A Woman's Trade

By RosexKnight

Anon Prompt: "Flirting is a woman's trade, one must keep in practice,"

The night the princess arrived the spinner found himself spinning even at dusk. It wasn't ideal. The light was fading and made the task rather challenging, but not unrewarding. Still, when the sun had set and Baelfire safely tucked into bed Rumple found it too dark to spin. So he stoked the fire and settled in to relax.

Except there was a knock on the door.

He froze, every fiber of his being telling him to run. But then a voice drifted through, penetrating his fight-or-flight instinct and in an instant he was at the door.

Belle was there, clad in a much more modest dress, but the craftsmanship and material were unmistakable of those with royal training.

"Sorry I…" She stammered, and for a moment he forgot it was the princess he was addressing. "I snuck out."

"I can see that milady." He said, glancing behind her. No horse, but if she came with someone, if she had been followed…

"I'm alone." She said, reading him. "I was…I couldn't sleep."

Rumpelstiltskin didn't understand her. She should be able to sleep soundly, and if not she has a castle. A large bed…

"Tea?" He managed.

"May I? That would be lovely."

He nodded deftly, and she stepped inside, shutting the door behind her and stepping lightly as to not disturb his son. Somehow, without her grand gown and her hair tussled from a full day of…whatever it was they did in the castle she looked like she belonged.

The spinner started their tea, producing a pair of biscuits the way he had that morning.

"They might be stale." He said in apology, bowing his head out of respect.

"It doesn't matter to me." She paused, letting a silence linger between them. "You don't have to do that."

"Do what, milady?"

"Bow. Call me 'milady.' It's not necessary."

But he didn't respond. Because yes, it was. And they both knew that he would not be convinced otherwise.

It was silent for a while, but a comfortable sort of silence as her eyes drifted this way and that, as if trying to memorize his little shack. She nibbled on her bread with no complaints of the staleness, and even thanked him for the tea, seeming to savor the taste.

"Milady…" His voice trailed off, because he wasn't sure what he was going to say. But she didn't fuss, only looked at him expectantly. "Not to be forward but…why are you here?"

Belle's lips quirked and suddenly she couldn't make eye contact with him. "I suppose I'm running." She glanced up, waving away she look of absolute terror on his face. "No, no Rumpelstiltskin. Not in the way you're thinking. I'm not abandoning you. I never would." Her hand was suddenly on his. "Alright?"

All he did was nod again, unable to do anything else, trying to get his heart to stop beating so hard in her chest. Belle looked crestfallen, and perhaps that was why her hand didn't leave his.

"I only mean I tire of being a princess sometimes." She explained, offering him a smile. "So I like to run and escape sometimes. Like now."

"Now?"

"Do girls not usually do this? Sneak into the house of a man after dark to flirt?"

He dropped his cup of tea, and she suddenly looked hurt, as if she had done something wrong.

"I can't say I know." He managed, picking the cup off the floor. The tea was of course gone from it, but the cup was fine save a chip. But you could hardly see it, and he concealed it from her easily enough, lest she look even sadder. "You're the only woman to visit my house in a very long time, milady."

"Well, that is a shame." She said, seeming more at ease now. "This place is very quaint and the company is good."

It was a miracle, really, that the cup didn't slip from his hands a second time. He met her eyes, and had to immediately look away at the odd look she was giving him. One of almost…longing? He didn't know. Still, he couldn't meet them.

"Do you not want me to flirt?" She asked, failing to hide the giggle in her voice. "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

"Milady, why did you come to flirt with me?"

Belle paused, biting her lip, seeming to fight with herself with what exactly to tell him. When she spoke her princess tone was back, as half-hearted as it was.

"Flirting is a woman's trade, one must keep in practice."

Her giggle was enchanted. There was no other reason for how it made his heart stutter in his chest. Or perhaps it was her touch. How else would he be completely unable to move each time her fingers brushed him? Her chocolate curls that always looked so soft cascading down her back was also a possibility. As were her eyes that were impossibly blue and always searching, able to read him like a few simple pages. No, it must have been her entire being. Yes that was certainly it. All of Princess Belle was enchanted.

No, just Belle, he reminded himself. She wasn't a princess. Not with him.

Still, impossibly, Belle had cared for the spinner, and even now cared for him despite him being a monster.

She must have been enchanted, somehow.

"How much sugar today?"

Her words snapped him out of his daze. He was in his tower, working on a potion for a new deal. Of course he used the term "working" lightly. It was impossible to concentrate on anything with her in the room. The sooner she left the sooner he could get back to work. He lifted his head in annoyance to tell her just that. He was busy after all! But then their eyes met, and the words melted on his tongue.

"Just one today." He managed to get out before going back to his book.

He heard her pour the tea, plop in a sugar cube, and stir. Then the princess was offering him a teacup. One with a chip out of the smooth porcelain rim. How she knew it was his favorite he'd never understand.

He had a feeling he'd never understand her at all.

Belle's fingers brushed his as she handed him the cup, and all he could do was helplessly take it from her. No woman should be so beautiful and skilled at making him falter. He sipped his tea as she poured her own, desperately trying to go back to his work. His mind was almost lost in the pages when.

"What are you making?"

Belle was beside him. Right beside him. And just like that words stuck in his throat.

"A luck potion." He managed. "Drink this and whatever endeavor you find yourself on will work as if Lady Luck herself were on your side."

Belle nodded. "I suppose in the wrong hands it could be rather dangerous."

"Of course. But then it depends on the endeavor. Lady Luck is a fickle mistress, after all. It may not always work."

"So the potion chooses what to help the person with?"

"In a sense. Magic is tricky and sometimes has a mind of its own. But this potion does help with most things."

Belle paused, biting her lip, and Rumpelstiltskin had to look away.

"So…affairs of the heart?" She asked, her voice soft. Had she gotten closer? "Things like that?"

"In theory." He choked.

Book. Magic. Potion. Client. He needed to focus on anything other than the princess and her close proximity.

"Would it work on you?" She asked after a length of silence.. "I mean, against you."

"I wouldn't be making it if I thought it could." He said with a shrug. "Worried someone will try to slay the best dearie?"

"No. I was just wondering if maybe it would be on my side for my endeavor."

"And what endeavor is that, milady?"

"To make The Dark One realize I'm flirting with him." He fumbled. "And have been since I met him as a spinner."

This time he froze, going inhumanly motionless. Belle didn't move either, only fidgeted with her fingers and skirt, obviously waiting for him to make the next move.

Flirting.

She'd been flirting. She'd always been flirting.

The silence went on for longer than he wanted, but every response died in his throat before he could open his lips. The princess was ever so patient though, waiting. The princess was waiting for the spinner. Her spinner, he realized.

He turned to her, but that didn't stop the uneasy look in his eye or the way he wrung his hands. Finally, he found his voice.

"Milady, why did you come to flirt with me?"

Belle blinked, and Rumpelstiltskin felt a surge of pride for taking her by surprise. He watched as she bit her lip, looking away from him and seeming to fight with herself the same way she'd done three years ago when he was still just a spinner.

"Flirting is a woman's trade, one must keep in practice."

He found himself shaking his head, realizing for the first time she was lying. And had been back then too.

"That's not why." The words were barely a whisper as he leaned closer to her, studying her, trying to figure her out. "Why did you come to me to flirt?"

A smile quirked at her lips, and the look in her eye was almost sly. The Spinner found his heart pounding harder. Enchanted. That was the only explanation.

"I flirted," She started, placing her hand on his. Had he been shaking without knowing it? "Because I could be myself around you even as a princess. And I find you quite handsome."

"Find?" He choked, suddenly unable to move.

That giggle again. That damn giggle that made him go immobile but also brought him unexplainable comfort. And then she was close. Close enough for him to feel her breath. He swallowed as her eyes searched his, pausing for a moment before she closed the space and brought her lips to his.

It was just for a moment, a chaste kiss that made him sigh with something he hadn't felt in far too long.

"Find." She confirmed, pulling away too soon with a blush on her cheeks.

And then she was gone, and Rumpelstiltskin wondered if she was fleeing for the moment. Somehow that didn't worry him. She could keep her trade in practice for as long as she needed.