A/N - This is from the prompt Rumbelle: One member of the couple is trying to get the other to wear an "embarrassing" costume. Hope you enjoy :DD
"Belle, dear, will you be long?"
"Patience, Rumple," she responded, her tone light "You'll love it."
Rumplestiltskin settled back into his chair, tapping his cane off the wooden floor. Belle had been very secretive this past week, especially so tonight. What could she be up to? It was driving him almost insane, to have no idea what excited his sweet Belle so much. She'd been so determined to keep her surprise and shamefully, although he had pried when she was at the library, he'd been unable to find anything of interest.
"Rumplestiltskin," she called from behind the door.
"I'm ready," he replied "Please, now, Belle, I must know."
"Close your eyes, then. And no peeking!"
With a growl of frustration, he complied. There was a rush of movement and the soft clicking of her shoes before a giggle burst out from her and Rumple opened his eyes, far too curious to keep them closed any longer.
"Belle…" he trailed off, looking her up and down.
In place of her usual dresses and cardigans was a … wedding dress. A full skirt of white lace and a sleeveless corset that allowed a peek of the milky skin of her breasts that reminded him of the gold betrothal dress he had first seen her in.
"Do you like it?" she asked, eagerly, perching herself on the arm of the chair.
"I…I love it, Belle, you look gorgeous," he said with a smile "But… forgive me for asking, why exactly are you in a wedding dress?"
"Ah, I was hoping you'd ask," she said, springing up with the excitement of a small child at Christmas.
"And are you going to tell me?"
"Later, I promise."
"Belle," he whined in a rather petulant manner.
"Oh, ok," she relented "It's for Halloween."
"Halloween?"
"You have heard of it, haven't you? I was reading all about the traditions of this land, and I discovered that Halloween was one of them. And not too far away, either."
"I, yes, of course I've heard of it. But why are you dressed as a bride?"
"Zombie bride," Belle corrected with a grin
"A zombie?" question Rumple, incredulous.
"One of the undead. Henry was telling me all about them. It is quite the gruesome tale," she continued "He also invited us to the Halloween party at the town hall. Tomorrow night. We have to dress up as something, preferably scary."
"And let me guess, you want me to dress up too?"
"Come on, Rumple, it's great fun!"
"I can see you're in love with this whole idea, Belle, but it's not for me… Why don't you go to this party with Ruby?"
"I want to go with you, Rumple. This is a perfect opportunity to get to know the people of the town better."
"Is that meant to strike joy into my heart?"
"Rumple," she reprimanded, her tone playful "At least try on the costume I got for you."
You have got to be kidding me, he thought as she produced a bag and thrust it into his hands, pushing him towards the bedroom.
"Don't be long," she told him, smiling encouragingly.
The things I do for love…
After the ordeal of trying to squeeze into the excessively tight black leather trousers and clingy black top, he laced up the boots that came just past his ankles. He already felt like a fool. Grabbing the absurd cloak, he shrugged it over his shoulders and tied it at the throat. The black and red material hung awkwardly against him and the high collar seemed to be there only to irritate him.
"Rumple, come on out. I know you're ready."
With some mumbled moaning and grumbling, Rumple opened the door and stepped out.
"Come here, let me fix it!" coaxed Belle.
"I look humiliatingly stupid," complained Rumple.
"You look like someone who is about to have fun, Rumple. Lighten up a bit. Just forget all about being the Dark One for one night, please. For me," she added, hopefully.
"For you, Belle," he agreed, noting her pleased smile.
She bounded over to him with the tube of fake blood and applied it liberally to his false fangs so that it dripped down his chin. She'd had him sitting there for almost an hour now, painting his face chalk white, making his eyes darker underneath, and showing him how to apply those godforsaken contact lenses that made his eyes a glowing red… His hair had been swept back with some sweet smelling gel too. He had to admit, he didn't feel particularly menacing and was sure to be the laughing stock of this party.
Still, Belle looked wonderful. Her bridal dress was ripped and stained with anything she could find, her hair was swept back in a matted knot and she had even applied scarily real scars and cuts to her face and skin. Seeing her as anything other than the sweet bookish girl with the heart of a lion was a nice surprise. He, he supposed, looked like a foolish version of himself.
"There!" she said triumphantly, planting a chaste kiss on his nose "I'm just going to touch up my lipstick, and then we can get off."
The party was bustling as they neared the town hall. Lights in red and white and orange faintly lit up the streets surrounding it and there was the faint thumping of loud music to be heard. Belle shivered and Rumple drew her closer to ward off the chill.
"Are you ready?" she asked, excitably, despite the freezing weather.
"As I'll ever be," he responded, absently running his tongue over the fake teeth.
"Just try to enjoy it, ok? We needn't stay all night," she said before dragging him towards the open doors.
"Don't worry about me, darling, you just have fun. You deserve it," he finished, squeezing her hand, to reassure himself more than anything.
When they got inside, it looked like half the town had turned out already. The music blasted and several kids were dancing in costumes of varying degrees of spookiness.
"Belle!" called Ruby, abandoning her drink and rushing over, embracing her friend "Rumple."
"You look fantastic," stated Belle, glancing at the traditional nun's outfit, complete with a headdress.
How hypocritical, thought Rumple, almost laughing when he remembered the short, tight clothes Ruby Lucas had worn under the curse.
"Rumple, Rumple, are you alright?" asked Belle, worriedly, one hand resting on his arm.
"Quite, dear. I'm beginning to think I might actually enjoy this party after all."
Belle beamed at him before leading him over to Snow, in an angel costume, and Emma, dressed as a devil. He excused himself and went to fetch a glass of champagne, more to get out of the awkwardness of talking to his old enemies while in a fancy dress costume with 'Ghostbusters' playing in the background.
"Your Majesty," smirked Rumple as his eyes fell on the former Evil Queen standing with a plate of lasagne in one hand and a wine glass in the other.
"Not a word, Dracula," she snapped back.
"No need to get tetchy, Regina. I was about to compliment you on your costume," he mocked.
Setting her plate down, the queen crossed her arms in annoyance. It was rather hard to be taken seriously though with her hair in two braids and a floppy straw hat on her head. The checked red shirt and knee-high brown leather boots didn't look half as ridiculous as his own costume though, he reasoned. Not that he'd admit it.
"I only wore this to please Henry, Gold, so you had best just forget about it," said Regina, sipping her wine.
"I can try," he said with a grin.
"Alright, Rumplestitlskin, if that's how you want to play it. I challenge you to an apple bobbing competition. Right now."
"Very well."
"Apples are my forte, Rumple. Are you sure you're up to it?"
"As long as they aren't poisoned, dearie."
"How about we add a forfeit, just to make it more interesting. The loser i.e. YOU, has to dunk their head in the water."
"Why, do you want another bath, Your Majesty?"
"I don't intend to lose, dearie."
Belle and Ruby approached the growing crowd of people around the games area with curiosity. The librarian scanned the crowd but failed to see Rumple. Now that she thought about it, she hadn't seen him for a good half an hour. At least he seemed to be enjoying it though. She smiled fondly as she remembered his reaction to seeing Prince Charming dressed as a clown, red nose and huge shoes and all.
"What on earth?" she heard Snow exclaim.
The two girls moved quicker, a bad idea in high heels on a polished floor. Ruby's shoes were extra high so she didn't trip over her long skirts and she promptly tripped, tumbling over, bringing Belle down with her. They both landed in a heap, giggling.
"I'm sorry," said Ruby, choking on her laughter.
"Oh, don't worry about it, Rubes," she replied, arranging her skirts with a lifetime of practice and helping her up.
"No more wine for me, I suppose," she joked "Ow, I hate these damned shoes!"
Rumplestiltskin and Regina failed to noticed the spectators standing silently around them as they took turns kneeling by the bucket of water and trying and failing to grab an apple with their teeth. The fork was long abandoned, along with Rumple's fangs.
Everyone stared in wondrous amusement. The Evil Queen and the Dark One competing without actually trying to kill each other was something that seemed less likely than the sun rising in the west.
"Got one!" said Regina, triumphantly, head bobbing back up, apple clenched firmly in her mouth.
"You did not, you cheat! You used magic!" retorted Rumple, outraged.
"Don't be such a sore loser, Rumple," she mocked, taking a dainty bite of her prized apple.
An idea came to his mind, then, and he turned his back, turning to see the crowd for the first time. No-one had said anything yet. He concentrated on the elements and held his focus. Seconds later, he heard a surprised scream and whipped around, a grin plastered on his face.
Standing by the now empty bucket was a dripping wet Regina Mills, looking positively irate.
"I didn't realise there were showers in the town hall, Your Grace," he said in as casual a voice as he could muster.
"You… You are SO going to PAY for this," shrieked Regina although she just looked like a school girl having a tantrum in her outfit.
Even so, a sudden tension filled the air as everyone stilled, eyes locked on the two who were sure to begin fighting any second now.
Regina put one hand on her hip and beckoned to the table with one finger. Instantly, a bucket of ice water came floating through the air and came to a stop in front of her. She waved a hand at Rumple and successfully immobilised him. Slowly, with a sultry walk and a smirk on her face, she approached him.
"Don't you dare, Regina!" he threatened, trying to counteract her spell but failing to do so because of the emotion she was using "I swear...!"
"You'll what, Rumple dear. You'll… get me back?" she taunted, dipping her hand in the icy water and shivering for dramatic effect "Say sorry and I'll forgive you."
"Not a chance in hell!"
She flicked the water in his face.
"Very well, then. You leave me with no choice!"
An instant later, the whole bucket of ice and freezing water was dumped over Rumplestiltskin's head and the enchantment was broken. He growled and flexed his fingers, preparing to bring the remaining lasagne over and shove it in Regina's arrogant face.
"I think that's enough now," said Charming, stepping between the two.
But it was too late. The lasagne was already sailing through the air and splattered against Charming's face instead of its original target.
The room fell into an uncomfortable silence before people began to titter nervously. Snow leapt to the food table and flung a fruit flan in Rumple's direction, accidently hitting Cinderella with it instead. Shouting started and all at once people scrambled for either food or cover as a full blown food fight broke out.
Rumple and Belle were curled up in bed that night, thoroughly cleaned up and thoroughly exhausted. The food fight had lasted at least 15 minutes and by that time everyone and everywhere was such a mess that the party had to be taken outside. Everyone had been quite disbelieving that they had acted so childishly.
"I knew you'd have fun tonight, Rumple," laughed Belle, dragging a hand through her freshly washed hair.
"It was certainly… enjoyable," he agreed, leaning down to kiss her.
A/N - I'm so sorry! I don't even know what happened at the end ahaha. It started off relatively serious as well. Anyway, I hope you had a good time reading it and don't hate it too much :P
Happy Halloween,
Rachel xxx
(Please leave some feedback and I could perhaps fill your prompt too)