She had closed her eyes, a happy, contented little smile on her face, but he didn't dare look away. He feared it would all go away if he did, that he would open his eyes to find it had only been some blissful dream, and he was not really here with her, not really home.
He'd wondered why he hadn't crossed the Styx before finding himself here, before finding Belle waiting. He had crossed the river the last time. This time, though, there was no ferryman waiting by the water, no coin in his hand to pay his passage. He'd simply walked through mist, black emptiness all around him, until there wasn't. He'd thought he'd be alone for eternity, and then there she was, looking as radiant as she always had in life. He had kissed her, was holding her, but he still could hardly believe she was real.
Belle leaned in, a happy little sigh escaping her lips, as she laid her head on his chest. Instinctively, he adjusted his arms, a hand coming up to play with her hair, rich chestnut brown again, though he'd also loved it gleaming silver and white, marking their happy years, the fact that she'd stayed, given him forever, and now forever was here.
'It feels so good to hold you again,' she breathed, the yearning in her voice making his heart thump. He'd given it away, his heart, but, it seemed that in death, all was restored.
'I-it feels like a dream,' he said, his voice thick. His tongue would not work properly: he was too overwhelmed.
'I know,' she said, sympathy in her tone, 'but I promise you, it isn't.' She held him tighter, comforting him.
'No,' he said. Eventually, he'd accept that. Belle always told the truth, after all.
She stroked his cheek; looked up at him, smiling
'I'm so glad you're here,' he said, tearing up.
She pressed her forehead to his. 'I have longed for this day as much as you have, my love,' she murmured.
He smiled tearfully, and she pressed another gentle kiss to his lips.
'I expected I would never see you again,' he breathed, crying in earnest again.
'We always found our way back to each other,' she reminded him, emotion in her voice.
'I know, but there was no more Guardian, and I thought…that meant…'
'That you could never come home to me,' she said gently, nodding. She moved her hand and pressed it against his heart. 'But I knew that you would,' she said, sure.
'How could you be so sure? How could you have such faith?' He'd always marvelled at that. Even when he was breaking her heart, she'd always looked at him in a way that said she believed there was better in him.
She tilted her head, smiling at him. 'Because I love you: I've always loved you, and I've always known that you were a good man, with a pure heart. And I was right, because only someone with a pure heart could be the true Guardian.'
He stared at her, frowning. 'Me?'
She laughed a little. 'Yes, you, silly.'
'But the other Rumplestiltskin had an Author write that the powers of the Guardian were gone,' he said, 'so I can't be…'
'But then what happened to you in that snow globe?' she asked.
He frowned. 'My powers were gone, my immortality…'
She nodded. 'So, don't you see?'
He shook his head, catching her meaning, but not believing it could be true. 'He must've used the pen again, to get rid of my powers.'
'No,' she said. 'He went on to writing his spell for all those terrible endings then. When he wrote away the Guardian's powers, that stripped you of yours, because the true Guardian was always you, Rumple. You just had to embrace it, and you did. And, really, you've been guarding the Darkness for decades, not letting it corrupt you, not letting it corrupt anyone else, and I am so proud of you!'
He held her as she wrapped her arms around him. He couldn't really take it in. Was it true? Had he had the power within him to be the Guardian all along? Was it just that he needed to be brave in the right moment? That seemed to be what Belle believed, and Belle…well, Belle was always right.
'Oh, Belle,' he whispered, sobbing into her hair.
'Shh,' she soothed. 'It's alright: you're home now.' She ran her fingers through his hair. 'I know it was a long, hard journey, Rumple, and I'm sorry it was so difficult, but I always knew you'd find the answer. I knew you would, because you're a good man, and you're full of love, and I watched you share that with others, and it made me so happy!'
He squeezed her. 'I did it for you,' he told her. 'I tried to follow your example, with Rogers and Tilly, or Hook and Alice, Henry, Regina, and the others. It made me feel closer to you, even though I was so far away.'
She was smiling tearfully at him, cupping his cheeks. 'I love you so much.'
'I love you too,' he breathed, kissing her.
They parted after a long moment, both smiling.
'S-so what happens now?' he asked.
She sent him a beaming smile. 'Now, we live, Rumple. The afterlife isn't really well named at all, because we get to go on, have more adventures, together, forever. Our lives are not over.'
'That…that sounds amazing,' he said, 'but there's just us here, and the well… Why is the well here?' he wondered, frowning.
'You were remembering our wedding earlier,' she said. 'When people first come here, the first thing they see is something important to them that they thought of just before they died. You were looking at our wedding in the dreamcatcher.'
'I was looking at you,' he corrected.
She smiled. 'Well, here I am,' she said, and laughed a little.
He smiled. 'What did you see, when you first came here?'
'Your old spinning wheel,' she said, smiling at him. 'Do you remember? I came in and sat beside you… Our first kiss. Then, in our little house at the Edge of Realms, you'd spin and I'd read, and the sound of the wheel was so comforting. I loved to listen to it. And you made me laugh that day I asked you why you spun so much, and I always loved you making me laugh.'
'I remember,' he breathed. 'I remember everything.'
'So do I,' she said softly, and reached up for another kiss. 'And the well and me…this is just the beginning, Rumple,' she said, as she slipped her hands from his shoulders and took his hands, stepping back a step.
'Belle,' he breathed, panicking, fearing lest this was only a brief reunion and she would leave him alone here.
'I'm right here,' she soothed. 'I'm never leaving you again, Rumple. Trust me?'
'Always,' he said fervently.
'Good,' she murmured. 'Just breathe.'
He did as she said, and then…
'What's happening?' he asked, looking around with wide eyes. The fathomless black was giving way to colour, now, light coalescing around him: blue/gold sky, green leaves, grey rock, brown trees. A forest surrounded them, water rushing close by, the sky overhead was getting on for dark, all golden and pink and blue, like the sky at the Edge of Realms. It was all very beautiful, and Belle glowed before him, like an angel.
'It's like the forest outside Storybrooke,' he said.
She squeezed his hands. 'Yes,' she said, 'where we were married, where we opened up to each other, even when it was painful. This place, and every part of our home here, is a combination of what was important to us, where we were happiest, the best, most meaningful parts of the life we lived together. There's a lot here, Rumple,' she said, laughing a bit; then smiling because of what the vastness of this place said about their life together, how meaningful it was. He smiled too.
'Are those the mountains around the Dark Castle?' he asked then, looking over her shoulder.
'Yes,' she said, 'where we fell in love. You'll find so many memories here, Rumple. And we don't have to stay here for eternity: we can travel too. There are other realms to visit, more adventures we can have.'
'Oh, I like the sound of adventures with you, Belle,' he said, smiling at her.
She giggled. 'Well, right now, someone else is waiting to see you, someone who's been waiting for you even longer than I have.' And her voice had softened, becoming soothing and gentle.
Rumplestiltskin's eyes widened and he stared at her.
'Belle,' he breathed, almost afraid to ask, 'is…is Bae…?'
'Hey, Papa.'
Rumplestiltskin froze. The voice had come from behind him again, but this time, he didn't turn: he couldn't.
A hand landed on his shoulder. 'I'm here, Papa,' his elder son's voice said gently, squeezing his shoulder a little. 'I've been waiting for you.'
Rumplestiltskin's chest heaved as his heart beat painfully. All these years, he'd hoped to get back to Belle, never daring to hope that Bae could be part of his eternity too. He'd done so much wrong by Bae, and never gotten to make amends to him as he had to Belle. He'd thought he'd lost him forever, but forever was here…and so was his first son…
He turned slowly, Belle letting go of one of his hands, but keeping hold of the other when he clutched her tighter.
He blinked and saw his son, just as he'd looked on the day he died, only now, there was peace in his eyes, not pain, and he was smiling.
'Hey, Papa,' Bae breathed.
'Bae,' Rumplestiltskin whispered. 'You've…you were waiting for me?' he asked, a lump in his throat.
'Yeah, I was,' his boy returned, 'and I've been wanting to do this for a really, really long time.' So saying, he threw his arms around his father and hugged him for dear life.
Rumplestiltskin gasped and staggered a bit. He was completely overwhelmed. Tears rolled down his cheek and he couldn't speak.
He noticed, though, when Belle began to ease her hand from his. He clutched at her again, panicking.
'I'm right here,' she soothed, putting her hand on his arm. 'I won't go away. I just wanted you to be able to hold your son.' She rubbed his arm. 'Go on, Rumple,' she coaxed.
He did as she said, wrapping his arms around his boy, hearing Bae's little sniffle.
'Oh, Bae,' he sobbed.
'I'm proud of you, Papa: I'm so proud of you,' his son said. 'You did it! You defeated the Darkness for good, and you saved all the realms from it, and… I'm… I'm sorry, about Beowulf… The memory came back after I died, and…'
Bae had pulled back to look at him, but he dropped his head in shame when he spoke of that.
Rumplestiltskin cupped his son's cheek and Bae looked up, his eyes large and full of tears.
'I would've done anything I had to to keep you safe from the Darkness, Bae,' Rumplestiltskin said. 'I'm only sorry for what it did to us. And I'm sorry I couldn't save you in the end.'
'No, no,' Bae said, pulling his father close again. 'Oh, Papa, you did everything you could. Life kicked you in the gut so much, but you found your way in the end, and I'm proud of you, and I love you.'
'I love you too, son,' Rumple breathed, squeezing him tight.
'I missed you,' Bae sobbed.
'I missed you too, son, so much, but I'm here now, somehow.' He sighed. 'I can't believe this is real.'
'Well, believe it,' Bae said. 'You did it, Papa: you're a hero. You're even more of a hero because you didn't know you were one!' He smiled. 'You did an amazing thing, Papa: they're gonna remember you for it.'
'I just hope they live, that they're happy, that they get to be together forever,' Rumplestiltskin said. 'Who knows what they'll all do now.' And he smiled at the thought.
'Well, I don't know what's next for them,' Bae said, 'but I think the three of us should take a walk together right now. Whaddya say?'
'I think that sounds like a wonderful idea, son,' Rumplestiltskin said softly.
'So do I,' Belle agreed.
Rumplestiltskin held out his hands for his wife and firstborn son, and the three of them walked on along the forest path, hand in hand.
Next time, more reunions, and then Rumple is left to be with his wife.