A/N: A one-shot for the lovely and talented LittleRedRidingWhale. It has been an honor to be your Secret Valentine and I hope this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Based on her prompt "Valentine's Day is a good holiday, in theory…" This is un-betaed, so please don't mind my mistakes.

Victor Frankenstein could not understand how this day could possibly be any worse. He had only recently begun to see Ruby Lucas after months…well years really, of longing gazes and vivid dreams. They had made a strong connection following recent events involving an outsider entering Storybrooke. The girl had proven herself not only to be beautiful and full of life, but she shared a deep understanding of what it was to fear the monster inside. Victor knew all too well the isolation of feeling that your actions had nothing but deadly consequences for the ones you love.

As both of them had in recent memory been more inclined to share short-lived and passionate encounters than romantic ones, he had been nervous leading up to this most important day – Valentine's Day. He had been determined to show the young woman that he was capable of more than meaningless trysts and had spent painstaking hours planning the perfect romantic evening.

And then everything had gone awry.

First, he was meant to leave the hospital early in the afternoon to being preparing the perfect meal and atmosphere in his apartment for them. He had planned to clean the place spotless, cook her the perfect dinner, and spend the evening showing her how sensitive and smooth he could be. However, when Leroy had accosted Nova (formerly known as Astrid) draped in a loincloth with a bow and arrow, his own less than pleasing version of cupid, and had accidentally shot her in the arm with said arrow, Doctor Whale's day extended into the evening.

He had stitched the injured fairy's arm and rushed out of the hospital, his scrubs splattered with blood and drenched in sweat from sprinting home. He had only an hour before Ruby was set to arrive and he was determined to salvage the evening. Luckily, he had put beef stroganoff in his crock pot before he left for the day, a recipe he had convinced Granny to share by promising to give her free medical treatment for six months. He knew that Ruby was nearing her time to run as a wolf and he wanted to make sure to serve her something meaty and delicious.

When he arrived home, however, he realized he had neglected to plug in the crock pot so now all he had was a pot full of uncooked meat that had been sitting out all day. He groaned and pulled his hands through his hair despairing as to what in the world he could do now with a recipe that needed to be cooked for at least eight hours and meat that was surely spoiled.

Deciding that he'd simply have to improvise with the contents of his kitchen, he opened the fridge. He had bought, rather presumptuously, ingredients to cook Ruby breakfast in case their evening ended up being their first night together. He decided thinking fast that he would simply have to cook her breakfast food for dinner before throwing his soiled scrubs to the floor as he turned the shower up to scalding and stepped inside. He allowed the water to pound on his head and was so caught up in the sensation of allowing the water to wash away the remnants of his awful day that he didn't hear Ruby's knock on the door.

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Ruby knocked on Victor's door, buzzing with excitement about the evening to come. She had spent the afternoon preparing for their date. She had never had a date for Valentine's Day before and she had no idea how she was supposed to act. She really cared for Victor and she did not want to rush things or overthink them, or…well, she was a mess.

She knew that Dr. Whale had lusted after her when the curse was still intact. He had not been very subtle about it. She also knew that her own instincts as Ruby were not useful in a situation where she strongly desired to make an actual connection. She didn't want to seduce him and have that be the end, she really wanted to see if this could work. She had not desired to actually date someone since Peter. As she thought of him, she felt fear twist her stomach thinking how she afraid she was to become attached to someone again when she had the potential to hurt them.

Still, she had gained so much better an understanding of her condition since then and a genuine ability to control her animalistic instincts. And more than that, Victor was well aware of her…furry little problem…and had made it abundantly clear that he considered her worth the risk.

At this thought, she raised her fist and knocked once more with a wide smile splitting her face. After a moment, Victor still had not answered. She felt the fear flood her more and more with each passing moment as he failed to appear. Fearing that perhaps he had gotten caught up at work, she decided to head back to Granny's and send him a text.

Maybe I had the time wrong…anyway…hope everything's ok. Text me when you can. XO – R

After leaving the building, however, Ruby decided that the last thing she wanted to face right now was Granny's incessant questioning of her coming back so soon. Besides feeling embarrassed and insecure about his not being there, she knew that Granny would either rage about him treating her this way or smugly declare that she had known his intentions to be impure all along. Either way, she did not feel equipped to deal with her right now. So instead, she strolled off toward the dock, deciding she would simply spend some time alone until Victor texted her.

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Victor stepped out of the shower, toweling off his hair and noticed his phone flashing that he had received a text. When he picked it up and saw Ruby's name, he swore realizing that it was past the time that they were meant to get together. He stepped toward the light switch to turn off the fan which was rumbling in the background. Unfortunately, on the way, his foot fell into a puddle next to the tub, sending him sprawling onto the floor and his phone flying out of his hand and….into the toilet.

"No, no, no, no!"

Without thinking, he reached in to retrieve his phone from the tank, his effort futile as the electronic device remained dark and leaden in his hand. He closed his eyes and counted to ten, fearing that if he did not control himself, he would tear his bathroom apart. Now he had no idea how to contact Ruby. This night could not possibly be worse.

Throwing on the clothes he had planned to wear tonight, a pair of dark jeans, a blue-button down, and a sports coat, he ran out of the apartment, determined to track his Valentine down. He sprinted to Granny's, ignoring the stitch in his side. He burst through the door to the surprise of the quietly murmuring crowd. Couples sat at tables throughout the diner holding hands and sharing whispered conversation. Granny had gone all out decorating the place with hearts and flowers and fancy tablecloths. The room was dimly lit and the atmosphere amazingly romantic.

From a table in the corner, the sheriff and mayor looked up with wide eyes, hand in hand as they took in the sweaty, clearly distraught doctor. Leroy, still upset over mauling the object of his affections, turned around from the bar, clearly sauced, and belched. The patrons stared as Whale frantically looked around before calling "Granny?! Granny!"

"I'm right here, son, no need to holler."

"Is she here?"

"My granddaughter? No, she's meant to be out with you, leaving me to fend for myself on the busiest day of the season, thank you very much."

"Damn! Listen, if she comes here, um…my phone is broken. Just tell her I'm looking for her."

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After an hour of staring out at the water with no word from Victor, Ruby had given up on the evening. She shoved her hand across her cheek, frustrated with the wetness she found there. She shook her head thinking she was foolish to believe that this was anything more than her past encounters had been – a disaster meant to break her heart.

She turned around to walk away and saw him standing at the base of the dock. Her heart fluttered. She watched, unable to move, as he began to tentatively take steps toward her. He bowed his head as he walked toward her, but could not tear his eyes away from hers. He could see in the starlight that her cheeks were glistening and he winced internally at the fact that he was the cause. He never wanted to see her hurt.

"Ruby, I…I'm so sorry."

"No, don't Victor," she did not sound angry, simply defeated. He would have rather she railed at him. That she punched him and wailed about how he had ruined everything. The quiet acceptance she displayed broke his heart and he couldn't stop himself from reaching forward to grasp her hands.

"Ruby, you don't understand. I wanted everything to be perfect for you and I ruined it. All I wanted was to show you how much I care about you, how much I want to be with you. It's just that everything went wrong. I ruined dinner, I got home late, I missed you at my house, I flushed my phone, I…"

She stopped him with a finger to his lips, "Victor, it's ok. Maybe it's a sign. I mean, neither of us have ever tried the relationship thing before. Maybe there's a reason that things never work out. Maybe we're not supposed to have those kinds of relationships."

"No, I refuse to accept that. Ruby, I have never felt this way about anyone before. I know that you've had a relationship before, but I never have. I've never wanted to. I've always been consumed by my work, by the darkness inside me, but with you…it's like you've brought the light back to my life."

As she listened to him speak, her eyes flooded with tears again. He made her feel things she had not felt in so long. He made her feel cared for and worshiped. She felt her heart flutter as he raised a hand to her cheek to wipe away her tears.

"Now. I don't have dinner to offer you at my house and basically all my plans are ruined, but you would not believe the atmosphere your Granny has created. Can I at least buy you dinner and maybe try to salvage this stupid holiday?"

She beamed at him before closing the distance and crashing her mouth against his. "That sounds perfect."

They walked hand in hand to the diner, grinning like idiots and sneaking glances at each other every few seconds. By the time they arrived at the diner, they had stolen a dozen more kisses and they practically floated through the door. They were gazing so deeply into one another's eyes that they did not see Granny's crossbow until it was pushed to Victor's chest.

"Now I don't know what in the hell is going on here, but my granddaughter has been crying and you were acting like a crazy fool earlier. I am not about to see her hurt by the likes of you, Frankenstein!"

"Granny, stop! Granny, it's fine, he didn't mean anything by it. It was just a misunderstanding."

"Hear me when I say this, doc. If you hurt my baby girl, I will personally see to it that the good lord himself could not raise you from the dead."

Still, she pulled away the crossbow and allowed him to move, visibly pale now, to sit with Ruby at a small table. She even brought them over menus and chucked him on the chin with an affectionate smile.

As he reached across the table and took Ruby's hand, he finally realized the sentiment behind the holiday. He didn't even hear it as the sheriff dragged the mayor out of the diner by the hand saying "See, I told you Valentine's Day was great!"

The brunette snorted as she replied sarcastically "In theory…"

A/N: So there it is, dear Valentine. I hope you liked it! Sorry for throwing in a little Swan Queen, I just couldn't help myself. I hope you had a splendid day!