The sun had disappeared from the inky sky long ago as Ruby sat up in the inn. Her mind couldn't take in all that had happened in a matter of hours, though her body felt weightless. And yet, the more time that passed, the more she began to doubt reality. Curled up on the couch on the main floor of the B&B, Ruby noticed she was fidgeting, her hands twisting over each other as knots began to grow in her stomach. Did that really happen? Did I kiss Archie Hopper? Did he actually kiss me back—or maybe he doesn't feel the same? Did I just make everything up?

Ruby began to doubt her sanity, and she wasn't sure what she was waiting for until a knock at the door made her jump out of her skin. She raced to the door and flung it open. At the sight of Archie, with his hair disheveled and his sleeves rolled up, all anxiety melted away. "You're real," she whispered as her smile grew to match his own.

Without a word he stepped forward, cupped Ruby's face in his hands, drew her in, and pressed his lips to hers. Ruby felt tears prick her eyes in pure happiness and she brought her hands up to his bare arms, delighting in his taste, his presence, his being. As they emerged from their kiss with their breaths mingled in the cool air, the door still wide open, Ruby saw Archie's smile light up his face and crinkle his eyes. "I'm real," he murmured.

That voice. Smooth and warm, and it gave her the shivers.

As she realized they still stood in the doorway, she ushered Archie inside and shut the door behind them, closing them off from the night.

"Are you okay?" Ruby asked, clutching his hands and frantically searching his face. "What did they do to you down there? Don't you need to go to the hospital?"

Archie smiled and squeezed back. "I'm fine. Maybe a little tired and bruised, but I'm fine. They were just trying to scare me is all. Though I wouldn't mind sitting down for a few minutes."

Ruby gave him a skeptical look, but his expression was calm and his smile genuine. She felt her muscles relax a little as she led him to the couch where she had doubted herself only moments before. There were so many questions, but at the same time she wanted to just sit and be sure of him.

"You do look good for coming back from the grave," Ruby teased halfheartedly. Archie sat on the sofa and Ruby curled into him, resting on his chest with his arms wrapped around her.

He squeezed her back. "I can't even imagine what you went through, though Gepetto told me a bit of what happened."

Ruby shot up and turned to look at him, on her knees, and gasped, "What we went through? What about what you went through?" She searched his eyes that remained calm.

Archie drew her into his arms and she reluctantly settled back down. Her head rested under his chin and he kissed her hair. "It's turned out all right. And now I'm here with you—where I don't think I'd ever be if there hadn't been a—er, near death experience."

Ruby smirked at the thought that such a dramatic event had caused her to realize her true feelings, and perhaps the same was necessary for Archie. "You mean you never would have said anything?"

Archie paused, as if to choose his words carefully. "I don't know about never, but I was determined to not let my affections for you ruin our friendship. I never dreamed you would ever feel the same for me."

Ruby shifted out from under his arms so that she hugged his one arm and rested her chin on his shoulder. She could look into his face, their noses almost touching. "I guess it's a good thing you were wrong."

"Yes," Archie whispered back, leaning gently into her forehead.

Ruby smirked and did not give in to his lips so close, his breath tickling her skin. "So what did you do before you came here?" she asked coyly.

Archie smiled at her teasing. "I went to Henry first. The poor boy's been so worried about Regina that he had an armoury planned for Mary Margaret's loft. It's almost humourous if it wasn't so damaging to their already fragile relationship, or Regina's psyche."

Ruby shot up again. "You've got to be kidding me. You were nearly killed, and you're sympathizing with Regina?" Even if she wasn't the true perpetrator, Ruby hated the way that Regina treated Archie.

Archie ignored the bait and clasped her hand in his, his gaze focused on their fingers intertwined. "More with Henry than Regina, but it's better for the town if Regina isn't bent on revenge. Anyway, I left Pongo with Henry for the night. I figured they could still use each other's company, and I knew I wouldn't be going home right away, so…" Ruby thought she caught a glint of mischief in his eye.

"I went to Gepetto right after. He looked like he hadn't eaten or slept much in a few days." He frowned, and Ruby could feel his muscles clench. "I can handle myself, but I don't know if I can forgive Cora and Hook for all the worry they've caused everyone."

"Hey," Ruby said firmly, bringing his face up to meet her gaze, "We're fine. It's you we're worried about. What happened down there?" Despite their newfound happiness, Ruby could see the weariness etched on his face, dark shadows lining his clear eyes under the frames of his glasses.

Archie shook his head and looked down again. "I ended up staying longer with Gepetto than I thought. I wasn't sure if I'd made everything up in my head, but Gepetto convinced me I'd be crazy not to see you." Archie's ears and cheeks flushed as he looked at Ruby. "Apparently I've been pretty obvious."

Ruby grinned back at him. "Apparently not obvious enough. I had no idea—but Belle might have teased me a bit."

Archie perked up. "Oh? When?"

"Specifically? Right before the 'Welcome Home' party."

Archie chuckled. "I almost told you my secret that night."

"It was a good night," Ruby nodded. The memory of that moment, side by side under the stars, hung between them—the memory that Ruby had played over and over during the last week. The memory that had made her ache with regret when she couldn't believe that Archie was dead.

And now she knew why.

"Have you finally had a chance to catch up with Mary Margaret now that she's back?" Archie asked after a moment.

Ruby paused before she replied, "Yes, but mostly it was after your—funeral." Ruby choked on the last word as the memories rushed back to her, and she stared down at their hands.

"Hey, hey," Archie murmured into her ear as he squeezed her hand. "I'm right here." Ruby nodded without looking up as she gripped back.

"C-can I ask what my funeral was like? It's not every day a guy gets to learn how he'll be remembered," Archie joked.

Ruby looked up and gave him a half-hearted smile. "Oh the usual stuff. You were the nicest friend, we'll miss you, blah, blah, blah." It hurt too much to think of that day. Memories of the funeral also brought back the anxiety of the reception and fears of being discovered by outsiders. Ruby did not want to talk about that now.

"It's nice to know everyone made an effort," Archie teased quietly, though his eyes were full of concern rather than mirth as he studied Ruby's expression.

Ruby shifted so she laid her head on his lap and clasped his arm over her, her legs propped up on the end of the couch. She traced up and down his arm, his soft red hair tickling her fingers—an intimacy that was innocent, comforting, and exciting all at once. She noticed the red skin around his wrist, rubbed raw by the bondage of the last days. Ruby fought the urge to kiss the wound and avoided tracing her fingers too low, while his hand rested on her shoulder, and he gently rubbed circles with his thumb.

Her eyelids began to feel heavy, but she refused to give into sleep. Archie's presence, his warmth, the weight of his arm around her, soothed the anxiety that had consumed her over the previous days, and it reassured her that he really had come back.

Archie brushed her hair out of her eyes, his hand sweeping across her forehead. "What are you thinking about?"

"Mmm? This is nice," Ruby murmured.

The last thing Ruby remembered was Archie smiling down at her before she drifted off to sleep.

A funny whimper wakened Ruby. Her mind groggy with sleep, it took a few moments before she realized where she was in the dark surroundings, or whom she was with. She sat up to see Archie tossing and turning, groaning, "no, no, no."

"Shhhh," Ruby cupped his face in her hands and rubbed with her thumbs to gently awaken him. Her heart rose in her throat as she tried to comfort him in his distress, the signs of nightmares all too familiar to her.

Slowly his eyes opened and realization dawned on his features as he searched her face in the faint light coming in from the street, the lace curtains casting strange shadows.

"It's okay, it's okay, I'm here," Ruby whispered in time to her strokes. She drew him into her arms and he relaxed into her embrace, his face pressed into her neck. His muscles eased into her grip as she wrapped her arms around his back.

After a moment, Archie pulled back and rubbed his face with one hand, while Ruby kept her hands on his arms. "Do you want to talk about it?" she whispered.

Archie let out a sigh, as if was still processing his nightmares against the reality of the little room in which they sat. He brought his hand up to rest on her arm, matching her pose.

"It was just a dream," he said finally, though without much conviction.

"But it feels so real," Ruby added. Archie took Ruby's hands in his and rubbed his thumbs over them. Ruby squeezed back.

She could see his silhouette against the faint light of the window, his head moving up and down.

"You don't have to talk about it." Ruby leaned into him and whispered in his ear, "I'm right here."

Archie took her in his arms and squeezed her tight. "Thank you." He shifted so he was lying on his side across the couch. She was nestled into him, and she could hear his heart beating through his shirt, his body heat warming her through.

She wished she could take the nightmares away, but she knew the power of just having someone to hold. She waited until his breathing became even with sleep until she let herself drift off.

"What on earth?!"

Ruby awoke suddenly to the world tilted sideways and Granny staring over her glasses at her granddaughter on the couch with Archie.

With Archie!

Ruby shot up and saw the poor man sleeping awkwardly with his head resting on the arm of the couch. His glasses were neatly folded on the side table.

Ruby's gaze flew back to Granny. It was hard to shock the older woman—and Ruby had more experience trying than she cared to admit—but Granny's wide eyes and mouth agape revealed her genuine disbelief. Ruby didn't know if it was Archie's presence itself, or the fact that he had stayed the night… with her granddaughter. Ruby smirked inwardly at how much everything had changed in a day, and her heart soared as the memories of the evening slowly came back to her.

Archie's eyes fluttered open and confusion skipped across his face before he bolted off the couch. He fumbled for his glasses as his face reddened more than Ruby had ever seen him blush before. It would have been sweet if he wasn't so uncomfortable.

"I-I-I'm so sorry, M-Mrs. Lucas. N-Nothing h-happened, I assure you!"

Ruby's heart went out to Archie, and she longed to take his hand, though she feared that might make him more nervous.

Finally, Granny remembered herself and closed her mouth. She took a step forward and gave Archie a hug. "Welcome back to the land of the living!" she said. Archie glanced at Ruby over the woman's shoulder as he accepted her embrace. "Th-thank you," he stuttered.

After they pulled back from the greeting, Archie's eyes flew between Granny and Ruby, and Ruby tried to give him a calming smile. "I-I'd better get going," he said as he made his way to the door. "Goodbye, Mrs. Lucas. Ruby," he nodded.

Ruby followed him to the open doorway, where they stopped and faced each other with the late morning's sun streaming in and warming their sides. They met each other's eyes, and Archie gave her his genuine, eye-crinkling smile that melted Ruby's heart all over again. He gave her a quick peck on the cheek and started to turn to leave when Ruby grabbed his hand and pulled him in for a soft kiss.

"Goodbye," she whispered, unable to contain her grin.

"Goodbye," Archie grinned back. Then, he was gone.

Ruby closed the door slowly, lost in thought as her smile spread over her. She met Granny's surprisingly calm gaze.

"Next time, don't wait until the poor guy dies before you make a move," Granny chided, though her smile said that she suspected, along with Ruby, that there wouldn't be a next time.

Ruby shook her head at herself, and headed up the stairs to continue her sweet dreams on her proper mattress.