A/N: I felt inspired to write the second chapter even though I have yet to receive reviews on the first. I highly encourage you all the post your reviews in the comments section. For those reading this on Tumblr instead of AO3/FF, I would love to get reviews from you through messages or reblogs. I want to know if you guys like this and if there is anything I can change. This next chapter is not as long as the last one, but it's still rated K as the two are simply reconnecting over lunch. Future chapters will have more adult themes.
The diner was a short walk from the library as it was across the street. Belle and Rumford laughed from talking about the past and their days in college before Rumford held the door open for her to Granny's. She smiled when they entered the diner and noticed how everything looked exactly how she left it.
"I forgot how much I missed this place. Granny's hasn't changed since I left Storybrooke four years ago." Belle walked over to a booth with Rumford closely behind and sat down.
"Granny doesn't like change very much." Rumford laughed. "You still like to get a hamburger with fries and an iced tea, right?"
Belle smiled and nodded. "You forgot about ketchup."
Rumford laughed. "How can I forget about your love for ketchup?"
Belle smiled as she pushed the menu out of the way a little. There was no need to look at it; she already knew what she wanted. "I still can't believe I bumped into you."
"Our town is much bigger than most people think, so I'm surprised I bumped into you as well. I'm not surprised that it was in the library."
"Many things have changed in my life whether it be big or small, but I can proudly say that the love I have for books is not one of them." She smiled when a waitress approached them with her pad of paper ready with a pen in hand. "What I can get you?" She asked.
Belled handed the waitress the menu she never opened. "A hamburger with fries and an iced tea would be lovely. Thank you." The waitress nodded and turned to face Rumford. "And you?"
"I'll have what she is having." He handed the waitress his menu and she went off to put in their order. "Since you still have a love for books, are you planning on using that business degree of yours to open an bookstore?"
Belle was impressed that he remembered what her major was despite the long four-year gap between them. "That is my goal. I would love to open a bookstore and have it be a coffee shop as well. There just isn't much in our town to offer locals and visitors, so I want to try and change that. I learned a lot while living in New York these last four years." The waitress came back with their iced teas and Belle took a ship before continuing on. "There were several coffee shops like that back in New York and we don't have any in Storybrooke. It's a relaxing place to be if you're stressed. Nothing ever seems to be too bleak with a book and a cup of tea or coffee in hand."
Rumford loved listening to her talk about the things she was passionate about and smiled. "That sounds like a wonderful idea. Have you been looking around for real estate to get started with that?"
"You really think so?" Belle asked with a smile. "I've been looking online to get an idea of how much it would cost. I haven't looked at property since I just got into town yesterday."
"I know it's a great idea." He replied, smiling warmly. "I can take you around town and help you find a few places if you'd like."
"That's really nice of you to offer, Rum. Thank you." She smiled and was relieved that their food came out so soon after that. She grabbed the ketchup and put some on her plate before placing the bottle in front of Rumford for him to use. "Enough about me, Rum." She smiled. "What about you? Are you and Milah still dating? I remember you two dating on and off back in college." She replied, taking a bite of a french fry.
Rumple nearly wanted to run away at the mention of Milah's name. Rumple was always unhappy for not taking the risk to ask Belle out. Seeing her and Will date in college was something that pained him, so he tried to get his mind off it by dating Milah. Their relationship was full of hardships, but Rumford wanted to feel what it was like to be close to someone.
"It's complicated." He was hesitant to even say anything. "She is very busy with her job so she often goes on business trips for an extended period of time. I don't really consider us in a relationship as she is never here and we have split up multiple times... She could be in New York or Boston right now. I have no idea, to be honest."
Belle realized that she asked a question that was very uncomfortable for him and felt bad instantly. "I- I'm sorry, Rum. Why don't you talk to me about you? It sounds like you have been very successful."
"It's not your fault." He replied with a warm smile. "I have a shop a few stores down from the diner here where I sell and fix antiques. I mostly make an income on fixing things when people are really desperate. Most of the people here don't seem to like me since I'm well on my way of owning a quarter of the town."
"Really?" Belle smiled as she took another sip of her iced tea and a bite of her burger. "That's incredible to hear that my best friend owns so much."
Rumford laughed. "I would advise not saying that out loud. Mayor Mills will probably not let you work in this town if she heard you."
The rest of their afternoon went really well. Belle couldn't remember when the last time she laughed, so it was nice to get this moment with her best friend from college. She could feel her heart opening up to him again and tried to fight the feels she was having for him again, but it got worse when Rumford left her to use the bathroom to leave her alone with her thoughts. Her phone went off one second later to a text and it left her speechless. She was not expecting to ever have to see this and yet the idea made her smile a little. Nothing good could ever come from what she just read.