Author's note: Merry Christmas my lovelies! I've been working on this off and on since before Thanksgiving, but the holidays are always a hectic time, so I consider it a minor miracle that I actually completed it when I wanted to. This is indulgent fluff as per my usual, but I also went into a bit of faerie lore and just how ancient Jareth and Rumpel's family line is, as I always meant to. This crossover is a personal favorite of mine, and though you don't have to read all the works within it (which are not in any particular sequence, as I've jumped around a lot with continuity) to appreciate it, I'm extremely grateful for those who've shown love for it. For those new to my verse, all you need to really know is: Jareth is Rumpel's brother; Rum and Regina have been married a LONG time, and Aiden is the first name I chose for Rumpel's "Gold" persona way back in the first season. Also: their daughter is named Cassandra.
Happy Holidays my fellow Golden Queen shippers, and I hope we all have a wonderful New Year!
The Most Magical Time of the Year
It wasn't bright sunshine filtering through the large bedroom window that roused Aiden Gold from his slumber. Rather: the scent of freshly baked apple turnovers wafted into the room and tugged the goblin prince from the pleasant dream he'd been having into the real world.
Said dream involved his wife, Regina, so his first action upon opening his eyes was to look for her.
On this particular morning: he wasn't the least bit surprised that she was up already. There was much to prepare for, and she preferred to get as early a start as possible.
Rising and stretching languidly, Aiden got out of bed and pulled a warm, plush robe over his shirtless, leanly muscled form. Stepping into the slippers that their daughter, Cassandra, had given him on his last birthday; he moved out of the bedroom and walked down the hall of the two-story manor that he and his family shared.
He stopped at Cassie's room and knocked before peering in. "Morning, sweetheart. Your mother is already hard at work so why don't you get up and help her?"
The response was a sleepy grumble. "You know she doesn't like me underfoot in the kitchen…'sides. I'm on vacation. I get to sleep in."
He resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Their once precocious little girl was now a full-blown teenager: full of sarcasm and fiery spirit. "We're expecting everyone around 2. Try not to sleep the rest of the day away."
With a frustrated sound, Cassie sat up in bed. "Fine, I'll be downstairs in a few; happy?"
"Delighted, but you best watch that sharp tongue of yours around your mom," he admonished, yet closed the door and left her to her own devices. Her moodiness lately was slightly justified: not only was she dealing with the stresses of high school, she had not one, not two….but six magic tutors.
Shaking his head, Aiden continued his trek downstairs, where the scent of Regina's delectable baking project became stronger.
A fond smile crossed his angular, handsome features once he stepped into the kitchen. His wife's back was turned to him, her curves hugged in all the right places thanks to a snug-fitting, evergreen-colored sweater dress worn over simple black leggings. The outfit was completed with her favorite heeled boots, and an apron was tied around her while she worked at making her infamous cranberry-cornbread.
There was pop music playing on the stereo to keep her alert, and Aiden's smile grew when she began to hum along to a tune. Unable to resist: he crept up behind her.
Carefully, he wrapped his arms around her middle and pressed his lips lightly against her neck. "Morning, beautiful. It smells wonderful in here."
Regina leaned back against his chest, turning her head to the side in order to nuzzle him affectionately. "Morning. I saved a couple turnovers for you and Cassie for breakfast."
"You're a goddess," he murmured, before greeting her properly with a slow, romantic kiss.
Sighing against his mouth, Regina brought her fingers up to weave through his hair, nipping and teasing at his mouth as the embrace deepened.
They easily became caught up in each other: Regina turning around so she could drape her arms over Aiden's neck and tug him as close as possible, moaning when he pressed her up against the counter and the heat between them jumped drastically.
She pulled back, panting for air and about to suggest that she take a break in her preparations, when she caught sight of a very annoyed-looking teenager glaring at them both.
"Ugh. Can you two not suck face for like…five minutes? I swear, it's like living with the Charmings." Cassie groused, moving forward to grab a turnover.
Both of her parents looked suitably disgruntled at the dig, but she made a quick getaway into the living room before either could come up with a decent retort.
"Where'd our sweet little girl go?" Regina locked eyes with her husband.
"Seems to me that once they hit 13, their personality changes entirely." Aiden shrugged. "Don't you worry though, she'll grow out of it…eventually."
"I certainly hope so, otherwise you're going to be dealing with two grumpy witches in this house. Kissing you as often as I want is part of the reason I married you, remember?"
This earned her a chuckle and he dipped his head towards hers. "Trust me: she can complain all she wants but it's not going to stop me from reminding you of just how much I love you." With that, he kissed her again, though it was soft and sweet.
Regina smiled against his mouth and tugged away to nudge his nose with hers. "Won't stop me either."
Aiden grinned.
They both heard Cassie scoff from her position in their living room, and gave each other a look before parting.
"All right, what do you need me to do in the meantime while you cook?" He asked.
"If you could clean up a bit and set the table, that'd be great," she informed, turning her attention back to the stuffing.
"On it….come on Cass, I'm putting you to work."
"Ugh, Dad, really?"
"Cassandra."
"….fine," although she rolled her eyes again, Cassie still got up from the sofa. "What do you need me to do?"
"Dust and vacuum while I clean the bathroom for our guests?"
The teenager nodded and walked over to the hall closet where they kept the vacuum cleaner, offering her mom a brief smile when she cast her a thankful look.
Cleaning went by quickly, as did setting the table. Once that was all done: Cassandra went back upstairs in order to take a shower and get ready for company, while Aiden assisted Regina with whatever she needed in the kitchen.
"All right: cornbread is done, ham is warming up in the oven," Regina wiped her just-washed hands on a clean towel and turned to face her husband with a beaming grin. "That means that we…" she sauntered over to him, "have a bit of time…" purposely: she traced a line over the center of his chest. "To kill."
With a knowing smirk, Aiden coiled his arms around her waist and leaned in so their foreheads could touch. "Whatever shall we do?"
"I can definitely think of a few things," she muttered, tilting her head to kiss him.
Just as their lips were about to touch: the phone rang.
"Constant interruptions today," he grumbled, but reached around her to grab the phone, which was on the counter directly behind them. "Gold residence…oh, hi Emma. Yeah she's right here," with a concerned look, he gave the phone to his wife. "She sounds stressed."
Worry crossing her own features, Regina took it and held it up to her ear. "Em, is everything okay? Aiden said you sounded stressed."
"We have a problem." Indeed: there was a note of anxiety in her friend's normally even tone. "It's Killian."
"He cannot carve the ham with his hook. Jeez."
"No, not that! I'll get him to stop offering, I swear. No, it's…you remember the, ah, incident at Halloween?"
"…Emma that was two months ago. I'm going to regret asking you to elaborate, aren't I?"
"Well, uh...there's a few things that er…resurfaced recently."
"Which are?"
"Ears. And his tail."
With a beleaguered sigh, Regina pinched at her temple. "Luckily, it's just going to be family today, which he is part of. But the question remains: how the hell does he have ears and a tail again? We brewed that antidote perfectly."
"I don't know. I thought this whole thing was over and done with! He's really embarrassed about it, especially since Belle and Jefferson and mom and dad don't know about what happened. And I'm not about to let him spend the entire day wearing a hat and a long coat."
The mental image of Emma's husband nearly made Regina burst out laughing. "Okay, okay…let me think. Oh! You know what? Jareth and Sarah are coming after all. I'm sure my brother-in-law can glamour Killian if you want to drop by a little early."
Aiden, who had moved back but not fully away from his wife, had heard only half of the conversation. From what he could gather: the potion that he and Regina had concocted had not completely reversed the pirate's "problem". Said "problem" being that, at Halloween: Killian had somehow managed to turn himself into a cat with magic that did not contain the typical counter-curse. While he had no idea why the antidote was wearing off; the mental image of his friend with cat ears and a swishing black tail was far, far too much to deal with.
Excusing himself, the goblin prince headed upstairs so Regina could continue to talk to Emma, and had barely made it into the master bedroom before he burst into a hysterical cackle of laughter.
It took a slightly longer shower than normal to compose himself, and he was still chuckling a bit by the time he made it back downstairs: fully dressed in a sharp-looking suit.
His shirt was dark green in order to compliment his wife's outfit, and his light-brown hair, once again grown out, was styled so strands framed his face attractively.
He strode into the kitchen, where Regina was checking over the food that had taken over their counter. "Everything in its place, love?"
"Yes…got the laughter out of your system finally?" she looked over at him with arched eyebrows.
"Eh-heh. You heard that, did you?" he rubbed at the back of his neck. "Sorry."
"No I get it. I just didn't have the luxury of guffawing thanks to being on the phone with his wife," sighing, she moved around the island that took up the center of their kitchen. "Looks like Jareth might have to work a little Fae magic to help him."
"He won't mind," Aiden shook his head, gathering his wife into his arms.
"I know he won't. The problem is that I mind. I've never had a potion stop working or a spell reverse before."
"Hey," he cupped her chin and tilted her face back so she was gazing into his eyes. "This isn't your fault."
When she didn't look convinced, Aiden decided to go a step further. He leaned forward and brushed his lips over her forehead, prompting Regina to sigh, close her eyes, and curl into his touch. "You're the most powerful sorceress I know, a fantastic mother and an amazing wife. If there's anything to blame here: it's the spell that the pirate chose."
"Mmm," she nodded and wrapped her arms securely around him. "You always know just what to say to make me feel better."
He chuckled. "That's my job as your husband."
Pulling back, she smiled warmly at him, and waved her hand so a sprig of mistletoe appeared right over their heads. "That, and to kiss me as often as possible."
He grinned and did exactly that.
They were content to stay there: nipping and teasing at each other's mouths playfully, but the moment was yet again shattered – this time by the doorbell.
"I've got it!" they heard Cassie shout, and then her footfalls were decidedly not silent as she bounded towards the door.
"That can only mean one thing," Aiden tugged away, smirking at Regina.
"Jareth?"
"Jareth."
As if in answer, the next thing they both heard was Cassandra's delighted "Uncle Jareth!" and then the goblin king's warm, rich laughter.
Exchanging an amused look, the couple linked arms and headed towards the main entry to their home.
Sure enough, they rounded the corner just in time to witness Cassie being enveloped in her uncle's arms for a hug, but that wasn't what made both of them stop and stare.
Sarah, Jareth's wife, was a welcome, normal sight. Sarah clearly several months pregnant? That was decidedly unexpected.
Sensing her brother and sister-in-law: the goblin queen turned and waved a tad sheepishly. "Hi Regina…Rumpel. Merry Christmas?"
"You're pregnant?!" was Aiden's response, spoken nearly in unison with Regina's "We just saw you a couple weeks ago! How are you pregnant?!"
Sarah blushed and cleared her throat. "Time passes differently in our kingdom. What's been a couple weeks for you and Rum has been four months for us," she gestured between herself and Jareth, who had extricated himself from Cassie's embrace and walked over so he could curl an arm around his wife's waist.
"Isn't it wonderful?!" he exclaimed. "I'd always hoped to be a father one day."
Aiden arched an eyebrow. "Seriously? With all that business about stealing children away?"
Jareth scoffed. "I only ever grant wishes to those who ask them of me."
Sarah rolled her eyes, but nevertheless rested her head against his shoulder.
Finally snapping out of her stupor, Regina moved forward so she could offer congratulations and give Sarah a proper hug in greeting, elbowing Aiden so he would do the same.
Once the pleasantries were exchanged, Regina insisted that Sarah sit down on the couch, and then rounded on Jareth: "Come into the kitchen for a moment will you? Rumpel and I need your help."
Though he looked understandably perplexed at the sudden request, the goblin king nodded and followed them.
Jareth listened attentively as Regina and Aiden explained exactly what had happened with Killian. When they were finished: he did not laugh or make a sarcastic remark. Instead, he calmly asked: "Do you have the spell book that he used?"
"Yes, actually," she nodded and her husband snapped his fingers so the tome materialized on the counter they were all sitting around.
Jareth flipped the book open and perused briefly through the pages. "Well, that explains it."
"….explains what, exactly?" Regina leaned forward, curious, when her brother-in-law pointed to a symbol that was etched on the corner of a page.
"See that? It's the royal seal." Jareth exchanged a glance with Aiden, who peered closely at it.
"You're right. I didn't even notice it till now."
"Well, it can only appear in the presence of a full-blooded fae. Since you're half…" Jareth rubbed at the back of his neck, a trait that he and his brother shared when they were embarrassed. "And your friend is mortal, so of course he wouldn't see it."
"And I wouldn't have because I'm mortal as well," Regina confessed.
"Actually…you're not anymore. When you married Rumpel, the blood magic ceremony was bonded by fae magic, so you have it as well," Jareth explained.
"…well that explains some of the insanity in our lives and why we've been together for so long," the sorceress looked at her husband. "All these years I figured you were just slipping me some immortality potion."
Aiden snorted. "Like that would ever get past you? No my dear, I'm afraid you're stuck in an ageless, beautiful form for all eternity."
"So long as that eternity involves you, I'm fine with it. But wait…what about Cassie?" Regina looked towards Jareth again.
"In terms of your daughter, her aging won't stop until she turns 21. After that, a simple immortality sealing spell, or a marriage to someone with fae blood is really all that is required. And it's up to Cassie as to what she actually wants to do. We can reverse the effects so she ages again and has a normal, human existence if that is what she desires."
"Well…luckily we have some time to discuss all that," Aiden pressed a kiss to his wife's forehead, who relaxed into his embrace. "Right now: all that concerns us really is - can you help an idiotic pirate?"
Jareth chuckled. "Just show me the spell he used."
Regina flipped through the pages until she found the one that they had done their best to reverse.
"Ah yes, great-great-great grandmother Titania's transformation spell…" Jareth mused.
"Wait…your great-great-great grandmother is the original queen of faeries?! How has this never come up?!" Regina whirled to look at her husband, who was gaping in shock at the information as much as she was.
"Oh I never told Rumpel. It isn't his fault," Jareth waved a hand in the air carelessly as he read over the spell.
"Any other surprises in our family line I should know about?" Aiden narrowed his eyes.
"Eh. We have cousins in Rivendell, but aside from that, no."
"Excuse me boys, but I need something stronger than apple cider to process this information," with that: Regina hurried over to her study.
After excusing himself so Jareth could study the reversal spell in peace, Aiden followed her.
Regina was standing by the window, staring out over the quiet street, a glass of brandy held in one hand when Aiden joined her in the study.
He poured a glass of whiskey for himself before going to her side. "You okay?"
"I'm fine….just thinking," she sighed, leaning back against his sturdy chest once he was close enough.
"About?"
"You ever wonder what it would have been like to just live a normal, mortal existence together?" she twisted into his arms.
"Certainly. But magic has always been in our blood; we can't exactly change that."
"No, but there are times where I wonder if our lives would have been simple without it. We'd have grown old, had more children…grandchildren."
"We can still have more children," he plucked the glass out of her grip, and then set it, and his, aside. "And I'm sure one day grandchildren will be in the cards too."
"Yes but how do we explain why their grandparents still look, well, like this?" She gestured at the two of them.
"Good genes."
"Rumpel…"
"I'm kidding. We'll cross that bridge if and when we come to it," he reached out and caressed at her hair. "And we'll do it like we always have: together."
Her dark eyes glittered up at him. "I love you Rumpelstiltskin."
"And I love you, Regina." Ducking his head, he captured her mouth in a passionate kiss, one which proved just how deeply that love ran.
They heard the doorbell ring, and Regina pulled away to check who it was.
When she saw it was Killian and Emma, she grinned at Aiden. "Give me a couple minutes…I'll be back soon." She pressed another quick kiss to his lips and then headed to the entry-way.
Aiden bit back a laugh when he heard Killian's muffled, but startled: "Why do you have a camera?"
"To remind you, Captain Guyliner, that messing with fae magic results in suffering and blackmail. You'll find Jareth in the kitchen. He'll take care of this."
"Thanks, Gina." That would be Emma's beleaguered, but grateful reply.
Seconds later, Regina was back in the study and quick to return to his arms. "All right: your brother will take care of our friends, Cassie's on door-answering duty. Where were we?"
With a smirk, Aiden eagerly initiated another kiss, one she just as eagerly returned.
The End