Tea Cups and Hearts: Chapter Fourteen

Once Upon a Time: Tea Cups and Hearts

Chapter Fourteen: Stargazing

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Storybrook, Current Time

By the time Gold reached the large house near the outskirts of Storybrook, the sun had long since set and the stars had begun to appear in delicate little clusters. They shined so beautiful in the darkness, innocent of the deceits of man and the realms. Apart from everything, and yet eternally connected.

Mr. Gold stared up at the bright celestial orbs and remembered a time when he had looked up and observed the constellations with someone he held dear. It seemed like a million years ago; but he still remembered it perfectly.

The man was so wrapped up in his thoughts, that he didn't noticed when someone joined him out on the porch. But he was long gone, in a time where he had actually been happy.

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The Enchanted Forest, the Past

Belle had finally gotten used to her duties in the Dark Castle, and had begun to form a strange friendship with Rumpelstiltskin. And soon she had realized that despite his flamboyant facade, the Dark One was quite shy; timid even.

Whenever she talked to him now, he always seemed at a loss. He would answer in one to two word phrases and would very rarely make eye-contact with her. This was frustrating in itself for the girl, but it didn't end there.

No. To Belle's ultimate surprise, Oriel had followed suit.

In earlier days in the Dark Castle, the golden dog had been quite the character, tricking the young woman in the most heinous ways imaginable. And Belle had actually begun to look forward to the playful pranks, but now Oriel would merely watch her with large confused eyes, as if she were the most terrifying thing he had ever seen in his life.

Belle had tried to remedy this change with kind words and more scraps from the kitchen than usual, but nothing seemed to be working. The dog was polite, but kept his distance, just like Rumpelstiltskin.

It had all started a week earlier when Belle had tried to open the drapes. Despite being raised a princess, Belle was naturally clumsy. So it was truly no surprise when she fell off the ladder, and plummeted to the floor. Oh no. The unexpected came in a strange form. The world changed when Rumpelstiltskin caught her.

As the young woman had fallen from the high ladder, she had closed her eyes, waiting for the impact of the floor. But it never came.

Rumpelstiltskin had caught her in his arms and held her for several seconds before setting her back on her feet. She would never forget the look in his eyes that day.

It had been that one moment that changed everything; that moment when Rumpelstiltskin had held her and looked into her eyes with an unknown emotion deep within his eyes. The two had parted ways that day and it had been somewhat awkward ever since.

Belle had let the incident slide off her shoulders, but it seemed that the Dark One was still hung up on it. So, the young woman had decided to take matters into her own hands. She would open up to him, and perhaps then he wouldn't be so embarrassed by what had happened. It was a childish plan, but it was the only one she had. So she would try.

Belle was currently clearing away her and Rumpelstiltskin's dinner dishes- for they had begun to take their meals together- and was humming to herself. And as Belle cleared the table, an idea came to her.

"It's a beautiful night out," she commented.

Rumpelstiltskin looked out of one of the large windows and after a moment nodded.

"Indeed it is."

Belle smiled brightly, "I bet the stars are out by now."

She quickly walked over to the window and tilted her head up so she could see the night sky. And as she

"Oh, Rumpelstiltskin! It's beautiful!"

Belle turned back and beckoned for him to join her. "Come and look! You can actually see several of the constellations from here!"

Rumpelstiltskin grinned, as he watched her, in awe that such a simple thing could make her so happy. Did she have any idea how beautiful she looked when she was smiling? It seemed not, for she kept turning that smile on him. That smile would be his undoing, he was sure.

Slowly, Rumpelstiltskin approached her and looked out of the darkened glass.

"You can hardly see them, dearie."

Belle bit her bottom lip anxiously, wanting him to share the moment with her more than anything. "You can see them. . . You just have to look hard enough."

Rumpelstiltskin studied her, and instantly saw her happiness begin to ebb.

This will not do, he thought. And before he could stop himself, the Dark One found himself speaking his thoughts aloud.

"I know of a place . . . where the view is better . . ."

Belle's eyes grew wide and she asked, "Really? Where?"

Rumpelstiltskin merely offered her his arm. Without hesitation, Belle took his arm in her own and entwined their hands.

Rumpelstiltskin shook his head in disbelief as he stared at his greenish-gray flesh surrounded by her pale white skin.

"You truly are a strange one, aren't you?"

Belle giggled a bright airy sound that made the imp's heart beat faster than before.

"I suppose I am rather odd," Belle agreed, "But normal people are so boring!" Belle made a point to emphasize on her trepidation as she moaned the word, 'boring.' And it paid off.

Rumpelstiltskin actually laughed. And it wasn't his high pitched giggle, or even his manically booming laugh that he saved for scaring visitors who came to make the random deal. It was a deep, full-bellied chuckle that Belle found intoxicating. She would have to make him laugh more, for it was a heartwarming sound that made her stomach flutter.

"I agree with you completely, my dear!" He said after he had stopped laughing. "Normal people are boring!"

The two shared a tickled smile, their eyes meeting, and for the first time that week, Rumpelstiltskin didn't look away.

Golden eyes gazed into light blue and everything else was forgotten, until Rumpelstiltskin whispered, "Look up, Belle."

Belle felt moved that he had used her name, and squeezed his hand in her own before she obediently lifted her eyes upward.

Belle gasped with tears in her eyes. Above them the full night sky sparkled in all its glory, showing off the beautiful celestial orbs in all their magnificence.

The young woman took in her surroundings but didn't have the faintest idea where they were.

"Where are we," she wondered aloud, somewhat breathlessly.

Rumpelstiltskin grinned, "The roof on the highest turret of the Dark Castle."

Belle smiled and it truly reached her eyes.

"Thank you," she whispered gratefully, her eyes slightly teary with the joy of being able to see the stars.

Rumpelstiltskin felt something inside of him give-way, but he quickly recovered. "It's quite alright, my dear. I wanted to see them too!"

Belle giggled and then looked back up at the sky, and she couldn't help but feel content.

If she were telling the truth, she felt happier than she had since her grandmother had died. She finally felt like she belonged.

The simple things in life are the most precious by far. Belle thought peacefully, as she continued to stargaze with Rumpelstiltskin standing at her side.

It was a beautiful moment, and both Rumpelstiltskin and Belle would cherish it always.

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Storybrook, Current Time

Gold was pulled back from his memories as he became aware of the man standing in dimly lit doorway, watching him.

"It's a beautiful night," Mr. Gold said pleasantly, never looking away from the stars.

The man scoffed, "Yeah, I suppose it's beautiful when you have everything you want."

Gold ignored him but finally looked at the man, "Did you receive my message?"

The man nodded, "Yes."

"Good," Gold said walking up the steps of the porch to stand in front of the man. "Let's get down to business then, shall we?"

"Why should I help you, after everything you've done?" The man asked skeptically.

Gold smirked and fingered his cane. "I would suspect you'd want to help me . . ."

The man lifted an eyebrow and Mr. Gold continued.

"You see, when two people have similar goals, a bargain can always be struck. We both have items that the other wants, so I would think that you would be kind enough to hear me out."

The two men stood in silence for several minutes before Gold impatiently looked at his watch, "Tick Tock, dearie. Tick Tock."

The man who stood in the door way sighed reluctantly, but stepped aside giving Mr. Gold access to his home.

Mr. Gold smirked as he walked passed him.

"Why thank you . . . Jefferson."

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