Disclaimer: I do not own OUAT or the characters.
Four years later
"Thank you so much for coming!" Belle grinned up at the teenage girl on the other side of the table as she scribbled a signature on the inside cover of a book. "Have you read it yet?"
The teenager nodded enthusiastically, her ponytail bobbing behind her. "It's one of my favorites. I love that Emily gets her life together on her own and doesn't wait for anyone else to fix things. It is so great to find a book where the woman doesn't need anyone."
Belle grinned. "I'm glad you think so. Thank you!"
The girl beamed back at her as she moved away from the table, making space for the next person holding a copy of Belle's debut novel. After three years spent writing and contacting editors and publishers, Belle had finally published her novel. Within a year it had found its way onto the New York Times Bestseller list, prompting her publisher to encourage her to set up a book tour across the country. The month-long tour was wrapping up in New York City, something that pleased Belle enormously as it meant she got to sleep in her own bed again after a long month of cheap hotel rooms. She finished another signature and passed the book back to the man, smiling at him as he said good-bye. Closing her eyes, she rolled her neck before greeting the next person.
"Thank you for-" Belle stopped speaking, staring at the woman standing on the other side of the table. Her hair no longer had red streaks in it, a few faint lines had formed at the corners of her big brown eyes, and she was dressed fairly conservatively in a purple shirt and a pair of skinny jeans tucked into boots. The same bright shade of red lipstick had been painted onto her lips. Her smile was slightly nervous as she handed over her copy of the book.
"Hey Belle," Ruby said. "I see you finally finished that coming-of-age story you always wanted to write."
Belle nodded, eyes still wide with surprise. "Have you read it?"
"Three times," Ruby admitted. "I love it."
Belle smiled, uncapping her pen. "I'm glad. I'll admit, you partially inspired some of it. How have you been?"
Ruby shrugged. "I've been pretty well. You know, I became a platinum selling artist, mostly changed my sound, never really forgot about you. Just your basic music industry stuff."
Belle blushed, blue eyes meeting Ruby's. "Yeah, I heard about the platinum thing. And I really liked your latest album. I kept 'Blue Eyes Blue Dreams' on repeat for days."
"How long are you supposed to be here?" Ruby asked with a glance at the line of people still behind her and waiting to have Belle sign their copies of her book.
"About another hour," she replied. "But then I'm free for the rest of the day. Would you like to get some coffee and catch up? There's a really good café over on 10th Avenue."
Ruby grinned. "That sounds great. I'll meet you there?"
Belle nodded. "Absolutely," she handed the book back to Ruby. "I'll meet you at Granny's in an hour."
The singer nodded and impulsively reached over the table to quickly squeeze Belle's hand. "I can't wait," without another word she left the bookstore and walked the three blocks to Granny's café, taking a table by the window and settling down with a cup of coffee. Looking to pass the time, she flipped open the cover of Belle's book, glancing at the message written in Belle's perfect cursive.
It's a few years down the road and our lives are looking pretty good. Unpause?
Ruby grinned.
A/N: That's it folks! Thank you so much for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. As always, thank you to those who took the time to review, favorite, follow, and talk with me about the story.