One of the advantages of people already thinking you rather peculiar is that you don't really have to worry about actually being peculiar. Or at least that was how Belle normally thought it went. This might be the exception to that case.
Belle's car was currently being worked on in the local auto shop of Storybrooke, owned by Mr. Tilman, a nice guy with two kids who visited Avonlea with them on occasions. Right now the old vehicle was being operated by a nice young man named Gus who humors her odd request upon arrival. Instead of waiting in the small break room to sit, mess around on her phone, and wait she's out in the shop watching the few mechanics work. To add even more to the peculiar situation, she had with her several books she owned on various concepts of mechanics from classifying parts to higher end animatronics.
"That there… I'm not sure what that is exactly." Gus scratched the back of his head while Belle displayed a page in her book on animatronics, there was a jumble of parts she wasn't sure on and neither him it seemed. "This is a bit different than car parts I'm afraid. I mean I can tell you the basic motors, the simple stuff, but I don't work with computer mother boards I'm afraid."
"That's okay… It's just… No one here in Storybrooke has any real clue about handling machines or simple robotics." Belle sighed, closing the book as Gus returned to the space underneath her trusty car, inspecting the alignment as part of the vehicles check up. "Books have got me caught up on a lot so far, but I need actual experience if I want to help fix things."
"Oh yeah, you work at Avonlea as the night guard. A buddy of mine worked that same position for when it first opened up. Jack went one week before he chickened out and out right quit." Gus gave a small laugh after that.
"Really now?" Belle managed to stop the playful knowing smile from forming on her face while thinking of the face full of sharp teeth and mischievous amber eyes who no doubt ensured the young man Jack had scurried away from Avonlea. "I don't find the place scary at all, I've been working their over two months now. It's quite a peaceful place honestly."
Gus peered from underneath. "Place creeped me out even when I was a kid, the robots there are freaky looking."
"Animatronics to be precise." Belle pointed out. "They're rather charming in their own way, at least in my opinion they are." Then again, Rumplestiltskin operated more like a robot than a simple animatronic. He really must be quite different than the newer ones Marco had bought with the fact he could even walk around and function so human like in movement and vocalization.
"You know they use some heavier and more complicated equipment at the fish cannery on a regular basis. They might have a better idea than me-or we do here." Gus joked, but Belle lit up at the realization.
"They do, don't they! Perhaps they have a mechanic on hand I can ask some advice from. Thank you Gus, you're amazing!"
The kid's cheeks darkened as he wiped at his head with a rag.
"Thanks, could you tell that to Ruby by any chance?"
—
The extra bit of pay from the party last month had helped some, enough that Belle had cash to spare to buy some things she'd been meaning to buy. A few more books on robotics had ended up in her bookcase, filling the brimming shelves even more so (and thus put adding another shelf or unit to her future list of purchases). She'd also ordered something two weeks ago and it had just arrived Saturday morning much to her glee and she made sure the parcel was in her car so she wouldn't forget it Monday night.
After managing to get an hour to talk with the mechanic over at the cannery before her job in Boston that said Monday, Belle was finally starting to feel sure that she could possibly help Rumplestiltskin after all.
So she was rather energetic and lively by the time eleven forty five PM had rolled around as she was already out in Avonlea's parking lot. The security guard was a tad bit earlier than usual but she darted inside anyways. After locking the door and setting the alarm right after she entered she darted down to her office quickly. She had to be fast, she didn't need the animatronic man wandering the building to see the package in her hands, not yet at least.
The box ended up her chair, which she pushed in under her desk to hide it from view, before Belle went about setting down the rest of her stuff.
Clack. Clack. Clack.
The padding of heeled boots echoed down the hall after a few moments and Belle felt her own heart beat spring further to life. Ticking and whirring of robot parts stopped right beside her door as she turned to see Rumplestiltskin peering over the frame with wide yellow eyes eerily set in the black sockets of his skull.
"My my-you're here early tonight!" He noted with a high tone of voice. "I thought my sensors had imag-gin-ined hearing you scurrying about."
He moved from behind the door frame and stepped inside the room, no longer trying so hard to hide away in the shadows like he had weeks ago. Belle smiled even harder at the realization that he was warming up to her undeniably.
"Good evening Rumplestiltskin." Belle greeted him, the corner of his mouth perked upwards upon the use of his full name. "I got here early tonight because I wanted to show you what I've been up to these last few weeks. I think I'm finally ready."
"Should I be trem-rem-bling in my boots or exalting your praise, Dishonorable Knight?" The imp's legs shook in jest, but the rattle of his metal body made her snort a laugh. He was honestly curious with how he whirled his head to watch her though.
She shook her head at him as she set her bag onto her desk and let the deluge of her collected books spill upon the table top. "No not at all-well I hope so."
"What have you been up to?" He inquires on a squeak of sorts. The machine reached out his segmented hand and grasped one book, the one labeled 'The Basics of Machines', to hold up and read in the light.
"These are all different books and materials on robotics, animatronics, and machine repair I've been researching and learning from. I've been working on them for at least half a month now-but I feel like I've learned enough that I can help you at least start to figure out what parts you need repaired or worked on."
He's silent, which is a worrisome thing as his face has gone void staring at the cover of the small book.
"Rumple?" Belle calls out his name and it's like he's never stopped moving when he turns his head owlishly to look and blink at her.
"You've gone to all this trouble for me?"
"It hasn't been any trouble." She furrows her brows slightly. "I'm genuinely curious on the whole subject and… Since I'm the only one who knows about you it's up to me to help make sure you don't fall apart."
"You don't have to do such a thing-" He grumbles, his rotten shark like teeth revealing themselves behind his fake lips. "My problems are not that se-ve-ve-vere! So what I might… Glitch every now and again, I can handle it." He waves off a hand, trying to keep some of his remaining dignity despite his faults revealing themselves quite easily.
"But…" Belle tries to find some means to show him that it's not a bother for her at all. It's more than just wanting to learn some new skill or prove she can do it-she knows it. In her heart she simply can't stand by and watch him suffer another fit like he did in August nor watch him break down after being forgone all kindness or consideration.
"I've gone to all this hardwork to help you and you won't let me?"
He stops at that, looking rather apologetic and Belle takes a step towards him. His high length boots clack once more as he takes a step back.
"I appreciate your effort but you don't-"
Another step forward for her, another step back for him.
"Please, Rumplestiltskin. You've saved me from getting a concussion from my silly attempt at changing a lightbulb, you also patched me up when I fell and gashed my head. Can't I try to repay you for that?"
"You don't have to repay me anything Belle." He says quietly and it breaks her heart to see him so determined to be left to corrode and rot rather than seek any help. However, his odd form of sighing, a gust of air from within some cylinder of his throat, tells her she's surely won.
"But if you've already spent so much time trying to find a way to help me… I sup-pos-pose I should humor you shouldn't I? Nyeh?" The imp comes back, taking a step towards her and suddenly Belle finds her heart racing in her chest. "But then again, you could just make it all worse. What if I somehow get an even sillier voice?" He taunted playfully and the young woman rolled her eyes, reaching up a hand and flicking him on the tip of his cold metal nose.
"Why! Rude!" Dramatically the imp holds a hand to his chest and gapes his giant maw open as if struck in 'horror'.
"I promise I'll just do a check up, I won't go pulling any wires or anything like that." Belle gives him a pointed look, squinting her eyes slightly.
"Sounds fair to me, we have a deal I suppose. HeheheEEEEEE-" He giggles but the silly noise goes up a pitch too high halfway through and Belle nearly covers her ears from the startling shriek.
Rumplestiltskin honestly looks mortified, and oddly enough he acts like he coughs which creates an even stranger sound all together. Belle reaches out and takes his clawed hand, already pulling him towards the office door.
"Yeah… Let's go get started on that right now."
—
They set up operations in the Maintenance Room, the easiest place for them to work on repairing Rumplestiltskin himself. There's plenty of tools already kept in this room and according to her mechanical fiend this was the room that the previous animatronics like him and the others of his time had been taken to when they need updates or fixing.
"How come, if I might ask," Belle begins as she moves a stool next to one of the tables in the middle of the room. "You are the only animatronic out of the older models left? I mean-were the other machines like you?"
"No, they weren't. They were lucky to not get my comple-ple-xion." He simply replies with a shrug of his shoulders and a tad bit of mischief in his eyes. Belle was starting to suspect she'd not get a through answer since he talked little of the past but he continues on. "The other machines, as I had over heard and came to understand where built with a different operating system and model design overall. When I first arrived here twenty eight years ago-"
"Hey-you're not that much older than me." Belle pointed at him for his earlier remark quite a while back. He had said something, she recalled, about being around Avonlea 'longer than she'd been alive'.
"Three years is still three years." He shoots back. "Also I am physi-cal-cally built to look older than that. A vile sorcerer such as me is much more appalling when we're made to look like old geezers."
"Oh come on! You look good for your approximate age." Belle watches him cock his head towards her with wide blown eyes and suddenly she feels the heat of her cheeks flare up.
Well, looks wise for a machine he wasn't appalling. Sure he was greenish gold, had scales and claws, as well as large eyes the size no human could ever have, but he was utterly unique. His profile was interesting, angular and sharp, and his personality shone through even a metal shell, a personality that was more human and vibrant than some people she dealt with day to day.
"Yes, oh sure, I look good after you take away the scales and the green color and oh the nasty teeth." He grimaces, clamping his jaw back to a close.
"You were telling me about the other animatronics-" Belle quickly changes the conversation, not wanting him to feel as if she's pitying his unique form or for him to endure any more self disgust. He'd probably not believe her even though she was being honest.
He moves again after posing stock still in his fluster. "Ah yes. You see there were four other animatronics set up when this business opened. They were here a few months ahead of me but were still up a little while even after I was removed from the stage and sent to the back room storage."
'So he was put away before the tragic incident?' Belle thought to herself, wondering the why he had been taken away from the entertainment floor and when this unknown horrible event had happened.
Rumplestiltskin moved over to her and sat down on the stool, appearing to forget some rather important things he needed to do before they could even begin as he rambled.
"Sorry to interrupt again." Belle put a hand on his shoulder, finding the leather coat quite cold beneath her touch. This touch, however, caught his attention right away as he whirled his head towards her. "But if we're going to check up on you-you're going to have to remove the coat."
"How silly of me to forget!" The animatronic titters and then stands up to remove the leather from his person. The coat, once it's removed from his body-which was such a strange sight since she'd never seen him take it off, is apparently worse for wear than she thought. There are small holes riddled everywhere, especially around the bottom trim. Belle also notices that while he is no longer enshrouded by such formidable wear the mechanical man seems much smaller than before.
Another issue arises. Belle studies the high collar of his vest and realizes that it too will have to come off.
"The vest too." She simply says, seeing that Rumplestiltskin must have realized that as well with how he was kneading his fingers about nervously.
Rumplestiltskin moves his hands and begins to unbutton his vest. Of course one missing button makes the job simpler. The vest, as Belle studies him again, is not as peppered with holes as his coat but the fabric that was clearly ribbed was suffering abrasion and looked quite frazzled.
Now the imp stood before her there in just his boots, leather trousers, and gold orange silk shirt adorning his slim frame. More of his peculiar colored body was revealed through the deep cut of the silk and somehow Belle was getting flustered all over again.
'What is wrong with me?' Belle averted her lingering eyes a moment as she moved to pick up a tool before turning back to him. Instead of focusing on the deep cut of his shirt she turned her attention to the large poof of his sleeves that seemed quite comical with his large hands.
"There, now are you content?" He asked her and she looked back to his face, finding herself still a tad too warm for her liking.
She realized for the final time that this still would not do.
"Rumplestiltskin, your panel, as you've mentioned, is are towards the base of your neck and if I want to properly attend to fixing-"
"Examining." He lids his eyes slightly.
"Examining your mechanical issues you're also going to have to take off the shirt."
"No." He curtly says and Belle rolls her eyes at the child like response from this machine built like a grown man.
"Come on."
He turns from her, pouting grumpily. "I don't have to do anything I don't wish to, dearie! If I don't feel like making myself inde-cen-cent than I won't."
Belle crossed her arms, perturbed by the silliness of the machine who glanced back at her with a nervous frown upon his scaled mug. Perhaps this was his way of stalling or perhaps he truly was ashamed of his body. But why? He wasn't human so he didn't have to worry about being inappropriate or the entire concept of nudity-unless he…
'Would something like him having something like that down th-' The heat in the room suddenly became stifling as Belle's gaze darted down to the small bulge of his trousers. 'D-Does he-Oh my god! No! No! Look away!' Quickly, Belle focused in on Rumplestiltskin's face, who was looking more or less confused with his wide and owl like his eyes.
Trying to avoid him inquiring as to why she had stared at his crotch, which was embarrassing enough to herself, she spoke. "Are you going to make me come over there and take your shirt off for you then?" Belle asked this rather bluntly while quirking a brow at him. Rumplestiltskin gaped at her.
"Y-You wouldn't." He snapped his jaw together after the last syllable, but his wide frantic eyes didn't dart from hers.
Belle took a step towards him, raising her hands to reach out for his shirt which she could easily grasp from this range. He didn't back down from her challenge, not till one of her fingers brushed his chest. The imp made a slight suprised screech and stepped a couple steps back straight into the boiler, sending a metal banging sound bouncing up through it.
"I'm-I'm quite cap-pa-able of doing it myself, dearie!" He nearly snarled, appearing quite flustered with how his hands trembled and his eyes wouldn't meet hers. Carefully he reached up behind his neck, glancing at her a moment, then tugged his shirt over his head. Suddenly, Belle realized she was gawking yet again but even upon realizing she didn't look away.
He slipped his arms from within the sleeves and held the garment close to his side over one mechanical limb, as if it could still somehow still hide his body.
The entire of him was that same green gold color and it seem the 'scales' were a part of his metal exoskeleton that went across all of him. His torso and arms were both segment at places were the normal human body bent, but his inhuman appearance was further pushed by the plate separations. Hollow notches revealing the mechanical joint gave way in his elbows and the tip of his hips showed his lower half was no doubt the same way.
"Let's get this examination started then…" Rumplestiltskin mumbled as he moved towards her and sat with a mighty 'plop' upon the stool. The security guard could see with how his hands fumbled and rustled with his shirt that he was uncomfortable, that and he refused to meet her eyes at all this entire time. The mop of brown wiry hair faced her along with his back, allowing her to roam her vision over the exposed portion of shoulders blades from the pit of his arms. Wires and cords and mechanical bits were more visible here than anywhere else she'd seen on him.
Fingers carefully reached out and touched with a light pressure on his lower back, letting Belle feel the bumps of his scales. Even if he looked rough in the fluorescent light he was smooth cold metal underneath her finger tips.
"I can sense that you know." Rumplestiltskin quietly said, making the security guard shy a bit as she removed her fingers.
"Does it bother you? Me touching you?"
"N-no…" There was that sigh like sound as his head bobbed. "It's just… I can feel pressure more than what you would expect, the vibrations too, they bounce around through my body. I don't know what you 'feel' like, but I know you are.. . Touching me."
"So if I press harder?" Belle brought her palm against his shoulder and squeezed. The imp stiffened a bit underneath her touch and she felt her breath escape her in a sharp out take.
"Yes-I… Quite sensed that… Now-ahem! Can we get back to what we're me-ean-aning to do?"
Belle gripped internally at how her cheeks had not stopped simmering and how odd her reaction to all of this was. He wasn't human, there were no 'glinting abs' nor any 'toned skin' that could distract her with simple physical appeal. Yet the intimacy of the situation did not go over her head, even if he was a machine she was still reacting much like he were a flesh and blood man.
Then again it'd been a while since she'd actually last been with a man, even near one shirtless-but he's a machine, it's wasn't the same. Then again with her current reactions that didn't seem to care a lick about that, she was only growing more confused and conflicted.
With a shake of her head she pushed those strange thoughts aside and focused on attending to Rumplestiltskin as his repairman.
His hair was in the way right now. The young woman could clearly see the small panel at the base of his neck, right under the separation from the nape and his back. She was about to open the panel but an odd speckle of black right underneath the grayish fiber locks of his caught her curiosity.
'Strange… It looks like letters.' Belle lifted up the bottom of his hair, the machine didn't say a peep as she did so (perhaps he couldn't 'feel' that), and discovered there was in fact printed writing labeled there.
01-A it read.
"Zero-one 'A'?" The words spoken aloud echoed in the large room, settling amongst the cracks and crevices, filling the empty spaces with their weight. Belle bit her bottom lip, wondering how he would respond to this reveal of information she had just found out. This was one of the first new personal things she'd come to learn about the animatronic since she met him. He'd never mentioned this set of digits and letters permanently branded upon him and she'd never had seen them with his coat and clothes on hiding them from sight.
"Ah yes, I almost forgot about that." Her friend snorted, then gave a small whimsical giggle that broke unsurprisingly. "I'm sure you're curious as to what it means…"
There was an unbearable pause, and Belle felt her need to understand-to know more about this man-this machine swell painfully. She swore she could see his smile all the way from the back of his head and she tapped on the top of his skull after he postponed her much needed answer.
"Can I help you?" He teased, turning back to look at her from the corner of his left eye socket.
Belle merely kept staring at him, awaiting a response if he felt inclined to share.
He shrugged his shoulders as he faced forward. "Zero One 'A'… It's my name."
"What? I thought your name was Rumplestiltskin?" Belle was getting even more confused than before, the summit of questions only increasing which was horribly frustrating.
"That is my programmed name, dearie. Who I am is essentially the character I play-and who I've played as. However, 'Zero One A' is my model name, the name my body or this metal husk itself is referred to. I can also assume it is what my creator called me or referred to me before I was set to play as the villainous imp 'Rump-ple-lestiltskin'."
'So even from his creation he wasn't 'born' as Rumplestiltskin? That doesn't make much sense. Aren't animatronics decided before hand on what or who they are going to act like? Who they are going to be?' Belle thought hard about this revelation, that once again left her further out at sea and further from breaking down the mystery surrounding him.
Belle gently traced a finger over the numbers on his neck. 'Zero One A… To be referred to as just as numbers and a letter, what kind of inhuman treatment was that?' Then again he was inhuman-at least in their eyes he must have been.
"What does it stand for?" Belle inquired as she removed her hand and allowed his hair to fall back down covering his model number name. "The 'A' I mean."
Rumplestiltskin sat up and Belle leaned over his shoulder, peering at his profile as he seemed to stare perplexed ahead.
"I'm not sure. I've never been given an explanation… I figure the Zero One must mean I was the first of a spec-pec-ific line but the A… I don't know, no matter how hard I dig and think about it I'm left with nothing. Ah-As I was trying to say earlier the other four animatronics I came here with had different numbers than me entirely. Honestly, I'm sure the person who sold me didn't create them at all, I think he got them through someone else."
"They were physically modeled different from me too… Couldn't walk around like I could, not really, couldn't formulate sentences they weren't already programmed to say. I first began to show my ability to refuse and reject my programming or commands early on, from day one, but they never did. They did exactly as good machines should. Certainly didn't scare the kids like I did… But in the end they were scrapped and thrown out just the same as they tried to do me." He quieted on the last part, his gaze and attention distant, seeing things and hearing things that Belle could not.
"So they didn't show sentience like you." Belle confirmed and all she got as reply was a bob of his head. "So even then you've been alone, alone like this…"
"It's better off this way-I'm better off alone."
"You can't possibly mean that. No one should have to be utterly alone…" Belle felt tears well up in the brim of her eyes, her face scrunched up in pain at the thought of him utterly lost and confused from the get go-for twenty eight years.
She thought of her mother, how the beautiful woman spent seven months alone before the pain and agony building took it's toll. Loneliness was what left a child of eight motherless and alone herself and loneliness was what left a grieving husband to turn even more to his drinks.
Without much thought Belle gently wrapped her arms over Rumplestiltskin's shoulders, holding him close to her body and feeling that warmth that embed from his torso through the fabric of her shirt. A gasp escaped the imp but she pressed tighter in fear that he'd pull away. It was foolish and silly but she was hoping that maybe somehow someway he could feel her own warmth melt into his.
To be alone for so long without anyone to understand or try to… Was such an unbearable thought.
"Belle, please, It's okay-I'm fine." He nearly coos, sounding more human than imp. Despite the contact he doesn't move from her embrace, but he trembles against her like a leaf in a raging storm. "B-Besides… I've got a bothe-the-rsome security guard to deal with right now, hardly have enough time to myself."
"You know what, I think you're happy I'm here." Belle smiles through the tears into his mop of hair, feeling the soft fibers brush against her cheek.
"Well, I'm certainly not unhappy." He titters, his crackling impish laugh sending her lip curling upwards even higher.
She releases him then, stepping back and smoothing down her shirt as well as her emotions. The pitter patter of her heart is thrumming faster than usual but right now, it's pleasant despite how hard it's beating.
"Alright-I'm sure you'd like your clothes back on anytime now and I said I was going to give you an examination." Belle spoke loudly, trying to clear her head from distractions-like him peering back and smiling softly at her.
The pitter patter of her heart grew in tempo.
Without any more delay Belle focused on her original task. The small panel in his back was unlatched and pushed down, the thing seemed to have tracks on the inside of his body and thus just slid out of the way easily.
"You should be able to lock it down-so it won't spring back up." Rumplestiltskin informed her and it snapped down much to her ease. "Now I've no clue what it looks like back there so I can't tell you what's what you know-like color or shape since I can only tou-ou-ch and you already know that sense is stu-un-nted."
"Then how on earth are we going to figure out what's what with all of this?" Belle quirked a brow. There was a ridiculous amount of wiring exposed under the panel, lots of different kinds and colors-she didn't know there could be that many different ports or necessary plugins! Overall he seemed way more complicated than the other animatronics that August had shown her, far more advanced for his age if she went by the idea of technology twenty eight years ago.
The mechanical whirr of his innards was louder this way but not loud enough she had to change the volume of her voice. "Good grief-I don't know where to start…"
"You're going to have to just yank on them, but gently mind you."
"Oh, you can feel them too?"
He moved a bit on the stool as he kept facing forwards. "Yes and no-I can sense parts being pulled at but you'll have to be gentle or else you might pull out something vital."
A tad nervous now, Belle reached her bare hand in and began her task by gently holding the first wire she picked which was a blue tinted one that disappeared towards the left.
"Ah-T-That's-That's to my left arm." Rumplestiltskin stammered. Belle figured the red one on the other side must surely be to his right and it was. A few more random tugs revealed several other parts, one the imp himself was not sure of as he didn't 'feel' anything upon her pulled, it was a thick black cored right at the base of his nape. With the aid of some ties she was able to group some of his wires together to keep them out of her way the further she went in.
"It might be something you won't be able to fix, I'm not sure where exactly my vocal wiring is located at after a-a-a-a-a-a-aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-"
"Oops!" Belle flinched when his voice kept on going after she had tugged lightly on a curled cored beneath a portion of metal. Quickly she reached her hand and managed to feel a port where it was located at, but there was something wrong with the cord itself. 'It's got to be damaged-ouch!' The exposed bit shocked her and she removed her hand with a mild yelp.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-" Rumplestiltskin was frozen stock in place, the low hum of his voice not stopping for even a second as the security guard worriedly began to rummage at her table for possible useful tools.
"Rumple what do I do?" His reply was the same, there was no response coming from him besides the hum. Belle darted around him after putting on thick gloves and saw his eye lids drooped and the small orbs rolled up to the top. "Oh god-Rumple! I'm sorry-oh god."
Belle darted back around him, quickly grabbing her flashlight off the table and holding it up with one arm as she went back in through the panel with her free hand. The light helped her get a glimpse of the thread bare cord plugged into something. Carefully her fingers wrapped around the end of it and pulled it out from within.
"Aaaaa-…" The humming stopped and Rumplestiltskin jerked on the stool, nearly falling off it if she hadn't wrapped her free arm around his torso and strained to hold him up. It seemed he'd come back to and was fine when she felt his hand on her arm pat three times.
"Rumple are you okay?" Belle worriedly asked, and the imp looked at her and mouthed a 'yes', which was not an easy thing to read, as she released her hold on him. He attempted another 'yes' but all she heard was the creaking of his neck and no spark of the lit he had. "Sorry, I took our your voice huh? I found the problem at least and I can fix it, I'm sure of it."
'What?' He mouthed, well that's what she guessed he mouthed, he was looking worried with his shoulders scrunched up.
"Do you trust me?" Belle gave him a firm gaze holding his gaze to her own, only seeing one of his eyes from the tilt of his head.
His eye flickered forward, to the side, anywhere but her as he thought it through. In response Belle squeezed his shoulder, regaining attention from that yellow orb that peered back at her.
"It'll be simple, I've been doing lots of reading, I'm sure I can patch it up. I won't unless you let me though."
She was sure that he was going to refuse, she had after all, started this saying she'd only be doing an examination. She also didn't blame him for refusing because of herself, she wasn't any repairman just some novice who'd read some books and had the simple basics of handling any technology.
'What if I messed up and permanently remove his voice?' Belle felt the doubt start to swarm in on her with just that thought. 'Or worse what if I cause him to do some horrendous failure and I… Kill him?'
"Never mind, we'll just get it plugged back in for now and figure something else out." She says shortly.
His hand reached up and touched her own one that was resting against his shoulder, his cold metal startling against the warmth of her skin. He was so strange and different than her, with his dark greenish gold color against her pale skin, but Belle had come to grow to love the odd hue of him.
'Okay.' He mouthed, she barely caught the word.
"Really? Are you sure?"
He rolled his eyes, flourished a hand and gave her a firm point with small little jabs.
'Yes.' 'Sure.'
"Well, don't come crying to me if I accidentally take out your voice for good after this." Belle realized her mistake and bit back a laugh causing the creases on the animatronics face to increase with his intense frown. "Bad joke at this point in time, I know."
The imp turned back in his seat and Belle tugged at her glove, picking up the equipment she needed to start this repair. She reached her hand into the open panel again, pulled the other end of the cord out and removed it entirely. Turning to the table she got out a end cap from her pile of random pieces and heard Rumplestiltskin move in his seat to watch. It took a bit of care and time on her part but she managed to snip out the damaged part of the cord and work on joining the two separate pieces back together again.
"Now just some electrical tape…" Belle bit her bottom lip as she carefully wrapped her work, smoothing out the adhesive so it stuck well with the thick cord. "All done. Now just to plug it back in."
Rumplestiltskin was peering at the cord with that same nervous expression but nodded and turned on his stool, behaving well for his 'nurse'.
Belle reached back in with her free hand, the other hand holding the flashlight. Luckily having remembered where it went exactly made the whole affair much easier for the security guard. The perfectly fine end went back in first before she readied the other at the open port.
"Okay… Here we go, I'm sure this is the right one." Belle murmured and she stuck the cord back in place.
"-'d hope you'd remember which one it was, dearie! Ah! Well! Well!" The machine chirped at her, his lovely odd voice popping back into existence much to her joy. "You did it my Noble Knight!"
"I did!" Belle gasped happily as she beamed a wide smile. "Oh, I was so nervous I was just going to make things worse." The open admittance took all that weight off her shoulders while the pride washed over her in waves. Everything she'd been working hard at had finally paid off in some way and even better she had helped her friend… Had truly helped him.
"It's a good thing you didn't say that to me ahead of time!" Rumplestiltskin stood up from the stool, turning his torso so he could roll his eyes at her again.
Belle clapped her hands together after setting the flashlight down and peeling off the overly large gloves. "Well! Test it out! Go on!"
"Go on what?"
"What else Rumple? Laugh go on and try it! We'll know for sure if it went well if you can laugh properly again."
The imp's face went neutral a moment, his lips pursed as if he was concentrating hard on everything she said. Moments went by and not one sound came from within him. Belle leaned in closer to him, worried that maybe somehow he couldn't even laugh anymore, or manage such a sound. No she couldn't have possibly failed him!
"Heheheheahahahaa!" He giggled right near her face, the high pitched silly sound not even glitching once as it boomed from within his throat.
"Hehehehe!" Belle giggled back after jumping in response. The animatronic deepened his voice, producing another laugh, a more human sounding laugh that had her covering her mouth to contain her own chortles of glee. "Oka-You can stop laughing now-" Belle snorted sending the machine into another impish giggle.
"You're the one-hehehee! Making me laugh dearie!" Rumplestiltskin stopped chuckling, his eye lids popping open as he stood up stiff straight. "My voice doesn't even glitch on longer words either now! I haven't had it working properly for the last four years! Then again I never used it much-but wow you're not so lucky since I have reason to."
"I could gladly listen to your voice all day." Belle replied shortly after managing to control her own fit of giggles. She stopped all together upon realizing too late that her thoughts had escaped her with the aid from her traitorous tongue. 'No… I do mean it and If I mean it, then I'll say it.' She gazes up at the machine who looks floored but those few words with his jaw open slightly.
He looked down at her and after a few fleeting seconds his eyes semi lidded with a soft smile on his face, making him look more alive than she'd ever seen.
"You truly are a… Unique human."
Belle wasn't sure what was happening just then, but something in her heart made her want to reach out and simply touch him. To feel that warmth in his chest that burns against her skin and to just see him smile like that forever.
"Thank you, Belle." He turns from her, reaching for his abandoned shirt and the complicated moment falls right out of her reach as he does.
"Y-You're welcome." Belle manages to form the words as she turns her gaze from him, wondering what on earth was overpowering her those last few seconds. She knew she cared for him greatly, but perhaps she was growing far more attached than she thought? But exactly what kind of attachment was this?
The alarming thought was broken when she realized that she had something left to do-all thanks to him getting dressed. The gift!
"Wait! Rumple, don't put that shirt back on!" Belle blurted, stopping him in his attempt to clothe himself while he had one arm back in his sleeve.
He looked at her perplexed before he waggled an segment eyebrow causing the rosy hue of her cheeks to worsen. "My-do you like to see an exposed machine, dearie?"
'Oh, so he thinks he's being so clever trying to throw me off.' It was working despite her desperate refusal to allow it.
"I'm certainly not complaining." Belle tapped her chin, watching his hinged jaw fall wide open as he stared at her with those pinpoint pupils. "Now I'll be right back, but don't put your shirt on. Okay?" Belle asked as she turned and darted out of the room not wasting a moment to see his response.
Dashing down the dark hall without her flash light was not a problem with how long she'd been roaming this building at this point. She'd probably be able to do a whole run of the building before she knew it without bumping into anything just like Rumplestiltskin did.
In her office once more, she pulled back her chair, finding the package still hidden under the desk. Grabbing it, she ran back to the maintenance room to find Rumplestiltskin holding his shirt over his arm again and perching a brow at her-which fell when he saw her stride towards him with the box in tow.
"What… Is that?"
"A gift. Open it." Belle hoisted it out to him, eager to see him peel away the seal and see what was inside.
"Belle-no, you don't have to give me anything." He put out his hands as if to ward off the box instead of reaching out and taking it like she had expected.
Belle frowned a bit, her blue eyes pleading with him to take it. "But I already got it for you. I thought now was the perfect time for it."
"I… I can't…" He stopped jabbering, his right hand up near his chest while his fingers kneaded against some invisible object. "It's just I-I have nothing to give you." It all came out in a blurt and she saw distress clearly evident on his artificial face. Shame, clear as a cloudless sky was what she saw in his nearly closed eyes, and she wondered if such emotion truly did cause him pain like any normal person.
"You don't have to give me anything back, I didn't do this because I wanted something. I just wanted to do something nice for you, and you don't get paid for helping guard Avonlea, so think of it like your own little bonus."
"A bonus you say?" He was humoring her attempt to lessen that shame clinging to him. Belle truly wanted nothing from him that he wasn't wanting to give, she just wanted to make him happy, to make him feel more… Human-more real too. He was after all, at least to her. "If you got it how could I refuse the Tiny Knight." The imp gave in and Belle smiled once more, awaiting for him to take it.
Rumplestiltskin took the box tenderly, seeming afraid he'd destroy it just by having it in his grasp-which was fine, it was what was in the box that mattered. He pulled it apart from the taped seal and stared at the fine fabric that lay folded neatly inside. It was a purple shirt, more of a black shirt really that shimmered purple with a hint of gold when the light flickered across portions. Upon close inspection the fabric was fashioned like little tiny scales making up its entirety.
"Go on… Try it. I'm sure I got the right size but I can take it to a tailor if it needs hemmed. Sowing is one thing I simply can't do unfortunately." Belle spoke as he removed the shirt from the box which he set aside, and began to put it on. "I had a little extra from overtime pay and I was searching online for some shirts that I thought would go well with your coat since you only have one set-"
"Belle…"
"And I know that it's kind of purple so it clashes with the orange vest, but I'm sure I can find somewhere that specializes in that medieval clothing to get you another one-a vest I mean."
"Belle!"
"Oh?"
He had finished buttoning up the shirt and was staring at her now as she jabbered on. Belle let her gaze fall over him, taking in how the shirt fit over his rather thinner form. It was a little large at the belly but he had tucked it into his pants and it worked well on him, it didn't clash with his unique complexion either.
"Do you like it?"
"I love it." He hummed happily, lifting up one flittering hand, allowing the sleeves to sparkle the sheen of gold and purple. "I've never gotten a gift before. I don't… I don't know what to do."
"What do you think you should do?" Belle put her hands behind her back as she watched him reach for his vest and begin to slip into it, all while he kept admiring the new piece of clothing.
He finished buttoning it and stood holding both hands at the part of the vest like a fine nobleman and less of a scary wicked sorcerer.
"I suppose I should give another thank you, though I feel that is still not enough. So, I'd also like to offer in a small means of repayment to continue reading Faust so that the Noble Knight might get to take a break for a bit. No snoozing will be accepted this time however." He tittered, a whole sound that didn't crack or break upon any note.
"Hey-You let me fall asleep, I know it." Belle accused him of the night a few weeks back when she had awoken on her couch a little before six AM, confused and not drenched in a cup of water like her wicked sorcerer said he would if she were to succumb to her tiredness.
The imp snorted. "Why I did nothing of the sort."
—
Belle sat next to Rumplestiltskin on her wee little couch in her office, their legs practically touching unlike the vast distance they usually sat at. Belle noticed this and was curious if he noticed too, but he of course said nothing of it at all.
He'd been kind and took care of cleaning up their mess in the maintenance room, letting her retire to the office. There they sat now with him reading out from where they had left off in Faust, not a single stutter or glitch jumping across his voice the entire time he spoke word after word. Together they spent a good time like that, before he offered a break to walk around Avonlea to stretch their legs after an hour and a half of him going through page after page.
"Hey Rumple?" Belle asked while they were slowly treading past the large stage at the front of the building. Behind the curtain stood the other animatronics Avonlea had but they were lifeless and motionless compared to the being who walked by her side. The security guard had been quiet as they strolled along but Rumplestiltskin on the other hand was not.
The imp was humming that odd little tune he did when he thought he was by himself and she was sure he didn't quite realize it from the way his eyes stared on ahead.
She listened to it again, trying to recall what song it could possibly be, but she'd never quite heard a tune like that. It sounded sort of like a nursery rhyme or a simple little thing children would sing or make up from the top of their heads.
"What is that you always hum?"
"What I hum?" The sorcerer echoed back after deciding to stop in his tracks randomly. Belle faltered mid step and stopped in hers just after. "I was humming out loud again wasn't I?"
"You sure were."
He tapped one foot as a hand hovered in the air, stoked with energy. "Sorry, dearie. Sometimes my mind ends up on the outside and then what should be outside stays… inside? No matter. As for the song itself I don't know what it's called unfortunately."
"You sing it and you don't know what it is? Isn't that a bit of a conundrum." Belle raised a brow.
"I hum it, I don't sing. Yuck, that's what they're meant to do." He pointed with his thumb towards the stage, looking greatly offend at the whole concept of him ever possibly singing anything at all. "I know the tune, dearie, but I don't know the words… At least I don't remember them. I'm sure it started with a 'For' or something-or maybe it didn't…"
"But I thought you remembered everything?"
"Ah-Ah-Ah! I remember everything from the day I was 'born', which was the day I was first activated here. I don't remember anything before that." He pointed a clawed finger at her to push the point and she pushed it to the side to peer up at him.
"So you do know you were active before you came to Avonlea, but you don't remember it. I take it you never met the person who sold you or created you-or you at least don't remember them."
Belle stood back with her hands on her hips and watched the animatronic man clasp his hands together at chest level. "No, this me never met him. I was greeted by Marco my first day here as property of Avonlea, no one else ever under my sellers 'name' ever approached."
"How do you know it's a him? It could have been a she after all."
"Forgive me-She or he, whomever they may be! Left me trapped and never free!" He tittered a new little tune unlike his humming and began walking again, leaving her behind only two paces before she caught up. "I'm not sure I'd like to meet who or them, whoever made me. I'd probably have some cross words to begin with. Then again they probably were not expecting me to turn out… Well… Like this." He gestured to himself in a swoop of his hand with a small frown.
"There's nothing wrong with you or how you are." Belle replied in a huff, pushing the fact further again when he gave her a skeptical look. She'd prove it to him somehow, someway. "I just wish I could have met you as a kid and showed them all different. It's still hard for me to believe I spent an entire summer here hiding away and I didn't even meet you once."
He was several paces behind her before she finally noticed.
"Hey-you okay?" Belle turned, her brown hair getting in her way so she brushed it aside with her fingers as she looked to him.
"Yeah. I'm okay." His reply was rather short. "Do you want to go back and finish reading Faust now?"
Belle walked back towards him, curious as to why they weren't finishing their run of the floor but nodded 'yes'. They would finish that story tonight and Belle would take her turn to read on the next story. After all she was looking forward to the new book, it was one she had already read but was one she was sure Rumplestiltskin would like. Hopefully he'd like it, even if that book happened to be as he quoted, 'a dreaded romance fiction'.
Together they began their walk back to her office and the silence fell between them, a comfortable silence but one that Belle felt the need to break.
"Hhmmm-hmmm-HhHhHhh-hmmmmm-hm-hmmmm-hmmm."
Belle hums what she recollects of his odd little tune, having heard him enough that she could remember most of it. The mechanical man smiled at that, and before long his odd voice was humming along with hers, their voices blending together much nicer than she had expected.
The empty dark halls of Avonlea, so usually dead and still, were not tonight with the two odd characters filling the void with their voices harmonious ring.