Thought the Rumbelle fandom could use a pick-me-up. Enjoy!
I do not own 'Once Upon a Time'.
Kyla
Gold awoke to the sound of loud, heavy breathing. He opened his eyes and found himself face to face with Sophie, who was sitting next to the sofa, staring straight at him. Barely a moment later, Stewart flew onto the sofa and pounced on him, then started licking his face. "Alright, alright, enough." Gold said, and he moved the little dog to his side and sat up a bit. "Have a fun evening upstairs, did you?" Gold asked, and Stewart let out a single bark. "Well – good to know that someone is enjoying himself in my bed."
"Ronan! Good morning!" Belle said as she entered the room, a bright tone in her voice. "Go on you two, leave him alone." Belle said, shooing the dogs away and sitting down next to Gold. "How are you feeling?"
"Are you always this chipper in the morning?" Gold asked.
"Usually." Belle said. "Let me guess – you're not."
"Not until I've gotten at least two cups of coffee in me." Gold said. "You haven't made any by chance, have you?"
"Actually, yes I have." Belle said. "How do you take it?"
"Black." Gold replied.
"I'll bring that right over then." Belle said. She stood up and turned around halfway into the kitchen. "Oh, and Ronan – you really don't snore that bad at all." Belle teased, and she left the room. She came back with a cup of coffee for Gold, who sat up a bit more as he took it from her.
"Thank you." Gold said quietly. Belle sat down next to him again.
"You're very welcome." Belle said. Gold took several sips of his coffee.
"Don't you have to work today?" he asked.
"I work the afternoon shift on Mondays. Don't have to be in for a few hours." Belle said.
"What time is it?" Gold asked.
"A little past eight." Belle replied. "So is your ankle any better?"
"A bit sore. I'll know more once I try to get up and move around a bit." Gold replied, and he took a few more sips of coffee. "Did Stewart eat?"
"He had his breakfast, went out, ran around in the yard with Sophie for about twenty minutes – I think he likes having her here." Belle said.
"I need to get a move on, I have to open up the shop." Gold said.
"Ronan, you should probably stay home today and rest." Belle said.
"Belle, I have a business to run." Gold said.
"Ronan, I'm sure one day won't make that big of a difference. Better one day than four when you overdo it and end up even worse off." Belle said. "I can stop at the store, put a sign up saying that you'll open again tomorrow, sorry for the inconvenience, or something like that." Belle said. "I'll fix you lunch before I go, then I'll stop by Granny's and get us dinner, you just let me know what you want."
"Are you planning to leave your canine safety hazard here?" Gold asked.
"I'll take Sophie home, she's used to being at my house while I'm at work anyway." Belle said. "So – you're going to listen to me then? You're going to stay here, you're going to rest?" Belle asked, surprised.
"I've come to the realization that you are going to do what you are going to do whether I like it or not, so it's probably best that I just go along with it." Gold said. Belle smiled a bit.
"See. We're getting to know each other's little quirks, this is good." Belle remarked. Gold did not reply. He finished his coffee, reached for his cane, and stood up. "Where are you going?" Belle asked.
"Upstairs to take a shower and get dressed." Gold said.
"I thought you said you were staying home." Belle said.
"I still want a shower and a change of clothes." Gold told her.
"You're not going to sit around the house in the three-piece suit all day, are you?" Belle asked.
"What I wear is none of your concern." Gold said, and he slowly made his way to the stairs. He was still limping a considerable amount but was moving a bit better than the day before.
"Do you need some help?" Belle asked. Gold turned to look at her in disbelief. "I meant getting upstairs."
"I'll manage. Just keep that mongrel monstrosity out of my path." Gold said. Sophie and Stewart were playing gently with each other in the middle of the living room.
"I really wish you'd stop calling Sophie names. She's a beautiful girl." Belle said.
"Well, apparently beauty is, as they say, in the eye of the beholder." Gold said, and he slowly made his way upstairs. It took him a fair amount of time to shower and change, his leg slowing him down quite a bit. When he finally made it back downstairs, he saw Belle sitting in the middle of the floor with the dogs, playing with them, the three of them clearly having a wonderful time. Belle looked up and smiled when she saw Gold – he was wearing a pair of jeans again, as well as another white shirt.
"No suit then?" Belle asked.
"Not going anywhere, no point in getting dressed up." Gold said, and he made his way to the soft and sat down.
"Well, I think you look nice." Belle said. "I have to get going, I need to go home and change and get dressed for work. You want me to make you something for lunch?"
"I can manage. My leg is feeling much better." Gold said. "But thank you."
"So, um – you don't need me to come back tonight then?" Belle asked.
"Do you want to?" Gold asked her. Belle smiled at him.
"Of course I want to." Belle said, and she stood up and moved to sit down next to him. The dogs followed her, and they both sat and stared straight up at the two of them, then started to bark. "I think they like it when we sit close together."
"Don't the two of you have anything better to do?" Gold asked the dogs, glaring at them. Belle took Gold's hand.
"I'll take them out before I go, and – well, I guess I'll take Sophie home, it's alright if I bring her back, right?" Belle asked, and Gold sighed.
"Leave her here. I'm sure she'll be fine." Gold said.
"Really? You're sure?" Belle asked.
"I wouldn't have offered if I wasn't sure." Gold said. "Stewart is happy with her here, so – just let her be."
"You'll be nice to her? You won't call her names?" Belle asked.
"She doesn't know what I'm saying, she's a DOG!" Gold shouted.
"I think she does, she's very sensitive." Belle said. "She may fuss a bit when I leave, but I don't know, Stewart is here so that may settle her a bit. She has a bit of separation anxiety."
"We'll manage just fine." Gold said.
"Thank you." Belle said, and she kissed him on the cheek. Both dogs began to wag their tails furiously when she kissed him, with Sophie's long tail whipping against the legs of the coffee table. Belle then stood up and took the dogs outside to play for a bit. "Can I keep your key to get back in?" Belle asked when she and the dogs came back into the room.
"Fine." Gold replied.
"What do you want from Granny's?" Belle asked.
"Burger and fries is good. Extra pickles." Gold said.
"Oh, that's right, we get the same thing." Belle said. "I get off at five, I only work half day on Mondays. I usually run my errands on Monday mornings but – I'll catch up later. You just rest today, Ronan – I'll see you later. Bye Stewart. You be a good girl, Sophie, mommy will be back." The moment Belle walked out of the door, Sophie got up and ran to the door and began to whimper. Stewart followed her and stood by her side. After several minutes, Sophie began to bark, then whimper, and alternated between barking and whimpering as she paced back and forth by the door.
"Sophie! Settle down, your mum will be back!" Gold said, but the dog ignored him. Stewart started to become flustered as well, clearly upset at the sight of Sophie being so inconsolable. After several minutes of this, Gold got up and limped into the kitchen and came back out with a bag of dog treats, then sat down on the sofa. Stewart recognized the bag and immediately darted to his side. "Sophie! You want a treat?" he called out, and Sophie turned around and looked at him. "Come on – you have to come here to get it." Gold said, and he gave Stewart one of the treats. Sophie looked at the door then back at Gold several times, then she slowly made her way over to Gold's side and sat down in front of him. "That's a good girl. Now these are smaller than you're probably used to, you need to take it nice, can you do that?" Gold asked, and he put a treat in his hand and held it out to Sophie. She took the treat from him gently. "That's a good girl. You're a good girl, Sophie." Gold pet the dog on top of her head, and she started to wag her tail. "You want another one? Here you go." Gold put another treat in his hand and held it out to Sophie the same as before. Stewart let out a bark. "Well, she's bigger, she gets extra. One more for you, that's it." Gold said, and he gave Stewart another treat. Gold closed up the bag and put it aside on an end table, and Sophie jumped up on the sofa and put her head in his lap. "What are you doing, I didn't invite you up here." Gold said, and then Stewart jumped up on the other side of him. Gold began to pet Sophie's head, and Stewart barked at him. "What are you jealous of, the fact that I'm petting your girlfriend or the fact that your girlfriend likes me?" Stewart continued to bark. "Oh, stop, I can pet both of you." Gold started to pet Stewart with his other hand, and he settled down. "You know, I suppose Belle is right. You're a very pretty girl, Sophie. You're just going to have to be a bit more careful around me, alright? You think you can do that?" Sophie nuzzled Gold a bit, and Gold chuckled. "You're as overtly affectionate as your mum, aren't you? What am I going to do about that, hmmm? What am I going to do about your mum?"
Belle entered Gold's house a little after six, and smiled at what she saw as soon as she walked into the living room. Gold was asleep on the sofa, with Sophie snuggled up next to him. He had tossed the back cushions onto the floor to make room for her. Stewart was lying on top of both of them. Sophie sat up the moment Belle entered the room and jumped off of the sofa, and Stewart followed, their movement causing Gold to awaken.
"I see you and Sophie have bonded." Belle said. "Wish I'd had a camera when I walked in." Belle went into the kitchen to set down the food she was carrying, then came back into the living room. Gold had sat up and was putting the cushions back on the sofa. "I take it your leg is better then. So you and Sophie are friends now?" Belle asked.
"She's a good dog. We – came to an agreement while you were gone. I give her treats and she doesn't knock me over." Gold said. Belle laughed as she sat down next to him.
"I have to say I'm a bit jealous. I leave you alone with my dog for a few hours and you're already in a far more intimate relationship with her than you are with me." Belle said.
"We're not in a relationship." Gold said.
"Right. Of course we're not." Belle said. "Oh, I got your mail for you, but I think there were a couple that got delivered wrong, they were addressed to 'Kyla's Kreations'."
"Are you snooping through my mail?" Gold asked.
"I wasn't snooping, they were right on top. I don't see any businesses around here though, it's a residential street, I wonder how they made that mistake." Belle said. "Anyhow I put the mail on the counter in the kitchen."
"I'll take care of it, thank you." Gold said.
"I have dinner in the kitchen and – I checked a movie out of the library, I thought we could watch it tonight. I mean – presuming that you don't have any other plans."
"Do I have a choice?" Gold asked.
"Well, we always have a choice. Sophie and Stewart are having a very nice time visiting one another so I thought a few more hours this evening would please them." Belle said.
"Yes – Stewart seems very happy with Sophie here." Gold said.
"And what about you, Ronan? Are you happy?" Belle asked.
"I'm not unhappy." Gold replied.
"Well, let's go have dinner. I'll get it set up and get the dogs fed, can you let them out or do you want me to do it?" Belle asked.
"I can handle it. Thank you for getting dinner, by the way. How much do I owe you?" Gold asked.
"You owe me – the concession that tonight is – a date." Belle said.
"Can't I just pay for the food and be done?" Gold asked.
"No." Belle replied. Gold sighed.
"Fine. It's a date." Gold said.
"Thank you." Belle said, and she headed into the kitchen. Stewart and Sophie both stood in front of him staring.
"What? I said it was a date, don't get on my case. Go. Outside." Gold said, and the two dogs bolted toward the back door as Gold followed them.
"So what's this movie you have for us to watch?" Gold asked as Belle popped in the DVD.
"Marley and Me. It's a dog movie, have you seen it?" Belle asked.
"I prefer westerns and suspense myself, and for the last decade the only movies I've seen are the ones I've taken Bae to, which adds up to be cartoons up until about four years, when his interest changed to science fiction, super heroes, and anything where a lot of things get blown up. So no." Gold told her.
"Well good, I've never seen it either. I didn't realize I was a dog person when it first came out. I mean, I always loved animals, but – well, let's just watch it, should be nice." Belle said. The dogs sat down at the foot of the sofa as Belle and Gold sat down to watch the movie. About a half an hour into the film, much to Belle's surprise, Gold put his arm around her. She looked at him and smiled a bit, but didn't say anything, half wondering if he did it because he wanted to or it was just some sort of mindless instinct.
As the movie drew near the end, Belle noticed that Gold was becoming a bit upset. When they reached the scene at the vet's office, Gold grabbed the remote off the table and turned the television off.
"Ronan, what are you doing?" Belle asked.
"I can't watch this." Gold said, and he stood up and walked over to the fireplace.
"Ronan? Do you want to tell me why?" Belle asked. Gold was standing at the fireplace, looking at a photo on the mantle. It was a photo of a little boy who looked quite a bit like Gold may have when he was younger and a Shetland Sheepdog. Belle glanced at the photo. "Is that you?" she asked. Gold nodded. "And – your dog?"
"When I was just a wee lad – about eight years old – my dad told me I could have a pup. Our neighbors up the road bred shelties, and they had one left, and my dad said it was mine – my birthday was in a few weeks and this was my present. I'd been on him about getting a dog for some time. I was an only child and – well, the other kids weren't very kind to me. I guess I just wanted someone who would be my friend."
"Anyhow, my dad took me out to their farm and there was this one little sheltie puppy left that no one wanted. It was – the runt of the litter. Figured he and I had a bit in common already, I was always the smallest lad in school and out on the playground. Only he – was a she. I'd wanted a boy dog, but – I grew to love that little girl. We did everything together. When I went off to University when I turned eighteen, I was heartbroken to leave her behind. My dad said he'd take good care of her, but she was getting up there in age, you know. I got busy and my visits home were less and less frequent. One day – I got a call from my dad. I knew right away by his tone that it wasn't good news. I didn't even get to say goodbye to her." Gold fought back tears. "She was the first girl I ever loved. And – and the first girl to break my heart. Which is only fair given that I probably broke hers by being away."
"Oh, Ronan." Belle said, putting her hand on his shoulder. "I'm sure she knew how much you loved her. What was her name?"
"Kyla." Gold said.
"Kyla? As in – Kyla's Kreations?" Belle asked. Gold sighed.
"Yes, I have a crafting business that I run out of my home, and yes I named it after my DOG." Gold told her. Belle smirked a bit. "What are you smiling about?"
"You know, you – you put on this gruff exterior but – you're not really like that. You're not who I thought you were at all. And I'm glad." Belle said. Belle moved in closer to Gold. He cupped her chin in his left hand and moved in to kiss her. He dropped his cane and wrapped his arms around her tightly and the melted into a deep, passionate kiss, while Sophie and Stewart stood a few feet away from them and watched, their tails wagging happily.