Disclaimers: some of you lot are going to hate me, and I don't rightly care. My argument as at the end, and nearly as long as the fic itself...

xxxx

It's forever, dearie.

Something was on his mind. Belle couldn't be sure what it was, but it was something. And it kept coming back. Whatever it was, it was so severe, even spinning didn't help, and it worried her a bit to know what it was. He would come to the sitting room, and lower himself into the chair by the fire. He would lie there, brooding, for hours on end, before picking himself up and disappearing into a tower. He would stay up there for some time, and then later life would be the usual madness, but every so often that strange fire-bother came back. It worried her, a bit, but mostly, she puzzled over it.

Today, he got up from the fire, but... He hesitated at the doorway. She tried not to peek, and instead kept her eyes on her book, but her ears listened. She tried to, anyway – he was so quiet when he wanted to be, and before she knew it, Rumplestiltskin was behind her.

It wasn't so much his presence, as the scarce touch. A golden finger slipped into her tresses. She stilled, not sure what to make of it. He had the strangest notions of personal space sometimes. One day he was three strides away, all decorum and propriety, and the next, he was underfoot, goading her with his strange jokes and twisted observations. The one about mice and cheese had made her giggle a bit, even if his impersonation of rodents was disturbingly spot on. It was one of those days, when he might rest an elbow on her shoulder while looking to see what she was reading, or perhaps to touch her by the waist when asking her to move out of his way. Occasionally, he even hooked his arm in hers to lead her away to someplace else, almost bursting with peacock pride at whatever magickal mischief he had manufactured. His mood from day to day was unpredictable, and she tried to take it in stride, but the familiar ones still caught her by surprise.

"Are you particularly fascinated by your book, my dear?" he teased. The whiny, nasally voice had a dark tinge of trouble to it. She prepared herself accordingly.

"Oh, I'm always fascinated by books," she answered, quite diplomatically. "I do love a good story."

"Yes, but how fascinated are you?" Here, he drew himself close, and perched his chin on her shoulder. She couldn't help but smile a little as she turned to him. His too-large green eyes gazed at her. "I wish to tempt you."

She laughed. "Tempt me?" She closed the book in a show of good faith. "How so?"

"But a whisper, and she closes the book!" he breathed, waving a hand in dramatics. "Truly, I am destined to succeed."

He was dodging the question. She gave him a look. "What is it, Rumplestiltskin?"

"Well, I already told you," he answered, standing with a flourish. "I wish to tempt you."

"And how will you tempt me?" She stood, as well, and his eyes watched the book. She dropped it into the chair. And then she gave him another, 'Well?' look.

"In the most sensual way, my dear," he replied, his voice a velvet purr. He moved closer, within comfortable arms reach. "In the most... Biblical way."

She blinked. Surely he didn't mean... "Sorry?"

"I assure you, I've had centuries of experience," he assured her, wiggling a lascivious brow. "I may have my own motives, but I can promise that we will both be fully satisfied by the end of it." He tapped his fingers together, giving her a devilish grin, and that damned giggle.

Damned, indeed. He was talking of... "But what if I am to marry?" Really, what a thing to ask a girl! It was unheard of.

"It's forever, dearie!" he reminded, wiggling a finger. "Sad to say it, but you're stuck with me. Why don't we make the best of it?"

Her jaw dropped. He was so... vulgar sometimes. "I'm... sorry. I... I don't..." She turned back to her book. Dear god, what a thing to ask!

"It's always your choice," he said quickly, and in a quick motion, he turned on his heel. "I will not retract the offer, but I remind you it is up to you." He even took three steps away, and she stared after him... mostly in shock. He stopped again. "But it is forever. And forever is a very, very...Very long time."

His head turned to the side, to see her expression. And in turn, she could see his. The taut line of his jaw – clenched teeth. The quick dart of his eyes. The nervous fist of his fingers, and the broad stance of his back. And the way his eyebrows tried so desperately to disappear into his mane.

Nervous. That shocked her as much as the suggestion. But she couldn't answer the question. She swallowed instead, frowning, completely at a loss... And he took the response with a curt nod. He made his way out of the room and... she collapsed into the chair.

Biblically! The phrase... 'Sensuous temptation'. Well, they were words that one put in stories to suggest... But surely he didn't mean that?

...But what if he did? She gave it a solid thought. If there was one thing a good story could do, it was teach you to be objective. Look at this from his point of view. If he'd simply wanted a handmaiden to clean his house... Would he not have chosen a woman with experience? If he wanted her for her land and titles, he could have gotten higher. And he hadn't wanted her land and titles, as her fiance did. He'd just wanted her. If there was one thing Belle was known for it was... Well, yes, her looks, but it was also well known that she was an incredibly avid reader...

And her eyes widened as the word came to her. Courtesan. She was the one thing, yes, but she was also a lady of style, grace, class, culture. She read, and played instruments, and went to opera. She wore the finest gowns and served in courts all over the world. Who was Rumplestiltskin, if not a lord among lords? The Dark One himself? As much as it horrified her on a personal level, she realised it made a certain amount of sense. He didn't want her for her cleaning skills (although having a lady in the house no doubt helped), that much was clear. Her titles meant little to him, but he wanted someone who had the propriety of a noblewoman, although the humility of a simple one. And she did tolerate – and sometimes even appreciate – his twisted sense of humour. And he certainly seemed to enjoy her company...

...How much more so, perhaps, in his bed?

Belle took the rest of the night to ponder it. In the end, she decided that their Deal wasn't all that different from a marriage, really. Weren't the vows the same? Trembling, but mostly curious, and a bit hopeful, she came to him while he was spinning in the Hall. He only looked up when she had stopped beside him, and his mouth fell open when he realised she was wearing nothing.

"Only because you promised," was the line she decided upon. He had promised her satisfaction, and he had promised her forever. And Rumplestiltskin always kept his word.

xxxx

This scene quite literally just CAME to me. On a recent spot of 'research' I decided on a whim to properly look up the term 'kept-woman'. Now, I remind you, Fairy Tale Land is somewhere between Medieval and Renaissance era, and because it's fantasy, it plays fast and loose with the timelines. That being said, I have always been intrigued by court politics, so I was intrigued when Google instantly redirected me to the Wiki page for 'Mistress'. Now, before everyone goes on about 'How dare you call Belle a whore!' I encourage you to watch "Girl In the Fireplace", a very wonderful episode of Doctor Who in which the Doctor meets Madame de Pompadour, one of the most famous mistresses of history – in her case, the mistress of King Louis XV. After having been a mother and married to another man, I'll add. Louis was King of France, and gave her a number of high honours, and she was much loved and respected, and is a legend to this day. ("Oh, I bet the Queen loved her." "Oh, she did. They got on very well," as the Doctor says.) Now, I don't know why, but I've always had a strange fascination with the sophisticated breed of working woman, which manages to be a whore and a gold digger while still being so classy people ADMIRE her for it. That's quite a thing to accomplish.

So I see Belle referring to herself as a 'kept-woman' (which is code for a man's mistress, particularly one living off of his fortune), particularly to the unreasonably wealthy Rumplestiltskin (who is a widower, I add), Regina's comment of 'employer AND lover!' and, most importantly, Miss Emille's costumes. In the Crocodile she is wandering the house in a negligee, for goodness sake, and her other clothes tend to feature clothes that flirt, but still intice – sleeveless, high collared dresses that don't quite cover the knees? Rumples must be a leg man, and he doesn't want other people looking at his bosoms. She wears a lot of heels, and has a lot of brass for some quiet, bookish girl. Particularly when you compare the shaky girl she was when she first came to the castle, to the coy, poking lass who plucks the string from his hands and sits in his spinning wheel without batting an eye. She's far too familiar with him, to the point where her boldness is, I think, way out of line, but he lets her get away with it, because she intrigues him. So you know what? I think she's his mistress, and I LIKE the idea that she's his mistress. It makes Moe's fears a bit better founded, but it also explains how she can be quite so affectionate to him. With his issues with his first wife, I imagine he's going to come right out with it as a business arrangement (which is common for courtesan arrangements) and... Well, the hardest part is going to be her coming to it. Because Rumple has noted numerous times, "Oh, you always have a choice! Just make sure it's the right one." He would never force her to do anything, but I think her reckless curiousity and habit of assuming the best of people would let her do such a foolish thing.

Because really. She's dating Rumplestiltskin, and the first person she makes friends with in Storybrooke is the village werewolf? She doesn't get points for common sense and self-preservation.

It's been mulling around in the back of my brain for a while, and I finally got a glimpse of the scene in which he makes the offer. There's a secondary scene in which Mr. Gold and Belle 'reunite' (if you know what I mean) with all the weirdness that his new body brings, but this scene ran off first, so that one will come later.

...Blah blah blah, disclaimer, I'm being generous with the timeline (I mean, REALLY. Two months?! I remind you we had probably less than 20 minutes for the entire episode to play with this, so I'm giving myself as much time as I want.) and everyone who says he has an issue with touching people really needs to watch him a bit more objectively. Especially when he's flirting/threatening Regina, Charming, and especially Belle... Or beating up Moe French. He has no qualms with invading personal space, there. I've been watching Bobby for a while, now. He's very purposeful in his acting. And besides, she gave it thought! All this 'leaping into his arms', nonsense, really. You go to such extremes, don't you? They're either completely chaste, or she's a whore. Why can't a girl be intelligent, witty, sure of herself, AND sexually active? I mean, really? What's the harm in that? And it's a business arrangement. They both get satisfied, and he doesn't have to worry about the fear that his lover doesn't love him, because she doesn't. Right? /intro nervous, falling-into-love Rumplestiltskin.