The front door opened briefly then slammed shut. The house was silent for a fraction of a second.
Mr. Gold hardly ever cried. Hundreds of years of solitude will do that to a man's heart. But the thought that he had his Baelfire back and his arms could hold him close once again, just to have it all ripped away, was too much. His boy, his beautiful boy.
Clutching the dagger to his chest, Gold blinked back the rest of the tears. He would not allow himself to cry over this faked reunion. He couldn't let anyone know how his son's last words to him still haunt him to this day. "You coward! You promised! You'll break our deal!"
No. He couldn't think on that any longer. He was able to convince himself long ago that he would never hold his boy again. Lock out the rest of the world. Forget any weaknesses.
For the next time he saw his son, he wanted there to be no doubt that Rumplestiltskin was anything but a coward.