The first time he returned to the form Maleficent's curse had forced him into, it was for Belle. He could hear her calling for the missing Mr. Gold even within his tall, stone-walled, tower. And when he came down, having grown agitated by her pleas, he found her crawling around on her hands and knees looking under a small table situated in the hall outside her room.
"Lost something, dearie?" He asked, pitching his voice high and mocking. He knew very well what she was looking for, but she didn't know that, and he planned to keep it that way.
She looked up quickly, smiling sheepishly, before standing and brushing her skirt off. "I'm glad to see you're back, Rumpelstiltskin." Belle replied evasively, blushing in embarrassment.
"Ah hmm." He hummed. "And what, may I ask, is so interesting about the floor?" He asked again, gesturing to where she had previously been kneeling.
"I− well, you see…" She stuttered. "There was a puppy in the castle last night." She finally admitted. "And I lost him." Belle added quietly.
"Oh, my, my, my, that is a problem." Rumpelstiltskin giggled. "Or it would be, if it was even remotely possible for a stray dog to get into my castle." He said with his nastiest grin, scrunching his nose up, as if he believed his caretaker was the most foolish person he'd ever met.
"No, but there was!" She protested fervently.
"Impossible!" Rumpelstiltskin denied. "Do you think after I was so rudely shot by that bandit it would be so easy for anything else to come wandering in?" He questioned.
Truthfully, he had increased security around his castle after Robin Hood had stolen from him. Not to protect himself or his treasures, but to make sure Belle was safe while he was away dealing. But that was neither here nor there, considering the interloper she was referring to was in fact himself.
While she had continued to sleep he had busied himself in his work room. Thinking of a plausible excuse for why his caretaker had gone to bed snuggled up beside an adorable little puppy, missing her master. And then had woken-up to the little bit of fur missing and her master back in his turret.
He knew he could claim ignorance about the whole thing; he had been away, of course he didn't know where Mr. Gold was. But that would lead to Belle over turning the entire castle looking for him, or, worse her accusing him of getting rid of her precious pet. Which, strictly speaking, wasn't entirely untrue.
As it was she crossed her arms and gazed at him skeptically. "Oh? Than how do you explain how I spent my afternoon and evening yesterday?"
"Well I would have hoped it would have been spent dusting." He replied in a sing-song voice.
"I know what I saw Rumple!" Belle said stomping her foot. "I held him, played with him, fed him bits of beef!"
He cringed, and then quickly flourished his hands to hide the involuntary movement.
"It must have been a terrible monster in disguise. Trying to lure a sweet maiden into its trap, it would pretend to be a helpless puppy. And then when you least expected it, it would turn back into a hideous beast!" Rumpelstilskin yelled making as if to lunge forward, in an attempt to scare his maid into dropping the whole matter. But Belle resolutely held her ground, further unimpressed by his antics.
"Say what you will, but Mr. Gold was not a monster. And I won't clean another thing until I've found him."
Then she turned and stormed away, calling out for her lost pet. The frustration she felt for her employer making its way into her voice. If Mr. Gold had been a real dog hiding somewhere, Rumpelstilskin had no doubt that she would be more likely to drive it away rather than to coax it out, fuming as she was.
Silently he watched her as she continued to search high and low. Rather than convince her Mr. Gold hadn't been real, Rumpelstiltskin had seemed only to add fuel to her fire to find the wayward beastie. If only to prove him wrong.
As the week wore on it became clear that she wouldn't be finding a puppy hidden away in one of the dusty corridors of the castle anytime soon. He watched her spirits fall, and a pensive kind of melancholy settled over her features.
What finally broke him was her soft whisper as she sat down in her chair by the fire in the great hall, five days after he'd been originally cursed.
"Well, wherever you are, my Mr. Gold, I hope you're warm and happy."
His heart, what was left of it, broke to hear his Belle so sad, and before he knew what he was doing, he was shifting down onto four paws and barking loudly as he ran up to her.
Jumping out of the chair she laughed happily and scooped him into her arms cuddling him close. Before pulling away to give him a stern look.
"Where have you been hiding?" She scolded. "This castle is dangerous for someone as little as you."
He barked his agreement, wagging his tail excitedly. It should be humiliating, acting the fool for his little maid, but the happy gleam in Belle's eye, and her wide smile made it wholly worthwhile. She held him close cooing softly before beginning to making her way out of the room.
Where are we going? He tried to ask, looking around in confusion. He had expected Belle to sit and read to him, perhaps even scratch the back of his ears like before. Or maybe play with him again.
"Now, to find Rumpelstiltskin." She said smugly, with a self-satisfied smirk. Sufficed to say Belle's second search was also in vain. He tried to ignore that Belle was just as upset when she couldn't find her impish master, as she had been looking for Mr. Gold.
The second, third and fourth times he transformed were for similar reasons, to keep Belle happy. But the fifth time was for himself. He'd been having a horrible day, dealing with stubborn and idiotic peasants. And all he wanted to do was return to his castle and relax.
Before Belle had promised to serve him forever, unwinding would have involved sitting at his wheel and spinning gold until dawns first light. After she had come to live with him Rumpelstiltskin found himself spinning less and less, and more time taking part in avid discussions or enjoying a quiet meal together.
But on this day all he wanted was to be held and comforted, as someone carded their fingers through his hair and cooed happily, a lilting voice coaxing him into a deep and restful sleep. But Belle would never willingly cuddle a monster, of that Rumpelstiltskin was sure.
Of course she had hugged him once, after he had spared that thief's life, but that had obviously been a spur of the moment decision. He had no right to wish for his caretaker's embrace, no matter how innocent the reason.
Rumpelstiltskin fought with himself a little longer before giving in and changing once more into the visage of Mr. Gold; there would be no harm in enjoying being close to Belle. She had come to expect to see a puppy running around the castle now and again. And had seemingly given up trying to discover where her little companion went when he wasn't with her.
Really it was a perfect solution, Belle wasn't lonely, and he… and he got to feel the touch of another person again without malicious intent. And after a day of dealing like the one he had come back from, he sorely needed it.
He enjoyed the evening curled up in Belle's lap, cuddling against her as she read aloud to him. And if after a while the only time Belle saw her Mr. Gold was when Rumpelstiltskin was having a bad day, or wished to be close to her, well that was neither here nor there.