Archive of Our Own ^beta

Reunion

The hearing had gone smoothly, and the girl Gold had been so concerned with had been declared competent and released from confinement. He had not told her why this young woman, Annabelle Tremier, should be the recipient of the favor she owed him, but Emma Swan was convinced that she had also been the reason Moe French spent a month in the Storybrook hospital back in February. During her conversations with Gold he had been clear that he did not believe she would wish to see him, that he would not be attending her hearing, but he expected a call from Emma the second the ruling was handed down.

Annabelle heard her side of the conversation on her cell phone and had insisted that the Sheriff tell her about her benefactor.

Since he had not specifically forbidden her to do so, Emma told her that it was Mr. Gold who had asked her to arrange the evaluation with Archie Hopper and petition the court for a competency hearing so that she could be released.

When Annabelle inquired as to why Emma should do Gold’s bidding in this, Emma had said simply that she owed him a favor. This had prompted the young woman to ask Emma to take her to the pawnbroker’s shop immediately and the sheriff had agreed, wondering briefly if Gold would be upset with her for this and deciding that she didn’t care. She owed the man a favor and her debt had been paid… and if he didn’t happen to like the way she went about it, so much the better.

When Belle reached the pawn shop, the sign read closed, but she could see the light on in the back through the shop window. She tried the knob and found that it turned easily in her hand. Pushing the door open, she walked in with what she hoped looked like more assurance than she actually felt. She stopped in the middle of the shop, planting herself firmly and drawing in a deep breath. She allowed her eyes to close for a moment, gathering her courage, and opened them slowly as she released the air she had drawn into her lungs.

“Rumplestiltskin!”

Her voice rang out in the empty shop, sounding far stronger than she’d had any reason to believe that it might.

Gold was sitting at his workbench when he heard her call his name… his real  name. So she did remember then. He had known she was there, of course, had heard the door when she came in and realized immediately that it could be no other. He’d wanted desperately to get up and go to her then, but for his life he could not seem to make himself rise. He had treated her horribly and had 28 long years to regret it. Was that not punishment enough without seeing the accusation and resentment that would surely be there in her lovely eyes? He hated himself for what he had done to her, the fate he had left her to. Must he see that she hated him as well? But then he heard her, his lost love, call his name and there was no choice but to go to her.

Her breath caught in her throat when she saw him. Her love. She wanted nothing so much as to run to him and throw herself into his arms, but she feared his response to such a display. Instead, she forced herself to stay where she was, taking in the sight of her beloved in human form. It took a moment to adjust, but she quickly found her former master in this Mr. Gold and worked to hold back the tears that threatened to spill onto her flushed cheeks.

For his part, Gold felt his chest tighten at the sight of her. His Belle stood alive in front of him after all the long years of believing her lost to him forever. He searched her eyes, afraid of what he would find there, and the softest of whispers escaped him.

“Belle. Forgive me.”

He was so certain that she could never forgive his cowardice and cruelty, yet here he stood asking the impossible. He so desperately wanted to believe that he might be granted the second chance he did not deserve.

He asked for her forgiveness, which was a wonder in itself, but she could see that he expected to be denied. She allowed a smile to curl along her lips and cocked her head to one side in mock appraisal.

“I’ll make you a deal, Rumplestiltskin.”

“A deal?” His Belle was smiling, and he felt his own lips curl in response in spite of the fear that still gripped him. “What are your terms?”

She assumed a serious demeanor, pulling herself up a little straighter and locking her eyes onto his.

“I shall grant you my forgiveness… but I want something in return.”

She could forgive him the wrongs he had done her? The smallest flicker of hope blossomed and his heart fluttered in his chest.

“Anything,” he breathed. “Name your price.”

She moved toward him then, placing herself in front of him and reaching a hand up to rest along his cheek.

“A kiss,” she whispered.

It took him a moment to understand what she had said. Could it really be so simple? Could this perfect creature want him still?

“A kiss?”

“Yes. True love’s kiss is my price.”

“Then the deal is struck.”

Relief flooded through him as he took her face in his hands and brought his mouth down over hers, claiming her lips in a long, slow kiss. He felt her arms wrap around his neck and brought his own to circle her waist, pulling her tight against him.

After a moment she pulled back to look into his eyes, her own shining with unshed tears.

“That wasn’t so bad, was it?” she teased.

His Belle. He looked down at her with a mischievous grin that was so much like the Rumplestiltskin she had known that for a moment she swore she saw a flash of gold along his cheek.

“I’ll get used to it,” he murmured as he leaned in to capture her lips in another kiss.