I appreciate all of the kind response to this series! Thank you so much!
Kiss Me
Gold sat quietly on the bench at the dog park that Sunday and watched as Stewart paced back and forth at the fence, whimpering the entire time. Sophie was nowhere to be found. Nor was Belle.
He never bothered to call her after their little adventure at his house earlier in the week. She stayed with him and helped him out after he had a mishap with his ankle. She brought him dinner and they watched a movie together.
They shared a beautiful, long, passionate kiss. And it was amazing.
The next morning, Belle sent him a text that simply read 'Last night was lovely.' He didn't reply.
On Friday morning, she sent him one more text that read 'Busy this weekend?' No, actually, he wasn't very busy at all. Bae wasn't coming to visit and he really had no plans. But he still didn't reply.
He was starting to develop feelings for Belle, that was crystal clear to him. It was also what worried him. If he and Belle continued along the trajectory they were on, he would eventually have to tell her things that he had no desire to tell her. What would she think? Would she hate him? Would she even want to be near him again?
It was no matter, he figured. She sent him two polite messages and he brushed her off. Perhaps she would just – go away. However, it wasn't like her not to be there with Sophie. Sophie enjoyed her time with Stewart, and Belle was clearly not the type to begrudge her own dog her happiness simply because he was being a first-class jerk. Stewart came running over to Gold. He jumped onto the bench with him and began to whimper loudly. "Alright – I'll call her. But I'm only doing this for you." Gold took out his phone and called Belle's number. It rang several times, but there was no answer. Gold contemplated hanging up, but he knew she would eventually see his number on the caller id so there was no point. "Belle – it's Ronan. I mean – obviously you know that from caller id but – well, Stewart and I were wondering where you and Sophie are. I know I haven't called or texted you this week – been quite busy, actually. I – I should have at least replied to your texts. Anyhow – well, Stewart misses Sophie terribly and he's been crying since we got here and I just want to know if you're coming tonight. Please let me know. Thank you." Gold hung up the phone and sighed. He sat for several more minutes waiting for either a call or Belle's arrival – neither happened. She was avoiding him. He could hardly blame her. He hated seeing Stewart so upset, though. He shouldn't be begrudged from seeing the love of his life. "Come on, Stewart – we're going to see your girlfriend. Belle and I will work something out."
Gold and Stewart arrived at Belle's house several minutes later. She didn't live far from the dog park at all. Belle's car was in her driveway which meant she must be home. Gold took Stewart out of the car and approached the door. He rang the doorbell but did not hear it ring in the house. It must be broken, he figured, so he started knocking. The moment he did, Sophie began to bark furiously from behind the door, her voice deep and violent, sounding like it was attached to a canine killing machine. "Don't ever make her mad, Stewart." Gold commented as he waited. There was no response. Gold knocked once again. "Belle! It's Ronan! Look, I know you're upset but please let us in, I think we need to talk!" Gold shouted. Sophie continued to bark, but Belle never came to the door. Gold started to worry – Belle was most certainly not the type to allow her dog to have a fit simply because she was angry. He took out his wallet and removed a credit card. "You've got my back when she gets mad at me for this, right?" Gold said as he fiddled with the lock until it opened. As soon as the door opened and Sophie saw them, her demeanor changed completely. She began to pace and whimper. "Where's your mum, Sophie?" Sophie ran toward a door and started to bark. Gold started to walk toward the door. On his way, he spotted Belle's phone sitting on an end table, with a missed call and voicemail showing on the screen.
"Belle!" Gold called out, and he nervously entered the room. It was Belle's bedroom; Belle was lying in her bed – she was still and pale and dripping with sweat, and she looked more unconscious than asleep. Gold immediately moved to her side. "Belle." he whispered, and he touched her face. She was burning up with fever. "Belle. Come on, wake up." Gold said, tapping her face gently. Belle moaned a bit, and her eyes fluttered open.
"Ronan?" Belle whispered.
"Is this going to be a pattern now? Every Sunday one of us gets sick or injured and the other has to take care of them?" Gold asked jokingly.
"I don't feel very well." Belle moaned.
"You have a fever. I'm gonna go get some ice, see if we can get this down." Gold said. "I'll be right back, alright? You just stay put, everything will be fine." Gold left the room and came back a few minutes later with several ice packs that he had retrieved from the refrigerator. Belle had drifted back to sleep, and Gold began to place the ice packs carefully around her neck and on her chest. Belle began to shiver and reached for her blankets. "No sweetheart, no blankets right now."
"It's – c-cold." Belle said, and she started to cough a bit.
"I know it's cold, but we have to get your fever down, this is the fastest way right now. Do you have any Tylenol or Ibuprofen or anything like that? That will help too." Gold said.
"Where's Sophie?" Belle asked. Sophie and Stewart were both sitting at the foot of the bed watching everything that was happening.
"She's right here, she's fine." Gold said. "Be right back, okay?" Gold got up and went rummaging through Belle's medicine cabinet. He found a bottle of generic Tylenol, took out two of them, then went back to the kitchen and got some water. He brought the pills and the water to Belle. "Here – let's get you to take these, can you sit up a bit?"
"Sophie – needs to be fed." Belle said weakly. "What time is it?"
"It's well past six thirty. I'll take care of Sophie as soon as I take care of you, alright?" Gold said. "Come on – sit up just a bit, I'll help you." Sitting on the bed next to Belle, Gold wrapped his arm around her and moved her into a sitting position. He offered her the pills and the water.
"What are these?" Belle asked.
"Just some Tylenol, it'll help get your fever down." Gold said. "Here – take them." Belle took the pills and put them in her mouth. Gold handed her the water bottle. "Take a nice long drink, you need to stay hydrated." Belle drank about half of the water bottle, then began to cough a bit. "Okay, that's enough. Let's get a few more pillows back here, you need to be a bit more propped up." Gold adjusted the pillows a bit, then helped Belle ease back down. He then took the ice packs and repositioned them. "I'm going to take you to the doctor first thing tomorrow, alright?"
"I have to work tomorrow." Belle whispered.
"You're not working tomorrow, sweetheart, you'll be lucky if you can get out of bed without help." Gold said. "Looks like you caught yourself quite a nasty little bug."
"It's been going around the library. Thought it missed me." Belle said.
"Well, apparently it didn't." Gold said. "I'm gonna go take care of the dogs, get them fed and all, and them I'm going to run to my house and get a few things I need and I'll be back. Alright? I'm going to leave Stewart here, I don't think he'll be a problem."
"Why didn't you call me?" Belle asked. "I thought you liked me."
"Oh sweetheart – of course I like you." Gold said.
"Then why didn't you call me?" Belle asked again. "I felt like an idiot waiting all week for you to call me."
"I'm the idiot, Belle. I'm sorry." Gold said. "We'll talk more tomorrow, you should be feeling a bit stronger by then. I'll be back in a bit."
"Ronan?" Belle called out as Gold stood up, and Gold turned around. "Did you call me sweetheart?"
"Yes, I believe I did." Gold replied.
"Okay." Belle said, and she closed her eyes and sighed, smiling a bit as she drifted back to sleep.
The next morning, Gold and Belle entered her house after a trip to the doctor. Belle was diagnosed with a bad viral infection; she was given a shot and several prescriptions and ordered to remain home for the entire week. She had her arm around Gold as they entered her house and he led her to the sofa. Stewart and Sophie circled around them. "Both of you, out of the way. Come on Belle, lie down." Gold said, and he helped Belle lie back. "Maybe you should go back to bed, you'll be more comfortable there."
"I'm fine here for now." Belle said.
"Well, let me go get some pillows and a blanket for you then." Gold said, and he went back into Belle's room and came back with two pillows and a blanket, and he helped Belle get settled, then sat down next to her.
"Thank you." Belle said. "You don't have to stay here Ronan, I'm alright, my fever has broken quite a bit."
Not completely, and besides, the doctor wants you resting, you'll hardly be able to do that and take care of Sophie." Gold said. Belle just smiled at him.
"Sophie is no trouble at all." Belle said.
"Well, I'd just – feel better if I were staying with you. At least for a day or two." Gold said.
"Where are you going to sleep?" Belle asked. "Where did you sleep last night anyway?"
"I, um – I stayed with you." Gold said, and Belle looked up at him in shock. "I mean – there was nothing – inappropriate, I just – I didn't actually sleep much anyway, I just - I thought it would be best if I were there, in case you needed me. You were quite out of it, I figured you likely wouldn't even notice."
"I guess I didn't." Belle said. "That's disappointing. I was kind of hoping to – have a memory of the first time we shared a bed." Gold looked away, clearly embarrassed. "Ronan, be honest – why didn't you call me this week? I thought after Monday – things had changed between us."
"They have." Gold whispered.
"Then why didn't you call me?" Belle asked. Gold paused for a moment.
"Belle – what do you want with me? I'm old enough to be your father, first of all. I'm not an attractive man, and I'm crippled on top of that. I have no friends, and pretty much everyone in this town despises me. You are a young, beautiful, vibrant woman – you can do far better than an old beast like me."
"Well, first of all – I don't know how old you are Ronan because you haven't told me. I'm thirty, by the way and I know that I look younger but I'm not, I just have fairly good genetics. But I'm not a child. Second of all, you are one of the most handsome men I've ever met and it makes me unhappy that you don't see that. Third, I don't know what happened to your leg because – again – you haven't told me, and while at this point I am, naturally, curious, it has no bearing whatsoever on my feelings for you. And finally, if you have no friends and everyone hates you, that's just sad. Because you're not some monster or beast – you're a person worth knowing – and befriending. If you weren't, there's a very good possibility that I wouldn't even be here right now. Yesterday I was feeling a bit flush so I thought I'd take a bit of a nap. I had no idea how ill I was or that a fever would develop so fast. You saved my life." Belle said. "You're a hero, Ronan. MY hero. And Sophie's – I mean, what would have become of her if anything happened to me?" Belle grabbed his hand and squeezed it. "You're a good man, Ronan. I can see it – even if you can't." Gold looked down for a moment, and when he looked up again Belle could see tears forming in his eyes. "Ronan, what's wrong?"
"Nothing." Gold whined.
"Don't lie to me Ronan, what is wrong?" Belle asked.
"I want to kiss you so badly right now and I don't want to get sick." Gold admitted, and Belle laughed a bit.
"I don't want you to get sick either." Belle said. "How about we – take a rain check on that kiss for at least a few days, alright?" Gold nodded.
"Fifty-one." Gold said.
"Fifty-one days?" Belle asked. "That's a bit much, I was thinking two or three at most."
"That's how old I am. Fifty-one." Gold said.
"Oh. Okay." Belle said.
"I – I should probably take the dogs out, they probably want to go run around for a bit." Gold said. "Do you need anything?"
"Some tea, perhaps?" Belle asked.
"Of course. Come on you two – let's go." Gold said, and the two dogs, who had been sitting by the sofa the entire time, stood up to follow. Over twenty minutes later, Gold returned to the sofa, the dogs following behind, carrying a cup of steaming hot tea. Belle sat up when he arrived, and Gold sat down next to her. "Feeling better?" Gold asked.
"A bit." Belle said. "I tried to do some reading, but – I couldn't focus very well, it's probably all that medicine the doctor gave me."
"Well – this is a special blend – family recipe. It'll make you feel quite better." Gold said.
"Thank you." Belle said, and she took the tea from him and took a sip, then gasped. "Is there alcohol in this?"
"Finest Scottish whiskey on the planet, I brought it here last night, figured it would come in handy. It's called a hot toddy, I've sworn by it for years, it'll fight off anything." Gold said.
"Ronan – I'm on prescriptions that are already making me tired. I'm not much of a drinker at all, save the occasional glass of wine. This will make me unconscious in no time." Belle said.
"It'll be the best sleep you've ever had, and you'll wake feeling far better, I promise you." Gold said. "I'll be right here the whole time."
"Alright." Belle said quietly. Gold put his arm around her as she finished the drink. "It's actually very good – a little sweet, but a little spicy too." Belle yawned. "And I think it's working pretty fast."
"It tends to do that." Gold said. Belle leaned into him and rested her head on his shoulder. Gold began to run his fingers through her hair. "I'm sorry I didn't call you, Belle. I really am."
"Why didn't you?" Belle asked, and she yawned again.
"I was afraid." Gold admitted.
"Of what?" Belle asked.
"Myself." Gold said. "Nothing ever works out for me, Belle. I always find a way to – to make a mess of it." Belle let out a soft giggle. "It's not funny."
"Yes it is. Because I'm the exact same way." Belle said, and she snuggled in closer to him. "Maybe we can um – figure out how to be – not messy – together."
"Maybe we can. The dogs would certainly be happy about that, wouldn't they? Belle?" Gold said, but Belle didn't answer. She began to snore quietly, sound asleep in his arms. Gold sighed and leaned back, still holding Belle in his arms. He was quite tired himself, and allowed himself to drift off to sleep as well.
Belle and Gold were both startled awake by a loud bark, followed by a short barrage of smaller, high-pitched ones. They both groaned and blinked their eyes as they turned to see Stewart and Sophie standing next to the sofa. Gold glanced at his watch. "Oh, bloody hell, it's five o'clock." he said.
"You slept here with me this whole time?" Belle asked as they both sat up.
"Didn't really sleep last night." Gold told her. "I just thought I'd take a little nap, didn't expect it to be that long. I'm sorry, I – I shouldn't have done that with you, I – I should have moved."
"To where, the floor?" Belle teased. "I didn't mind. Then again, I – I wasn't awake so I didn't even know. I'd really like to be a bit more aware the next time we sleep together because I'd prefer to enjoy it at least." Gold ignored her comment.
"How are you feeling?" he asked.
"Much better, actually. That hot toddy of yours is amazing. I'm actually a little bit hungry, too." Belle told him.
"Well, that's good." Gold said. The dogs started barking again. "Alright, alright. I'm gonna go feed them and let them out and then I'll get something for you to eat."
"Okay. Thank you, Ronan." Belle said. "I really do appreciate all you've done."
"It's no matter." Gold replied, and he got up to take care of the dogs. When he came back into the living room, Belle was lying back in an upright position on the sofa. Her hair was combed out and she had changed clothes.
"Thought I'd clean up a bit. I wanted to look nice for our date." Belle joked.
"This is NOT a date." Gold said. He was holding a plate with two sandwiches, and he set it down on the coffee table. "I made some tea, I'll be right back." He left the room and came back carrying two cups of tea. The dogs were both sitting in the begging position at Belle's feet. "You two had your dinner, go!" Gold shouted at them, and they both scurried away. "And Stewart you know better, that girlfriend of yours is teaching you bad habits." Gold grumbled as he sat down.
"You don't have to yell at them." Belle said, and she took a bite of her sandwich.
"They moved, didn't they?" Gold asked, and he picked up his tea and took a sip.
"This one isn't spiked, is it?" Belle asked.
"No, this is just tea." Gold told her.
"My fever broke." Belle said. "I don't think I'll need to take off the entire week after all, maybe just another day or two."
"The doctor said you are to be home for the week, you are to be home for the week." Gold insisted.
"What are you going to do, tie me to the bed?" Belle asked.
"If need be." Gold replied. Belle just smiled at him and they continued eating in silence for several minutes.
"So, um – now what?" Belle asked.
"Now what what?" Gold asked in return.
"Us." Belle said. Gold set down his cup.
"There isn't an 'us', Belle." Gold insisted.
"I think there is an 'us'. Ronan, what are you so afraid of?" Belle asked.
"I'm not afraid." Gold said.
"Yes you are, you told me so earlier." Belle said.
"You remembered that, did you?" Gold asked.
"What, were you hoping that between the drugs and the whiskey I'd have forgotten our conversation?" Belle asked. "Honestly, you're so damned headstrong."
"I'M headstrong? Pot meet kettle." Gold retorted.
"Well, okay, but at least I'm not a jerk about it. No wonder you don't have any friends." Belle said. Gold looked down, obviously hurt and offended, then he stood up.
"I should go, you're obviously feeling better." Gold said.
"No, Ronan, wait – I'm sorry. Don't go, come here." Belle said, and she stood up and grabbed his arm, pulling him back to the sofa. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that. It was cruel, I – I apologize."
"Okay." Gold said quietly.
"To be honest, I – I don't have many friends either. I've always been a bit of a loner. I enjoy my books more than the company of others most of the time. I mean – Ruby over at the diner, we hang out sometimes. And I have a few friends back in New York that I go visit on occasion but – anyway, I – I'm sorry. I told you that I – I make a mess of things too." The both sat quietly once again. "So. Now what?" Belle asked.
"Do you need some things from the grocery store?" Gold asked.
"Yes, I do." Belle said.
"Make a list, I'll go shopping for you tomorrow. And you're staying home this week. No argument." Gold demanded.
"Yes sir." Belle replied in a playful tone. She smirked at him, and he just glared at her as he stood up and picked up the dishes. As soon as his back was to her, he smiled a bit to himself.
Belle answered the door on Friday evening, and was happy to see Gold, Bae, and Stewart there. Sophie was standing next to her, wagging her tail happily. "Hi, Ronan! Hello Bae, it's nice to see you again." Belle said.
"Bae, you remember Belle, right?" Gold said.
"Yeah, sure. I'm glad you're feeling better, my dad said you've been sick this week." Bae said.
"I'm doing much better." Belle said. Stewart, who was still on his leash, which Bae was holding, began to tug at his leash furiously.
"Bae, let him off before he yanks your arm off." Gold said.
"Can't wait to be with your girlfriend, huh Stewart?" Bae joked, and the second Bae released him, Stewart and Sophie darted off together.
"Well, come on in, dinner's almost ready." Belle said. "Bae, why don't you take the dogs outside to play? My yard isn't as big as your father's but it's enough, they have fun, the door is straight back."
"Okay. Come on Stewart, come on Sophie!" Bae shouted, and he ran toward the door with the dogs following.
"I need to finish getting things ready." Belle said.
"Can I help?" Gold asked.
"You can help set the table." Belle said, and Gold followed her into the kitchen. There was a small table in there, and Gold began to take out some dishes and silverware. "I wish I had a nice dining room like you do. Oh well. Maybe someday."
"You didn't have to do all of this, you know. You're supposed to be resting." Gold said.
"I'm fine." Belle insisted. "I actually COULD have gone back to work yesterday as far as I'm concerned, but some beast was being rather adamant about my not doing that."
"Well, perhaps that beast was simply looking out for you." Gold said. "Kind of like this busybody lady who wouldn't let ME go to work last week because of a little twisted ankle."
"Horrible person. Shame on her." Belle joked as she stood at the stove and stirred something in a pot. Gold walked up behind her, and Belle turned around.
"So – are you going to do it or not?" Belle asked.
"Do what?" Gold asked.
"Kiss me." Belle replied. "I mean, I seriously doubt I'm contagious any longer."
"Belle, Bae is outside." Gold said.
"Yes, he's outside. He's not watching." Belle said. "You're the one who wanted to kiss me, you said so."
"I was sleep-deprived and concerned for you, you can hardly hold me to that." Gold said.
"Well, I am holding you to that, Ronan." Belle said. She set her spoon down on the stove, and facing him, wrapped her arms around his neck. "Kiss me." she whispered. Gold stared at her for moment, then moved his lips toward hers. What began as a soft, gentle kiss quickly escalated into a deep, intense moment, their tongues playfully entwining as they both closed their eyes. Belle played with Gold's hair as he wrapped his arms around her tightly, the two of them kissing the entire time. Unknown to them, Bae and the dogs had re-entered the house and were standing in the kitchen doorway watching them. Bae smiled and quietly backed away into the living room, and he silently motioned for the dogs to do the same. Bae knelt down on the floor next to the dogs.
"Looks like you're not the only one who has a new girlfriend, Stewart." Bae said, and he looked back at the kitchen door and smiled to himself.