So here is another update, whoo. This chapter is not at all what I planned for it to be, not really. I read over it myself but there are probably a hundred mistakes I didn't catch knowing me, so sorry for all of them and I hope that you enjoy this.

staring at it

Regina stops just outside of Granny's diner, her expression twisting into glee as she watches the happy couple just ahead. Gold is leading his broken plaything out of one of the novelty shops with a chuckle and his hand on her back. She looks happy enough with a smile on her face that almost takes away from the scar running along her jaw, but not quite. The white line is easy to see in the sunlight and Regina feels the pleasure of it ripple down her spine because she left that particular blow by her own hand. The pawnbroker raises his head and she smiles wide with her cherry red lips.

She is greeted with a scowl as his fingers flex against Belle's back, digging into the fabric of her blue button up shirt. Even from here Regina can see the effect it has on the former princess. Belle isn't smiling when she looks over at the Mayor with her heart in her throat, but she does not flinch away. She is brave with the beast at her side and Gold slides his hand up and slips his arm around her shoulder. They make quite the couple, a broken girl and a monster and Regina waves before she slides into the diner.

The curse is designed to severe happy endings and if it somehow has a weak spot for Rumpelstiltskin then she'll be sure to fix it by hand.

Belle exhales and looks away from the diner. Gold pulls her into his side but doesn't move any further. "Are you alright?" he whispers the words against her temple and she nods. With him she can play the brave lioness, she must, but when she is on her own the Queen still manages to paralyze her. The nightmares are less frequent than before, evened out by all the new memories she is creating, but the scars won't fade so easily.

Something must show in her face because he presses a kiss to the top of her head before his arm drops to her waist. "How about we take that trip to see Dr. Hopper, hm? I'm sure he'll have some books he'd be more than happy to let you borrow."

The idea does sound delightful, really. She's already breezed through everything Mary Margaret has on her shelves and in her first week here Henry showed her his fairy tale book. She still feels like it's a shame the library isn't open, but when she asked Rum about it he had deftly evaded answering the question. Belle isn't keen on being out and about, after years of solitude it proves to be somewhat overwhelming with so many faces new and old, but the promise of new books...

"I'd like that," she replies and he smiles into her hair. Gold had hoped she would take to the idea and Belle does not disappoint. It doesn't matter that he has an ulterior motive in taking her to the cricket, because she doesn't have to know that right now. They walk in silence with Belle tucked into his side and it feels good. He is still fascinated by her, the depth that he somehow missed when she was at his side before. Belle has always been able to surprise him but now he can see her true strength, the real bravery that surpasses just standing up to a monster.

Rumpelstiltskin just hates that his clarity came at such a high price. Belle slips her own arm around his waist and squeezes lightly, "You're thinking too much."

"Distracting you, dearie?"

Belle shakes her head. "No, but you know where we're going and I don't."

He looks up and laughs quietly, realizing they have reached the four way crossing. Gold nudges Belle toward the left and she goes, glancing up at his face. The quiet doesn't have time to settle. They're barely halfway down the block before he's tugging on her and tilting his head toward a very quaint building. "This is it."

It doesn't look like much but Belle can see the small sign that reads 'Doctor Archibald Hopper, Psychiatrist' on the front door. "Rum?"

"Hm?" He is staring over her head at the door, seeing her reflection in the glass before he brings his eyes down to look at the top of her head. "Is something wrong?"

"What's a psychiatrist?" The word comes out easily; she knows how the roll the letters off her tongue even though she shouldn't, not really. Gold traces his fingers along her side and she relaxes, belatedly realizing that she had tensed up in her sudden nervousness.

"A therapist or counselor, there's… there is no real equivalent in our world to compare him too, but he is the person some people bare all of their problems and feelings to."

She wrinkles her nose at the idea, drawing back from the door unconsciously. Belle isn't able to envision giving herself, every emotion and barrier and heartache, over to a person that she doesn't know. He leans down and brushes his lips against the back of her head, hoping to ease her sudden discomfort. "Easy, dearie, we're just here to borrow books, nothing more."

It turns out Archie isn't nearly as intimidating as Belle first assumed, and talking to him comes so very easily. He stutters at first at seeing Rum behind her but then he eases into bright smiles and light conversation and somewhere in the middle she starts to smile too. Gold watches from the door as his Belle shines brilliantly for the cricket, seeming so much her old self that it steals his breath for a moment.

"You might like this," Archie holds out the book of his choice with a smile and Belle takes it. Her fingers ghost across the cover as she turns it in her hands. The worn leather cover feels like home against her skin and she smiles back while resisting the urge to bow.

"Thank you very much. I've already finished everything Mary Margaret has," she is beaming back at him and clutching the book to her chest. Rum vaguely remembers stumbling upon her once in the Dark Castle with a book tucked tight in her arms as she tried to sneak back to her room. Underneath all the scars and pain she is still that bookish, brave girl.

Archie flushes just a bit for no particular reason and he readjusts his glasses in an attempt to distract. "Well, if you ever need any books feel free to ask, it's no problem. You also might have some luck with Miss Lucas. She has a decent collection herself."

Belle nods, committing the name to memory, knowing that it sounds vaguely familiar. Behind her Rum clears his throat and she steps back with a slight tilt of her head and a smile. "Thank you again for the book, Dr. Hopper."

He's still blushing brilliantly, but he is so very kind and he nods. "You're welcome, Miss French."

She does her best not to flinch at the surname, the smile on her face slipping. "Isobel, please."

Archie looks at her over the top of his glasses, but that gentle look on his face doesn't fade. "Isobel, then. You can call me Archie."

Belle opens her mouth to respond but a warm hand grips her elbow and she looks up into the brown eyes of Gold. He only looks at her a moment before he tilts his head and smiles at Archie, something that's not entirely forced. "Thank you, Dr. Hopper, but we must be on our way."

"Ah, of course," he looks away, barely managing not to trip over his words as Gold all but drags Belle out of the man's office by her arm. She stops him just outside the door in the hall, narrowing her eyes.

"What was that all about?" Her arms tighten around the book and he looks down, taking in the angered look on her face.

Suddenly he looks away, feeling like a child caught with his fingers in the cookie jar. Belle shouldn't be looking at him that way but she is with the gentle wrinkles in her forehead and her blue eyes aflame. Gold clears his throat and tries to face her, because he should not feel guilty, at all. "It's high pass tea time, dearie-"

Her brow crinkles further, deepening in the place right between her eyes and Gold wants to smile, but she pokes his chest hard enough it hurts. "Now look here we are not going through this jealousy phase, alright? It is ridiculous and childish and it does not become you, at all. Archie is nice, and it felt good to smile and not feel like I was going to-"

Gold slants his lips over hers, wrapping his hand around her finger and sliding into the empty places where he fits. She slowly gives in and he smiles before pulling away. "I am not jealous, dearie, so that we're both clear on that point." He leans down and kisses her again, a quick peck before he draws back. "It actually is pass tea time and I am hungry, and you promised me lunch." He goes for another kiss and she meets him halfway, their hands pressing against his stomach as she tilts her head back. Gold scrapes his teeth against her bottom lip as he slides away, the look on his face serious as Belle looks up at him.

"It felt good watching you smile, dear. Your smile is perhaps the most precious gift you can give and I have not forgotten that. I never will," his voice is warm and full of admiration. It washes over her and Belle squeezes his hand as she drops her head, unable to hold his gaze. Gold can see the edges of her mouth twitch just a little, enough to make him smile.

"I think I promised you lunch."

Gold stretches his legs out as he leans back into the couch, settling his cane at his side. "That was a very good lunch, dear." Belle smiles at the back of his head before she rounds the couch arm with two cups of tea to go with the pie sitting on the table in front of them. The apartment is otherwise empty, Mary Margaret teaching and Emma at work, and while it feels odd to have him there it also feels right. She sits beside him on the couch and hands over one of the tea cups, leaning into his warmth. He raises his arm and drapes it around her shoulders, his free hand taking the tea as he turns his head until he can press a kiss to the top of her head.

Belle smiles against her cup and takes a slow drink, savoring the quiet moment just as much as the tea. He does the same beside her with his fingers brushing along her arm in different designs until Gold feels the always present tension in her body ease. Her cup is cradled haphazardly in both hands when he looks at her, her dropping forward without her consent. He carefully slides his feet of the table, stretching his bum leg out as he leans to put his tea cup down. Belle's is next to follow and he plucks it from her fingers without contest to set it beside his own.

She immediately crowds against his side and he smiles, leaning close to whisper in her ear, "Bring your feet up, dearie, so you can stretch out." Belle hides her face against his collar but she does as told and brings her legs up and stretches them out along the couch as he helps her get comfortable against him. Gold slides his own legs under the table and leans into the corner of the couch, giving Belle more room to spread out her long limbs.

Her hands immediately fist themselves in the fabric of his button down shirt as if to make him stay and he presses a kiss to the top of her head. "Relax, Belle. I'm going nowhere." She mumbles something too indistinct for him to hear but Gold is at least half certain it is a threat of some kind. Her fingers ease in the creases of his shirt but she doesn't let go. He almost thinks of asking her then, to move in with him, to share his home and life entirely.

The words die on his tongue before he ever really gives them life and he swallows back the urge. It's still too early and everything between them is too new for such a commitment. Gold continues to let his fingers dance up and down her arm as his cheek comes to rest on her soft hair. The blonde still catches him by surprise sometimes, as it does right now, but it also suits her and he twines a small piece around his finger before letting it drop back into place.

His eyes flutter shut and for once Gold lets himself go in the moment as his sense of self fades to only the sound of Belle's soft breathing and the scent of lavender.

Mary Margaret hums as she unlocks the door to her apartment and steps inside, her eyes immediately sweeping the area from habit. She pauses halfway in the door, her eyes landing on the couch and its inhabitants. It's hard to step over the places in the floor that creak but she manages well enough, stopping just at the back of the couch. Isobel is curled up and asleep, her head resting on Mr. Gold's shoulder. The man himself is asleep as well with his cheek on top of her head and one arm curled around her body. Isobel looks relaxed as she sleeps which is something Mary Margaret has never seen before and Mr. Gold for all of his bite seems relatively peaceful.

The part that makes her smile, however, is their hands that rest in the small space between them, fingers barely touching. Emma would wake them without a thought but she steps back as quiet as she can, retreating to the front door. Ruby is always going on about how they don't spend enough time together and now seems perfectly acceptable.

She closes the door quietly with a smile and Rumpelstiltskin shifts to pull Belle closer, burying his face in her hair with a quiet sigh.