In response to the guest reviewer- Thank you so much for your kind words. Of course I'll do this prompt, it's lovely! I've kind of ended up interpreting the 'concerned' slightly differently to how you've implied, but I hope that's okay.

On a side-note, you are more than welcome to submit prompts guys! :)

One being secretive and the other becomes concerned. It turns out that one of them had been putting together a thoughtful gift for the other.

Staring down at the set of incomplete notes upon his desk, Victor discarded the pen that had been sitting motionlessly between his fingers. His lowered his head into his hands, letting out an exhausted sigh.

A migraine had begun to form, built up by layers of fatigue, exasperation and another emotion.

Victor couldn't quite put his finger on it: desire, perhaps, though not in the lustful way his cursed self was used to. More a...yearning, a pull strong than anything he'd ever experienced.

All he wanted was to see Ruby.

But she didn't want to see him.

Victor gave another sigh, trying to push away the image of her, the memory of her lips upon his, hand upon his.

He didn't know what was going on with Ruby. Those first few weeks had been brilliant, some dream-like state of stolen kisses in exam rooms and glances whilst picking up cups of coffee.

But now he was being pulled back to a reality of overtime, very little sleep and less and less time with Ruby.

Their meetings had grown scarcer, texts fleeting, until she stopped replying completely.

Bitterness coursed through him, and Victor stood up with such force that the wheeled chair flew back from the desk. As he crossed the cramped office, Victor cursed fickle-minded women and how incomprehensible they were, even to a man of science.

Pulling out the final drawer of the steel cabinet, Victor took out his coveted supply of liquor. As he had grown further apart from Ruby, he had grown closer to alcohol once more.

He downed the liquid from the shot glass in one, relishing the harshness that scraped down his throat. The pulsing pain behind his temple seemed to fade slightly. It was too early in the afternoon, and his second back to back shift, to be drinking, but he began to pour more into the glass.

Before it could touch his lips again, Victor set the glass down on the cabinet. Drinking wasn't going to help reduce the stack of paperwork.

The rational side of his consciousness told him to get some fresh air instead. The hospital air, heavy with detergent, felt stale and he made his way down the corridors until he found a back exit.

Pushing against the door with all of his diminishing strength, Victor stumbled outside into the car park, head swimming. Nausea gripped him, and for a moment he was certain he would throw up. But as his shaking breaths grew steadier, the sensation slowly faded, revealing the emptiness of his stomach.

He decided that walking to Granny's would do him more good than going to the hospital cafeteria. Not bothering to sign out (he'd done enough hours to warrant a break), Victor cut across the back of the car park to the street.

As he crossed over onto the Main Street, he found himself walking a few paces behind who he presumed to be Robin with his newly-reunited wife.

"Oh don't worry, I'll make sure that Merry Men, and little Roland are well away. I don't suppose you want any prying eyes."

"Robin, we're not going to be doing that!" The woman exclaimed with a laugh, jovially punching Robin's arm.

That wasn't Marian's voice, nor Regina. As the realisation hit him, Victor suddenly noticed the shade of woman's coat.

Ruby red.

Before he could wonder what Ruby was doing with Robin Hood, she glanced back and he was looking directly at the face that had haunted him for weeks.

Their eyes met for a second, before Ruby whipped her head back around, and the voices grew lower and indistinct.

Arriving at Granny's, Robin continued down the street, giving Victor a nod with a slight grin. Ruby was still ignoring his presence, though she did hold the door for him. Before Victor could say a word, she slid off her coat and hurried round to the back of the cafe.

The buzz of chatter only worsened the throbbing in his head. Victor didn't even bother sitting down, staying stood behind the bar to order a sandwich. As he waited, drumming fingers upon the work surface, his eyes flitted across to Ruby. She had her back to him, phone pressed to her ear as she gave an unimpressed Granny a thumbs up. The phone was quickly slid back into the receiver and she got back to work.

Ruby passed him by, completely indifferent; Victor tried to push back the thought that she was ignoring him, but it was hard to convince himself that she was simply too busy to notice him. Taking the sandwich that had appeared on the bar, he paid and squeezed his way through the crowd to leave Granny's.

At long last, his shift was over- for once, he didn't have another straight after. It had been a rather unproductive shift, and Victor knew he'd be loathing himself when he faced the mountain of paperwork the next day.

He had been slumped aimlessly on his couch for some time, waiting for the aspirin to kick in. On the coffee table was his phone, and he was debating whether or not to call Ruby and have to listen to monotonous ringing, when there was a knock at the door.

The only person he could think of that would visit was a pizza delivery guy, though he couldn't recall ordering pizza. Massaging his forehead, the knocking resounding painfully, he crossed the room and unlocked the door.

At first all he saw was red: red roses, brightly filling his vision, their scent pungent. Then his gaze focused and he lifted his eyes to see the beholder.

"Um, I didn't mean to disturb you," Ruby said, colouring like the flowers in her hands.

"No, you're not at all," Victor stumbled over the words slightly, before giving an awkward motion into his apartment, "do you want to come in?"

Ruby slowly stepped through the doorway, Victor taking a step back to allow her in.

"Look, Victor, I know I've been kinda distant recently, and I wanted to make it up to you," Ruby shyly outstretched the roses, and Victor blinked at her.

"Oh, they're for me? That's very kind of you," He said bewilderedly, taking the flowers before glancing around the mess of an apartment for a vase.

There wasn't one, so he settled for the three empty beer bottles that were on the work top, placing a few roses in each. Looking down at his dishevelled state, with his shirt untucked, no tie and a stain from the sandwich he'd eaten earlier, Victor realised he looked as attractive as his place did.

He turned back around to find that Ruby still stood by the doorway.

"You can make yourself at home," He murmured, trying to smooth his rumpled shirt.

"I kinda had something else planned too- for you and I."

"Right..." Victor coughed, trying to dismiss how seductive he'd found those final few words. "Just give me a sec, I'll change into something better than this."

A smile crept across Ruby's lips, "It's fine, you'll be wearing a coat."

"I'm not going out with you looking like a tramp, at least let me put on an ironed shirt."

"Alright," Ruby smirked, leaning against the doorframe and folding her arms.

Undoing the buttons as he walked, Victor went into his bedroom. Usually he'd be inviting women in there with him; but it was as shamefully messy as the rest of his house and he got the feeling Ruby had other plans.

Peeling off the shirt and dropping it unceremoniously onto the floor, Victor opened up the wardrobe and grabbed a navy shirt.

Going back across the main room of the apartment, he saw that Ruby had already taken his coat from where it had lay over the back over the sofa, tapping her foot against the floor.

She took his arm as Victor slipped on the coat, and Ruby almost dragged him downstairs in her haste.

"Just where are we going?" He asked, walking faster than his tired limbs liked to keep up with her.

"It's a surprise."

Ruby said no more until they had reached the outskirts of the woods, finally slowing her pace.

"I know I've hardly seen you over the past few weeks," She called as she led the way through the trees, "Granny's had me up to my neck doing waitressing, sorting out the bed and breakfast, and you've been busy too at the hospital."

Victor paced behind, taking the rough ridges slightly slower than Ruby. He didn't really have time for long excursions, and they were venturing farther into the woods than he'd ever been. All he could was keep his eyes upon the woman in front, following her gait over the logs and roots.

"I couldn't tell you anything about what I was up to, see," She continued, suddenly coming to a halt, "else it wouldn't be a surprise."

Victor stopped beside her, still at the sigh before him. Inside the leafy canopy of trees, small lights glowed like stars, illuminating the red gingham picnic blanket that was draped over the woodland floor. A wicker basket set down upon the blanket, partially covered by a cloth, but he could see a bottle of wine poking out.

"You did all of this for me?" He said after a moment of simply staring at the evening picnic.

Victor tilted his head to look across at the beaming woman.

"Nobody's ever done something so-" His voice wavered, throat thickening at the gratitude that dispelled all his earlier hurt and confusion.

"I'm glad you like it," Ruby took his hand and guided him down the incline to the awaiting picnic.

She walked backwards so that her eyes remained upon his face, and Ruby dropped down onto the blanket, pulling him down with her. Their hands parted as the pair settled, Ruby leaning over him as she tugged out the wine from the basket.

"Robin helped me set this all up, that's why I was with him earlier," She explained, voice slightly muffled whilst she reached for two glasses.

Victor popped the cork of the bottle, Ruby squealing slightly at the closeness of the noise. Holding out the wine glasses, Victor poured out the red liquid and handed her a glass.

With one hand holding the glass, Ruby stretched her other arm around his back, drawing her body in close to his.

For a while they just lay there, backs resting upon a trunk, taking the occasional sip of wine.

"I'd like to make a toast," Victor announced as he refilled her glasses.

"I'm all ears," Ruby mumbled, her head rested on his shoulder.

"To a wonderful, thoughtful woman, who can come up with such...lovely ways to spend an evening; but didn't need to do anything at all. Having her is enough to brighten my day," Victor took a swig of the wine, as if to find the courage to continue, "and though she's far more than I deserve, I'm hoping that maybe...you'd like to be my girlfriend?"

"Yes!" Ruby tapped her glass into his. With a soft giggle she added, "Cheers!"