I do not own anything related to Once Upon a time
TW for mentions of past abuse, nothing graphic. None of my stories will ever be too graphic no matter the topic. I try to keep things pretty PGish if I can :)

Chapter 6 The Vow

'You-you knew?' Robby stammered out in unbelief. All this time, she knew? What must she think of him? Why had she continued to let him make a fool of himself? Why had she said she thought he was mute to begin with? All these thoughts took seconds to think, while Belle gave a sideways, shy smile.

'Well, that lobby carries sound quite well, it even carries into the exhibit room.' She chuckled at first, but her face fell into a more thoughtful one. 'I'm trying to think, I believe it was my second time, perhaps, coming to one of the exhibits? I heard you and Jeff talking-about me.' She reddened. 'And then about you-about how Jeff had done all the talking in the beginning and you slowly got comfortable around him.'

She was a little pink, he was definitely red to think she had heard his and Jeff's conversation all that long while ago. That she had known…why was she even with such a pathetic thing like him? That was the biggest question in his mind.

'I had hoped that perhaps coming frequently would somehow have us bumping into each other and getting to know each other, but it never happened-nothing happened until I spoke to Jeff at the gala and he gave me the greatest opportunity.'

'And told you I was mute…' He said quietly. She nodded, her eyes went to the floor and then darted to him suddenly with great concern.

'You aren't angry are you? I am sorry to have done that to you-I-I just wanted you to feel comfortable around me, and to do it at your own time.' Her eyes were pleading with him to be alright with her, and he didn't understand why it was her that was worried at all.

'I'm not angry, I…' He fiddled with his coffee cup, running his finger along the rim absentmindedly, trying not to worry about what she would think of him, trying not to let all the thousands of small insecurities that always seemed to pile up and add weight on weight until it seized him, and put pressure on his chest until he could speak at all. This was Belle. This was the girl who cared so much about his own comfort, that she was willing to go along with a lie so that she could just get to know him-him! 'I guess I just don't understand-why? Why would you want to get to know me?'

Now it was her turn to look contemplative and worried over her answer.

'I think when I saw the way you looked at me when we first-well, not exactly met, but I suppose, saw each other. Before you walked away, you looked at me like-Like I was somebody, as if I was interesting.'

He remembered. He remembered how intelligent her eyes looked, and how adorable that pencil was placed behind her ear, how kind her smile was.

'When I overheard yours and Jeff's conversation, it intrigued me. I can't tell you the exact reason why-I suppose you looked so interesting yourself.' She shrugged her shoulders and her look told him that there was more to it than that, but he was too afraid to ask.

They both gave quiet looks and finished their coffees looking about the place, both lost in thought. Robby was desperately trying to figure out a way they could spend time with each other without him having to come out and bring it up. He could see no other way around it, and she had done so much for him already…

'Am I…' He broke the semi silence, there was the constant low noise of people barking coffee orders, a group of young people around a board game, or a few women chatting over some sort of business notes. 'I mean, do you think, you might would want to, um do this again sometime? See each other, I mean?' He was rubbing the back of his neck. Where's your confidence boy? Pathetic! The words were out at least-jumbled up mess though they might be. He kept expecting Belle to show some sort of sign of disgust at some point, exasperated with his poor attempts at speech, but she beamed in reply.

'Yes!' And her answer caused a handful of gamers and readers to look their way with a bit of annoyance, and causing Robby to feel anxious again. Belle bit her lip and whispered. 'Sorry-I guess I am just happy I haven't made you upset by what I did.'

His lips went up a little, involuntarily and shook his head. 'I could have told you the actual truth sooner-I was the one who continued the lie. Thank you.' He said suddenly.

Her eyes went to his. Oh how deep and blue they were-he could drown in them. Her sweet face wrinkled in thought again. 'For what?'

'For doing what you did-for caring if I was comfortable or not. Thank you.' He said again, trying to show how much he meant them. 'I still can't believe you did all that, for me.'

'Of course.' She smiled.

Their coffees were finished, and Belle had sighed at their now empty table, realizing that it was probably time to end the day-she seemed as unwilling as he, and he couldn't help but be pleased at that thought. The whole day had left him baffled yet pleased.

He opened the door for her, her sweet face got pink each time he did so, as if it were something so completely out of the ordinary. He did it because he thought it was the right thing to do for a lady-he wondered if it was something he wasn't supposed to do-well, Belle seemed to be happy enough with it, so he enjoyed her rosy cheeks, tried not to over analyze it, and went over to his own side.

Before he began the drive he attempted something he wanted to ask, but was worried about-not that for anyone else it would be any big deal, but Robby worried over everything-he worried over the worry he felt for everything in his life, and yet it didn't stop it from happening anyway. He rubbed the back of his neck again.

'Would you like to-I mean, if you would like, we can um-well, exchange phone numbers? Just so that we can communicate future arrangements?' It was all asked in a question-like way. He was still unsure of any words that he spoke. He almost longed to go back to the notebook. Coward! He cringed at his own ineptitude and cowardice. Belle's confident, 'Sure! Tell me your number and I'll send you a text.' All smiley and kind, and bright, and wonderful, lessened, like it always seemed to do, the burden of his own inner thoughts.

He stuttered out his number and he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He gave her a small smile and backed out of the coffee shop driveway.

'I was thinking.' She said after they had driven for a few moments. 'About what we could do-you know, future arrangements and all that.' Her emphasis on the words he had spoken might have felt like a slap of ridicule from anyone else, but from Belle it caused him to chuckle instead.

'There's a movie at the park this weekend-they are renting one of those big screens and they are doing like a drive-in movie. You don't even have to get out of the car or roll down your window! They've got it to where you just tune into whatever FM radio station and listen in your car.'

She had thought all this out. She again-sweet, wonderful Belle, was thinking about what would make him feel most comfortable. It was almost overwhelming to be thought of this much. He almost hated that she cared so very much. Robby felt like she was doing this because she could do nothing else with him-because she was having to cater to him-because you are weak and pathetic. One day she'll leave you because she won't be able to put up with you any more. She'll tire of having to deal with your defect, your curse.

'That sounds nice.' He said lamely, but added because he then worried that she would think that he didn't like the idea, due to his tone, and because she seemed to have put some thought into it. 'Do you know what movie they are showing?'

'Princess Bride!' She squealed. 'Have you seen it?'

Some sort of madness took over, and he felt a smirk creep up, Belle's ability to make him feel at ease had placed on him some sort of spell. 'It's inconceivable how many times I've seen it.'

Belle giggled. It was such a bubbly giggle that reminded him that it was that sort of madness that had him. It was seeing her happy that had given him the momentary bravado.

'I've seen it at least a hundred times. It was my favorite movie as a child and mom would watch it with me. It was-it was an escape for the both of us.' She said in a quiet voice.

And as they got closer to Belle's house, the quieter she became. Not only that, but it was as if she became smaller and smaller in the seat, her arms became wrapped around her body. Robby glanced at her from time to time, worried for her. How bad was it that she dreaded going back to her house. He knew how bad it had been for him and he wouldn't wish that sort of dread on his worst enemy, even more so did he hate the thought that anything like that might be waiting for someone as kind and lovely as Belle. No matter the thought, he was too much of a coward to ask her about it. He felt like it might be broaching on a subject too raw for such a short relationship. He knew for himself that he had spoken to no one about what his childhood had been like. For one there was one who had been close enough for him to speak to at all-even as a child no one had cared to know why the boy that Malcom Gold drug around always had bruises, scrapes and walked with a hard limp. Not that they ever stayed in one place for very long. A con man tended to burn his bridges behind wherever he stepped.

This led to him never telling anyone, never wanting to tell anyone (he blamed himself for half of it, anyway, so why would he want to bring up such things, if he ever did have someone to talk to?) and therefore, he felt like questioning Belle about why she looked so small and forlorn after being so happy might have her running as far from him as possible. Instead the car was silent as they pulled into the driveway.

With it being the middle of winter, mild a winter in this part of the country that it was, it was still dark incredibly early. At five in the evening, the bright lights in the windows contrasted loudly with the darkness outside. Before even exiting the car, they could hear the loud music coming from inside.

'Oh' Belle breathed and she looked even smaller than she did on the ride over. The look and tone broke his cowardly heart.

'Everything alright?' He said, and berated himself for saying so. Of course she's not alright, you idiot! She's looking at that house as if housed some sort of monster-probably does-how could she be alright?

'It's um, well, Keith and Gary are here, and I-uh.' She bit her lower lip at the sight of the two pickup trucks outside the crumbling shack. Her eyes showed fear-he was really good at picking up that emotion-and he had half a mind to just invite her to his home. He knew they had only known each other a little while, but he could tell her that everything would be above board. She could take his bedroom, and he could take the couch and he would make sure she was safe-safe from whatever was in that house, and safe from him too.

'Do you think? Oh I hate to ask you to do this, but do you think you could drop me off at my friend's house?'

He didn't even know the anxiety had started to build until she told him she had a friend to go to, and stay with. The build up suddenly released and he just nodded his head and muttered 'Of course.' as she told him an address a few minutes away.

She had pulled out her phone, presumably to text said friend.

'Will you be needing your car, or do you need someone to, um…' The words left him before he asked if he needed to pick her up and take her to school tomorrow-that seemed a silly thing to ask, but he didn't have anything better to do tomorrow, it being his day off and everything.

'It's alright. She and I have the same morning class, and she can just bring me back by tomorrow. Thank you for doing this.'

He wanted to tell her that after she had done so much for him, it was the least he could do for her. Instead, he just smiled sheepishly and said it was nothing.

This friend seemed to live in one of those houses close to the college where there were probably another three or four students living inside. He imagined the place was cramped, and would be a nightmare for him, but he also imagined it was a boon for someone like Belle who seemed to need people like plants need sunlight.

Her smile perked back up once they arrived and she wrapped her arms around him in a surprising hug once he opened her door. She whispered a 'Thank you for a wonderful day' and left him stunned and left standing for a good thirty seconds before he could limp back to his own side of the vehicle and leave.

He arrived at the estate sale a whole ten minutes before they closed the house up, and there, placed exactly where he had hidden it behind some other less attractive junk, was the 'adorable' vase Belle had gushed over. Putting it in the back of his car he drove out to the edge of town, down the secluded driveway with the bare trees that lined it, and parked for a few minutes once he pulled up in front of it. He sighed, pulling himself forward and getting a better look at it, though he had memorized every inch of it already.

He had always had a sort of soft spot for the place, but seeing Belle, getting to know her, and finding out that her spirit was just as beautiful as her face, and then finding out where she lived and the fear she had for living there, he made a vow. He made a vow towards the place and unlike his father, he would stop at nothing to uphold his end of the promise.

Author's Note: Finally updated! Real life has hit hard and things will be busy for the rest of the month. However, it's the weekend, so I am hoping to type out a chapter or two so I can keep things going.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter!