It was like a dream.

Belle took them to her office, full of books and plants. Five open books were lying on her desk and she put them aside quickly. Gold noticed that she changed her heels for more comfortable warm slippers.

'Please, sit down,' she gestured to the chair. Bae sat on a big, colorful bean bag chair without asking. 'I'll make some tea.'

Belle turned to the cupboard, looking for tea and Gold felt a wave of irrational panic washing over him. He wanted to scoop up Bae and hold onto him like a frightened child to their teddy bear, but that would look weird and embarrassing, and Bae surely wouldn't appreciate that.

'I have many different kinds of tea,' Belle's voice grounded him a bit in reality. 'I love to try new ones.' She put a big, green box on her desk, full of bags with different tea flavors. There must have been more than two dozen of them, Gold thought suddenly in awe. Belle was such a wonderful, charming woman.

'I'll gladly try whatever you would recommend me,' he said shyly. In a way he felt like he'd found a treasure, Belle would choose a tea especially for him. Unless she would think he's unable to decide (that was true, he felt a bit overwhelmed) and that he's a bother. Or unless she'd think that he didn't care enough to choose.

'Hmmm, I think that one!' She fished out a purple bag, smiling mysteriously. 'We'll see if you can guess what's that.'

'Oh... okay.' She wasn't angry, but she expected him to pass the test. What if he couldn't properly identify the tea?

Meanwhile Bae was happily rummaging through the box, finally deciding on some orange flavored mix in crazily colorful bag. Gold could clearly see how impatient the boy was about his book, but like a proper gentleman didn't demand it aloud. Though just as Belle put the electrical kettle on, she smiled knowingly and said she'd go fetch the promised book.

'Come here, Bae,' Gold said when they were alone. He run his hands over Bae's trousers. 'You're drenched. You should take them off.'

Bae made a face.

'I'm not going to undress like a small child, papa. I'm seven years old!'

'I don't want you to catch cold, Bae,' Gold said patiently.

'Papa, that's not fair! You're just as wet and I'll bet you're not gonna take your pan...'

'Hush!' Gold put his hand over Bae's mouth. 'Belle shouldn't hear... how we argue.'

'Mmf!' Bae said in a rather grumpy tone.

'If you won't agree to take off wet clothes and wrap up in that blanket,' Gold nodded at the red checkered thing laying on the shelf, 'we would have to go back home quickly.'

Bae rolled his eyes in the most impertinent way, but nodded. Gold released him quickly, hearing Belle's steps.

Soon Bae was lying on the bean bag chair, wrapped in a blanket, with a book in hands and a mug of the orange tea by his elbow on the floor. He seemed totally swept away into the world of robots.

'So,' Belle said with a smile, 'what do you think of the tea?'

'I like it...' It was really good, with sweet, fruit aroma and a hint of bitterness. But in no way could he pinpoint the exact taste. He felt his hands sweat and he quickly put the cup down in fear that it would slip out of his grip and crash.

'I'm glad you like it,' Belle smiled wider. 'It's one of my favorite mixes. Black tea with black grapes.'

Gold exhaled the air that he wasn't even aware he was holding. Apparently the test wasn't very important. And black everything was so endearingly in a contrast with colorful and cheerful Belle, that it just made him relax even more.

'Does your leg hurt much after the accident in the store?' Belle asked quietly. He stiffened again, but there was no scorn or pity in her voice. Just simple caring.

'Just a bit,' he smiled. 'Nothing to worry about.'

'That's good. How did you get injured? Oh, but you don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I understand it's quite a personal question.'

Yes, it was, but Gold felt that he shouldn't hide it. He wanted to be friends with Belle, he shouldn't try to present himself as a better man than he was in reality.

'It was an accident,' he whispered. Bae knew the story, how could he not when Millie used to threw it in Gold's face when Bae could hear it. 'When I was in the military.'

'You were a soldier?' Belle looked interested.

'Not a very good one,' he smiled ruefully. 'I had trouble with so many physical exercises. I broke my leg during one of the big field maneuvers. We were alone in the forest, six people troop and my sergeant. I... I chickened out while crossing the river over a chunk of fallen tree. I panicked and didn't focus on where I was putting my feet.'

'You fell.' Belle's expression was worried. 'I'm so sorry.'

'Why?... I mean, that was my fault. And then I slowed down the whole team for the rest of the exercises.'

'Wait, you weren't taken to the hospital?'

Gold blinked.

'No. I mean, yes, eventually I was, but we couldn't stop just because I was afraid...'

Belle was looking at him with big eyes. Gold felt he was blushing, wave of warmth sweeping over him. This wasn't how this conversation should go.

'I mean,' he took a deep breath, 'that at first no one thought that it was broken at all. When they fished me out of water, I've got it bandaged and I've got some painkillers and we moved on. We had to finish the maneuvers.'

He felt anew the stinging shame he felt then, the accusatory glares of his troopmates, sergeant Miranda MacAllister's shouts to hurry up, to fight, to be brave, to not give up... And finally the flat out accusations that he's making it up to avoid work.

'Mr. Gold?' Belle touched his wrist and he realized that he hung his head low. He tried to smile for Belle. She was getting too much concerned over this.

'It's nothing. Well, I've been looked at by a doctor, then sent to hospital after the maneuvers. They did what they could and they've sent me home, declaring me,' he choked a bit at that, 'unfit to serve.'

He took a deep breath, feeling ashamed of himself. What did he do? Why did he have to pour out the pathetic story on Belle? She had to think he was fishing for pity. No way she would want to be a friend of someone so selfish. And he didn't even had the guts to admit to her that he was glad that they'd sent him home.

'I'm so sorry,' Belle said gently. 'They had no right. This wasn't real war, just some exercises, your health should be the most important thing. Did they apologize?'

He looked at her surprised, shocked even.

'I... I've never met my sergeant or troopmates after that. I just went home. And I was glad I did...' he added quietly.

'Yes, it's good you came back. You should have demanded compensation.'

He looked at her completely lost. Demand? Oh no, now Belle would think, and rightly so, that he's weak, pathetic. How such a weak man could be trusted with a child alone?

'Hey, it's okay,' Belle said warmly, sensing his unease. 'It's they who are at fault, not you.'

'Thank you,' he managed with big turmoil in his head. He felt so completely out of control when talking to Belle. Perhaps this is why he rather avoided meeting people in general. He must be careful to not ruin this tentative relationship with her. It was too important, even if he still felt like a creepy old stalker.

'Let's talk about something else, okay?'

He nodded, but what would that be? He looked at Bae, deep in his book. That seemed like a safe topic.

'Bae loves reading. We always read something before his bedtime.'

'That's so wonderful!' Belle exclaimed. 'My dad also used to read to me. Though more often than not, I was peaking over his shoulder and reading ahead.'

'My Bae does that too. No chance of getting him actually asleep before the end of the story.'

Belle giggled.

'I learned to do it because dad used to twist some paragraphs, adding his own jokes. Do you do it too?'

'No. Bae usually looks all over the pictures. He makes me do all the different voices though.'

'Oh, that's so great. Maybe you could read sometimes in the library, for kids?'

He blanched. That would mean doing something for Belle and spending more time with her. But reading in public? With voices? For kids? They would just laugh at him or would run away screaming.

'I... maybe...' he managed.

'Well, no hurry,' Belle smiled. 'Would you want to borrow a book for yourself, maybe?'

'From the library?' he asked stupidly, but she only smiled and nodded.

That was a good idea. A chance to meet with Belle again and having an actual topic to discuss.

'Yes, I would like that. What would you recommend me?' He hated to ask her to think for him, but he honestly had no idea what to pick to be able to talk about it with Belle later. This must be something she already knew.

Belle pondered that for a moment looking absolutely adorable.

'I know!' she exclaimed suddenly and quickly left. She was back in a few moments, with two fat tomes.

'Don't let them intimidate you, that's actually seven books crammed into these two. The Accursed Kings by Maurice Druon. Have you read them?'

'No, though I heard about it. I guess I never had the time...'

'Perfect! I think you'll love it.'

He already loved it and was ready to swear that it's his favorite book ever. Not to mention that he was almost sure that he had his own copy back home somewhere, but Belle's books were naturally worth so much more.

'Look at that,' Belle smiled sweetly, nodding at Bae. 'He's fallen asleep.'

Gold smiled too, because his sleeping son was so precious, so darling. Unfortunately, this also meant, that they would have to leave soon.

'Of course,' Belle agreed. 'Thank you for this lovely afternoon. We must repeat it some time, just without pyramids of canned pea and getting drenched in a rain.'

'I would love to.'

Belle smiled widely and quickly did all the paperwork concerning their borrowed books.

'Call me when you finish the first part, The Iron King, okay?' He nodded timidly, taking her card. He officially had Belle's phone number from Belle herself now.

When the cab stopped at the library's door, Gold ruefully went to wake up Bae.

'He's sleeping so sweetly,' Belle said. 'Do you have to wake him for the ride home?'

Gold didn't look at her, just kept staring at Bae.

'I won't be able to carry him with only one hand, not when he's sleeping and limp. He's already a bit too big for that.'

'Oh. I'm sorry. I didn't think of that.'

'No matter,' he finally looked at her and smiled.

Soon, he was getting into the cab with sleepy Bae clutching his robot book in one hand and Belle's blanket around him in another. The trousers were still too wet and that way he had another reason to see Belle again.

He planned to read that first book in no time, then do some historical research on the subject to be able to make the discussion more interesting for Belle. Not that he didn't expected to enjoy it himself, but he was all too well aware which part of the whole thing was the most wonderful for him.