The next few days passed slowly for Ruby. Henry visited her every morning at the diner, happier than she had ever seen him. She trudged through her days, not really interested in interacting with those around her, then every night she would drag herself home and bury herself under the covers to wallow in the loneliness that surrounded her.
Emma finally called her about halfway through the week and invited her over for a pirate purge party. Since she already agreed to help, she made her way to Emma's house. As she walked up the front walk, she fixed her face into a pleasant smile.
Regina answered the door when she knocked. The beautiful smile the brunette greeted her with faltered when she saw the dark circles under Ruby's eyes.
"Ruby, is everything okay?" Graceful fingers cupped Ruby's cheek. The wolf sighed, everything felt right again. Her eyes fluttered closed. "Pup?" Green eyes flashed open, horrified that she had caved so quickly to the other woman's closeness. She stepped back, her smile not quite reaching her eyes.
"I'm fine, Regina. Just having a little trouble sleeping lately. Nothing to worry about." Regina wasn't convinced, she had not failed to notice that ever since she and Emma had gotten together, the wolf was pulling away from them. Her plans would have to be changed. There was no way she could stand by for long and let the wolf believe she wasn't wanted.
"Okay...we're here if you need anything." Ruby nodded. "Emma is upstairs ridding her closet of all traces of Killian. Let's go help her."
When they reached the bedroom, Emma sat on the edge of the bed with her red leather jacket in her hands. The fabric was tattered and torn. Regina sat down next to her.
"I found it in the back of the closet." She sniffled. "He knew what it meant to me." Regina waved her hand, the jacket was surrounded by a cloud of purple smoke. When it cleared, the fabric was like new once more.
"Thank you, Gina." The brunette patted the Sheriff's knee before she rose, and entered the closet.
Ruby came to sit by the blonde as she held the now mended jacket. Emma flicked her gaze to the brunette and back to the jacket, but quickly returned her eyes to the face next to her. Dark circles colored the skin under green eyes, and the wolf's face was just in the beginning stages of gauntness.
"Ruby!?" The red leather jacket that was so important just moments ago, landed on the ground unnoticed. Long, lean fingers cupped Ruby's face and guided it in the direction of concerned green eyes. Two thumbs stroked thinning cheeks. "What's going on?" The wolf's eyes fluttered closed once more, unable to fight with herself anymore that day.
"Like I told Regina, it's nothing, Ems. I just haven't been sleeping well and my stomach has been a bit queasy." Emma's lie detector gave a small ping. She guided a lock of vibrant red hair behind the wolf's ear.
"I know you're not being completely honest with me, but that's okay. I hope you know you can come to me, or Regina, with anything Ruby." The brunette bit her cheek to distract herself from the tears that were trying to form in her eyes. She nodded in reply. Emma gave her a soft smile before retrieving the jacket from the floor and laying it on the bed. "How about we get his crap out of my bathroom?" Ruby's lips spread in a relieved smile and followed Emma into the bathroom.
Half the counter was littered with various men's products. Emma sat a small box next to the clutter and began to drop shaving cream, after shave, cologne , razors and shampoo into it. Ruby grabbed a bottle of men's Adidas body spray she found in the back of the cupboard by the sink and was about to add it to the box before Emma stopped her. Pale cheeks flushed pink.
"Uh, that's not Killian's."
"Oh?" Emma rubbed the back of her neck.
"It's mine. It's pretty old, so I probably need to replace it, but I used to love the scent and it made me feel good when I wore it. Silly, I know. You can just toss it in the garbage can there." Ruby quirked her lips as she popped the lid off and sprayed a bit of it into the air around them. she waited for it to settle before she inhaled the scent. Her wolf hummed in appreciation to the delectable aroma. She could only imagine what it would smell like on the blonde.
"It smells really good, Em. I can see why you like it so much." Instead of throwing the bottle away she returned it to its hiding spot and then continued the search for pirate belongings.
~~RSQ~~
Meanwhile in the closet, Regina stood in front of a whole section of black jeans, leather pants, and black shirts.
"You've got to be kidding me." With a flick of her wrist all of the clothes were tucked inside of a large garbage bag and transported downstairs next to the door.
She perused the blonde's wardrobe, surprised to find a few dresses in the mix, not completely sure why they were there, considering the blonde hated dresses. She pulled their hangers off the rail and walked to the doorway of the walk in closet only to find the room empty and muffled voices coming from the bathroom. The dresses were returned to where she found them and then she moved on to the multiple leather jackets that hung just inside the door. None of these held as much meaning as the red one did, but it was still an impressive collection. On the opposite side of the space hung Emma's Sheriff's uniform, yet another thing that never got worn in the blonde's wardrobe, even though it was something Regina very much wanted to see the woman in. As she was turning around to leave her eyes landed on a wooden chest, practically hidden in the back of the closet.
She knew she shouldn't snoop, but her curiosity got the better of her. She could hear the muffled voices of Emma and Ruby from the other room as she slowly lifted the lid. A salacious grin spread across her face when she saw what was inside.
~~RSQ~~
Emma and Ruby returned the bedroom to find Regina still missing.
"Why don't you go downstairs while I find out what is taking her Majesty so long?"
"Sounds good." Ruby exited the room and Emma crept slowly to the entrance of the closet. When she noticed what had captured the Queen's attention, her smirk turned positively delighted.
~~RSQ~~
The first thing Regina noticed was a pair of thick leather cuffs that laid on top. She picked them up, her fingers stroked the soft fur lining as her gaze took in the rest of the items. A harness was buried under a few different sized toys. If she wasn't mistaken there were a couple plugs in the corner. Her favorite item by far was the riding crop tucked against the back of the chest. She was so distracted by her discovery that she never noticed the woman approaching her from behind.
"Naughty girl." Warm breath skimmed across her ear. Her flesh raised at the sensual tone. "You're lucky we haven't had this discussion yet, or I would have you over my knee for snooping." Regina swallowed hard, not quite ready to admit the effect those words had on her.
"What discussion is that?" She said after she managed to get moisture back into her mouth and her brain could form a reply. Emma slipped the cuff from her hand and dropped it back into the chest.
"Our discussion about limits and rules in our sexual relationship." The blonde kissed Regina's cheek. "I'm excited to play with you Gina, but we need to talk about all of that first and I'm okay waiting." The brunette flicked her wrist and closed the chest, before she turned around to face Emma.
"I'm excited too, Emma." She wrapped her arms around Emma's waist and tucked her head under her chin. Never had she had someone care so much about her feelings, or her limitations. Already she could tell her relationship with Emma would be completely different than any she had ever had. Emma sighed as she held the brunette.
"We better get out of here before Ruby comes looking." Regina shrugged her shoulders.
"That wouldn't be so bad, would it?" Emma pulled back and raised an eyebrow. Regina winked before she strutted out of the room.
When they found the wolf, she was in the kitchen with the cupboards open.
"Em, do you really want this much mackerel?" She pointed to the cupboard that was loaded with cans of the stuff.
"God, no. Just pack it up." Ruby pulled a small box over to the cupboard and began loading it. Emma walked over to the liquor cabinet and took the three full bottles of rum from inside. She never wanted to smell, taste or touch it ever again.
After the women cleansed the house of any trace of Killian Jones, they moved to the living room.
"Rubes will you help me move this couch?"
"Sure, but what for?" Emma moved to stand at the other end of the couch.
"Oh, didn't I tell you two?" Two heads shook. "We are having a game night tonight. I've invited my parents and Henry will be here after he gets out of school." She began to lift her end of the couch, after a moment of huffing and puffing alone, she realized Ruby and Regina stood there staring at her. "What?"
"Game night with your parents?" Regina asked.
"Come on it will be fun. Tell her Ruby." Ruby's smile seemed more like a grimace to Regina.
"Yeah, Regina, it will be fun." Her voice was barely convincing. How was she suppose to spend the whole night around the pair and in front of her best friend? Someone was bound to notice. She covered her discomfort by grabbing the end of the couch and helping Emma move it to face the fireplace.
"Perfect!" Emma clapped her hands. She noticed Regina still didn't look sold on the idea. "I promise you can be on my team." Regina crossed her arms. "You get to beat Snow White." The blonde said in a sing-song voice. The brunette thought it over.
"Well maybe the night won't be a total disaster."
"I knew you'd agree." She kissed the woman on the cheek as she passed her on the way to the kitchen. "What kind of pizza do you want?"
"Veggie Lovers." Emma scrunched her nose, but didn't comment.
"How about you, Rubes?"
"Meat Lovers."
"Ah, a woman after my own heart." Emma tossed out before she left the room. Ruby began to choke. Regina quickly clapped her on the back.
"Are you okay, dear?" The wolf coughed a few more times before she could answer.
"Yeah, just swallowed wrong." She wheezed out.
~~RSQ~~
A couple of hours later there was a knock on the door. Snow and David stood at the threshold. Emma greeted them both with a hug, true to their word they were each armed with their weapons of choice.
"You can just leave them over there. Wouldn't want anyone getting injured on accident." They leaned their gear against the wall, just inside the living room. "Pizza is on the kitchen counter and drinks are in the fridge. Grab a plate and join us in the living room." Her parents smiled and headed off to fix themselves a plate.
When they entered the living room Henry patted the couch next to him.
"You're on my team, Grandma and Gramps." They sat their food on the coffee table in front of them and joined their grandson on the couch.
"The winning team right, Hen?" David fist bumped with his grandson.
"You got that right." Snow was more interested in the way Emma's fingers traced over Regina's fabric covered thigh and the way Ruby looked like she wanted to climb into one or both of the women's laps but was trying desperately to hide it. She wasn't sure whether she could read the woman so well because she had known her so long or because it was that obvious. Either way she hoped the three would figure it out together.
"Okay, everyone, the first monthly game night is about to begin. I assume you all know what the game Charades is?" Everyone nodded. "We are going to play Enchanted Forest Meets Land Without Magic Charades. Those of you who have the distinctions of coming from the Enchanted Forest will each think of five things we can act out for each other to guess. Henry and I will come up with ten things from this Realm." She passed out small note pads as she spoke and placed a large bowl in the middle of the coffee table. "When you are done toss your suggestions into the bowl. Go!" They all began to write or think of ideas. Henry and Emma giggled together, sure that their clues would stump the Forest people. Regina rolled her eyes, not much of a fan of the game, but willing to participate for Emma's sake. This was the first night where the woman seemed like the person she was before Hook, she wasn't about to ruin that.
When they were all finished they flipped a coin to see which team would go first, Regina grumbled when Snow won the toss. David was elected to go first, he swirled his hand in the bowl and plucked a piece of paper out of it, then looked confused at his selection. Emma rolled her eyes and went to see what his clue was, she laughed when she read the word, then pulled him into the hall where the rest of the group couldn't see him. When they re-entered the room his face was red, but he was a good sport and went back to his place in front of his team. Emma lowered herself beside Regina once more.
"You're going to love this." She whispered into the brunette's ear.
"I can't believe I'm going to do this." David mumbled before he turned sideways, placed his hands on his thighs and began to bounce his ass up and down with each jerk of his hips. Regina tilted her head.
"He's surprisingly good at that." Emma laughed. She looked over at their son, who, she could tell knew the answer, but was enjoying letting his Grandfather flounder. Snow on the other hand was enthusiastically yelling out any ideas that came to mind.
"Having a seizure! Hip thrusts! Ants in the Pants! Having Sex!"
"Grandma!" The pixie haired woman shrugged.
"Dancing?!" David waved his hand to indicate she should elaborate on that idea.
"Gyrating?" He shook his head as he continued his movements. "Henry why aren't you helping?" Snow asked. Emma laughed.
"Because he is enjoying his Grandpa's misery." David's mouth hung open.
"How could you?" He accused with mock horror. Henry burst out laughing.
"Okay, okay, twerking!"
"Yes! Finally! That was the most embarrassing thing I've ever done in front of my daughter and grandson." He rushed back to his seat beside Snow. Ruby volunteered to go next. She puffed her self out to look bigger and stomped around the room, pretending to swing a club.
"Giant!" She indicated that Emma was close. Then she stopped and pretended to be shot in the eye.
"Ogre!" Ruby pointed to Regina and gave her a high five as she returned to her seat. Snow stood in front of David and Henry as she thought for a moment. She wiggled her fingers above her head, both of her team mates looked at her with confusion.
Regina leaned over to Emma.
"Medusa" She whispered into her ear.
"You got that, from that?" Regina smiled smugly. Meanwhile Snow was pretending to be a statue after seeing something.
"Statue!"
"Frozen!"
"Elsa!"
"Petrified!"
"Petrificus Totalis!" Everyone looked at Henry. "What? Harry Potter is relevant." Snow shook her head when the timer buzzed.
"What was it?" David asked.
"Medusa."
"Oh! Well now it makes sense." She rolled her eyes. Next up was Emma. She held her hands, palm up and flat in front of her, pretending it read.
"Reading! Books! Story!" Ruby called out, Regina just watched as Emma acted out sliding the book onto a shelf then moved her arms in a grand gesture around her.
"Library!" She called out.
"Yes! How are you so good at this?" Emma asked as she returned to her seat. Regina shrugged.
"I'm good at a lot of things you don't know about." They turned their attention to their son who was thinking about how to act out his clue. His eyes lit up when he figured it out. He bent down and pet the air as if a dog was sitting there.
"Dog!" Snow yelled out. Henry nodded and held his finger up then indicated his head and held three fingers up. Regina leaned over to Emma.
"Cerberus"
"Okay now you are just showing off." Regina gave a soft smokey laugh.
"Cerberus!" David shouted just a moment later. Finally it was Regina's turn. She positioned herself in front of the two women and dipped her hand into the bowl. She couldn't stop the smirk that raced across her lips. Stepping into the open space in front of the couch. She waved her hand and a cloud of purple smoke formed.
"Magic!"
"Smoke!"
"Purple!"
"Wit..." The word died on Emma's lips when she saw what Regina had done. Gone were the slacks and sweater she was wearing moments ago, in its place was a red velvet long coat buttoned across the waist revealing a puff of white at the chest. Underneath were a pair of skin tight leather pants that disappeared into knee high black books. Her wide brimmed hat held a bright white feather and hid part of her face in shadow.
"Holy..."
"...Shit."
"Language, Miss Swan, Miss Lucas." If Emma wasn't just mere feet away from her parents and son she would have came on the spot. The woman in front of her was sex on heels. She would have to remember to ask Regina to pull some of her outfits out for them to explore when their relationship progressed further.
"Evil Queen, I presume."
"You presume correctly, my dear." Regina sauntered over and settled between the two awestruck women. Her hands resting on each of their thighs. The wolf thought her mind was about to short circuit from the heat seeping through her jeans.
"New rule for next time...no magic allowed." Snow quipped from the other side of the couch. "I think you've turned their brains to mush, Regina." Ruby's face went red and she quickly stood from the couch.
"Excuse me, I have to go to the bathroom." Regina and Emma made to follow her, until Snow raised her hand and went instead. Henry filed the reactions away in his ever growing pile of evidence for the case of Ruby having feelings for his Moms. Emma cleared her throat.
"Why don't we get the Wii out and play some bowling?"
"Yeah, sounds great, Ma." Emma and Regina began to gather their used plates and cups to carry to the kitchen.
"Dad, do you think you could slide the coffee table over to the side, so no one accidentally falls?"
"Sure, honey."
~~RSQ~~
Snow softly knocked on the bathroom door.
"Ruby, can I come in?" The lock on the door clicked open, which she took as a sign to enter. Distraught green eyes met her hazel gaze.
"Have you told them yet?" Ruby opened and closed her mouth.
"Told who what?"
"Come on Red. I'm not as big an idiot as Regina would have everyone think. I see the way you look at them." Ruby sighed, of course Snow would be the one to notice.
"I can't tell them, Snow. They belong together, it wouldn't be fair of me to try and force my way into their relationship." The pixie haired woman patted her friend shoulder.
"I promised myself I would stay out of this, because technically Regina and Emma having exactly told anyone they are together, but I am going to say one thing, then we are going to go back out there and have a fun night with our friends and family, okay?" Ruby nodded.
"Okay." Hazel bored into green.
"I have never seen Regina hug anyone in public like she did both you and Emma the other day. That alone should say enough about how she thinks of you and my daughter has always had a soft spot for you, Ruby, even before the curse broke." The wolf wanted to believe her friend, but there was just too much stacked against her to hope what the woman said was true.
"Maybe." Snow pressed her lips together and realized she couldn't push the issue with her friend, so she opened the door and together they returned to the living room where Henry was busy hooking up the game system to the television.
~~RSQ~~
"You need to change out of this before we go back in there." Emma said as she loaded the dishwasher. Regina pressed in close to her back.
"Hmm and here I thought you liked my outfit." The blonde stood up and turned around, her eyes filled with desire.
"Oh, Sweetheart, I find your outfit mouth watering, but if you keep it on for another instant, I won't been able to keep my hands off of you. I'm pretty sure that you don't want my parent's or our son to witness that, do you?" Regina bit her lip, then shook her head. She waved her hand and was dressed in the clothes she was wearing earlier. It was unusual for her to give in to other's requests, but with Emma it filled her with a kind of pleasure to fulfill the woman's wishes. Emma kissed the side of her neck. "Thank you, Baby." The name sent a jolt into Regina's belly. She was no longer sure if she could wait until they had a proper first date, before she got a taste of the Sheriff. A small pat on her ass, pulled her away from her lustful thoughts. "We should get back in there." Emma laced their fingers together and lead her into the living room.
~~RSQ~~
They were a few rounds into a rousing game of Wii Bowling, when David's turn came around. He stood in front of the television poised to get into the lead. In his enthusiasm he forgot to put the strap around his wrist. He pulled back and everyone's eyes blew wide when the controller flew from his hands and straight toward the TV. Reacting on instinct Regina put her hands up and froze the object in mid air, while, Emma flung herself in front of her precious 60" flat screen, not realizing that the Mayor had already saved the day.
"Noooo..." The blonde's voice died out when she noticed there was no crash or impact from the controller. She turned her head to the other people in the room, who were shaking their heads at her. She brushed her pants off and picked a piece of lint off of her shirt. "Oh, umm, thanks Gina." She plucked the controller out of mid air and placed the strap around her Father's wrist. The laughter that filled the room was interrupted by a noise from the front door.
The sound of a key being turned in the lock brought silence to he room. David went for his sword. When the pirate stepped inside, his attention immediately fell to the weapon pointed at his throat. He followed the metal up to the face of a furious David Nolan. With a jerk of his wrist Robin stumbled into house behind him. Unnoticed by Emma, every person in the room had subtly moved until they were between herself and Killian, including their son. Ruby growl rumbled low in her throat and Regina's magic was sparking at her finger tips. The blonde grasped each of their hands and pulled them closer to her, the firm grips she got in return soothed her nerves. Neither the wolf nor the Queen took their eyes off the offending man as he stood at sword point and now in the unwavering aim of Snow's bow.
"What do you want?" David spat.
"Look, mate, we need help. We need to get these blasted cuffs off."
"So you thought you would just break into my daughter's house and make her help you?" Snow questioned.
"I have a key, it's not breaking in." David snatched the key from him and slipped it into his pocket.
"Not anymore, now get out."
"Regina, please." Robin whined from behind the leather clad pirate.
"What did Rumpel say?"
"That's none of your business." Hook said, not wanting to divulge the information.
"He told us if we kissed, he would take them off." Robin blurted out behind the pirate. Hook's head whipped toward the man. "I'm sorry, but I would really like to put a shirt on at some point this week." He pulled the blanket he had wrapped around his shoulders closer to him. Regina always did like when Rumpel got a little creative in his deals. She smirked evilly at the two men.
"Well boys, I suggest you both pucker up and get it over with because that is the only way you are getting those cuffs off." The men looked at each other. "I will even vouch for you both with Rumpel, if you would prefer to get it over now."
Robin looked between the woman who he still thought was his soulmate and the man he was trapped with. His decision made, he clenched his eyes shut and puckered his lips. Hook sneered at the man, but quickly leaned forward and pecked the bandits lips. A burst of magic erupted from between the two men and the cuffs fell to the floor. They looked at each other with wide, shock filled eyes. Hook took a large step away from the bandit, not wanting to believe what just happened.
Everyone in the room gaped at the scene that just occurred in front of them. David's sword slowly lowered and Snow pointed her bow at the floor. Henry hid his smirk behind his hand. Regina, however, smiled broadly.
"I guess this would be a good time to tell you that the pixie dust was wrong, Robin. We aren't anything to each other. Enjoy your life with your true love." She nudged them back out to the porch with a push of magic and swung the door behind them with a flick of her wrist.
~~RSQ~~
Across town, Rumpelstiltskin left a dark giggle escape his lips as he relaxed in his study. Sometimes he loved his gift of foresight.