Belle was warmer than usual, but it wasn't at all unpleasant. Quite the contrary, she was tempted to try to go back to sleep before she realized there was something heavy over her. That was when the events of the previous evening came back to her in a flash. She was warm because Arthur was behind her, and she was heavy because his arm was slung over hers. And something was poking her in the back.
Oh. Oh God.
Belle was celibate, not innocent. She had shared a bed with her ex in college. She knew it was a physiological reaction and had nothing to do with her even being there, but it was currently pressed up against her and she had no idea what to do next. Their current position meant that if she moved, he'd wake up and realize what was going on and the only thing more awkward than knowing this was happening would be having him know that she knew. He'd try to apologize and it really wasn't something she wanted to talk about. At the same time, Bae was still in the room (and boy, wasn't it a good idea to let him have the cot to himself now?) and she didn't want him to see his parents spooning in bed. Kids got ideas, and while she wasn't quite as worried over his well-being in that regard as Arthur, there was no way he wouldn't misinterpret this.
She felt Arthur begin to stir, and made the choice to feign sleep. Let him think it was his secret, and they could both pretend it had never happened. It was a little funny to sense him going through the same stages of awakening she had gone through – the awareness of warmth and comfort, the slow realization of its source, and then the recognition of just exactly how entangled they were. She was a little proud of how well she had handled things, comparatively – Arthur jerked his hand back and rolled onto his back so fast that had she not been faking sleep he'd definitely have woken her (frankly, she was surprised he hadn't fallen completely off the bed). She stirred a little, and rolled away to give him time to gather his thoughts before facing her. She was in no particular hurry to look him in the eye and to see him trying to avoid looking at her.
Unfortunately, Bae had other ideas for the morning.
"Hey Dad," she heard him chirp from across the room. "I thought you guys would never wake up."
The one time the kid woke up first and decided to let her sleep in. Well, the cat was out of the bag now anyway. She wiggled a little and stretched as though just now waking up. She sat up and brushed the hair out of her face as she looked between them. Bae was perched on his bed silently playing with his Game Boy and looking completely unfazed by whatever had just happened in his parents' bed. Arthur, however, was leaning on his arms with a hunted look on his face as he looked back and forth in between Belle and Bae. She felt bad for him – he hadn't been able to help it, after all – but she could hardly contain the laughter that threatened to erupt at the sight of him panic-stricken and confused.
"Did everyone sleep well?" she finally managed to get out without giggling.
Bae nodded, going back to his game and Arthur just gave her a look of total confusion before excusing himself to the bathroom to get dressed (and presumably, to settle down). Well, Belle had found worse ways to start the morning.
Holy shit. Holy shit. Holy shit. This was not good. This wasn't good at all. Gold was pretty sure he had never been more mortified in his entire life. God he hoped he'd woken her up by acting like a lunatic because the alternative was he'd woken her up by...other means. Oh God what had he been thinking agreeing to sleep in the same bed as Belle? She was the mother of his child, she was sweet and kind, and his best friend – and absolutely, totally uninterested in him. And now she'd woken up with his erection poking her in the back. He was the worst sort of man.
He turned the shower on to buy himself some time to think, leaning over the sink heavily and taking in deep breaths. He'd had this little crush on Belle for awhile, but this had taken it completely out of hand. His son was asleep less than six feet away from the same bed they'd been in. It was completely wrong. It took him a little too long to calm himself down enough to strip and get in the shower without needing to worry about anything untoward happening for his own comfort. The scalding water settled his thoughts a bit, though, and by the time he'd finished his shower he was able to get dressed and walk into the room without worrying about disgracing himself further.
Belle was, of course, incredibly gracious about the whole thing, offering him a smile as she brushed past him on her way into the bathroom for her own shower. He practically collapsed onto the tiny, uncomfortable sofa out of relief that at least she didn't seem to hate him.
"Hey Dad?" Bae asked, still sitting quietly on the cot with his GameBoy resting on his legs.
"Yeah, son?"
"Why are you and mom acting so weird?"
If he only knew.
The drive upstate took place in relative silence. Gold wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. Bae had taken to gaming to distract himself during their travels (and honestly, Gold would be lying if he acted like he wasn't a little proud his gift was getting so much use) which left him and Belle to their own devices. Given that morning's events, neither one was particularly eager for conversation.
She'd surprised him by singing along to the radio. Oh, no doubt about it she had an absolutely terrible singing voice. But it was still nice and comfortable in a way he hadn't anticipated. She even made him sing along once or twice, and if he did it Bae could be coaxed into joining in as well. It was still a long drive, but he was pleasantly surprised at how little he had wanted it to end by the time they approached the winding road that led to the cabin.
It was a really beautiful place, actually. He always forgot how pretty the area was when he came up here – there were pine trees and a lake, and he knew if you went past the cabin a ways from the road there was a stream with cascades that he was pretty sure Bae and Belle would love playing in. Belle was looking out the window with stars in her eyes, and even Bae was looking over the top of his game at the scenery.
He couldn't help preening just a little as he parked the car and led them into the cabin. It belatedly occurred to him that she might have been expecting something a bit more rustic, rather than the two story log cabin with hot tub that he was actually bringing them to. Well, he was allowed to have surprises that didn't involve waking her up with his penis.
"This whole place is yours?" Belle sounded incredulous as they walked into the hall. "It's bigger than our house."
Oh. Yeah, it kind of was.
"I don't come here often," he replied. "I usually rent it out for vacations, but when we decided on this trip it seemed the perfect place for it."
"You rent it out?"
"It's one of my investment properties," he said with a shrug, turning to look at her. "Why?"
"It just...never occurred to me you had a job besides the shop."
"You mean the pawn shop that I close at short notice and shut down for two weeks so I could come here?"
"Well, when you put it that way it sounds silly," she sounded almost hurt by this new revelation, but he couldn't for the life of him figure out why. What difference did it make to her where his money came from?
"Either way," she had a smile on her face again (although he had to pretend not to notice it was a little forced) and was moving about the living area and looking at various knick-knacks. "It is a very lovely house."
"This place is incredible," Bae said happily, darting from room to room. "Mom, this place is almost as big as Dad's house."
"It is," Belle said cheerfully. "Go pick your room before I take the best one."
That was enough to send Bae running up the stairs at a full tilt and sounding like a herd of elephants.
"I may have forgotten he sounds like that on the second floor of a house," Gold admitted as he set his suitcase on the stairs. "Luckily, I had the listing agent stock the kitchen before we got here and I am fairly sure that there's a lot of that wine you like in the cellar."
That got a smile on her face again, along with a soft giggle. He tried to ignore how relieved he felt knowing that at least he could make her this happy, even if it was just because he had provided booze. Still, he couldn't help wondering what else would get her to smile at him again.