Chapter Text
“Rumplestiltskin!”
For the first time since 300 years, Rumplestiltskin woke up to the sound of someone screaming his name in his house. Belle. He immediately jumped out of his bed, dressed himself with a magic wave of his hand, and ran to his maid as fast as his short legs could carry him. He prayed she had only done something clumsy and harmless like she often did. But what if they were under attack this time? What if she hurt herself? Her scream was so loud he feared the worst. His heart pounded as wildly as his head.
“Belle?” he yelled to find her.
“I’m here! Come! Quick!” she answered urgently from her bedroom, located conveniently close to his.
It had to be something dangerous. Without a second thought, he burst into her room and found her… happily bouncing up and down in front of her window. She turned to him and pointed at the snow falling outside.
“Look! It’s snowing and everything is white!”
“What?”
He had been worried sick about her and she was only excited by the snow? She must have noticed his distorted face, since her bright grin faltered a bit. As much as he loved to see her smile, he had to admit he was close to turning her into a snail. Thought he usually had a way with words, Rumplestiltskin opened and closed his mouth several time without uttering a single syllable.
He wanted to tell her off about giving him such a fright, but that would mean openly admitting he cared about her and that couldn’t happen. So he just stood there in the middle of her room with his mouth half open and his fierce frown, torn between his steaming anger and his awfully complicated feelings. At least, he wasn’t out of breath from running here.
“Are you okay? I hope I didn’t wake you up.”
Belle sounded a bit guilty and blushed as she realized how early it was. Rumplestiltskin’s own realization at this moment was of another nature. His eyes traveled down her body, and only then he noticed she was still wearing her nightgown. It was a white woolen one with long sleeves and a skirt that covered her legs. It didn’t look that improper, but there was something very personal about seeing someone in their nightie. A blush started to dangerously creep up his face, melting away all his previous anger. Fortunately, he just had to clear his voice to make it work again.
“You didn’t.”
Not as eloquent as usual, but at least he hadn’t made a complete fool of himself. So far. The silence stretched out between them while Belle frowned slightly at him, no doubt trying to understand what was wrong with him. Hopefully, she didn’t dwell too long on this and saved him from his temporary paralysis.
“Good,” she simply said.
She flashed him a shy smile, looked down, took a deep breath, and finally dared to ask him what she wanted more than anything today.
“I wondered if, perhaps, I could get out this morning. I wouldn’t leave the castle grounds, of course. And I would work twice as hard this afternoon.”
“I’ll tell you what,” he started with a new-found self-confidence, “you can have the whole day.”
As long as you stay away from me while I recover from this emotional ordeal, he mentally added.
The list of things Rumplestiltskin had to forget grew longer with each second that ticked away. Forgetting how her nightie gently brushed her curves would at least take several days of spinning. Belle didn’t seem to notice his unease, she just heard a generous offer she was very grateful for. Without a second thought, she ran to him to give him a long tight hug.
“Thank you, Rumplestiltskin.”
Okay, now he would clearly need a whole week to erase the memory of her delicious scent and the warmth of her body flushed against him. Although, as she let him go, her delighted grin made him doubt he wanted to forget this moment.
“You should come with me! It would be fun. Building snowmen, having snowball fights… We could even go sledding! I’ve always wanted to! We’ve never had enough snow to do that in my kingdom.”
Her pleading tone and her shining eyes begging him to agree were the most tempting thing he had ever seen in his very long years of existence. But for once, he was glad his cowardice kicked in to remind him he would never survive playing with his lovely maid in the snow.
“Next time,” he muttered.
It wasn’t exactly how he wanted to refuse her appealing invitation, but his treacherous mouth didn’t have the guts to flat out turn her down. Even if it did, Belle would have probably just insisted until he agreed.
“Promise?”
“Yes, now go.”
Seeing her smile that much was making him feel funny. He would have said anything just to have a day by himself to collect his thoughts in peace, far this breathing hurricane.
“It’s you who should go. I still have to get dressed and I’m not grateful enough to let you watch.”
Stunned by his own stupidity, Rumplestiltskin stayed paralyzed for a couple of long seconds in which his blush burned his face. Her naughty tone and playful grin coupled with the mischief dancing in her beautiful eyes taunted him in a way he wished he would never succumb to. As soon as he heard her chuckle about his embarrassment, he poofed back to the safety of his bedroom and locked the door. Sometimes, his cowardly reflexes came in handy. One day would definitely not be enough to make him and Belle forget about this encounter. Brewing potions suddenly sounded like a very attractive activity.