"I did as you asked. Now give her heart back to me"- it was certainly not a request. It was a demand. His eyes filled with menace told Regina that this was her last warning before having to regret this mistake in hell.
Regina glimpsed towards Belle who remained silent, looking at her own beating heart. Regina was not sorry for what she did, because it was the only way to protect her own true love, but she was wondering about Belle's fate. Rumplestiltskin was the man who once crushed her ex-wife's heart, without a shred of remorse.
And Belle was the woman who banished him from Storybrooke. The woman who brought the Dark One to his knees, utterly powerless and defeated.
Hesitantly, Regina handed the beating, pure red heart back to Rumple.
"Now leave"- Rumple ordered baring his teeth.
She poofed herself away into a purple cloud, leaving the two of them surrounded by darkness in the middle of the forest. Belle held her breath while Rumplestiltskin just stood there for long seconds, with his back to her, staring at the heart in the palm of his hand. Then he turned. It was the first time they were face to face without masks, alone, after his return to Storybrooke. Rumple walked towards her slowly, so slowly…and she locked her eyes with his. For a split second she was afraid. Because she knew that not only her free will, but also her life were in his hands. But then she sensed how he also felt her fear and how that seemed to become a painful stab to his own heart. Then her fear dissipated in the blink of an eye. Her overflowing emotions made her eyes fill with tears. She needed to say so much…
Rumple took another step towards her until their bodies almost touched and with all the gentleness in the world, he placed the heart back into her chest.
Belle closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Now she had an overwhelming need to kiss him. When she opened her eyes again, Rumple was gone.