Belle had been waiting for hours. Rumple had said he would be home early tonight to enjoy a good supper. They weren't a couple, but for him to inform her of his intentions was a welcome surprise. But it was late. She'd hoped Rumple would be home four hours ago. But it was getting on for eleven now, and Belle was getting more and more worried. Dinner had gone cold a while back, but Belle felt somehow it would be bad luck to eat without him. She sighed, pulling her knees up to her chin. She'd pulled a big armchair into the entrance hall to wait. Belle didn't want to ponder too long exactly why she was so worried and waiting.
Just then, the front door opened with a creak. She jumped up and only her pride kept her from running to the door. The scaly gold-green skin she'd come to know slowly stumbled into the room. Rumple had an arrow through his shoulder. Belle uttered a small shriek and ran to him, her nimble fingers examining the wound. She'd learned a little about medicine when her mother had been sick. She wrapped his uninjured arm around her shoulders and helped him to the couch in the room next door. With trembling fingers, she removed his leather jacket and shirt. His other hand grabbed her hands,
"What are you doing?" he nigh-shouted. Belle would have laughed at the situation were it anyone but her.
"I have to be able to see the wound before I can fix it." she said, not even slowing in her work. Rumple accepted he would have to stand this if he wanted the wound helped and was quiet. She asked breathlessly,
"What happened?"
"Deal went sour. Didn't get away." He gasped out. Belle barely heard what he said, her mind focusing on the wound. The arrow had gone clean through, the bloodied head on the other side. She sighed,
"Alright, this is going to hurt quite a bit. But you have to be my brave Rumplestiltskin, alright?" she said, not noticing the possessive. Rumple most certainly did. He belonged to her… In his delirious state, that didn't sound too bad. But when Belle even touched the arrow, he growled and glared at her. Belle fixed him with a glare of her own and said, "Glare later, be brave now." She broke the shaft of the arrow off, leaving about four inches of wood sticking out of the front of his shoulder. She moved around so she could see the back of his shoulder. She grabbed onto the exposed arrowhead and said,
"Okay, I'm going to pull, and I want you to be brave. Shout, but don't flail or it will hurt more. Alright?" she said. Rumple turned his head just a bit to look at Belle,
"And when have you ever known a monster like me to act like a foolish man?" he asked. Belle shook her head and laid a cool hand on his warm cheek,
"You're not a monster." She kissed his forehead. Rumple was in shock. Who would ever kiss him? For a moment, all the pain disappeared. And in that moment, Belle grinned a wicked grin and pulled the arrow. Rumple sat up,
"Ow!" he shouted. He turned to her, eyes narrowed. Belle grinned and wiggled the arrow in her hands. Rumple stared at it, "You didn't."
"Oh I did. Did the Dark One become distracted?" she teased. Rumple reached out to grab her, but the sharp twinge of pain reminded him that grabbing might have to wait a bit. His other hand glowed purple as he applied it to his shoulder, healing the wound. Why didn't I think of this before? He wondered. He sat up on the couch, his arm stiff. Belle settled in beside him, wrapping her arms around him. He pushed down the feelings that brought up and teased,
"Miss me too much?" He asked. Belle grinned blissfully,
"I'm still coming off a tiny bit of an excitement high, and I haven't slept well in the past month. So this is just a result of my having far too few barriers put up. Don't you dare go assuming things." She said. Rumple tentatively wrapped his good arm around her shoulders,
"Wouldn't dream of it, dearie."