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She can’t stop staring at her friend’s neck. Does she even know that it’s visible? Maybe it was supposed to be covered by that red scarf but clearly the scarf isn’t doing its job. It looks like someone had some fun last night. Look at it! Just look! It’s so darn huge!
“-elle? Belle! Were you even listening?” Ruby waved her hand exasperatedly at the brunette. She was telling some very important news! Belle looked up from her current object of interest and smiled sheepishly, a blush forming on her cheeks. She knows that she shouldn’t have eyeballed the bruise on her friend’s neck. She just took a fleeting glance at Ruby before sitting down at their designated booth but then as if it were a magnet, that thing practically dragged her eyes down towards it. It was just so distracting she can’t help but give it notice. She’s been staring fixatedly on it since then. For a solid twenty minutes.
Ruby pursed her lips and furrowed her brows, seeing the current state of her companion. Her eyed had been huge as saucers ever since they sat down. “Is there something wrong?” She asked. The only answer she got was Belle’s cheeks flushing to a redder color and awkward mumbling. “What? What is it? Is it something on my face?”
Well, it’s on your neck.
Belle forgot what it was called but she did remember its purpose. She’s read enough books that touched on those topics. And read some that dabbled on things she shouldn’t be thinking of right now. In public.
She just opted to point at it and mumbled. She received a blank look. She pointedly directed her finger closer and mumbled some more.
“What? Just tell me!”
“You have a bruise on your neck!” Belle was still not over being caught red-handed and therefore, lacked the sense and control to at least lower down her voice. Ruby’s eyes were as large as Belle’s now. She immediately slapped a hand on her neck and lowered her head, glaring daggers at her friend, all the while looking around. Luckily, it was still early morning. Most of Storybrooke are in their beds, sleeping while the ones that did manage to walk all the way to the diner were still half-asleep.
“You didn’t have to announce it to the world!” She whispered hotly.
It was now Belle’s turn to slap a hand on her mouth and apologized with her eyes. No one can resist the allure of Belle’s apologetic puppy face and Ruby acquiesced and turned into putty after a mere couple of seconds.
“It’s a hickey, Belle. A hickey.”
“So you did had some fun last night.” Belle was slowly recovering from her and Ruby’s outburst as a teasing smile slowly made its way onto her face. Ruby had the decency to blush and bite her lip.
“Was it Archie?”
“….yeah.”
“Oh! I knew you two were perfect for each other! You bring out the wolf in him!” She teased some more and got a flick on the arm in return. It wasn’t enough to stop her giggles and soon Ruby joined in as well.
“Well, what about you and that imp?” Perceptive as usual, Belle knew that Ruby was changing the subject. She finally took pity on her best friend and accepted the topic change.
“What do you mean?”
“Oh stop playing innocent, Belle. You clearly knew what this hickey meant despite forgetting its name. So spill! Any recent adventures? Escapades?” Ruby waggled her brows and got a snort from the brunette.
Turning serious, Belle sighed and shook her head. It wasn’t that Rumple wasn’t into it. But she had gotten a bit annoyed that she was always the one to start everything. They haven’t even gotten that far. He always treated her like something made from glass. She loves being cared for and being treated like she was delicate, yes. But sometimes she imagined what it would be like for him to let go. To lose control. To forget all inhibitions and just feel. Rumple is very capable of that, she’s sure. She just hopes he can trust her enough to forget the problems for a while and let them have one moment free from anything that troubles them.
“Do you need me to give you some tips?” Ruby’s tone and wolfish smile pulled Belle from her thoughts. The look on her face is says it all.
“Oh, Ruby no! No!”
It was late in the afternoon and Mr. Gold had just flipped the sign to ‘Close’ and is currently in the backroom when he heard the jingling of the bell in the shop’s front. Knowing that it was Belle coming back from her weekly “Bestie Dates” with Ruby, he turned around and gave her a heartwarming smile.
“Hey.” He opened his arms to Belle giving him a tight bear hug and accepting a soft kiss on the neck.
“Ready to go?” He asked her as they untangled themselves, holding his arm for her to take. Instead of the usual upbeat yes and a smile, Belle pursed her lips and stared at him in deep thought. He instantly started to worry and went to hold her shoulders as a sign of comfort.
“Belle? Is everything all right?”
“Kiss me.”
Mr. Gold’s eyes widened at what she said. It was a bit unusual for her to voice her requests outside the privacy of their home –their home. He’s still not over Belle proclaiming the house theirs. But he gave a comforting smile, nodded and brought his lips to hers.
It was gentle. Sweet. A mere touching of lips as light as a hummingbird’s wings. The pair closed their eyes and enjoyed the tender moment. It lasted for a couple of seconds before they parted, but only slightly, their breaths mingling with the other.
Mr. Gold was quite content with their kiss but Belle wanted more.
She grabbed fistfuls of his expensive coat and dragged her lips to his. Mr. Gold didn’t have the time to understand what was happening until he registered that his little love was starting to nibble and lick his lips, asking for entrance. A bit surprised, he broke off and looked at her in concern.
“Belle, what’s the matter? Is something wrong?”
Belle’s eyes had already started to darken but seeing the look on her love’s face made her second guess her actions. She looked down, her eyes starting to fill up and shook her head.
Maybe she was just acting irrationally, she thought to herself. Of course Rumple still loves her! He welcomed her into his home, right? What about those late night cuddles when she can’t sleep? They were even sharing a bed!
That last thought started to repeat itself over and over until one unbidden dark thought made its way into her mind. Maybe he did all that because all he felt was pity. Maybe he was just making up for it when he threw her out of the Dark Castle. He just felt sorry for her and so he wanted to apologize. After all, she was his responsibility now. Scratch that, his burden. She’s stuck with him forever. Of course he didn’t want to spend his eternity with a whiny maid. He just needs to make her happy and coincidentally, sharing a bed does. It didn’t mean anything.
Belle was now fighting tears but some escaped and poured down her cheeks.
When Mr. Gold saw this, he started to panic. He fluttered his hands to her shoulders, her head, her hands trying to comfort her. He offered soothing words but that didn’t seem to work. Petting her head and offering some jokes didn’t either. Maybe it was only a couple of seconds that passed by but to him it felt like hours. He didn’t want his Belle to cry. But he also didn’t know what to do.
Taking a deep breath, he tried to stay calm. That was the best thing to do now. One of them has to be the calm and collected person and comfort the other without panicking. And so far, he’s not doing a very good job. It was always Belle that did the comforting, not him. If he was Belle, what would he do? Wait...
What would Rumplestiltskin do?
Suddenly having the idea, he immediately hugged his True Love and combed her hair soothingly. That did the trick and now the little brunette was just hiccuping after an intense session of crying. He directed them to the cot and sat down, not minding the pain that shot through his leg. Wrapping his arms around Belle left him with no other free hand to grab the cane. But none of that mattered now, he thought.
He can bear this pain. Belle crying however was another story.
“Sweetheart, what seems to be the problem? Won’t you tell me?” He asked in a soft plea, maintaining the soothing brushing of her hair and the slight rocking of his arms to calm her.
“You love me right?”
Rumple’s shriveled heart squeezed painfully at her broken voice. Of course he loves her! He loves her with all his black heart can muster! Was he showing it enough? Was he enough?
“Of course I love you, dear heart. You’re my light, remember?” He answered softly. After a couple of seconds of silence he added “Do you love me?”
Belle pushed herself away and Rumple tried his best to stop his arms from going to her and his face to not show the pain he felt. But Belle noticed a flash of hurt come across his features before being schooled into a blank look. That was him preparing himself for a goodbye. But too bad, Rumple. I’m not going anywhere anytime soon, she thought.
“I love you, Rumple! I do! But sometimes, I just want you to stop treating me so delicately! I’m not fragile! I don’t break easily!”
“B-but sweetheart... I don’t want to lose control. I don’t want you playing with the beast. I don’t want you to get hurt because of me!”
“You won’t hurt me! I trust you! And I love all of you! Even the parts the belong to the darkness. Haven’t you realized yet, Rumple? I always mean it when I tell you that I love you. I’m not afraid of the beast.” Belle closed the distance and touched her nose with his as well as her forehead.
His eyes were so brown, so huge, so pained and afraid. He actually believed that the monster, the darkness inside of him would lose control and hurt her. She was determined to prove him wrong.
Lifting a hand and slowly cupping his face, she inched herself closer, their lips merely grazing the other when she said “Rumple. I believe in you. Please believe in me.”
Rumplestiltskin can only close his eyes and moaned in response.
“Oh, Belle.”
It was already the next week when Ruby and Belle met up at the diner for their weekly meet-up. This time, it was Belle who was coming late and Ruby had to wave her over the crowd of hungry people. It was lunch time and Ruby had been waiting for almost four hours for the brunette.
“I thought you were never coming! I waited forever! Do you know how long that was?!” She screeched as she gave her best friend a hug and they sat down.
“Coming from you, I’d say not that long.”
“Oh trust me, it was longer. Four hours, Belle! Who makes a person wait that long? I thought you stood me up!”
Belle had the audacity to blush, looking down. Unconsciously, she fingered her long coat accidentally showing a bit of her left shoulder. Ruby’s keen eyes didn’t miss the edge of that very familiar thing. She smirked and waited for Belle to get her wits together before asking.
“You finally did it, did you? And don’t you dare deny it because I can see that monster peeking on your shoulder and I’ll take a wild guess that there’s more where I can’t see them, yeah? Your lips are swollen as well so I take it your late because you and your love had to go for Round two?
“Round five, actually. Let me tell you, he may be a man on the streets but he’s a beast in bed.”