Rumbelle: A Whale's Perspective

Ask anyone in Storybrooke about Doctor Whale and you'll get a pretty clear picture of his character. While respectable (according to Granny), many were of the view that he was rather sketchy. Mary Margaret (now returned to her original state as the fearless Snow White) vehemently maintained that Whale would go after anything with two legs that breathed and had breasts. Most of the other women in town agreed with her.

So it was no surprise that Whale's attention instantly focused itself on the lovely Belle French, actually the beautiful daughter of King Maurice.

No one was sure where the Beauty had popped out from; indeed she had unexpectedly accompanied Mr. Gold (whom all now avoided like the plague with the memories of Rumpelstiltskin returned) out of the fog of the newly returned magic.

Now, that was a mystery to be uncovered. Mr. Gold and Belle had been inseparable since that day, but neither seemed inclined to answer any questions as to their relationship. Granny was of the opinion that she was his daughter/granddaughter, but the Blue Fairy quickly put that rumour to rest. Snow thought that perhaps she was an old friend of his, though she was skeptical of the thought of Rumpelstiltskin having a friend. This didn't take off however, and the citizens of Storybrooke were left to wonder. That is, until Moe French came forward and told the story of Belle's deal with the imp everyone feared. Suddenly, all was clear. Or was it?

For Doctor Whale, Moe's explanation was enough. It was obvious to most that he fancied himself Belle's hero, the one to rescue her from the Dark One. And everyone knew why: the hero always got the girl in the end, didn't he?

So the next Tuesday (because Tuesday is as good as any day), Doctor Whale swallowed his fear and entered a place he had avoided as much as possible over the years: Mr. Gold's pawnshop.

Belle had for some reason decided to work as Gold's assistant after the majority of Regina's curse had broken. Moe insisted that it was because of her deal with the "monster," and no one questioned it. After the incident with Ashley/Cinderella's baby, no one had any doubt that that was the reason for Belle's continued association with Rumpelstiltskin.

The ringing of the bell should have alerted those inside to the presence of a potential deal-maker, but as Whale stood there, no one came to greet him. Undeterred, Whale marched over to the curtain that separated the main shop from Gold's mysterious back room. Whale sauntered over with all the confidence of a politician or someone who knew his prize was within his grasp.

At least, until he heard the strangest sound coming from behind the gold curtain. He could have sworn it sounded like a moan; but then, who would ever be moaning that way in Mr. Gold's pawnshop, let alone his back room. Moans of fear or pain, certainly. But never moans of what sounded like pleasure.

Still, Whale's hand trembled a bit as he reached to pull aside the curtain; self-assured as he was, no one wanted to risk the wrath of Rumpelstiltskin, the Dark One. He took a deep breath, and stepped into the doorway.

Only to stop, dumbstruck at the sight before him.

The object of his desire was perched atop the worktable, head thrown back and shirt missing. Whale's eyes greedily took in the sight of her upper body clad only in a black lace bra, until he was distracted by the sound of her kitten heeled shoes hitting the ground.

Looking down, he very nearly choked on his own breath.

Mr. Gold, Rumpelstiltskin, the man feared by all the realms, was kneeling at Belle's feet, slowly kissing his way up her legs. His lips traced their way up to her knee, then pushed her blue skirt up slightly to kiss part of her thigh. Then they kissed over her skirt and slowly made their way up her torso.

Belle's hands were clutching at him, one on his shoulder, the other tangled in his newly re-crimped hair. Her mouth was spewing random nonsense, the majority of it involving "please…yes… Rum" being repeated over and over.

Whale stood there in shock at the sight before him, as Rumpelstiltskin's lips continued to trace along the body of his assistant. The good doctor's mind had seemingly shut down, unable to comprehend what was happening right before his very eyes.

Belle yanked Rumpelstiltskin up by his hair, pulling his face to hers and took his lips with a passion that could not be mistaken for anything else. Rumpelstiltskin's hands tightened on her waist, before pulling her body forward to be slammed against him.

At this, Whale seemed to finally recover.

"OH GODS! FOR LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY!"

The couple's attention snapped onto him as he quickly backed out of the room, covering his eyes. A crash was heard just before the sound of the bell tinkled.

"WHAT WAS SEEN CANNOT BE UNSEEN!" Whale's scream sounded just before the door slammed shut.

Belle and Rumpelstiltskin stared at the spot Whale had just vacated for a moment. Then they both let out a giggle, Rumpelstiltskin's sounding much like his giggle did in the Enchanted Forest.

"Well, that was interesting." The Dark One commented, before his attention was, rather brutally yanked back to the neglected Beauty sitting on his table.

"I can think of something even more interesting for you to focus on, Rum."

He smiled darkly as he leaned forward to reclaim the lips of his True Love.

Not too far away, Whale burst into Granny's diner, looking like he had just run from a bear. Sherriff Swan leapt up in concern, though she did not lose her grip on the Hatter's hand.

"Whale? What the hell happened to you?"

The doctor in question collapsed into a nearby booth before saying, "I think I figured out what Belle's relationship with Gold is. Ruby, you were right."

As his head hit the table, Ruby smiled and stepped away from Archie just long enough to collect twenty bucks from Ella and Snow.