Secret Place

Summary: Rumpelstitlskin. Belle. The Cabin.

Writer's note: Prompt from Oceanofdarkness for the one year of rumbelle anniversary. Thank you, dearest!


He doesn't tell her where they're going, just tilts his head ever so slightly to the side and flashes a wicked little smirk her way. They're driving into the woods, down a rocky road as the evening sun sets.

Belle reminisces in her head the last time they did this. She did not know who he was, but she'd been promised that Mr. Gold would protect her and for the first time in her insignificant life, she had something to hold on to, to give her purpose. That's what brought her to his shop that night when the world they knew was about to be turned on its head. That's what drew her to follow him willingly into the woods, not knowing why.

Belle glances at her True Love, a small smile playing on her lips. He's not perfect by any stretch. Rumpelstiltskin is weathered and scarred and broken, but he is hers. He is the one who will always hold her heart.

The car is parked. Belle awaits her gentleman as he makes his way to the passenger side door to help her out. Their destination is a cabin, quaint and rustic and a little outdated. Belle would be happy even if it were a tent as long as she and Rumpel were together.

"Let me guess," she says as he unlocks the door and gestures her inside. She smiles teasingly at him, "you own this too?"

His eyes spark mischievously. "Can't say that I don't."

The inside seems cozy with a fireplace and loveseat, blankets strewn over chairs, a kitchenette and simple dining table. Belle peers around noticing candles scattered about. "Is there no electricity here?"

"There is not, but this should be enough." Rumpelstitlskin snaps his fingers and simultaneously every candle in there and the fireplace light up, the sound like a thousand matches striking to life at the same time.

Belle gasps, blinking at the sudden brightness in the room. "That was brilliant."

"That is a simple spell" he informs, sounding sure and confident. "What is truly brilliant is the invisible barrier I set around the perimeter. No one can cross it, which means absolutely no one can disturb us."

Belle chuckles, squeezing his arm, pure delight radiating from her. "That's the best news I've heard in a very long time."

"That means when we do this-" he leans into her, slipping his arm from her to cup her cheek and brush her lips in the briefest kiss, "-we won't have to stop," he breathes against her lips and Belle feels a shiver rush through her body.

Here only they exist. No curse, no intruders, no evil witches, no town dilemmas. They are their own little glorious world in that moment, in that secret place where only they can enter, touch, enjoy, and lose themselves completely in each other.