21
~ A Bond of Heart and Soul ~
I am not a hero
I am not an angel
I am just a man
Man who's trying to love her
Unlike any other
In her eyes I am
This world keeps on spinning
Only she stills my heart
She's my inspiration
She's my northern star
I don't count my possession
All I call mine
I will give her completely
To the end of all time
Josh Groban – In Her Eyes (Rumple and Belle's love theme)
Now more than ever, Belle wanted to become Mrs. Rumplestiltskin Gold. After her fiancé's victory over Keith Nottingham in the name of Barbara Allen and dozens of women like her, the gossip surrounding their relationship died down. Now the topic of conversation was how so many felt they misjudged Rumple.
Like a knight in a fantasy tale he walked into the lair of the dragon and slayed it not with a sword or magic but with his own brilliant mind.
The people of the town only saw the wonders he'd performed in the courtroom...until they came to her classroom and saw an enlarged version of the photograph of symbol of his love for her created in the sky one special night. And on her arm she proudly wore his charm bracelet.
"That's so beautiful," Mary Margaret said when she saw the photo of the chipped cup constellation. "Now whenever you look at the sky you can see that reminder of your love . . .although I don't think you need one!"
"No, I don't," Belle murmured. "It...almost took my breath away when I saw it..."
"That's so . . .incredibly romantic . . .and you didn't even need to umm . . suggest something to him. He thought of it all himself."
"Yes...and I had just gotten done telling him how the cup we use as our symbol has survived so much...just like our love...and when I looked up...there it was...in the sky."
"David has some cute moments, but even he's not as romantic as that . . .and your bracelet is beautiful. Did he make that himself?"
"Yes...every gift he's given me since we met he made himself."
"And it makes it ten times more special than just going and buying something," Mary mused. "And we all know he could buy whatever he wished."
"And everything he's ever made for me or Bae is with love. He has a good heart, Snow. Always has. It's just that no one has been willing to look hard enough to see it before."
But she did...from the beginning.
Yes . . .we've all of us forgotten that he once was a man . . . and all we saw was the cursed imp he'd become."
"Even the curse couldn't take the good man out of him. Sometimes he still has a hard time believing it but it's true."
"When I saw him giving that scumbag what for in the parking lot by the diner, and before when he transformed that piece of trash into a possum, I knew then he was more than just the Dark One. And how he defended Barbara at the trial just clinched it."
Belle smiled. "I want everyone to see him as I see him."
Having a heart filled with compassion and love did not make someone weak as that horrid Cora Miller believed. No, love was strength and could conquer anything even great evil.
"I think soon everyone will . . .or at least see him differently than they did before," Snow smiled. "Is his curse broken yet?"
"It will be," Belle vowed. She had every confidence it would be once they were bound together...heart, body and soul.
The day she would speak her marriage vows and the night she gave herself to him completely they would invoke true love's power and send the Dark One to the void where it belonged.
"Have you set a date then?" asked the other teacher.
"No...not yet."
She would marry him that day but he still wasn't ready yet. She would not pressure him...she knew he still had his fears that their marriage would end badly as his first did.
"Well, we'll all be waiting for you to announce the date," Snow said, giggling like a schoolgirl.
"You make it sound like a royal wedding," Belle joked.
"It'll be the first wedding here in this new land . . .so in a way it is."
She hadn't thought of that.
"It's very exciting, since after all the tragedy we've endured, now we get to celebrate something wonderful-true love between two people."
She smiled. "Maybe seeing us together...will inspire others not to give up hope for love..."
"I think so . . .because you and Rumple are almost like hope's living representatives . . .at least that's what I think."
"We all can be...if we just believe in ourselves enough."
Snow nodded. "It's what I tell a lot of people who ask about why Charming and I are still together . . .and I say it's because we're meant to be, and no matter what curse was cast upon us, a part of us always knew it. Like you and Rumple."
Belle hoped there were others out there doing the same...finding each other again without even realizing it.
"As much as I wish it were so...the second curse is not one we can break..."
"You can't break all the curses, Belle. I think it's enough if you can break Rumple's."
"It is because I want him free from that demon. When it takes control, Rumple is blamed for the horrible things it does...and it's not his fault. He fights it off every day."
"And that takes more courage than anyone knows," Snow murmured.
"And Rumple has plenty of it."
"Yes. It takes a lot of courage to walk off a battlefield lame and knowing everyone thinks you're a coward because you considered your family more important than dying in a war we were losing anyway."
"There were more men after Rumple that did the same I'm told."
"Maybe he gave them the courage to do so."
That was exactly what she thought.
"The sad thing was that so many died over something we never should have been fighting . . .that it was the first duke's idiotic practice of hunting down monsters that led to there even BEING a war with the ogres . . and in all the time he controlled the Dark One, he never commanded him to stop the war . . just kept throwing more men into it until there weren't enough and then he took the children . . .and what good kids were against ten foot tall monsters is beyond me. Someone should have thrown HIM to the ogres!"
"And so many forget Rumple ended the war...and sent the children and soldiers home."
"Yes and he didn't have to . . .after he gained the power of the dagger he could have done whatever he wished . . .but he kept to his word to bring the children home . . ."
Just then their pleasant discussion was rudely interrupted by shouting in the hallway. Belle frowned. "Something's going on out there."
"You dick...you get your ass moving before I kick it to hell and back!" Bae was yelling
"Sounds like a fight," Snow said, and opened the door to the classroom.
"You better step off mate before you get FIRED!" shouted Ewan.
"Bite me skirt boy...and lame ass Gold!"
"You really are stupid, aren't you, Devereaux? All brawn, no brains, and a limp excuse for a prick!" Bae spat, his fists clenched.
"Least I know how to use mine on a girl...what do you use yours on...your hand?"
"Kick his ass, Fire!" cheered Bobby.
"Pound em into the desk, Eti!" cheered one of Etienne's friends.
"Desperate drugged girls!" Kat called.
"You and my slutbag cousin Kristine would get along real good, Dickereaux!" shouted Becky.
Bae glided around the other boy like a cat on the prowl, searching for an opening, his fists up.
"Gonna wipe the floor with you, Gold," sneered Etienne and swung his fist.
Bae ducked, reading the other boy before he even threw the punch at his head. Then he came up fast, like a cobra striking and hit Etienne right in the mouth.
"You asshole!" The other boy spit out a broken tooth and charged at his opponent to try to tackle him to the floor.
But once again Bae was too quick, having learned in the school of hard knocks that letting an enemy grab hold of you was asking to get your brains beat out, since the Dogs didn't fight fair. He dodged the other boy's rush, stuck out a foot, and tripped Etienne.
"Have a nice trip, dick?" Bae asked with a smirk.
"I'm gonna kill you, Gold!" snarled the other boy, trying to get to his feet.
"Pack a lunch and bring an army, shithead!" yelled Andi.
"Shut up, you wench! God knows how many times you've put out for these gangers!"
"You're dead, Devereaux!" Bae growled, and then he lunged and took the other boy down with a quick one two combination punch. Then when the other boy was on the ground, Bae kicked him hard in the backside. "Now there's my boot up your ass! Like father, like son!"
Before the fight could escalate even further, Snow stepped into the hallway. "All right, WHAT is going on here?"
Everyone froze. Then Etienne got to his feet and pointed at Bae. "Mrs. Nolan, Gold started with me! He punched me in the face and knocked out my tooth!"
"Liar!" cried Bobby. "You started it, you prick, by callling his papa a coward that lets everybody kick his ass and his mama a whore!"
"Bae, did you hit him?" Snow demanded.
"I did . . because he wouldn't shut his fat mouth and leave me alone," Bae answered truthfully.
"Mr. Gold and Mr. Devereaux, Hale's office now. You know the rules for fighting," she said crisply.
Bae went, thinking now he was in real trouble . . .and not just with the principal. But his papa also, for he knew Rumple had told him not to get in trouble and just walk away from Etienne.
Etienne was smirking, thinking he'd get off easy, and he hoped they expelled the troublemaker.
Mr. Hale scowled at the two teenagers, more disappointed in the Gold boy at the moment. When he was first enrolled in the school Hale expected him to get in brawls on a daily basis but to his surprise the former gang member was very well behaved.
Etienne Devereaux he expected such behavior from. The boy was like the man who sired him, a bully with no disregard for the feelings of others.
"Now Mr. Gold, do you want to tell me what happened?"
"Why you asking him?" demanded Etienne.
"Quiet!"
Bae looked the principal in the eye as his father raised him to do and gave a truthful account of what went on. He would accept what punishment he was given but he would not regret defending his family and friends' honor.
"Lying sack of shit!" sneered Etienne.
"One more word, Mr. Devereaux and you'll be getting one week of in school suspension, not three days."
"What!?"
"And you are off the football team for the rest of the season."
"You can't do that...we got a big game coming up against Rydell and..."
"I think they can manage without you."
"I'm the QUARTERBACK you dumb fuck!"
"That's it...one week suspension, Devereaux and I'll be giving both of your fathers a call."
Bae was not looking forward to Rumple having to come to the school. He would be very disappointed since his father firmly disapproved of him fighting. Also if he and Gaston were in the same room the two of them were bound to have words and Bae would be ready to punch Gaston out like his son.
Rumple was entering the week's rent receipts into his computer when his cell phone rang. It was Miss Harridan telling him that he would have to report to the school immediately.
When he saw Gaston's car in the lot too he knew immediately that Bae had gotten into an argument with the other boy. Gaston was already in the office with Mr. Hale and the two boys and glared daggers at the sorcerer when he walked in. Mr. Hale informed both men the boys had been in a fight and Bae was being given three days in school suspension while Etienne was given a week and was off the football team for the rest of the season. As expected Gaston was outraged over that more than anything.
"This is all that idiot's fault!" Gaston raged.
"He started it!" yelled Bae.
"Liar!"
"That's enough!" snapped Mr. Hale.
"You keep your gang boy away from my son."
"You keep your son away from mine, Devereaux!" Rumple snarled. "Come on, Bae. Let's go. We have to have a talk."
"You're paying for my son's tooth to be repaired, Gold!" Gaston growled.
"Fine. Send me the bill, Devereaux," Gold said coldly. "Come, Baelfire."
Bae rose and followed his father to his car. He knew Rumple was upset with him, but would wait to get home before he began his scolding.
Once they were home, Rumple had Bae accompany him into the den for their discussion. Bae noted that Rumple seemed stressed and felt guilty for adding to his papa's uncomfortable state. His father's sharp Look made him feel even more ashamed.
"All right. Explain to me how this started . . .and why you didn't take my advice and just walk away, Baelfire?"
"Papa, I tried at first . . but then he started saying crap about Andi . . .and you and Mama," Bae began. "And then I just lost it and I punched his lights out."
Rumple shook his head. "Son, I know that little bastard makes it hard for you to keep your temper, but you need to start practicing some restraint. Or else you'll end up no better than he is, though in a different fashion. Another thing is he's trying to get you in trouble, since you already have a not so great rep as a gang member, and if he wasn't a first class asshole in the making he could have succeeded in labeling you a troublemaker based upon that. You're lucky Mr. Hale's more astute than that and knows Devereaux's a little backstabbing liar like his father."
Bae studied his sneakers. "I know, Papa. I'm sorry. I'll try not let him get to me. But I don't regret defending my family."
"Bae, I don't mind you sticking up for me or Belle, but try and do it without using your fists. I don't want you having to live down a reputation as a troublemaker . . .not the way I had to live down my reputation as the Dark One."
"Papa, you're cursed. It's not the same."
"How I got my reputation isn't the same, but it doesn't matter. It lingers. And he's not worth ruining yourself for. He's a petty little piece of crap and someday he'll go too far and end up in juvie or worse. So please, for the sake of both our sanities-just walk away next time."
"Okay, Papa. I'll try, I really will."
"Good. That's all I ask. Now, since you've gotten yorself in trouble, I believe you owe me some time."
Bae sighed. "Yeah. What am I gonna have to do for you?"
"I need you to mow the lawn front and back and straighten up the yard. Clean all the bathrooms and dust everything. And write me a four paragraph essay on what you should have done before you knocked Devereaux's tooth out. That should keep you busy until you go back to school."
"You want me to write an essay?"
"Yes. Perhaps that will make you think next time."
"What are you channeling Mama?"
"Never mind who I'm channeling, Baelfire. You just do what I tell you. Because I can always add on to that list."
Bae held up his hands. "Okay, okay. Don't go all Dark One on my ass!"
"I won't if you quit being a pain in mine," Rumple snorted. "Now, how about some lunch?"
"Yeah, I'm starving. What are you making?"
"My Gold special." Rumple replied.
Bae cheered. "Mmm! I was hoping you would." It was the ultimate comfort food-a grilled cheese and bacon sandwich made with cheddar and Monteray Jack cheeses with Vermont maple bacon on honey wheat bread.
"And tomato soup," his father added.
"You're the best, Papa."
Rumple chuckled. "What do you want, Bae?" he teased.
"Uh . . .a Ferrari. And a fifty buck allowance. And a trip to Disney World," Bae joked.
"You get a car when you're able to make a down payment on it, not me. Keep dreaming about that allowance, maybe it'll happen . . . in another life. As for Disney World, we'll see. Maybe after I get married we'll go on a family vacation."
"When are you getting married, Papa?"
"Whenever Belle wishes."
Rumple began cooking his grilled cheese, and he opened up a can of tomato soup.
"You mean you aren't making your own? I'm shocked. "
His father sometimes made his own soups.
"I didn't have time. Later on this week I might make a beef minestrone."
"You better because now I'm having cravings," his son teased.
"You do all your chores and I'll make soup AND homemade bread. Don't and I'll feed you Campbell's and crackers."
Bae made a face. He liked Campbell's for lunch at school but not at home.
"Besides, this soup isn't bad. It's Mama Rosa's from a restaurant in Little Italy. I had them ship me some special." He stirred the simmering soup while he flipped the grilled cheese sandwiches over.
"I'll take your word for it, Papa." If Rumple wanted a special food that he couldn't make himself, he had it shipped to him. It was the same with any item he wanted.
After he had served them both soup and a sandwich, Rumple sat down and said, "You know, we need to go and get some suits picked out for the wedding. At least for the vows part of the ceremony. Afterwards, though . . .I'm wearing one of my Enchanted Forest outfits."
"Yeah how about the one for Grandpa Moe's ball?"
"Yes, that's what I was thinking. I brought it from my shop, along with your mama's blue gown and your own set of clothes. Although I might need to do some alterations on yours since you've grown about an inch since coming here."
"Yeah. Is everybody gonna wear our old stuff then?"
"Well, that's up to them. It's not a requirement or anything. We want to do it because it symbolizes a mixture of the old and the new, past and present."
"I think a lot of 'em will."
"Then I'll be busy at the shop for awhile, since a lot of their clothing ended up in my possession."
"You need any help?"
"Yes, perhaps you can come and help me sort through them since you're home from school."
Rumple tossed Major a slice of extra bacon as the shepherd sat at his feet.
"Speaking of Major, you need to give him a bath and trim his nails."
"I know. I'll do that too." Bae said, thinking he'd be so busy school would look like a vacation after these three days.
The next three days were very busy for both the Golds, but Rumple managed to invite Belle over for supper on the third day, since he had made his beef noodle minestrone with homemade rosemary bread, Irish butter (similar to the butter used in their homeland) and an appetizer of bruschetta and goat cheese on toast points. For dessert he made what Bae called Golden Delights, his special peanut butter chocolate chip cookies which had extra peanut butter in them and Godiva chocolate chips.
Many of the people of Storybrooke had come into his shop to make deals with him on their former items, and most of the clothes he and Bae had sorted were bartered or bought back by their owners.
After a long day at the shop and cooking for half-a-day, Rumple didn't bother to get dressed up, preferring to be comfortable, and wearing a simple white button down shirt, a pair of soft jeans, and loafers. A gold chain bracelet glinted on his wrist, it was enchanted to protect him against most magical attacks, including anyone trying to take his heart."
Next to it was a small braided leather one, Bae had made it for him when he was nine, from some scraps he'd bartered from the tanner, and though it was not magical, it meant a great deal to Rumple, who had found it in his cabinet in the shop while reorganizing the other day.
He'd found a few other things from Bae's childhood-a red leather ball, a set of carved wooden animals, and a very worn stuffed cat, with one button eye missing and some stuffing emerging from a tear in its side.
"Oh my God! Papa, you have Sleepy Kitty!" Bae gasped. That was what he had called the stuffed animal. "I thought you'd thrown it away."
"Why would I do that?"
"You kept that old rag?"
"Old rag? I MADE that for you when you were a wee thing just walking," Rumple argued. "You took it everywhere with you until you started school and some snots made fun of you for carrying a stuffed toy around."
"Well, now you can donate it or burn it or whatever," his son said flippantly, embarrassed by his papa's nostalgia.
"Burn it! Bite your tongue, Baelfire! I can sew it up and it'll be as good as new. For my grandchild someday."
"By then it'll belong in a museum," his son smirked.
"Sassy brat!" Rumple mock-growled and chased Bae around the kitchen table with his dish towel.
"Too slow!" his son teased as he ducked Rumple's retaliatory strike.
Just then the doorbell rang.
"Belle, come in!" Rumple called. "I need you to help me discipline this wretched scamp!" he sang and tried again to swat his smirking son with the dish towel.
"Sucks when you start getting old, huh?" Bae drawled, his eyes alight with mischief.
"Old? You watch your mouth, Bae Gold. I can still tan your ass!" Rumple threatened, his own eyes sparkling with good natured mayhem.
Belle laughed. "Oh damn. I didn't bring my broom!"
She grabbed one out of the closet. "This'll do!" She stalked toward her stepson. "Oh Bae..."
"Papa, you sneak!" he yelled. The he tried to slip off under the table and crawl out the other side.
Belle winked at her fiancé, ready to strike when he chased his son her way.
Rumple moved, swatting at him as he crawled out from beneath the table. "I'll show you old!"
"Missed me!" laughed his son.
"But I won't!" Belle sang and brought the broom down on his backside. "I NEVER miss."
She waved the broom like a flag. "Your Papa has the cane of doom, I have the BROOM of Doom!"
She needed the laugh after the disappointing news she'd gotten an hour ago.
Everything was going so well with the wedding planning except for one major issue...the matron of honor. Belle knew who she wanted to stand with her but unfortunately, Marie felt that if she did, she would ruin the wedding.
"Look at me...I'm a dancer in a strip club! They'll see me up there and laugh at you and I don't want that to happen."
"You're the closest thing I have to a sister! I don't give a damn what people would say."
"Please Belle...I'll still be there...just you need someone more respectable to be standing with you."
"Marie, not everyone knows you work at the Foxtrot..."
"But most of the people going to your wedding do."
The two women debated the issue most of the morning but Marie simply wouldn't budge. Finally Belle decided to take a page out of her fiance's playbook. "All right...but you owe me. When you get married I will be your matron of honor and no one else...deal?"
"You don't have to worry about that...I doubt I'll ever get married."
Belle thought of Marie's mystery man. "I don't know...I think we'll be hearing wedding bells for you sooner than you think, Marie Bordreaux."
"Hell would have to freeze over first."
Her son chuckled. "I can't win with the two of you after me."
"I missed on purpose you know," Rumple said, tossing the dishtowel on the counter.
His oven timer beeped and he went to take his last loaf of bread out of the oven. "Right on time."
Belle eyed him appreciatively as he bent over to take the bread out. His jeans fit him like a glove, and she was momentarily speechless at how tantalized she was by the sight of him in them.
Must not...ravish...she thought.
He straightened and went to put the steaming loaf of bread on the counter, eyeing his fiancee speculatively. "You look hungry, Belle."
For you...
Bae sniffed the air appreciatively. He was practically drooling. "Papa, can I have a piece?"
"Well..ahhh...goodness that oven is a bit...hot, isn't it?' she asked, fanning herself.
"Aye, 'tis," Rumple replied. "It's why I'm wearing this shirt." He looked at Bae. "Wait, lad. It needs to cool before I cut it, otherwise it'll fall apart."
She was looking forward to having some of his homemade bread...and the chef...once she had his ring on her finger.
Belle...good gods...the thoughts you're having...
It must be the shirt . . .she had never thought such casual clothing could look so damn sexy. Then again, she supposed Rumple could look sexy in just about anything.
Or nothing...
She needed a bucket of ice water...
Bae got a glass with some iced tea from the fridge, Rumple made it himself, and offered a glass to Belle. "Here, Mama. This will cool you off."
"Thanks, sweetie." The tea did ease some of her discomfort but not all of it. She was tempted to take one of the cubes out of the glass and rub it over her face but not with Bae in the room.
Belle...calm yourself...!
The waiting was driving her insane.
Rumple's eyes roamed appreciatively over her. She was wearing a salmon colored top that accented her slender waist and flowed neatly over her white skirt with the matching appliqued flower on the bottom. "You look lovely, dearie." He complimented her, and fought to keep from kissing her breathless right here in the kitchen . . .with his son sitting there watching.
"And you look...gorgeous as ever," she said with a smile.
My sexy beast...
"In this?" he laughed, gesturing to his shirt and jeans. "I look as ordinary as apple pie."
"What's wrong with that?" she countered.
"Umm . . .nothing . . ." he shrugged.
She smiled then. "Absolutely nothing at all," she agreed. "Rumple, you don't have to dress to the nines all the time to impress me. You could be wearing a bedsheet and you'd still be the same person I love."
"If he was wearing a bedsheet, I'd have to record it," Bae laughed, eating a bruschetta toast point. "Rumpled Gold fashions."
"But you see my point? It's not the clothes that make the man...it's what's in here..." Belle said, patting her fiancé's chest.
"I'm glad you like what you see here," he covered her hand with his own.
"I always have."
She raised her head and gazed into his eyes.
"You are amazing. After what I have been and done, most would consider me tainted beyond all hope of redemption . . .and even when I wasn't the Dark One, Milah thought me less than a man."
"She was a fool."
"That's cause she was a dipshit, Papa!" Bae flared. "And she liked rogues and scumbags."
"And not everyone thinks of you that way anymore...not after Barbara's trial. If you truly were as dark as they say you wouldn't have cared what happened to her. But you've always cared...and that's what matters."
"Yeah, Papa. If not for you, that scum would've still be walking around like a dickless wonder and poor Barbara would've been ignored and he'd have gotten away with it. But you kicked his and Spencer's butt to hell and back and showed 'em all why you don't mess with Mr. Gold."
Bae looked at his father earnestly. "See, Papa, you don't need to be a dark sorcerer to kick some idiot's butt . . . you can do it all on your own . . .you just gotta believe."
"Believe in yourself as much as we believe in you," Belle pleaded.
"Milah was wrong when she called you a coward," Bae added. "She didn't know jack about what it takes to look across some piece of crap field and know you were gonna get eaten. And that worthless dickhead duke wasn't the one fighting and dying, he was screwing wenches up in his castle while you all went and got killed cause of something he caused! The Ogre Wars were worse than Vietnam over here, Papa. He sent his own people to die, his own people's kids, for his own SNAFU! You had every right to tell him to go shove it where the sun doesn't shine. And I'm glad you did, Papa. Otherwise I'd have been raised by pirate scum and doing worse to innocent people than I ever did when I was cursed. But I'm not cause you had the guts to come back home . . .all my womb doner had the guts to do was lift her skirts in a tavern!"
Rumple wasn't quite sure how to respond at first. All those years he had thought Bae was ashamed of his coward spinner father . . .and he had regretted that his son had to live with that stigma . . .yet now he found out the truth he'd never dared to learn . . or to hope for. Bae wasn't ashamed of who he had been. And once again he was reminded that his true self-worth didn't come from the dagger's dark power, but from within himself. Filled with renewed hope and confidence, he hugged his son. "Thank you, Bae."
"Now I'd better not be hearing you doubt yourself again, Rumplestiltskin, or I will have to take the broom to you. I already should take it to my lady in waiting!" She sighed.
"You're welcome, Papa."
Then he hugged Belle also. "Thank you too, sweetheart."
Once again he thanked the gods for his son and his true love . . .who believed and loved the spinner and the fallen sorcerer . . .dark and light . . .light and dark, and gave him the courage to break the curse that had crushed his soul asunder.
"We can be married on Valentine's Day Rumple…or is that too soon?"
The lovers' holiday was only two weeks away...
It was then that he thought that even if he had no magic any longer once the dagger curse was broken, it no longer mattered . . .for Belle and Bae loved him just the way he was.
And it was enough.
"No. It's not. We have been waiting for our wedding for almost three decades. I think two weeks is good."
"I'll have to call Snow and tell her she needs to wear the matron of honor's dress now..."
Rumple looked startled. "Did Marie not want to accept your offer?"
"She...she's afraid people will laugh because she's a...a dancer at the Foxtrot..."
Rumple sighed. "There's another one who has self-confidence problems."
"It's this damned curse!" Belle raged. "But...I made a deal with her...Snow will take her place but at HER wedding I am standing up for her."
"All right, dearie. No need to get your blood pressure sky high." Rumple soothed. "Now why don't we sit and eat my soup and bread with butter?"
"And after we can eat his Golden Delights!" Bae said.
"Only if you finish your supper," Rumple wagged a teasing finger at him.
"Oh I'm fine...I just hope this mysterious friend of hers is the one she marries though she doubts she will get married."
"You never know. The fates work in mysterious ways."
"Well I hope they work in her favor...she needs a man to love her after what Gaston did."
"Yes. And I'm sure the right one will come along," Rumple said, and began to cut the bread.
"She may already have him...just too damned blind to see it at first...like someone else I know well," she said.
"I told you once I'm a difficult man to love, dearie," he said, putting the bread on a platter along with the creamy rich Irish butter.
"Not when you get the sense smacked into you," she said with a smirk.
"You just need to beat him extra hard to get through his stubborn skull," Bae grinned.
"Excuse me? Did I hear someone volunteer to go to bed without dessert?" Rumple half-growled.
"Kidding!" Bae said quickly.
As soon as the bread was placed upon the table, Bae grabbed a piece, slathered it with butter, and devoured it in three bites.
"Boy, maybe I ought to dose you for tapeworm the way you inhaled that. You act like I haven't fed you in a week."
"M'hungry all the time now, Papa!"
"He may be having a growth spurt," Belle said.
"Possibly. Considering he was under a spell before he came here, he could be starting to age normally now."
"And Rasputin's spell is no longer in effect?"
"No. If it were . . .I think they cancelled each other out here."
She was relieved for that. After dinner she and Rumple went into the living room to watch a movie and have a glass of wine while Bae went upstairs to study.
As before they were too entranced with each other to pay attention to how much they drank…or anything else for that matter.
Had their son come downstairs and seen them lying on the sofa kissing and caressing each other so intimately he would have made a not too subtle suggestion that they get a room.
But he wasn't and so they indulged themselves until Belle began to slowly unbutton his shirt and Rumple arched an eyebrow and said, "Do you really want to go there, dearie?"
Only then did Belle realize what she'd done and she regretfully said, "I would . . .but . . . it's not the right moment . . .umm . . .not yet . . ."
"But soon it will be," he said, then kissed her slowly, sweetly, a kiss to build a dream on.
Finally Februrary 14th arrived and Moe walked Belle down the path strewn with flowers to the wishing well, where Rumple, Snow, Bae, and a justice of the peace waited.
Belle had on a beautiful lace and silk bridal gown that came down just to her ankles, so she could show off her sparkling blue and white crystal shoes. Her veil was of the old style and draped all the way down her back, held in place by a beautiful tiara given to her by her father that had been her mother's.
She had eyes only for her husband, who waited beside the well flanked by Bae, in a smart Armani suit of Rumple's that his father had magicked to fit him, since the suit they had ordered for him had gotten backordered and wouldn't be there on time. Snow was wearing a very pretty periwinkle blue dress, the color being a combination of Belle's favorite blue and Rumple's fondness for purple.
Belle's cerulean eyes remained riveted on Rumple, who wore a classy Armani suit of a shade called Indigo Midnight with a beautiful patterned silk scarf. He had a white rose in his lapel.
She felt near to bursting with joy, so happy she nearly forgot protocol and ran down the woodland "aisle" dragging Moe with her. Today was the day created for lovers . . .and it seemed that everything she saw was perfect.
The wind sighed calmly through the trees, tossing them lightly, and though it was winter, Regina and Emma had managed to confuse the trees and awaken them for a brief time so they blossomed and the path was strewn with cherry blossoms. The sun peeked through the clouds and shone down upon the little procession, for though the reception everyone had been invited to, this gathering was just for the bride, groom, best man, matron of honor and the bride's father.
"Who gives this woman in marriage?" asked the justice of the peace.
"I do," Moe said, and kissed Belle on the cheek. "Take care of her, Rumplestiltskin."
"Always," the groom assured him, and took Belle's hand in his.
"Rumple . . .when we first met, I made a deal to go with you forever, but I didn't know then forever meant finding the other half of my heart and soul hidden away in a lonely fortress. I thought I knew what love was, but all I knew was what I THOUGHT love was . . .the prince on the white horse com to sweep me away. What I didn't realize was that sometimes the prince is a beast in disguise or a lonely sorcerer who thinks no one could ever love him. Sometimes the best teacups are chipped . . .and you find your heart where you least expect it . . .I found mine the day I stared into a pair of amber eyes, and I have never lost it-despite curses old and new, it has endured. I promise to be a faithful, understanding, and loving wife, no matter what storms life shall throw at us, together we shall remain unbowed and unbroken, till the end of all things. For you are my haven, and my heart has found its home with you forever."
She took the ring, spun into a Celtic eternity knot with the words "Mo Chroi" my heart on the inside of the band, and placed it on his finger. "With this ring, I thee wed, Rumplestiltskin Gold."
Rumple took her hand and stared deeply into her eyes, feeling his heart quicken in time with hers, before he spoke, his voice deep and rich. "Belle . . .when I first made that deal with you, I swore this could never be love, for who could love a beast? All I wanted was a caretaker for my estate and my son, but what I found was far more. I found a delicate flame to guide me back to my true self. My heart was lost and lonely, but you were my flicker of light in an ocean of darkness, you believed in my when I didn't even believe in myself. More, you taught me that you don't have to be perfect to be loved and that you loved all of me, good and bad, for sometimes the best book has the dustiest jacket. I promise to be a faithful, understanding, and loving husband, no matter what storms life shall throw at us, we shall remain unbowed and unbroken, till the end of all things. For you are my haven, and my heart has found its home with you forever."
He took the ring Bae held out, which he had spun himself into another Celtic eternity knot with the same inscription on the band, and placed it on her finger. "With this ring, I thee wed, Belle French."
"By the power vested in me by the state of Maine, I now pronounce you husband and wife."
Before the last words had left his lips, Rumple took Belle in his arms and kissed her . . .a kiss that held all that he was and all he would ever be, a kiss of fiery passion and delicate dreams.
And deep within him he felt the spirit of the Dark One shudder in revulsion. But it did not depart. Not then.
Belle kissed him as if she were drowning and he was her breath of air that brought her back to life. And in a way, he was. If she had been his flicker of light, then he was hers also, allowing her the freedom she never would have had as Gaston's wife, loving her for both her sharp mind and feisty spirit and not just her beautiful face.
When they at last broke apart, slightly breathless, Moe was wiping his eyes with his handkerchief, Bae was smirking, and Snow was fanning herself.
"My word, I swear it's like summer all of a sudden!" she said, blushing slightly.
Bae laughed. "It's the Gold effect, Mrs. Nolan."
The reception was to be held at Regina's house, in her large backyard, as her wedding gift to the couple who had helped her to remain free after the curse broke. All of the chairs and tables were set in circles around the bride and groom's table, to signify the unending circle of life and love.
The backyard was filled with the scent of apples and white heather and many of Storybrooke's citizens gathered in it, sitting at the pristine white tablecloths with delicate blue willow branches on them. Silver, blue, and white streamers were wound all over the trees, and the tent poles. A removable oak dance floor was set up at one end, and a DJ was also poised to play a certain song when the couple walked in.
As Rumple and Belle approached, the DJ announced, as was the custom of this land, "Introducing for the first time-Mr. and Mrs. Gold!"
Everyone stood up and cheered as the bride and groom ran through an archway of apple, cherry, white heather, and goldenrod onto the dance floor.
As their feet touched the floor, Rumple transformed their clothing into their fairy tale garb-Belle in the beautiful blue chipped cup dress he had made for her at their betrothal, and himself in his leather pants, silk shirt and vest.
As he twirled slowly to the music, he using his cane lightly for balance, the DJ began to play a familiar tune-"Tale as Old as Time"-theme song from Beauty and the Beast.
Rumple waltzed with his beauty all across the floor and back, while the wedding guests watched and wept into tissues and handkerchiefs.
Bae clapped at the edge of the floor. "Show 'em how it's done, Papa!"
On the next turn across the floor, still in that stately glide, the DJ segued into Josh Groban's "In Her Eyes" which was the modern song they had chosen to represent them.
Rumple stared into Belle's eyes. "I love you, mo chroi."
"I love you too, beloved." They kissed again while all the guest cheered.
Once the sultry strains of their song had faded away, they separated, and Rumple went back to stand by Bae while Belle remained on the floor, and the DJ announced, "Our lovely bride Belle would like to invite her father Maurice onto the floor to dance the traditional father daughter dance to "Butterfly Kisses" by Bob Carlisle."
Maurice took his firstborn in his arms and murmured, "You look beautiful, Belle . . .just like your mama on her wedding day . . ."
Belle smiled through a sudden haze of happy tears. "And to think you used to say I'd never get a husband and end up an old maid married to my books with fifty cats!"
Moe laughed. "I was never so glad to be proven wrong in my life!"
"The beauty has found her beast, Papa."
"I know, darling. Your mama would be so proud of you, Belle. Like I am."
He wiped a tear from his eye. He wished his wife could see her little girl now, married to the most unexpected of men and as happy as she had ever been discovering a new story to read.
He kissed her cheek before he led her off the dance floor, back to her waiting husband.
Rumple was about to signal the DJ to play the first of their chosen songs for the bridal party and guests, when Pat Allen suddenly took his hand and pulled him out onto the floor.
"Dearie, what are ye doin'?" he asked, astonished at the petite old lady, dressed in a flowing gold and silver dress.
"Why, I'm dancin' wi' ye, laddie. The way yer mama would if she were here," Mrs. Allen said, and she snapped her fingers.
Louie Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World" began to play and she put her arms around a shell-shocked Rumple and giggled like a naughty school-girl.
"Surprised ye, did I, Rumple?"
"You did, you sly vixen!" he laughed. He was very touched that she would volunteer to stand in for his mother, whom he had never known, and he danced slowly and stately around with her . . .until the end, when she kicked up her heels and invited him to do the same.
Then at the dance's end, she winked roguishly at him and giggled, "Now . . .because I'm not yer mama, I can do this!"
And she reached back and pinched his backside. "That's fer wearin' those luscious leather pants!" she cackled, and sashayed off the dance floor, wishing for an instant she was thirty years younger.
Bae was laughing his ass off in the corner with his friends. "Those pants! They're like chick magnets!"
"When are you gonna get a pair, Fire?" teased Bobby.
"Soon, if I've got anything to say about it." Andi crooned. She was dressed in a gorgeous sky blue gown.
Bae blushed. He doubted if he'd look good in them, he was too scrawny, by his lights.
They made their way to their seats and Bae took up his glass of Moscato d'Oro and said, "I'd like to congratulate my mama and papa . . .for finally getting married after twenty something years! That's probably the longest betrothal in history!"
Everyone cracked up.
"Bae, you're so lucky I don't have my broom!" Belle teased.
"I can conjure one for you, dearie!" Rumple smirked.
Bae chuckled. "But seriously, I wish them every happiness and here's to the best parents anybody could ever have!"
"Here! Here!"
They all drank the toast to them and then came the dinner, mini slider hamburgers, bacon wrapped shrimp, bruschetta, stuffed mushrooms, and mini quiches. There was a strawberry fields salad with strawberry vinaigrette dressing, and a choice of either twin broiled Maine lobster tails, a succulent filet mignon with garlic butter sauce, or chicken saltimbocca all with fresh vegetables and rice pilaf or a baked potato.
After a lull to digest, aided by a small dish of lemon sorbet, the DJ began to play more dance tunes, like Van Halen's "Jump", "Dreams" and "Dance the Night Away", Queen's "It's A Kind of Magic" and "Who Wants to Live Forever" and the Hooters and Chicago.
While everyone was boogeying to the music, Rumple decided to take Belle around the side of the house where Regina had a pretty wrought iron bench and take her on his lap and kiss her senseless.
He had been good for all of the afternoon, but now he wanted to just be alone with his wife and kiss her, so that's what he did.
Belle was just as eager and kissed him back hungrily. She wanted to devour him like a sinfully rich chocolate souffle, and her hands plucked at his vest teasingly even as her mouth met his.
Their little interlude was interrupted by Bae clearing his throat and saying, "Hey! You know, you're supposed to be out there . . .not over here playing kiss and cuddle!"
Belle sprang apart from Rumple guiltily. "Bae! We were just . . err . . ."
"Taking a break," Rumple inserted lamely.
"Okay, Papa. Now let's not give the little kids an education they're not old enough for," Bae smirked. "Besides, you gotta come back and dance a few dances."
Rumple sighed. "Oh, very well." He gently set Belle on her feet.
Then they walked back around the house, and pretended they had been greeting guests seated in the back of the tent.
Regina and Robin smirked knowingly at them, and Regina said, "So how was the bench by the apple tree?"
"it was very comfortable," Belle blurted, then she realized too late what she'd admitted to. "Umm . . .what bench?"
Regina started laughing.
"Good try, Belle," Robin chuckled.
"Papa, come on. You need to get out there and dance some more," Bae urged.
"Why? So I can show you how it's done?" Rumple asked.
"Uh . . yeah . .. " he said, wanting to get his father onto the dance floor.
Rumple shook his head. "Okay, dearie." He walked out onto the floor, noting that all the former Scorpions, plus Ruby, Emma, Jeff, and Snow and David were all dancing.
He took Belle's hand and was about to draw her close when a familiar tune began to play.
"What's this?" he frowned at his wife.
"It's the chicken dance, Mr. Gold!" hooted Ewan.
"The what?" Gold gasped.
Belle coughed. "Umm . . it's a dance the kids like to do . . . where you dance like a chicken."
"Oh, hell no! I'm not dancing that!"
He started to leave, until Bae and some of his friends caught his arm. "C'mon, Papa! Look, we're all doing it! Hell, even Dr. Hopper is!"
He pointed to where Archie was flapping his arms and laughing at Marie, who was making ridiculous clucking noises at him.
"Bae, this isn't really my kind of thing . . ."
"Aww, come on, Mr. Gold!" Bobby urged. "You can do it!"
They all started chanting his name.
"Rumple . . ." Belle said coaxingly. "I'll do it with you."
"Okay, sweetheart. It's your wedding reception and you twisted my arm," he agreed.
"Show me how you do this dance, Baelfire."
Bae did, and soon had Rumple flapping his arms and wriggling and clucking like a chicken . . .when he wasn't laughing like crazy that is.
Snow, Emma, and Henry took pictures on their phones for posterity . . .and to have a good laugh when they needed one someday.
"Yeah, Mr. Gold!" Ewan, Kat, Bobby, and Becky cheered when the dance had ended.
"Wasn't that fun?" Belle smiled.
"It was thrilling, dearie," Rumple sighed.
She hugged him. "You were wonderful. The handsomest leather chicken ever!"
That made him grin. "Now why don't we make like a couple of pullets and go skedaddle."
Smirking, they slipped into the house and went to the kitchen, ostensibly to get a drink, but in reality they wanted more alone time.
Belle pulled Rumple into the corner of Regina's kitchen beside the pantry and began kissing him ardently.
Ten minutes later they heard, "Again, Mama? What are you two-rabbits!"
"Bae, pretend you don't see us," Belle groaned. Would they never stop getting interrupted?
"I can't. You gotta come and cut the cake."
Reluctantly they trooped outside and to the beautiful chipped cup fountain cake that Granny had made them. It was three tiers with a chipped cup in the middle of a chocolate fountain, two tiers of a beautiful devil's food cake with real whipped cream and banana filling and the top tier had the chipped cup with molten chocolate flowing in streams into a little basin on top of the first two tiers.
"Wow this is almost too good to eat," Belle murmured. Then together she and Rumple cut the first slice with an antique cake slicer.
"Feed it to him, Belle!" hooted Marie.
"Now be nice, dearie!" Rumple grinned as Belle held out the fork with the cake on it.
She popped it into his waiting mouth . . .and deliberately smeared his cheek with the whipped cream.
"Oooh! You minx!" he shook his head, laughing.
"It's an excuse . . to kiss you," she purred and did so.
"My turn!" he sang.
"Rumple, you'd better not do what I think you're going to!"
"What am I going to do?" he asked, a devilish light in his eyes. He picked up a rather large piece of cake. "Open wide now!"
Belle did . . .and he loving husband stuffed the cake into her mouth . . and on her nose.
She was laughing so hard she almost choked.
"You . . .you . . beast!"
"Guilty!" he smirked and then he kissed the whipped cream off her nose.
All the guest sighed and awwed.
The bride and groom went around a visited with their guests after the dessert was served.
Everyone was having a wonderful time and just when Belle was thinking about taking Rumple back behind the trees in the apple orchard for some more secret smooching and so forth, Bae waylaid them and said, "No . . .now you need to throw the bouquet and the garter, so no more hanky panky!"
"What are you, our watchdog?" Rumple shook a finger at his son.
"If you didn't stop trying to imitate turtledoves, Papa, I wouldn't be like this," Bae shook his head. "Save it for the wedding night."
"Brat!" Rumple snorted and gave his son a playful swat.
"Now get the bouquet and garter thrown! You first, Mama."
Belle stepped out into the center of the dance floor holding her bouquet.
"Allll right you single ladies of Storybrooke, form a line behind the bride and the lucky lady who catches it is believed to be the next one to get married!" the DJ announced.
A small crowd gathered and Belle scanned the crowd for stragglers. "Regina! Marie...Emma...over here...now!" she ordered.
Regina looked like she was being dragged to her execution. Emma was rolling her eyes and Marie was looking around to see who would make a smart comment about how a woman of her reputation didn't belong there.
The three women were in the front of the line now. Belle turned her back to them. There were so many women in the crowd whom she felt deserved a chance at love and happiness but none more so than Marie. As the crowd counted off, she tossed the bouquet over her shoulder followed by the excited cries of the women who WANTED to catch but call it fate or chance, the bouquet landed exactly where the bride wished it to...directly into the hands of a shocked Marie Bordreaux.
Belle hugged her. "I'm so glad you caught it."
"I wasn't trying to...it just landed right in my hands!"
"Yeah it was weird," Emma confirmed.
Regina simply smiled.
"Now...Rumple...let's see you get that garter!" Jeff hooted.
"Before we have the garter toss, we'd like to ask all those under the age of eighteen to go into the house for a bit," Regina announced.
Bae laughed.
"What's the big deal? He's just gonna put his hand up her skirt and get it," Henry said.
"Yeah well it's still NSFY."
"What?"
"Not safe for you."
He didn't understand why he and his friends were included in the group of young kids...hell they'd done more than that in the gang.
David set a chair out for Belle and the DJ began to play The Stripper as Rumple slowly lifted her skirt and ran his hand up her thigh.
"Just how high up there is it, dearie?" he asked with a smirk.
"That's for me to know...and you to find out my sexy beast..." she purred, the touch of his hand on her skin making her wish their wedding night had already gotten started.
"Ahhh ha...there were are..." he murmured as his fingers grasped the blue silk and lace band and dragged it slowly down her thigh to her calf among catcalls and wolf whistles from the men in attendance. The sorcerer rose to his feet with his prize in his hand and an impish grin on his face.
Regina asked the DJ to have the children return.
"Now let's have all the single men in Storybrooke gather around for the garter toss. Are you ready, Rumple?"
"Not quite...where do you think you're going, Hopper?" he demanded of Archie, who was trying to sneak out.
"Umm...ummm..."
"Oh get in there!" Jeff said and practically dragged the former cricket over to the group.
"You too Bae!" Rumple ordered his son.
"Awww come on!"
"Now!"
The teenager groaned but obeyed.
"Now I'm ready."
Rumple turned his back to the men and the countdown began. He tossed the garter over his shoulder. There was a brief scuffle and when he turned around the scrap of silk and lace was dangling from a a blushing Archie Hopper's finger.
"Now where is that lovely lady with the bouquet...come up here, please?"
"Go on, Marie..." Belle encouraged.
"But...HE...caught..."
"Archie's a gentleman, Marie. All he has to do is put it on your leg...that's it."
The dwarves where whistling, thinking they were the only ones who knew these two were more familiar with each other than they were letting on.
Marie sat down in the chair while Archie kneeled beside her, still blushing as he put it on her.
Ashley Boyd was furious. For years she wanted to be the one to catch a bouquet and finally...finally get her prince to marry her but she was never fast enough.
Bae would be spending the night at Regina's. She invited all of Henry's friends to stay for a slumber party.
Next was the bridal dance. Snow and David stood on each side of the dance floor. David holding a tray of shot glasses while Snow held Belle's silk purse. Everyone had to pay Snow to dance with either the bride or the groom, or both. The money they raised would be donated to help children with dyslexia, autism and ADHD. Many of the guests went through the line several times and though the couple was eager to start their wedding night, the money they were raising was for causes close to their hearts.
The couple said their goodbyes to everyone and climbed into the limousine for the trip to the cabin after the bridal dance was over. Once the door closed behind them Rumple took his bride into his arms and kissed her.
"Mrs. Gold..." he murmured.
"Mr. Gold..."
She was his at last in name only...for now but after tonight she would be more than just his wife, she would be his soul mate for once he pledged his heart, body and soul to her, the dark entity could no longer hold him.
Earlier that morning Rumple drove out to the cabin alone and set everything up for a romantic evening including a bottle of wine, soft music, a tray of fruits and cheeses and a special gift...a nightgown for her he made himself that he looked forward to dressing her in almost as much as he would removing it so that he could make love to her.
How different this wedding night would be from his first. He discovered quickly that Milah was not the innocent she claimed to be and he felt like a fumblefooted ass during their relations, he wouldn't dare call them lovemaking now.
Though Belle clearly desired him as much as he desired her, he wanted to take things slowly...make every moment last as long as they could...feel instead of think for that was the true beauty of it...the combination of the physical union and the emotion. You could not have one without the other or the act itself was hollow.
Part of him still held onto his fears that she would change her mind once she saw ALL of him. He was not a young man anymore and there were scars...one on his leg from when he'd broken it and two more on his back from his father's belt from the worst beating he was given as a lady also the last for the old man dropped him off with the spinsters shortly afterwards.
Belle knew what to expect that night, having recalled her conversation with Cosette about it and she wasn't as frightened or nervous as most virgin brides would be. She trusted her husband completely. He would be gentle with her and also patient but more importantly tonight would be about BOTH of them...not just him or her. He was the kind of lover who thought of his partner's needs first then his own.
She would do the same. She knew he was still having his doubts that he was physically attractive, doubts she would shatter with her kisses and her gentle touch. She wanted no more barriers between them after tonight.
She suspected he bore physical scars from his father's mistreatment and also one from injuring himself for the love of his son and was probably ashamed to let her see them. He had nothing to be ashamed of. They showed he was not a coward at all, but a survivor. Everyone bore scars of a struggle in life but not all of them visible. He still had so many inside...
"Congratulations again and may you have a wonderful honeymoon," Dove said softly, leaving the two of them alone in the house as he drove back to town.
He swung her up in his arms and started carrying her up the stairs slowly, knowing that sometimes his leg ached after climbing only half of the steps but tonight his leg was willing to work with him and he was managing without difficulty.
With his free hand, Rumple opened the door to their bedroom and escorted her inside, the sight that met her eyes taking her breath away. The bed itself was covered with rose petals, the only light in the room being provided by candles in long gold holders, the scents of strawberries and cream lingering in the air. There was a bottle of wine chilling in a bucket on the nightstand on one side of the bed along with two glasses and a tray of fruits and cheeses. On the other nightstand soft music was playing from the Bose system. There was a box wrapped in blue foil tied with a bow made from his own spun gold in the middle of the bed.
"Rumple! You've already given me so much..."
She was like a child on Christmas Day, her blue eyes sparkling and her cheeks aglow as she picked up the box, shook it a bit then untied the bow and peeled off the wrapping paper slowly.
Inside the box was a soft cotton sapphire blue nightgown with a sheared waist and climbing roses. She held it up, thinking how beautiful it was because it was made with love by his own hands. He leaned forward and kissed her. "For tomorrow morning..." he said softly.
"It's beautiful..."
She kissed him back then set the box on the chair beside the bed.
For several minutes they stared at each other, after all that time unsure of what to do next.
"Rumple..."
"Yes...?"
"I don't want to wait anymore..." she whispered.
He drew her back to him, all the desire he'd been feeling since they were reunited coming to the surface as he kissed her again and she held him tightly, kissing him back with a desire that matched his. They moved slowly towards the bed and lay down still wrapped in each other's arms.
"Too many barriers..." she murmured and to his delight she was slowly undoing the buttons on his shirt.
"Unbuttoning the Dark One?" he asked huskily.
"Unbuttoning my husband...and you're distracting me...unless you'd like to help me get this dress off..."
"Ye dinna hae t'ask me twice my sweetheart..."
He reached behind her back and began untying the laces in the back of her gown. She could feel the bodice loosen and sighed contentedly, undoing the last button on his shirt and caressed his chest.
As he lowered the bodice of her dress down to her waist, she helped him out of his shirt and vest. They dropped to the floor beside the bed. Normally he would have balked at having clothes on the floor because of his OCD but at that moment she could have tossed them into a volcano and he wouldn't have minded a bit as long as she continued to touch him so gently...
To them their layers of clothing represented the layers to their love, the stronger it was, the more layers they felt brave enough to uncover until the last was peeled away. Belle could sense her husband's nervousness as she gazed at him, divest of the leathers and three piece suits that were his armor most of his life. And he was still beautiful to her because he wasn't perfect...neither was she.
He could barely breathe when she touched him, communicating with her hands that she didn't see old man he did when he looked in the mirror. Any further doubts he may have had were shattered when she replaced her hands with her lips. "I love ALL of you..." she insisted.
He in turn, showed her how he worshipped her, his beauty who in his eyes was perfect and could've had any man she wanted yet she chose HIM...and brought back the man that had been hidden behind the beast. "I love ye, my Belle and my heart, body and soul are yours...til the end of my days..."
"I love you, Rumplestiltskin and my heart, body and soul are yours...till the end of my days..."
He gazed deeply into her eyes asking without words if she was sure.
He found his answer in her eyes, in the love reflected in them.
With gentleness and patience the last barrier, the last layer was uncovered. There was some discomfort at first as she expected but it did not last long and she was caught up a new sensation, one of complete fulfillment and it had been well worth the wait. She'd read about lovemaking in her books but could not find enough words to express the sheer beauty of what she found that night in her husband's arms.
She felt like her chipped cup constellation in the sky, burning brighter with every touch and on that night, with their hearts, bodies and souls joined at last as one they now had the power to send the dark one to the void forever.
Through the power of their love for each other, as sometimes occurred with couples where one partner was a mage, a magical union was formed-heart, soul, and mind . . .a bond to last for all of eternity, and it allowed the bonded partners to sometimes feel the other's emotions and on occasion even physical experiences as well. Such a bond was formed that night when at last a beauty and her beast became one . . .and it was part of the reason the demon that hid within the recesses of his mind now wanted to be free of him, for the touch of bonded true lovers was anathema to it.
Yet it lingered, almost reluctant to release its hold upon the host and the soul it had held so long, and it clung even while cringing back into the recesses of Rumplestiltskin's mind, like a stubborn parasite.
But Rumple was not aware of this at that moment and slumbered peacefully in his wife's arms.
Page~*~*~*~*~Break
Back when Rumple had been cursed as pawnbroker and landlord Robert Gold, he had gone to the doctor to see if anything could be done about his leg, which he had then believed to have been injured in a car accident long ago. The accident, he had believed, had cost him not only his injured leg, but also his son and wife. Dr. McCoy, the orthopedist, had explained that little could be done for the leg except special sets of exercises in a Jacuzzi, which would loosen the muscles and enable him to move without much pain or stiffness.
So he'd had a first class one installed in the cabin's backyard, surrounded by a half moon gazebo, where a padded bench was to put towels and a robe and some moosehide slippers as well as lean his cane against. The hot tub was kept at a constant 108 degrees and had a special set of stairs with a railing for Gold to climb easily into and out of the tub. It was tiled with Italian mosaic tile and the mosaic on the bottom was of a beautiful rose and a beauty in a gold gown dancing with a man with golden skin dressed in leather pants and a deep crimson shirt . . . while around them a hassock, candelabra, clock, and an armoire watched from the wings. The artist he'd commissioned it from had looked at him like he was nuts, but he did what Gold wanted. And now Rumple understood why he'd wanted that particular picture—it was of himself and Belle and the enchanted furniture in the Dark Castle—Beauty and the Beast . . .the real thing.
And he could look at it while he soaked in the Jacuzzi, while doing his special therapeutic exercises and letting the water and the massage jets work their own brand of magic.
He rose early the morning after his wedding night, reluctant to leave Belle, but he wanted to get in an hour or so in the tub before he started the day, so his leg wasn't hampering him and he could just enjoy his little weekend honeymoon at the cabin with Belle. So he kissed her sweetly and left her dreaming before going down to the Jacuzzi in his slippers, robe, and gold Speedo, which he wore to do the exercises in.
He put his plush crimson robe on the bench and kicked off his slippers, leaning his cane against the side of it before making his way down the steps into the steaming sunken pool of water.
Just as he put a foot on the top step he heard a soft sigh of appreciation behind him.
"Ooohh, Rumple! So this is where you went!"
He turned carefully, still gripping the railing, to see Belle standing behind him, her sapphire eyes gleaming in the early dawn light. "Hello, sweetheart. Did I wake you?"
"No . . . I woke up because you weren't near me," she admitted. "And I searched the whole house before I saw . . . you from the back door . . ." Her eyes roamed his trim form and especially his sexy backside, shown to great advantage in his gold Speedo. "I like how you look in that . . . almost as much as I do when you're in your leather pants . . ." she had a suggestive purr in her voice.
His eyes crinkled as he grinned at her. "See something you like, dearie?"
"I like everything I see . . ." she laughed. "You ought to know that." She was standing barefoot on the small blue tiled floor surrounding the Jacuzzi, in only her pretty champagne negligee, her hair an auburn tangle mussed from sleep. "What are you doing up so early?"
"Water ballet," he teased, smirking. Then he said, "I wanted to do my hydrotherapy exercises before we went to the cabin, so my leg wouldn't be stiff and achy. So . . . here I am . . ."
"You do exercises in that?" she indicated his Speedo.
"Yes. Why? It's easy for me to move around in, not that I swim, but . . .well, I can do the exercises easily with it on . . ." he admitted, smirking devilishly.
"If anybody saw . . ."
"What, you think anyone would be peeking through the trees into the backyard to catch me getting into my own hot tub?" he laughed.
"They'd better not! Or I'll . . . I'll . . . punch their spying eyes out!" she threatened.
His warm chuckle rumbled through the air. "Nobody has ever seen me like this . . . except you . . . ."
"Good. And nobody ever should! Or else you might cause an epidemic of vapors and palpitations," she remarked, giggling.
"And we cannae have that, now can we?" he drawled, in that irresistible accent he used with her only when they were alone.
He turned and made his way down the steps, sinking into the hot water with a sigh of pleasure. He made his way to the seat and sat down, turning on the jets as he did so and letting the water wash over his injured limb. He tilted his head back on the padded head rest at the top of the tub and let the water work out all the knots in his leg gradually.
Belle watched him longingly, noting the lines of strain and stress around his face disappeared as he soaked in the hot water. His silky hair floated lazily about his head, glinting wetly in the sunlight as it touched the tops of the trees. She moved over to gaze down upon him, unable to take her eyes off him.
He began to slowly rotate his ankle beneath the water, doing ten reps of one exercise before moving onto another and then another, doing five different stretches ten times each. Then he settle again to soak beneath the massage jets.
It was then he caught Belle eyeing him, and he said, "You have this look on your face . . . like you want to come in here . . ."
"Well . . . umm . . . I would . . . but . . ." she gestured at her negligee.
"Is that all?" he asked wickedly. Then he stood up and before she knew what he was about, he'd picked her up and pulled her into the tub.
"Rumple!" she squealed. "I'm in my . . ."
"Oh who cares?" he chuckled. "There's only me to see you!"
And what a sight she was, he thought, his hands spanning her waist easily as he lowered her down onto his lap, her negligee becoming nearly transparent in the water, though most of her was obscured by the foaming water.
His hands caressed her shapely bottom, and he kissed her ardently, his lips upon hers sending shockwaves through her.
She let out a soft moan and her hands slipped down his back. "Rumple . . . oh gods . . .we shouldn't . . . what . . . if someone sees . . .?"
"No worries, dearie. The only ones awake at this hour are the birds and squirrels, and they've seen it all," he told her. "Now . . . let's pick up where we left off last night . . ."
Belle found that her initial shyness last night had vanished, and she was quite willing to follow Rumple's lead and explore him with all of her newfound curiosity and passion. The water stroked her skin like delicate fingers, and she started kissing Rumple's neck, making her way down his collarbone after nibbling playfully on his ear.
" Mmm . . . I don't know if you want to seduce me or eat me . . . but I could care less . . ."
Then he returned the favor, nibbling delicately on her neck and letting his fingers walk tantalizingly down her back . . .
Together they learned each other's bodies all over, discovering anew the pleasure they had shared last night, giving and taking and sharing in a heretofore unknown and undiscovered burst of wild passion, where he gave to her all that he was—darkness, light, and all things inbetween, surrendering his heart to her without fear, without hesitation, and letting the love she felt for him fill him to the brim, like a cup overflowing with light and love and life.
Unknown to them, for both were lost in the sensations the other conjured in them, their shared passion and love was starting to do something unheard of . . . it was beginning to break the ancient curse that had held Rumplestiltskin in thrall for so very long.
A soft golden glow slowly spread through him, as the dagger curse was broken apart, bit by bit, by the tender affirmation and true love of a beauty for her cursed husband, and his for the only woman who had ever loved all of him without reservation and without judgment—past and present, imp and spinner, Dark One and Mr. Gold. Her touch chased away the shadows and filled the ocean of darkness with light, and the demon that had for so long dominated his soul and brought forth all of his dark impulses was sent wailing off into the void . . .and the heart that was once dark was reclaimed again for the light . . . save for a tiny dark spot, a reminder of his cursed self . . .as well as his damaged leg . . . the price to be paid for taking on the dagger curse.
The dagger itself, lying in a secret vault in his study . . . suddenly crumbled into dust and the Dark One was vanquished . . . and Rumplestiltskin was freed at last from the terrible burden that had consumed him.
A/N: And so we come to the end of this part of the tale . . .but if you've been following the series, you'll know there's a sequel, Unexpected Surprise, up already as well as the companion one shot A Sweet Lovely Moment, and the companion sequel called True Love Conquers All, which goes into the Archie and Marie side of the story.
How did you like the-white shirt and jeans Rumple wore, the wedding dances, and the last part with-Gold's Speedo . .. see he really DOES wear one in thise version! For those of you who don't know, the Speedo scene was based upon a funny interview with Bobby Carlylse and the Once cast where they had to play a game called two lies and one truth, and Gold wearing a Speedo was one of his lies .. .but I liked it so much I decided to make it real . . . thank you, dearies for reading , reviewing, and following this story! Hope to see you again reading Unexpected Surprise!