Ruby / Red (redridinhood) wrote in thedoorway, @ 2013-03-01 19:29:00 |
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Closing time was Red’s favorite part of the day, and that wasn’t because work was done and it was time to go home. There was something relaxed about closing up, taking their time to make sure everything was prepared for the next day. It was fast and hectic in the morning to prepare for an early shift, but it was the quiet like this she liked. It was also the part of the day back home when she and Granny would talk as they put dishes away and bond. She missed that. Luckily she had good company in the form of one Sam Merlotte. Red finished the last sweep of the floor, the chairs all folded up on top of the tables to keep out of the way, and she leaned the broom against one of them, brushing off her hands. They did get good tips, something she and Sam Anders were joking about some time ago, and it wasn’t as hard as she thought to start a new life here. Her long dark hair was up in a braid but she took the time now to undo it. There was no reason it had to be out of her face, and it felt good to get that tension out. “You know this was a pretty sweet deal you got. You hung out in Asgard and got a restaurant in one of the hottest buildings in the city. You sure you don’t have a lucky charm I can steal?” Red smiled over her shoulder at him, cracking her knuckles. Sam had just set a crate of clean glasses down behind the bar when Red started shaking out her hair, and he paused as he watched her for a moment, wondering what was going through her head. One of the nicest things about her (besides: hard worker, funny, kind, open-minded, to name a few) was that she never made him wonder for long. A corner of his mouth twitched upwards and he looked away, inclining his head slightly towards her. "You think I'd let you in on my secret if I did have one?" he asked, playing along with the joke as he picked up a couple glasses and placed them in the rack behind the bar. "Who'd need me if I gave that up? You could get rid of me and you'd end up with all the luck instead. I don't think so." Red was honest. She shared her mind freely, and the one secret she did spend time covering up she was past being ashamed of. She did tell Sam straight out the worst things she’d done, and after that, there wasn’t a need to be self conscious. The man was practically a saint with how understanding he was. When she first arrived she wasn’t looking for new friends, but she was glad now she branched out. It was good to have people outside of Storybrooke to talk to. She mock gasped in offense and moved toward the bar, leaning onto the counter and smiling at him. “You’re implying I’m untrustworthy. I’m hurt. I wouldn’t cut you out entirely. I’d still share, you know, when I didn’t need it.” Red leaned further around the bar so she could pick up some of the silverware and start rolling it. There was never a good reason for idle hands when there was some prep that could be done. “Besides, I’d still like having you around. Who else would give me permission to growl at rowdy customers?” "Hey now, all I was implying was that you're opportunistic," Sam countered, teasing her playfully, "but it's good to know you'd keep me around as long as you needed me. However long that'd be." He lifted his brow as he looked at her with a skeptical expression, tempered only by the smile on his face. After another pair of pint glasses were put away, he placed an elbow on the counter and leaned against it, considering her question. "Can't think of any better bosses, personally, at least none that'll think it's fucking awesome anyway." If Sam were completely honest, he'd even go as far as to say it was hot, but a side of him wondered how much of that had to do with her or with how starved he'd been for a friend who was like him. "I just have one question, what would I get out of it if I told you my secret?" Red laughed and found herself toying with the ends of her hair. It was a clear sign that she was starting to flirt, and she knew her body language wasn’t hiding that. Belle teased her about Sam endlessly, but she never knew quite what to think about him. She really liked their friendship and work relationship, but outside of that? She was a walking disaster. One someone like him didn’t deserve to get mixed up in. All the same, she found it hard not to flirt with him. Damn it. She mimicked him with leaning an elbow on the other side of the counter, smiling at him. “Well that all depends on what you want.” Red knew what that sounded like so she drummed her fingers on the counter. “I’m willing to negotiate. I have some special family recipes that Granny swore me to take to the grave. But Granny’s not here.” Sam could sense whenever the tone of their conversation was starting to shift -- not just because he could read people well, but because there were little things he picked up on because of his abilities. Body language was one, the tone of someone's voice was another, but then there was his sense of smell, too. There were little signals he picked up on that way that he didn't like to admit to, but it was there all the same. He didn't mind; Red was a beautiful woman as he'd acknowledged to Sirius before, and a friend at that. She’d made his life here a little brighter, and he would have been lying if he tried to say he didn’t like her. He did. More than he wanted to admit. "So are you sayin' you'd be willing to part with those for the right price?" he asked, walking over to stand next to her. "And that the right price is my secret?" He narrowed his eyes as he looked at Red, a faint smile on his face as he considered the idea. "I could work with that, but I'm going to ask that you go first. Ladies first, you know the drill." Red knew all about uncomfortable smells. Not that they bothered her exactly, but she worried that it might bother other people if they knew how much she picked up on. Pheromones, for example. Now that she could smell a mile away. She had enhanced speed and strength and agility, except she rarely used them. Unconsciously she tried to appear more normal, even if she boldly declared herself to be a werewolf. She picked up the signals he sent her way and that she sent back, but they kept on ignoring it, so she wasn’t going to step back and ask what the deal was. Too much potential weirdness. Red tipped her head up toward him, a hand onto her hip with just the right amount of sass, and she quirked an eyebrow. “I’m pretty sure it’s a gentleman’s duty to lead the way, Sam. I learned my manners the right way. By being raised with wolves.” She chuckled at the reference to the popular phrase, and yeah, she was a little rough around the edges. Granny wasn’t a touchy feely type, and she expected her granddaughter to work for everything. “So how about it? What’s the secret?” It was too bad, Sam thought, that she always seemed to have a retort to everything he -- and the rest of the staff -- said. Most of the time, it was amusing, just as it was now, but it did put him in a bind. He was sure that she was calling his bluff, and he didn't have any ideas left in up his sleeves. She was quick as a whip; he should've been more prepared, after years of working with Sookie, who kept him on his toes just as often. Sam laughed and shook his head, his body language basically conceding defeat already. "Can't say I know much about being raised with wolves. I always thought it was supposed to be ladies' first, but maybe the South's got it all wrong." It wouldn't have been the first time. He squinted at her, drawing out the moment a bit longer. before he finally threw his hands up and shrugged. "I've got nothin'. Just me." Red knew a bluff when she saw it. She was a shark at cards, when given the chance. Although as Sam probably knew there were other ways to cheat in those games by using their senses. People sweat when they were nervous and lying. She could hear their heartbeat too, but it took careful concentration to focus on that. So she used her senses when it was necessary. Or very funny. She laughed. “You held out longer than I thought.” Red rolled her eyes and reached out to nudge him lightly in the arm. “I can’t shapeshift into you, so I guess I’ve got no chance.” She thought it was cool he could shapeshift into more than one animal, but he didn’t mention whether humans were a possibility. She leaned against the counter, subtly moving closer in the process. “Can you turn into other people? That could come in handy.” "You're a good interrogator," Sam admitted, a bashful grin on his face, "and I guess I'm just a sucker for a pretty woman." Not like Jason was, at least. Sam wasn't a playboy, which was where a big difference in the way they interacted with women came from. He wasn't blind, but he wasn't that straightforward either. Most of the time, at least. He noticed the slight movement, but her question distracted him. "No -- god, no." Sam's smile faded as his brow furrowed and he shook his head. He'd heard about that possibility, but as far as he knew, it was a legend. Then again, vampires and werewolves were supposed to be legends, too. Sam knew that it was likely possible, but he didn't want to think about it. He smiled again, a little weaker than before. "No humans. But it could be helpful. I could get all sorts of secrets out of you that way, I bet." “Compliments will get you nowhere. Or everywhere. That depends on where you’re trying to go.” Red didn’t have a lot of experience flirting in their world, although Regina apparently thought that was a skill Ruby should know well. It was moments like these when she wasn’t entirely sure which personality was in the driver’s seat. David was insistent they were equally both, but she still had moments when she wasn’t entirely sure. Well, either way, Red and Ruby agreed about Sam. And if he probably knew where her thoughts went, he’d think she was crazy. She noted that her question threw him off, but he bounced back well, so it couldn’t have been that bad. She probably shouldn’t ask him strange questions about his shifting unless he offered up information, who knew what pitfalls were left there? “I don’t have many secrets, Sam. Not only because my information is alllll over the internet.” Red leaned a hand on the nearby counter and looked up at him. “I’m a straight shooter. You want to know a secret, go ahead and ask.” "Well, I hope it gets me somewhere," Sam commented lightly, lifting his brow as he looked at her. He didn't expect it to get him everywhere, but he rarely said anything he didn't mean, particularly when it came to a woman and a compliment. He wasn't that sort of guy. Sam considered the idea, asking Red to give up one of her deepest, darkest secrets. If he'd ever wanted an opportunity, this was it. And strangely enough, Sam couldn't think of anything at all suddenly. Being put on the spot zapped his brain of any ideas -- that or he wasn't quite brave enough to ask the things he wanted to know. "Not everything is on the internet, you know. Only what the show tells you. I refuse to believe that's all there is to you, what we can see on tv. There's got to be more --" Sam hesitated all of a sudden, squinting at Red as something hit him. "All right, got something. If you didn't have Granny's restaurant back home, what would you want to do? Anything in the world. What's your dream?" Red laughed at his response and just shook her head at him. “Yes, compliments get you somewhere. So does the rest of you.” She knew that he wasn’t that type of guy, which was why it was sweet he worried about that at all. She wondered how many people made the wrong assumption about Sam, to make him keep expecting the worst reactions, or maybe that’s just how he was. Too thoughtful. “There’s a whole lot more. A handful of hours on a TV screen say very little.” She set her hands on her hips, uncertain about the way he was looking at her. She told him her worst secrets so she didn’t think there was a question that would shake her. And that was when he asked her an honest question, and she hesitated. She didn’t want to give a pert response or joke, but rather think it through. “It’s funny … we fought for a happily ever after, but we never got the chance to actually have it.” It was one fight to another, and once the war was one Regina did the curse. “See more of the world, I guess. Either world. Probably ….” Red’s smile held both sadness and hope all at once, slightly embarrassed at how sappy she was heading toward. She was sheepish and shrugged. “Find people who were different like me so I wouldn’t feel so lonely? Not pack exactly. The other wolves I found didn’t make it better. Only Snow did.” But Snow had a husband and a family and a queendom. Of all the things Sam could have asked, he wasn't sure why he'd picked that question in particular. He could have asked anything, and although something more light-hearted might have fit the playful mood better, he wanted to get to know her. He wasn't sure there was much worse than what he'd already heard, either -- or at least nothing so bad that it would change the way he saw her. Her answer didn't surprise him too much, based on what he already knew about her, but it brought a smile to his face anyway. "Never had a pack myself," he admitted, "but most folks like me end up loners out of necessity. And fear." He could have fit in decently with a wolf pack or some other pack, but there was enough that set him apart from weres that kept him on the outside. "I always wanted --" He took a deep breath. "To belong somewhere. I didn't feel that until you." He froze for a second before clearing his throat. "All of you." He waved a hand, vaguely gesturing towards the restaurant. "Here." It wasn’t a question she spent much time thinking about. Red was certain that in Storybrooke they would try to get home, and that was something she wanted, but she didn’t think past that. Now the world was technically open to her, and she was staying in one place. Thinking about it now, it was still a choice she made for good reasons. She cared about the people there. She had her friends and family and now Sam and her co-workers. “It did feel right when I first met them, like they understood. But they refused their humanity. It had to be one or the other.” And Sam knew that the dual nature of a werewolf or any shifter meant accepting all of it, not one part. It was tough rejecting the only people who tried to accept her so far, and while Snow and Charming loved her, not all of their people felt comfortable with her. Red’s eyebrows rose when he first said you, her heart beating a little harder, and she slowly smiled at him. “Not to sound arrogant, but ….” She stepped closer to him, almost into his personal space but not quite, and her eyes were hesitant but maybe a little hopeful on him. “Are you sure you didn’t mean that first part a little?” They were in a moment and she was taking advantage of it. Sam had met weres and shifters like that too, ones who embraced their animal side too much, ones who thought themselves superior to humans because of it. He'd never been able to relate well to shifters like those, no matter how hard he'd tried. He'd been too human, in the end. He hadn't been able to shake it. He hadn't wanted to. He liked being human. His eyes dropped to the floor for a moment, a warm blush creeping up his cheeks, and when he looked back up and met her gaze, Sam knew that he couldn't lie. He'd meant it more than he'd wanted to own up to before. Had he not slipped up and given it away, and had she not confronted him on it, he might not have. Slowly, Sam reached out to brush some of Red's hair away from her face before he leaned in to press his lips to hers. Red figured if he wasn’t getting the signals at this point, she might have to give him a written invitation. Or just take that first step on her own, which she wouldn’t mind doing, but she was skittish around this. She knew she liked Sam, was attracted to Sam, had warm fuzzy feelings for Sam, but it also came with nerves and doubts. Nerves and doubts she ignored completely when he finally kissed her. It was a long, long, long time since she last kissed anyone. Red wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled against his lips. Obviously she’d need to practice so she could get back in the habit. Hopefully he wouldn’t mind. She deepened the kiss until she started to get a little breathless and pulled back, laughing as color came to her cheeks. “I thought I’d just have to yell ‘kiss me’ eventually.” There was a second in which Sam wasn't sure that kissing Red was what she really wanted, a moment when he worried that he'd read the signs wrong and she was going to push him off her. That worry was soothed the moment he felt her deepen the kiss, and he responded in kind, putting one hand on her waist to pull her closer. It wasn't the first time he'd wanted to kiss one of his employees like this, but it'd been a long time. He still had some of the same concerns he'd had when he'd kissed Sookie, but he knew the chance was worth it. When she pulled back, Sam matched her grin with one of his own. "I wouldn't have minded that," he commented, his other hand dropping to her waist as well, "but I'm glad I didn't need that much help. Talk about embarrassing." Luckily, Sam wasn't that clueless. He might need a push every now and then, but he could read people well enough. Even when he wasn't sure, he was often just daring enough to give something a shot, figuring it was better to try than not. "I'm glad you didn't hit me." “I would’ve never let you hear the end of it,” Red promised with a grin. She kept her hands up around his neck and hooked them there. She was comfortable when it came to showing affection; she hugged her friends regularly and was known for gentle touches even with perfect strangers. So she was more than fine with having permission now to have some closer moments with Sam. His last comment did cause her to furrow eyebrows at him, making a funny face. “Were you expecting me to hit you? Because I didn’t know you were into that.” Red’s expression smoothed out and she winked at him, leaning up to kiss him lightly again. She could tell her was still a little tense, so she was giving him reassurance. Both of them reassurance. This was crazy, but it could work. Maybe? God she was just hoping her curse didn’t come back to bite him. The one she imagined existing considering her bad luck. “I like you, Sam. I have from the first time we met about … ten feet over there.” She pointed to the chair she sat in during their first conversation. "Yeah…" Sam stifled a laugh -- not very well, but well enough that he wasn't worried about invading her personal space much with loud laughter -- and he averted his gaze in embarrassment. "Not into it, just wasn't sure my idea was going to be received well. Glad to know it was." His eyes lifted upwards again as she admitted how long she'd liked him, although it didn't do much to ease the blush on his cheeks. "I wanted to kiss you when we were camping last month," he confessed. "Better late than never, huh?" Good thing he wasn't much later; Red was a catch, and if he hadn't made a move, he doubted it would be long before someone else did. “I was wondering if you were going to, but you didn’t make a move.” Red was gunshy about making moves herself, otherwise she would’ve. But that didn’t matter now. They were figuring it out, and that was the part that mattered. Belle was right. She was going to be a nuisance about it too, Red could tell. “That’s kind of why I told you the worst things about me up front. I figured, hey, if he hits on you after that, he knows what he’s getting into.” She shrugged away her discomfort at thinking over it again. She felt a strong energy buzz, now that the biggest step was behind them. “Okay, there’s something here. And I think we’ll be fine with not letting it mess around with work.” Red was confident in that way. They were both very laid back and reasonable. It was unlikely the restaurant would need to worry about it interrupting the natural flow of the place. If anything, it just fit in with what they already had going. “So, how about it? You and me?” She found herself strangely nervous at the end there. Although Sam was glad that he hadn't made a move so early in their friendship, there was still a part of him who wished he had. It hadn't seemed right at the time, too much like he was taking advantage of her or like he'd only asked her to get out of town for one reason. He was glad to discover that he hadn't missed out on his one chance, and he felt lucky that he hadn't too. Sam was the type of person who let his feelings burn slowly over time; it seemed whenever he let himself get caught up in something quickly, they turned out to be using him for someone's sacrificial rites. He was more cautious now, after Maryann and Daphne. He felt the buzz too, and it energized him, sending a wave of electricity down his spine. He knew what he was getting himself into, and he wasn't afraid after what she'd told him about her past. He wasn't proud of everything he'd done, and he'd hurt people too. If she could handle that in him, he could take everything of hers. It was worth it when he considered how much more there was to her. They could figure out how to navigate work and what was going on between them later. At the moment, he was more concerned with kissing her again than finishing up their work for the evening. "I think," he started, leaning in again, "I like the sound of that." |