Murray floored the pedal as hard as he could. He was approaching the finish line, and he was in the lead by a hair. He knew that there was a horrifically sharp curve right before the chequered flag, but to slow down at all would lose him his lead. He was jammed in the outside lane; the guy in the racing truck behind him wasn't giving him an inch. The wheels kicked up gravel angrily as Murray hit a dodgy patch of road. He was about to hit the bend… With all of his strength he swung the wheel right around to the limit, and the cumbersome van jolted dangerously to the left. Murray knew the van wouldn't be able to keep up like this, even as he cruelly sliced across the path of the driver behind. He just had to keep it on its wheels until he crossed the finish line. After another half instant, Murray saw the greyish blur of the flag out of the side window. In his mind he whooped with joy, but he couldn't allow himself to celebrate for real, not just yet. He slammed on the brakes for all the good it did him, and braced himself as the van lost control completely and pitched violently over to the right, before going over completely. Murray gritted his teeth.

To the race spectators, the winning vehicle just managed to cross the finish line before rolling over like a steel tumble weed. It rolled, once, twice, bounced up into the air and somersaulted, all the while with pieces of the van flying off, metal denting and twisting, glass breaking and the chassis crumpling. After it fell to earth with a crunch on its side, the crowd looked on with baited breath as the dust settled. The fire crew and the paramedics rushed to the battered van, fearing the worst. The crowd inwardly drew breath. Before the first of the ambulance men reached the van, there was movement from somewhere inside. Then, with the force of a battering ram, the passenger side door of the van, the one closest the sky, was kicked off by a muscular pink leg. The twisted flap of metal hit the deck, and as the crowd looked on, Murray emerged woozily from the van. His helmet now had a large dent in the front, and his racing goggles were now askew on his face, one lens covering his eye, the other his cheek, but he was apparently otherwise unharmed. The crowd roared with adoration as Murray straightened his goggles and shook his head clear. He blinked several times, trying to clear his vision. The paramedics reached him, and helped him out of the wreckage of the van. Unsteadily, Murray climbed out and jumped to the floor with the help of the nearest doctor. Once he was on his feet on the ground a second paramedic came to his aid, and between the two of them, one under each arm, they helped him to walk. They needn't have worried. With every step that Murray took on the ground, he regained his balance a little more, and his dizziness subsided. He was still coasting along on an adrenaline high, which intensified when he raised his arms to the crowd and their roar reached a crescendo. The paramedics, suitably satisfied that the hippo was ok, backed away, and the fire crew began the chore of clearing up the van in the background. The crowd stood on their seats, hollering Murray's name and showering the stands with confetti and streamers. The driver who came in second had pulled up in the pit stop and was removing his helmet and gloves. His face was etched with disappointment, but all the same, he clapped along with the crowd. Murray grinned widely as the winner's podium beckoned, and his agent approached him.

"Murray baby, beautiful win, I wasn't worried for a second there." The tiny bear gushed, momentarily removing his cigarette holder from his lips.

"Thanks Ted," Murray smiled. "It was a bit hairy towards the end…"

"I can see," Ted replied, eyeing the wreckage of the van as the firemen righted it onto its wheels with a crunch. "It looks like most of the prize money for this race is going on repair."

"Minus my fee, of course," He added sheepishly.

"This isn't about money Ted. I told you before, money isn't a problem."

"Spoken like a true racer," Ted beamed. "But even so, it might be nice to finish a race every now and then when we didn't have to replace the chassis and bodywork, hmm?"

"I'll do my best Ted."

"Of course you will darling." The bear patted Murray on his hand, the highest point of the pink racer that he could comfortably reach. "Well, just have the podium, publicity photos, a quick autograph session, and then we're done. Oh, we're all going for drinks at the Voodoo Lady afterwards, I said you might be interested."

"Uh, sure that sounds ok."

"Well, no pressure. Now, go be fabulous!"

Murray thanked his agent one final time and stepped up on the massive white podium over the number one.

-

"Really darling, it was the most rotten luck."

Murray slumped over the imitation bamboo bar top and stared hard into his cocktail glass that contained a fluorescent orange liquid. He was wearing his blue racing vest from earlier, but he had since removed his goggles and gloves. Beside him Ted perched on a barstool trimmed in kitschy fake grass. The entire bar was covered by a thatched roof, and tables made out of the same fake bamboo were dotted around, mixed in with various potted plants. There were no doors to the bar, the thatched roof being basically a canopy. Outside torches burned in the rapidly darkening evening.

Murray simply groaned and continued to eyeball his highball.

"I'll have a word with the race officials; they really should make those things stronger. I'll mention a lawsuit; we'll get them to fix your van no problem."

He patted Murray reassuringly on the shoulder. The hippo glanced over at him. He was wearing the same pinstriped suit from earlier, but he appeared to have switched ties for the evening, a satin looking blue number. Murray still couldn't find it in himself to say anything. The whole thing had just been too mortifying.

"Anyway, you won the race at least, didn't you? I tell you, we'll have a magazine deal out of this by the end of the week. If you keep winning like this the sky's the limit my boy."

"I guess so," Murray replied, brightening up ever so slightly.

"There you go!" Ted smiled. "Trust me, the podium thing is tomorrow's fish wrapper."

The bear elegantly finished his drink and hopped off the barstool.

"You're leaving?" Murray asked.

"Well, I believe that there's a couple of ladies over there who might be interested in a few free drinks," Ted gestured across the bar at a table. Murray followed his finger and saw the girls in question. They were a couple of squirrels perched at the wicker table, both in garishly coloured one piece strapless skirts. Murray frowned.

"I'm sure they'd love to meet the 1st place winner of today's race, darling."

"Not my type I'm afraid, Ted."

"Ah, a sentiment I've heard from you before dear," Ted replied, not taking his eyes from the swaying bushy tails that protruded from the back of the squirrel's chairs. "When you do find your 'type' you'll be sure to let me know, I'd be very much interested in meeting her."

Murray nodded aside the gentle ribbing.

"You don't mind if I try my luck, do you Murray?"

"Go ahead. I'll probably just finish my drink here and get an early night."

"Good man. It's willpower like that that is regrettably sorely lacking in my own personality. I bid you good evening sir."

"Yeah, night Ted." Murray intoned, before taking a deep swig from his drink. He saw the bear move off to the table and strike up a conversation with the squirrels. He turned his gaze away. His agent's evening was pretty much sorted now, it required no further attention. He suddenly felt an urge to leave. He'd had enough of the whole day. Even though he'd won his race, it felt like a defeat. It wasn't even the incident with the podium that was bothering him either, it was some tiny pang that he couldn't quite nail down, some irritation to his contentment that was just beyond his reach. He glanced back over to Ted, despite himself. The bear was now firmly ensconced at the squirrels table, the girls laughing raucously, his agent ordering more drinks with abandon. He'd probably end up sleeping with both of them tonight. He narrowed his eyes. Was that what was getting to him? The fact that his agent would more than likely be spending the night in the company of two squirrel girls? He took a second look at the girls to make sure. He snorted some air through his nostrils. He had been right the first time, he didn't find the kind of girls that Ted was into all that attractive, but it just seemed like everyone but him was in the middle of some big fuzzy lovey-dovey relationship. He'd been happy for Bentley when he'd managed to be a hero for Penelope, and it looked as though Sly had finally hooked up with Inspector Fox, for better or worse, but… where was 'the Murray's' girlfriend? Who did he get to snuggle up to at night and bore the arse off all his friends talking about? He sunk the last of drink and slapped a dinner plate sized hand on the bar-top for another. He glared at his reflection in the empty glass. The bartender glanced over, and seemed to mentally decide whether to ask the hippo to keep it down. He evidently didn't fancy his chances too much, as he simply took Murray's order and vanished to the other end of the bar.

Murray started on his new drink. He was being stupid, it was irritating, that was all. He'd meet someone eventually, but he just wished he had more hold over his raging emotions. These days he could fall in love twelve times simply by getting out of bed, leaving his motel and opening his damn eyes.

-

Eyes narrowed in the dense forest just outside the 'Voodoo Lady'. The eyes rolled at the name, but then refocused on the target. She'd been at the race, and had seethed with annoyance when the hippo had emerged from the wreckage without so much as a scratch. With all the bad Juju she'd been pumping in his direction there should have been nothing left but a red streak just over the finish line. Her one consolation was that whether it was her own dark arts or not, something had made the big fat lug crash right through the winner's podium. She'd laughed a loud cackling laugh that had only just been drowned out by the gasp of alarm from the crowd. Her immaculate teeth glinted in the torchlight as she once again cracked an evil grin. Mz. Ruby stepped out into the clearing, dark shadows playing over her green scaly skin. She was half the size she had been since she was carted off to jail, the food and workload actually worked wonders for her figure. Every cloud had a silver lining, and now she was out she was going to take great pleasure in seducing and dismembering an old acquaintance of Sly Cooper. It was a pity it wasn't the raccoon himself, but 'The Murray' (Mz. Ruby rolled her gleaming eyes a second time) was the next best thing. She could pump him for information, find out where the little raccoon bottom feeder was living these days and then send him his comrade's ears in the post. She laughed through clenched teeth. Then, he'd be next, and who knew after that? Maybe she could pay the little green one a visit, and after that she was sure that her arresting officer would be pleased to see her… She stopped. First thing was first. She had all the time in the world to plot her revenge, but the hippo wouldn't be in the bar forever. She knew that if it came to a fight that Murray could wipe the floor with her, and the second he saw her he'd be ready to unleash hell. However, there was a way she could get near him, and that was with some elementary voodoo magic. She took a small purple perfume bottle from a pocket very carefully pulled the stopper from the top. She then dabbed a drop or two on her scaly neck. A pink vapour wafted off her skin for a second or two and then was gone, but the scent remained. She straightened her dreadlocks, checked her bosom and marched towards the bar. She passed by the torched that burned at the entrance. Just as she was about to step onto the hardwood slats that made up the floor of the bar, her path was blocked by a large dog in a tuxedo holding a clipboard and pen.

"Excuse me Ma'am, you are…?" He asked rigidly. Mz. Ruby turned her attention to him, almost as an afterthought.

"Wha, hello there," She drawled. "Ma name iz Mz. Ruby. Ah've seen an old friend at the bar there and ah was just hoping to sah hi."

"Mz. Ruby," The dog repeated, heavily scrutinizing his clipboard. He was bigger than Ruby, and appeared to be Doberman breed. They made for good bouncers. "Nope, sorry, not on the list."

"Yew mean ah can't just go say hello?"

"No one gets past who isn't on the list."

"Aw, please?" Ruby simpered, trailing a red claw over the bouncer's lapels.

"Sorry Ma'am." The dog replied, not sounding sorry at all.

Mz. Ruby dropped all pretences. She scowled, and levelled her gaze evenly at the dog. She began to chant ancient spells in her mind, and focused all the energy on the unwitting dog. The power of countless generations of voodoo priestesses flowed out of Ruby's eyes and into the bouncer's with the intention of giving him the fear. Within an instant the Dog experienced the physical world melt away and he felt as though he were standing at the gates of hell itself. Nothing existed, no light, no dark, no up, no down, just him, him and an impenetrable wall of ice cold fear. In that moment he lost all self awareness and he existed only as breath of air that was too terrified to even scream. Then, as quickly as it had started, Ruby released him back into the world. He looked around himself in abject horror. He didn't even seem to see Mz. Ruby anymore. He was physically shaking and his face was streaked with tears, and for a few moments he couldn't even breathe.

"How bout now?" Ruby snarled, her eyes narrowing. The dog couldn't even reply, so she simply hit him in the shoulder with the palm of her hand, and he collapsed to the floor and began to rock back and forth whilst sobbing quietly. Mz. Ruby stepped past him confidently, and once again pinned her winning smile to her lips. She was rather pleased with how that had turned out, she still had it! She could make people go insane if she held them under for long enough. The bouncer, he'd be fine in a week or two. Probably. Besides, that was a mere aperitif for what lay in store for Murray.

-

As he was sinking his second drink, Murray smelt something from somewhere. He'd moved away from the bar now to one of the tables at the edge of the canopy, he wasn't took keen on the way the bartender kept checking up on him to make sure he hadn't broken anything. He was a few empty tables in front of Ted, but his agent and his companions had their backs to him. He at first thought the scent was coming from the forest outside, but it didn't seem to be. He tilted his head back to try and get a better whiff of the odour. It smelt like the most exquisite perfume he'd ever smelt, a cornucopia of floral treasures and exotic fruits. It held an edge of sea coral, and an underpinning snifter of pine and unknown delicious spices. Murray still couldn't tell where it was coming from, but he pulled in great gulps of the scented air, drinking it in by the gallon savouring the sweet experience. He brought his head back down, the smell making him more drunk than the alcohol in his glass. That's when he saw her. Mz. Ruby was stepping across the threshold to the bar and was making her way confidently towards him. He recognised her from the newspaper clipping he's seen of her just after she's been busted by Inspector Fox, and although in the picture she hadn't been looking her best, sporting a black eye and a thick lip, and even though she must have lost half her weight since then, there was no mistaking it was her. He remembered her blood red, razor sharp claws, and her pearly white teeth, both capable of rending flesh in seconds. He remembered her smooth green skin that complemented her black dreadlocked hair, and that clashed violently with the red bandana that she typically wore. New to him were the gentle curves of her body, her perfect figure, not too skinny like the kind of girls Ted liked or the petite fragile body of Inspector Fox, but a proper womanly build, from her muscular buttocks to her mountainous bust. He took in the purple frilly boob tube that she wore, showing off just the right amount of cleavage, and her denim hot pants that showed off her behind. Her athletic legs ended in cute little sneakers that… Wait. What the hell was he doing? He shook his head slightly and refocused on Mz. Ruby. She still looked great and now she was almost on top of him. He new he'd been a little irked that he was the only one of his friends without a girlfriend, but this was stupid! Had he really lowered his guard to the degree where known felons and possible murderers looked appealing to him? The tantalising aroma around him intensified to an intoxicating degree and with a small start he realised that it was coming from the sweet crocodile in front of him. The crocodile. The crocodile in front of him.

"Wale, long time no see shuga," He said to him cheerfully, her hands on her hips.

"Actually, we've…we've never been properly introduced," Murray grinned back at her. Somewhere in the back of his mind a tiny voice screamed, 'Don't turn on the charm, you idiot! Smash her over the head with your chair and run! Run away! She'll eat you! Run the hell away!'

His body didn't listen, siding with the majority of his brain. Mz. Ruby continued.

"Wha ah do believe you're right, Mistah Murray." She smiled down on him like a reptilian angel. "Do yew mind if ah join yew?"

God, that accent! It was so sexy it drove him mad!

"Not at all, please do!" Murray beamed, struggling to get out of his chair. He did so, and pulled out the spare chair for Mz. Ruby to sit down, like a true gentleman. Mz. Ruby took the chair and sat, coyly putting her hands on her lap. She beamed, surprised at how well this was going. She knew her love potion was powerful, but there was usually a little bit of resistance. This guy must be a total loser, waiting to be taken over. Oh well, good for her, bad for him.

"Ah just saw yew race today, ah thought yew were amazing!"

"Oh, um, thanks," Murray mumbled, a little colour flushing into his cheeks. "I guess you saw the stuff with the podium?"

"Ah'm afraid ah did," Ruby replied. "They shood make those things stronger."

"I guess they should," Murray smiled a little.

"Yew savoured the dignity bewtifully,"

"Wow, um, thanks… Hey, where are my manners, can I get you a drink?" Murray asked sheepishly. He wasn't normally all that good at talking to girls, but for some reason he could talk to Mz. Ruby more easily than most. What the hell did that say about him? 'Let's not forget that this woman had a hand in the death of your best friend's parents', his mind reminded him.

"No, ah insist, ah'll get some drinks, ah just wanna show there's no hard feelings," Ruby grinned.

Murray watched her rise from her chair and followed her to the bar with his eyes. Her thick tail waved a sexy wave at him as she walked away. What the hell was he doing?

-

Mz. Ruby strutted over to the bar, deliberately overplaying her flirty behaviour. She leaned over the bar, aiming and succeeding to give Murray a good view of the caboose. If Sly proved to be as easy to get to as this pink buffoon then he'd be dead within the week.

"Two black Russians please," She murmured to the bartender. The bartender mixed the drinks, placed them in front of Mz. Ruby, took the money, raised an eyebrow and returned, once again, to polishing glasses. The Crocodile paused over the glasses to adjust one of her rings. She twisted the tiger's eye stone that was set into the band of gold and tipped the white powder that resided in the miniscule compartment underneath into one of the glasses. Her grin widened impossibly. This would make the hippo her good little obedient zombie. She suppressed a laugh, then returned her expression to playful. As femininely as possible, she plucked the glasses from the bar and returned to the table, placing the poisoned drink in front of Murray.

"Ah realize that ah'm probably not the most popular person with you an your friens,"

"Well, that was a long time ago, and um, you know, you've been to jail, so, um, that means…" Murray floundered wildly.

He was engaged in a massive inner war between his rational mind and his rampant emotions.

"Wale, ah want yew to know that ah'm truly sorry for everythin ah did, an ah want yew to know that ah'm not tha evil woman yew think ah am." Mz. Ruby spoke, silently willing Murray to take even the tiniest sip from the black Russian. He still hadn't finished the cocktail he'd been drinking when she'd first arrived. Murray brightened at her words. Finally something solid he could cling to amongst all theses confusing feelings.

"I don't think you're evil." He said.

"Why, thank yew," Ruby replied evenly, not really listening.

"No, really." Murray continued. "I never did."

Mz. Ruby's ears pricked up at this, and she centred her gaze at Murray's eyes.

"What? Yew mean… yew never…even though ah…"

"I read the file on you. People were mean to you when you were little, so the only way you could have any friends was to make your own. All lonely children do that, the only difference is that you had the ability to raise the dead." Murray took another swig from the cocktail, almost draining the glass.

"But… what about the fiendish fahve?"

"Well, it's understandable, if you look at it. You haven't had any friends all your life, when suddenly a gang comes along who says that you'll fit right in, and who'll be your friends, it's only natural that you'd want to be a part of it."

"Yes, yes, that's exactly how it whas!" Ruby exclaimed, the first genuine thing she'd said to Murray all night. The hippo smiled sincerely at her. He truly believed in what he was saying, and had chosen, for the time being, to place his trust in Mz. Ruby. If it turned out she was nasty, he was fairly sure he could take care of himself. The crocodile's perfume still playing in his nostrils, he somehow didn't think that she meant him harm.

Now it was Mz. Ruby's turn to be torn. She had so much pent up rage since she had been arrested, was it possible she'd buried the very feelings that had brought her to where she was? She closed her eyes for a moment while she struggled internally.

'What are yew thinkin'? He's with Sla Kewper!'

'Ah know that. Bhut ah don' think he's the problem. Not anymore.'

'Whaddaya mean, he ain't tha problem? It's coz of him that you went t'jail!"

'That warn't his fault. He was jus' tryin to get his birthright back.'

'Don't listen to thayt damn fool! You weren't in the gang for friends!'

'C'mon now, we both know that ain't true.'

'It's too late now. Get your revenge! Yew are what yew are!'

'No. I kin have a real friend now. Ah ain't evil. Ah ain't evil. Ah ain't evil.'

"Ah ain't evil," Mz. Ruby said softly, in wonder.

"Hm?" Murray said, the black Russian mere inches from his lips. Mz. Ruby looked up at him and her eyes widened.

"NOO!" she screamed, reaching over the table and dashing the drink from Murray's hand. The glass shattered on the hardwood floor and the liquid inside fizzed and burnt at the wooden floor. Murray looked in the direction of the glass.

"Woah, that looked like rough stuff." He turned his attention back to Mz. Ruby. "Are you okay? What happened?"

Mz. Ruby stared at him in wild eyed panic.

"Am I gonna have to ask you two to leave?" The bartender called over to them. There was only Ted and the squirrels left in the bar, and they'd barely looked around, even at the sound of the glass breaking.

"Uh, no," Murray said standing. "I'm sorry. We had a little accident. I'll pay for any damages."

The hippo pulled his wallet from his vest pocket and tossed a few bills on the bar. The bartender nodded his satisfaction as Mz. Ruby pulled herself from the table. She strode dejectedly to the bar.

"Gimme a glass of water," She mumbled to the tender.

"You sure you're not gonna break this glass too?"

Mz. Ruby shot him a dirty look, and almost gave him the fear. But she was being nice now.

"Pleese. Ah'll be good, ah swear."

The bartender frowned and filled a glass with water from the hose tap and placed it in front of the crocodile.

"Thank yew."

She dipped a bejewelled hand into the glass and rubbed the water about her neck, as if frantically trying to wash something away. The bartender eyed her suspiciously but said nothing.

"Are you okay?" Murray asked again.

"Ah'm… ah'm fine. Ah'm sorry ah bothered yew Murray, I hope yew have a nice life." She turned to leave.

"A nice life…?" Murray repeated. Then the penny dropped. "Hey, uh, wait…"

Mz. Ruby half turned. "Yeah?"

Murray squirmed for a moment. The perfume smell had gone, but Mz. Ruby's beauty remained. God, he wished he was better at this.

"You, uh, you don't have to leave just yet…do you?"

"Murray, ah don't think yew understand. Ah'm bad. Ah don' think yew wanna be around me."

She turned again to leave. Murray jogged after her.

"You…seem nice to me. Um, do you, um, maybe wanna go somewhere? Um, with me I mean." Murray waited, straining his ears for the sound of the sniggering. None came.

Mz. Ruby was astonished for the second time that night. The love potion was a one-hit-wonder, once it was removed all effects ceased. This…this was under his own steam.

"Yes!" She half gasped. "Ah would like that very much!"

"Oh," Murray replied, himself very surprised. "Awesome."

Mz. Ruby saw his face flush redder than a Haitian sunset, and she suddenly found herself immensely attracted to the hippo, he just looked so cute! Murray strode up to her and offered her his arm, which she took gladly. Murray slung a glance over his shoulder, to see Ted leaning over the back of his chair, offering the racer a salute of two raised eyebrows and one raised glass.

-

"So when did you get out of jail?"

"Layst week. Ah got out early for good behaviour." She replied.

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone." Murray chuckled. "What're you gonna do now?"

"Ah'm not sure. Ah thought ah had it all figured out, but it seems to have changed now. Ah was so angry for the longest time, but…ah don't know. Ah seem to have let it go now."

"I'm glad to hear it." Murray spoke. "It's not good to carry all that around with you."

"Tell me about it."

They were strolling along the edge of the swamp, moonlight bathing everything in a silvery glow, whilst fireflies raced each other through the bulrushes, and the reflection on the water making it look like there was two of everything. They were holding hands, despite themselves. Murray's inner voice had since hushed up about Mz. Ruby, since it too now seemed to trust her. Murray couldn't believe that he'd trusted her so quickly, and he still wasn't entirely sure if it was a good or a bad thing. He supposed he'd take it as a good thing until she cut off his head and used it to keep her bugs in. He grinned and gave her hand a little squeeze. Suddenly something occurred to him.

"So, um, 'Mz.' Ruby?"

"Hm?"

"Does that mean there's a Mr. Ruby?"

"Oh yes," Ruby sighed as she looked out over the swamp.

"Oh." Murray said sadly. His hand went limp.

"Don't worry shuga," Ruby said, looking at him. "Mah father left when ah was just a little girl."

"Oh," Murray said brightening. "See, I meant…"

"Ah know whut yew meant," Ruby giggled. "And no. There ain't no Mr. Ruby. It's really more of a voodoo title. Yew kin call me Ruby."

"I see. Cool." Murray looked out over the swamp himself.

"Murray, there's something ah wanna tell yew," Ruby said, pressing herself against the hippo.

"That night all those years ago, when me an' the gang broke into Sla's howse,"

"Yes?"

"Ah jus' want yew to know…" tears welling up in her eyes "Ah didn't kill Sla's mummy and daddy. That wuz all Clockwerk. Ah know that doesn't make it any better, but…" She broke down crying.

Murray hugged her.

"We always figured that." Murray said. "When we teamed up with the Panda King he told us as much. He told you that you were just going to steal the Thevius Raccoonus, right? Then he slaughters Sly's parents and you can't say anything because you know he'll turn on you."

"That was when ah realised he wuz truly evil, but by then it wuz too late," Ruby sobbed. "Ah'm so sorry!"

"Hey, it's ok. Sly forgave the Panda King, I'm sure he'll forgive you too."

"He did?" Ruby sniffled looking up from Murray's chest. "Yew think he'll do th' same for me?"

"I do. Once he sees that you're good he'll love you!"

"Ah hope so…" she sighed.

"Trust me." Then he grinned suddenly. "Why don't you come back to France with me? I heard from Bentley the other day that Sly's back, and it's his birthday in a couple of days."

"Ah have always wanted to see Paris…" Ruby sighed, drying her eyes.

"Ace! We'll go, you can say your piece to Sly and we'll all be cool!" Murray rejoiced.

"Thank yew so much for bein mah friend Murray," Ruby said, still hugging the hippo. She glanced into his eyes and saw that he had once again taken on the complexion of a tomato.

"…well, um, y'know, if you wanted to, I could be, y'know, kinda, more than just a friend, maybe…?"

Ruby allowed her mouth to crack open in surprise, just a little.

"Ah think ah'd like that very much." She said, before passionately kissing Murray on the lips.

Murray hesitated for the tiniest of microseconds out of sheer disbelief before he kissed her back just as passionately and squeezed her tight. The moon continued to bathe them in silver, and the fireflies, reacting to the happy voodoo vibes Ruby was giving off without even realising it, swarmed around the new couple, wreathing their first kiss in living fairy lights.

-

Author's notes:

Very sorry this took so long to get up, I'm now juggling university AND a McJob. Still, I hope you liked this anyway, and I'll try and get the next chapter finished soon. Still not sure where it's going, but I'm sure we'll find out eventually. Do please leave feedback and what-not, I do so love to hear what people think. Thanks very much!