Author's Note: I will never not love Belle and Rumple together. Of course I would dedicate a chapter to them! Let me know what you think.
Belle and Rumple
Belle watched the ship come towards the docks. The waves splashed the slick wood, causing the woman to jump. She clasped her hands before her and waited.
Henry was the first to stick his head over the side of the ship. "Hi everybody!" he said, waving. The people of Storybrooke cheered. Emma came up behind him, her eyes red and puffy but she was smiling, so Belle took that as a good sign. David and Neal lowered the plank onto the dock as Hook busied himself with tearing down the ship.
One by one the adventurers from Neverland filed off the ship. Henry ran off first, holding a girl's hand. She wore a nightgown of white lace and she was terribly pale. Wendy!
Henry pointed to the crowd and watched as the girl put on a nervous smile. Belle glanced at John and Michael who, somehow, appeared by her side without her noticing. She saw they were crying. She touched John's arm. "Go to her," she urged.
Michael gulped. "She won't know who we are," he said.
"She will. Sisters don't forget."
John looked at his brother and gave a nod. Henry spotted the brothers first and asked who they were. Wendy, her eyes wide and full of tears, smiled. "They're my brothers."
Belle smiled as they embraced. Mary Margaret came off the ship next with Emma. The saviour glanced at the brothers. "Would you be able to take Wendy to the hospital? There's a Doctor there, goes by the name Whale. He'll check her over."
They agreed then disappeared. Emma took Henry's hand and led him through the crowd with Mary at her heels. Regina came off with Neal and another newcomer. Her blonde hair and green outfit gave her away. Ariel came up beside Belle and gasped. "Tinkerbell?"
"It seems so," Belle muttered. But where's Rumple?
Regina didn't make eye contact with Belle as she went past. Belle supposed she would have to talk with her later about her mayoral position.
David ran off the plank to catch up with his family. Finally, Hook exited his ship, walking side by side with Rumple. He looked older than when he left, but his leather . . . Belle bit her lip. Apparently Hook had an influence on his dress. Rumple saw her as he walked off the plank and smiled. Belle blinked away the tears and ran up the plank to him. She flung her arms around his neck, laughing as he spun her around.
"Belle," he whispered, his voice cracking. "Belle."
She buried her head against the nape of his neck where her tears began to pool. "I told you I'd see you again," she muttered as a chuckle escaped her.
Rumplestiltskin tightened his grip around her, pressing a kiss to the side of her head. "If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be here right now."
As they stood there on the dock, she heard Grumpy start to shoo the crowd away. "Nothing to see here folks! Time to go to Granny's and celebrate!" A cheer went up and everyone left, save Belle and her true love. She looked up at him and smiled.
"Do you want to go to Granny's?"
He smirked. "I can think of a far more pleasant environment than Granny's."
With a blush on her cheeks she raised herself up on her tip toes and kissed him, hard. He laced his arms underneath her rump and lifted her off the dock.
Rumple placed a cup of tea on the bedside table. Belle smelt honey and smiled as she forced her eyes open. The red canopy around the bed was drawn, but she saw a sliver of moonlight coming in from when Rumple had left. She felt the mattress sink and reached out, searching for his hand. The Dark One took it in his and weaved their fingers together.
"I missed you," she whispered.
"I missed you too, love," he replied. "I kept imagining you were there with me. It was a trick, Pan's shadow, but . . . it was comforting to think you were there. Believing in me," he whispered.
Belle raised herself up on an elbow. "I will always believe in you Rumple."
He smiled and pulled the furs up over her bare shoulder. "I know. And now we're here, together. Finally."
She giggled. "Finally." She shifted closer and rested her head against his chest. "How was it though, working with everyone? With your son?"
Rumple lowered his gaze, tracing patterns over her creamy arm. "I thought everything would change. I thought-I thought he would trust me again, after everything we did together." He sighed. "He won't though. I've done too much damage. He's alive though, and I have a grandson. That's something."
"And you have me," Belle reminded.
He chuckled. "Yes, and you. Always you." He sank deeper into the mattress, pressing her closer against his chest.
"You know," she muttered, her eyes half closed again, "I would never want you to feel like you're replacing Neal, but . . . one day I would like to have a child with you. I've always liked the name Rose."
Rumple didn't say anything. Afraid she had offended him, she opened her eyes and looked up to see his eyes were misty. "Rumple?"
He shook his head as he smiled. "I would like that too, dearie. Very much. But there's something we have to consider first."
"What would that be?"
"The Enchanted Forest."
Belle squinted. "What about it?"
"While on board the ship, I overhead Charming and Snow White discussing magic beans again. They are planning to go back to our old world."
Belle sat up "What does that have to do with us?"
"We're not of this world, Belle. And outsiders . . . they will try this sort of thing again. We're not safe."
"But we have the cloaking spell. We'll be fine."
Rumple shook his head. "That spell won't last forever." He looked at her. "I want to go home, Belle. My reasoning for coming to this land was to find Neal. He's here and he doesn't want to be my son. It's time for me to go home."
Belle frowned. "Back to being the Dark One."
"Belle, that's not what I meant."
"But that's what you want, isn't it? To go back to being the most powerful being in all of the Enchanted Forest." She rolled away from him. "I thought I was enough, Rumple."
"You are Belle! You always have been," he insisted. He placed a hand on her shoulder, but she shrugged it off. "Please Belle, you have to understand."
"I don't have to do anything! What if I don't want to go back? Have you forgotten my father is a king? If we go back, he can marry me off to whoever he wants. I won't be able to be with you."
Rumple shook his head. "I won't let anything like that happen."
"Yes you will! By even talking about it, you already are." She glared at him. "Don't you understand? If we go back I'll never see you again." A few tears fell from her eyes and onto her lap. "I'd rather go back in that cell Regina put me in then go back to the Enchanted Forest."
Rumple wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, letting her bury her head against his chest. "I'll make a proposal to your father. A marriage proposal. If he accepts, his land will be under my protection. It will prosper. I can promise him that."
She sniffed. "That's not the point, Rumple. He doesn't have to accept. He'll do what he did before, don't you remember?"
"Belle," he sighed, running his hands through her hair. "I promise nothing will happen to you. But you have to trust that I know what I'm doing. We'll live in my old home together, raise a family, start over. It will be as you wanted, as we both have wanted for twenty-eight years." He tilted her chin up so she was forced to stare at him. "Do you trust me?"
She wanted to say no, to hold firm in her resolve. But she knew that, with or without her, he was going. In this world, Rumple was just Mr. Gold. He didn't have much power, at least not any kind that made him a man worth fearing. She understood his need to go back and find a way to live in the old world, but it didn't make her feel any better about the situation.
"I do trust you. And I want to be with you. Perhaps . . . perhaps we can wait to see if David is able to produce the beans? Then we can decide what to do next?"
He nodded. "Fair enough." He kissed her cheek. "I'm sorry for upsetting you, Belle. I was being selfish earlier."
She grabbed a pillow and stuffed it behind her back. "Apology accepted. And we're both entitled to be a little selfish now and again." She settled against the mattress with a sigh.
The next morning, Belle came into the office late. Her hair was piled up in a messy bun and she had Rumple's shirt worn as a jacket instead. Despite how tired she was, the day seemed like it was off to a good start. Until she saw Regina sitting across from Belle's seat, that is.
"A little late this morning, aren't we Miss French?" Regina asked as she toyed with one of Belle's knick knacks.
Belle walked around the cherry wood desk and took her seat in the leather chair. "If I had known you were expecting me, I would have been in more of a rush," she replied, folding her hands across her lap. "What is it you need, Regina?"
The Evil Queen, dressed in a red suit, straightened her shoulders. "It's not what I need, Belle. Rather, what we need. Do you like being mayor?"
Belle blinked. "I enjoy it very much, Regina. I find it fulfilling."
Regina chuckled. "That's one way to describe it."
Belle sighed. "What do you want?"
"I want to do what's best for Storybrooke." Regina glanced up at the wooden ceiling. "And apparently, that is you."
"Pardon me?"
Regina stared back at the woman. "I'm giving you this office, Miss French. You are officially the mayor of Storybrooke, if you want to be."
"I—t-thank you, Regina." Her smile threatened the crack her face in two. "But why?"
"One thing Neverland taught me, is that family comes first. Henry is the only true family I have. I need to be his mother before anything else."
"What about Emma?"
Regina licked her lips. "After much discussion, we decided I am to take full custody of Henry, just like I had before she came. Emma will see him on weekends, or nights when I am unable to watch him."
Belle nodded slowly. "How does she feel about this?"
"It's not my concern how she feels. We're doing what's best for Henry."
"And Neal? What about him?"
Regina smirked. "He'll see him as often as he wants, but he has some things to work out of his own." She pushed back the chair and stood, looking at her office. "You should redecorate. I'm sure Rumple is good with a paint brush." As Belle blushed, Regina bobbed her head. "Have a good day, Miss Mayor."
Belle nodded in reply then watched the Evil Queen leave her office, her black heels clacking against the tile. The young woman smothered a giggle as she began to punch in Rumple's number. "Hi, you'll never guess what just happened. Care to do lunch later? I'll tell you all about it, I promise. I love you, bye." She hung up then set to work on getting her paperwork done early.
