This is my gift to Prissyhalliwell for the "Rumbelle Christmas in July" gift exchange on Tumblr. Prompt was: "Well this is rather unexpected." Enjoy!
A Life Unexpected
Belle French sat behind the wheel driving the car, annoyed by everything that had happened that day, and especially annoyed at the person sitting in the passenger seat next to her.
"You're sure you don't want to do dinner tonight?" he asked. Belle sighed.
"Gaston, I told you, I'm very busy this evening." Belle hoped that the idiot believed her.
"Doing what exactly?" Gaston asked. Gaston was Belle's ex-boyfriend – a relationship set up by her father that she neither wanted nor enjoyed, but her father felt that they would be well matched. Scratch that – their MONEY would be well matched. Belle's father was a successful businessman in Boston; he moved to the states when Belle was in her teens and owned a floral shop, which he successfully expanded into a chain of home décor stores. Gaston's family was – well, she knew they had money but they really didn't DO anything. At least Gaston didn't. He was supposedly in town for some brokerage convention, in Storybrooke of all places, although she'd heard nothing about it. Belle suspected that her father simply sent Gaston to town to 'check up on her.' After breaking up with Gaston over a year ago, she took a job at the Storybrooke library. She wanted a clean break, somewhere quiet, where she could simply work and save enough money to travel in a few years. She wanted nothing from her father, and was determined to make it on her own. She was also about to stop the car and forcibly shove Gaston out the door if he didn't stop pestering her. Why he convinced her to give him a ride back to his hotel, she had no idea.
"I um – I have plans," Belle finally said to him when they reached a red light.
"Plans? Really? With who?"
"With um – I'm seeing someone Gaston, alright? I have a boyfriend." That should shut him up, Belle thought to herself.
"Really? What's his name?" Belle panicked.
"He um – he's -" Belle looked up as they neared his hotel, and saw a storefront sign that read Mr. Gold's Pawn Shop. "It's Gold," she finally said.
"Gold? Like that store over there?" Oh bloody hell, the idiot can read small words, she'd forgotten.
"Um – yeah, that's him," Belle said, not even sure that the owner of the store was actually named Mr. Gold.
"Well, I want to meet him. Let's stop in."
"Gaston, he's – he's busy."
"There's no one parked anywhere near the store. I just want to check this guy out, make sure he's good enough for you."
"Gaston, this is ridiculous, you have no right and no business to know who I spend my time with," Belle insisted.
"What are you hiding Belle? What's wrong with this guy that you don't want me to meet him?" Belle made a right turn and pulled into the nearest parking spot.
"Wait here," Belle said as she opened the door. "I'll go see how busy he is." Belle slammed the car door and stomped off, wishing she had simply ignored Gaston the moment he set foot in the library. She was too nice, that was always her problem, she thought to herself. Belle entered the pawn shop – there was a man standing behind the counter talking on the phone, his back to her.
"Alright Bae, I'll see you in a few days. Don't start, I already told you my private life is none of your business," the man said, and he ended the call.
"Um, excuse me – are you Mr. Gold?" Belle asked.
"Yes I am, how can I – help you?" Gold replied, pausing almost breathlessly when he saw Belle. Belle smiled a bit when she finally saw his face. He was a bit older but he wasn't unattractive, that was a good sign.
"I – this is going to sound crazy, but – I need to get rid of someone," Belle told him.
"I'm sorry my dear, but I'm a pawnbroker, not a hit man," Gold retorted.
"Not that kind of get rid of, just – listen, my ex-boyfriend is outside, he's an absolute moron and waste of space and he's in town just to spy on me for my father, who for some reason, probably because he's a misogynistic prat, thinks that I can't manage on my own. I told him I had a boyfriend and he asked for a name and we were driving along and I saw the sign to your store so I said that it was Gold and when he asked if it was the owner of the shop I said yes, and now he wants to meet you." Gold listened intently to every word.
"I see," was his only response.
"So – can I just bring him in here for two minutes, you say that we're dating, and he'll believe it and leave, he's really not that bright." Before Gold had a chance to answer, the door burst open.
"Alright Belle, you've had enough time and obviously he's not that busy so -" Gaston began, but the moment he started to speak, Belle grabbed the lapels of Gold's suit jacket, pulled him forward, and kissed him – for much longer than both she and Gold expected.
"I'm sorry," Belle mouthed to Gold, then she turned around. "Gaston, didn't I tell you to wait in the car?"
"This is the guy you're dating? THIS guy?" Gaston asked, eyeing Gold up and down.
"Is there a problem, dearie?" Gold asked, very annoyed.
"Yeah. First of all, how old are you?" Gaston asked.
"Gaston!" Belle shouted.
"Old enough to tell you to get the hell out of my shop," Gold said, leaning on his can and making his way out from behind the counter.
"Belle, come on, you're not seriously dating this guy?" Gaston asked.
"Why not?" Belle asked.
"Well – look at him!" Gaston shouted.
"I think he's handsome," Belle said. Gold's eyes widened at her compliment.
"I think you need your eyes checked," Gaston retorted.
"As I said – kindly remove yourself from my shop," Gold said, pointing his cane at Gaston, "or I'll remove you myself."
"Come on Belle let's go," Gaston said, and he grabbed Belle's arm roughly.
"Gaston, let me go!" Belle shouted, pulling away from him.
"Let her go, or you'll be finding this cane inserted in an orifice that will be quite uncomfortable," Gold growled.
"You know what, fine? I'll walk the rest of the way, it's only a few blocks anyway. Your taste in men has really gone downhill, Belle."
"I actually think it's gotten better," Belle replied. Gaston sneered at her and stormed out of the store in a huff. Belle breathed a sigh of relief.
"Are you alright?" Gold asked her.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry about the kiss, I just – I don't know why I did that."
"It's quite alright," Gold said.
"Well – thank you for – playing along."
"I don't really think I did all that much."
"Well, you convinced Gaston."
"You really dated that lout? A smart, pretty girl like you?"
"How do you know I'm smart?" Belle asked.
"I'm a good judge of character," Gold said. "That man – doesn't have any." Belle laughed a bit.
"My father set us up, it was a disaster from day one. I could never be with a man as shallow as Gaston."
"Well – that's good to know," Gold said. They were both quiet for a moment as they eyed one another in a surprisingly flirtatious way.
"I should probably go, I'm sure you want to close up," Belle said. "Thank you again."
"Belle, wait," Gold said as Belle turned toward the door. "That – is your name, right?"
"Yes it is," Belle replied.
"Would you be interested in doing me a favor as well?"
"Like what?"
"Have dinner at my house in three days," Gold said.
"Oh – I um – really?"
"My son and his girlfriend have a three-day weekend break from college and they're coming to visit. He's been nagging at me to start dating again for the past five years, ever since my ex-wife left me. He's only in town a handful of times a year, so I figure, if you can pose as my girlfriend for the evening – well, that should be enough to quiet him for at least the remainder of the year."
"You want me to be your girlfriend for the evening?" Belle asked.
"Well – I think it's a fair trade, don't you? I mean, given that you just popped into my shop and put me in a rather precarious situation with no warning. Although we will have to have a bit of planning for the next couple of days. My son isn't an unintelligent oaf like your friend, and his girlfriend is studying criminal law, she'll spot a con a mile away. So – do we have a deal?" Belle thought about it for a moment.
"Can you tell me your name? I mean – I kind of need to know it. Being your girlfriend and all." Gold smirked at her.
"It's Ryan. My mother was half Irish."
"Well – Ryan - I really don't have anything planned the next few days. It could be fun," Belle replied.
"Indeed," Gold agreed.
Three days later . . . . . .
"So, you're sure this will work?" Belle asked as she sat waiting in Gold's living room.
"Just stick to the script that we went over and there won't be any problems," Gold reminded her as he sat down. "I really appreciate you doing this."
"Oh, I don't mind. It's been kind of fun, actually. A little mini adventure without even leaving Storybrooke."
"The fact that your father and his dolt of a minion don't see you as capable to fend for yourself astounds me, Belle."
"Papa is – from another time. As is Gaston."
"Ah, yes the Cro-Magnon era. I recall it well." Belle laughed a bit.
"I hardly think fifty-one years old is pre-historic levels of ancient," Belle said. "You don't look your age."
"Neither do you. You look younger than my son."
"You think he'll be bothered by that?"
"Nah. Bae is a fairly open-minded lad. I wouldn't worry about him. He'll just be happy that I'm not sitting home alone every night moping and drinking scotch."
"Is that really what you do?"
"Sometimes," Gold admitted. The doorbell rang, and Gold stood up. "Well – here we go." Gold walked over to the door and opened it.
"Hey, Papa!" Bae said as he entered, giving Gold a hug. Bae then set down his suitcase, as did the blonde girl with him.
"Oh, I've missed you, my boy," Gold said, then he looked over at Bae's girlfriend. "It's good to see you too, Emma."
"Thanks," Emma said. Gold observed that she seemed a bit nervous, which wasn't like her at all.
"Well, come on – there's someone you need to meet," Gold said, and he led them into the living room. Belle stood up when they entered. "Belle – this is my son Bae Gold, and his girlfriend, Emma Swan."
"It's so nice to finally meet you," Belle said, shaking hands with both of them. "Ryan has told me all about you."
"Well – you're quite a bit ahead of me, then. I wasn't informed until two days ago," Bae said.
"I told you – I didn't want to make a big deal of it, and I didn't want you prying into my personal life," Gold said.
"So, Belle – didn't it bother you that my father wanted to keep you hidden away like one of his trinkets?" Bae remarked. Gold glared at him.
"I'm a bit private myself, but – no it didn't bother me. I didn't even know you were coming into town until a couple of days ago," Belle said. Well at least that wasn't a lie.
"So how'd you guys meet?" Emma asked.
"At the library," Belle said. "I work there. Your father came in to get some books and we started talking." Bae laughed.
"Really? My father started talking to you? I can barely get him to engage in conversation with ME, how did you manage?" Bae asked.
"Actually, she was the one who began the dialog. I only went along in the hope that she would leave me alone eventually. It didn't quite work out that way," Gold said.
"We've just kind of been casually dating until about a month ago, when it started to get more serious. Your father didn't want to say anything until he was sure this was going to work. He didn't want to get your hopes up." Belle took Gold's hand and squeezed it – an ad-libbed addition to their planned explanation. To his surprise, Gold didn't mind at all.
"Aren't you a bit young for him?" Emma asked bluntly.
"Emma!" Bae shouted.
"It's okay. I'm a bit older than I look – and Ryan and I don't care about age, we just – we fit together. That's all that matters," Belle said.
"Sorry about that – I have the opposite problem that you do. He won't talk, and mine won't shut up," Bae joked.
"Hey!" Emma said, punching him gently in the shoulder.
"Where's the lie?" Bae asked.
"Don't you two want to take your things upstairs and get settled?" Gold asked. "Belle and I will get the table ready for dinner while you do that."
"Yeah, that's probably a good idea," Bae said. They all stood up, and Bae and Emma went to get their bags as Gold and Belle made their way to the kitchen.
"Well – that went better than expected," Gold said. "Thank you so much for this."
"You think he'll be upset when he comes back in six months and we're not together anymore?" Belle sked.
"He'll get over it," Gold said. "Alright, let's get the tea set out there, it should be brewed by now. Belle picked up the tray, and one of the teacups that was a bit too close to the edge fell off the tray and onto the floor. Belle set the tray down on the counter and bent to pick up the cup.
"Oh, I'm so sorry," Belle said, looking over the broken cup. "It's chipped – you can barely see it."
"Well, it's just a cup. It's no matter," Gold said. He opened a cupboard and took out another cup. "Here – rinse this one off, it'll be fine."
"They look expensive," Belle said.
"I said it's no matter. It's okay – if this is the worst mishap of the evening, we should be fine," Gold said.
"I suppose you're right," Belle said. She set the chipped teacup on the counter and went about helping Gold get things ready for dinner.
After dinner, the four of them sat in the living room and talked for a few hours, until Emma looked at the clock and started yawning.
"You getting tired, honey?" Bae asked Emma.
"Yeah, kind of," Emma said. "I think I want to turn in."
"Of course," Gold said.
"We're gonna head off to bed then. We'll see you guys in the morning," Bae said.
"Um – the morning?" Gold asked.
"Papa – you guys said you're serious, I figured Belle is staying here. It's all good – my room is all the way down the hall, we won't hear a thing," Bae joked. "Have a good night." Bae and Emma got up and went up the stairs, and Gold and Belle just sat and stared at one another, dumbfounded.
"Belle, I'm so sorry," Gold finally said. "You – you can go, I'll just have to tell Bae the truth in the morning."
"But it went so well," Belle said. "They believed everything."
"I don't expect you to sleep with me, Belle, that wasn't part of our deal."
"Well – isn't there um – a guest room or something?"
"Bae's room is my guest room, which is only used when Bae is here. As you probably gathered, I don't entertain much," Gold said.
"Well, I can sleep on the sofa," Belle suggested.
"And what if Bae or Emma get up in the middle of the night? Then what?" Gold asked. Belle thought about it for a moment.
"Well – let's just – sleep together then," Belle said, and Gold's eyes widened.
"Excuse me?" Gold said, stunned.
"I mean, just – share the bed. I presume that, given what I know about you, you have a rather large one. Bed, I mean," Belle teased.
"King sized," Gold said, playing along with her innuendo.
"We're both adults, right? You stay on your side, I'll stay on mine."
"You're sure you want to do this?" Gold asked.
"Do you have something more comfortable I can wear? A t-shirt or something?" Belle asked.
"You can wear one of my pajama tops. Would that be alright?" Gold asked.
"That's fine," Belle replied.
"Belle, this is far above and beyond what I expected."
"I know. I don't want you to disappoint your son, he seems very happy that you're not alone. I wish I had a good relationship with my father like that."
"I've always put my boy first – he's all that's ever mattered to me."
"I see that. You have this gruff exterior but – you're really not like that at all, are you?"
"Oh, I'm a monster, my dear. Total beast," Gold teased. Belle giggled a bit.
"I don't think so. Come on – let's go to bed. You don't snore, do you?"
"A bit," Gold admitted.
"Well, I'll manage." Belle headed toward the stairs and Gold just stood there, watching her in shock that she was agreeing to all of this. When Belle got halfway up the stairs, she turned back and looked at him. "Aren't you coming?" she asked. Not saying a word, Gold simply followed her.
Then next morning, Belle and Gold began to awaken at the same time. Each of them had begun the night comfortably on their own side of Gold's bed, but when they awoke, they found themselves tightly snuggled in one another's arms. Belle moaned sleepily as she snuggled more deeply into his body. Gold blinked his eyes open and looked down at her, dumbfounded. "Um – Belle," Gold whispered.
"What?" Belle mumbled.
"We, um – how did we get like this?" Gold didn't pull away from her at all.
"Must have happened in our sleep," Belle said groggily.
"Indeed," Gold replied. "And neither of us noticed."
"I suppose we were simply too comfortable to awaken," Belle said. They were both quiet for a bit.
"Well this is rather unexpected," Gold admitted, still holding Belle in his arms. Belle lifted up her head and kissed Gold on the lips with a soft, gentle kiss, which he returned.
"I don't really think it is," Belle said after their kiss.
"Belle, this wasn't supposed to be anything more than a ruse."
"Perhaps it wasn't," Belle proposed. "Perhaps all of this was supposed to happen. Even Gaston coming to town and irritating me. I wouldn't have been in your shop otherwise."
"I wasn't looking for this, Belle," Gold said.
"Well – sometimes you find what you're looking for when you're not even looking for it. I don't see you pushing me out of your arms," Belle reminded him. Gold smirked at her, then kissed her again, their kiss lasting much longer than the one prior.
"So now what?" Gold asked.
"We go downstairs and have breakfast?" Belle suggested, and Gold laughed a bit.
"What about after that?"
"I think we have plenty of time to think about after that."
"Yeah – I suppose we do," Gold said, and they kissed once again.
Bae and Emma entered the kitchen to find Gold and Belle sitting at the table drinking coffee – and holding hands. "You owe me twenty bucks," Bae said to Emma as he poured himself a cup of coffee.
"Why is that?" Gold asked.
"Get this, papa – Emma was convinced that this entire thing with you and Belle was some elaborate ruse. Obviously – she was wrong," Bae said, and he stuck his tongue out at Emma."
"Yes. Obviously," Gold agreed, and Belle grinned at him.
"You got any orange juice or anything?" Emma asked.
"What, no coffee? I thought you owned stock in Starbucks the way I've seen you down the stuff," Gold remarked. "There should be some in the refrigerator."
"You wanna tell him now or later?" Emma asked.
"Tell me what?" Gold asked.
"Belle, can you um – give us a minute?" Bae asked.
"No – Belle can stay," Gold insisted, and he grabbed her hand tightly.
"Ryan if this is a family thing, maybe I should leave," Belle said.
"You stay right where you are, Belle," Gold insisted as Bae and Emma sat down at the table with them. "What is this you want to tell me?"
"I'm pregnant," Emma announced, and she took a sip of her orange juice.
"You're what!" Gold shouted.
"Emma, you didn't have to blurt it out like that," Bae said.
"Why dance around it Bae, the information won't change," Emma said. "Look, don't worry – we've got it all figured out."
"You've got what all figured out? Neither of you are even finished with college yet!" Gold shouted.
"It's not like we planned this, papa, it just – happened. We were careful and it still happened. Look, I'm done this summer and Emma has another year, which yes, we know will be extended but we'll figure it out. We got an apartment together in Boston. I got a job – it's not a great job but there's plenty of room for advancement. Emma has extra money from her scholarship and she's looking for a part time job, too. We'll work it out," Bae said. "We just – might need a little bit of help at first. It'd be a loan – we'd pay you back."
"Bae, this isn't the life I wanted for you," Gold said.
"Well, it's the life I got. And I'm okay with it," Bae said. "Will you help us out?"
"Of course I will," Gold replied. "When are you due?"
"After the first of the year. My luck I'll go into labor during a snowstorm," Emma joked.
"Belle, I'm – kind of glad that you're here now that I think about it. I thought he'd be screaming at me, but – your presence seems to calm the beast," Bae said. "I'm glad papa has you in his life. I never thought it would happen."
"Ryan, we need to tell them the truth," Belle said.
"What truth?" Bae asked. Gold sighed.
"Emma was right. I just met Belle a few days ago; she came into my shop just after I got off the phone with you and she agreed to pretend to be my girlfriend," Gold admitted.
"Wait a minute – this is all fake? Why would you do that?" Bae asked.
"Because I was tired of you pestering me about it," Gold said. Bae turned and looked at Belle.
"Why would you even agree to something like this?" he asked.
"You father did me a favor, so – I thought it was the least I could do," Belle told him.
"Hold on – you spent the night here, those are the same clothes you wore yesterday," Emma said.
"Yes – she did," Gold said. "And this morning we um – realized that – perhaps our little scam was – something more than that."
"It just happened – unexpectedly. So we um – we're gonna see where it goes from here," Belle said. She squeezed Gold's hand, and he smiled at her.
"You guys were really faking it last night? You had me fooled," Bae admitted.
"Perhaps we weren't pretending as much as we thought we were," Gold suggested.
"Well – this is going to be an interesting year," Bae said.
"Indeed it is," Gold agreed.
One year later . . . . .
Belle sat on the sofa at Gold's house holding the baby in her arms and cooing happily. "Hey, can I have my kid back?" Emma asked as she entered the room.
"I don't see him enough, let me hold him a bit longer," Belle whined.
"You're gonna have your own in about five months. Trust me, they're not that cute when they're screaming at two in the morning," Emma said.
"That's not my problem, Ryan said he'd handle all of the middle of the night fits," Belle said.
"I said I'd share the responsibility," Gold said, sitting down next to her. "I hardly think I'm qualified for breast feeding."
"Who would have thought that a fake dating scheme would end up like this, huh?" Bae said as he sat down.
"Never would have imagined," Gold agreed, and he kissed Belle on the cheek. "Can't believe how much I owe that Neanderthal ex of yours."
"Fortunately, he doesn't realize it. None of his business," Belle said.
"So – we have some news," Bae said.
"Please don't tell me you're having another one," Gold said.
"No, we um – we're being extra careful lately. Emma got a job," Bae said.
"Really? I thought you still had to finish school," Gold said.
"Just one more semester and I can do most of it online, I'll just have to go back down to Boston a few times," Emma said.
"Back down? You're moving?" Gold asked.
"Yeah. To Storybrooke," Bae said. "Emma got a job at the police department here."
"The opening came up, and I applied. Bae and I really want you to be more of a part of Henry's life, and – well, we also kind of want him to get to know his new aunt or uncle," Emma said.
"Aunt," Belle said. "We just found out we're having a baby girl."
"A little sister, huh? That's great," Bae said.
"Let's just hope she looks more like her mother," Gold teased.
"She'll be beautiful," Belle said. "From both of us."
"What about your job, Bae?" Gold asked.
"They're letting me telecommute for the most part, but – I'll be looking for something closer," Bae said.
"The library is looking for a business manager," Belle suggested. "Job isn't even posted yet. Would you be interested?"
"Yeah – I would," Bae said.
"I can't believe that in one year – this is where we are," Gold admitted.
"I can't believe that Belle actually stayed with you – willingly," Bae joked.
"Well, as you said last year – she calms the beast," Gold said, and he put his arm around her.
"You're not a beast – most of the time," Belle joked.
"So um – what happens from here?" Bae asked.
"I really don't know," Gold replied. But in the past year I've learned to expect the unexpected. And for that – I'm glad." Gold kissed Belle on the lips, and she smiled at him afterward. Whatever lay ahead for all of them – it was going to be a good life. She couldn't have been happier.
THE END.