This was inspired by the Rumbelle scene is 5x06. Enjoy.
"It happened." Pointing with two fingers - which was odd, even for the impish man - Belle's husband swallowed loudly.
Yes, the divorce was going great. Thanks for asking.
"I'm..." Belle raised an unsure eyebrow, smart enough to understand what he meant but shocked enough to question it.
"Pregnant," Rumple nodded then, a worried smile gracing his features. She was pregnant, not blind. "Fortunately so."
The word sucked the air out of Belle's breath, tightening her lungs with an invisible rope. Fortunately? They were in Hell, battling evil beyond anything they've ever encountered before, and now she was pregnant. Well, now she knew where his priorities laid.
But, God, the prospect of carrying a child, of being a mother, left an excited flutter in her stomach. Although the timing was anything but ideal, Belle found herself happy.
"We're gonna have a baby..." She grasped Zelena's child - yes, the witch had as child - tighter and smiled widely. "We're gonna have a baby!"
Rumple nodded like a schoolboy, every wrinkle - he didn't have that many for being over three hundred years old, and Belle prayed her child got those genes - more prominent from smiling so wide.
And then, Belle's smile faded.
"A baby..." Her eyes widened, anger filling them as she did the math. "you've already sold!"
Smile faultering, Rumple tried to step forward. But Belle stepped back, counteracting his movements.
"You've sold our future."
That was remade like two seconds ago, but whatever. Her child was being sold, she had a right to be mad.
"It's not like I meant for this to happen," Rumple defended, a look of defeat on his face.
Belle's face stretched into disbelief. It was comical, really, how her husband got himself into these situations. Belle held back an eye roll, instead opting to ask the obvious.
"What did you mean then when you made that deal with that...loner weirdo?"
"To save my son!" Rumple erupted, sighing as a hand ran through his hair.
Okay, so maybe comical wasn't the word. Belle sighed at her thoughts, then at the situation.
"What was I supposed to do?" Rumple's hazel eyes widened in distress. And damn those perfect eyes. "My son was dying. And I didn't think Milah would ever want another child with me, so I just…"
Waving his hands in irritance, Rumple made a sound that could only be described as desperate. Belle didn't say a word. She didn't have the words to respond.
"I'm not sorry, Belle. Saving my child was not a mistake. I will not apologise for that deal." Rumple shook his head. "Until you are a mother, you will never understand the importance of keeping your child safe."
How the fuck was she supposed to respond to that? Dammit dammit dammit. She hated that her child was now an auction piece, but Rumple wasn't wrong. She was allowed to be upset and angry, but not at him.
At least not this time. Belle sighed out loud again, memories flipping through her mind like a home movie.
There had been a lot of times.
"Alright, okay." Setting the child down so she could pace in peace, Belle clapped her hands together. "What do we do now?"
"I'll figure it out."
Well, that was informative.
"So, do you know how to fix the deal?" She challenged, wanting nothing more than to cuff the stubborn asshole's head.
What? He was stubborn and he could be an asshole pretty frequently...
"Yes, I'll figure it out." He assured her. "I'll do whatever it takes. I could use my power to -"
Both of them froze.
"With what power?"
Are you -
Pulling out the dagger - shitting me - Rumple looked at his feet in shame.
"You're the Dark One again?" Her husband was impossible. See? Stubborn and most certainly an asshole.
"Yeah," Rumple took in a breath. "I...am."
Belle shook her head, not even trying to hiding her disappointment.
"It's who I am, Belle."
It's who I am, Belle. Her voice mimicked his - although, his voice was much more high pitched and annoying in her head.
"Not always," She snapped. "You were once a man. A spinner, if I recall correctly."
"Even when I was a spinster, I craved power. The only difference now, is that I have it." Ashamed, but sticking to his guns, he rubbed a hand on his face. "And I won't let it go. Not again."
Belle shook her head. "Not even for me?"
Putting the dagger back into his coat - thank God, that thing looked like a voodoo trinket - Rumple sighed.
"I love this dagger," Rumple started. "and I love you. Both are possible."
If he actually thinks…
"No, they aren't." Belle almost laughed, but shook her head. "I fell in love with Rumplestiltskin, not the beast you became."
Closing his eyes, Rumple walked over to Belle and took a hand into his.
"Falling in love with the man behind the beast is not what you did, you fell in love with me, a man and a beast. Making me a better man is what you did, but if you want me to change, I can't." He shook his head sadly. "You wouldn't understand."
"Being pulled by power isn't very hard to understand, despite how hard you think it sounds." She wasn't dumb, my God.
"Belle," He let go of her hand.. "What would you do to save your family?"
"Anything." Belle answered in a duh-like tone.
"Why, Belle, do you think I became the Dark One?" He asked, and Belle knew this. She had a great memory, thank you very much.
"Yes, I know - for you son."
"For my son." Rumple repeated, smiling. "My Intentions were good, I wanted to save everyone, not just my him."
"And you failed," Belle snapped, fully aware she wasn't exactly being sensitive.
"I failed, yes." He confirmed. "The darkness consumed me, took over me. All the anger, and sadness, regret came out all at once. And I truly became darker than any Dark One."
"I know."
"No, you don't." Rumple was quick to straighten that out. "The voices took over me so quickly, Belle. I didn't even know I had gone dark until it was too late."
Sitting down on a nearby couch, Rumple kept his gaze to the ground.
"I have always had those voices. But with being the Dark One, they were accelerated. Everything I did wasn't good enough, and now that I had all of these powers...I could do enough. Be enough."
Belle sat next to him finally, quickly glancing at the child to make sure she hadn't fallen off the sofa.
"And then there was you, the best deal I ever made." He smiled, which was totally unfair.. "Only, you became more than an deal. In fact, you really never were a deal, only company."
Belle snorted.
"I knew you were lonely." She looked at him, chin up and eyes bold.
"I guess I just never thought I needed anybody. Or maybe I didn't think anyone would want me." A self conscious shrug later, Belle was grabbing his hand softly. "You wanted to make me a better person, and you did just that. You did something no one else was able to do, you loved an unlovable man."
With that hair? Belle thought. Milah had the be insane for leaving him.
"Despite my demons, you loved me. Really, truly loved me. And I'll never be able to thank you enough," He closed his eyes. "And I'll never know how you did it."
Minutes passed. The two of them just sat there.
"Okay," Belle squeezed his hand.
"Okay what?"
"Okay, let's figure this out." She swiveled and grabbed the child, before standing up. "Together."
Rumple nodded. So, maybe they wouldn't be signing divorce papers just yet.
In order to try and spark some creativity in my mind for Morality, I've decided to go through some old drafts and either rewrite them or edit them. This draft was originally more depressing and unrealistically tooth-rotting, so I decided to fix it up and make it a little more edgier. Some people might say Belle is a little OOC. However, she's a reader, and honestly, probably a writer, so I figured she'd have some funny/sarcastic thoughts. I don't know if the 'thoughts' go with the prompt and mood of this scene, but whatever. I had fun writing it. I hoped you enjoyed it!:)