6. Budding Relationship
After their kiss, Ruby and Victor had walked through the woods for a while talking. Eventually they turned back and Victor saw her to the door of the diner. Ruby could feel Granny watching from inside but that didn't stop Victor from giving Ruby another kiss before departing. Ruby watched him until he disappeared around the corner, then finally went in to face her grandmother.
The atmosphere of the diner told her that Granny wasn't the only one who noted Ruby leaving with the doctor and coming back with a smile on her lips. Ruby ignored all the stares and went back to grab an apron.
"So that was why you wanted the morning off." Granny had followed her, of course. "I thought you were over all this when the curse broke."
"I thought you'd be happy," Ruby huffed, concentrating on knotting her apron. "I'm dating a doctor." Saying it out loud made her heart flutter.
"Is that what you're calling it? Ruby, I just want you to be smart. I know what that man's like-"
"Actually, you don't." Ruby whirled on her grandmother. "Whatever you think about him was constructed by the curse. He's no more a skirt-chaser than I am a floozy." Her words came out biting, but she didn't care. She and Victor were battling with the same misconceptions; she wouldn't let anyone judge him, and she sure as hell wasn't going to be judged.
She took in a breath to reign in her anger. "He makes me feel things I haven't felt since Peter," she went on in a softer tone.
"I'm sorry." Granny reached out to squeeze her hand. "I didn't realize." Ruby squeezed back, then went back to work. She knew that Granny would just be the first to question Ruby's romantic choices.
Still, she still couldn't get over it: she was dating. She flirted with guys during the curse but never really went beyond that. And of course after the cures broke the first guy who asked her out was murdered to frame her. That effectively killed any interest she had in dating until she and Victor had their talk on the docks. But at least he seemed equally inexperienced.
It was all very new and exciting. Ruby told Granny that she hadn't felt this way since Peter, but the truth was this was very different from Peter. So much of her time with Peter was in secret: they were forced to sneak around and steal kisses because of Granny's strict watch. Ruby didn't have to hide with Victor, and he had kissed her in front of the diner where anyone could see. She loved that freedom and disregard for how anyone would see their budding relationship.
He just left a few minutes ago and already Ruby wanted to see him again. Was this what it was like? Luckily, she knew someone she could ask.
"You and David started really having feelings for each other at the troll bridge, right?" Ruby had caught up with her friend before springing the question on her. Still, Snow was taken aback by the question. "What was it about that moment that changed things?"
"I don't know." Snow twisted her wedding ring around her finger, a nervous habit of Mary Margaret's she hadn't quite broken yet. "I guess it was the fact that we were willing to die for each other, and we did it without a second though." She paused to scrutinize her friend. "Why do you ask?"
"Because you're Snow White and Prince Charming. You guys are basically the model for how love works."
"Ruby..." Snow reached out to grasp the other woman's hands in hers. "Are you telling me that you're in love?"
"I don't know," she confessed. "All I know is he makes me happy, and I can tell I make him happy."
"That's great!" Snow looked like she was just barely containing her excitement. It was so infectious Ruby felt herself getting giddy again.
She thought of their talks, of how his hand felt in hers, his smile, the way he kissed her... "Victor's pretty great," she agreed dreamily.
"Who's Victor?" But then it clicked and Snow's mouth dropped. "You mean Doctor Whale?"
"Frankenstein and the werewolf. Kind of fitting, don't you think?" She meant it as a rhetorical question, and Snow was too stunned to answer anyway. "I'm dating a cute guy that I really like, and I want to talk about it with my best friend. You think you can be okay with that?"
"I- of course I'm okay with it. If you're happy, then I'm happy for you. So..." Snow took a breath, squeezing her friend's hand again. "Tell me all about it."