Belle and Ruby laid in bed, watching another movie and talking. There were moments where they became lost in one another. They kissed, a lot and, at some points, hands started to roam. Belle pulled together her strength several times to suggest that maybe they should stop. Ruby never pouted or seemed disappointed. She would just smile and agree then give her one, small, reassuring kiss before pulling her in and holding her close.

It was starting to get late and the sounds coming from the other room had seemed to subside. Ruby flipped through the channels, finding some obscure television show to watch. She held Belle close, absentmindedly stroking her hair. Unbeknownst to her, Belle was watching her instead of the screen.

Her blue eyes trailed over her girlfriend's features. The beauty of her neck, the perfect structure of her jaw. Her eyes stayed on her lips. The fullness of them and how badly she wanted to feel them against her own once again. Her hand slid over Ruby's neckline and up to her cheek. She turned her girlfriend's head toward her, smiling when Ruby's hazel eyes stayed on the screen.

"Ruby, look at me not the television." she teased, a small hint of laughter in her voice. "I want to show you something."

Ruby broke her trance with the television. She looked into Belle's eyes, furrowing her brow in question. "What is-" she began, her words cut short by Belle's lips pressing against her own.

The athlete moaned when Belle's tongue slid across her bottom lip, begging for entrance. Her lips parted allowing Belle in and their kiss deepened, tongues moving slowly against one another's. Belle pushed herself up and pressed her hands against Ruby's shoulders. She shifted, pushing Ruby back against the headboard as she straddled her hips. Ruby gripped her waist, her fingers digging into Belle's sides as the tutor tangled her hands in her girlfriend's dark hair.

The room was starting to get hot. Ruby felt her head spinning as her girlfriend kissed her deeply. Her heart was racing and her hands held Belle in place. When Belle pressed further into her lap, Ruby moaned again. Her hands started to wander, finding their way under the sides of Belle's night shirt. It was the feel of cool flesh against hot hands that snapped Ruby back.

"Belle.." Ruby breathed through their kiss. "Belle, we should stop..."

Belle reluctantly broke the kiss. She stared down at her girlfriend as both did their best to control their breathing. "But, Ruby, I-"

"Are you really?" Ruby inquired, knowing what she was going to say.

Belle's hands remained on Ruby's cheeks. She bit her bottom lip as the blush rose into her cheeks. "You were sitting there and you looked so beautiful, I just couldn't help myself..."

Ruby chuckled lightly, running her fingers through her loves hair. "Now you know how I feel every day I'm with you." She slowly ran her finger down her jawline and touched her chin. "Let's just pause and get some rest." She raised an eyebrow and flashed an adorable smirk. "Okay?"

"Okay." Belle agreed with a small nod. She moved forward slightly, wrapping her arms around Ruby's neck. She sighed when Ruby's arms snaked around her waist, holding her tightly. "I love you."

"I love you too."

Ruby was always a light sleeper. She hated the fact that the slightest noise would wake her, no matter how late she stayed up the previous night. A light clangy sound coming from the kitchen caused her to groan and opened her eyes slowly. She listened for a moment, refusing to leave the warmth and comfort of Belle cuddled up against her.

"Damn it!" came the shout from the kitchen followed by the sound of another pot landing on the counter.

Ruby sighed as she slowly untangled herself from Belle. She paused when removing the covers, making sure not to wake her girlfriend. Belle shifted a bit, muttering lightly as she rolled away from Ruby and cuddled into her pillow. Ruby smiled and inched a bit closer to her once again. Her fingers brushed Belle's cheek for a moment before she snuggled into Belle's back, wrapping her arm around her waist. She kissed her cheek and Belle's eyes opened half way and sleepily at the contact.

"Hey." Ruby greeted, softly as she kissed her cheek once again. "Good morning."

"Mmmhmm.." Belle responded, incoherently as her eyes fought to close again.

Ruby chuckled lightly. "I'm going to check out the kitchen." she explained, lightly running her fingers through the side of Belle's hair. "I think Emma is trying to burn down the cabin."

Belle rolled on her back. "Tell her not to be so loud when she does..." she muttered as her eyes slowly closed. She reached up, blindly and patted Ruby's cheek weakly. "Have fun..."

Ruby's brow scrunched together at the odd response. "You obviously need more sleep so I'll be in the kitchen when you wake up."

"Okay..." She pursed her lips in a silent request for a kiss.

Ruby shook her head and laughed. She closed the small space between them and pressed her lips softly to her girlfriend's. She pulled back slowly and chuckled again when a sleepy smile broke across Belle's face. The tutor sighed happily and rolled back onto her side as Ruby moved from the bed and walked toward the kitchen.

Emma did her best to remain quiet. She was pretty sure the first batch of burnt bacon would have woken someone, especially when she cursed loudly from the grease hitting her hand. She finished stacking the pancakes and walked them to the table. She smiled, proud at herself for making the perfect after prom breakfast.

"You should really put your hand under cold water." Ruby suggested, laughing when Emma jumped at the sound of her voice.

Emma turned to glare at her friend who was leaning up against the doorframe, her arms crossed against her chest. "You scared the shit out of me."

Ruby shrugged and pushed herself from the frame. "Yeah, well, you woke me up." She walked toward the table and admired Emma's handwork. "Looks good." She reached down to grab a piece of bacon.

"Thank you." Emma slapped her hand causing her to recoil quickly. "Wait for everyone." She laughed when Ruby made a face and slumped down in one of the chairs. The blonde eyed her friend for a moment before walking to the refrigerator to grab some juice. "Did you seriously sleep in your soccer shorts?"

Ruby waited until Emma turned her back to quickly grab a piece of bacon and shove it in her mouth. "Did you seriously sleep with that tie on?" she muttered, swallowing hard.

Emma turned around with a grin. "Well, Regina likes to-"

Ruby held up her hand, stopping her in mid sentence. "Stop right there." she ordered. "We heard the entire thing."

"Seriously?"

Ruby nodded. "Yeah, I think you scarred Belle for life."

Emma looked at her apologetically. "Sorry, dude." She poured Ruby a glass of orange juice. "Speaking of Belle..." She joined her friend at the table and smirked. "How did it go?"

"How did what go?"

"You know.." Emma wiggled her eyebrows.

Ruby rolled her eyes. "We just fell asleep together, that's all." She smiled. "And it was nice."

Emma looked at bit confused. "Really? That's it?"

"It's not all about sex, Emma."

"I know that. I just thought you two-well, you know."

"Maybe one day." Ruby took a sip from her drink and placed her glass back down. "I'm in no rush. I plan on being with her forever."

Emma smiled at her friend's words. "Aw, look at you." She slapped Ruby's leg. "All in love and stuff."

Ruby rolled her eyes again. "Shut up, Emma."

"Good morning." Belle greeted with a small yawn as she entered the kitchen. She walked over to Ruby, placing her hand on her shoulder as she leaned down and kissed her lightly on the cheek. "The room suddenly became very cold without you there."

Ruby smiled up at her. "You missed my insane body heat?"

Belle took a small step around her and sat down on her lap. She wrapped her arms around her neck. "I missed you." she admitted as Ruby's smiled brightened and they kissed.

They broke apart slowly and Ruby smiled. She reached up, running her fingers through Belle's hair as she stared into her beautiful blue eyes. "What? No smart ass remarks, Emma?"

"Nah." Emma responded, taking a sip from her drink. "I'm in a great mood so I'm going to keep my smart assness to myself."

"Well, there is a first time for everything." Regina commented, walking into the kitchen. She ran a towel over her hair as she smiled at everyone. "Good morning."

Emma turned slightly and looked up at her. "It's about time."

Regina huffed. "I've been up for over an hour, dear." she noted, touching Emma's chin. "I just decided to jump in the shower so I wouldn't ruin your surprise."

Belle stood from Ruby's lap and took a seat next to her. She cleared her throat and smiled. "So, uh, how did you sleep, Regina?"

"Beautifully, oddly enough. I usually can't sleep in strange beds." She turned and grabbed a class from the cabinet. "I must have been exhausted."

Ruby pressed her lips together, stifling a laugh. "I bet you were."

"Ruby." Belle scolded, slapping her girlfriend's arm.

Regina turned to face her, raising a curious eyebrow. She leaned against the counter. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Emma cleared her throat as she stood from the chair. She walked over to her girlfriend, wrapping her arm around her shoulders. "Um, apparently, you were pretty loud last night."

Regina looked at her confused for a moment. "Loud? What do you mean I was-" she paused, her eyes widening in shock. Her hand went to her mouth. "Oh my God..." She put her hand on her chest. "You heard?"

Ruby nodded. "Everything."

"I'm so sorry."

Emma beamed and huffed. "I'm not." Without warning, the back of Regina's hand connected with her stomach causing her to double over. "Sorry..."

Belle waved her hand. "Why don't we just forget about it and enjoy this lovely breakfast Emma prepared?"

Regina nodded. "Yes, let's do that." She shot Emma a look. "And, please, remove that tie from your neck." she requested in a harsh whisper.

"That's not what you said last night.." Emma replied as Regina shot her a stern glare. She cleared her throat and started to remove the tie. "Yes, dear." She smiled sheepishly as they joined Belle and Ruby at the table.

After they got passed the awkwardness, breakfast went surprisingly well. They complimented Emma on her surprising ability to cook. When Ruby mentioned the pile of burnt bacon in the garbage, she received a balled up napkin to the face. Belle and Regina exchanged glances at the action before chuckling lightly and shaking their heads.

Belle returned to the room first and began to pack. She sighed as she packed her things. She smiled as she pulled her dress from the closet. She never expected her life to go this way. She was always the girl who everyone looked passed. The smart girl that helped the jocks and the troubled pass their exams and classes. She was never the girl that anyone wanted to date.

Until the star soccer player came into her life and changed everything.

An arm wrapped around her waist from behind and she smiled, leaning back into the embrace. A soft hand brushed her hair to the side as warm lips pressed a small kiss to the back of her neck. Belle closed her eyes, her body shivering at the touch.

"Ready to go?" Ruby whispered, her breath tickling her ear.

Belle turned to face her. "Do we have to?"

Ruby flashed her perfect smile. "Unfortunately, we do." She clasped her hands together, holding Belle in place.

Belle's hands slid over her shoulders. Her fingers brushed lightly against the back of her loves neck. "Thank you."

Ruby drew her brow together in question. "For what?"

"For everything." Belle continued to stroke her neck. "For asking me on a date. For being my first kiss. For loving me." She could feel her eyes tearing up, but did her best to control it. "But, most of all, for being patient with me. I don't know where I would be if I hadn't had the pleasure of tutoring you."

"Oh, so it was a pleasure now?" Ruby teased as Belle shifted and shoved her lightly. She stumbled back with a laugh before moving her hands to gently grip her girlfriend's hips. "I should be thanking you though."

"Why?"

"Because my life is a thousand times better with you in it." She pulled her closer. "I'm so glad I messed up enough in English to bring us together."

Belle laughed at her confession. "We would have crossed paths eventually. Right?"

"Well, we did and you called me stupid."

Belle's jaw dropped. "I did not call you stupid."

Ruby chuckled. "Yes, you did. It was thinly veiled, but you did."

Belle thought back to the day Gaston knocked her books out of her hand. How Ruby came over to help her pick them up. She was trying to be nice and Belle insulted her. The blush rushed to her cheeks and she buried her head in her girlfriend's neck. "I didn't mean it. Gaston just made me so angry."

"It's okay. It doesn't matter." Ruby laughed, stroking her hair. "All that matters is that you don't see me that way anymore and that you love me."

Belle raised her head to look into her beautiful hazel eyes. "I do love you." She touched her face. "With all my heart."

Ruby smiled, running her finger softly down Belle's jawline. "I love you too."

Belle leaned up, pressing her lips to Ruby's. Her hands slid into her dark hair, gripping lightly as they kissed slowly. She couldn't imagine herself experiencing these moments with anyone else. Ruby was her athlete and she was her tutor...

**end**

**thanks for reading.. and waiting**