Red Beauty

Red Beauty is the femslash ship between Red and Belle from the Once Upon A Time fandom.

Canon
The first time Belle and Ruby meet is at a diner. Belle was drinking some ice tea. And Ruby was staring at her from across the counter. So she approaches Belle, making some jokes. Despite the cringe-worthy line, Belle engages her in some talk and rather quickly reveals that she’s been a "kept woman - up until recently”. Ruby immediately takes a seat with her.

Ruby continues to show her interest, and immediately after Belle reveals that she’s heading towards a break-up, she asks if Belle has a place to stay. Then, Ruby insists Belle should come stay at Granny’s hotel until she gets her life figured out. From then on, things continue to escalate faster, and Ruby advises Belle to become the new town librarian.

Eventually, Belle runs away and due to some business with her dad. So when people come around looking for Belle, whom they assume is missing, they end up at the Diner, where they meet Ruby. She's hesitant at first, but then decides to admit that Belle was indeed there and that maybe if Charming promises to keep Belle safe, she’ll help find her. So later Ruby finds out that Belle left her sweater behind and it turns out that Ruby has just discovered she is very good at picking up “scents.” So she thoroughly sniffs Belle’s shirt and lets her nose guide her to the missing Belle.

Ruby continues to be protective of Belle. And after her nose has guided her in her general direction, she heads off to rescue Belle. Belle tells the both men that came looking for her that she won't come back with them. And decides to return with Ruby to the diner, where the two of them share pancakes together.

Fanon
Red Beauty is one of the most popular ships in the Once Upon A Time fandom. It's the most popular ship for both characters. And while the episodes, where the two's relationship was developing,, were airing, the ship gained a lot of popularity, as fans thought there might be a chance for the two of them to actually develop a romantic relationship. However, when this did not ultimately happened, fans were saddened by what they considered to be another case of queerbaiting of the many in media.

Fandom
FAN FICTION