A/N: Alrighty - I'd like to take the time to thank betty-boo, nascargirl05, leslienicolespeaks (the fairy is mine), Jet, Dani and a great big thankyou and welcome back to the lovely Ms Fi - missed ya hun. Don't drop this laptop!

Ruby squirmed restlessly behind the makeshift blindfold Leon had put on her ten minutes earlier. The car had stopped finally and she could hear him open the door. She couldn't see anything through the light blue paisley bandanna around her head.

"Don't move." Leon told her, the car moving slightly as he climbed out and slammed the door shut. She heard a dull thump – probably his hand slapping down on the hood of the car – then she felt the cool night air against her side as the passenger door opened. Leon's work roughened hands helped her out of the car, still blindfolded, and she heard the door close. There was a mechanical beep as he armed the alarm and she felt his fingers gently easing the knot undone at the back of her head.

Leon had turned up at her house not an hour earlier stating that Angie had Cade for the night and that he was taking her out. His reasons being that she had seemed a little down lately and he wanted her to have some fun – feel better. She had no idea where he was taking her. All he'd told her was to wear some comfortable pants and something warm up top.

She'd barely had time to take a shower and throw on some old blue jeans and one of his sweaters he'd left at her place before he was bustling her out the door and into the car.

"Le, where are we?" She asked him, hearing the sound of people talking a little ways away. The bandanna fell away from her eyes and he pointed to the building in front of them. Ruby blinked to focus and looked up, a slightly shocked grin coming to her face.

"Ice skating?" she asked aloud, turning to look at him. He gave her a small smile and nodded toward the building, slipping his arm around her waist. Ruby fell into step beside him, leaning her head against his shoulder. "You're taking me ice skating?"

Leon nodded, ignoring the small gathering of people by the buildings doors. He let go of her to step forward and grabbed the door handle and pulled – motioning her inside ahead of him. Just as the door was swinging shut behind them he heard a masculine yelp and a woman bitching at her boyfriend for never opening doors for her.

He smirked when he looked at Ruby, shaking his head at her laughter. "Have you done this before?" he asked her, lifting his arm to curl around her shoulders as she slipped back to his side. Ruby nodded gleefully.

"I love ice skating – I used to do it all the time but once I started working I just gave up. I haven't been in years."

Leon cleared his throat. "Well this is my first time," he looked out at the rink, "-you're going to have to show me what to do."

This garnered a grin from the smiling red head. "Wow – never thought I'd hear that from you."

He gave her a playful swat on the behind, nudging her toward the desk. "Shut up – I'm fragile right now. I'm putting myself in your hands."

Ruby choked on her laughter, her hand coming up to cover her mouth. Leon looked at her sideways for a moment, confused, then his eyes widened and he smacked her a little harder this time.

"You're a dirty bitch!"

She erupted into a fit of laughter and grabbed his hand, tugging him toward the skate hire. Leon followed willingly. It was nice to see her smiling, hear her laughing again. She'd been kind of quiet the past couple of weeks and he'd been worried that he'd upset her again at first, but she had assured him that wasn't the case.

Her hands slapped down on the counter top with a clunk and jingle, her bracelets scraping against the laminated surface. The guy behind the counter grinned at her as she bounced on the spot, her eyes excitedly scouring the racks of skates. The guy was visibly checking her out, his eyes coming to rest on the swell of her breasts beneath the navy sweater. Leon knew for a fact that it fell heavily and outlined her figure – despite it being miles too big for her. Her fingers barely peeked out from beneath the sleeves.

"Well I'm an eight. What are you, precious? A thirteen?"

Leon glared at the young man behind the counter and inwardly delighted at his flinch. "Fourteen and a half."

Ruby made a quiet sound of surprise. "Bigger than I thought." Her eyes widened as she finished her sentence and she blushed, hiding her face in her hands. Leon smirked, shaking his head at her.

"Is it nice down there in the gutter tonight?"

She reddened a little more. "Kinda damp actually."

Leon snorted, quickly clearing his throat and looking away. Now it was Ruby's turn to gape at him.

"Now who's the dirty bitch!"

He grinned at her, virtually ignoring the guy who came back with their skates. He tossed a fifty dollar bill onto the counter and handed Ruby her skates as he waited for his change.

"You're the one who said it," he stuffed the change back in his wallet, looking out of the corner of his eye at her, "- you think I should join you in the gutter?"

Ruby nodded, linking her arm with his as they started toward the stands to put their skates on.

"Absolutely. The water's warm, there's shelter from the wind and the food is free."

"Well if there's free food.." Leon trailed off, dropping onto the bench beside her. He toed his boots off, watching Ruby lace her skates tightly. "So how do I do this?"

She tugged the bottom of her jeans back down over the top of the skates then pat her thighs, grabbing Leon's ankle. He already had the skate on, all she had to do was lace them.

He watched apprehensively. "I'm going to fall on my ass."

Ruby grinned, tucking her hair behind her ears. "Probably." She replied flippantly, standing up. She held her hands out. "But that's ok – if you fall I'll fall with you."

Leon looked at her hands, then at the ice, then at her hands again and blew out a sigh. "Alright. Here goes nothing." He slipped his hands into hers and hesitantly followed her out onto the ice.

Ruby slumped contently against the soft upholstery of the back seat, her head cushioned on her hand, her knees tucked up against her chest as she looked up at Leon as he drove. She smiled to herself thinking back on their night.

Leon was right – he did indeed fall on his ass and he took her with him every time. They had both ended up just as soaked as the other by the end of the night, each with more than their fair share of bruises. Leon's smile as Ruby had kissed the bruised heel of his palm had made her toes curl and she'd had to look away before he noticed her blush. She'd clamoured to her feet and held her hand out to help him up, feigning nonchalance. As far as she knew he hadn't noticed, but knowing him he wouldn't say anything even if he had.

She could feel the car slowing and blinked. "Home already?"

He glanced back over to where she lay in the back seat. "Yeah, Rubes," he shut off the ignition, "-hold on a sec and I'll give you a piggy back inside." The wind tousled his hair as he hopped out of the car and Ruby sat up, pushing the back door open and slipping out. Leon was almost to her side when she shut the door and huddled against him for warmth – her clothes were damp from all the falls onto the ice and the wind cut right through her. She shivered against his chest, her nose buried in the heavy duty work shirt he wore. His arms curled around her and rubbed her back to warm her.

"Come on, gemstone," he murmured against her hair, "-inside." He didn't wait for her to move before he scooped her up against his chest and started toward the house. Her legs instinctively curled around his waist, her head on his shoulder. Her arms looped around his neck and she snuggled into him, eyes closed.

"Thankyou for taking me skating, Le."

He grunted slightly, opening the door whilst trying not to drop her. "Welcome." He kicked it shut behind him, setting her down once they were inside and in the warm. He tugged his boots off, dropping them just by the door. The only article of clothing either of them had on that was still dry was their socks. He pulled a face, shaking his shoulders slightly.

"I'm thinking shower." He muttered, quirking a brow at her.

Ruby nodded, rubbing her hands together. "Good idea."

They both looked down the hall toward the bathroom, then at each other, then back down the hall. A slow smile spread across Leon's face and a look of determination across Ruby's.

"Oh no, Mr 'I am the champion of falling on my ass' – shower's mine. My house, my – Hey!" she shrieked after him, chasing him down the hall. Both reached the bathroom within seconds of each other and got jammed in the doorway, fighting to gain entry first.

Leon's fingers sought out her ribs, effectively rendering her defenceless in a fit of giggles on the floor. He stepped over her with a victorious laugh and slammed the door shut, bumping her on the ass as he did so.

Ruby thumped against the door. "What ever happened to being a gentleman?" she called through the door, still sitting on the floor pouting. She glared at thin air when she heard the shower start and him laughing at her. There was the sound of fabric hitting the floor, heavy denim by the sounds of it and she bit her lip. "Le?" she called.

The sound of the water pattering against the tiles altered and she knew he was in the shower.

"What?"

"Are you naked?" she grinned as she heard him sigh heavily and she climbed to her feet, shucking out of her wet jeans and shoes.

"No, Ruby – I'm showering fully clothed. Of course I'm naked!"

She was already half way to the kitchen when she heard his response and her hand fell onto the hot tap. With a twisted little grin she twisted it on full force, looking toward the ceiling as she heard a loud thump and his profane roar. Quickly shutting off the tap she bolted down the hall and into the separate toilet, then hit the button. She bounced on the spot, giggling when she heard him swearing again and another thump.

"RUBY!"

She squeaked when she heard the bathroom door fly open, banging against the wall behind it and a wet, very naked Leon appeared in the hallway. She blinked, her eyes following a droplet of water as it travelled down his neck, over his chest and snaked its way down to pool in his naval. She swallowed thickly, slowly looking back up at his face. He was watching her, his expression thoughtful.

He cocked his head to the left, his hair falling over his eyes. Ruby whimpered as he stepped forward and wrapped his fingers around her wrist and tugged her to him. She could feel the water seeping through the already damp fabric of the sweater she wore and her breath hitched in her throat as his face grew closer to her own.

"That was evil," he murmured, his mouth ghosting over hers, "- wasn't it."

Ruby nodded meekly, trembling as his hand slipped up beneath the hem of the sweater and cupped her ass through the thin satin panties she wore. His fingers slipped beneath the elastic and skimmed over her skin, then came back to rest atop of the smooth fabric. He lifted her against him and carried her back into the bathroom, not even bothering to strip her of the oversized sweater she wore, nor her underwear or socks as he climbed back into the shower with her still in his arms. He set her down and Ruby wriggled her toes against the uncomfortable sensation of wet socks. Her hands slipped from his chest when he took a step back and out of the shower. He grinned at her and flicked off the hot tap, sending burst of freezing water onto her. She shrieked and tried to jump out of the way, but he directed the shower head in every direction she moved, a small, pleased grin on his face the whole time.

"Alright!" She spluttered, her hand up to shield her face and shaking from the cold, "Alright I get the point! Don't flush while you're in the shower!"

Leon casually flipped the hot water back on and held his hand under the spray, then stepped back into the shower and bent to strip her socks off her. He smiled at the shimmering lilac paint on her toes, the silvery flecks of glitter sparkling in the light as she moved her feet. His fingers trailed from the tops of her toes and up her calves, over her knees and up her thighs until they came to the sodden hem of his sweater. His hands tightened in the now heavy fabric and lifted it up over Ruby's head and he stopped still when he realised she hadn't been wearing a bra the whole time.

"Jesus, woman, no wonder he was staring." He muttered, bending to lick a drop of water from her ivory skin at the same time as he curled his hands around her waist and tugged at her panties.

Ruby's hands tangled in his hair, watching him kiss and lick his way down her belly, her breath coming in small pants now. His fingers hooked into the side straps of her panties and eased them down over her thighs.

"What do you mean staring? Who was staring?" Her voice was shaky and quiet, Leon's breath puffing against her wet skin, his tongue flicking out to trace the curve of her hip.

"The guy at the rink," he murmured, mouthing the skin just below her hip bone, "-fucking gauge his eyes out next time."

Ruby flushed at the possessive tone he used, her hand holding the back of his head as he sucked and nipped at her skin, leaving a dark red mark against her otherwise lily white hip. She tugged on his hair, panicked, when she felt his breath brushing her inner thigh.

Leon looked up, confused and saw her shaking her head furiously. His brow furrowed. "No?"

Ruby squirmed, shaking her head. "I don't.. I.." she stammered nervously, blushing. She looked away when he rose to his feet and took her chin in his hand.

His green eyes were soft when she finally met them. "Don't be afraid to tell me no, Ruby." He pressed a kiss to her mouth, his tongue coaxing her lips apart. He backed her into the wall back beneath the showers spray, his hands slipping up over her stomach wetly to cup her breasts. She pushed against his hands, moaning into his mouth and timidly allowed him to slide his knee between her thighs and stand between her legs. She tore her mouth from his.

"Le," she looked up at him, heat pooling low in her belly when she saw his flushed face, " – I'm not in the mood for anything rough.."

He nodded, nuzzling her throat. "Anything you want, gemstone. Anything you want."

Ruby could hear the sincerity in his voice and buried her face against his shoulder to hide her tears, sinking her teeth into his shoulder lightly as his fingers slipped between her thighs.

Her reply was whispered. "Thankyou, Leon."