Valentine's Day:
"Almost ready?"
Belle hesitated, chewing on her lip as she removed the final pair of heels from her suitcase and put them back in the closet. As cute as the pink heels were, she simply couldn't think of a single situation in which she would need them. They just didn't go with anything she'd already packed. Still frowning, she replaced them with a much more practical navy pair.
She heard Rumple come to a stop in the doorway. Belle could feel his eyes upon her, and she knew without even turning that he would be smiling in that way that completely disarmed her. It still bothered her that he didn't do it more often, but deep down in a selfish part of her, she liked that he reserved this one just for her. A smile which cut through all the magic and the deals to the man underneath all the layers. Strange to think that once upon a time she'd believed him to be nothing but a beast.
"You do know we're only going for a few days?" He asked, with a mocking lilt to his voice.
Belle crossed her arms and stared down in dismay at the explosion of clothes covering the bed. Taking a shaky breath she began to fuss with them, folding the creased skirts and returning them to their rightful place.
Rumplestiltskin's fingers closed around her wrist, forcing her to stop for a moment. His wide brown eyes met hers as she sensed him trying to figure out what was going through her mind.
"It's…it's nothing," she said, almost tripping over her words in her haste to wipe away the momentary flicker of doubt that crossed his face. Ever since he'd returned from the Underworld, he'd been trying to make amends for trying to kill Hook and the fairies with the hat. For manipulating her.
And for taking back the power of the Dark One… Try as she might, Belle couldn't forget about that. Although somewhere in the confused tangle of her thoughts she knew she couldn't blame him. The magic had spent more than three hundred years getting under his skin, until he believed he needed it to protect himself. Belle didn't agree exactly, but she knew that after being Zelena's prisoner and then Emma's, he would never willingly relinquish control again.
If Rumplestiltskin needed the reassurance of his magic, Belle wouldn't force him to give it up.
"Are you… Are you nervous, Belle?"
Even as she shook her head, her mind chewed over the idea. Nervous. Could she be? That should have been ridiculous. They'd stayed in the cabin countless times before. It shouldn't have felt like such a big deal. Even if it did happen to be Valentine's Day.
No. Belle had made up her mind. She loved Rumple. In spite of everything they'd been through, she knew that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him.
Besides, she told herself. If they didn't leave soon they were going to hit traffic.
"Maybe a little bit," she acknowledged. "It's just, well, it's been a while since the last time we went there."
"I suppose," he replied. "Look, we don't have to go, if you don't want to. We can stay here instead."
Belle bit back a sigh and turned around to face him, reaching out to smooth down the collar of his suit jacket.
"I just want to make you happy," he breathed, his chin resting on the top of her head. "Tell me what you want."
Belle pulled away, heart clenching as she met his eyes. They were so beautiful to look at, one of her favourite things about him.
Smiling, she wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned in to kiss the tip of his nose.
"You," she said. "Forever."
Rumple chuckled. "You know, I may just hold you to that."
Belle gave him another fleeting kiss, this time on his temple, and then turned around to zip up her oversized suitcase. At least it had wheels, so she wouldn't have to drag it to the car.
"It wouldn't be the first time," she said, once she'd wrestled it to the floor, scanning the room to make sure she hadn't missed anything.
His lips quirked up as he stepped behind her to grab the case, slipping her hand into the crook of his elbow instead.
"No, I suppose not. But I like the sound of it better this time around."
They almost made it to the car. Almost.
He'd gotten their bags into the trunk and was just opening the passenger door for Belle when the back door of the house banged open. Emma. He choked down a curse as she came running out, Hook and Mary-Margaret following in her wake. The Saviour looked exhausted. Even from a distance he could spot the bruise-like half-moons under her eyes. Her red jacket sported several nasty tears in the fabric.
"Gold!" She cried, hurtling towards the car.
Rumple rolled his eyes.
"Of course," he muttered under his breath.
He turned to Belle.
"Let's just see what they want?" She suggested. He was delighted to see that she looked rather frustrated by this latest interruption.
He huffed out a breath just as Emma skidded to a stop, trampling a cluster of larkspur.
"And what would I be getting the blame for today?" He asked, before she could open her mouth. "Is there perchance a dragon rampaging around Storybrooke? Or has Regina accidentally set off another curse? If so, I can't help you."
Hook stepped forwards to stand beside Emma. Rumple's fingers flexed around the top of his cane.
"No," the pirate said, his voice clipped. No love lost there then. "Actually, we came to warn you that Zelena's no longer in Oz and since she has unfinished business here we figured she came back. Again."
The car door slammed shut. A moment later, Rumple heard the crunch of gravel as Belle strode up to join in the conversation. Her heels clicked over the stones in a way that would have made him smile, under other circumstances.
"Zelena's back?"
Rumple's hand made a cursory little twitch by his side.
"And how would you know that?" He said, his voice dripping malice.
Hook's jaw flexed. If Rumple didn't know better, he'd think the man might have been counting to ten.
"Because, one of Robin Hood's men went missing in the forest this morning. All of a sudden there's one of her bloody beasts flying around again, trying to eat his mates. That's how we know."
"So she's here then," Belle said, her voice tinged with panic. "In Storybrooke? She made it past the town line?"
Hook turned his attention to Belle, seemingly glad to address someone else.
"So it would seem."
"She might be after you," Emma cut in, pointing to Rumple. "And maybe Belle too."
Rumple nodded. "She has always had a thing for me, yes. But I think this time I'm probably safe. Regina, on the other hand…"
Hook pulled a face. "Sign of her bad taste if you ask me."
The leash on his temper, already fraying, finally snapped. Rumple stepped forwards, jabbing a finger at the pirate's chest.
"Nobody asked you," he growled.
Mary-Margaret threw out a gloved hand and glanced around at all of them in turn.
"Okay, everybody just calm down," she said. "Gold, can you use some kind of magic to track her down?"
Of course. There it was. He wondered if his exasperation was written all over his face. He let out a sigh from between his gritted teeth.
"You ask that as though you're actually giving me a choice."
"Great," Mary-Margaret blurted, before Hook could fire back a reply. She reached into her handbag and pulled out a bundle of cloth. "Here, this is what I thought you could use. It's the blanket Zelena's baby was wrapped in, after she was born. We picked up the potion too. Henry said this would be the right one."
He took the blanket in his free hand, paying careful attention to Emma's discomfort. Her eyes narrowed as she glanced down at the cloth in his hand, then quickly flitted away. Hook's hand rested on her forearm.
Interesting. Not that Rumple needed any more information on the Sheriff, but it didn't hurt to take note of these things. Just as magic was powerful, so were words and emotions. If you didn't hide them away, they could always be used against you in the future.
He fought the rising guilt as Belle smiled at him. Her pleasure in him doing the right thing was obvious.
Belle didn't need someone to stand by her side and convince her to be a good person. She simply was. A hero, through and through.
Their gazes locked together, and he forced himself to tear his eyes away from her so he could concentrate on reaching for his magic. It was like pouring water through a sieve, collecting the small nuggets of power that remained to form the spell.
She might be after you, and maybe Belle too.
"Belle, why don't you go on to the cabin? This shouldn't take too long," he said, fighting to keep his voice emotionless. If she detected even a grain of fear for her in his tone, she would insist on staying. He didn't want her to know that he was struggling to breathe properly, his mind flying through visions of his old cage, remembering hours spent at the spinning wheel, feeling his sanity slip away.
He didn't really think that Zelena would come after him again, but she still had a knack for knocking down anyone who stood in her way. His throat tightened. If Zelena was planning on razing the town to the ground as revenge for being dragged back to Oz without her child, Belle would not become collateral damage.
Not if he could help it.
To his surprise, she gave him a tentative smile and held out her hand for the keys. When he gave it to her, she squeezed his fingers.
"Be safe," she whispered, her voice trembling. "I'm glad you're doing the right thing, Rumple."
Rumplestiltskin watched as she swung back into the car and turned on the ignition. A small trail of smoke whipped out from the back, lingering long after she'd pulled out on to the road, slowing down long enough to wave goodbye.
With Belle safely out of harm's way, Rumple narrowed his eyes on the trio of heroes before him.
"This better not take long," he snarled.
Thankfully, it didn't.
Rumple hastened down the trailing path, muttering under his breath every time his cane sank into the soft dirt. The trees on either side tilted in, as though keen to share secrets. Sometimes when they spent time at the cabin, he and Belle would sit on the porch and stargaze. A telescope had found its way into his shop a few years back, in desperate need of repair. The lens was smashed, nothing but a spiderweb of glass fragments, and the optical tube badly dented, but that only spurred him on. Piece by piece, he put the telescope back together again, fixing it a little each time he took a break from society.
There would be no stargazing tonight though. Thin, gauzy clouds submerged the moon, obscuring it from view. Rumple buttoned up the top of his jacket and hurried on, hoping to beat the rain he knew must be coming.
He smelled it then. Smoke. Coming from the direction of the cabin.
Terror gnawed at his insides.
"No," he said, his eyes fluttering closed.
He hurtled towards the cabin as fast as he could, spitting out curses when his limp slowed him down.
She might be after you, and maybe Belle too.
What if she'd outsmarted him? What if Zelena had watched him be drawn into a distraction, and then wandered off to… to…
He couldn't even let himself think the words.
"Belle?" He screamed. His voice sounded far away, as though floating away on the air. "BELLE?"
He saw Regina again, in the corner of his mind's eye, telling him that Belle had thrown herself off the top of a tower. He saw Zelena taunting him, knowing that at the very same moment the people of Storybrooke were burying his son. He saw Belle, holding his dagger high, her eyes full of tears as she forced him over the town line.
He couldn't stand to lose everything all over again.
As he approached, the stench of acrid smoke stung his eyes.
Dreading the moment of truth, he forced his eyes to seek out the remains of the cabin.
Rumple took a staggered step back, feeling his heart leap in his chest.
He must have been imagining it, he told himself. The mind did this when it had truly broken; trying to prolong the torture with conjured up hallucinations. He crushed the hope down in his chest, refusing to believe.
It wasn't possible.
In no reality or realm could the log cabin still be standing, looking so serene in the darkness.
A bitter smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. Perhaps he should embrace the madness, let it cast him away. What a pleasure it must be to succumb to it, like stepping out of reality and into a fixed point in time when everything was perfect.
He was so tired. So tired of losing everyone he loved.
When his shaking hand brushed the cool metal door handle, Rumple still didn't believe it could be possible.
Before he could reach into his jacket pocket for the spare keys, the door swung open.
Belle stood in the doorway. Beyond her, Rumple could see the dancing embers of a fire in the grate, scattering shadows into the corners of the room.
But his eyes were too busy drinking in the sight of his wife, happy and healthy.
And alive.
"Rumple?" She whispered, trying to rub sleep from her eyes. "Is everything-?"
She never got the chance to finish.
Rumplestiltskin closed the space between them, reaching an arm around her waist to pull her to him. Belle's breath hitched in her throat as they stumbled backwards into the living room, not stopping until she felt her back fetch up against the wall. Then all of a sudden his hands were in her hair, skimming down to her shoulders, her bare arms, her waist. His lips glanced off hers, scorching her. He tasted like smoke and darkness, the space between stars.