9. Love

In Storybrooke, there were only so many places one could go on dates. Back during the curse, Doctor Whale's idea of a date included taking the lady to dinner at Granny's. Not the greatest idea, since his eyes tended to wander to the pretty waitress. At least now he was dating the pretty waitress, though that made dinner at Granny's more her treat than his.

Most evenings found Victor and Liza at the docks; they had mutually decided that it would be their spot without actually needing to discuss it. When they weren't spending time there, they were in the woods or Victor's lab or the diner. Yet while the venue options were slim, Victor and Liza were both creative in what to do while there. On their first date at The Rabbit Hole, they played a game to guess what song the DJ was playing. In the woods, they always found some flora or fauna of interest. The docks was their place to sit and talk, whether it was recounting the day or recollecting their pasts.

"I have a confession to make," Liza announced one evening. Victor wasn't sure what was coming, but her smile assured him it wasn't something bad. "I watched your Singlebrooke dating profile."

"Oh." He let out a surprised laugh. He'd forgotten all about Singlebrooke.

"And I'm wondering when I'm going to be taken to your condo to 'listen to the very best of Sting'."

It was true: Victor hadn't invited her over to his place yet. The closest he got was the lab, and that was more a work space. "We can go now if you want," he suggested.

"Absolutely."

When they arrived, Victor put on the promised music and took her on a short tour of the place. She looked through his music collection, pointing out when they had similar tastes. She seemed delighted whenever she found something new about him. He was expecting it, but Victor still couldn't help smiling when Liza found his violin case.

"So you're a scientist, a doctor, an artist, and a musician?"

"Don't forget 'wizard'," Victor added. Liza smiled but her focus remained on the violin case. "I haven't played in a long time," he explained. "I only bought the violin because it reminded me of better days." On impulse, he opened the case and pulled out the instrument.

He tucked it under his chin, the weight familiar even after all these years. Eyes wide, Liza moved to turn off Sting and set herself down on the couch to listen. Victor warmed up by playing a scale, pausing to adjust tuning. When he was ready he moved into a song. Muscle memory kicked in to help form the notes. Liza was only the third person he ever played for, and the first outside of his family. The significance of this was not lost on him.

Liza applauded when he was done. "How on earth did you stay single back in your own world?"

"People thought I was weird," he shrugged as he put the instrument away again. "I tried talking to them about my work and the usual reaction was horror. The only ones who really understood were my brother and Igor, and look where that got them."

"Hey." Liza caught his hand, pulling her body closer to his. "You had people who saw who you were and loved you for it. Don't ever minimize that." He responded with a squeeze of her hand. She was so close Victor couldn't resist pulling her even closer and pressing their lips together.

"Thank you for being the first to see me in a long time," he whispered against her mouth. "I love you." He hadn't planned on saying that, but the words were out now. He was a little nervous about pulling back to see her reaction. The silence lasted only long enough for her exhale to tease his lips.

"I love you too, Victor."

Those were the last fully-formed sentences either of them spoke for the rest of the night. The next morning, Victor still couldn't get over it. All his life he'd been known to defy what others claimed was possible but this- being in love and someone loving him back- felt like his most defiant feat yet. Somehow it happened and she was standing in his kitchen wearing one of his shirts.

"Good morning." She greeted him with a kiss and a fresh cup of coffee.

"Good morning," he returned. They had a few minutes before needing to start their day. It felt good to spend it together like this. Victor found himself already looking forward to future mornings.

Who knew that such a thing could happen for monsters such as them?