How It All Began (cuphead OC story)(devilxoc)

Wounds

They say time heals all wounds. Perhaps that was true for mortal beings. Perhaps they could move on because they knew they had a small amount of time to be on earth before they could no longer move on.
That's how ruby felt anyway because even 20 years after the fact she had still not forgiven him. She would barely speak with him, look at him, be in the same room as him, anything. She couldn't.  It hurt too much to know just how little she meant to him after everything they'd been though. She had even stopped calling luci and Lucifer. Going with Satan or Boss when she would speak to him and each time she did that he died a little more inside.
The year was now 1922 and ruby was taking a day off from her show for a much needed break, keeping a hood up over her head as it poured down rain and she walked down the grey street dressed all in red under her umbrella when she passed by an alley way where she heard the distinct sound of a child crying and she paused her stride and turned to peer down into the dark alley and at first she didn't see anything as people walked around her while she stood there staring but then she saw a little shoe pull back behind a box and heard the sniffling again and her heart softened as she stepped into the dark and around the box where when she looked down she met a pair of beautiful lavender purple eyes.

There in the dirt sat a small thin little toon boy with a die for his head, covered in little die spots in that same lovely lavender color.
He wiped his nose of his dirty sleeve shirt and looked up at her nervously as she knelt down to be more on his level and held the umbrella over him more. "Hello sweetie. Are you ok?"
He let out a little whimper and nodded. "Yes ma'am..." He squeaked and her stone cold heart melted then and there.
"Baby what are you doing out here in the pouring rain? Aren't you cold?"
"Yes ma'am but... it better than being at home right now. Mommy had too much to drink again."
Ruby felt her heart aching for this child, recalling her own childhood, spending many nights alone and cold outside under trees vs being at home with her mother... "I see... I know how that feels..." She admitted, looking off sadly and the little boy looked sadly up at her.
"You do?"
She nodded. "I had a mom just like that when I was young... that was a long time ago now though..." She explained as she licked her thumb and used it to wipe a smudge of dirt off his little cheek, making him giggle.
He stood up and held out a very confident hand while also trying to hold up his cute little over all's. "My name is Dice Decker! It's a pleasure to make your...your...uh....apparentship? No... no that not it...um..." He stuck his little tongue out to the side in thought and ruby couldn't help but giggle, "acquaintance?" She prompted and his face lip up.
"Yeah! Acquaintance!" He finished proudly and she giggled again and took his hand happily shaking it.
"My name is Ruby. And the pleasure is all mine Mr Decker." She said as she gave the top of his hand a kiss and he laughed excitedly.
"Listen, how does hot coco and lunch sound? I know a great diner just down the block. We can get you out of the rain for a while and chat?" She asked, praying he would agree.
His face lit up again and he nodded excitedly. "C-can I have whipped cream in mine?" He asked shyly
And ruby beamed as she pulled him up into her arms so they'd both be under the umbrella, "You my dear little dice can have anything you'd like." She told him as she carried him out of the alley and onto the streets with no intentions of ever letting this boy slip through her fingers.

Dice seemed to be a little open book to ruby, trusting her fully it seemed which was a relief because it meant ruby knew just how bad dice had it. It wasn't terrible...well it was but from what the tiny 4 year old told her his mother only ever got loud and cursed at him when she was drunk, so far she had never laid her hands on dice which was a relief. She did seem a bit neglectful but ruby could remedy that from afar with new clothes and filling their fridge while his mother was out drinking. She did find out that interestingly...The mother drank at the casino most nights.
So that evening, upon her return she did something she never did. She only watched. She sat back away from the other patrons and her eyes fell on a woman with a six sided die head that had those same lavender spots on them but her head was diagonal on her shoulders so her points were pointed up and down and out to the sides one diamond shape instead of a square like little dices. She found out from wheezy her name was Dina Dice Decker and oh boy did  ruby wanna deck-er, but no. She held back and simply watched as the woman drank herself stupid, gave wheezy a hard time when he cut her off and sent her on her drunken way. She didn't know how long the drunken bitch would keep her hands off baby dice but she made a vow. The day she found out was the day she brought dice home with her...