Chapter Text
D-20
Valentine's day was a big event in Storybrooke. Three weeks before the actual dreadful date, most shops had been decorated with hearts, roses, stupid-looking angels and anything else that reminded single people how lonely they were. To say Mr. Gold hated this sorry excuse of a holiday was a euphemism. By now, everyone knew better than to cross his path. This year, it had taken the townsfolk six raised rents and two “accidents” for them to remember to avoid him as soon as decorations were in sight.
His deep hatred for that day was hard to contain, and yet he couldn't let it out. For the sake of his son Bae, Gold had to stop grinding his teeth too much when he was around. He was such a lovely boy — nothing like the other fourteen years old wankers of this town — that of course he already had a girlfriend. And what kind of father would he be if he forbade his son from going on a date he spent a month planning, just for his own sake? Besides, he really like Emma. The fearless lively girl helped Bae becoming more outgoing. Bae didn't deserve to end up like his monster of a father. So, even though he didn't know how to encourage him, he at least did nothing to spoil his big day.
Bae wasn't stupid. It was plain to see that his father suffered from his loneliness and that he was torn between clinging to him not to be alone, and let him live his life like a normal teenager. His dad always wanted the best for him, but Bae wanted him to have it too. Of course, his father was ruthless with other people and he never had a nice word for anyone but him. But he was a good father. Bae knew he acted like that to protect himself from the world that hurt him so badly in the past. Now, it was more than time for him to move on. He simply needed some help, and Bae knew just how to give him that.
D-14
As usual, his dad woke him up for school, giving him five minutes to get downstairs to come and eat his breakfast. When Bae realized what day it was, he bolted out of bed. The first part of his plan was about to start, he couldn't miss that. To avoid raising his father's suspicion, he waited for two long minutes before he joined him in the kitchen. The teenager was glad Emma had taught him all kind of tricks. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to hide his excitement when he saw the front page of the newspaper on the table.
“Random Valentines? What's that?” he asked in his most innocent voice.
“A stupid idea of the mayor's son. I'm close to forbidding you to talk to him again.”
“Papa...”
Gold sighed at the annoyed tone of his teenager. Of course he would support such nonsense. He was even surprised Bae hadn't thought about it before Henry. He gave his son a bowl of hot chocolate and sat opposite him at the table to butter his toasts.
“It's something for single people, you're not concerned.”
“If it concerns you, it's even more interesting.”
Before Gold could grab the bloody Storybrooke Daily Mirror to throw it in the garbage where it belonged, his son had it in his hands, wisely keeping it out of reach. The fact that he hadn't thought about tearing it to pieces before his son came made him want to hit his head on the table.
“'It's a chance for single people of Storybrooke not to spend Valentine's Day alone. With some luck, they might even find their true love,' explains Henry Mills, our mayor's son. The concept is simple and relies on high-technology. Everyone who registers will get a bracelet which will be linked randomly to another participant's. Touching one bracelet makes the other one vibrate. Participants have three days to discover who they're paired with, the third being Valentine's Day. Once they find one another, they decide if they want to spend the holiday together, whether in a romantic or a friendly way.”
Everything was described as Bae had planned. Henry was a real friend. Of course, he convinced his mother by telling her he wanted to do that because he didn't want her to be alone on Valentine's Day. It wasn't even a lie. Ms. Mills was too busy to find a boyfriend and Henry wanted her to be happy, just as much as Bae wanted his dad to be happy. If their parents didn't hate each other so much, the boys would have been ecstatic about becoming brothers.
Bae scanned the rest of the article which gave information about the high-tech bracelet the kick-starter he discovered on the internet agree to give to the town for free as a test. There were also people telling what they thought about this event, and details about the rules and the planning. When he looked up from the newspaper, Bae saw his father looking at him with a worried expression. Usually, his dad couldn't refuse him anything. It probably explained his panicked and pleading eyes.
“You look like I'm about to send you to a slaughterhouse,” he laughed.
He couldn't be more right. Gold hid his face in his hands. He was a grown up, he could refuse whatever his son asked him. Or hadn't even asked yet. It was only a matter of time, though. Gold could even hear the countdown ticking in his head. He took a deep breath and sighed.
“But you want me to participate, don't you?”
It was his son's turn to sigh.
“I just want you to be happy, papa.”
“But I'm happy with you, Bae.”
“I know! It's just that having a girlfriend is one of the greatest things that happened to me, and I'd like you to know how it feels too.”
He really had the nicest son. Gold couldn't help his stupid smile. Milah had made a mess out of him, but at least, she had given him the most perfect boy.
“I'm too old to have a girlfriend, son.”
“You're never too old to find your true love!”
“Now I know you've been spending too much time with Henry.”
“I'm serious papa! I'm not saying the person you'll find with Random Valentines will be The One. But you could think of it as an exercise to meet new people. Storybrooke isn't such a small city, you don't know everyone. There must be someone you can at least get along with, someone you can talk to that isn't me. A friend.”
It was a rather hard thing to hear from his son's mouth. Gold was terrible at socializing and he had no wish to improve. In this town, he was a beast, a monster everyone knew to avoid. He didn't mind that everyone hated him — the feeling was mutual — as long as he had Bae's love. It reminded him of the time when his son came home from school crying because no one wanted to be his friend since the frightening Mr. Gold was his father. It took Henry Mills who had a similar problem and the rebellious little Emma Swan to get Bae out of his loneliness. Gold was still trapped in his own darkness when his son wasn't around. He had gotten used to it.It was familiar. Yet he couldn't possibly tell that to his son. The poor boy worried already far too much about his old man, there was no need to burden him with more. When he looked back at his son, he couldn't say no to his sad eyes.
“Alright.”
The effect of this one simple word was immediate. Bae beamed up at him as if he just bought him the new console he kept asking him for.
“But if I have to date a man, I'll blame you.”
“Don't worry papa, Storybrooke isn't ready for some homo yet. You get paired with someone of the opposite gender. But just so you know, I'm open minded. I wouldn't mind having two dads.”
Gold snorted. He did raise his son well. Too well, maybe.
“And what if I get paired with... Granny? Or worst, Regina?”
“There is an age limit, and before you ask, you're not beyond it. As for Regina, she's the organizer, she'll probably cheat.”
“Fair point.”
Shit, his son had him cornered. He raked his hand through his hair and sighed.
“Listen, papa,” Bae said as he put a hand on his father's shoulder like the man he was becoming. “I don't want to force you. I simply think it would be good for you to see someone, and this is a perfect opportunity. But this decision has to come from you, otherwise there's no point to it. Just promise me to think about it and I'll stop bothering you with that. Deal?” he asked as he outstretched his hand like he had seen his father do in his shop.
Bae had always been so mature for his age, Gold always wondered if he wasn't an adult trapped into a boy's body. He was so proud of him. How could he refuse?
“Deal.”
They shook hands, looking at each other with all the affection they had for each other. Gold didn't know if he would sign up. He still thought it was a terrible idea. But he wouldn't break his deal. He'll seriously consider participating.
“Now drink your cold chocolate before you're late for school.”
“What about your cold coffee?”
“First, I’m not in full growth. And secondly, as much as I’d like to, coffee doesn’t help to get taller.”
“Belle! Have you seen this?!”
No sooner had Belle put a foot in the diner than Ruby shoved a newspaper in her face. Though many people praised the librarian for her grace and beauty, she snorted like a pig. As soon as she had seen the headline in the newspaper she received at the library, she knew her best friend would be uncontrollably excited about this stupid event. She even hesitated to come to the diner. Yet there was no escaping Ruby with (what she thought was) good news. She could swear that the red-haired woman had been watching out for her arrival, waiting for her prey to fall in her trap and rub the librarian’s lonely life in her face. Better get this over with quickly.
“Breathe, Ruby, breathe.”
Belle put her hands on her friend's shoulder, first to encourage her to calm down, and second to gently push her out of the way so she could go to the counter and order a cup of latte. This strategy was a failure: Ruby just grabbed her arms with claw-like hands. Shit.
“How can I breath when this rat hole is having a secret Valentine's Day?! Don't you realize this is going to be fabulously romantic?”
A slight frown from Belle was all it took to make Ruby howl. At least she let her go, so the short brunette quickly went to the bar where Granny would dissuade her granddaughter from gossiping. Except Granny was nowhere to be seen. Shit on a shit.
“Belle, please don't tell me you're against this blessing,” she pleaded with watery eyes.
The lost puppy eyes were too powerful on Belle. She couldn't lie to her. Anyway, she wasn't such a good liar. She took a deep breath to brace herself for the sermon about going out to get a boyfriend.
“I'm sorry...”
“No!”
“I'm sorry,” she repeated more forcefully, “but I don't believe I'll find a suitable boyfriend thanks to a stupid bracelet.”
This time, it was Ruby who snorted. Belle was kind of jealous of how her friend made that noise sound cute.
“Suitable boyfriend, Belle? The rules don't say you have to marry the man you get with the bracelet. You don't even have to date him if you don't want to.”
“You know I would feel obligated to do so. If he's nice but not my type, I couldn't possibly leave the man alone on Valentine's Day.”
Now Ruby only sighed. Of course Belle would think about other people's feelings and happiness before her own. It was why she was the was one of the few who didn't see her as a slut. Belle had always been there for her, and she wanted to do the same for her. She knew about her friend's loneliness. Besides their nights at the Rabbit Hole and their shopping sessions, all she did were things with her father or alone (such as reading or going on walks in the forest). Ruby didn’t quite understand why a beautiful woman like Belle didn’t want to look for a boyfriend. She always tried to make it sound like a quest to appeal to her literary side. How could she not see this as the wonderful adventure it was?
“What if you actually like him? What if you get prince charming?”
“I highly doubt that. Prince charming isn't that desperate.”
Belle allowed herself a chuckle which she shared with her friend. Prince charming could stay wherever the hell he was, she liked dragons far more. Maybe it was the reason why she never like the men Ruby introduced her to. They were all princes and she wanted a dragon.
“More seriously, though. Lucky as I am, I'll probably get one of your terrible exes.”
“At least you'd know they're okay with casual sex.”
“Ruby!”
Blue glaring eyes couldn't tame her friend's horrible sense of humor. Belle was blushing and she hated herself for that. She was too old to have only one man on her hit list. And what a man… Her downcast gaze was fixed on her hands. Was she being too difficult? Was hoping for the right guy to turn up so wrong? Her books had certainly set the bar high. She wanted mystery, adventure, a man with intellect who would accept her bookish nature, and admire her for that. A man who would offer her a book instead of flowers and chocolate was all she wanted.
“Don't worry, Belle. We'll find your prince.”
Ruby's hand on her shoulder was soothing, but the 'we' definitely chased her sadness away. Belle hadn't had a friend in a long while. Not that she was shy, or shunned people's company. She just usually liked books better, and others found her a bit odd. Ruby had never minded her dreamy naivety. Since the first time Belle came in the diner, the librarian and the waitress had struck an unlikely friendship. They were both attracted to opposite, she thought.
“Thanks Ruby.”
“You're quite welcome. A latte, as usual?”
A nod, and the waitress turned around to make her drink. The newspaper was just beside her. It was tempting her like a forbidden fruit. On her way here, Belle had heard a girl saying to her friends that the interview the mayor's son published in the Storybrooke Daily Mirror was so sweet she decided to sign up just to support him. Belle couldn't take that risk. She already nearly fell for what was written on the front page, she had to stay away from the content. Hopefully, Ruby came back soon.
“One latte.”
“Thanks.”
While Belle took a sip of her drink, Ruby opened the newspaper. She would not give in. At least not because of a child's cuteness. When Ruby chuckled, she knew she was in trouble again.
“Little Henry believes in true love, it seems. Do you think it’s a kind of message to Grace Hatter?”
“Whatever it is, I hope they’ll spend Valentine’s Day together.”
Ruby quickly read the rest of the article, then bit her lip with a distant look. When her eyes were back on Belle, she had a glint in her eyes that the brunette had rarely seen.
“I’m gonna ask Archie out.”
“Really?” Belle said cheerfully.
The red-haired woman has had a crush on the shrink since a while, but no matter how self-confident she was, she never dared to act on her feelings.
“What changed your mind?”
“I don't know... I think I'd get pissed if Archie signs up. Then I'd have to sign up too and bribe Henry into linking our bracelets together.”
The stupid smile on the tall woman's face told her this wasn't the whole story, but there would be time for that. Belle thought she was a bit ashamed of being attracted by an older man. Personally, she had no objection to that. Love wasn't about age.
“If it comes to it, tell him he can get free reading reports.”
“Thanks Belle.”
They laughed and talked some more before it was time to work. Granny came out of the kitchen, blaring that Ruby should go check their stock of lasagna. A heavy sigh and rolled eyes followed.
“You're lucky to be your own boss, Belle, cherish that while I'm working like a slave.”
“I will,” she answered with a chuckle.
Belle got up, and before she had time to do anything, Ruby shoved the newspaper into her hands.
“I dare you to read that and tell me it won't be a great adventure.”
Then she was gone. For a moment, Belle stayed there, staring at the paper in her hands. Challenges and adventures were both things that Belle couldn't resist to. Ruby knew that and wittingly used it against her. Many people thought she was just a bimbo, but she should never be underestimated.
With the newspaper still in her hand and a head buzzing with thoughts, Belle walked to the library. She really could get paired with anyone. Any man of Storybrooke. The annoying, the dumb, the pervert... Or the sweet lonely man who didn't like flirting with strangers in bars but wanted to try meeting someone looking for a relationship, just like her. If she was sure such a man existed in Storybrooke, she'd sign up without an afterthought. As lost in her thoughts as she was, Belle nearly collided with someone.
“Sorry,” she instinctively said.
“It's no matter, dearie.”
The impeccably dressed man gave her a small crooked smile. Before she could be sure of what happened, the man she recognized as Mr. Gold went on his way. She wondered what made the renowned and feared landlord smile. It certainly wasn't the prospect of participating in this secret Valentines.