Moonlight was creeping in between the bookshelves, the line of light getting closer and closer to her feet. It had been hours since Ruby chained her to the fire hose. Belle rolled her head to one side and sighed, staring out the window. Two very small tears slid down her already stained cheeks—at this point, she had basically cried herself dry. She thought she was finally getting a break from the cruelties of this world…not so much, it seemed. Her best friend was about to hand herself over to an angry mob. "Ruby…" The chains attached to her wrist clanged as Belle drew her hands up to her face. "Ruby, why?"
She was trying so hard to forget the moment right before her friend had shackled her. Belle had felt something, something so earth-shattering that for a split second she thought time itself was going to stand still. It was the same something she felt in the moments before she kissed Rumpelstiltskin for the first time. It was something so alarmingly and confusingly powerful that it made the prospect of losing Ruby tonight hurt so much more than she ever expected it to. It was something that made her want to tear her heart out right then and there, just to make the pain go away. That moment, a second before she was chained to the wall, Belle thought Ruby was going to kiss her. And in that moment, in the second it took for Ruby to step forward and take her hand, Belle realized just how much she wanted her friend to do it.
"I don't understand," Belle whispered to herself. Her fingernails dug into her forehead, but she could barely feel it. "I don't understand…"
Soft footsteps alerted her to the presence of somebody else in the library. Jerking out of her reveries, Belle looked up sharply. Her mouth fell open. "Ruby!"
Moonlit and smiling sheepishly, the red-clad woman walked slowly through the doorway. "Hey," she whispered.
Belle felt fresh sobs building in her throat as she got to her feet with an incredible clatter. "I thought…" She tried to take a breath; her voice was shaking as much as her body. "I thought…"
Ruby's face fell. "I thought so, too." Pulling the key out of her pocket, she hurried to Belle's side and took her chained wrist in her hands. "I'm so sorry I did this to you, Belle. I only had your safety in mind."
"Yeah, well…" Belle sniffed and ran her free hand under her eyes. "A lot of people have used that excuse to lock me up before, believe it or not."
Ruby raised her eyes. The hurt she saw on the other woman's face as she stared out the window tugged painfully at Ruby's heart—she hated herself for what she did to Belle. The second they were unlocked, Ruby let the shackles fall to the floor and she embraced her friend, holding her as tightly as she dared. "I promise it will never happen again." Ruby tried weakly to smile against Belle's neck. "David and Granny got my cloak back, and…I remembered how to control the wolf. Everybody is safe now. Everything will be okay."
Belle squeezed her eyes shut. "It doesn't feel like it will be okay," she choked.
"It will." Pulling back, Ruby gently wiped her friend's cheeks and stared into her eyes. "Belle, I am so, so sorry—"
"Stop—" Belle shook her head hard, knocking Ruby's hand away. "Stop apologizing."
Ruby blinked a couple of times. Her eyebrows furrowed and she nodded, taking a step back towards the door. "O-okay. I understand."
Belle took a deep, shuddering breath. Her face crumpled as she brought her hands up to her mouth and shook her head back and forth, not taking her eyes off of Ruby. The latter stared nervously, unsure of what to do. "Belle?" she whispered.
As if it was her cue, Belle stepped forward, took Ruby's face in both hands and kissed her full on the mouth. Stunned, Ruby stumbled backwards a couple of steps and grabbed Belle's hips to anchor herself, only to have her friend pull away with a gasp the moment they straightened. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," Belle gulped, ducking her head in shame. "I…I shouldn't have done that…"
"No, don't be sorry!" Ruby reached out and cupped Belle's face, directing her to meet her gaze. "It's okay," she whispered. "I promise, it's okay."
"I don't know the rules of this place," Belle lamented, several more tears slipping down her face. "Everything is so different, I just…I want to follow my heart, but I don't know if that's all right anymore. I didn't mean to—"
Ruby kissed Belle hard, cutting her off in midsentence. Caught completely by surprise, Belle gasped and gave Ruby the opportunity to drive the kiss deeper, deeper than Belle had ever been kissed before. She was stunned, but quickly found herself relaxing into it. It felt right. It felt real.
It felt like eons before Ruby pulled away, smiling as widely as she could at her friend. "It's okay," she breathed through swollen lips. "No matter what crazy world you may end up in, don't ever stop following your heart. It's the best thing you could ever do."