Belle woke up, but found her movement was restricted. Opening her eyes, she looked down to see Ruby asleep, virtually lying on top of her, the taller girls legs curled up against her own, her head on Belle's shoulder. Belle's arms were lazily wrapped around Ruby and the memories of the previous night flooded back, a wide smile breaking onto her face. She settled down again to doze for a while, not wanting to wake the sleeping werewolf, nor wanting this moment to end. Shifting ever so slightly to ease her stiff arm, she heard Ruby growl a little. It wasn't like a dog growling at an aggressor, more of a puppy-ish noise. She chuckled fondly and gently stroked Ruby's hair, drifting in and out of consciousness.
Ruby awoke, feeling strangely content for once, the wolf inside her calm for once, which was especially unusual during wolfstime. She shifted in her half-asleep state and felt something beneath her. Opening her sleepy eyes, she saw Belle beneath her. Ruby was more than a little surprised – pleasantly so – to see her arm draped across Belle's stomach. Her head rested against Belle's shoulder, nuzzling her neck. With a groan she could barely contain, she remembered she had to go and open the diner, or else Granny would bite her head off. In her family, that was a real possibility, she thought with a quiet chuckle. Sitting up slowly, she made sure to untangle herself with care so Belle wouldn't wake. The young woman looked so peaceful in her slumber she could not bear to wake her. Immediately regretting the loss of closeness with Belle, she couldn't help herself as she leaned forwards and placed the gentlest of kisses on Belle's forehead, before getting up and grabbing the throw from the other chair and draping it over her friend, and then, with a final look of longing, she let herself out, closing the door silently behind her.
Belle felt Ruby move, the other woman finally awake, but she decided to let Ruby take control of the situation. It might be a little awkward for them to talk, they did spend the majority of the night wrapped in each other's arms. If Ruby desperately needed to talk about it, she would wake her. Belle lay there as Ruby sat up, the loss of contact making her long for the warmth of Ruby's body again. Just as she was about to 'wake up', she felt something ever so gentle brush her forehead, and stay there for a moment, and then Ruby stood up and crossed the room. Belle, a little surprised, began to open her eyes, but then she felt something being thrown over her and realised that Ruby was tucking her in. The show of concern, the blanket, the kiss, made Belle's heart melt, and she didn't want to ruin the moment, so she maintained her façade until Ruby was out of the room.
Ruby leant against the door as she closed it, closing her eyes and wishing with all her might that she could just turn around and go back in, to fall back into Belle's embrace and just sleep the rest of the day away. Unfortunately, she had to go and get cleaned up and change before she opened the diner. Besides, Belle was as dependable as clockwork in the mornings, as she always came in for breakfast at around eight, so she'd more than likely see her again soon. She scolded herself for being so pathetic. She knew why, but she refused to accept it. With a heavy sigh, she pushed herself off the door and exited the building.
Belle switched off the hot water from the shower and stepped out, towelling herself dry and pulling on fresh clothes. While she performed her usual morning routine, she tried her best to convince herself that her and Ruby were just friends. Friends always stay over at each other's overnight, maybe not quite as closely as they had, but they were still good friends, there was nothing more to it. She knew she was lying to herself, but she had to keep up her denial to save her from the pain of knowing that Ruby couldn't possibly feel the same way. She had heard of her history, and there were no women that she had mentioned, nor had she shown any inclination that she might be 'into' women, to use this world's parlance. Besides, this was all silly, Belle had just broken up, or was on a break, she wasn't entirely sure which, but she had something with Rumplestiltskin, or Gold, and she couldn't allow herself to betray him, despite his manipulative tendencies. She had loved him before, she could do so again. And she would, if he wanted her to, it would just take her some time to see if she could actually make sense of the world around her. The whole situation after Hook and Gold, resulting in her getting shot and losing her memories had – unsurprisingly – thrown her more than a little, and she needed space to work herself out, even though she could now remember everything. Gold hadn't told her much about the events, she didn't know exactly how she got her memories back, but she wasn't complaining all that much. Well, the twenty eight years locked up by the Queen had led her to have less than friendly feelings towards the supposedly reformed Regina, and she had a slight aversion to confined spaces, but she was glad to have her memories of the Enchanted Forest. Now she knew she could brave. Brave enough to love a 'monster', to defeat a Yaogui, to sacrifice her freedom to save her people. So now she knew that she was brave enough to bury and ignore whatever possible feelings she would have for Ruby. For both their sakes.
Ruby balanced a tray on well-practised hands, weaving her way through the bustling diner, dropping off drinks for Snow and Charming, who sat in a booth. Squeezing past a slightly intoxicated Leroy who was just leaving the table, she placed their drinks on the table, barely having enough time to greet them before hearing Granny shout on her to get back to work. Rolling her eyes, and smiling at Snow's laughter at her action, she heard the bell on the door jangle as another customer entered. Sighing heavily, she turned to see who it was. She forced a smile as she wasn't sure if she could handle another customer on top of all the others. However, when her eyes fell on the figure in the doorway, the forced smile erupted into a genuine one.
Belle left the apartment above the library and went down the stairs to the library. She strode through the stacks of books, thinking through her jobs for the day. She didn't have much to do, and her days were generally quiet. Most of her time was spent reading, or cataloguing piles of books, or cleaning. The only proper socialisation she received was when she went to the diner for breakfast. I really should get out more, she thought as she left the library and crossed the road to the diner. The memory of the night before made her smile. She realised with a shock how even thinking about Ruby made her feel warm and fuzzy inside. Stop it, this can't happen, you can't let it. It's not like she feels the same. Come on, you can do it, just ignore it and try not to act like a lovesick idiot. Stopping in her tracks, she analysed the thought again. Lovesick? Was she really lovesick? Belle shook off the thought and drove it into the very deepest depth of her mind as she opened the door of the diner and entered. As soon as she entered, her eyes fell unbidden to Ruby's form next to Snow and Charming's table. Belle could barely tear her eyes away as Ruby began to turn, and quickly fumbled with her jacket and hung it up, before turning back. She caught Ruby smiling warmly at her across the diner, her hazel eyes shining, before the taller woman gathered herself and continued with her work, disappearing into the kitchen. Belle took a breath and sat down in an empty booth, took out her book and began to read.
When the door opened, Snow looked up to see Belle in the doorway. Glancing back at Ruby, she saw the pair were transfixed with each other for a few seconds. Snow knew, as she had when she saw Red and Peter together in the Enchanted Forest, that Ruby definitely had some form of feelings for the librarian. Snow knew Ruby; she could read her friend easily. And, from her brief observation, she found that Belle possibly reciprocated these feelings. Snow smiled knowingly as she looked back to Charming. She would definitely be talking to Ruby about this later, but for now, she'd watch their interactions to see just how far this went.
Ruby took a deep breath, leaning against the wall of the kitchen for a moment as she tried to calm her beating heart and control her breathing. Why am I reacting like this? She asked herself. She was getting in a state over Belle just walking into the diner and smiling at her? What on earth was happening to her?
"Ruby! What's wrong?" asked Granny from across the room, only half paying attention as she cooked.
"Huh?" It took Ruby a moment to notice Granny had spoken. "I'm alright, just a little tired."
"That's what you get for staying out all night!" came Granny's reply, quick as a flash. Ruby rolled her eyes. "Where were you anyway?"
"I was at Belle's."
"You two have gotten pretty close recently."
Ruby bristled at the comment, more than she should have, and felt a need to defend herself.
"We're friends, she didn't have anyone other than Gold, I was making sure she was okay."
"Somebody's defensive this morning," smirked Granny. Ruby rolled her eyes again and slid out of the kitchen, walking around the counter to Belle's table. Out of the corner of her eye, she felt Snow watching her.
"Morning," she greeted as Belle looked up from her book.
"Good morning," she replied, flashing that smile that Ruby loved so dearly. There was a small moment of silence, as Ruby and Belle just looked at each other for a moment, before Ruby collected herself.
"Listen, I'm sorry, I crashed at your place last night, I never usually-"
"Oh no, it's fine. I enjoy the company," Belle replied, her eyes shining with her smile, gently tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.
"And I'm sorry the wolf fell asleep on you."
"Again, it's alright, I was pretty cold." Belle shifted in her seat a little.
"RUBY!" yelled Granny from the kitchen, startling the taller woman. Belle chuckled lightly as Ruby hurried to her feet, apologising profusely to the librarian and asking if she wanted anything.
"Just a tea, please."
"Coming up," replied Ruby. On her way across the diner, she walked past the Charming's table, and saw Snow's eyes flitting from Belle to Ruby, a knowing look on her face. Ruby noted this and would follow up later with Snow, to see exactly why the woman kept analysing them.
Later that night, Belle wandered her library, looking for something interesting to read. She needed something to take her mind busy. Checking the time on the clock above the door, she discovered it was half past nine already. She had had a rather busy day, or rather, busier than usual; Mary Margaret's class had been doing a project and came in for research. Belle had enjoyed helping out the students, and was glad to use her knowledge to help them. After they were all settled and reading, Belle joined Mary Margaret, who was sitting in the office where Belle had left her, sipping a cup of coffee. Belle sat opposite her across the desk and poured a cup of tea for herself.
"The library is really brilliant," commented Mary Margaret, impressed with the content from her little explore with the students.
"Thank you, you're students seem to really appreciate it."
"Oh, most of them love books, we read a story every day."
"Good." There was a pause as both women took a sip of their drink simultaneously.
"Belle, can I ask you a question?" asked Mary Margaret.
"Sure, go ahead," replied Belle, a little unsure of where this was going.
"You and Gold… are you two still…?" she let the question tail off.
"Oh, no, we're… I don't really know. But things aren't like they were, he refuses to try and change, even though I know he can. I don't know if I can be with someone who hurts other people for their own good," Belle explained, looking down into her tea. Mary Margaret decided to take a bit of a shot in the dark.
"Is there someone else?" she asked quietly, watching Belle's face carefully for any reaction. She saw Belle bite her lip, suppressing a small grin, and then looked up to Mary Margaret.
"Possibly, I'm not really sure. I haven't had much experience with this whole…" she paused, looking for the right word. "…Dating thing."
"Do you think they like you back?" asked Mary Margaret calmly, though inside she was yelling victoriously that she was right.
"Again, I don't know. I doubt it. We're… just friends," replied Belle, a hint of disappointment and sadness in her voice.
"Why not just ask them?"
"What if they don't feel the same? I don't want to ruin anything."
"What if they do?"
"Why would they like me? I'm hardly their type, from what I've heard."
"Belle, you're smart, beautiful and kind, of course they'll like you. They like you enough to be friends."
"True…"
Belle and Mary Margaret had spent the rest of the afternoon discussing Belle's problem, without mentioning who it was, but now as Belle thought over it, she had a feeling that the teacher knew exactly whom she had been talking about.
Belle snapped back to the present, and, shaking her head slightly, continued her search for a book., and a rest from the relentless thoughts that deluged her, most of them about Ruby. Constant thoughts about where the taller woman was, whether it was wolfstime yet, if she spent her time with anyone else. The last one concerned her most. What if these strange feelings weren't reciprocated? She knew it wasn't her place, but she wanted to be special to Ruby. She sighed, knowing it would probably never happen. Reaching up, she stood on tip toe to grasp a book from a high shelf. Suddenly, she heard a persistent scratching sound at the door. Momentarily startled, the librarian crossed the room, weaving between the stacks, and opened the door slowly and carefully. The next thing she knew, she had been thrown backwards and a large, heavy grey creature, absolutely covered in fresh snow, was pinning her to the floor, licking her face.
"Ruby!" she exclaimed, realising the culprit. A cold draft blew in from the door and Belle hastened to her feet, playfully shoving the wolf off of her as she got up to close it. Turning back, she saw Ruby sitting, tail wagging furiously and tongue hanging out. Belle noticed something on the floor. Upon closer inspection, it was mud. Looking down at her front, she discovered her dress was covered in water, from melted snow, and mud.
"Look what you've done!" Belle said, in a mock harsh tone. Ruby's puppy-like face immediately fell, ears drooping and staring at the floor. Chuckling, Belle knelt in front of Ruby and stroked her head affectionately. "I'm kidding. Come on, if you're staying, we better get you cleaned up." With that, Belle got to her feet and walked to the stairway that led to her apartment. Ruby followed her halfway up the stairs, and then scrambled back down and through the stacks again. Belle waited, watching the door, bemused, until Ruby came bounding back through and up the steps, carrying Belle's book in her jaws. Belle's heart melted at the act of kindness, and shook her head, unable to stop grinning. Ruby looked proud of herself as she followed Belle into the apartment.
"Come on, into the bath," ordered Belle, pointing to the door off the hall. Ruby obediently dropped the book onto the coffee table in the living room and carefully pawed her way to the bathroom, trying not to get the carpet muddy. Belle couldn't help chuckling at her antics, watching this supposedly fearsome beast tiptoeing across the carpet. After fetching some towels, Belle entered the bathroom and turned on the light, to see Ruby sitting in the bath, attempting to turn the taps on with her nose. At Belle's laugh, Ruby looked at her with a sheepish grin as Belle turned on the taps and filled the bath. Ruby sat as still as she could, but, being a restless individual, and an even more fidgety wolf, this wouldn't be as easy as Belle had thought. But, she persevered. After rinsing off some of the dirt, Belle lathered soap onto her fur. Ruby, unfortunately, decided to shake herself off before Belle had finished, and subsequently covered Belle in bubbles.
"Bad Ruby!" she said, flicking the wolf on the nose. Ruby scrunched her face up and pawed at Belle's head, as if trying to pat her condescendingly. Belle continued with her work, cleaning off the mud, lathering on soap and then rinsing it off. It took a good ten minutes, with a lot of semi-stern warnings to Ruby to stop shaking her fur, eating the bubbles or the soap, and licking Belle in the face. When she was done, she ordered Ruby to step out of the bath and onto the mat.
"…And DO NOT SHAKE YOUR FUR. Do you hear me?" she asked, throwing a towel at Ruby. It hit her in the face, covering her snout all the way to her neck; twin peaks of her ears making it stick up. When Belle lifted the towel, Ruby's face was plastered with the most indignant look a canine could achieve. Belle dried her off, and then let her loose in the apartment. While Ruby was bounding around the living room, Belle cleaned up the bathroom and put the towels into the wash, before joining Ruby, who was sniffing around the kitchen. Sighing happily, she watched from the door as the girl she was pretty sure she was in love with tried and failed to open the fridge on numerous occasions.