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“Wow, you sure like iced tea huh?”
Ruby smiled down at Belle with a kind face, while clearing her empty glass to replace it with a new, full and refreshing one.
“Oh yes, it’s amazing! I never had anything like it in our land,” Belle exclaimed.
It was her first time in Granny’s - Rumplestiltskin had been busy in the basement all morning, and she had decided it was time to see the town on her own. From what he’d mentioned the night before, she knew Rumple wasn’t exactly a favourite customer at Granny’s, and had assumed (correctly, from when she asked him) that he wouldn’t want to go with her unless completely necessary.
“I’ve never seen you here before, are you new to town?” Ruby asked, wondering where she could have been eating for the last 28 years if not at Granny’s.
“Oh I’ve been a...kept woman until recently,” Belle replied with a chortle. That was an understatement, but now was not the time to explain the Queen’s prison; castle or otherwise.
“Well it’s nice to meet you anyway. I’m Ruby.” Her smile was so wide, Belle was afraid her jaw would cramp; but it was nice to have a welcoming face in a new environment.
“It’s nice to meet you too. I’m Belle, by the way.”
“You know, I have to get back to work, but if you wanted to come sit at the counter we could keep talking?” Ruby asked kindly. “You don’t have to!” She backtracked, “It just might be nice to have a friend in a new place.”
It seemed Ruby could read her mind, Belle thought, as she responded by grabbing her jumper and iced tea to bring to the counter. Belle found a seat, while Ruby made her way around the counter to man the coffee machine. Finding it chilly, Belle brought back out the jumper she had picked up from the house that morning, pulling it onto her body to shelter her shoulders from the cold.
“Cute jumper… a bit big for you don’t you think?” Ruby asked as she turned back to Belle from making not very appetising looking cappuccino.
“Yeah… it’s uh, it’s not mine,” Belle replied awkwardly, feeling the jumper engulf her small body as she wrapped it tighter around herself.
“Ah, I see. A boyfriend’s?”
“No...yes. Honestly I’ve never called him that before, but I suppose the title fits,” Belle laughed slightly at the word ‘boyfriend’ referring to the most powerful man in all the realms. The Dark One was her boyfriend.
“Oooh, anyone I know?” Ruby leaned forward on the counter towards her, as if that would make the space more private.
“Ummmm… You probably know him, yes.”
Just as Belle was deliberating telling Ruby just who her ‘boyfriend’ was, she glanced out the window to see the man himself walking up to the diner. He must’ve known that’s where she would be after disappearing from their now shared home.
It seemed, though, just as Belle noticed the approach of Rumpelstiltskin, so did the others in the diner. She heard the chatter fade out, and felt customer's’ eyes go immediately to their food, trying to avoid any sort of eye contact which might in turn raise their rent. The curse may be broken but he was still their landlord; and just as ruthless as he had been before. Ruby went stiff in front of her, taking on a defensive stance, as he entered the diner.
“What are you doing here, it’s not rent day?” Ruby basically snapped at Rumple. Belle felt a small wave of anger hit her. Nobody should talk to her boyfriend like that. But she knew this was how it was, and how it would always be. The Dark One will always be treated as an outsider.
Though it didn’t help that he always responded to such treatment like a dickhead.
“Did Granny really think it was a good idea to have you work a coffee machine? For one you might malt wolf hair into all the drinks, but also aren’t those machines quite tricky to work well? And you’re, how do I put this delicately?.....Dumb.”
Belle rolled her eyes at the comment, but could see the rage in Ruby’s eyes swell as she prepared to throw back a retort, but before she could, Belle decided to interject.
“That’s enough.”
There was a collective gasp as the vicinity of the diner turned to Belle, to see what brave girl had stood up to the monster of Storybrooke. Ruby looked at Belle in shock, and fear, as if to tell the girl that she should not have done what she did, that she didn’t know who this man was. Little did they know.
“Stop getting your feathers in a twist and come sit, you’re all tense.” Belle lightly yet decisively tapped the stool next to her. Rumple looked a little out of sorts, not sure if he should make a scene to keep his reputation, or do what he wanted, and keep his Belle happy.
Belle made the decision for him.
“Sit, Rumple.”
The silence in the room almost echoed, as the Dark One made his way over to the little maid, and the stool she offered. He gently sat beside her, before turning to glare at the rest of the diner until they went back to their own business.
Ruby looked at Belle in shock but seemed only able to ask one question.
“Rumple? Really?”
Belle started to blush until she heard Rumple’s reply.
“Yes, well, ‘Rumplestiltskin’ is a bit long to call out during orgasm,” he smirked.
“Oh my god. Would you please stop antagonising the poor girl, and drink your tea?” Belle basically ordered him, her face now a beaming lobster red, pushing the iced tea she’d ordered earlier towards him.
“That’s not mine.”
“So?”
“It’s your tea.”
“Why does that matter?”
“I can get my own tea.”
“What’s wrong with my tea? Do you think you’ll get cooties?”
“Well, no but-”
“Is the Dark One scared of getting cooties?”
“Of course not.”
“So why not drink the tea?”
“Because it’s not my tea, it’s your tea.”
“Rumple just tell me, do you want tea?”
“Yes.”
“Then drink the damn tea.”
“Yes, dear.” He sighed, taking the glass from the counter, while Belle turned back to Ruby with a smug smile on her face. With a deal maker, and manipulator of words as a boyfriend, she had to take pride in the little wins; even petty bickering over tea.
Ruby was just staring at her when Belle looked back at her. She remembered the girl had never seen her and Rumplestiltskin together before, let alone seen one of their bickering sessions. Ruby had probably never seen Rumplestiltskin bicker about anything with anyone before. It was distinctly domestic, which reminded Belle of the new word she had learned to use earlier that day.
“Ruby and I were saying, Rumple, that although I’ve never used the word before, you’re basically my boyfriend.”
The sorcerer coughed on the tea his girlfriend had given him, before looking up at her. He decided to ignore Ruby’s snickering in the background, and focused on his Belle.
“Boyfriend sounds a bit… childish to me, Belle.” He admitted, half teasingly.
“But you do what a boyfriend does, do you not? You cook me breakfast in the morning, and pay me compliments, and kiss me, and have me read to you while you spin, and cuddle me and brush my hair. Must I go on, or would you rather I ruin your reputation by discussing what spoon you like to be here in public?”
If he wanted to tease, he would get teased right back, tenfold. He’d learned that long ago, and yet, he made the rookie mistake of inviting a teasing match to unfold, in the middle of Granny’s. If he was honest, he was a bit disappointed in himself. But not in Belle, never in Belle. Her eyes lit up with joy at the opportunity to poke fun at him, knowing she was the only one who could get away with it.
“That may be true, but I’m also quite a few centuries older than you, so ‘boyfriend’ just seems out of sorts. Tell me Ruby,” he turned to her. “What do they call relationships where a young beautiful woman is with a rich, powerful older man?”
“Are you calling me a gold digger?”
“Well if you are one, you’re certainly not good at it. The whole point in that is to get the fortune in the guy’s will.”
“Shit. I forgot you’re immortal.”
“Stuck with me, sweetheart,” he chuckled at her response.
“So what would you call us then? Partners?”
He made a face.
“Soulmates?” She asked dramatically, bringing a hand to her heart.
He laughed but shook his head no.
“Lovers?” Her voice lowered to a sultry tone, though her eyes were still teasing as she took hold of his tie to pull him closer. He shook his head again, and she dramatically let go of his tie, and leant away from him.
“So what is it then?” She asked, exasperated and giggling.
“I guess we’ll just have to find one along the way.”
Belle smiled sweetly at him, before noticing his glass was empty but for melting ice cubes mounted at the bottom of the vessel.
“Are you finished with your tea?”
“Indeed I am. Thank you for giving it to me.” He pushed the glass towards where Ruby was standing, watching curiously as the two exchanged words and animated gestures.
“Shall we?” Rumplestiltskin was up from his stool, hand extended as if to offer a dance to a lady at a ball. Belle gracefully placed her hand in his, rising from her own seat before thanking Ruby for the tea and the company; along with a promise to be back soon.
The two exited the diner, arm in arm, as the people inside the diner looked on, awestruck.
My God, Ruby thought. They’re made for each other.