A/N: For RQW 5: Soulmates. Inspired by a similar plot in Friends, with Mondler and the guy who liked cheese, courtesy of Phoebe.

Regina did not think anything of it, at first. The full moon was approaching, and Ruby tended to become harder to contact on such days, frequenting long walks in the forest without her phone or any other interruptions. It did worry her a little that her texts to check-in had garnered curiously short and succinct replies, devoid of the usual humor the werewolf displayed.

But she had put it out of her mind, chalked it up to her girlfriend having a bad week, and made plans to visit so she could take her mind off things. Just as she'd been putting those plans into action, however, Ruby had beat her to the punch by showing up at her door, looking entirely too solemn.

"What's wrong?" Regina asked, a fireball springing defensively in hand as she looked around for the source of danger. Considering their town, it was a reasonable conclusion. "Are you hurt?"

Her girlfriend quickly shook her head though, as she quickly reassured, "I'm fine. It's not a new villain, I swear."

Relaxing slightly, she put out the fire before asking, "Then what is it?"

The serious look returned, along with a wince. "Look, we need to talk."

Frowning, Regina nonetheless stepped aside, as she slowly answered. "Alright. Why don't we do this in the house?"

Ruby nodded, quickly stepping inside. As she did, she accidentally brushed up against Regina in the tight space. Normally, such an action would merit a teasing remark, or maybe even a salacious one, from her irreverent girlfriend. Today, however, Ruby practically jumped away from her as though her skin burned.

Even more worried, Regina tried to move closer to check on the other woman. "Are you alright?"

The other woman quickly held up her hands. "I'm fine! Just, don't move any closer." Shaking her head, she muttered under her breath. "This is going to be hard enough as it is."

Frowning, Regina could not help asking again, with an edge of exasperation, "Ruby, just tell me, what's wrong?"

Taking a deep breath, the other woman visibly steeled herself, before she blurted out, "I think we should should stop seeing each other."

" What? "

"I mean, I think we should see other people." Ruby explained, or tried to, as she stammered. "That is, you, not me. See other people."

"Ruby, are you breaking up with me?" Regina asked incredulously.

"No!" The other woman protested immediately, before she deflated. "Well, yes. But not because of anything you did. It's just-" A look of frustration came over her face, as she struggled to find the right words.

Finally, she managed to say. "I'm letting you go. Setting you free."

Unfortunately, Regina was still confused, and half wondering if the werewolf was indeed under some new villain's spell. She certainly wasn't acting like herself. "Alright… Why , exactly, do need to do that?"

Ruby wore a look of determined resignation as she said, "So you can be with your soulmate."

"My what? " Regina's eyes practically popped out. "How did you-?"

"I heard all about it from Tink." She admitted, and Regina was had to hold back a groan. Of course, it was Tink. Undeterred, Ruby continued, "I know all about the man with the lion tattoo-who turns out to be Robin Hood, and currently living in Storybrooke."

Regina pressed a hand to her forehead, muttering under her breath, "I am going to strangle that meddling fairy." To Ruby, she spoke louder, explaining firmly, "I don't care if Tink says Robin Hood is my soulmate."

Ruby frowned, clearly ready to protest, but Regina held her hand up, asking for silence as she announced, "I don't believe in soulmates."

"You don't?" There was skepticism in her tone, but also wary hope, and Regina allowed herself to smile a little.

"I did, once upon a time." Regina admitted, as her smile turned more rueful. "Back when I was just a silly girl who fell in love with a stable boy. I believed in a lot of things then, in True Love and Soulmates and Fate."

Ruby looked at her with wide eyes. Their pasts in the Enchanted Forest were not something either of them talked about often, or much at all, typically preferring to dwell in their present or think of the future.

"But I'm not that girl anymore. I could never be. Not after Daniel's death." There was a brief pause, where the weight of her grief was a visible thing, even after all these years.

Ruby felt her own heartache, as she remembered the first boy she had loved, and the disastrous end that had met him at her hands. She was pulled from her thoughts as Regina continued to speak.

Shaking her head, Regina admitted. "That was the real reason I couldn't go into that tavern. Though the fact that the king would have had both our heads if I had certainly wasn't a great motivator either."

Ruby swallowed. It was hard to remember, when the memory of the Evil Queen seemed to so eclipse everything else, that Regina hadn't always been the one with the power in their old lands.

"So, I don't believe in soulmates." Regina concluded, a serious look in her eyes, though there was a twitch of her lips as she expanded. "But I do believe in falling in love with someone. I believe in finding the right person, who is able to see through all the bad that I have done, who loves me for who I am and all I am." Brown eyes shone with emotion as she spoke, speaking even more volumes than her words just now.

"I love you, Ruby." She declared firmly. "I could not care less about Robin Hood, or any ridiculous lion tattoo."

A laugh, of relief and joy and love, burst out from Ruby's throat. Grinning widely, she tugged the other woman into a tight embrace, as she whispered, "I love you too, Regina."