Real Inside

by Dekujin

Belle French is forced to move back to Storybrooke when her ill father grows even worse for wear. Determined to help him, she ends up taking a night time shift as a security guard for Storybrooke's 'Fantasy Family Fun Center-Avonlea'. However, the quiet empty building holds more secrets than she could ever imagine as a mechanical monster lurks in it's darkened hallways…

21. Chapter 21

"Rumple, please tell me what on earth is going on-right now."

A long spell of silence filled the back hall of Avonlea after Belle's words had rung through the air. Like a layer of dust the quiet settled upon everything and everyone, muffling out the creaking and groaning that the building usually made. As the three individuals stood still in the dim glow of a flash light all that Rumplestiltskin's auditory sensors could pick up was his own parts ticking, the hitch in his night guard's breathing, and the shifting of Henry's sneakers against the tiled floor.

Yet, what has been asked of him has left his processors reeling while the bits of code operating his functions fled altogether. For even he is not completely sure of what has happened here tonight. He's experienced and recorded it all, but everything feels like some unreal dream or another erratic broken fit he's faulting through again.

The tiny woman before him, having tugged him down towards her with a fist full of his shirt, was awaiting him to give any form of response though. Desperately the scaled machine tried to find an explanation for her as the seconds ticked by, but his lips only trembled when he couldn't find where to start. More than ever he wanted to say something meaningful or helpful that would ease the frantic worry draping itself across his knight's features. There was also the other worried and even tinier human in Avonlea standing by that he had to consider too.

"Rumple... Please..." Belle's voice was hardly the same demanding force it was before, but her blue eyes filled with an anxiousness like his own compelled him to reassure her and scrape together his meager bits of bravery.

"It's a long story dearest, but don't worry! I promise everything is going to be okay after tonight, you've got nothing to fear-I think!" Rumplestiltskin blurted out the first thing he could think of in his high pitched tone that rattled through the air.

'Perhaps that was not the best thing to say off the bat in a situation like this, but at least I'm positive that things were going to be fine...' The machine thought to himself immediately after. Then again his calculations were never the most favorable when it came to anything to do with him-not that he mentioned that. Yet, after everything that the three of them had been through tonight, such different heartaches and fears, deep down he knew he would do anything to keep this promise.

Keeping up his confident theatrics Rumplestiltskin stood before his knight and smiled at her with a toothy grin like there was nothing for them to fear. However, his wide monstrous smile began to drop upon the realization that his whimsical nature was not helping like he intended it to. Belle's gloved hands were still holding onto him as if she was afraid to let go all while she was wearing a pained and lost expression. Quickly Rumplestiltskin's loose grip tightened at the sides of her waist in return for it felt like if he were to relinquish his hold upon her she would slip out of his hands and crumple to the floor.

He was lucky himself that the servos controlling his own legs had locked him in place.

Yet Rumplestiltskin managed to free a wriggling finger of his hidden damaged hand and motioned for Henry, still standing back by the break room door, to come closer. His new friend's face perked up at his silent request, and the boy approached the two of them as the animatronic continued talking.

"Henry and I were just finishing up our chat about why he ran away tonight right when you got here... We've gotten into a bit of a mess in all honesty, but I think that he's ready to go back home now and explain to his loved one's why he's done what he has tonight." Rumplestiltskin spoke softly, hoping that this admittance would be more of what Belle needed to help fend off her remaining fears. A sense of calm seemed to wash back over his frazzled beauty with how she gave a tiny nod in reply and released her tight grip of his shirt to set her hands upon his exposed shoulders. "Trust me Belle, things will be fine... Henry's right here too so you can even ask him if he's okay just to be sure."

The security guard's gaze fell from the mechanical man she was pressed against as she peered down at the small boy now standing beside her. Those dainty hands of hers eased their tension and trailed down Rumplestiltskin's torn shirt till they fell away entirely as Belle turned from him and bent down on her knees till she was level with Henry. The animatronic released his own hold upon his dearest, minding her not to see his oddly slanted wrist, while observing the scene before him in quiet contemplation. He watched as she reached out her fingers and brushed her thumb across the bandage adorned on the boy's cheek, and there was no mistaking the pure affection and concern shining in Belle's eyes as she checked him over head to toe.

Then he saw how her mouth quivered ever so slightly which caused his unnatural instincts to warn him of the thread bare emotions she was still holding back.

"Henry are you okay? You've given everyone such a fright-why on earth did you run away? Was it because something bad happened to you after yesterday in town?" Belle began to pepper the boy with a flood of hushed questions as if worried someone else besides them inside the locked up empty building might catch wind of his reply. "Did Regina... In any way... Hurt you, at all?"

Henry had seemed to grow a bit more shy at each inquiry, hiding himself behind the shield of his wrapped scarf, till she brought up Regina. The boy shook his head immediately at such a notion which seemed to pacify the security guard as she gave a soft but audible sigh of relief.

"No, Regina has never hurt me... 'Like that'... I got this cut when I fell down a slope when I was running away after meeting Rumplestiltskin earlier, but he swooped in and saved me from falling off a cliff and into the big river on the edge of town!" Henry began explaining everything to Belle with eagerness lacing his tone, but he became far too excited in his story telling to notice the growing horror plastered on the machine's face. "He was so cool-you should have seen him Belle! Rumplestiltskin about fell into the river himself when he rescued me, but he like caught onto a ledge and then climbed the entire thing back up! We walked all the way back to Avonlea after that, but he said we were both lucky to have come out of that alive..."

It was far too late when Henry finally saw Rumplestiltskin behind Belle waving his arms about in a desperate plea for the young boy to stop.

In an instant there was another shift in atmosphere in that thin hallway as Belle stiffened in her crouched position, looking like a coiled snake that was ready to strike. One of Rumplestiltskin's scuffled boots took a step back when even 'he' felt the oncoming storm brewing within his dearest companion. It wasn't like he had meant for her to find out about what had happened tonight like this! Yet, he knew there was no escaping what was to inevitably follow, and sure enough this processed calculation didn't fail him.

"What! Rumplestiltskin!" Belle snapped in a fury of uncontainable might when she whipped her head to look back at the mechanical man staring right back with wide glowing eyes. "Oh my god-the both of you almost fell off a cliff? What the hell were you two doing out there and near the river no less! Not to mention you didn't even care to call me to let me know something like this was going on-or had already happened!"

"B-Belle... It was all an accident... I meant to call you but-but-" Rumplestiltskin tried to offer anything in hopes to placate her, but his cracked voice was but a mumble when he hunched his plated shoulders towards himself.

"Why didn't you call me to let me know about Henry running away from Avonlea in the first place then! Why didn't you lock the door to protect yourself after I left either?" Belle asked with her thin brows furrowing together as she rose up from the floor and back to full height as small as it was. Hurt, anger, and a bit of panic was piercing back at him with the way her bright sky blue eyes burned straight through his metal husk. "Don't even get me started on the state of the TV either-I glanced into the break room when I got here in hopes you were there and.. I saw it... Why is the video tape from Marco's folder spewing film out of it?"

A panic all his own crossed Rumplestiltskin's scaly visage at Belle's last few words while Henry standing alongside worriedly looked back and forth between the pair.

'The tape! I forgot all about that! I was in such a mess within my programming-I-I must have failed to notice that I made the machine malfunction when I did!' The animatronic thought to himself, and this realization caused his segmented fingers to stop kneading in their nervous tick. ' She said it had been spewing out? That means... I've gone and ruined that too... That tape... Was the only proof of the boy I once knew that I had-a-and I-I destroyed it! No! No! No! NO!'

Another surge of the tape's information flashed behind Rumplestiltskin's eyes then, sparking brief images of the tiny boy with the red sneakers and his old self standing back on his forgotten stage. As if to mock him the promise they had somehow made long before his arrival to Avonlea began to loop within his head, reminding him of all that he didn't understand, what he has lost, and all that he can not remember. A broken cry of distress almost slipped pass his clenched teeth at the thought of him having now ruined what little a connection he had left to the nameless child.

Hastily he managed to pry himself from the errors corroding his systems, and turned his sunken head up from staring at the tips of his boots. Yet, he was not greeted to the sight of Belle standing there was crossed arms glowering at him in stewing anger like he thought he would see... Instead his flushed companion was wearing a softer expression then before that he did not understand just like so many other things this night.

"I see, so you did watch the tape when I was gone, but I just don't understand... Why you would do that after you told me we'd do it together? Even after the way I saw you were getting so scared of everything you were learning you chose to do that on your own-and then you chose not to call me or let me help you with whatever happened here..." Belle's cautious words stopped when she took a steady intake of breath, but he knew he had heard her emotions thickening in her throat. Her gentle reminder of that tiny vow between them, of watching it together, hadn't gone over his head though, and the guilt settled itself further inside his ports and parts.

Rumplestiltskin wanted to lower his head once more to hide behind his gnarly hair from her sight if it could have helped him. The machine felt his own anxiousness thrumming down each of his wires, begging him to go running off to his hide away to curl up inside the comfort of darkness. He didn't want to have to endure the failure of disappointing Belle yet again with his obvious cowardice that she could so easily see. But he chose to keep himself stock still in place to await and receive the lashing he knew he deserved. Watching the tape by himself was his first mistake of many he has made in these last few hours, but it was his failure to call her after he terrified Henry to the point of running when as he faulted that was far worse than anything else.

"Why didn't you call me Rumple? About the tape or Henry or any of this-don't you trust me?"

The hurt glimmering in Belle's eyes and spreading its way across her features, from her scrunched brows to her tightly pressed lips, was more powerful and invoking than any demand could ever be. His twitching hands longed to reach out and make right what he'd done wrong as they flinched at his side, but he knew that no action could equal the words that he needed to say. Before he knew it, just like how a flood of emotions had poured out of Belle as she held onto him not too long ago, everything he felt came gushing out of the cords and speakers in his throat.

"Belle, I'm sorry I did all of that! That I watched it without you, and that I didn't call you when I need-needed you-I truly am! I just-I just wanted to prove to you-to me, that I could handle these things on my own!" As Rumplestiltskin sputtered out his feelings and sparked the broken sensation at the corner of his eye sockets with their intensity he failed to notice Belle edging closer to him. "You're so brave, and you take care of yourself so well without anyone's help at all-you don't even need me! But I on the other hand can't... I just wanted to show you that maybe I could be brave like you think I am-"

Instinctively he flinched back when one of Belle's now ungloved hands suddenly stretched upwards and near his awful gaping jaw. It was almost laughable how a simple act like that could make him recoil as if she was the one out the two of them who could break through bones and tear living beings apart with ease. Though he didn't doubt for a minute she could do that to something like him without having to lift a finger. Not a single human before had ever made him feel so conscious, so willing to try to change for both their sakes, or made him crave to be one of them as she did. Deep down he knew the slightest hint of her becoming disgusted or loathing of him would be enough to destroy him, rendering him only a walking pile of scrapped parts once more.

The uncertainty bared on her fair face made his ever present doubt settle in as it always did. Even though she tried to quickly reach for his cheek again he kept away from her finger's touch with a single backwards step. He couldn't bare such a pleasant pressure when he knew what was coming now-the inevitable conclusion to every bond he somehow manages to make, and it makes his gears twist in opposite directions against one another.

'She's finally going to reject me now-she's going to throw me away and leave me here to rot alone! Because I failed her again-I failed-just like him-like the boy I lost-I failed-I failed-'

Even though Belle's pale hand remained raised in the air she didn't administer a harsh slap against his face like he thought she might. There was no bashing his head about as he's endured before either, nor did the young woman go about screaming and spitting at his horrid existence or fuming at his worthlessness. All his dearest did was avert her pained eyes from his and slip both of her arms around his torso in a quick movement he hadn't been prepared for. Without a care or flicker of repulsion she leaned towards him and buried her face into the exposed crook of his neck, choosing to nestle her nose between his scaly metal hull and silk shirt.

The machine could only emit a faint gasp as he tried to understand what was happening against all his previous predictions. With a blink of his artificial eyes it became crystal clear for the past memories of long ago human interactions faded away with her comforting embrace.

This was the one of a kind Belle he had just been thinking about. She was his beloved companion, his noble knight, and best friend if he could be granted such a gift... Belle wasn't like the others of her kind that he had known in the few short years he existed amongst them when it seemed all humans could do was stare at him in horror, fear, and apathy.

She wasn't expecting him to be this perfect 'toy' or lifeless contraption that she could toss aside or have torn apart when he failed to meet the expectations of a useful machine. Just like he never expected her to be some unshakable force that was undisturbed and unaffected by anything at all... Because tonight she had been affected. She'd been shaken to her core several times by her own fears and doubts, and that incredible strength of hers could only go so far.

"I'm so, so, sorry if I made you feel that way Rumple... I had no clue..." Belle managed to say after she released a tiny choked sound against his neck that made Rumplestiltskin tense in place. "But then again I left you to sit here all alone after-after all the awful things we read in those letters... I'm such a terrible excuse of a friend! I should have taken you with me-or I-I should have made sure that you were going to be okay!"

He couldn't help the sad smile that pushed up against his silicone cheeks, because that was most definitely the Belle he knew wrapped around his unsightly form. She would be the one person who would feel guilty when she's done her possible best and nothing wrong at all.

With innate tenderness he reached up with his own shaking hands and slowly curled his arms around her once more. Even though her puffy coat was in the way he could sense the pressure of her form against his outsides, 'feeling' for himself that she was there with him. Yet, it was knowing for sure that Belle, with how worn out and tired as she was now, still wasn't sickened by him or resentful of him that made the ache in the wires by his eyes start to burn in sheer relief.

"I'm so sorry, please don't apologize my dearest-I'm the one who should be groveling at your feet... Everything is going to be okay now though, both Henry and I are right here with you safe and sound. R-Remember how I promised you before you left that I'd be right here when you got back-I-I kept my word..." The imp whispered into the crown of Belle's rich auburn hair as his lips had drawn near her forehead. His frightening desires were returning again, wishing him to kiss her skin and give back all the comfort she has given him, but he refused to indulge his selfish cravings for her.

"Augh! Rumple! " Belle's sudden tired groan filled the empty space around them as her rosy face tilted up closer towards his. "You did promise me that, but I keep thinking of how you went out there all on your own and almost got hurt because I wasn't there! I had a bad feeling this entire night, and of course when I ran out to protect the people close to me I only failed to help them..." Belle whimpered before she leant back enough from the mechanical man to wipe the back of her hand at the tear glistening down her cheek. "I didn't want to leave you because I knew you were suffering from all those letters and that darn tape looming over your head, but I didn't stop myself to ask if you were alright before I went running off. That one act nearly got you killed and Henry hurt or worse."

"Listen to me, nothing is your fault here. You couldn't have known what was going to happen tonight, nor could I, and even Henry had no idea what was going on when he ran here to Avonlea…" Rumplestiltskin tried to reassure her again, but his train of thought was broken when he saw said young boy reaching out his hand towards Belle. The security guard pulled back from him somewhat to look down and see Henry tugging gently at the sleeve of her coat, though they both noticed his vision was pinned upon the checkered floor.

"I-I'm sorry that I've caused you and Rumplestiltskin so much trouble Belle. I didn't mean to startle you by being here, and I didn't mean to get him almost killed because of what I did… I did-didn't want to cause anyone pain…" Henry began apologizing and this caused the imp's split eyebrows to give a small 'clack' as they flew up the tracks in his head. Just when he was about to inform the boy that he hasn't done anything to cause him any sort of trouble-for that was the one thing the scrapped animatronic was good enough at doing all on his own, Belle's voice rose up before his.

"Oh-Henry, I'm sorry for all that yelling I just did, and you've done nothing wrong regarding this here." The beauty motioned between her and Rumplestiltskin while the boy raised his head and gave a slight sniffle before she continued. "You see I've just been out there worried sick about you when I heard the news you were missing, and… I-I became worried for Rumplestiltskin too when I heard you had been seen at Avonlea. He's far more than a machine as you probably already know by now, and he's someone very, very, dear to me-I don't know what I do if I ever lost him…"

Belle glanced back at him then, focusing her warm sky blue eyes on the imp's own amber that drew him nearer to her even if it wasn't physically.

Rumplestiltskin couldn't stop the strange burning sensation that drifted through his plates and buried itself in his chest at her words. To hear for himself and from her flushed lips… That she felt the same way about him as he did for her in that regard, and that he was not alone in finding 'someone special'-that she had chosen 'him'… It sent all his systems soaring and threatening to short out his entire body from the pure joy tearing through his coding. However, the spark between them lasted only a moment longer before Belle was looking back down at Henry, and Rumplestiltskin was left to fight back his growing desire to nuzzle his welded slab of a nose against the side of her head.

"So... You're really not mad at me for what I did-that I snuck into Avonlea without you knowing?" Henry asked her in a hushed tone as he clutched at his drooping book bag in an anxious manner.

Belle turned around entirely to face Henry better, but kept one hand pressed against part of Rumplestiltskin's chest peeking out of his shirt, making the gears right underneath her touch spin even faster.

"No, I'm not mad at you about that... In fact, I think I at least understand why you chose to come here even if I might not know why you ran away from home. Avonlea was a special place to me when I was kid too, and coincidentally I ran away once when I was about the same age as you. I ended up right here at Avonlea as well and got myself stuck inside here for a whole night without anyone on the outside knowing." The worn security guard told the boy all this while managing to keep up a smile, though Rumplestiltskin could see the past shimmer across her lidded eyes.

It sets off that night fourteen years ago in his own memory banks as well, sparking lost sensations and promises he made back then in the dead of night with a child just like this one here. It was baffling to the animatronic how these heartbroken kids kept getting drawn into Avonlea in the dead of night in search of comfort and peace. Their loneliness seemed to draw them to his prison's seemingly cheery walls and hopeful facade when all he's known living here for twenty eight years is just that-isolation. Yet, what was more improbable and unbelievable was the fact that both Belle and Henry had met him-the frightening beast lurking inside these halls, and had changed his entire world without having the slightest clue what they'd done.

"No way! I ran here to Avonlea so that I could talk to you, but why did you run away to Avonlea back then?" Henry gasped at her as if he was shocked anyone would ever have the same idea as him, and Belle just chuckled a bit in response with that beautiful laugh of hers.

"Well..." Belle began before taking a moment to pause and brush back some of her winding locks of hair that had curled over her shoulder. "At the time I was hurting deeply over my mother who had passed away three years previously on that same day that I ran from home... And even though it's been well over a decade since it happened it's a wound that still hurts me even now... For you see she..."

There was a slight tremble to her faint voice at the end, but the animatronic already knew she was becoming distressed as her small hand resting against him pressed harder into his shell. "She had suffered long term depression through out her life and had grown physically sick as well after an unfortunate accident... Her suffering became too great in the months afterwards, but we saw the warning signs too late and... She decided to take her own life. I was so young at the time I didn't understand why, and though now I understand as an adult as a child it had felt as if she had chosen to leave me and my father behind..."

Belle's voice had sturdied itself there at the end as did the expression across her face which softened to a simple smile and relaxed brows. It was as if what she had said was just reasonable boring old facts like 'why the sky is blue' than the pain she had long endured and kept buried within herself.

But with those words Rumplestiltskin had felt all his servos lock up and completely freeze him in place, staring wide eyed at the human unnoticeably trembling against his metal frame.

He didn't know this part of the story-of Belle's story. Just not long ago on a rainy night she had admitted to him that her mother had parted this world as all humans will eventually do, but she had not told him any 'how' or 'why'. Rumplestiltskin never would've guessed just how terrible Belle's mother death had been, for she made it seem like it wasn't something that mattered... But it did matter. He'd never inquired further into the subject before because, as he always somehow knew, there had been pain coiling itself through her entire body despite her having tried so hard to conceal it when she had spoke.

Yet, even now he saw past her fair smile and built exterior, seeing the hurting child inside who had ran off with only her jacket and her favorite book given to her by the woman long departed.

Without even a thought to it one of his lifeless hands reached up to touch Belle's living one, earning the tight grasp of her curled fingers around his cold digits. His dearest was looking more worn out than he'd ever seen her before, but Belle continued her story with her hand clenched in his.

"That day I ran away here in Storybrooke was on the anniversary of her death... I had felt so alone and heartbroken that she was gone, and that I couldn't see even her grave, that I ran away without thinking about my papa and how worried he'd be about me. As you know when I snuck into Avonlea I got locked in, but I was lucky in the fact that I met someone who protected me as well as looked after me till Avonlea opened up-the person who in the future had come to be my best friend." Belle's flushed lips flickered up into a fragile, but oh so real smile at the corner of her mouth before she leaned in a bit closer to the boy to whisper-though the mechanical man could easily hear her still. "Turns out you'll find just who you need when you least expect it, and Rumple was that for me... You know, despite seeming to be scary I've found he's got a heart of gold deep down in there though he doesn't like to admit it."

"Yeah, I think so too." Henry whispered back in agreement before he smiled happily as well.

Now it was the animatronic's turn to squeeze Belle's fingers back in hopes it might help stop the flood of emotions gushing through him.

"But, I also learned that running away from your problems while hoping that it fixes things won't help, and it won't change anything like how you want it to be. You have to be honest and tell people how you feel for anything to change for the better or to understand why things are the way they are." Belle's tone had become orderly then, but she remained kind as she slipped her fingers out from the animatronic's and placed her hands at her hips. "What I did years ago was just as reckless as what you've done tonight, and you've made lots and lots of people worry about you, especially Emma. In fact-I need to do the right thing myself and go call her so that both she and Regina can know you're safe."

Immediately Belle fished her phone out from within her coat pocket and started to press its tiny buttons which beeped in time with her taps.

Rumplestiltskin watched on in nervous curiosity but caught the soft asking glance his dutiful knight casted between him and the boy. Henry had seemed to grow downtrodden in the spare seconds with Belle dialing Emma's number, and the animatronic was sure he knew why. It was time for the kid to face his own inevitable conclusion-the return home and multiple scoldings as well as groundings he was about to get. Belle's free hand brushed across Rumplestiltskin's chest once more in a reassuring manner before she stepped away from them as her phone started to echo a dial tone down the hall. It left the equally worn out imp to turn back to the boy holding onto his backpack with a loose grip as if to drop it and make another dash to freedom.

A few seconds later the two could hear Belle suddenly speaking in the background as she managed to get a hold of Emma and share the good news. Emma's own frantic voice could be heard from even where the boy and the machine stood, and poor Belle had to try to keep up with the rapid muffles coming from her phone. Yet, it didn't slip past Rumplestiltskin's keen monstrous eyes when he saw Henry's head perk up at the chattering as if straining to hear everything being said.

"You should tell Emma and Regina how you feel Henry." The imp informed the boy out of the blue, who looked back up to him with his soft brown eyes that spoke volumes when he did not. "Even if you feel like Emma wouldn't care to hear you out, and I can tell she does care about you so much, you need to make yourself heard-and with this other mother of yours too. There is no way anything can change if you don't even try to make anything different, take it from me after all!" He tittered a bit and drew his clawed fingers about in the air for a whimsical effect. "My whole world didn't change at all for twenty five years till I took a chance and opened myself up to Belle and let her in, despite all... The horrible things I've done in the past... So if there's even the slightest chance for me to be happy then there has to be one for you."

As his voice fell away there was a peaceful lull between them filled with only the creaking of Avonlea and Belle faintly ending the call down the hall with a clatter of her phone. Henry with his little coat and scarf looped about his neck, dirtied and tired, looked so small and out of place in this contained dark world around them. But it was the hope in his faint growing smile that made Rumplestiltskin in all honesty glad they had somehow come to meet this lonesome strange night.

"Yeah, you're right, heroes don't just get handed happy endings anyways, and I think you can be happy too Rumplestiltskin. Even if you did something bad once that doesn't mean you're a villain for life... I say you're one of the good guys now, and I know you'll find that boy you're looking for-I believe in you." Henry managed an even cheerier smile at that, and it made the ruffled imp smile hard till the hints of his blackened teeth showed in return.

"I... I hope I can find that boy too-buuttttt!" The imp sang before pointing a segmented digit at the child who grew obviously confused at his sudden change in behavior. "I don't think 'saving the day' and 'charming heroics' is my style I'm afraid. I'll stick to what I do best-deal making and lingering on the side lines... Along with keeping a rather unknowing 'knight' on the tips of her toes for sport." Rumplestiltskin was the one to whisper down to the boy now, but it elicited the response he was after when a playful scoff came from behind the pair. Together him and Henry chuckled between themselves as the tired looking 'knight-guard' crossed her arms with her flush lips drawn thin into an unamused line.

"Alright you two this 'knight' might not know what you're up to but Emma told me she's already in her car right now and headed this way. She's going to be taking care of picking Henry up, but with how worried she said Regina is we might possibly have the whole town at our back door soon." Belle explained as she approached the duo. Discretely Rumplestiltskin gave her a slight nod, imitating her glance from earlier, to which she nodded gratefully in response.

"I know it's been an exciting night getting to meet Rumple and... Oh boy, almost falling off a cliff into the local river, but are you ready to head on home? I know for a fact your loved ones are more than ready for you to come back." Belle turned her focus back to Henry who was looking far more tired and willing to return home now with the dawning hours passing by (Rumplestiltskin himself was impressed the boy hadn't passed out at this rate with how his eyes drooped).

"I'm not ready to face the grounding I'm about to get, but I can't runaway forever right?"

"No one can runaway from anything forever, but if you ever need someone to talk to someone about anything at all you can always come find me. Take note that it might not be best for everyone to do so in the middle of the night though." Belle laughed a bit in that pretty sound before seeming to come up with an idea which Rumplestiltskin could tell from the way her mouth formed a sudden 'o'. "I'm sure that he would love to be able to talk with you too about things, wouldn't you Rumple?" Belle tilted her head towards him, spilling her frazzled curls about her back and looking at him from under her long lashes that had him under her thrall without any struggling on his part.

Not that she would need to worry about him not agreeing to such a request, it was in his programming to make kids happy after all.

"Yes! I think that's an excellent idea, but I'm trying to figure out how we could do that with my constant... Predicament." The imp hummed a bit as he thought it over, letting his odd unplaceable song drift from his throat before an idea of his own jumped into place. "We could exchange letters if you'd like! Belle could find a way to deliver them between the two of us, and that way we could keep in touch-secretly mind you. We can do that till I'm out of here at least, I promise."

It was rare that Rumplestiltskin ever saw the light of day, but he swore with the way Henry's face began to beam in utter delight that this boy was far brighter than any sun.

"That would be so awesome! We'd be exchanging messages kind of like how actual secret agents do! You can write to me about how Avonlea is in your letters, and I'll tell you all about Storybrooke when I write so you'll be ready for it when you do leave someday! We could even make a code name for our operations and our own aliases to protect our identities." Henry blurted out, looking more than just pleased with these turn of events with his newly enthused bouncing around.

"That sounds like an ingenious plan you two, and I will gladly be the postal carrier for you as well as the night guard." Belle remarked in fun, but Rumplestiltskin saw the way her face faltered a bit as she looked down at the screen of her phone. "Shoot, as fun as this is we need to keep an eye out for your mom Henry. Emma could be here any minute now so we better wait outside for her just incase."

"You're right... But..." The boy mumbled and as he frowned he glanced back to Rumplestiltskin who himself was feeling a sense of... Sadness smothering over their previous bought of joy. "I guess this means goodbye for now Rumple."

An odd sensation just as before, like something awful had fallen into the hollow portions of his neck and lodged itself there, began to rise up within the mechanical man. He knew he experienced a moment like this somewhat before when Belle as a child had been found that night fourteen years ago-but he couldn't subdue the sparking fear that was trying to crawl back up into his processors.

"Yeah, but I think we'll see each other again... So just... Don't f-forget about me-or else I'll have to come hunt you down myself to remind you! No one breaks a deal with Rumplestiltskin including little knights in training." The imp bared a bit of his jaw full of sharp metal bits, but Henry just crossed his arms with book bag in tow and shook his head.

"What are you going to do, take my first born? I know your fairytale by heart, and I'm only ten-you'd have to wait a long while before you got any possible kid of mine!"

"Alright, alright. I decree with my higher ranking status and title that there will be no taking of any first borns and there shall be no forgetting about any promises." Belle informed them both as she pocketed her phone and then set a hand with a quiet 'pat' upon Henry's shoulder. The imp pivoted his head towards her with a 'clack', wanting to rebuttal against her claim at having a higher title than him-he'd been around far longer than her after all and who was she to... But no, he didn't say a word further as his eyes lit up in dawning horror. Clamping down his hinged jaw he remained quietly in place when he realized that all he was doing was trying to keep them both lingering at his side when he knew they could not.

It seemed at the end of it all even he still had to face the inevitable outcome of this night as much as he didn't want to.

"I'll..." He began, noticing that amongst the three of them he was the one who needed to send them off. "I'll go to the break room and watch over you two from the window there! So go on-get out of here and get home, let's hope you don't get sick after all of this." He teased to Henry and the boy managed a smile for him even if there was distinct type of sadness still lingering in one so young.

"I sure hope not."

With effort Rumplestiltskin watched from his planted spot against the floor as Belle managed to turn Henry away, nudging him ever so slightly towards the direction where the back door loomed. With the flash light still clasped in one of her hands it lit the way for them and illuminated their world while he sank into the gaining darkness of the hallway. Yet, he could see with his own glowing eyes how the boy gave him one last look before reaching out his hand to take the one his dearest had offered him to hold. Hand in hand the two swaddled humans strolled from him upon echoing steps that caused his clicking parts to groan in protest with every beat-pushing him to move-to go after-to stop this to...

To stop them from leaving him.

('NO... YOU... CAN'T... CAN'T... GIVE...')

('-m afraid I can't do that-')

Rumplestiltskin blinked his metal eyelids in confusion as he continued to watch Belle and Henry disappear even further from his sight. Where had those strange thoughts and voices he didn't recognize suddenly come from? He knows he's never seen what he just imaged flicker through his head ever before... Has he? Despite not being sure the momentary flicker of a man without a face... In a clean white coat... With an eerily familiar purple tie filled his vision as it burned itself into his system, but the memory or imagery-whatever it was invoked a response from his programing immediately.

(#%R*01-A: ATTEMPTING TO ESTABLISH A CONNECTION. ERROR. ZOSO|PROTOCOL ENGAGED. IMPLEMENTING D#%:E*. RESTRICTIONS BEING SET. SERVOS LOCKING.)

Something within the animatronic sparked then, and it sent his electromagnetically formed mind spinning in an attempt to reel away from the shocking images that had begun to filter through. In the darkness he felt the ever present eyes that haunted him watching it all too, curling themselves up about their broken forms and just as frozen as him in their inability to do anything but scream out in twisted cries. He didn't understand what he was feeling or experiencing as it tore through him, but he knew it was still as frightening as every time before and that he wanted to be able to move his body with all his might in hopes to escape it.

Yet, all his servos had locked themselves in place, rendering him immobile to the point he might as well be a statue stuck in perpetual torment to gaze upon in horror.

('-BACK... TO... ME... GIVE...')

('-u're not safe for him to be arou-just can't let my-son get hu-')

With another blink of his artificial eyes Rumplestiltskin saw the thin but long hallway shift and change with the loud buzzing in his skull screeching in protest. Where Belle and Henry walked became a vast empty room, without the familiar checkered tile floor nor the poster covered walls he had come to memorize but filled with indescribable things, machines, and objects he couldn't recognize at all. It flickered back and forth as his vision attempted to shift between modes, inverting and reverting, flipping colors inside out and make him want to scream in pure confusion though his vocal box couldn't make anything more than a faint crackled groan. There was nothing he could do as he remained stuck in place with his arms, fingers, and legs being bent in broken like positions forced upon him by the program running amok inside.

('-LIED... LIED... WE... HAD... A... A... A... A...')

('-nd I'm keeping to it-wanted-')

There was quick flashes of the nameless lost boy-the one from the tape-the one he must have once knew so well, being taken away by the man with an abyss in the center of his head with his little hand in his larger one. These frightened Rumplestiltskin beyond reasonable belief, and yet somehow he knows he has seen these sights before more than once. It didn't end there. His terror grew tenfold when the scene changed and in the small boy's place was both Henry and Belle being taken away by this ghost like figure. The two of them were being lead towards the wall of light-hand in hand with the unknown man-into the world he couldn't follow them after-the light he wasn't meant to have embrace his horrid body, or to see with outside these walls, or to...

Be with them... Where they belonged and he did not.

(DA^#01-A: FORMING A CONNECTION. CRITICAL ERROR. CRITICAL ERROR. SYSTEM BREACH. FAILURE TO CONTAIN. OVERRIDE-DAG:ER SUBJUGATING.)

It almost hurt, the way the programming began to rip through whatever he was within the machinery he dwelled.

But nothing hurt more than the realization of what was soon to come.

('WE... HAD... A... DEAL.')

Everyone he ever cared about he always lost or had torn from him...

They were taking them away from him just the same...

Always... Always... It. Made. Him. So. Angry.

He swore he'd make them pay.

For how they took the boy.

The boy... The boy...

B...

('Looks like you made a deal you didn't understand.')

'THUD!'

A sudden sound, quickly processed by his receptors as being the back door closing shut-but too loud in such silence, rattled the machine from the haywire machinery screaming in his skull.

Everything within his vision snapped back to normal, leaving him recoiling and trembling back in the ordinary hallway of Avonlea he has always known. With a loud pop his servos released their strenuous hold against his limbs and let them grow slack, but he lost all understanding of the mysterious program that had appeared when it relinquished its control over him. For when the programming disappeared Rumplestiltskin felt the echoes of the voices he didn't know sink into the depths of his mind to rest in their binary graves.

But it was what he saw that was terrorizing him more than anything else.

The people he cared about being taken from him. It hurt too much, it was the most frightening thing he's seen yet in the hellish scape that was his world.

'Belle... Henry... I... Don't-don't go... Don't leave me...'

It was just an illusion-a horribly crafted nightmare out of broken wires and runaway electrical pulses, nothing more and nothing less. However it had done more than just cause him momentary paralysis and left him crumbling to the floor upon his knees as he was now. The flashes were a reminder or a forewarning of what would be his reality if he choose to keep walking down this path. Perhaps he was insane in that aspect, the cruel possibility made him smile though it was hardly out of joy, for if he kept expecting a different outcome to happen when he knew the results there could be no other explanation.

'I keep forgetting... I keeping holding onto the idea that my existence can be more than just this... Shameful excuse for 'living'. That I can find someone or people to... To stay... To want me... I keep building up more and more hope that things will change.' Rumplestiltskin's pained smile fell and turned into a grimace bearing all the pain his metal hinged jaw and facial mechanics could across his artificial face. After a few seconds of fighting against these struggling emotions he rose to his feet upon clattering limbs before starting to shuffle the opposite way down the hall towards the break room.

There's been so many promises made tonight, so many he wants to keep with everything that he is but he knows they won't be no matter how hard he tries. It stings because he's already setting himself up for too much that could all slip away in a single second. Staying by Belle's side for as long as she wanted him, finding the nameless boy who must have meant something to him to cause him this much agony, having his own freedom from hiding in this walls-all these things are what he desired but knows is far more than what a broken monster like him deserves. Even if he'd managed to not ruin another life tonight nor scar them with his horror it didn't mean he was still not the thing that has caused so much pain and hurt so many with their blood rusting down his mechanical innards.

He knows this. The animatronic that follows him in all his reflections is still there, lurking in the panel of clear glass-the one that he had come to a stop beside as he had been startled yet again by the sudden movement that was only him.

Rumplestiltskin cringed at the small fleeting sight of his ugly face in the pane to the kids entertainment area, but quickly looked away to spare himself as his systems returned under his control. It was just another cruel reminder of what he couldn't forget and what he knows can never be. It all remains despite the years that have passed-the sins that stain him, the endless fear tormenting him, and the reality that no amount of wishful thinking, no 'fairy godmothers', or 'true loves kiss' could ever cure.

Nothing will ever change.

Not for something like him.

—

It's been a crazy night.

So much more crazy, wild, and frightening then the small woman named Belle French could have ever thought possible. Between the old letters she's found of Mr. Getto's and the unknown man named Zoso, to the the alarming bits of Rumplestiltskin's past being brought to light, and to her now awaiting the reunion of a runaway child and their mother she's ready for her world to return to normalcy.

Well, as normal as her world was anymore-not that she would alter or change it for a single moment.

With a shy glance Belle turned her head from the cold empty parking lot and Henry standing beside her to the break room window where the blinds had opened. Sure enough, thanks to the dim light from the sole lamp post outside, the beauty could see the shape and figure of someone at the pane of glass. Rumplestiltskin stood there looking out towards both her and the boy with his glowing eyes as piercing as the very edge of dawn purging the darkness. Yet, knowing he was there comforted her jittery nerves and made the woman swaddled in her puffy coat relax a bit more with each shared glance and soft smile between them.

After all that has happened tonight he's alright, but she still needs some reassurance from him to still her throbbing heart. Perhaps he wasn't completely alright with how frightened he had looked as they had left him, but he is... Nothing bad has become of her mechanical man even through faults and glitches and terrifying situations. Henry was fine too, safe from any harm or danger a kid could get into in the middle of the night, and she couldn't be more happy about it.

Though there still remained the fact both of them nearly fell of a cliff into a river and meet a grisly end that had her heart and nerves racing off again.

'When I get back inside I'm still going to need to scold Rumple about that as well as him attempting to watch that tape without me! Why does he think he has to do all these things on his own to prove himself-ah... I don't have much room to talk in that regard, but he must know that I care for him just as he is... Fears, claws, and all.' Belle huffed to herself under her breath that rose into the night air as a wisp, but she slipped back into tired contentment when she found she couldn't stay mad at him. 'Despite making some bad choices he was very brave tonight with leaving Avonlea and going after Henry to make sure he was alright. And he thinks he's not able to be brave when he is so often! What a strange being my Rumple is...'

Belle jerked away from her far off thoughts when a muffled chirp rose up from her coat pocket to shatter the stillness of the outside world. Upon withdrawing her phone she's greeted to a new text message alert at the top of the screen. It's from Ruby, and as the worn night guard scrolls through the message the young boy at her side inconspicuously tries to peer over her arm to read it as well.

"Who was that from? Was it my mom?" Henry asked as he glanced up to her, appearing to be the one more worried now with how his eyebrows had risen.

"No, it was just from Ruby, she wrote to say that she's glad to hear you've been found and that Emma's tearing through town and will be here any second-it's a good thing she's the deputy. Also, she wanted me to give you an earful for making her and Granny as worried as they've been tonight about you, but I think you'll have more than a earful from your parents later." Belle reminded him, earning a rather sheepish look from the boy who reminded her a bit of the imp lingering and watching over them a few feet away.

"I know I will, even though I've already got a good talking to from you and Rumplestiltskin. But it's so weird... He'd made a pretty good dad if he was… You know, human and stuff." The brown haired boy sighed in dejection, but it's what he said that sent the beauty off into into a state of alarm.

'Oh no-I forgot about one huge important fact! Henry knows about Rumple's existence now! I might be about to send him off and then find Mr. Getto and the whole town raising arms over at Avonlea to get rid of Rumplestiltskin when they break off the search party!' The beauty realized, making her eyes fling wide open and a flicker of shock dart across her rosy features. Honestly, she doubted she'd ever see a mob raising pitchforks and torches hurrying about Storybrooke towards Avonlea like some scene in a horror movie, but that didn't stop the idea of a hunting party for her animatronic from making her skin crawl.

"Now Henry before you go we need to talk about something very important." Belle hastily spoke, deepening her accent a bit, as she set a hand on his shoulder to keep him focused. "Now you already know Rumple is dear to me-that he's my best friend in the whole world, but as he's probably told you I'm the only one who knows about him right now. I need you to promise me that you won't mention anything about him to Regina, or Emma or anyone at all. In order for me to keep him safe I need him to remain a secret till he can leave Avonlea and live with me, and that means no one else can know... Just incase they might not-you know..."

It comes back then, the doubt that continues to haunt her every night when she lays her head to sleep and leaves every conversation between other people an inch too short of a proper connection.

Out of all the humans in the world and the few she's met and known she has chosen someone not physically human in the slightest to have part of her tender heart without realizing it till tonight. She's given it to a machine, no... To a man who could be so easily taken from her or lost from within her reach, leaving her to suffer quietly alone like she had as a child which was a way of life she didn't want to experience again. The mere thought of loosing Rumplestiltskin was more painful than her crippling fears of loneliness though, it was enough to make her heart clench in agony because it meant that she would never see the man she's... She's...

She's not sure... But she knows what she feels for Rumplestiltskin is beyond the bounds of companionship or any type of friendship she's felt before.

In that moment Henry noticed her straining emotions despite the security guard putting on her best face to keep it contained.

He smiled at her confidently, like he knew exactly what he was doing and that she had nothing at all to fear, so much like her imp. "Don't worry Belle, I don't plan to tell anyone about him, not even Emma since it might cause harm. I don't want to get Rumple hurt or end up endangering you two, so on a secret agents honor I will keep this entire event classified."

"Thank you, I hope someday that maybe the three of us could actually hang together, but properly and during the day time." The young woman released a short chuckle for she couldn't help but imagine such a thing like that coming to be-a happier time with the three of them spent in a warm spring day than in this cold winter night. There could be a world with Rumplestiltskin by her side within the sun, happy and free from the darkness that shackled him-along with Henry, perhaps Emma too, or Graham, Ruby, and her father enjoying life…

It was the perfect dream, and Belle opened her eyes that had almost closed in her pretending to the current reality that remained as it was.

"That would be nice, and oh... Belle..." A mitten covered hand patted at her own resting on his shoulder, seeming to want to reassure her instead. "I'm sorry that you got hurt a long time ago bad enough to want to runaway, but I'm glad that you understand. It's nice that someone does, and somehow I knew you would."

"Things happen for a reason, and I say what has happened here tonight is no different, though a bit unconventional." With a step the beauty rose back to full height before looking at the horizon of sky that was still so dark and yet would soon be alight with the dawning sun. "When I ran to Avonlea all those years ago Rumplestiltskin had watched out for me without me even knowing he was there. On accident he had kept my most favorite book I had taken in there with me-it was a book my mother gave me, the last true thing I had of her, and I was devastated to have lost it. But, it turns out that book was just what Rumple needed to give him hope while he remained all alone, and now tonight it was you who helped him."

Henry stared at her in disbelief which was a common look he had worn this night, but it made Belle wonder if he had been loosing so much hope too. It's a saddening thought that made the young woman wish she could ensure him that it would never happen again.

"I did? B-But I didn't do anything-or give him anything like you did."

A glimmer of amusement crossed Belle's eyes as she recollected the happy smiles and affectionate expressions the mechanical man had worn when speaking to Henry. A being born of cold metal, without blood nor heart, had brought happiness to this boy. It was a task that he was so apt to even if he believed all he could do was cause pain and misery. Yet, without a single trace of fear Rumplestiltskin had teased Henry and had not suffered any of his 'fits' that he was constantly afraid would make him act out another tragedy like the one she knew so little about twenty five years ago.

So she nodded to Henry while brushing back a bit of her hair that was flying about by the cold air still tugging at them this late in the fading night. "You did more for him than you know. He's a pretty lonely guy wether he'll admit it or not, and I know he's still figuring out that he can count on me to care for him, but he was positive he could never befriend a child again after an accident he caused a long time ago… So you've made him pretty happy by being his friend-"

Suddenly their conversation came to a halt as the increasing sound of a rumbling engine and tires against pavement reached their ears. The duo looked to the adjacent road from the wide empty parking lot to see an old yellow bug rushing right towards Avonlea with all its might. With a harsh turn the car pulled itself up into the parking lot, flashing its bright headlights towards them, and causing Belle and Henry to put up their arms against the beams glaring in their faces. The small car came to a sharp stop, and in an instant the sound of a car door slamming shut broke the nights silence as Emma Swan herself came dashing over in her red leather jacket.

To Belle the sight was like a fairytale in someway with the hero rising from the blinding light to rescue her child in need, but there were no hungry dragons or evil queens here to fight-only a hidden mottled sorcerer and his tiny knight.

"Henry!"

"Emma!"

Belle stepped back as the blonde haired woman and the young boy raced to each other, and she watched them as they collided in a desperate hug brimming with worry and affection. Emma was the one to withdraw first though, and as she got down on her knees in front of Henry she brushed at his coat sleeves as if making sure he was alright.

"What the heck are you doing out here kid? I've-we've been looking for you for hours-we didn't know if you were even still in town! Why on earth did you runaway in the middle of the night like that?" The deputy started questioning in a rush while the security guard observed from the side lines. Distraught was evident in how tense Emma's stance was even before the kid, and yet Belle felt herself grow a bit... Jealous of the way the woman was so utterly worried over her child. She knew it was silly to feel that in such a way, but it was a concept to her so lost and almost foreign that it caused an ache to form within the hollow of her chest.

Brushing the ache aside Belle kept her eyes pinned to the back of Henry's head since it was all she could see of him and caught what the boy was saying in a strained voice. "I'm sorry Emma... I shouldn't have ran away after what I did to get to Manhattan to see you, but I didn't know what else to do. When Regina told me she wouldn't let us be together I got so upset that I thought all I could do was run away so that you'd..."

"Kid, we can find a way to hang in Avonlea some other time if that's what you want, and I'm sorry that I let you down like that yesterday. Regina and I don't see eye to eye, but that is no excuse for either of us behaving like that and you being treated this way in response." Emma seemed to emit a soft exhale at that as her worry began to subside and her usual rationality took its place.

"No-I... I don't want you to have to do anything with me because you feel sorry for me or because of Regina! If you don't want to stay here in Storybrooke then I don't want to be the one to keep you here. If you don't like me that's okay. I just wanted to get to know you and..." Henry trailed off after that, lifting a hand to brush against his face in a swift swipe, but it was clear to even Belle standing feet away that he was on the verge of tears again. The effect was contagious for the beauty felt water form at her eyes too in a mixture of her own past feelings as well as what that poor child must be enduring.

Henry's pain reminded her that she had spent many years after her mothers death questioning if she had ever been truly loved or wanted. Sometimes at night she'd lie awake in that small bed wondering if the person who once sat and read storybooks with her on the couch, baked cookies with on winter afternoons stuck inside, or had helped her plant the roses in their lost garden far from here had been suffering the entire time. Was each wonderful memory that Belle had stored away completely different then the ones her mother had collected? Had there been just not enough for Colette French to love in her tiny daughter or to hold onto after she lost another so precious?

These were all questions she had thought about so many times, but Belle was a grown up now with her own experiences with life and its cruelty. She knew why her life had shattered that day for years now, but even as an adult she sometimes still questioned just why things had to be...They way they turned out.

"What? I do like you Henry! Do you think I really don't want anything to do with you?" The alarm in Emma's voice pulled Belle away from her own clinging pain, and silently she watched as conflict darted across the deputy's strong features before she calmed again. "I'm not going to lie to you or make you hope for something I can't promise you. I'm not cut out to be a parent Henry or the person you need, but I do want to get to know you, and even if you rode a bus all the way to Boston-which is ridiculous and senseless, I'm glad you found me. If I somehow made you feel as if I don't care, I'm sorry."

There was a quiet moment nestled between them, and though the beauty barely saw Henry nod she saw a smile, genuine too, break over Emma's features in reply. As if realizing that they were not alone out in this desolate parking lot Emma rose back up to full height and faced Belle, appearing more serious then before but still softened around her edges.

"Belle, thank you for finding him and taking care of him. I hope he didn't cause you too much trouble sneaking into Avonlea. If there is any way I can repay you for looking after him-" Belle cut the other woman off with a slight wave of her hands, and Emma set her hands at her hips as the wind tugged at her blonde bouncing curls.

"He didn't cause me any trouble at all and don't worry about it. If anything all I want is for him and you to be safe at home out of this awful cold, Avonlea'snot the warmest place to be stuck in at night." Henry looked at her with a secret knowing look and the trusty knight shot him a playful wink. "Now he's already gotten an earful so far, but I'm sure he still has much more he needs to say as well as you do."

"Oh yeah, we're not done talking about this at all." Ms. Swan shot a strict gaze down towards the young boy standing by her side who was once again peering over his scarf like it could hide from the trouble he was about to get into. "And Regina is going to kill me for sure this time if I don't get you back asap." With one last look Emma nodded her thanks towards the security guard, looking fairly happy despite being out in such a wretched temperatures as well as this late in the morning. "Thank you again for taking care of him Belle and have a good rest of your night-sorry we pulled you away from work."

"Ah, Avonlea is still intruder free and nothing's broken so I say that's good enough, and same to you both."

Emma turned to lead her and the kid to the car still rumbling away, but she was kept from moving forward when Henry remained firmly in place. "Wait! Let me say goodbye to Belle please!" He pleaded before running back over to the shivering knight and plowing into her comfy coated stomach with out stretched arms. Belle laughed a bit at the tight embrace from one so small but put her hands around the boy too, leaning down enough so she could squeeze him and set her head against the fly away hairs on the top of his.

"Thanks again Belle, and tell Rumple thanks for me too-he's not as bad as he thinks he is." Henry whispered to her, and Belle tenderly nodded, promising herself she would be sure to be go back and give Rumplestiltskin another round of the boy's praise. Just as Henry was about to let her go he stopped halfway in motion, letting her get a glance of a playful smirk that spread its way across his red cheeks.

"By the way... I can tell by the way he talks about you that he loves you just as much as you love him. So don't think he wouldn't be sad if he lost you too. Bye!" He was quiet till the last departing shout of 'good bye', but Belle was far more startled by his hushed words than any sudden bellow he produced.

And just like that Henry released her and bounded back over to Emma waiting by the car, leaving the security guard to stand in place with heat shooting up into her cold wind-nipped cheeks.

'Henry thinks Rumple and I are in l-love each other? W-What!' But-what-I couldn't be-'

The flabbergasted beauty didn't have time to stop and think the alarming idea over with the boy and the town deputy departing.

"Oh-good bye!"

Together mother and son returned to the car that was purring steadily and ready to take them far away from the darkened fun center and back to their homes where they belonged. Henry shot Belle one last glance before crawling into the passengers seat and closing the door, and the young woman managed to fight off the watery sensation prickling at her eyes to wave them both off. There she stood alone under the single lamppost upon the vast parking lot, watching as the bug rolled onto the street before taking off back into the rest of Storybrooke. The quiet returned when the whirring of wheels was long gone, and Belle shivered at the gale creeping across her bare portions of skin before deciding to retreat Avonlea.

She noticed the break room window was empty of any shadowed figures when she tugged at her coat and returned to the backdoor, locking it up tight and arming the alarm system behind her. The young woman felt glad to be back inside the fairly warmer halls she has grown used to patrolling, and as she peeled off her gloves she planned to do just that. However, she was looking for someone very specific in her search, someone who might just be trying to hide from her after all that had happened tonight.

'He better just come out and face the music since we've still got things that need to be addressed, and I need to make sure he's actually okay.' Belle told herself while her foot steps echoed around and bounced down the hall. The beauty was more than just tired, but she was determined to face the remaining problems head on, starting with her beloved beast.

The security guard stopped in place at the junction of the hall, trying to hear if there were any of Rumplestiltskin's 'clacking' foot falls, but she heard nothing from either direction. Instinct naturally drew her left towards her office, and Belle was not surprised at all to see him in the dimly lit room when she peaked over the edge of the door frame. Her blue eyes softened at the sight of her companion once again sitting in front of the large TV that was against the wall, staring blankly into the screen that reflected back a distortion of his face. Yet, with his torn up shirt and ragged appearance the machine looked even less himself then before, like he'd somehow lost parts and pieces in the little time she'd been gone. It caused the guilt for abandoning him to grow even worse for the beauty despite her knowing that it was never intentional.

As Belle quietly inched over the frame she spotted something lying in the animatronic's open hands and near about to slip out of his fingers. Strewn across his lap, green gold palms, and the floor were strands of the ribbon like tape from the VHS slot.

When Belle had first ran into Avonlea after hearing the news Henry had been seen there she had been so sure if anything were to have happened Rumplestiltskin would be just where he was currently or in his hideaway to keep out of sight. So it came to her as a great surprise when she'd tore through the back door, down the hall, and into the empty office to see the destroyed VHS spewing forth from the previously blue screened TV. The sight had sent her mind spinning into a flurry of confusion and then dawning horror when she ran back out to call for him desperately.

Overall she still knew nothing about why anything had occurred like it had, but now she had an idea of what might have.

"I think it's ruined." The mechanical man suddenly spoke, and his voice startled Belle a bit from her spot hidden by the door. Sometimes she forgot Rumplestiltskin could hear far better than her so her walking down the hall must have been a dead give away.

Belle removed herself from the shadows of the doorframe, drew herself into the room, and tugged off her coat to set on her chair neatly on top of his leather one, though she noticed the torn up coat from the cabinet crumpled on the floor by her desk. Without a care she set herself down on the carpet right next to the mechanical man, and together they sat side by side without a word as her normal gaze and his luminous one peered at the blank surface of the TV that was displaying the unorthodox pair within its darkness.

Slowly Belle's bare fingers reached out and curled around a bit of the tape near her feet to inspect the damage. Parts of the film look warped, like out of the blue the device couldn't handle playing the video and had damaged it from faulting. It made the inquisitive side of her wonder if maybe the old TV was stuffed back into storage for a reason besides that it was in the way or out of date.

"Rumple, you couldn't have known it would have done this, but I do agree with you that it's an unfortunate loss... Part of your past is now... Just gone like that." Her voice hardly broke the silence, but she glanced over to her companion instead of the TV, wanting to see how he was coping with this knowledge.

Rumplestiltskin made that odd sigh of scraping metal while he bent his head forward, hiding his silicone face from her by a curtain of his wiry hair. "It wasn't the VCR, even if it is broken or at least it's not functioning right-not anymore... I had to use something else to watch the video from, and in my 'hope' to find answers... I in a bought of-incompetence chose to use myself."

His admittance swept over Belle, and cleared up all her previous confusions as it began to click into place.

While it was natural for him to think to use himself as a replacement machine she doesn't like it when he just goes about hooking himself up to other things like he was a cheap tool to use or that his body didn't matter. Thinking of him more than likely squirming and screaming out in pain while attached to the screen before her made her fair features tighten into a frown. Those gentle hands of hers let go of the film in her grasp and placed themselves on the floor, longing to creep over and brush against Rumplestiltskin's beside her.

It's then she noticed something not quite right about that metal hand near own. Behind the frill of his sleeve and jutting from his wrist was a piece of him-a metal bolt sticking out when she knew it shouldn't be.

"Rumplestiltskin your hand! Oh no-what happened to it? Is it broken?" The beauty squeaked, and before the imp could even respond she was scooping up the cold digits and twisting the joint to get a better look at it. It didn't look broken from a quick look over, but he wasn't built perfectly like a human and she only had a limited knowledge about how just simple machines worked.

"No-no, it's fine, dearest. I'm sorry I didn't tell you about this either, but it's nothing terrible. The bolt got pushed out when I had to climb back up the cliff, but with a flat head screw and a clamp I should be able to put it back in its place." The animatronic explained, glancing down to his oddly slanted wrist and back up to Belle with a strange expression pressed into the corners of his mouth. "Don't worry about it I'll fix it later-"

"No. We'll fix it for you right now and we'll do so together." Belle informed him without hesitation as she let her sharp eyes keep their hold on his own wide amber ones. Even though his metal was terribly cold in her grasp, for her hands were still a bit numb from being outside so long, she didn't let go of him-not yet. "I'll go get the tools-you said a clamp and a flat head right? Then I'll be right back, so don't move a single inch."

Rumplestiltskin seemed at a loss once more for any words. His lips just trembled slightly before he made a strange faint tittering sound and nodded towards her. It wasn't quite a 'yes' but she knew what he meant, and so Belle released his hand, setting it in his lap with care and got back up to her boot clad feet.

It didn't take long at all for the security guard to find the necessary tools back in the maintenance room, and so she hurried down the hall to return to her animatronic. She wasn't surprised to come back to her office and find he kept to her demands in the exact literal sense as he hadn't moved an inch from his spot-he hadn't even moved to sit on the couch or anywhere more comfortable. Belle rolled her eyes at that but entered, catching how Rumplestiltskin's twisted his head as he turned to stare at her. On the carpet she set herself next to him as before, but this time she took out of the tools from the nooks of her arms and set the clamp down on his wrist with his assistance to hold the part together. With the screw driver and a bit of instructions from him she began to twist the part back into his hull, shifting her gaze to his face every now and then for the tinniest flinch in warning.

"Does it hurt at all-me twisting this into you?"

"No, I can kind of sense it when you turn it, but you know I can't feel 'hurt'. Then again you're a strange human that tends to forget such things..." The animatronic said without much effort or playfulness laced in his voice like he usually did when teasing her about it.

He was looking horribly tired if a machine knew such a feeling, but with him Belle was never sure. His grayish lips kept tight in a firm line conveying little as he continued to stare at the scaled imp staring right back from the curve of glass before them. It remained quiet as she kept up her attempt at repairing him, but before the stillness could fully settle he started to speak again with his face tilted from hers.

"I... When I plugged myself into the TV and used my programming to watch the tape I knew something wasn't quite right at first, but I kept on going for foolish reasons. Because of that and things that I-I saw from the tape or myself-I don't know-I faulted horribly, worse then ever before in my lif-existence... I became a monster again, and... I terrorized another human."

Those large clawed fingers of his curled up underneath her grip, causing her hand busy with removing the clamp to falter. Without a thought more she dropped the tool and took his trembling arm within her grasp, holding him as the obvious emotions bubbling up in him began to spill over. Rumplestiltskin appeared to notice her shifting touch like always despite his lack of flesh and nerves as Belle felt the tips of his fingers as he brushed the others against the back of her hand.

Belle's compassion took over above all else, and even if her curiosity was calling out for her to obtain more answers to sate its need she asked him everything out of genuine concern."What you saw might have caused you to fault, but it wasn't as if you were trying to on purpose, and Henry hardly looked terrorized... Rumple, you don't have to tell me, but I want to understand why you had a 'fit'. What things did you see to cause you to hurt so much?"

Finally the imp sluggishly turned his head and stared back at her with his strange eyes that she loved to see sparkling with joy and happiness, not the melancholy and distress they bared now.

"The only thing I can remember from the tape and what I saw was... A boy. He-he looked a lot like Henry but younger, about six or... F-Four? But he had red little sneakers, sat on the old stage I used to have with me, and he spoke to me-he said... Augh..." Rumplestiltskin's voice was a low pitch when he'd begun, the human tone he's starting to use more often, but without warning he was flinching, sputtering, and attempting to tear his hands away from her to reach up towards his head. It set Belle on full alert, and the human shifted on her knees to grasp at his plated shoulders incase she needed to hold onto him.

"H-He asked me-me-me 'Hey Zero-One-A are you awake?', and then everything got so much worse-I thought I saw other things-things... F-Faces and many of them...Possibly a man... But I don't know if it was all real or just some broken thing made from my faulting system! Yet he was real-I know that boy was real-is real! W-We knew each other once, but he's been gone so long-taken away from me-taken away! I can't even even remem-mem-ber his n-na-na-nam-name-forty-four-forty-four-can't remember anymore-"

He was faulting again. With how his head was starting to lull and his voice was tearing itself in two between high pitched and broken notes Belle could tell that he was suffering from whatever memories of this unknown boy he'd received from the tape. In a quick movement the young woman was over his stuck out legs, pinning them beneath her slacks as she reached up her hands to clasp at his own that were trying to dig those dangerous claws into his skull. Belle's hands wrapped tight around the cold ones that still burned against her sensitive skin, but she didn't let go while she drew them to her chest.

"Rumple you're alright. Please calm down-please, I'm right here with you." Belle begged him, forgetting all formalities or concealing her growing adoration from him when she was nothing but worried about his system crashing or doing something far worse. "I'm not going to leave you all alone here, but you've got to come back to me-that's all I ask! Come back to me." The animatronic stopped mumbling as Belle held onto him, but his eyes were still so broken with how they spun within the darkness they floated in. She was relieved they didn't flicker to the terrifying pinpoint dots, yet they peered at her as if they were seeing straight through and into her, far past her fleshy exterior and into all that she was.

"Yes-I'm here... I can't disappear-I promised I'd be with Belle whenever she were in Avonlea a long time ago-back then she was so lonely and small..." He croaked when he talked, but Belle just held onto his metal hands tighter to help bring him back to her. "I promised to protect her-that she'd never have to be a-alone, but I promised that boy I'd be with him always-to never leave him, and I did... I lost him th-thirty years ago after we made that deal-I lost him just the same as I do everyone... Oh B-Belle... Why does everyone leave me?"

He hunched forward towards her, brushing his scaly forehead against the side of her head, and it was easy for the beauty to hear the sobbing sound start rising up from his plated throat.

"N-No matter how hard I t-t-try everyone that ever ma-mat-tters to me-everyone that I want to protect or please eventually don't want me... I'm tossed aside or forgotten-ten... Zoso... The boy... Marco... Everyone... P-Please don't leave me Belle-even when the year is over... I don't want to lose you... Please. I'm sorry-I'm so s-selfish, but I care about you too much and-I-I-just want to be with you."

A pain worse then any she's felt before rips through her chest and digs into her heart at his agonized pleas. Not long ago this same night she'd said those same words, both desperate and hopeful though also fearful and terrified as she clung to him just like he did her now.

'I don't want to lose you...'

'I just want to be with you.'

'Don't think he wouldn't be sad if he lost you too.'

A choked sob forced its way out the beauty's throat too, and all she could do was nod in response against his face, trembling with his own jittery hands placed next to her heart.

"I'm not going anywhere without you Rumple. I don't want to be alone anymore either, but more than that I just want to be with you-you Rumplestiltskin... So you've got to stay with me too just like you promised." Belle's words fell from her lips with a bit of effort for her heart throbbed at each syllable, but with them came the release of those painful fears. Belle could feel the weight of Rumplestiltskin's head dropping to rest against her shoulder when she brought him closer to her, but it felt like as if she was lighter than before with his touch. What pain and terror she has and feels that she also dreads that no one cares to understand is not unjustified, because she is not alone in hurting this way when the machine draping himself over her is just the same, he understood.

They didn't need to be afraid though, because they didn't have to be alone anymore.

With care Belle took both of his hands and filled the notches between those steel fingers with her own, and it made her heart beat in bliss at how perfect they fitted each other.

As Rumplestiltskin's faint cries against her skin died down his words eventually clipped back in where she could understand them again. "Thank you Belle... Thank you... I'm so sorry I broke my word by watching the tape without you and how I didn't call you about Henry or what happened to me-I really am. If you were here none of this would have happened. I r-ruined everything you've risked for me..." His bulbous eyes flickered over to the mess of film swirled around them, and Belle could tell he was growing angrier at himself by the second.

"No, shush, you didn't ruin everything, and forget about the silly tape. The you here in this present with me here right now matters far more than whatever you of your past lies in there. I don't care if we never find that man ZOSO or that we don't ever learn where you came from if it means you're whole and alive-and happy."

"I terrified Henry though... That's why he ran from Avonlea in the first place. I was faulting and I thought he was that boy from the tape in my confusion, but when I realized that the boy from the things I saw was long gone I lost it... I screamed at him, Henry ran in fear, and then nearly got h-hurt because of me, and the horror he wore when I was trying to save him... I'm a monster Belle, through and through."

The imp coddled to her seemed to be hiding himself against her white shirt, and the human let go both of their hands so she could thread hers through his coiled hair. It was a soothing motion her mother had once done for her when they laid in her tiny bed while they read the story of that tiny patched up rabbit and his boy to her night after night. Rumplestiltskin seemed to like the touches as well for his tense rigid form slackened against her body, and he sighed a gentle crackled sound near her ear.

Belle carefully slipped a hand under his mighty jaw then to bring his eyes back up to hers, letting him see her bared emotions just as she saw his twitch across his machinery and bits."You can't blame yourself for that, and look even if you did scare Henry you went out, found him, brought him back, and made him smile after he looked so sad and heartbroken. You went and protected a child-you, the fearsome Rumplestiltskin had protected a child wholly and completely without even harming a hair on his head, just like me when I was small. There's proof enough that you can't be a monster."

A sudden clarity wiped away the glaze ghosting his eyes, and sparked a heat inside her heart and body at how he looked at her with such awe. One of his large hands found its way gently down to her side and curled around her hip, creating a flood of warmth to pulse though her skin that tried to make her pattering heart stop altogether.

"You helped save me from falling. The promise I made you, and Henry, and that boy... It saved me. At first I thought that was what I deserved, to die and sink down to the bottom of that river, but..." Rumplestiltskin clenched his jaw tightly together and held onto his beautiful knight as if he'd start to sink down into the ground and collapse if he let go. "Is it so wrong to hope I can have a second chance? Is it wrong for something like me to want to be with you and see the world outside these walls with you. T-To maybe find that boy too? I know I only have faint memories of what he looked like thirty years ago... I know I stand no chance at ever seeing him again, and that I don't belong out there in the first place..."

He stops talking because he is scared, but Belle finally understands after all this time what he is afraid of the most-hope.

This once beastly figure, who in her eyes was just a man in a metal body, was more terrified of everything than anyone could ever be of him, but worst of all he was too frightened to even let himself believe that he could live amongst humans, or leave Avonlea, or allow himself a scrap of happiness without it being ripped away. So far she knew so little about this boy that Rumplestiltskin believes to have known once and longs to find though he doubts himself... But she found she will try to do everything she can so that they will also have the chance to find him... Someday.

"You've gone through what you have for a reason Rumple, and it's given you a sense of empathy that no one else can ever know. You've helped another kid going through a dark time again, and became his friend... I don't care what you did in the past or what you were before you became Rumplestiltskin. You deserve a second chance just as anyone else, and you deserve to do so out in that world which I'd gladly go with you to see and try to find that boy if you'd like."

"I'll need all the help I can get dearest. I can't seem to do anything right on my own. Unless it involves frightening people witless, then I'm pretty good at it." The imp scoffed, sounding slightly like his trickster self once again, and Belle had to flick him in the nose to keep that self depreciation of his at bay.

"There's nothing wrong with needing help, you've taught me that, and you don't have to prove me anything. As for me..." Belle peeled her eyes away from him finally for her bravery could only go so far when it came to 'this'. "There are things I've been keeping from you too and things I haven't admitted out of fear. I hope one day you'll be the first who knows them, just as I hope you feel you can tell me what lies in your heart and past if you ever wish to. I won't reject you."

Without warning a cold hand brushed across her cheek, bringing her gaze back to the strange face that had suddenly brought itself so close to hers. Rumplestiltskin stared straight at her with a burning intensity, and it caused the beauty's already flushed face to grow a darker shade of red.

"You don't have to tell me anything that you aren't comfortable with either Belle, especially if it hurts you like what happened to... Your mother. I want to know all about you though, including the beautiful and the painful things-what makes you happy and sad, but there's nothing you have to prove to me either... I..." The machine's voice drifted off a moment and the young woman leaned a bit closer to him to try and understand just what was going on beyond the nervous look he now wore.

Rumplestiltskin sat back from her a bit, supporting himself on his own knees as he scooped up her left hand within the cup of his giant paws. A tenderness swept across his scaled visage, leaving Belle a bit breathless at the calm and serenity he's somehow collected, though his parts were ticking away loudly in his chest. But it's her heart that stopped when he brought her warming fingers up to his lips and pressed a soft kiss against her bare knuckles. His faux skin touching her was just as smooth and inviting as ever, and all the previous cravings for getting to know what they felt like pressed against her own lips returned with immediate force.

Yes, there was do denying now the effect he had on her, not after everything they'd been through.

'I can't keep lying to myself-I know I want to kiss Rumplestiltskin. I've been wanting to all night and honestly for a long while now... I know he's a machine, and he's not physically human, but the most frightening thing is I don't even care-I like him just as he is.. Is that somehow wrong of me?' Belle squinted her darkening eyes as she finally admitted her deepening desires to herself for she was no longer able to deny the passion scorching her insides with his mouth pressed against her. 'I want to hold him, and touch him... A... And kiss him so badly, but I also want him to want to kiss me back too.'

Instead of letting all her inhibitions go and drawing that mouth of his against her own she just closed her eyes and listened to the sound of his gears and her own breathing mingle. It lasted only a few moments, this perfect sensation, before she opened them again and found Rumplestiltskin had withdrawn his lips and was looking at her under lidded slats where his eyes glowed in their pits.

"I already know you are the most incredible and beautiful human I've ever met, without a doubt..." His brogue like accent has somehow gotten deeper and was now a rumble against her skin that sent her thoughts whirling into even more dangerous territory. "Yet, after all the things you keep learning about me, how I frightened so many people and have hurt children and adults you say you still want to be by my side... No one ever has stayed with me like you, but I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to abandon this place one day or if you wanted to break your promise. You've done enough for me already, more than I have any right to have-"

Belle groaned aloud then and took back her hand from his so she could tap the machine with a few short pecks of her index finger right in the scaly forehead.

"Ugh, I don't know how many times I'm going to have to tell you this till you get it through that thick skull of yours! I made a promise to you Rumple as you did to me, and I... I deeply care about you wether you believe it or not. So tough luck, you're going to be mine for life-" A moment of horror dawned across Belle's features from her spluttering out her words without much thought to them, causing the hue of her cheeks to flare again. Rumplestiltskin seemed a bit shocked as well, with how his eyelids flew open, and it only made Belle feel more embarrassed in his arms. "W-What I mean is you're my friend for as long as this heart beats in my chest."

"If I had a heart then I'd be in complete agreeance dearest-about you being my friend-not that-I would't want you for life by my side-as my dearest friend! But, hopefully this cold husk is good enough instead, as monstro-er-strange as it might be..." The mechanical man stuttered right back with his pitch rising into impish territory and nervous hands kneading at her sides. The security guard was sure right then and there that if he had any blood at all his dark golden green cheeks would have been the cutest sight to see.

Instead of reaching out to touch him again in her desire to see if his cheeks did at least grow warm, for her rising heart beat and strange nervousness around him was making her contemplate things she shouldn't, she reached out and grabbed his previously damaged hand. With the screwdriver she finished twisting the bolt back into it's proper place as Rumplestiltskin watched without saying anything more. When it finally felt as if it was where it should be Belle set the tool aside and held it up so they could both see her work.

"There, you're good as new my dark sorcerer-and though you may be strange I wouldn't have you any other way." Belle grinned and her companion grinned shyly back with his toothy 'unique' smile making her heart flutter a bit more. Without a care, and feeling too lighted hearted after a night of distress, she leaned forward and pressed her lips against his wrist. In that one simple kiss she wished for nothing more than for him to find some comfort and peace, and for some good change to come find him-them in this lonely darkened place like she knew he deserved. The action lasted only a second before she had withdrawn her face and found the imp looking at her, hinged jaw agape, once more lost for any form of thought or understanding.

Then, out of the blue, the faithful clock above her desk began to chime the time, alerting both the human and machine that it was six in the morning upon the final strike.

Belle blanched a bit as reality swept back in and stole away the dream like feeling that had settled between them. Her animatronic seemed to have felt the ripple of whatever magic had been casted peel away, for he was quickly moving back as his hand slipped out from her claim on it.

"Ah-It's already time for you to leave! It seems we've gotten so caught up with everything tonight, between letters and Henry-and you've still got to be to Boston and get some shut eye too!" The lame words flew out of his mouth, but as Belle moved to stop him from pulling away Rumplestiltskin rose swiftly to his clattering feet. "Here." His hands reached back for hers and took both of them, helping her to get to her own set of boots, and she was alarmed at how jelly like her legs felt. "A clumsy knight such as yourself needs all the help you can get too." The imp snorted before darting out of her hold right after so that her hands hung limp in the air.

However, the beauty nearly tripped when her feet got caught up in some of the strands of film littering the floor, but the sight of them helped bring her back to other important things they haven't discussed.

"Ugh, I forgot about this till just now." Belle stated in alarm, smacking the heel of her hand into her forehead to release the building frustration. Rumplestiltskin swiveled back to her rather alarmed himself before tilting his head owlishly at her in a questioning manner. "I got all this stuff easy enough, but I'm going to have to try to find a way to get that folder back to Marco without him knowing. I don't know how I'll do it since his cabinet looks like it's locked up on most occasions... And then there's the broken tape too."

As her animatronic glanced to the messy folder still sitting on the couch and went about picking it up the security guard noted that he grabbed the last letter, the only letter of Mr. Getto's they have not read, and didn't tuck it back in with the others.

"Leave that all to me, dearest-along with that tape. Mr. Getto keeps copies of all his keys somewhere since he's bad at remembering where they are, and I know where some old VHS's are kept in the back. I'll just make one of them look like my tape and replace it for the time being." He informed her wittily, and the logical idea eased her working nerves back down. Still, she couldn't help how her eye was drawn to the mysterious remaining letter that Rumplestiltskin was staring at so intently. It was the only piece of his past left here that hadn't been unraveled, and she was still not sure how she felt about it with the dark contents surely scrawled into it's lines.

It could solve so many questions she still had about her enigmatic companion, but she'd rather know from himself what had happened that fateful day, not through a piece of paper written by someone else.

Yet it seemed he had a different idea than her entirely.

"As for this... I know what is there in that letter, the full story of the dark day years ago must be there, and perhaps I can't read it, but..." With a swish of his torn up arm he stretched it towards her, holding out the letter like it was a great weight that she must take in order to relieve him of its burden. "Here. If anyone deserves to know it's you, and even if you choose not to read it I'd feel better if it was in your hands. After how you shared part of your past about-about your mother tonight... I want to give you a part of me too... I trust you dearest-I do, please don't think I don't."

"Rumple-I couldn't... That's something that's yours and..." Belle's voice was hardly audible for this was completely unexpected, but with the way his face was pleading for her, hand nudging it towards her with tiny movements, she knew she couldn't refuse despite her ill feelings for it still. So with revere of her own she took that aged folded piece of paper from him and quickly tucked it into the pocket of her shirt pressed against her breast to remind her of the value he had freely given her. Rumplestiltskin appeared confused and awed that she had done so, and it empowered her even more as she set about resuming their night like normal, patting him on the arm and smiling at him beneath her lashes. "If I ever do read this then it'll only be when I'm with you so I won't have to do it alone and so that when I finish reading the last line I can turn to you and let you know we're still okay. That's my promise to you."

"Thank you... Belle."

The charge building between them seemed to become too much for both human and machine, making Belle move aside and back towards her desk to start gathering her few things in an attempt cool down. There was so many thoughts running amok through her mind as she donned back on her coat and held out his back towards him, but for some reason she felt... As if things really would be okay. Even as Rumplestiltskin buttoned up his crumpled vest over his ruined shirt, and waggled his brows a bit playfully at her before slipping on his leather hided armor Belle couldn't help but feel as if something was changing-and also changing between them. Oh there were things -tiny changes in little ways over time, but now things beyond their imaginings and expectations were happening, but the hope that they would be good and what they needed...

When he grinned at her like that as she fumbled with her coat buttons once more, despite everything they'd been through, Belle felt like there was nothing that was going to stop them from finding a way to their happy endings.

In the end she she needed his assistance like last time, leaving her to tuck her lip between her teeth and watch him as his slender fingers worked far better than hers at the buttons of her coat. Yet, it seemed something still remained on his mind as he stilled at the last one near her neck, for his eyes traveled up her throat to her mouth and then her own concerned eyes.

When he began to talk he sounded a bit nervous once more, and it made her worry that perhaps he would ask for the letter back, but he didn't. "Belle-I... I have something to tell you before you go... I-I... I've been meaning to for a while now... I'm sorry it took me a while to come out and say it, but it's important..."

"Rum, you know you can tell me whatever you feel the need to. I'm not going to reject you-you know that." Belle felt the need to reassure him as she tilted her head and gave him a confident nod for him to continue. Yet her heart was starting to pound again in anticipation, for he looked absolutely worried with how his eyes flickered to any where but her. Rumplestiltskin hunched his shoulders up a bit, making his coat squeak, and Belle leaned in a bit more to study the twitch forming at the corner of his mouth.

"I... I... Didn't... I didn't forget that you... Forgot to bring your sewing kit!" He tittered straight in her face and it caused her cheeks to redden, but hardly out of any fluttering feelings so much as feeling taunted by the returning trickster. With a flourish he straightened himself back out and smirked mischievously down at her as his hands ran over his few remaining vest buttons, and it reminded her of a former promise she had completely forgotten. "You never mentioned it, but you also forget I remember everything, dearest! Talk about a let down... At this rate if I don't get a tailor or even a thread and needle I'm going to be stuck walking around here completely naked!"

"Oh-I did forget about bringing it when I said I would, but had gotten so excited tonight... Next time I swear on it, I'll keep my promise!" Belle waved him off but the giggling animatronic wasn't letting it slide so easily.

"Good luck getting me to believe that dearest. I suppose I could make a game of it though-see how long it takes you to finally remember."

"Hey-are you saying I won't because I forgot to bring it this one time? Just you wait I'll show you-"

"Show me what-this so far nonexistent sewing kit you claim to have? You're doing well on that so far."

"I'm going to show you my nonexistent tolerance for you too if you keep this up!"

"Sounds like a challenge indeed!"

Things were changing, outside those sturdy walls as well as within, and between the two beings ambling down the hall and bantering back and forth over sewing kits, buttons, and nights soon to be spent together tucked away within Avonlea. Belle knew that her dreaming and hoping of a brighter future wasn't something that could be promised to her like vows made between people or expected because of calculated results, but she still held on with all her heart that things could get better, for her father, Emma and Henry, this unknown boy she wants to know more about, herself, and even her Rumplestiltskin despite being the oddest of them all.

Yet, there were things she wouldn't wish for a single moment could be any different despite the heartache and pain that lead to them to be...

Belle found out, amongst the many things she has already learned tonight, that there wasn't a single thing she'd change about how she was feeling for the machine she now walked perfectly hand in hand with.

And little did she know that Rumplestiltskin felt the same exact way.