A week had passed since Belle left the castle. Rumple thought about that night she returned. She almost kissed him before Rose interrupted them. Since then, things have been a bit different between them. They spent more time together when Rose wasn't around. They talked more intimately and shared more stories of both their past lives. He shared more about his life than anyone ever knew. He told her about his father and how he abandoned him. He told her how he was raised by spinners after he left him. She told him about her life back in Avolonea. She told him about her parents and her friends. She told him about her favorite books to read and her other favorite past times of playing pranks on her maids and butlers with her friends as a child. They never talked about what happened, or what almost happened, that night. It was obvious that they had feelings for each other and it showed. She almost kissed him and he was more than willing to return it. They were in love, but they wouldn't admit it out loud. After they put Rose to bed, they talked as they walked down the hall.
"All your chores are done for the night. I suppose you'll turn in?" Belle could've turned in. She was very exhausted from the long day, but she didn't want to be away from him just yet. She then remembered the present she bought for Rose.
"Actually, I thought I would work on Rose's unicorn. I still have yet to add the rose to it." He remembered the gift she brought home with her.
"Ah, yes. And if I recall, you wanted to add it with a golden thread."
"Yes, I did. Do you suppose you could help me with that?" He smirked at her.
"Well, is there some other sorcerer you know that can spin gold?" She giggled at him.
"No."
"Then I can help." She smiled at him.
"Great. I'll go get what I'll need and come meet you down in the Great Hall."
"And I will start spinning your thread." She went to her bedroom while he headed to the Great Hall. He sat at his wheel and started to spin. He would usually spin gold by thinking of his most painful and hateful memories. It was anything from his father abandoning him to become Peter Pan to his wife leaving him and Baelfire to be a pirate's wife. He even started thinking of Elizabeth being cold and hateful towards Rose. He would mostly think of one memory in particular; he was forced to kiss a man's boot in front of his son. He would then imagine all the terrible things he would do to the man from breaking his bones one by one to slowly crushing his heart in his hands. Tonight, none of those memories came to his mind. All he thought about was Belle. He thought about her smile, her laugh, her voice, her beauty. He thought about the kiss they almost shared. While he thought, he involuntarily started to spin. He continued to think about the things he loved most about Belle. He thought about her passion for reading, her wishing to be a hero, her love for Rose. He thought of all the things that made Belle, well, Belle. He barely heard when she entered the room. She sat down next to him and watched him spin. She looked at the gold and gasped.
"Rumple." He stopped and looked at her. Her gaze was on the gold he had just spun. She picked it up from the basket and examined it. He noticed that it was different from the gold he usually spun. It was brighter and shinier. Belle turned her gaze to her. "I've never seen you spin gold like this."
"Neither have I." He never had spun gold that bright and pure in all his years of spinning. All of his gold had been dark and a bit dingey, but it was still gold.
"What was different this time?" Rumple knew exactly what was different. The gold wasn't spun with anger and hate. It was spun with joy and love. He wasn't thinking about his selfish father or his unfaithful wife or a disgraceful soldier. He was thinking about her. And while he thought of her, he thought of Rose. He thought of how they were together when they laughed and played and were happy. He thought of his family. His new family that seemed to love and accepted him. Despite him being a monster, they never tried to leave him. Even when Belle left, she came back, not only for Rose, but for him as well. Before he became the Dark One, any family he had left him; his father, his wife, even his son. As the Dark One, no one wanted to be near him. It took him over 300 years to finally find people that actually wanted to be with him. He turned to her and looked in her eyes. He couldn't tell her this. Not yet.
"I've no idea." She knew he was lying, but she left it alone. She wasn't going to make a big deal out of it. Not yet.
"Well, whatever it is, this is the most beautiful gold I've ever seen. This will be perfect."
"Good. Good." He began to spin again and continued to think about nothing but Belle and Rose. He occasionally glanced over at her as she watched him spin. She was so flawless, so kind, so beautiful. How could she love someone like him? How could she stand to be in the same room with him? How could she act like he was like any other person? She should hate him. She should've left when he gave her the chance. She should be back home with her real family and her friends. She shouldn't be forced to stay with him. Neither should Rose. They should both be free from him. He loved them both, but they deserve better than him. Belle placed a hand on his arm.
"Rumple." He stopped and looked at her. She glanced down at the gold he spun. He looked down and saw it returned to it's darker tone. He must have let his mind wander too far. He didn't look at her.
"I'm sorry." She gave him a sad smile.
"It's okay. That should be enough to stitch in." She measured out the gold and cut where the bright met the dark. She took the thread and started to string it through a needle from her sewing kit. She then began to sew the embroidered rose to the unicorn's flank. While she sewed, she decided to strike up another conversation with him. "So, uh, you were told me about your father. I don't believe you've told me of your mother."
"I haven't."
"Well, perhaps you could tell me about her." Rumple had very vague memories of his mother. He could almost say that he didn't have a mother.
"There's not much to tell, really. She died when I was very young. After that, it was just me and my father."
"I'm sorry to hear that. Do you have any memories of her?" Rumple hadn't thought about his mother. All he really knew was his selfish and cowardly father. He didn't remember much of her. He could barely remember what she looked like. Now that he thought of it, all he remembers is her having the most beautiful and brightest blue eyes in all the realms.
"Any memories of her were of her and my father arguing. They always fought over money and my father's gambling. Nothing good to remember from my childhood."
"Surely there was something good that remember of her." There was. There was one memory that he had of his mother that he held on to. He slightly smiled.
"There is. I remember when I was quite young, I fell ill. My mother was at my bedside almost all the time. She comforted me and told me stories so I wouldn't think about how unwell I felt. My father went from town to town to find a cure for me. He returned days later with a healing tonic from an ancient apothecary. It took a day for the tonic to take effect. Neither of my parents left my side until I was well again. It was the only time I ever saw them get along. It was the first time that I felt...loved." Belle was taken by the story. She loved hearing of his mortal days. That's how she knew he was just like anyone else. He just got dealt a bad hand in life. Belle was so distracted that she pricked her finger on the needle. She gave a small yelp and dropped the unicorn as she held her finger. Rumple slightly jumped and examined her. "Are you alright?"
"Yes. I just pricked the needle." He took her hand in his.
"Here. Let me see." There was a small bead of blood on the tip of her finger. He wiped the blood away with his finger and healed hers.
"Thank you." She went to pull her hand away, but he took hold of it. She looked down at their hands. His rough green skin contrasted with her smooth ivory skin. He brushed his thumb across the back of her hand. They then looked at each other. Their eyes locked together once again. They searched each other for a sign of what to do next. Neither of them moved. Something then sparked inside of Rumple. He couldn't hold back his feelings anymore. In a flash, he grabbed her and kissed her. She was taken off guard for a moment, then melted into his embrace. The kiss was filled with such passion and love, it nearly made him cry. He then broke away and looked into her eyes once again. Her bright blue eyes widened. "Rumple! You're changing!"
"What?" He looked at his hands and noticed they were losing their green color. "No. No!"
"Rumple?" She reached for him, but he slapped her hand away and stood up.
"NO!" He saw his hand return green and bumpy. He examined himself in confusion. Why was this happening? He had kissed Rose many times before. Why did this only happen when he kissed Belle? He looked to her. "You!"
"Me?"
"This was you! You tried to take my powers and weaken me! You mean to get rid of me!" Belle stood up.
"I most certainly am not! Had I wanted to be rid of you, I never would've returned! And, you kissed me!" Belle then stopped for a moment. "You kissed me. True Love's kiss."
"What?" She remembered her encounter with the woman she met on the road when she left the castle. She told her how True Love's kiss would break any curse. She felt that she shouldn't trust the woman. The guards she had were dressed the same way of the ones that tried to kill Rose. Even with that, Belle knew a thing or two about magic. Some of the books in her library had stories and facts of magic and those who wield it. She remembered reading that True Love was the world's most powerful magic. With that, she knew the woman was telling the truth. Besides, there was no way for her to know that she was speaking of Rumple as her master/lover. Either way, she wasn't going to tell him of her encounter with the woman.
"I...I've read about True Love's kiss being powerful enough to break any curse." She smiled. "This is True Love. It has to be!"
"No! That's impossible!" She frowned and grew angry.
"Why?! Why is it so impossible?! Why don't you believe that I can love you?!" He grabbed her and pinned her to the wall. He held her wrists on either side of her head and looked into her eyes.
"Because no one can ever love a monster." She looked back at him without fear.
"I don't love a monster. I love you, Rumpelstiltskin."
"One and the same, dearie. Despite what you might think, I'm one and the same." She narrowed her eyes at him.
"And despite what you might think, the only person in this castle that thinks you're a monster is you. As for being loved, if you know that sweet little girl upstairs can love you with all her heart, why can't you believe I can as well?" He scanned her eyes for deception and hatred, but he found none. He only found truth and passion. She loved him. She was his True Love. He then released her wrists and back away from her. Her eyes never left his.
"Why?" With that simple word, she knew what he was asking. Why did she love him? Why did she fall for a monster like him?
"Because I see the man that you really are. You're not perfect. You have a tortured past and because of it, you sometimes make wrong decisions. Because of it, you don't trust people. You believe everyone will hurt you because it's happened before. You're hesitant to love because all the people you loved before have left you. You see yourself as a monster because others say you are. You're not a perfect man, but you still are a man. And that's the man I love." She took his hand in hers. He shook his head in disbelief.
"Belle..." She placed her hand on his chest.
"You have to trust me, Rumple. You should know that I would never hurt you nor would I try. You need to open your heart and accept that someone loves you. I know it's hard for you, but you must trust and believe that I would never break your heart. Know that I am your True Love and you are mine. Know that when I decided to come back, it wasn't just because of Rose." He knew that she meant every word. There was a woman that would love him. He could trust her. She's never given him a reason not to. He could love her. He had for a while. They were finally admitting it. He squeezed her hand.
"Oh Belle. I do love you. I truly do, but we can't do this." She frowned.
"Why not?"
"Because I need to keep my powers. I can't risk losing them every time we kiss."
"But why do you need your powers? If you still see yourself as a monster because of them, why do you need to keep them?" Rumple contemplated telling her the reason. He knew he could trust her, but he's never told anyone of his plan to find his long lost son. If he lost his powers, he would lose any chance of being reunited with him. Belle could see the internal conflict he was facing. She squeezed his hand to get his full attention. "Hey, it's okay. If you don't want to tell me now, it's okay, but we can still have this. We don't have to kiss. There are other ways to show our affections, but don't take this away. We can have this...if you want it as well."
He did want it. He wanted to be with her more than anything. He wanted to love again and be loved. Truly loved. Belle could love him in a way his past lovers never could. She really loved him. There was nothing and no one to take her from him. He could have her if he allowed himself to be happy and loved. He went through the same turmoil when he found Rose. He allowed him to love her and she has given him a feeling of love in his heart that no amount of strong magic could ever give him. Belle could give him even more. He could feel more complete with her. He gently kissed her forehead. She watched him and saw that he didn't change. His powers weren't fading away. She smiled and laid her head on his shoulder. He held her close. They would give it a try, but one thing still remained. How would they explain this to Rose?