you were red and you liked me because i was blue

[mantle]

[ It's girls' night with Ashley and a reluctant Mary Margaret. Inevitably, they find themselves at The Rabbit Hole because aside from a very heavy-handed bartender, Ruby has some pull with the owner meaning no cover charge.

Of course she isn't surprised to see Lacey there as well. The other woman is as much of a regular as she is although she tends to spend most of her time in the lounge area playing pool while Ruby has always preferred the back patio, especially on cold autumn nights like this with the soft twinkling of the string lights overhead and the heat of the burn barrels to keep the chill (mostly) at bay.

Which is probably just as well because it gives them a convenient excuse to continue politely ignoring each other's existence as they've done consistently for the past several years.

But Ashley is currently Very Pregnant and Mary Margaret is kind of naturally wimpy so they end up taking one of the pub tables inside, which unfortunately puts Lacey directly in Ruby's line of sight all evening. And, as she discovers, it's a whole hell of a lot harder to ignore somebody's existence when you keep catching glimpses of the smooth, perfect skin of their back and shoulders every time they turn around. More than once, Ruby finds herself getting distracted from the conversation at hand by the dark little mole sitting not an inch above Lacey's uncovered bra strap. ]