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Baelfire had made a deal with Rumple. The deal specifically stated that when Bae was ready, he would find Rumple and they would talk. But it had been three days since they had arrived in Storybrooke and Bae still hadn’t felt ready enough. He stayed hidden on the ship at all times, taking care of Killian while he recovered from his fight with Rumple. That didn’t stop Rumple from wandering around the docks several times a day and watching the ship, hoping to catch a glimpse of his boy.
A few times he had succeeded, but Bae didn’t acknowledge him. He only went above deck when he needed some fresh air, to take a break from being cramped inside the captain’s quarters. Hiding wasn’t something he liked doing, so he wasn’t about to stay completely shut in just so he didn’t have to see Rumple. But after a few days, Killian was doing much better, and was ready to get out of bed. He wasn’t one that was keen on being cooped up either. They were running low on food as well, meaning it was a good time to go out and find something. But they remembered that they had no money to spend in this world.
“I guess I have to be ready now… to talk to him.” Baelfire said, lifting Killian’s coat up and helping him get it on. Killian slipped his arms through the sleeves and pulled it up over his shoulders, giving Bae a look. “We can think of something else. He can’t be the only one in this whole place that will take our coins.” Hook hadn’t liked the deal from the start, but Bae couldn’t go back on it. He’d given Rumple his word and so far, Rumple had kept his end of the bargain. He hadn’t come back to the ship. Baelfire hadn’t said anything about the docks and Rumple was stickler for wording when it came to his deals.
“I have to go talk to him eventually. I might as well have something else to say besides how much I dislike him.” Baelfire shrugged, his lips twitching a little, mostly due to the fact that he still wasn’t sure what his feelings toward his father were. He’d had centuries to think about it, yes. But he’d also thought under the assumption that he would never have to face him, and never have to talk to him again. This changed things.
“I’m going with you. And I don’t care what he says.” Killian said, grabbing his sword and slipping it into the sheath on his belt. Baelfire smiled a bit at hearing that. He liked that Killian wanted to go with him and make sure he was alright. He just hoped he didn’t have to break up another fight because he was pretty sure he’d drawn his best card the last time.
Once they were both ready, they left the ship and walked back into town. “Where is his shop?” Baelfire asked, Killian, since Killian had been the one to find it while Bae had gone back to the ship. “Just up here, around the corner.” Hook said, pointing to the small intersection they were heading for. Baelfire was still looking all around at everything as they walked. “You promised me I could explore too. I didn’t forget.” Baelfire said, looking back to Hook. Killian nodded. “Of course you didn’t.” He smiled. Bae was not a forgetter.
Killian signed a bit as the pawn shop sign came into view. Baelfire grabbed his hand, giving it a squeeze and nodded a little. Yes, Killian knew. Baelfire would be fine. He just didn’t like the idea of any of it, and wouldn’t feel settled about it at all until it was over with and they were leaving the shop.
Baelfire opened the door, looking up at the little bell that announced their arrival, and proceeded inside with Killian on his heels. Rumple stood behind the counter, his eyes lighting up when he saw Bae coming through the door. The light quickly disappeared when he noticed Killian following him. Belle sat in a chair a few feet from him, looking up at them from behind a little book.
“Bae… I thought you would be coming to see me alone.” Rumple said, looking at Hook with distaste. “That wasn’t part of the deal.” Bae answered. “You’re Baelfire?” Belle chimed in, and Bae glanced over to her. Killian had mentioned her to him, but he wasn’t sure what to think of her just yet. “Yes.” He nodded. The woman stood and practically skipped over to where he stood, taking his hand and shaking it. “Oh, I’m just so pleased to meet you. I’m Belle.” She smiled warmly. “Your father, he talks about you all the time. I feel like I already know you.” Belle laughed, letting go of Bae’s hand again when she noticed she was still holding it. “Sorry.” She apologized quickly, still excited to be meeting Bae.
“It’s ok. Um… It’s nice to meet you too.” Baelfire said, slightly stunned by how happy and genuine she seemed to be. Part of him wondered if his father had used some sort of magic to keep her with him, since she seemed so friendly and… not the type to be friends with The Dark One. “Well-” Rumple said, breaking up the moment between Bae and Belle. “I suppose this means you’re ready to talk to me then?” He asked Bae, still being wary of Killian’s presence. “Oh. My manners are terrible, yes, you two need to talk!” Belle said, stepping away and clearing the way between Bae and Rumple.
“I am.” Baelfire nodded. Rumple gave him a bit of a smile as he nodded. “We can talk in the back, it’s more private.” He said, pointing toward the doorway to the back room. Baelfire made his way over to the doorway. Killian knew what he meant by private. He wanted Killian nowhere near them. Rumple turned after Baelfire was through the door. “Belle, would you accompany us?” Rumple said, not trusting leaving her with Killian unattended.
“Actually, Belle…” Killian spoke up. “I think it’s best we give them their privacy. Baelfire is sensitive about who he talks in front of. I wouldn’t want anything to get left out, they have a lot to discuss.” He said, leaning against the glass case he stood by. Belle nodded to Killian. “You’re right.” She turned to Rumple. “You go talk to your boy. I’ll stay out here. One of us needs to be here in case a customer comes in anyway.” Belle smiled, then shooed him with her hands. Rumple looked at Killian over his shoulder, and Killian just grinned, raising his eyebrows and lowering them again. Rumple got the message. He had something Killian cared about, and now, Killian had his own collateral.
Reluctantly, Rumple nodded and left the room to follow Baelfire to the back. Bae had busied himself by looking around at all the things that littered his father’s office. Some of it was very old, and all rather expensive. But there were a few things here and there that weren’t so expensive, some he even thought he recognized from when he’d been a boy, living with Rumple. “So…” Rumple spoke from behind him, and Baelfire turned around, facing his father. “So…” Baelfire repeated.
“I didn’t realize you would be coming with… him.” Rumple began, leaning forward onto his cane and holding it with both hands. “His name is Killian.” Baelfire replied seriously. “I’m surprised you could forget, since it has our favorite word in it. You know? Kill.” He said, raising his eyebrows sharply.
Rumple sighed. “Bae-” “No. Don’t try to lie your way out of it. I’m sick of lies. You told me my mother was killed, that she’d died at the hands of a pirate who had stolen her away from you. Now I want to hear you tell me how much of that is true.” Baelfire crossed his arms, deadpanning while he waited for Rumple to answer, reminding himself that he couldn’t let his emotions get out of control or he would forget to say things.
“He did steal her away…” Rumple said weakly. He said no more because he knew the rest had been a lie. “She ran away.” Baelfire corrected. “She chose to leave. She left us because she wanted to. She left me because she didn’t want to be with you.” Rumple just shook his head as Baelfire talked. “And then you left me. You let me go because you didn’t want to live without your powers. You chose magic over me.” Baelfire continued.
“Bae, when I said I wanted to talk this isn’t how I wanted to do it. I didn’t want to talk like this.” Rumple pleaded and Baelfire shook his head. “I never said what we would talk about, just that we would talk. I know how specific I need to be when making deals with you. Not that it’ll stop you…” Baelfire huffed, turning his gaze away from Rumple.
Rumplestiltskin sighed again. He should’ve seen all this coming. He was foolish to think that Bae wouldn’t want to bring any of this up. He changed the subject. “Where did you go? When you went through the portal? I couldn’t find you… I kept trying.” Baelfire looked back when Rumple asked him about the portal.
“London. I was on the streets there, homeless for months and almost starved that winter. Then a family took me in. They were… amazing.” Bae paused for a moment, a smile touching his lips as he remembered his time with The Darlings. Rumple said nothing, not wanting to disturb the look of happiness that had overcome his son. “Then The Shadow came. It took Wendy, their daughter. I tried to get her to stay but she wanted to go. She came back the next morning. The Shadow wanted a boy, and he was going to take one of her brothers. And I couldn’t let their family be torn apart by magic.” Baelfire looked up at Rumple, meeting his eyes as if to prove a point.
“So I let him take me. To Neverland. I escaped before we got to the island and almost drowned. Killian saved me. He fought them time and time again to keep me safe, to make sure they didn’t get me. He gave me a home. He told me the truth. He loves me. So remember all that the next time you bring him up in conversation. I’ve had two hundred years with him. And just fourteen with you.” Baelfire raised his head high again, keeping his jaw firm. He wanted to make that point specifically. Killian wasn’t something that Rumple was allowed to talk about, not negatively, not after what he’d done.
That was hard for Rumple to accept. He didn’t want to think of his son, his boy, being hopelessly in love with the man that had caused all their troubles to begin with. If the pirate hadn’t shown up in their town, Milah wouldn’t have been tempted to leave and all would be well. But it occurred to him that this would be his only chance to get Baelfire back into his life. “I understand that Bae,” Rumple began, “I’m not going to make excuses. I know there’s none that would be good enough. I’m so glad you’re alive. I’m grateful to him for saving you. I’ll try to be civil, since I know if means so much to you. But Bae, he’s a pirate. He’s unpredictable, his promises can’t be-”
“He keeps his promises. Always. He’s a man of his word and will die by it before he goes back on them. I think I know him a bit better than you by now.” Baelfire interrupted, sensing just what his father was getting at. Rumple nodded. “Okay, Bae. I just… I don’t want to argue… I’m sorry, I know it’s all my fault. I know we wouldn’t be in this position if I’d gone through the portal with you. I was weak, Bae. I regretted not going immediately, and I didn’t stop searching for you, not for a second. I just want a chance to make things right with you.”
“And my mother. What about her?” Baelfire asked. He was keeping his poker face on, even though Rumple’s words were echoing in his head. He just hoped it wasn’t too good to be true. Rumple hesitated, and nodded. “I killed her, Bae. You were already gone, and I thought she was dead. I hadn’t seen her since she left on that ship. She had a magic bean. Her and that… Killian. They wanted to make a deal for it, I would spare their lives and they would give me the bean. The bean that I would use to find you. But I just… I was so angry. And you remember how I used to get… I couldn’t stop myself.” He explained quietly.
“How should I know that you’re any different now?” Baelfire asked seriously. “I begged you, pleaded with you everyday to change, to not hurt people. If you cared about me so much and even I couldn’t get you to change, why should I believe you’re a better man now?”
Rumple pointed to the doorway. “That girl out there, she’s the one that saved me. I was so terribly lost, caught up in my revenge and my powers. I was completely dark when I met her. I treated her horribly, and she loved me through it. She’s redeemed me. She’s my voice of reason even when I’m at my worst. I don’t know how to explain it… She makes me better, Bae.” Rumple shrugged weakly. “I don’t need a definite answer, or forgiveness, or anything. Not right away. I just… Can we just agree to at least see each other, now that you’re here. Can we work on it?” Rumple asked hopefully, looking upon his son, a vision he thought he would never be graced by again.
Baelfire was silent for a few moments, thinking about everything that was said. They were kind of stuck in this new world, and it would be helpful to stay in town, where people were sympathetic to their situation and knew why they stood out so much. Where else could a couple of pirates live peacefully? No where, from what they’d been told.
“Killian is off limits. I’ll tell him the same about you. I won’t stand by while you to try to kill each other. If you can make that promise, and keep it, I’ll stay and… we can work on things.” Baelfire finally decided. It was worth a try. He knew he would have to do some convincing with Killian but that would be easy. When it came down to it, with enough effort, he could bend Killian to do whatever he wanted. He just didn’t use that skill as often as most would. “I have a way for you to start. I need some help…”
“Anything.” Rumple said quickly, a smile touching his lips. “Just name it.” He said, stepping forward toward Bae. The boy reached in his pocket and pulled out his coins. “The sheriff told us we couldn’t spend these here. She told us that you could give us paper money for it, money that we can use here.” Rumple stepped forward once more, taking two of the coins to examine them. It brought back many a memory of his old home, seeing these coins. He nodded as he looked at them. “Just keep your gold, Bae. I’ll give you some money to use.” Baelfire shook his head. “No. I want a trade. I don’t want favors. Killian has the rest of it.” Baelfire said, deciding that he’d had enough talking for the day, and wanted to get the money and be on his way with Killian.
Rumple followed him out of the room and saw that Hook and Belle had been entertaining themselves over a book. Killian looked thoroughly disturbed, and Belle equally amused. The pirate glanced over at Bae, looking him over to make sure all was in order, then held up the little book. “You wouldn’t believe what’s in this. I mentioned Neverland and this lass said she had a book about it. Pan’s in here. I’m in here. Even your Darlings. But it’s all completely wrong.” He shook his head. Hearing that the Darlings were in it, Bae walked over, taking the book from Hook and reading the title.
Belle just smiled. “Take it with you and read it, I have tons of other books I can read, it won’t be missed.” She said happily. “Thank you.” Baelfire nodded, tucking the small book into his jacket pocket, then taking a pouch from Killian’s belt. “Hey-” The pirate said, raising an eyebrow as Baelfire took the pouch to the counter. He shook his head again as Belle giggled off to the side. Baelfire opened the pouch and emptied all the coins onto the counter.
It was quite a bit in today’s standards for gold, not so much silver but still a good amount. Baefire walked back over to Killian while they waited, looking around at the things in the shop and idly tangling his fingers with the older man’s. Rumple caught sight of the gesture, but bit his tongue and continued weighing the gold. Belle noticed it as well, and was proud that Rumple didn’t say anything. Killian was watching Rumple as well, and grinned when he heard no reply from The Crocodile.
Once it was all weighed, Rumple opened the register, counting out the money he owed Baelfire for his gold and silver. “If you need more, if this doesn’t last…” He said as Baelfire took the money and put it back into the pouch to hand to Killian. “Then we’ll bring you more gold.” Baelfire nodded. Killian attached the pouch back to his belt and closed his jacket over it.
“Done talking?” Killian asked Bae, and Bae nodded. “For now.” He answered, turning to Belle while Killian gave him a questioning look that he didn’t notice. “It was nice to meet you Belle.” Baelfire smiled. She’d been nothing but nice to him, he had no reason to give her attitude. She returned his smile. “It was a pleasure, Baelfire.” Belle said with a wave. Killian opened the front door, holding it open for Bae.
“I’ll see you later, Bae?” Rumple asked as Baelfire made for the door. The teen turned around to look at his father, and nodded. Rumple finally smiled, Belle making her way over to slip an arm around his waist. Bae turned and walked out into the sunshine, with Killian behind him and closing the door.