A/N: So I absolutely love this pairing and couldn't resist writing this. I meant it to be longer, but I liked where I ended it. So excited to see Emilie de Ravin return as Belle this Sunday.
Rumplestiltskin didn't know what he was going to accomplish by seeing her right now. It had been two days since she'd kissed him, and two days since he'd banished her to the dungeon. But those forty-eight hours had done nothing to dampen the anger in his heart, or the warmth from his lips. Just the memory of her betrayal infuriated him further and put an extra bounce in his step as he made his way down below his castle.
The dungeon door swung open without his touch, allowing him undeterred access to his victim. Belle has huddled in the far right corner, her face an ashen white even compared to the white blouse she still wore from days before. Her eyes snapped open as he entered, as if he'd broken her out of some sort of doze. The relief he now saw in her gaze stroked the fire in him more. She recognized the emptiness in his dark eyes and it frightened her. As long as she'd known him, there'd been feeling in the expressions he wore. Now he stood before her void of emotion entirely it seemed, and she suddenly wished there was more distance between them than just a few feet.
"You came back" she murmured, her words an echo of the interaction they'd had two days before. He didn't respond, nor did he move from where he stood in the arch of the doorway. He mind battled with itself; part of him, a large part, wanted to hurt her, to make her feel the same pain he'd been put through because of her. 'It would be easy,' he thought bitterly, 'she's weak now.' But the other, smaller side of him fought back, reminding him that those few seconds where her lips had rested against his were the best seconds he could remember having in a long, long time. "Please say something…" she whispered, forcing him to meet those blue eyes. That connection was what it took for him to snap, and in an instant he was kneeling in front of her, his hands wrapped tightly around her shoulders.
"You think you're going to get away with this?" Despite their close proximity, he was shouting at her, unable to wrestle control over even his own voice. He gave her a violent shake and she put up no resistance, her body too weak to fight his grasp. "You think you can betray the great Rumplestiltskin and just walk away?"
The only indication he saw that she understood him were her widened eyes, each holding nothing but mild fear. Frustrated that her reaction was not more evident, he gave her another shake, and when that still achieved nothing, he pushed her away, finding some deep satisfaction in the thud he hears as she connects with the hard stone floor.
Belle can't look at him now; can't bring herself to believe that he would actually harm her. All the terrible stories she'd heard about him but refused to believe, now she had no choice but to acknowledge their truth. With a soft groan she pushed herself back up to face him, remembering ho soft his features once were compared to the hardness she now saw.
"I don't regret kissing you." Despite her physical weakness, her voice was stronger. "And I'd do it again if I thought you'd let me."
He froze, still kneeling a few feet away from her in the straw. She'd kiss him again, even after all he'd recently put her through?
"You're delirious; you don't know what you're saying." And with that, he stood and moved back toward the door, intent on leaving her once more alone in the dungeon.
A rustling of fabric from behind made him hesitate just long enough to glance over his shoulder. Belle had risen unsteadily to her feet and Rumplestiltskin could see the quiver of weakness in her muscles.
"You're making a mistake" she scolded him, her eyes narrowing even as she braced herself against the wall to steady her balance.
"Oh no dearie," he turned to face her fully; "it is you who is making the mistake here." His finger pointed accusingly at her and she took towards him to swat it away. She would not be blamed for her feelings, not when she felt they were reciprocated.
"Falling in love with you was not a mistake. It was a surprise, but a welcome one! I don't regret it and you shouldn't either!"
With each statement she took a wobbly step closer to him until finally she finished, her face flushed from both the exertion of walking and her proximity to him. He could tell she was having a hard time remaining on her feet and though briefly that maybe he should have brought her something to eat. As if she'd read his mind, she crumbled, her knees giving out beneath her. Instinctively, as he had a few days before, he caught her; his arms made it around her waist just before she hit the ground.
The look of exhaustion on her face made his anger dissipate, and he knelt to scoop her up. She didn't protest, merely rested her head against his shoulder. He carried her up to his own bedroom and set her gently down on the bed that he rarely used for himself. She stirred, those perfect blue eyes fluttered open to look at him standing above her. "Thank you" she smiled, taking one of his hands in her own which he allowed for a moment before pulling away.
"I'll bring you some soup dearie." Rumplestiltskin turned and stalked away, retreating back into his mind. It was hard to him to admit but he knew that no matter how mad at her he was, if she fell, he would always catch her.