SHATTERED FRAGMENTS

BY: AquaJasmine23

Rated: T

A/N: This is a Rumbelle fic, set just after the curse is broken, except for Emma and Snow didn't go through the portal, and Regina clearly didn't die via the Wraith.

"But now you must go." It broke his heart to say it. But her safety was so much more important.

He loved her.

"What?" Belle's small voice was incredulous. "I just came back!" she protested, and his heart and mind lurched simultaneously, but he had to protect her. She was everything to him.

Belle meant more to him than power, but he needed power to find Bae, and as long as he had his dark magic, Belle was not safe.

Rumplestiltskin's voice shook a bit as he spoke, and he was sure she knew it. "No...eventually you'd leave me because you can see what I really am. You think you see a good man, but in time?… you'd see the monster." It killed him to say it, but she had been put at risk too many times because of him. He couldn't allow it to happen again, no matter how much it hurt. Especially when he saw the crushed look on her paling face, and the freezing sadness in her aquamarine eyes.

Then the smile was back. "Don't you see? That's exactly why I have to stay!" she proclaimed, clutching his hands.

For ages he just stared at her, trying to comprehend how she could think that he was capable of change. Three centuries as the Dark One had proved that his curse was irreversible. "Belle..." he trailed off hopelessly.

"I'm staying with you," Belle interrupted, and he wanted to die because she was, of course, too good to leave him, and he was not strong enough to force her away again. "I love you."

"Belle… you know I love you. But you can't… " He nearly threw his hands in the air in frustration. "Belle… the deal we made. It's null and void. You're free. You can leave whenever, go wherever. You can have anything. See the world, like you wanted."

She wrapped her slender arms around him and tucked her head under his chin, and he breathed in her scent eagerly, and he felt like howling and laughing at the same time. This was not what he wanted for her, but he was too selfish to choose her safety over her love again. "I'm not leaving you again," she vowed, kissing him chastely.

He smiled at her and his eyes closed.

"Are you disappointed? That the wraith didn't kill the Queen, I mean," Belle clarified in her soft little voice, after about ten minutes of just sitting there by his wheel, together at last, savouring the moments. Rumplestiltskin was watching her, slightly awestruck in his discreet way. Her eyes glimmered, he noticed, the bright cerulean colour he'd missed for so long.

He tried to answer honestly. "I don't give a damn about Regina, Belle. I only care about your happiness." Right now, that was the truth.

She smiled brilliantly at him, and he acknowledged the unfamiliar and surprising feeling of being happy. Nothing was wrong, except the loss of his son. He needed to make amends, to prove that he was not his own father.

Belle whispered a shuddering thank-you and clutched him against her. His hands came up and buried themselves into her soft auburn curls, relishing the feeling.

"Back in the Dark Castle," he said, trying to steady his tone, "you found clothing that belonged to my son. I promised you I would tell you his story."

Recognition flared in her eyes. "Will you tell me now?" she asked quietly.

Rumplestiltskin nodded, his arms wrapping almost unconsciously around her waist and pulling her closer. "Yes. His- his name is Baelfire. When I became the Dark One, he began to hate the power that I was obsessed with. Eventually, Reul Ghorm offered him a bean, a portal to this land without magic. He wanted me to come with him, but... I was afraid. I was a coward, and I lost him."

"I'm sorry," she whispered. He remembered another conversation they'd had in the Dark Castle, when he had exposed himself. "We had a chance to be happy... together. But I was afraid. I let him go. He's not dead! He's just... lost."

"I spent three hundred years trying to get him back," he admitted. "That's why I created the Dark Curse, Belle, that's why I let you go. I was terrified of losing my magic... because I knew that if I did, he'd be lost to me forever."

She pulled back slightly to examine his face in that way that only she could, a mixture of happiness and fright and worry. And exasperation. "I don't want you to leave without me. Not again."

His face twisted, regret striking him like a whip. "Belle-"

"No, it isn't your fault," she interjected. "I was mad at you at first, but then I thought about it and realized there had to be a reason. I knew you loved me, Rumpel, I never stopped believing it. And don't you dare talk like you're going to find your son without me. I will come with you, and you won't be able to talk me out of it."

She was so stubborn. Her eyes sparkled as she looked at him. "I love you, Belle," he murmured. It seemed like the natural response.

Her love still baffled him, but he saw now that denying it more would be insulting her. He believed that she loved him; he just didn't understand why.

She seemed to understand, grabbing him by the tie and hauling him toward her, their lips crashing together. It felt like there was a fire rising inside him, burning brighter and brighter until the blaze was too hot to manage.

"Not as innocent as the image projects, are you?" he said sarcastically, unable to keep the grin off his face.

"I love you too," she said, as an answer to his proclamation from moments ago. "I've always loved you."

And she was already in the circle of his arms and then they were kissing and she was tripping and falling onto his lap and he forgot everything but the woman in his arms.

It was with great reluctance when Emma Swan pushed open the door to Mr. Gold's pawnshop, her son, her parents, and Ruby on her heels like they were storming a castle. Her parents actually had, according to Henry. Emma didn't wanted to talk to Gold anymore; all she wanted to do was punch him in the face. He had almost caused Henry to die, which was completely unforgivable. But apparently he could see the future, and her parents wanted to know how the town (and Regina) would react to the breaking of the curse.

The sign had been turned to Closed, but Emma didn't think much of it. It wasn't like there was much for him to do.

She hated owing Regina. The queen had saved her and Mary Margaret, somehow regaining her magic and sending vines to twine around Emma and her mother and pull them away from the portal. Henry had been so grateful, which was likely her goal the whole time.

But, unfortunately, Jefferson's hat had collapsed in on itself, falling through into what could be any realm, and there was no way to recover it. That wouldn't have mattered so much if Rumpelstiltskin and Regina hadn't made enemies in all seven realms accessible from the Enchanted Forest.

Shocker.

Emma heard a strangled groan come from the back room, concealed by the curtain. She raised her eyebrows; no one else had seemed to hear it. Maybe she was imagining things. Hallucinating wouldn't have come as much of a shock; it was logical compared to the rest of the bullshit nonsense that had been flying around lately.

Of course he didn't hear the bell. Any noise other than Belle's little moans and whimpers was blocked out from his hearing. Her hands had slid inside his suit jacket and crushed him against her tiny form, and they were still kissing, and unless Baelfire came charging into the shop shouting forgiveness Rumpelstiltskin didn't give a damn about anything that wasn't Belle. Her lips were paradise, her eyes the sea and sky and world beyond, and he would never send her away again.

"Aren't you going in?" Henry asked when she stopped. Ruby looked dubious now that the noise level coming from the back was increasing. Gold couldn't possibly be...

… But then again…

"I don't know," she replied honestly. Curiosity lit up Henry's face. Mary Margaret and David seemed to finally catch on, and their faces twisted in disgust at the same time, which Emma found laughable.

"Come on, guys, let's just go back to Granny's or something," suggested Ruby.

"No," David said instantly. "We have to find out what the hell is gonna happen, and I really don't think Regina's in the mood to lend a hand."

"I don't-" Emma started hesitantly, not expecting Ruby to shove her past the curtain. She stumbled in blindly, barely avoiding falling on her face, steadied by her son, who had walked in right behind her. So had Ruby, David, and Mary Margaret. So really, they all saw Gold at the same time.

He was sitting at a spinning wheel that resembled the one in Henry's book, a woman on his lap and wrapped in his arms. She was small, with long auburn hair and pale skin, and she was making out with the pawnbroker like she'd die if she couldn't. Emma gagged, feeling as though her breakfast might make a reappearance. Number one on the list of things I never ever want to see again: Gold making out. Was she the only one who thought this was gross? He looked around twenty years older than her, and that was just ew all by itself.

Apparently not. Henry was gaping, his eyes wide. Ruby seemed frozen in place, staring like she didn't know what else to do. And Mary Margaret had thrown her hands over her eyes. David just looked disgusted.

And still, Gold didn't break away from the woman. She was beautiful, certainly, and she could see how he would be attracted to her in that nearly sheer blue and white flowered lace dress... but still. Why in the hell was she with him? Who was she? Why didn't anyone recognize her?

"Oh gods," Snow said, properly embarrassed like she'd probably been brought up to be.

Finally seeming to notice them, Gold let go of the woman. She muttered an indignant complaint- something about "twenty-eight years spent arranging their futures and we can't have fifteen minutes of peace", Emma believed- but sat back slightly, the spinning wheel still rotating.

"Miss Swan," Gold said politely, even though he was breathing heavily and his eyes looked slightly dilated and- forget it. That thought could rot in the back of her mind for all eternity, but she never wanted to think about it again. Ever. "What-" he paused. "What need do you have of my services?"

"That's what he said," Ruby quipped behind her. Henry looked puzzled, and David put his head in his hands exasperatedly.

Emma whirled and glared, and then she turned back to Gold. "What's in the future?"

"Pardon?"

"The future. What's in store for the town? I thought if the curse was broken everyone was supposed to go back to the Enchanted Forest. Why didn't they?" He was starting to wear on her already ragged patience.

"I notice your use of the word 'they'," he said, more to her parents than Emma herself. "You don't intend to go back with the Enchanted Forest inhabitants."

"I- uh- that's not what I asked," Emma covered, a guilty look on her face.

"Why don't you want to go with your family?" the woman asked. Gold turned his head, an affectionate expression appearing when he looked at her. Her voice was soft, melodic, her eyes kind.

"Uh-" Emma stopped. "Who're you?" She knew she sounded rude, but the woman had Frenched the Dark One. There were necessary questions, but really, Emma wanted it to be on a need- to- know basis. Really.

The brunette, still sitting on Gold's lap, extended a pale hand towards her. "Belle," she said as Emma gingerly shook it.

Emma groaned mentally. "Don't tell me. You're Belle from Beauty and the Beast and Gold's the Beast. I should've guessed that before."

Belle looked confused. Emma observed Gold's eyes following hers, softening when he looked at Belle. Did he love her? This place was becoming more and more dysfunctional by the second.

"What's Beauty and the Beast?" she asked curiously, turning back to Gold. "Is that a book?"

"Sort of…?" she answered slowly; at this point she was eager to run out and slam the door behind her and let Gold get on with - whatever he was doing.

"I'll explain later, love," Gold promised. Belle's eyes seemed to widen at the endearment, and she wrapped an arm around his waist. He glanced at Emma and nodded briefly, and she couldn't resist the urge to grimace. She supposed it was only reasonable.

Mary Margaret- she couldn't really think of her as Snow White, not yet- cleared her throat. "Well, we should go. Um, to deal with Regina." She sounded nervous, tense like she'd been around David during the curse.

"Yes, let's," Emma said, before Belle could recall the fact that technically, Emma had never answered her question. She placed both hands on Henry's shoulders- honestly, it was a miracle that the kid had stayed silent all of that, but she supposed he had already known about Gold and Belle thanks to the damned book- and led him out, Snow and Charming and finally Red appearing behind them.

Belle ducked her auburn head out after them. "Emma, can I talk to you later?" she half- shouted after them. Even with a raised voice, her tone was soft and serene.

Emma raised her eyebrows. There was one princess who still retained a non- screwed up personality, she thought. "Alright," she yelled back in response- loudly, because they were already headed to the Mayor's. She had never thought she'd say this in reference to Regina's house, but she was grateful to be going there. Mostly because it was away from Gold. The look in his eyes when he gazed at Belle discomforted her greatly. She didn't know why, but it gave her a strange sense of deja-vu.

Finally, the Charmings were gone. Rumplestiltskin lifted a lock of silky auburn hair away from Belle's eyes and kissed her again. She gasped against his mouth, opening willingly under the sweet pressure, and they were whole. Their love might have blown apart and broken their hearts into shattered fragments back in the Dark Castle, but now they were together. They could face the wreckage together.

THE END

A/N: Thanks for reading! Hope you liked it:) I'd be glad to hear your opinion! Always up for constructive criticism, so please REVIEW! If you'd like me to continue, I may post a second chapter with Emma and Belle's (and Rumple?) little… chat.

- Madison *aka* AquaJasmine23