It was getting really cold. There was snow on the ground, and when New Year's Eve came and went, the townspeople were actually getting hopeful about it. They still all wanted to go home, even though the comforts of the modern world were nice. Health care being one that Granny was definitely grateful for—this new stuff called ibuprofen worked wonders for her back. In the spirit of forgiveness, the townspeople let up on their attitude towards Regina, so she could come out of her house without expecting to be attacked, or threatened. But that didn't stop her from attacking a certain Sherriff (Emma had been reinstated since her return).

Regina stacked the plates on the counter, not daring to look at the blonde, who was explaining the arrangement she had made with Ruby—how she was pretending to date her to make Belle jealous. Regina scoffed when she heard this. She had no interest in the inconsequential lives of Belle and Red, and she opened her mouth to say this. But then she thought—if Red was with Belle, that would mean Rumpelstilitskin wouldn't have her. And that made Regina happy. Anything that made Gold suffer usually did.

She placed the plates on shelf. "Fine, Miss Swan. You have made yourself perfectly clear. But suffer no delusions: as long as you are 'fake dating' that werewolf, you won't be welcome—in my bed…late at night."

Emma slumped over. "Come on, Regina! It's not like I'm having sex with her! All we've done is kiss in public a few times-"

That did nothing to sate Regina. "You've kissed this woman?"

"Well yeah…" Emma trailed off. That was the wrong thing to say. The things I do for you, Rubes. Now thanks to her, she'd have to go without, at least until Belle came to her senses and realized that Ruby was perfect for her. Which better be soon.

Henry was put to bed at 10:00, and Emma went back to her apartment. She clutched the keys in her hand, whistling. The air was crisp and cold, which made Emma thankful that she had a warm apartment to go to, even though it was a little crowded now. If she had to hear Mary Margaret—Snow—her mom…God this was just too confusing. But if she had to hear David and Mary having sex again in the middle of the night, she would pack her bags and move somewhere else. Probably to Regina's…Emma pushed open the door and kicked her boots off. She put her keys on the table next to the door and saw Ruby sitting on the couch.

"Oh, Hey, Rubes, what's up?"

Red cracked her knuckles. "Snow let me in…sorry it's late. I just…I needed to talk to you about something."

"Okay, what is it?"

"Well, you know I'm—a skin changer. A werewolf, child of the moon, or whatever you want to call it…anyway, the week before the full moon, I get a little…horny. I mean, like, really bad. And January is the month of the full wolf moon, which makes it even worse."

Emma snorted. "Okay…so why is this important?"

"You don't get it. If I get anywhere near Belle, I'll just do what I did at the Christmas Eve party all over again."

"You know that wasn't your fault—"

"That doesn't matter, I can't risk it. There's no telling what I'd do to Belle if I see her. I'll probably jump on her like a trampoline."

Emma burst out laughing, leaving a very serious looking Red sitting on the couch, with her arms folded. After Emma laughed so much that her stomach muscles ached, Ruby smacked her arm in frustration.

"Emma, this is serious. How can you call yourself my fake girlfriend if you're not willing to stop me from having sex with another woman?"

Emma frowned. "Yeah, about that. I think maybe I should just let you go all wolf crazy on Belle, because Regina told me that as long as we're 'dating,' she and I can't…you know…"

Red groaned. "Damn it. I had no idea you'd be this high maintenance."

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Grumpy frowned as he saw Red and Emma walking up to the opening of the mines. He and the 5 other dwarves—Sneezy had unfortunately lost his memory—had been working at the mines, digging for gold and diamonds, because that was the only life they knew. So far, they hadn't found anything other than coal, but dwarves were tireless workers. He also worked to keep his mind off of Asterid, who had been swarming his thoughts ever since the curse broke. But she was a nun in this world, which totally sucked.

Grumpy lived up to his name. He frowned at the two women approaching the mines, ready to tell them to leave the dwarves to their work. Before he could get a word in, Red started babbling about how she needed him to trap her in the mines for a week—something about protecting Belle. Grumpy laughed at that.

"I can't trap you in these mines—it's a safety hazard. Have you gone insane or something, Red?"

Emma came to her defense. "Hey, back off, Leroy, she's just shaken up about it being her time of the month." Emma smirked and earned a hit on the arm from Red.

"Don't call it that! This is serious! Why doesn't anyone understand that this is a HUGE deal?"

Grumpy raised his eyerbrows. "Geez, Red, calm down. Your wolfstime won't be for another two weeks. Why are you…"

He stopped talking because Red had suddenly jumped on Emma, tackling her to the ground. Before Emma could think, Ruby began smothering her with kisses, trailing a line of them down her neck. Neither Emma nor Grumpy moved for a moment, both taken by complete shock. Emma came to her senses and realized that it was happening. This was what Red meant by 'horny.'

"Grumpy, help get her off of me."

Grumpy reluctantly pulled Red off of the blonde, dusting her off. Red seemed to recover quickly, and immediately apologized.

"No, it's okay." Emma waved it off. "Let's just make sure that it doesn't happen again."

Grumpy groaned.

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Belle had moved to her dad's house on January 13, and he was glad to have her home. He really was a sweet man, and Belle had missed him. She brought him to the library some days, because he shared her love of literature. He would sit there and read, while Belle was rearranging books and movies. Belle didn't tell her dad that one of the reasons she had decided to move in with him was because staying at Granny's was getting slightly uncomfortable. She couldn't avoid Red; it was inevitable that they would run into each other, because Red was one of the housekeepers at the B&B. But one thing Belle could not stand was seeing Emma and Red together. Whenever she did, that feeling of something boiling in the pit of her stomach would return. She would get red in the face, and find it hard to breathe, or focus on anything, really. It was so intense, that it was getting exhausting.

So Belle decided to move out, just so she wouldn't have to be tortured by seeing Red kiss someone else. Someone who wasn't her. It was just excruciating. The need to be near Red, to even just see her was something she couldn't battle on her own. Thankfully, her dad was a good distraction. She looked over at him. He was reading The Other Boleyn Girl, and from the looks of it, he was totally wrapped up in it. She smiled.

Her dad put the book down. "Belle, dear, I'm getting hungry. I think it's time we go to Granny's, and I can try one of those hamburgers you keep talking about."

Belle's smile dropped from her face. "No, I'm not hungry. But you can go."

Mr. French stood up. "Since when did you not like hamburgers?"

"I…I just don't want to go over there. It's cold outside." Belle sighed. How many more lame excuses could she pull out of her ass? It was getting ridiculous. "Fine, I'll go with you."

Mr. French smiled, pulling his coat off the hook and shrugging into it. He opened the door for his daughter, and they both stepped out into the cold. There were 4 inches of snow on the ground, and it was beautiful. Belle breathed in the invigorating winter air, hoping like hell that Ruby wasn't there.

But she was, and what was worse, she didn't look too good. Belle noticed she looked kind of…wild. Her hair wasn't combed, and her apron was thrown on haphazardly. She was working, but her heart wasn't in it. She was jumpy and excitable, Belle could tell. She sat in one of the booths with her dad and waited for Red or Granny to take their order.

Red walked up to them. "Hi, what'll it be?" Her voice was strained, almost like she was holding something back.

"2 hamburgers, and 2 iced teas." Belle answered. "You have to try the iced teas, father."

"Yeah, they're really good." Red muttered distractedly. "Okay, I'll get that for you in probably 10 or 15 minutes." Red walked away—it had taken an insane amount of effort to restrain herself from Belle. Belle had an overwhelming scent—like honey and lilacs—and around this time, the werewolf's senses were sharpened to it. The wolf's time was not treating her well. Granny had given her some calming poultice, which contained copious amounts of whiskey.

Belle made her way up to the counter. "Hey, Red, is everything okay?"

Red slung a dishcloth over her shoulder. "Yeah, perfect. Why do you ask?"

"Well, you just seem…distracted. Is it your wolf's time soon?"

Red nodded. Why did Belle have to be so smart. "Yeah. It's next week. But the week before, I get really weird urges that I can't control. Which is why you should leave."

"What?"

"God, you don't even realize it, do you? How much you torture me?"

"I could ask you the same thing." Belle answered before her brain could censor her words.

"What do you mean?"

"You're dating Emma. 2 weeks after you kissed me at the Christmas party, you decide to get a new girlfriend, and I have to watch it. I have to see you on the arm of a beautiful blonde sheriff, when the whole time—" Belle stopped. "You know what? This was a bad idea."

Before Red could say anything, Belle went to the booth, grabbed her coat, and left. Her dad was left there, wondering what the hell had happened. Urgently, Ruby grabbed her coat and ran out the door, determined to find Belle. She felt cold flakes fall on her skin. She sniffed, following the trail that Belle's scent left. She couldn't get far. Red found her on the corner of Tulle and Main, and called out for her. But she didn't stop. Red had to lope in front of her and circle back.

She came to a stop in front of Belle, and held up her hands in front of her. Belle looked really pissed, which was a new look for her. Usually she was subdued, and calm. Red would be lying if seeing her mad wasn't the least bit arousing.

"Belle, what were you going to say? Back in the diner?"

Belle tried to sidestep Ruby, but it was futile. Ruby had the instincts of an animal, after all. She could trap her prey easily.

"I don't see why it's important. You're dating someone else, anyway."

"Not anymore. Emma and I broke up." Ruby stepped closer to Belle, gingerly reaching out to stroke her hair with the back of her hand. "She's in love with someone else…and so am I."

Belle smiled, showing all of her teeth. Her green eyes sparkled and she couldn't help but feel invincible at those words. "So much for your cleanse."

Ruby laughed. "Yeah." Red leant in close to Belle, feeling her breath on her face. Snowflakes were coming down harder and harder now. But Belle felt so warm encircled in Red's arms that she didn't even notice. She closed her eyes and Red's lips touched hers. Belle opened her mouth after a few seconds, inviting Red to do the same. They moved to the rhythm of each other's breath, knowing that if they broke apart it would be too soon.

Belle finally leant back, breathing hard. "So…do you want to go on a date with me sometime?"

Red smiled. "Absolutely."

Well there it is, everyone! I think this is a good place to end, but I might make a sequel. The sad thing about this couple is they are not near as popular as I'd like them to be. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, it's encouraging that you like this couple!

Also, as a side note: I ship Red with pretty much every one in Storybrooke. So if you have a prompt for me for Red/anyone, message me and I'll see if I can write it! This was a REALLY fun story to write, Ruby is such a cool character.