A/N: I have to say… God bless you for this prompt! ;) Now, I should give you a fair warning… I love Buffy the Vampire Slayer and I'm a shipper of Buffy/Spike. That means I'm not an Angel fan—didn't like him on Buffy and I definitely did not watch the spinoff. But seeing this prompt was something I couldn't resist. So I'm taking the idea but I'm not replicating something from the show. So those of you who are Angel fans, I'm sorry but none of this is related to canon. Not even close, except for the curse. I'm keeping that.

Angel Inspired

Likes_My_Red_Cape prompted: Tortured and soul-tormented vamp!Rumple is trying to make amends for his sins with the help of his friend seer!Belle. (Rated M)

Anyone saying it was easy to have a soul clearly was not a vampire. Then again, most vampires would say it was easier to not have a soul.

As for Rumplestiltskin, his circumstances were certainly unique. When he was turned, it was more so out of love to help protect his son and it was that love kept him grounded on still trying to live a life as a good man despite having the inner demon residing in him. And he succeeded until his son was murdered and then Rumplestiltskin allowed his demon to roam free.

Slaughtering those men who took his son from him was only the beginning. He spent the next three hundred years causing mayhem and stirring chaos wherever he went. It was easier to destroy than to confront his grief. He lost count of the number of the faceless victims he took over the years, but the one face he was always haunted by was his dear sweet Bae's.

After all, he was his father. He should have protected him and he failed him. He failed Bae and he was now part of the dirt and dust while he roamed the earth as this shell with only the demon at the helm.

It wasn't until Rumplestiltskin came upon a tribe of traveling gypsies that he decided to have fun with, which inevitably was the wrong decision to make. He made a deal and when the person didn't deliver… Rumplestiltskin took her life. After all, a vampire has got to eat doesn't he?

He had expected the clan to rise up and cast a curse on him, which returned his soul and forced him to live with the consequences of his actions.

That had been the first time he was confronted with his grief over his son's murder and he had to face the fact that he was truly a monster. For too long he allowed the demon to control him; now Rumplestiltskin was going to take back his life (or lack thereof) and try to do good. After all, Bae only wanted him to be a good man even with the darkness. It was the only thing he could to make up for the fact that all the bloodshed was done in his son's name.

Although, saying he was going to do a good deed was way more complicated than Rumplestiltskin thought. When people find out you're a vampire, they tend to panic and run from you rather than give you an opportunity to help them. But eventually, he was able to find a way to do good that even Bae would have to approve of doing.

He became the Deal-Maker.

And this time, he didn't make it so that his deals were impossible or found a way of benefitting only him. It all depended on the person's request and if it was something he could do. All he required for payment was blood packets. People assumed he was eccentric or just odd but they would give him the bags and he would look into their problems.

Not to brag or anything, but he did a decent job. He helped a couple escape to Canada when the woman's mother didn't approve of the match. Then he helped another couple find a way to be together when the boy's father forced him into an engagement with another woman. Then there was the one other time he helped this lass escape her stepmother's wrath so she could find her true love…

Okay, so he did a lot of matchmaking and saving star-crossed lovers from a life of unhappiness. Not that he actively sought those problems out. They always seemed to present themselves.

But the other thing he enjoyed doing was saving people from his kind.

Yes… he was a vampire hunter. Ironic considering he was a vampire, but there were some bad apples that had certain tastes that he didn't approve of having. Even when his demon took over, Rumplestiltskin never fed from children nor did he harm helpless women. That didn't appeal to him. But there were vampires who thrived from hunting the innocents so Rumplestiltskin would do anything he could to stop them.

That was how he met Belle.

A fortuitous meeting he later found because Belle was a seer. She could see things before they ever happened. She told him that she had a vision about him and she knew she must go to him to help his cause.

What cause… he had no idea since he didn't have one. He was doing good in the name of Bae and that was all. Yet, there was something about her that drew him in and he couldn't tell if it was her bewitching blue eyes or the husky Australian accent, but Rumplestiltskin heard himself tell her that she was more than welcome to work alongside him.

Now, it was him and Belle against the world of dangerous bloodthirsty creatures.

xxXXxx

"Are you sure he's somewhere nearby? Because I'm getting nothing," Rumple told Belle as they were walking through a cemetery and searching for a lost little boy. Belle had a vision that he was trapped and being guarded by two vampires. As it were, Rumple couldn't sense them let alone hear anything.

"I'm telling you this is what my vision showed me. See that tree? It was there." She pointed to a scraggly and twisted oak whose branches were swaying in the breeze.

"Are you certain? Because all these trees look the same to me."

She rolled her eyes. "Rumple, I'm a seer. I know how to read my visions. Now, get your pointy face on just in case these vamps pop up."

"My face isn't that pointy," he grumbled as his normal face transformed into his vamp one. "It's more bumpy."

She snickered and he knew he wasn't helping his case at all. "Whatever," he said, although with his fangs bursting through his gums, his words combined with his accent made it sound like "Whatava."

Then in an instant, they were ambushed. Three vampires jumped on top of them, catching the two off guard. But Rumple's reflexes were fast and he was soon fighting his attacker on his right.

Belle, luckily, had her stake already drawn and swiftly dusted the vamp on her left and charged the other.

Rumple was able to seize the neck of his vamp and twisted as the neck broke and the creature became dust beneath his fingertips. Brushing his hands off, he looked up in time to watch Belle fight.

He never told her this (nor will he ever live it down if she did) but he enjoyed watching her fight. It was almost like a dance… a life or death one but she was able to maintain her grace as she ducked, punched, and kicked her prey. Plus, she loved to toy with the vamps before she killed them. This one wasn't anything different—she even allowed the vamp to "trip" her so she was on the ground so he could climb on top of her presumably for his kill.

"Three… two… one," Rumple counted down and swoosh dust exploded on top of her.

Waltzing over to her, he held out a hand so Belle could stand up. Her blue eyes were glowing in the dark, her lips parted in a breathless smile, and even though she had vamp dust sprinkled in her hair… she certainly looked like an Angel of Death.

He inwardly shivered as he pulled his hand back as if burned. If Belle noticed, then she didn't comment as she brushed off the dust on her pants and continued where her vision showed her the boy was located.

They were approaching a mausoleum when Rumple could hear the crying finally.

"He's here," he told Belle as she nodded.

"Do your stuff Fang-Boy."

He gave her a look. "Fang-Boy? You do know I'm older than you."

She smirked. "Are you? I forgot," she teased as she crossed her arms.

As he came closer to the door, he didn't see Belle's expression suddenly change and before she could utter a word… he ripped the door opened to find a recorder playing the sounds of a child crying and pleading for help.

"What the…?" Rumple started to say but he heard Belle's cry and spun around to find a vamp pinning her arms to her back and his other hand wrapped around her pale throat. The look on her face was not fear or the horror that her life was now in danger… but shame as her vision came too late.

"Hello Deal-Maker," the vamp crooned. "I knew you wouldn't resist rescuing a child. And it looks like I have your precious seer. What to do, I wonder?"

"If you wanted my attention, then all you had to do was visit me," Rumple said his expression hard and the demon full of anger that this soulless thing was touching his woman.

Well… she was a woman and they were partners. Not his in that way. Belle would kick his ass if that was the case.

"I'm in the yellow pages."

"No. I like this a lot better. Deceiving is much more fun." The vamp grinned, his fangs glittering with red tips from a recent feed. The missing child was real but it would appear they were too late to save the poor soul. This only fueled Rumple's rage as he began to take a step forward, but it was another yelp from Belle that had him freezing in his spot.

"For a seer, you're certainly a cute thing."

Belle had to hold back a grimace. "Wish I could say the same about you. Your breath stinks."

The vamp glared, taking offense. "My breath does not stink."

"Sure fooled me," she mumbled.

"Look! You're my victim, got it? And I'm going to take you out of the picture so the Deal-Maker won't have any more help. I always wondered what a seer's blood will taste like…"

Belle began coughing as dust filled her lungs. Glaring at Rumple, she sputtered, "What the Hell!? Couldn't you have waited when I wasn't looking at him?"

"No."

"Well, great. I think I'm going to be coughing up vamp dust for the next—" Whatever else she was going to say was cut off when Rumple's face was suddenly pressing against her throat. Belle immediately tensed as she felt his tongue slowly lapping at her skin.

She hadn't realized it, but when the vamp grabbed her, his nails did break her skin as blood trickled down her throat. Now, Rumple was delicately following the trickles as he cleaned her up and sealed the wounds with his saliva. During this, Belle trembled in his embrace as she bit her lips to hold back a moan. Even though he was still in his vamp face, the bumpies didn't hurt her like she thought it would. If anything, they were making her sensitive flesh even more sensitive with the way it would lightly scratch and brush against her jaw and exposed shoulder.

Her eyes were closed tightly as she felt Rumple slowly pulling away and her lashes fluttered as she looked up into his normal face. There was an unreadable expression in his brown eyes but she caught him blushing as he took several steps back to give her space.

"He… uh… I didn't want your blood to be attracting any more vamps," he told her.

"Oh-okay." She felt dizzy but she managed to stand upright as he continued to look away from her.

"We should—"

"—Head back," she finished his sentence as he chuckled nervously.

"Yeah. Good idea."

Meanwhile, two other vampires who were off in the distance watched the entire exchange and looked at each other.

"See? I told you there was something going on between them! Pay up!" A woman with long brown hair with streaks of red told her companion.

"Here you go," grumbled the man with an Irish accent. He placed the twenty in her hand as she let out another self-congratulatory whoop.

"It's too bad that our friends died in the process. But oh well. I never liked Stealthy anyway," the woman said.

"Yeah he was annoying," her friend agreed.

All right! The next ones will be based on Rebecca. Thanks for reading and don't forget to review!