They had the spent the afternoon sorting through the cabin, tidying things away and laying out items to make the evening special for Gideon and Lilly. Rumpel stood assessing the room, looking for anything that needed his attention, as he hoped that Gideon got the answer he was hoping Lilly would give him. He was sure that she would, the two were besotted with each other. It was nice to have something good to look forward to for the future. Just as he hoped that Belle and him would be able to grow their family in the future, if that was what she wanted as well.
They had spoken about how Belle understood how Snow had felt. Not having the chance to bring up your own child and missing so much of their life. Rumpel did not miss it. He remembered the sleepless nights. He remembered the times he had spent at Baelfire's bedside, willing him through another illness or shushing away nightmares. Although, as he pondered on it, there was a small part of him that wished they could have brought up Gideon. Seeing his son take his first steps would have been magical, as it had been watching Baelfire.
What did wishful thinking do for him? Nothing.
Shaking his thoughts away, he straightened the roses that were in the vase near him. Just giving his hands some idle work to keep him from thinking. Bringing up old memories was not what Rumpel wanted to do anymore. He wanted to look at the future. His and Belle's future. Of course, he could look into the future if he wanted to but that always led to more trouble. Even after all this time, reading the visions from the future and interpreting them was an art form that alluded him.
Ruby came out of the bedroom. "Right. The bed has been changed and I have spread some rose petals around the room."
"Okay." Rumpel mumbled and turned to Ruby. "Thank you so much for helping me, Ruby. If there's something you need as repayment, just let me know and I will take care of it for you."
"Nah. We're good. I'm just glad to help." Ruby shook her head at him.
He moved across the room to stand next to her. "No, I have taken up your whole afternoon. You need to have some kind of payment for this."
"You" Ruby touched his face. "Just make my friend happy. That's all I care about. You two have spent so much time fighting to be together, it's just nice to see you both together." She told him smiling.
Rumpel smiled at her words, knowing they were genuine. "I can only try. Though," He chuckled and Ruby dropped her hand to her side as he continued. "She may kill me at the minute."
"I suppose not knowing is driving her insane." Ruby laughed and crossed her arms.
"I love her so much, but I just want her to have faith that I'm not doing anything bad." Rumpel was honest with Ruby as he found it easy to talk to her. "Though, you can't blame her with my past and the fact that I am keeping a secret from her."
"How come Gideon is keeping it a secret from her?" Ruby asked.
"Maleficent doesn't know either. He wants to announce it to everyone and keep it secret till then." Rumpel said, shrugging his shoulders at the young woman.
"Party!" Ruby clapped her hands in excitement. Rumpel smiled at her and rolled his eyes, any excuse for a party and Ruby was there. Chuckling at his thought, he pulled his keys out of his pocket and gestured towards the door. They both left together with a smile on their faces, grabbing their things as they exited the cabin. He locked the cabin and pocketed his keys and his hands into his pants pockets, his suit jacket hung from his arm. They walked together down the trail back to Storybrooke.
On entering the town, they said their farewells and Rumpel made his way home. The streets were quiet. Everyone was either sitting down to dinner or getting ready to hit the town's bars as it was Friday night. It did not interest him. Especially as he was avoided and stared at whenever he went anywhere in Storybrooke. It did not seem to matter to him if Belle was with him, but he would not endure the shunning on his own.
As he followed the sidewalk into his street, he could see someone standing in front of his house. Her hair bounced as she paced the path to his house. Rumpel rubbed at his forehead knowing this was not going to bode well. He had wondered why he had not had a phone call from her after blowing off their lunch plans. He just had not expected her to be at his house when he turned up.
His pace slowed the nearer he got to the house. Belle spotted him and marched towards him, she looked angrier than he had thought she would be "Where have you been!"
"Sorry, I had to" She cut him off with a shove at his chest. "I have been here all afternoon. Gideon said you had to go home to get an item for a customer."
Rumpel groaned before he said. "Belle, sweetheart, just listen to me."
"Why is he covering for you!" She yelled at him. "And why are you ordering roses from my father!"
"What?" He was not surprised that Maurice had blurted that to Belle. He had just hoped he would not have done it until the weekend was over.
"My father told me that you ordered a load of roses and had him deliver them to the cabin. To which I told him that you were having the cabin redecorated." Belle poked his chest. "He laughed at me! My father laughed at me and then told me that Ruby was at our cabin, making herself at home."
Rumpel shook his head in disbelief. "What!"
"Don't you what me! I saw you at the diner in the kitchen, whispering to each other and standing close together. Then father told me about the cabin. With my friend of all people!" Belle started to cry as she shouted at him.
"I don't believe this." He said and sniggered at his disbelief of the situation. "Are you accusing me of having an affair? Me?"
"I don't know what I'm accusing you of! I just know there's something going on and you're not telling me what it is. And now, you've roped our son, OUR SON, in to cover for you!" Belle shoved him as she spoke to him. So far from the truth, Rumpel would have laughed if it would not upset her more.
"Right, okay, sweetheart." Rumpel walked pass her and ignored her. Nothing made sense now. He had never seen her this distraught before and it seemed whatever he said was just making it worse. Walking up the path to his house, he shook his head at himself, wondering why he ever bothered helping anyone. It only brought him heartache.
"I SAW YOU TOGETHER!" Belle screamed from behind him.
Stopping with his foot on the step to his porch, he turned on the spot to look at her. "What?"
"You and Ruby!" Belle said sternly, lowering her voice. "She touched your face!"
"When?" Rumpel was trying to think about it, hoping to get there before she told him so he could explain.
"She came out of the bedroom in the cabin and you went over to her. You were standing next to her and talking and then she touched your face." Belle had streams of tears running down her face.
Shaking his head, he went over to her and held her by her upper arms. "Sweetheart, it is not what it looks like at all. I promise you. Let me explain. Come inside and we'll talk."
"NO!" Belle shrugged his arms away. "Don't touch me! I don't want to know!" She screamed before running off down the street. There was a moment where he thought he should go after her. He shook it away. Instead, he trudged his way up into his house and slammed the door behind him. If she could not trust him or believe him when he spoke the truth, what the hell was the point?
Entering the kitchen, he threw his keys onto the side and his jacket onto the end of the counter, and went to his friend that was waiting. He poured a large whiskey for himself and downed it before taking his phone out of his pocket. As he dialled, Rumpel poured himself another large whiskey.
On the fourth ring, Gideon answered. "Hey, father."
"Hey." Rumpel's voice was deflated. "The cabin's ready for you."
"What's wrong?" Gideon asked concerned.
"Don't you worry about it, son. I want you to take Lilly to the cabin and enjoy yourself. Even if you don't ask her tonight, I want you two to have a nice evening." Rumpel told his son before downing his whiskey again.
"Father, there's something wrong." Gideon stated, but Rumpel did not want to ruin his son's evening with his parents' problem.
The glass chinked against the neck of the bottle as Rumpel poured another drink. "Go and have a nice evening, Gideon."
"Okay." Gideon said. "I'll call you in the morning." Rumpel closed his phone and tossed it onto the counter whilst he downed another drink. He leant onto the counter. The voice in the back of his head was telling him how it had told him it would not work. Something always broke them. It would be so easy to allow the darkness to overtake him again. Rumpel did not want it to. Even if Belle in that instant hated him and did not believe him, he had to remain strong. As he told her, he had to fight for her love. This was just the first bump of many.