Beautiful Lily

Another early morning

"I have something wonderful to tell you..."

"I know about Zelena... I know that you're lying to me about the dagger..."

"Now I have to pay the price..."

For the past three weeks Rumplestiltskin found himself waking up every morning abruptly. At first he thought it was his guilt convincing him to tell the truth, but the visions were occurring every morning; each one more vivid than the previous one. Something was happening. Belle already knew about his dagger. She had found out about it on her own. He laid there in their bed and found himself staring up at the ceiling. He couldn't sleep. He looked over at the face clock by the side of his bed.

5:26 a.m.

Another early morning, he thought to himself. He turned over to Belle's sleeping body and kissed her gently on the shoulder. He got out of bed and showered. Seeing that it was still very early he got himself ready for work and dressed himself in one of his well-pressed suits. He then went downstairs continuing his morning ritual preparing breakfast for the two of them. He entered the kitchen and with a flick of his wrist the coffee pot immediately sprung into life making coffee. He went to the fridge and opened the door picking out all the materials for another glorious breakfast.

Belle opened her eyes waking to the combined smell of coffee and eggs. She knew that Rumple was a light sleeper, but ever since their honeymoon, he was always awake before her. Although the smell of breakfast was a delightful surprise each morning, it did make her long for the days of their honeymoon when she would wake with him beside her. When she thought about it some more, she realized that she never really saw him sleep. It was as if he was always awake. She was the first of the two to fall asleep and he was coincidentally always the one to greet her when she woke. All of sudden, her stomach grumbled and she promptly got out of bed and sought out her husband downstairs.

When she rounded the corner to look in the kitchen she saw Rumple already eating breakfast. He stood over at the stove leaning against the counter reading the town's newspaper drinking coffee. The stove had extra counter top space that contained two bar stools in front of it. On that counter he neatly displayed her breakfast. Scrambled eggs with diced avocado, strawberries, pancakes and orange juice awaited her consumption. She took the stool at the bar and sat across from where he stood. "Good morning," he said sweetly.

"Good morning. Another restless night I gather. Are you sleeping ok?"

"I am sleeping," he answered taking another swig of his coffee mug before setting it down. He continued glimpsing at the newspaper one last time before setting it down as well. She took note of his reply, realizing that is was only a statement; it neither confirmed nor denied her observation. She figured he simply didn't want her to worry.

"I've always been a light sleeper. This curse, being the Dark One, has never allowed me to sleep well."

"I imagine," she began to say, stabbing the scrambled eggs on her plate with her fork, "that it must have been very alarming when you discovered that happening to you."

"At first, among the many other circumstances that were happening to me at the time, but over time I got use to it."

"Is there any more juice left?" She asked after downing the one glass in just seconds.

"I'll get some more on the way home."

"That's ok," she said attempting to get up from the stool, "I'll just make myself some..."

"tea?" he said, placing a hot cup of tea that was behind him in front of her. It seemed a little too coincidental for him to conveniently have a cup of tea waiting for her behind him.

"Magic. Really?" she eyed him with suspicion. She sat back down and accepted the cup of tea he offered.

"No," he said with a smile, "I just know how you love your tea every morning."

He turned away from her for a moment, rinsing out his finished mug and placed it in the dishwasher. Belle felt silly over the little accusation.

"So," Belle began, taking a sip of her non-magical tea, "I'm nearly done with stocking and organizing all the books in the library."

"And that's good, right?"

She delicately placed her cup down and began using her fork to cut into her pancakes, "No, it's not good. It means that there's nobody coming in and checking out books."

"Ah," he said recognizing her dilemma. He walked around the stove and met her on the other side of the counter.

Belle chewed on a few bites, contemplating on her issue. "If I can... somehow, get the word out there... maybe get the community involved..."

"Why don't you start a book club?" suggested Rumplestiltskin as he threw on his suit jacket that hung on the dining chair behind her.

"That," she said spinning in her seat, "is brilliant!" Her face lit up like a light bulb, excited over the new direction and potential role the library could have in the community. She got up from her stool and got closer to her husband. Before he was able to button his jacket, she snuck in her arms and wrapped them around his torso. "Thank you," she said grinning ear to ear. She leaned her head on his shoulder and they hugged each other tightly. She could smell the cologne he was wearing and found it, not only stronger than usual, but quite intoxicating.

"That one was free," he said humorously. Belle pulled away from him to look at his joking face. "Next one's gonna cost ya," Rumple said grinning mischievously.

"Come here," she smirked, pulling down on her husband's jacket. Their faces met and they kissed affectionately.

"This'll do," was all he could say while their faces stayed glued together. They kissed until their cheeks and noses were flushed. They didn't want to admit it out loud in fear of jinxing it, but this was the longest happy streak they had experienced in a long time. Was this what 'Happily Ever After' felt like? How long could they make this last? They weren't home, but they were Home. And Home was wherever they were, in this land or the next. Henry was safe, the town wasn't imploding, nobody sought retribution, it was for the most part peaceful. They pulled away from the joyous kiss and hugged each other tenderly. "How did I marry such a beautiful person?" she asked rhetorically.

"I ask myself the same question every day," he smiled more sincerely.