Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
When one needs to do something, usually there are signs to tell one this. If one is oblivious to everything, however, these signs are ignored. Despite all his power, Rumpelstiltskin could be very oblivious to signs. Now, Belle was to taking matters into her own hands. With his dagger in her hand, she pushed the door of his laboratory open, walked in, and yanked him off of his stool by his collar.
"Belle! Are you crazy? What are you-?"He sputtered as she then proceeded to drag him out of the room holding his ear.
She cut him off."Don't speak, Rumpelstiltskin. Just come on."
The Dark-One wisely closed him mouth not only because of the dagger but because of her grip on his ear. Belle was stronger than she looked, and when he slowed down, she would twist his ear viciously. He may have had a high pain tolerance, but that really hurt!
Rumpelstiltskin remained silently as they made their way to his room then into his bathroom. There, the large claw foot tub was already filled with soapy water. Belle released his ear and pointed to the tub.
"Get in,"she ordered.
Rumpel rubbed his ear, and against his will, stepped into the tub still in his clothes."Care to tell me what this is about?"
"It's about the fact that you haven't bathed in a fortnight, and you need a bath. Hand me your clothes."
Rumpel tugged his vest and shirt off and passed them to her."You just told me that instead of twisting my ear."
"I tried to tell you all last week, but you ignored me,"she said as she hung his clothes up."I'd hoped you'd come down of your own free will sooner, but when you did not, I was forced to take control of the situation."
Rum had no words to say and dropped his head. To be truthful, he hadn't been in his tower the entire time. He'd teleported out quite often to collect items he didn't have for his potion. He wasn't going to tell Belle this of course. Looking at the water now, he could see the dirt and grime that had come from him because of said trips. Belle to his silence as submission and grabbed the soap off of the counter.
"Let's get you clean."
Rumpel tried to speak this time but was cut off by her forcing his head down into the water. Thankfully, she pulled him back up by his hair before he drowned, and he came up gasping for air. He whirled his head around to see her sitting on a small stool, grinning madly.
"What was that?!"
"I had to get your hair wet," she replied simply before she began washing it."I haven't seen you wash your hair since I got here."
He tried to glare but was enjoying the feel of her hands in his hair too much to stay angry. She then grabbed a brush and be began combing his hair roughly. It had grown even more tangled then usual since he locked himself away.
"Honestly, Rum. How do you live with this rat nest you call hair?"
"Ow! Careful! It's not that bad when there's no crazy woman trying to rip it out!"
"Just be quiet and relax. I had Draco heat the tub, so the water is very warm. The least you could do is try and enjoy the bath."
Grumbling, Rumpelstiltskin leaned back against the tub and sunk down until only his head was above the water. Again, she was right. The water was very warm, and his bones ached slightly from being hunched over the table for so long. With a content sigh, his sunk a bit lower into the tub and closed his eyes. After a while, he felt Belle push down on his head when she'd finished and happily submerged himself completely. When he came back up, he noticed two things. One, he was a great deal cleaner. Two, the water was now so dirty that he could no longer see the bottom of the tub.
"Wow."
Belle laughed."I told you you needed a bath. I believe you can handle the rest yourself, I hope. I'll leave you some fresh clothes and come back for your old ones later."
Rumpel took her wet hand and kissed it."Thank you, dearie. You didn't have to do all of this."
"Your welcome, and it's nothing, Rum. I'm happy to do it. Just try to take better care of yourself."
"I will."He wouldn't. Without her there, he'd forget to do the simplest of things.
He smiled at her as she left. Who else other than his Belle could love and take care of a beast? No name came to his mind. Still smiling, Rumpelstiltskin summoned himself a glass of wine and leaned back in the tub once more.
I really got lucky with this one.
TBC