Full Title: T is for Telltale Signs, Teaching, Texting, Trust and True Love

"Oh! Hi David!" Belle was so lost in her own thoughts that she almost ran right into David Nolan as she exited Mr. Gold's pawnshop.

"Hi Belle. How are you?" David held the door open to let her out onto the sidewalk.

"Things are really great right now! The library's up and running and I've been busy with some other intriguing projects," she answered while thinking of the man who owned the shop behind them. "How are you and Mary Margaret doing? I'm supposed to get together with her for lunch this week."

"All's good with us. I'm sure Mary Margaret will give you the details when you see her. She hates it if she's not the first one to share new news." He laughed and Belle could see his love for the woman shining through.

Belle giggled. She knew he spoke the truth. "Well, it was nice seeing you. I'll let you get back to business. Tell Mary Margaret I said hi." He was wearing his sheriff's badge so she knew he was on duty.

"Take care, Belle." He watched her walk away and then entered the shop.

Gold was standing behind the counter as if waiting to greet him. "Good afternoon, Sheriff. How may I be of assistance?"

"Gold, I'm looking for a stolen item. Can you take a look?" He revealed a photo of a drinking stein.

Gold recognized it immediately. "I sold that to the pharmacist, Mr. Clark, several months ago. He was quite adamant about purchasing it at the time. It's not of any significant material value."

"Yeah, I know. He just wants it back. Says it's a part of his collection."

"I'm afraid I can't help you, Sheriff, but I'll let you know if I get wind of it."

"Thanks, Gold." He was about to leave when Gold stopped him short.

"Look, uh… Can I ask you a question? A-about you and Mrs. Nolan? H-how did you know that she was interested in you?"

David was stunned. He was not sure he had heard the pawnbroker correctly. "Are you asking me for dating advice?"

"Of course not. No," Gold answered vehemently.

David's smirk belied the fact that he did not believe him. "Listen Gold. It's not always easy and you might have to take a risk, but there are certain telltale signs you should look for."

Gold stood perfectly still, almost not breathing, as he willed the younger man to continue.

"For instance, does she seem happy to spend time with you or look for ways for you to be together? Does she listen intently to everything you say? Does she laugh at your stupid jokes?"

Gold glared at him and David felt the need to explain. "I'm not saying your jokes are stupid, Gold. I'm just talking in general."

Gold relaxed and David continued. "Does she make it a point to touch you? Does she blush at your compliments and compliment you in return? Does she ever get shy in your presence?"

Gold tried to look indifferent, but was hanging on every word.

"The bottom line is that you have to trust your instincts. If you're showing an interest in her and she's not putting up boundaries, you can be pretty sure that she's probably interested in you too. You know, if you don't take a chance, you might miss out on true love."

"Mr. Nolan, I'm sure that you and Mrs. Nolan are a true love match, but that has nothing to do with the likes of me," Gold snarled.

"I wouldn't say that, Gold. Even the beast found true love in the fairy tale."

Gold glared at him again even as his heart skipped a beat. As ridiculous as it was, he couldn't help thinking that he was often referred to as the Beast of Storybrooke by the town's residents.

"Oh, and by the way," David added, "if we're talking about Belle French, I can save you some time. I'm pretty sure she's interested."

Gold watched Nolan's smirk transform into a Cheshire cat grin. "Have a good afternoon, Mr. Gold. Thanks for your assistance and you're welcome." He hightailed it out of there before Gold could open his mouth to respond.

Gold's mind had been in a muddle since that afternoon when Belle had left the shop and he'd turned to David Nolan for advice. He groaned. What had he been thinking? He'd for all intents and purposes as much as confessed his feelings for Miss French to a virtual stranger. Well, maybe not a stranger. David Nolan was probably one of the few people in town he actually trusted. The man could be obtuse at times, but he was certainly 100 times more knowledgeable about matters of the heart than he was. And, if he was being honest with himself, the sheriff's advice had not been bad. The only thing he really questioned, other than the absurdity of the true love nonsense, were Nolan's final words. There was no way the man knew how Belle French felt about him.

He poured Scotch into a glass and stared at the amber contents. He thought back to earlier that day when he and Belle had spent hours teaching one another about spinning and texting. She had been filled with compliments about his talents, hanging onto his every word as he taught her the basics of using the wheel. And when he had to sit next to her and put his arm around her to guide her, she had leaned into him welcoming the physical contact. It had been all he could do not to enfold her in his arms and profess his feelings to her at that very moment.

And when it had been her turn to play teacher, she had been exceedingly patient with him as he tried to master the basics of texting, laughing as always at his self-deprecating and silly jokes. "I'm all thumbs, Belle. Sorry it's not in a good way." She'd giggled and he'd been so proud of his humor. Well, it was funny - David Nolan be damned.

And it had been that way since they'd met. She seemed to enjoy spending time with him, being in close physical contact, laughing at his jokes, listening to his stories, sharing the good and bad with him. She seemed to trust him and he trusted her, so much so that he'd opened up to her about his name, his son, his marriage, all things that he'd never shared with anyone before her. He just wished he could be certain that there was more to it than friendship. He'd be appalled if he misread her feelings and ruined what they had. In the end he would have to do what Nolan said and trust his instincts. He would have to take a leap of faith at some point if he truly wanted to have a chance with her.

"Do the brave thing and bravery will follow." He repeated Belle's mantra hoping to find the courage to follow his heart. Suddenly an idea came to mind. He would try to text Belle so that she'd at least know that he was thinking about her. He opened his phone and painstakingly followed Belle's directions.

He stressed over what to say, finally deciding on something as short and simple as possible.

"Thank you for a lovely day, Belle. Sleep well." He pressed the send key before he could change his mind and waited to see if she would respond.

Belle had been on a high for two days now. As she prepared for bed, she couldn't help but notice that she was still smiling and had been doing so since she'd left Rum's shop earlier that day. She was going to burst if she didn't share her happiness with someone. She set her sights on Snowball who was curled in a ball at the bottom of the bed, watching her with eyes that were barely open slits.

"You know I have to thank you for everything that's happened since yesterday," she addressed the cat who let out a small squeak as if in reply.

"I had the most wonderful two days with Rum and they wouldn't have happened if you didn't end up on his porch." Snowball purred contentedly as Belle pet her head.

Belle thought back to her day at Rum's house and then shifted to the current day and the time they'd spent together spinning and texting and talking and laughing. Her heart fluttered when she replayed how Rum had put his arm around her to help her spin and how he hadn't shied away when she'd snuggled up against him. Only a short time ago he would have stiffened and pulled away. She laughed as she recalled the jokes he'd made at his own expense and smiled as she recalled his patience while teaching her.

"You know, I think we really made a lot of progress today," she said to the purring cat.

Snowball raised her head and yawned. It made her think of Ruby rolling her eyes. "I'm sorry, but we really did make progress. He even told me more about his son today. That has to mean that he trusts me. Rum's a very private man who doesn't share himself easily. You and Ruby don't know him the way I do."

Then she giggled. Was she really defending herself to a cat? This was Ruby's fault. She was the one who had insisted that Snowball was anxious for her and Rum to get together.

"Speak of the devil," she said aloud as she heard the buzz announcing that she'd received a text.

"Oh!" She was more than pleasantly surprised when she saw that the text was from Rum, not Ruby. Her heart pounded as she read the message. He had taken the initiative to contact her at this late hour and it spoke volumes to her.

She quickly composed an answer, knowing that he would be nervously waiting for a reply. "Congrats on your first official text! And thank you too! It was a perfect afternoon in every way. Sweet dreams!"

She was about to send it when she decided to add a smiley face and a blowing kiss emoji (she couldn't resist) even though she knew that he would not be able to decipher them on his flip phone. They'd tested a few texts and the flip phone converted the emojis into other symbols. She thought he might be able to identify the basic smiley face conversion that they'd tested more than once, but she knew that he would not be able to decipher the blowing kiss. He'd have to ask her about that one if he wanted to know what it meant. She checked the text one last time and sent it off to him.

Gold, who had been staring at his phone since he sent the text to Belle, was startled when her response appeared. He'd almost forgotten how fast she was and how painfully slow he was, especially with the limitations of the flip phone that Belle had explained to him.

When he read her response, his heart soared. She'd called the day 'perfect' and added the smiley face symbol that they shared as an inside joke, making him laugh. There was also another symbol that he did not recognize. He wondered what it was and why Belle had sent it. She knew that his phone couldn't process these emojis as she called them (if it wasn't for Belle he'd truly hate these things). His heart stuttered. Maybe it was another telltale sign. Of course he wouldn't know unless he asked her. He decided to wait until he saw her in person. For now he could pretend that it had some special meaning that would make everything between them clear.

He closed his phone and his eyes at the same time. He didn't think there was any point in going up to bed. His mind was still too active. He'd sit here with his Scotch and think about Belle French.