I don't own any characters of Once Upon A Time... Blah, blah, blah... HERE'S THE NEW CHAPTER, I hope you all love it and FOLLOW and REVIEWWWW since it makes me so damn happy. Enjoy! Xxx

"Did you see that?"

Ruby excitedly exclaimed, while roughly grabbing the arm of the mayor, causing the smaller woman to wince.

"See what, exactly?" Ruby rolled her eyes while staring intently at the new sheriff and librarian, walking off to get drinks.

"Emma and Belle, you idiot! Don't tell me you didn't see the obvious chemistry! The tension! The looks they just exchanged!"

At Regina's blank look, Ruby huffed. "What about the way they were practically undressing each other with their eyes?"

Regina sighed and tried in vain to stop the smirk appearing at her girlfriend's antics. "I think that might be a bit of a stretch, darling. They merely had a moment of fleeting attraction."

Ruby shook her head and scoffed. "Fleeting attraction? I don't think so babe. Belle's expression was priceless! It was the stuff of romantic comedies, trashy novels and even FanFiction! This is big Gina."

The mayor rolled her eyes again and dragged her girlfriend in the opposite direction of their talking friends.

"Ruby, I honestly don't think that anything will come of these ideas of yours. Yes, we know that Emma is gay, but has Belle ever shown any interest in women?"

Ruby sighed and shook her head. "I don't think so. But, Regina! This is dIfferent, okay? Remember when we got together? I never showed any interest in girls until I met you. Maybe Belle's the same. She just had to meet a drop-dead sexy sheriff instead of a drop-dead sexy cheerleader."

Regina chuckled and softly intertwined their fingers.

"I understand dear, but remember that was high school. This, however... Even if Belle was interested don't you think it would be because of a different reason?"

In response to Regina's knowing look, Ruby flicked her head back to examine the two women, currently laughing and unknowingly sharing small, innocent touches.

"I honestly don't think she'd use Emma as a way to get over Killian. She's moved on and you and I both know she wouldn't hurt someone like that. But that attraction? It's not forced or fake. I can tell."

Regina chuckled at the tall brunette's dead serious expression. "If you say so. However, do you really think that Belle would date, let alone be open to a relationship with a woman?"

Ruby smirked. "Oh yeah, definitely. I bet she would've sooner, but she just hadn't found the right woman yet. I think she has now though and they'd be so cute together!" Ruby finished her argument with a flourish of hands and a cute squeal.

Regina, in response, just laughed at her adorable girlfriend and turned to see Jefferson smirking in the same direction Ruby was earlier.

Tapping the tall brunette's shoulder to show Ruby her new discovery, Regina rolled her eyes at the large smile that broke out on her partners face, before promptly pulling the tiny woman in the direction of the eccentric designer.

"And apparently, I'm not the only one who thinks so."

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"It's nice to meet you too, Emma."

As soon as the shy response left the brunette's gorgeous pink lips, a large smile spread across the blonde's face that the librarian almost immediately mirrored.

"Well, I would really love a drink right now. Do you know where Rubes has put them? Or do I have to go rummaging through some secret cabinets or something?"

Belle rolled her eyes and smiled playfully at the new sheriff. "No, the kitchen houses them just fine actually."

She turned to walk in the direction of said room, however she was quick to notice the blonde beauty wasn't following her.

"What is it? Aren't you coming?"

Belle looked down and tried to fight her sudden surge of disappointment from appearing on her face. Even though she had just met the woman, she thought Emma and her might have at least a friendship in the making.

Emma's head snapped up at the Brunette's words laced with sadness, and quickly to made her way over to the smaller woman.

"Absolutely. I wouldn't miss out on getting a drink with my new bestie. I just noticed that Ruby is kind of staring at us."

Belle smiled radiantly at the blonde before lifting her head to see her best friend doing just that. She shot her a half-hearted glare of 'warning' and pulled Emma by her elbow towards the back of the kitchen, hoping to be out of sight while grabbing a drink.

" I'm so sorry about that. She's probably concocting some insane plan in her head that involves us."

Emma raised an eyebrow and smirked at the blushing girl. "Oh, really? It sounds like you speak from experience."

"Well, 8 years of friendship sure has given me plenty of experiences."

Emma laughed at Belle's wry grin and caused the brunette's heart to jump in her chest. The Sheriff did have a lovely laugh.

"So, how did you guys become friends? I've heard so many stories about the two of you, but I still haven't heard that one yet! And, It would be nice to hear a story from the other half of the pair for once."

Belle smiled softly before handing Emma her newly poured glass of punch. In response to the glass being handed to her, Emma raised a questioning eyebrow that made the smaller woman blush furiously.

"Oh! I'm so sorry, I didn't even ask if you wanted the punch! I just really enjoy it and was focusing too much on your gorgeous smile to realise that I had actually poured a-"

Emma cut the younger girl off with a bright smile and a soft hand gently resting on her shoulder.

"-Belle. Honey, stop. It's perfectly fine! I was just wondering how you knew that I loved Regina's punch so much."

The Australian took a deep breath and willed her cheeks to colour normally again. She was beet red of embarrassment, and it wasn't just over her rambling confession.

Not only did she realise that Emma slipped out a pet name for her (and she secretly loved it), but mostly because of the gentle, yet burning hand resting on her bare skin, currently calming her heart while making it race ten times faster at the exact same time. She had never been affected by someone's touch that much, not even Killian's.

Emma, purely delighted with the new revelation, decided to put the brunette out of her discomfort and gave her a warm, understanding smile while leading her over to the now vacant couches in the living room.

"So? That story? I'm still interested to hear it." The blonde winked and grabbed both of their glasses as she sat on the couch, patting the space beside her.

"Well, Ruby and I met during high school. Except, I was a very quiet, plain and invisible nerd at the time, and Ruby was one of our star jocks."

Emma laughed at the description, playfully knocking her hand against Belle's. "That's hard to believe. I'm sure you weren't plain or invisible, you seem to special for that."

Belle smiled brightly while her heart melted, and ducked her head down to hide yet another incoming blush. How did this mystery woman already have so much control over her emotions?

Looking back into bright and caring Viridian eyes, Belle cleared her throat and continued, bolstered by the underlying curiosity in the Sheriff's gaze.

"Anyway, it was our first year of high school and I had just started working at the library. One afternoon, all of a sudden, the doors burst open and in came a big flash of bright red leather."

Belle paused her story, chuckling momentarily at the memory of punk-high school Ruby's fashion.

"It was hilarious actually. I had never seen her so flustered. Obviously, I'd never really met Ruby before this, although I had seen her around school a lot. Anyway, here she was, standing in the middle of the library looking around as if it was a foreign country."

Emma and Belle both wore matching grins now, the blonde listening intently while studying the life and shine that danced in the other woman's eyes.

"She ran up to the counter in a panic, and literally grabbed my shoulders as she explained what she was doing there. Apparently, she had scored a date with the "goddess" of a head cheerleader, Regina Mills, but the only restaurant in Storybrooke was closed due to plumbing problems."

Emma laughed at the mention of the younger Ruby's panic. "Oh! Poor Rubes. Anyway what did that have to do with the library?"

"Well she couldn't cancel the date since it was with THE Regina Mills, so Ruby had come down to the library looking for cookbooks so that she could make dinner for a last-minute romantic picnic."

Emma smiled at the description while glancing over to their two friends, currently leaning against each other and holding hands while talking to Jefferson.

"That's really smooth on Ruby's part. I would've just had a panic attack. So, did you guys end up bonding over cookbooks?"

The younger woman chuckled at the light sarcasm of the blonde.

"Essentially, yes. Ruby thanked me repeatedly before she left and after the immense success of the date, she came to thank me again. This time however, she brought leftovers and we had lunch and talked about the date. I guess our friendship just grew from there."

Both softly smiling by the end of Belle's tale, Emma took a long sip from her forgotten glass of punch.

"That sounds really sweet. It's great you guys have stuck together all these years."

Belle nodded and met Viridian eyes sincerely. "I honestly don't know what I'd do without her. Anyway, enough about me. What about you? Regina seems close enough with you as well. How did you guys meet?"

Emma grinned mischievously and Belle's curiosity flickered as their glances both landed on the tiny Latina.

"Well... "

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"Damn. The girl sure knows how to pick."

At the designer's comment Ruby snorted in amusement while Regina raised a disbelieving eyebrow.

"I thought you were gay, Jefferson? Or is there something you would like to tell us?"

The taller man rolled his eyes and shoved Regina's shoulder.

"Just because I prefer a gentleman's company over a woman's, it doesn't mean I can't appreciate beauty. After all, I saw you appreciating a bit of Deputy Humbert's beauty the other day."

Regina blushed and nodded under Jefferson's playful and triumphant gaze. "Touché."

"What!? You were checking out Graham? Graham?"

Ruby turned to her girlfriend, half pouting, half blazing.

"I thought you liked him in what? Middle school!"

Regina laughed loudly and wrapped her arms around the taller woman's slender waist.

"Calm your heart, my love. You know I only have eyes for you. But, you must admit... He certainly has changed since Middle School."

Ruby huffed and held her hands up.

"Sorry, babe. 110% GAY right here. I couldn't give less of a crap about how much he's changed, as long as he keeps his hands of my girlfriend."

Jefferson laughed and nudged Ruby.

"I totally get it, I was the exact same. You guys know Anna? Elsa's younger sister? She had this huge thing for Archie about a year back and it sent me insane. Of course he was just being himself, lovely and polite, but every time she fluttered her too-long eye lashes or giggled like a child, I did not hesitate to put her in her place. The man is mine."

Regina and Ruby chuckled at Jefferson's expression as the tension slowly left the tall artist's shoulders.

"Anyway! Back onto Belle and Emma. Give us your honest opinion, Jeff. Do you think something could actually happen between them?"

Jefferson turned his head and looked at the newly-relocated pair, comfortably sitting very close on the abandoned couch.

A slow grin lit up his face as he noticed Belle blush brightly and duck her head, as her fingers brushed Emma's unknowingly.

"There's no doubt about it, darling. They've both got it bad. Especially our little one."

Ruby grinned and held out her fist to the Mayor. "HA! I told you I was right!"

Regina raised a condescending eyebrow and tightly crossed her arms.

"Ahh, come on, Gina! Indulge me! Just a little one?"

As Regina rolled her eyes and succumbed to her partner's childish whims by knocking their fists together (the fashion designer included), she realised that this was the beginning of many wonderful things. Stronger friendships for them both, A new partnership founded between all of them and more importantly, the possibility of a new relationship that could be something truly spectacular if all went according to plan.

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"Well..."

Belle playfully slapped the blonde's knee in anticipation a few moments later. "Are you going to tell me or not? Come on, Emma!"

The new sheriff laughed at the librarian's impatience and decided to use it to her advantage. "Hmmm, maybe I should just save it for another time?"

Belle caught Emma's sly grin and smirked at her. "Oh? Another time? Who said there would be another time?"

Emma didn't want to feel the pang of sadness from those words, but hoped that her insecurities were false and the librarian did want to see her again.

"Well, we do live in the same town, which is very, VERY small. And we are also friends with each other's friends and hang in the same social circles. Also, I really like to read and I'm probably going to go and check out the library. So you'll definitely see me soon. It's inevitable."

"How presumptuous of you, Sheriff."

Belle winked at the blonde, and caused her brain to short circuit for a few seconds before recovering quickly.

"Just stating the facts, ma'am."

After Emma's flirty reply, Belle was stunned momentarily much like Emma was earlier.

"So... Why did you decide to come to Storybrooke? I know you worked as some hot-shot cop back in Boston. Why on earth did you come here of all places?"

Emma sighed and ran a hand through her immaculate curls.

She knew the question was going to come soon enough. It wasn't so hard explaining it to Ruby and Regina since she was really close with them, but people like Belle and Mulan were a little different.

"Well, I actually am a detective. I work for the Homicide department at BPD."

Belle gaped in awe at the woman before her.

"A homicide detective? You really solved murders?"

Emma cracked a small smile and nodded awkwardly. "Yeah. I did. I mean, don't get me wrong, I loved kicking all the scum of the streets and into prison, but the job wasn't all it's cracked up to be. That's why I'm here. I needed a break after one...case you could call it, and needed to get away and start afresh. I've always got my job there though, so I'll probably go back in the next few months. However long I want."

Belle nodded thoughtfully and chose to bite back her instinct to ask for more information. She could tell by the obvious emotion blaring in Emma's eyes that the experience had caused her a lot of pain, and that hurt the librarian's heart a little. The blonde shouldn't be doing anything but smiling that gorgeous grin of hers.

"Well, I hope you're okay. Anyway, Storybrooke is very different to Boston so you should have no trouble trying to start anew."

Emma laughed and relaxed into the couch once more. "Tell me about it."

A content silence fell over the two while they sipped their drinks and stole hidden glances at each other.

"Why don't you?" Emma suddenly broke the silence

"Why don't I what?"

"Tell me about it. Storybrooke, I mean. Honestly, I've been so caught up in settling into work and my new apartment and making new friends, I've forgotten to learn about my new town."

Belle raised a surprised eyebrow. She was both suprised and thrilled at Emma's request. She wasn't sure that the new sheriff liked her much. Of course she already liked the blonde a lot more than most people and she secretly wanted to talk to her for the whole night, party be damned.

"So you want me to tell you about Storybrooke? Teach you the ways to survive small town life?"

Honestly, Emma couldn't actually care less about what the brunette would really be saying, she just wanted to listen to that enchanting accent while looking at an even more enchanting woman.

"Exactly."

"Okay then, where to begin? Oh! I know! So as you know there's a diner here..."

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And that's what they did for the rest of the night. They just sat there, and talked and laughed about anything and everything. And by the end of the night, when it was finally time to say goodbye, they realised that they had almost instantly formed a strong friendship in the 4 hours they spent getting to know each other.

And while lying in bed that night, thinking about their newly made friendship, both the librarian and the detective just happened to think that maybe, quite possibly, a little something else was there too.

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AN: I hope that it was okay and everyone liked it! The slow burn will last a little while but not too long, but I'm sorry the gals won't be jumping each other any chapter soon. It's all about the FRIENDSHIP. Well maybe for Belle. Anyway please, please, PLEASEEEEE Review! And I promise way more RedQueen next chapter.