Don't own OUAT

Random plot bunny that wouldn't go away. *shrugs* First time writing rumbelle. Enjoy.

SSS

"Rumple?" Belle murmured, absently tracing circles across her lover's shoulder as she snuggled against his side, blankets pooling around them.

"Mm?" he replied, his eyes closed as his thumb stroked across her hip.

"I want to tell you a…story."

"Really?" his tone was curious, but detached, too content to be genuinely paying attention. Belle smiled slightly.

"When I was a little girl, I used to dream about what my true love would be like," She began, and she felt his focus shift to her, thumb going still against her hipbone.

"Oh?"

"Mmm." She traced a line from his shoulder down his chest.

"And what was this 'prince charming' of yours like, pray tell." His tone had barely changed, but she could hear the slight difference that meant she had his full attention. She drew more circles across his stomach, watching the progress of her fingers over his skin.

"He was smart, and witty," she murmured, drawing squares now, "And he liked making me laugh." She felt Rumple stiffen slightly, but pretended not to notice as she continued. "He was debonair and caring, and protective, but, somehow, he never made me feel weak. He was everything I could've ever imagined wanting."

He was even stiffer now, like a statue in her arms, but she wanted to finish her tale.

"I told some of the servant girls that worked in the palace. They told me that it was a pretty, silly dream." She smiled softly. "They said that there wasn't a prince in the world like the love I dreamed of."

"I'm sorry." Rumple told her, voice stony. He sat up abruptly, moving to climb out of bed. "I think I'll-" he broke off, one foot on the floor, as she wrapped her arms around him, draping herself against his back.

"You didn't let me finish." She told him, disappointment in her voice. For a moment, he remained cold and unmoving in her embrace. Then he sighed, one hand coming up to cover hers where they were twined around his waist.

"Alright." He sighed, resigned.

"The servant girls were right." She told him quietly, kissing his shoulder. "There would never be a prince like the one I dreamed of. I realized that when a beast came to take me from the castle."

He'd gone stiff again, but didn't try to move away.

"It took me a little longer to realize that I'd never dreamed of a prince in the first place." Her lips brushed his ear, voice a mere whisper. "That the man in my dreams and the 'beast' were the same person."

He went completely still, but after a moment she sensed his smile.

"Is that so?" he asked quietly.

"Mm-hm." She nodded against his shoulder. "I dreamed of you before I ever knew you existed, Rumple."

He let her draw him back into the bed and leaned back against the pillows, tucking her back against his side.

"What about you? Did you dream of Mila?" Belle asked curiously, looking up at him. She'd never had trouble accepting that she wasn't the first woman he'd loved. He looked down at her, and pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

"I thought so, once." He murmured thoughtfully, staring down at her hair as though he were seeing a memory instead. Then his eyes focused on the present again, and a slight smile softened his face. "But I've come to believe that I was a little hasty in that belief." His thumb had resumed its motion against her skin, now in the small space between two of her ribs. "I…never felt for Mila, quite what I feel for you." His voice had turned thoughtful, and Belle closed her eyes, listening to his breathing as he mused in silence, the beat of his heart and the smooth motion of his thumb against her skin lulling her into a doze. She felt it vaguely when he shifted, settling more comfortably in the bed and holding her against him as though she were something precious.

"I love you, Rumple." She mumbled drowsily, snuggling into him.

"And I love you, Belle." She could hear his happiness, feel it in the way his arms tightened around her, the kiss he pressed against the waves of her hair. "So much."

He said something else, his voice warm and rhythmic, and though Belle couldn't quite make it out as she drifted into sleep, it might have been, 'If I didn't always, Belle, now I dream of nothing but you."

SSS

Review. No flames. ~Seeker