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Summary: Ruby and Archie live in the same apartment complex, and accidentally get each others' mail.
Author's note: Written for the Red Cricket Week of 2013.
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Dr. Archie Hopper sighed as he leafed through his mail and found that yet again about half if it was addressed to "R. Lucas". It had happened increasingly often as of late and Archie couldn't for the life of him understand why.
"I mean, it's not as if 'A. Hopper' is all that similar to 'R. Lucas', now is it?"
His dog, Pongo, just looked at him askance from his pillow in the corner, not even bothering lifting his head, but Archie nodded as if the Dalmatian had agreed and kept leafing through the stack.
"My, this R. Lucas must be quite the world traveller. Look, here's yet another travel magazine." He held it up for Pongo to see. "I think that's the fourth one in two weeks!"
Pongo just huffed as if making it clear he didn't much care about their mysterious neighbour's travel habits as long as he got his daily walk. Chuckling Archie put the travel magazine with the rest of the wrongly delivered mail to take back down to the mailboxes in the morning. He'd go down with them immediately, but he had had patients back to back all day and didn't much like the thought of going out of the apartment again, even if it was just a short elevator trip downstairs to the lobby and back. Little Henry Swan from upstairs had already walked Pongo, like he did every Wednesday when Archie worked late, so there was no pressing need to actually leave the apartment before morning.
Putting on his favourite record Archie hummed along as he made himself a cup of hot chocolate - the real deal, not the can powder mix thing - and savouring his treat he settled into his spot on the couch - and was too comfortable and too tired to protest when Pongo immediately claimed the spot right next to him, putting his head on his master's thigh and looking up at him with his best puppy dog eyes.
"Well, all right," Archie murmured, scratching the dog behind his ear making Pongo sigh in bliss. "You're not really allowed on the couch, but I guess we can make an exception today, huh, boy?"
He reached for the book he had meant to read for ages now and opened it, figuring that since his medical periodical hadn't showed up in the mail yet he might as well allow himself a night completely off from work. He hadn't read more than half a dozen pages, however, before he was out like a light, snoring softly, both book and hot chocolate forgotten.
. o O o .
Ruby Lucas sighed in annoyance as she yet again got this "A. Hopper" person's boring medical periodicals. The guy - she assumed it was a guy, she didn't quite know why - was probably a doctor of some sort, but she had never met him so she really couldn't say for certain. He could work at a fast food restaurant and just putting on airs for all she knew.
"I swear, Mary Margaret, the mail man must be either drunk or illiterate or both! How can you mix up 'Hopper' and 'Lucas' for crying out loud?"
Her friend smiled into her cup as she watched Ruby toss the periodical over to her side of the kitchen table with a frustrated huff. Turning it around she raised her eyebrow at the medical jargon heavily represented on the front page and didn't bother opening it up.
"Pretty picture on the front, though," she said with a chuckle. "I think it's the inside of a brain."
Ruby scrunched her nose up in disgust and Mary Margaret laughed.
"I bet he got my travel magazine," Ruby grumbled. "I got the one with pictures of brains and he got the one with pictures of white, sandy beaches. It's not fair."
"I think you'll live," Mary Margaret said dryly. "He'll probably put it in your mailbox tomorrow, just like you'll put this in his. It's not as if he's keeping your mail."
"That I know of."
Mary Margaret rolled her eyes at her friend's grumblings and gave her shoulder a pat as she passed her, putting her now empty cup on the side of the kitchen sink. "I gotta go, see you this weekend."
"Bye."
Alone in her apartment Ruby breathed deeply. She had the rest of the week off and she knew exactly what to do with it. She would go out and party this weekend, having been "responsible" for far too long, but she would wait until her friends could join her. Until then she would sit up as long as she wanted, sleep in in the morning and treat herself to a long, well-deserved weekend of sloth. She couldn't keep the grin off her face at the thought. Not even the mixed up mail could spoil a night like this.
. o O o .
The fire alarm going off around three in the morning, however, could.
Though quickly assured that it was a false alarm the inhabitants of Storybrooke Apartments - "An enchanting place to live!" - still had to stand at the designated safe spot as the representative from the fire department checked the alarm and made absolutely sure.
Ruby rubbed her arms and felt grateful for the fact that she was fully dressed - she had still been up when the alarm started blaring, reading and listening to music as she enjoyed the dark solitude of the night. All the other inhabitants were in their nightclothes, some with hastily thrown coats or jackets on, some in robes, all looking like they had been yanked out of bed in the middle of the night. Which they of course had every right to, since they had been.
Only one other person was fully dressed; a red headed man holding the leash of a dog slumbering by his feet. He did however look like he had been yanked out of bed in the middle of the night, despite his full attire. Ruby stepped closer with a knowing smirk.
"Late work night?"
He started, clearly lost in thought and not expecting anyone to talk to him, but after a second or two he caught on and gave her a sheepish smile. "Quite the opposite, actually. Fell asleep on the couch."
Ruby nodded knowingly. "I was enjoying the peace and quiet. I'm usually stuck with the early shift so it's a rare treat to be able to sit up into the night."
"Night owl, huh?"
"Yup."
"Me too, though I'm usually forced out of bed at dawn. Takes a few cups of coffee to get the brain starting in the morning." He smiled and held out his hand. "I'm Archie, by the way. Archie Hopper. Nice to meet you, neighbour!"
A. Hopper. Archie Hopper. This was the guy who was getting her mail! Unable to help herself she gave him a quick once over. He was not at all how she had imagined him. Not that she'd consciously imagined anything, but she realised now that she had apparently assigned him some of the characteristics she associated with doctors: a holier than thou attitude, a cold smile, roaming eyes and a strong sense of entitlement. Looking at this man, in his slightly crumpled shirt and sweater vest, with tousled red hair, tortoise shell glasses and kind, soft blue eyes she realised that assuming him anything at all like Dr. Whale - pretty much the only doctor she knew - had been a big mistake.
His smile faltered under her silent stare and he hesitantly lowered his hand, clearing his throat awkwardly. The sound broke Ruby out of her daze and she gasped.
"Oh, my gosh, sorry!" She reached out and claimed his hand, giving it a vigorous shake with both of hers to make up for the delay. "Sorry, sorry, I zoned out a sec there, sorry! Ruby! I'm Ruby Lucas." She saw realisation spark in his eyes amidst the confusion and she gave him her best disarming smile. "Yeah, R. Lucas. We've been getting each other's mail, neighbour!"
"Ah," he said, a small smile returning, though he still looked a little wary.
Ruby mentally kicked herself for making him uncomfortable. Nodding towards the dog who now sat obediently by his side, tail was wagging, thumping against the ground, Ruby scrambled to get past the awkwardness that had settled between them. "And who is this fellow here?"
The man's smile - Archie, she reminded herself, his name was Archie - softened as he looked down at the canine and Ruby's heart melted a little. "This here is Pongo."
Ruby smiled and bent down, holding out her hand towards the dog. Pongo obediently gave her his paw and Ruby shook it mock-solemnly. "And very nice to meet you, too, Pongo. Sorry 'bout freaking your master out a bit, there."
Archie chuckled at that and the remaining awkwardness lessened. A halting small talk became more and more comfortable as they both relaxed, and by the time they were allowed to go back to bed Ruby had firmly decided that this was one neighbour she would make sure to get to know better. It turned out they lived on the same floor, and they walked from the elevator together.
"Well, this is us," Archie said as he stopped and started searching his pockets for his keys. Finding them he gave her a smile. "It sure was nice to meet you, Ruby. Take care."
"Hey Archie?" She shrugged and nodded down the hall. "If you want your mail now I can run get it for you."
"Oh, you don't have to do that, Ruby. I can wait until tomorrow, there's no rush."
"No, no, it's no problem! Hang on." She jogged down the hall to her own door and as soon as it closed behind her she rushed towards the kitchen, feeling strangely excited. When she returned to his door he was standing there alone, the door half open. At her look he shrugged with a smile.
"Pongo's had enough excitement for one day, apparently. He's gone back to bed."
Smirking Ruby handed him the stack of mail which he accepted it with a smile and a hum of thanks. Ruby chuckled at the look of excitement on his face as he saw the medical journal. He blushed slightly but smirked and motioned over his shoulder.
"I've got yours, too, Ruby. Come on in."
. o O o .
After the fire alarm they fell into a rhythm of sorts; every other day she would come to his door with the mail, and the others he would come to hers. Slightly stilted and awkward small talk slowly grew into comfortable familiarity and after a few weeks they more often than not stepped inside for a while, chatting about their respective days before heading back to their own apartments with their mail.
. o O o .
"I swear, Archie, that if you don't help me with this damn thing I will tear it to pieces and throw it out the window! And with my luck I'd probably end up killing someone and I'll be sent away for life for manslaughter with Ikea-furniture!"
Looking at her standing there outside his door, hair in disarray, eyes wild and face flushed Archie was for a moment struck speechless before his brain snapped back on and her words registered, bringing an amused smile to his face.
"Well, we wouldn't want that, now would we?"
She gave his arm a playful punch as she stepped past him into the apartment, hard enough for him to "ow!" in amused protest.
"Seriously, Arch, the damn thing is driving me mad. The instructions are in Swedish or Greek or something, and the little pictures are telling a story having nothing at all to do with furniture!"
She moved around his kitchen with familiar ease, expertly and absentmindedly going through the motions of brewing tea. He felt a warm fondness at the sight, strangely proud that she felt so comfortable as to invite herself in and take over his kitchen like she did. The familiar task seemed to soothe her and by the time she held out a steaming cup for him she was calm enough to sit down by his kitchen table with her own instead of pacing in frustration.
Archie remained standing, leaning against the counter as he sipped his brew, humming in thanks – she knew exactly how he liked his tea. Pongo came in, yawning, obviously just up from a nap, and put his head in Ruby's lap. She scratched his ear and his eyes closed in bliss. Ruby smiled and Archie's heart stuttered a little, distracting him just enough to burn his tongue. Grimacing slightly he swallowed, feeling the warm liquid burn all the way down.
He cleared his throat.
"So, manslaughter with Ikea-furniture, huh?"
"Yeah," she rolled her eyes with a self-conscious laugh. "I wanted a change. I just – I wanted to, I dunno, chic the place up a bit? Maybe I'm just jealous of Mary Margaret's apartment. I mean, mine is awesome, but all my money went into actually buying the place, and even though I bought if from my Granny to a fraction of the real cost it still took most of my savings. I don't… I can't afford expensive interior design, but I figured that Ikea was cheap and kinda nice and the guy at the store said it was easy as pie to assemble…" She laughed bitterly and shook her head. "It's really not."
He cleared his throat again and shrugged. "I'm not the most handy guy, and I can read neither Swedish nor Greek, but I really want to see the story the pictures tell now…"
She let out a loud laugh at that and he congratulated himself on breaking her out of her darkening mood. Putting his cup down on the counter he straightened, clapping his hands together.
"Right! How 'bout we see if we can get this fiend assembled without any bloodshed, hm?"
She jumped to her feet with a happy shriek and placed a kiss on his cheek with a loud mwuah! "You're my knight in shining armour, Archie Hopper!"
Blushing he shook his head with a shy smile. "I wouldn't say that, but –"
"No buts, you really are. Come on, let's assemble the hell outta that flat-packed mass-produced Swedish junk!"
She marched out of the apartment like a woman on a mission, Pongo following eagerly, and Archie was almost certain that he was falling in love.
. o O o .
Ruby's day had sucked something fierce. Everything that could go wrong had gone wrong with a vengeance; she had overslept and had been forced to sacrifice breakfast in order to get to work on time; halfway to lunch she had broken a heel; her lunch had been hasty and unsatisfying since one of the other waitresses had called in sick - a muffin inhaled more than savoured as she hurried back to work; she had dodged wandering hands from a particularly sleazy customer, and when she had asked him to stop she had been yelled at. Already in a foul mood Ruby had yelled back, which had earned her a stern talking to from Granny after the customer had left in a fury. As a rotten cherry on top of that particular sundae of a day it had started raining as she was half-way home, soaking her to the skin and chilling her to the bone.
After a hot shower and a change of clothes she felt a little more human, but just barely. All she wanted was to avoid everything and everyone and wallow in self-pity the whole night, so when the soft knock sounded she seriously considered pretending not to be home. But when a scratching sound and a murmur of protest followed Ruby felt her heart lighten fractionally and she forced herself to her feet.
Archie had just turned away to go back to his own apartment when she opened the door, but he turned back with a surprised smile which quickly morphed into a a soft frown of concern.
"Ruby, is everything all right?"
Maybe it was the way he was looking at her with honest earnest concern, maybe it was the kindness in his voice after a day of verbal abuse, or maybe it was the fact that she knew that he was her friend and that he cared… whatever it was it made her tear up and with a strangled sound she launched herself at him, hugging him tightly and sobbing. He immediately hugged her back and Ruby distantly registered the sound of paper hitting the floor - her mail - but then the whole sordid story of her dreadful day spilled out in a rush of words and tears. Archie didn't say anything, just hugged her closer, drawing soothing circles on her back. Pongo leaned against their feet, nudging Ruby with a sorrowful whine of sympathy.
After a while her crying eased up somewhat and she disentangled herself from the embrace, feeling a little embarrassed to have fallen apart so thoroughly all over him, but also feeling much better for having done so. He cupped her cheek, gently wiping away a remaining tear with his thumb.
"Hang on a sec," he suddenly said, before crouching down to retrieve her mail. Giving it to her he smiled distractedly before turning and hurrying back to his apartment.
For a moment Ruby just stood there, mail in hand, feeling empty and abandoned. She had not expected -
But then he came hurrying back, a bag in hand, and gently steered her inside. Pongo, by now familiar with her apartment, immediately went to his favourite spot by the window while Archie steered Ruby over to sit on the couch.
Feeling a little miffed at his behaviour Ruby scowled after him as he left for the kitchen, but when he came back with spoons and two pints of Häagen Dazs she almost started crying again.
"Here," he said with a smile as he handed her the Chocolate Peanut Butter and a spoon. "Dig in. After a day like that you deserve it."
He settled comfortably on the couch next to her, opening his own Cherry Vanilla, and when she just sat there looking at him with a look of profound gratitude he chuckled and rubbed her back.
"Come now, be a good girl and eat your ice cream."
Chuckling through the remaining tears she obeyed, feeling infinitely better as the richness of her favourite ice cream melted on her tongue. They ate in companionable silence for a while, each stealing a bite of the other's ice cream every now and then, and when they were full Archie put the rest in her freezer and returned to the living room with two mugs of hot chocolate.
"Wow Archie," she said, warming her hands on the hot mug, and though she meant to sound playful and flirty she couldn't hide the gratefulness she felt. "You're spoiling me today."
He just shrugged, lifting his mug to his lips. "Like I said, after a day like that you deserve it."
"Thank you."
"You're very welcome."
Suddenly dreading the thought of him leaving Ruby cleared her throat and hesitantly ventured: "You wanna watch a movie or something?"
They ended up with "Sense and Sensibility" - Ruby figured that as long as he was indulging her she might as well go all out - and as the movie progressed she slowly but surely moved closer until she was snuggled up close in the crook of his arm, an afghan spread out over the both of them, and as Marianne Dashwood slowly came to the realisation that she loved Colonel Brandon, Ruby came to a realisation of her own. Stealing a glance up at Archie she marvelled; not only had this man let her fall completely to pieces on him, he had also brought her ice cream without prompting and had agreed to watch a movie all her previous boyfriends had scoffed at and dismissed at "a sappy chick flick". And judging by the look of concentration on his face he was actually enjoying the movie. He was open-minded and kind, and Ruby loved him for it.
… And she had just compared him to all her previous boyfriends.
For some reason the thought didn't bother her.
He seemed to sense her scrutiny and glanced down at her. She just smiled and snuggled closer, which made him chuckle and kiss the top of her head before turning his focus back to the movie. Ruby turned back to the movie as well, but her thoughts kept returning to the same point: she was pretty sure she was falling for Archie.
The strong, warm, solid presence beside her made her feel safe and content, and as his hand absentmindedly drew soothing patterns on her shoulder her eyes drooped closed. She dreamt that she dared to tell him and that he felt the same way. When he gently shook her awake a while later she still felt the heady feeling of happiness her dream-self had felt as the dream version of Archie professed his love. So when Archie apologetically told her that she would be more comfortable in bed she took his hand and told him that she would most certainly be more comfortable in bed - as long as he came with her. He just stared at her in shock and she hastily amended that she wasn't talking about sex, she just needed him close and would he please, please spend the night? He was still for so long Ruby was sure he would bolt for the door, but then he gave her hand a squeeze and nodded.
It was their first night together, the first of many.
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More one shots to come...