Rumpelstiltskin wanted to return to the castle, yet he dreaded it. In truth, there was no reason for him to delay his arrival – the deal he fulfilled was rather simple. He frowned remembering it; he was asked to heal a little boy of not more than 6 years old. He did not want to appear soft-hearted but he felt a pang of pity when he saw the dark-haired boy, flushed with fever and it reminded him of his own son he had and lost. Rumpelstiltskin did not get much out of that deal, just small treasures the family was reluctant to part with – he did have a reputation to maintain – but not having any true value to anyone but them.

The cause for him taking a room at an inn and spending half of the night drinking was the girl. He longed to see her, Rumpelstiltskin did feel Belle's absence rather sharply, more than he should and more than he would admit even to himself. But at the same time he couldn't bring himself to face her. Ironic how decades of solitude did not prevent him from growing attached so quickly.

The mighty Rumpelstiltskin did not know how to behave in the presence of a young girl. It was a bad idea to take her into the castle, and speaking roughly to her was an even a worse one. He enjoyed their intimacy but twisting their desire with words, making it into something low and carnal and throwing that at her face was a mistake he couldn't bring himself to forgive. The pained look in her eyes when he suggested she wanted to fuck him in order to manipulate him later made him scowl.

Guilt was the reason why Rumpelstiltskin acted as a coward, hiding at the inn instead of returning under the roof of his home. She said he repulsed her; it wasn't something he had never heard before. Normally he would just dismiss the thought; he didn't care much about how people felt about him, but with Belle it mattered.

He told himself the sooner he'd do it, the sooner it'd be over. Lifting the flask to his lips for a swig and discovering it was empty, he tossed the useless thing into the fireplace, annoyed. He was disgustingly sober and not feeling a bit prepared to meet the girl. He rose and spun on the heels of his shoes, leaving the inn in the puff of smoke.

Rumpelstiltskin re-appeared at the gates of his castle and walked to the front doors through the knee-deep snow. The lobby greeted him with silence. He checked the dining room, the kitchen and even the library – while some of the rooms had traces of her presence, the girl was nowhere to be seen. He went up the stairs, knocking on the door of her room before pushing it open. Empty. Rumpelstiltskin could not shake off the feeling that something was wrong. Tired of unintentionally playing hide-and-seek he released his magic trying to locate her; the castle would have otherwise been too large for him to search otherwise, and he'd have ended up spending the whole day looking for the girl.

The magic found her in the bathroom downstairs. Relieved, Rumpelstiltskin climbed the steps to his laboratory. He dropped the coat onto the chair and scanned the room; things were just the way he had left them. At least she could follow simple commands. He winced at the thought that the girl should be treated as a dog – obedient to his every command. That was exactly why nothing good ever happened to him - ever since he had acquired his magic, he considered himself superior. While it could be true in most cases, he felt like he needed to change his attitude with Belle and recognize her as his equal. Perhaps if they started their magic training, things could go back to how they were in the dungeon. If he could interest her, it would take the girl's mind off his words and maybe – just maybe – she would let him to be close to her without ever wincing at his touch. Rumpelstiltskin had no illusions about ever caressing her again; he repulsed her, she did admit so herself. Besides, being in the castle was different, it breathed with him magic and she could no longer pretend he was someone else.

He toyed with the idea of preparing a potion; that usually calmed him. But in his current state of mind it would turn out disastrous. Rumpelstiltskin felt too distracted to make even the simplest concoction. He paced around his lab instead. What was taking her so long? He was no expert to judge how much time women took in the bathroom, but he'd been back for over an hour and the girl was still there. His anxiety grew. He would just check if she was okay, surely there was little harm in enquiring.

Rumpelstiltskin could move silently when he chose to, but this time he made sure his steps echoed in the corridor as he approached the door to the bathroom. He knocked timidly but there was no answer. His knuckles hit the wood harder, but Belle did not respond that time either.

"Belle, are you there?"

Silence. Yet his magic indicated that the girl was inside.

"I'm coming in to check if you're alright." He could not quite keep the worry out of his voice and pushed the door, walking in briskly and swiping his eyes across the room. He stopped, reaching the tub and his heart dropped. Belle was under water on the bottom of the tub, her eyes closed and her hair floating around her face in a ghostly manner.

Without a second thought Rumpelstiltskin reached into the tub, gripping her upper arms with both hands and pulling her over the surface. Her eyes immediately snapped open, but he still shook her, relieved and angry at the same time and her head rolled around her shoulders.

"Has your good sense completely abandoned you?" he demanded quietly, pulling his face so close to hers that he could see the tiny placement of freckles around her nose bridge and his own reflection in her wide eyes. The wet silk of his shirt clung to his arms unpleasantly and he still hadn't released his grip on the girl. She looked at him puzzled and with her mouth slightly ajar.

"I was just rinsing off my hair and…" her voice trailed off. Suddenly, the pieces clicked together and he could almost register the moment of realization in her eyes. "You… you thought I was trying to drown myself?"

When she said that out loud, Rumpelstiltskin felt how silly he was behaving; however Belle didn't share the same opinion.

"How dare you!" she almost shrieked, slapping his hands and he instinctively let go of her. Belle's arms dropped back into the tub, sending a fountain of splashes that hit his face and chest. He could have laughed at that moment, she was fine and the situation was getting more and more awkward with each second so Rumpelstiltskin bit his cheek to prevent himself from giggling or making a snippy remark.

Belle's gaze traveled to the top of his shirt, watching the dark trails on the fabric from where she had splattered him. It reminded her of her own nakedness and she felt the blush creep down her neck and shoulders. She crossed her arms in front of her and raised her knees up protectively, trying to cover as much skin as possible.

"Get out! Out!" her voice was both panicked and pleading.

Cursing himself for his own stupidity and trying not to look down, Rumpelstiltskin turned his back to her and cleared his throat.

"I…" Should he apologize? "I want you to join me for lunch and then we shall have our lesson." He hesitated. It sounded like another command even though he never intended it to. "…Please?" he felt a little proud that his voice did not waver.

He did not wait for her response and practically ran out of the room. His face felt hot with embarrassment; never had he felt so stupid. He was the Dark One for fuck's sake, but she made him feel like a teenager. Had he lost his mind to just storm into the bathroom, driven by his lunatic suspicions?

As he heard her wet feet touch the floor, he wished he could go down the drain with the bath water. At least then he'd not have to ever look into her accusing eyes again.