The library was basically empty when it was his turn to bring lunch from Granny's, but he was too annoyed to notice. He didn't make it a habit of going to Granny's unless Belle specifically wanted it. There were too many unhappy tenants from his father's time as landlord of Storybrooke and he hadn't changed much of his father's ways after he ended up with all of his assets. Of course Granny's was also a viper's nest of gossipmongers. The latter was what had affected his current emotional state before his entrance to the library.

When he walked into the diner it immediately fell silent, per usual, but once the idle chatter picked up again as he waited for their order he had the misfortune of overhearing Ruby's conversation with a young August Booth.

"I don't even get how she spends so much time with him when she could be spending more time with Gaston. She's engaged to one of the most handsome men in Storybrooke and instead willingly spends time with the rudest! I mean did I even tell you about the way he picked up the rent from Granny last week?"

As August and Ruby and probably countless other citizens gossiped about his and Belle's relationship, and himself in general, he thought about how they were all correct. He had been the town shut in when he came back from university to care for his ailing father and once he'd passed away, he'd inherited the hard exterior his father had always exhibited to the world. To everyone in the town he was just the landlord they all loathed and feared.

Fear. A word greatly associated with Gold and yet, as he gave the money to Granny—leaving far too generous a tip—he remembered how Belle had never feared him. From that first day she started renting the apartment above the library from him, to the day she came to the pawn shop with flowers from her father's shop on the anniversary of his father's death. How she knew, he'd never asked, nor would he ever. Instead, he'd lowered her rent two months later and been pleasantly surprised when she brought him baked goods to thank him for the generous price reduction and stopped to talk about the incredibly old edition of Shakespeare's sonnets she spied on her way out. An edition that was currently in his workroom at home awaiting obnoxious gift wrap to be her wedding present.

Their friendship forged over baked goods, lunches, discussions of literature, sardonic humor, and a multitude of teasing comments about her clumsiness and his cane, all of that couldn't keep the anger, doubt, and disgust from corroding his mind during his brief walk to the library. Belle did deserve to spend more time with her fiancé. He shuddered while thinking about the somewhat brutish, but handsome barman who'd kept her attention for two years. He'd always hoped that her doubts and misgivings would give way to an end of the relationship, but when her father had proclaimed his joy when she mentioned Gaston asking for her hand, Gold knew she hadn't had the heart to turn him down.

It was with all of those poisonous thoughts that he walked briskly into the library and went to Belle's office to just drop her meal off with some excuse about a couple of priceless items to be delivered or a troublesome tenant. When he knocked on the door and received no answer he searched until he found her in the kid's section talking to Emma's son, Henry, and that soothed his irritation a bit. The smile she reserved, unwittingly, for her time with children never failed to make him a little more light-hearted. She turned and smiled at him before she left Henry to his own devices.

"I see that bringing me lunch has you agitated," she stated as she took the bag from him and headed back towards her office.

"No, no," he shook his head. "I just won't be able to stay because I got some new pieces that need some special attention as soon as…"

She raised her eyebrows and he knew his lie was weak.

"Oh really? You sure it's not the terrible Archie Hooper giving you trouble with his rent? Or maybe, no, it couldn't be people gossiping at Granny's?" She took out a fry and took a bite in faux contemplation. "That sounds too ridiculous of an idea though. Gossiping citizens bothering the terrible Mr. Gold?"

He took the cue and sat down at the table. She slid his box across to him.

She took a sip of her iced tea, "Who was it this time? Ruby? Sidney? Or was it truly Archie? I'm sure he gossips all the time with his patients!"

"It doesn't even matter," he grimaced and rolled his eyes.

"Okay 13-year-old Bobby. Let me know when the 36-year-old Robert makes an appearance so I can have a decent conversation."

He tossed a fry at her, "It's everyone in this damn town. Whenever they run out of fodder they always turn back to how I'm 'manipulating you' or 'paying you' or 'holding you against your will and keeping you from your fiancé' and I'm fed up and tired of it."

"Tired of the gossip or tired of me being engaged?" she asked quietly.

He jerked his head up, "What?"

"You heard me correctly, the gossip or my engagement?"

"The gossip, obviously," he stuttered while adding the qualifier. He glanced down to see her ring was gone again.

She sighed, "Well you're going to have to deal with a fresh batch because the wedding's off."

"Since when?"

"Last night. He tried to tell me I wasn't to spend any more time with you, Emma or Ruby which is ballistic because yes you and Emma hate him, but Ruby can't stop fawning over the wedding." She tossed another fry into her mouth. "As if that wasn't a controlling warning sign, he went through my books in my living room and told me which ones I had to throw out so that our children wouldn't see them. Mind you To Kill a Mockingbird and other classics were included, which is worrisome on a whole different level. Anyway when I asked him when the discussion of kids was ever going to be brought up he replied that we'd 'obviously be conceiving during the honeymoon or even before the wedding' as if my choice in the matter or a discussion on the subject wasn't even allowed. It went extremely downhill from there. I might have broken a teacup on his head, when the ring didn't knock any sense into him."

They were silent for a moment.

"It's properly and truly over? You're not going to take him back in two weeks' time when he comes crawling back to you?" Gold asked.

"Honestly, if the teacup didn't get through to him, there will probably be a pounding on my door tonight. But no, I feel so much better than I have in months and I don't want that to go away."

He smiled, "Good for you."

"But I may need some company and a place to stay tonight if he does come around. He's only scared of two people and Emma's kind of occupied with Jefferson tonight. Would you mind?"

"Not at all."

"Thank you."

He wanted to kiss her right then and there, but knew it was definitely not the right time and a part in her wanted him to kiss her as well and didn't care that it wasn't the right time.

Oh what a fantastic cliche, extra cheddar cheese sentence to end the chapter. Alright a few things 1.) I love Ruby and I actually hate when people just use her as the gossipy waitress who sleeps around and flirts with all the men and has no other personality so I swear I won't do that. She's just a gossip and hates Gold now. 2.) Yes I chose Robert as his name. Shoot me. 3.) I swear I need to just ship Emma with independence, but I didn't and I chose Jefferson. I'm going with a more season one vibe, if Belle had been in season one Storybrooke, and so it was between Jefferson and Graham. but thinking about Graham makes me sad. 4.) That's actually all I have typed up for now so we'll see when the next update happens. Sorry if you're getting emails at 3 in the morning for every update.

Oh also, wow this is a LONG note SORRY, Gold does not live in the pink house we all know and love. It's more of my own weird little place that I haven't entirely created in my mind besides being huge and having an ocean view. But since I've got your attention everyone should join the Gold's Kitchen fandom because that kitchen needs more love than a quick flash during an argument about using magic.