Full Title: R is for Rumplestiltskin, Rose, Romance, Rather Large Estate and R-rated

"Should I take it as a good sign that you haven't yet run away vowing never to return?" Gold asked Belle as they exited his workshop and approached the gate leading to his backyard and garden.

"You're not getting rid of me that easily. Once I put my mind to something I never give up." Belle's eyes sparkled with mirth and determination.

Gold chuckled even as his heart stuttered. He was amazed at Belle's unflagging enthusiasm after everything he'd shown her. They'd toured the upper levels and basement of his house, as well as his immense garage and workshop, and yet she was still as excited as she'd been when she'd first entered his foyer. And, if he were to be completely honest with himself, he wanted to believe that a tiny bit of her comment referred to their growing friendship.

"Well then, Miss French, it appears that there'll be some new deals in our future. Our current one will most definitely run its course well before we make a dent in my vast inventory."

"I look forward to it, Mr. Gold." She smiled at him. "I'm really enjoying myself, Rum."

"I'm glad, Belle. So am I. I haven't enjoyed my own house this much in years," he admitted. He paused to clear his throat before continuing, "But I do want to show you something that I think you'll appreciate even more, especially since it won't add any extra work to our plates."

Belle gasped for what seemed like the 100th time that day when he opened the gate to his yard. She had never seen anything so beautiful in her life. The lush green lawn and hedges were perfectly manicured and there were pathways, benches, statuary, a fountain, and a gorgeous rose garden that made her feel as though she was on the grounds of a castle.

"This is truly breathtaking, Rum! I'm seriously enchanted." Belle stood mesmerized by the sights before her.

For the second time that day, Gold offered her his arm. This time he did it intentionally. Belle would never be able to maneuver her way along the pathways in those heels without his assistance. At least that's what he told himself.

Belle slipped her arm into his without hesitation. She was thrilled again by this chance for close physical contact, especially since it was initiated by him.

Gold led her down several paths while Belle commented on the sheer beauty of her surroundings at every turn. She couldn't help but smile to herself about how impeccably manicured everything was… so much like its owner. But what caught her eye and drew her in the most were the salmon-colored roses in his flower beds and the ramblers and climbers of the same color that he'd allowed to grow wildly throughout his yard.

"I love your salmon roses! They match the color of your house. I can't stop staring at them even with my father being a florist." Belle laughed at the realization. She was so used to being around flowers that she sometimes forgot to appreciate their beauty.

"I'm glad you approve. I wasn't aware that salmon roses existed before I started gardening."

"I don't think I noticed just how beautiful they are until I saw them juxtaposed with your house. You must have someone who helps you with all of this." She made a sweeping motion with her arms to indicate the entirety of his land.

"Of course. I have an excellent landscaper who takes care of all of the upkeep, though I do like to tend to the roses myself. I find it quite soothing."

Belle's phone buzzed loudly. "It's Ruby. I'm supposed to meet her later. Do you mind if I take this call?"

"Please take your time, Belle. I, too, have something that needs my attention." An idea had formed in his brain that he could not seem to dismiss even though it panicked him. He kept repeating Belle's words to himself - Do the brave thing and bravery will follow.

Belle smiled at him as she answered the phone. "Hi, Ruby."

She watched Gold walk away before she got caught up in conversation.

"Just checking in. Are we still on for tonight?" Ruby sounded like she needed a break.

"Definitely. I'm baking brownies and I'll bring the wine."

"Great! Wine and chocolate are all I need. Where are you? I hear birds chirping."

Belle whispered, "I'm at Rum's getting a tour of his house. It's part of the inventory project that I'm working on with him."

Ruby squealed. "His house? You have to tell me all about it! How long have you been there?"

"Shush! It's going on 3 hours now. He has a rather large estate so it's taking a lot of time."

"I bet he has!" Ruby's tone was dripping with suggestion.

Belle looked around to confirm that Rum was nowhere in sight. She sighed in relief and then giggled. She should have known that Ruby would twist her words. "You know that's not what I meant."

"But you wish it was," Ruby retorted.

"I have to go." Belle knew better than to have this conversation with Gold close by. "I'll see you later." She ended the call and turned to find Rum approaching her.

"All set. I'm meeting Ruby later for a girl's night in," she explained.

He seemed to be thinking deeply about something, probably what he had left to attend to, until he gestured to a bench by one of the rose beds. "Shall we?"

Once they were seated, the first thing Gold noticed was how short her skirt was. He'd managed to avoid staring at her legs since she'd arrived on his doorstep, but their close side by side proximity was making that nearly impossible. When she stretched out her legs revealing her bare feet (he vaguely remembered her mentioning that she wanted to feel the grass between her toes), his brain stopped functioning.

"Are you OK, Rum?" It wasn't until she nudged him that he was able to pull himself together.

"I'm fine, Belle." He searched his brain for something to say, anything to turn his thoughts in a different direction.

"How's Miss Lucas?" he asked. Yes, talking about Miss Lucas was a sure way to crush any inappropriate thoughts about Belle.

"I think she's overworked. That's why we're staying in tonight."

Gold visibly relaxed. He could have this conversation. "Certainly preferable to that Den of Iniquity known as the Rabbit Hole."

Belle laughed. She found Gold's disdain for the Rabbit Hole amusing.

When Rum laughed along with her, she decided that this was her opportunity to broach a subject that had been on her mind. "By the way, Ruby thinks your real name is Rumford or Rummond."

"Excellent. Nothing there to spark her interest. Miss Lucas can be annoyingly persistent when it comes to tracking down town gossip."

"I can be annoyingly persistent about certain things too," Belle stated.

"I'm well aware of that, Miss French. It was apparent to me from our first meeting." He graced her with a shark-like smile that made her laugh.

"Anyway, I've been thinking about your real name." She chewed on her lower lip while she waited for his response.

"Ah… you have some questions… perhaps some observations." He smiled smugly at her.

"How did you know?" she asked even though she was getting used to his remarkable intuition about everything that didn't involve how she felt about him.

He chuckled. "Because you're very perceptive and astute, Belle. So you've noticed some similarities between me and my namesake?"

"Yes."

"Let me enlighten you." Yes, this was good. Talking about his name would most definitely keep his mind off of Belle's smooth, soft, bare legs and delectable little toes.

He took a deep breath. "First, I should mention that my father spelled the name incorrectly on my birth certificate - the fairy tale character is R-U-M-P-E-L. My name is R-U-M-P-L-E. But that's neither here nor there."

"It makes your name even more unique. I like that." Belle could tell that despite his denial, his father's mistake bothered him.

"Thank you, Belle." He was amazed how she was always able to make him see things in a different and more positive light.

"Anyway, as much as I always hated my name, and most likely because of it, I spent an inordinate amount of time reading every version of the Rumpelstiltskin fairy tale that I could get my hands on when I was a lad. I think I was looking for something good to latch onto about the character, but that proved to be elusive. I could never decide if I should view him as a villain or feel sorry for him."

He paused to gauge Belle's reaction and she placed her hand on his arm to encourage him to continue.

"I never faulted him for his deals. I rather liked them even at a young age." He grinned at her and she giggled.

"But as I got older I wondered why he wanted the things he asked for since he could probably have anything he wanted with all the gold he spun. It was as though he wanted to see just how far someone would go to get what they wanted. Had he made some kind of deal in desperation at some point in his life? Anyway, I always blamed him for his final demise since it was his own cockiness that allowed the miller's daughter to find out his name."

Belle wondered if he had ever done anything out of desperation himself, but decided that this definitely wasn't the time to ask him. Instead she opted to keep her comments more neutral. "So you liked the idea of dealmaking even as a young boy?"

"I always felt powerless so I think I liked how much power the dealmaker wielded."

"That makes sense," Belle commented.

"I can't say that I consciously pursued deals, but when I became an attorney and realized how much I enjoyed crafting the minute details that could tilt a contract into one's favor, I transferred those skills to acquiring real estate and antiques. Eventually making deals became second nature to me."

"You also kept your name secret like the fairy tale. You told me that not using your first name gave you a sense of power," Belle reminded him.

"Ah… you didn't forget. You may have noticed that I'm less than forthcoming about many things."

Belle bit her lip and nodded her head. "I have."

"If nothing else, the Rumpelstiltskin tale taught me to play my cards close to my chest. You don't want to give away anything that could lead to your undoing. Plus, it always keeps the person you're dealing with on edge if they feel as if there's something they're missing. I've learned my lesson and it's served me well."

"I'm taking notes," Belle informed him with a smirk on her lips.

"Trying to use my methods to beat me at my own game?"

"Something like that." She smiled sweetly at him. "You know you also made a deal with me about a necklace." Her hand went to the locket around her neck. "Rumpelstiltskin dealt for a necklace in the fairy tale, except you gave me a necklace instead of taking one from me."

Gold looked surprised. "You're right, Belle. I hadn't even thought of that." Then a wicked expression appeared on his face. "I promise I won't try to deal with you for your first-born child."

Belle giggled even as she felt the heat rising to her cheeks. For some reason, the first thought that came to her was that If things went the way she wanted to with her and Gold, he wouldn't have to deal for her first-born; he'd be the father. Her blush deepened dramatically. What was she thinking? They hadn't even been on a first date yet.

"Have I satisfied your curiosity, Miss French?"

Belle welcomed the chance to change the subject. "Just one more question… Tell me, Mr. Gold, can you spin straw into gold?" She tried to keep a straight face as she asked, but failed.

"Well… I can't spin straw into gold, but I do spin."

"You do?" Belle was surprised. "With a spinning wheel?" She thought back to the antique book about textiles that he had purchased from the library.

"Yes, but that's a story for another day. I think we may have lost track of time. I know you have brownies to bake."

"Oh! You're right," Belle agreed when she checked the time. "This has been a wonderful day, Rum. Thank you so much for everything!"

Gold knew that if he wanted to do the brave thing that he'd been thinking about earlier, he'd have to do it now. He felt for the tool that he'd secreted in his pocket while Belle was on the phone. "There's one more thing, Belle. I'll be right back."

Belle watched him head off, curious as to what he was doing. She slipped her shoes back on and strolled a few feet to check out a piece of statuary that was nearby.

When she turned around again Rum was walking slowly towards her with his free hand behind his back.

"Hey," he said, suddenly feeling shy.

"Hey," she responded.

They stood looking at one another until Gold moved his arm forward and presented her with a beautiful salmon-colored rose. "For you, Belle - if you'll have it."

Belle was delighted. This was totally unexpected. "Why, thank you." She curtsied, and he, being the gentleman that he was, bowed in response.

"This is lovely! Thank you so much, Rum!" Her heart was beating rapidly. She knew that it had taken a lot for Gold to give her the rose. She also knew that she needed to tread lightly if she didn't want to scare him off. It probably wasn't the time to tell him that a salmon colored rose was the perfect symbol for a budding romance.

"I wanted you to have one to take home with you." Gold's heart was almost beating out of his chest. He'd been extremely nervous about giving Belle the rose, afraid that she'd think he'd overstepped a boundary. He should have known that she'd graciously accept it.

She placed her hand on his forearm and rose up to kiss him on the cheek.

Gold froze and his mind went blank. Belle had now kissed him twice, once on each cheek, and they were both tingling. He was barely able to guide her back to the house where she gathered up Snowball and they said their good-byes. He was already having trouble keeping his dreams in check. He was afraid that after this day with Belle, and her unexpected kiss, his dreams would veer into R-rated territory, making it even more difficult for him to remember that he and Belle were just friends.