The air in the pawnshop grew thick as Belle and Rumplestiltskin glared ferociously at each other.
Rumplestiltskin bargained with the Darkness long ago he'd be a willing host so long as no physical harm ever came to Belle and Bae. That deal still stood, and while he knew he couldn't hurt Belle physically, he still feared what this curse would make them say to each other. He knew that every negative thought they expressed, though amplified by the curse, was actually true, deep down. And that scared the Dark One more than anything.
"Well?'", Belle tapped her heels impatiently. "I can't stand here forever, you know. Whatever you're going to say I suggest you make it quick."
Rumplestiltskin made no move to hide his scorn as his wife teetered in yet another pair of sky-high heels. "Maybe if you took off those damned stilettos-"
"Really? We're cursed and the first thing you want to do is criticize my shoes?"
"We're always cursed, Belle! Can't you see that! Or are you too busy 'seeing the good in everything?'"
"I'm trying to help you-"
"You're trying to fix me! Because that's all I am to you: some monster for you to tame, some animal to domesticate."
Part of Belle wanted to hide in shame and beg for Rumple's forgiveness. Did he really think she saw him that way? It wasn't true, of course, but looking back it does make sense why he would come to that conclusion. And that made her angry. Angry at herself mostly, but the Shattered Sight curse wouldn't let her admit that aloud, so she blew up at Rumple instead.
"What am I to you, then? Some delicate flower you need to shield from the big bad world? Some little girl everyone deems is too naïve to live? Unless of course I'm being cursed, captured, shot, brainwashed, put to sleep, and generally treated as little more than cannon fodder! And you wonder why I always leave? I am goddamn tired of being treated like some object! No one respects my agency, Rumple…not even you."
A plethora of angry voices blared inside Rumplestiltskin's head, some from Shattered Sight; others the everlasting torment of the Dark One's curse. But the pain in Belle's voice gave Rumplestiltskin the strength to claw his way through every voice as he reached out to his wife.
"Oh Belle", he said, tentatively taking her hand. To his surprise she accepted his touch. The Dark One even thought she'd moved closer, but it was probably his imagination.
"I am so sorry. The way those so-called 'heroes' treat you disgusts me, and yet you never hesitate to help them…why?" Rumplestiltskin's gentle yet curious tone melted away Belle's anger- well, some of it, anyway.
"I just wanted to help", she replied honestly. "Yet bad things happen to me every time I try. What's wrong with me, Rumple? Why can't I just spare myself the trouble and give up?" Tears began slowly sliding down her cheeks. Belle silently cursed herself for being so weak.
"Sweetheart…" Rumple reached down to cup his wife's cheek. "You mean so well. You believe in people long after they've been deemed a lost cause, and your kindness never ceases to amaze me. That is the farthest thing from weakness I have ever seen. People have always taken advantage of that, including myself. And for that, Belle, I am so very sorry."
Belle pressed her husband's hand closer on her cheek. She managed to chuckle despite herself. "Look at us, Rumple. This Shattered Sight curse was supposed to make us kill each other. Instead it made us closer." She reached out to stroke his hair, and Rumplestiltskin leaned into her touch.
The Dark One smiled in response. "We do have a habit of overcoming whatever life throws at us, don't we?"
"We do", Belle agreed, kissing her husband's forehead. "But before we get sucked into anything else, there's one thing I'd like to do first..."
