#alfiem

Belle sighed, “Come on, it’s not that big of a deal,” she got to her feet, “I’ll go first.”

Mr. Gold stayed stubbornly rooted to the couch, shooting a glare at Archie, “Dr. Hopper, I am not paying you to have us play silly games. You are supposed to guide us on how to mend our relationship.”

“It’s not a game,” Archie said softly, “It’s an exercise in trust, and trust is the very foundation of all relationships. Without it a relationship is doomed.”

“You told me about Baelfire,” Belle put in softly.

“Exactly, so I trust you. No need to prove anything,” Mr. Gold muttered, glancing down at his lap.

Belle crouched down to meet his eyes, “You caught me once… A very long time ago.”

“That’s because otherwise you would have broken your neck trying to get those curtains down,” he glanced at her shyly.

Archie cleared his throat, “What, ah… What part of this exercise are you reluctant about?”

Mr. Gold smirked, “I don’t fancy letting myself just drop on a whim… No one particularly likes falling.”

“But I’ll catch you,” Belle insisted, “I won’t let you fall long.”

“You’re tiny, Belle.”

“But I’m strong,” she said firmly.

Mr. Gold picked up his cane, “We’re done for today.”

“Rumple!”

“Mr. Gold, please, we’re making progress!”

“It’s been an hour, now all you want is for me to do some stupid exercise that is utterly pointless and-“

He had gotten up too fast, cane crossed in front of his legs. He pitched forward, resigned to make an utter fool of himself. But he didn’t hit the carpet; he was suspended mid-fall, two small but strong arms wrapped around him, quivering with the effort of keeping him up.

Mr. Gold straightened himself and their eyes met, a tentative smile crossing Belle’s face as if to say “told you so”.

Archie fought back his own smile, “…actually, Mr. Gold, I believe you’re right. You two are done for the day.”

III

The cricket had been useless, not telling Hook a single thing he didn’t already know…alright, he did get a glance around the crocodile’s mind, but nothing useful. And now Rumplestiltskin was about to leave on some heroic quest to find a son who Hook doubted wanted anything to do with him, and his true love was just a little too close to the town line.

Feeling only mild guilt, Hook pulled the trigger of the gun Belle had meant to use as protection, shooting the woman who had stopped his reunion with Milah. Her body lurched from the shot and Mr. Gold’s eyes went wide, jaw slacking.

He stepped forward and grabbed her, clutching her to him as he half dragged her away from the line.

“Belle… Belle!”

Blue eyes gazed up at him, that same tentative smile beaming up at him from their therapy session weeks ago, “You caught me, Rumple,” she mused.

His eyes filled with tears, “Of course I did, love.”