Day 4 - Family
Prompt from .com: Henry buys Ruby a mother's day gift/cardRuby was exhausted.
In a good way, mostly, but it still counted.
After waking up abominably early (at Regina's behest, of course) there was a big family breakfast at Granny's. It had involved far less violence, and even less bickering, than she'd expected upon first hearing the idea but, hey, that was what people did best; surprise you.
All in all, she'd have to say that their first Mother's Day as one big (semi-dysfunctional) family had been an unwavering success. Regina and Snow, and Regina and Emma, had gone out of their way to be civil, if not exactly nice, to one another and Henry, gods love him, had had a blast handing out presents to his mothers and grandmothers both.
And, yeah, even now, hours later, she still couldn't help but smile at the look on Granny's face when Henry had handed her his present. When she'd actually looked at the painting, examined the soft pastels and the little log house at its center, well, there had been a tear or two clouding up those old eyes, she was sure of it. Between that, the beautiful music box from Regina, the vintage knitting magazine from Snow, and the espresso/cappuccino machine from her, she was sure the Lucas matriarch had felt downright spoiled.
They'd always been a small family, just the two of them, really, so she knew how much it meant to her, being so appreciated, so loved. In fact, she'd been in such a good mood that she hadn't even complained when that flakey mermaid hadn't shown up for her shift, leaving her to work a double on top of her early morning. She'd been dragging by the end, though, and Granny had taken pity on her, letting her go early enough to have a late dinner with Regina and her favorite kid before they'd shuffled the grumbling teen up to bed. Regina, a strict early-to-bed-early-to-rise-er, had followed close behind, leaving Ruby to complete her own late night routine.
Clad in an old, baggy t-shirt and skin tight leggings, Ruby made her usual rounds around the manor, taking care to peer into each and every room. She wasn't worried, really – who would dare set foot in the house of the former Evil Queen without an invitation? – but the wolf didn't believe in intangible things and, sometimes, it was easier to indulge than fight. Like now.
As per usual, she finished the whole of the first floor (rechecking the front and back doors once more for good measure) before heading up to the second. With the guest room finished, that meant only Henry's stood between her and her goal of collapsing into bed beside her girlfriend which, honestly, was rapidly becoming the one thing she wanted most in the world.
Speaking of the kid, she rapped lightly on his door, waiting patiently until it opened and the scruffy-headed teen poked his head out into the hall. "Nighttime rounds?" he asked even as he pulled the door wide, inviting the shifter in with a wave of his hand.
"You know it," she said, offering him a slightly distracted smile as she scanned the room, her senses casting a net over the space. "Welp, all safe for the night; not that there was really any doubt," she added, not wanting to set the kids nerves on edge. Henry was pretty steely (it came with the territory) but, still, enough things had happened in this town that it didn't take much to set people on edge.
He laughed, "Not with you on the case, Rubes,"
She smiled and leaned over, ruffling his hair until they were both laughing, "Yeah, yeah, kid. One joke about me sniffing out the bad guys and you're getting it,"
His grin was so cheeky she had to laugh. "I dunno what you're talking about,"
"Uh huh," she said, clearly unconvinced, "Well, I'm heading to bed. And you are too?" she asked, eying him suspiciously. He wasn't one for disobeying his mom (well, not these days) but every now and then he still tried to pull a fast one, as kids his age were wont to do. She didn't mind, for the most part, as long as he kept it under control, but it never hurt to remind him that TV's didn't make a volume low enough that she wouldn't hear.
Henry nodded, "Yeah, I've got a Geometry test tomorrow I've gotta be able to stay awake for,"
"Oh, fun," she said, her sarcasm obvious, "Well, night kid," she said, offering him a little wave as she stepped back into the hall.
"Wait!"
She stopped short, frowning over her shoulder at him. The usually confident boy was suddenly nervous, his body language (not to mention his scent) changing so quickly it almost gave her whiplash. "Yeah?"
"This is for you," he said, holding a bag out for her to take.
"Oh?" she said, taking the bag even as her brow crinkled in confusion. What was this all about? "Uh, thanks kid. Night, yeah?"
"Night, Rubes," he said immediately, all but slamming the door as soon as the bag was safely in her hands.
She stood there for a long moment, gaze shifting between the bag and the door, before she shrugged and headed for the bedroom, her head spinning. Boys.
With Regina in the en suite, she found the bedroom deserted and promptly flopped onto the bed, riding out the small aftershocks, before setting the bag on the comforter beside her and eyeing it curiously. Opening it, she found a (badly) wrapped present that made her smile and a card in a plain, white envelope, bare of any decoration except her own name written in Henry's familiar scrawl.
Wondering what on earth this could possibly be about, she started with the card, picking at the glue until she'd finally managed to free it from its tiny white cell. At the sight of its unassuming face – a simple white flower along with a line of dainty, flowing script that read 'Celebrating you' – she could feel her confusion grow in time with the slight tilt of her head.
She flipped it open and, almost immediately, her hand rose to cover her mouth as green eyes filled with tears.
Ruby,
I just wanted to take time out today to remind you
that you're a huge – and really important – part of
my life.
You kinda fell into this family and, sometimes, it
feels like I did too. Because I never expected it
could be this good, all the time. With all of us
together and happy.
I'm like the luckiest kid in the world(s) and a big
part of that's because of you. Because you're here
to help me sneak junk food and play videogames
and because you make my mom happier than I
think even she thought she could be.
You take care of us and not because you have too
but because you want too. Because you love us.
And, since today's all about telling our moms we
love them, appreciate them, I just wanted to tell you -
I love you.
Happy Mother's Day, Rubes
Love,
~Henry
Openly sobbing now, Ruby had all but forgotten the accompanying package until she accidently hit it with her elbow as she stretched across the mattress to snag the tissues from Regina's bedside table.
Sniffing loudly and dabbing at her eyes with the corner of a Kleenex, she dug her nails into the brightly colored paper and tore it away, only to break into a second wave of tears as her eyes caressed the glass figure that had been so carefully tucked away inside.
A wolf made entirely of stunning, cerise-colored glass stared back at her, the very same piece she'd commented on earlier that week while helping Henry track down gifts for his mothers and grandmothers. And she'd never thought, not once, that he'd considered her amongst their number. She didn't think of herself as Henry's mom; he had two of those already. That she was his friend, his confidant, was already a larger part in his life than she was sure she deserved. But that he thought of her like this, beyond late night gaming and R rated Movieplex marathons meant more than she had the words to describe.
Gods bless that adorable little monster.
"Ruby, what's wrong?"
She looked up sharply, stupidly surprised to see Regina standing there, her face the picture of worry. "N-nothing," she sniffled, "I'm fine,"
"Red," she admonished softly, sinking onto the bed beside her, "You're crying; that certainly isn't nothing,"
"Did-" she cut herself off, "D-did you know about th-this?"
Regina frowned slightly, looking from her counterparts tear-streaked face to the mass of wrapping paper and small, though incredibly detailed, lupine figure. By the time she'd made it to the card, realization had dawned and, slowly, she shook her head. "No," she said, sounding more than a little choked up herself. "I had no idea. Did he…did he just…?"
She nodded. "Yeah. When I stopped in to check his room,"
She shook her head, smiling softly. "My sweet, little prince…" she trailed off, "I wonder where on earth he gets that from,"
Ruby laughed, wiping at her eyes. "I dunno…but it's nice," she let out a heavy breath, smiling idly down at the glass wolf cradled in her hands, "Really nice," she murmured, running her fingers carefully over the detailed ridges of its pelt.
"I have the perfect place for that," Regina said softly, setting her hand on top of hers before entwining their fingers. "Right next to that pair of carved horses he bought for me. His mothers' presents should stick together, hmm?"
She nodded, blinking quickly in an effort to keep yet another round of tears from falling. "Mmm, sounds good," she agreed, leaning heavily against the other woman as her exhaustion, now compounded by her emotional display, caught up with her tenfold.
She didn't see Regina smile as she cleaned the bits of paper from the bedspread or hear the little 'click' the light made as she switched it off.
In fact, the only thing she noticed before her world faded to black, was a little red wolf standing guard over a mare and her foal.