Ruby's POV:

I was jolted from my sleep by a huge weight dropping on me. My eyes shot open, and I registered Brian hovering over me, his long hair hanging in a messy curtain around his face.

"Get up!" He grinned.
"Why?" I grumbled, rubbing my eyes.
"Ninja Turtles." He chuckled.
"I thought that was on Saturday nights?"
"It's been two years, the schedule's changed." He yanked back the covers. "Oh... I'm sorry." He sniggered.
"What?" I looked down, and groaned. "Fuck."

I'd slept in a tiny pair of black low-riding underwear-style shorts and a skin tight black spaghetti-strapped camisole that didn't cover my stomach. Brian's eyes surveyed my body, a mischievous smirk spreading across his face.

I hit him. "Mind outta the gutter, Haner."
"I wasn't thinking anything..." He blatantly lied, pushing himself off my bed and heading for the door. "See you downstairs, Cuntbag." He teased, poking his tongue out before he left the room.

I sat up and heaved myself out of bed, and walked over to my dressing table where I dragged my brush through my hair. I fluffed it up a bit once it was detangled, spritzed myself with some deodorant, and left the room.

As I descended the stairs, I heard the familiar music of the opening credits of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and giggled when I heard Brian singing along. I found him on the couch in front of the flat screen, wearing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles boxers and not much else.

"Oh, that's cute." I commented.
"What is?"
"The boxers." I smirked.
"Stop looking at my junk." He laughed.
"I wasn't!"
"Sure." He winked.
I rolled my eyes and walked into the kitchen, fetching myself a bowl of Froot Loops before joining him on the couch.
He stole my spoon and helped himself to a mouthful.
"Dick!" I snapped.
He came up in my face and chewed with his mouth open. "Nom. Nom. Nom."
"That's disgusting." I cringed, pushing him away.
He made a point of swallowing his food with an obnoxious gulping sound.
"You're such a shit." I chuckled.
"Shh! Turtles!" He chuckled, pointing at the screen. "Hey look, it's Casey Jones." He teased.
"Shut up." I sniggered.
"Why? Because you want Casey's D?"
I shook my head and reached up to brush my hair out of my face as it was at risk of getting into my cereal.
Brian's hand clamped down around my wrist. "Hey!" He cried joyfully.
"What?"
"You still have it!" He said, tugging at the bracelet tied around my wrist.

It was made of red wool and woven together in a braid. Brian made it for me about a year after we met and had tied it around my wrist himself. He told me to never ever take the bracelet off, promising that we'd always be best friends forever. That if we ever got separated, that bracelet would be there to remind me that we'd find our way back to each other one day.

"Of course I do." I smiled. "I've never taken it off."
"I can't believe you actually still have it though." He smiled tenderly. "That means a lot to me."
"I guess it worked." I giggled.
"How so?"
"You told me if we ever got separated, this bracelet would reassure me that we'd find our way back to each other one day." I reminded him.
"Yeah." He smiled warmly. "I remember that now." He swallowed hard and sniffled.
"You okay?" I asked, setting my cereal bowl down on the coffee table.
He pulled me towards him, enveloping me in a tight embrace, I felt his shoulders rise as he drew in a deep breath, then another sniffle and felt a wetness on my shoulder.
"Bri." I cooed. "Don't cry."
I felt him lace his fingers into my hair. "Being away from you for two years... Was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do."
"I know." I breathed. "But I'm here now, why are you still really emotional?"
"I fucking missed you." He croaked.
"I know you did." I rubbed his back soothingly, trailing my fingers up and down his spine.

I felt him nuzzle his nose into my neck, and place a soft kiss there. He didn't realize how sensitive that area of my neck was, and I bit my lip as I felt a pulse of desire somewhere low in my body. I knew he hadn't done it on purpose, it was just a simple act of affection, but he'd still stirred something in me. I was only human after all.

"Mmm." He moaned peacefully. "You should probably stop tracing my spine like that."
"Why?"
"It turns me on." He chuckled.
"Down boy." I giggled.

He drew back, but kept his arms around my waist. I wrapped my arms around his neck and leant my forehead against his, smiling as our eyes met. It was a common form of affection between us, a symbol of the closeness of our friendship. People often read into it more, but they'd soon find out they were wrong.

"Alright you." He smirked, poking me in the sides. "We got stuff to do."
"Like what?"
"I'm not leaving this house messy before we leave, we're cleaning the joint." He said, getting up from the couch. "You just had breakfast, so go take care of the dishes, I'm gonna go wake up McKenna, so boil the kettle, cuz the kid's gonna want a Coffee."
"Yes Sir." I drawled sarcastically, saluting him.

I sauntered toward the kitchen while Brian climbed the staircase. I set the kettle to boil and got to work washing the dishes. A moment later I heard a scream from Brian upstairs, the type of scream that he only gave out when he'd just seen something very disturbing. I turned to see him descending the staircase with a sickened look on his face.

"You okay?" I laughed.
"No." He groaned. "I just... saw something I really did not wanna see." He cringed, picking up a tea towel to dry the dishes with.
"What?" I probed.
"I just walked in on my sister fucking the gnome." He shuddered.
I lost it laughing, and Brian scowled at me. "I'm sorry." I sniggered. "But it's just hilarious."
"I did not need to see my sister like that!"
"But you did." I teased.

He dipped his hand into the sink and splashed me with water. I turned to him with a look of mock-shock on my face, and splashed him back. He scooped up a mug that was floating in the water and filled it. I quickly realized what he was planning to do and grabbed his arm, struggling against him as he attempted to pour the water all over me.

"Brian!" I giggled.
He put the mug back in the sink, biting his lip, his infamous smirk stretching across his features.
"Dry the fucking dishes." I chuckled, shaking my head.
"Yes, Mistress." He drawled.
"Hey, Shithead." I pointed at him with the butter knife I was washing. "You wanted these done."
"I was gonna get 'Kenna to dry them until..." He cringed once again.
"Well." I smirked, setting the last plate down for Brian to dry. "I'm done."
"No you're fucking not." He snapped playfully. "Wipe the benches."
"Yes Sir."
"Don't be smart, Cuntbag." He chuckled.
"No that's your job, isn't it?" I teased.

He rolled his eyes and I set to work...

***


Brian's POV:

I tried my hardest to get the image of McKenna and Johnny out of my mind. It was vomit-inducing, a sight I never should have had to see. I focused on the task at hand; drying these dishes, hoping it would distract me.

Ruby began humming as she cleaned the bench tops, and I quickly recognized the tune of "Unholy Confessions" It soon became apparent that the song was too hard to just simply be hummed, and she began to sing;

"But being the one on the stand, I know the way to go, no-one's guiding me, when time soaked with blood turns it's back,"
"I know it's hard to fall, confided in me was your heart, I know it's hurting you, but it's killing me." I joined her, a smile inching across my face as we sang together.

She turned and smiled at me briefly, before getting back to work, humming a tune to a song I didn't know. I dried the last of the dishes and put them away, helping myself to a glass of water.

I couldn't help but watch her; her small frame was so much more slender than the last time I'd seen her. She had always been tiny, but had lost her puppy fat. Her shape had changed, she wasn't quite the picture-perfect hourglass shape, her hips still a tiny bit wider than the rest of her body due to her European blood, but she was still beautiful.

My eyes scanned her body, catching a glimpse of black below the hemline of her form-fitting shirt. She stretched out a little further across the counter as she cleaned it, causing her shirt to ride up, exposing more of her skin. My eyes widened, and I set the glass down on the sink.

"Ruby."
"What?" She asked absentmindedly, still in her own little world.
"When did you get a tattoo?" I asked, still admiring the Deathbat that now graced her lower back.
"Just the other day, when I went to Hollywood with the girls."
"Who from?" I was genuinely curious.
"Kat Von D, actually." She giggled.
"Lucky kid." I nodded, impressed. "Interesting choice of placement." I smirked.
"How so?" She asked, walking over to the sink to rinse off the cloth.
"You know there's only one reason for tramp stamps." I teased.
"Shut your mouth!" She spat.

I spun around, placing my hands on the counter on either side of her, trapping her between them. She instantly fell quiet as I leaned in close to her face, smirking as her eyes began to dart mindlessly as she tried to avoid them meeting mine.

"Make me." I spoke, my voice husky.
She swallowed hard, remaining quiet, still avoiding eye contact.
I smirked, satisfied with her reaction, and pushed myself backwards, releasing her...

Notes

The bracelet Brian gave Ruby is symbolic of a Chinese/Japanese legend called "The Red String Of Fate"

It's said to be an invisible thread that links two people that are destined to be together. The thread may tangle or stretch, but never break. They'll remain a part of each others lives no matter what, even if they're distanced from each other, they'll always find their way back because they're soulmates.

Or in a more gamer-orientated description, it's basically like the Papou Fruit in Kingdom Hearts :)