A/N: "Cuter With Your Cartilage Done" - Ruby tries to convince Belle to let her pierce her ears, but Belle isn't the biggest fan of needles.

"Ruby? How many piercings do you have?"

Belle, who was spending a Saturday at The Beast, had just noticed a new silver hoop, thin as a spider web, looping through Ruby's left eyebrow. Usually Belle was too distracted by Ruby's tattoos to pay much attention to anything else, but she knew by now that Ruby also had an impressive assortment of earrings, a nose stud, and—not every day, but sometimes, like a pearl tucked in the mouth of an oyster—a tongue piercing. Belle suspected she had even more hidden away, but it didn't do to dwell too long on what Ruby might look like shirtless.

"Ah hell, let's see," Ruby said. She was supposed to be working the front counter this morning, but as there weren't any walk-ins, she was mostly just doodling. "Well, I've got this new one…"

"It looks great," Belle added hastily.

She grinned. "Thanks. It's still kind of sore."

Ruby Lucas feels pain?

"Then I've got the three lobe piercings on this ear, and the I-bar, and the tragus. Then on this ear just the lobe ones and the rook…"

Belle nodded like she understood what any of this meant. It did help that Ruby was pointing them out.

"…then the nose stud. I only wear it when it's warm out, since I get kind of sniffly in the winter."

Ruby Lucas gets sniffles?

"Used to have snakebites in college, but I let those close up. They got to be a hassle. Kept the tongue piercing I got back then though. For special occasions." Ruby winked.

Oh God, what did that mean? Belle struggled to focus. She'd counted twelve piercings so far.

"Then I guess there's this guy…"

And, without warning, Ruby lifted her shirt halfway. Belle's focus scattered completely. Oh no, her abs were devastating. They were even better than Belle had imagined. A bright red bellybutton ring was nestled right in the middle of them, winking in the low light. Belle's eyes wandered shamelessly—across the elaborate ink on Ruby's ribs, up to the lace fringe of her bra, down to the thick black band of her Hanes peeking out from her jeans…

"Got this one my senior year of high school," Ruby explained, drawing Belle's attention back to the piercing.

God, I just want to—If only I could—lick it—

Ooh, but that had been a dirty thought. That might have been the dirtiest thought she'd ever had. Belle felt her face burning and looked down at the counter quickly. This is what happened when she spent all her free time at these sorts of places.

"Anyway," Ruby finished, letting her shirt drop. "Thirteen? Thirteen. That's not very lucky, is it? I better get another soon." Then she glanced up from her doodling, her eyebrow raised. "Do you have any piercings?"

"Oh, lots," Belle said casually. "Tons."

Ruby gave her a once-over, lingering long enough to make Belle blush even more furiously. "What, are they all on your body?" A smirk. "When do I get to see them?"

"Um."

"Hey, this reminds me," Ruby said suddenly. "Didn't I offer to do your cartilage for you a while back?"

The day we met, thought Belle instantly.

Not that she remembered every detail of that conversation, or anything.

A grin was spreading over Ruby's face. "I still owe you. And it's hella slow today. Why don't we—"

"Oh, no, I think I'm good," Belle interrupted, seeing where this was going. "I really don't need anymore."

"Well, obviously I'm biased, but I'm a firm believer that you can never have too many ear piercings," Ruby objected. "They're too fun to mix and match." Then she narrowed her eyes as she looked a little harder at Belle's face. "And I don't think I've ever even seen you with one."

Belle fidgeted in her seat, not quite meeting Ruby's stare. "Oh, you know…my boss is pretty strict about these things…"

"You are your boss."

"Oh. Right." Belle laughed nervously.

Please change the subject. Please change the subject—

Ruby's stare grew flat. "You don't have any piercings at all, do you?"

"Of course I do! Obviously! I just—well—um. Actually—" Her face fell. "No."

Ruby's lips parted in surprise. "Belle! Why? Don't you have any idea how cute it'd be?"

"Well, I've always wanted them, but I'm too scared," she admitted in a small voice.

Belle could feel her face burning, if possible, even brighter than before. As if she needed any further reminder how out of her depth she was. And just when she'd been starting to feel confident about this relationship, too.

Ruby slid her hand across the counter and squeezed Belle's arm. "Would you be scared even if it was me?" she asked in a softer voice.

A shock ran up Belle's skin. She sucked a breath in through her teeth.

"You'd be in good hands. The best hands," Ruby went on, working their fingers together. "You know I'd never hurt you."

"But…it would hurt…" Belle was having a hard time thinking straight. She licked her lips. "…wouldn't it?"

"Less than you think. And I can give you a kiss to make you feel better after."

! ! !

Belle's heart raced just at the thought. A kiss from Ruby Lucas was like finding a hundred dollar bill on the sidewalk. It was like cresting the big hill on a roller coaster, like watching Pride and Prejudice for the first time ever. It was all these things and more.

Much more than a little prick from a needle.

Right?

Belle licked her lips again. "Um…"

Then, without warning, Ruby pulled back, leaving Belle cold.

"Only if you want to, of course," Ruby said. "Only because I offered. No pressure."

Belle nodded vigorously. "Yes."

Obviously this had been a mistake.

Belle was lying down—as she'd insisted, in case she fainted—watching as Ruby dug out a fresh pair of black gloves and a clean needle. She pulled the gloves on with a crisp snap. Usually Belle got a little thrill from watching Ruby work, but knowing she was the one about to be worked on turned that thrill into sharp stomachache.

Since this would be Belle's first piercing, they'd opted for a classic earlobe job, since the pain was minimal (allegedly) and the healing time was faster (or so they said). Belle had picked out a pair of silver studs carved into the shape of roses to start herself off. It seemed fitting.

"What exactly am I doing here again?" Graham Humbert asked from the doorway. He was one of her artists, a specialist in realistic animal tattoos. He had a full menagerie of forest creatures on his arms, and he'd done several for Ruby herself. His hair was always rumpled, his smile crooked, and he had no fewer than seven dogs that he talked about as if they were his grandchildren.

"Just hold her hand in a minute," Ruby said impatiently.

"Isn't that your job?"

"No, my job is piercing her ears, which will require all of my hands."

Graham grumbled something unintelligible. He looked quite hungover this morning.

"Thank you, by the way," Belle piped up, noting the quaver in her own voice.

"Please," Ruby scoffed. "He should be thanking you. It's probably the only time he'll hold an actual human girl's hand this year."

Graham ignored her and considered Belle with his bloodshot eyes, the crooked smile slipping over his face. "You nervous, French?"

"Should I be?"

He chuckled. "Nah, everyone says ears are easy. It could be way worse. You should have seen Killian after he pierced his—"

"And we're ready," Ruby cut him off. Belle watched her approach as if she were an executioner. She didn't care for the eager look in Ruby's eyes. Ruby settled in by her side.

"So, um, how long is this whole process going to take?"

"It'll be over before you know it."

Graham walked over and took up Belle's hand.

"And if there's blood—"

"—I promise there's not going to be any blood."

She brushed Belle's hair aside, exposing her right ear.

"And just to be clear, on a scale of one to ten, how much pain are we—"

This time Ruby cut her off with the faintest brush of a kiss on her brow, Belle couldn't help but feel a rush so intoxicating she practically forgot her fear. She exhaled and relaxed into her chair.

"Okay, on the count of three," Ruby said, her tongue poking out in concentration. Graham squeezed Belle's hand. "One, two—"

I'm not ready

Oh God

"AHH!"

Graham practically leaped back in surprise, but Belle's death grip was too strong.

"…Belle…" said Ruby, "…I haven't touched you yet."

"No, I know, I was just, ah, preparing myself."

"—can't feel my fingers—" Graham wheezed.

"Okay, well, are you ready now?"

Belle's head was spinning just a bit. "Yes."

"Great. Alright, for real this time. Nut up, Humbert. One, two—"

! ! !

The last words Belle heard before the darkness stole over her were Graham's:

"Holy shit, she actually fainted."

Belle woke up a few moments later to the sight of Ruby leaning over her, her face etched with concern. It melted into a relieved smile when Belle blinked back to awareness.

"You gave us a scare, French," Graham said.

"Yeah," Ruby's voice was tender, and now she was the one holding her hand. "You okay?"

"Aside from being utterly mortified…I think so." Belle accepted a glass of water from Graham gratefully. She couldn't believe herself. She'd just wanted to do this one thing to prove to Ruby that she could keep up, this one thing to make herself as cute as possible for her, and instead, she ended up looking more childish than ever.

Belle cleared her throat, trying to sound dignified. "Can we…can we try again?"

But Ruby just laughed.

"I had a better idea. Tell me what you think."

Ruby gave her a small hand mirror. Belle was startled to see a delicate silver ear cuff in the shape of a dragon wrapped around the shell of her ear. It was beautiful and badass and it didn't hurt a bit.

"It's perfect!" she said with delight. "I wish I'd thought of it myself."

Ruby's face lit up. "You like it?"

"Of course. Do you like it?" she asked anxiously.

"If it makes you smile like that? Absolutely."

Graham swore under his breath. "If I have to hear any more of this, I'm going to pass out. I'll go cover the front desk for you 'til you're done."

Ruby smirked as she watched him go, and Belle normally would have been blushing uncontrollably, but after the stunt she'd pulled she didn't have any embarrassment left. She set the mirror down and met Ruby's eye.

"Thank you, Ruby," she said sincerely. "I'm sorry if I ruined everything."

"Don't be ridiculous. You're a trooper. I'm sorry if I bullied you into it."

"Oh, no! Not at all. I'm glad I can say I tried it."

"You're sure?"

"Absolutely."

"Okay." Ruby fidgeted. "Because I just want to make sure you know you don't—ah—you don't have to change for me, or whatever. I'd hate it if you felt like that." The tips of her ears were turning pink. "Never change a thing, Belle, okay?"

Ruby Lucas gets nervous? Belle thought.

Around me?

Belle hid a little smile, squeezing Ruby's hand. "I promise."

Silence fell between them, and they laughed awkwardly.

"Alright," Ruby said. "I'm going to go get you some more water—"

"Wait. Speaking of promises," Belle began. "I know I didn't exactly earn it, but do you think…maybe…" Say it. Just say it—

She didn't have to. Ruby's mouth pulled up into a lopsided grin, suddenly all cockiness and crooked canines, and she leaned in and kissed her, slow and sweet, until Belle felt ready to faint all over again.