Belle and the other girls stood in the living room dancing to a multitude of rock songs everything that existed from Fall Out Boy and Halestorm to classics such as AC/DC and Metalica. It was Belle's turn to choose and most of the other girls seemed to apprentice her choice of musix; something she was thankful for. Tamara and Cruella didn't seem to impressed but to be honest the auburn-haired beauty didn't give a damn. Her playlist had just clicked on to Easier To Leave by We Are Harlot when Gold came through the front door, hair and coat a little damn from the rain that had insisted on stopping and starting all day.
When she touched me, a bang shot through my bones and lit my soul on fire
She set me free, she filled my heart with pure desire
A beating in my chest I can't resist, and I need it, oh I need it
No, I don't ever wanna let her go.
"Elias!" They all let out in a cheerful and partially drunk unison.
Belle had certainly taken to being Lacey, in the beginning she'd wondered what sort of girl Lacey would be, now Belle knew for sure, Lacey was the outgoing and slightly Gothic rocker looking for a good time … very different to the girl Belle really was, or at least Belle kept telling herself that. In a way that was what made it fun.
She's got a something I can't ignore, get up and I'm needing more, my fill's never quite full these days
It's like I'm stuck inside a dream and I never wanna wake up
She's got a love that you'd never believe, and I need it, oh I need it
No, I don't ever wanna let her go
The music continued to blare as he took off his coat and hung it up. "Hello, girls."
"Come dance with us!" Tink demanded as she rushed from her seat on the vast couch though the archway towards him.
The second she was close enough Gold found himself grabbed and yanked into the living room by one hand while Ashley grabbed the other.
"Sorry, not much of a modern-day dancer."
Ruby snorted and took a large sip of her beer, it would be time for her to slow down very soon.
"Something a little more classical then."
With that Ruby pulled the stereo remote off the couch arm and went in search of something else. Gold sighed as a Für Elise echoed lightly through the room. The cameras were there to watch his girls not him.
"I don't think you ladies know how to waltz."
"I do!" Cried Belle, louder than she'd intended, probably because of the alcohol, and pulled him to her so they could take their positions.
Belle had loved dancing when she was little so her mother – bless her – had taken her to a few classes. Belle wouldn't be in any competitions any time soon but she could at least keep up.
Had Belle not been a little tipsy she'd have noticed the harsh scowl that had settled on Tamara's face; shame, if she'd just smiled Tamara would have been very captivating.
"I don't have time for playing Prince and Princess. I'm gonna go do a show." With that Tamara stormed off as if Belle had been out to personally offend her.
"I think it's time for more gin. Glorious gin." That was Cruella's cue to leave for the kitchen; a tasks she miraculously accomplished without stumbling once.
Gold relented and the pair danced for a time, smooth and beautiful. The remaining girls watched in awe like it was some kind of fairytale, a tale as old as time. Gold was undoubtedly rusty and to be honest so was Belle but still they danced as though they had been made for each other. Belle was beginning to wonder if they were made for one another; at least in the safety of her mind she pondered the subject.
"Who taught you to dance?" He asked softly, almost a whisper in her ear.
The music hummed and floated around the large living area, probably audible in the Security Rec Room on the other side of the house.
"My Mama was once quite the dancer, she took me to lessons when I was a child."
"Well, they certainly paid off." Elias complemented kindly.
Belle smiled, it was such a little compliment but it made Belle warm inside. He smelt of rich aftershave which finished with the briefest spark of bitter coffee. Belle loved the way he smelt, the way his voice would wrap around her body like a cloak of peace, comfort and … and something she couldn't describe no matter how much she wanted to. For a split second the auburn-haired angel almost forgot herself and leaned up on her tiptoes to press their lips together but thankfully Ruby started to talk and pulled Belle back to her senses.
"Okay, my turn!"
Ruby spoke with such excitement that Belle couldn't bring herself to say no. He's mine! she wanted to scream, but the cameras couldn't find that out. Instead, she stepped backwards and let Ruby drunkenly slip between them to take Gold's hands. Tink jumped in a not long afterwards and after a few minutes Gold was – only a little – reluctantly twirling all of them around the room by way of indulging his half drunk House Girls, even Cruella joined in upon her return from the kitchen which had Gold questioning just how much gin she'd chugged down.
"Oh I feel like I'm nineteen again, darling." Cruella chuckled.
Elias actuality found himself enjoying his time with the girls, not that he'd ever admit it aloud or on camera, it had been a long time since he'd had fun like that. Ruby and Ashley had always tried to get him to interact with them, have fun, but Gold had always thought it would be better for the cameras if he avoided being too friendly with them; the people on his site paid for beautiful young women not a Scottish curmudgeon. Elias especially didn't need to be friendly and give bloody Zelena 'Wick' Green the wrong impression.
He'd just started to laugh when Jefferson and Victor entered the large room with raised eyebrows and little smirks they didn't try to hide. Several wine glasses were grasped awkwardly in their hands but the two men managed to set them down on the glass coffee table without incident. Mulan and Aurora instantly grabbed a glass each and took a long drink of the rich red wine.
"You stealing all our fun, Elias?" Victor teased before he pressed a kiss to Jefferson's plump lips.
"I'm exhausted, darlings. I think I'm going to indulge in the sauna. Don't wait up."
They bid Cruella goodnight and she did the same to them, it seemed gin and dancing made her far nicer; less homicidal and judgemental. Lacey-Belle could actually learn to tolerate Cruella if she stayed that way.
"I should go as well," began Gold as he stepped away from Belle, Tink and Aurora, "I have some paperwork to attend to. Have fun girls."
The girls asked him to stay but but Elias remained adamant, he'd seen his polite escape and he'd take it, seconds later Gold left the room and off up the wooden stairs. Gold's thoughts were filled entirely with Belle as he climbed the stairs and walked towards his office. Her scent, her beauty, her firm legs in those lace topped stockings that she seemed to only wear for him; tease or treat he'd no idea. Every single inch of her was utterly perfect and without equal. Unfortunately the suit clad man's mental image crumbled and shattered when he pushed the door to his office open and found the one person he really didn't want to see looking waiting for him in the dark; he flicked the light on and sighed.
There in his desk chair with eyes firmly locked on him with a maddening type of lust was the crazy ginger known as Zelena Green, she wore nothing but a pair of heels and one of Gold's purple silk shirts. This shit was not what he needed or wanted.
"Hello, lover boy." She purred and Gold wanted nothing more than to tip her out the window and forget she ever existed. "Just the man I wanted."
Why did you let her back in the house, his mind demanded, because she still brings in money.
"Zelena!" He growled out in anger as he slammed the large, heavy door shut behind him. "Are you ever going to take no as an answer?"
He could see she was drunk and if her eye-liner was anything to go by she'd been crying. It wasn't a big leap to think she was probably high as well. There had been a time when she'd first gotten hooked that he'd cared and tried to help, it had even gotten her to sober up for a while, but when she'd slipped back into her old ways, once, twice, three times and she'd grown obsessional he'd had to throw her out. Elias had given up caring.
"Zelena. Leave. Now." His voice was stern and forceful, but he didn't yell.
Zelena pushed herself up quickly, his half buttoned, purple shirt slipped off one pale shoulder as she wobbled. Tears welled in her apple-green eyes. She'd been beautiful once, stunning, now she was just a shell of the woman she'd once been; consumed by drugs, jealousy and obsession.
"I've seen you with that slut!"
"Don't call her that!" He bit out.
Zelena could call him whatever she wanted, say what ever she wanted to him but Belle, she had no right to say a single word about Belle; it wasn't Belle's fault the redhead had destroyed herself.
"You've gone soft, Elias." Her voice turned sickly sweet. "What happened to the old days when you'd look at me and my sisters with that little smile?"
Gold sighed, he needed a lot more liquor in his system for this or perhaps he'd just open up a vein and set up a drip. Zelena had always been a pain in his ass but she'd brought in so many viewers that he'd learnt to live with it.
"Dearie, I never looked at you like that. I never looked at Cora or Regina like that either"
That was a lie, Cora had enchanted him for a while and was the main reason he now had his don't touch the girls rule. Then there was Regina, he'd always felt as though they were kindred spirits, he'd taught her everything he knew; they'd never seen eye to eye but the pair had a certain respect for one another.
Zelena slithered over to him and rested her hands on his chest. "Yes you did, silly."
"It's all in your head, Zelena." He tried to be nice but to be honest Elias had lost his patience. "I don't love you. I have never loved you. I will never love you."
Tears dripped down Zelena's face, angry and jealous tears that spread her eye-liner even further down her cheeks so she looked something like a miserable Panda. Christ, Gold seriously needed a drink.
"It's not fair!" She screamed. "I was here first! Yet that whore came in here and took everything from me. Everything! Everything I deserved!"
Belle wasn't a whore, the total opposite, she was a sweet and perfect young woman who was far too good for The House Of Scarlet, an angel in the realm of demons, a Princess cut from marble.
"Belle has taken nothing from you. She-"
Before he could utter another word Zelena crashed their lips together, she tasted foul, whiskey, wine, vodka and that was just what he could taste and distinguish. There was something revolting in there too that made him want to gag but he didn't have the first clue as to what it could be. Elias pushed her away forcefully which sent her back a few steps on unsteady legs; this had to stop.
"No! I don't love you. I don't want you." He sighed and calmed himself. "Zelena, how about instead of focusing on me and Belle you go out and find someone that does love you? Because if you stay here and obsess over me you will never be happy. I've said it before and I'll say it again, dearie, get clean."
He'd never been so honest or emotional with anyone beside Belle before, it was strange and … well, not him.
"You think I'm obsessed with you?" She asked as if it was unbelievable.
"I'm a perceptive sort." Her hands returned to grip tight on the lapels of his suit jacket as if he was a lifeline. "Zelena, I lie, I cheat and I'm a coward. If you'd have asked me to admit that a month ago I would have killed someone before admit it. Belle makes me happy, and I haven't been happy in a long time. She makes me strong and that is the only reason I have the courage to tell you all this." He couldn't look at her, just stared down at the floor. "You need to forget me, stop taking drugs and go find someone who loves you for you, like Regina did, because if you don't you'll end up like Cora, unable to love anyone. Look what happened to Cora, no one knows where she is, not you not your sister, not even me." He sighed. "And no one cares."
There was a long pause of silence that stretched on to eternity. How could something so quiet be so loud? It was the sort of silence that shook in ones ears and bounced around. Only broken when Zelena's tears burst forth a new, but they were not born of jealousy like the last were, no these were out of sorrow. She clung tighter to his suit jacket and this time Gold snaked his arms around her and held Zelena close. She was so broken, in a way everyone at The House Of Scarlet was, especially Elias Gold himself.
Where had his sudden strength come from? The courage to tell Zelena the truth rather than throwing her out and pretending it never happened? He knew the answer to those questions, it was Belle, she made him want to be better, be the best version of himself.
"You're right." Zelena suddenly said through gargled tears and Gold's eyebrows shot up. Had he finally gotten through to her? "Why are you always right? I don't want to be like Cora, she was my big sister and she never gave a damn about me. Never!"
Maybe Zelena was finally sober enough to see the truth, maybe.
"Zelena you should go to bed, you're going to have one hell of a hangover in the morning. Sober up properly." He pushed her away softly and looked into her apple green eyes. "We'll discuss things more then."
The redhead nodded and wiped the tears from her face, dirtying her palms with eye-liner. After a moment Gold opened his office door to her and Zelena left, breath still shaky. She padded down the hall, it was cold in nothing but her heels and Elias' shirt but all thoughts were banished from her when Belle appeared at the other end of the hall.
Belle felt the urge to demand why the elder woman was in Elias' shirt but she held her tongue, could see Wick was either high as a kite or just coming down and didn't want to start a fight in the hallway. As they passed the redhead mumbled something that Belle couldn't make out at her, it didn't sound evil, bitter even, and so Belle didn't know what to make of it. She simply took a deep breath and made her way into Gold's office.
She found him slumped in his chair, head leaned back towards the ceiling and eyes closed as if he'd just had the longest five minutes of his life. If Zelena was involved then he probably had; poor man.
"Why was Zelena in here? And why was she wearing your shirt?" The second question came out a bit more forcefully than she'd wanted.
"It's alright, Belle." He eventually replied. " I think I may finally have that situation under control. As for my shirt, she can keep it. I don't want it any more." Not after she's worn it, he added in his head.
Thankfully Belle didn't question him on the half naked woman who had just left his office further, he was truly grateful for that. Belle could see he was still fully clothed and more importantly felt nothing towards Zelena. Something had upset him though and Belle felt the need to make it all go away, to make him smile again. It only took her a second to cross the room and seat herself in his lap. Gold opened his eyes at that and looked at her with a smile reserved only for young Belle.
"You don't have to tell me what happened with Zelena, I trust you." His heart swelled at her words; few people ever trusted him. "Why did you leave the party downstairs?" She asked instead of the questions that clawed at her mind.
"The cameras want to see you, dearie. Not me." He breathed out a laugh and snaked his arms around her hips to hold her close.
"Don't care about the cameras. I wanted to see you. The other girls were having fun as well."
With that she pressed her lips to his, she tasted like wine but it was a warmth on the tip of her tongue not overpowering like Zelena had been. What he shared with Belle was a kiss while Zelena had been a second of torture.
"I suppose if you won't come to the party …" She began once their lips separated. "… the party just has to come to you."
Belle raised her left arm to reveal a bottle of red wine in her hand that he hadn't noticed until that moment; he'd been so lost in her kisses and kind words. He chuckled almost impishly as she helped herself to a sip. Seconds later she offered him the bottle which Elias took it willingly. The wine was heavenly on his tongue and reminded him of Belle's kiss; strawberry and sweet. When he set the dark-green bottle down Belle kissed him again, a little more deeply that before. She's too good for me. He knew that the voice inside his brain was right, but he was also selfish and wouldn't let her go now he had her in his arms. Elias gripped her tighter as if reassuring himself she was real.
"I've been thinking, but first, do you like it here? At The House Of Scarlet?"
Belle's eyes narrowed, why would he ask that?
"Yes." The young woman confirmed. "Everyone is so kind and friendly. Well, most of them … I still can't understand why Tamara hates me and after tonight it looks like Cruella only like me when she's had a few too many."
"But do you like it here?"
Belle looked into his chocolate honey eyes knowing this was important to him but not why.
"Yes, I like it here. It's not a, enchanted forest but I'm happy." She stressed the last word.
He sighed, there really was something bothering him and Belle had no idea what had brought it on so quickly. Was it something Zelena had said? Had Belle done something?
"You're too good for this place, Belle. You can do so much better than The House Of Scarlet." His words were but a whisper. "I… I was thinking… that- that you shouldn't have to work for me. I'm- I'm going to give you the money for your tuition and if you want an apartment too-"
"You're getting rid of me!? Why?" Belle sat herself up straight and her whole body tensed.
"No! No, I'm not getting rid of you but you're better than this."
He could see tears as they welled in her ocean blue eyes and he wanted nothing more than to pull her close and hold her but Belle had turned much to rigid.
"That's my choice, Elias! And why would you just give me the money? You don't do anything for free it's always a deal. I know you! So what is it you're getting in return huh?!" She yelling at him now as tears dripped from her cheeks.
"Belle, I- I don't want you to be one of my girls, I-"
"Not one of your girls?! Then what?!" Belle stood and backed away from him, she was so angry. It boiled through her blood like a poison. Why would he make her feel for him and they just throw her away?
"I just- Belle you. I-" He stuttered.
"What?!"
"I just want you to be mine!" Everything went silent at that and they just looked at each other, Gold still in his chair and Belle on the other side of his desk. "You asked what I got in return." He began in a lower tone. "You already gave it to me Belle. You made an old man very happy, and I can't let someone I love stay in this den of iniquity."
He opened his mouth to say more but they never got out, Belle had her lips pressed to his and Elias couldn't figure out why; or how she'd gotten around his desk so quickly. Before she'd been so angry and yet now she was kissing him as if her life depend upon it. When she pulled back she looked breathless.
"Do you mean that?"
Gold's brow furrowed as he desperately tried to catch up. "Mean what?"
"That you love me?"
Until that moment he'd not realized what he'd said, yet hearing Belle ask that question he knew it was true.
"I know I don't deserve you but... yes. I love you." From somewhere he found the strength to lock his eyes with hers. "I don't expect you to feel the same."
His ex-wife hadn't loved him. Cora hadn't loved him, so why would Belle, the most beautiful and intelligent of the three, love him?
Belle didn't reject him or laugh at him though, instead she searched out his lips for a deep kiss that she smiled into, a grin more like which her peach lips. She moved to straddle his hips again and Gold's hands slipped to caress her stocking clad thighs.
"Oh you stupid man." She giggled. "I love you too, of course I love you."