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

Saint Ruby

Almost every single day for the next two and a half years ruby met dice in front of that little alley she had first met him in and each and every day they'd spend the afternoon shopping or getting lunch together.
When school started for dice ruby took him to buy supplies and clothes. When he needed help with homework you better believe the two would sit in a restraunt until it was done, if dice had a problem with bullies at school ruby would teach him how to defend himself. Hell, she even went to his parent teacher meetings since his mother couldn't be bothered to ever actually show up.
All of this meant of course dice eventually wanted to ask her something.
One day while the two sat on a park bench and fed the ducks dice leaned over and grabbed ruby's arm and pressed his face to it.
Ruby knew dice well enough to know he did that when something was bothering him so she sat the baggie of bread crumbs down and turned to pick up the boy and place him in her lap. "What's on my little king's mind?" She said, using the little nickname she had for him and he smiled a little.
"Ms. Ruby... you've always been so nice to me and you've loved me so much and given me so much and you're everything that a good mom should be...I was wondering if it night be ok if i...if I called you mama?"
Ruby felt tears fill her eyes as she looked down at the handsome little boy in her lap and she slipped her arms around him, cradling him close as she tried to not let him see her cry. "Oh my little baby dice. Of course you can. You can call me mama if that's what makes you happy."
He smiled against her and hugged himself to her. He had never know what a mother's love was until the day ruby came into his life and since then his life had been nothing but great... at least when he was away from home.

The two walked hand in hand back to dices home and she hugged him tight as she saw him off inside and when she turned to walk away she came face to face with dices mother. Dina.
"So you're the one who's been spending so much time with my son and buying him all that fancy crap..." the half drunk woman said, struggling to stay on her feet as she crossed her arms.
Ruby resisted an eye roll at the mortal woman. It wasn't often ruby thought of the mortals as insignificant or unimportant but this was one of this rare moments she questioned just how much people would actually miss this loathsome creature before her. "I've been buying him no more or less than what he needs to survive and for his education. It's not my fault all your money is in empty bottles of wine at the devils casino." She spat back at the woman.
Dina glared at her and went to poke ruby's chest, "Listen. Stay away from my brat. He don't need you and your high falutin slutty ass."
Ruby grabbed the woman's hand before it could touch her and bent it backward, not enough to break it but enough to hurt and Dina hit her knees as she looked up at ruby in pain.
"Oh I'm the slut? Did I miss the part a few weeks ago when dice had a fever and was throwing up all night and you were out at the casino blowing every Tom Dick and Harry to buy you drinks after wheezy cut you off? Or how about the time when dice had an art show and he spent two weeks working on the best little noodle painting of starry night and he won first place? Where were you for that? Off getting drunk and getting fucked in the casinos bathroom is where. So don't tell me I'm a slut just because I dress well and look good doing so. Don't tell me Dice doesn't need me because you're the one he doesn't need. So why don't you just butt out and go do what you do best and drink yourself even stupider." She said, handing the woman a twenty to buy booze with and letting her go, letting her sit there on her knees, rubbing her wrist.
"What even are you?" Dina asked as ruby turned to walk away.
"I'm Saint Ruby, lady of hearts. Don't fuck with me again Dina." She warned as she walked.

The next couple years dive noticed his mother barely spoke to him, even when she was drunk and he didn't know how but somehow he knew ruby had done something and he was eternally greatful for whatever it was.

Lucifer didn't like how much time ruby was spending away from the casino but he could never keep up with her when she left so he always lost her trail and she wouldn't talk to him long enough to tell him anything about what she was doing so instead he upped her shows, giving her twice as many and unfortunatly that meant she wasn't able to see dice as frequently though she always always always made it for important events like birthdays or school events or doctors visits. She made sure he knew he was loved even if she was busy and he seemed to understand until he turned about 13 when ruby got a call on the phone right before a show from the local police department that told her dice had been arrested and that she was the one that dice wanted them to call.
She immediately dropped the phone and grabbed her coat, still wearing her sequin red dress for the show and her tall stiletto heals as she rushed out the door, the devil at her heals asking her where she thought she was going right before a sold out show as she climbed into a cab.
"I have something far more important to deal with than your inflated ego right now. Get away from me devil." She snapped, shoving him back and closing the cab door. "Jail house please." She told the cab driver as the devil pealed himself off the sidewalk and watched the cab speed away.