"Rumple, this one would do really nicely, don't you think?" Belle said, a smile lighting up her delicate features.
"Yes, dearie, it would. Along with the last seven you picked out," he said, smirking as she rolled her eyes at him and continued to browse.
They were stood in amongst the various tall green pine trees that were being sold in time for the festive season. Rumple had been reluctant to go shopping for 'ridiculous foliage that would cover his house needles' but Belle had managed to convince him with her complete joy and enthusiasm at the prospect of celebrating Christmas.
It was Belle's first Christmas in Storybrooke and she was determined to do absolutely every festive thing that she could think of. Rumple, on the other hand, would have been satisfied with just spending his time with her, but he found that he could not say no to the pleading looks in her bright eyes as she asked to go out and buy various things, which she thought would make the time more enjoyable.
He stood, resting on his cane as he watched Belle bounce between the enormous trees. He watched her chestnut curls move on the shoulders of her coat, as she excitedly walked between each of the trees. Little white flakes began to fall down from the darkening sky, glistening in the light of the strings of coloured bulbs which decorated the courtyard that they stood in. Rumplestiltskin watched as the snow collected on Belle's red coat, making her look like some sort of glistening angel in amongst the shadows cast by the trees.
"Alright, this is the one," Belle said finally, standing next to a full looking tree of medium height which looked as though it would fit nicely in the bay window of the old Victorian house.
Rumple smiled at her. He couldn't care less about the tree; seeing her happy was what made him feel that Christmas was worthwhile.
"Alright, love," he said, "if that's the one you want."
Belle nodded enthusiastically at him as he walked over to her, looking the tree up and down as he did. Belle carefully slipped her arm through Rumple's and leant her head on his shoulder as they looked at the emerald branches before them.
"It's going to be wonderful," Belle sighed, as she took in the sight of the beautiful tree she'd picked. "I can't wait to spend Christmas day with you, Rumple."
"Neither can I, Belle," Rumple replied, turning his head slightly to kiss the top of her auburn tresses.
The sound of someone clearing their throat caused them both to spring apart and turn on the spot to see who was there.
"I'm sorry to interrupt you," said Geppetto, who had appeared out of the large bunch of trees and looked slightly awkward, "but are you ready to buy one?"
He looked rather scared at the prospect of having to face Rumplestiltskin, but Belle, with her charming smile, moved before Rumple could say a word.
"Yes please," Belle said, pointing at the tree they'd been staring at, "we'd like this one."
"Of course," Geppetto said returning Belle's smile, as she turned back to Rumple.
"Typical," he said with a smirk, "you don't even let me choose, but expect me to pay."
Belle giggled slightly and tapped him on the arm as he moved past her to settle their debt.
Belle stood next to the tree as she watched Rumple pay and arrange a time for the tree to be delivered later that day. She couldn't help but smile as she watched him shake the still falling snow from his scarf and jacket as he talked. The way he kept glancing back around at her, a small smile on his face, made her heart flutter in her chest and made her wonder how she had survived for so long without him.
Rumple and Geppetto soon moved back over to her, the latter pinning a 'reserved' sign on one of the branches of their tree with another saying 'to be delivered at 6:00pm'.
"Thank you, Mr Rumplestiltskin," Geppetto said gratefully, before smiling at Belle and disappearing once more into the small forest of cut trees. Belle took one more look at the tree before once again linking her arm through Rumple's.
"So, we have a tree and decorations," stated Belle, as they walked together towards the exit in the falling flurry, "I've got everything that I need to make gingerbread but there is still another entire week until Christmas day! What are we supposed to do until then?"
Rumple simply laughed, as they turned the corner which opened out onto the main street in Storybrooke, and moved towards the driver's side of his Cadillac.
"Patience, dearie," he said, smiling at the way Belle frowned at his comment. "Oh and Belle, I found another bauble that you might like to put on the tree tomorrow," Rumple said, unlocking the car and sliding in to the driver's seat.
"Oh yeah?" Belle questioned, getting in on the passenger side, waiting for Rumple to reveal what he had found for her. Once she'd shut the door, Rumple passed her a square box and waited for her to open it with baited breath. Every time he'd given something to her, he worried that she wouldn't like it, although she had never been disappointed yet.
Belle looked at him, smiled lovingly, before lifting the lid. Inside was a filled with deep blue tissue paper surrounding a little glass ball. Carefully, she lifted the blue ribbon that was attached to the globe and looked inside. Two figures stood in the centre, dancing with one another; one was dressed in yellow, the other in blue. She recognised them immediately as Belle and the Beast from the Disney cartoon that she had watched countless times over the previous couple of months.
"Rumple, it's beautiful," she said quietly, looking at her true love, who looked rather pleased with himself for finding the ornament. Belle beamed at him as she put the decoration back into its box and then gently pressed her lips to his. She pulled away slightly, leaning her forehead against his.
"Thank you, Rumple," she whispered, her breath tickling his face in her close proximity, "for everything."
"It's my pleasure, Belle," Rumple replied, gently capturing her lips once more, before starting the car and taking them home.
OoOoO
Belle stood in the vast kitchen space in the pink Victorian house, humming to herself as she reached for things in the cupboards over her head. Carefully examining the recipe book in front of her, she measured out another set of ingredients which she would turn into another festive treat.
Running her fingers through her hair, Belle turned to the unbaked gingerbread cookies that sat on a tray on top of the oven. She swiftly placed them inside, deliberately not setting a timer, in case it woke Rumple up.
Belle had left him to sleep in as he rarely did, always having to rush out to deal with the shop or a problem in the town. Belle knew that the other didn't really appreciate all that he did for them, but she did, and allowing him some extra time to sleep in was the least she could do.
The smell of ginger floated through the open space as the cookies baked in the open. Belle had always enjoyed baking for Rumple in the Dark Castle, and even though he'd never admitted it, she knew he'd always loved her creativity in the kitchen.
She looked at the counter top, where she had stacked the various other snacks she had already made. Carefully, she chose a mince pie and took a bite of the sweet pastry, smiling as the filling touched her tongue.
She took another, before moving to the front room and sitting in front of the Christmas tree that sat in the window. The Beauty and the Beast ornament had pride of place in the centre of the tree, surrounded by little frosted glass balls which looked like little bubbles floating up the tree.
She sighed, picking up a book from the small table and finishing off her pie in one bite.
"Something smells good," said Rumple, his deep Scottish accent breaking the comfortable silence. Belle spun around, grinning at the sight of Rumple standing against the doorframe. Belle dropped her book to the floor, walking over to Rumple and putting her arms around his neck.
"Merry Christmas, Rumple," Belle said quietly, looking into his deep brown eyes and trying to take in every detail.
"Merry Christmas to you too, Belle," he replied, tucking a stray chestnut curl behind her ear, before capturing her lips with his. He could taste the sweet filling from the mince pies on her lips, letting out a small chuckle when he pulled back.
"Couldn't wait for me then?" He teased, kissing her quickly again.
"They were just too tempting," she laughed sliding out of his arms and heading back to the kitchen, where she grabbed the oven gloves and took the now baked biscuits from the first shelf.
Rumple followed her into the room and his eyes instantly widened at the amount of confectionary that stood on the counter top.
"Belle, sweetheart, how are we meant to eat all of this?" Rumple asked, eyeing the pile of cakes, pies and cookies that stood on the granite surface.
"Well, it might take us a few days..." Belle pondered as she moved her newest creations onto other trays to cool.
Rumple looked sceptically at her:
"A few days...?" He repeated hesitantly, looking at her again.
"Okay so maybe, we might have to take some to the Charmings and Emma," she laughed, taking his hand and popping a small gingerbread star into his mouth.
Rumple sighed as the spices filled his mouth and enveloped him in warmth. Belle looked expectantly at him for his opinion.
"Delicious, Belle," he said, giving her a hug.
"I'm glad," she replied, eating one herself, before asking excitedly: "Do you want to do presents now?"
"Of course, dearie," he said, moving back into the living room, towards the tree on the far side of the room. Belle settled herself on the floor in front of the tree, as he passed her a rectangular package. Belle peered at it curiously for a second before undoing the blue wrapping paper and revealing the gift inside.
The brown box said 'Kindle' on the front and after opening the top, Belle was holding a shiny tablet, holding it and looking at it inquisitively, whilst Rumple explained.
"It's a Kindle. You can buy books and put them on there. You can keep more books on there than you could ever fit in the house. I thought it might be nice for you, given how much you like to read," Rumple finished, as Belle began to read the instructions to find out how the machine worked.
"That's amazing, Rumple, thank you!" she said, jumping off of the floor and wrapping her arms around him where he sat on the worn sofa.
"You're welcome, sweetheart," Rumple replied, returning her hug with equal sentiment.
Belle moved from the hug and bent down, picking up a parcel wrapped in gold paper and passing it over to Rumple, who took it gently.
"I wasn't sure what I should get you," she started, as he began to unwrap his gift, "so I decided to make something instead… something a little more personal."
Under the golden paper was a selection of pictures, drawn and coloured, of various things that Rumple knew so well. His spinning wheel which sat in the Dark Castle, the chipped teacup sitting on the mahogany table, along with one of him sat in the shop reading and another of him and Belle stood together in the garden of his Victorian house. But the final image made him stop. A young boy stood next to an old house, smiling up at Rumple out of the paper. Bae looked so innocent, standing by their old home, with not a care in the world. Rumple could feel tears threatening to flow as he stared down at the beautiful image of his long lost son.
"I found another drawing of him in the castle once," Belle said quietly, moving to sit next to him on the sofa, "just one picture, and I knew how much you missed him… So I thought I'd make you another."
"They're lovely, Belle, all of them," he said, wiping away a tear which had run down his cheek. "Thank you so much."
"You are very welcome," Belle said, kissing him gently, before taking the first four pictures and placing them on the mantelpiece, along with the Christmas cards they had received. Rumple kept the picture of Bae in his hands, continuing to admire Belle's beautiful work. Seeing him smile made her beam from ear to ear, knowing that her gift had been a success. The best present she could receive was to see him happy and she had certainly gotten that.
"I'll go and make some tea," she said brightly, going back into the kitchen and returning a few minutes later with two tea cups, the teapot and a selection of her baked items on a delicate tray.
After dinner, Belle and Rumple settled down to watch old Christmas films that Belle had found earlier in the week, whilst sipping tea and eating gingerbread in front of the open fire which danced merrily in the grate. The snow, which had started the previous week, began to fall from the sky once more, covering the town in a fine dusting of white flakes as people all throughout Storybrooke celebrated the holiday with exquisite food and drink, happy to be with the ones they love.
Rumple and Belle sat huddled under blankets, talking and laughing, as they watched the films, finally able to have a happily ever after.