"Is he always like this?" Victor asked as Pongo tugged restlessly on the leash, and Ruby struggled to keep him under control.

Ruby shook her head. "No," she replied, laughing. "He's just restless because he's still excited about Archie being back… And Archie hasn't had a lot of time to walk him lately, everyone's been so busy. Come back here, Pongo." She whistled, but the dog ignored her, barking excessively at a squirrel just off the path.

"Alright, go get him," she sighed, bending down to unlatch the leash from his collar. Immediately, Pongo took off, sprinting after the squirrel, who quickly disappeared up a tree.

Victor observed the scene for a moment, chuckling. "I'm surprised you don't go after the squirrel yourself," he commented.

"Oh, can it," Ruby replied, glaring at him. "Wolves aren't house pets. We can't be tamed."

"Ah, my mistake. Sorry." Victor sat down on a nearby park bench, motioning for Ruby to sit next to him. "You know," he said after she had sat down, "All of this is really… much more than I deserve." He avoided her gaze. "A friend like you, why… I didn't think I'd ever… I mean…"

Ruby laughs. "We've been through this already, Victor. You and I have both been through a lot, I think it's pretty evident we need each other. I'm glad you're enjoying yourself."

Victor drew in a breath, uncertain of how to respond. "Yeah…" He focused his attention on Pongo, who was now halfway across the park, barking at yet another squirrel. "Did I ever tell you," he said, turning to Ruby suddenly, "that my world was literallyblack and white?"

Ruby cocked her head curiously at the statement. "What?"

"Yeah. Like, I literally grew up in black and white. My dimension, the world I came from, it was in black and white. There was no color."

"No color at all? That's so weird. So you must have been pretty shocked when Emma broke the curse and you realized everything was in color then, huh?" Ruby asked.

Victor shrugged. "We were all pretty shocked when the curse broke. But I don't know what happy ending Regina meant to tear from me by bringing me here."

Ruby sighed. "You know, Victor, you're better than you think you are. You just need a little color to brighten your outlook on life. Maybe a little… red?" She looked away immediately, realizing the cheesiness of the statement, a blush rising on her cheeks.

"Miss Riding Hood, are you suggesting what I think you're suggesting?" Victor answered, raising his eyebrows.

"I'm not sure what I'm asking."

Without another word, Victor reached over and gently put his hand under Ruby's chin, lifting her face towards his and kissing her, softly and briefly, on the lips.

When he pulled away, he met Ruby's gaze, and both of them laughed. "You're right," Victor declared, "We deserve each other."