Surprise

There was a time when Rumpel was worried about introducing Belle to Bae and vice versa. He never imagined he would be fortunate enough to have them both in his life, especially since the majority of his life had been a series of mishaps and misery. What if Bae met Belle, quite possibly his future stepmother, and did not approve of her? What if Bae chalked it up to an overdue attempt to replace the memory of his mother? What if Rumpel somehow could not grant the same amount of devotion to both and ended up being torn between the two?

It may have been his old insecurities and expectation for disappointment at work, but he couldn't help but to experience butterflies in his stomach whenever he pictured Belle and Bae in the same room. Something would go wrong. Something always went wrong.

It wasn't too long before he realized how foolish he'd been.

From the moment Belle met Bae, she welcomed him into her heart as if he were her own son returned home. Bae was a little more hesitant, but soon his walls came down and he matched Belle's warmth. They became closer than Rumpel ever dared to hope for. Bae made friendly stops now and then to see his father and say hello to Belle. If there was anything troubling on his mind, he often went to Belle to ask for her advice. It saddened Rumpel a little to know that Bae hardly ran to him with his problems, but he gave Belle credit for being a good listener.

They became so close, in fact, that Rumpel even found them in his kitchen one quiet afternoon, heads bent together, and hushed words passing between them. Identical grins plastered their faces and their eyes twinkled with a secret that Rumpel was not invited to know. Belle was scribbling fiercely on a notepad; a list, by the looks of it. Some items were already crossed out, though he would have to venture closer to read it.

He paused in the door of the kitchen to observe them for a moment. They spoke in a way people often did when making an effort not to be overheard. He would be lying if he claimed his curiosity did not peak.

"What are we discussing so quietly in here?" The sound of his voice was like a blast of cannonfire. Belle and Bae sat up straight in their chairs. Their whispers died on their lips. It was disconcertingly obvious to him that he was the subject of their conversation.

"Nothing," Bae blurted out in the anxious way that meant something. Something he didn't want his father to know.

Belle pivoted around in her chair and offered him one of the bright smiles that tended to make his heart hammer in his chest-in a good way. Meanwhile, she stealthily tried to flip over the notepad. Rumpel contemplated stealing it away, his fingertips already itching to grab it. At the very least, it might be enough to satisfy his curiosity.

"Strange. Generally when people claim to be talking about nothing, it is a sign they're talking about something rather important. And usually when someone walks into a room and all conversation stops, that someone happens to be the topic of conversation." His eyes darted from Belle to Bae, anticipating the slip-up of a guilty expression.

Belle kept her face neutral as she hopped off her chair. She beckoned for him to step into the comfort of her arms. She brushed the hair out of his eyes and he began to lose himself in her gentle touch. He began to drown in her affectionate smile. She was his personal siren.

"Don't be paranoid," she said soothingly. Her breath teased his cheek. "There's nothing to worry about. Trust me."

His eyes fluttered closed as her touch became more mesmerizing, her words a hypnotic lullaby.

"I do trust you." He turned his head and captured her parted lips. It wasn't an overly passionate kiss-he was still aware of his son being in the room-yet Bae groaned nonetheless. Rumpel used one hand to cup the back of Belle's neck to kiss her a little harder. His other arm stretched around Belle, his hand fumbling for the overturned notepad...

"Don't even think about it, Papa," Bae scolded and practically leaped over the table to snatch up the notepad before Rumpel's hand located it. Breaking his kiss with Belle, his hand rushed down through empty air, but his palm only managed to slap the table. He moaned in frustration. Belle gave him a disapproving look for even trying such a trick.

"You'll find out what it is soon enough," Bae said. He pinned the notepad to the table with his elbow. Rumpel glared at it. There was something secretive written on that notepad, written in Belle's neat handwriting, and he desperately wanted to know what it was.

"Why can't I know now?" He pouted. Even to his ears, he came off sounding like a child who had not been given their way. It would be so much easier if they stopped beating around the bush. What was the difference between learning their secret right there, in that kitchen, and waiting for it sometime in the future?

"It'll ruin the surprise," Belle said and kissed his cheek. His pout threatened to loosen up, but he stubbornly kept it in place.

"I hate surprises," he murmured. If there was some trivial matter he did not know about, he detested being kept in the dark. His curious, calculating mind craved that knowledge. Both of them were well aware of it and should have understood it, being curious in nature themselves. But Belle and Bae were adamant. Teaming up against him, they were resistant to his reasoning.

"You'll enjoy this one. I promise," Belle said. Her blue eyes pleaded with him to be patient. He felt his resolve crumble. Belle and Bae were the two people he loved and trusted most in the town of Storybrooke. For that reason, he decided to give them the benefit of the doubt.

...

Since Belle and Bae were unwilling to surrender any hints about their secret, he decided to step outside the house to clear his head. Perhaps the fresh air would help him forget about it for a little while. He wandered into town, but there wasn't much to distract him from his troubling thoughts. Not even Regina was around for him to mock. No matter where he went, no matter how far he strayed from his house, he couldn't take his mind off of it.

What could their surprise possibly be? It drove him up the wall with not knowing.

He sighed and slipped inside Granny's Diner. At this hour of the afternoon, the place was rather busy, but he spotted a row of empty stools at the bar. Maybe a drink would help him untangle the nest of thoughts in his head. Red was working behind the bar, refilling someone's drink. The idea hit him all at once and it was far too tempting to resist.

"You look conflicted," Red was kind enough to point out when he settled on one of the bar stools. He gave her a mocking grin that fell flat in seconds. He wondered how much persuasion it would take on his part to encourage Red to spill the beans. There were beans to spill, he was certain of it.

"Ruby was notorious for being the town gossip, among other things," he started. He watched her intently, scrutinizing her face for any sign of secrecy lurking beneath the surface. Just as he expected, her brows furrowed, her red lips tightened, and a distinctly guarded look fell over her dark eyes. She knew.

"So I've heard," Red remarked. She was hiding behind quips, but he wasn't about to let her evade him for long. She had the answers he desired; he was determined to get them.

"I also know that you are good friends with Belle. If there was anything personal she was hesitant to share with someone like, say, me...it's likely she would mention it to you. So, is there anything you'd care to share?"

Red had been serving him a genuine look of pity while he spoke, but now it faded away. In its place was sheer disbelief and scorn.

"Your girlfriend is keeping something from you, so you're asking me to deliberately break girl code and dish out all her secrets?" That was a no if he'd ever heard one. No man stood a chance when it came to the code of honor females held sacred amongst each other.

Something slapped him hard on the back of the head. He hissed, even cursed under his breath, and rubbed it. His eyes wildly scoured for the source of his discomfort, all the while lingering over several dreary curses in his head that would suit the brainless individual that assaulted him. Those curses fled his mind when his eyes finally landed on his attacker.

A sour-faced Granny leaned against the bar. One hand was planted firmly on her hip while the other hand crushed a tightly-rolled newspaper. Those steely-gray eyes ridiculed him over the rims of her glasses.

"What was that for?" Or had she finally gone batty and only did it because he had the nerve to walk through her door in the first place? She scowled even worse than before and pointed the end of that rolled newspaper in his face.

"That was for prying," she thundered. He glanced over at Red for help, but she was suddenly interested in wiping the bar with a tattered rag. "You listen to me. Belle gave us strict orders not to say a word about what she's doing. I intend to honor her wishes. So unless she tells me otherwise, I'll be taking that information to my grave. The only thing you need to know, you foolish imp, is that the girl cares very deeply about you and that you should be grateful for every ounce of it. Personally, I will never understand what she sees in you."

Rumpel was struck speechless by Granny's lecture. Luckily, she lowered the newspaper when he made no further objections. His neck felt hot above the collar of his suit and he wondered how red his skin had become. Getting scolded by Granny was equal to getting caught with your hand in the cookie jar. She had a way of making you squirm under her gaze.

"Yes, Granny," he mumbled, for she would not back down until she heard it. Even when she moved away from his side, he felt her furious eyes burning into his body. Red shrugged sympathetically.

"Even if I wanted to tell you, I wouldn't. Not just for Belle, but because Granny would fire me on the spot," Red added. "If I betrayed Belle, she would give me a verbal whiplashing. If you ask me, that's ten times worse than being physically slapped."

Red had a point. When Belle verbally put someone in their place, for she rarely resorted to physical means, the unfortunate soul felt the sting for a long while afterward. He may be the manipulative dealmaker, but Belle had a way with words that he could never reciprocate.

"You're her granddaughter. I highly doubt the stakes are so high," he countered. Red raised her eyebrows.

"If you think she's joking, you clearly don't know Granny as well as you think."

Without waiting for his reply or any other prying questions, she strode away to attend to the other customers in the diner. He chanced another glance at Granny before he left. Alarmingly, she was still watching him like a hawk and slapping her palm with that rolled newspaper.

...

After leaving the diner, Rumpel simply let his feet lead him where they would. The thought of shutting himself inside the cramped back room of his shop wasn't pleasing. Even though he treasured every moment he spent with Belle and Bae, he didn't know if he was ready to return home with the reminder of their secret so close to the front of his mind. There was no other place in Storybrooke he truly belonged, no one else he could properly turn to, unless he wanted to unload his feelings on Archie's couch.

It surprised him when his feet carried him to the apartment building where the Charmings lived. Charming might be there; Charming might be willing to give him some friendly advice. For a moment that seemed to last an eternity, he studied the building and debated doing just that. He and Charming weren't exactly best buddies, but maybe...given their long, complicated history...it wouldn't be the first time...nor likely the last...

What did he have to lose?

Before he knew it, he had opened the door and entered the apartment building. He climbed each step until he reached the very top, where their apartment was located. His bad leg was stiff and exhausted from the effort. Doubt pressed against the corners of his mind, but he knocked before giving himself an opportunity to back out of it.

Almost immediately, the green door swung open and there stood Charming. He stood tall against the doorframe, his muscles coiled under his shirt, as though he could grab a sword and go into battle at any given second. It certainly wouldn't surprise Rumpel if he did. Those ocean blue eyes darkened with confusion as he assessed Rumpel up and down.

"Can I help you?"

Rumpel was counting on it, but he bit down on his tongue before he could admit it out loud. He scrambled for the right words to explain his reason for being there, but the words would not come. Several times he opened his mouth, sure that he finally had the right combination of words, only to close his mouth again. Charming stared at him expectantly.

What was the least painful way to put this?

"I am in need...of your advice," he said hesitantly. He waited for Charming to question him or to appear shocked. Instead, Charming merely gestured for him to get whatever was troubling him off his chest. Listening to the woes of others and devising a way to help must fall under the category of heroic abilities. "What do you usually do when your wife is keeping something from you?"

"I don't do anything," Charming answered automatically. Rumpel's shoulders slumped forward and he gave the prince an irritated look. That was even less helpful than Granny and Red. Charming held up his hand before Rumpel could protest. "I don't do anything because Snow and I share everything. There's no need for secrecy. What we have together is a loving, honest, understanding relationship."

Maybe he should have gone to Regina for advice. Though, knowing her streak of deception, her answer would be something along the lines of seducing Belle to the point of getting the answers out of her mid-moan. Kissing Belle to distract her long enough to claim that notepad was one thing, but he refused to take advantage of her that way.

"Whenever I cross paths with one of you, I find it impossible to stomach sweets for a solid week," he grumbled. Charming did not seem to take any offense by the insult. If anything, the prince probably saw it as a compliment of how good of heart he was.

"I take it you're having issues in the girlfriend department," Charming said. Rumpel avoided his gaze, training his eyes on the scuffed hallway floor instead, and that alone proved Charming's suspicions. Charming was much too quiet. It was only when Rumpel risked a glance at his face that he realized he was waiting to hear Rumpel's story. If he wanted help, he needed to talk.

"Both Belle and Bae are keeping something from me. I have no idea what it is. Nor can I come up with any reasonable explanation. They've advised me not to worry, but of course that only makes me worry more." Charming offered up a thoughtful hmm from behind his lips.

"Put some trust in those you love. They might surprise you-pleasantly." Charming's blue eyes glimmered and a silly lopsided grin covered his face. Rumpel could swear he read I know something you don't know written all over it. Or was he being paranoid again?

"Do you know what it is they're planning?" Rumpel pointed his finger accusingly at Charming's chest. That odd grin widened slightly. It was easier to read Charming than it was to read Belle. First Red, then Granny..."Does everyone in this town know this secret except for me?"

"Not everyone. Whale doesn't know," Charming reassured him. Rumpel snorted. His only consolation was to track down Whale and revel in someone else's cluelessness. It didn't seem all that satisfying, even in his head. Charming clapped him on the shoulder. "Go home, Rumpel. Be with Belle, be with your son, and be appreciative of everything you share with them."

Rumpel nodded silently. He tossed a solemn thank-you over his shoulder as he turned to descend the stairs. There was nothing else to be done now except return home. Maybe Belle would be kind enough to give him a hint about his surprise. He might even beg.

...

It was early in the evening when Rumpel reached his house and the narrow path that led to the front door. His gait had been slower than usual and he'd given a lot of thought to what Belle and Bae's surprise might be. Unfortunately, he still didn't have many plausible ideas.

What if they were redecorating the house? Adding Belle's womanly touch to it? That wasn't a cause for secrecy, unless they truly wanted him to be surprised about the change. If Belle and Bae wanted to do something different to the house, he would personally place the paintbrushes and tools in their hands. So long as they didn't spring a leak or create a gaping hole in the middle of the floor, it couldn't be worse than the miserable fact that his house was pink. He used to insist that it was salmon to save his pride, but who was he fooling? That was downright pink and Regina had maliciously giggled every day during the curse.

Was Bae making plans to move in? No, that wasn't right, either. He would love nothing more than to open his home to his son, but Bae made it clear he did not want to depend on his father for money or shelter in this world. Besides, that was something he expected Bae to discuss with him first.

What if...oh, gods, what if Belle was planning to...propose? It was unheard of in their world since the man was regarded as the provider of the family and the head name of the household, but this land was different. In this land, it might be perfectly acceptable for a woman to propose to a man instead of the other way around. A wedding would certainly call for a list and Bae would no doubt help Belle if she was determined.

It was one of his more astounding theories about the upcoming surprise, but it was one he took the longest to shoot down. The notepad containing a list, the whispers and secrecy, the fact that everyone in town seemed to know...Everything fit in place. It made sense. Belle was confident; she was a woman who knew what she wanted and would not hesitate to take the opportunity that would lead to their happy ending.

Belle was proposing.

The butterflies returned.

Before he made it to the front door, it opened and Belle hurried out to meet him. She must have been waiting for him to arrive. Her hands were empty and there were no pockets in her dress to stash a small velvet box. The surprise was inside, then.

"Rumpel, I'm so glad you're home," she exclaimed and happily flung her arms around his neck. The way her petite body collided with his nearly made him topple backward and lose his balance. He pressed a hand to the small of her back and held her against him. She smelled of vanilla.

"I'm glad to be home with you, sweetheart," he replied sincerely. Was this what it would be like if he and Belle actually took that leap and got married? Would he be blessed enough to return home at the end of the day to Belle's arms? His brown eyes wandered over her shoulder to the front door, but she made sure to shut it behind her. "About that surprise..."

Belle cut his words off with an unexpected kiss. This one was far more passionate than the one they shared earlier that afternoon. When her lips parted from his, he had to catch his breath. His tongue ran over his lips and he immensely enjoyed how the taste of Belle lingered there.

"You'll get your surprise, but first..."

She began to undo the knot in his tie. His heart raced in his chest and he frantically looked around at the other houses, in case anyone else was watching. Was this Belle's way of building up to it? By making him feel good first? What about Bae? Had he left to give them some alone time?

Oh, gods...

Belle finished undoing the tie and pried his shirt open. The silk tie threaded between her fingers. His knees grew weak as his imagination bounded ahead and he envisioned her unbuttoning the rest of his shirt or peppering his skin with teasing kisses. Strangely the risk of being seen this way, out in the open, made it more exciting.

Belle still clutched the tie in her hands when she walked around to stand behind him. Then the strip of silk dropped down over his eyes. She was tying it, denying him the ability to see. What was this woman doing to him?

"If you want your surprise," Belle spoke into the shell of his ear. "You'll have to trust me to lead you to it." Rumpel dipped his head to show he understood. He told her that afternoon that he trusted her and he meant it with all his heart. At this point, he would let Belle lead him wherever she desired.

He listened to the sound of her footsteps on the path as she circled around him completely. She took ahold of his hands and began to lead him along. Without being able to see, his feet shuffled over the ground and he turned his head this way and that to get a sense of his suroundings. The world was shrouded in darkness.

"Trust me, Rumpel," Belle reminded him when he showed signs of slowing his pace. He never thought being robbed of sight could be so difficult to adjust to, and he was glad it wasn't permanent. "Hold onto my hands. I won't let you fall."

He believed her. She would not let him fall, any more than he let her fall off that ladder to inevitable injury in his castle. His hearing became his strongest sense. He knew they had reached the door when he heard Belle stop to open it. Then she guided him over the threshold and closed the door behind him. Belle escorted him past the stairs, past the cluttered living room, down the hallway toward the kitchen.

If she was going to propose, which was still questionable in his mind, would she learn from the inhabitants of this world and stuff the ring in some portion of food? He heard about people that tried to make their proposal extravagant by placing the ring on the side of a decorative dessert in restaurants or inside fortune cookies.

He pictured the layout of his house in his head and knew the precise moment when they stepped into the kitchen. There was the sound of someone shifting their feet, but it came from the other side of the room. Bae was still here? His nose twitched and he caught the acrid scent of something burning. He reached up to push the tie away, but Belle squeezed his hands.

"Not yet," she warned. There was a heartbeat of silence. He imagined her waiting for Bae to give her some kind of signal. Then she released his hands. "Okay, you can take off the tie."

She didn't have to tell him twice. His hands flew to the knot in the tie, so fast that he managed to yank a few strands of his hair in the process. He growled when he pulled. After a tedious moment of fumbling, he found it was easier to push the tie up and off. The strip of silk fell away to the floor and his vision was restored.

This...was not what he had in mind at all.

The first thing he saw was the banner. A large, flimsy silver banner that hung from the ceiling. He recognized it as the same banner that once read Welcome Home, Mary Margaret, which meant Belle got it from the Charmings. No wonder thay knew about the surprise. With a bit of colored paper, glitter, stenciling, and the removal of several letters, Belle had transformed the banner with a new message. It now read Happy Bday, Rumpel. The counter was covered with pans of hot food. No doubt Regina had provided the lasagna, given the abundance of red pepper flakes coating the surface. It must have been the Charmings that provided the tacos and frosted cookies. Each cookie was decorated with a letter so they read Happy Bday as well. On the table was a small sheet cake-Granny's, probably. A dozen candles were already lit and glowing.

When was the last time he celebrated his birthday? It was centuries ago...He actually fell into a habit where he ignored his birthday completely because it was simply one more reminder of being without Bae. His son must have remembered and told Belle.

Looking around the room again, he felt like a young boy at heart.

"You did this...for me?" He stared at Belle and Bae in absolute awe.

Before he became the Dark One, Bae had tried every year to do something special for his birthday, which was difficult when they hardly had enough money to make it through the bitter winters. After Bae was gone, he had no one to celebrate that event. If anything, most people in the Enchanted Forest cursed him for having been born in the first place. He never told Belle about his birthday, though now he wished he had been more trusting with her back then. Now she showered him with affection.

"Of course," she told him, as if he were foolish for thinking otherwise. "Originally, we were going to invite others, but we decided you would be more comfortable with just us." Once more, she was right. He appreciated the assortment of food, but he would never feel comfortable with everyone in town pasting on false smiles and crowding his home to wish him a happy birthday. Belle and Bae were enough.

"I told Belle about your birthday earlier this week. It was her idea to celebrate it," Bae chimed in. "Even when we were apart, even when I was resentful that you let me fall through that portal, I never forgot about your birthday each year."

Rumpel was nearly knocked off his feet by Bae's admission. Throughout all those centuries, he could never bear to wonder if his boy was kind enough to give him a thought. He held out his hand and Bae stepped around the table to take it.

"I never forgot yours," he said. Belle smiled and Rumpel suspected she was revisiting an old memory of when he first told her about Bae's birthday whilst in his castle. After they had been reunited and Bae's birthday came to pass, she even lit a candle to honor his memory.

"Do you want to...make a wish?" Bae motioned to the cake. The flames on the candles flickered and danced. Wax dripped down over the sugary white frosting. Rumpel closed his eyes and struggled to come up with a worthy wish, but his mind remained empty and quiet.

"There is nothing I could wish for. Not when I already have you, Bae, and you, Belle. What more do I need?" They were the only two things in this world he ever wanted. Belle's heart leaped into her bright blue eyes. Bae looked proud of him, his smile illuminated by the glow of the candles.

"Alright, then. No use letting a good wish go to waste," Bae said. He leaned over the cake, closed his eyes, and blew out the candles, effectively stealing Rumpel's wish. Rumpel gaped at Bae as every candle went out. Did a wish even work if it wasn't the birthday girl or boy that blew out the candles?

"What did you wish for?" Rumpel demanded. Bae jolted in place and his face began to flood with a pale pink blush. He smiled sheepishly.

"Papa, I can't tell you. If I do, it won't come true."

Rumpel made a low, disappointed humph in the back of his throat. He would bet all the money his cursed counterpart had to his name that the wish had something to do with Emma and Henry. Belle dutifully sliced the cake and handed him a good-sized piece, with a fork wedged into the frosting. There was a creamy red rose on the corner and Rumpel longed to scoop that up first.

"So, what did you think your surprise was? With the way you were moaning, I doubt your birthday was on your mind," Belle teased. She rolled the first button on his shirt between her fingers, his skin only inches from her fingertips. He swallowed the lump of cake hard. Had he really been moaning that much? Had his imagination run away so powerfully?

Rumpel took a moment to admire her, awash in the golden light of the setting sun filtering in through the window. His beautiful, brave Belle. He debated on telling her how he'd been convinced she would propose. If he mentioned it to her, put that thought into her head, it would give her the incentive to do it.

But perhaps he should be the one to surprise her.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." And he took another generous bite of cake.

...

As always, I want to thank those that reviewed lately. I appreciate the fact that there are fellow fans of Rumbelle enjoying these one-shots and are kind enough to offer their support.

Speaking of Rumbelle...spoilers for the latest episode, but I seriously need to bring it up. How can I not? You have been warned.

Belle and Rumpel are engaged and I was beaming during that lovely scene in this past episode. I had heard that there was going to be a wedding at the end of season 3 before this episode, and I was hoping it would be them. I am, however, conflicted about Rumpel ultimately killing Zelena. On the one hand, I happen to think that if anyone deserves to kill Zelena, it's him. Not only did he lose his son, but he has been imprisoned for a year and treated as a slave. And he has come a long way in terms of character, with the winter finale being proof. On the other hand, I am a bit disappointed that he deceived Belle with the dagger. Their engagement dagger, no less. *sigh*

What do you guys think about it?

In honor of this special event of Rumbelle's engagement (even if it might be temporary, thanks to you, Once writers), I offer virtual cake. *hands out cake*