"What do you mean, 'We can't do it again'?" Belle asked, confused. Rumple sighed and bent over to pick up the cover he'd ripped off only moments before. Draping it back over the mirror, he grabbed Belle's hand, led her over to the sofa and sat down. She sat down next to him and Rumple bowed his head. They sat in silence for some time before he turned and looked at her, his face a mixture of sorrow and awe.

"There are many kinds of magic," he began slowly, "and all of them are powerful. However, True Love's Kiss is the most powerful of all. It can break any curse; including mine."

Belle didn't acknowledge his words, and Rumplestiltskin could tell that she was deep in thought. He sat patiently, waiting for her to begin asking questions, as he knew she would. He had dreaded this conversation for so long, and now he had no way to avoid it. After several minutes of silence, she finally spoke. "So," she said carefully, "When you mentioned that day that you could be stripped of your powers, was this what you meant?

Rumplestiltskin shook his head, "No," he said chuckling darkly, "True Love's Kiss was something I had not expected would ever be a problem for me." He looked at her carefully, trying to gage her emotions. She looked upset, and he could not blame her.

"So, if I kiss you," Belle asked slowly, "You will lose your magic?" Rumplestiltskin nodded in affirmation and Belle sighed. "You told me before that you regretted choosing magic over your son; over the person you loved most. Please tell me you aren't going to make the same mistake twice. I don't care about your magic; I don't want you to lose it, but I don't want you to sacrifice love because you want to keep it."

He took her in his arms and pulled her closer, whispering, "I am choosing you." She let out a breathy laugh at his confession and he continued. "The first time I chose magic, it was out of fear. I'd been weak and cowardly for so long and my magic made me so much more than a crippled spinner. I had power and I wasn't ready to give that up. My cowardice caused me to lose the only thing I held dear." He paused for a moment, looking intensely into her eyes, "I'm not making the same mistake again."

She wrapped her arms around him then, holding him tightly and he hesitated only briefly before winding his arms around hers in return. They did not move for some time, both unwilling to do anything other than rest in the others embrace. Finally, Rumplestiltskin pulled away, but only slightly, and Belle let her hands slide down his chest before finding his hands and entwining their fingers together.

"There is something you must understand," he said after some time. "I have been around a long time, Belle. I have been the Dark One for longer than I care to remember, and within that time I have made enemies. Enemies who would seek to destroy me and anything I held dear. By keeping my powers, I can ensure that no one will be able to harm myself, you, or the people of Avonlea."

"Like Regina," Belle surmised and Rumple nodded. "Yes. Like Regina." He stroked her fingers with his thumb and let out a heavy breath. "I also need magic to find my son, which you already knew. It was magic that took him to this new world, and therefore I need magic to find a way to him, or a way to bring him back."

"But what if you never find him?" Belle asked softly. "It's been a long time. What if you never find a way, or what if you do and he's-" she paused, but Rumplestiltskin understood her meaning.

"I'd rather try a thousand times and fail than to wonder whether something would have worked." He proclaimed and Belle felt her heart swell at his words.

"So you need to keep your powers to protect us and so you can find your son?" She asked, trying to make sure she understood him clearly. She was well aware of his ability to twist words and meanings.

"Yes," he stated and Belle moved her hand and gently caresses his cheek. His eyes lifted to meet hers and he was surprised to see her looking at him lovingly.

"I just have one more question," Belle said and Rumplestiltskin nodded, waiting for her to go on.

"Do you love me?" She asked and Rumplestiltskin couldn't help the laugh that escaped him. "Very much," he admitted eagerly, grateful that she was not afraid to speak what was on her mind.

She moved forward again and touched her forehead to his and whispered, "I love you, too."

Rumplestiltskin chuckled breathlessly, unable to believe what he was hearing. Belle loved him.

Belle loved him!

He brought his hands up to cup her cheeks and she laughed joyously at their confession.

"How can you love me?" He asked in disbelief and she offered him a glare.

"Now none of that," she scolded. "It doesn't matter how or why. What matters is that I do." He smiled and continued to caress her cheeks and she let out a sigh of contentment. She then began to speak again, returning to their previous subject. "I told you before that I would help you look for your son. Is there anything I can do? Have you found anything that might work?" She asked as she brought her hand up to entwine her fingers through one of his.

"Baelfire," he whispered and she blinked. "That's his name," Rumple told her and she nodded in understanding. "And for now, no. I have a few ideas, but at the moment there is nothing that you would be able to do. But, I will find a way; I won't stop until I have him back."

"And I won't let you," she whispered and in that moment he wished desperately that he could kiss her. Instead he reclined back against the arm of the sofa and pulled Belle down to lay beside him.

"Thank you," he whispered and she giggled. "Thank me when we find him," she retorted and it was easy to imagine the day when he did find him. He was sure of it now - now that he had someone who believed in him and who would encourage him to never give up. He was confident that his son was closer than ever.

-000-

They laid there for a long time, wrapped in each other's arms. Running his hand through her hair, playing with loose curls, Rumplestiltskin looked down to see that Belle was asleep. He smiled at the sight of her, peaceful and content, her steady breathing relaxing and comforting him. Their conversation had died down quickly, and though Rumplestiltskin knew there was still plenty for them to discuss, and he knew they should discuss it soon, but he was reluctant to rouse her. Finally, deciding that it would be to get the rest of their conversation out of the way, he gently nudged her, and she groaned, unhappy that he'd disturbed her. "I'm sorry to wake you, dearest. But we have a few other things we should probably discuss," he murmured and Belle groaned again, turning and snuggling closer into him.

"Can't it wait 'til morning?" She mumbled tiredly.

"Unfortunately it cannot," Rumple stated and with an exasperated sigh Belle lifter her head to meet his eyes.

"What is it, then?" She regarded him cautiously, suddenly more alert than she'd been just seconds before. She propped herself up on her elbow, "Rumple?"

"Nothing is the matter, dearest," he assured her quickly, continuing to caress her hair. "I just want to make sure you understand how dangerous it will be. To be with me."

Belle rolled her eyes. "I've been involved with the Dark One for quite some time," she pointed out humorously, "I think I'm aware of the risks."

He gave her a pointed look. "I'm serious, Belle," he said and she sobered and waited for him to continue. "I told you earlier that I have enemies. You saw what happened to me when we kissed," he paused and she nodded gloomily. "Some of my enemies would give anything to have that kind of power over me. You are a danger to me, Belle. You are my weakness," Rumple explained, "If the wrong person found out, we would be at great risk. All magic can be used for either good or ill, even True Love. And if someone who wished either of us harm found out about this, they could use you against me. I cannot – I will not – let that happen."

"So we stay quiet," Belle agreed softly. "No one will know about us. As far as anyone knows, we are just friends."

"Even that's dangerous," Rumplestiltskin said. He lifted his hand to touch her cheek again, then hesitated. Belle reached up and took his hand in hers and held it to her. "Being associated with me is not going to make things easy for you, dearest," He sighed.

"I don't care about easy," she declared. "We will just have to be careful." She furrowed her brow in thought, then nodded determinedly. "We can do this," she said. "No one will know about us."

"Are you sure this is what you want," Rumplestiltskin questioned.

Belle traced her fingers lightly over his cheek, "It is."

They settled against each other again, content with everything they had discussed. Belle's mind continued to work however, and it wasn't long before she found herself brimming with more questions, "What is the other way you could lose your powers? If you don't mind my asking."

He sighed heavily. He had no desire to tell her about the dagger, but not for a lack of trust. He'd guarded it for so long, its presence a constant weight on his mind and heart. The dagger was something that he had done horrible things to keep secret. The fewer who knew of the dagger's existence, the safer he (and Belle) were. He remembered with a twinge of guilt the poor, mute maid he'd slaughtered in the woods just for seeing the thing. She probably never thought of it as anything other than a simple dagger.

But as he looked at Belle, the woman who had stolen his blackened heart and offered hers in exchange, he knew he had to tell her. He was tired of keeping himself locked away. He wanted to be open with her, even if that meant revealing things he'd much rather keep secret. He loved her; he knew that with absolute certainty, and he also knew that meant that he could trust her absolutely. She would never betray him. The rest of the world might, but never Belle.

Resigned, he took a deep breath and told her, "There is a dagger," he explained, "That is the source of my power. Whoever possesses the dagger controls me. If I'm killed by the dagger, the person who holds it will receive my power and become the next Dark One."

"Does someone have it?" Belle asked, concern evident on her features.

Rumple shook his head. "I do. I am in control and only I know its location."

Belle exhaled with relief and smiled, "Good."

Rumple waited for her to speak again, but when she remained silent he asked, "You're not going to ask me where it is?"

She shook her head, running her hand over his shoulder and down his arm. "Why would I do that? Being able to kiss away your power is dangerous enough. I don't want to know any more about the dagger than you feel necessary to tell me. Maybe someday I'll want to know more, but I'm more concerned about keeping us and our people safe than I am about knowing where your dagger is." She paused, then added, "But thank you for trusting me."

He could only gaze at her, astonished at how selfless and kind she was. Love swelled in his heart at her words, and he rejoiced that Belle was finally his. After so many years of pain, loneliness, and rejection, he had finally found someone who truly accepted him. He could hardly believe that the woman in his arms loved him. But she did love him. Just as he loved her. He'd once swore that he would love nothing else until he found his son, but he regarded that promise with disgust. He would have been content to wallow in his misery, forever searching for his son and forever feeling that he did not deserve to find him. And perhaps he did not deserve to find Bae, but Belle believed he did. And if she saw his worthiness, perhaps in time he would be able to see it as well.

He pulled her to him then, holding her close while repeating over and over just how much he loved her. He knew this moment could not last and come tomorrow they would have to resort back to their respective roles. They could not allow their newfound relationship distract them from their duties. They had a kingdom to run, an alliance to form with Prince Eric, and his son to find. But that was tomorrow. For now, he was content to hold Belle close, comforted by the weight of her head on his chest and the brush of her fingers over his arm.

He sighed in contentment, as he closed his eyes and allowed himself to fall asleep next to his Queen. For the first time in far too long, he was happy.

End Chapter Ten

Author's Notes:

Thank you Sirensong25!

Apologies if there are any mistakes we missed.

It was brought to my attention that the formatting on some (maybe all?) chapters is messed up. I apologize for the error and will try to get all the formatting errors fixed as soon as possible. Also, if anyone knows how to make it so I have more space between the last line of the chapter and the "end chapter x" I would love to know how to do it. I cannot get the site to do what I want. Any help would be appreciated.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed, liked, and favorited this story. I am trying to be better about replying to everyone individually, but I know I have missed a few people. But know that your kind words, critiques, and questions are all greatly valued and I am so honored and humbled by the response this story has gotten. Seriously, you guys. It means more to me than I can properly express.

Hope you're enjoying it! Chapter 11 will be up April 20!