The next day passed the way time usually passes when you're excited for something, very slowly. Belle found her book-shelving to be tedious, the first time she'd ever felt like that. She was anxious for the date she had with Ruby that night, and her work was getting in the way of her imagination.

Ruby was similarly annoyed at her job, dealing with Granny being upset that she wasn't around much as well as the random citizen's complaints she received was getting on her nerves. Emma was going to be back in action within the next few days, and Ruby couldn't wait.

By the time their respective jobs were done for the day, both women sped out the door to get ready for the evening. Belle snuck into Mary Margaret's apartment to run her outfit by the three women there. Well, two women anyway, Regina had no interest in anything beyond caring for Emma and smirking at Mary Margaret.

Usually when she dressed for a date, Ruby made sure that her clothes were as tight as possible, but this time felt different. She and Belle weren't going to be going out to the club, it was impossible to talk much there. Instead she'd made reservations at a nice restaurant in town. This time she picked a looser dress, it still showed off her curves, but it was less suggestive than her usual outfits.

On her way out the door she made sure to grab the bouquet that she'd bought earlier for Belle. She could feel the butterflies in her stomach, calm down, she told herself, it's just Belle. But that thought wasn't as calming as it should have been. The physical stuff, she knew how to do that perfectly. Everything seemed to fit magically between the two of them, being with Belle was easy. Talking, however, that's a whole different ballgame. None of her previous relationships had been very serious, they'd never need a 'talk'. Ruby had no idea what she'd gotten herself into. All she knew, and all she focused on, was that she was going to be with Belle.

Since she'd finished getting ready early, Belle found herself leaning with her back against her door, waiting for Ruby. She knew that she would seem very eager, since she was right next to the door, but she didn't care. Every time that she was with Ruby she was happy, her worries, like the ones she was having now about talking with Ruby, seemed to float away whenever she was near the other woman. I'm falling slowly for her, the thought scared her a little, what if Ruby didn't feel the same way?

Before she could think of answers to that, there was a light knock on the door. She started upright, taking deep breaths to calm herself from the fright. Not wanting to seem too eager, she waited a few more breaths before she opened the door.

"Hel – Wow." While she loved what Ruby usually wore, the way that Ruby looked tonight blew her away. She was dressed calmer, softer, and she looked more open.

"Belle you look absolutely gorgeous." And it was true, the flowing blue dress looked great on Belle, Mary Margaret and Emma had agreed on it. And it looked like Ruby was right there with them. "These are for you."

"Thank you, they're beautiful." Ruby beamed with pride, it was nice knowing that she'd picked the right ones for Belle. "Let me just get these in some water and then we can go, okay?"

Ruby nodded her agreement and followed Belle into her apartment. When she saw Belle stretching to reach a vase on a high shelf, she moved swiftly over to help her. Ruby didn't realize how close they were until she handed the vase to Belle and found their bodies pressed together. She cleared her throat and backed away, tonight was about talking, not kissing.

It seemed as though Belle had other ideas. While Ruby had her eyes closed and was trying to focus herself, she leaned up and pressed a quick kiss to her lips. Ruby's eyes snapped open immediately and she sighed when she noticed that Belle had moved away to fill the vase in the sink. A few minutes later and they were out the door, walking down the street hand in hand.

"So where are we going?"

"A little hole in the wall." And indeed it was, a tiny restaurant that Belle had never noticed before. It was quiet and romantic, perfect for their date. Ruby led her to a table, with a vase containing a single red rose waiting for them.

"For me?"

"Of course for you, silly." Belle leaned in a smelled the flower, loving the effort that Ruby had put into their date. It wasn't hard to figure out what they wanted to eat, Belle always wanted to try new things so they both picked the craziest things on the menu. That way, when Belle would snag food off of Ruby's plate, she'd be trying something else new.

"I suppose that we should start." Since it was her idea, Belle figured that she'd have to be the one to start the conversation. She knew that Ruby was more for actions than words, but some things needed to be said.

"Where do you want to start?" It was strange to hear Ruby sounding so vulnerable, feelings weren't something she usually dealt in.

"Well, how about how we feel? About each other, I mean…"

"I know what you meant, Belle. I just –" She ran her hand through her hair, pulling it away from her face. "I'm not good at the whole talking thing. But I know that I care about you, an awful lot."

"I care about you too, Ruby." Blue eyes stared into hazel ones.

"You're not just some fling. And I promise I'll never get as crazy as Gold did." Belle couldn't help it, even though Ruby was having difficulty expressing herself, the words struck deep within her. She reached out and grabbed Ruby's hand, rubbing her hand back and forth across her knuckles, encouraging the other woman. "I want to be with you, and I want to shout it from the rooftops, or at least flaunt it. Because I'd have the most beautiful and amazing woman in town."

"So what are you asking me?" It was obvious what Ruby was saying, but Belle wanted to hear the words.

"Will you go out with me, be my girlfriend?" Even though she knew that Belle cared about her, Ruby was still nervous to hear what her response would be. She felt Belle pull her hand away, and she shut her eyes in defeat. She knew she was right to do so when she heard Belle's chair scrape backwards and the sound of her standing up. What she wasn't expecting was the hands forcing her sideways in her chair, the finger lifting her chin, the lips that pressed lightly against hers.

She opened her eyes in response. Belle was kneeling on the floor in front of her, breathing deeply as she looked into Ruby's eyes. Slowly, she leaned forward again, waiting for Ruby to close her eyes again before the closed the distance and kissed her with more force.

"Of course I will."

Sorry this took so long! I had a lot of personal things going on, including a hospital trip.

It's a little short, but I needed to get something written.

Please let me know what you think.

Sya