Author's Note: Okay, so, I know I have other Once stories that I have not worked on and I do intend to work on them, but I just got inspired for a one-shot and I cannot seem to let it be. As you may know, my favorite couple in the entire Once universe is Rumpelle, and my second favorite is Will and Anastasia. (If you do not know who Anastasia is, you should watch the Wonderland spin-off. It's only 13 episodes and it rocks.) Of course I was devastated when Rumpelle broke up at the end of 4A, and then when she got together with Will, I was like, where the heck is Anastasia? Truthfully, I'd been wondering that all season, but more so once he started dating someone else. Before they could have been separated, but Will is too honorable to cheat on her, which makes me think they either broke up or she died. Honestly, I do not know which one is worse. The writer's are driving me crazy not explaining why Will is in Storybrooke or why she is not with him. And doesn't it just fit that one half of my two favorite couples would date each other? Now, I cannot decide whether or not I like them as a couple, seeing as they've probably only had a total of four minutes screen time all season. I do not know if they work, how they started, or if they make any sense. I guess it does not matter as much now given the Finale. Sorry for the rant. Anyway, this is an idea I had after Will and Rumple Steal Belle's heart back from Regina. It's just a short scene between the two of them. Major Rumpelle and RedScarlet feels. Continue at your own risk, and let me know what you think.

Spoilers for Season 4 of Once, and for the Wonderland Spin-off.

Our Faces When We Woke Up

Will paced back and forth, waiting for the Library to open. He knew Belle had been having a rough time managing the Library and the Pawn Shop. It wasn't easy doing it all by yourself. But that was Belle. She liked to feel like she was giving %110. She wouldn't settle for giving less.

It made sense. A lot of girls from The Enchanted Forest had felt like that. There weren't a lot of opportunities there for women to be heroic. They were just expected to marry and sit pretty. That lot had always bored Will. He liked women with a little fight in them, women who were proud, and confident, and adventurous. He liked women who fought for what they wanted. It was part of why he had liked Belle. She came off so gentle and innocent, but she wasn't. Sure, she was gentle, but she was also strong, and while she may have been innocent once, her marriage to The Dark One had surely changed all that. She wasn't just some puffed up Princess, which was just as well. Will never cared much for royalty, not even when he had been royalty. Well, except one very specific royal of course.

Finally, he heard it, the click-clack of her heals.

"Good morning." She greeted, as she often did. She was trying to come off chipper, but Will could tell her heart wasn't really in it today. Ironic, given the events of yesterday.

"Mornin' " He replied, stepping back and giving her room to unlock the Library. He followed behind her, handing her a cup of coffee.

"Sorry if it's a bit cold. I've been waitin' here since … well, a while."

"I was surprised that you beat me here. Is everything okay?"

Will shook his head, taking a sip of his own coffee, "I think we need to, that is, I wanted to talk to ya."

Belle nodded, "What about?"

"I don't think we should see each other anymore."

Belle stared at him, shocked, "Wh? I don't -"

"I know, it seems kind of out of the blue. And I'm sorry for that. But after yesterday-"

"What did he say to you?" she asked, anger rising in her voice, "Did he threaten you? Because, I swear, if he did, I -"

"No, no, he didn't do anythin', it's just …" Will sighed, looking for the words to explain, "Look, I know you an' I, we don't talk about our pasts much. This thing with us, we both needed a … a fresh starts, ya know?" Belle nodded, looking at him curiously. "Well, did you know I was in love once?"

Belle nodded again. It was his turn to look at her curiously, "Someone who's … who's had their heartbroken can always recognize it in someone else. When we met, you were just as, as lonely and as broken as I was."

Will nodded, "Aye, I was that."

"Did you … did you want to tell me about her?"

Will nodded again, "I loved her as much as any man can love a woman. And she broke my heart. Crushed it into a billion little pieces-" he paused, "Not literally. I mean, she didn't actually … anyway, everyday, the pain got worse an' worse. Just when I thought it couldn't get more unbearable, it did. I didn't know it was possible for a man to hurt that much. So, when I met someone with a bit a' magic, I asked them to cure me of my pain. I had them rip my heart right out of me chest."

Belle put her hands to her mouth to cover her gasp.

"I lived like that for a while. And it was easy. And the girl I loved, she became the girl I hated. She hurt people. People I cared about, people I barely knew. She ordered people's head's cut off, and ignored people who needed 'er help. She did horrible, just horrible, horrible things, and I couldn't remember why it was I ever loved 'er."

Will looked down, "and then she comes to me, she comes an' says how she made a mistake. She says she still loves me, and she would take it all back. She just wanted another chance. But years had passed, and I had seen the monster she was. I remembered everything she had done; I remembered how she tossed me aside without a thought as to how it would affect my heart. I told her that I hated her, that there was nothin' she could ever do to make me love her again."

He started pacing, shaking his head, "I was so sure that I knew how I felt. 'Cept I couldn't feel at all, could it? Not really. I mean, I kind of could. There was a girl I loved like a sister, and I knew I cared for her. But it won't the same. Everything was … muted, I guess. Anyway, eventually, someone put my heart pack in me chest. And if there's anything that hurts worse than having your heart ripped out, it's havin' it shoved back in." He let out a bitter chuckle, "I thought I was gonna pass out. But then I heard someone call my name, and I opened my eyes. I opened my eyes, and saw her face lookin' at me, and I just … it didn't matter what she'd done, or how many times I told my self I'd never forgive her, how sure I had been that I would never love her again. There she was, and in that moment, it all just faded away. I … I kissed her with everything I had. I loved her. After everything, I couldn't help it. Because it was her, and it was me, and sometimes, with those things, you just don't have a choice."

He finally looked up, meeting Belle's eyes. She looked shocked, and he could tell she was crying, though whether it was for herself or for him, he didn't know, "What, uh, what happened to her?"

He shook his head, "I lost her. And I'd do anythin' to get her back because I still love her with all my heart." Belle nodded, "But that's not why I told you this."

"No?"

"Yesterday, when your ex put your heart back, I saw the way you looked at him. I saw the way you stared after him when he left the shop. The look on your face, the look in your eyes, it's exactly how I felt when I got my heart back."

Belle sighed. "Will-"

"Now I'm not sayin' you should get back with him. I don't know the details of all that went down with you two. I know he hurt you, and whether of not you can forgive him … that's somethin' you two need to work out amongst yourself. But in that moment, the moment when you got your heart back, when all your emotions came flooding back up to the surface, he's where you turned, not me. And I don't blame for that. But I don't think it's fair for either of us to pretend that this was anything more than it was."

"And what, exactly, was it?"

"A balm. You and I, we were trying to heal. We were each other's Aloe Vera or whatever. We saw somebody else in a pain that we recognized, and we tried to find comfort in each other." Belle started to shake her head, but then she nodded. She knew he was right, "And I want to keep doin' that. Comfortin' each other, bein' there for each other. You're an amazin' woman Belle, an' I've really enjoyed gettin' to know you. But you're not her, and I'm not him, and hard as we try, we never can be."

"I think … I think you're right."

"Like I said, I'm still here for you. I want to be friends with ya, as cliché as it sounds."

"No, I'd … I'd like that." Will smiled, letting out a sigh of relief. "Will, can I … you said she killed people?"

Will nodded, "Yeah, that she did."

"But you forgave her?"

He nodded again, "Part of lovin' someone is knowin' them, and excepting them for everything they are, and everything they're not. Besides, nobody's born a killer, except them serial types. Most just lose their way. She found hers again."

Belle shook her head, "That's the problem. You're right. I do still love Rumple, but … but I think he's still lost. And after everything we've been through, I don't know if it's too late."

Will nodded, "Well, like I said, I don't know the detail's but … in my experience, when too people love each other, there's always hope. And even if it's just the tiniest sliver, hope is all ya need."

Belle nodded, "Thank you Will."

"Anytime."

Author's Note: So, what did you think? Reviews are always appreciated. Questions, comments, whatever.