Author's Note: Yes, this is short compared to my other pieces for these two. I've actually had this half-finished forever and a friend of mine convinced me to complete it. Initially it was going to be much longer, but once I wrote that final line, I realized that I loved it as it is. I'm trying to get my writing mojo back and sometimes completing an unfinished fic is a good start.

We've Only Just Begun

"I can't believe I'm agreeing to this," Rumpelstiltskin mumbled as Regina gently tugged him out into the middle of the ballroom.

"Well I can't believe that there's something the all-powerful Dark One doesn't know how to do, and that I can teach him." The teasing note in his apprentice's voice only made the situation worse for the goblin. A playful Regina often led to his downfall.

Though they were alone in the castle, he felt as though a pair of eyes was watching them while Regina guided one of his hands to her waist, and the other to her shoulder. "That…creepy enchanted mirror spirit of yours isn't watching us, is he?"

The sorceress gave him an agitated look. "Oh come now Rum, he's not that bad. He's good at getting us information from around the kingdom and he gives us privacy otherwise."

"Still…I don't like the way he looks at you," Rumpelstiltskin admitted, pulling her close to his body as she slowly and patiently began to teach him the steps to a simple waltz.

She just smiled and gave him a sweet kiss on the cheek before murmuring: "Your possessive side is showing dear."

He arched an eyebrow at her, but didn't say a word and drew her even closer.

As they continued to twirl around the dance floor, Regina was taken in by how graceful her partner could be. He picked up the steps in a nearly effortless manner, and she grinned when he spun her around in a pirouette, her gown swirling around her legs with the motion.

"You're a natural," she stated, impressed, when he pulled her back to him.

He smirked slightly. "I'm a quick learner…and I have a good teacher."

She grinned and slid her fingers lightly along his chest, her eyes meeting his. "What do you say we attempt something a little more challenging then?"

His response was to draw her as close as possible, his hand resting on the small of her back and his eyes sparkling dangerously as his lips brushed ever so lightly over hers. "What exactly do you have in mind?"

The low murmur of his voice made a shiver ease its way up her spine. "Just follow my lead."

As she taught her partner the steps, Regina began to realize that dancing was nearly as intimate as making love.

Every movement caused them to be pressed tightly together: his mouth tantalizingly near as their eyes locked, the pair gauging one another as they picked up speed.

He dipped her suddenly, his lips grazing briefly over her neck when he ducked his head, the silk of his hair tickling against her shoulder and prompting her to grasp more securely at his shoulders as he set her back properly on her feet.

It became about instinct: how quickly they were able to match each other's actions and proving just how perfectly attuned they were to one another.

She had to bite back a moan when he pulled her to him so that his chest was against her back, and almost lost her composure entirely as he swept her hair so that it lay over one shoulder and he had better access to her neck.

His breath was warm and inviting against her flesh as he whispered: "I guess this wasn't such a bad idea after all."

A startled hiss escaped when he nipped playfully at the slender column of her throat, and the hand that had been resting on her hip began to slowly move upward.

"Rumpel…don't start something you aren't intending to finish."

There was a dark chuckle, and then his mouth was finally claiming hers in a kiss that told her that they had only just begun.

The End