As always, I own nothing that you recognize. All rights belong to the original creators and blah blah blah. Oh, and I would like to thank the lovely Cantoris for giving me advice on this oneshot.
"Explain something to me, dearie." Rumple played with Belle's hair as they cuddled together on his couch. She leaned her head into his touch and mmm'ed at him.
"You remember everything about being Lacey right?" Belle made a soft affirmative noise at him, not entirely sure she liked the way this conversation was heading.
"As Lacey, you didn't like me nice. You preferred me dark. But as yourself, you only liked me when I showed that I could be kind. That is right, isn't it?"
Belle looked up at him from within the cradle of his arms, "It's a bit more complicated than that, but I think I understand what you mean, Rumple. You're wondering why I seem to prefer the opposite parts of your personality, right?" He nodded at her. Belle smiled back, "Because those parts, as opposite as they may seem, are all part of you. And that is the man I love. The one that needs help to see the light and the one that showers me in light."
He furrowed his face at that, but Belle kept talking, "You were never who I thought in the beginning, as myself and as Lacey. You only showed me the dark in our world, in the beginning, and I had to look for the light in you that I knew was there because of the stories of how you ended the first Ogre War. Here, as Lacey, you tried to show me only the light and I had only heard about the dark. I didn't like, in either world that you were trying to show me just one part of yourself. No matter how hard you tried to hide those other parts, they leaked out. And I fell, and fell hard, for the complete package. Light and dark." She laced her fingers through his as she kept talking, "This world's version of me, Lacey, was raised by a father who missed his wife and had no clue how to help a young girl cope with the loss of her mother. Lacey rebelled, and was addicted to the feelings of acceptance and admiration she found in the Rabbit Hole. She didn't break laws, but only because she couldn't be bothered to do so. Alcohol was her drug of choice and she was good at managing others while they drank with her. She is a pool hustler and a card shark. And she was always looking for the next thing that would make her father react to her. Lacey rebelled while Belle was too scared to, because if she did, what would become of her? Without her father's protection. Then you showed up and everything changed. I could rebel and be a hero at the same time. Lacey was hoping for a taste of danger, and got it once you realized that nice didn't work with her. So really, the man I fell for was the same man both times, and for different but similar reasons. Neither Belle or Lacey wanted a safe choice when it came to life in general. As Belle, me, I wanted to be a hero. I wanted to matter to people. As Lacey, well, she wanted to matter as well. Bravery for those two parts of me just wasn't the same thing."
Rumple shook his head softly before pressing a kiss to the back of her head. "You are never allowed to call me complicated again, you know that, right sweetheart?"
Belle grinned, "But I am simple compared to you." She grinned up at him and quickly pressed a kiss to his lips.