#rufeepeach

The pesky gnat had something he needed to find Bae; a book written before Nimue about the laws of magic.  This wouldn’t be the first time he perused a lead that had nothing to do with the Dark Curse he was brewing.  It would be foolish to hang all his hopes on one deal, and if there was one thing Rumplestiltskin refused to be again, it was a fool.  Anything that might reunite him with his son faster was a boon in his mind, and nothing would stand in his way.  Or nothing should be able to stand in his way, but Blue was a crafty creature and after so many years of their squabbles she had learned the best way to thwart him.  In a far off corner of the Enchanted Forest, on the lands of a small dukedom, was the library that housed the tome he sought.

Due to some tricky magic that would take years upon years to untangle – more than it would take to have his curse cast – he couldn’t take his book without the permission of the librarian.  Unfortunately for him the girl that tended to the books was rather obstinate and took her duties to the fairies far too serious.

“I’m sure we can come to an understanding.”  Rumplestiltskin said with a smile that was nowhere near winsome.

“And I’m sure we can’t.”  The girl replied stubbornly as she continued to tidy one of the many rooms in what was the Fairy Library.

“No one will even miss the book I’m looking for.”  He cajoled.  “Certainly there is something you want?”

There was a pause and he felt rather pleased.  Everyone wanted something, and when faced with all the power in the world no one was able to withstand the temptation.

“You know, there is something I want.”  She said as she turned back to smile at him.

“Oh yes?  Tell me.”  He replied with his own sly smile.

“I want you to leave.”

His eyes narrowed at her words and he clenched his fists so tightly that if he were a normal man his nails would have made him bleed.  If he wanted he could turn the impetuous girl into a toad with nary a thought, and yet she was standing and tall and defiant.  No one else had been so bold to stand up to the Dark One, it was almost admirable.  Almost. She was standing between him and a chance at getting to his son.  If it weren’t for the magic of the library ensuring only she could call the book down from it’s shelf he wouldn’t hesitate to remove her from his sights.  This would take something more subtle then force, he wouldn’t get anywhere otherwise.

“Well, dearie, if that’s your final word on the matter…”

“It is,”  She said confidently.

“Then it’s time I took my leave.”  He replied flamboyantly, not allowing her to see the depth of his frustration.

With a flick of his wrist he was surrounded by a cloud or swirling smoke that took him to his spinning wheel where he was able to calm himself enough to think of a better plan.  All his usual methods of getting what he wanted had failed him.  Violence, or the threat of it, was pointless, the fairy’s magic surrounding the girl, human as she was, protected her, and she knew it too. There seemed to be no deal of his tempting enough to convince her.  Stealing the book was impossible, and if he sent someone to borrow it for him the pages would appear blank to his eyes.  The Blue Fairy had done all she could to make it impossible for him to take the information found in the books in her library.  After hundreds of his tricks she’d finally come up with all sorts of spells and pitfalls to keep him from taking what he wanted.  If a fairy was the one guarding the library he’d simply have to kill her for her wand, but instead the conduit was a young woman.

The girl was the key, he could feel it.  His future sight tugged at the back of his mind, showing him flashes of a scattered future he had no clue how to reach.  Visions danced behind his eyes as he tried to make sense of them. Absentmindedly he turned his wheel, his hands knowing what to do even as he was lost in the shattered memories of a future that might never come to be.  He could see the librarian, she wasn’t very different in his foresight then she had been when he’d seen her an hour earlier, but now her smile was soft and almost… sweet.  She was handing him the book he wanted.  He felt himself reach out for her, his hands clasping around the old leather, feeling it’s heft as he took it, and the brush of her soft fingers as she gave it to him. There was nothing coercing her, she was giving it to him of her own free will.

Rumple’s eyes blinked open slowly, peeking into the future always left him unsettled and this time was no exception, but it had helped him get an idea for how he could claim his prize.

He waited a month before he put his plan into action, any sooner and it might be suspicious, and in the meantime he needed to make preparations.  There was a chance that he wouldn’t be able to get in after so boldly walking in like he had the first time.  No doubt the girl had called her fairy-godmother and spun a terrible tale of how he’d come to harass her.  He needed a disguise that would not only fool the eye, but any spell designed to sense magic too.  For that magic suppressing squid ink would do the trick, but if he wanted to be able to move or still access his magic in a pinch he couldn’t just drink it straight. Just touching the stuff would leave him paralyzed; instead he’d decided to brew a foul tasting tea he’d used a time or two in the past for deals.

When the month was up and his tea was made he dressed himself as a peasant.  A sickening rush of memories almost had him giving up as he felt the coarse fabric against his skin, but he pushed past it. This was all for Bae.  Once he had the book he could burn the clothes and the library to the ground if he wanted to.  He just needed to keep himself composed until then.  Rumple let out a breath and when he opened his eyes he was hidden among the trees beside the path leading to the library.

Reaching up he flicked his wrist in a way that would seem lazy to anyone looking.  Above him the sky began to darken and the wind picked up as foreboding clouds crowded out the sun.  A rumble of thunder followed a bright streak of lightening and with it came the rain.  Thick cold sheets of the stuff pounded down, soaking him to the skin before he had time to raise his flask to his lips and take a swallow of the tea he’d brewed. He grimaced and smacked his lips as he felt it slide down his throat.  A shimmer of magic rippled across his skin and soon, instead of the all-powerful Dark One, a poor spinner stood in his place.  His hair was plastered to his head as he made the short trek up to the stone building before him.

The road was already slick with mud and despite his miserable state he couldn’t help but smile. No fairies would be coming to interfere now.  Not while it was raining so hard that their gossamer wings would be torn to shreds. The storm also gave him a good excuse to spend longer in the library; he was nothing but a pitiful peasant looking for shelter.  If perhaps he took a liking to one of the books he found during his stay, surely the librarian would be kind enough to let him look through it.  And once it was in his grasp he was allow his disguise to fall and he’d reveal his true self and laugh at the horror in her eyes as she realized what she’d allowed to happen.

Suppressing his impish giggle he made himself look as miserable as possible – not a hard feat when he was wearing the face of his former poor spinner self – and knocked on the grand wooden door.  When he’d been here the first time he’d simply used his magic to push the door open and make himself at home, but now he had to wait.  He shifted uncomfortably as cold water dribbled down the back of his clock and sent a shiver racing down his spine.  Finally when he was about to knock again the door opened with a grunt. The girl – who was rather short he was just realizing – was pulling on the large and clearly heavy oak door with all her might.

It seemed the Blue Fairy was so miserly with her precious dust she hadn’t even enchanted the doors of her library for the poor girl in her service.  The sight was so pitiful that he couldn’t help but send a stray wisp of magic to make it easier for her and the door all but swung open. Rumple shot a glare down at his fingers, silently reminding himself to not do anything too tricky while he was still concealed.

“Hello,”  The girl said cheerfully with breathy pants form her exertion, then her face fell when she saw him.  “You poor thing, you’re soaked!”  Before he could let out his pathetic spiel and beg for shelter she was grabbing his arm and pulling him into the halls of the library.

“You’re t-too kind, milady.”  He stuttered, nothing fabricated about how taken aback he was by her benevolence.

“Nonsense, you’re freezing to the touch and I have a large enough fire and enough blankets for the both of us.”  She said matter-of-factly as she pulled him along.

“I could be a bandit,”  Rumple found himself saying.  “I could be here to rob you blind.”  He added.

The fact that he hadn’t had to cajole a place by her kitchen’s fires had unbalanced him.  He’d never known someone in such a high station to care about those that toiled in the dirt.  No wonder this girl served the Blue Fairy, she was odd enough for the job certainly.  She turned to him, an amused light shining in her eyes as they reached the main room he’d been in a month before.

“Are you planning to rob me blind, sir?  Surely if you do you can wait until the storm passes?  Even thieves like to be warm.”  She said as she plumped a pillow and handed him a blanket.

“As you say, milady.”

“Please, call me Belle.”  She replied.

“Belle,”  He repeated.

Rumple hadn't realized how blue her eyes were the first time they’d met, but now that she was so close he could see a beautiful spark of life in her eyes.  His tongue felt heavy and his throat tightened as he swallowed. Ducking his head the way he would have if he were still the craven peasant he had been he broke their eye contact and removed his cloak.  He wrapped her offered blanket around himself.  It didn’t help much with all the rain that had soaked into his clothes, but there was nothing much he could do at the moment.  Instead he settled in front of the fire and removed his boots, letting out a small sigh once his toes began to warm.  He’d spent much more time in the rain in the past, as both a spinner and the Dark One, but in all his years he didn’t think he’d found a more simple pleasure then warming his feet in front of a fire.

“You didn’t tell me your name.”  Belle said, breaking him from his trance.

“Oh, yes, of course I’m…”  For a terrible moment his mind went blank when he realized he’d carefully planned everything out except this.  Why had he never assumed she would ask for his name?  Names had power, even for those without magic. “Spindleshanks.”  He blurted out.

“That’s a nice name.”  Belle said kindly.  Then she bit her lip and tilted her head to the side.  “But rather long; would it be alright, if just for now, I called you Spindle?” She asked.

“If it pleases you, milady.”  Rumple replied.  It would be better than her calling him a name that echoed back to a worse time in his life.

“Wonderful, but please call me Belle, it’s the least I can ask of the man that will steal all my precious things.”  She laughed.

Her words were marked by an ominous crack of thunder that Rumple found rather over dramatic. Perhaps he had been a bit too overzealous when summoning his storm.  Then of course there was the matter of her actual words.  In his vision she had been happy to give him the book he sought.  If she thought he was going to rob her she’d never relax.  He needed to put her at ease.

“I promise, Belle, all of your books are safe from me.”  All but one of them was anyway.

“Oh,”  Her eyes lit up.  “So you knew this was a library?  Were you coming here for a book?”

“I ah–”  What did he say that wouldn’t give him away? “No, I mean yes!”  He could feel himself spinning a loose thread on the blanket as he tried to gather his thoughts.  Surely he should be able to cobble together a competent sentence while she was looking at him with her bright blue eyes filled with curiosity. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t seen beautiful women before.  “That is to say, I came here to sell some of my goods, and once I was done, I thought it would be enjoyable to visit.”

“What were your wares?  What do you do, Spindle?”  She asked as she leaned against the arm of her chair to get a better look at him.

“I spin.”  He said honestly.

“Spinning has always seemed like magic to me.”  Belle said. “The lump of wool turns into all sorts of threads and yarns and all with the same wheel, it’s amazing.”

A smile tugged at his lips as he looked into the fire, better thoughts filling his mind at her words.  “Yes, it is a little like magic.”

He would know after all, but he preferred spinning to magic.  It was something that could be touched and held, the only price of spinning was the wool that was used.  Nothing was lost when he spun, things were only made.  Bae had been happy when he was just a spinner, and in a way, he had been too.  They’d been poor and he hadn’t been able to give his son everything he wanted or needed, but magic hadn’t given him that either.  That’s why he needed more of it, if he could just amass enough power and magic then he’d have that simple happiness back and more too.

Turning back to Belle he cleared his throat.  “There was actually a book I was hoping to find while I was here; can you help me with that?”

“Of course.” Belle stood and let her own blanket slip down her shoulders.  “I am the librarian after all, if there’s a book within these four walls I can find it.”

Excitement and triumph turned to bitter disappointment only moments later when Rumple realized the Blue Fairy had managed to thwart him once more.  After his visit she had come to the library and had taken the book he had been asking about.

“I’m sorry, Spindle, it seems to be rather popular right now; you’re the third person that’s wanted it in as many weeks.”  Belle explained.  “I’d forgotten Blue had taken it.”

“It’s not your fault, dearie.”  He muttered as a litany of curses aimed at the self-righteous gnat flowed through his mind, not noticing the hurt look Belle shot him at his false endearment.  His inner tantrum was interrupted when Belle continued to speak.

“But she’ll be bringing it back soon, it belongs to the library, a-and the things that belong here can’t leave.”  She looked away.  “Not for long anyway.”

“So it’s coming back?”  Rumple asked softly, his voice strained and hopeful.

“Yes, in a few days at the most.”  Belle explained.  “Until then you could stay–”

“I’ll stay.” He said almost cutting her off.

Belle smiled as if he’d just made her week and he ducked his head as he felt his cheeks begin to heat.  He realized too late he was blushing; it had been years since that had happened, and even when it did it wasn’t visible thanks to his scales.  It was disconcerting realizing how exposed he was without his sparkling skin and leather.  They were like knight’s armour for him; he used them to face the world while showing who had the most power in every situation.  But right now that wasn’t supposed to be him.  He was supposed to be an unlucky peasant that had been caught in a bad storm.

He tried to keep that in mind over the next few days as waited for the flying annoyance to return with his tome.  That was easier said than done when Belle was in the room.  She had a way about her that made him forget himself.  Her smile was easy and sincere when they talked, and her eyes captivated him like nothing else did.  She made him feel more human than he had since he lost his son. Taking his meals with her, talking to her, laughing and sharing bits and pieces of his life pulled something out of him he’d thought long lost.  And in return he hoped he was helping Belle too.  He hadn’t seen it at first, but she was lonely.  No one else came while he was there, not even after the rain had stopped and most of the clouds had thinned a little.

She hid it well, but he could tell she was just as starved for human contact as he was. Often times she would wander into the room he was in just to make simple conversation or to sit and read beside him. He found himself doing the same after the first day.  The library was too big for two people, let alone just one.  When Belle was there it didn’t seem to quiet and dreary, the curtains in every room was open, but if she was there it seemed as if the sun was brighter and the overcast sky wasn’t so bleak.  Food tasted richer when he ate at her table and his mind was calm enough to let him sleep after a long and rousing discussion with her over any little topic they could come up with.  He had assumed he’d go mad without anything to do but read and talk but conversations with Belle never seemed to be long enough.  One moment they’d be talking about the plot of a book he was reading on her suggestion.  Then the next thing either of them knew it was almost dusk and they’d find themselves arguing about the best way to raise a turnip.

Rumple was so captivated he didn’t realize how much time had gone by, until one day when they were talking Belle cut herself off midsentence.  She looked up and then stood.

“You have to go.” Belle said hurriedly, as she grabbed his hand and pulled him from his chair.

“What’s wrong?” He asked, so taken a back he hadn’t noticed that she was touching him.

“Blue’s back, and if she sees you she’ll have too many questions, please, just stay out of sight?”  Belle asked, her eyes pleading with him as she pushed him into the stairwell leading to the kitchen from their reading room.

“Okay,” Rumple agreed.

She scurried back to her chair and he watched her through the crack in the still open door. He didn’t want to deal with the Blue Fairy as it was anyway, the less time he spent in her presence the better. Just the thought of her set his teeth on edge, but he stayed his hand when it came to ending her life, she still had a part to play in his plan.  The future was always changing, but her presence stuck out like a sore blue thumb, if it hadn’t he would have ended her and taken her wand years ago.  His contemplations on the demise of the Blue Fairy were cut short when the insipidly haughty firefly drifted into the room through the window.  As always the sight of her filled his mind with rage and the sick plummeting feeling in his gut that came with green portals that ruined his life.  Just the sight of her beside Belle, someone he had – beyond all reason – started caring for, made him uneasy.

Belle curtsied politely and took the offered book, holding it carefully as Blue continued to stand in front of her.

“Has anyone visited?”  Blue asked.

“No, it’s just been me since you last came.”  Belle replied with a bright smile.

Rumple watched the bug’s eyes slip from Belle’s face to the table where their tea cups were.

“It seems odd to have poured yourself too cups.”  The fairy remarked.

Shrugging Belle and continued to smile.  “You know me, I’m so clumsy that I poured too much sugar into one and I decided to pour myself a second cup instead of drinking it.”

“I see, well, please do be more careful in the future.”

“I will be.” Belle said with a pleasant wave as the Blue Fairy floated away.  Once they were alone again Belle let her shoulders relax.  “You can come out now.”  She called.

He opened the door and walked to her, his eyes trained on the book in her hands.  It was so close; within the pages of that book might be the key to reuniting with his son.  All Rumple wanted to do was reach out and snap it up, but if he did that the pages would be blank, she needed to give it to him.  His heart was racing and his hands had a slight tremble as he looked at it.

“That’s the book I was looking for.”  He managed to say, his eyes never leaving it.

“Yes, it is.” Belle replied.  “Can I ask, why do you want it?”

An easy lie was on the tip of his tongue, but then he looked up at her, their eyes catching and holding.  Time seemed to stop in that moment, it was as if the world was holding it’s breath, waiting for his answer.  He could lie to Belle, he could spin any story he wanted, but he didn’t want to.  Rumple found that he wanted Belle to know.

“It’s to help me find my son.”

She smiled in the way she had in his vision and held out the book.  “Then I hope it helps you.”

Rumple reached out and took it, his hands clasped around the old leather, feeling its heft in his hands, and the brush of her soft fingers as she gave it to him.

“Belle there’s something I need to–”

He was cut off by the soft press of her lips to his, her arms wrapped around her and he found himself letting the book fall so he could hold her back.  Rumple let out a soft moan of protest as she pulled back and he opened his eyes to see her smiling at him again, her eyes taking in his features as if she’d never seen him.

“There you are, Rumplestiltskin.”  Belle sighed, running her hands through his hair.

His eyes widened at her words.  “You knew?” He choked out.

“Well, not at first, but I figured it out.”  She said, her cheeks turning a fetching shade of pink.

“But you gave me the book, before you wouldn’t.”  Rumple protested.

“That’s when I only knew what Blue had told me about you, but I did some reading after you left about you, and then you were so different from what she’d said.”  Her eyes slid away from his with a soft smile and then she looked back at him.  “I liked getting to know Spindle, and it was even better when I realized that’s who you really were.  The Dark One’s the real mask, isn’t it?”

He nodded dumbly and then she kissed him again.  Somehow he found himself being led to the settee that mostly went unused; they preferred to sit beside each other in their matching chairs.  Now he couldn’t think clearly as he memorized the delicious feel of her lips slide against his.  She played with his hair as they kissed and he feared she’d drive him mad if she kept it up.  The tantalizing feel of her nails against his scalp sent shivers of pleasure racing up and down his spine.  His own hands began to wander of their own accord as they settled on the soft cushions of the sofa.  Rumple was sure that nothing in his life had ever felt as good as it did when Belle sighed against his lips.  For so long he’d been alone, something missing in his heart.  Not just Bae, although that was a hole that only his son could fill.  But beside it was one he had never noticed, a hole that was perfectly Belle shaped.

It just seemed natural for their hands begin to pull and tug at knots and strings as they explored. There were too many layers between them and too much cloth between his lips and her skin.  Belle seemed to feel the same way if her pushing him down on the lounge and pulling at his shirt was anything to go by.  He let out a groan as she kissed his chest, it felt like he was about to burst into flames at her touch.  Rumple had been nothing but a cold block of ice until he felt Belle’s arms around him.  Every one of her kisses was like a brand being pressed into his soul.  When she experimentally licked his nipple he’d had too much of laying back and letting her explore.  He pulled her up to meet him for another kiss.

The soft feeling of her breasts wrapped in nothing but her chemise as they pressed against his naked chest made his pants feel too tight; especially when she wiggled around to get a better angle.  Belle was smaller than him but her weight on his lap and chest was a comforting pressure. He held her hips as he slipped his tongue between her lips, humming when her nails bit into his shoulders.  Her hips rolled down on his and the friction was maddeningly delicious.  Belle moaned and pulled back to shift again and she let out a strangled sound as she rubbed herself through their clothes against the rigidness in his pants. Rumple looked up at her with half lidded eyes, lust clouding his mind as he watched her ride him.  The sight of her using him to find her pleasure was the most beautiful sight he’d ever seen and the feeling of her hot center made him want to burst.

Rumple sat up, unable to be so far from her and began to feast on the tempting column of her neck.  He sucked and nipped her as her arms wrapped around him for more leverage.  His lips trailed down her body as she started to start moving faster.  Carefully he raised one of his hands from her hips and tore the delicate fabric at her décolleté until her glorious breasts were bare for his eyes and mouth to feast on. He was lacking finesse at this point, instead he let his body do as it wished, his hips bucked up to meet Belle’s and his mouth and hand played with the soft round perfection that was her chest. His other hand had moved from her hip to grab her pump behind to guide her hips as she began to quicken her pace and lose their steady rhythm.

Both of Belle’s hands came up to cup his cheeks and pull him into a deep kiss as her whole body shuddered above his.  Rumple held her as she tensed and let out a sharp cry against his mouth.  As she fell apart in his arms are hand grasped the hair at the nape of his neck and pulled.  The pain, mixed with everything that preceded it, was too much and he fell back onto the settee as light burst behind his eyes.  Rumple chocked out Belle’s name as he held her to him, his toes curling with pleasure.  His whole body felt as if it had been shocked as he tensed, his head swam and his chest bellowed with every breath.

When he was able to open his eyes without feeling like his whole being would unravel he found Belle lying on his chest with a sated look in her eyes and an uncomfortable wet patch in his pants.  With a lazy wave of his hand they were both clean and in more comfortable clothes to lounge around in.  He watched Belle, his mind pleasantly blank as she stared back at him, her smile content and languid.

“That was wonderful.”  She whispered to him.

Rumple felt himself smile, his heart lighter than it had been then it ever had been.

“It was.”  He sighed.

Belle bit her lower lip, her smile turning mischievous.  “And there’s more, isn’t there?”

“There is,” He agreed his own smile turning playful, and then he sighed and laughed.  “But not just yet, sweetheart, you’ve worn me out for the moment.”

Belle giggled and pecked his lips gently, her smile too wide for a proper kiss.

“Well, it seems you did have a visitor, Belle.”  A voice said, breaking them out of their stupor faster than falling into a freezing pond would have.

Belle bolted off of him, trying to right her mussed hair and hide that he hadn’t bothered changing her into anything less revealing the then the shift under her dress.

“Blue!  I-I didn’t see you there.”  She stuttered.

Slowly Rumple sat up and came to stand behind Belle, glaring venomously at the Blue Fairy.  It seemed he was allowed no sense of peace or happiness.

“What are you doing here?”  He asked dangerously.

“I could ask the same thing, but it seems you’re defiling my librarian.”  She sneered.  “I would ask if you have any shame, but I know the Dark One can’t care for anything but his base needs.”

“That’s not true!” Belle snapped, stepping out of Rumple’s arms and towards Blue.  “You don’t know him like I do!  He’s nothing like you’ve said.”

“Oh Belle, my sweet child,”  The fairy said too kindly.  She cupped Belle’s cheek and Rumple tensed at the gesture.  “You don’t know the Dark One the way I do, I’ve known him for hundreds of years.  He’s an evil and terrible creature that will use you and then be done with you once he’s gotten what he wants.”

“That’s not true.” Rumple said, bearing his teeth in a ghastly grimace.

“Then why are you here?”  She countered and then gestured to the book lying on the floor between them.  “That book seems to be all you’re really interested in, it is why you came here in the first place, isn’t it?  And to get it you’d do anything; even seduce a poor young girl…”

“He didn’t seduce me.”  Belle scoffed before Rumple could hurl a scathing reply about the Blue Fairy having her wand to far up her arse to recognize what they were getting up to.

“Oh?”  Blue said, stepping back from Belle, her eyes becoming frosty.  “Are you saying you’ve chosen to side with this beast?”

“He’s not a beast.” Belle bent down and grabbed the book while stubbornly lifting her chin.  “I’m the librarian of this library and I choose who can take the books from this place, and I’ve decided that the Dark One will not misuse the knowledge in this book.”

Blue’s eyes flashed. “Then you leave me no choice.” Rumple stepped forward at her words and gently took hold of Belle’s arm just in case.  “Your service as the Librarian of Fairy Knowledge has come to an end, you are no longer fit.”

Rumple turned to look at Belle, her eyes widening and her jaw falling open.

“No, no please,” Belle begged as she took a step forward.

“My decision is final.”  The Blue Fairy said stonily.

In a bright flash the world tilted around them and they were left in a clearing within the woods where the library had been.  Now Rumple was alone beside a distraught Belle.  He kneeled beside her and gently ran his hand through her hair.

“Belle, Belle?” He whispered worriedly.

She looked up at him, it was clear she was shocked, but her eyes were dry.  “I don’t know what to do now.”  Belle admitted.  “The library has been my whole life for years.”  She shook her head and let out a humourless laugh.  “I don’t even know if my parents will take me back if Blue goes to them first.”

Rumple took her hand and helped her stand; briefly noticing she was still holding the book that had begun all of this.  He pushed that away for later and moved to stand in front of her, still holding her hand. Clearing his throat he absentmindedly rubbed his thumb and forefinger together.

“You know,” He began.  “I have many rooms,”  Rumple said seemingly apropos to nothing.  She looked at him and tilted her head to the side.  “I ah, also have a library, with a great many books I’m sure you’ve never read before.”

Belle ducked her head and then looked up at him from under her lashes.  “You do?”  She asked.

“I do, i-if you find yourself in need of a home.”  He stuttered.

Rumplestiltskin gathered all the mail accumulated inside the pawnshop’s mailbox. Perusing through the envelopes, he wished that those ridiculous anonymous letters were finally over. He was sure it was a joke from someone trying to make fun of him. For the past couple of weeks, every day except for the weekends, he had been receiving a blank envelope with a few dollars inside and a computer written note that read “Storybrooke Rent Funds”. That was it. The amount of money never exceeded ten dollars. His patience about this matter was running thin because he knew someone was having fun at his expense, and the whole idea made his blood boil. The last thing he wanted was for people to think he was weak or harmless but it was extremely difficult to inflict great fear in the heart of people when they saw him everyday playing with a little boy and looking at his wife with absolute adoration. Not to mention his bi-monthly attendance to bulky family dinners where all the Charmings-Mills-Jones clan was reunited (along with several dwarfs from time to time). It definitely was not easy being the Dark One under these circumstances. Not that he actually wanted to be the man he was before, but at least he wanted peace and respect and the only way to get both was by keeping the façade of a dangerous and ruthless sorcerer in front of anyone who wasn’t Belle or Gideon. So, this was the reason why these mysterious letters were driving him mad. Someone was daring to believe that he wasn’t dangerous anymore. He would not allow it. Unfortunately, he was unable to investigate this matter further because he had much bigger and pressing problems at his hands right now.  He sighed and put away the damn letter along with the bunch of other correspondences he had no intention of opening at that moment. He only wanted to close the shop for the day and go home, albeit he was afraid of dealing with a painful situation.

Gideon, his beloved five year-old son, was going through some sort of a “phase” that was driving him and Belle crazy. Until a few weeks ago Gideon was a perfectly behaved boy, with excellent grades at school, and in general, he was the pride and joy of his parents and teachers. But recently, he was utterly failing and slacking off at school. Mary Margaret was the first brave teacher that spoke to Rumple about Gideon’s change of conduct. Then other teachers followed and finally even the Principal had to intervene. Gideon seemingly stopped caring about school completely. He slept during classes, all his homework was half done or plain missing and he didn’t pay attention to any teacher’s instruction. Mary Margaret was sincerely worried because that was not the Gideon she knew. Before all this, Gideon was by far the best student in her class. If she were honest with herself, she was jealous that Gideon was a much, much better student than Neal was. They were even in the same class because, although Gideon was almost 2 years younger than him, he was way more advanced than any other kid his own age. If his own teacher was so worried about Gideon, there were no words to express how lost and alarmed Belle and Rumple were once they learned what was happening with their son.

They tried everything. They helped Gideon with his homework after school. They talked to him over and over again in the hopes he would open up to them. They took him to Dr. Whale and then to Archie. According to both specialists, there was nothing physical or psychologically wrong with the child. Gideon kept insisting to his parents that he was fine but that he simply didn’t like school anymore.

It was a common murmur among the inhabitants of Storybrooke that Rumple and Belle tended to coddle Gideon excessively. They never paid attention to those comments before because they never saw anything wrong in Gideon’s behavior and they were firm believers that if their son knew nothing but love, he would grow up happy and full of love to give. Deep inside, Rumple and Belle also knew that they were trying to compensate for whatever suffering the Black Fairy inflicted upon their son in another life. They never punished Gideon, they never yelled at him, because they both clearly and painfully remembered that Gideon was under the clutches of the most ruthless and cruel woman in all the realms. Nevertheless, and given the latest turn of events, Rumple and Belle started to re-evaluate their role as parents. To their dismay, they had to consider the possibility that they might had been accidentally spoiling Gideon during all these years.

Despite their best efforts to approach their son with love and patience, hoping that he would change his attitude towards school, nothing had worked so far. So today, when Rumple returned home from work, he and Belle would start taking other measures and attitudes towards Gideon, even if those would break their hearts. They were desperate and they had to do something. Gideon needed to know that even in his young age he had responsibilities to fulfill with himself and with his family. He needed to know what the consequences of not being responsible were. Otherwise, he would grow up as a flighty, capricious and untrustworthy man.

Rumple wished that everything that had happened in the past two weeks was just a bad nightmare and that Belle would be receiving him at home with a wide smile, telling him how proud she was that their son got another A+ in Mathematics. But when Rumple entered the living room, he found exactly what he feared. Belle’s expression was worried and sad and Gideon was sitting on the large couch with his face down, like he was already expecting a severe sermon. For a split second that image of Gideon reminded him of Belle fearing to be chastised for taking a magical object without his permission, causing an unmitigated disaster inside the Dark Castle. That thought made him feel like someone had just punched him in the stomach and guilt overwhelmed him for so many reasons. The last thing in the world he wanted was his son to be afraid of him. But he had to be firm tonight. He had to be a parent and not an enabler. It was all for his son’s sake.

“Gid failed his exams and homework again” Belle sentenced without any intention of prolonging this agony further. He could hear the disappointment in her voice.

“Son, do you have anything to say?” Rumple asked, shortening the distance between them. He crouched down in front of him as a last offering of playing this nicely. “Please Gideon, please tell us what’s wrong? Please tell us why you don’t want to study anymore? Your mom and I only want to help you.”

Gideon kept his gaze glued to the floor when he replied to his father “There is nothing wrong, dad. I just can’t be a good student anymore.”

“Well, that’s not a good answer.” Rumple stood up in all seriousness but still addressed him in a very calm tone. “If you want to be someone in life you have to study and you have to fulfill your obligations at school whether you like it or not.”

“Gid, you know dad and I love you more than anything, right? But this has to stop. From now on and until you decide to be good student again, you are grounded. You come home directly from school to your room. No TV, no computer, no video games, no toys” Belle informed her son and bit her bottom lip in an attempt to remain strong. Both she and Rumple decided together there was not going to be a “good cop/bad cop” routine in all this mess. Both of them would share the hard responsibility of disciplining their child.

“Also, in case you’ve forgotten, your birthday is next week. If you don’t change your attitude by then, there will not be a party and you won’t receive any gifts from anyone.”

This time, Gideon looked up and faced his parents with clear agony reflected in his eyes. He was the perfect image of Rumple and Belle combined into one tiny person. He had chocolate dark hair like his mom and he also had her chin and lips. But his eyes were identical to Rumple’s: same almond-like color, same sweetness inside of them. Now, those eyes were filling up with tears. It was clear that Gideon wanted to say something, but he didn’t, and instead he ran towards his room where he finally allowed himself to cry. Belle and Rumple look at each other with so much remorse and sadness from what they just had to do. Immediately, Belle closed the distance between them and buried herself in Rumple’s arms which held her tight. In no time, he felt his shirt wet and he knew she was crying too. And his heart broke because for the first time in years, he didn’t know how to fix this chip in his family.

 ***********

Gideon couldn’t stop crying. He was lying on his stomach in his bed and his face was hidden between pillows. He knew his parents were angry at him because he was not a good student anymore. But he couldn’t be one. Not if he wanted to help his friend Melissa. Gideon was willing to live with the anger of his parents and all the punishments they wanted to give him if that meant Melissa was safe and happy. But why Gideon was crying had nothing to do with being grounded and everything to do with the idea that his father didn’t love him anymore. How could he if he broke a promise to him? People were afraid of him because he was the Dark One and he’d never broke deals or promises under any circumstances. But his father had just broken a promise that he made to him in his second birthday. Gideon still remembered it like it was yesterday. He was opening dozens of gifts with his parents after a night filled with nightmares. “Mom, dad, you will always be with me to open birthday gifts, right?” They looked at him with a transparent smile and his father replied to him “Of course, Gid. I promise you that your mom and I will always be with you on your birthdays, you will never spend a birthday alone, and we will always open presents together.” Now, his dad told him there wasn’t going to be a birthday, nor gifts opening, which meant a broken promise. Gideon cried harder believing that the only reason his dad would do such a thing was because he didn’t love him anymore. Maybe mom and dad could only love a son who was smart and good at school. He loved his parents so much that the idea of them not loving him was very scary and very painful. But his parents were not in trouble like Melissa was. He needed to keep doing what he was doing to help her.

“Mom, dad, I am sorry for being such a burden for you. But please, please don’t stop loving me” Gideon asked in a whisper and kept crying until he fell asleep.

 *************

Days passed and nothing improved in the Gold’s household. On the contrary, Gideon was closing off to his parents even more because he felt alone and unwanted. They were treating him with coldness that he never experienced before and he just didn’t understand it. Was school so important to parents? Was it so important that if you fail at it they would stop loving you? It truly seemed like it to Gideon. Every day that he came home from school with bad grades and teacher reports, he was sent straight to his room. He was only allowed to be outside of those four walls to share the family meals. And even those shared moments were awful. Silence predominated at the table right after his parents asked him for the zillionth time if he needed help, and obtaining a negative answer. Belle and Rumple were so lost about the whole situation that they never saw the increasing severity of their treatment towards Gideon. Although their only intention was trying to help their son to overcome this total apathy towards school, they were completely blinded about how much their kid was actually suffering.

And then, Gideon’s birthday came. To his utter dismay, it was a Saturday. During a school day he could have pretended that it was just a normal day, but now he had the entire weekend ahead of him and he was painfully aware that he was going to spend his birthday in complete solitude, remembering that his father broke a promise to him. Belle and Rumple were by his side as soon as he woke up, to say happy birthday and to hug him, which pleasantly surprised him. But there were no gifts, no celebration, and certainly no truce from his punishment.

 **************

It wasn’t without difficulty that Melissa convinced her mom to let her go to her best friend’s house.  Her mom, like pretty much everyone else in Storybrooke, was always wary of the Dark One. Yes, Melissa had heard terrible stories of Gideon’s father. In fact, the Dark One was the reason why her parents were in distress. Melissa also wanted to blame the sorcerer for Gideon’s suffering. But she knew better than that. She was the only one to blame for everything her friend was going through. And guilt was not letting her live in peace. She didn’t know what to do. If she said something, her own parents would be suffering the consequences, but if she stayed quiet, Gideon would continue hurting. With this internal fight occurring inside of her, and her mother saying things about “running” and “yelling for help” in case something weird happened inside the Dark One’s house, she grabbed the birthday gift she had for Gideon and left home.

The Gold’s house was just a short ten minute walk from Melissa’s. She was always in awe about how majestic the Victorian pink house was. Her own house was so tiny and simple in comparison. She wondered if one day she would be able to have enough money to live in a place like this…or just to have enough money so that her parents would not work to exhaustion to put a plate a food on their table. Melissa rang the bell of the mansion and a few seconds later, the Dark One himself appeared on the door frame. His expression was extremely sad.

“Hello Mr. Gold” the little girl with red hair, blue eyes and cheeks covered in lovely freckles, greeted with certain hesitation.

“Hello Melissa. Can I help you with something?” Rumple inquired, a little surprised of this Saturday early morning visit.

“I came to see Gid, Mr. Gold. I brought him a birthday present!” she explained, showing him the golden wrapped packaged she was carrying. A wide smile appeared on her face.

Rumple hesitated because Gideon was grounded and he was not supposed to receive any visits or any gifts. But for some reason, he couldn’t turn down the girl that was standing in front of him.

“Come on in. I will let Belle know that you are here, ok? Please take a seat” Rumple guided Melissa to the living room. She sat down contentedly in the biggest, most comfortable couch she spotted, and waited there for Mr. Gold to come back.

Rumple went to look for Belle in their in-house library. She was surely immersed in a book, even though reading lately was not a joyful activity as it used to be. For Belle, reading had rather become a research activity in an effort to understand what was happening to her son.

She didn’t even hear when Rumple entered the room and he had to clear his throat, trying not to startle her. When Belle’s eyes finally made contact with his, Rumple curiously peeked at whatever she was reading because it was clearly not a book about childhood or child behavior.

“What are you reading?” He warmly inquired, sitting beside her.

“I needed a break from psychology books. My head was killing me since we woke up. You noticed how sleep eluded me most of the night” He nodded and Belle returned her attention to the book in her hands. “This is poetry, a compilation from different authors. I was just reading the most beautiful one…listen to this Rumple” Belle immediately began reading, excitedly, without letting Rumple tell her why he was really there.

“It wasn't love but chance and rather sweet-

your newly weaned son asleep in his crib, your breasts too tender

to be touched. And touch itself, too early, indiscreet.

 Your small son breathed and coughed. I tried to sleep

but couldn't ignore what your body engendered

in mine. It wasn't love but chance and strangely sweet.

 I like your name; you're used to mine, ironic repeat

of your old lover's. With so few facts ought two people surrender

to touch? (Better to date, slow down, try to be discreet.)

 Ok, let's walk around the pond, take a few months or weeks

to study each other and see what portends or

not. It wasn't love but chance and rather sweet.

I'm moved by you as well as touched: shy and indiscreet”.

 “What do you think? Isn’t it beautiful?” Belle asked when she finished reading, smiling and snuggling against him.

“It is, sweetheart…but I came looking for you because there is something you need to know. Melissa is here.”

“Gideon’s best friend?”

Rumple assented. “She brought a birthday present for our son. Maybe we should make an exception in his punishment for today?”

Belle’s smile disappeared completely. She stood up and closed the poetry book, leaving it abandoned on a small table.

“There is nothing I would like more, Rumple. But remember what Archie said, if we change the set of rules that we already laid out for him, Gideon might think that we will eventually accept whatever he wants us to accept with respect to school. We can’t give in now. Not even when this is so painful.

Rumple nodded sadly, knowing that Belle was right. Rules were rules, as much as deals were deals. They couldn’t be broken.

“Come on, let’s explain the situation to Melissa”. Belle took Rumple’s hand leading him to where the girl was waiting.

“Hi, Belle!” Melissa chirped a happy greeting the moment she entered the room and went to hug her, returning afterwards to the couch.

“Hello, Meli. Rumple told me why you came to visit. I appreciate how much you care about Gid. But you must know that he is grounded and unfortunately he can’t receive any birthday presents for now.”

Immediately, Melissa’s face turned sad, almost like she wanted to cry.

“That is not fair! Gid deserves to celebrate his birthday more than any other kid that I know.”

“But you are aware that he hasn’t been fulfilling his obligations at school. Until that change, I am afraid he will continue to be grounded.” Rumple said, and Melissa looked at him. There was a hesitation in her eyes, but suddenly, there was determination as well.

“Then it is true! You don’t love Gid anymore because he is a bad student?” She angrily retorted.

“Of course not. Why would you think something like that? A parent never stops loving their children no matter what” Belle intervened because Rumple was not able to even formulate an answer.

“Gid thinks you don’t love him anymore. He said you broke a promise to him, and you never break promises” Melissa continued, still looking at Rumple.

“What?” Rumple managed to ask although a sharp pain was surrounding his heart, keeping him from breathing properly. When Melissa didn’t answer, Rumple tried again. “What promise did I break?”

“Um, he told me that when he was two years old, you promised him that he would never experience a birthday alone. That all his birthdays would always be filled with joy”

Rumple felt those words like a needle in his heart. Melissa was right. He did say that and he didn’t remember it until now. He made that promise to his son after a nightmare he had on his second birthday. It was a nightmare about him being alone and scared in a very dark place. Rumple knew what that dream meant and he wanted to reassure his son that he would never experience that. How it was possible Gideon remembered it and not him? Rumple was just so upset about what was happening at school that he just completely forgot about that promise.

Sensing the tribulation inside her husband, Belle intended to defend their choice with respect to Gideon’s punishment. “Meli, Rumple nor I intended to hurt Gid in anyway. We love him more than anything in the world. It is because of that love, that we made a difficult decision when he refused to care about school anymore. No kid has a future without education and we are trying to ensure that Gideon understands that, so he has the best possible future.”

Melissa hesitation was crystal clear again. She wanted to say more but was afraid of something.

“Gid never stopped caring about school. In fact, I think he could skip a few years without any problem.” Melissa said, avoiding Rumple and Belle’s confused looks. “You are wrong about everything. Gid isn’t lazy or irresponsible.”

“He falls asleep during classes, he fails at exams, he doesn’t do his homework…” Belle retorted but was abruptly interrupted by the little girl.

“He falls asleep at school because he doesn’t sleep at night!”

“That’s impossible. Gideon goes to bed every night at 9:00pm.” Rumple managed to explain.

“He only pretends he is sleeping at that time, then he waits a couple of hours, and when he is sure that you two are already asleep, he starts working until it is almost morning.”

“He works? Works on what?” Rumple questioned further, completely confused about what he was hearing.

“He does the homework for other students that pay him to do it. He is very good at imitating calligraphy so the teachers never catch him. He does about 10 different kids’ homework for them each day, especially for sixth and eighth graders. That’s why he can’t do his own or stay awake for an exam.”

“What?!” Rumple and Belle exclaimed at unison.

Melissa jumped from her seat, startled at that reaction.

Belle knew immediately that they needed to calm down if they wanted to reach the bottom of this nonsensical story. She sat besides Melissa, putting a hand on her shoulder.

Rumple remained standing, motionless in the same spot.

“Meli, I am sorry we scared you. We just really need to understand what you are saying because it doesn’t make any sense to us right now. Gideon is in second grade. How is it even possible he is doing homework for eighth graders?”

“That’s why I said he could skip years at school without problem.” Melissa replied with a hint of pride in her voice.

“Why on earth would Gideon want money for? Why did he think he needed to work for money? He has everything he needs and wants under this roof.”

Melissa dropped her head and gazed directly at the floor. When no answer was provided, Rumple pushed again. “Melissa?”

When the girl looked back again at him, he could see she was crying.

“He is doing everything for me. It’s my fault that he has been suffering this much for the past weeks!”

Belle reached for her and hugged her.

“Hey, it is ok, Meli. I am sure you have done nothing wrong”

“But it is my fault! I told him that Mr. Gold was taking the house away from my parents because they couldn’t pay rent. I told Gid I was afraid of living on the streets and he said he was going to help me with the rent!”

“Oh, gods, the envelopes!” Rumple felt sick to his stomach and in an effort not to throw up right there and then, he dropped on the armchair and covered his face with his hands.

“What envelopes?” Belle asked with a broken voice and tears welling up in her eyes.

“Gid put the money he was getting everyday in an envelope with a computer-written note and secretly slid the envelop in the pawnshop’s mail box before coming home. It was supposed to be a rent fund to cover my parent’s rent and whoever else that needed it. Gid said that way, his father would not have to leave anyone without a house anymore.”

The moment Melissa ended her explanation, Rumple audibly sobbed with his hands still covering his face. The girl looked at him with a mixture of curiosity and concern. Was the Dark One crying? That was impossible! Then she looked at Belle and she was crying too. Did she do something wrong? Was she in trouble? Was Gid in even more trouble because of her? She only wanted to help her friend and she thought that telling the truth would help. But now she was not sure what was happening.

Understanding her confusion, Belle cleared her throat in an effort to speak. But she failed miserably and only managed to sob harder. She was overwhelmed by emotions. Now she understood everything and she simply didn’t know what to do with the feelings she had at the moment. Gideon did the most beautiful, selfless sacrifice for a friend. He endured stoically every unjustified word, every unjustified accusation, every unjustified punishment both at school and at home, just to help his friend.

While Gideon was doing everything right, Belle and Rumple were doing everything wrong. They caved in and listened to everyone else’s advice. Deep down they always knew all this had nothing to do with their son being spoiled but everyone else in Storybrooke thought the opposite. Oh, how Belle regretted listening to them! If she felt this guilty and hurt inside, Belle couldn’t fathom how Rumple was feeling. But if the way he was trembling and sobbing with his face well hidden between his hands were any indication, he was in absolute hell. Belle needed to be strong now if they wanted to start making amends with their son. She cleared her throat again and this time she forced herself to speak.

“Meli, thanks so, so, so much for telling us the truth. We didn’t know what was happening and now that we know, we will reverse how unfairly we have treated Gideon.”

“I just want my friend to be happy again. I… don’t mind living on the streets if that means Gid is happy.”

“Oh, Melissa…” Belle kissed the girl on the forehead. If this little angel could love her son in this way, then she was like a daughter to her too. “I promise you that you will not live on the streets. Rumple never intended to leave your parents without a house. He is just a little…strict with rental agreements. You have my word that you and your parents will always have a roof over your heads.”

“Thank you, Belle!” Melissa hugged Belle again, finally free of the heavy weight that keeping this secret had on her and knowing that revealing it could cost her family’s home and everything they had. “Can I see Gid, now?” she asked excitedly.

“I am afraid we have to talk to him first, Meli, and it could take some time. Let’s make a deal, ok? Go back to your house and we will call you as soon as we have resolved this. Then we can celebrate Gid’s birthday all together. How does that sound?”

“Good! I can’t wait for Gid to see the present I got for him!” Melissa stood up and grabbed her present, ready to go home. She wanted to say goodbye to Mr. Gold but he was still in the same position and Melissa was sure he was still crying. “Is Mr. Gold ok?” she asked Belle.

“He will be. Thanks to you. Now, let me take you to the door. Be careful on your way home.”

At the door frame Belle hugged and kissed Melissa again. “Thank you so much for loving my son with your heart of angel.”

Meli smiled and started her way back home. When Belle returned to the living room, Rumple hadn’t moved an inch, although his breathing was a little more even now. She crouched down in front of him and took one of his hands between her own. When Rumple finally looked at her, she wanted to cry again. That haunted expression, red eyes flooded with tears, was crushing her heart.

“Rumple…” she managed to say and then she just hugged him, knowing there were no words in this world that could take back what they have done to their son.

Rumple hugged her back as if his life depended on it. He was a shipwrecked man and she was his salvation table. He bitterly cried on her shoulder until he was able to speak again.

“What have we done to our son, Belle?”

“There is no way we could have known. And please, I know you are doing it, but don’t put the blame on yourself.”

“How isn’t it my fault? I was being a monster, like I always am, while my son was being an angel… I don’t deserve this family!”

“Stop it Rumple, please. Yes, you could be nicer with your tenants from time to time, but you also very well know that you were never going to evict Melissa’s parents. It is your job collecting the rent. And sometimes that is not a pleasant job. That doesn’t mean you are a monster.”

“I hurt my son in the worst possible way. I am a monster.”

“You tried to do what you thought was best for him. We were wrong and misled by everyone else’s advice about parenting.”

“That wretched cricket and that stupid doctor Frankenstein!” Rumple replied angrily.

“They were dead wrong about our son. But we have the biggest responsibility here because we are his parents and they aren’t.”

“How can we fix this, Belle?”

“Well…I think we can start by apologizing to our son.”

“How I can look him in the eye now? I feel so unworthy of him. What if he doesn’t forgive me?”

“He will. How he couldn’t with that pure heart he has?”

Rumple was a little bit more hopeful now. He silently thanked fate for having Belle by his side. She was his strength as always.

“Come on. Let’s not allow our son to spend one more minute alone on his birthday.” Belle said while standing up and taking Rumple’s hand.

Those words were enough to arm Rumple with sheer determination. Gideon never deserved a birthday like this. But they still had time to change it.

They went up to their son’s bedroom and Belle gently knocked at the door.

“Can we come in, Gid?” she asked.

Gideon was reading a book and was surprised to hear his parents at his door. He thought they would not talk to him until lunch time.

“Yes, mom” he replied.

Belle and Rumple entered his bedroom and spotted their son curled in a corner with a book between his hands. The sight brought tears to their eyes again. This was so unfair and cruel. He should be playing with his birthday gifts, not all alone and sad just reading a book.

“Did I do something wrong?” Gid asked without understanding the expression on his parents’ faces.

“Of course not, son. You did nothing wrong…but we did.” Rumple knelt in front of Gideon. Belle followed the movement. Gideon’s expression was a complete puzzle.

“Dad? What’s happening?”

“What’s happening is that we know the truth, Gid. We know everything you did to help your friend Melissa.”

“But how?” Gideon gasped.

“Melissa was here and told us everything.”

“Dad, please do not take away Melissa’s house! They don’t have another place to live! I promise you I will work very hard to give you their rent money!” Gideon was so scared about the prospect of his friend being homeless that he didn’t even realize that his parents were trying to apologize.

“Gideon, I would never do something like that. I am so sorry that I let you believe quite the opposite.”

“Your father is a strict businessman Gid, but he is not heartless. He would never leave an entire family on the streets.” Belle intervened.

“I am sorry, son. Truly I am. You were doing something noble and brave for a friend and I was treating you unfairly and I even broke a promise to you because I was angry. I know all of that is inexcusable but…can you forgive me? Can you forgive us both?”

“Do you still love me?” Gideon asked both of his parents with a doubt that hurt so much.

“Of course we love you, son!” Rumple and Belle hugged Gideon “No matter what you do, we will always love you. Never doubt that.

Sadness finally left Gideon’s heart.

“I am sorry for lying to you and for not doing my homework. I was just trying to help Melissa.”

“We know that now, Gid. And we are so proud of you! But next time that you have a problem of any kind, please come to talk to us. We will resolve it together, as a family. Ok?” Belle pleaded.

Gideon nodded, smiling for the first time in weeks.

“Now, how come you were making ten dollars a day for ten eighth graders’ homework?” Rumple asked after kissing his son, in an attempt to lighten up the conversation.

“Um, well, the kids said that was a fair price.”

“Well, I have the smartest son in the world, but I think I could give him a lesson or two in business.”

Belle chuckled at that, but Gideon completely missed the joke.

“We are so proud of you. We will have to talk about having an in-home tutor because it is obvious you are more advanced than the other kids your age. But that can wait. Now, we have a birthday to celebrate!” Belle announced excitedly.

“Really!?”

“Of course, Gid. We will do whatever you want to do today and tomorrow. Oh, and you should call Melissa. She has a present for you!”

“Yes! I want to see her to tell her that you are not angry with me anymore! Can we go to Granny’s for a hamburger and iced tea and invite her?”

“Of course. That sounds like an excellent idea.” Rumple replied with guilt still gnawing at his heart, but feeling more in peace than he had felt in weeks.

“Thank you, dad, thank you, mom. I love you both so much!”

“And we love you too son”