A/N hey there! remember me? The girl who hasn't update her story in eons? I feel quite terrible, believe me. I hope this chapter compensates for that. I know everyone is dying for them to just kiss already. I promise it's coming soon. Don't give up on me yet. Thanks for all of you who have taken the time to leave a review.
If you have any scene that maybe you'd like to see then feel free to leave a suggestion. I have an idea of what the next chapter might be, but I'm always open to suggestions. If anything I'll try to incorporate them into the next few chapters. So remember...don't be shy! I won't bite...hard.
There was something off. It wasn't just a feeling. There was something off about the air; yes, as odd as it may sound the air felt…how would one describe it?
Heavy.
Thick.
Like there was a barrier between the two women that had never been there before, but they had already acknowledged this. The tension suffocated the poor she-wolf to utter madness. She had tried so hard not to mess up, but all of her efforts proved to be in vain.
The wolf had begged to escape and clearly did just in time. If Belle would have entered into the room a second before, Ruby would have lost all control. Red had heard the rapid heartbeat of the other woman through the door. She heard the turning of the handle. The sound of a heart racing in syncopation with her own. In a rapid motion, the brunette had thrown off her red cape, lifted her window and gazed up into the luminous goddess of the night. Without the act of thought her eyes became yellow. Her soft, pale flesh turned into fur and her ears turned into a point. Just as the door opened the wolf leaped out of the window and into the night.
Ruby had entered in her room early the next morning to find a body curled up on the center of her bed. Her brow furrowed with deep concern along with alarm as she edged closer to the figure. The sleeping librarian's chest fell up and down peacefully; her curls fell over her face in a fashion that made Ruby want to reach out and tuck it behind her ear.
Belle had her hands and feet pulled up into herself in a ball making her look more innocent than ever. If that was even possible. But why was she here? In her room?
She slowly reached down, placing her hand upon the sleeping woman's shoulder, and shook her gently with a whisper.
"Belle?"
The librarian murmured careless, sleep-laced words for a few moments until her eyes fluttered open. It took her a second for her eyes to adjust and recognize her friend peering down at her with a shy smile. Belle's eyes shifted around the room until she came to realization that she wasn't in her own.
Her face fell in fear that Ruby might be upset with her and she quickly pushed herself up. With sleep's hands still clinging onto her limbs she stumbled forward, falling towards the floor. She let out a small cry as hands embraced her quickly and securely.
"Belle?" Ruby whispered a bit higher as her concern for her friend grew, "are you okay?"
Belle pulled away, but not enough to break contact as she bashfully looked into Red's face. The wolf's eyes darted across her features looking for any answer she could find within her features. The taller woman's hands still remained on the other's shoulders as they both stood idle.
"I'm terribly sorry; I-I must have fallen asleep when I…when I came in to check on you."
"You came in last night?" Ruby asked even though she already knew the answer. What she really meant to ask was why?
"I…was worried about you. You weren't there when I went to the diner and Granny said that you went home and—" she was cut off by her own betrayal of sobs.
They were so sudden and unexpected that it took Ruby by surprise. She reacted on natural instinct and pulled the girl close against her.
"Shhh," the waitress whispered softly and ran a soothing hand down her back, "I'm okay."
But that wasn't enough. The librarian's cries only grew louder, her tears soaking through the plaid shirt.
Belle wasn't even sure why she was crying. Perhaps it was the impact of last night and waking up to Ruby's beautiful face that caused such a contradiction within her heart. She clenched onto the other's shirt in fear that Ruby would disappear.
"I'm sorry; I…I don't…know why I'm crying," she said through her sobs.
Ruby tightened the embrace before walking over to her bed. That is where they parted and sank down onto the mattress side by side. The waitress turned to face the other and took her hands.
"It's okay," she said in a soothing voice as she took one hand and wiped her wet cheeks, "I'm okay; you're okay."
Belle nodded, but her head remained down staring down at the other woman's hand upon hers. It was warm. A few moments of silenced passed until the librarian looked up. Ruby was staring out the window, the warm sun rising slowly casting an orange glow into the room.
The librarian reached out and ran a hand through Ruby's dark chestnut hair which caused the latter to snap her head in curiosity.
"Sorry," Belle whispered shyly, "You have grass in your hair."
"Oh…"
Ruby chewed on the inside of her cheek and resumed her attention towards the window watching as the sun rose higher and higher into the sky.
"Where did you go last night?"
The waitress closed her eyes for a moment and let out a long breath. She couldn't do this now. Why couldn't things be easy again? Why did Gold have to bring Belle into such a situation that damned her to this hell of forgetfulness? It hurt beyond words
Behind the darkness of her eyelids she saw the bright moon gleaming down upon her. The chill of the wind was brushing against her dark fur as her paws carried her for miles upon miles through the dark forest. The sound of the night echoed through the trees; the sounds of crickets. An owl hooting in the distance. Once she was far enough from the town she found perched on top of a rock that sat on the edge of a cliff and howled to the moon.
That was the place she wanted to be now.
That was the place she always escaped once every full moon.
She felt a weight upon her shoulder and looked over to find the librarian's head. After wrapping an arm around the girl, she ran a hand through her curls, smiling at the soft breath that escaped Belle's lips.
Friends, Red thought, Just friends.
She thought for a moment that the librarian had fallen asleep again until the latter moved, her nose lightly touching her neck. Warm breath fell upon her skin and she sighed once again, letting out the growing tension within her.
The moon may be waning now, but her senses were still on high alert.
"You smell like…dirt."
Ruby could imagine the wrinkling of Belle's nose through her words. She let out a soft chuckle. Belle wasn't going to let this drop.
"I went for a walk last night," Ruby halfway lied. She could tell Belle half the truth at least, "Sometimes I have this urge just to get out of the house. The walls feel like their locking me in like a cage. It feels like there is this beast inside of me that's suffocating; I set it free on nights like last those."
She paused and waited to hear what the other woman had to say. Belle lifted her head to get a good look at Ruby. She knew how that felt. To be caged up; in her case there was no escape.
What if she had come in before Red had gone? What would have happened?
"So you just stayed out there all night? Alone?"
The innocent woman's heart began to race at the thought of Ruby being alone in the woods. She remembered the night before of the chilling howl of a wolf.
"It's not so bad," Red smiled at her, "Falling asleep under the stars with only the grass as your pillow."
Of course the wolf found it much more comfortable than when she awoke as human. She never failed to wake up with some sort of pain in the neck, legs, or arms. Just about anything you could name she had awoken with.
"Maybe I could come with you one night?"
Ruby's green eyes lit up at the notion.
"Sure," she squeezed the hand that she was still holding, their fingers having intertwined at one point, "I'd love that." She let go of Belle's hand s and rose up to her feet. "I'm going to go take a shower before work. I'll make breakfast when I get out."
When Ruby opened the door the bathroom, a towel draped around her, a rush of bacon hit her nostrils making them flare. She quickly changed into a black shirt and jeans before heading downstairs. When she entered the kitchen her eyes widened in amusement.
"Belle!" she called out trying to contain her laughter, but was unable to, "What happened?"
Flour seemed to have taken over the entirety of the kitchen counter. Belle turned around from the stove in which a pan sat with sizzling bacon. A bashful blush crept across her cheeks and she offered her companion a smile.
"I thought I'd make breakfast for a change," she turned her attention back to the bacon and flipped a few pieces, "but then uh…well I kinda spilled the flour when trying to make pancakes."
"Kinda?" Ruby laughed again as she walked closer to examine the mess. She shook her head. White dust covered not only the counter, but the walls and somehow the ceiling. "Did you make a flour bomb? My God!"
"I'll clean it up I swear!" the librarian held up her hands before pointing over to a plate filled with pancakes, "but I did manage to make a few."
"You better or else Granny is going to kill me. I'll help you after we eat."
The morning had started off quite well for the rough night each of them had. It was nice to be able to sit down together at the table and enjoy a surprisingly wonderful breakfast. Ruby watched from the corner of her eyes as Belle ate her meal happily.
What Ruby didn't know was how well Belle was containing her other emotions deep down beneath the mask of happiness.
"So did I pass?" the librarian inquired about breakfast. She caught a wet rag that was thrown her way and began to wipe the mess off the counters.
"I suppose," Ruby taunted with a grin on her face. Belle placed a hand on her hip.
"And what's that supposed to mean?"
"Oh nothing."
She was being honest; it wasn't meant to mean a thing at all. She just loved Belle's defensive reaction when she teased her.
Ruby began to twirl the towel in her hands, an evil smirk crossing her face as her friend continued to wipe down the counters obliviously. The wolf edged a few inches closer, her hand ready to snap the towel.
But then Belle turned around. Her blue eyes widened when it dawned on her what Ruby was about to do.
"Oh, no you don't," she warned.
"You gonna stop me?"
The wolf-girl's teeth were now bared in a predatory smile as she held the towel in place.
"I'm warning you."
Ruby's back hand released the towel, a loud snapping sounding as it whipped the air. Belle quickly dodged it and managed to grab a handful of flour she missed and tossed it at the wolf-girl.
A puff of white dust flew into Ruby's face and she let out a cough, her hand waving in the air to clear the remnants of the attack. She glanced down at her once black shirt and then back up to her companion.
Uh, oh.
Belle gulped as she watched Ruby's eyes narrow, the wolf-girl edging closer to her. The librarian went to run, but the latter was faster. She pinned the shorter girl between the cabinets and smirked deviously, her hands on either side of the librarian.
"You should have known better that you couldn't stop me," Ruby growled as her playful wolf emerged.
"Well I did stop you," replied Belle as her hands at her side began to slowly grip her dress. Such close, intimate contact was going to her head or in better words…southward.
She bit her lip as Ruby pressed against her and whispered into her ear, "Yea? Well look where your little scheme got you. The innocent rabbit caught right in the trap of the wolf's."
"Oh?" Belle raised an eyebrow, "so this was your plan the entire time?"
"Maybe…"
The waitress's eyes migrated down and landed upon the other's pink lips. She could hear her heart racing within her chest, her chest rising and falling with anticipation.
Silence grew around them.
I can't, Ruby whispered to her wolf. This was only the side effects of the moon. She couldn't let it control her.
Ruby's breath caught in her throat when a pair of hands gripped her hips. She could feel the hands shaking and she glanced down to confirm her thought. When she looked back up Belle had her bottom lip between her teeth again.
The wolf-girl took a step away severing the contact between the two. A nervous laugh erupted from her chest when she spoke.
"I should go change my shirt. Granny would have a cow if I walked in like this."
Belle nodded, her sadness concealed behind a weak smile.
Fuck, fuck, fuck, Ruby said over and over again inside of her head as she walked up the stairs, You can't do this, Red. You have to control yourself.