Author's Note: This was written for the Frankenwolf Secret Santa on tumblr for user wincestears. I hope you enjoy it! I own none of these characters, but if I did the show would have a lot more Ruby and a lot less Emma.

Whale wasn't sure how long it had been since he had spoken to her, but he was willing to declare that it had been far too long. Before that night he could count the days by empty bottles of scotch stashed neatly in his office, but since that day he hadn't had a drop and it had completely thrown his internal calendar off.

No one had ever been nice to him before, except Gerhardt but that barely counted. In theory family is supposed to be nice to you, he was just unlucky enough to only have had one family member that met that standard. She was always surrounded by people sharing nice words, kind gestures, but that was not something he was accustomed to.

In fact, he wasn't even sure if she ever thought about that night. He wouldn't blame her if the thought never crossed her mind, after all, Victor Whale was not the charming gentleman that Victor Frankenstein was, the townsfolk made sure that he absolutely knew that. Forget the fact that in this realm he was the one saving lives, forget the fact that everyone changed during the curse, oh no, only Victor Whale continued to be judged, everyone else got a free pass for that kind of behavior.

It was thoughts like these that almost made him wish that he could count the days with the bottles again. Almost.

Because every time he considered taking another drink he would remember sitting next to her, the sweet words she shared, the way that she smelled…

And every bad thought would disappear.

Ruby wasn't sure how long it had been since she had spoken to him, but she was willing to admit that it had been far too long. Life always seemed to get in the way of her walking back to the hospital, whether it was another crisis threatening the town or having to help Granny around the diner, something always seemed to stop her whenever she put one foot out the door.

It wasn't like she had any reason to go, he probably didn't even remember the conversation, he reeked of liquor so badly that her wolf senses had gone slightly dizzy, and she had certainly opened up much more than she planned to when she left that night. Of course, she would tell herself, that's why he doesn't come by the diner anymore, he's probably embarrassed by the whole event, that is if he even thinks about it anymore…

But these were just lies Ruby told herself so she wouldn't have to think of the real reason. Every time she was close to a man he would die. Peter…Billy…she just couldn't stand the thought of that happening ever again. Watching the man she had admired from afar preparing to jump had just brought it all back to her, and she wasn't ready to handle that again.

There just weren't people like him where she came from. Smart, witty, unafraid of the constant magical dangers that were lurking all around them. He was someone who had seen the type of monsters that made magic look like nothing more than the pictures in that book Henry was always reading at the diner. He understood, just like she did, that sometimes the darkness you have to look out for comes from within.

And that was why she couldn't go looking for him. Being around Victor Whale could bring nothing but heartache, pain, and trouble, and Ruby Lucas was not looking for any of those.

At least that was what she would tell herself every time she started remembering sitting next to him that night.

At a certain point it was just easier to stop going to Granny's Diner.

Not because he was avoiding her. It wasn't that at all. That was actually the only painful part about not going to Granny's Diner.

No, it was to avoid everyone else. There was nothing worse for him than running across Mary Mar…Snow, running across Snow and Charming while out for a morning coffee, and with Granny's being the unofficial meeting spot for every person in their social circle it seemed as if there was never a good window to stop by.

And Whale had decided that he did not particularly enjoy being punched.

In fact, everything about Storybrooke felt like the workings of some universal cruel joke ever since the curse was lifted. Losing an arm, becoming everyone's personal punching bag, not even being able to enjoy a good cup of coffee on the way to work, the entire world seemed like it was out to get him. All that was missing was the pitchforks and torches and this place might actually start feeling like home.

And even then, it was still impossible to avoid the royal family. Victor could not for the life of him figure out how these people survived in a world without modern medicine, they were the most accident prone group he had ever encountered. On the plus side, one family single-handedly gave him job security, but on the other hand that same family was keeping him away from the thing he wanted the most.

And wishing illness on the girl you are hoping to woo was just not a direction Victor was willing to go.

Being a werewolf had its benefits, but also could kind of suck. Ruby knew that she should be happy for the heightened senses giving her amazing reflexes, but it was more of a curse when accidental injury was the goal.

Ruby wasn't the type to do something stupid like this for a boy, and she knew it too. So did Granny, who found it more amusing than anything to watch her granddaughter repeatedly dropping and catching a box over her foot. Granny assumed it was to get a day off, which was a request she would be happy to fill, but she wasn't about to say that and lose her entertainment during their down time.

With a sigh Ruby hoisted the box back into the pantry, giving the door a small but firm slam. At least her frustration would have an outlet, be it a minor one. Times like these made her wonder if maybe she was one of the villains in those stories after all…the villains never get happy endings.

Except Mr. Gold, but look at how that plays out, she told herself. Poor Belle was certainly not a villain, but she got the short end of the luck stick too.

Although having bad luck with your true love has to feel a lot better than having bad luck hoping to find your true love.

It was a Tuesday when he finally decided that he wanted to venture away from the ER to try and find her. There was always a risk involved, he knew that, but there would also always be a risk involved no matter when he decided to try. He had made too many enemies with his mouth during the curse, which really wasn't that much different than the ones he made in his own world.

But she understood. She suffered from the same foot-in-mouth disorder as he did, so she would understand that the things he said weren't necessarily the things that he felt, and vice versa.

That didn't mean he would walk into the diner though, that was still a no. Instead he paced around the shops across the street, marveling at how he had never seen the inside of most of them, or if he had he couldn't remember. There were roses in the window of one of the shops; red mixed subtly with a splash of light blue something. Living things weren't his specialty; he gave himself credit for knowing what the roses were.

So now he paced across the street, awkwardly holding a bouquet of flowers that cost more than any item of clothing he was wearing, waiting for her to get off of a night shift. Most importantly, hoping that she would get off work alone.

Ruby thought she was going to yank the door off of its hinges when she got off work that night.

She had smelled him before she ever saw him, but she knew he was somewhere close and this would be the day that she would finally find him.

Standing under the streetlight that evening, in the same lonely moonlight that the two souls had grown accustomed to, a new sensation filled the air. It was the feeling of something wonderful and exciting about to start. As the two stared into each other's eyes they felt a connection that they had never felt with another person before.

Someone seeing him for who he really was and not looking at him with disgust.

Someone seeing her for who she really was and not running away in fear.

The possibility of someone finally understanding them and not being scared.

Monster to monster.