This is so weird.
Like is telepathy a thing? If I think about something, does it somehow make other people notice it?
You anon have perfect timing, you are right on the money – there WILL be more In Your Arms, this month in fact!
I don’t want to spoil the fic but I think I can safely say that a) all your questions will be answered and b) there will be a happy ending – when do I not? 🙂
I’d like nothing more. It’s a perfect dream. A life with Belle? Coming home, sleeping beside her every night, being a family? That would make me the luckiest man alive but … my head and heart say different things. I love Belle, and she loves me, I don’t understand why but I believe her.
Loving me will bring her nothing but pain and hardship but I can’t push her away for her own good, because Belle is like a shining light and it would be like saying I know better than she does and I don’t. The decision will always be hers. She deserves better than me. I want a life with her desperately but I also want her to be happy. I don’t know what to do.
It’s probably also too soon. We haven’t been dating that long after all and decisions made in haste are often mistakes. It may feel right now but when reality bites? I don’t dare broach the subject but I’ll try to tell Belle all of this if she asks. I don’t have anything to offer her, so the least I can do is be honest.
Gold: *mumbles something indistinct*
Belle: It’s definitely our place. It’s comfy, and cozy, there is something particularly safe and reassuring about it. We haven’t used it again since our first night together. I don’t want it to lose it’s effect if we use it too often.
(Gold’s eyes dart nervously over to Belle. He’s sweating and turned pale.)
Belle: *whispers* I suspect we’ll be using it again soon. We don’t need to rush into anything but I think we’d both be more secure with a general roadmap about where we’re heading.
Gold: *coughs* Neal is having a sleepover at the Nolan’s next weekend.
Belle: Then it’s a date!
Stunned. Shocked. Overawed. Amazed. Incredibly grateful.
The night didn’t go at all how I thought it would. Belle was … there are no words for how she made me feel.
Accepted. I felt accepted and unbelievably loved.
Me! Accepted and loved? I know, it’s unbelievable. What is even more unbelievable is that Belle has hinted that she wouldn’t be adverse to another night together. The words want to burst out, I long to just beg her to stay forever but one good night, and a few declarations of love, doesn’t mean she’d want to be chained to me permanently.
Perhaps when Neal next has a sleepover with the Nolan’s, Belle could visit again. If she still wants to of course…
(OOC last week of April this verse is getting an update. You will be able to see how Belle and Gold are getting on)
Belle: So am I still your favorite customer?
Gold: Always *shrugs* work is work, there’s not really much to say. *whispers* knowing I’ll see Belle does make the days easier, it’s something to look forward to and happiness breeds happiness. I am finding I’m more relaxed because of it but don’t tell her that.
Belle: Don’t tell me what?
Gold: That David is still teasing me about our first kiss.
Belle: *blushes* I’m sorry
Gold: *smiles softly at her* Why? I’m not.
(OOC: Finding young Bae/Neal gifs is really hard, my apologies. Also I love this story as well! I really want to add to it one day.)
I like Belle, she’s nice! I wish she could stay always. She makes everything better. When she comes for dinner it’s the best! She plays games with me, and she reads to me. She even does voices! Papa smiles a lot more too and I like that. Aunty Mal says Papa is a lucky dog *wrinkles nose* does that mean we’re getting a dog?
Yeah I thought that might have been the case. Well, alright I hoped that was the case. There was always doubt in my mind, that maybe he just thought of me as a friend and that stopped me from saying anything. I didn’t want to ruin what we had by trying for more if he didn’t feel the same. So much for ‘doing the brave thing’ *sigh*
I don’t have very many friends and I didn’t want to lose him if I’d misread the situation, no matter how almost certain I was. After the night we spent together, I was going to say something but then I didn’t have to because he said it first. Nobody was paying any attention to us and then I caused a spectacle by kissing him, but I just couldn’t want a second longer. I was so happy and I wanted him to know I felt the same.
OOC: *happy dance* thank you so much for sending in an ask for this fic! 🙂
Synopsis: Retired soldier
and single father Gold works at a coffee shop library. Plagued by nightmares of
the war he’s quiet, only interacting with customers when necessary. His
favorite customer is Belle, who comes in a couple of times a week. Her smile is
as bright as the sun. One day she comes in upset and for a moment he is brave
enough to ask her what is wrong.Note: I’m a bit confused about the posting day for this exchange. I read initially it was September 1st, then there was an updated post that said August 31st, and now I just don’t know. So if I’m early then I apologize but I guess that’s better than being late.
There were no prompts given for this gift exchange. However, I asked @britishkitten27 what they would like
and they said “Rumple is my favorite character on the show, and Mr. Gold,
spinner!Rumple and soldier!Rumple are my favorite iterations of the character.
I like a bit of hurt/comfort, personally, especially if we’re talking Rumbelle.
Anything with Rumple being as woobie as possible and I do love Ruby, Archie and
Doctor Whale.”I took it from there
and came up with this fic. For anyone that follows me, this is the blanket fort fic I’ve mentioned a few times 🙂 I love this fic a crazy stupid amount, so I hope you guys enjoy it!Warning: Deals with loss of a parent.
“All hopes of eternity and all gain from the past
he would have given to have her there, to be wrapped warm with him in one
blanket, and sleep, only sleep. It seemed the sleep with the woman in his arms
was the only necessity.”
– Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D.H. LawrenceJamie Gold
scurried around, in between the tables of the coffee shop at the library where
he worked. Originally it had just been a library, that had survived on
donations and grants from the city. However, all libraries had to double as social
centers these days or they couldn’t survive, hence the addition of the coffee
shop.This library
was small, family owned and had become quite the focal point of the community.
It’s family-first policy was the only reason he got the job. David Nolan, the
manager, had looked past his cane and given him a chance. Gold had sworn at the
time to not cause him to regret it. He’d now been working there two years, the
longest he had kept a job since his discharge from the army.That was beautiful! I loved Neal asking why he can’t have a sleepover with Emma! The quote was beautiful and I loved the ending!
Thanks! Yeah, well Neal is six, so child logic. Maybe in a few months/year or so if Belle and Gold move in together, then Neal can have a sleepover at his house, there would be no argument against it then. I actually found the quotes by doing the exact same thing Gold did. I’m glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Beautiful and heart warming. How sweet and how brave to read that quote in public! The Block gave me the eebie jeebies, hope they escape soon.
I think if Gold had thought about it, then he wouldn’t have done it in public but it was a “I have to do it now because otherwise I never will” type leap of faith. Besides, up until the kiss, nobody was really paying them any attention. They were just talking to one another, he was reading – it’s a library.
Yeah The Block isn’t great but it’s the only place Gold can afford on his salary. If things between Belle and Gold work out, then they can move into somewhere else, because there would be two salaries for rent/bills etc. Like how Belle shares with Ruby at the moment and they have a nicer place. So an escape is certainly possible. Thanks for commenting! I’m glad you enjoyed it 🙂
I’ve wanted a Jamie Gold for forever; I hope that Belle can make him like his name again. The bit about him biting his own hand to silence his screams was awful, and really conveyed the horribleness of the place he was in mentally. And Neal accusingly demanding why couldn’t he have a sleepover with Emma was adorable. Hopefully in a year’s time they’ll all be in a better place both physically and emotionally.
Yeah I really want to write a follow-up to this, maybe showing what happens in a years time. It would probably be pure fluff unless I made it a longer piece in which case reality would intrude around the happy moment. I’m glad you liked it! Thanks for commenting 🙂