Disclaimer: Not affiliated with ABC, Disney, or Mr. Kitsis and Mr. Horowitz, so nothing you recognize belongs to me!

A/N: This is my first venture into writing fanfiction for Once Upon a Time, so I look forward to hearing your thoughts and suggestions! This is a scene that has been in my head, nagging at me since I last binge-watched the 2nd Season on Netflix. Events would likely take place some time around 2x20 "The Evil Queen". Read and review... please.

- Thorns of Hope -

As the sounds of dinner and conversation settled into a dull roar at Granny's Diner, Mr. Gold dabbed at his mouth with a napkin before glancing at the woman who sat in the booth across from him. Every moment he spent with this imposter made his chest ache. She might look and sound like Belle, but the similarities ended there. The hesitant smiles and innocent blushes were gone; the dazzling blue eyes had dulled; and the tender, bleeding heart had hardened. This dark doppleganger did not even smell like the woman he loved. Belle's scent was light and delicate, yet simultaneously complex and difficult to accurately capture in words - the hint of roses and soap, with faint traces of dust and old books, and something stronger, which he could really only describe as home. Lacey, on the other hand, was attempting to suffocate him with the cheap perfume she must all but bathe in to partly cover the stench of cigarette smoke and metabolizing alcohol.

This Lacey was all wrong, and yet he could not bear to be apart from her... because his Belle was still in there. Somewhere. She was locked away in her own traitorous mind, filled with false memories and cues, but the quick flashes of Belle that periodically slipped through the cracks of the Lacey-facade made him believe that she was not lost forever. Her imprisonments had always been his fault, and above else, he owed her her freedom.

"What?"

As the clipped question drew him from his thoughts, the man raised both eyebrows. "Pardon?"

Her heavily painted eyes narrowed. "You were staring at me."

Gold shook his head dismissively before she could misconstrue his actions as criticism or, worse, as another invitation to run her foot along the inside of his leg or trail her fingers across his lap. Letting out a pained sigh, he tossed down his napkin and placed both elbows on the table. "How is your food?"

"Well, I suppose it could be considered edible," Lacey replied somewhat loudly, rolling her eyes as she reached for her wine glass.

His Belle would never slight someone else's cooking, even if it were sub-par, which he was sure was not the case. She would only roll her eyes if she thought that he was being too self-deprecating or intentionally aggravating. And she would certainly never chug anything, let alone an entire serving of white wine.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, love," she mumbled, scooting out of the booth, "I need to use the restroom."

Gold grimaced first at the meaningless term of endearment and then again at catching a brief glimpse of ass cheek as she stood. Before she had the chance to notice his reaction, he schooled his features while she tugged the scrap of fabric she considered a skirt back into place. Snatching her wrist as she made to pass him, he cleared his throat and spoke in a low, menacing tone. "I'm not going to find you rutting with some stud in the alley again; am I, dearie? I really don't want to have to beat some insignificant toad to death in broad daylight... but I will if need be."

Arousal flashing in her eyes; Lacey leaned down, causing him to be concerned with the view she was affording to the rest of the diner. With hot, boozy breath, she nipped at his earlobe and whispered, "Not unless you wanna join me in the alley, darling."

He released her arm with a slight snarl, and then scowled darkly at the few patrons who dared watch the giggling, half-drunken woman make her way toward the bathrooms.

Having periodically monitored the couple for the past hour, Ruby folded her arms to her chest and bravely strode up to their table with a disapproving look on her face.

"Do not start with me," Gold hissed, holding up a finger in warning.

Her eyes narrowed in response. "You know -"

"I'll make you a deal, wolfie," the man interrupted. "Keep your snout out of my business, and I'll conveniently forget to collect next month's rent."

Ruby wavered slightly as she considered the offer, but shook her head a moment later. Leaning down, she slammed one hand on the table top, rattling the silverware. "You know Belle wouldn't approve of this."

"Well, I don't see Belle here; do you?" he countered, mockingly looking about the restaurant. "In case you've not noticed, Miss Lucas, I'm with Lacey now."

"Oh, believe me, I've noticed," the woman muttered, dropping her voice. "The fact remains: Belle wouldn't like you acting this way."

"Ahhh, but Lacey prefers me this way," he sneered.

The waitress narrowed her eyes. "And what Lacey wants, Lacey gets - is that it? What about what Belle wanted, hmm? Does that not matter to you at all?"

Gold ground his teeth and balled one hand into a fist. "Look, wolf - if I don't give Lacey what Lacey wants... before I could even turn my back, the bloody Sheriff of Nottingham will have his tongue down her throat - provided he could find it again, of course - or Dr. Frankenstein will have his hand up her skirt."

Surprised by the response, Ruby jerked back slightly and tilted her head. "You're doing this because you're jealous that she might -"

"No!" he snapped with a cold glare. "Despite whatever lies Regina's filled her head with... whatever history of exploits Lacey believes she has, Belle... Belle doesn't... Belle wouldn't be prepared for that."

The girl's eyes widened noticeably as he struggled to finish his statement. With a quick glance behind her, she shifted her stance and whispered, "Like not at all?"

"No."

"You mean she's... you and she never? Ever?"

Sighing deeply, Gold flexed his hands. "Never."

"Not even as Lacey?"

His scowl returned. "No."

"Wow," Ruby gasped, shaking her head. "How the hell have you managed that?"

"Never you mind, dearie," he muttered with a bitter look.

The waitress inhaled deeply and relaxed her posture. "So you're trying to protect her; is that it?"

A pained expression was on his face as Gold fiddled with his hands. "I... made a promise to Belle to do so. I've allowed too much harm to come to her already. As long as I am able, I will not allow anything to happen to her again... not until she's capable of making her own decisions."

The woman momentarily closed her eyes in understanding, and then cleared her throat. "And if Belle returns to find that you've been treating everyone -"

"Then she will likely leave me again," he replied with a modest shrug, "Or perhaps she'll be content to scream at and punish me until she's found it in her heart to forgive me. Either way, she'll make her own life."

Ruby stared at the pawnbroker as though she had never truly seen him before in her life. "You'd just let her go?"

"No one determines Belle's fate, but Belle," Gold stated fiercely. "Not me, not Lacey, and certainly not that bloody, buggering bitch Regina."

"So this whole asshole routine is just an attempt to keep her physically..." Her voice dropped off as she was not quite willing to further discuss the status of her friend's maidenhead with the Dark One. Straightening to her full height, she drew in an uncomfortable breath and toyed with her apron. "Mr. Gold... what if Belle doesn't ever come back?"

"She will." Fire practically burned in his gaze as he pressed his pointer finger into the table and shook his head dangerously. "Regina will not win. She kept Belle locked away for far too long; I will not allow that witch to continue to imprison her inside some scantily-clad, booze-guzzling tart. Belle is still in there, and I will not stop until I bring her back!"

A small smile attempted to tug at the corners of Ruby's mouth, but vanished upon catching sight of Lacey sauntering out of the restroom. "Well, hurry it up, would you? I miss my friend."

As Gold snorted darkly under his breath, the girl gestured toward the now-empty wine bottle. "Maybe you could manage it before she needs a new liver?"

"Well, perhaps you have some suggestions as to how one might go about it, then?" he stated, holding open his hands.

"Suggestions for what exactly?" Lacey asked, draping herself possessively over Gold as she considered Ruby with suspicion.

"Nothing you need to concern yourself with, dearie," the man replied, donning a smug look as he wrapped his hand about her waist. "Miss Lucas, here, was just expressing her desire that I reconsider my decision to raise their rent next month."

"Oh," his false-love murmured with a gleeful smirk. "Tough luck, Red. Cost of living and all, you understand."

Flinching slightly at the use of her other name, Ruby flicked her green eyes to meet Gold's unyielding ones. When he gave her no visual cues, she dismissed it simply as a reference to the color of her attire. Dropping her gaze to the floor, she fished out their ticket and placed it on the edge of the table. "Right. Sorry."

As she retreated quickly to the counter, the waitress blinked away tears of frustration and willed herself to remain unaffected. She was still in one piece after having mauled her love to death and having killed her own mother to protect a friend; she could certainly withstand a few extra insults here and there. If Mr. Gold could spend every waking moment with the tramp inhabiting Belle's body and not lose hope of finding his beloved again, then she certainly could not give up on her friend. True Love was the strongest magic after all, and she would be a fool to discount it.

As she had decided it was best to play into the act that Mr. Gold was perpetuating, Ruby kept her eyes lowered when the obnoxious pair approached the cash register. Pinching her lips into a thin line, she remained silent as he slid a few bills across the counter.

"Oh, keep the change," Mr. Gold smirked, tapping his finger against the paper ticket. "Consider this your tip, if you will."

"What? All ten cents of it?" Granny grumbled loudly, peering over her granddaughter's shoulder. "How generous of you."

Lacey's laugh echoed in their ears as she pressed herself against the pawnbroker and allowed herself to be led out of the diner.

"Ugh," Leroy grunted, scowling at the door as he exited the booth behind the one they had inhabited and made his way to the counter. "What an asshole."

"You said it," Granny agreed, glaring through the window.

Ruby took in a calming breath and began to crumple up their ticket. She paused, however, upon noticing that there was something written on it that was not in her own handwriting. Straightening it out, she peered at it for a moment and then dropped her jaw in absolute shock. Her face morphed into a bright smile as she squealed and held it out to her grandmother.

"What is the matter with you, girl?" the elderly woman questioned before adjusting her glasses and holding the paper up to her face to read what was written. "'Consider one year's rent now paid in full, Miss Lucas'... signed 'Mr. Gold'."

"What?" Leroy spluttered, dropping the handful of coins he had been counting.

Granny slowly lowered the ticket to glance out the window once more. "Well, I'll be damned."

Leaning against the counter, Ruby kept smiling. "Belle's 'good man' is still in there. He's gonna find her somehow."

"I guess so," Granny mumbled, re-reading the note in disbelief. "Let's just hope he finds her before he loses himself."

"He has to." Her granddaughter nodded soberly and then turned her attention to the customer in front of her.

Handing over his money, Leroy swallowed hesitantly and scratched the back of his neck as he stared at the counter top. Though it had not exactly worked out for him, he remembered how Belle had tried to help him with Nova so many years ago in the Enchanted Forest. He could hardly give two shits about what happened to the thrice-damned Rumplestiltskin, but he could not disagree with the imp when it came to matter of protecting Belle. She had been nothing but kind and forgiving to everyone, even those that did not deserve it, and for that she did not deserve to be turned into something so wholly unlike herself.

Belle was a lady; not a tramp. She did not deserve to unwittingly become a plaything for lonely, desperate, shallow men. She deserved to be cared for, treasured, and loved. She deserved to have control of her own thoughts, actions, and body. She deserved to know who she really was. No one had the right to determine her fate for her.

"Uh, Leroy?"

His eyes snapped up to see Ruby holding out a few dollars and eyeing him with concern. Waving his fingers once, he gruffly stated, "Just keep it."

The waitress dropped her hand but continued looking at him. "Are you okay there?"

"Uh, yeah," he nodded before straightening his hat. "I just, uh, realized that I need to go see somebody about something."

"Oh, okay," she smiled, depositing his change into her tip jar. "Have a good night, then."

"Yeah, you too."

Squaring his shoulders, the dwarf raised his chin and confidently strode out into the chilly evening. The Dark One could hardly come up with a suitable solution if he was busy babysitting barflies, but Leroy knew there was something more proactive that could be done.

And this time when he confronted that damn Blue Fairy, he was not going to take 'no' for an answer.