#carelle

“You’re asking the wrong man, lad.”  In front of the mirror Graham took off another jacket.  Not the right one either, apparently.

“You know my mom’s probably going to want you to wear one of those when you get married.  If you just married her now we could wear the same suits and we wouldn’t have to do this again.”  It seemed like a good idea to him.  PLus he’d been little when he’d met Carl and now he was seven and that was a really long time.  They had to get married sometime, didn’t they?  “Maybe you could even get married the same day and then mom would only make me wear a tie one time.”

“What?”  From the look Carl was giving him he didn’t seem to understand.  Maybe Carl liked ties; he wore them sometimes when mom wore a dress that was fancy and they went out for dinner.  Or maybe that wasn’t the part that was confusing him.

“You want to marry my mom, don’t you?”  His friend Sean’s mom had gotten married during the summer.  Sean wasn’t sure he liked having a new dad but Ben thought it would be pretty cool if Carl lived with them all the time and not just once in a while had sleepovers.  “Graham’s moving out when he gets married.  You could have his room.”

“Being married isn’t like being roommates, Ben.”  Carl looked down at his lap for a moment before speaking.  “It means something very special, about loving someone and wanting to be with them for all of your life.  Taking care of them and...”

“You took care of mom when she was sick and had to miss work.  You didn’t even go to school, remember?  And you and mom say ‘I love you’ sometimes; like when one of you has to go somewhere or when you put your arm around her.  You kiss and everything.”  Ben still didn’t understand that one.  He never wanted to kiss someone one the lips but mom and Carl did it, and Graham did too with Doctor Humbert.

“I love your mom a lot, Ben.  So much that getting married has to be something that I know will make her happier than anything else.  Like Graham is happy.”  Carl nodded towards the dressing area, where Graham had taken a break and was talking on the phone.  They could both tell from the laughter who was on the other end.

“She smiles when you ask if you can come over or when she’s meeting you somewhere.  And she says you’re the most importantest person besides me and Graham in the whole world.  And…”  Ben bit his lip.  Maybe Carl didn’t want to marry his mom.  

“And?”  Carl waited for a moment but Ben was suddenly unsure.  “Ben, my boy, you know you can tell me anything.  Just like you can tell your mom anything, or Graham.”

“Anything?”  Carl listened to him all the time, about his day at school and the fish he’d seen at the aquarium and how he was going to play football for a job when he grew up.  But he’d never said these words out loud before.

“Anything, Ben.  It can be a secret just between us if that makes it easier to say.”

“I…” Ben looked over at Graham, taking off another shirt.  This time, though, he pulled on the jersey he’d worn into the shop.  Maybe it was finally time to go.  “I thought maybe if you married my mom you could marry me too, and be my dad.  I never had one before.  We could go camping and you could tell me stories on all the nights.  I’ll wash the dishes after dinner and I won’t leave my shoes in the hall and I won’t even say ‘ew’ when you and mom kiss.”

“Oh Ben.”  One minute he was sitting in his chair and the next he was on Carl’s lap, the metal of Carl’s leg sharp against the back of his thigh but the rest of him warm.  “You don’t have to promise anything, lad.  You are enough, just as you are.  If your mom and I get married I will be proud to call you son.  And if we never do I would still be proud of you.”

“You know Belle’s a lot more likely to say yes if you ask her the question, boy-o.”  While both of them had been distracted Graham had joined them.  He ruffled Ben’s hair affectionately and grinned at them both.  “Maybe sometime this decade?  At least before Ben graduates Uni.”

“Just because you’re getting married, Hughes, doesn’t make it the right thing for everybody.”  Carl still held Ben on his lap.  Even his weak attempt at a glare made Graham grin.

“We’re not talking about everybody.  We’re talking about you and Belle and the fact that you’ve been living in each other’s pockets for more than two years after dancing around each other for the two years before that.  A seven year old has more sense then the two of you.  Right Ben?”

“Can we go get milkshakes now?”  Ben wasn’t sure if he was more confused or feeling better.  Or both.  But what he did know was that he was hungry.  They could figure out the rest later.

“Yeah, we can go get milkshakes.”  Without letting go of Ben Carl stood up, slinging the boy over his shoulder, making him laugh.  “If you’re ready, Graham, I believe there was a promise of burgers and chips for dinner.”

“And milkshakes!” Ben added gleefully.

Something Borrowed, Something Blue: Rumbelle: Belle steals Gold on his wedding day.

Red Heat: Carelle: (NC-17) Hot make-up sex after a fight.

A Date for Dinner: Ivelle: Belle accidentally clicks ‘yes’ to the question ‘would you date a cannibal?’ on Okcupid and ends up meeting Ives.

Beside the Beating Heart: Rumbelle: Remix of Kangaroo - Belle gives Bae Kangaroo Care. 

Summer Swim: Rumbelle: Rumpel catches Belle skinny-dipping at the Dark Castle.

Royal Blush: Rushbelle: They play strip poker.

The Clean Up: Rushbellerush: (NC-17) Belle has an idea to get both of her Rushes to relax, and also does laundry into the bargain. [MMF threesome, double penetration]

Missing pages - Rumpel discovers more missing pages detailing possible reunions

The Dog Days - Epilogue

One Small Step at a Time: Anyem: Gold/Ally Craig (EdR’s character from ‘Remember Me’): Ally’s newest case as a criminal justice social worker is Rum Gold, whose son was murdered by his stalker.

In Parallel: Rushbelle: Rush and Belle ponder the parallels between them and Whouffaldi.

Kangaroo - Belle and Gold’s honeymoon (M)

Love, Rosie - Rum and Belle go home after the prom

A Deafening Silence: Rushbelle: Rush recruits Belle for the Destiny project, not knowing that she is non-verbal... Luckily, Chloe can sign. 

Lending a Hand: Rushbelle: Rush injures both hands on a mission and must learn to cope.

Kitty: Rumbelle: A Ted AU. Gold meets Belle’s oldest childhood friend, Kitty, and gets rather more than he bargained for. 

Takes One to Know One: Rumbelle: (M) Silence of the Lambs AU (no cannibalism). FBI Agent Belle French enlists the help of disgraced psychiatrist Rum Gold to help her catch a killer. [Warning: child abduction and murder]

The Dark Side: Rushbelle: Rush returns from alien captivity convinced that he’s Darth Vader.

Value: Rushbelle: (M) Belle wonders if she has any use on Destiny other than as Rush’s sex toy. 

Belle and Rush meet at a Star Trek convention

Spilt Milk: Rushbelle: (NC-17) On an alien planet, native Belle demands repayment for the milk that Rush takes from one of her cows.

Beauty on the Ropes: Rumbelle: Pro-Wrestling AU. 

The Long and Short of It: Rushbelle: Rush encounters a tiny elephant who thinks he’s mum.

The Language of Love: Rushbelle: (NC-17) Belle teaches Rush some French.

Hogwarts AU - Professors Lucas and Hopper meet on the Hogwarts Express 

The Great Wide Somewhere - Belle and Gold in Greece (NC-17)

Rumpel finds out that Belle is an ice dragon

A Winning Streak: Rumbelle: (NC-17) A very bored Belle decides to strip naked in the library...

Hogwarts AU - Gold gets a howler from his Aunt Elvira 

Cute moments after Belle comes home from the asylum

After Dinner Drinks: Ivelle: (NC-17) A follow up to ‘A Date For Dinner’ - Ives gets a taste of Belle.

High Blood Pleasure - Another month comes with some sexy relief for Belle (NC-17)

Haunted House: Rumbelle: Gold and Bae, newly arrived in town, turn to their neighbour after discovering their house is haunted...

A Slight Crisis: Macelle: There are bunny rabbits loose in Joseph’s church. Sister Belle knows why.

A Midnight Dip: Rumbelle: Mr Gold catches Belle skinny-dipping in his pool.

Not Beyond Repair: Neal brings Belle a souvenir from New York

Revenge is Sweet: Ivelle: When Ives does away with Gaston Chevalier, Mrs Chevalier’s reaction is not at all what he expects.

Belle becomes a ‘sober companion’ for rehabilitated magic addict Rumpel

With This Ring: Rushbelle: They pretend to be married after Nick ends up in hospital.

Not Again: Barnelle: Barney meets Belle in the bingo hall, but their walk home doesn’t go quite as planned.

An Inconvenient Rainstorm: Rumbelle: (M) Gold and Belle are caught in the rain. Naturally, they have to get out of their wet clothes...

Belle discovers Gold’s stash of adult films (NC-17)

As The Blossoms Fall: Carelle: Carl reminisces about the first time he met Belle. [NB: Character death]

Beside the Beating Heart: Gold holds Bae for the first time, and Milah returns

Belle catches Rush singing in the shower

Blame It On The Gin: Rumbelle: After a night of heavy drinking, neither recognises the other...

Second Helpings: Ivelle: (NC-17) In the ‘A Date for Dinner’ verse, another date coincides with Belle’s period, and Ives wants a taste. 

A Dark One on Ice: Rumbelle: Belle and Rumpel go ice-skating at the Dark Castle.

Insatiable: Ivelle: (NC-17) Wendigo Belle considers her latest chosen prey.

Gold catches Belle reading smut (NC-17)

Reporter Gold meets Lion Tamer Belle

Weirdness is Relative: Rushbelle: They race ostriches on a bizarre planet

Rushbelle Charity Chase Remix

Carousel: They experiment with the other fairground rides

Locking Horns and Hearts: Rumbelle: Mr Gold is really quite frustrated with his new tenant’s ability to misplace her keys...

The Mysterious Power of Leather Pants: Rumbelle: Belle finds a pair of Rumpel’s leather pants in Storybrooke...

The Great Wide Somewhere - Rumbelle in Tallahassee

First Bite of the Cherry: Rumbelle: (NC-17) Upon discovering Rum is a virgin, his oldest friends take it upon themselves to set him up with Belle...

As The Day He Was (Re)Born: Rumpel, Belle and Neal arrive in NYC

Belle tries to find a suitably embarrassing nickname for Rush

Tripping the Light Fantastic: Ivelle: Belle and Ives eat from an addict and get high

Well-Fitted: Rumbelle:(M)  In the Dark Castle, Rumpel measures Belle for new clothes.

New, And A Bit Alarming: Rumbelle: Enchanted AU.