A/N: Yes, I briefly wrote Regina into the end of this chapter. Her character in this is based more on season 1 and a bit of season 2 Regina, because as much as I love the way Regina is in the show now, it's way more fun writing her old verbal sparring with Gold. Anyway, enjoy!
Later that evening, Adam Gold sat in the back room of his shop, absentmindedly dusting things and moving things around, all the while glancing at the clock to check the time. Only 6:49, he thought, it's not 7 yet. He paced around anxiously, fidgeting with random things in the room.
What if she doesn't come? He worried. Well, what if she does come? Truly, he had no idea what he was going to say to her either way. He worried about her reaction. Would she be angry? Would she be happy? Would she even come?
Adam glanced at the clock again, annoyed when it only read 6:52. He sighed, then shook his head, laughing slightly at himself. He never got this flustered, especially not over a girl. He'd worked hard to maintain a reputation as a powerful man in their small town, and yet here he was worrying about what the waitress from the local diner thought about him. It was ironic, really.
Momentarily lost in his musings, Adam jumped when he heard the bell on the front door chime. He stood still for a minute, listening. There were a few moments of silence, and his heart started beating faster. He forced himself to breathe.
Then he heard her voice. "Hello?"
He loved her voice. "Um… Is anyone here?"
Adam took one more deep breath, picking up a small box off the counter, and walked through the curtain into the front room of the shop.
"Belle," he said, smiling in relief. "You came." He wanted to say more, but that was all he could think of at the moment.
She smiled shyly, nodding. "Yeah," was all she said.
There was a moment of awkward silence, so Adam said, "Look, Belle, I'm sorry about last night, I –"
"It's alright," she said, interrupting him. He smiled at that, and she blushed, realizing how quickly she'd said that. His smile widened when he saw her blush. It amazed him that he could always make her do that. It also made him feel a little better. It made him feel as if he wasn't the only one who wasn't quite sure where this was going.
Belle cleared her throat, then changed the subject. "You, uh… you said you wanted to show me something?"
"Oh, right, yes," he said, remembering the little box he had in his pocket. He pulled it out, then handed it to her. "This is for you," he said.
Belle gave him a curious smile, and took the box. It was a small white box, not much bigger than the palm of her hand. He had tied a little blue ribbon around it. The ribbon reminded him of her eyes. Not that he was going to tell her that.
Belle inspected the little box, but before she opened it, she glanced up at him. "You've already given me the book, I feel like it should be my turn to give you something," she said with a grin.
Adam laughed quietly. "No, no, don't worry about that," he said. "Just open it."
"Okay," Belle said, gently untying the ribbon from the box. She lifted the lid, and inside was a key. It had a circular keychain hanging from it, on which someone had written Library. Belle took the key out of the box and inspected it, then looked at Adam in confusion.
"It's the key to the town library," he said, then realized how dumb that sounded. She could have figured that much out on her own. He felt his own face get hot, and hoped that in the rather dim lighting Belle couldn't see him blush. "It's been neglected for years now," he hurried on, scratching the back of his neck and not meeting her eyes. "No one goes in there. I've had the key for a long time, but never had a reason to go. I figured, since you like books so much, you could make better use of the key than I have."
Belle's jaw dropped open, and she stared at him for a moment, at a loss for words. Just when Adam started to doubt the intelligence of his gift, Belle hugged him. It surprised him, and he took a second to react, standing there in shock. After a moment, he put his arms around her, returning her hug.
After a moment, Belle pulled away, looking up at him with a huge smile on her face. "This… I don't even know what to say," she said. "This is wonderful!"
Adam found himself matching her smile. "I… um, I'm glad you like it," he stammered.
Belle looked back at the key in her hand, smiling fondly. "It's perfect," she whispered.
There was another awkward silence as Belle just smiled at the key, and Adam stood there silently, not knowing what to say. As an attempt to break the silence, he said, "If you want, we can go over there and check it out tomorrow…"
"I'd love to!" Belle said, turning her smiling face back to him. When her eyes met his, he stared into them, momentarily lost in their blue depths. Belle just stared back at him, and this time the silence wasn't quite so awkward. After a few moments, Belle said, "I don't have to work tomorrow, it's Sunday." That sounded pretty lame to her, but she wasn't sure what else to say.
Adam took a deep breath, recovering his composure. "Wonderful," he said. "Meet me here at the shop at 10 and we can walk over together?"
"Sounds perfect," Belle replied. She was about to say more, but the little bell on the front door chimed, and they both turned to see who had come in.
"Hello Gold," said Regina, mayor of their little town.
"Regina." Was his only reply.
The atmosphere in the shop became suddenly colder, filled with a different kind of tension that hadn't been there before. It made Belle suddenly nervous. She looked between the two of them, noticing the cold looks they gave each other, and decided she didn't want to be in the middle of whatever was about to happen. All the warmth she'd seen in Adam's eyes a minute ago was gone, and he almost looked like a different person.
Belle hurriedly put the key back in its box, grabbed her purse, and stuck the box inside it. "Well," she said, "I'd better get going…"
"What's the rush dear?" Regina said, conveniently standing in front of the door, blocking Belle's exit. "Why don't you tell me what business you have at the pawn shop so late." Her smile was mocking, and Belle just looked away, not sure what to say.
Thankfully, Adam came to stand in front of Belle, and said "It's none of your business Regina. Leave her out of this."
Regina snickered at him, but she moved away from the door. Adam turned around to face Belle and gave her an encouraging smile. "I'll see you tomorrow, Belle," he said softly. "Have a nice evening dearie."
Belle attempted a smile in return. "Yeah," she said, "See you tomorrow."
With that, Belle made her way out of the pawnshop, avoiding eye contact with Regina. When she was safely outside, Belle took a deep breath, and shook off the strange exchange she just had. She reached into her purse, pulling the key out again, smiling. She wished it were tomorrow already.
