Best Friends

Chapter Two

Disclaimer; I don't own anything.

A friend gives you an umbrella when it's raining

Ruby

Ruby sighed as she looks out of the window of Ella's kitchen; of course it had started to rain. She had come to visit her friend and see how she was taking to being a new mom and how her relationship was going with Thomas- the two had been on a rocky path during the curse- and the one day she decides to visit them during a massively sunny week, it storms like a bitch

Hearing the young baby's cry she grabbed her coat and called a goodbye to her friends, leaving them to deal with their daughter like the pros they were. How anyone could deal with a crying baby was a mystery to the waitress, then again, any child of hers would probably howl.

She grinned at the though and opened the front door, hating herself for wearing some of her biggest heals that day. "Stupid, stupid fashion sense, bad wolf." She chastised herself.

Ruby braced herself against the cold wind hit her with a mass force as soon as the door opened, cold and wet. Brilliant- can you sense the sarcasm?

As she took her first step she knew she was already soaked to the skin. "Crap!" The waitress yelled into the open skies.

"Ruby!" Ella called from behind her, holding out a yellow umbrella. "Hear take this."

"Thank you so much!" Ruby gushed, grabbing the umbrella and putting it up. "I'll see you soon; now get back to your baby."

Ella laughed and waved her friend goodbye before closing the door.

Ruby looked at the umbrella that was shielding her for the best part. "I love umbrellas!"

A best friend steals it and yells "run bitch, run".

Ruby walked along the street as quickly as her heels would allow, she was about five minutes away from the diner when she heard the sound of urgent footsteps from behind her. Honestly, she couldn't blame the person; the weather was terrible and nobody wanted to be out.

The pity stopped as soon as the umbrella was forced out of her hands, leaving her soaked within seconds, hair dripping and makeup running. It was then she noticed the petite brown and the blond with curls that she realised what had happened.

"EMMA! BELLE! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" Ruby yelled.

The two girls acted like nothing had happened.

"Ruby, what the hell are you doing? Standing in the rain! Honestly!" Belle chastised.

"You could catch a cold." Emma told her, shaking her head in false disappointment.

Ruby snarled. "You stole my damn umbrella!"

"So run bitch, run!" They yelled, laughing and speeding down the street and into the diner, leaving their friend standing in the road, the rain getting worse by the second, and a reluctant grin forming on her face.

A friend helps you when you fall

Emma

Emma hated winter. She absolutely hated the damn thing. With winter came ice and although Storybrooke's saviour may be able to defeat dragons, she could not walk on ice. Ever. Never had been able to, never will be able to.

Unfortunately it only took about three days for the ice to set in, damn snow- not her mother- it was their entire fault. All she had wanted to do when she crawled out of bed this morning and opened the curtains was crawl back into bed next to Killian and sleep until the ice had melted, with Emma being oh so lucky, he father had called to remind her that it was her turn to do the early morning rounds.

After she'd hung up the phone the blonde had raided her wardrobe for the biggest, bulkiest pair of winter boots that she could find. The leather ones weren't going to cut it today. After kissing goodbye to her pirate and ordering Henry to be careful when he walked to the bus stop, she left reluctantly to go and do her rounds.

So far so good, Emma thought as she walked past Archie's office. However, fate seemed to think that now was a good time to screw with her and the next thing the sheriff knew, she was landing painfully on the floor.

"Son of a bitch!" She gasped.

Archie rushed out of his office, being careful not to slip, and helped her up. "Emma, are you okay?" He asked worriedly.

"Yeah Archie, I'm fine. Thanks for the help."

The man smiled kindly. "It was my pleasure sheriff Swan."

A best friend laughs and says "Walk much?"

The sound of two very familiar laughs echoed from behind her and instantly Emma narrowed her gaze into a glare. Belle and Ruby were each in large winter coats with equally large boots and each were wearing matching grins. As they walked past Emma they looked her up and down once, shook their heads and let out a laugh.

"Walk much, Emma?" They asked in unison, sharing a laugh as she responded with another glare, but not stopping to talk to her.

"I hate you both!" Emma yelled.

Another set of laughter echoed down the street. "We love you too Emma."

A friend gives you water when it's warm;

Belle

She struck the pitchfork into the ground repeatedly, each strike sending waves of tiredness over her body. Belle and the other citizens of Storybrooke had all agreed to help the Dwarves and Anton with the bean field as they were all struggling to manage it on their own in such hot weather.

Looking around, Belle could see Snow and Charming gathering some of the beans, Ella and Thomas were taking a break and playing with their now one year old daughter and that was just for starters. On the other side of the field Belle could see Ruby and Whale starting a dirt slinging match with Henry and Grace, soon being joined by Jefferson and- Belle blinked back the surprise- Regina. If she changed direction she could see Emma and Hook playing their usual game of wits, only now they both contained softness in their eyes and had developed a new system where the "winner" got a kiss- much to Charming's dismay, Hook won a lot.

Beside her was Rumple and he also contained a new light about him, however he seemed to hate the heat as much as she did. Belle paused from her job to press a quick kiss to the man's lips. "Stupid sun, I wish the weather here wasn't so terrible." She complained.

He smiled fondly and handed her a drink of water. "Here, drink this."

"Thank you, Rumple." She told him, taking the bottle and downing a good portion.

"Better?" He asked.

Belle sighed. "Not really."

A best friend throws theirs over you;

"Well maybe we could fix that." A voice said from behind her and before she could even turn around to prevent what she knew was coming, Belle was doused in two large buckets of water.

"There you go!" Ruby told her cheerfully.

Emma grinned. "All better."

"You're welcome." The waitress informed her when Belle didn't say anything.

"Anytime." The sheriff told her sincerely.

Belle stood their silently for a second, sopping wet and livid at her two friends. Eyeing the two warningly she bent down and picked up the pitchfork, not breaking eye contact for a second. When the object was firmly in her grasp she moved her hand and made a slitting motion across her throat. "I am going to kill you both." She informed them before charging.

A friend asks you about your romantic history

Ruby

Ruby and Aurora were sitting at the bar in Storybrooke's local. The Rabbit Whole was a great place for adults that wanted to get wasted without children and families being able to walk in and watch them make a fool of themselves. The two had been joined on their girl's night out by Belle, Ella- who had decided she deserved a night off, - Snow, Emma and Mulan- albeit she came reluctantly.

Unfortunately Belle had been dragged off by Rumplestiltskin, who didn't seem to like the dress she was wearing in front of the prying eyes of other men. Well from the look in his eyes Ruby could tell he like it- he just wanted to like it on his bedroom floor. She and Emma had teased Belle all the way out the door with that particular piece of information.

Mulan had left shortly after arrival, although the warrior had let her hair down since coming to Storybrooke with Aurora and Phillip she was still slightly uptight. Ella had followed her after Thomas had called and said that baby Alex was having trouble getting to sleep.

Snow had vanished after drunk-dialling James. The Queen had then started slurring down the phone and soon her true love had arrived and carted her out the door. Emma, Ruby and Aurora had tears streaming down their faces as the pair left. Apparently Snow had forgotten that she'd called James and was astonished by his arrival, when she'd asked how he'd managed to find her, instead of revealing that she'd drunk dialled him he just told her the usual "I will always find you."

Admittedly that was rather sweet until Snow had opened her mouth and told James that if he ever had as many drinks as she'd had, he would never be able to find her.

Ten minutes after they had gone, Hook has swooped in, threw Emma over his shoulder and told her enough was enough and he was taking her home before muttering that he might actually not make it that far. Aurora had blushed scarlet and Ruby had given a laughing Emma the biggest grin ever and wished her good luck in her night-time activities. In fact, Ruby had just received a text from her friend telling her that her handsome pirate had come to the bar with Jefferson and had watched Emma dancing- damn that girl had some moves!

"Aw," Aurora smiled, "it's so nice that those two have found each other."

Ruby nodded in agreement. "They are great together, and their children would be gorgeous!"

"As well as terrifying." The princess added.

"Point taken."

The other woman looked suddenly interested. "Did you ever have someone? Before you met Whale I mean."

Ruby's eyes softened as she remembered Peter. "Yeah, yeah I did."

A best friend blackmails you with it.

"Ruby Lucas!" Belle yelled, storming into her friend's apartment with Emma in tow. "If you don't tell Rumple that it was you and Aurora who smashed the shop's window last night-"

"And we know it was because it wasn't Killian!" Emma shouted.

Ruby shook her head, feigning innocence. "How do you know that?"

"We were kind of busy!"

Belle suppressed a grin. "Bow chicka wow wow..."

"Now is not the time!" The blonde yelled, rounding on the librarian.

"How do you know?" Ruby argued. "The window was broken at, like, three in the morning- you and Hook left at one."

Emma blushed faintly. "We were still busy..."

"Good for you!" Belle praised.

The waitress nodded in approval. "Props Sheriff."

"Thank you." She replied before snapping back into action. "Anyway...back to you breaking the shop window last night."

"Okay so maybe I clipped the glass..."

Belle glared. "Ruby the window was in pieces!"

"Fine, I did it. I broke the window." She confessed. "Are you happy now?"

"Not until you tell Gold that it was you." Emma ordered. "So go and do it before my boyfriend is handless!"

"Bet that would be a bummer." Belle muttered.

"Not the time!"

"Are you kidding?" Ruby gasped. "He'd kill me."

Emma shook her head and smiled in an unconvincing way. "No he won't, maybe he'll maim you but he won't kill you- turn you into a nice fur coat, yeah, probably. Besides, technically he owes you."

"How'd you work that one out?"

"You were the one who made Belle wear that dress last night. I'll bet he'll forgive you if you tell him that." The blonde told her.

Ruby seemed to ponder the thought. "Still ain't happening."

"Fine," Belle sighed, "you leave us no choice."

Emma shook her head. "Remember Ruby, you asked for this."

The librarian grinned wickedly. "If you don't tell Rumple that it was you who smashed the shop window last night, we'll tell Archie about that dream you had with the silk scarves..."

Her tired eyes widened in pure horror.

"Then we'll tell Whale about his place on your list." Emma added, a smirk playing on her lips.

"Whale's been bumped up to top place since we've started dating." Ruby argued. "Besides you wouldn't dare."

Belle and Emma just carried on smiling. "Try us."

It was about ten seconds later that their friend was running all the way down to Gold's shop in her pyjamas, yelling dramatically about how sorry she was for breaking his window.

Inside her apartment the two friends' fist bumped.

A friend stops you from hurting yourself

Emma

Killian approached Emma quickly and wrapped her in his arms. Minutes ago he had walked into the room to find her crying heavily with her head in her hands and a dagger on the bed beside her. About an hour ago she'd ran off after Cora had thrown Henry into a portal sending him God knows where, without a location they couldn't find him and neither Regina nor Gold had any idea of where it was that the boy would be. Killian, Snow, Charming, the dwarfs, Belle and Ruby had been searching for Emma ever since she had run off forty-five minutes ago.

"Shh love." He whispered, holding her tightly and stroking her hair. He made sure to knock the dagger off the bed and far away from Emma's reach. "We'll get your boy back."

"How?" She sobbed brokenly. "Cora's disappeared and we have no idea where she's gone, until we find her Henry...Henry, Henry, Henry..." Emma trailed off, the lump in her throat too big to speak past. "He's all alone Killian and there's n-nothing I can do."

"But hurting yourself is the worst thing you can do lass," Killian chastised her, "because you're the first person that boy is going to want to see when we bring him home."

"If we bring him home." She corrected.

"There's no if about it." A voice said from the doorway.

Another hummed in agreement. "We'll get him back Emma, we promise."

A best friend asks if they can have your stuff.

Ruby and Belle had rushed up to Emma's only to find the front door open with the sound of loud sobbing and reassuring murmurs. Walking in, they could see Ho-Killian holding their crying friend inside her room with a sharp dagger gleaming in the light besides the door.

Immediately the dots connected and they shared a panicked glance.

"If we bring him home." They heard Emma sob.

"There's no if about it." Ruby interrupted.

Belle hummed her agreement. "We'll get him back Emma, we promise."

"Meanwhile..." The wolf began as she bent down to grab the dagger. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"I know, I know!" Emma said tiredly, shaking her head at her own foolishness. "It was a stupid thing to think about."

"Damn right it was." Killian growled, although his anger didn't stop him from pressing a kiss to her forehead in relief.

"Emma..." Belle began.

"I know." The saviour repeated.

"No, you don't understand." Ruby argued. "If you'd have died..."

"...if you do die..."

"Can we have you stuff?" They finished in unison.

Emma could only smile; glad that she had Killian as her true love and these two lovely idiots as her best friends. "I'll think about it." She told them before pulling them both into a rare hug. "Now let's go find my son."

A friend comforts you when you get rejected

Belle avoided eye contact with Rumple throughout the entire party. They'd spent the past few months arguing about his magic and the power he kept trying to gain. Eventually it had all become too much for the two and they'd decided to call it quits for the time being, no they weren't over for good. He was her true love and she was his so it was obvious that they would find each other again. However, this morning when she'd hurried into his shop proclaiming that she missed him and couldn't stand another second without him, he'd rejected her. Rumple had refused to start over with her- yet- but did say that as soon as he felt he was ready, he'd let her know.

It felt as though, at this moment in time, she was a puppet and he was her master.

Aurora walked up to her with a comforting smile. "How are you feeling?"

"Terrible." Belle admitted.

The woman wrapped her arms around her friend in a small hug. "I'm sure he'll realise what he's missing eventually," she stated confidently, "you're the best thing to ever happen to him Belle. He'd be stupid if he let go of that for even a second."

Belle nodded slightly. "I hope you're right."

"I'm always right." Aurora responded. "Ask Phillip and Mulan; they'll tell you."

The librarian laughed. "I'm sure they would."

A best friend walks up to them and says "it's because you're gay, isn't it?"

Emma and Ruby watched as Belle was comforted by and smiling Aurora. They shared a concerned glance as the barley concealed sadness in her eyes burned brighter for a moment. Ruby glared in Gold's direction. "What a bastard."

"Here, here." Emma muttered. "Seriously, Belle is like the most kind-hearted -"

"Generous." Ruby added

"Considerate."

"Compassionate."

"Bravest."

"Loving."

"-Souls you'd ever find and he's the one to push her away. What the fuck is up with that?" Emma finished.

Ruby shook her head. "Maybe he realised that he wasn't good enough for her?"

"Nah, Gold likes to take what he wants whether it's good for him or not." The blond replied. "Plus, Belle's his true love. He knows he won't be able to get rid of her."

The brunette nodded in agreement. "She looks so sad though." The waitress pointed out, looking over at Belle again. Her previous smile had vanished and her eyes seemed to be watering slightly. "We need to make her feel better."

"Yeah, we do...how?"

She sighed. "No idea."

"Do you think pissing of Gold would make her feel better?" Emma asked. "I know that if Killian ever did to me what Gold did to Belle, I'd either kick his ass myself or get you and Belle to do it for me- or James but that's another story."

"Hmm, and considering that Belle is too nice to get back at him herself..."

"...we should be the great friends that we are and do it for her."

"Exactly." Ruby agreed, letting out a wolfish grin.

The two women downed their shots and stalked over to the pawnbroker. "Hey, Gold?" Emma asked as she came to a stop in front of him, Ruby smiling by her side.

"Yes, Miss Swan, Miss Lucas?" He replied.

"We were just wondering how you could ever let someone as kind-" She began.

"Caring."

"Compassionate."

"Brave."

"Generous."

"-and loving as Belle, slip through your fingers like sand without even trying to catch her." Ruby finished. "But then we realised."

"It's because you're gay isn't it?" They asked in unison. Although the expression on the Dark One's face was terrifying, it was worth it to hear the sound of their friend giggling behind them.

A friend comes with you to buy a pregnancy test;

"No, no, no, no!" Ruby gasped. She rushed out of the house and down the street, crashing into David as she did. "Shit! Sorry David!" She apologised, stalling slightly to help him up.

"Are you alright Ruby?" He asked, noticing her panic.

The waitress bit her lip. "Err, yeah, fine thanks." She told him, completely unconvincingly. "I've got to go David, I'll see you later." Without another words she continued her run.

"Ruby!" He yelled. As soon as she didn't stop he began chasing after her. Thankfully- in his mind- he was faster than her and caught up easily. "Ruby, what's wrong?"

She sighed; it was obvious that David wouldn't let her go until he had an answer. "I...I think..."

"Yes?"

"I think I might be pregnant!" She blurted, covering her mouth in horror as soon as the words escaped her.

David looked mildly shocked. "With Whale's baby I'm guessing?"

"Yeah." Ruby confessed. "But I don't know for certain and I'm scared to find out. I can't be a parent David I just can't. What if it's a monster like me?"

"First of all, you're not a monster. Secondly, you'd be a great mother- we picked you to be Emma's godmother for a reason you know."

"You also chose Leroy." Ruby reminded him.

He carried on without taking note of her interruption. "Thirdly, the only way to know is to have it confirmed. You could go to the hospital-"

"No!" The brunette interrupted. "Victor is my doctor! Do you have any idea what that would be like, it'd be "Oh hello, doctor" "Hello Miss Lucas, what's the problem?" "Well I think I'm pregnant and you're the FATHER!" No, no, no. That can't happen. Hell no. No hospitals." She ranted.

David took a small step back. "Okay...Why don't you go and by a pregnancy test then?"

She nodded. "Yeah, yeah, I'll buy a pregnancy test."

"Good."

"Will you come with me?" She asked hesitantly

He smiled. "Of course I will."

A best friend is outside the door yelling "name it after me!"

Emma and Belle strolled into her parent's apartment. "Okay, where is she?" The blond demanded, looking at her father with a raised brow.

"In the bathroom." He replied. "As she has been for the past hour."

"Ruby!" The saviour yelled, sauntering over to the bathroom door with Belle close behind. "Please just pee on the damn stick already!"

"The sooner you do it, the sooner you'll know!" Belle added.

Ruby made a noise of agreement. "Fine."

"Why are you turning the tap on?"

"I can't go yet."

Emma groaned. "Fuck me."

"Language!" David chastised.

"I'm twenty eight years old!"

"That is too young to be swearing!" He replied.

Before Emma could respond an annoyed voiced came from the bathroom. "Guys, this isn't helping in the slightest!"

"Hey, Ruby?" Belle asked.

"Yes?"

"Can you name the baby after me?"

"And me!" Emma added.

There was a slight pause. "I'll think about it."

Thanks for reading!