thoughts. "I want to understand what happened. I want to help you."
I looked back up at him and bit my lip, having this internal debate in if I should tell him or not. After what felt like decades, I decided to tell him. "Okay, I'll tell you, but please don't tell anyone else." He nodded, waiting in anticipation on what I was going to tell him.
Well here goes nothing.
"After The Woodsman filled you with stone, I ran back to my grandmother's house," I swallowed to sooth my dry throat. "My grandmother told me not to give him any money because the heroism could go to his head. So instead I put a few baked goods in a basket for him."
I swallowed again, looking up at Bigby, and he was just staring at me like he was hanging on every word I was saying.
"When she wasn't looking I put a few gold coins in there for him." Tears began to form in my eyes again and I quickly blinked them away. "When I tried to give him the basket he just got so angry. And that's when I could smell the alcohol on his breath. He wanted a money reward for saving our lives, and he wouldn't listen to me when I told him I put money in the basket." A tear escaped my eye and slowly traveled down my cheek. "And then he said 'If you won't give me money as an award, I'll just take something else instead'." Tears were freely flowing from my eyes. "He dragged me into my room and tied me to the bed….before he...before he…" I couldn't find myself to continue, not that I needed to for Bigby to understand what happened.
I looked down and covered my face with my hands and frantically started wipping my tears away.
Bigby instantly held me against him again, cradling my head like he did before. I uncovered my face so he could hear me clearly. "After he was finished with me, he left me on the bed paralyzed. I didn't know anything that happened until I woke up the next day, I thought it was all a bad dream. I wish it was," I sighed. "but it wasn't." I looked up into his hazel eyes. "and now you know my deep dark secret that I wanted to take to me grave."
His eyes looked down into my soul trying to understand. "Why?...Why didn't you want anyone to know. We could have done something, Rubie."
A sharp chuckle escaped my lungs. "Oh yeah, like every other man did in the Enchanted Forest? All they did was laugh and said I deserve it." I shook my head, having my gaze look away from Bigby. "It's whatever though, the past is in the past. No one can change it no matter how much we want to."
"I would have done something." He said in a harsh voice. "I'm the sheriff, I know how to make anyone's death look like an accident."
I head snapped back towards his direction. "No Bigby. You are the sheriff, which means you help people. You are not a hit man, and I don't want you to do anything to The Woodsman, okay?"
"And why the hell not Rubie?" His raspy voice snapped.
"because I shoved an axe in his head, then I stomped it into his head, then I gladly stabbed him multiple times in the back. I think we're pretty even." I said with dry humor and chuckled slightly.
Bigby physically relaxed and chuckled with me. "Yeah, I guess so. But I still wished you would have told me about this. I wouldn't have judged you for it. I want to help you cope with it." He said to me in a gental voice.
I smiled. "Well you know now. And I'll try not to keep things from you again." I said as I curled up into a ball, and snuggled into him. My eyes kept unfocusing and my eyelids suddenly became heavy. I yawned quietly before I spoke, "So what happened after I left?"
Bigby began to explain how dumb the girl was and how frustrated she made him, but I didn't understand half of it. And soon enough, I was out like a light.
Bigby
I knew that she was getting tired so I basically talked her into sleep. When I felt her body loose all tenseness, I knew she was finally asleep. I grabbed the blue blanket off of the back of the couch, being careful to not wake her up, then I covered her and I with it - her legs were across mine as her head laid upon my chest. She snuggled closer to me and sighed, a slight smile appearing on her face.
"I will never ever let anything like that happen to you again." I found myself saying. "I promise you that."
I leaned my head back against the couch, and fell asleep holding Rubie close to me.
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Hey guys! Finally fixed this chapter! Yay! And don't y'all worry I am working on the next chapter and it should be out soon! I have gotten a HUGE inspiration because of all of you, that's right you guys. It makes me so happy to know that people actually like my story! Thank you guys, you are all the best (:
See you in the near future!
