The next day around noon, Rumplestiltskin waited at the tree for Belle. He wasn't sure why he had so quickly agreed to meet her again. Was he that desperate for companionship?

Being in her presence was the first time he'd genuinely enjoyed himself in a while.

He still couldn't figure out why she had the aura of a fairy about her. He could've sworn she'd been in contact with a fairy just moments before meeting him. He tried not to doubt that she'd been telling the truth. She said she wasn't a fairy, so he'd take her word for it.

He waited all of three minutes fearing she wouldn't show up, but eventually he saw her approaching him. She wore another blue dress. The color brought out the blue in her eyes, not that he took particular notice.

"Hi," he greeted her.

"So I've been wondering," skipping right over a greeting, she leaned her back against the tree he stood next to. "Since you have all these powers, can you magically transport yourself places, or is the price of magic on that too high?"

He clasped his hands together in front of him. "If there was any price to something as small as that, it would be inconsequential. I use magic for small things like that quite often." More often than he would like to admit, actually.

She nodded, intrigued, and he continued. "We can...go somewhere, if you'd like. The village perhaps."

"Only if you want to," She replied, though he could tell her eyes lit up at the suggestion. He remembered how highly she'd talked of the bookshop there yesterday.

He was about to say yes, of course he'd want to, but instead he asked, "Are you sure you want to go with me?"

She smiled, resting her hand on his arm, "I'd love to."
He couldn't say no to that, so he let her keep her hand on his arm as he transported them to the outskirts of the village. He pulled his jacket collar tighter around his face. People didn't exactly like seeing the Dark One strolling through their shops. Belle kept her grip on his arm, leading him to and from shops.

They spent the most amount of time in the bookshop. She pointed out all the books she'd read, her eyes lighting up as she described the knowledge she'd acquired from each one. She even showed him a book written on the Dark One, pointing out and snickering at all the ridiculous notions people had of him. Since he stayed in the shadows, nobody ever knew what he was up to. Some insisted that he had been born with the scaly skin, harnessing the darkness for as long as it existed. After Belle's inquiry as to the truth of that statement, he assured her that it was simply a curse placed on him later in his life. He didn't tell her of the events leading up to him killing the previous Dark One, but she seemed content to know that he had once been an ordinary man.

He bought an atlas for Belle as a gift, although she told him she didn't need him to spend his money on her. He insisted she let him buy it. What else was he supposed to do with his abundance of golden straw?

As they left the bookshop arm in arm, Belle gasped, pulling him into the nearest alley. Stunned, he whispered, "Want to tell me what that was all about?"

Eyes wide, she peaked her head around the corner, quickly retreating. "My Aunt Blue is here. I told her I would be spending my day alone in the forest. She's paranoid about me talking to strangers."

He nodded, leaning against the brick wall behind him. "Did you know she would be here?"

She shook her head, and he tried not to notice the way she bit her lip. "The journey from our cottage takes a day. She usually tells me when she comes out here. It's strange."

Magic swirled at his fingertips. "I can bring us back to the forest, if you'd like."

Taking his arm once again, she agreed. When they appeared in the forest she stumbled a little, not used to the feeling of magic. "Sorry about that," she sighed. "I love my three aunts, but they would likely die of shock if they saw me in the village with you."

He leaned against the tree. "You know, I was raised by my three aunts as well." He wasn't sure what had prompted him to share this with her. Only two other people knew about this. "They're the ones who taught me to spin."

"Is that where you learned to spin straw into gold?"
"No," He hesitated on sharing with her, but something in him trusted her. "I didn't come in contact with magic until I was much older with a son of my own."

A look of surprise washed over her features for a moment. "A son? What happened to him?"

"That's a story for another day." Although he doubted she'd stick around long enough for him to tell it to her.

Instead he walked her back to her cottage in comfortable silence. When they were in view of her home, she paused to look up into his eyes. "Thank you for today, Rumple." He barely had a moment to notice her new nickname for him when she stood on her tiptoes, placing a kiss on the rough skin of his cheek. The feeling of her soft lips against his skin left him feeling both strength and weakness. He felt that with Belle by his side, he could finally be happy; but at the same time, he felt as if her simple kiss threatened to take away the dark magic inside of him. The latter thought utterly terrified him.

She pulled back, biting her lip again. He searched her eyes for signs of repulsion. He even considered that this whole thing had been a trick, but the only thing she had gained today was the atlas he bought her at the bookshop, which she had insisted he needn't spend his money on. Instead, her eyes gazed up at him with sincerity, and he was sure there was a goofy grin on his face from the tenderness of the kiss.

He stammered out a "You're welcome" for her thanks, pausing out of eyesight from the cottage. He watched from the shadows as she made the final steps inside, glancing back at him to wave goodbye before entering. They had plans to meet up again tomorrow, and while he enjoyed their time together, he couldn't stop himself from wondering when he would mess it all up.