Spare Pair

[Red Ranger 1]

This was actually one of the story ideas I was playing around with about a year ago but it didn't fit in with what happened.But this year I just thought "What the hell", so here goes...

Story Title: Spare Pair

Type of story: Short/Medium fic/Three-shot

Main Characters: Nicole and Ruby, with others

BTTB rating: T/A

Genre: Drama...ish

Does story include spoilers: No

Any warnings: Violence:None.Sexual content:Mild to moderate.Language:None.

Summary: Nicole and Ruby attempt to find a solution to their relationship woes.

ONE

“Rubes, is there something wrong?”Romeo asked.

Ruby came to, gathering her wits about her.Of course there was nothing wrong.She’d just been gazing adoringly at one of her friends, who just happened to be the boyfriend of one of her other friends, in the middle of the Diner.Nothing unusual about that.Nothing to see here.“No, I’m fine,”she replied hastily, “Who about you?You really got nothing better to do than hang out with me?”

“Indi’s back late at uni,”Romeo replied,“Hanging out with the rest of her class.”He grinned suddenly. “We’re doing something at the weekend though.”

“Oh?”Ruby tried to sound casual.“Anything special?”

Romeo nodded.“I’ve got it all planned.I was chatting to Liam and it hit me:We need to get away from it all.I’ve checked out this spot near the farm, it’s only about ten minutes walk.No-one ever goes there.Got a tent from the store and some food, told her to pack everything she needs for the weekend, I figure we can spend the whole two days there, just the two of us, get away from the distractions of this place.What do ya think?”

Ruby gave a tight smile.“It sounds perfect, Romeo.Any girl would be lucky to have a guy go to that much effort for her.”She glanced back towards the counter.

“What you after?”

“Just wondering if Irene can get me a tub of ice cream.For the weekend.”

Nicole was aware that Miles was staring at her.“Is something wrong?”she asked.

“Nope.Just wondering why you’re spending your evening at home.I mean, you’re a uni freshman.Aren’t you meant to be hanging around the bar, discussing philosophy and indulging in mindless debauchery or something?”

“Absolutely,”Nicole confirmed,“Except I decided to start the mindless debauchery a bit early and now I’ve got a nine month hangover to contend with.”

Miles considered this.“Couldn’t you just go in for…low key debauchery or something?”

Nicole smiled despite herself.“Sitting here at home watching the pop channels is about as wild as I get.”

“Well, couldn’t you go out with Indigo?”

“I could but she doesn’t really need an elephant-sized sidekick hanging around.”

“Aren’t there any cute boys who..?”

“Who fancy taking on a single mother?Surprisingly enough, no.”

“Well…surprisingly enough, there’s probably one person, one mad person in this big world, who might actually think you’re a catch.And when I find him I’ll point him in your direction.”

“I appreciate that.”Nicole clambered off the couch with a loud sigh.

“You found your inspiration?”Miles asked.

“Yes, I’m going to go round and see Ruby.She’s the only person who looks as depressed as I do these days.”

“Contemplating suicide?”Nicole asked when she got to the house to find Ruby staring into the fridge.

“Death by raspberry ripple.I can think of worse ways to go.”Ruby slammed the door shut and led the way into the lounge.“If you’re looking for someone to cheer you up…”

“Okay, I know what my problem is but why do you look as though your dog just died?”Nicole asked as they sat on the couch.

Ruby let out a deep sigh.“It’s Romeo.”

Nicole stared at her for a moment then her eyes widened in astonishment.“You and Romeo?”

“No, not me and Romeo, me and the idea of Romeo, me and the three-dimensional, surround-sound fantasy…”Ruby stopped herself.“It doesn’t matter anyway, he still likes Indi.”

“She always says he still likes Annie.”

“Well, whoever he still likes, it’s not me.”Ruby sat back with a groan.“How did we get like this?We have got to be the two hottest girls in town and yet we’re both single!I mean, think of the guys who used to flock around us.Some of them were even sane!”

“There were a few nice ones in there,”Nicole accepted.

“I liked Geoff,”Ruby decided.

“I liked Geoff,”Nicole confirmed with a sigh,“And I liked Aden.”

“I liked Liam.Did you like Liam?”

Nicole considered for a moment.“Sort of.I mean, he was one of the better ones.He didn’t try to blow me up or tie me up underwater or stick a needle in me.”

“You got further with him than I did.”There was a pained expression on Ruby’s face.“Please tell me nothing’s ever happened between you and Romeo.”

“No way,”Nicole assured her,“He lives with me, he’s practically my brother and he isn’t Aden so…that would be wrong.”

“I liked Xavier,”Ruby mused.

Nicole looked at her in surprise.“Seriously?”

“Well, some of the time.I mean, he didn’t photocopy my diary and stick it up around the school, he didn’t call me easy or not return my calls, that puts him above half the guys that’ve taken an interest in me.”She sighed.“And look at the results.Xavier’s with April and she’s happy, Liam’s with Bianca and she’s happy. Romeo’s with Indi…”

“Geoff’s probably found some good little Christian girl who’d make the perfect minister’s wife,”Nicole considered.

“What about Aden?”

“Dunno.Maybe Justin convinced him to join up and he got wounded and was brought back to health by a beautiful nurse and they fell in love and got married and lived happily ever after.”

“Not that you’ve thought about it much.”

“Not at all.”Nicole thought for a long moment.“Thing is I was friends with them.Geoff and Aden, I knew them, they knew me, I knew I loved them before we got together.I didn’t just…hit on the hot new guy in town and have them turn psycho on me.”

“So…you’re saying the key to happiness is to make friends with a guy first so you know if he’s all right?”

“That or hit on your existing friends,”Nicole agreed.

“Tried that with Romeo,”Ruby fired back.

Nicole gave a resigned nod.“So.Have we got any other options?”

[Red Ranger 1]

Thanks for the comments, Danni and Carina.Hope you like this one.

TWO

Nicole blinked in the early morning sunlight, her mind and body steadfastly refusing to wake up and insisting on a few more minutes’ sleep.Any conscious thought beyond that was beyond her ability at that moment.

So, when she felt the naked body pressed against her own underneath the bed sheets, the unconscious head resting against her shoulder, she had unconsciously raised a hand to stroke her partner’s hair and planted a kiss on the top of the head before some part of her mind thought to ask where she was, how she got there and who she was there with.

The head shifted under her touch, lifting up and staring blearily at her.

Nicole and Ruby lay there, looking at each other in silence, for a long time.

“So…you’re saying the key to happiness is to make friends with a guy first so you know if he’s all right?” Ruby asked.

“That or hit on your existing friends,”Nicole agreed.

“Tried that with Romeo,”she fired back.

Nicole gave a resigned nod.“So.Have we got any other options?”

Ruby smiled slightly.“Just one.”

“Oh, what?”

Ruby leaned forward and kissed her softly.Nicole responded to the touch, kissing Ruby back, the kiss deepening slightly as they both enjoyed the sensation.Then they stopped and sat looking at each other uncertainly.

“Okay, yeah, that’s one option,”Nicole conceeded.

“Just a thought,”Ruby agreed.

Nicole hesitated a moment then started kissing Ruby again.They held each other, gently caressing the other’s body as they explored each other’s mouths hungrily.“You’re a pretty good kisser,”Nicole commented in between kisses.

“You too,”Ruby confirmed.

Nicole’s hand wandered underneath Ruby’s top, caressing the bare skin, before moving upwards and fumbling with her bra strap.Ruby pulled away, the reality of the situation suddenly hitting her.“Hold on, what exactly are we doing her?”

Nicole grinned at her, confused but not unhappy.“I dunno, I’m making it up as I go along.Feels okay, though, doesn’t it?”

Ruby hesitated then nodded.“Yeah, it’s…not too bad.”

“So..?”Nicole asked enquiringly.

“So…maybe we should go to my room and just…see what happens?”

Nicole smiled in appreciation, pulling Ruby to her feet and kissing her again, the embrace continuing as they stumbled towards the bedroom…

Ruby stuck her head cautiously out of the bedroom door.“Charlie?Leah?”She listened for a response but there was no sound of movement anywhere else in the house.She glanced back at Nicole.“They must have gone out early.”

“That’s a relief,”Nicole observed, as the pair emerged from hiding,“I wasn’t really looking forward to that conversation.”

Ruby hesitated, unsure how to proceed.“I’ll get us some breakfast,”she decided.She took a few steps towards the kitchen before noticing Nicole hadn’t followed.Instead, she had stopped and was resting her head against the wall.

“What were we thinking?”she asked.

Ruby went back to her friend and took her hands, trying to make the gesture seem as platonic as possible. “I don’t know,”she admitted,“I guess it just seemed like a good idea at the time.”

“I mean, I am so not gay, I’ve never even thought about doing that before.”

“Me neither.”

“Not that it wasn’t nice,”Nicole added hastily.

“Nice, yeah,”Ruby agreed,“Different but…nice.”

“Different,”Nicole echoed.She slid down the wall into a crouch.Ruby copied the action, sitting alongside her.Nicole glanced at her and rubbed her swollen belly slightly.“And you didn’t mind the..?”

Ruby gave an embarrassed laugh.“Having sex with a pregnant girl?Not something I ever really thought I’d have to worry about.”

“Well, this isn’t going to do much for our reputation,”Nicole noted,“I can hear them now.‘That Nicole and Ruby, they’ll sleep with anyone.Even each other.’”

“Well…no-one has to know, do they?”Ruby asked.

Nicole looked at her hard.“You mean..?”

“I mean…it’s no-one else’s business.Just something we did.Our little secret?”she asked hopefully.

Nicole nodded decisively, her hand encircling her friend’s.“Our little secret.”

[Red Ranger 1]

Big thank you to Carina, Bec, Danni and JosieTash for the comments.I'd originally planned this as a two-shot but then I realised there was too much going on in the second half so I left this bit until the end.Let me know what you think of it.

THREE

“Ruby, are you still with us?”

Ruby blinked, suddenly aware that Miles was staring at her.And, indeed, that the rest of the class seemed to be staring at her.She realised she’d been lost in thought for a moment.Or several.“Yes, Mr.Copeland,” she said promptly,“I’m here.”

Miles gave her a sceptical look.“Okay, I realise that having dreamy thoughts about fit footie players is more fun than discussing Shakespeare’s sonnets but can you at least try and pretend that I’m dazzling you here?”

“I wasn’t thinking about fit footie players!”Ruby protested,“I was thinking about…”She searched her mind, trying to remember what she had been daydreaming about.Nicole, that was right.Nicole and the previous night and how good it had felt when she’d…

She swallowed hard, aware that the class were still waiting for her to finish her sentence.“Fit footie players, you’re right,”she concluded,“Lots of fit, virile, rugged, masculine footie players.”She blushed slightly.“Sorry.Paying attention.”

“Penny for ’em, darl.”

Nicole looked up from the cup of coffee she’d been nursing at the Diner counter to see Irene staring at her with an understanding look on her face.“Sorry, what?”she asked.

“Whoever it is you’re thinking about.”

“I’m not thinking about anyone,”Nicole claimed, even though she had been.

“I’ve been around the block a few times, love, and when a girl’s got an expression like that on her face, there’s usually a bloke involved.”

Nicole couldn’t help smiling at that.“Well, not this time,”she replied truthfully.

“If you say so, girl, but it looks pretty much like love to me.”

Nicole’s smile faded slightly.It was silly, she insisted.Just because she couldn’t get Ruby and the previous night out of her mind.Ruby was a friend, that was all.Okay, they’d done a few things that friends didn’t normally do but that didn’t mean she wanted to go there again.Did she?

“Hey, Nic,”Miles greeted her as he sat down on the stool next to her.Nicole hadn’t even realised it was time for their lunch date.

“See if you can get any sense out of her,”Irene invited,“She’s been away with the fairies all morning.”

“Really?”Miles looked sideways at Nicole.“Your chat with Ruby last night must have had some effect. She’s been the same all morning.”

Nicole felt her heart lurch slightly at the comment.No, it couldn’t be…

Charlie, who had been sitting at a nearby table in her police uniform, got up and came over to them.“Can you two give Ruby a message for me?I was meant to be having lunch with her but I’ve just got a shout.Can you tell her I’ll see her this evening?”

“Yeah, sure,”Miles agreed.

Nicole froze suddenly, feeling a tingling in her back.She looked round and saw Ruby standing in the doorway, looking at her.Nicole looked back, wondering if she was imagining it, if the whole crazy thing was in her head.If Ruby really was looking at her the same way she was looking at Ruby.

As if a starter’s pistol had gone off inside their heads, they rushed into each other’s arms.And then they were kissing again, revelling in each other’s touch, all other thoughts and considerations gone out of their minds.

The group by the counter stared at them.

And from the kitchen door, there came the sound of crashing plates as Colleen saw what was going on. “Oh my goodness!”she yelped.

“Got to say, I did not see that one coming,”Irene admitted.

“I think Ruby and I are going to have an interesting chat this evening,”Charlie noted before the repeated message coming from her radio forced her to make her exit.

Without looking round, Miles held his hand out towards the counter.“Can I have a glass of water, please?”

Nicole and Ruby broke apart but continued holding onto each other, big dopey grins on both their faces. “Is this really happening?”Nicole asked.

“You mean are we…together?”Ruby replied.

Nicole nodded.“Yeah, I guess so.”

“Well, it feels like it.What do you think?”

“Well, we’re friends, so we already know each other pretty well.”

“And we know neither of us is a psycho.Most of the time.”

“And the physical side turns out to be…pretty good.”

“Pretty good,”Ruby agreed,“So…maybe we should go back to my place and…explore it a bit further?”

Nicole smiled.“I’d be okay with that.”

“And then we can work out how we’re going to tell people.”

Nicole paused and looked around.Every pair of eyes in the Diner was looking at them.“Actually…I think we’ve already got that one covered.”

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