Ruby saw her the moment she entered the diner. The girl was full of poise and a sense of self that seemed to draw Ruby in, although she did look a bit unfamiliar with her location. Ruby shot a look at the other waitress with purpose. That table was hers.

It was oddly endearing to see this woman claiming an entire booth to herself. At first, Ruby had wondered if someone would be joining her, but after she had leisurely downed her first iced tea and didn't seem anxious for anyone to arrive, it was clear that she was alone. Ruby couldn't help but find her to be an interesting girl.

Ruby gave the usual service, with the polite smiles and delivering what the customer had ordered, but she kept an eye on this mysterious woman. It amused her to see the blue of the girl's dress stand so opposite her own vibrant red shirt. By the third drink, Ruby attempted to strike up a conversation.

She threw out a joke about calling a cab and despite the girl seeming to find it somewhat humorous, Ruby was cringing internally at how dorky that remark was. Luckily, Ruby's conversational partner seemed responsive, so she delved into figuring out just who this enigma of a woman was.

Ruby tried to be as hospitable as she could upon learning that this woman seemed to be in a spot of trouble and was essentially homeless. It was weirdly gratifying to be able to introduce someone to the town, even if it was just by dropping places like the bed and breakfast amidst conversation.

And then Ruby learned her name. Belle.

Knowing of her love of books, Ruby suggested Belle check out the town library, thinking they may need a librarian. It was a curious thing, the way her name, her beauty, and even her interests flowed together and meshed quite nicely. It was almost as if she had walked right out of one of those books she liked so much.

They were near strangers, the two of them, but they had exchanged names and there was a spark there that kept them talking when Ruby should have been tending to other customers.

Red and blue. It was the start of something great.

They were sat on Ruby's bed, pouring over old pictures together. Belle lacked any, but Ruby assured her that was okay. "It might be better, actually. Could save you some serious embarrassment, trust me."

Belle chuckled and shrugged, making a note to discover each one of those embarrassing memories. "You may be right."

"Oh, look! Here's a good one." She placed a picture in Belle's lap as Ruby rifled through the stack in her hands.

"You have red streaks in your hair!" Belle was utterly delighted by the notion. "Why did you get rid of them?" She tugged on Ruby's hair playfully, trying to envision what a Ruby with red stripes would look like if she were sitting in front of her.

Ruby bit her lip in response to Belle's actions. "I was having a bit of a rebellious phase, you could say. Why, see something ya like?" Ruby smiled lightheartedly at Belle.

"Perhaps," Belle mused, snatching the pile of photos from Ruby's grip so that she could peruse them for herself. "Red looks good on you, after all."

Belle tilted her head as she heard a sound from outside the door. It was late and it took Belle a moment to register the sound as Ruby's exhausted panting, just before she heard the door creak open. Ruby stumbled in, disheveled and dirty. She looked tired, oh so tired, but there was also a renewed glow to her. Ruby was alive with an energy and vigor that was completely unprecedented. Belle set down the book she had been reading and flipped back the covers. She could see Ruby approaching the bed with the intent of flopping onto it.

"No," Belle chastised, poking Ruby in the chest and pushing her backwards until she straightened back up. Ruby groaned and gave Belle a pitiful frown, hoping to gain sympathy enough for Belle to let her curl up happily on the bed like she wanted.

"Ruby, you're quite filthy. I mean no offense, but honestly I think a shower would stand to benefit everyone."

"Does that mean you don't want a hug?" Ruby waggled her eyebrows mischievously, inching towards Belle with outstretched arms and a wide grin.

Belle laughed in response and surprised Ruby by making her own advance towards the girl. "You've, ah, you have a little bit of..." she trailed off. She made a quick gesture to indicate that Ruby had something staining the area near her mouth.

Ruby's head rolled back, exposing her neck, as her body went lax in a show of defeat. "Seriously?" There was a slight catch in her voice, almost a whine, and it made Belle frown. She couldn't seem to understand why a little bit of blood would cause Ruby to be upset. It was only part of her nature.

"You're a wolf, Ruby. You have to hunt. It's completely understandable and no one here is stigmatizing you for it."

Ruby huffed. "Yeah yeah yeah, I know. But, you know, you would think that the least I could do was clean up after myself, right? But no," she muttered while she scrubbed at the lingering redness, "no, that'd be too easy. Too nice." She paused, turning her head back and forth in the mirror before facing Belle again. "Is it gone?"

Belle took Ruby's chin in her hand, the taller girl's eyes closing in response, and examined the area. "Yes, you managed to get the remnants off."

"Good."

"Hey," Belle called softly, patiently waiting for Ruby to meet her gaze. "A spot of crimson does not define you. You're more than that."

Ruby smiled and let out a quiet sigh. She found Belle's hands and gave them a sincere, grateful squeeze. "I know. You remind me that a half doesn't make a whole."

Ruby suppressed a growl of annoyance as she simultaneously balanced the tray she was carrying for the customers across the diner and dodged the many pink, white, and red decorations that seemed to be expertly placed in her path. Really, it was almost impractical for Granny to decorate for Valentine's Day like she did.

Perhaps the only redeeming perk was the bowl of conversational hearts sitting on the diner's counter in honor of this supposedly wonderful holiday because that meant Ruby had access to as much sugar as she could eat. And she couldn't even get in trouble for its consumption.

Finally, closing time rolled around. Ruby was putting away a few more dishes when she heard the door chime as someone entered. Ruby clenched her jaw on instinct. It was closing time. On Valentine's Day. Whoever was testing her patience was going to— Belle! Her expression abruptly shifted to one of joy upon seeing the French girl, knowing that, even on V-Day, Belle was always a welcome sight.

"Evening, miss," Ruby greeted, crossing her arms and leaning against the diner's countertop. "What can I do for you?"

"Actually," she drew out, "I'm here to give you something. I-I know it's closing so I'll make it brief and just drop it off if that's what you prefer, but I figure since it's getting late I may as well hand it over while it still counts."

"I thought I was following you okay there, but I think I got a little lost along the way. You wanted to give me something?"

"Yes!" Belle chirped. "Well, it's easier if I show you."

Ruby, still slightly confused, watched as Belle produced a plastic baggie from her coat pocket and began extracting conversational hearts not unlike the ones they had in the diner. "No peeking," Belle instructed. Obeying, Ruby turned her back to Belle so as not to feel tempted to glance at whatever it was the girl was doing.

After a few minutes, Belle tapped Ruby on the shoulder. "You can look now." Ruby did as told but could only shake her head, not comprehending what she was supposed to be seeing because as far as Ruby could decipher, Belle had laid out several conversational candy hearts in a linear fashion. Belle clasped her hands together. "Alright. This is going to require some explanation of sorts as we go along, as there are going to be missing words, and I do apologize for it not being the most eloquent form of communication."

Ruby smiled and waved her hand good-naturedly. "Well, get on with it."

"Okay. This," she motioned to the line of hearts, "is 'FOR YOU,'" pointing at the heart with the appropriate bolded phrase on it with a laugh. The whole concept was cheesy to the extreme. "I think 'YOU'RE TOPS' and a 'CUTIE PIE.' I 'LOVE' the way you 'SMILE' at me, and I have eyes for 'ONLY YOU.' So, 'I HOPE' you will 'BE MINE' and agree to be 'MY GIRL.'" Her words were interspersed with laughter but by the end she was silent. "Please?"

"So what you're saying is you like me? As in, like-like me."

Belle nodded. "Yes, that's precisely what I'm saying."

"Yeah? Then come over here and prove it." Ruby turned to the bowl of candy on the counter and rummaged through it until she plucked a particular candy heart, sliding it across the countertop to place it in front of Belle. 'KISS ME'

Ruby was daring her at this point. They both knew it. But with the way the light was glinting off Ruby's ever-fascinating canines as she grinned in satisfaction, Belle just couldn't help but close the distance between them. The kiss was tender, both parties thrumming red hot desire but only confident enough to color the kiss pink.

It was a pink kiss. Not strong enough to burn red but not white enough to be as stilted as they were prior to that moment. Instead, the two extremes had swirled together, much like Ruby and Belle, to create a happy medium. The two of them were as pink as the rosy tint adorning their cheeks, as the streamers swaying in the diner. Their kiss was a perfectly light color to compliment the vibrant red shade of Ruby's lips and the primary color of Valentine's Day. The two girls parted, exhaling into the small space between them and floating into an untouchable place of bliss. Pink was their first kiss and red was the holiday it landed on.

Belle exhaled in exhaustion as Ruby rolled off of her. Ruby marveled in the product of her work, from the flush of Belle's skin to the sheen of sweat covering the both of them. Maybe it was the animal in her that had her grinning like a madman because of what it felt like she had conquered. She was swelling with pride and joy, regardless.

Belle laughed breathily and turned in to Ruby's side, burying her face there. "Wow."

Ruby chuckled at having left the usually verbose Belle French nearly speechless. "Mm, you're still talking," she mumbled into Belle's hair. "I'll have to do better next time."

The smaller girl smiled at the promise, taking to peppering Ruby's neck with kisses as they treasured the comfortable silence that had fallen between them. "Careful," Ruby warned. "I don't think I can be held accountable for my actions if you keep that up."

"Is that so?" Belle teased."Well then," she paused to suck at Ruby's skin. "I suppose," another kiss, "I will have to," more sucking, "behave myself." She lightly nipped at the area she'd been focused on as Ruby squirmed under her. "Won't I?"

Ruby caught a glance at her neck out of the corner of her eye and clucked her tongue in response to the redness present there. "That looks a bit like marking, Belle. And here I thought I was supposed to be the possessive one, what with being a beast and all."

Belle rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "I don't hear any complaints."

"None here."

"Good," she whispered, kissing Ruby soundly on the mouth before rolling away. She cocked her head, inviting Ruby, red branding included, to ravish her.

Belle swore that she heard a growl just before Ruby pounced on her with a wicked grin.

"Yes, Granny?" Ruby peeked her head around the corner of the stairwell of the bed and breakfast to greet the woman who had called her name.

Ruby's grandmother was in the middle of scribbling something into a ledger when she spoke. "Would you—" She paused when she glanced up at her granddaughter. "Everything alright?"

Ruby furrowed her brow but nodded. "Of course, why do you ask?"

"You've got a little…" she trailed off, gesturing to her upper lip to indicate Ruby had something there.

"What?" The raised eyebrow and quiet, amused chuckle from Granny unsettled Ruby thoroughly as she crossed over to the mirror to see exactly what the older woman was going on about. Looking back at Ruby in the mirror was a faint red stain above her upper lip, which Ruby figured she must have missed in her haste to make it home at a reasonable hour. She clenched her eyes tight for a moment. Opening them again, she sighed and began rubbing at the coloring in hopes of passing it off as a result of Granny's poor vision or some similar excuse.

They really had known their lipstick choices would come back to bite them eventually. It just seemed oddly fitting that Belle's favorite red shade would be the one to get them caught.

"I think your vision may be going, Granny," Ruby threw out while she started to retreat from the room.

"Doubtful, dear. Wait right there though, I need you to—"

"Ruby!"

The brunette spun around at the sound of her name and froze. Bursting through the door of the bed and breakfast with a scarf in hand was Belle, conveniently sporting an immaculate coat of bright red lipstick.

"Did I interrupt something?" Belle came to a halt in the foyer, shutting the door slowly behind her.

"Nothing at all," Granny remarked. "That's a lovely shade of lipstick, Belle." Ruby's eyes widened.

Belle smiled, oblivious, and thanked Granny for the compliment before sticking her hand out, offering the scarf to Ruby. "You left this behind at the library. It's been so cold lately I was worried about your being without it."

Ruby took the garment from Belle with a sincere nod. "Thanks, Belle." Her heart jumped out of both fear and happiness. Belle truly was one of the most thoughtful people Ruby had ever met. With a quick smile in Ruby's direction, Belle was out the door and headed bak to the library.

"So," Granny drawled, "Left your scarf?"

"Mhm! At the library. Like Belle said. From earlier. When we were…" Her hands shook as she fiddled with the scarf as a distraction. "Um. Great collection of books. Really. Just…stunning." Having dug herself into a hole, Ruby darted up the stairs, but not before she heard Granny's last quip.

"I bet she is."

"Please," Ruby begged. "Just this once."

"Fine, you can paint my nails, but," Belle paused in attempted contemplation simply to rile the girl up, "they better look good."

"Deal!" Ruby squealed as she began to rummage through an array of nail polishes. She would pick one up and then set it back down and repeated whilst she searched for the appropriate hue. And then it struck her. "Wait."

Belle, confused, furrowed her brow. "What?"

With a sheepish smile, Ruby turned to request another favor of Belle. "Close your eyes. I want it to be a surprise."

Closing her eyes, Belle relented. Ruby held the winning color up to the light in triumph, snickering at her choice. Perhaps it was a bit much, but Ruby thought it was romantic, a little bit at least. She made quick work of Belle's nails, swiping the brush expertly onto the nail of each finger. She stepped back to admire her work with a smirk and was quite pleased with the results.

"Okay," Ruby announced. "Open your eyes."

Belle followed her instructions, blinking a few times before settling her gaze on her newly painted nails. "Red," she noted, lifting an eyebrow at Ruby. "How territorial of you."

Ruby grinned at the playful tone of Belle's voice but felt the need to ask, "You...you do like it, right?"

Belle nodded, raising her eyes from her nails to meet Ruby's eyes. "It's perfect." She smiled broadly before wiggling her finger to tell Ruby to come closer. Picking up on Belle's indication, Ruby leaned forward, kissing Belle tenderly and then gazing at her with the softest of smiles.

"You're perfect."

Belle had always thought Ruby to be invincible. She wasn't—Belle knew that, of course—but Belle lived in a world of imagination. With Ruby's bravado and confidence despite all her insecurities, she was an everyday superhero. Belle's fantasy-oriented mind would accept no less. By nature, Ruby was, of course, strong. She was the wolf, the hunter. No story existed where Ruby had become the victim, the prey of hate. Such a tale had almost come to fruition once, in a time when Belle was powerless to stop Ruby's self-deprecation and ended up chained to a pipe in the library.

In their time of knowing one another, Belle had watched Ruby overcome incredible feats, even problems that she had with herself and her identity. She was a survivor; she always braved the storm and came out on the other side. However, her successes were not supposed to be misconstrued and mistaken for a false sense of immortality. Ruby was just as mortal and susceptible as Belle was, as much as the French girl refused to acknowledge that.

Ruby was not infallible, and the scene before Belle was the slap in the face that forced her to realize that once and for all. She could lie and pretend all she wanted. Pretend that it wasn't Ruby. Pretend that this was another wolf, another time, another person. But detachment was impossible. Because despite the black hue of the deep pool of blood that collected in the snow, blood was still red. Red ran through Ruby, from beginning to end.

She kept rocking back and forth, clutching Ruby's lifeless form in some vain attempt to wake her up. This couldn't be real. These sorts of anomalies happened in storybooks, in works of fiction. They weren't supposed to occur in the real world. The good guys were supposed to win. The strong were supposed to come out on top. It had been written time and time again. She felt as if she had been deceiving herself this entire time, imagining the many years they would spend together, because she never stopped to think something this atrocious could actually happen to them. She was angry, for lying to herself and for having been lied to by countless stories. What a fool she was, to believe in perfection. The idealist in her was crushed by the books she had allowed herself to trust.

When it mattered that they prove their truth, they were stripped of their pleasant smell and many adventures to reveal that they were nothing more than fiction when it came down to it

She beats her fists into the snow, blood splattering her clothing and her hands becoming drenched in the redness. Belle was trying to regulate her breathing—really, she was. Rationally, the short breaths and high-pitched hiccups from crying were fairly disruptive to the nature around her, but she couldn't figure out how to stop. Her world was crashing around her and she just needed to release her pain. Given the circumstances, she gave herself the reprieve of an anguished shriek and eventually the sobs subsided, leaving her to sit in silence, as she held Ruby tight.

Snow began drifting down from the skies. Belle liked to think that maybe the skies were crying, too. It was time. She had to let go. The universe was giving her the support she'd lost when her tower of books fell out from under her, providing a comforting touch with each soft snowflake that fell on her face. The same ones that the woman in her arms would never again have the privilege of feeling. Belle set her back down gently, almost like it still mattered how she handled Ruby. With a sniffle, Belle placed one crimson-stained hand on Ruby's chest as she hoarsely whispered, "May you always run free beneath the moon's pale light."

She was everywhere now. In the hue of the spines of the books that Belle trailed her fingers across on those nights she holed herself up in the library so no one would see her mourn. Her eyes shown through in the peaceful sunset as the green of the foliage mingled with the swirls of colors in the sky. Belle heard her on every visit to the woods, her paws still thumping the earth excitedly with each circle she ran around Belle. But with a whip of Belle's head, the sound would dissipate. You cannot chase what it isn't there, she would remind herself, but it was no use. Her head would whirl around in anticipation on all of her trips out there, without fail, only to be broken from her reverie when the form of a gray wolf with light in its eyes would slip into nothingness. The rhythmic pounding of furry paws would fade, and the piercing silence would force Belle into her reality. One that didn't include a wolf. There lingered her coat, left untouched since that cold winter morning when Ruby never came home—the most painful of relics—yet Belle couldn't bring herself to dispose of it. It was her last tangible piece of Ruby, the only remaining evidence of the woman that had changed her life.

People had finally quit grabbing her shoulder—they nearly gave her a heart attack every single time—and asking her how she was holding up. Then came the sympathetic glances that made Belle huff in exasperation. She didn't want their pity. She just wanted Ruby back. But Ruby was gone. There was no getting around that, no way of stopping those sobs that would wrack her frame late at night.

But Belle was learning. She was coming to accept feeling like there was a boulder crushing her chest every day. Interacting with people on a daily basis was getting easier, if only marginally. She would even sometimes forget about the lump in her throat that she had to talk around. Questions still weren't her favorite and answering them wasn't always black and white. Her fumbling would inevitably lead to some sort of semi-satisfactory answer. Or maybe she would have a few contradictory statements to follow up with.

But when asked what her favorite color was, Belle had only one answer: red.