Ruby – Chapter Three
(Nightcrawler, yakety-shmakety, Marvel. Ruby, me.)
About a month and a half after Stephen's death, Ruby came home early on a Friday.
"Come on, we're going out tonight," she said, throwing Kurt's coat at him.
"I'm not sure that's a good idea," Kurt said, dubiously.
"Kurt, this is Seattle. You will not be even remotely close to the weirdest looking person out there, particularly at the clubs I go to. At least not after we get you the right clothes."
"Clothes?"
"Clothes. Trust me, next to the guy who had metal spikes surgically implanted in his skull, you will look positively normal. And I NEED to go out."
"Angel's great," Ruby said, pulling Kurt into a store with flames painted on the front around a sign that read, "Armageddon Angel's Disasterwear". "She'll get you fixed up." True to her word, hardly a person had even looked at him twice, since they'd left the car in a pay lot just off Broadway.
"Angel, help! He needs club gear!" Ruby said, as the door banged shut behind them.
"Hey , Ru," said the rail thin girl with magenta dreadlocks who'd appeared behind the counter, wearing a purple vinyl tank dress over a fishnet shirt. She looked appraisingly at Kurt, in his faded jeans and button down white shirt. "You do love to bring me a challenge," she said, apparently more concerned with the jeans than his fur, hands or feet. She paused. "I was really bummed to hear about Stephen."
"Thanks," Ruby said, blinking back tears. She shook her head to clear it. "This is Kurt. You got any pants we could fix up for him? The tail thing, and all."
"Turn around, " Angel directed Kurt. He turned slowly in a circle. "What are you looking for?"
"Black vinyl. And maybe a black, piratey sort of shirt," Ruby said.
Twenty minutes later, after fifteen minutes of alterations and five minutes of coaxing on Ruby's part, Kurt emerged from the dressing booth in his new outfit. He walked out gingerly in the black vinyl pants, and a ruffled shirt that laced at the neck.
"Oh wow!!" Ruby stared. "You look absolutely incredible!!
"I don't know," Kurt said, looking down at the vinyl pants. "I think I look ridiculous."
"You do not," Ruby said. "Angel?"
"There'll be a string of broken hearts tonight," Angel said. She turned to Ruby, looking over the black knee-length skirt and Cramps t-shirt. "And what about you, my darling? Prince Charming here needs a Princess, not a scullery maid."
"I don't suppose you finished the dress?" Ruby asked.
"Over a month ago. I didn't want to bother you. Dressing room, darling. I'll bring it in."
"And the stockings?"
"Of course. And I have some shoes you can borrow, if you don't fall madly in love with them and decide you must buy them."
Ruby went into a booth. Clothes started hitting the floor. Angel slipped inside as well, carrying an armload of vinyl. After several minutes of shuffling and giggling, the curtain whipped back. Ruby wore a strapless black vinyl gown that clung to her body to the hips like a corset, then flowed out in a full skirt.
"Mein Gott!" Kurt said. "You are breathtaking!"
Ruby stepped out and turned slowly. The dress laced up the back, exposing a tattoo of a crow cleaning its beak on barbed wire. She stopped in front of him, facing him, waiting.
He took her hand and kissed the knuckles.
"I will be most proud to escort you tonight," he said, still holding her hand.
"Let's do your makeup," Angel said, clearing her throat. "Then, I want pictures."
***
"Did you have a good time?" Ruby asked when they returned to the dome.
"I had a marvelous time," he said, opening the door for her. He bowed. She walked in, tossing her coat over the counter.
"I was right, wasn't I?" she said, grinning at him. "You weren't the strangest looking person there. And hardly anybody looked twice. Except for all the girls." Then. "Ugh. I need a shower. Vinyl is really sweaty, and I danced hard."
"Did Justin really have those spikes surgically implanted?" Kurt asked. "He seemed like a nice enough guy, but I could not bring myself to ask."
"He did. Took him forever to find someone to do it. He wound up going down to LA. They're actually threaded posts, so he can trade out different spikes for different occasions." She laughed. "He said it only hurt for about a month."
"I cannot imagine," Kurt said, "doing that to yourself on purpose."
"Its part of the whole modern primitive thing," she said, shrugging. She pulled a bottle of water out of the fridge and took a deep drink, watching him over the bottle. She set the bottle down on the counter.
"You really do look… amazing," Ruby said, after a long pause, blushing a deep pink.
"As do you," he said, taking her hand in his to brush the knuckles with his lips.
Ruby stepped forward and kissed him. Kurt pulled her into his arms. She slid her arms up around his neck, her fingers tangling in his hair.
"I'm going to need help getting out of this dress," she breathed. His tongue darted out to taste one of her earlobes.
"Like this?" he whispered, his hands untying the laces that ran up her back. His lips traced the lines of her throat. His tongue teased the planes of her collarbones.
"Uh, huh," she breathed, kissing him again. He peeled the dress down her body. She shimmied out of it, and stood before him wearing a thong and a pair of vinyl thigh-high stockings.
"Mein Gott!" he groaned, pulling her back into his arms, kissing her hard. They fell back against the wall. He bent his head to kiss her breasts. Ruby moaned, and hooked her fingers under the thong. She wiggled out of it, and let it drop. His teeth grazed one of her nipples. She closed her eyes. Reaching down, she unfastened his pants, and wrapped a leg around his waist.
"Mmmm… Kurt, please," she panted, feeling his hands on her breasts, lips on her throat. Without a word, he lifted her up, pushing into her. She wrapped her arms and legs around him, kissing him hard.
"Ruby," he growled, thrusting into her.
"Yes!" she shrieked, her legs tightening around his waist. "Oh, God! Kurt! Yes!!" His fingers dug into her hips, holding her steady. He buried his face in the curve of her neck and shoulder, panting.
Afterwards, Ruby slowly lowered her legs, one at a time, to support herself.
`"I've wanted to do that for ages." She kissed him.
"I'd be lying, if I said I'd not thought of it myself," he said, his body pressed against hers.
"We need a shower, before we go to bed," she whispered.
"Bed?" he said. "What a wonderful idea."
"We have all weekend," she said, touching his lips with a finger.
"We do," he said, scooping her up in his arms.
***
The phone rang. Ruby opened one eye and flailed for it.
"Yeah?" she muttered into the phone. One of Kurt's arms tightened around her waist. "No, Chris, I'm not coming in. I told you that yesterday. I told you I was going out last night. I don't care. So fire me. Uh huh. I'll be in on Monday to wind up some projects, but then I'm taking the whole rest of the week off." She pushed herself into a semi-sitting position. "Look, I only took one day off when Stephen died, I think… Ok. See you Monday."
"Everything all right?" Kurt asked, pulling her close
"Fine." She rolled over and snuggled against him.
"You're taking next week off?" he asked, a hand moving slowly over her body.
"Mmm, hmmm," she mumbled, arching her back. "Spur of the moment idea. I thought maybe we'd spend it in bed. This one, or one in a hotel on the coast."
"Any bed you are in is fine with me," he said, nuzzling her throat.
"Do that more," she whispered.
"That, and more," he said, sliding down to her breasts.
"God, I love the way you feel on my skin," she whispered, shivering.
***
"Not even Domino's delivers out here," she grumbled, laying on the bed next to Kurt. "And I'm starting to get really hungry."
"There is food, it just needs to be prepared," he said, stroking her hair.
"Are you volunteering?" she asked.
"Of course," he said, climbing off the bed.
"Mmmm, I love watching you move," she said, rolling onto her stomach, feet in the air.
The phone rang again. She glared at it, then looked up at the calendar on her wall.
"Oh, shit! Its Grammy's birthday and I forgot to call. Fuck!!" She picked up the phone. "Hello? Hi, Mom. Yes. I just realized what day it was. Give me a minute to go put this on speakerphone while I get some coffee or something. Hold on." She grabbed her robe and pelted down the stairs. Kurt heard her fumbling around down there, then, "Ok. You there?"
"Yes, Ruby," her mother's voice said, exasperated. "I'm giving the phone to Grammy now."
"Happy Birthday, Grammy," Ruby called.
"Thank you, Ruby," a feathery voice with a thick southern accent said over the phone.
"Did you get the shawl I sent you last month?"
"I did. Its lovely. Great-grandchildren would be a better present."
"Aren't those brats of Tommy's enough for you?" Ruby asked.
"Child," Grammy's voice said over the phone, "I mean legitimate great-grandchildren."
"Tell Tommy to marry one of those tarts he keeps knocking up and that'll be taken care of, now won't it?" Ruby said, her voice quickly approaching her mother's in exasperation levels.
"You surely are the Devil," Grammy said. "Riling an old lady like this on her birthday, when you couldn't even be bothered to drive out to see your Grammy in person."
"Grammy, it's a five hour drive," Ruby said.
"And you forgot what day it was," Grammy said, not fooled in the least. "At least tell me you're seeing somebody, and not keeping yourself all cooped up like a maiden-lady."
"Yes, Grammy, I am seeing someone," Ruby said. "In fact he's right here."
Kurt frantically gestured "no" at her over the loft railing, as he got dressed.
"Come here, and say hi to my Grammy, Kurt," Ruby said. Glaring at her, Kurt came down the stairs, wearing his jeans, no shirt. Ruby wrapped her arms around him.
"Hello, Mrs. Dees?" he said. Ruby nodded. "Happy birthday."
"You not from around here, are you son?" Grammy said.
"No, Grammy, he's German," Ruby said, stifling a giggle. "We'd better go. We've got, ah, tickets to a show. I'll talk to you later, Grammy." Ruby turned off the phone.
"Hi, I'm the Devil. Pleased to meet you," she said, leaning back, her arms still around his waist.. She sighed and let go of Kurt to walk slowly across the room.
"Ruby," he began.
"I'm sorry, Kurt. I shouldn't have done that to you. I was feeling mean-spirited is all. But that, Kurt, that antiquated bullshit is what I have spent my whole life dealing with. Marriage and kids, kids and marriage. I believe they were all highly disappointed when I didn't follow the family tradition of getting knocked up in high school." She stretched, slowly. "At least maybe talking to you will put some of their fears about my being a lesbian to rest. God knows if you don't have eight kids by the time you're twenty-five, there's gotta be something wrong with you."
"I didn't mind. Much," he said, going to her, pulling her into his arms. "I know your family upsets you."
"Ah, I'm used to it," she said, hugging him tight. "I'll get over it. Now, what was that about breakfast?"