This entry takes place about SIX WEEKS after the events of the past entry, "Runaway." Only TWO MORE entries to this verse, then it's DONE. Anything you'd like to see happen - please let me know in the replies and I will do my best! Enjoy!
Exes and Uh-Ohs
Belle and Gold sighed serenely as they cuddled in bed, glancing at one another through sleepy eyes in the glow of the sunlight peeking through the window. Bae was on his annual camping trip with the Nolans, and Belle and Gold decided to take the weekend for themselves to enjoy. Gold found a quiet, rustic cabin in Vermont, and spent the weekend tucked away together.
"Good morning," Gold whispered as he pulled her naked body closer to his. "Sleep well?"
"Very much. I love it here. Can we come back again?"
"I would love that," Gold replied, and they shared several light kisses on the lips.
"I take it I didn't kick you last night then?"
"You're definitely becoming a more settled sleeper."
"You still snore a bit though," Belle teased. "It's okay though – it's kind of relaxing. So – what's the plan for today?"
"Wouldn't mind doing this all day – unfortunately we have to be out of here by three, so – I was just planning on cooking you a nice, romantic lunch."
"That sounds lovely." Belle climbed on top of him and kissed him. "I hope Bae is having fun this weekend."
"He better not be having this kind of fun," Gold commented.
"I think that the Nolans are being a bit more proactive about that sort of thing now. So – you up for some morning fun?"
"I think you know the answer to that," Gold replied, and Belle smirked as she felt him rock hard up against her body.
"It is kind of obvious, I suppose." Belle and Gold melted into a deep kiss, that was interrupted by a loud, booming bark, followed by the sensation of a small presence on the bed, then a small, demanding yip. Belle sighed and buried her face in Gold's chest. "Why did we bring them?"
"Because you thought it would it would 'fun for them to tag along' on our trip," Gold reminded her. "I'd have been perfectly content with paying someone to look after them this weekend, you're the one who insisted otherwise."
"Next time I have an idea, please stop me."
"Sweetheart, if I were capable of doing that, we wouldn't be here, and our conversation would have ended after our first meeting."
"Well – from here on out then," Belle said, and she sat up. "I guess they need to go outside and eat."
"So much for this then, I guess."
"I can come back when they're fed."
"Ah, forget it – the mood is already gone." Gold gently pushed Belle off to the side and sat up.
"Let's get some coffee in you and then maybe we can at least enjoy a shower later, Mr. Grumpy. I'm going to make you a morning person yet."
"If you find a way to do that, I'll buy you whatever you want." Belle just shook her head at him, swiftly threw on a pair of pants and a shirt, and led the dogs out of the room. She took them outside for a quick morning walk, and when she came back in with them, Gold was in the kitchen wearing his bathrobe and making breakfast, a pot of coffee already brewing for them.
"You could have stayed in bed, I'd have gotten this," Belle told him as she readied the dogs' food.
"I'm already up – might as well make myself useful," Gold told her. Belle hugged him from behind after she had set down the dogs' bowls.
"You need a new robe – this brown does nothing for you. I still like the pink better."
"If you buy me a pink bathrobe the only thing I will use it for is kindling or rags." Belle just laughed at him. She helped him finish preparing breakfast and they sat down to eat. The dogs dutifully parked themselves under the table, hoping to pick up any available scraps. "So what DO you want?" Gold asked.
"For what?" Belle asked in return.
"Anything. What can I get you that – that you'd like?"
"I don't really need anything else. I have you, and Bae, and the dogs, and job that I enjoy – I'm not really sure what else would be necessary."
"Doesn't have to be necessary, just – I want you to be happy."
"I'm very happy, Ronan. Aren't you?"
"Ecstatic," he replied, barely an expression on his face.
"See, that's one of the things that makes me crazy. It's difficult to tell if you're being sincere or sarcastic."
"I told you some time ago I was a difficult man to love," Gold reminded her. "But I am being quite sincere. I guess I'm just used to being with a woman who wants something from me."
"Well, that's sad. Ronan, the only thing I want from you is you. I'm in love with YOU, not your bank account."
"I know," Gold responded. Belle reached her hand across the table and touched his hand.
"What do YOU want?" she asked.
"What?" Gold replied, stunned at the question.
"What do YOU want, Ronan? I mean – I know you have a lot of things, but – what do you WANT?"
"No one has ever asked me that before," he admitted.
"Well, I'm asking right now."
"I suppose – same as you. Always wanted a real family. This is the first time I feel like I really have one."
"You're really not that difficult to love, Ronan. You just think you are." Belle looked up and could see tears forming in Gold's eyes. She stood up, moved to Gold's side and sat down on his lap. Belle ran her fingers through his hair, then gave him several soft kisses as she brushed the tears from his cheeks. Gold rested his head on her shoulder as she massaged his hair once again. "If you ever cut your hair I'm going to be quite cross with you." Gold lifted his head up and smiled at her.
"What if it falls out?" he asked.
"Then we'll buy some of that hair restoring stuff."
"Alright," Gold said, laughing a bit, and he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her. "God, I love you."
"How about we have that shower then?"
"That sounds wonderful," Gold agreed, and he noticed Sophie peeking her head over the table. "Don't even -" he reprimanded the dog. "This is why I didn't want them at the table when we're eating."
"Oh, so they're a little spoiled, so what? All dogs beg, it's what they do."
"Stewart never did until he met your bad influence there."
"Well – it looks like Sophie and I introduced the Gold men to all kinds of naughty behavior," Belle teased. "Now let's get you out of that hideous bathrobe and into me." Belle hopped out of his lap, picked up his cane, and handed it to him. Gold stood up and followed her, smiling the entire time.
"You sure you don't want to go with me?" Belle asked as she sat on the edge of the bed and tied her shoes.
"Sweetheart, I can't keep up with you on a walk, we found that out yesterday," Gold replied, lounging on the bed, completely naked.
"Well, I'm planning to stay on the paved path this time. Come on – it's nice out, it'll be fun."
"You just go and have a nice walk – I told you, I want to prepare a nice, romantic lunch for us before we leave today and I can do that while you're out."
"You're very sweet," Belle said, and she stood up, then knelt on the bed and kissed him on the lips. They lingered in their kiss for a moment.
"You'd better go before you start something that we'll have to finish. Why don't you take Stewart, he could use a good walk." Stewart, who had been sitting in the corner of the room with Sophie, perked up when he heard his name.
"Oh, I hate leaving Sophie – I wish she was more of a hiker."
"Sophie will be fine – it'll give us some bonding time," Gold suggested.
"Oh, alright. Stewart – you want to go with me?" Belle asked, and the little dog let out a loud bark. Sophie barked as well. "No, Sophie, you'll stay with Ronan, you'll have fun. I'll see you in a bit – come on Stewart!" Belle skipped out of the room, and both dogs followed behind. As soon as the door closed, Gold heard Sophie start to bark and howl.
"Sophie! Come here, girl!" Gold called out, and Sophie ran into the bedroom. Gold stood up and put on a pair of jeans, then a shirt, which he buttoned as he sat down on the edge of the bed. "Hey – I've got a surprise for your mum. I was going to give it to her last night, but – I got a little nervous. What do you think? She'll say yes, won't she?" Sophie laid her head on Gold's lap, and he began to pet her. "Come on – let's go get things ready. You'll be my helper, right?" Sophie let out a loud, booming bark of approval and followed Gold as he stood up and made his way out of the bedroom.
"Alright Stewart, I think we've gone far enough, you want to turn back?" Belle asked, and the little dog let out a small bark. "You know, I think when we get back home we'll start doing this more often, wish I'd have thought of it sooner in the summer. Sophie's not much of a walker and neither is your papa. But we have fun together, right?" Stewart let out another bark. "Okay – let's get going, I'm sure Ronan has lunch all ready for us." Belle began to trot down the path quietly, holding onto Stewart's leash with a firm grip, when suddenly something flew in front of her and Belle let out a scream. Stewart started barking furiously as Belle looked to her side, still shaking. There was an arrow embedded in a tree right in front of her. Had she stepped out a few more inches – it would have been in her.
"Hey, I'm sorry, I though you were – Belle?" the tall, dark-haired man began as he ran out from the other side of the path, a bow and arrow quiver flung over his back.
"Gaston?" Belle replied, stunned, as she looked him up and down. Stewart continued to bark at him.
"Belle? What are you doing out here?"
"I'm on a weekend away, what are YOU doing? And it's not even hunting season!" Belle shouted at him.
"Eh, nobody pays attention to that," Gaston replied as he yanked the arrow out of the tree.
"Um – you almost hit me with that thing."
"Yeah – sorry about that. Thought you were a deer. So did you get a new dog?" Gaston looked down at Stewart, who had stopped barking and just sat on the ground, glaring at the tall man.
"No – I still have Sophie, she's at the cabin we're renting. This is Stewart."
"Hey Stewart – you friendly?" Gaston asked, and he reached down to pet the little dog. Stewart let out a soft but firm growl.
"He um – he's a bit skittish, likes to get to know people first. So are you living here now?"
"Nah – just out here hunting for the weekend."
"Again – not hunting season. I could report you, you know."
"Aw come on, you wouldn't do that to me, would you Belle? Can't believe I ran into you like this. So you – you out here with somebody then?"
"I'm here with my boyfriend," Belle replied.
"Where's he at?" Gaston asked.
"He's back at our cabin, getting lunch ready. I should probably get back there."
"So you've got a boyfriend then?"
"Yes – I do. We're living together, actually."
"So were we."
"You moved into my house because your roommate kicked you out for not paying rent. Which you never paid to ME half the time, either."
"Hey – I paid you in other ways, remember?" Gaston flashed her a big grin.
"Not really, no. Come on, Stewart. Let's go." Belle looked down at the little dog, who had lifted his leg and was peeing on Gaston's boot. "Stewart!" Belle shouted at him.
"Hey! Cut that out!" Gaston shouted once he noticed what was happening. "These are brand new boots! You gonna pay for these!" Belle sighed, frustrated.
"I probably have something that'll clean them off at the cabin, why don't you come with me?"
"Yeah, that'd be okay I guess. I should probably check out this boyfriend of yours, anyway. Make sure he's good enough for you."
"Oh, trust me – there's nobody better," Belle said, rolling her eyes at him as she led Stewart back onto the walking path.
"Okay, everything looks good, right? Now – for this," Gold said, and he pulled a small box out of his pocket and opened it. Inside of it was a ring – a medium-sized sapphire surrounded by several small diamonds on a white gold band. "Bae helped me pick it out – you think she'll like it?" Sophie let out a bark. "Now just – how to do it? I thought maybe I could put it on top of the cake? Or how about I pre-cut a slice for her, and that's what I'll give her? That's not – too ridiculous, is it? What am I doing, I'm asking a dog for advice on how to propose marriage." Gold sighed and set the box down on the counter. "Okay – maybe it's silly but I just want to do something different." Gold cut a slice of cake, then carefully set it on a small plate. He moved the slice to the center of the table, which he had already set for dining, then took out the ring and embedded it into the frosting. "Ah, she'll see it as soon as she walks in – let me get something to cover it." Gold stepped away from the table to grab a napkin. He had barely turned around for a second, and when he turned back, Sophie's head was on the table, and the slice of cake was gone – as was the ring. "Sophie! What have you done!" Gold shouted in a panic. He moved everything around on the table, but the ring was nowhere to be found. Gold dropped to the floor, searching under the table and near the table for the ring – it was nowhere. Sophie moved next to him and gave him a kiss on the cheek, then licked some leftover frosting off of her nose. Gold looked up at the dog. "Do you realize what you've done?"
"Ronan! We're back!" Belle called out as she opened the door. Stewart came charging into the cabin as Gold reached for the top of the table and pulled himself off the floor, and did his best to pull himself together. Sophie let out a loud bark when Gaston entered the cabin after Belle.
"Hey – nice place. Bet this cost a pretty penny to rent," Gaston commented.
"Who the hell are you?" Gold asked. Sophie stayed next to Gold, alternating between barking and whining. Stewart parked himself underneath Sophie and did the same.
"Alright, both of you, stop. Ronan – this is – Gaston. Stewart and I ran into him on our walk. Quite the coincidence, isn't it?" Belle looked at Gold and rolled her eyes.
"Gaston? You mean the idiot Neanderthal you used to date?" Gold asked.
"Neanderthal? Listen mister, I don't know what she told you, but my family is from France," Gaston commented, in a very serious tone. Belle just smirked at Gold but didn't say a word in reply.
"Oh dear lord," Gold mumbled, his eyes widening, not knowing what to say in response.
"Stewart, um - peed on his shoe."
"Well – good for Stewart," Gold said under his breath.
"I thought you said you were here with your boyfriend," Gaston commented.
"That would be ME," Gold said, gritting his teeth. Gaston eyed him up and down.
"I'll – be right back, I'll get that stain remover," Belle said, and she popped out of the room.
"You're dating Belle?" Gaston asked as he moved closer to Gold. The dogs started to growl again.
"We're doing quite a bit more than dating, dearie," Gold replied. The dogs began to growl even louder.
"Can you tell those two mutts to stop?" Gaston asked.
"Well first of all, Stewart is not a mutt, he's a purebred. And second – why on earth would I do that? You're not afraid of a couple of harmless animals, are you?" Gaston eyed Sophie up and down.
"She's never liked me," he said.
"Well – I've found Sophie to be a quite intelligent animal at times."
"She's the reason Belle and I broke up, you know. If it hadn't been for Belle bringing that thing home, we'd still be together."
"Well then – one more reason for me to think very highly of her." Gaston sneered at the dogs, both of whom stopped barking but maintained a low, rumbling growl, and he began to look around.
"So uh – how much did it cost to rent this place?"
"More than you could afford, dearie."
"So that's what got her? You're loaded, aren't you? Belle never struck me as the type that was into money but – I guess people change."
"Because she couldn't possibly want to be with me because she likes me, is that right?"
"Well – come on. Why would a girl like Belle go from me to YOU?"
"Alright – this should take care of your boots. Ronan and I have to be packing up and leaving in a bit, so – probably best for you to be on your way. It was – interesting running into you, Gaston." Belle handed him a small spray bottle.
"Yeah – you too. So I'll – see you around then?" Gaston asked.
"Hopefully not," Belle replied as she pushed him toward the door, then shoved him out, closing the door without so much as a goodbye. Once Gaston was gone, Belle practically darted to the kitchen area, and she opened one of the cupboards. "Oh good, you haven't packed it yet," Belle said as she pulled out a bottle of scotch. She then opened another cupboard, took out a small glass, and poured herself a drink.
"You don't drink scotch, love," Gold commented.
"I do now," Belle replied, and she downed the drink, making a face as she swallowed. "I can't believe I was ever stupid enough to waste one moment of my time with that boorish, brainless – you know he almost shot me?"
"He what?!" Gold shouted.
"With his bloody bow and arrow – thought I was a deer, if I'd have moved one step more he'd be mounting me on his damned wall!"
"Sweetheart – are you alright?" Gold asked, moving to her side. He put his arm around her as she finished her drink.
"Yeah, I'm fine, just – what on earth are the odds of running into him here?"
"With us? Pretty damned good," Gold responded. Belle glanced on the counter and saw the cake, with a missing piece.
"Oh, you made cherry cake, thank you so much! And I see you couldn't wait, had to sneak yourself a piece, didn't you?"
"Belle – about the cake -"
"I'm sure whatever lunch you made is delicious but I really need to indulge in something I don't need at the moment so – you don't mind, do you?" Belle began to cut herself a piece of cake.
"Belle – I already cut a piece for you, I had put it on the table and – it's gone."
"Mmmm – this is good!" Belle mumbled as she took a bite of the cake, a piece of it in her mouth. "I don't see anything on the table."
"Yes, I just said it's gone – I turned my back for a moment and – Sophie -"
"Oh god, Ronan, you can't leave food around without keeping an eye on Sophie, she can reach anything and she thinks anything she can reach when no one is looking is automatically hers!"
"Yes – I found that out. Belle – the cake wasn't just – a piece of cake. There was something else on it."
"Something else, like what?" Belle asked. She set down her fork, then noticed the small jewelry box on the counter. Her eyes widening, Belle reached for the box and opened it, only to find it empty.
"Ronan – you – was this -"
"I wanted it to be a surprise. I figured the last thing you'd suspect it would be during a casual lunch on a weekend trip. I put the ring on top of the cake. I turned to get a napkin to cover it and when I turned back, the cake – and the ring – were gone." Belle darted out of the room without saying a word, and came back in several minutes, talking on her phone.
"Okay, so – you're sure about this? Alright – thank you," Belle said into the phone, and then she ended the call. "That was David's vet assistant – she said that a dog Sophie's size – it shouldn't hurt her, and there shouldn't be any problems with the ring passing through and – we should probably find it in about thirty-six to forty-eight hours."
"Find it?"
"You know – in her -" Gold let out a disgusted sigh as he made a face. "She said there probably isn't going to be much damage to it, if any, Sophie most likely swallowed it whole without even realizing. We can have it cleaned and then -"
"You are NOT wearing that ring after it's been – THERE," Gold insisted.
"Why not? No one will know."
"I'll know. I'll get another one made."
"Made?"
"You didn't think I'd buy you an engagement ring out of a discount catalog, did you? This was custom made – Bae helped me design it."
"Bae knew?"
"Of course he knew – wouldn't have asked you if he wasn't fine with it."
"Ronan – I don't want you spending thousands of dollars on a second ring, we'll have that one cleaned and it'll be fine, and also, technically you haven't asked yet," Belle reminded him.
"No I haven't. I have to drive back today so no scotch for me, but I think I'll join you in having some of that cake. Not really in the mood for a real meal at this point." Gold picked up a knife and began to cut himself a slice of cake. "Between this and your moronic ex showing up, this day is pretty well shot."
"Oh I wouldn't say that. I um – I heard what you were saying to Gaston while I was in the other room. I'm sorry about all of that."
"It's no matter – he's an idiot. What did you ever see in him?"
"I'm really not sure – bored, I guess? Anyhow – I was going to give him some of the cleaning stuff I have for my shoes, but – well, between him almost shooting me, then prattling on about himself the whole way here, and then – his other comments – I decided to go a different route."
"What was in that spray bottle you gave him then?"
"Bleach," Belle replied, grinning a bit. "Found it under the bathroom counter. So his hunting boots will be clean but – a bit lighter in shade." Gold couldn't help but laugh.
"You are a very, very bad girl," he said.
"I can be," Belle agreed.
"Come over here," Gold growled, and Belle moved to his side. Gold put his arm around her and kissed her. "I do love you."
"Ask me," Belle said as she looked up at him.
"Ask you what?"
"What you were going to ask me."
"With what? Your ring is passing its way through your dog's intestines."
"Well – improvise." Belle picked up the knife that they had both used to cut the cake and handed it to him. "How about this?"
"You want me to propose to you with a knife that doesn't even belong to us?"
"Well – I'm sure they won't miss it, they have plenty of others. You going to ask or do you want me to?"
"This isn't the way I wanted this to go, Belle."
"Nothing ever is with us, though. Why start now?" Belle laughed a bit at her comment.
"I suppose you're right," Gold agreed, and he picked up the knife and held it out to Belle as if presenting it to her as a gift. "Belle French – will you marry me?"
"Yes," Belle replied, her smile turning to one of joy, tears welling up in her eyes as Gold handed her the knife.
"You gonna wear that around your neck until you get the ring back?" Gold asked, and Belle laughed.
"I'll keep it in my purse," Belle replied. She set the knife down, wrapped her arms around him, and kissed him. They kissed for several moments, and stopped when Stewart let out a small bark as he sat down at the feet. Sophie sat down next to him.
"Next time they stay home," Gold stated adamantly. Both dogs looked up at them and barked, and Belle and Gold couldn't help but laugh.
Gold and Belle arrived home close to eleven that evening. When they opened the door, they noticed that the television was on in the living room, and Bae was curled up on the sofa under a blanket. The dogs charged into the house, and Bae awakened and sat up a bit, startled.
"Papa? What time is it?" Bae mumbled, rubbing his eyes.
"Almost eleven. What time did you get home?" Gold asked.
"I'll take care of the dogs. Hi, Bae," Belle said as she passed through the living room to let the dogs outside.
"We got home around eight. We had a nice trip. Mr. Nolan isn't as mad at me anymore. He even let me help with the cooking."
"Well, that's good. You didn't have to try and wait up for us, though," Gold said as he sat down next to his son.
"I wanted to. Did she say yes?" Bae asked.
"Yeah – she said yes."
"Does she like the ring?"
"I don't know; she hasn't seen it yet."
"What do you mean she hasn't see it yet? How could she not see it yet if she said yes?"
"Because Sophie ate it," Belle said as she entered the room with the dogs. "It's a long story, we'll tell you about it tomorrow. Just for the next couple of days, whoever lets Sophie out is going to have to be monitoring her, um – output." Bae made a face.
"Gross," Bae said.
"Indeed," Gold agreed.
"So, you um – you're alright with me marrying your father then?" Belle asked as she sat down on the other side of Bae.
"I want papa to be happy; you make him happy," Bae told her, then he turned to Gold. "Momma is going to be back from her trip tomorrow – that's when she'll get the papers from your attorney, won't she?"
"Yes – they'll be waiting for her," Gold said. "I don't expect her to be very pleased."
"I want you to be my mom, Belle. I wish you were my mom." Bae leaned into Belle and hugged her.
"Oh, you don't mean that – you have a mum, and maybe she's a bit difficult, but I'm sure she loves you in her own way. I will, however – be your step-mum. And your friend. I will always be here for you, Bae, as will your father. Now – it's late, and your father and I are very tired and I'm sure you are as well. Go on off to bed – we'll see you in the morning."
"Goodnight, son," Gold said, and he gave Bae a hug.
"Goodnight, papa. Goodnight Belle. Come on Stewart and Sophie, let's go to bed!" Bae darted up the stairs and the dogs happily followed. Gold leaned back on the sofa and closed his eyes as Belle snuggled up on top of his chest.
"We should probably go up to bed before we fall asleep out here," Belle said as Gold rubbed his hand up and down her back.
"This week is going to be hell, you do know that, right?" Gold asked.
"We'll get through it."
"You don't think we're rushing things with this engagement, do you?"
"Maybe – but I don't see any point in waiting. I know what I want. And you finally do – figure I'd better get it on paper and bound by law before I scare you off again."
"You never scared me. I scared myself." Belle lifted her chin and reached out to touch his face, and Gold opened his eyes.
"We'll have a good life, Ronan. Do you believe that?"
"I do," Gold replied, nodding his head.
"Good. Practice saying that," Belle teased. "I want you to get it right when you say it at our wedding."
"Our wedding – on top of everything else, we have a wedding to plan. Do you think anyone will come?"
"I don't care. As long as you and Bae and Stewart and Sophie are there, that's all that matters."
"Stewart and Sophie? Are you serious?"
"Well – of course, they'll be the ring bearers."
"I am not letting that mongrel of yours anywhere near rings ever again." Belle just laughed.
"Come on – let's go to bed." Belle stood up and handed him his cane. He stood up, put his left arm around her waist and they made their way upstairs together.