Batch number 10: cookies still remained flat and not fluffy as remembered- not sure what went wrong. Also, too much salt this time; must adjust…
Belle sighed as she straightened up from the notebook she had been working in and shot her latest batch of failed Christmas cookies a withering glare before lifting the still slightly warm baking sheet and walking over to the garbage can next to her apartment counter. With one final disappointed sigh, Belle stepped on the garbage peddle to open the lid, and slid her failed experiment into the can.
It was 9 days to Christmas, and 10 days until Ruby's Christmas party and Belle still hadn't been able to nail down her mother's Christmas cookie recipe. Of course, it didn't help that Belle had only her memory to rely on and a basic recipe to a similar cookie she had pulled from a book she found in the library. She probably should just find another recipe, maybe shortbread or a sugar cookie would be more fitting, however Belle was determined to bring her mother's cookies to the party.
Before she could buckle down and start a new experimental batch, her doorbell sang for attention over and over. Quickly she removed her apron and walked the ten steps from her small kitchen to the front door, the doorbell still ringing insistently.
"Ruby, if this is about the party again, like I said before…" Belle started to say as she opened the door, only to stop when she found herself face to face with someone that was not Ruby.
"Oh, Mr. Gaston… what a surprise…" Belle stuttered, trying to force a smile onto her face.
Gregory Gaston had become somewhat of a fixture at the public library where Belle worked, though he never took out a single book and instead tended to hang out around the circulation desk being an overall nuisance and always trying to draw her attention away from her work and to himself. It wasn't that Gaston was a bad person, indeed a lot of people liked the man and Belle also didn't mind him - when he was at a distance and not hovering nearby and being his usual persistent self – But that was the extent of Belle's like.
"Mr. Gaston?" He laughed, his head thrown back and perfectly straight white teeth practically glowing in Belle's hallway. "Please Belle, we've known each other since high school, call me Greg."
Belle grimaced and leaned heavily on her doorframe in an attempt to keep Gaston out into the hallway and not into her apartment, as he had a tendency to just barge in without an invite.
"What are you doing here Greg? It's late."
Gaston grinned and without being offered entrance, pushed past Belle and into her apartment (not that she was surprised).
"Please come right in…" Belle murmured half heartedly while glaring at Gaston's wide back.
"I have a Christmas present for you that just can't wait." Gaston said as he sank comfortably into her couch and placing his still wet boots up on her coffee table, just missing some books that had been sitting there. Before Belle could open her mouth to object to his disrespect for her furniture, Gaston reached deep into his jacket pocket and pulled out an envelope and waved it in the air with his eyebrows raised and a cocky look on his face.
"What is it?" she asked warily while still holding open her front door. If she shut the door then the chances of Gaston leaving anytime soon would be greatly diminished, so instead she remained where she was and refused to budge and hoping in vain that Gaston would take the hint.
Gaston's grin widened and he shook his head, motioning for Belle to come to him,
"Come over and I will show you." He said teasingly.
"Greg…" Belle sighed while rubbing her eyes tiredly, "I really am not in the mood…"
"Okay okay, fine." Greg laughed and thankfully stood from his seat and moved to where Belle stood, pulling from the envelope what appeared to be two tickets.
"Las Vegas." He beamed triumphantly. Belle raised her eyebrows and stared down at the tickets now thrust into her hands.
"Las Vegas." She parroted emotionlessly while slowly nodding her head, before looking closer at the tickets. Two plane tickets to Vegas for the morning, both with Gregory Gaston's name on them.
"Wow, Gaston this is…" Belle tried to come up with an appropriate response to his very generous gift. Thank you for thinking of me? But Las Vegas with a man I can hardly tolerate being alone in the same room with for more than five minutes does not sound like my idea of a merry Christmas?
"You will absolutely love it Belle. I go to Vegas every Christmas and I promise you, not a dull moment. This year I have decided that you were the lucky one to come along." Gaston leaned down so that his face was inches from her own, "and you know what they say, what happens in Vegas…" he deliberately trailed off and wagged his eyebrows suggestively while placing a hand behind Belle against the wall space near her door, effectively blocking her way around him.
Belle pursed her lips and frowned at Gaston before gently returning the tickets to him.
"I'm flattered that you decided to bring me along to your annual Vegas trip this year." she replied with a faint trace of sarcasm, not that Gaston noticed, "However I must decline. I really have no desire to find out what happens in Vegas."
With a prim smile of finality, Belle ducked under Gaston's arm and pulled her door open even wider, hoping that Gaston would be able to take the hint this time and leave her be.
Gaston blinked at Belle and let out a low chuckle, returning the tickets to his jacket pocket.
"I completely understand." He laughed as he stepped out into Belle's hallway, "it's too soon into our relationship for trips…"
"Relationship?" Belle gaped, her grip tightening on the door handle, "Gaston, we don't have a relationship…"
Gaston waved a large hand before her face to stop her from speaking before grinning again.
"You're playing hard to get, I appreciate that, some part of me finds it totally hot to be honest. The chase is the best part of the hunt after all."
Belle rolled her eyes and decided against pointing out how she didn't appreciate being compared to that of a helpless animal about to be slaughtered.
"We'll have dinner when I get back from Vegas; I'll even bring you a little something from one of the airport gift shop." Gaston proclaimed before flicking Belle's nose in what he no doubt saw as an act of affection, which coming from him only made Belle want to slap him. Hard.
"Goodnight Gaston, enjoy your trip." Belle replied briskly before slamming the door into his smug face.
xXx
"Las Vegas?" Ruby squealed excitedly before coming out from behind the diner counter. Belle smiled thinly at her friend while bringing her cup of tea up to her lips.
"Why are you here then?" Ruby exclaimed while jumping up onto the stool next to Belle.
Belle had come into the diner that morning hoping for some support from her friend and to maybe talk about how absurd Gregory Gaston was.
"And spend a whole week with Greg Gaston? I don't think so Ruby."
"You're a snob, he's not that bad. Looks good naked too." Ruby winked salaciously while Belle groaned and wrinkled her nose in disgust.
"I can't believe you dated that man…" Belle laughed as she placed her now empty mug back onto the counter.
"It was just sex. I don't think Gaston is capable of anything more, although I never saw him try as hard as he does with you. Perhaps you would be surprised if you just let him into your pants. Lord knows you need good shag…"
If Belle hadn't have finished her tea when she did, she was sure she would have spit it out all over the counter and Ruby.
"Ruby! This is inappropriate diner talk." Belle exclaimed with a small grin.
In some small way Ruby was right, Belle hadn't been in a relationship in years, and sneaking books from the erotica section up into her apartment was not helping curve her needs. However Belle knew for absolutely certain that Gaston was not what she wanted, and her mid supplied a perfect image of who she actually secretly desired, right down to the gold cufflinks…
Ruby raised a dark eyebrow up at Belle and smiled slyly before noticing a few costumers waving her over.
"Well, I think you're a fool for not taking Greg up on his offer. You always talk about travelling and yet when the opportunity arises you hide away. However, I am glad that you will be able to make it to my party. Remember, it's a potluck. Mary Margaret said you were bringing cookies?"
Belle nodded and smiled, remembering the other problem she had. She really needed to figure out what was missing from that recipe.
"Coolness! I'll talk to you later." Ruby said cheerfully while nearly skipping over to deal with her customers, her dark hair swaying behind her.
xXx
Belle headed left along the sidewalk away from Granny's diner and grinned automatically when she saw Mr. Gold and Leroy having what appeared to be their usual monthly tiff over rent. Belle deliberately slowed her walk so that she didn't reach the two of them too soon and watched with a slightly morbid fascination as Leroy began to raise his voice in anger at Mr. Gold making other townspeople look over with similar curiosity. To his credit, Gold appeared to be his usual calm and collected self, watching Leroy condescendingly with mild interest while Leroy's face became redder and redder with anger, his voice rising to a near shout. But of course Mr. Gold's dangerous grin only widened the more erratic Leroy became and Belle suppressed an eye roll at Gold's obvious enjoyment at the expense of the other man.
"Its Christmas man! Stop being such a scrooge." Leroy was shouting much to Mr. Gold's amusement, "Why can't you just give me the week? What harm would that do? It's not like you don't have other tenants to terrorize."
"Actually, Leroy" Mr. Gold finally replied in his usual even tones as he stepped closer to Leroy, placing himself nearly nose and nose with the man, "you are the only person on my list that hasn't paid up. Perhaps if you didn't drink your money away every month, we wouldn't have this issue." Mr. Gold grinned a bit dangerously and leaned forward on his cane, his leather clad gloves casually covering the golden tip. "But as it is, I will just have to repossess your vehicle, again." When Gold looked past Leroy and noticed Belle standing on the corner with her arms crossed and a single eyebrow raised, Gold's feral grin softened just slightly and without another word, he pushed past a still fuming Leroy and made his way down the street toward Belle and ignoring the many expletives spewing from Leroy's mouth.
"Why Miss French, you look lovely as ever today." Mr. Gold grinned as he approached Belle who couldn't keep her own grin off her face, even though she knew she really oughtn't encourage Gold's nasty behavior toward the citizens of their small town.
Belle was probably one of the few people who didn't live in a house or apartment complex owned Gold and was just about the only person in town who considered herself in good favor with the town Monster - ever since she and Gold bonded after getting stuck together in the elevator at the library during a town wide power outage for six long hours. Out of everyone in Storybrooke to be stuck in an elevator shaft, Belle had been glad it had been Mr. Gold and not someone like Gaston.
"Would it kill you to extend Leroy's debt for a few days?" Belle began once Mr. Gold had come to stand before her on the street corner. He scoffed playfully and placed a leather gloved hand upon his chest in mock offense,
"And risk my flawless reputation? Never."
Belle laughed out loud and shook her head, pointedly ignoring the few stares some townspeople shot their way as they passed the two of them.
Mr. Gold's smile grew wider, showing a bit of his crooked teeth and he continued to watch Belle with what looked to be guarded fascination.
"You know Leroy isn't so bad, once you get to know him." Belle replied to which Gold merely raised a disbelieving eyebrow.
"When he decides to pay on time, then perhaps I will give him a chance. For you, of course." Mr. Gold dipped his head politely and Belle's grin widened at the gesture.
"Well, thank you. It's nice to know I have some sort of sway with you." She teased as the two of them continued together down the sidewalk.
"Let's just keep that a secret between you and me. I can't have the people of Storybrooke knowing the monster's weaknesses."
"Then I suppose I shouldn't try again to convince you to come to Ruby's Christmas party with me?" Belle asked as the two of them crossed the street toward Marco's hardware store. Mr. Gold shot a sidelong glance at Belle before stepping into the store.
"I don't do parties, Miss. French. Unless I get something out of it of course." He replied as he moved through the shop and picking out a few random items and placing them in a basket he had grabbed at the front door.
"How about the warm satisfaction of spending the holiday season with your friends? And maybe making new ones while you're at it" Belle suggested while adding a few items of her own to Mr. Gold's basket. When they came across a small baking section Belle remembered the charred remains of one of her oven gloves and immediately grabbed two new ones.
"I have plenty of friends already." He retorted while heading toward the cash register.
"Jefferson and I do not total 'plenty'." Belle laughed as she reached for the basket now sitting on the counter to separate her purchases from that of Gold's, only to have her hand swatted away.
"What about Victor? He's a sort of friend." Gold responded as he brandished his card and paid for all the purchases, including Belle's.
"Your Doctor doesn't count when you only see them for emergencies or during work hours only." Belle pointed out.
Gold laughed and conceded to her logic. Slowly the two of them made their way toward the Library and where Belle's apartment conveniently was located, with Gold every so often offering a steady hand to help Belle around a few piles of wet snow that the plow had pushed up onto the sidewalks.
"I will think about it. But no promises Belle." Gold finally replied, handing her the pair of oven mitts she picked out. Belle smiled happily up at Gold and accepted the gloves graciously.
"And thank you for the oven mitts, Robert." Belle grinned, secretly thrilled at being one of the select few that actually knew Gold's first name.
Gold's mouth quirked upwards in that rare shy grin he made and Belle's stomach fluttered at the gesture seemingly reserved for only her. With a short wave Belle skipped up the steps to the Library and entered through the doors, shooting one last glance out at Mr. Gold, still standing on the sidewalk and smiling.
xXx
Batch 15: was able to get the texture correct and the flavor is nearly there. Still missing something vital. Cannot pinpoint what it is…
Belle wiped her hand across her brow in frustration as she stared at the nearly perfect pile of cookies on her baking sheet. She was so close, but she just couldn't figure out what was missing. To her disappointment, Gaston had returned from his Vegas trip a bit early and had decided, (without asking Belle of course) that he would accompany her to Ruby's Christmas party. He also hinted at another very special Christmas present he had for Belle and she couldn't help but dread what exactly that special Christmas present could be.
Perhaps Ruby is right. Maybe I should just let Gaston woo me. Perhaps then he would realize that I am not what he really wants and move onto someone else?
With a determined set in her jaw, Belle went back to trying another go at baking her Mother's cookies. Halfway through sifting through the flour the doorbell rang and Belle let out a frustrated sigh before patting her hands on her apron and heading over to the apartment door. Gaston had hinted that he would pop by on Christmas day and so Belle braced herself before wiping a stray hair from her brow and pulling open the door.
Belle's still shoulders relaxed and she smiled gratefully when she found Gold on the other side of the door and not Gaston as she had feared.
"Well hello, how are you?" Belle gushed happily to a very surprised Gold, obviously not expecting such a warm welcome.
"I'm fine… just wanted to wish you a merry Christmas and uhm…" Gold cleared his throat and lifted up a meticulously wrapped present, "I got you a present." He smiled briefly and gestured to Belle's unruly person. "I believe the flour is meant to go into the baked goods and not on the baker themselves."
Belle glanced down at her flour covered apron and the large patches of flour spattering her dark tights and let out a small chuckle at the mess. Quickly she swiped at her legs to remove the white powder only to make it worse with her still slightly powdery hands.
"Oh bugger…" Belle muttered under her breath. When she looked back up she saw Gold staring at her in amusement and still standing outside her apartment.
"Oh, sorry Robert, come in!" Belle smiled as she pulled her door open wider and gestured for Gold to enter her apartment. She reached out to take his jacket from him only to remember her flour coloured hands and withdrew them from the pristine black fabric.
"Let me just…" Belle trailed off as she nodded to the kitchen sink and headed over to wash her hands.
Once she felt she was sufficiently clean she quickly removed her apron and frantically swiped at her tights and the arms of her sweater to get rid of the powdery white. She didnt know why she suddenly felt so embarrassed as it was just Gold and it was just flour, but none the less Belle found herself peeking out the kitchen door to see Gold slowly trail further into her apartment (his wet shoes left at the door, she noticed) and then quickly ducking back into the hidden safety of her apartment and speedily cleaning up the great mess that was her cookie experimentation, as if Gold would think less of her based on her on her ability to keep a neat kitchen while baking. She must have made quite the racket as when she turned around to leave she found herself face to face with Gold who was leaning against her kitchen doorframe with an amused smirk.
"Looks like a science experiment gone wrong in here… don't stop cleaning on my account!" Gold teased while gesturing for her to continue.
"I'm baking cookies, actually." Belle replied matter of factly before chuckling at the mess. It really did look like an experiment gone wrong. When she looked up she was horrified to see that there was even flour on the ceiling, though for the life of her she didn't know how that had happened. Gold appeared to be thinking the same thing as his eyes also found the patch of flour and barked out a laugh.
"Is this for that Christmas party tomorrow?"
"Yes." Belle sighed, her pride grateful for the change in subject, "I've been trying to make a specific cookie – one my mother always made on Christmas, but I just can't seem to find the missing ingredient."
Gold nodded slowly and entered into the kitchen, while gingerly bypassing another patch of flour on the floor to save his patterned socks from the worst of it.
"Are those dogs on your socks?" Belle giggled as she studied Gold's teal socks with images of little brown dogs scattered all over.
"Their daschunds. Interesting creatures actually, great swimmers and have a mean bark." Gold replied while rolling up the sleeves of his dark grey dress shirt. Belle raised her eyebrows at the casual way Gold looked standing in her kitchen, not wearing a suit jacket, his feet un covered and his sleeves rolled up showing a lot more skin than she was used to. Before Gold caught her staring Belle swiftly turned back to her flour covered counter and tried her best to look natural in her own kitchen and ignoring the flutters in her stomach which had picked up its pace.
"Why don't you ask your mother for the recipe, instead of just guessing?" Gold asked as he reached over Belle and picked up the cookbook she had been working from. Of course he smells amazing Belle thought to herself after slightly inhaling Gold's scent.
"She died, a few years back. I don't think she ever kept a copy of the recipe." Belle answered with a faint smile, pushing away the sudden impulse to throw Gold down and take him right then and there. Gold paused and stared at Belle, his brown eyes looking apologetic.
"Sorry, I didn't know."
"It's no matter." Belle dismissed him with a quick wave of her hand before moving closer to Gold and looking over his shoulder at the recipe.
Gold exchanged a smile of understanding with Belle before returning his attention to the cookbook.
"Do you have an extra apron?" Gold said suddenly as he deposited the book back onto the countertop. Belle raised her eyebrows in surprise and couldn't help the small laugh that escaped from her lips.
"Are you going to help me bake cookies, Mr. Gold?" she asked as she tossed him her extra apron, the one with ruffles and a pattern of red roses all over.
Gold grinned mischievously at Belle and tied the pink and red apron around his waist and his neck. He didn't waste any time getting down to business and soon both Belle and Gold were standing side by side rolling out cookie dough. Despite the size of her kitchen, Belle didn't find herself feeling the least bit cramped and was actually enjoying herself.
After tasting her latest batch and trying to describe what was missing, Gold had suggested adding orange zest and after a small argument between the two of them, with Belle saying that orange isn't the right flavor and Gold insisting that she trust him, they added orange zest to the most recent batch.
Now it was just a bit of a waiting game with the two of them, now both sufficiently covered in equal amounts of flour and cookie dough and watching the oven as the cookies began to slowly rise. Belle and Gold both leaned against the now clean countertop (thanks to Gold's meticulous wipe down) and waited in companionable silence for a while.
Belle gave Gold a sidelong gaze and grinned at his ridiculous rose covered attire. If the town of Storybrooke could see him now…
"Was this what you were expecting to be doing on Christmas morning Robert?"
Gold raised his eyebrows and turned his head to look at Belle.
"Absolutely not. I usually spend my Christmases alone in my shop, working on projects I don't have time for otherwise."
"You work on Christmas?" Belle asked in disbelief as she turned to fully face him.
"It's more of a hobby than work…" Gold insisted before turning back to look at the cookies in the oven. "But I must admit I have enjoyed this much more."
Belle couldn't help the pleased grin that stole across her face.
"I'm glad. I enjoyed your company as well…" Belle added sheepishly while looking down at the floor. When her eyes returned to Gold, she saw that he was staring at her with a look of surprise and perhaps wonder before his brow furrowed just a bit.
"You have flour on your cheek." He said before grabbing a clean towel and reaching over to brush the side of her cheek near her nose and then moving the towel up to a spot on her forehead and dabbed what Belle assumed to be a second flour mark. Belle laughed and looked up at the ceiling as Gold continued to clean her face.
"Is it gone now? Am I clean?" Belle giggled just as Gold returned the towel to the countertop, a sly smirk upon his face.
"Much better, Miss. French. You are now presentable."
"Thank you." Belle smiled happily before swiping one of the cookies from her failed batch and taking a bite. "Have you thought about the Christmas party tomorrow? I could really use a date." Belle winked and finished her cookie.
Gold's smirk widened slightly and it looked as though he was about to reply when again the doorbell rang and Belle raised her finger to put a pause on the conversation.
"Just hold that thought, I'll be right back."
Belle smiled quickly and then scurried past Gold and over to the front door.
She had to stifle a groan when she came face to face with the last person she wanted to see.
"Gaston, what a surprise." Belle answered dryly before thinking fast and stepping out into the hallway and bringing her door to a near close behind her. No way is Gaston going to get into my apartment again without invitation. She thought warily and crossing her arms over her chest.
"I've told you before Belle, its Greg."
"Greg." Belle corrected herself and smiled curtly at him.
"Aren't you going to invite me in? It is Christmas after all" Gaston said with a wink and a bold step closer to Belle's door.
"Actually, Greg, I have company right now so it's not really a good time…"
"Oh well, more the merrier…" Gaston began while flashing a winning smile and reaching for Belle's door.
However just as he was about to push his way into her apartment again, the door opened to reveal Mr. Gold, rid of his floral apron and donning his usual meticulous suit and cold smile.
"Why Mr. Gaston, what a pleasant surprise. Belle and I weren't expecting company today." The look Mr. Gold gave the impertinent Gaston could have frozen a whole lake and Belle was suddenly felt a warm feeling of elation pulse through her veins as she watched Gaston take an uncertain step back, his eyes darting uncertainly between the two of them and obviously trying to puzzle out exactly what was going on.
"Mr. Gold…" Gaston greeted the other man with uncertainty. Belle only smiled wanly at Gaston and stepped back toward Gold and placed a hand upon Gold's side. Gaston's eyes widened slightly at Belle's bold gesture and he opened and closed in surprise.
"Are you two together?" Gaston blurted out, his brow raised in surprise and he finally looked down to Belle for confirmation.
"Well that's none of your business, Greg. Now I'm sorry but, unless there was something important you needed to tell me…" Belle trailed off and waited for Gaston to say what he came to say.
Fortunately he only shook his head and backed further away from the door.
"I just wanted to wish you a merry Christmas…" He said lamely with another disbelieving shake of his head.
"A phone call would have sufficed, Mr. Gaston." Gold interrupted with a wolfish quirk of his mouth and Belle shot him a warning look, though it was only half hearted.
"Thank you Gaston, I mean, Greg." Belle smiled, "Merry Christmas to you as well. Maybe we will see you at Ruby's party tomorrow, yeah?" Belle smiled again graciously and grabbed a hold of the door once more with Gold at her side grinning smugly at Gaston.
Without another word or protest Gaston turned on his heel and sped down the steps leading down to the exit.
"Would it have hurt you to be a bit more civil Robert?" Belle said with amusement as she slowly shut the door.
"It would have killed me." Gold retorted and headed back into the galley kitchen just in time to hear the timer go off for the cookies. Belle laughed and rolled her eyes, slowly moving back to the kitchen and watching as Gold pulled out the newest batch of cookies and placing each on the cooling rack next to her stove.
"So, party tomorrow? You and me, a batch of homemade eggnog and possible mistletoe encounters…" Belle trailed off with a flirtatious wag of her eyebrows, suddenly feeling confident and slightly content standing in her small kitchen.
Gold turned to Belle and raised his eyebrows, his smile absolutely roguish.
"Mistletoe encounters? Why Miss. French, I never knew you cared."
Belle swatted his arm and came in close to Gold's side with a soft smile, the mild amusement on his face slowly fading into something more serious with a hint of yearning within the depths of his eyes.
For the first time in a long while Belle knew exactly what she wanted; knew what she needed and for the first time in a long while, Belle decided to take a chance and listen to the racing beat of her heart.
She leaned up and pressed her lips against Gold's, hoping against all hope that what he wanted was the same. When she felt Gold return the press of her lips her heart nearly soared with delight as her hands slowly moved up along the soft fabric of his suit jacket and gently tangled in the ends of Gold's long hair.
Just as quick as it began it stopped, and both Gold and Belle slowly pulled back, at a loss at what to say next.
"The cookies are probably cool enough to try…" Gold murmured though his arms made no effort to remove themselves from Belle's waist. Belle smiled and pulled away, reaching down and plucking one of the cookies from the cooling rack.
Breaking the cookie in two, Belle handed one half to Gold and bit down on her half and she laughed with joy at the familiar taste, finally discovering that missing ingredient.
"I was right, wasn't I?" Gold surmised as he popped his half into his mouth.
"Orange Zest. Who knew?" Belle said as she wrapped her arms back around Gold's middle and pulling herself close once more, and absolutely delighted at how well they fit, though not at all surprised.
"So, Christmas party tomorrow Robert?" Belle grinned cheekily.
"I wouldn't miss it for the world Belle."