Author Note: I've been meaning to do a drabble on Rumbelle for a while now so here's my first attempt. Hope you enjoy it.
Disclaimer: I don't own Rumbelle, if I did they'd be back in Dark Castle bringing every fanfiction I've ever read to life.
The dust mites reigned down from the rafters and Belle held a sneeze, "Oh darn it" she muttered as she descended down her ladder, her frock flitting about her feet. She'd been working on cleaning the rafters for about a week and this was the very last one.
The thought brought a grin to her face.
It had been a very laborious task, made only that much harder by the stifling heat wave that had hit the land. The summer heat was at the highest it had been in record years, at least that's what it feels like she thought.
She huffed in agitation as she passed her hand over her brow to wipe the sweat.
If only the windows that covered the expanse of the main hall could be opened, it might offer some respite, but she had yet to find any kind of latch on the darn things.
Shaking her head she picked up the bucket of now sooty water, and the majority of rags she'd dragged out for the monumental task, and trudged back to the kitchen. There were still a few tasks to complete before she was done for the day, the first of which: getting lunch ready.
Working in the kitchen was easily one of her more enjoyable tasks, she loved the smell of fresh baked bread waiting to be buttered. Engrossed in her task Belle let her thoughts drift to the marvelous novel she'd been reading, about a knight who had fought a dragon to gain his princess only to be trapped in a foul cage by her father. She was only half way through it and couldn't wait to read the ending.
Remembering her task and clearing her mind she finished buttering the bread and started on cutting up the melons and strawberries along with any other ripe fruits the kitchen held, they were all wonderfully cool and lush from the summer afternoon.
She gathered everything that had been prepared and set out to lunch, barely resisting the urge to sneak a few bites of fruit right then.
Walking towards the table, she fanned herself as she carried the tray, to find her employer waiting for her.
"Hello dearie" he scowled, oh darn belle thought, he's not in a very good mood.
Rumpelstiltskin despised the heat, after years on the lands as a peasant, he'd learned there wasn't much you could do to ward it off, you just had to let it pass.
His mood put off not only by the heat but also the lack of deals to be made today he leaned back in his chair, the epitome of bored arrogance.
He looked to his maid/servant girl/acquired trinket? He wasn't entirely sure what to call her yet. In the few months she had been in the dark castle, he'd discovered her to be kind and oddly compliant. He'd been prepared for temper tantrums and crying but instead she worked for hours with nary a complaint. She flitted around the castle lighting the corridors and arranging things in a way that somehow just seemed brighter, he wasn't even sure how.
He looked over the spread she had prepared as she passed the bowl of fruit over to him.
"So I finished the rafters today" Belle smiled as she continued "they were a bit difficult but I'm glad I stuck to it, I was thinking of starting the rooms on the upper floor later"
He grunted a reply, still unsure how to interact with his intriguing little guest.
Undeterred she went on, "The rooms are relatively tidy, it's just dusting really, shouldn't take me long at all."
She raised her head seemingly in confirmation.
"Hmm" he picked at his meal and she smiled again, going back to eating her lunch she reached for the bowl of fruit.
He couldn't help but watch as she took the bowl back, and picked up a tiny rounded melon ball out of it. She bit into the treat and closed her eyes, giving an exhale of languid approval. He watched entranced as a bead of juice dripped down from her lips. His gaze followed the drip to her chin until she brushed it with her thumb, only to lick the juice off the digit.
She looked up and he fidgeted, flitting his hands every which way, he fought to find anything to say "The weathers great" he twittered in a slightly higher tone then even he was used to.
Belle looked at him askance, wondering if the heat had rattled his brain. The weather was stifling and she felt like she was melting, her dress wasn't helping in the least, the material bunching around her in far too many layers.
"Yes I suppose" she furrowed her brow and went back to her fruits.
They finished their afternoon snack and Rumpelstiltskin sat back at his spinning wheel. Forget, forget, forget, he thought but no matter how hard he tried he couldn't get the image of her biting into that fruit out of his mind. What's wrong with you, you're not even a man anymore, you can't think of her like that. He wasn't even sure what he was thinking of her like, but it couldn't be proper.
Belle finished up the rest of the chores rather quickly as the day got hotter, and hotter, almost to an unbearable degree. The stairs were swept and mopped, the banisters wiped down with rags, and she'd gone through most of the rooms on the upper floor, dragging off the white clothes that covered the furniture, and placing them in the laundry room to be done tomorrow.
By the time she finished, her dress was stuck to her in an almost indecent manner, and she could feel the rivulets of sweat cascading down her back.
Lifting her hand up to push some of her incessant curls back into her bun she straightened her back, there was only one more chore she had to do and then she could get to her novel. Deciding to finish as quickly as possible she travelled back to the main room to clean the large cabinet.
She hesitated at the door, rather surprised to see Rumpelstiltskin at his wheel. She'd thought he would be done with his spinning for the day.
Tilting her head she remembered an abrupt end to an intriguing conversation weeks ago, that had finished rather awkwardly with blushing faces and stumbled words.
Why do you spin so much?
To forget.
Forget what?
She'd never gotten the answer to her question.
Shrugging her shoulders and much too tired to be considering the idiosyncrasies of her employer/captor/housemate she reached the cabinet and started wiping the odd trinkets inside with her rag.
He couldn't concentrate, he tried, and very nearly even accomplished the task of not looking at her until he cracked, just a peak he thought, I do have to make sure she's doing her job, can't have the help working poorly.
The sight, stilled his hand at the wheel.
His Belle, more ownership than anything really, was stretched taut reaching for the top of the giant cabinet. Her dress clung to her like a second skin, her hair was pulled up in a messy bun and he was tantalized by the glistening dew on her exposed neck. He followed the curve of her up to her reaching hands trying to grasp something just out of range.
He moved before he realized he'd done it.
Belle gasped in surprise as she felt his shirt brush her back, felt the heat of him wrap around her, far more potent then the summer sun. She watched as his arm reached above her to grab the doll she'd been trying to bring down. Suddenly she felt smaller than she was, snug in his hardly there hold.
She tilted her head back to look at him in confusion.
This was a bad idea.
A very bad idea he thought, but couldn't bring himself to wish he'd done otherwise.
Not when belle was just within reach, he could smell the fresh scent of roses in her hair, probably from her time in the gardens.
But what held him enraptured was the single bead of sweat that made its way down from her brow caressing the side of her face, down between the dips and curves of her collarbone to the hollow between her breasts.
He could hardly breathe transfixed by the sight, an image of him clutching her hips to pull her against him, swept a fire through his body he hadn't felt in centuries, he wondered if he'd ever wanted anything as badly as he wanted now.
He caught belle's eyes as she looked back at him, and couldn't move.
After long seconds, much too long to be nothing at all, he swept back from her and walked out of the hall.
This isn't what he'd been expecting at all.
It was only when she felt the wisps of a breeze on her skin did she move again, he'd magicked the windows open she realized, grateful for the crisp bite of cold to calm her wildly beating heart.
Author Note: So what did you think?