Storybrooke was rising for the day. Many residents were looking forward to enjoying a Saturday off. Some families bustled off to the local parks to enjoy a warm, dry, sunny spring day, while others settled into booths at Granny's Diner, anticipating a hearty morning meal.

As pleasant as they can sometimes be, people will be people. And people Talk. So when Mr. Gold moseyed into the diner and waited for his coffee, there were murmurs and whispers. Some were harsh and cruel, about the brutal beast and his uncontrollable temper. Others were admiring how someone finally took Regina down a notch or two. And some whispers held hints of pity. The so well composed rich man was finally starting to crumble apart, and no one cared enough to help him.

But you can only imagine the faces and whispers as he left the diner and a lovely, young brunette bounced across the street to walk by his side.

He was just as astonished as they at her desire to walk with him. He slowed his pace slightly as she joined him on his left side, wanting to drag out the walk to his shop as long as possible without it seeming intentional. She was smiling, but it was forced. Her eyes betrayed her true feelings: worry and hesitance. "You're looking well," he muttered.

Belle relaxed a little as one of her worries was relieved: he didn't know about her evening with Leroy, or if he did, he was polite enough to not mention it. "I wish I could say the same," she answered him, "But I would be lying."

He laughed softly, "Is it that bad?"

Her real smile outshone the false one, "If you wouldn't mess with it, it wouldn't be."

He stopped and turned towards her. They had reached the door to his shop. "Who told you that?"

'Who told you that? Who knows that?'

Her smile immediately fell, but she caught herself and replaced it with the forced one. She hadn't recovered fast enough, he noticed, and for a moment he thought his heart stopped. Did the phrase trigger a nightmare? Or perhaps… a memory?

"I'm not a doctor," Belle started, "But I can tell it's been re-broken." In truth, she knew that's exactly what he had done. She had seen her father's knights do the same thing many times. But she couldn't share that with anyone. They'd think her mad for real. She couldn't keep up the façade, so she turned to a bush and picked at dead leaves.

He went to reach in his jacket pocket for his keys, when he remembered they were in his coat, on the hook, in the shop. He had left the store unlocked and unattended for nearly two days. "It would seem that amidst my urgency, I neglected to lock up." He held a hand out for Belle's own, "Would you assist me with examining the fallout?"

She looked at his open palm for a moment, contemplating whether or not to accept, considering her memory that at one point in time, he did not want her. At another point soon after that, he never came to save her. She decided it wasn't fair to take it out on him when he had no knowledge of what he had done. Him carelessly throwing around the exact words and phrases he had used during their time together made her sure of that. She placed her hand in his, giving it a gentle squeeze.

"I doubt anyone would cross you. Especially after your altercation with our dear mayor. But yes, I will assist you with examining the fallout." She smiled at him, a genuine smile, as she mocked his choice of words, despite her heartbreak that someday, he would remember how he truly felt about her, and these moments would be over. She was a fool for allowing herself this false pleasure. A fool for leading herself on that this could be something magical. That this could be true love.

They walked into his shop, but only after he had quipped 'age before beauty' and received a playful shove from Belle. He scanned the numerous shelves and walls, piles and cabinets, looking for anything out of place or missing. Belle stood in awe, this being only the third time she had been in the shop, the first time she recognized anything.

There were the dolls she hated so much, a few of the blades he had put on display in the Dark Castle, various pieces of ornate décor, and plenty of other things she had spent months dusting and polishing. These things gave her pause. Was it part of the curse that one's belongings still belonged to them? She looked at Rumplestiltskin's back as he walked to the back counter. Could he…? Did he…? Her headache started to return.

As did his. He had noticed nothing damaged or stolen, nothing moved or messed with. Save for one thing. Something that had been added. His fingers shook as he approached the box on the back counter and reached out to it. He knew that box. Knew what it generally contained.

Belle opened her mouth to call out to him, catching herself before she called him by name. She hesitated, the name Mr. Gold sounded so foreign now, albeit amusing. Screw the name, they were the only ones there. He would know she was talking to him, "Is everything okay?" She noticed how his fingers trembled as he touched the lid of the box. "What is that?" She asked as she moved around a shelf blocking her view.

He slowly found the latch and unhooked it, taking a deep breath. He was extremely hesitant as he pulled the lid up, releasing the breath and stumbling backwards when he saw the contents. Belle caught his shoulders as he tripped into her. She steadied him and moved to look inside the box herself. He leapt forward and slammed the lid shut, "It's nothing." He snapped, "Just a gift from the mayor." A very unpleasant gift, for all of his hopes and dreams were now shattered. They were blown into a million bits at the symbolism of the chipped cup inside one of the queen's boxes. Regina had Belle's heart.

He took the box and made his way into the back room. Everything was a blur. He set the box on the table in front of him as he sank into a chair, burying his head in his arms on the table, willing this to be a dream, begging whatever gods may exist to let him wake up from this nightmare.

Belle's hands on his shoulders invoked thousands of conflicting emotions. She still had a heart and she loved him with all of it. The queen's version of her heart was nothing more than a voodoo doll. But a very powerful one at that. Regina could make Belle do anything with a simple squeeze, and if Belle still refused, Regina could… Regina would… He wasn't going to think about that. He was going to think of ways to get it back, ways to overcome that particular magic. Unfortunately his knowledge of that kind of power wasn't much. He only knew the concepts, nothing about how to do it or the particular uses and benefits. And now he regretted leaving that magic alone more than anything.

Not true. He regretted sending Belle away more than anything. If he hadn't done that, he wouldn't be in this situation in the first place. He was very certain of one thing: he would do anything to get Belle's heart back. Even if he himself could not have it, he needed to get it away from Regina.

His shoulders shook as his mind whirled around and around, always coming back to the fact that it was his fault this had happened. Belle was lost in her own mind as she tried to get him to relax, rubbing his shoulders and whispering soothing things to him. What was in that box that had made him so mad? What had the queen given him? Something to make him remember? Was he upset because he remembered? Was he mad at her for being there, and he didn't know how to get her to leave again?

She had no idea what to think as he sat up and turned in the chair to face her. She bent down to kneel at his side, searching his eyes and begging with her own for answers. The only emotions she could find in his eyes were sorrow, regret, and heartbreak. But there were too many reasons for him to look that way for her to pinpoint just one. She couldn't help shedding a single tear as she thought of having to live without him again, having him utter that single word yet again. 'go.'

He smiled at her and reached up to brush the tear away with his thumb. Belle hesitated but then leaned into his hand. Her heart fell when he pulled it away, but rose back into her throat when he had only moved it to brush hair out of her face. They were still looking at each other as she finally registered the strongest emotion in his eyes, the underlying reason for all the others.

"You won't lose me," she whispered, "I'm not going anywhere." She had to stop herself from adding the words 'again' and 'this time' respectively. He turned away from her, putting his elbows on the table and resting his chin on his hands, staring at the box, deep in thought, "I wish you would tell me what's going on." She told him, still kneeling, placing a hand on his thigh. His breath hitched at the memory, and he looked at her, curiously.

"There's nothing more to tell, really," his voice was trembling just as much as her hand on his leg. In that moment he forgot about the rest of Storybrooke, forgot about Regina having a replica of Belle's heart. In that moment he knew that he owned the real one, which Belle had given to him, and would do so again. In that moment Belle forgot about the rest of Storybrooke, forgot that they weren't sitting beside a spinning wheel. In that moment she knew he owned her heart, which she had given to him, and would do so again.

"And since then," she whispered, looking up at him, begging him to understand, "You've loved no one, and no one has loved you?"

He leaned closer to her, "Why did you come back?" he whispered, as softly as he had that day, anticipating her response just as much.

"I wasn't going to, but then, something changed my mind," She replicated her motions from so long ago, leaning in and closing her eyes, giving him the control she knew he needed.

And just as before, her heart soared with the butterflies in her stomach as his lips met hers. Slow, soft, sensual. It was indeed true love's kiss.

They pulled apart, hesitantly, both anticipating a negative reaction. But none came. Rumplestiltskin smiled and laughed, "Kiss me again, it's working," he stole her words, drawing her closer and claiming her lips in a much more passionate and heated kiss. When she pulled away she was absolutely beaming.

"What is?" she sighed happily as she joined him in the chair and wrapped her arms around her neck, resting her head comfortably in his shoulder.

His shoulders fell as he caught sight of the box on his desk, and his heart began to re-break. "Belle," he started. She answered him with a content mumble as she nuzzled into his neck, positively elated to have him back and loving her just as much as she loved him, no qualms about it. "Belle, do you remember what happened after I… after you… when I…" he couldn't finish. He pushed her up to look at her, "I'm so sorry." He choked out.

She pulled him into an embrace, as his shoulders shook for a different reason than before. She held him and rubbed between his shoulder blades, whispering in his ear. She wasn't sure what to think. The mighty Dark One was trembling in her arms with sorrow and regret. She knew he wasn't crying, but expected him to at any moment. The exchange lasted only a few moments, interrupted by the door being opened and disturbing the bell. Mr. Gold took hardly more than a second to compose himself after Belle leapt out of his lap, and disappeared behind the curtain to greet the customer.

Belle was alone in the back room, and briefly considered eavesdropping, but quickly determined nothing out there could be nearly as important at what was in the box on the desk. What was in there that had irked him that much? She was going to find out. She stood and unlatched the box, lifting the lid, emitting a very audible gasp of surprise.

She lifted the teacup gingerly, so lost in her own world she didn't hear the bell signal the departure of the guest, or the soft tapping of the cane announcing the arrival of the man behind her. She jumped as an arm snaked around her waist, and she dropped the cup.

In the time it took her to realize what she had done, it had already happened. He laughed softly and kissed her temple as he held the cup out to her. It was very fortunate he had quicker reflexes than she.

"Here," he smiled, "If you'll have it,"

She beamed at him. She could play this game too, "It's chipped."

"It's just a cup." He replied as she took it from him and set it on the desk, beside the open box.

"I hope you don't mind that I looked," she fidgeted sheepishly.

"I actually," He attempted to swallow, which was extremely difficult due to the dryness in his mouth, "I actually want to talk to you about that." He leaned against the desk and Belle pulled herself up to sit on it beside him. Everything was so familiar yet so incredibly different. "After you left the Dark Castle… what happened?"

So what do we think? Did that go well? Any ideas for what happens next? Any theories on how the hearts work?