Fifty Shades of Gold

Disclaimer: I do not own "Once Upon a Time" or any of these characters!

A/N: For the record, this story is a lot AU. It's a lovely Rumbelle one-shot loosely connected to my last one. For the premise of this story to happen, Belle is indeed in Storybrooke and not in the psych ward. Please enjoy!

She chattered aimlessly about her favorite books as they slowly made their way up the staircase to the second floor. Under normal circumstances, he'd be willing to listen to her talk all day long. In fact, he'd find her incessant rambling charming. But today was anything but normal circumstances. Today he was hobbling up the stairs of one Mary Margaret's apartment building, one hand on the rail and the other holding his cane. And there was a book, of course, tucked underneath his arm as he followed Belle up the stairs. A book that no man should ever be allowed to read in this lifetime.

When he had finally gained the courage to ask her out, Mr. Gold was absolutely not expecting this. He had told her she could decide where they went. She had gotten so excited at the idea so when she presented this one to him, he couldn't back out of it. Especially when she flashed him that pretty smile that she always reserved for him. So here he was, hobbling up the stairs and hurting his bum leg even more than it was already hurting, listening to her ramble on as they approached the last place he ever wanted to be. A book club. Then again, he really only had himself to blame. After all, when he was asking her out he hadn't exactly used the word "date."

XXX

"Good morning, Mr. Gold."

He couldn't help the smile as he turned around to greet her, just like every morning. But today, today was going to be different. He wasn't going to simply nod and wish her a good morning. He was going to ask to take her out. For the first time since he could remember, he felt a bit foolish. Like he was a young schoolboy all over again. But he was far from young and so he kept his composure as he inclined his head in her direction.

"Good morning, Miss French," he said and just as she was walking past he spoke again to keep her attention. "I was thinking that perhaps you would like to accompany me for lunch or a drink some time. We could discuss books." He inwardly cursed himself for the words that managed to come out. It was nothing like he rehearsed and instead just sounded stupid, he thought. Still, she turned around and smiled at him.

"That would be lovely, Mr. Gold," she said cheerfully. "What did you have in mind?"

"I was thinking that you could decide," he offered and she nearly bounced in excitement. She clutched the book she was holding tight and grinned wide at him. She was adorable, he thought. And he was nearly as excited himself at the prospect of finally taking her out. He didn't show that, of course. Outwardly, he was calm and merely allowed himself a smile.

"I think it would be lovely if you'd come to Mary Margaret's book club with me this Saturday," she announced after a few moments. His face fell, as did his excitement, and he frowned in confusion at her. He clutched at his cane in an attempt to remain calm. This was certainly not what he had in mind.

"Book…club…?" he said slowly, the words sounding foreign to him. She nodded vigorously.

"Of course! You said you wanted to discuss books. It'd be perfect, I think," she said and then she flashed him that pretty smile she reserved only for him. And his resolves melted as he found himself nodding.

"Yes, I agree," he found himself saying and he wanted nothing more than to kick himself. But it was too late; he had given in. She hugged the book to her chest and her shoulders went up as she tried not to squeal. She felt like she had just accomplished something no one else would ever be able to do. And in a way, she had.

"Great! This week we're reading Fifty Shades of Grey," she said.

"Fifty Shades of what?" he asked in confusion, his brow furrowing slightly.

"Grey," she said and then turned towards the flower shop. "I'll meet you here at noon and we can walk together. See you Saturday!" And then she bounded off to her job. Mr. Gold merely retreated to his store and grumbled about becoming too soft for his own good.

XXX

Belle knocked on the door excitedly, Mr. Gold standing a little behind her in nervous anticipation. He knew he wasn't going to be easily welcomed, though Belle seemed to think so. He was willing to do almost anything for her, but he wasn't sure he was actually ready to sit through three hours of agonizing hell talking about a porno novel made for women in the presence of three of them. And Leroy. But before he could even think of an excuse to bow out, the door opened wide and Mary Margaret was greeting Belle excitedly.

"I'm glad you could make it!" Mary Margaret chirped and Belle hugged her friend before entering the house. Mr. Gold stepped forward and Mary Margaret's cheerful face fell as she saw him. "Mr. Gold, I…I didn't see you there. I…I left rent for you in the mailbox. I promise I put it there."

"I received your rent without any problem, Miss Blanchard," he said smoothly and then held up his book. "I've been invited to the book club." Her face scrunched up in confusion.

"What?" she spluttered. This was the last thing she thought would ever happen to her. Thankfully, Belle stepped in to Mr. Gold's rescue at that point.

"I asked him to come, Mary Margaret," she announced from behind her friend. "He said he wanted to discuss books! I hope you don't mind."

"No," she said, her voice strained and she stepped aside to let him in. "Not at all…snacks are over on the kitchen counter. We're about to sit down." He stepped in and she closed the door behind him.

The first thing he spotted was the living room furniture pulled into a circle, probably set up that way for this meeting. The next thing he noticed was Leroy sipping on a beer and stuffing his mouth with carrots dipped in ranch while Astrid talked quickly to him. He looked about as excited to be here as Mr. Gold felt. Leroy nodded when was necessary and tried to pay attention, but finally his gaze diverted away from the girl he was trying to desperately to woo. He froze when he saw Mr. Gold and then his mouth dropped open. He excused himself from his hopefully soon-to-be girlfriend and made his way to where Mr. Gold stood awkwardly by the door. Mary Margaret and Belle had moved to the seats, but they were so involved in their conversation that Mr. Gold hadn't wanted to go in fear of intruding on them. The last thing he wanted was to make Belle unhappy. It would be counterproductive to his being here.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Mr. Gold at an actual book club," Leroy said with a grin as he approached the man he occasionally shared a drink with. Mr. Gold frowned at him. He didn't dislike Leroy, but he would certainly never say he actually liked the man.

"Leroy," Mr. Gold greeted him curtly and Leroy let out a whistle and shook his head.

"Let me guess, here for a woman?" he guessed and Mr. Gold merely glared at him for asking such a personal question.

"What's it to you?" he challenged. Leroy nodded to Astrid, who by now had joined Belle and Mary Margaret on the couch.

"That's Astrid. I told you about her one night. She's why I'm here," he explained. He turned to look at the girl and smiled longingly. "You're not alone." Mr. Gold rolled his eyes at the love-sick fool, but he certainly remembered the conversation that had transpired that night in the diner. As short lived as it was.

XXX

It had been a long day today, what with the trouble Ashley Boyd had caused him early in the morning. So he did what he normally did when he needed to unwind –he sat at the bar at the diner and sipped slowly on a scotch. Leroy sat two stools down drinking a beer, just like usual. But unlike most nights, he was nursing the drink rather than sipping on it like he normally did. Mr. Gold never intended to ask what was wrong; he wasn't the kind of person to intrude on information that wasn't beneficial to him. But Leroy kept sighing loudly and Mr. Gold knew he was trying to attract his attention. With a roll of his eyes, he turned to face the short man.

"Would you quit your sighing already?" he snapped, a little agitated that Leroy was ruining the time he used to unwind. Leroy frowned at Mr. Gold.

"Sorry, I didn't realize I was being so loud," Leroy said and then fell silent. Mr. Gold left it at that and turned back to his scotch. He nearly groaned when Leroy started to continue, but he managed to remain calm just as he should. "It's just that…I have no idea how to get Astrid to like me." Mr. Gold didn't say anything. He knew exactly what the alcoholic was talking about, but it wasn't something he wanted to talk about. But when Leroy looked up at him, he knew he'd have to actually have a conversation with the man. Sighing, he turned to look at him once more and frowned.

"Do something she likes to do with her," he suggested. Leroy's eyes lit up at the idea.

"She does a book club. I could do that," he said and Mr. Gold just nodded.

"There you go. Do the book club," he said. Then he picked up his scotch and downed the last of it. He stood up and grabbed his cane for support. Throwing down a ten for the drink, he nodded at Ruby and began to leave. Of course he couldn't leave without one more thing from Leroy.

"And what if that doesn't work?" he asked, his voice almost desperate. Mr. Gold turned and raised his brow. This man was certainly hopelessly in love with this girl. He shook his head at how pitiful Leroy was for the weakness. Then again, he really couldn't blame him without being hypocritical. He was almost as weak when it came to Belle.

"It'll work. Women always like it when you take an interest in them," he said plainly and then he finally left.

XXX

"Has it worked then?" Mr. Gold asked, deciding that conversation at this book club with Leroy would probably be better than what the women had to offer. Save Belle, of course.

"We're going to dinner on Thursday," he said with excitement. Astrid happened to look up at him then and he nodded, getting a smile in return. He looked back at Mr. Gold with an expectant look. "And what about you?"

"It's my first meeting," he said simply. Thankfully, the conversation ended there when Astrid called out to them.

"Come on, boys! We want to start the meeting!" she said in excitement and so they moved over to the women, seating themselves in the two cushioned arm chairs across from the couch tilted to somewhat face the other. Mary Margaret looked hesitantly at Mr. Gold for a moment before she looked at everyone else and began.

"Let's begin, shall we?" she said and put her book down on her lap. "What did you guys think of Fifty Shades of Grey?"

"Oh, I thought it was beautiful," Astrid said dreamily. She hugged the book to her chest as she looked to Leroy. "Christian Grey was just so…so romantic and the way he treats women…" She nearly swooned. Leroy grinned and nodded in agreement, but even Mr. Gold could tell he had no idea what Astrid was talking about.

"I thought it was ridiculous," he said honestly and all eyes turned to him. "There is no possible way that one couple can actually have that much sex. It's just over exaggerated and written like a piece of poor fanfiction."

"You actually read it?" Leroy said in surprise, staring at his sort of friend in amazement.

"You didn't?" Mr. Gold shot back, a smirk on his face. Leroy looked down sheepishly.

"Leroy!" Astrid chastised him. "It's a book club! You're supposed to read the book!"

"Sorry," he mumbled. "I didn't have time. I'll read for next week."

"You better," she said and then smiled at him. He smiled back. Mr. Gold held back a snort at their expense.

"Actually, from what I've learned, it was initially meant to be fanfiction," Belle piped up then. Mr. Gold raised a brow at her. Of course, he shouldn't be that surprised she knew this. If anyone were to know this information, it would certainly most definitely be her. "It was written as a parody of sorts to Twilight because the author wanted sex. Then somehow it turned into its own novel and here we are." Mr. Gold did snort at that.

"I'm not surprised it was for Twilight. Terrible writing to copy terrible writing," he said simply and Astrid rolled her eyes.

"You might think it's terrible writing, but I think it's poetic," she said, a little offended by his brash statements. He scoffed.

"I think I have to agree with her," Mary Margaret said. "I'd love to have a man like Christian Grey."

"You almost do, I think," Belle said with a smile. Mary Margaret blushed a little and Belle let out a laugh at this. He loved that laugh.

"What do you think of the book?" he found himself asking her. Leroy snorted at his actions. Mr. Gold shot him a glare, as if to call him hypocritical.

"I like the idea of it," she said casually, trying to find that middle ground between the two opinions. "I think the writing could be better and some of the analogies used are crap, but overall I think it's a lovely story and I quite enjoyed reading it, if you know what I mean." Here she winked at Mr. Gold. His mouth went dry and she grinned at him.

"Oh, Belle!" Astrid giggled, and Mary Margaret just turned a light shade of pink. They could be so innocent, Mr. Gold thought.

"I guess this is what happens when men join a book club, eh?" Leroy whispered to Mr. Gold and he just nodded.

But he wasn't paying attention to what Leroy was saying. He wasn't even paying attention to the rest of the conversation about the book. It was all just turning into gossip anyways. No, he was too busy mulling over Belle's words and her gesture. Had she meant that suggestively towards him? Or was she just trying to include him? He wanted to ask, but he knew this was not the time or place. He wasn't even sure after the meeting would be good. He had read the book. He knew what happened in it. And all he could picture now was what he could do to Belle if she were to ever give him the chance.

He had to look away from her and push the thoughts from his mind before he became uncomfortable then and there. It wouldn't be appropriate. He was Mr. Gold. He shouldn't even be at this meeting! But he was. And for what? For a girl, that's what.

"Should we read the sequel for next week?" Mary Margaret suggested.

"Oh, no, Leroy hasn't read the first! He needs time to get caught up. Perhaps we could read something by Jane Austin?" Astrid suggested. Belle laughed.

"Oh, I do so love Jane Austin. We could be like that movie and be a Jane Austin book club!" Belle piped in. Astrid seemed to love the idea. Mary Margaret was very open to it. Leroy just groaned and tried to keep his opinions to himself. And Mr. Gold? Well. He thought any idea Belle had was wonderful.

Later, as they were leaving, Belle turned to look at him and smiled. He waited, knowing she wanted to say something.

"I'm so glad you came, Mr. Gold," she said gently and he offered a smile. He was thankful that it was just them at the entrance, that no one else would be privy to such weakness from him.

"I did say I wanted to talk about books," he tried to joke and she just grinned at him.

"I do hope you come next week. It's really good seeing you outside of the mornings," she said, a light blush creeping up on her cheeks. He almost grinned wide at that comment. Almost.

"It's just as good to see you," he said instead and she bit her lower lip, clutching her book to her chest as if she were debating on something.

"Perhaps we could," she began, but then trailed off. He raised a brow at her, hoping she would continue. But she didn't. She just shook her head, as if what she had been about to say sounded silly. He almost frowned. But he wouldn't do that in front of her. He wasn't even sure he could.

"Perhaps we could what?" he finally asked, beyond curious to know. He hoped that she would want to see him outside of these book club meetings, that maybe she would want his company elsewhere. In a more…private setting.

"Oh, nothing," she said and shook her head again. "It was just silly. Will I see you Monday morning?" She was changing the subject. He didn't want to press it, lest she be frightened off for good. But of course she would see him Monday. Perhaps they would talk then. Perhaps…

"You always do, don't you?" he said smoothly and she smiled wide, nodding.

"Yes I do," she said. Then she leaned up on her toes and kissed him on the cheek. When she came back down, her cheeks were pink again. She avoided his gaze and started to turn away. "Have a good weekend, Mr. Gold." He had to fight not to smile at that.

"You too, Miss French," he said and watched her leave before he finally moved. He let out the breath he was holding and decided that coming to this book club had been worth it. Perhaps, he thought, he would try to ask her out again on Monday. Or perhaps, he mused, he would simply have to keep coming to this book club. For her, of course.

And that's the end of that! I know, it's rather short. But it's just a little one-shot that I thought would just be darling! It's rather vague and more one-sided on the Rumbelle thing, but I think she has a little crush happening, don't you? I hope you liked it! I probably won't be continuing this and making it into more than just a one-shot, but perhaps I can write a few more that are…loosely related? Or perhaps they might all just be book related. We shall see, we shall see!

I apologize if my character of Mr. Gold is a little…off. I was mostly just trying to show his attachment to Belle, but hopefully he was pretty spot on when interacting with everyone else. I also apologize if my views of "Fifty Shades of Grey" are terrible. I never actually read the book. It was suggested to me and I decided to use it because the idea is quite funny. I apologize if my characterizations of anyone else are a tad off, but it is AU after all so perhaps it's allowed? I hope you liked it none-the-less!

Please review and let me know what you thought! Favorite it, follow or favorite me, anything to let me know my writing is up to par! Thanks so much!