Chapter Text
Ruby’s fingers drummed on the glassy green surface of the dresser. She was leaning on it as she watched the constrained chaos that lay before her.
“‘Ey! Watch that vase; My dad’s in there!” Margot ordered, her tiger-print silk robe trailing behind her as she stomped across the room directing the movers where to place her beloved possessions, a cigarette gnashed between her sharp teeth. Normally Ruby didn’t let anyone smoke in the house, but she figured it was best to let it go for the next few days, just as the stress of moving was still a fresh wound on their sanity. It was such a long way from New Kong Studios, making the trip both expensive (not that money was an issue) and time consuming. The weight of the switch had roosted itself upon all of their shoulders somehow, but it only began revealing itself now. Margot, however, seemed to be the only one taking it out exclusively on others.
“And would you please stop with that incessant tapping?” Margot yelled, suddenly inches away from a startled Ruby’s face. Ruby placed her other hand on Margot’s, which was digging its razor-sharp fingernails into her knuckles, and led it back to Margot’s side.
“My bad, my bad.” Said Ruby, her voice calm and unwavering despite Margot’s frustration. She scoffed, then turned quickly on her heel and went back to barking orders at the traumatized moving staff.
Ruby took a deep breath. The air smelled of cigarette smoke and house paint. She ducked past the several people in the room to exit, which she did with surprising grace, considering her giantess-like stature. Margot’s room led to an indoor overlook of the living area. Thirty or so feet below, 2D and Noodle were busy sorting boxes for their respective belongings.
“Noods, what’s this mean?” 2D asked, her eyes squinted at the japanese characters on a box she was holding.
“Rekodo,” Noodle replied, his lean arms stacking another dozen or so boxes into a pyramid, “Vinyl,”
“Alright then,” 2D trotted around the long L-shaped magenta sofa to place the box of records atop the teetering fortress of cardboard.
“2D!” Noodle scolded, just before the entire top half of the pyramid fell to the ground. 2D blushed.
“I’m sorry,” she said, fingers wrapped around and twirling her messy braid that rested on narrow shoulders.
Ruby sighed once again, and shuffled down the spiral staircase to restore order. Without a word, she started opening the boxes to assess the damage to anything inside.
Noodle inhaled sharply. “Thank you, Ruby.” He said through gritted teeth, staring daggers at 2D, who was cowering slightly under his gaze. Among the wreckage, Ruby unearthed a box labeled Figyua, a word she instantly recognized as figurines, thanks to her years of study on the language to communicate with Noodle when he was still a little boy who appeared on their doorstep one day, before he learned English. As a result, Ruby had always been closer to Noodle than the other two women, being the only one who could truly parent him over his rowdy childhood years.
Ruby’s broad hands carefully opened the box as she prayed none of Noodle’s expensive figures would be broken. To her dismay, one of the cheery blue-ponytailed pop stars inside had cracked, its left arm nestled at the very bottom of the package. Noodle stood on his tiptoes to see the contents of the box.
“Miku,” he gasped softly, his hands lifting the wounded statue out of the cardboard.
2D was now also standing by Ruby’s shoulder to get a glimpse of the damage she’d caused.
“Oh, well that’s alright, innit? He has like a dozen of those things,” She whispered to Ruby, who shook her head slowly.
“I heard that!” Noodle squawked, glaring at 2D again. “This one was an exclusive, too,” This time his voice was more disappointed, now grieving the broken figurine.
“I said sorry,” 2D answered sheepishly back, once again cowering away from his voice. Noodle was about to say something, but Ruby spoke before he could begin.
“She didn’t mean to, Noods. Give her a break.”
Noodle and 2D began to stack the boxes again, and Ruby went off to oversee the assembly of movers somewhere else in the house, as she was the only one who had her room put together already. In their first few days in LA, Ruby was busy setting up her space, while Margot was busy ogling at the handsome man next door, and Noodle was bickering with 2D.