Read at your own risk. Not a happy oneshot. Just something I needed to right after the episode. Spoilers for tonight's episode.
Disclaimer: I do not own OUAT or the characters.
He came back. She always knew he would. Even without his power, he was still a very intelligent and cunning man.
What she didn't expect was whom he would come back with and what she didn't expect even more than that was the way he would look at her.
Somewhere deep in her heart she had this naïve belief that he would come back an actual changed man. That somehow, the time apart would have made him realize he had to be better for her, and he would have actually became better.
Instead, when she him stroll back across the line, she realized she had made a terrible miscalculation. The look on his face was one of pure darkness when he strode across the line, the three evil villains behind him.
She had been sitting in Grannys, drinking some tea and chatting with Ruby when he strolled in. The entire diner, which had been packed as the heroes had been celebrating finding the author, stood up to stare at him. Regina and Emma moved to throw a spell unto him but he quickly froze them and everyone else in the diner.
Everyone else except for Belle.
"Well, well dearie," he said malicious intent evident, "it seems you fit right in with the heroes of the story. Guess I was the only thing holding you back?"
"Rumple, no." Belle began to speak but found she had no voice.
"Oh no, it's my turn to speak now. You broke a deal with me. That's what marriage is, isn't it? A deal. For better or for worse. Well that didn't work out now, did it?"
He smiled again, his eyes flashing hurt but he covered it well. Better than she had ever seen him cover it, even in the Enchanted Forest.
"And you should know, no one breaks deals with me." He giggled and reaching into her chest, he grabbed her heart. "Pretty thing isn't it? Awfully pure. And to think it used to be mine."
He squeezed it tight and she screamed in pain. "Rumple, what are you doing?" She gasped, "Stop."
"What I should have done long ago. Love is a weakness and you were mine."
"Rumple, stop this now!" Belle yelled, trying to sound brave and strong but he just giggled.
Then his face turned serious and sad. "I loved you," He told her, "I still would if I still had a heart. But see when you pushed me across that line; I had no reason to be good. The entire time I have been cursed as the dark one, I have fought the curse. I have fought to keep some of my soul from the darkness. At first I fought it for Bae and then for you. And then Bae died, and you left. And I had no reason to fight."
He let out an impish giggle and continued. "I had never accepted the curse, not fully and not completely until I crossed that line again today. And I must say, it feels wonderful."
"What about true love?" Belle gasped out as he squeezed her heart tighter.
"What about it? It seems it isn't the most powerful magic of all. It's not going to save you from me. Nothing could save you from me. The day you met me you were fated to die. Everyone I have ever loved has died. And it's always been my fault. Being around me is an easy way to guarantee death, I'm just making sure yours comes quicker."
Belle had never felt so many emotions at once. She knew he was going to kill her. She could see in his eyes that he wasn't lying when he had told her he had completely given into the darkness.
Yet at the same time, she was heartbroken. Heartbroken he hadn't come back with some huge speech begging for forgiveness. Heartbroken that he told her that his power was worth more than the true love they had shared.
And still as much as she should have hated the man, her heart was breaking for him. Because she knew that this was breaking his heart as well. She could still see that he loved her but he no longer seemed to find their love worth it. She knew killing her would break him, would make him truly entirely the Dark One. But that seemed to be what he wanted.
So as she felt her heart being squeezed even tighter, she managed one last brave sentence, hoping it would stop him.
"Rumplestiltskin, I love you."
He smiled sadly and replied, "And I love you too."
And then he crushed her heart, for love is weakness and he would never be weak again.
But as he saw the tears stream down her face, as he saw her collapse onto the floor, he allowed himself one last moment of weakness. Tears streamed down his own face and he grieved for the love of his life, killed at his own hand.
He grieved for Bae, for Belle, for what could have been, for the man he could have been, for the family he could have had.
And then he stood up and darkness was complete. There was not a spot of light left in his heart. He had killed his love, his light, his weakness.