"Get!" Belle said, and smacked wolf Ruby over the head with a newspaper. "Bad dog! No chewing books!"
Ruby looked sorry, and Belle felt bad for scolding the naughty wolf. "Oh, I'm sorry Ruby! C'mere." She grabbed her mutt of a girlfriend and pulled her into a hug. She laughed when Ruby began to lick her face. "Ha, Ruby! I guess we all have our own type of literary guilt, huh?"
The wolf got off of her and bounded over to the door. Belle sighed and followed. She understood that Ruby would want to run during wolfstime, but she still got slightly disappointed when her girlfriend left her for the night. Opening the door, she pet Ruby on the head as the wolf went out the door.
Ruby bounded off into the night, leaving Belle alone in the library. The librarian sighed again and went back into the library, closing the door behind her. She sat down on top of the front desk and began to read Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Suddenly, her phone started ringing.
She picked it up and looked at the picture that brightened the screen. Emma. What did she want at 10 o'clock at night? She accepted the call and put the phone up to her ear. "Hello?" She said.
"Hey Belle. How are you?" Emma's voice filled Belle's ear.
"I'm good. Want to tell me why you're calling in the middle of the night?"
"I'm bored, and I knew you would be awake. Either playing with or worrying about Ruby." Emma chuckled. "At least you care, though. I have a feeling MY girlfriend wouldn't worry one bit if I ran out into the woods alone every full moon."
Belle rolled her eyes and grinned. "Emma, you're over-exaggerating. I'm sure Ms. Mills would worry her ass off."
"Hey, Belle, she told you that you can call her Regina. You've known each other for a while now, and with you and Ruby dating, we've been hanging out all the time."
Belle frowned. "Yeah, I know. But I can't help but feel like a stranger sometimes. The Charming practically adopted Ruby into their family, so all of you guys are really close. I just feel weird sometimes."
"Belle, you're part of the family too! You're kinda like the smart aunt or whatever."
Belle raised an eyebrow. "'The smart aunt'? How come I'm the aunt?"
"Well, first of all, our family tree is confusing af. Second, we tease Ruby by calling her 'Aunt Rubes' all the time, since she and Snow are kinda like sisters. Third, why not?"
Belle let out a laugh that turned into a yawn. "Okay, I'm the aunt. Hey, Emma, I'd really love to keep talking, but I'm really tired. I'll talk to you later, okay?"
"Yeah, whatever, bookworm. Remember, the quicker you fall asleep, the quicker you'll get to see your puppy dog." Belle rolled her eyes and hung up. She walked upstairs to her apartment above the library and fell face first onto her bed. She quickly fell asleep, looking forward to seeing her beautiful wolf-girl in the morning.
The next morning, Belle was walking through the woods looking for Ruby, as she did every morning after the full moon. She came to a ledge and found Ruby sleeping peacefully underneath it. Belle leaned down and gently shook her awake. Ruby looked up groggily and slowly stood and attached herself to Belle's side so that the librarian could lead her home.
They walked back into town just as the sun was rising, and there was a soft crowing of birds that made Ruby flinch. Her senses were always heightened around wolfstime. Belle unlocked the library door and led Ruby inside to their bedroom.
She laid Ruby down on the bed and tucked her in tightly. Ruby drifted off to sleep, and Belle went downstairs to the library to open up. She unlocked the door and started to reshelf some books. She had just begun to work when she heard the library door swing open, and she poked her head around the side of the bookshelf to see who had entered.
Emma and Henry walked in the library, and Henry immediately ran to the Fantasy section. Emma walked over to where Belle was. "So…" Emma said. "How's Aunt Rubes?"
Belle rolled her eyes. "She's fine. She's upstairs sleeping."
"Do you love her?" Emma blurted out.
Belle gave her a surprised look. "What kind of question is that?! Of course I love her!"
"Yeah, but, how much?" Emma looked slightly nervous, but she seemed excited about something.
"Emma!" Belle was beginning to get annoyed with her friend. "I love her with all my heart," She said honestly. "I would never want anyone else. As you said, she's my puppy dog." Belle smiled, but raised an eyebrow at Emma. "Why? Is there something going on that I don't know about?"
"Hey, if you don't know yet, I'm not going to tell you!" She smirked, and with that, she called Henry over and left the library. Belle wondered what that was about. She shrugged and got back to her books.
She had heard noise coming from upstairs, and assumed that Ruby was awake and just messing around in the apartment, so she decided to ignore until she heard the quiet, "Hey Belle?"
"Yes, louve?" Belle often spoke French (the language of love) around her girlfriend, and loved how much the feminine word for 'wolf' sounded so much like 'love'.
"Can you come up here? I need to show you something." Ruby sounded somewhat nervous, and Belle was curious as to what she wanted to show her.
"Yes dear. I'll be right there." Belle put down her book and walked upstairs. When she got there, it seemed that Ruby had cleaned the apartment, and there was an iced tea sitting on the dining room table. There was also what looked to be an easel with a sheet covering it.
Ruby was standing beside the table, but took the tea in hand and came over to Belle, handing her the beverage. "Hi.." She said meekly, and was blushing. She was wearing a suit, which Belle found odd, as Ruby didn't usually like to dress up.
"Hey babe. What is the occasion?" Belle asked, motioning to Ruby's outfit. Belle thought that she looked amazing in the suit, and couldn't help thinking that her girlfriend was even more charming than the prince himself.
"I… Belle." She said, looking slightly scared. "I love you. So much. I don't really know how to do this.. I'm not eloquent at all, so I didn't think a speech would be a good idea… So, I'm not going to say anything."
She gripped Belles hand and led her to the mysterious easel. She motioned towards it, giving Belle permission to uncover it. Belle gently pulled off the covering and found a painting underneath. It was highly realistic, and obviously her and Ruby. Ruby must have been painting this earlier in the morning.
Belle was wearing the same outfit as she was in the painting, Ruby had probably taken note of that before she fell asleep. Ruby was wearing her suit, but was down on the ground. She was on one knee. In her hand was a ring, and she was holding it out to Belle.
Belle was surprised and partially confused by the painting, but she was also excited. She whirled around to find the actual Ruby kneeling in front of her, holding a ring. Belle's eyes widened, she put her hand over her mouth, and Ruby smiled nervously.
"Will you marry me?" Ruby asked quietly.
Belle took her hand off her mouth, crying. "Yes.." She managed to get out. She stood there as Ruby slid the ring onto her finger. Belle dropped her iced tea as Ruby stood and went to kiss her.
Ruby pulled Belle close. Their lips met in a warm kiss. They separated after what seemed like minutes, and Belle wanted to reconnect her lips with Ruby's. "I love you," Ruby said. Belle, still speechless, nodded and pulled her puppy dog in for another kiss. Both girls smiled inwardly as they held each other tightly.
~End~
