Chapter XXV

Storybrooke Girls Gone Wild

Her mother and father were both very busy. They were not running a kingdom, but they did have very demanding jobs. They often had meetings that lasted late into the night.

Aurora often spent time with Mulan and Belle at the library researching.

It was nice but she still felt a hole in her heart. She felt at loose ends, unfinished. She didn't know what to do.

Belle had retired early, citing a headache. Mulan had also settled in for the evening. The internet sounded interesting, but Aurora declined Mulan. They could explore the internet another day.

Instead she had wandered in the park and had bought a few trinkets in the local shops. Her parents had given her a card with unlimited money somehow connected to it. It was magic, she assumed. The great and powerful fairy Visa had enchanted it.

She had walked along the beach and watched the fishermen haul in their catches. She had watched the change of shift at the canning factory. She had even watched the children and teachers get out of school. She had nothing to do. At least back home she'd had tutors and duties and arranged social events. There had never been a moment to herself, or that was how she remembered it. Now? There was nothing but free time.

She wandered into Granny's, where all Storybrooke socialization occurred. It was late, after dinner, but she didn't want to go to her parents home, alone.

The diner's business was still brisk, half the tables were still full.

She saw Ruby, who was not in her usual garb. She was wearing tight leather breeches that were eye-popping red. Her shirt was silky white over a shimmery black sleeveless undershirt. Her hair looked beautiful and wild. Aurora raised a brow, intrigued. She had never seen a woman dressed in such a way. She looked like Emma Swan, but nicer, prettier.

"You look very nice, Ruby."

The tall waitress grinned, "Why thank you, Princess."

"He-ey Aurora, Rubes." Emma Swan, dressed in a very short and black dress with no sleeves,shawl or petticoat in sight, walked in. Aurora's jaw dropped. She had chemises that were longer.

"Emma, is that leather?"

The other woman, whose gold hair fell down her back in big beautiful curls, nodded. Her eyes looked dark and smoky and her lips were dark red. Emma slid her hands down the dress. "Yup. I dragged it out of the closet for tonight."

Ruby smiled, wide and toothy, and bounced on her heels, "Nice!" They seemed excited, lighthearted and dressed up.

"Are you ladies celebrating something?"

Emma threw her well-muscled arm over Ruby's shoulder, "This lady took a job as a Deputy today. We are hitting the Rabbit Hole tonight."

Aurora tilted her head, and wished that she understood half of what went on in Storybrooke. "You're celebrating at a bunny hutch?" She'd had pet bunnies as a child, but they hadn't been something to celebrate.

Both women laughed "It's a bar, Princess, a tavern."

Oh, of course it was. That made more sense. Though, at least she would have known what to do with bunnies. She'd never been to a tavern.

"Would you like to come along, Aurora? The more the merrier." Both Emma and Ruby were smiling at her, like friends. She probably shouldn't, Mother and Father would not approve but-

"You wouldn't mind if I came along?"

They looked at her then at each other, then back at her. They looked her up and down, examining everything from her hair to her shoes.

"On one condition."

A condition? Aurora wavered a bit , "What sort of condition?''

The other women chuckled, "You thinking what I'm thinking, Wolf-Girl?"

"Oh yeah." Ruby grabbed one of her hands, "Make-Over."

Emma grabbed her other hand, "Stat."

What was wrong with the way she looked?! Her hair was plaited and the white dress her mother had bought for her looked very nice.

They pulled her up the stairs chattering together and took her to Ruby's bed chamber. She had no idea what was about to happen, but it was something, which was far better than nothing.

When they hit the Rabbit Hole the townies had to pick their collective jaw off of the floor. Emma had to admit, they made a damn fine picture. They had a brunette with mile long legs. She was a blonde bombshell(if she didn't say so herself). Now they had their own autumn haired diamond in the rough party girl, Aurora.

While they had all loosened up with pre-bar drinks, she and Ruby had given Aurora a crash-course in modern fashion. They had taken the prissy princess and turned her into a regular club hopper.

The electric blue halter dress that was scandalously short on Ruby fit Aurora pretty well. They had slicked her hair into sleek waves. After a quick debate they had glammed the girl up. All it took was some bronzer, eye-liner and shadow and some slick, shiny lip gloss. The only thing they couldn't fix were the shoes. Aurora wore a six, Ruby wore a ten and Emma's shoes were all elsewhere. So the plain jane white kitten heels would have to do. Still all things considered, no one would be looking at her feet.

"Hey Joe!" Ruby flagged over the bartender. Emma was already a little buzzed. She was ready to revel in her first night out since her life had flipped upside-down. Yeah, it was definitely Miller Time among many other drinks.

Aurora, of course, was looking around at everything, like she'd never seen it before. Of course a princess didn't party with the peasants. Also there was the whole modern world stuff. Like strobe lights, electric guitars and lots and lots of great booze.

"Relax, Aurora. It will be fun."

She found a table and Ruby brought over a tray of neon-colored shots in tubes.

Lately Emma had been on edge. It was the stress: adventuring, motherhood, daughter-ness, sheriffing, and kinda-dating. She had a lot on her plate. She needed a moment to let go, to relax, to not be everything to everyone. She wanted to be Just Emma again, if only for a night. If she wanted her sort-of-girlfriend there with her, she could keep it to herself. One night.

She grabbed a lime-green tube and Ruby took a fizzing pink one for herself. Aurora hesitated but grabbed a blue tube.

"Bottoms up, Princesses."

Ruby clinked their tubes together then threw back the concoction. Emma, more than ready for some fun, followed suit. Aurora made a hilarious face but drank it down like a champ.

"Yo D!" Rudy waved her arm at Dopey. The dwarf who was half-hidden by screens and speakers in the corner of the room. It was his makeshift DJ booth squeezed beside the tiny dance floor

"Play something danceable!"

Aurora looked excited but then her head cocked to an almost ninety-degree angle when the loud bass-line started pumping. She must have been expecting a flute and harp. Ruby hip-checked her, "Dance with me!" Emma reached out and pulled Aurora along, whether the princess was ready or not.

She and Emma dragged Aurora (who was not as snooty as Ruby had suspected) to the dance floor. It would be perfect if only Belle had come along. Not Mulan, though. Ruby had a feeling that the woman had never partied a night in her entire super-serious life. Besides she would have blown a gasket if she knew that they were getting her precious princess drunk. What she didn't know wouldn't hurt them.

Aurora was stiff, still and looked unsure what to do. Ruby leaned down and smiled a little because Aurora, like Belle, was a shorty. Belle was missing out and Ruby missed her.

"Relax, 'Rory Girl. Let the beat move you." She put her hands on Rory's (so much cooler than Aurora) hips. She moved them to match her own awesome moves."It's about having fun."

Emma handed them each another round of tube-shots and added "Lots of fun."

The shot was something sweet (cherries?) and burnt all the way down. Delicious. A new song, as jamming as the last, started.

"C'mon Emms!"

They started dancing, Emma's front to Rory's back. They had their arms in the air. Emma was a good dancer: all swinging blonde hair, cut biceps and sex appeal. Ruby kept her hands on Rory's hips (and okay one time she reached around and smacked Emma's ass)

Between them Rory found her rhythm and was dancing like she did it every night. Every eye in the bar was on them. If Ruby closed her eyes it was all too easy to imagine they were somewhere else. They could be bumping and grinding their way through the VIP Lounge at one of the big East Coast clubs. The kind where CEO and Senator's kids blew their parent's money. Emma nodded at her. Great minds think alike and if people were watching, they were going to give them a show. They didn't have to buy another drink all night.

At some point, between jello shots and teaching Rory the finer points of pool, Ruby lost her over shirt. She was only in her black cami, which showed off her guns and abs, when the body shots started. A Lady Gaga remix was pumping out of the speakers and Emma insisted on teaching Rory the right way to take the shot.

A hot tongue on her stomach, a lime and she was sharing very personal space with her new boss. The entire bar erupted in cheers and cat-calls.

Ruby followed up that with another dose of tequila. Because, why not. She turned to Rory, "Ready for a walk on the wild side, Your Highness?" Her wolf metabolism was starting to fail her because her words were starting to slur. She shouldn't have done so many shots at home, or at the bar. Bad Ruby. Big Bad Ruby, the wolf.

Rory's smile was wide but lopsided. She tried to wink but ended up awkwardly blinking. "Yeah!" She was screaming and the crowd(a lot of guys) cheered her on. She was a little clumsy but very excited and managed to finish her shot.

She was cute, but Ruby would prefer a different woman's tongue on her but would Belle-

"Hey" Emma husked in her ear, "don't tell R'gina 'bout that." She turned to look at Emma, who had a Sam Adams in one hand and a shot of something (more tequila?) in the other. Emma was swaying on her feet a little (a lot) "Keep it on the D-L, Rubes. R-Gina, I kissed Geeena."

Emma was way drunker than Ruby had realized. Getting the boss drunk would not look good on her resume.

Emma tossed her arms over her neck in a sloppy hug. "I wanted to tell her to come along but she wouldn't get it. She's trying to be good, you know."

She sighed, "We kissed." She repeated herself then sucked down half of her beer. "On the lips."

The bell for last-call rang before Ruby's intoxicated brain could formulate an answer to that.

"She's" Emma held up a hand signalling for one last round of shots, "totally into me."

Joe came over with three last tequila shots and looked them all over, "Keys." He held out a meaty palm and looked them over.

Ruby waved him off, "We walked. Can't have the 5-0 drinkin' and drivin'."

Emma nodded and shot finger guns at him, "Another episode of Law and Order Special Curses Unit in the book."

Joe didn't seem impressed but handed over the shots anyway.

"Guys!" Rory snagged the bottle of beer from Emma's hand and finished it. If Emma hadn't been busy throwing back a shot, she would have protested. Do we have time for one more- ooh!" She plucked the shot off of Joe's tray and tossed it back. Well, she tried. Half of it went in her mouth and the other half went on her borrowed dress. "Damn!" She stumbled and fell into Ruby. She wrapped her arm around Rory's waist to keep her from falling flat on her face.

"Oooh" Emma giggled again, "She's plastered."

Ruby took care of her own shot and Emma fished her credit card out of her cleavage, "Settle us up, Good Sir." She handed the card over with dramatic flair of her wrist, "Give yourself a good-ass tip."

He walked away shaking his bald head. Emma ran a hand through her now tangled blonde hair, "Oh. I am blitzed. I am the worst cop ever."

Ruby, while keeping Rory more or less vertical with one arm, used her other to give Emma a one-armed hug. "You're great, Ems. Even your new gal-pal Ma-Damn Mayor thinks so." She snorted, "She even made you wear a uniform." Ruby waggled her eyebrows, "kinky."

Emma turned scarlet red and tried to laugh-it-off. Her wild fake laughter made Joe give them a weird look when he brought back Emma's credit card and receipt. She had, maybe, spent ten bucks, as most of their drinks had been happily handed to them by slobbering guys. She scrawled a signature that Ruby figured as closer to hieroglyphics then her name. "Thanks, Joe. We're out!" He looked relieved.

They helped Rory out of the bar. Her first night out had been a success, but she would never remember it. Tequila was the ultimate forgetting potion. They stepped into the chilly two-am air and Ruby breathed it in. It helped clear her head for a moment. Rory breathed it in too and for about thirty seconds everything was great.

"Oh God!" Rory lurched forward and Ruby carried her to the alley so she could puke like a proper drunk. Emma held her hair back and Ruby held her entire body up as a lot of alcohol and little else made a reappearance.

"Ew" Emma held back her own gagging, "We are in so much shit. Mulan is gonna kill us. She is gonna kill us with her kick-ass sword. I loved that movie."

Ruby rubbed circles on Aurora's back as she kept dry-heaving. "Not to mention her royal parents."

Emma groaned, "Guess they'd prefer we'd taken her to a tea party to drink Crown Royale." She laughed at her own terrible joke, "Get it" She chuckled and pointed at her head, "Crown."

Ruby helped the finally empty Rory stand up strait. "Yup." She let the p pop off her lips, "Now take your comedy act on down the road home. Hope yo' mama and daddy didn't wait up."

Emma's eyes widened, "Shit!" She had forgotten about her own royal parents. Which was both a little sad and a little funny. "Good luck with that, Ems. I'm taking Rory to the B&B tonight. You, my fine-assed boss, are on your own."

Then she hoisted Rory up over her shoulder and started to walk. "See you at work" She gave a cheeky salute.

"Bet you breakfast she's not going to her parents place tonight."

Rory's only answer was a pathetic groan. "I hear that, babes. I hear that."