His tantrum began with glass breaking and ended with glass breaking.

He'd gone to the basement through the back entrance, the storm door in the backyard that he hadn't even thought to enchant until then. When he'd arrived, he'd thrown open the first spellbook he could find and stared at the meaningless words knowing that he'd made a mistake. He was an idiot. He'd let the monster win. He'd let the beast escape from that place he kept it contained in. Not that he didn't understand, he had reason to be angry; he had reason to be furious…but not at Belle. She hadn't done any of this. She hadn't cast the Curse, she wasn't the reason it hadn't broken properly, she didn't know what had made him so angry.

He'd had a bad day.

And he didn't have Bae, that was true, but he had a beautiful woman that loved him waiting for him at home, and he'd forgotten that when he'd allowed the bad day to consume him. In the end, he stayed in that basement for hours not because he wanted to but because he was too afraid to come out and face Belle again. Over the hours he was alone, his temper cooled, and he came to a few conclusions. The first was that he couldn't do anything about Baelfire tonight. Whatever this problem in the Curse was, it was going to take a loophole to fix. Loopholes meant understanding and research, and he wasn't going to get that done in one night. The second conclusion he arrived at was that he needed to tell Belle about Baelfire. He had to find a way to get the words out of his mouth, to tell her so that she'd understand. And the Dark Ones might be right, she might break under its strain and leave him or betray him as Cora had, or he might be right and she wouldn't, but at least she'd have the information, and he'd know what her response would be, no more wondering. But the third and final conclusion he'd arrived at was the most pressing and important…he had to go upstairs and apologize to her. For his behavior, for not coming home on time, for the broken glass…he had to do his best to fix what he'd broken.

So, he gathered the little bit of courage that the coward within him had and left the basement through the cellar door so she wouldn't notice him coming out the door in the house. Yet another secret he was keeping from her. It was just one more thing he could add to the list of things to tell her after she learned about Baelfire. But it wasn't to be worried about, not tonight.

The downstairs floor was still. The lights were on, and the kitchen picked up from the mess he'd made. At first, he wasn't sure she was even in the house. His heart sank at the possibility that she might have left on her own and that he didn't even know where to begin to look for her if she had. He wouldn't force her to come back with him, no one forced Belle to do anything, but he had to make sure she was okay. Somehow, some way.

But just before he was about to leave to find her, he noticed that the door was locked. It hadn't been when he came in. He certainly hadn't done that. And she wouldn't have been able to do that if she'd left, which could only mean one thing. She was still here, somewhere. He took a glance up the stairs. Predictably, the door to his bedroom was shut. She hadn't left. She'd simply gone to bed and locked the door beforehand, just as they did every night. She'd handled their newfound routine by herself, then. He needed to apologize for that as well.

He made his way upstairs, opened the door, and could see her small form under the blankets, sleeping on the side he'd given her, the side she never needed to use because she always preferred to sleep beside him, in his arms. He couldn't stand to see her lying there alone, curled up into a ball, like that. Was she asleep and doing it subconsciously, or awake and her body was tight with anger? The hitch in her heartbeat when he'd opened the door made him think it was the latter, but he didn't know which was worse.

It took some rummaging to find the smallest bit of courage he had left, but eventually, he took a deep breath and propelled himself forward. He took off his jacket, suddenly feeling like it was too hot, even in the cooler night air. "Belle," he muttered, letting it fall across the foot of the bed. She didn't stir, but if she was asleep, that didn't surprise him. He knew how heavy she slept. But he didn't want her to go to sleep angry with him or stay asleep angry with him. One way or another, he had to apologize, and he had to apologize tonight. If that meant he was going to wake her up to do it, then so be it.

"Sweetheart, are you awake?" he whispered, daring to reach out and place his hand over the skin of her shoulder.

To his surprise, she gave a frustrated sigh and rolled over to look at him. "I never went to sleep," she admitted, pushing herself up and drawing her knees to her chest. He watched her move and found that her position was bothering him. The way she pulled away from him, the way she shrank…she looked so small, so tiny and frail. Even in the dark, he could see her cheeks stained with red, her eyes a bit puffier than normal. She'd been crying. She hadn't wanted to talk to him, so she'd pretended to be sleeping. And her legs, the way she curled up and away from him, a barrier so he couldn't touch her. He couldn't blame her, he'd been terrible, and he'd happily sleep on the couch for the rest of his life so long as she would forgive him. So long as she knew that he did love her.

"I'm sorry," he finally breathed, getting the words out easily. He thought it would be harder, those two words would feel like some sort of weight, but instead of feeling weighed down, he felt remarkably light at them. Freer in some way. "I'm sorry I lost my temper and left you like that. Truly, I am."

He watched her carefully, wondering if it would be enough, knowing it couldn't possibly be. He'd never really apologized to anyone before, at least no one that had meant as much to him as she did. In all honesty, he wasn't sure how this was supposed to work. Did she forgive him, and they forget about it? Did she kick him out? He hadn't planned for what would come after "I'm sorry."

But after a moment, she sighed and averted her eyes, finding something across the room to look at as she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "It's fine," she muttered.

Every fiber of his being, every female Dark One he had in his head, rejected that notion. He knew better than to accept it as forgiveness. His behavior wasn't "fine," rationalizing it like that wasn't "fine." She wasn't "fine" with it. And that meant they weren't "fine." Not by a long shot. She needed more than what he'd given her.

"No, it's not, I…I shouldn't have taken out my anger on you," he interjected firmly, correcting both of them. He made a motion to move closer, dare to see if she'd reject him, and he needed to leave and make other arrangements for her when he realized that more tears were spilling down her face. She was crying? Why was she crying? What had he said this time? He was certain that this was the first thing he'd said today that was right, but if she were crying like this…

"Why are you crying?" he asked, reaching out instinctively to cup her cheek and wipe the tears there away.

"I'm sorry," she muttered, reaching forward to wipe her cheeks and sniffling in the process, but then she shook her head, and he watched as her mouth turned into a frown and more tears leak from her eyes. No, she hadn't been crying before. He knew that because now she was crying, sobbing really. It broke his heart. He just couldn't stand to know that he'd had something to do with this.

"I'm sorry that I'm not good at this. I'm sorry," she choked out, looking down at her knees and knotted hands, "that I can't do or say what you need me to do and say. I'm sorry that I'm…"

But what she was, he never found out because his stomach knotted as he watched her completely dissolve into tears, burying her face in the place she'd made on her knees. Suddenly he realized what she was doing, why she was upset.

She was trying to be his caretaker. She was trying to clean up, to make it seem like she was perfectly okay so that he would be perfectly okay. And it hadn't worked because she wasn't the caretaker anymore, just like he wasn't her Master anymore. She wasn't angry. She was upset, not with him but with herself. She was apologizing for not being better at this relationship they'd fallen into when the truth was he wasn't even sure how to handle it sometimes. But she thought this was her fault! And he couldn't think, could barely breathe with that pressure bearing down on his shoulders. How could she think it was her fault that he'd exploded? She was the best thing that he had in his life. It wasn't her fault. It was his. His actions, his words, and his demons.

"No," he muttered, "no, no, no."

He didn't care if she didn't want to talk or touch him; he couldn't stop himself. He moved forward, grabbed her balled form, and pulled her against him. He tried to hush her as he felt her body shake against him. He'd let the beast win, let the beast within him upset her. He'd thought terrible things about her in his anger, taken her for granted, forgotten who he was. How could she have shielded herself, said, or done the right thing when she didn't even know what she'd been competing against. And worst of all, he'd enabled the monster, let it have those thoughts instead of protecting her. All he'd had to do was look at her, and he'd have felt better, but in his ignorance, he'd ignored her clear eyes and added fuel to the fire. He wouldn't do that again. He'd never let any of those thoughts overwhelm him again in her presence. He only hoped he could undo what he'd done so he'd have the opportunity to prove it.

"My beautiful Belle," he muttered, pulling away from her. He held her tear-stained head in his hands and swiped the stray tears away from her eyes as she looked at him, searching his eyes for something. "My beautiful, beautiful, darling Belle, it is not something that you did or didn't do. It's…"

The beast.

The one that he'd always been that she insisted he wasn't. He leaned his head against her own. What would she think about that now?

"It's not you. You are the best thing in my life," he assured her, knowing it was the truth. Without Baelfire, her presence, her very existence, and return to him were miraculous. She was pure and good. Her heart was glorious light, and his was so dark, so evil. He didn't know what he'd done to deserve her, but he knew that she'd done absolutely nothing to deserve the grief that he'd given her. "I don't know what I did to deserve you, a heart like yours."

Suddenly she moved. She unfurled her legs, scooted forward, and wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly in a way that relieved his tension. No, he'd done nothing to earn the affection she gave him, ever.

"I can't get this right if you don't help me," she whispered in his ear, her voice still harsh from crying. "I need you to tell me what to do. Just be patient with me."

"Belle!" he barked at her as he pulled away, her words stirring guilt in him once more. He needed to be clear, and he needed to look into her eyes to make sure that she was looking at him so that she'd understand. It wasn't her. It was him. He needed her favor, her patience. "Love, true or otherwise, has never been something that I've been good at," he informed her. "I'm sorry that I forget to be patient with you when I forget that fact."

She smirked. Didn't smile or laugh, but he could see the corner of her mouth lift ever so slightly at that comment. Was it working? Was he getting through to her? He rubbed his thumb over her wet cheek again, happy when he saw her close her eyes and lean into his caress. How could he have mistreated her after he'd only just gotten her back?

"Having you in my life like this," he whispered, "anyone in my life is new for me."

Then he drew her to him and kissed her forehead tenderly, happy when she didn't pull away but let his mouth linger there against her skin. Then, from out of nowhere, he felt her hand against his chest, creeping up over his collar and neck, and tangling in his hair, holding him just as close as he held her. He smirked. How could he be one of the lucky ones that got to experience true love?

She pulled away suddenly and glanced up at him so innocently it threatened to break him again. He had only wanted to fix the damage that he'd done, but suddenly it wasn't the beast speaking in his head anymore. It was quite clearly the man within him that noticed bare legs and shoulders, that took note of how her gown had ridden up and shifted awkwardly to reveal more skin than usual. It was the man that wanted something more from her.

No, he couldn't. Could he? He shouldn't be thinking this way. After what he'd done? He didn't deserve that kind of love tonight. But the look that she was giving him that look was the same one that he'd seen on her face numerous times before they made love night after night. He wanted to be close to her again, to have nothing between the two of them. But that didn't make it right. Did it? And she couldn't be thinking the same thing he was. Could she?

She swallowed suddenly and, as if she'd been reading his mind the entire time, gave a small nod that he took could only mean one thing. Yes, they could. And before he could question it, or tell her that now might not be the best time, she leaned forward and kissed him. Once then twice, then opened their mouths on the third and let the kiss grow heavy and deeper as she pulled him closer than he knew he could be. The beast's magic had nothing on her, and he found the hand at her cheek roaming down over her neck and shoulder and down her back to hold her closer. She didn't argue when he moved the thin strap of her nightgown aside so he could really touch her skin unhindered by even the smallest bit of fabric.

He'd shed his jacket when he came into the room, but he was beginning to think that wasn't enough. He needed more off; he wanted more off. But did want mean need? He was honest with her before, he'd never had anything like this before, any previous relationship to know the rules and boundaries to know the etiquette or what was expected. Was sex inappropriate after a fight? It felt like it from where he was now, but was that okay? Or were they both just going off the new feelings they had awoken in each other. Should they not do this? Kissing like this, it certainly felt right.

She pulled away, but his body responded quickly by pulling her back for a last chaste kiss. Maybe it would be good to stop.

"I want you," she muttered against him, making him wonder why he was fighting this so hard when his desire for her was already threatening to undo his sanity. They were so close again, she'd moved even closer at some point during their kisses, and although he knew he could if she commanded it, he knew stopping would be difficult. But "I want you" didn't exactly seem to be a request to stop. Much to his surprise.

"Still?" he questioned, allowing his mouth to trail down her neck. He pulled aside the strap of her gown to kiss the soft skin of her shoulder. He wasn't exactly stopping either…oh, he loved her! Completely. It just didn't make sense to him after what had happened why she'd want him or even love him. Didn't she remember what had happened only a few hours ago? "Even after-"

"Forever!" she interrupted sternly, pulling away and forcing him to meet his gaze. "And no matter what, I'll always want you."

How was that possible? He wasn't sure. But he knew one thing. Whether or not it made sense, he would always feel the same about her.

"As I'll want you," he whispered before dipping his head against her shoulder and picking up where he'd left off. He determined to not let the day get to him. What happened today was awful, but what was happening now, in this moment was not only beautiful but miraculous. That he could behave so beastly and she would still make proclamations as she had was astounding. And he was helpless but to give into it. It didn't matter that he was older or more experienced or questioning, all he knew was her in this moment. All he wanted was peace. All he needed was to feel as close to her as he possibly could.

They went slower than they normally would have. They nuzzled and kissed, they touched and felt, they moved and danced together just as they had since the night that she'd come back and it nearly brought him to tears when he moved over her and realized that they weren't broken. He hadn't caused irreparable damage to her yet. This act wouldn't feel this way if he had surely. He didn't know why he had a true love, but he did. They were meant to be together, designed specifically for one another. Complete, each and every time they came together. It wouldn't feel like the most beautiful, most magnificent thing he'd ever felt in his life.

"I love you," she finally managed as her knees left his hips as she caught her breath again. His stomach tapped against her own as he struggled to get his own as well, but her hands managed to untangle the tight balled masses they were and wrapped around his back, holding him there, rubbing his back, his neck, and spine. "I love you more than I've ever loved anyone."

Still. She still loved him after what he'd done. Maybe she'd just had a terrible life. Maybe he didn't have to guess. He knew she had; she'd told him when she confessed the little she knew about sex. But he didn't know if he was any better than they were. He certainly hadn't treated her that way together. She was everything to him right now. He didn't have Bae, but he had her. He had to let her know, to tell her just how important and special she was, how much more than anyone else he'd ever been with in any way. He couldn't let her think that tonight had been her fault. That thought still brought tears to his eyes.

So, when he found the strength to raise his head, he tried to tell her, but the words didn't come as easily as he wanted them to. Still, he could see that she knew. It was there in her adoring gaze. So, he leaned down, kissed her again, then wrapped himself around her and tugged her with him as they rolled over.

"You are perfect," he muttered as he kissed her head and held her close again, happy the words were finally coming to mind. "If there was a word for more than perfect, you would be that." She dropped a kiss against his chest before rolling over and laying her head against his shoulder in a touchingly romantic gesture. How had he ever lived without her? He let his fingers trail over her side, the skin at her hip and belly, as she eased into him again. More, he needed more to describe her.

"There is comfort in your eyes," he muttered, "and I feel happiness when I look at you. My mind goes blank when I'm with you," he admitted, realizing that for the first time tonight he felt perfectly calm. The voices of the Darkness within him were cowering in some distant far-off corner of his mind. She'd done that. There was no limit to her powers. "For the first time, I forget the past, forget who I am, and everything I've done. I'm alive in a way that I've never been in my life. I live in the moment, I dream, I sleep, I breathe! When I'm with you, I'm not who I have to be or who the world expects me to be. I'm just as I am. You make me who I am. You make me good and real. You make me happy even in the darkest of times. You make me feel loved. With you, I'm at rest. You give me peace," he concluded finally, feeling like sleep was really possible if she was close by. "No one has ever done that before."

And he knew no one ever would again after her.

I do love this moment. It's very tender and sweet. It's a really good lesson for Rumple and shows that while he's not succeeding at certain things he is in other areas. He might be struggling to tell her about Baelfire but he just managed to say "hey, I was wrong before and I'm really sorry." I think that means a lot for the guy and really shows how far he's coming!

Thank you Grace5231973 and Alarda for your reviews of the last chapter, it's very much appreciated. Now, obviously, if you read Moments you'll know that this "night" doesn't really end here, there's another conversation that they have coming. In Moments it's all one chapter, in this fiction that chapter got separated into two different chapters. At the end of the day, for Rumple, they were just two separate chapters and entities so that's coming at you next. Peace and Happy Reading!