bakerstreet | (no subject)

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the lyric prompt meme

HOW TO PLAY:

♪ Comment with your characters.
♪ Post to other characters with lyric prompts and, optionally, a picture to go with it.
♪ The lyrics can come from any song you like, or, hell, you can just link some instrumental music as well. Just so long as there's a song.
♪ Threads happen! Tears are shed.

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For once I can say: "This is mine you can't take it"
As long as I've got love I know I can make it
For once in my life I've got someone who needs me

With Mary Margaret, David, Emma, Gold, and Regina were all gone, the town had been left to defend for itself. A chaos of sorts had erupted among the residents. A lot of it resembled the same chaos that had followed the curse breaking. It was a chaos that Ruby, Whale, Belle, Archie, and the Blue Fairy had stepped up to smooth out. Together, they had calmed the residents and had reorganized a lot of the town. They'd formed a council, they'd convinced the residents to go back to work, and they'd even created a new police force and inspired hope once more in the residents.

But now? All Ruby wanted to do was crawl into a very deep hole and never leave. The stress of organizing and calming the town combined with walking into the diner to find a waitress that could rival Ruby's reputation for flirting and wearing very little clothing flirting with Whale was almost too much. Before she fully registered what was happening, she'd marched over towards the girl and stood directly behind her.

"You know, it doesn't take that long to take someone's order," Ruby said pointedly. The girl jumped slightly, looking at her with wide eyes before shutting her book and quickly going towards the backroom.

Truthfully Whale had mixed feelings about those who left. He probably missed Emma the most, since she was level-headed and didn't take crap from people. She earned her place before anyone even knew her as the savior. Whale held no love for David, Gold or Regina and couldn't pretend to be that bothered with them gone. Certainly there was chaos, but he was naturally inclined to lead and was more than happy to fill in the blanks left behind.

He was sitting at Granny's diner, having a nice chat with one of the waitresses when Ruby's comment scared the girl away. Whale frowned a little and raised both eyebrows at Ruby.

"Are you all right?" he wondered; it wasn't like her to be that snappy.

Ruby slid into the booth, barely resisting the urge to bury her head in her arms. She felt guilty about snapping at the girl and her irrational jealousy. A glance over to the counter told her that Granny was standing there with a scowl on her face. She looked back at Whale before sighing.

"Yeah...yeah. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap. I just..." She trailed off, unsure of what she wanted to say. She shook her head. "I guess I'm just being stupid."

"You're exhausted," Whale corrected her. "You've been working too hard lately. What you need is some rest. Let Mother Superior, Dr. Hopper and I handle things for a while."

In all honesty, he wanted to have this talk with her long before this moment. He could see she was fried, but she stubbornly kept pushing herself anyway. No one should burn themselves out like this.

"I'm not saying it as a doctor," he added. "I say it as your friend." Friend... Not the word he would've wanted to use when grouping the two of them together, but even that much felt like asking a lot.

Her first reaction was to argue with him, tell him that she was fine and would continue being fine. That she didn't need rest because, like the Energizer Bunny, she could keep going with no ramifications on her mental or physical health. But, this was Whale. If anyone could see through her protests and call her out on it, it would be him.

Ruby opened her mouth to give a perfectly logical reason as to why she couldn't just rest for a couple of days, then closed it again as she realized that there weren't any. The town wouldn't be angry at her for taking a couple of days off and she was pretty sure that quite a few of them would side with the doctor in saying that she was burning herself out.

"Maybe..."

It was probably the one thing Whale and Ruby's grandmother would agree on. He knew he wasn't the old woman's favorite person because of his interest in her granddaugther, but on this they were on the same page. He cold probably even get Granny Lucas to make sure Ruby got the rest she needed.

"Then it's settled."

"I didn't agree to anything." Ruby grumbled, but she knew that there was no use in arguing. Just like she was sure that it would probably be no use in asking him not to tell Granny. If anyone would make sure that she got the rest that she needed, it would be her grandmother.

"What about you? I don't see you offering to take a day off or two."

"I'll be all right," Whale shrugged. He was used to shifts that lasted for days and sleeping in between breaks. All he really did was change from being the chief of staff at the hospital to being part of the town council. He was still in charge of something, still pulling in strange hours.

If anything, Victor's memories only made his work ethic that much more manic.

"One day. You take one day off and I will not complain about taking time off to rest." Just because he was used to working at odd hours and sleeping in snatches didn't mean that he didn't need to rest, either. Plus, lately, it seemed as if Ruby didn't get to spend as much time with him.

Okay, so maybe her reasons for wanting him to take one day off were a tad selfish, but she rarely was selfish. If she was going to take time off to rest, she might as well use a little bit of that time being just a little selfish.

"I don't--" He stopped before he could finish that sentence. She knew what he was about to say: that he didn't need the day off. But it was the exact sort of protest she would've made, so Whale held back.

"One day off," he repeated. "I can do that."

Ruby grinned in delight and triumph, looking a little less tired. "Good! I think if we're going to do the rest thing, we should start tomorrow because I've still got a huge list of things on the agenda for today." She gave a little nod, looking at him in an almost expectant sort of way.

She was smiling, and that could only mean good things. Whale even found his lips moving into a matching smile, even if his wasn't nearly so bright.

"I don't want to keep you if you have plans." He folded up his napkin, dropping a few dollars as tip on the table. "I'll be going back to my condo, then."

"Why don't you help me? That way, I can get done quicker and then perhaps join you for a movie? Or...you know...that sleep thing I keep hearing so much about." She was in a joking mood again. The prospect of getting to spend some time with him had done wonders to lighten things up and make her feel a little less tired.

"How could I help?" Whale wondered. It was a legitimate question, since he already established he was a disaster in the kitchen.

"I have more than cooking to do. There's some last minute errands to run and a few more details to finalize." If Ruby had her way, she wouldn't be cooking tonight. Her legs and back ached too much from being on her feet and zipping from place to place today.

Whale nodded; errands he could manage. "I'll take care of that."

She smiled, relieved. "Thank you. I'll reward you for it, I promise. Somehow."

"There's no need for that." Whale waved her off carelessly. "It will be my pleasure to help you."

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/gives you all the feels

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