Happily Ever After (Rumpelstiltskin)

[marymargaret]

Belle supposed that happy endings were rather misleading.  The term implied that one's story ended upon achieving a 'happy ending' though she was finding that her life was only beginning.  The night she married Rumpel she felt as if her life had officially begun.  Every day with him was different, exciting; it was difficult for her to put into words the difference between being his wife compared to his girlfriend.  Simply waking up to him each morning was a treat in itself that she didn't wish to ever grow old.  

Working beside him after their honeymoon came to a close was a new adventure to her.  She enjoyed spending the extra time with him that would have been lost had she been running the library and he his shop.  She'd offered to help him until he caught up on the work missed during their honeymoon though she didn't mind extending her time there if he asked.  She found the running of the pawn shop to be quite fascinating.

"What is this from?" she asked, fingertips cupping gently around a colored glass mobile.  A glass unicorn rested in her cupped fingers, the lightest of touches being placed upon the artifact.  "It's absolutely beautiful."  She looked over her shoulder at him, a smile in place upon her lips.  

[rumple]

Rumple started dusting the glass counter with a soft cloth. Things had been hectic lately with Zelena, Bael, and the marriage. Now, finally, he was with the woman that he loved. He wasn't sure what she saw him. How she was able to keep seeing past the horrible things that he had done. And not only did she still accept him, she married him. He had his freedom, his shop, his power, and his new, beautiful bride. He caught himself staring at her as he was dusting off the counter.

When he realized that he had been look at her for a few moments too long, he smiled and walked over to the next counter. Reaching underneath it, he put the dusting cloth. He was thrilled that she was willing to help him around the shop for a little while. Even though he really didn't need her help. But he was able to spend more time with her. He suspected that she was helping him out for the same reason that he had asked her to help him out. It was a shame that the honeymoon ended as soon as it did. But such was the life in Storybrooke.

Rumple looked over at Belle when she asked what a particular item was. Then he saw what she was talking about. "That..." He started before walking over to her. "Is a the very mobile that was made for a particular product of true love." He smiled as he got next to her. Her smile made her even more gorgeous. "I collected it before I was imprisoned. I figured that the Charmings or Emma might want it and I didn't want it to be lost to the curse." He said watching her beautiful eyes work over the intricately made unicorns. 

[marymargaret]

Belle turned her attention back to the mobile as he neared her, listening as he explained who it once belonged to.  She smiled as she realized who he was speaking of.  "I'm surprised Mary Margaret or David didn't ask for it for their son," she said, purposely choosing not to refer to his given name.  She was afraid that the wound of Baelfire's death was still raw and didn't want to agitate her husband by referring to the Nolan's baby as 'Neal'.  She thought it wonderfully considerate of them to name their son after Rumpel's own though she wondered if it had been wise as his death was still fresh.  

She let go of the unicorn slowly, watching as it swayed on the string that connected the glass to the mobile top.  "You have so many interesting items in here," she said, looking around the room quickly. Her gaze focused on him after.  "Do you really know where each and every one of them comes from?"  She loved stories of all types.  Hearing him speak of the history of each object in the store interested her greatly. 

[rumple]

"Well, it wouldn't be my style. But perhaps you would be interested in giving it to them for a present." Rumple said leaning on his cane a bit. He had mixed feelings about the Charmings naming their son after Neal. It was an honor that they would use his name. But it was a bit too close that he was going to have to hear his son's name every time he's around them. With any luck, he wasn't going to have be around them as much as he had been in the last few years. It seemed like every time someone sneezed, they ran to his shop asking for something for free. The only person he would willingly do things for free was already in his shop.

As Belle let go of the unicorn, he turned his body towards her's. He looked around at all the items he had collected over the centuries. Everyone wanted something from the Dark One. And everyone was willing to give up something for what they wanted. "Of course. A part of being the Dark One is remembering everything. Also, with a power I attained, I could look back in time to see who gave me what." Rumple said smiling as he put his hand down on the glass counter. His new wedding band making a loud *clank* sound against the glass. "Is there anything you've taken a fancy towards?" He asked Belle to see what she would be interested in. 

[marymargaret]

Belle smiled at his suggestion.  "Perhaps I should," she said, her gaze resting on the mobile again.  She'd been quite taken with baby Neal upon meeting him at the prince's coronation party.  Seeing him had given thought to the possibility of having children one day.  She hadn't really discussed it with Rumpel and was too afraid to bring it up so early in their marriage.  She understood that he was older than her and, after the death of his son, might not desire to have any more children.  She would respect his wishes though she feared she would be disappointed.

The noise of his ring connecting with the glass counter caused her smile to brighten.  It was nice to see the ring on his hand, knowing that she'd placed it there during their wedding.  Likewise it was nice to catch sight of the sparkling band upon her own finger  She was unused to the weight and shine of it, stopping on occasion to observe it.  "You have so many items in here that were attached to others.  Do you have anything of yours?"  She only knew of the chipped cup that he had in the shop, though it was clearly not for sale.  

[rumple]

Rumpel could almost feel Belle's smile. He figured that she would have liked his suggestion. But there was something on his mind. Something that kept tugging at him. Something that he wasn't sure if he actually wanted or not. His son hadn't been gone for very long. After losing him twice, he wasn't sure if he should try again. He was clearly a horrible father. But he knew he wanted Belle to be happy. So, he decided to just spit it out before he continued to think about it and talk himself out of it. "Or..." He said closing his eyes for a moment. "Or maybe we could keep it for ourselves." It wasn't the question he meant to say, but it was something. At least a hint of what he wanted to say.



The ring on his finger still surprised him at times. It wasn't that he had a ring on, it was the fact that it was on his ring finger once again. Something he hadn't felt in a long time. "Technically, these are all mine." He said smiling and chuckling a little. "There are a few of my personal items." Rumpel said walking over to a spinning wheel. "This one I brought over myself. It's the one that the ladies who looked after me gave to me." He said still finding it a bit difficult to open up about himself. It wasn't that he was trying to hide stuff from her. It was just that he wasn't used to giving information about himself away.

[marymargaret]

Belle paused, thinking that perhaps she hadn't heard him correctly.  Her expression turned serious as she looked at him, trying to figure out what he meant by his words.  It softened quickly as she understood what he was hinting at.  Her chest tightened with happiness, causing words to be beyond her for a moment.  Cheeks flushing with color she ducked her gaze, utterly pleased by his response.  "Then we should keep it," she agreed.  She looked back up at him, smile still in place.  There would be time for talk of children later.  She was simply glad that he was telling her, in his own way, that he would have them with her.

Her interest was caught as he explained which items were personal ones.  "I never learned how to spin," she admitted.  Her father had been wealthy leaving her with no need to learn the craft.  If she'd been a peasant she supposed it would have been a useful task.  "I imagine I'd knot the wool or thread somehow."  She laughed at the picture she imagined.  She'd seen him spin on multiple occasions.  

[rumple]

Rumpel smiled at Belle for the long moments it took her to catch on to what she was saying. There were few reasons he told her what she wanted to hear. He did want to make her happy. And he wanted to spend the rest of his very long life with her. And eventually, he would be ready to have another child. And she was the person he would want to have a child with. After she spoke, he smiled and nodded his head. "I suppose we should." He brought his hand up to her face and brushed her cheek, tucking some of her hair behind her ear. The biggest thing he needed to do before moving onto that step was getting rid of that damn dagger. Once it was gone, nothing would be able to cause him to fail at being a father again.

"Do you remember the first time you asked me why I spin so much?" Rumpel said walking over towards the spin wheel. He put his hand on the wheel and sat down on the stool. He remembered that day clearly. It was one of the biggest regretful days of his life. He had rage out against her. But, it was also one of the best days of his life. Because it was the day that they shared their first kiss. "That happens a few times..." He said making some straw appear in his hand. He put it into the wheel and he started spinning. Once it started spinning it, gold started coming out. "But once it get used to it, you can make beautiful things."

[marymargaret]

Belle leaned into his touch as he brushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear.  She brought her hand up to his for a moment, keeping it gently on the side of her head.  She smiled somewhat shyly at him before letting his hand drop.  She was glad that the matter was settled for the current moment.  She wasn't sure how she'd planned on asking him for children though it seemed that she no longer had to go to such lengths.  The brunette watched as he neared the spinning wheel.  

"I remember," she smiled somewhat wistfully.  She'd kissed him that day before he'd banished her.  It was a bittersweet memory.  She watched as he fed straw into the wheel before spinning it to gold.  She smiled indulgently at his trick.  "Anything that I spun would hardly turn to gold," she teased.  She had no desire to learn any type of magic.  She'd seen the effects it could have on those who wielded it.  Belle had come to terms with her husband's love for it, though she still wished he would abandon it.  Too much trouble was created from magic.

[rumple]

Rumpel held her his hand against her cheek softly. Belle's hand felt nice against his. She was so beautiful. How could such a beautiful person love someone like himself? He was the Dark One for goodness sakes. And yet, she loved him unconditionally. He wouldn't tell anyone, but she was the one person who could leverage any favors from him free of charge. In regards to having another child with her, he wasn't sure if it was possible with him being the Dark One. But he didn't want to ruin her happiness with technicalities. However, if they were able to conceive, he was secretly hoping for a daughter this time. Someone as pure and good as Belle.

That day was a whirlwind of emotions for him. He was too afraid of losing his himself, his power, that he banished her in order to keep his power instead of losing it to be happy. "I'm sure you know this, but I am sorry for my actions that day." He said still spinning the wheel. Focusing on the spinning of the wheel helped him not look her in the eyes. It helped him hide his shame for that day. "Regina came by a few days later and told me something bad happened to you. That's why I didn't rescue you from her tower. At first, she led me to believe that you were banished from your kingdom. But then she told me..." He said stopping the wheel with his hand before looking back at her. "That you died. If I had known that you were in her tower...I would have razed her castle to the ground to get you back." Rumpel said looking back at her. He knew that she wouldn't have wanted him to kill anyone he had to in order to get to her. But that was how he fixed those problems. "Maybe not. But still, the wool can become sublime. It's a shame that such a peaceful craft like this got lost to technology." He said standing up and walking towards the door that led to the back of his shop. He held his hand out towards her. "Come, there are a few more of my personal items back here."

[marymargaret]

Belle wasn't sure what a child made of each of them would be like.  She hoped it had his eyes; she could look into them for ages.  Knowing that she was getting ahead of herself Belle tried to focus on the present moment.  "I know," she assured him, surprised by his apology.  She'd gotten past that dark moment in her past, even forgiving Regina for the torture she'd put her through.  It seemed a lifetime ago.  She rested her hand gently on his shoulder as he spoke, knowing his apology to be sincere.  "Don't think upon the past," she urged gently.  "We've a lifetime here to look forward to."  

She wasn't sure how his aging exactly worked. From what she understood he remained the same age he'd been when acquiring the powers of the Dark One.  Would he continue to remain the same age as she progressed through the years?  She was a little afraid to inquire.

She let her hand fall back to her side as he stood, raising it a moment later to give it to him when he held out his own.  She squeezed it gently as she nodded.  "I'd very much like to see it."

[rumple]

Rumpel didn't really know what their child would look like. Whatever he or she would look like, as long as it was more Belle than him, he would be happy with them. The whole idea frightened him a bit, but that was something to dwell on at a future time. Right now, he was finally enjoying some down time with his new wife. His wife. With the way that things kept happening, he wasn't sure if they'd be able to get to this point. It seemed that they never got more than a few weeks of peace. So for now, he was going to make the most of the time that they had before some new evil came to challenge him.

When she told him not to dwell on the past, he smiled and nodded his head. "I've never said it out loud. I figured it needed to be said to you at least." He said making a slightly bigger smile. When she said the lifetime part, his eye made a small wincing motion. Like he didn't like that idea. Just a lifetime... He was the Dark One. As Lacey, she wanted to be immortal. Rumpel would have been happy to make her immortal. If he was able to cleave himself from that damn dagger, he really would be eternal. But the inevitable conclusion to that would be that Belle would eventually die. And that was something he wasn't OK with. "Do you want to talk about that now? Or is this a subject that can wait for a while?" He asked leaning his weight down on his knee. It was something they were going to have to talk about sooner or later.

Holding her hand gently in his own, he led her to the back room of the shop. This was the room that held most of his most cherished possessions. Walking over to one of the shelves, there was a walking stick leaning against it. "This is the walking stick I used before I was the Dark One. It's seen a lot of miles." He said running his finger along the wooden staff. He hated that staff and yet, he kept it around. Something to remind him of a time before he was the Dark One. "And this, this is perhaps the one thing in the shop that I hate the most." He said waving his hand at a painting. In a puff of black smoke, the painting disappeared and there was a safe. He opened it and pulled out an old straw doll.

[marymargaret]

Belle couldn't help but notice his reaction to her choice of words.  She bit her lower lip, eyes averting to the ground as he questioned her.  "I don't know," she said rather lamely.  "I..."  She wished to be with him forever, yet was unsure if she could handle the idea of immortality.  What would happen when everyone she knew and loved died?  She'd have Rumpel, and perhaps any children they had.  But after a time other relationships would become meaningless.  She was afraid of the person she would become; cold and withdrawn as building connections with mortals would only end in heartbreak when they expired.  "Not now.  I don't wish to talk about it now."  She hoped she could push it off indefinitely.   

The brunette was glad when he took her hand and led her into the other room. She hoped that the conversation would continue to shift toward the artifacts.  She smiled as she looked upon the stick.  She knew very little of his life before becoming the Dark One.  Belle knew there would have been no way they'd come into contact with one another if he hadn't been; he'd been a man years before she was born.  His immortality allowed for their meeting when he offered to take her away in exchange for keeping her kingdom safe.  Her gaze shifted to the doll that he produced from the safe.

A small frown grew upon her lips. "What is it?" she asked, looking from the toy to his features.  She wondered why he kept it.  "If you hate it so much, why not get rid of it?"  She didn't think of her husband as sentimental enough to save objects that he didn't like.  She looked back down at the toy in interest.

[rumple]

Both of them knew that it was going to need to be spoken about eventually. That's why he chose to be direct about it instead of beating around the bush. But it wasn't a subject that could be rushed. He feared that if he rushed it, he would push her away because of fear. When she said that she wanted to postpone it, he had a slightly disappointed look in his eyes but shook his head and smiled. "That's fine Belle. We have plenty of time. I know it's something we need to talk about. But it can wait." He said trying to reassure her so they could continue on with their day. Rumpel didn't want to spoil such a high point in their life. The fact that they were married now was more than enough reason to enjoy the day. That, and at the moment, no one was trying to kill them.

The fact was, he didn't want to share too much of his past before he was the Dark One. He was ashamed of his past. Some would think he would be ashamed of his entire past. Even the time when he was the Dark One. But he wasn't. When he became the Dark One, he was powerful. He was able to do whatever he wanted and he became the most powerful Dark One in history. He collected power from everywhere he could. Everyone came to him when they needed something. And because of him, Snow White and Prince Charming were able to find each other and create the product of True Love. And, he was the first person in history to have ever bottled True Love.

Rumpel's eyes fixated on the straw doll. "It was a doll that my father gave me before he abandoned me." He said looking at the doll with both hate and longing at it. "I've thought about it before. But it's the only thing I have from him. I guess..." He said setting it down on the table. "I guess I'm sentimental when it comes to things from people I love." A smile came across his face towards Belle. Of everything he destroyed when he thought Belle had died, the chipped cup was the one thing he kept. 

[marymargaret]

Belle was grateful that he didn't push the subject.  She knew it was one that needed to be talked about yet she had no desire to get into it just yet.  She was happy that he didn't force the topic but would let it be discussed in its own time.  She shifted her thoughts from the impending discussion of immortality to the doll in his hand.

Her stomach turned unpleasantly as he spoke of his father.  It pained her to know that his father had abandoned him.  She imagined that it wasn't something that one simply got over.  She recalled seeing him kill Pan before her very eyes before dying as well.  It was a memory that sent a shudder through her though she did her best to repress it.  As he lifted his gaze to her and mentioned being sentimental, she found her smile returning.  She placed a hand gently upon his arm.  

"The famed Rumpelstiltskin, sentimental?" she teased lightly.  "I suppose that detail never made it into the story books."  She was glad that he was such a way as she was similar.