A/N: Rating goes up for this chapter, kids, to K+ for alcohol and swearing. -YN

Mike lifts the shot glass filled with clear liquid. "Saturday football!" The other men around the table cheer and they all drink. Piotr goes next, selecting from the many, many filled shots on the table.

"Government assistance that doesn't involve sharp pointy objects!" They cheer, they drink. A familiar, feminine voice intrudes.

"You guys look like you're having fun," and when he turns, there she is. Ruby. Dressed in a slinky black dress tied with red ribbons, looking delicious as always.

"Ruby!" the guys all cry, and, laughing, Mike takes another shot with them.

"Guys, can I introduce you to Belle?" Ruby takes a little step aside and gestures, revealing a young woman dressed in something blue and pretty. She's got reddish hair, the shade they call chestnut, Mike thinks, and a pair of eyes that sparkle somewhere between blue and green. "You have to be nice; this is her first time here. Belle, these are the crew of the Gallant, Mike, Piotr, Max, Brian and Will. You'll never find a nicer bunch of fishermen." The men laugh and nod to the newcomer.

"What are you doing?" Belle asks curiously.

"It's a drinking game," Mike tells her seriously. "We're drinking to all the things we'll miss if we... Well, if we go back. If you agree with what the person says, you have to drink a shot."

"Come join us," Piotr invites. "C'mon, Ruby, you know you want to."

"Um, I don't think-" Ruby starts, but Belle interrupts her.

"Sure," she says, stepping up to the table and squaring her shoulders. "Can I have a turn?"

"Okay," Will grins, moving to make room for her. "What do you want to drink to?" Belle lifts one of the tiny glasses and grins back.

"Indoor plumbing." They laugh, they cheer, they drink. Belle gasps, chokes, and Will thumps her on the back good-naturedly. "What is that stuff?" she manages.

"Vodka," Max tells her. "Never had it before?" Belle shakes her head, but reaches out and grabs another shot glass.

"Your turn, Ruby," she encourages. Ruby gives a little frown, then shrugs and steps up. A wicked smile blooms across her oh-so-kissable mouth.

"Effective contraceptives." The bar rocks to the sound of their laughter as they drink again.

"Nascar!" cries Brian, and the evening continues. As the night wears on, Mike endears himself to Belle when he admits that in his former life he was the royal archivist and curator of the royal library. This precipitates an offer of work a few days a week at the library that she's just reopened, an offer he accepts readily.

At a later point, Mike and Ruby help Belle to sit in a booth, and Mike sits across from her as Ruby goes to get the young woman some water. Belle watches him watch Ruby, and she gives a drunken smile.

"You love her, don't you?" she asks bluntly. Mike smiles back.

"Yeah, I guess I do, and I have for a while. Am I that obvious?" Belle shakes her head, then gives a little groan.

"Shouldn't do that," she mumbles. "But no, not obvious. Not to everyone. I think." She groans again. "Why is the world spinning?"

"That isn't the world, pretty girl, it's just you," Mike chuckles. Ruby is back with the water, and they encourage her to drink it in little sips. By the end of the first glass, Belle is looking a little better, and Ruby gives Mike a wry smile.

"I should've thought twice about getting her into a drinking game with sailors on her first night out." She sits down beside Mike and pats the other woman's hand gently. "Sorry, Belle." Belle shakes her chestnut curls, and this time she doesn't groan.

"My idea, Ruby. Besides, I think... I think it helped." She squeezes Ruby's hand and they share a secret smile. "But I think I should go home."

"Can you help us, Mike?" Ruby asks.

"As if I could say no to you," he replies fondly, smiling at her. "Let me get our coats. It's bloody cold out there." The trio exit, keeping Belle upright between them. They get halfway back to Granny's before Belle has to stop and bring the vodka back up. In the end, Mike simply picks her up and carries her the rest of the way. Between him and Ruby, they get her into her room, and he backs out, blushing, when Ruby begins to remove Belle's clothing. But he can't leave yet; he waits at the top of the stairs, and his patience is rewarded when Ruby returns.

"Thanks, Mike," she says, leaning against the wall beside him.

"Welcome," he tells her, mesmerised as always by her beauty. "Are you coming back to the bar?"

"Nah, better not," Ruby replies, sighing. "I've got the breakfast shift tomorrow." Mike nods, accepting this.

"Well, I'll see you another day, then."

"Sure," she says, and then she's leaning towards him, and he feels her lips touch his cheek before she's yawning and walking away, waving one hand over her shoulder. He reaches up a hand and hesitantly touches it. He can still feel her warmth against his skin, and it feels better than anything he's ever felt before. Mike smiles, and walks back downstairs, letting himself out the front door. It's been a good night, and he breathes in the crisp, cool air before he starts his own walk home.

"Nice night, isn't it?" a voice says, and he jumps, yelps, spins around. Stepping from a patch of shadow is Mr. Gold, Mr. bloody Gold, and if Mike thought it was cold before, it's nothing to the frost in the other man's face as those dark eyes stare right through him.

"M-Mr. Gold, what are you doing here?" he manages, one hand pressed to his chest to try and still the thundering of his heart.

"I was looking for you," Gold replies, and Mike almost swallows his tongue.

"M-me? What did I do?" Gold smiles his shark's smile.

"I was watching you tonight. And I warn you – I'm not someone you want to cross, Michael. I am not a forgiving man when someone threatens what is mine. Stay away from her." Mike blinks, his alcohol muddled mind not working fast enough.

"But I love her," he drunkenly admits. Gold moves, and suddenly Mike is shoved against the wall of the inn, Gold's cane across his throat. "And Ruby likes me, too," he gasps past the pressure on his neck.

"Ruby?" Gold says, frowning. "Ruby?" He lowers the cane, and Mike slides down the wall, coughing. "I see." And he then turns and limps away.

"What the fuck-!" Mike moans, rubbing his throat. The pain and adrenaline are clearing the alcoholic fog from his mind, and he groans. "Belle. Gold has a thing for Belle. Fuck me." He picks himself up, and only then remembers Belle's offer of a job. He'll have to turn her down – Gold scares the hell out of him. But how is he going to explain it? Sorry, pretty girl, I can't work here because your crazy stalker will skin me alive! Rubbing his head, Mike makes it back to Main Street and continues his walk home. Maybe Ruby will be able to help me out. The thought makes him smile, and when he finally tumbles into his narrow bed, he's still smiling and remembering the softness of Ruby's lips on his cheek.