I do not own Once Upon a Time
It's 100F (40C) here and I needed a Christmas chapter to cool off :)

Chapter 7 Merry Christmas

The diner was bursting at the seams with guests and Robert had no idea why he was there. That wasn't exactly true. It was cold and dark outside, with winter fully wrapped around the town, and he didn't feel like making his own dinner that evening. Also, he hadn't seen Belle French in five days.

Belle had moved into the Bungalow a month earlier with only a handful of boxes to her name-most of them were filled with the beloved books her mother had passed down to her. Robert smiled to himself as he remembered how happy and in awe with the place she was. She also looked incredibly at the very obviously new furniture that graced the place. If she had figured out that he bought the new furniture specifically for her, she never said it. She knew some spells weren't meant to be broken, so when it came time for Robert to leave and head to his oversized home, she reached out and gave him a hug that conveyed what she could not say with words. Little did she know that it was more thanks than he felt he deserved.

Belle had worked feverishly at the diner for the first two weeks, putting everything back except what was needed to keep herself alive. She then decided to buy the worst looking car he had ever seen. She wouldn't let Ruby keep picking her up and dropping her off, she had insisted. It was only a transition car, she also reminded him, and she had let her good friend's brother's cousin look over the steel trap to make sure it would carry her until she needed to upgrade. He still hated the entire arrangement, and had almost talked himself into buying her a new car outright. The saner, Mr. Gold that still would sometimes reside in his brain even when Belle was concerned, told him that she needed this independence and would reject such a gift anyway.

Her long hours at the diner had stolen away the time he had come to enjoy with her every afternoon, as he knew it would. He was happy that Ruby's Gran was allowing Belle to get all the hours she wanted so as to save for future need, but he did miss her. This was why, on a Thursday evening, he sat at a booth in the back of the diner, hoping just to catch a glimpse of the blue eyed beauty. Ruby locked eyes with him, smirked, then sauntered off behind the counter saying who-knows-what to Belle. It was to Belle that she spoke, for in just a few minutes Belle came decked in an oversized Christmas sweater, blue jeans, and her hair done up in two french braids, eyes shining as if she was just as glad to see him as he was her.

'Robert! Merry Christmas Eve! What can I get for you?' He wanted to beam up at her, soak in the fleeting moments they were in each other's company. But this was the diner, and he could all but feel Ruby's smirk and her Gran's glare, so he ordered his burger and sweet tea and let her run off to put in the order. Less than ten minutes later she came back with two plates and two teas and to his utter amazement, slid into the booth on the other side of him.

'Do you mind if I eat dinner with you, Robert? It's about my break time and Ruby told me to take it now for some reason. I hate to see anyone alone on Christmas Eve, so just if you don't mind…'

He chuckled softly, reveling in his good fortune. 'No, I don't mind at all, it would be a pleasure.'

She got settled into the seat, applying her favorite condiments in a smiley face fashion before applying the buns back on the burger.

'So do you have any plans for tomorrow?' Her eyes darted to him cautiously. The day would be as hard on her as it was on him, he knew. For her, the loss of her mother, and really her father as well, for him it was the loss of his precious son and even a wife that didn't care for him-yet had still been his family.

'No, can't say as I have, you?'

Belle took a gulp of the sweet tea before looking down at her plate and fidgeting with her fries.

'Ruby has invited me to celebrate with them, but I-I. Well, I don't want to cut in on their family time. I think I would just feel out of place, anyway. Would you-would you like to have Christmas dinner at my house?'

She seemed so nervous and unsure of herself that he would have said yes no matter what she asked. But an entire evening with Belle? An easy yes if there ever was one.

'What time would you like me to be there?'

She raised her head in joyful hope.

'Six okay?'

'That sounds perfect. Anything I can bring?'

'Just yourself.' She smiled and then went on to finish her meal. Happily glancing up from time to time to meet his gaze. He had never been one to want to make people happy, his son Neal had been the one exception in his life, as Robert's own mother had passed away before he knew her and his father eagerly told him there was nothing he could do to gain his happiness. He had even tried to make his late wife happy, but it didn't take long before he realized it was a fruitless endeavor. For the past six months, he had just been trying to make Belle's life bearable, no expectation of making her happy, just hoping to help her in any way he could. To know he was the cause of her smiles and apparent joy just by being himself seemed baffling to him, and he memorized every detail of this moment. All too soon they had both finished their meals and Belle took their plates and made her way to the kitchen. Leaving a very large bill on the table, he could almost pinpoint his emotions as happy as he contemplated the impending dinner with Belle, tomorrow.

It wasn't a date. He reminded himself of this as he chose his favorite tie and spent longer than normal at the mirror, sighing sadly at the image reflected there. This was Belle inviting him to spend Christmas together because they were both lonely souls. If anything, that should make him feel even more pathetic about himself, and also more sympathetic to Belle's plight. Then again, he reasoned with himself, Belle was invited to spend time with others, but chose to spend Christmas with me. Again, because he was lonely. Ever the kind soul, she probably did it mostly from the goodness of her heart, and not because his company was so desirable. Whatever the reason, he spent a good ten minutes analyzing how he should dress-not that it changed too much, as he basically lived in his pristine suits. He had learned early in his career that how you dressed could convey power and status, and therefore he was never found without such armor. Once he had finally settled on what he wore, he worried again about the fact that he was bringing Belle a gift. He worried that she would feel obligated to give him something in return, or that perhaps she would reject it all together, for whatever reason. His nerves were making him anxious and he over thought each action he took until he finally found himself at Belle's door.

Belle opened the door and looked almost as nervous as he felt. He also suddenly felt completely over dressed, as Belle wore another oversized tacky Christmas sweater that reached her thighs, with a pair of plain black leggings underneath. Tugging at her sweater, she quickly smiled and ushered him in. She stopped him right as he entered the house and motioned him to look up. A sprig of mistletoe was hung and before he knew it, she tiptoed herself up to his face and placed a quick peck on his cheek.

'Merry Christmas, Robert.' She giggled nervously, and pulled him into the main area of her home.

He was too stunned to do anything but redden, and followed the host into the kitchen (which also served as the dining room) where she had laid out a simple meal of ham, green beans and dinner rolls.

'First!' She smiled up at him, still fidgeting but seeming a lot less anxious as her courage built with each passing minute. 'I need to get you in the Christmas spirit.'

He looked down at her and smirked. 'Why on earth would you feel the need to do anything of the sort?'

'Because I want the day to be a happy one, and you being festive would make the both of us happy, I think.'

'hmm , well, who am I to argue with such an argument? How do you propose to go about this endeavor?'

Running off for half a second, she came back with a grocery sack and pulled out the most obnoxious tie he had ever seen. He was sure that both Santa and all his elves had thrown up all over the monstrosity. 'Please don't tell me you expect me to wear that.' The words spat out despite himself, but Belle just grinned mischievously back and gave him a pleading look.

'Please? Just for the evening?'

Since he had no problems saying no to anyone other than Belle French, he good naturedly nodded in surrender and he was accosted again as she reached up and loosened his burgundy tie. In just a few minutes he was decked in Christmas cheer and led to the table where they sat across from each other.

At first the silence was awkward and conversation was choppy. He commented over the deliciousness of the food, and she thanked him. Silence once again commenced. The situation was so different from the other times they had sat over food. Not only was this more formal than their other arrangements (Christmas tie and all) but there was a gulf of painful memories between them that this day brought with it. Ever the courageous one, she broke the stiltedness first.

'Would you share a happy Christmas memory that you have ?' When she didn't have clothes at the ready to fidget with, green beans were the next best thing. When he contemplated the question for a minute, she nervously broke in.

'I'll go first if you like. I know it's a hard day.' He smiled in reply and she went on with her story.

'My favorite Christmas was when I was thirteen, about to turn fourteen.' ah, her birthday is near Christmas. Robert mentally noted and his brain also came up with a dozen ways to casually gain such vital information.

'I had just finished my first solo read through of Pride and Prejudice-mom had read it aloud to me a year or so earlier-and she gave me the DVD copy of the 1995 version. We spent the entire rest of the day watching it, and watched all six hours of it in one go. We ate Christmas cookies, drank hot chocolate and cooked popcorn. Even Dad sat in. I don't think he exactly liked it, and if I remember right, he fell asleep after about one hour, but it was the most wonderful day I think I've ever had. I'm still keen on that version. I've watched the 2005 one, and while the music is breathtaking, Elizabeth is too shallow a creature, and I didn't think it accurately portrayed the Bennents station.' Realizing she was starting to ramble, she stopped shyly and he grinned in return. He loved watching her speak on things she enjoyed. He was also thankful she had such good memories to fall back on and remember.

He grasped at any good memory he could find. The best years saw him and Millie fighting over something inconsequential-and sometimes more serious. There were the later years when he didn't have anyone because Neal was at Millie's. Oh how he wished he had fought for his son. When he finally started to realize the need to hang on to the childhood years of his son, it was too late. Neal wanted so badly for his mother and father to be together. When he had begged them both to go on vacation together Neal had hopes that it would be the thing that would unite them. He was always a dreamer. Even with Kilian already living with Millie, Neal refused to give up on the notion that they would get back together. He sighed. His time for story sharing had come.

'I don't have very many happy Christmas memories.' He answered honestly, and Belle's flash of concern immediately met his eyes. 'However, I think my happiest one was the one right before-you know.' His voice cracked slightly. 'Neal was with me. I had started the fight to gain back custody of him again. With how vicious Millie knew I could be, she had granted a Christmas with Neal in hopes I would back off some. Knowing how rare the time with him was, I fully embraced the Christmas spirit. Tree, expensive gifts, we looked at lights, drank hot cocoa, the whole thing. I had no idea it would be my last one, of course, so no matter how bittersweet the day is to me now, at the time, it was probably the happiest Christmas I've had.' His smile was weak with reflectiveness, but genuine.

Finishing up their meal, Belle collected the plates, set them in the sink and waved him off when he requested to wash them.

'No cleaning! That will certainly get us out of the Christmas spirit, they can wait. Now, we've got tacky Christmas ware, had a traditional dinner, and reflected on days gone by. I imagine that we should be fully in at least a nostalgic mood, if not a jolly one.' She reached out and squeezed his free hand in comfort, then motioned him towards the living room, just steps away from the kitchen.

'Now it's time for Christmas music and gifts.' She pointed her chin towards the gift he had brought in. He limped towards the bar, grabbed the gift, then followed her again to the living room. Belle had the tiniest tree he had ever seen decked out with a string of lights and a simple star on top. There was no roaring fireplace, but Belle had placed several red and green candles here and there. A snowflake blanket completed the Christmas decor and he chuckled at the sheer coziness Christmas spirit could bring.

After starting some Christmas music, Belle reached over and grabbed a largish box from beside the end table and handed it to him.

'You didn't have to get me anything, Belle. You cooked dinner, got me this amazing tie' His lips smirked. ' you've given me enough already.'

'I'll make you a deal.' She glanced slyly.

He set down his gift for her on the end table, sat on the recliner, and leaned forward in interest. 'I'm listening.'

'You accept my gift and I won't start listing all the things you've given me over the past six months starting with all the furniture in this room. It would be very long and I would hate to spend all night embarrassing you. So what do you say?'

He chuckled. 'You drive a hard bargain, Miss French, but I accept your terms. You are quite the deal maker.'

'Learned from the best, Mr. Gold.' She smiled in return.

He carefully broke the seal of the wrapping paper and revealed the plain box underneath. He then started taking out object after object in utter shock.

His favorite loose leaf tea.

His favorite brand of pen he used to log inventory.

His favorite color tie-almost the same burgundy that he had worn tonight but with a slight pattern to it.

His favorite candy that he had only once fleetingly mentioned in a past conversation.

His favorite box of tea biscuits.

His favorite poem from Burns printed on a watercolor bookmark.

The entire ensemble was dripping with thought and he felt as if he could barely breathe. Gifts were rare, in and of themselves, but no one had ever put this much thought into a gift for him before. That it was Belle-his Belle, knowing his favorite everything, made his Grinch heart want to explode. He also felt a swell of panic on knowing how best to respond without making a complete fool of himself.

'I know they are just little things, but you are definitely a man who has everything.' She fidgeted with her blanket.

'I love it, Belle.' I love you, Belle. 'It's perfect. I don't think, no, I know I've never had better gifts than this.' He smiled at her, watching her worry melt away.

'Now it is your turn, I believe.'

She eagerly dug into her own gift, squealing in delight as she exposed the first edition of Pride and Prejudice, and her eyes danced as she read the note he had given.

'For your 16th read of this classic, I thought you ought to do it in style.

Robert'

She bounded towards his chair and he only barely managed not to drop all the amazing things sitting in his lap as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

'Thank you! It's perfect!'

After that, the Christmas spirit dictated that they finish cups of cocoa and gingerbread men before the clock told them it was getting late. He stood up, hesitant to leave, hating to leave the wonderful company, especially when he had given her the day off, tomorrow, as it landed on Saturday. It would be a week before he would see her again.

He gathered up his treasures, committing to memory every smile and giggle she gave him, and limped his way towards the door. Looking up, he decided to be as courageous as Belle had been when he entered.

Tapping her on the shoulders, having her lookup, he gulped with nerves and whispered. 'May I?'

Her eyes bright with wonder, and fingers ready to grasp at her sweater, she nodded.

As if in a dream, he cupped her face with his hands, leaned down and kissed her softly. It was sheer magic.

Belle's eyes still closed as he lifted his face, he whispered,

'Merry Christmas, Belle.'

Author's Note: I loved writing this chapter, and I hope you enjoy all the fluffiness! Let me know what you think! Thank you so much for the kudos and comments so far.