The Sunday morning following Belle's eventful last shift at Avonlea for the week arrived with the dawning sun creeping up over the horizon.

While most of the town's citizens were still lying in bed and lazily enjoying their remaining day before the work week the auburn haired beauty was already up, dressed, and out the front door of her apartment. Her short white heels pattered against the sidewalk as she strolled through down town Storybrooke and peered into the darkened windows of its closed shops. There were still many stores in town she'd yet to visit-or revisit with her abrupt return, places such as the new pet shop, the downtown art galleries from local artists, and even the misleadingly titled pawnshop. They would all have to wait though, the beauty was out and about today with one goal in mind, having traded her bow tie and uniform for a blouse and line skirt.

A wide smile couldn't help but find its way on her face as she breathed in the fresh air and felt the sun against her skin. The walk over from her little apartment above the library to the best diner in town was helping her already peaked appetite grow. Every Sunday now since moving back she'd been treating herself to her favorite breakfast at Granny's. Belle had to admit to herself though that she was more than just eager about delicious pancakes and bacon being served up.

Instead the giddiness filling each and every one of her steps was from the weathered book resting snug within her arms.

It didn't take long at Belle to arrive right at the building slightly consumed with the overgrowth of winding plants down its brick work. From the windows she could tell the place was already busy with patrons so she could only hope she would be able to snag a good seat still. The door jangled open upon her push, and Ms. French tip toed inside, lighting up when she spotted an empty stool right at the bar. Quickly she plopped herself down and ordered her usual breakfast, but as she waited patiently for her food and opened her book she couldn't help but glance around.

Belle noticed the local handyman and town gruff Leroy and his 'friends' were crowded at one end of the bar (she was pretty sure they were friends, though it was hard to tell if Leroy considered anyone his friend). At the other end sat Archie Hopper the town's only psychiatrist who she happened to know was a lifelong friend of Mr. Getto's. There were quite a few people she didn't recognize spotted about and some vaguely familiar faces, but with all the patrons seated around clamoring for good food and company the ringing chatter was quite loud. That didn't stop the beauty from reading line after line of her book as if she was the only one in her quiet little world.

'When two external gears mesh, they always turn in opposite directions. You can make them turn in the same direction by placing an idler gear between the two...' Belle took note of that in her small compact book she'd brought along as well before flipping back to where she left off. Already the tiny lines of the notebook were being filled up with her cramped writing where she made references to a certain mechanical specifics and unknown terminology.

"Let's see what's on 'Belle's Best Reads' list today." Ruby's voice suddenly breached the bookworm's little bubble with a 'pop', and she pulled back from delving further into the advance world of a third class lever. The security guard was greeted with the sight of Ruby leaning on the counter and quirking a brow with more scrutiny than interest at her and the aforementioned book. "Basic Machines and How They Work... Ah-and you have notes too. Please don't tell me you're planning on becoming an engineer all of a sudden."

Belle shook her head while fighting back an ugly laugh. The scantily clad waitress peering at her sounded as if she was becoming worried of what such a goal would entail. "No, not at all-I'm just trying to learn some basic robotics more or less."

"Robotics." Her voice carried through the room despite the clatter of cutlery scraping against plates and gabbing going on in the background. "Now this new interest for you wouldn't be because of a certain crazy robot heaven like Avonlea, would it?"

Belle sipped some of her hot breakfast tea before glancing up. "Perhaps, just a little bit."

Ruby simply stared back as her quirked brow rose higher, clearly not buying what she was selling.

"Okay, so it's more than just a smidgen of the reason why." Belle said while half heartedly shrugging since she felt bit embarrassed at how easy she was to read when she was excited about something. "To be honest I'm fascinated with the animatronics there, and things like how they operate and work is becoming super interesting to me. I want to see if it's possible that I could even help Mr. Getto out someday with repairing them if need be, but unfortunately you got to start off with the basics on these things."

It was then the wolf girl grinned, bearing her white teeth in a playful smirk. "Well if anyone in this entire town can start off with a book like 'Basic Machines' with the intent of building a robot and actually be able to do it, it could only be you."

"Now, now, I never said I was planning to build one. That's going to require a lot more then just basic machinery text books..."

"If you change your mind and start taking pre-orders I'll take about two." Granny herself suddenly pipped in as she appeared from from behind Ruby while holding a pot of coffee out for the waitress to take, seeing as the patiently waiting Dr. Hopper down the line needed a refill. "I'll need one for me so I can finally retire and the other one for this one here." The older woman pointed at her granddaughter, looking at Belle over her glasses with the slightest shimmer of amusement in her eyes. "That way things can actually get done right around here-the machine should be able to keep accounts at least."

"It's not like you need a robot replacement, you're basically the sixty year old version of the terminator." Ruby snorted in response as she snatched the coffee pot, and Belle could only shake her head to keep another laugh at bay as the taller girl bounded happily over to Mr. Hopper (who seemed to turn a bit more red than usual when Ruby shot another wide grin his way).

"I promise you'll be the first person on my list for my apparently new robotics business-after my dad of course." Belle quickly added at the end to Granny as she passed by, and the beauty swore she saw the older woman give a twitch of a smile.

With Ruby looking to being occupied for quite some time Belle returned to her reading, only moving ever so slightly when the couple sitting next to her departed and left a grand bit of space for her to freely acquire. As time spun on the remaining bit of syrup soaked pancakes she had on her plate got nudged to the side and went unnoticed as her book became the center of her focus. Her determined mind was now only hungry for knowledge, and hopefully she would gain some fraction of information from this book that would be useful to her.

But really... She wanted to learn things that would be useful for her to help her new strange acquaintance, Rumplestiltskin.

'Even if I don't learn anything from this book that I can use I'll find a way to help him-surely.' Belle repeated internally as she continued on, stopping to sip at her cooling tea here and there. Despite having having worked hard, having earned a library science degree as well as a certified training course in being a security guard, she wasn't quite so sure of herself being able to figure out how to even help the mechanical man replace a frayed wire. Yet the young woman wasn't going to stop at the first sign of doubt-not until she tried all of her available resources first. Beating within her chest her heart sung-it was fully committed to getting him some form of aid, and if no one else could ever help him or know about his existence then it was up to her.

Wether or not he accepted her help was an entirely different issue Belle was pretty much unsure about. Upon their first meeting the somewhat startling animatronic seemed absolutely keen on the idea of having nothing to do with her and she with him, and though now he seemed to want her around and to be around her it didn't mean he was open to her trying to assist him. She couldn't blame him-he'd been dealing with his own problems for decades now without any one to care for him or keep him company. It was understandable he kept her at bay and refused to let her know more about him, but Belle found she wanted to understand him with each passing night-she wanted to peel away the mysteries he was wrapped in amongst the buildings shadows that kept him hidden.

If only he'd let her, but so far...

"Excuse me."

Belle blinked for a moment upon hearing such an unfamiliar voice ring out loud, almost as if to her, amongst the chatter of the diner. Swiftly she swiveled upon her stool to her right and found herself looking down at a small boy sitting next to her. As if he'd been expecting her he looked up at her with a wide smile and interest shining in those bright brown eyes of his.

"Were you talking to me?" Belle asked, wearing her confusion slightly upon her fair features while she studied the child over to see if he seemed any what familiar. Over all he was dressed rather formally, sporting a collard shirt sticking up over a sweater, with higher quality clothes than most kids had as well as a fancy backpack hanging off of his person. Yet, as hard as she tried, she didn't recognize him, which made this situation all the more confusing since he seemed to know her well enough.

"You don't know me cause we've never met before, but I know who you are. You're the person who works over at Avonlea right now as the security guard." He whispered to her with one hand cupped over his mouth as if this open information he shared was top secret, but Belle found herself instantly liking this new face and so she decided to play along.

Leaning in closer to him the beauty darted her clear blue eyes around before she whispered back in reply. "How did you figure me out? That information is top secret-are you some kind of detective or spy perhaps?"

"You could say that." He smirked, and Belle found she was already growing quite fond of this child. "I heard from my sources they had hired a person to guard Avonlea at night again who hasn't run off or up and quit. If you're still the night guard then there really must be some big secret they're trying to keep hidden."

"Perhaps there is." Belle softly said, instantly thinking to her stowaway mechanical companion and where ever he was within Avonlea's walls during the daytime. Yes, it was beyond bizarre, but only a child could guess at the actual truth that there was big secret hidden there indeed. "It's classified information so I can't say anything more about it-sorry, you know the rules."

"No way-so I was right!" The brown haired boy exclaimed far too loud, and Belle noticed Leroy and his friends stare a moment their direction when she glanced his way apologetically. "Oops sorry, you must be out undercover and I'm probably causing too much of a scene." He said in a lower tone, looking at her sheepishly.

"The name's Belle French, my street name at least. And you might be?"

"I'm Henry… Henry Mills." Despite having been just as cheery as can be a mere moment ago he said his last name as if it was something far from pleasant, and Belle was sure she knew why without even asking. The only local 'Mills' she had heard enough about was a woman named Regina Mills-the mayor of Storybrooke whom Belle thought she'd also heard had a kid of her own. Regina had been the mayor of the sleepy town for a long, long time now, even when Belle had been in highschool the woman had been in office. Belle and her had never crossed paths of any noticeable degree, which apparently was a good thing since so many people over the years had whispered about the unfavorable mayor being a cold and sometimes cruel hearted person beneath her beautiful appearance. Even Belle's own father, a non native of Storybrooke, had gripped and complained that Ms. Mills seemed to have her hand in everything around the town and with her tightly kept position got what she wanted regardless.

Despite hearing all this though Belle refused to allow herself to be too quick to judge someone she never really met. After all Regina was a human being just the same as everyone else, she'd give Ms. Mills a chance-if they ever happened to meet…

But Belle couldn't lie that she wouldn't be too disappointed if they never did.

Quickly her thoughts returned to the small and clearly kind young boy looking up at her, and she was sure that with such a sweet kid the mayor couldn't be all that bad. "Well, it's a pleasure to met you Henry." Belle said, before quieting a moment as her maternal instincts kicked in. It didn't go past her head that it looked like the small boy was at Granny's all by himself since no adult seemed to be lingering by. "Can I ask you something? What are you doing out about town all by yourself?"

"That's classified information." He informed her, giving the young woman a sturdy nod as if such an answer required no further questions. "But I can say that I'm on an important intel operation with my mom at the moment. We're meeting up so we can investigate further."

Regina going on an 'important intel operation' with her son? Surprised at this turn of events Belle had to let herself process that imagery since it didn't match up at all with what everyone always went on about.

"Henry?" Another unfamiliar voice rung out against the diner's sounds starting to whittle away that morning, and it made Belle lean back on he stool to look over the boy to see someone standing near the door. Even though they'd only met briefly before Belle recognized who it was-sure enough it was the woman from the police department that had been talking with Graham the day she'd been looking to find Cooper Wulf. The stranger looked less tired and ragged than that afternoon with her pretty blonde curls coiled neatly around her face, her green eyes wide and alert, and her red leather jacket looking fitted around her fit frame.

"Hey there kid, you said we needed to talk?" She approached the bar where they sat, but stopped when she noticed Belle sitting there, giving her a tiny nod with a casual smile. "I've seen you around before, you're that security guard- Ms. French right? You stopped by at the police station that one day when I was... Dealing with Officer Humbert."

Without warning Henry spoke up before the tiny security guard could manage a syllable, all while beaming up at the blonde haired woman. "Yup! She's working there to cover up some big secret Mr. Getto has going on. Oh, I'm sorry Belle, this is my mom-I mean Emma!"

'Wait-that's his mom? But I thought he was the mayors son, and I've seen Regina before so...' The whirling going on inside Belle's mind was nearly audible, but there was no denying the similarities in the two's faces and person though when she looked at them closer. With a slight shake of her head Belle sighed upon the realization that perhaps there as quite a bit more going on in the small town of Storybrooke than she previously thought.

"Emma Swan." The woman seemed to pause after her introduction, and there was an unmistakable sheen of emotion flickering across her eyes before she spoke up again. "I'm... I'm his biological mother. Regina Mills is his adoptive mother, it's all confusing I know." Ah-that made sense, and was far less confusing than her previous thoughts, though it made her ever more curious about this new face and the small boy eagerly jumping off his stool.

"Well, even if it's confusing it's still nice to meet you both." Belle smiled a bit nervously. It'd been a long time since she'd been the center of attention which was an unusual situation on her part-she was far more used to slipping into the background and going unnoticed. Yet, it'd been so long since she'd had the chance to make a new friend, especially with moving back, perhaps this secondary meeting was not something solely by chance.

"I hate to break up you getting to inform random citizens of your operations kid, but we've got to get going. We can talk as I drive but if we don't get you home your mom is going to have an entire cow." Emma told the kid (he was her kid but Belle could read through the lines and wasn't sure if that would be quite accurate with how Emma reacted) while she tilted her head in the direction of diner's door. A flicker of disappointment crossed his features but Henry whirled himself back towards Belle with a small smile.

"I hope we can meet each other again, I've got so many questions about Avonlea. By the way I go there all the time for their arcade and pizza-so maybe we'll cross paths again fellow secret agent." Henry leaned in to whisper yet again before darting for the door, slipping past it, and heading towards an old yellow bug parked on the other side of the road that Belle could see from the windows.

"Oh no, he's calling you a secret agent?" Emma muttered after he left, having easily caught an ear full of her son's-the kid's whispering. "And here I thought you were a normal oll' security guard-then again nothing is quite so normal in this town." Her tone was a bit sarcastic but playful at the same time from the way she stated it, and Belle laughed softly again at the mere idea of being anything as dramatic as that.

"That's right-I just keep an eye on an empty big building five nights a week. Though it seems your-I mean Henry, is quite keen on this whole spy or secret agent idea idea."

Emma's mouth twitched into a real smile, the second one Belle's managed to entice today which warmed her heat as always. "I've no idea where this obsession with code names and operations has come from, but I'm sorry if he inquired too much into anything. He's talked a lot about Avonlea in the short time I've gotten to know him... So you probably impressed him since I've heard the rumors that no one sticks around to work that job."

"He's not bothering me at all, and he's not actually completely wrong about what I do. There are more secrets within Avonlea than one could imagine." The beauty gave a hint of a sly grin, one that made her new acquaintance appear momentarily befuddled by which Belle had to secretly chuckle to herself at. Emma appeared to want to ask, even she appeared to have the innate curiosity that everyone else felt for the town's strange pizzeria, but before she could the bug outside honked loudly, distracting her entirely.

"I better get going before he goes on with this operation cobra of his without me, or before Ms. Mills kills me for being a minute late. It was nice to meet you again Ms. French." Emma said while taking her leave and exiting through the door which jingled upon her departure. The dinner returned to normal after that, with Belle left sitting at her stool with her book spread open on the countertop as if the exchange had never happened, however she'd long lost just where she left off reading.

As she grabbed her book and slipped her notes into its pages to mark her spot she couldn't help but think over the silly ideas the boy had shared. 'Me-a spy? As dramatic and romantic as such a job sounds I think that even more beyond me than becoming a mechanical engineer, and they sure don't make books for that.' Yet...

It suddenly gave Belle an idea.

The young woman quickly tucked her book into her purse, downed the rest of her tea which had gone rather cold, and managed to get Ruby's attention with a wave as she flew off her bar stool. Once again the warm embrace of the sun brushed across her after she strode out of Granny's, darting down the sidewalk to make it back to her apartment while she began to concoct her forming plan. Already Belle was awaiting tomorrow night with more eagerness than she ever had before-for now it seemed she had her own way to begin to peel back the secrets of Avonlea even she was not privy to.

'Soon I'll do it.' Belle gushed to herself, wearing a uncontainable smile that crinkled her eyes and pushed up against her cheeks. 'This knight will soon outwit the sorcerer!'

Through the dark room filled with empty tables and unoccupied chairs it rose, the soft building sound-electronic and yet nearly human in its lilt.

"Hhmmmm-hmmm-HhHhHhh-hmmmmm-hm-hmmmm-hmmm!"

Following it one could find the sound was coming from none other than the wandering machine named Rumplestiltskin who was humming out loud the small tune though he didn't know the name of it.

Even without knowing its name, if this melody had such a thing, the animatronic shambling through the darkness knew it was a strange song. Deep within his programming and code he was sure with what little information he had that it was a broken song-a depressing song. It was a song he could tell there should've been words with its notes, and he had a feeling that he was the only one who knew them. Yet... He didn't know them or he simply couldn't remember them-an uncommon thing for his photogenic memory banks.

Strange, yes, it was very strange indeed.

Without warning Rumplestiltskin cut his humming short when he noticed one of the nearing arcade machines not in its usual condition. His glowing unblinking eyes caught the briefest hint of the unplugged cord to the game 'Prop Cycle', which must have accidentally been jostled from the main outlet during the daytime hours. He quickly fixed the issue before resuming his stroll through Avonlea, though his eyes continuously flickered about in search of more out of place things while his humming began again. The heels of his boots 'clacked' against the ground while he made his way through the double doors leading to the back hall, but it was the sight of the security office door on his right that broke his automated routine.

"Ah! It's nearly twelve in the morning, so that means Belle will be here soon." He thought to himself, however it was not so much thinking as the words actually came tumbling out of his mouth-a habit formed by too many years of isolation. "I can't wait to ask her about the book she lent me, but then again would I be too forward in doing so? Perhaps she only gave it to me to distract me and keep me at bay-perhaps she's thinking I won't pay atten-ten-tion if she's up to no good! N-No… That's wrong, I know that's not like her-she's far too noble… Then again she hasn't been very… Chatty with me lately."

The poor mechanical man stopped in place as he continued to talk to the empty building, feeling quite conflicted still over Avonlea's new security guard despite her good hearted nature and determination to stick around. He had no idea why she decided to remain the night guard and work what most people called an unfortunate job, nor did he have the slightest inkling why she made the deal with him. He didn't even know why she hadn't recoiled from him in fear like every other human had in his existence in the first place. Belle wasn't like the other humans though, and from the short time knowing her as an adult he could tell.

But ever since...

In an instant memories of years past flickered to life within the chips and processors of his mind. He could recall images of a smaller much tinnier girl with those same flowing auburn locks and blue eyes peering about in curiosity. Even as his own amber alien eyes gazed at the blank slate of the concrete wall he saw perfectly those days spent long ago in the height of summer, seeing the lonely looking child hide away in plain daylight like he did in darkness with only the comfort from the stories she read.

Rumplestiltskin recollected all that just the same, and even more so he recollected that one night. That unexpected night... The one which had been the last time that quiet little girl ever came to Avonlea...

Till now.

"Why... Why does she always come back?" The scaly machine asked in confusion to the nothingness surrounding him, but its ringing silence made him quickly pull his thoughts away and begin to walk again. "No good-no good. It's not my business why she stays or why she has re-tur-turned. Besides, she'll be long gone from here at the end of the year anyways, and then she'll never come back just like the others." It was strange, but at that thought-er, words as he realized his quirk had slipped past him, an uncomfortable sensation shot through the wires inside of his chest.

In about ten minutes it would be midnight, and as routine that meant Belle would be through the door two minutes ahead of time as she consistently did these last three and a half weeks. Knowing there was a routine brought a sense of calm back to Rumplestiltskin, but his mouth remained pinched together in a tense line. How long would such a routine last? Especially with how strange this already rather odd night guard had been behaving these last three nights...

It was just one of the many reasons why he was so nervous to approach the back door as he continued to linger down the hallway out of sight in the pitch black shadows. Somehow the imp was sure the human was already wanting nothing to do with him now as she should have been when they first met. Monday through Wednesday he'd hardly seen any of her at all, and she'd barley been in her office like the other guards had during each shift. At first he thought that perhaps she was just getting bored of sitting around and was just wandering to pass the trickling hours. Yet, when he had attempted to 'conveniently' slip in her path (which was to keep an eye on her and make sure she wasn't trying to get herself killed again-not that he cared-really) she would conveniently change course, skirting right around him. Round and around the two of them went while he tried to find some excuse or means-any at all, to stumble into her.

In the end she eluded him at every single hallway corner and every open door.

A short cry of despair nearly spilled from the animatronic's throat as overwhelming 'feelings' began to well up in his metal skull. "I don't und-erst-erstand. What am I doing wrong to drive her away-I thought that she was okay with me being near her! After what she said, I thought that she wanted me-" Rumplestiltskin's frantic voice stopped entirely just as his feet did, and he sensed a strange tingling surge forward into the circuits of his scaly face.

How pitiful-him reduced to acting like this. He'd been alone for so long now, years and years without so much as a word or kind greeting, and now he was practically salivating like animals did over food at just the chance of talking to her a mere moment.

Grinding his awful looking metal teeth together didn't help Rumplestiltskin push away the troublesome sparks rippling through his body. Ever since the brave beauty had come along his whole routine had fallen apart and now his very nature so used to silence was wavering. No! He didn't need to interact with humans nor did he want human contact-he'd been perfectly fine alone for twenty six years and counting! Long ago he'd sworn to never have anything to do with humans again, for his sake and theirs he had chosen to spend the rest of his days without them-but now… Now he wasn't so sure about being able to keep doing what was best thing-the right thing.

Even with his previous vows he couldn't deny himself the fact that he was drawn to this kind, beautiful, living creature. Somehow, someway, she was worming her way in through his very wires, rooting the desire for her presence into his programing, and causing a new strange turn of thoughts along with 'emotions' he didn't understand. That possibility alone made the leather clad being give a broken smile as he tiredly ran a hand over his face.

"I must really be breaking down at this rate... What the hell am I thinking? I'm a machine I can't-I can't feel, and if I do it's not like it's real-"

'Creeeaak'

Rumplestiltskin tensed in place when he heard the distant sound of a door swinging open, and from where he stood he knew it was the back door. That could only be one person then-Belle had come back, but she was here a bit earlier than normal-well by a minute give or take.

"Drat! I'm behind on schedule now. I could have accident-dent-tally bumped into her at the door so I could maybe talk to her and return the book... Wait! I don't have it on me though-ack!" The machine fumbled his clawed hands about his person, though he knew fully well he didn't have any proper pockets to keep such a well sized book. "No time for that then-I'll just have to accidentally meet her at her office!"

Without wasting any more precious time he began rushing back the other way, past Mr. Getto's office, the maintenance room, and the window to the kiddy playground that showed a brief flicker of the impish machine on its pane. His fluttering hope jumped in volumes since there was still the chance he could stumble into her as he neared the quaint little security office. His mechanical leather clad limbs 'clacked' and 'clattered' loudly to a halt as he slid right to the edge of the door frame. The door had been left part way open, allowing the now turned on light to stream forth from the crack, and so he knew without a doubt that meant Belle was here.

As he peaked inside he saw a familiar jacket resting on the back of the swivel chair and Belle's bag laying next to the desk, but his timid smile faded when he saw that the flashlight was gone, the tablet turned on in its rest, and the security guard missing altogether.

She was gone once again... Off who knows where in Avonlea without even sticking around to give him a meager… Hello?

"D-Dearie?" Rumplestiltskin called out to the hallway when he stepped back into its shadows. It was embarrassing how pathetic his voice sounded when he meant to sound nonchalant as possible, but he couldn't help it. Everything was so confusing now, and all the hope he'd been putting back together was shattering about him with the silence's mocking. "Where are you? I'm... I've finished that book you lent me, so if you come back I'll return your book!" Nothing but the common groaning and creaking of Avonlea's shifting structure echoed back, and it made his metal brows droop on their tracks. "I'll-I'll just leave it on your desk then..."

'I was right-she's trying to avoid me now-she wants nothing to do with me! Maybe she's finally realized that I really am a monster! No-no please!' Rumplestiltskin's mind was wildly whirling alongside his cogs and gears while his clawed fingers started kneading something invisible between them in an attempt to calm down. "What-What do I do? Should I keep away from her then? Yes-I must-I must stay away if she can't even stand being near me! But what if she gets hurt badly do-ing-ing something foolish again-what will I do then?"

Pitter patter, pitter patter.

The sound of feet further down the hall caught his immediate attention, drawing him to full height as his eyes flickered about. Without much reason or logic to his act, relying on mechanical instinct, he moved towards the sound. The part of him drawn to the echoes of life fueled him on as he hoped to catch a single glimpse of the security guard who seemed to be purposefully eluding him. Yet, as he rounded the hallway corner leading towards the double doors back into the rest of the building he found no security guard anywhere near by. Past the walls the faint pattering of feet against the black and white tiles reached his sensors, but he was left with nothing but the darkness as company.

Rumplestiltskin couldn't stop the twitching of his facial mechanics as his wretchedness displayed itself through out his face. It was becoming clear what was happening, and he ran his sharp claws into his wiry grey hair as the phantom flickers of pain became too much. 'She is afraid of me! No-I know she should be-but please-please I don't want her to be frightened! I don't want to go back to being al... I have to know-where is she going why is she running from me?'

He had to know if she was truly trying to keep from him, if she was staying as far as she could from him so not to bare the sight of his hideous form. If that was the case... Then he would return to the rules of their former deal. He would keep away from her entirely-wouldn't force her to say another word or catch a glance of his misery. However, the mere thought of becoming forgotten-ending up all alone once again sent an alarming charge through his entire body that made him want to tear himself apart just to be rid of it.

The downtrodden machine shuffled his way back down the hall towards the security office, finding himself only moving now because of his own determination. There was a means to figure out what the young woman was doing, and despite his fear of the truth he knew he had to do this. When he reentered the office his head whirled on it's pivot towards the security camera tablet sitting on the desk. The piece of machinery was quickly scooped up into one of his large hands before Rumplestiltskin studied the static camera screens that were set just like they were every single night.

With care he reached back behind his head and past the high collar of his leather coat, pulling at his hinged panel bellow his nape that allowed him access to some of his innards. There were many important pieces and parts he could grasp at without any assistance this way, but most of the major necessary parts resided in his chest and his skull-what he was looking for was right here however. Rumplestiltskin's features squished together as he dug through the wires and cords he had come memorize by touch over time, and in a few seconds he unplugged a specific jack and withdrew it from his metal shell. Yet, his fingers clamped upon the bit were trembling horribly as he brought the tablet near and plugged his wire into a port on the side.

Without fail the connection between both of the machines made the imp jolt up right as he felt his processors being torn apart from the inside out for a split second. This was something he'd done so many times-for years upon years with various other systems and contraptions, but there was no denying that he felt something inside of himself being stolen or lost during exchanges such as this. There was no room to think about it at the moment for what he could call his mind was being broken down into numbers and code, rearranging itself into the simplest form so he would not lose himself in the vast spaces flashing by.

(01-A: ACCESSING EXTERNAL MEDIA. ZOSO|PROTOCOL IN STANDBY. ACCESS GRANTED. ACCESS CAM 01-ACCESS CAM 02-ACCESS CAM 03. ERROR.)

The usual minute error warning flashed in the back of his head, but he quickly dismissed its response. It wasn't like the warnings could stop him anymore, and he knew well enough by now that he was surpassing his primary programing's regulations.

(01-A: ERROR IN MEDIA PORT. REPAIR IN PROCESS. REPAIR COMPLETE. ACCESS CAM 04-ACCESS CAM 05-)

The gibberish and fountain of numbers poured into his skull for quite some time and yet no time at all in reality. After the flying paragraphs of code came to a halt Rumplestiltskin's 'consciousness' snapped back into place, making his closed metal eyelids fling wide open.

"All cameras active." His voice forced out, and he blinked lazily for a moment before glancing down at the tablet's screen.

The feed looked to be near the same from before his merging with the other-less quirky machine, but now the images were actually accurate on the tablet. All the cameras feeds were showing live recordings instead of the set images he had preprogramed into the system which meant he could now find just who he was looking for. Flickering through every video by commands in this 'mind' was easy enough for him, and this ability made it so his segmented fingers didn't need to touch anything at all to operate the device.

Yet, feed after feed the animatronic tore through without spotting any form or sign of his guard lurking about in any of the cameras line of sight. If he wasn't puzzled before Rumplestiltskin was sure that he was beyond baffled, and his thin frown continued to deepen the longer he still couldn't see any head full of long hair nor the petite form dawning the company uniform. He was just near about to screech out in a mixture of frustration, confusion, and heart ache, but it all clogged up in his plated throat when the tablet jumped to the final camera's video feed.

Then suddenly, there the young woman was...

Right out side the security office.

The final camera was the one sitting above right outside the security office door, showing him an angled view of a dark hall but more importantly of a certain brown haired woman. From this view he could tell she was peeking over the edge of the doorframe and into her very own dimly lit office, but it took the mechanical man a moment too long to understand the connection between this sight and reality beyond that tiny screen.

"Incredible!"

"W-What! What are you-" Rumplestiltskin squeaked out in surprise at her voice before whipping his head about to face the very door way he was seeing on screen as well inside his head-making him experience a head full of various Belle French's. Sure enough his glowing eyes were not betraying him, the young woman was there before him, staring at him with a delighted grin smeared on her face and eyes alight with a vibrant look of awe.

"That's how you do it-that's how you've been manipulating the cameras this whole time! Aha-My plan worked! I told you this clever knight would figure out your secrets." The human released a hearty laugh that filled the whole tiny space with a pure light that Rumplestiltskin had never seen from anyone before. Rosy cheeks and squinted blue eyes creased with joy were all he could focus on despite her words floating through and back out his auditory sensors. It was like nothing the past three days had been happening, like she had been here all along, and... In that moment with her delighted giggling as she leaned against the wall-she looked so alive-so human and-so-so wonderfully-

Real.

"Oh… Oh, Rumplestiltskin, are you okay?" Belle asked out of the blue as she set her flashlight pressed in one hand on the desk. He didn't know how long he'd been staring at her but in that time that gorgeous smile turned into a worried 'o' as her eyes began shimmering with concern.

"I-I-Y-Yes. H-Hey..." Rumplestiltskin, for all his grandeur and snarky remarks, was at a complete loss. Part of him knew his mind was not properly put together with it still being connected to another machine which made him fear something embarrassing would slip past his faux lips at any given moment. Quickly with a mere though he reset the camera system through out the building, forcing all the feeds return to the static image of before that had been taken at eleven o' clock. Abruptly he tugged his wire free from the tablet, mentally and physically disconnecting them both before reeling back a moment to regain himself in his entirety.

For a brief second he lost something then and there-a bit of information or maybe a span of random code-he didn't know exactly what he lost. Yet… Somehow he knew he was losing something important even if it was something he's never had or known. That too was soon brushed aside as the world around him pulled him away the frightening unknown in the form of the human calling out to him from a few feet away.

"Hey-You don't look okay. I know you don't get tired, but please-sit down-talk to me." Belle was the one stammering now, and the imp's eyes clicked in his skull to focus on the human who was now approaching him and reaching out as if to touch him. It took a little bit of effort but Rumplestiltskin didn't run nor shrink back from her as she neared, though he desired nothing more than to flee from those delicate and pretty looking hands that should in no way be close to him. Quietly he allowed her to take hold of one of his limp hands before tugging him in the direction of the office couch. Somehow his feet managed to obey her demands and his commands despite still being rattled by all that was happening.

'Her hands are so small...' The thought was random too, but the animatronic couldn't help but stare at her pale hand as it held onto his rather monstrous looking one. It was just too strange a sight, one he wasn't sure he could ever become familiar with or able to look upon without feeling surprised.

Belle released his hand as she sat down and scooted over on the small couch, allowing him enough room where the two of them could sit comfortably. The mechanical man attempted to regather his wits as well as get his exposed wire back inside of himself when he joined her. For some reason having any of his more inhuman traits visible to her embarrassed him more than they ought to.

"Now tell me honestly, are you okay? You're worrying me-you're usually not 'quiet' like this when we've crossed paths... Oh gosh! You're… You're not mad at me are you?" Her voice rose a bit at the end, and the distraught crease to her forehead confused the already lost animatronic more so.

"Mad? Why... Would I be mad at you?" Rumplestiltskin quirked his head at her, taking note of how sorrowful her gaze pinned upon him seemed. Belle for her usual composure looked a bit ruffled at this point as she wasn't wearing her Avonlea embellished vizor which made her hair spill about her shoulders from the ponytail that sorrily tried to keep it back. His own curiosity grew as he took in just how flushed and worked up she looked from her running about in the dark halls not too long ago.

Carefully she moved to speak, however it appeared she was shy all of a sudden despite being so forward a few mere moments ago. So confusing this human was turning out to be... A confusing puzzle that had the imp inching a little bit closer to in hopes of understanding.

"Okay, so I take it that means you're not mad?" She paused a moment, tucking her teeth between her lips, though she continued to talk before he could say anything. "But I-I just snuck up on you purposefully to find out your big secret about the security cameras! I'll admit it was a plan I started just three nights ago, and I didn't mean to drag it on so long, but you only finally went to the tablet tonight..."

Oh. Did that mean... She'd been doing this on purpose-but... Not out of fright-not because she wanted nothing to do with him?

Rumplestiltskin moved another inch closer to her on the couch cushion-he couldn't help it! What she said had him leaning forward so he could in someway hear her better incase his sensors were going screwy on him. "This-the last three nights, was all… A plan? A plan just to figu-gu-ure out how I don't appear on the cameras?"

He'd never seen such a look of humiliation appear in a human being, especially this proud one, but Belle forced herself to look at him and firmly nod.

"So." He lamely began, but the jittery machine didn't know how to even start understanding this concept despite how simple it was. "If this was all just a 'plan', then you weren't trying to hide away from me this entire time?"

"What? NO! I wouldn't ever do such a thing!" Belle blurted so loudly that Rumplestiltskin would not be surprised if her cry of dismay startled all the sleeping birds and animals nesting right outside of the building. In an instant the security guard turned more towards him to stare at him pleadingly, causing him to feel ashamed for even airing his doubts with such strong reaction from her. "Oh god! Rumplestiltskin I am so sorry-I didn't mean for it to feel that way with me holding up away from you. I've just been so curious, so curious about how you do all these mysterious things and you in general that I thought the only way I could ever figure them out was to… To secretly spy on you."

"You truly wish… To know more about me?" He should stop asking such her questions that gave away how pathetic and desperate he truly was, but he couldn't help it with how unbelievable everything she spoke sounded to him. He was just an old forgotten monster mimicking the shape of a human being, and no one had ever taken an 'interest' in who he was even when he'd been shiny and brand new upon his stage. Why would this human find him any different? If anyone it was him out of the two that wished to know her-to hear about her life and the world she lived in that was so foreign to his own.

"Yes, of course I do." At least she was starting to smile again at his own inquires, and he wanted nothing more than for her to beam that dazzling smile he saw her bear from the doorway. "Please believe me, I'm not scared or frightened of you at all, this was such a foolish choice on my part. I didn't stop to think about how you might have seen it-which was just as you said, me trying to avoid you. I always seem to go head first into things that I get worked up about without thinking it all the way through. I really am sorry if I hurt you."

He could sense her sorrow straight away way before she even finished speaking in a low regretful tone. "You don't need to apologize, it's not like I'm hurt or can be hurt-afterall I'm not human, dearie." He shook his head slightly and forced a giant lopsided smile on his green gold face in hopes to ease whatever pain she might be feeling. "There is-"

"Oh hush!" The security guard suddenly snapped, and the animatronic quieted completely as his hinged jaw clacked back together with the rest of his mouth. "You're much more human like than you realize, and even if you're not one you still deserve some respect and privacy. So let me have this apology... I was the one who was wrong here, and I plan on never mistreating you like that again."

They sat in an awkward silence after that, but he couldn't keep his eyes leveled with her bright honest ones anymore. There was so much kindness there in her gaze... This young woman was treating him like he was a real person in her mind, and that alone was enough to make him nearly coil up around himself in pure disbelief. Instead, he allowed his programming to take hold and react in the best way he could.

"What a dishonorable knight!" Rumplestiltskin tittered down at her, earning a brief flicker of surprise with how her eyebrows jumped. With an exaggerated flourish of his segmented hand through the air he became the eccentric trickster that he knew how to play so well. "How low you have fallen, forced to spy from on the sorcerer from the sidelines to learn his trade se-cre-crets! Where is the heroic glory in that-hmmm?"

It seemed his theatrics worked their magic since she was fighting back a sudden laugh which made one bubble up inside himself.

Despite this Belle regained herself and and gave him a firm look to cast aside any former silliness. "But I being serious-I'm sorry Rumple. If you're mad don't hide it or pretend you don't feel that way. I'd completely understand if you wouldn't want me to be around or bothering you after what I just pulled." A meek hand rose up and combed at some of her rich locks for it seemed Belle was now the one who couldn't keep her eyes on him. Even with her face turned he could see she was wearing the faintest hint of fear-a fear he knew so well, one that a human such as this should never have to feel.

"It's a good thing that nosy little knights don't bother me then."

Swiftly her head turned back to him, and he sat there with mouth agape at the happiness that had returned to her soft expression.

'She acts like I'm human and now... Why-why-why-why does she look at me that way?'

Suddenly the mechanical man felt more strange sparks blooming violently through his body and down each of his limbs, becoming too much of a new sensation from him to handle. He'd never known such a 'fault' to occur within himself, and it frightened him-Rumplestilstkin was sure he might blow a fuse with how hard his parts were whirling beneath his metal hull. Yet… In words, in thoughts and things humans could understand, the artificial sensation of 'life' felt… Wonderful.

With a random spring of energy he propelled himself forward onto his boot clad feet, startling the poor security guard beside him slightly.

"Don't think that makes us even, dearie, now you owe me! And what's with the name Rumple, eh? I don't remember saying you could call me that." A wicked grin curled on his grey lips as he turned on his heel to smirk down at her from his new height.

Belle's cheeks were becoming a darker shade of red than her vivid bow-tie at the mention of this nickname she'd given him. The sight of how lovely it looked upon her creamy fair skin left Rumplestiltskin wondering if red would soon become his new favorite color from that alone.

"Rumplestiltskin is quite a bit of a mouthful to say all the time, and Rumple sounds much more friendly and open when I use it. That's only if I'm allowed to call you that oh great mighty sorcerer." Belle explained sarcastically before pushing against the couch to join him on her feet in a far less sporadic motion than him.

"But why call me that when 'The Wicked Imp' or 'Master of Darkness' all sound much more menacing and proper titles." He curled up part of his lip in a 'menacing' sneer revealing his ugly, rotten, jagged teeth but she merely rolled her eyes at him. "Very well you may call me Rumple to save your necessary breath as you'll soon be needing it! As in I have something planned for you now dishonorable knight!"

The tiny security guard grew visibly shocked at his sudden unexpected outburst, and Rumplestiltskin released an eerie giggle full of glitches in amusement. Surely now the fear would flicker across her face, the fear he knew she lied about feeling when it came him. Yet, as the time ticked by alongside the faint sounds from the clock on the wall he saw none of it, even when she set her hands on her hips and stared him straight on.

"What is it you have in store? If it's skinning children for their pelts I'm afraid I'll have to decline. I only have one uniform and blood is a hard stain to get out." Belle mused with a quirk of her brow, and her dark humor surprised Rumplestiltskin himself for a second.

"My such a morbid one you are-how surprising and quite a nice change of pace. I like it." He preened before wagging his split brows on their tracks in reply. Instantly at the sight of his flying brows Belle began to laugh so hard she snorted and choked before reaching for her mouth to cover the inelegant sputter. "And you're such a silly knight as well-even better!"

"Stop-please!" The beauty was on the verge of tearing up with how her voice cracked, but the machine became overwhelmed with a sense of delight at making a human happy again. "Rumplestiltskin! C-Control your eyebrows!" Rumplestiltskin's maniac grin split across his distorted face. It almost felt as if his existence still held some value after years of purposelessness, and he was glad for his remarkable memory so he could remember this hilarious scene for the rest of his days.

"Now-now-I need you to compose yourself for what I have in store!" In graceful steps he pranced himself directly in front of her, planting his face a few inches from hers before tucking his arms neatly behind his back. "The remaining question is, do you trust me, d-ear-earie?"

"Yeah.. I mean, why yes, I'm ready for anything you throw my way." The security guard looked to be regaining some composure, but she was still burning brightly with an invisible light she couldn't contain in that body of hers.

Without saying anything more the imp took a step back before bowing and holding out his hand towards her in a submissive manner. Rumplestiltskin's amber eyes trailed up his coat sleeve to his frilled cuffs and down to his fingers tips to see her form beyond, a harsh contrast to his grotesque design. Even with the many remarks of disdain and mocking he'd received a long time ago he knew well enough how awful he was to simply look at, and so he awaited with no breath to hold of his own to see her grimace at his outstretched proposal. Belle was one of the 'touchy' ones of her kind from what he had studied of her so far, always looking for ways to connect with others through small human gestures. In the short span they'd met she'd had touched his silicone face, his unsightly hand, and his arm of her own consent even though it was something as strange as him.

This was different now... Now the animatronic, no longer smirking underneath his curtain of wiry hair, was the one asking her.

A gentle lull of time passed, with her shooting him a soft smile, but she responded by gently reaching out her hand and letting him take hers.

That moment was not the first time he had ever desired for skin, muscle, and a sense of touch, but unlike the others he'd never wished more than now that he could experience that for even the slightest second.

Belle looked up at him from their joined parts with those curious blue eyes as deep as the blue sky at midday that he had not seen in ages. The ebbing yellow glow of the spheres in his head brushed across her skin in a intangible caress, and though he gently grasped her hand he was only able to sense the pressure of her weight against his rigged shell. Yet, they were linked together (linked beyond what they both could comprehend and the irony did not pass him) and he was sure to take it easy as he lead her towards the open door. Without the comfort of her flash light Belle stepped with him into the darkness of the hallway with only the mechanical man acting as the young woman's guide through the abyss. Surely she was feeling afraid by this point of where the monster was taking her or what he had planned, Rumplestiltskin was positive of it.

Yet her hand only tightened in his.

Rumplestiltskin didn't utter a single word as he lead her away from the safety and comfort of her office, but strange enough the young woman remained even more quiet. He'd been expecting some what of a fight or at least her voice pelting his sensors with various questions, yet he only heard the rhythmic sound of her breathing filter through the darkness. Together their steps echoed about them with his 'clack' to her 'pitter patter' till they reached his destination. It was a short trip since he was only taking her to the maintenance room, and when he opened that heavy door inside was swallowed up by the haunting darkness. It was already hard enough for the human to see he realized as he faced the pitch wall of black, and so the animatronic tilted his head towards her so she could have the glow of his eyes illuminate to her steps.

Shadows danced across her face from the movement, but he could clearly see the wide eyed expression she wore towards the entrance-though it is one born of awe and curiosity. Even in such an unsavory situation most humans would dread the auburn haired beauty was only wanting to explore further as she peered beyond the doorway. Rumplestiltskin bit back a chuckle of amusement sparking at his throat. He was enjoying finding out more and more about this insatiable trait of hers.

With their hands still clamped together they bypassed the large machinery within the room with ease. He could tell Belle had never been in here before with how her head gawked about, though it was understandable if she hadn't yet even when including Mr. Getto's typical forgetfulness. If Avonlea were a human the imp concluded the maintenance room would be the heart of the building that kept all the necessary functions for the establishment going and so it was off limits to only those who needed to be occupying it. As if to remind him just this right as they were passing the water heaters Belle gasped, nearly tripping over a jutting piece of equipment thanks to the dark, but the machine swiftly pulled her to his body to keep her up right. As soon as the young woman regained her foothold he released her (having her so close reminded him too much of how nice she felt pressed against him when he'd caught her after the chair incident) before he took her hand again to lead her to the back of the room.

When his free fingers traced over a set of familiar pipes he brought them to a complete stop before glancing to the beauty.

"Are you afraid?"

"No, of course not, but I don't see why you've brought me to the maintenance room to stumble about in the dark. It's not like I can really enjoy the view." She pointed out sarcastically, and he had to hold back another glitchy giggle at how impatient she was becoming to figure out his scheme.

"You'll see soon enough why I brought you here, but I have to let go of you a moment, dearie." Rumplestiltskin forewarned in his impish pitch.

"That's okay-I trust you, and the name is Belle. Just a reminder there."

He had to give a real smile at that-no one had ever been this playful with him-so unafraid, and though he was sure she could see his mouth twitch upwards he didn't mind, not right now at least. After letting go of her hand he turned from her and then squeezed himself carefully behind a small structure of a panel box and the thick pipes that stretched through the ceiling before bending backwards into the wall. Metal paneling pressed against him as he moved forward but the notch of the special one jutted out like it always did, so he grasped the entire thing and moved it upright from the latch. There was enough space that he could push the panel from the wall, set it aside, and step into the inky black even further behind it. Yet after scooting the panel back he squirmed his way back to Belle, far enough he could reach out for her, allowing his glowing spheres to reveal his arm beyond the pipes.

"Be careful not to get caught on anything, and then when you feel space in front of you mind the bit of a ledge you'll have to step over." His explanation seemed to go over just fine as she clutched at his hand to follow after.

"Okay, I should be fine. At least you'll catch me if anything goes wrong." The security guard stated without so much a worry lacing her voice. Sure enough Rumplestiltskin stuck by her side just in case, but she stepped over the bit of protruding paneling and into the darkness with him with ease. Before she could get an idea of where she'd been lead to Rumplestiltskin turned from her, illuminating the small space before himself though he already knew what he was looking for.

The louder exhale of Belle's breath gave away the words building up on her tongue as he heard her shifting and attempting to adapt to this unknown place.

"Wait-where are we right now? We're still in the maintenance room aren't we?" Belle inquired right before the world around them was suddenly revealed by a soft blue light that peeled away the inky shadows.

"Yes, but we're in my own space you cou-could say." Rumplestiltskin replied with a hint of amusement, drawing his fingers away from the small electric lantern sitting on a shelf.

With the new found light the young woman could properly glance about the tiny room, though it hardly required for her to crane her head about to do so. The machine waited and watched as she gazed about the cramped space, but he soon began to feel more self conscious than before at the realization that perhaps bringing her here was not the best idea. But... She'd been so curious about the cameras as well as where he'd been hiding himself out of sight for so many years that he'd wanted to see if she could smile again with another mystery being revealed unto her.

"This… This is your space?" She reiterated carefully while stepping a bit closer. However, she wasn't really smiling and that alone made him instantly wish he'd never brought her here.

This space, his space, was an old abandoned room that had originally been a supply closet before the building's recent renovations. When Avonlea was being constructed on he'd been forced from his previous hiding spot, a dangerous short bought of time, before finding a new one that managed to keep himself well removed from human sight. This one they both stood almost smushed together in was much smaller than his previous one but far better hidden. No one had any idea that there was a hollow room behind one of the panels in the maintenance room save for the stowaway animatronic himself, and the convenient mass of piping that could not be moved in the renovation kept it that way.

Overall the hideaway could fit in a rough estimation at least four people standing length wise and two people width wise-but then again he had added three shelves in the back with spare leftovers during the renovation so some of the space was lost. It didn't bother him, it wasn't as if Rumplestiltskin had to worry about having people over-this little hole was room enough for one person. No... It was room enough for a broken machine that was used to being stuffed into confined spaces-honestly he didn't even deserve this...

Yet, now with Belle finally seeing this sight she had probably imagined to be some 'grand' thing within her imagination... It seemed so pitiful.

"It's gotten rather dusty in here as of late!" The scaled animatronic chirped aloud to distract himself and his human guest whose blue eyes seemed far too sad for his liking. "I've been far too busy with other import-port-ant matters to handle it-but! Since you said you wanted to see where I 'hide' so badly you can now see it for a price-by cleaning it!"

Appearing as nonchalant as one could he whirled himself back on the balls of his heels to face her, but instead of finding mockery or scorn he found Belle looking at his shelves with a poignant stare.

"You kept that chipped mug after all."

His eyes drifted from her to the shelf where did indeed sat the mug Ms. French had damaged during her second week of the night shift. The chipped portion of it still resided in the ceramic ware which always 'tinked' pleasantly around when he lifted it. He liked the sound the broken piece made, and odd enough it reminded him of a delightful laugh he was coming to enjoy hearing bounce through the empty halls in Avonlea.

"Ah-I've been meaning to throw the thing out." Rumplestiltskin tried his best to flat out lie-but then that very laugh he liked echoed about his space as Belle smirked at him. He abruptly frowned down at her for that, and waved a hand through the air as if he could careless. One day he'll throw the thing out, after all what use did a machine that could not drink or eat have with a mug anyways? Yes... Someday he'll get rid of it-just not now. "Perhaps for the mean-ean-time it still could service some use holding other things for me. By the way-I brought you here for another reason besides having you clean and gawk, dearie." He tittered a moment as he reached over and grabbed at the book lying on the tippy top shelf before thrusting it back towards her.

"I finished it two days a-ag-go. It was a very interesting read, and there were many concepts and things I've never heard of before. Not bad overall-I've read far worse dribble before."

Belle kept grinning more and more at this as she took the book back from him, tucking it beneath her crossed arms. "Really? What's been this worse dribble? I haven't seen much reading material around here."

"One woman who used to work here tended to leave about these horrendous romance novels in the break room." The scaly animatronic stuck out his grey metal slab for a tongue at the memory which elicited a snort from the security guard. "I'd rather have to con-tin-in-tinuously read the back of a box of dish soap than such writing ever again."

"So it wasn't bad, that's good, but did you like it? Come on, you can tell me the truth." Belle inquired further, practically giving him doe eyes over wanting to know how he favored the book. Such a rather adorable sight of enthusiasm didn't help him at all, and his plan of trying to fight off his growing fondness for the strange woman with his barbed sarcasm wasn't appealing to him anymore. He shouldn't-he knew he as making a terrible choice that was only going to hurt him, but he wanted... He wanted to care for her.

"Yes, it was very good and I'd read more from this author. Except, I feel that the main character was too obtuse in writing and in character. I mean, it was ridic-dic-ulous how long it took him to see the true inten-ten-tions of his traitorous coworker! Maybe the point was he wasn't supposed to be a very bright hero, but then they never seem to be."

Belle raised a brow at him, and Rumplestiltskin wondered if she'd caught onto the double edge words he had brandished in an clever attempt to rile her.

"You can't blame him for putting his faith and hope into someone he thought was a friend and an ally. It was part of his nature to have optimistic ideals of his loved ones-a pro and a con of his character. Besides, the hero must obviously be somewhat capable and intelligent if they always overthrow the villain."

"Touche." Rumplestiltskin hummed in agreement, his joints clacking as he tilted his head to hide his smirk from her field of vision. "I suppose that's true, especially since this villain has been outwitted today by the ever heroic if not a bit dishonora-bl-ble knight." Rumplestiltskin felt the weight of his nervousness lift slightly with their playful banter, but as he swiveled his head he saw Belle was practically pressed right beside him. However, she was just as quickly bending down on her knees and appearing to be looking over his rows of shelves with great interest.

"Wow, I don't even know where to begin looking let alone cleaning, you've got all sorts of things. Where did all of this stuff come from?" The beauty asked, peering back up him under her long lashes and Rumplestiltskin could only gape back in reply with his wits momentarily lost again. There was a spark in her eyes though, they alighted those pools of blue with an honest interest he could literally see from their shimmer. He caught it leap just as she was reaching out one hand and picking up something under the very bottom os his shelves. A flash from a metallic surface flickered across his eyes as he watch her begin to withdraw a metal tin from its hidi-

'It was the tin' his programming screeched at him. The one that had-NO-NO-NO-NO! IF SHE WERE TO OPEN THAT SHE'D FIND OUT-

"NO! DON'T TOUCH THAT!" The mechanical man abruptly screeched after racing forward without fair warning and accidentally snapping his deadly jaw right near Belle's face. A small cry of alarm flew from those previously awed lips, and the human forced back fell right on her backend, dropping the tin which 'clattered' harshly against the ground. In an instant he scooped up the item before Rumplestiltskin cradled the metal box to his chest and scrambled back into one of the only empty corners of the all too small room.

Suddenly, as if ever sound had been sucked out of the air, silence fell over them both with the tiny security guard shooting up her bent over head to stare at the huddled animatronic from the concrete floor.

Horror donned on Rumplestiltskin after a few seconds of this, for when he turned towards her he saw the truth bearing itself across her features with nothing to conceal it. It was finally there for all to see as he always knew it had to be no matter how well she hid id-her fear of him.

"I-I'm... I'm... I didn't mean... Please..." Rumplestiltskin's thread thin voice barely carried over the minuscule distance between them as he went to apologize. But even he knew his wild temper and unfair actions had crossed the line again-there were no form of 'I'm sorry' or 'forgive me's' that could make up for what he had just done. "This-you ca-an-n't-not this..."

It was all too much, knowing the terror she must be feeling towards him now, and so he shut his artificial eyelids tight together in hopes the darkness could swallow up his wretchedness along with him. The metal box rattled along with him in his trembling arms as they tightened around it almost as if to make it apart of himself. The machine forced down a hoarse crackle mimicking a sob at the thought. After all, he was more like the dented cold box than the flesh and blood human being surely rising to her feet now and turning to dash out of the room never to come back.

"I'm sorry Rumplestiltskin. There I went head first into something I had no right to again without even stopping to think about it."

Those accented words surprised him more than anything else had tonight, and he took a chance, glancing towards her wearily. What momentary fear he'd seen before was long gone as Belle smiled at him, bearing a small but kind one that confused him for the umpteenth time. Placing her hands on the dusty floor she pushed herself up to her feet once more, but didn't stray from him nor take a step back in hesitation.

"I promise from now on I won't touch anything you say I can't… But just so you know it's going to make it hard to clean this place if I don't know what I can or can't touch." There was not an ounce of venom to her words like there should have been-like he deserved for lashing out in a monstrous manner. The brave woman, simply wiping her hands on her grey slacks as if the dust was more of an offense, should have been beyond angry. Any other person would have been spouting cruel words at him and scowling deeply with festering detest that a walking talking contraption dared bare its teeth near them.

"You can look at and touch everything, but not this…" The imp quietly explained before he reached down to place the worn box back under the bottom shelf in the safety of shadows. His leather coat groaned as he bent but even his keen sight and hearing was to preoccupied to notice his company reaching out her arm slowly towards him.

Then all of a sudden he felt her touching the top of his head, and Rumplestiltskin's entire body froze at the action as he stood half way on his bent knees.

Alien eyes flicked directly towards human blue, but the mechanical man saw that she was kind of surprised at this as well. It was such a tender touch to bestow upon anyone-he knew this much from how he'd seen parents pat their children as a sign of love or when friends ruffled each others hair affectionately. This was... He didn't know what this was nor what it meant, but feeling the pressure of her palm and fingers against his head... The anxiety ripping through his wires and cords seemed to decline and ease away-something he'd never experienced before either.

The dishonorable knight patted him lightly a couple of times, and then extended that hand past him, grabbing at the lantern. Before Rumplestiltskin could understand what she was doing she'd already slipped out the open panel, lantern and all, and disappeared from the room. As the light faded away along with the security guard Rumplestiltskin was left with only the glow of his eyes to see with.

"W-Where are you going?" He inquired loudly, still too meek sounding for his liking since he was becoming afraid again he'd ran her off.

"I'll be right back! I have to pay you back after all!" She chirped loudly back, though his worry over her grew when he heard her foot hit that same corner the water heater from before and nearly topple all over again. "Good grief-even with a light I'm... Don't worry-I'm good!"

Several minutes of waiting went on before he heard her footsteps enter the maintenance room again and head towards his hideaway. The entire time the animatronic hadn't moved an inch from his spot, but he allowed himself to trust her enough to believe she'd come back-she hadn't gone screaming and running from him yet tonight when he'd done far worse. The light from the lantern began to ebb into the room shortly, and then Belle was back just the same as before except she now had a whole arsenal of cleaning supplies in a basket hanging on one arm and the security tablet under the other.

"You know I was just joking about the whole cleaning thing, just a quip, dearie." He brokenly giggled on a nervous tune, yet as if she hadn't heard a word he said she was beaming and wriggling a can of polish along with a rag out of her basket.

"I had a good feeling you were, you don't seem the type to make too much of a mess, but I think this is a way to repay you for me spying." Belle stated, but there was a mischievous glint to her eyes just as strong as her stubborn curiosity. "Well, so long as you go on and tell me how you actually go about doing that thing with the cameras from earlier. Can you control everything just by plugging yourself in-or can you control it from anywhere without having to be connected?"

"I have to plug myself physically in-unfortunately I was created in an era long before wifi." He joked, earning a beautiful peal of laughter from his company. Without saying anything of it he watched as she approached his shelves and began to lift up his junk, cleaning at the random things all while glancing back at him eagerly as if to go on. "If you truly want to know my own operating system can access the same system the camera feed and video re-cord-cording program works from. When I'm in control I simply have the video loop a short fragment of feed right after close so it looks as if simply nothing happens all night on the re-cord-cordings. When I do that I'm free to roam about the building to my hearts content, and then at seven in the morning it goes back to the live active feed." When his explanation was finished the animatronic noticed she wasn't getting very far on cleaning with how rapt her attention was on him, but he didn't mind it at all. "Er-The specifics on doing these things are rather boring and compli-pli-cated-I don't know how to truly describe it..."

"Well, why not try?" Belle asked as she put a little more elbow grease into a swipe of her rag before setting back down his newly clean can full of arcade tokens that he saved for a 'rainy day'. "We've got all night after all to talk, and I'd love to hear about it-about you in general."

Rumplestiltskin gaped his hinged jaw at her again, and at this rate he was sure it would be falling off and clattering to the floor if it wasn't oiled soon. It snapped back to the rest of his mouth, silencing him, but he saw first hand that the little knight with her big red bow tie was completely invested now and with genuine interest too. For some reason he felt himself physically puff up, boasting about his vest lapels almost, as his pride swelled to a new unimaginable height he hadn't felt in many a decade.

"If you insist then."

And so the two rather different but somehow similar duo talk together more through out the night. Rumplestiltskin allowed himself to delve into how he tapped into the cameras and the other various equipment about Avonlea due to his unorthodox nature, but then they began to talk about random things to. Through the hours they went on from stories about his odd little collection of strange and broken things, to Belle's own life beyond Avonlea's walls, her usual ongoings within her world, Storybrooke itself, and then the beauty's own odd assorted collections of books, baked good recipes, and buttons (a hobby gathered from her grandmother he remembered clearly). With ease both of them spewed and talked about all sorts of things, giving freely to one another tiny almost insignificant aspects of their lives with great interest.

The clock in the office down the hall ticked quietly as they sat for hours getting to know one another in his little room, which much to Rumplestiltskin's happiness, felt perfectly cozy with two.