In which Ruby Matthews has 'the talk' with her parents.
"You guys said you wanted to talk to me ?" Ruby asked as she entered the living room which was connected to the kitchen. "What's going on ?"
Lottie, who was arranging the cutlery on the dining table, looked up and at the sight of her daughter gave her a smile. "Sit down, it won't last long."
She flipped her brown hair with a sigh before sitting down and pulling out her phone.
Angela, who was in their room, came out, rolled up the sleeves of the shirt under her waistcoat and tied her hair in a bun.
Unlike her wife who had sat at the table in front of their daughters, she just placed both hands on the table with a serious frown.
This made the teenager put her phone away immediately, her mother was far too intimidating when she came home from work and in general when she was angry even if she would never admit it out loud.
"So..." Lottie started drawing Ruby's attention to her, her hazel eyes locking on mother's, who just looked a little concerned. "When your mother was doing the laundry yesterday she noticed something unusual..."
All the bad things Ruby had done in her short teenage life passed through her mind in a flash and she felt fear overcome her. Even worse when she met the piercing blue eyes of her other mother who was staring at her, her lips pursed like she was ready to explode.
Lottie put her hand on her wife's and sent her a glance before turning back to her daughter. "And your mother and I have a question to ask you, regarding what-"
"Are you hooking up with someone ?!"
Ruby thought she choked at the question, embarrassment rising to her cheeks in the form of a blush.
However, this feeling did not last long when her mother whined because her wife had pinched her.
"What you can talk but I can't ?" She asked in an indignant whisper while holding her upper arm which had a red mark on it.
"Subtle." Lottie whispered back, sending her a scolding look. "Don't be too-"
"But that's what we want to know, isn't it ?" Angela asked incredulously, raising her eyebrows. "We want to know if she's hooking up with som- OW !"
Lottie pinched her again and this time Angela took a step back to rub her arm with a pout.
Ruby shook her head, once again, her mother's intimidating side had evaporated as quickly as it had appeared. This was one of the reasons why she couldn't picture her parents when they were younger when her aunts would told her old stories. They looked almost the opposite today from before.
"What we meant to say." Lottie corrected, clearing her throat. "Is that we wanted to know if you were maybe...seeing... someone ?"
Angela, who remembered the feeling of disbelief when she saw the lipstick marks on her daughter's shirt, turned to get an answer too.
"Well..." Ruby sent her mother a look. "I think hooking up is the label even for whatever you saw-"
Lottie sighed.
"Ah !" Angela exclaimed.
The black-haired woman turned and sent her a glare, making her clear her throat and straighten up.
"I mean, I think your mother and I'm glad you're honest enough to talk to us about it..." She said, narrowing her eyes at her wife for approval.
"We just want to make sure that you're careful, and that you feel free to talk to us about what you're comfortable talking to about." Lottie added, nodding her head.
"You want me to talk about my sex life ?"
Angela's eyes widened. "Oh my god no !-"
Lottie turned back to her wife and tilted her head to the side with a frown.
"Just talk about it with your mom." She asserted with a nod pointing at her wife with one hand, playing with her chain with the other.
Ruby was about to make a remark when the doorbell rang.
Lottie had a confused expression. "Who could it be at this time ?"
"That must be the pizza I ordered !" Angela exclaimed with a beamed face as she took out her credit card.
"I was supposed to make dinner tonight !" Lottie shouted after her wife who was already rushing towards the door.
Ruby made a face, her mother was a lot of good things but very far from a good cook. Both her mothers in fact, Angela's cooking was mostly something bland and 'healthy' apart from her snacks.
Angela returned with her arms full of pizza boxes and sent a knowing wink to her daughter as she sat down next to her wife after placing them on the table.
"Sorry." The blonde muttered with a smirk, placing a kiss on her temple. "I must have forgotten."
Ruby gave a small smile as she saw her mother roll her eyes, clutching her cardigan in her hands and grunt a small 'Whatever.'
She knew her parents weren't the best parents, but she wouldn't change them for anything in the world. They were the best in her heart.
"Love ? Do you want some chili oil for your pizza ?" Angela asked teasingly.
"Just eat, Angela."
The blonde chuckled as she shook her head, passing the chili oil to her daughter.
*Ruby going into the kitchen to pour herself some milk at 2 a.m.*
"Mom, what are you doing here ?"
Lottie raised her head from the couch. "I don't think your mother appreciates me pinching her-"
"Hell no I didn't !" Angela exclaimed going out of the room to get some ice cream.
She kissed her daughter on the forehead before heading back to the room. "Goodnight, sweetheart."
"Can I have my goodnight kiss too ?" Lottie asked.
"No." Angela replied, closing the door.
The black-haired woman crossed her arms and lay back down, cursing under her breath.
Ruby giggled and gave her mother a kiss on the forehead. "She won't be mad long. Goodnight, mom."
"Goodnight, sweetheart."