Prompt: Gold comes home after he meets Emma at the inn.
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Belle was asleep on the couch when he got home from the Inn. He was breathless at the sight of her. She had her headphones on still, and the sound of the audiobook could be heard blaring from them.
He dropped his cane as memories assaulted him. She was dead. Regina had told him that she had been tortured to the point of taking her own life. How was she here? Alive.
He knelt down beside the couch and stared at her sleeping face. She was perfection. She was snoring slightly and her hair was a little mussed, but she was absolute perfection.
He gently removed the headphones from her head and set them aside with the Kindle. "Belle," He whispered, running his fingertips over her eyelids. He wanted nothing more than to tell her everything about who they really were and where they were from. But he had to make sure everything went according to plan. And he didn't want to shock her. "Wake up darling."
He smiled when she blinked open her stunning blue eyes. "You're back." She murmured sleepily, automatically reaching up to wrap her arms around his neck.
Gold chuckled and kissed her cheek as he pulled her into the sitting position. "I am." He sighed, rubbing her back. "I missed you too much. I decided to come home early."
"That's silly." Belle burrowed her nose into his neck. "But I'm glad you're here."
He struggled not to choke up at her words as he kissed the side of her head. "So am I."
