Who We Are, Dearie

A Candlelit Bath for Two

"Ughh!" Belle moaned with relief as she slid off her boots.

Rumple stepped in behind her, shutting and locking the door behind them as they wouldn't be going out again that night. 

"Absolutely love heels, but god-damn do they hurt!" She said, placing them carefully on the rack.

"But then again, if the heels aren't hurting, they aren't working," she turned to Rumple and winked before taking off her coat.

"Belle darling, you are beautiful with and without your heeley things," Gold called after her, removing his own jacket and hanging it up before walking in after her. He had always wondered about her fascination with heels, did she not know she was perfect without them?

Belle was already digging in the fridge, looking for ice-tea. 

Gold sat down on one of the high chairs, and leaned his elbows on the kitchen counter, taking Belle in and all her beauty, also knowing full well she would not be able to reach. He had put the ice-tea on a high shelf, to stop her from drinking so much as he was sure she was addicted.

He loved the way she had to go right onto her tiptoes to reach the top of the fridge, but still not being tall enough, nearly her whole head inside of it.

Feeling bad that he'd but it so high, he slid round her and reached up,

"Let me get that for you," he said, picking up the ice-tea and handing it to Belle. 

"Thank you," she smiled, "why do we always put it on the highest shelf?" she laughed looking up at him.

"Because, someone is getting a little addicted..." Gold confessed chuckling and raising his eyebrows.

"Am not!" Belle opened her mouth wide in denial. 

"Deny it as much as you want, but we literally clear Sneezy's shop of it every single week darling!" he brushed her hair behind her ears.

"I like it okay!! And, and i went so many years without it even existing in the Enchanted Forest!" She tried to justify it. 

"Oh is that right? Simply making up for lost time then?" He smiled and shook his head.

"Exactly! Now, excuse me, I am going to take my ice-tea and run myself a lovely bath," she said, kissing his cheek before sliding past him and making her way up the stairs. 

Gold laughed and shook his head, watching her disappear through the door. 

How did he get so lucky?

He heard the bath taps running and decided that this would be a good time to get some work done, so he slipped on his reading glasses and made his way to his study. There were quite a number of things he needed to do for the shop, such as checking his records were up to date, also he needed to make sure that the villagers of Storybrooke had all paid their recent tax bill. 

As Gold started his work, Belle upstairs filled the bath high and poured in lots of bath oils to make bubbles. She also placed candles around the edges of the bath and lit them very carefully, switching off the main light to create the cosy atmosphere. She smiled and looked at the very inviting bath, the glow of the candles illuminating her face, making her look more beautiful than ever.

Gold was muttering away to himself, when Belle, called from upstairs. Gold dropped everything he was doing and immediately raced up the stairs to see if she was alright. He ran into the bedroom, expecting to find her there, but started to panic more when she wasn't.

"Belle? Belle whats-"

He ran into the bathroom and his words were cut off as his eyes found her. 

"Care to join me?" 

And there she was, led in the bath, all of her covered in bubbles except her chest and upwards. She looked beautiful, he thought, the candles aren't the only things that are glowing. Her curls were piled on top of her head in which she called a 'messy bun', with a few strands escaping out, curling around the sides of her face and down her neck, slightly damp from the heat of the water.

"I thought you were in trouble," Rumple sighed, un-doing his tie, eager to get in.

"No no, the complete opposite actually," Belle answered, smiling at him as he un-dressed and slipped in opposite her.

She smiled and leaned forward,

"Sorry I worried you," she said, her heart about to burst at the thought of him caring for her so much.

She kissed him on the mouth and his lips readily accept and happily reciprocated. 

"Now, you can read your paper as you forgot this morning, whilst I start my new book," she said a-matter-of-factly, reaching to the side and passing Gold his newspaper.

Gold frowned a little, but with a smirked smile on his face.

"Surely there are, other, things we could be doing, my love..." he said teasingly. 

Belle pretending not to know what he was talking about, opened her book wide and replied with a, "oh yeh mhh, like what?" 

She knew that this really made Gold want her. And he did, oh he did.

"I, uh, i think you know," he said, edging closer to her.

She still playfully ignored him, but shut her book.

"Oh yes, I know exactly what you mean, how silly of me, i need to finish the last book i was reading instead of starting a new one!" She said, still teasing him even more.

As she placed her other book on the side and reached for the other, not being able to take it any longer, Gold reach forward and pulled her arms back into the bath and her body closer to his, getting them both covered in bubbles.

The sound of Belle's laughter made little ripples go through Rumple. Hand on his heart, it was his favourite sound. Especially if he was the reason why she was laughing so hard. 

Now they were face to face, both laughing with the other, bubbles spilling over the side of the bath and covering some of Belle's face. Smiling, Gold gently wiped it away before it could run into her eyes, but he kept his hand their afterwards.

For the second time that evening, he asked himself how he had gotten so lucky. The most beautiful woman in the world, in all the worlds, sat right here, in front of him. In his world, in his town, in his home, in his bath. 

"...I am the luckiest man alive..." he said quietly, not realising he was speaking out loud.

Belle cocked her head slowly, her laugh turning into not only smiling softly with her mouth, but with her eyes as they filled with only love and devotion for her Rumple. 

She stared into his eyes and sighed, "I am the lucky one here," she said softly, brushing his cheek with her own hand, leaving it placed on his cheek, brushing it gently with her thumb. 

His other hand came up and placed it on the wrist of her hand on his cheek, clasping it, turning his head a little to kiss her palm lovingly. 

They stayed that way for a while, caressing each other softly, before Belle spoke,

"So, that thing, you said we could be doing, what was it?" she winked, before Gold leaned over her, making her lie backwards, her head leant on the rim of the bath. 

His hands travelled up her body, and his lips onto hers. Her hands were sliding up his waist so that her arms then were able to wrap around his back, kissing him all the while...