Chapter 7

"Stop!" He all but shouted and she slowed the car to a stop in the empty school parking lot. Putting it in park she looked over at him with sheer exasperation. He was holding onto the handle of the door as if his life depended on it and she was loosing patience as she brought the car to a standstill for the twelfth time for no apparent reason that she could discern.

"What now?" She asked, for once being the one whose temper was fraying. They were getting nowhere in this lesson, literally.

"Are you sure you really want to continue?" He asked, nearly pleading with her to give up.

"Oh for heaven sake, Rumple!" She snapped. "It's bad enough you tricked me three weeks ago about this!"

He looked offended. "Trick you? I didn't trick you! You're the one set on following the rules in this land! How is it my fault you had to pass a paper exam prior to operating a motor vehicle? I didn't make that law!"

She narrowed her eyes. He had done it on purpose to stall them actually getting in a car and she knew it. She had all but bounded into his shop after she closed the library that weekend, beyond eager to learn this, and instead of leading her out to his mechanical coach as she had been anticipating he had presented her with a very dusty and battered looking operating manual. The thing looked as if it had been run over at least twice, and that suspicion was confirmed when she turned it over and saw a tire track along half of the binding. When she asked him what it was he had informed her, with not nearly enough suppressed relief to be at all believable, that she first had to pass a written exam before she was allowed to drive, even with a teacher. If she didn't have a permit she could be fined or arrested, which he said was the last thing he wanted. She suspected it was the second to last thing he wanted, the first being her not getting behind the wheel.

Deflated and annoyed she had accused him justifiably of treachery, and took the book from him in a huff. He had been trying to defend himself since then, but was gaining no ground with her. It hardly helped that when she came back into the shop two days later with her permit, having promptly committed the book to memory and then acing the exam the next morning while Prince James administered it at the sheriffs department, that he looked so utterly crestfallen by her swift success. She had no doubt he had been hoping she either failed the test entirely or it would take her several weeks to study for it, giving him more time to come up with a reasonable Rumpelstiltskin sort of excuse to get himself out of this. Since then he had been hemming and hawing around the issue as cleverly as he was able, which was saying something, until she put her foot down. Actually she stomped it hard enough to set some of his wares rattling, but that was neither here nor there. Her obvious annoyance over him ignoring her wish to learn, and her subsequent and candid irritation over it had him all but cowering in her presence. For once she didn't even feel bad about it he was acting so ridiculous. He had finally given in and taken her to the parking lot as if he were being led to the hangman's noose.

They had been here for an hour, forty minutes of which he had refused to get out of the drivers seat as he insisted on going over every single detail of the car, twice, before she snapped at him to trade places with her before she made him. He had taken the threat seriously and changed places with her with as much dignity as he could muster. The last twenty minutes had been absurd. She hadn't even made a full circuit of the parking lot yet as he kept insisting she was going too fast, or forgot her turn signal, or remarked rather frantically on the dampness of the pavement and the fear the car might careen wildly out of control into the school building and kill them both, and quite possibly several children to boot, which seemed unlikely as it was Sunday and there was no school. He kept muttering about hydroplaning under his breath. She might have taken that seriously had she actually managed to get the car over five miles an hour for more than two seconds in a row, or if there had been more than a single puddle lurking about the area in what he must consider quiet the menacing manner.

"You tricked me!" She insisted, because he had. "And you did it on purpose! You know how I feel about that!"

"Dearie-"

She cut him off. "Rumple, if you do not start teaching me how to drive this car properly I swear by all that I consider holy I will drive us straight into that elm tree over there and kill us both!" She pointed firmly at a large tree in particular that was full on the other side of the lot from where they were, perhaps two hundred yards or so past the play set. "It would be worth my life to be sure you were dead at this point! You are driving me utterly mad and I have had quite enough of your nonsense for the next several weeks!"

He pressed his lips together and sulked, actually sulked, in his seat. "I'm trying to make sure that you learn to drive safely." He said reasonably.

"You are trying to be sure I don't learn at all!" She all but shouted. Really, she was loosing her temper.

"That isn't true." He retorted at once.

"It is true!" She snapped back.

He latched onto that at once. "If you're going to get this emotional about it then perhaps it would be a good idea if we stopped for the day."

Her eyelid twitched, she felt it happen. All at once he had thrown her from frustratingly annoyed with him to really angry. She wasn't sure he had ever truly seen her in that state before, and so wasn't at all equipped to deal with the consequences. Oh, he had angered her before, most notably when he first sent her away from the dark castle, but that had been heavily shaded with hurt, regret, and a terrible sort of disappointment. Right now she was simply enraged with no other emotion to temper it down. Her voice dropped to a near normal volume. "You feel I'm the one being emotional?"

To his credit he was not a stupid man. At once he realized that not only had he erred badly in that statement, but that there was no good way to respond to that question. Sadly, his intelligence wasn't so great as to get him to keep his mouth shut, which in her opinion was the only thing that would have resulted in even a sliver of hope for him. "I simply think that it would be best not to push-"

"I see."

He went quiet when she cut him off, watching her cautiously, and when she put the car in drive his eyes flicked down to her hand and then back to her face. "Perhaps you could simply pull into one of the parking spots and we could discuss it reasonably."

"Okay." She said, turning the wheel and pressing her foot to the gas.

He was relieved for half a second before their speed increased rather dramatically and she had the car aimed straight for the elm tree. "What are you doing?" He asked tightly.

"I think I told you already." She remarked, oddly calm as she set a collision course for the tree.

"Dearie." He said, thinking she was bluffing. "Don't be unreasonable." She said nothing, pushing the pedal down farther at the accusation that she was the one being unreasonable, and the car jolted forward, bouncing them both between the seat and the straps. He looked between her and the rapidly approaching tree as he slammed his palm against the dashboard. "Belle! Belle, stop!"

"Are you going to teach me this or not?" She asked, really trying to give him another chance.

"Stop the car!"

"I think I won't." She replied, knowing they were soon going to reach a point where she wouldn't have time to stop before they did hit the tree, but refusing to back down.

"Belle!"

"What, Rumple?" She asked.

"Stop the damn car!" He yelled.

"No." She said, still urging the car forward.

He cursed nastily and all at once magic exploded out of him and the engine died. The car jerked and began to slow down at once, his magic dragging it to a stop altogether, as if he had tied an invisible weight to the back. "Are you crazy?" He shouted as they rolled to a halt not three feet away from her intended target.

That question helped his cause not at all. She turned on him at once. "You know how I feel about you using magic!"

He had the nerve to splutter at her, as if she were at fault. "You were going to drive us straight into a bloody tree!"

"I warned you what I was going to do!" She threw back. "It's not my fault you didn't listen!"

"It's not my fault you tried to drive us into a tree?" He asked incredulously.

She would not allow him to turn this on her. "Rumpelstiltskin, I am about to throttle you!"

"Still better than death via tree!" He retorted. "With the way you cause havoc we most likely would have blown up on top of it!"

"What is the matter with you?" She shouted. "Why don't you want me to learn this?"

"I never once said I didn't want you to learn!" He yelled back.

"You hardly have to! You have been doing everything short of erasing my memory to prevent me from accomplishing this! You have tricked me, stalled, added obstacles, pushed me until my temper snaps, and now are blaming me for your actions! I will not be baited or manipulated by you!" She was on a role now, all out ranting, her voice echoing in the small cab. "So what is it?" He said nothing and she narrowed her eyes. "Look, I'm going to learn this one way or another! There are plenty of people in this town who would teach me! You have three seconds to tell me before I storm out of this car! I am at my limit with you today!" He growled under his breath, clutching at his cane as he searched for an answer that was no doubt a lie, but might satisfy her. "Two seconds, and so help me if you lie to me I will throw a real fit and I promise you it won't be anything near so pleasant as this!"

"I don't want to make it any easier for you to leave!" He snapped.

"What?" She asked in exasperation. He let out a low breath, not looking at her. She really wanted to crawl over the seat and smack sense into him, and she wasn't really prone to violent behavior. "I'm not leaving! I told you I wasn't going to leave! I have told you that half a dozen times! Why don't you believe me?" Once again he said nothing. "Why?" She demanded.

"You don't have a reason to stay." He said, defeat evident in his voice.

"I love you!" She yelled.

"You love the man you think I can be." He said, calm now, and resigned.

"I love you, Rumpelstiltskin!" She shouted, because clearly he didn't listen when she said it calmly, or sweetly, or lovingly. "What do I have to do to prove it to you?" She really had no idea what to do right now. "What? What else do I have to do? What else do you need to know to convince you that I love you?"

"I do believe you-"

"You don't believe me!" She screamed. "Gods!" She ripped her seatbelt off and twisted, grabbing his shoulder hard and shaking him as she nearly fell over the center consul of the stupid machine. "How long, Rumple? Thirty years? Thirty two?" She snarled. "Do you want to know what happened in all those long years where we were apart? Do you want details? Is that what it's going to take to get it through that impossibly stubborn head of yours? Is that what you need to believe me?" He had that look again, the one that told her that the fear he had for himself had shifted to worry for her. "Because we can't keep doing this! You either need to trust me or send me away again!"

"Belle." He said, his voice breaking.

"I can't make you believe me!" She cried raggedly. "I can't do that for you no matter how much I might want to!" She shook him again. "I can't constantly be the one holding us up like this! I love you!" She repeated, her voice falling dramatically. "I love you. I love the man that you are right now the same way I loved the imp you were when I met you!" She felt tired all at once, and terribly drained. "You think because I say it that it's easy for me. It's not easy to let someone in. It's not easy for me either. It's not easy, and it scares me, and I'm afraid you'll leave me too."

Once again, she threw him. "What?" He asked sharply. "Why would you think that?"

She pressed her lips together before answering, knowing very well that this would hurt him and not wanting to do that no matter the fight they were having. "You never came for me."

She might as well have put his still beating heart on a hot poker. " I thought you were dead." He said brokenly. "I would have ripped apart the world to get you if I had thought for one moment you were alive."

"I know." She answered, and it scared her that she knew he would have gone to such an extreme in a lot of ways. "But Regina said you knew where I was and you didn't care, and I knew she was lying, but being alone that long…" She shook her head. "All you have to do is sit there with the thoughts and I didn't have a wheel or a cup. All I had were my memories and they start to fade around the edges." She slid back down into the seat and sighed, looking out the front window instead of at him, her temper now gone. "I don't know what else to say to you. I don't know what you need that I haven't given you, or at least tried to give you. I don't know if it's me you can't trust, or if it's because of your son, or some other part of your past you haven't told me about. I don't know what to do. What should I do, Rumple?"

There was a long pause and she waited for some sort of answer. Finally, she got one, although it wasn't what she expected. He took hold of her seatbelt and pulled it out of its holder, wrapping it back around her and clicking it into place so she was secure. Letting it go he lifted his hand up and turned the key in the ignition. The engine purred back to life and he sat back in his seat. He spoke quietly. "Put the car in reverse." She looked over at him and he continued, not quite meeting her eyes. "The hardest part will be learning to turn the wheel the opposite direction when you go backwards. Either that or parallel parking." When she just looked at him he went on. "I don't want you out on the road today, but we can get the basics down in the parking lot."

For a moment she was still before slowly reaching down and moving the stick to the R setting. She began to back up and he spoke in the same quiet, calm voice. "Check your mirrors before you move. You might hit something otherwise."

She did what he said, responding much better to this attitude than his original panic and snipping. For the next hour she practiced, with him instructing her in the same tone of voice. For most of that time he had her parking in empty spots until she was perfectly centered in each place. While it was a dull exercise compared to what she had been expecting, she did understand the need to do the thing properly and so made no protest as he had her repeat it nearly endlessly. Finally, the perfectionist in him was satisfied. "Well done, dearie." He said as she peered out her side window to see where the line was in relation to the car. She turned her attention back to him. "Would you like to try something else or take a break?"

She was pleased he was giving her options, rather than telling her one way or another. "A break please."

He made a hesitant suggestion. "Would you like to go get lunch?" Honestly, she wasn't sure she did. She was still frustrated with him, and confused over what exactly they were doing. She wasn't sure if they were fighting or making up, feeling as if they were in an odd place in between. When she hesitated he spoke again. "Please, Belle?"

She couldn't very well turn him down when he asked that way. "Okay."

"We'll need to drive." He said.

Saying nothing she got out of the car and changed places with him. He drove out of the parking lot and confused her when he didn't head to her apartment, Granny's, or his own home. Instead he headed the opposite direction and she looked out at the trees with interest. Truthfully, she had been eager to get back out into the woods, had often looked at the map that she had gotten from the records office longingly, but it seemed whenever she set her mind to it something would come up and prevent her from more than a short walk through the park.

"Where are we going?" She asked curiously.

"I thought you might like a picnic." He said, his eyes darting to her, waiting for her to either agree or have him take her back to town.

"In the forest?" She asked inanely.

"Yes."

"Oh." He was pleased when he saw her eyes light up eagerly in the reflection off the glass as she turned fully to look out the passenger side window. "I would like that a great deal. Are we going to go back to the well?" She didn't know any other place they might be going.

"No, a different place." He told her. "The well is to the east of here."

She stored that away and then fell quiet, nearly mesmerized by all trees, by the beauty of the place they were in. She had gotten so used to grey; the green was a wonderful change. They didn't drive very long, only fifteen minutes or so, before he turned off the main road and onto a dirt one. Having not seen a dirt road in this world she was intrigued by it. He slowed down as they went and another five minutes later he pulled into a smallish sort of clearing.

It was a very pretty spot, with the trees all around and a small stream running down one side, nearly hidden by all plants that were crowded along the bank. On the other edge, just in sight, was a small wooden house. It was well built, but looked a little neglected, with dusty windows and ivy growing untamed up one side and over the railings of a small porch. The shutters too spoke of age, the green paint faded and chipped, and one was hanging crookedly, as if hit by a strong wind sometime in the recent past.

She took all this in as he parked the car and opened his door. She got out behind him quickly, eager to explore this new place. "Where are we?" She asked with real interest. "Whose house is this?"

"Here they consider this a small summer home. A place to go on holiday, no one lives here for more than a week or so at a stretch."

She couldn't understand why. It was a perfectly charming little place. The only thing she could think that it needed was perhaps a fresh coat of paint and a good scrubbing, both of which could be accomplished in one or two very productive days. She rather thought she could live here very happily, as long as she could move some books in with her. "That seems a waste." She said as she walked over to it. "It's lovely." He said nothing to that, fiddling about with the car as she went up the porch. Going to one of the windows she looked in after wiping the grime off it as best she could, unable to temper down her inquisitive nature. Having a narrow space cleared she gazed inside, seeing a sparsely furnished space that looked as if someone had run through it knocking things all over. "Rumple, I think someone broke in. This place is in shambles."

"No one broke in, dearie." He replied calmly. "I simply haven't bothered to clean it up yet."

She turned her head. "It's yours?"

"So the deed says." He replied as he opened the trunk and began to make noise. It sounded as if he were moving things about in there. "I thought you might be more interested in the woods than an old cabin though."

She supposed she was, but she looked back inside all the same. "Do you own everything here?"

"Not everything." He said, but he way he said it told her he owned almost everything. She supposed she had already sussed that out though. She was anything but stupid and had heard people talking, or whispering under their breath as the case may be. No one wanted to anger Rumpelstiltskin. She couldn't blame them for it either, not with his reputation, not with the things she was sure he had done. They needed to work on that, she thought tiredly. He couldn't keep on like this much longer no matter what he thought.

Eventually it would catch up with him. Eventually it would catch up his son if he ever found him. She wondered if he ever considered that or if he was too obsessed with getting to Bae to be able too. He needed to start mending some bridges or he could well find himself fully isolated, unable to rely even on the good nature and intentions of those people that would help him even without a reason. Truth be told she was worried that something would happen to her and he would be alone again, fully and completely. The thought scared her, because she really wasn't sure how many more times he could come back from loss sane. Rumpelstiltskin, a man that had torn a world apart when he was in his right mind… well, the thought of him mad, of the destruction he was capable of with no checks or will to live, that, if nothing else, truly terrified her.

Slowly, she turned away from the cabin and went back over to him. When she came around the back of the car she saw him closing a wicker basket's lid before he closed up another odd looking white and blue box. He shoved that one to the back, out of the way, and glanced up when he saw her beside him. He grabbed for purchase in this awkward atmosphere they had somehow created together. "You always seemed to do better in sunlight." He glanced around the forest. "I thought this would be a good idea." He said it in a way that told her he now thought he had been wrong about it.

"It is a good idea." She told him, because it was. Unfortunately, they hadn't had the best morning. She supposed there was no point in dragging this out any longer. "Rumple, I'm worried about you."

"There's no need to worry about me, dearest."

"There is a wide and varied assortment of reasons to worry about you." She told him. "I believe quite rightly that I've decided to partake in all of them." He flinched ever so slightly, his hand resting on the basket. "Rumple?" She said softly.

"I'm sorry." An apology was not what she was expecting. "I have no right to question you and every reason to believe you. You've never once given me a cause not to." He sighed. "It's unfair of me to keep doing this to you."

Fair wasn't really the issue she was concerned with right now. "Why is this so hard for you?"

"There's been little trust in my life." He told her honestly. "I learned not to trust anyone before I could walk. Whenever I tried afterwards I was sorely disappointed."

"I need you to try again." She said with the firm understanding that this would be on par with getting him to give up magic. "You need to try with me." He nodded, but she pushed. "Rumple, I mean it. This won't ever work if you can't trust me, or believe me when I say something to you. You've spent your life covering yourself in secrets and schemes and now that's all you seem to be able to see. I can't spend my life like that. I can't spend my life with someone who can't trust me when I say something that matters so much. I can't spend it with someone who keeps shutting me out."

"I know you can't." He said.

She nodded, her face serious, and shifted a little closer into his space. "I would never hurt you." She told him, and she knew without a doubt it was true. What had she gone through to keep him safe? True, he had never told her much, but even under duress from the queen she hadn't spoken about what she had learned, having no idea what might be valuable to the woman. She had paid for that silence, in ways she wouldn't say, but she had held her tongue. For all his power she knew everyone had a weakness, and she was sure there had been one long before she showed up in his life. She refused to help destroy him. "And I never betrayed you."

"Maybe you should have."

"What?" She asked.

"Regina may have let you go."

"No, she wouldn't have." She was sure of that. "Nothing would have changed, except she would have hurt you in any way she could."

"I can handle Regina."

She wasn't so sure of that. "Would you have betrayed me?"

"It's not the same." He said.

"It's exactly the same." She insisted.

"You're worth something."

"You're worth something." She said firmly.

"No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are!" She snapped. "You're worth something to me! More than something!"

"Dearie-"

"Don't you dare say you're not!" She said, jabbing him in the chest. "Do you think I would have come back if you weren't?"

He actually took that in and turned it over in his head. "I don't-"

"The answer is no, Rumple." She sighed.

He shifted, clearly uncomfortable with this. "But-"

"Rumpelstiltskin, stop this." She ordered. "I will bully you into agreeing with me eventually, so you might as well save yourself the trouble."

"No one bullies me." He told her.

She sent him a look before reaching into the trunk and grabbing an old blanket out of it. "Please, I do it all the time." Stumped, he tried to work that out, seemingly only just realizing that was true, as she turned away. "Now, I'm hungry." She informed him. "So decide if you want to do this the easy way or the hard way and bring the basket."

As she headed toward the stream, which seemed to offer the better view, there was a pause before she heard him moving. When she was fifteen feet ahead of him the trunk shut and then he was following after her. She didn't walk far before picking a spot, was only just out of sight of the car and cabin, and flipped the blanket open, spreading it over a patch of grass under a large maple tree. By the time he caught up to her she had seated herself and was spreading her short skirt out around her, wondering how she had gotten used to so much of her legs showing. The first few times she had been beyond uncomfortable, even with memories promising her this was more than appropriate, and even more of them telling her that at some point in this fake life she had run about town in pants so short there was hardly anything to be left to the imagination. The very thought nearly had her fainting from embarrassment, because no proper woman would dream of showing her knees to the whole world, and pushed the idea from her mind. Even the short dresses and skirts she had were more acceptable to her than pants, although it seemed she was the only woman here who still thought that. She simply couldn't bring herself to wear them no matter what Ruby said.

Setting the basket beside her Rumpelstiltskin sat down, careful of his leg. She looked at it again, wondering what had happened. He had never had a limp before. He caught her watching him, no doubt knowing exactly what she was curious about, but didn't answer the unspoken question. He simply set his cane down along the edge of the fabric and opened the basket as he settled his back against the tree trunk. She watched him as he pulled things out and smiled when she saw another box of chocolates. This package looked different from the first one, but she knew it was the candy all the same. A moment later and he pulled out a clearly chilled bottle of wine and two surprisingly tall glasses for it.

"Wine?" She asked with interest. She hadn't had wine since before she went with him so long ago now. She hadn't had any liquor at all, with the exception of one glass of hard cider that she had to celebrate with the dwarves when they found all the diamonds in the mines. Having spent so long without having any it had gone straight to her head.

"Champagne." He corrected.

"What's champagne?" She asked curiously.

"A special sort of wine." He told her.

"Why is it special?" She asked as she plucked a blueberry out some Tupperware and began to snack on the fruit. She quite liked these dishes that sealed the food in. It was a lovely invention, keeping food fresh so very long.

For the first time all day a small smile pulled at the corners of his mouth. "I would hate to ruin the surprise."

She tilted her head and he broke the pretty foil around the top and tossed the trash in the now empty basket. She wondered how he had fit so much in it, or why he had. There was enough food here to feed them three times over even if they overindulged themselves. She did like what he chosen though. It was all light finger foods; as if he had brought every sort of hors d'oeuvre he could think of. Truly, it was perfect for a picnic and she was eager to try some of the things she didn't recognize, as well as eat some of the things she hadn't had in decades. Without a word he set the bottle down and carefully pulled at the cork, twisting it as his hand tightened on the neck of the bottle hard, as if it might try to jump away from him. She watched on and when the cork came out with an audible pop she jumped and let out a squeak of surprise.

He chuckled at her, amused, and picked up one of the glasses. He poured in the light golden liquid and handed it to her when it was filled. She took the glass and held it up, fascinated by the bubbles fluttering up from the bottom. "How pretty." She said happily. He continued to smile as he filled his own glass and then waved her on.

"Best see if you like it."

She sipped at it at once and found she liked the taste, and the feel of the bubbles on her tongue even more. Swallowing, she felt them tickle up her nose and couldn't help but laugh. "It tickles!" She said in delight.

"I suppose it does." He agreed, taking a sip of his own drink before setting it to the side and opening a container of strawberries. "Try it with these. It brings the flavor out."

She took a berry out of the squared bowl and bit into it, licking her lips as she did. She caught his eyes fixated on her and blushed lightly as she chewed and swallowed, taking another sip of the bubbling wine. It certainly did change the flavor, adding new layers to it, or bring out ones she couldn't detect before. "I think you've introduced me to a very dangerous drink." She told him.

He chuckled again. "Indeed I have."

She smiled and he relaxed fully, busying himself with opening all the containers. Most of them had more than one sort of food in them, and he had pilled them on top of one another as well as beside each other. It seemed he was a packrat in every aspect of his life. It was endearing really. "Did you bring the entire market with you?" She asked, laughter thick in her voice.

"I didn't know what you might want." He told her reasonably.

He must have spent hours getting all this together, because she was sure he must have made most of this himself. The thought warmed her and she scooted closer to him. He glanced over just as she settled beside him and she leaned in and kissed him before he could say anything. He kissed her back at once, no doubt having resigned himself to a lack of affection after the driving lesson incident. One of his hands fluttered over her side and she pulled away gently. His hand fell at once and she reached up to caress his cheek. "This is very sweet, Rumple, but you didn't have to do all this for me."

"I wanted to." He said, and she saw the sincerity in his eyes.

Touched by that she kissed him again. This time when she broke away she shifted again so she was sitting with her back to his chest. Clearly shocked his hand settled on her hip lightly and she leaned back into him, using him as a backrest. It was obvious he wasn't used to being so close with someone, and really she wasn't either, but she did enjoy the contact. Reaching out she picked up and puffy, bite sized pastry, twisted, and held it up to his mouth. Shock was rapidly replaced with darkening, lust filled eyes. Slowly, he opened his mouth and she fed him, thinking this was wonderfully intimate.

As he chewed his arm slid all the way around her waist and he watched her silently. She wondered what he was thinking, going shy, but refusing to back down. Stretching out his other arm he plucked a thin cracker with a small slice of salmon and cream cheese up and offered it to her. She opened her mouth at once and he set it on her tongue, his thumb brushing her lower lip as he pulled it away.

The exchange continued, slowly morphing into a sweetly playful exercise, to something new and fun. He began to intersperse bites of food with light kissed on her jaw and neck, tickling and teasing her with mischievous nips at her skin, as if he were tasting her as much as the food. She began to giggle as they turned it into a flirtatious game and he smiled at her. She became full far too soon for her taste, and he knew it. As he presented a last piece of chocolate to her she took it, purposefully kissing at his fingers as she got it, wondering where this boldness was coming from.

No sooner did she swallow than he swept her to her back over the blanket. He followed after her with surprising catlike grace, kissing her deeply as he settled half over her, his arms propped on either side of her body. She shifted closer to him as she wrapped her arms around him. One of his hands tangled in her hair and she moaned softly into his mouth as heat suffused her body. Instead of backing away when he heard her, which was normally what he did, he kissed her more deeply.

They tangled up together almost at once. Much to her surprise it felt normal instead of making her nervous, and Rumpelstiltskin was somehow lighting her on fire and soothing her to calm all at once. Little sparks were erupting all over her body and she shivered, reveling in the feelings. Twisting his head he began to trail his lips along her jaw and she turned her head to make it easier, having no idea what he was doing, but knowing it felt wonderful. Shifting slightly he kissed the place behind her ear and she let out a sharp breath as a jolt ran all the way down her body. When he heard that he kissed her there again and she felt the tip of his tongue dart out to taste her for a half a moment. Her hands tangled into his jacket hard as her whole body quivered and her eyes pressed tightly closed.

Nuzzling at her jaw with his nose he reluctantly raised his head and meet her eyes when they fluttered open, no doubt hazy with lust. Lifting his hand he brushed her curls back and smiled at her softly, his eyes warm and inviting. She blushed as she smiled back, hooking her finger under the knot on his tie and tugging it playfully. "You're the only person I've ever met that would get this dressed up to go on a picnic."

He laughed softly, the sound rolling over her pleasantly. "I only want to look my best for you."

She pulled him down with his tie and kissed him again. "That's very considerate of you." She mumbled against his lips. "But I think if I had to pick I would prefer the dragon hide vests and leather pants."

He laughed into her mouth as he kissed her. "Hardly respectable for a businessman."

She found this conversation entertaining as she tangled her hands in his hair and held him against her. He hummed in satisfaction and kissed her back eagerly. When she finally let him go, mostly so she could breathe, she panted. "You're rich, can't you be eccentric?"

He kissed her again before shifting so he could lie down beside her. She turned toward him at once and he smiled, caressing her with real contentment. "Perhaps not the wisest course of action at the moment, but I won't deny I miss the dragon hide."

She giggled, liking this. "I'm glad I'm not the only one."

He tickled her cheek and sat up, taking her with him despite her slight pout. "The champagne will get warm." He handed her the glass back. "And we've a whole bottle to finish before that happens."

"Well, I suppose we better get back to that then." She teased, kissing his cheek. "But I'm blaming you when I start to get silly. I never drink and these bubbles are clearly suspect."

"Something I will willing take blame for." He promised as she settled back against him. He leaned back into the tree trunk so it was easy to support both of them and sipped at his own glass after kissing the side of her head, his lips tickling her hair. Sure enough by the end of the bottle, and somehow he scammed her into drinking much more than he did, she was giggling at nothing in particular and he was tickled pink by her behavior, claiming to have not seen anything this funny in at least a hundred years. She lay back down on the blanket and he watched her with real contentment as she laughed and gazed up at the trees. At one point she picked a thick blade of grass and turned it into a whistle. He surprised her when he made one too, playing his twice as well, telling her he used to do this all the time in his youth and with his son, who had laughed and laughed at it.

When the sun began to head toward the horizon and the afternoon got late he packed the basket back up, with her hindering more than helping the whole process. He took her back to the car and drove her home, walking her up the stairs to be sure she didn't fall in her state and kill herself. When they were inside her apartment he made her promise to drink three glasses of water, which she didn't understand and lost track of the conversation when he told her why. Shaking his head at her inattention he kissed her forehead and wished her goodnight, reminding her to call him if she needed anything before he left. Full and happy she drank the water before curling up on the couch with her pillow. It was the first time since she left his house that she didn't have a nightmare, the memories of picnics and sunshine driving the shadows away.