Apollo and Ruby

Chapter 1: The Ending

"You obey me, understand that, slut?" Georgino demanded, grabbing a handful of Ruby's shiny black hair and pulling her head back to meet eye contact. 

Ruby winced, cringing at the degradation, but nodded.

A quick slap met her pale cheek, making her yelp.  "I said, do you understand?" he barks.

A tear hits her cheek, "Y-Yes, I understand."

"I understand, who?" Georgino growls.

"I understand, Sir," Ruby cries.

With that, she felt herself being turned over with no warning, and she braces herself to have her body used by Georgino, purely for his satisfaction.  Her own be damned.

--The next day--

"Ruby?" a soft voice calls her head out of the clouds.

"Hmm?" she looks up from the spot in front of her she was staring at.

"It's your roll," Apollo, one of her closest friends, was offering her the set of dice.

They were playing dungeons and dragons with a group of friends, the game known to bring people together as they create a story together.

Ruby smiled a forced smile as she took the dice from him and made her roll.

--After the game--

"Ruby, can you hang back?" Apollo asked, brushing red hair out of his face as he packed up the dice and map of the world he created for the campaign he wrote.

Her heart sank as she bit her lip nervously.

"You didn't do anything wrong," there was that kind smile again.

"O-Okay," she sits down at the game table again, waiting as their friends filter out.

Once everyone else has said their goodbyes and filtered out the door, Apollo sat next to Ruby, close, almost too close.

"Are you okay?"

Ruby blinks twice in shock.  "Why.. wouldn't I be?"

"Ruby," he sighs, "You were distracted the whole session."  He pauses, looking her over.  "And is that a bruise?"  He points at her cheek.

She squeezes her eyes shut for a second, "It's nothing, Apollo, I'm fine."

"Did you and Georgino have a play session last night?"

She nods, "If you could call it that."

"What do you mean?" concern was heavy in his voice.

"It just...wasn't what I expected," Ruby's tone shifted to that forced upbeat tone people took on when they feel they shared too much.

"Did he do something you didn't want?"

She sighs and stands, "What I want doesn't really matter.  He's the dom.  I follow his lead.  It's fine, honestly."  She starts packing her things.  "I don't see how it's any of your business anyway.  I'm fine."

"You keep using that word, Ruby.  I don't think you know what it means," Apollo's tone was gentle with her.  It was always gentle.  It'd almost unsettling how gentle he is.

"Apollo," another heavy sigh.  "Just stop, okay?  You don't know what you're talking about."

"You don't have to stay in a dynamic that doesn't make you happy, dear," Apollo points out.  "What you want matters as much as what he wants."  He stands and grabs a piece of paper, scrawling something in his messy handwriting.  "If you ever need a way out, or just want to talk, call me, okay?  I'm always here for you, for anything you might need or want."

Ruby takes it with a tight smile.  "Thanks."  With that, she leaves.