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Mr. Gold couldn’t believe he was doing this.
It was time for Storybrooke’s annual street fair once again, and, of all the people in this ridiculously small little town, the pretty librarian asked him to go with her. Well, actually, not really ‘asked’ per say, more like stammered out a sentence involving the words “fair” “go” and “me”, but, frankly, he didn’t need to hear any more words than that. He’d been so delighted he’d immediately said yes.
No matter what else happened to him in life, he’d never forget her utterly adorable reaction to his answer. Her ocean blue eyes had widened as her plump, kissable lips had fallen open just a touch in what appeared to be shock. Tendrils of her hair in front of her face got pushed back behind her ear as she seemed to try and compose herself, and oh how he had wanted to do that himself. Hell, how could he not when she’d been looking at him like that? Oh, that’s right, he was too enamored with her reaction that he was barely able to say goodbye as she went to go help a library patron find what they were looking for, leaving him practically speechless.
While it was true that he thought she was absolutely stunning physically, that was actually not what attracted him to her like a moth to a flame. It was her way with children.
He had a bit of a rocky relationship with his son Neil for a number of years, but thankfully, they both took a leap of faith and decided to make amends with one another when he proudly declared he was going to ask his girlfriend Emma to marry him, then again when the young couple fell pregnant and eventually gave birth to a beautiful baby boy named Henry. Gold couldn’t be more proud of his blossoming grandson. Watching him learn to talk, walk and read, and, even better, sitting with a small crowd of children in the library listening to the lovely Belle French reading to them was a joy to behold.
He smiled warmly at the memories as he stood near the circulation desk at the library waiting for Belle to come down and join him. He couldn’t help but adjust his suit (which, yes, he’d still wear even if it killed him), making sure there were absolutely zero wrinkles in his suit, and then -
There she was.
He felt a bit foolish gaping at her like a moron, but how could he help it when she looked… well…
She wore sandals for once rather than high heels, incredibly short jean shorts (well, shorter than he’d ever seen her wear anyways), brilliantly showing off her legs that went on for miles, an adorable blue and white polka-dotted shirt, and, of all things, a straw sunhat. For goodness sake, just when he thought she couldn’t get any more adorable, yet sexy…
She scampered up to him with a big, wonderful smile on her face as she looked his outfit over with what he hoped was appreciation.
“I… don’t get me wrong, I always think you look rather dashing in your usual suits, but don’t you think it’s going to be a bit hot for that today?” she asked with a hint of concern.
“I-I’m fine…” he quickly responded.
God knew that the last thing he wanted to do was shed his armor, even in the heat of this particular day. Unlike Belle, it seemed, he was quite self-conscious, and it wouldn’t do to have his date laughing at his inferior looks.
“Well, alright, if you’re sure! Let’s go have some fun!” she smiled, gently tugging one of his arms with both her tiny hands.
Mr. Gold could feel his heart growing three sizes at the seemingly innocent gesture. Oh how he wished they could do this all the time…
*********
To be perfectly honest, after a while, he actually was having quite a bit of fun. He particularly enjoyed dunking Mayor Mills in a dunk tank numerous times, and getting some delicious ice cream with Belle. Even more so when he had apparently gotten a drop of ice cream on his cheek, and a single swipe of one of Belle’s dainty fingers had cleaned it away and put it directly in her mouth instead. Of all the moments he was particularly glad to be wearing a thick, dark suit, it was that one…
At this particular moment however, he couldn’t help but notice that Belle seemed a bit… unwell. Her skin was already a gorgeous ivory white, but she seemed to be growing a bit pale, and yet, at the same time, her skin appeared quite flushed, with her taking deep, slow breaths.
“Are you alright Miss French?” he asked, risking putting a hand on her arm to help support her.
They did each have a beer not long ago, but this was definitely not the appearance of one who was drunk.
His heart nearly stopped when she looked up at him just then. Her eyes were half-lidded, with her lips parted ever so slightly, and God help him, if he wasn’t incredibly convinced something was amiss, he would’ve loved to throw caution to the wind and kiss her right then and there.
“I…I’m fine, Mr. Gold, don’t worry!” she practically half slurred.
Good Lord, maybe she was drunk or something… He should probably-
His thoughts were interrupted when he saw her eyes fall closed and her body go entirely limp. Unfortunately for him though, he wasn’t in the greatest position to be catching someone, damn near falling down with her when she landed straight in his arms.
He looked around, trying to seek out someone to help him, but before he even had to utter a word, David Charming was by his side, helping him to carry Belle back to the library. Gold made a mental note to himself that he owed the man something for his trouble… maybe he could forgive a bit of debt David owed him from purchasing a wedding ring for his beautiful wife Mary Margaret. Regardless, the two gentlemen made their way back to the library with the librarian in tow.
Once they got there, they laid her down on a couch near the children’s section, simply watching her breathe for a moment. The poor thing looked pained, and it damn broke his heart. Mr. Gold finally noticed, now that they had taken off her sunhat, that she was sweating profusely, with sweat beading on her brow and dripping down her face. On instinct, he took out a handkerchief, gently blotting the beads of sweat, especially if one started heading towards her eyes.
“Mr. Gold, how much liquid has she drank today?” David questioned, looking intently at Mr. Gold.
His face paled a bit. Now that he’d thought about it, not very much…
She had brought a water bottle with her, which she did drink down, and they each had a beer, but that was about it. There was no way that was enough liquid to keep her hydrated despite her small stature, and he felt like smacking himself for screwing this up for them so badly. He should’ve been paying more attention!
He reluctantly relayed this all to David, who gave him some tips on how to handle the situation, leaving the two of them alone so Belle could properly get some air.
************
Not ten minutes later, after not leaving her side even for a second, Mr. Gold finally saw her stir. She groaned as her head tilted to the side a little, grimacing, before her head faced the ceiling again, and her eyes fluttered open.
“Where…am I?” she breathed, trying to get her bearings.
Mr. Gold gently wiped her forehead once again before gesturing towards her with a water bottle in hand.
“We’re back at the library Miss French… You, umm… You… fainted.” He half-muttered.
Belle groaned a bit once again, trying to sit up more before Mr. Gold’s hands gripped her shoulders, trying to get her to lay back down.
“Oh my God, this is embarrassing… I’m so sorry Mr. Gold! I had a feeling this might happen, but I…” she rambled, starting to stutter a bit in her sentences.
It took him a minute for one of her statements to really sink in, but once it did, he couldn’t stop himself.
“Wait, what do you mean ‘you had a feeling this would happen?’ Has this sort of thing happened before?” he probed, looking her directly in her eyes with concern.
“Well, unfortunately, yes… Part of the reason I moved here was to be in a climate that was much cooler than Australia. That, and there was a job opening at the library of course, so how could I refuse?” she giggled nervously.
“Can you not handle any bit of hot weather at all?” he asked.
“Oh I can, I just don’t do so well on days this bloody hot-“ she began.
Before she could finish her sentence, she slapped a hand over her mouth. She’d been caught. She shyly took the water bottle Mr. Gold was holding out for her, nodding with appreciation before she took some sips from it.
“…Are you crazy?!” Mr. Gold growled. “You next to scared me to death! Don’t you dare take a risk like that ever again, do you hear me?” he said, forcing her to look him in the eyes.
“I… I thought I could handle it if you were there with me… Plus I didn’t think we’d be there as long as we were, and I really wanted to spend some more time with you, and I figured-“
“Why on Earth would you want to spend more time with me?” he asked her shyly.
“Because… well… “ she began.
Then, unexpectedly, she stopped, closing her eyes. She took a deep breath, let it out, and opened them again, directly facing Gold.
“Because I like you, damnit!” She practically squeaked, with her face somehow turning even more red than before.
Gold froze, processing this new information. He couldn’t bear to imagine how incredibly stupid he looked in that moment, but, regardless, Belle kept talking.
“I adore the ways you make Henry smile, you’re fun to talk to, and interesting, but my God you’re dense!” she whined.
“…You fainted straight into my arms.” He said.
“Yes…?” Belle responded, with a bit of questioning in her voice.
“You know, if you wanted my attention, you didn’t have to go to such extremes.” Gold half chuckled.
“On the contrary, had I known this would get your attention, I would’ve done this ages ago…” she breathed.
“What, get a case of heat stroke?” he jested.
“You’re secretly yet not-so-secretly funny, did you know that?” she giggled.
“Tell you what, how about I be not quite as ‘dense’, as you put it, and invite you to dinner tonight… say, 7 o’clock at Tony’s? I’ll reserve a table inside for good measure.” He smiled, flashing one of his signature golden teeth her way.
“Oh ha ha, very funny, mister,” Belle giggled, playfully smacking one of his arms.
She then sat up a bit and leaned up close to his ear.
“And, yes, it’s a date.” She whispered in what she hoped was a seductive way.
Much to her surprise, it actually worked, delighting in the next to silent hitch in his breath she heard.
She sat up fully, then stood, helping Mr. Gold get to his feet as well. She couldn’t help but notice him wince a touch when he did so, immediately feeling terrible that he was in that position for probably quite a while looking after her.
“Thank you for catching me!” she whispered before pressing a kiss to his cheek.
“I’d love to stay longer, but I must find a more suitable outfit for dinner… can’t wait!” she said as she walked away from him and towards the stairs that led to her little condo.
At that point, he could no longer suppress an incredibly goofy, happy grin. She liked him! Belle French liked him! He could only stand there awkwardly as he watched her leave, for he was fairly certain his legs briefly stopped working.
Funny… Belle was the one who fell into his arms that day, and yet he couldn’t help but feel like he, in fact, was the one who was truly falling.