Author's Note: This Song-Fic is based off Savior by Rise Against. I strongly recommend listening to the song before reading this or it might not make sense. R+R! :)
All But Just Forgotten
The Dark One looked out into the night. He was trying to conjure her face, but the years made it hard to remember. What color had her eyes been? Blue he thought. Rumpelstiltskin sighed softly. The castle was lonely once again without her, but it was most likely for the best. He wasn't the answer to her questions. There was no way she could ever really love him as he was. Belle was his one glimmer of light in a sea of darkness that was his heart, and he damaged her just like he did all the others he cared for. How long had it been since he chased her away? 5 years? 10? It hardly mattered anymore. Belle was surely better off without him. She had to be. And yet there was some part of him that knew it was a lie. Belle loved him, and damnit he loved her too! So why did he let her go? Why did he make her leave?
A knock on the door tore him from his memories. Rumple opened it, ready to play the part of the Dark One as he did for all these years, but the moment he saw her, he froze. They were blue. Her face had aged, but she was still so lovely. A single tear fell. The Dark One moved back, as if afraid of that simple tear. In truth, he was. At heart he was still the same coward he always was. Rumple opened his mouth to speak, but she stopped him.
"I don't hate you. I just want to save you while there's still something left to save."
He was silent for a moment before he shook his head. "What makes you think you can save me, dearie? Why would you even want to try?"
Belle gave a shadow of her old smile. "Because I still love you. I know there must be something of the man I love there."
"You fell in love with a monster, dearie. You keep forgetting that." Rumple's voice was snide and his dark eyes held something close to madness, but it dimmed as he watched the woman that broke through his defenses.
Her eyes grew sad. "No I don't. You keep reminding me." She whispered. They stood in silence for some time before Rumple led the way to his dining room; the place where they shared many meals. It was the place she first shined a light into his dark heart.
Slowly he turned to face her. "I love you." He whispered. "But I'm not the answer to the questions that you still have. You should have moved on long ago, Belle. You should hate me."
Belle smiled softly, almost exactly like you used to. "But I don't." She said quietly. "I don't hate you."
