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Belle poked her head into the room where Rumplestiltskin sat at his spinning wheel, the dark wood gleaming in the sunlight from the now open shades.
Belle bit her lip when she realized the tea cup was sitting back on the tray at the table. He'd drunk all of it then.
She was going to regret this, she knew it. But she hadn't been able to resist when she saw the name of the bottle. She'd been reading one of her books in the library earlier and come across the emotion revealer potion. She'd found it vaguely interesting.
Of course, then she'd found the potion while she'd been dusting the 'recently available to her cleaning' tower. Rumplestiltskin had told her very explicitly not to touch anything. But oh, she couldn't help it. They'd been tiptoeing around each other ever since the rose incident and when he'd caught her after she fell.
She couldn't help it, she needed to know.
Belle's eyes widened as she realized a cloud of rain had formed above Rumplestiltskin's head, the raindrops pattering soundlessly on top his hair, just out of his sight.
"Rumple?"
To Belle's astonishment as soon as the imp looked up, he sneered, "Belle, are you done dusting the tower?" That was quite normal actually, it was the huge sun that had suddenly parted through the dark rain clouds and shone its rays across the Dark One that was most unusual.
Belle stepped across the room and closer so that only the spinning wheel stood between them, "Yes, quite finished Rumple."
"Very good, dearie! Yes... Very, um... Good."
"Rumple, I've been thinking..."
The imp looked up and Belle pretended to not be staring at the space over his head. "I was wondering if I could give you a hug."
"What?! No! Don't touch me! Whatever gave you that idea?!"
Belle smirked and pointed, "Oh, maybe that."
Rumplestiltskin looked up and gasped as Bele edged closer around the spinning wheel taking advantage of the Dark One's distraction, "Belle! What-"
Belle launched herself into Rumplestiltskin's arms, giving him the first heartfelt hug he'd had in several hundred years.
Rumple froze and then ever so tentatively hugged her back, his scaly arms resting against the smooth blue fabric of Belle dress.
The rainbow that had formed above Rumplestiltskin's head at the possibility of a hug from Belle, grew larger and glittery flowers sprinkled the air around it as cartoon hearts ballooned above his head.
Hug indeed.