There were ones before her. Girls Ruby looked at and found attractive in a not-so platonic way.
It started when she was young, when she was so carefree and arrogant. Those cold winter nights she and Mary spent snuggled up in her bed, talking about Bob the farmer's new cow that had five legs, or how annoying Granny could be, or Peter.
Then it felt wrong. Red would push down that warm feeling she got whenever Mary smiled at her. She wouldn't let anything show. Because she couldn't let anything show.
And then she didn't deserve to let anything show. Because Red had killed Peter, Mary was a princess, and Red had just jeopardized Mary's safe place.
But they ran away together, and Red loved it. She loved running, even if it was only in human form. She loved the smell of the forest, and solitude, and not manure. But most of all, she loved Snow.
Snow could always make Red smile. She was so comforting, so nice to be around. She was warm, and soft, and she was strong. Strong from years of pain and running.
Red wanted to be like that. She wanted to come out of this stronger than she was before. But she was struggling to figure out whether she loved Peter, the man she had killed, or Snow, the woman who helped her get through the days.
The wolf wanted a mate. That much was clear. One night, Snow had curled up in Red's lap, and was squirming in her sleep, and it was all Red could do not to bite her and claim her.
They talked about finding a cabin to live in together. Snow wanted it to be them, just two friends in the same house, but Red wanted to kiss Snow. She wanted to find a cabin to settle down in, have a family in, have a life with Snow in.
But then Red found others like her. Wolves. Wolves that could teach her how to control her canine side. Then she wouldn't hurt Snow- she wouldn't hurt Snow like she hurt Peter.
Red loved Snow. So when it came down to her or Red's mother, Red had to choose her. She didn't mean to kill Anita. She didn't want to. But she had chosen Snow, and Anita made sure she knew that. It hurt, being cursed with her mother's final breath.
She was tired. Red was tired of hurting people. So she made it her duty to protect.
And Snow met David. It hurt. Red watched her best friend's eyes, how they sparkled when talking about the man. And for the first time, Red was a jealous little bitch. She wanted SO BAD to be David. To be the one who sparked so much happiness in Snow.
Red was the maid of honor. Was it bad that she didn't feel any honor? She wanted to yell "I OBJECT!" and stomp up there and kiss Snow. But she didn't, because she knew Snow would never love her like that.
Snow deserved to be happy. And, if David made her happy, Snow deserved David. But who was the one who spent all of her early mornings comforting a pregnant Snow over a bucket? Who went out, trekking to the point of collapse, just to find the Evil Queen and stop the curse, so Snow could be happy?
The curse did happen, and Red had failed.
Ruby. Ruby, a slutty, bitchy, whiny, arrogant, ignorant, annoying, childish, seductive tramp. She was nothing like Red.
And then there were times where she was exactly like Red. When the guy she was with got too rough and she was left out in an alley, bleeding, bruised, and crying. When she talked excitedly to Ashley, gossiping about the customers. She felt like herself again, and Ruby, of course, could not explain it.
Ah, and there was Ashley, cute, small, vulnerable, hurt, kind, pregnant Ashley. She was Ruby's best (and probably only) friend. She never got offended when Ruby took her out shopping only to say that whatever it was they were looking at wouldn't look good with Ashley being pregnant. She laughed at all of Ruby's jokes, no matter how dumb. She was fun and exciting and always wanted to try new things (even when "things" meant being fucked with Ruby's strap-on).
But then Emma came, and Ashley gave birth. Alexandra was a beautiful little girl, and Emma had succeeded in helping Ashley. But maybe she had helped a little too much. Ashley was back with Sean, and Ruby was still alone.
Emma was cute, yes, but she was too headstrong. She made the wolf, however deep down it was, push its way back up. And that was dangerous. Besides, Emma had a thing for Regina.
And, so did Ruby. Regina was smart, snarky, good in bed, and GORGEOUS. Ruby hated sharing her fuckbuddy with Graham.
Honestly, nearly all the women of Storybrooke were hot.
Ruby was insecure. She never knew what to do with herself. She felt as if she couldn't do anything right. Those days where she just felt so, alone, that was when she was truly Red.
The wolf howled.
The curse broke, and then Red was fully back, and Red/Ruby was even more confused.
She was out on the sidewalk then, hugging Snow, her best friend, and then she was hugging David. Stupid David. Emma was their daughter. And Regina was the Evil Queen. Any attraction Ruby had felt for them was pushed aside guiltily.
One day, Red/Ruby was sitting inside the diner, bored. It wasn't very busy, and it was after the usual lunch rush.
Ashley came up to her, and pulled her into the kitchen. "Hey, Ruby, you're gay, right?" she asked. Ruby blushed and nodded. "Cool. Well, there's a girl out there. She's kind of cute. I think something's wrong, though. Do you want to talk to her?"
"What does that have to do with me being gay?" Ruby asked, and Ashley shrugged, smirking.
Ruby went out, grabbing the iced tea Ashley had been holding, and walked to table 3, where there was a cute brunette stirring around her ice with her straw. Ruby blushed. Damn, when Ashley said cute, she meant cute.
Belle was amazing. She was funny, curious, smart, kind, everything. She got so excited when she was talking about books, and she was absolutely adorable.
Her skin was soft and her hands smooth, unblemished by the scars and roughness that covered Ruby.
Ruby found herself constantly wanting to be around Belle, and whenever she was, she felt happy. She wasn't confused around Belle. Everything just fell into place.
The Red side of her wanted to take things slowly, to try and get Belle to like her back, but the Ruby side of her was more impulsive, more like the wolf. Ruby wanted to kiss her, to just say all she was feeling, and then show it, because bottling these things up only led to more confusion and heartbreak.
Belle had Rumpelstiltskin. Ruby wasn't sure how or why or when, but Belle seemed in love and therefore she was off limits, even if Gold didn't deserve someone as amazing as her.
Then she killed Billy. The wolf was out of control. She begged them to lock her up, but they kept insisting that she was innocent. She wanted to die. She deserved to die.
Ruby chained Belle up. She didn't know about Belle being kept by the Dark One or being locked in a dungeon, or even Regina keeping her in a psych ward for twenty-eight years.
She hurt Belle. Beautiful, amazing Belle.
The next time the two saw each other was in Granny's a few days later. Belle ran to Ruby and hugged her, and Ruby felt very undeserving of the embrace.
There was an accident. Belle was shot, she was pushed over the town line. Ruby tried to help, she came to the hospital with some of Belle's things. But Belle was upset, Belle wasn't Belle.
And then there was Lacey. Sexy, seductive Lacey, who made Ruby think of Belle in ways Ruby didn't think she would ever. Lacey was flirty, confident. Lacey was like Ruby. And Ruby loved it. She would be at the Rabbit Hole, catch Lacey's scent- she smelled different from Belle, like booze and cigars instead of tea and ink- and all the sudden there would be a hunt.
Lacey knew what she was doing. She played prey well and was afterward rewarded by a makeout session with some clitoral stimulation. Ruby felt guilty, but everything with Lacey was just too good.
There was one time in particular, when Ruby and Lacey were in the alley behind the Rabbit Hole. Lacey's dress was pushed up and her underwear in Ruby's hand, and she was grinding hard against Ruby's knee, eyes shining. She looked like Belle, if Belle had ever grinded against her. Ruby threw her head back in a laugh. The wolf was triumphant this time.
The heroes went off to Neverland to save Henry. Ruby wasn't sure what had happened, but she knew Belle was back.
Belle walked into Granny's, seemingly by accident, as her nose was buried in a book, and realizing where she was, loomed up and emitted a nervous and quiet "Oh."
Ruby looked into her eyes and tried to smile, but she found it amazingly hard.
Breathing in deeply, Belle walked over to her. She looked shy, and spoke quietly. "I was a virgin," Belle said softly.
"I'm sorry, Belle. I'm so sorry." But really, Ruby wasn't. She loved touching Lacey, kissing Lacey, courting Lacey. It was fun. But that entire time, Lacey was Belle, and Belle was not someone who would fuck around with werewolves.
They stopped being friends, and that broke Ruby's heart. Belle meant so much to her. But she deserved that. She had chained Belle up and used Lacey, and now it was her turn to get hurt.
Then there was the missing year. All that dumb shut, the Wicked Witch of the West, pregnancy, etc.
Now, with Snow having David's second child and Belle happy with Gold, Ruby felt lonelier than ever. She didn't fit. Who wanted the lesbian werewolf when they could have a wizard or a prince?
She left, and she was alone, but she felt better. It was better to blame your solitude on having no one around you than on your ability to lose friends.
Then a dumbass witch magicked her into a full-time wolf and used her as a guard dog. Fuck, that pissed her off. Ruby didn't like being used, whether it was Whale pretending they were dating to impress friends or this.
Mulan. Strong, independent, brokenhearted Mulan.
She knocked over a cauldron, which, in retrospect, could have done any number of things, but instead it changed Ruby back.
As Ruby came to she took notice of the cute girl under her, and her mind immediately turned dirty. Mulan looked so excited, so intrigued, under Ruby.
After they helped Merida, who Ruby was insanely jealous of because of the way she looked at Mulan, Ruby asked Mulan to come with her, and to her pleasure, Mulan accepted. Ruby's pack didn't have to be wolves.
After travelling through the Enchanted Forest for some time, they came across a green door with a golden OZ printed on it. The scent of wolves lead into it, but there was also something else that drew her towards it.
Their first night there Ruby kissed Mulan. It was soft and real and amazing. They were cold, so they bundled together to conserve body heat. Mulan was so warm, Ruby just couldn't help it.
And Mulan pulled away after a few seconds with a sad smile. "I want to be your friend, Ruby. I still haven't gotten over my broken heart." And Ruby knew it was for the best.
The next day, they met Dorothy. Strong, confident, hurt, tough, mean Dorothy. Who had a soft spot for dogs.
Dorothy was lonely, and sad. Ruby could smell it. She had a past that most likely wasn't good. But she understood. She understood what it was like to be alone, even when you have people all around you.
Ruby's heart lot up when Dorothy handed her the poppy, and she felt like a fucking Disney movie. Love at first sight was NOT real. Was it?
The feeling of Dorothy on her back- Ruby wanted to keep her there, to keep running, just the two of them.
And then she was gone.
She could be in trouble. She could be hurt. She could be dead. But Ruby had to find her. She HAD to.
It hurt seeing everyone again. Snow married and trapped in the Underworld, and Belle pregnant and in danger. She wanted to help them, somehow, but Dorothy was more important. Ruby didn't know why Dorothy, someone she had just met, was more important than old friends, but she was.
Only True Love's Kiss could break a sleeping curse. Everyone knew that. So how would she help Dorothy?
She remembered drinking rum with Killian back in Storybrooke. He had told her a story, about his father. He was put under a sleeping curse, and his nurse had fallen in love with him, and woke him, without ever even knowing him. Could that happen with Dorothy?
When Snow suggested the Red was Dorothy's True Love, Ruby nearly had a heart attack. But Dorothy had no one else. What, a munchkin?
Ruby was unsure. She was scared. She knew she wasn't Dorothy's True Love. But then she took one look at the beautiful woman lying in front of her and fell.
She knew it was a mistake. Falling in love had always ended in disaster for Ruby.
But it worked!
It worked!
Ruby had a True Love, and that True Love was Dorothy. Amazing, hard-to-get Dorothy.
The best thing Ruby had ever had.
Love.