Work Text:
There was something weird in this town, something disturbing. It was almost too perfect for a small town in Maine.
You came to Storybrook to find a peaceful place to finish your book. You were driving from town to town until you landed here, deeming it as good enough to stop for a week or two.
Also, the forest around – you were always fond of spending late evenings or very early mornings in the woods, when the air was chill and refreshing and when you could simply walk, not bothered by anyone.
People in Storybrook were kind, especially Granny, the owner of a diner and beds and breakfast. She was ready to prepare you anything you would wish for, and when you asked for a place to stay, she offered you the biggest room. Ruby was nice, too, talkative and helpful.
Truth be told, everyone you had encountered was respectful and kind. Apart from Mr. Gold.
You had met him on a second day of your staying, when you were coming back from your early morning stroll. He came to collect the rent and was almost speechless when you entered the diner and ordered pancakes for breakfast. You noticed that Granny was looking pretty frightened of that man, which was quite surprising. You assumed he was in his forties and he was carrying a cane, but the way he walked and looked at others made him intimidating.
To you, he didn’t look special. Just an ordinary man, one of many you had met on your way.
What was special, however, was that he took a stool next to yours after being handed the rent and asked Ruby for a coffee. He eyed you before he spoke.
“I haven’t seen you here before,” he remarked, meeting your curious gaze.
“I arrived yesterday,” you said simply, smiling at Granny when she placed a plate with apple pancakes in front of you.
“Is there anything special you are looking for in Storybrook?” he asked nonchalantly, but for some reason his question sounded as if he was interrogating you.
You frowned slightly.
“Yes, calmness. I want to finish my book and big cities are usually too loud. Plus, the forest is nice,” you smiled shyly, feeling awkward under his gaze. You didn’t know why he was so interested in you.
“The forest, yes…” he mumbled, more to himself, and gave you a small smile, “now, excuse me, but I have to be somewhere. It was nice meeting you…” he didn’t finish, waiting for you to give him your name.
“Y/N.”
“Y/N. Pretty name,” he said and smirked, standing up and leaving, before you could even open your mouth. You blinked and then your eyes met Ruby’s teasing ones.
“You caught Mr. Gold’s eye,” she intoned gleefully and you knitted your brows not understanding her excitement. You lowered your gaze to the meal in front of you and dug your fork into the pancakes.
You shook your head lightly, not wanting to wonder why the hell that man decided to talk to you in the first place.
Mr. Gold, however, was not a man who you could forget just like that. He was a man who would remind about himself constantly, making it impossible to throw him out of your thoughts.
Since that morning in the diner, you had crossed paths with him at least once a day. On your way to the forest, for example, or even in the forest, where you had seen him few times. He claimed that fresh air and slow walks were doing wonders to his knee. You were too surprised to refuse when he asked to join you and so you shared couple of strolls with him. Many times he would come to the diner during your meals, asking for your permission to accompany you.
And when you managed to shake off your initial astonishment, you found out that he was an amazing conversation partner. He was often too nosy for your liking, but if you ignored that, Mr. Gold appeared to be quite an interesting man. And you had to admit that it was flattering that he was paying you so much attention.
Yet, you couldn’t quite put a finger on a reason behind it. Was it because you were new in the town or was he really interested in you? You hoped it was because he took a liking in you, because, well, you started to look forward to bumping onto him. Somehow, he made your staying in Storybrook more exciting than you expected.
Today, unfortunately, Mr. Gold didn’t appear on your morning walk, nor he came to the diner when you ate breakfast and dinner. It made you worried and maybe a little bit disappointed and, after an hour of debating with yourself, you decided to visit him in his pawnshop.
It didn’t take you long to arrive there and, hesitantly, you opened the door, a bell above it chiming delicately, announcing your arrival. You stepped in, stopping in the middle as you took in the variety of the objects he had collected.
“Y/N,” you heard his voice and turned your eyes at Mr. Gold, who was standing next to the counter, “to what do I owe the pleasure?”
“I-I, uhm, I am looking for a gift,” you stuttered, not very pleased with your excuse but he seemed to not notice it, “it’s for my mom, I want to bring her something nice.”
“Alright then. Tell me what she likes and I’m sure we can find something special for her,” he said with a gentle smile and you took a deep breath before you continued your little act. You couldn’t tell him you came there because you thought you were missing him, could you?
You were probably only imagining things, yet the way he was looking at you, the softness in his dark eyes made you wonder that maybe Ruby was right. Maybe you really did catch his eye.
You paid little to no attention to what you were saying, going dangerously near to what most of people would call bullshit. Mr. Gold was acting politely, showing you things you might deem worthy, but you could see that he was a bit confused.
Your heart started to pound rapidly as you tried to calm yourself. You didn’t know how would you explain your weird behavior but you didn’t have much time because in next moment, Mr. Gold faced you with a question in his eyes.
“Y/N…” he began but you didn’t let him finish. You leaned in and pressed your lips to his, surprising you both. He froze initially, but started to kiss you back, moving his mouth slowly and tenderly against yours, matching your rhythm but soon you pulled back, your eyes opening wide.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Gold, that was-“
“Unexpected, yes,” he muttered, his voice shaken from bewilderment, his eyes as wide as yours.
“I didn’t mean to… I mean, I kinda did, but not like that. Well, I suppose that anything I would say would make me, uhm. I’m so embarrassed right now,” you breathed out and hid your face in your palms.
“Don’t be, please. You did nothing wrong,” Mr. Gold said softly and you risked a glance at him. He seemed to be as taken aback by the kiss as you were and that gave you a bit of comfort, “in fact, I have to admit I’m quite flattered. Not every day a beautiful girl comes in and gives me a kiss.”
You smiled at his careless, nonchalant tone.
“Well, I’m glad I made you happy, I guess?”
“Yes, you did, Y/N,” he eagerly declared and both of you laughed briefly before you excused yourself and left, deciding to have a drink before going to bed. You weren’t sure you would be able to fall asleep without some help.
Gold stood in the door of his shop for a moment, following you with his gaze. He found himself growing fond of you – a strange girl from outside Stroybrook, who seemed to be absolutely ordinary yet there was something special about you.
He lifted his hand and brushed a finger over his lips. Your taste still lingered there, the touch of your soft lips still tickled on his and Gold realized what was special about you.
You affected him, more than he was ready to admit.