She hadn't really planned on having a bachelorette party. Belle had wanted to keep things fairly low-key around her wedding, but once everyone found out that Rumplestiltskin was getting married there was no chance of that. The Charmings had, in a way, adopted him into their family. Or, well, Henry had at least. He insisted that he be a part of the wedding and as Baelfire's son, Rumplestiltskin wasn't able to say no to the boy. And along with Henry came his Grandparents. And his mother. And his other mother. And if they came, then Ruby would have to be there. And that meant Granny. And Grumpy of course, who went way back with Belle. And if Grumpy came, then they couldn't refuse to invite the rest of his brothers. And well, pretty soon it seemed that nearly the entire town would be there. Some to be lookie-loos. Some who genuinely cared about the couple. From small and intimate, it went to some hundred people coming.

Charming had insisted on doing things right and had dragged Rumplestiltskin off to some sort of Bachelor party. There had been mention of Atlantic City and strippers and Belle had just rolled her eyes. Rumplestiltskin would go, grudgingly, but she didn't care who he saw there. She knew he had eyes only for her. Besides, Snow had finally spilled the truth. The woman never could keep a secret. Charming was taking Rumplestiltskin and a few others to Gold's cabin in the woods where he planned on their drinking into oblivion. She couldn't wait to hear how that mess turned out.

Snow had decided on an evening in as well, hidden away in Belle's soon-to-be vacant library apartment. She had packed off the latest wee Charming boy with Robin Hood and, of all people, Regina. It seemed Snow trusted Robin Hood implicitly, having had some sort of long relationship with the thief. And through that came a sort of trust in Regina. Henry was with them too, which left both Snow and Emma feeling a little more confident. Belle had to remind herself every day that if Rumplestiltskin could change, so could Regina. She hadn't quite forgiven the Queen. Some thirty years of being locked up made that difficult. But she was working on that forgiveness.

Her party was really quite low-key, which she did appreciate. There were liberal amounts of alcohol and Belle had had enough glasses to make sure she felt really mellow. They had started off the evening with something Ruby called "chick flicks." Ruby thought it was funny to watch a movie about a woman who kept running away from her weddings. In case it gives you any ideas. Belle knew that most people still didn't understand, perhaps never would, even if they were there to support her..

"So…Gold, huh?" Ruby said as the movie came to a close.

"Oh." Snow said "Is this the uncomfortable question and answer period? I love that."

"What?" Belle asked.

"Come on, Belle," Ruby said. "Dish."

Belle stared down at the unfinished bowl of popcorn and the glass of wine she still held in her hand. "Dish…what?"

"You know what I mean." Ruby rolled her eyes with the words. "What is it you see in him anyway?"

Belle just smiled. "A lot."

"Is he good? In bed, I mean." Ruby leaned forward, the grin on her face turning into a bit of a leer.

"I do not want to hear that answer," Emma said. She was flopped on the couch, the one person in the room not sitting on the ground.

Belle leaned toward Ruby, glanced over at Emma for just a moment. "Let's just say I'm not unhappy."

"Dang," Ruby said and laughed.

"Still don't want to hear this," Emma muttered.

"Don't really want to talk about it," Belle shot back with.

Snow reached out a gentle hand. Always the mediator, she knew exactly the right thing to do. Belle remembered her story talking about her being the fairest of them all and sometime along the line she realized that was not a reference to her looks, though the new mother was certainly beautiful, but instead a reference to how kind and good she was. Belle had taken an instant liking to Snow White. She was one of the few to offer her comfort when she had lost Rumplestiltskin. She was the one who had come to tell her of Neal's death, hugging her close as she told her the bad news. "So Belle, you never did tell us how you met him."

Belle gave her a tight smile. "No, I suppose no one knows that story, do they?"

Emma sat up and leaned forward. "Not even Henry ever did. Your story wasn't in the book."

Belle sometimes wondered if Rumplestiltskin had had a hand in creating the book. Or perhaps the curse simply didn't include him. The fact that she wasn't in there and that Rumplestiltskin was only seen as a shadowy figure made her wonder. Everyone else was as clear as day. How Emma hadn't believed that book when the drawings so clearly resembled everyone around them was still sometimes beyond her. Her lack of belief had been so strong that she hadn't seen it.

"Well…" Belle paused. "I made a deal with him."

"A deal, really?" Emma's eyebrows rose as she spoke. "I made a deal with him too and I sure as hell didn't fall in love with the bastard." Belle shot her a look. "Sorry."

"Yes, well, I made a deal to be his caretaker."

"Caretaker? Then how come you're…" Ruby waved a hand around her at Belle's apartment.

"Oh not here, Ruby." The amusement was obvious in Belle's voice. "He saved my village from the ogres."

"Ogres again?" Emma said and gave a slight shudder.

"Oh," Ruby responded with.

"Ohhhhh," Snow echoed. "You knew him back home. In our land."

"I did. It's such a long story, but I spent several months in his castle before I was captured by the Evil Queen and locked in her tower."

"And so the...falling in love thing?" Snow asked. Belle knew what she was asking. She knew what the curiosity was. Did it happen here ? Here where it would almost make sense, here where he was human, despised, but normal. Or there? Where he was a creature, the monster that haunted their nightmares.

"Yes. I fell in love with him…there." Belle spoke the words softly. She still remembered him in that form. The shy smiles, the unruly hair that fell into his strange, almost reptilian eyes, the leather trousers that hugged his form so perfectly. She remembered the graceful way he moved, like a panther stalking his prey, the flamboyant hand gestures, the giggle that was meant to be off-putting and likely was to most. She had found it endearing, an odd little quirk of the man she had come to love.

"Really?" Ruby said and offered up a delicate shudder. She exchanged glances with Snow and Emma finally slid off the couch to sit near Belle.

"So what's the big deal?" she asked. "Here. There. He's still the same bastard, right?"

"Hardly," Snow responded with and Ruby just shook his head. "You have no idea what he was like back there, Emma."

"I hope you never have to meet him in that form," Ruby said and then met Belle's eyes for just a moment. "Sorry."

Belle gave them a tight smile. "Yes, he looked quite different there."

"To say the least," Ruby muttered.

"Yes, he did. But I loved him. And I loved him in that form." Belle felt a bit wistful for it, if she was to be totally truthful with herself. That was the man she fell in love with. And while she was happy to be marrying Mr. Gold, Rumplestiltskin in this world's human form, she still missed him as she first got to know him.

"I miss it, you know," Belle finally said into the silence.

"Miss what?" Snow asked.

"Rumple. As Rumple once was."

"Really?" Ruby asked. "Scales and all?"

Belle nodded. "Yes. Scales and all. The only thing I ever got to do with him in that form was one very quick, very chaste kiss. I never so much as saw him dressed in less than shirt and vest, leather pants and high boots." She leaned toward them, the wine mellowing her, loosening her tongue "And trust me. I wanted more. So much more." The looks of horror on her friends' faces made her break out in a giggle.

The conversation after her revelation earlier that evening had quickly moved to safer topics. She supposed no one wanted to really imagine her with Rumplestiltskin in the modern world, much less the scaly dragonhide coat wearing imp that they all found so very off-putting in the Enchanted Forest.

But she had told the truth. She would marry him as Mr. Gold. She would marry this incarnation of her love in the modern world. But she would always wonder what Rumplestiltskin's rough scaly skin would feel like against her own. She would always wonder what he looked like in that form. She could imagine him standing proudly in front of her, all of his rough mottled skin on display, cock jutting out with arousal, stalking her with that panther-like grace.

She couldn't say the thought didn't arouse her.

She knew it wasn't possible. She knew she was trapped here and now and could not go back. But it didn't mean she couldn't daydream, couldn't fantasize.

But she had allowed them to turn toward safer topics, like just how cute would Roland be as ring bearer and where they might go on a honeymoon.

It well past midnight when the wine finally caught up to her bladder and Belle excused herself to the bathroom, leaving the other three women sprawled out on the floor of her apartment. After relieving herself and washing her hands, she was just about to head back out when the bathroom lights suddenly went out and before she could scream she felt a hand come about her waist, a second hand across her mouth.

"So you find scales and leather attractive, do you dearie?" She knew the voice, but was not expecting to be drawn back hard against him. His arm was wrapped around her waist and as she tried to turn and face him, a pointless endeavor in the inky darkness of the bathroom, she could feel the spikes protruding from his jacket.

A small shiver of desire passed through her and she reached up with one hand to find his cheek. The skin there was rough, not the smooth skin she was used to touching. She gasped. Had he? Had he really?

He leaned down close to her and she felt his breath on the skin of her neck just moments before his mouth closed over her earlobe. She stifled a groan as he sucked it into his mouth, laving it with his tongue. He knew that was one of the places that made her go weak in the knees and he exploited it now with teeth and tongue.

"Rumple what are you doing?" She whispered the words, but they were loud enough in the dark room.

He brushed a hand down along her side, coming to rest on her hip as he pulled her tighter up against him. "Did you or did you not say you found this form attractive?"

She groaned as he bit down on the sensitive skin in the crook of her neck, sharp teeth worrying the skin there as she tried to get her mouth to respond. "Yes," she gasped as he sucked hard. "Yes I did."

"Good then."

The world dissolved around her and when it resituated itself, she was leaning over a table, legs spread slightly, with Rumplestiltskin pinning her to it. She managed to look up, look around the room and while it remained somewhat dim, the curtains drawn, a little bit dusty, she knew exactly where she was.

"How?" she asked, letting out a gasp as his hand came up and brushed the skin of her thigh that her bent over position revealed.

"Magic, of course." The words were accompanied by that manic giggle she had missed. Belle shivered slightly. "It's not really the Dark Castle," he added, as if that weren't already obvious. She didn't know exactly where they were, but somehow it seemed more apt for this little fantasy moment to be set there than in his house in Storybrooke.

The hand not resting at her side on the table, the one not keeping her pinned over it, started to wander across her thigh, touching lightly, tracing patterns on her skin. It didn't feel any different, the skin on his fingertips and the palm of his hand felt just as smooth as it did normally. But with her eyes closed, she could imagine. She could throw herself back in time and imagine that this truly was the imp and his caretaker finally exploring those feelings they had denied for far too long.

When his hand brushed up against her panties she pushed back into him and it was his turn to groan, the sound coming close to her ear. "You're already wet." And the words were said with such wonder that she was sure he had no real idea of how much she wanted this, how much she craved the imp she had never gotten to be with.

He always seemed to be awed by her reaction to him. Even after all this time, even when he could likely anticipate her reaction, he was still awed. As if he'd wake up one day to her pushing him away instead of pulling him closer.

He hooked one finger under her panties and slid it into the wetness he found there, running his finger through the slick folds. Belle found herself moving backward, trying to push his finger to where she needed it most. It kept slipping away, a teasing sort of motion that was accompanied by a small giggle near her ear.

"Please." The word came out on a mere whisper.

"As my lady commands," he whispered back, that high-pitched voice that she had found so endearing back home, and finally ran his finger up to her clit. It only took a few more seconds, just a couple slow circles and she was coming undone.

She tried to shift around, but he was still leaning over her. "Oh Belle," he whispered into her ear before sliding her panties down and off her. He kept her against the table as she kicked them off and then she felt him start to slide into her. Oh she wanted to enjoy this, but it wasn't quite exactly what she wanted.

Reaching behind her she pushed at his stomach. "No." The word came out slightly choked and she couldn't get anything else out before he backed away with a slight hiss.

His voice came at her quick and high-pitched, the anger and hurt behind it evident. "I knew you could never…"

Belle whipped around to face him. He was still clothed from head-to-toe in his leather, the dragonhide coat still draped around him, knee-high boots still on. He looked utterly fearsome, exactly as she remembered him the first time she saw him. "Yes. I could." Her words cut him off before he could get any further into anger and the self-loathing she had seen from him countless times before. "I want to see you, Rumplestiltskin. I don't want to be tossed over a table and taken from behind. At least…not this time." The last was said with a slightly embarrassed grin. She couldn't say that she hadn't thought of that before.

"I…what…" His eyes were huge as she approached. She had forgotten how much larger and more prominent in his face they had seemed when he wasn't human. The reptilian irises stood out against his mottled skin, much more so than the soft brown eyes of the human Mr. Gold.

"I want to see you. I want to know what you look like." She reached up and slid her hands underneath the dragonhide coat, running her fingers up the silk over his shoulder before pushing the coat back. He let her strip it from him, let it fall to the floor as she stepped nearer. Her hands caressed his shoulders before she moved them higher to touch the skin of his neck. It was rougher than his human skin, a little bumpy, but it's exactly how she always thought it would feel. Textured. She knew it would feel good against her skin and so she stood on her toes wrapped her arms around his shoulders and touched her lips to his neck.

His reaction was near-instantaneous. He wrapped one arms around her waist and pulled her tight against him. The other hand came under her chin and pulled her face up to look at him. "You really want the monster?" His voice was soft.

"I want you, Rumplestiltskin. As you are now. As you are in Storybrooke." She reached up a hand and cupped his face in her hand. "Right now, I want this form."

He wrapped himself around her and once more Belle was transported through magic. It was a strange sensation, the entire room going dark and when she could see again, she was somewhere else. This time it's his bedroom. Well, not his bedroom here in Storybrooke. They're still playing at its being the Dark Castle. She remembered seeing his bedroom once or twice, when he had allowed her into his inner sanctum to clean. She had even, once so very long ago, curled up on the large bed to try it out.

Now he lifted her and placed her on the bed. He hesitated but Belle crooked a finger at him and he crawled onto it with her. His voice was almost a whisper when he spoke. "I imagined this, you know."

"Did you now?" Belle raised an eyebrow at him. She had wondered. "Truth be told, I did to." She could feel the blush creeping up her cheeks, but instead she turned to removing the layers of his clothing. His vest was easy enough, just a few buttons and it hung loose on him. He tossed it away as she ran her hands up from his stomach to his chest. She had always liked his lean form, had wondered how he'd look without all the stiff leather and brocade. She likes it. The silk felt good against her hands and she can well imagine, from the way he stiffens, from the way his belly quivers just slightly, that it felt good against his skin. "Is this skin more sensitive?"

"I…uh…yes."

"I thought it might be." He was watching her, eyes wide, as she undid each button of the silk shirt, revealing his mottled skin. For each inch of skin she revealed, she pressed a kiss to it, soft, chaste, and then more open-mouthed and hotter the further she went down. When she reached his stomach he let out a groan and Belle answered by nipping lightly at the rough skin there.

"Belle…"

"I know." She helped him remove the silk shirt and tossed it aside. The skin that was revealed was the same as that on his hands and neck and she ran her hands over every gloriously scaly inch of it. No one seemed to understand. No one knew how utterly beautiful he was in this form. She was sure Rumplestiltskin did not know, though she intended to let him see at least some of it this evening.

She had just bent down to kiss his chest, just touched her tongue to one hard nipple when he suddenly grabbed her shoulders and flipped her. Her top and bra were dispensed of quickly, much faster than she thought even he was capable of. She would have suspected magic if it weren't for the fact that he was probably too distracted by everything to even manage something so simple

He growled low in his throat and bent down to take one nipple in his mouth. Belle arched into him, one hand coming to grip his shoulders. This was the imp she always imagined, forceful, slightly dominant. She loved his soft side. She loved that he allowed her to take the lead. But there were times she wondered what this would be like.

"Rumple." She groaned his name as he used teeth and tongue on her stomach, nuzzling her as he continued lower. She knew where he was headed and tugged on his hair. "I need you…in me…now."

He glanced up at her and licked his lips, a sensuous movement that made her shiver. And then he was moving, pulling himself up and over her. She spread her legs, reached out and grabbed his ass. She didn't even know when he had removed the leather pants. It had to have been magic because there was no way he had the time to get out of them otherwise.

She watched him, blue eyes meeting his strange reptilian ones, as he took himself in hand and guided his cock to her entrance. He paused there and an odd look passed over his face. "You're sure, Belle?"

She didn't know how else to show him but touch and so ran her hands from his shoulders, down across his back, feeling the change in texture of his skin as she did so, the smoothness of the skin at the base of his spine, the rougher skin of shoulders and hips. "Yes," she whispered. "I want you, my beautiful imp." And then she grabbed his ass and pulled him forward as she rose up.

He sank into her with a groan, held still there. Somehow the feeling of him being inside her in this form was different. She suspected it was as much psychological as physical, but she couldn't deny her arousal was heightened, here in the recreated Dark Castle, a remembrance of all the times she wished they could have done this back home.

And then he was moving within her, Belle meeting each thrust. She wrapped her legs around him, wrapped her arms around his back. She wanted to feel every inch of that rough scaly skin. She didn't know when she'd ever get to again. He shifted position slightly, just a small movement but it was enough to hit just the right spot and send Belle careening over the edge.

He followed her a moment later, holding her close and tight as he lost himself in her. "Gods, Belle." The words were breathless and Belle opened her eyes. He was still in his Dark One form and she reached up a hand, brushed it down the side of his face. Shifting himself to the side, he curled up close to her. "Are you crying?" he whispered, his hand brushing away a bit of moisture at the edge of her eye.

"You're so beautiful in this form," she whispered, hand drifting to touch the rough skin along his cheek, the damp curling hair.

"I will never understand you." The words were spoken with just the hint of a smile and a little shake of his head.

"Well, you have the rest of your life to figure me out." Belle couldn't help the huge smile that broke out on her face.

Rumplestiltskin leaned down and gave her one last lingering kiss. "I suppose you should go back."

"Oh Gods," Belle whispered, mortified. "That's the longest bathroom trip ever."

"Don't worry." And here the look on his face turned mischievous. "They won't even notice you were gone."

Before Belle could even open her mouth she found herself back in the bathroom, slightly disheveled, but clothed as she was before. Smoothing down her hair, she headed back out to resume the party. And if anyone noticed that she was a little flushed, they didn't bother to comment.