Once Upon a Time 1. Things to do

Winter Wonderland

Rumplestiltskin always won. It was a fact of life; people didn't argue with him, or get the better of him. They might try; in fact, he expected it. But they didn't win. So why was it that right now he couldn't seem to win at all? Probably a great deal of it had to do with who was getting the better of him. It seemed a simple enough thing, all he wanted was his beautiful Belle to marry him immediately if not sooner. She had agreed at the Midsummer Ball, accepted his proposal in front of everyone. At the time they thought they would have plenty of time to plan. They had more or less agreed to some time in spring, the traditional time for marriages back home. She had started to look at dresses; decided a few things, it was early days yet. They weren't planning a big wedding, but his Belle was so popular and he was so...well, he wasn't hated, which was more than he had been before.

Then everything changed. Belle was pregnant, having his child. He was excited, frightened and overwhelmed, and he wanted her to be his wife now. This wasn't the old world; a woman had freedoms here. It was acceptable for couples to date, to live together and to make love without being married, without even being betrothed. Otherwise they wouldn't be in this situation in the first place. He'd never been able to deny her. Not after all they had gone through to get here, and when she had drawn him to her, well, he hadn't had it in him to resist. It happened in the old world, of course. Any number of betrothals had gone from contract to cleric more suddenly than planned, but it was not as common. He was not that man. Already there were so many things against them, and he didn't want this to be one of them. Belle should have a perfect wedding, not one where she walked down the aisle heavily pregnant with their child.

But while he wanted it tomorrow, Belle wanted to wait until after the winter holidays. He couldn't argue with her, not that there was any point. She reminded him that this was their first winter holiday properly together, something to be celebrated with friends and family, and of course, despite her condition, Belle was right in the middle of it all. It didn't help that, while he knew what to do with an infant, he had been away at war throughout Milah's pregnancy, so this was the first time he had ever lived with a pregnant woman.

Only a week after Thanksgiving he had accompanied her to the hospital where she had been subjected to  
an ultrasound. They had seen a rather blurry and odd looking image that was their baby, while the nurses, doctors and technicians walked very carefully around them. Nervous fathers they could handle, but no one had ever written how to handle this in any manual. He'd been good though, and everyone had come out of it in one piece without violence or accidental transformation. He didn't know exactly what to make of it, but it was nice to be able to see their child. Of course, he knew that she (and it was a she, his magic had told him that) was perfect. How could she not be with Belle for a mother? That he was the father couldn't be too much of a draw back; after all, Bae had turned out better than he could have ever expected. Still she was tired, and the morning sickness arrived at all times of day, but she was so happy. She exuded happiness and amazed him. Then there was the other side of it. His lovely Belle was having some...interesting reactions to the hormones. Not that they had ever had a less than intense physical relationship, they had too many years to make up for. But recently he only had to look at her for her to turn amorous and he was only to happy to comply (or even to encourage). The Doctor had warned them about that particular effect, causing him to blush for what must be the first time in...well, longer than he cared to count.

He dragged himself away from those thought forcefully before he went down to the library and did something that he was pretty certain would result in him losing his library card at the least, and being banned from his lovely wife's place of work all together, those thoughts could wait til tonight. Still, he spent more time that was probably healthy worrying, about her, about the baby, about...actually about everything. But top priority right at the moment was getting their wedding planned, while trying to put up with all this...holiday stuff. Mostly he was leaving that stuff up to Belle, helping her with the heavy lifting so she didn't hurt herself, but letting her make all the planning decisions. At least planning didn't require climbing any ladders. Instead he tried to look at the list of things for the wedding he wanted to accomplish. It should be easy enough to get flowers taken care of when his prospective father in law was the only florist in town, but the relationship there was...unpredictable.

Maurice French had just settled down to accept that his beloved only daughter was marrying the last person in the world he would have chosen for her when she told him about their current situation. To say he had been under excited would be putting it politely. Belle had invited him over the day after Thanksgiving for a little sit down leftover dinner to tell him the good news (well they both thought it was good news, though Rumplestilskin was still in a state of shock). They had been treading very carefully since the engagement, and to give the man credit, he was trying to act like he didn't think his daughter was making the biggest mistake of her life. Still, finding out that they were having a child had put him in a state.

"You can't," he had stuttered. "It's not possible."

"I assure you it is," Belle told him. "The doctor confirmed it. A spring birth," Belle had told him, smiling at Rumplestiltskin with such warmth that he had been afraid her father would have a heart attack right in front of them.

"You, you've done this," he shouted at Rumplestiltskin. "You took my daughter and now you've ruined her. Probably part of some evil plan to keep her chained to you. You're not even human; how is it possible?"

"Father," Belle said sharply. That was enough to get him to quiet for a moment; she never called him Father unless she was upset. "He didn't do anything," she started. He thought about saying something for a moment, but there was really nothing he could say that would make the moment less than awkward.

"You mean he isn't the father? Because otherwise..."

"Yes, no, I mean, of course he's the father, but he didn't..." She trailed off as she realised that there was no way of saying anything that wasn't going to make it worse.

"Do you even know if this...if it's going to be human?" he said. His tone only made Belle angrier, and Runmplestiltskin had stepped in to calm her down. Not that he hadn't been angry; it had taken a hefty loan on his three hundred years back log of self control not to throw the man bodily from his home just for upsetting her. But either Rumplestiltskin's tone had shown him how close he was to ending up something slimy in the back garden or he realised how close he came to shutting his daughter out of his life for good. He calmed down, and while he wasn't happy, and probably never would be (though Belle was certain once he saw his grandchild he would change his mind), he had at least accepted that nothing he did would change things. Grudgingly, he had accepted her wishes to be a mother, and Rumplestiltskin's reassurance that while he might not be as completely human as he once was, the fact that this child existed was proof that he was close enough.

If anything had come out of the conversation, at least Moe was on his side when it came to the wedding. He was all for his daughter marrying as soon as possible, preferably before the entire town knew what happened. Having a daughter pregnant out of wedlock was probably more of a shame than having her wed to the most feared sorcerer in all the kingdoms at home. But it didn't make a good basis for a working relationship. Before the old florist left, he had taken Rumplestiltskin aside for a few words about what had and had not been in the contract that his daughter had agreed to when they made their deal. His reassurance that nothing had happened between them before they came to this world nor until after the curse had broken only seemed to mollify him somewhat. Still, he had forced himself to tell Maurice that he loved Belle, and had done since before the curse had fallen. That seemed to, if not reassure him, at least lessen the man's anger.

"I'm not happy; you are old enough to be her father," he told him as Rumplestiltskin was showing him out.

"Dearie, I'm old enough to be YOUR great grandfather at least, but unfortunately true love is a magic even I can do nothing about." For some reason, the revelation about his age actually seemed to calm the man even more, or perhaps he was just accepting that there was little to be done about them at last. Still, it didn't make calling him to talk about wedding flowers any easier.

Maybe he should start with finding someone to marry them? There were any number of people who could officiate at their wedding in a way that would make it binding in both worlds. The blue fairy was the obvious choice for a lot of people. He had settled some of his differences with her. She had actually sought him out to apologise after Bae came back; telling them both that she knew he would never go through the portal; it was something about fairy magic and destiny that he took to mean a little bit of seer power that was probably as useful as his own. However he still wasn't comfortable with the bloody fairies, even while he was forced to work with her trying to find a way to get them home. Prince Charming was also a valid choice and more likely to agree than any of the others he could think of right off the bat. Adding in family ties that were only chaffing a little, and he was willing to ask the man to do it. He was looking at his phone, trying to decide whether a call to Charming or a trip to the florist shop was the best use of his time, when the doorbell rang.

"Prince...er...David," Rumplestilskin said, opening the door to see the Prince he had just been thinking of calling standing on his doorstep. The Prince had been trying to get him to be less formal when it was just the two of them, especially as he wasn't all that thrilled that the town had taken up Snow White's pet name for him. Unfortunately James hadn't suited him any better since it hadn't really been his own name but rather that of his dead (not to mention unknown and definitely unloved) brother. He had asked the sorcerer to call him by the name he was accustomed to, especially, as he put it, since now they were family. Gah, this town doesn't have family trees, it has family strangling vines, he thought a little bitterly, but tried to smile. "To what do I owe this visit? I'm afraid if it is about plans for the holidays, you'll need Belle."

"No, no," he said distractedly, shaking Rumplestiltskin's hand and making his way into the foyer of the pink house. "Not exactly anyway. I...that is...Snow wanted to ask you something and, well, I got deputized. I looked for you in town but the shop was closed."

Rumplestiltskin directed the prince into the living room where he had been sitting before the fire. The man looked a little nervous, and he sighed internally, wondering what trouble exactly the princess wanted him to save them from this time. He hoped it wasn't a change of location for the holiday dinner. They had agreed to a small party at his house (by they, he meant that Belle had agreed and he hadn't disagreed with her), but put his foot down on hosting the actual Christmas dinner considering Belle's condition. He didn't want her tiring herself. The Charming house was more or less finished, and they were moved in. Besides, as far as he could see, Snow was looking forward to showing off their new home. "I had some things to do today, and there was a bus full of those tourists coming into town today, so..." he shrugged and the Prince nodded. Gold's Pawn and Antique shop was something of an attraction for the sort of people that came on those jaunts, and they both knew what an annoyance it was to him.

"Yes, I know that this is the side effect of us being open to the world, but sometimes I wish..."

"That we still lived in a shielded bubble?"

"Pretty much, but..." David shrugged and the older man just nodded as they took seats before the fire.

"Drink?" he offered, as he rose to pour himself a scotch. The prince being so visibly uncomfortable while visiting meant that whatever he was about to be asked, he probably wasn't going to like.

"No... nothing, thanks. I can't stop long, I just..." Rumplestiltskin poured himself a large measure. The prince had never been intimidated by his power and the two had been getting on well, so whatever it was, he was betting that it wasn't going to be pleasant.

"What is it? Spit it out, dearie," he said falling back on old patterns out of concern, though he knew it didn't make anyone but Belle and himself feel any better.

"I'm sure you know by now about the parade and carnival for the holiday?" he started carefully. Okay, so nothing to do with threats or danger, Rumplestiltskin relaxed just a little. Probably just needed him to lend his hand to do something, well, not that unpleasant, surely, but not enough for this level of nervousness. The town was still trying to sort between traditions of their old world and this new world's 'Christmas' holidays. He'd read up on them. Many of them were similar to their world, though some just confused him, especially the ones that involved a fat fairy in a suit that went around giving presents by coming down chimneys in in the night. With luck, the only thing he'd ever caught coming down his chimney was a chimney sweep, and he certainly wasn't going to have any truck with male fairies in his house! He could take care of the presents himself. He wouldn't even begin on all the things wrong with those shepherds. But the rest, greenery, food, presents, drinking too much, that was similar enough not to be discomforting, though why the twenty fifth he couldn't fathom.

So Snow and Charming, with the help of Belle and various other town worthies (they had tried to involve him but he had managed to refuse) had sat down and tried to find a way to make things work together. He knew, more or less, that there was a parade, a carnival that would last the day, and a bonfire at night, all pretty much just like home on the night of the solstice. Then there would be the Christmas Eve party, (their house), and Christmas Day dinner (Snow and Charming's house), and finally it would be over, except for some clap trap about celebrating this world's New Year's Day, which fell on a completely arbitrary day that had no astronomical significance at all. Maybe he was just over thinking things, but it seemed right now that this world was annoying him. Why it hadn't annoyed him this much before the curse broke, he didn't know. Maybe it did and he just hadn't thought much about it, since he had spent the holiday time alone, spinning in the basement and dreaming of the days to come. Realising he had drifted off into his own thoughts, he turned back to the Prince. "I have, at least some of it. I am sure you are aware that I'm not much for holidays."

"Yes, I did, but...well, Snow thought..."

Oh, Gods, here it comes; finally, he thought. At least once he had asked, Rumplestiltskin could turn him down politely, then ask him about important things, like marrying him and Belle. Perhaps he wouldn't turn him down flat, actually. Not if he would agree to marry them. After all, where two people both need something, an agreement could always be reached. "...and you are the only one that could really carry it off. I mean, we could hardly ask Marco, or..."

"What?" Rumplestiltskin asked, aware that he had gotten distracted and missed the point. "Repeat that please."

"The winter King," David said, looking confused and not a little concerned. It had been hard enough to ask the first time. The man wondered if this was some special sort of punishment he was being put through.

"Yessss," Rumplestiltskin responded slowly, waving a hand for the young man to continue.

"Snow...well, we would like you to be the Winter King in the town parade," he said, hoping he sounded confident and not as terrified as he thought he sounded.

The Winter King was the archetype of winter, the representation of the old year. In most of the known kingdoms back home the role was filled by the oldest, wisest, or richest (depending on local tradition) man in the village. There would be a mock battle and of course the Prince, archetype of the new Sun, would always win. That part varied much more, being played in some places by a young boy, others by a youth just old enough to grow a beard. It was a simple bit of fun, enjoyed greatly by all concerned, and ended with the young prince being crowned by the queen of the festival. The last part was a bit like a beauty pageant and he remembered vaguely just when Bae was getting to the age to hope for the part, the queen of the festival had been a girl who was a particular friend of his son. Bae had wanted desperately to be the young prince, but hadn't even bothered to try, too afraid that he would succeed or fail to because of who his father was. He knew for a fact that the tradition had changed little over time, and now they wanted to bring it here. Regardless, Rumplestiltskin wasn't particularly interested in doing it. Still he couldn't help but make the young man squirm a bit. "Trying to say something about my age, Dearie?" he said with an exaggerated move of his hands.

"No, not at all, really. But we are a bit short on appropriate men. Marco is too shy, there's Moe, but...well, he just couldn't pull it off, and...well, you have the wisdom?" he finished questioningly.

Rumplestiltskin thought about it for a moment, really thought this time. His first reaction was to turn Charming and his wife down flat, but he did need the man. It would be much easier if he would agree to marry them. Plus, while he hated to admit it, he was the oldest man in town, and if age equalled wisdom...well, he'd never thought of himself as particularly wise but he certainly had made enough mistakes in his life to learn from them. Still, while he had used to love his dramatics, this was not exactly the sort of thing he wanted to do anymore. He knew Belle would probably urge him to do it. While they were neither one as social as say, Snow White, and both completely content with only each other for company, she thought they should participate more. "Who is the Prince?" he asked, just to have something to say.

"Well, there is some question as to whether it will be a Prince, here, honestly. They decided that it could just as easily be a Princess, what with Emma and all," he told him. "And neither Snow, nor any of the others was comfortable with the traditional 'Queen as beauty pageant' aspect, so they just decided that they would put all the names of the children in the school in a hat and pick one for each, I suppose they will have to change the titles a bit."

"Not a Prince? I see their point but still, could be a bit awkward," the older man mused. "Still, it does cut out the usual nepotism and favoritism."

"The Principal is pulling the names, actually probably already did," he said, looking at his watch. "Snow said they were having an assembly this afternoon, so I suppose we will know soon..." Before he could finish, the door bell rang for the second time that afternoon.

"See what you have started?" Rumplestiltskin said, though he was more resigned that angry. After all, there were still very few people who would ring his door bell, especially if they knew Belle wasn't home. He stood and went to answer the door. At least this was someone he genuinely wanted to see, he thought as he opened the door with a smile to his grandson Henry.

"Grandpa, I got it, I was chosen!" the boy said as soon as he opened the door, giving his grandfather hug. "Grandma Snow said I should run right over and tell you, especially since she said that the two of you were together."

"I'm sure she did," he said. He wanted to be suspicious of this turn of events, but he knew Snow and the rest far to well; they just weren't that...sneaky. More likely she sent him along as further leverage against his resisting.

"So are you really going to be the Winter King?" his grandson asked. "I mean, it would be awesome, you know, because you're kind of perfect for it, and with me. It would be fun."

My undoing indeed, Rumplestiltskin thought with a sigh. He had always thought it would involve getting killed in a great battle or losing his power, not turning into an every day man who could be swayed by the entreaties of his fiancee or playing a role in a town pageant to please his grandson.

"Perhaps, we could...make a deal?" he said as he turned to David.

"What do you want?" the Prince said, always cautious of making a deal with Rumplestiltskin. While he knew that the man would always be dangerous, at least at the moment, he thought it was as close to safe as it would get.

"Just something in the nature of a favour."


	2. The Winter King and the Young Prince

Maybe he should start with finding someone to marry them? There were any number of people who could officiate at their wedding in a way that would make it binding in both worlds. The blue fairy was the obvious choice for a lot of people. He had settled some of his differences with her. She had actually sought him out to apologise after Bae came back; telling them both that she knew he would never go through the portal; it was something about fairy magic and destiny that he took to mean a little bit of seer power that was probably as useful as his own. However he still wasn't comfortable with the bloody fairies, even while he was forced to work with her trying to find a way to get them home. Prince Charming was also a valid choice and more likely to agree than any of the others he could think of right off the bat. Adding in family ties that were only chaffing a little, and he was willing to ask the man to do it. He was looking at his phone, trying to decide whether a call to Charming or a trip to the florist shop was the best use of his time, when the doorbell rang.

"Prince...er...David," Rumplestilskin said, opening the door to see the Prince he had just been thinking of calling standing on his doorstep. The Prince had been trying to get him to be less formal when it was just the two of them, especially as he wasn't all that thrilled that the town had taken up Snow White's pet name for him. Unfortunately James hadn't suited him any better since it hadn't really been his own name but rather that of his dead (not to mention unknown and definitely unloved) brother. He had asked the sorcerer to call him by the name he was accustomed to, especially, as he put it, since now they were family. Gah, this town doesn't have family trees, it has family strangling vines, he thought a little bitterly, but tried to smile. "To what do I owe this visit? I'm afraid if it is about plans for the holidays, you'll need Belle."

"No, no," he said distractedly, shaking Rumplestiltskin's hand and making his way into the foyer of the pink house. "Not exactly anyway. I...that is...Snow wanted to ask you something and, well, I got deputized. I looked for you in town but the shop was closed."

Rumplestiltskin directed the prince into the living room where he had been sitting before the fire. The man looked a little nervous, and he sighed internally, wondering what trouble exactly the princess wanted him to save them from this time. He hoped it wasn't a change of location for the holiday dinner. They had agreed to a small party at his house (by they, he meant that Belle had agreed and he hadn't disagreed with her), but put his foot down on hosting the actual Christmas dinner considering Belle's condition. He didn't want her tiring herself. The Charming house was more or less finished, and they were moved in. Besides, as far as he could see, Snow was looking forward to showing off their new home. "I had some things to do today, and there was a bus full of those tourists coming into town today, so..." he shrugged and the Prince nodded. Gold's Pawn and Antique shop was something of an attraction for the sort of people that came on those jaunts, and they both knew what an annoyance it was to him.

"Yes, I know that this is the side effect of us being open to the world, but sometimes I wish..."

"That we still lived in a shielded bubble?"

"Pretty much, but..." David shrugged and the older man just nodded as they took seats before the fire.

"Drink?" he offered, as he rose to pour himself a scotch. The prince being so visibly uncomfortable while visiting meant that whatever he was about to be asked, he probably wasn't going to like.

"No... nothing, thanks. I can't stop long, I just..." Rumplestiltskin poured himself a large measure. The prince had never been intimidated by his power and the two had been getting on well, so whatever it was, he was betting that it wasn't going to be pleasant.

"What is it? Spit it out, dearie," he said falling back on old patterns out of concern, though he knew it didn't make anyone but Belle and himself feel any better.

"I'm sure you know by now about the parade and carnival for the holiday?" he started carefully. Okay, so nothing to do with threats or danger, Rumplestiltskin relaxed just a little. Probably just needed him to lend his hand to do something, well, not that unpleasant, surely, but not enough for this level of nervousness. The town was still trying to sort between traditions of their old world and this new world's 'Christmas' holidays. He'd read up on them. Many of them were similar to their world, though some just confused him, especially the ones that involved a fat fairy in a suit that went around giving presents by coming down chimneys in in the night. With luck, the only thing he'd ever caught coming down his chimney was a chimney sweep, and he certainly wasn't going to have any truck with male fairies in his house! He could take care of the presents himself. He wouldn't even begin on all the things wrong with those shepherds. But the rest, greenery, food, presents, drinking too much, that was similar enough not to be discomforting, though why the twenty fifth he couldn't fathom.

So Snow and Charming, with the help of Belle and various other town worthies (they had tried to involve him but he had managed to refuse) had sat down and tried to find a way to make things work together. He knew, more or less, that there was a parade, a carnival that would last the day, and a bonfire at night, all pretty much just like home on the night of the solstice. Then there would be the Christmas Eve party, (their house), and Christmas Day dinner (Snow and Charming's house), and finally it would be over, except for some clap trap about celebrating this world's New Year's Day, which fell on a completely arbitrary day that had no astronomical significance at all. Maybe he was just over thinking things, but it seemed right now that this world was annoying him. Why it hadn't annoyed him this much before the curse broke, he didn't know. Maybe it did and he just hadn't thought much about it, since he had spent the holiday time alone, spinning in the basement and dreaming of the days to come. Realising he had drifted off into his own thoughts, he turned back to the Prince. "I have, at least some of it. I am sure you are aware that I'm not much for holidays."

"Yes, I did, but...well, Snow thought..."

Oh, Gods, here it comes; finally, he thought. At least once he had asked, Rumplestiltskin could turn him down politely, then ask him about important things, like marrying him and Belle. Perhaps he wouldn't turn him down flat, actually. Not if he would agree to marry them. After all, where two people both need something, an agreement could always be reached. "...and you are the only one that could really carry it off. I mean, we could hardly ask Marco, or..."

"What?" Rumplestiltskin asked, aware that he had gotten distracted and missed the point. "Repeat that please."

"The winter King," David said, looking confused and not a little concerned. It had been hard enough to ask the first time. The man wondered if this was some special sort of punishment he was being put through.

"Yessss," Rumplestiltskin responded slowly, waving a hand for the young man to continue.

"Snow...well, we would like you to be the Winter King in the town parade," he said, hoping he sounded confident and not as terrified as he thought he sounded.

The Winter King was the archetype of winter, the representation of the old year. In most of the known kingdoms back home the role was filled by the oldest, wisest, or richest (depending on local tradition) man in the village. There would be a mock battle and of course the Prince, archetype of the new Sun, would always win. That part varied much more, being played in some places by a young boy, others by a youth just old enough to grow a beard. It was a simple bit of fun, enjoyed greatly by all concerned, and ended with the young prince being crowned by the queen of the festival. The last part was a bit like a beauty pageant and he remembered vaguely just when Bae was getting to the age to hope for the part, the queen of the festival had been a girl who was a particular friend of his son. Bae had wanted desperately to be the young prince, but hadn't even bothered to try, too afraid that he would succeed or fail to because of who his father was. He knew for a fact that the tradition had changed little over time, and now they wanted to bring it here. Regardless, Rumplestiltskin wasn't particularly interested in doing it. Still he couldn't help but make the young man squirm a bit. "Trying to say something about my age, Dearie?" he said with an exaggerated move of his hands.

"No, not at all, really. But we are a bit short on appropriate men. Marco is too shy, there's Moe, but...well, he just couldn't pull it off, and...well, you have the wisdom?" he finished questioningly.

Rumplestiltskin thought about it for a moment, really thought this time. His first reaction was to turn Charming and his wife down flat, but he did need the man. It would be much easier if he would agree to marry them. Plus, while he hated to admit it, he was the oldest man in town, and if age equalled wisdom...well, he'd never thought of himself as particularly wise but he certainly had made enough mistakes in his life to learn from them. Still, while he had used to love his dramatics, this was not exactly the sort of thing he wanted to do anymore. He knew Belle would probably urge him to do it. While they were neither one as social as say, Snow White, and both completely content with only each other for company, she thought they should participate more. "Who is the Prince?" he asked, just to have something to say.

"Well, there is some question as to whether it will be a Prince, here, honestly. They decided that it could just as easily be a Princess, what with Emma and all," he told him. "And neither Snow, nor any of the others was comfortable with the traditional 'Queen as beauty pageant' aspect, so they just decided that they would put all the names of the children in the school in a hat and pick one for each, I suppose they will have to change the titles a bit."

"Not a Prince? I see their point but still, could be a bit awkward," the older man mused. "Still, it does cut out the usual nepotism and favoritism."

"The Principal is pulling the names, actually probably already did," he said, looking at his watch. "Snow said they were having an assembly this afternoon, so I suppose we will know soon..." Before he could finish, the door bell rang for the second time that afternoon.

"See what you have started?" Rumplestiltskin said, though he was more resigned that angry. After all, there were still very few people who would ring his door bell, especially if they knew Belle wasn't home. He stood and went to answer the door. At least this was someone he genuinely wanted to see, he thought as he opened the door with a smile to his grandson Henry.

"Grandpa, I got it, I was chosen!" the boy said as soon as he opened the door, giving his grandfather hug. "Grandma Snow said I should run right over and tell you, especially since she said that the two of you were together."

"I'm sure she did," he said. He wanted to be suspicious of this turn of events, but he knew Snow and the rest far to well; they just weren't that...sneaky. More likely she sent him along as further leverage against his resisting.

"So are you really going to be the Winter King?" his grandson asked. "I mean, it would be awesome, you know, because you're kind of perfect for it, and with me. It would be fun."

My undoing indeed, Rumplestiltskin thought with a sigh. He had always thought it would involve getting killed in a great battle or losing his power, not turning into an every day man who could be swayed by the entreaties of his fiancee or playing a role in a town pageant to please his grandson.

"Perhaps, we could...make a deal?" he said as he turned to David.

"What do you want?" the Prince said, always cautious of making a deal with Rumplestiltskin. While he knew that the man would always be dangerous, at least at the moment, he thought it was as close to safe as it would get.

"Just something in the nature of a favour."


	3. Appeasing the Winter King

By the time Belle had gotten home, he had managed to secure the agreement from the prince to marry them. Actually he had said he would do it anyway, but Rumplestiltskin was a deal maker, first, last, and always, so they had gone through the motions. He didn't mind too much; besides, he didn't trust his soon to be Father-in-law even with a wooden sword around his grandson. Belle had clearly got her occasional tendency towards clumsiness from him. Besides, how bad could it be? Still, he couldn't help but wonder if Snow had gotten the idea from his lady, or at the very least if the two of them had colluded. He had every intention of getting answers from her, in the most pleasurable way possible.

"Did anything exciting happen today, love?" he asked as she walked through the back door, dropping her purse and satchel on the kitchen table so she could get her coat off.

"Nothing much, though what did you do to poor Martin? My assistant won't let me lift so much as an encyclopedia. I know not to climb ladders, but I am perfectly capable of shelving books, and I really don't need to be treated with kid gloves."

"What makes you think that I did anything to your assistant? Maybe he is just concerned for your health," he said coming around behind her, helping her pull her coat off and replacing it with his hands on her shoulders. He leaned into her in that familiar way he had, once he had left his cane against the work top to allow both hands free. She loved it when he did that. It was nice to feel so...trusted.

"And that has nothing at all to do with the fact that you have been known to turn people into other things?" she asked, smiling and trying to turn toward her lover.

"I never specifically threatened him. In fact, I've not threatened anyone in at least a week; admittedly, it's been a slow week. You are having a bad influence on me, love. Maybe he is just smart enough to know that I take your health very seriously and he should too?" he asked, tightening his hold on her shoulders.

"Perhaps, but you heard what the doctor said as well as I did. I need to get regular, moderate exercise."

"I will be glad to see to your exercise, my lady," he growled lightly, nibbling at her ear, listening for, and getting, that soft sigh that meant he successfully had all her attention. "But first, we need to talk about an interesting visitor I had today." Ah, there it was, just the slightest tension in her soft body before she relaxed. His little lady had been involved in Snow White's little plan.

"What visitor?" she asked, trying to be casual, as he began kissing his way down the side of the neck.

"Oh, I think you know all about it. Winter King?" he prompted her, before biting down in a spot that he knew made her weak in the knees.

Belle knew she was in trouble, though considering his current attention, it was unlikely that it was the kind of trouble she was particularly worried about. "What about it?" she said, trying to sound innocent when he was doing some positively wicked things to the area just below the collar of her dress.

"It seems somehow that Princess Snow White got the idea that I would be the perfect monster for part. Now where would she possibly get that idea?" Rumplestiltskin asked as he reached over to unbutton the top button while his other hand roamed freely. It wasn't fair, especially considering how easily she came apart these days, but she wasn't minding at all.

"I...she couldn't think of anyone, and was at her wit's end. She was practically in tears and thinking of asking my father, and we both know he would have some kind of accident," she said in a rush of words. Really, he shouldn't expect her to talk sensibly while he had her at his mercy, but then that was probably his plan all along. "Did you accept?" she asked, just as he nipped her again, and she considered whether she should try to turn the tables on him, or if they were going to make it further than the living room before she was forced to take drastic measures with him. Before she was pregnant, any old place with a closed door was good enough, and between them they had managed some truly creative feats of intimacy considering the limitations of his leg and her lack of experience. Now, however, he was much more insistent on the proprieties, or possibly he was still concerned about doing something wrong, regardless of what the doctor had told them.

"Of course I did. Henry got chosen as Prince, and...as you say, your father has an impressive record of accidents. You could have asked yourself though; would have been much more pleasant, hmmm?"

"I'll make it up to you?" she asked questioningly, trying to turn in his arms, but he wasn't having any of it. "I think I am in the perfect position to appease the Winter King."

"You will," he agreed. "Later."

"Not later," she said, managing to twist enough to nip the edge of his jaw. "Now. Need you." That was all it took for him to pull her around for a deep and passionate kiss before allowing her to grab his hand and start to drag him to the front of the house, his cane left behind in their haste. Belle's cell phone began to ring on the kitchen table, but they both ignored it. There was nothing more important right now than one another.

Rumplestiltskin was trying to find the energy to get off the settee when the doorbell rang. He and Belle had made it as far as the living room, and now his lovely fiancee was curled up carefully on his chest looking rather like a pleased cat. He glared balefully toward the front of the house. He had no intention of answering the door to another person. He vaguely recalled the phone ringing several times, possibly his or her cell phones as well; he'd other things on his mind at the time. Right now, Rumplestiltskin had only one thing on his mind, which was how he was going to get out from under Belle without disturbing her, and what they were going to do about dinner. He'd not been thinking about it earlier, being more interested in what he planned for Belle than what either of them were going to eat.

The bell rang again, this time accompanied by a banging that shook the stained glass and woke Belle. "What.." she said vaguely.

"Gold, if you are in there, at least answer me, before I have to do something drastic to this damn door," they heard the voice of the sheriff shouting.

"Oh my Gods, what time is it?" Belle said suddenly shooting up. Rumplestiltskin growled as he found his trousers on the floor and dragged them on. "I was supposed to go over to Granny's for a last minute meeting tonight; I meant to tell you when I came in but..."

"You got distracted?" he asked with a smirk. His first thought was to put himself back together completely but the sheriff was getting impatient, and besides it amused him. She had been slightly traumatised at Thanksgiving when she had caught he and Belle snogging in the butler's pantry, and ever since he couldn't resist occasionally tweaking her. He fastened his trousers and pulled his shirt on, starting to button it up as he moved toward the front door, closing the living room door behind him. At least he now had an idea of what they would be doing for dinner. He wasn't necessarily interested in going out, but if Belle had to have a meeting at night in the dead of winter, he'd rather go with her anyway. She had never really had any interest in driving a car, preferring to walk everywhere or wait for him to take her. Fortunately town was small enough for that. "I'm coming, damn you," he growled as he neared the door. Clearly he had been heard because the pounding stopped and he only hoped that his grandson, or his son for that matter, weren't with her. Disconcerting Emma was one thing.

As he reached the front door though, he could only see one shape through the stained glass window and he allowed himself a wicked and self satisfied grin as he opened the door. He'd managed to get his shirt buttoned correctly, but it was neither tucked in nor buttoned all the way to the top. He wasn't wearing a tie (actually he wasn't completely sure where his tie was) and his feet were bare. Not to mention his long hair was probably completely disheveled and he wasn't certain that he wasn't sporting a love bite somewhere visible. "Sheriff, to what do I owe this little visit?" he asked, looking at her with an amused glint in his eye.

Emma Swan took one look at Gold and immediately wished she had never agreed to drive by and find out where Belle had gotten to. Snow had been trying to call her for the last half an hour, and was a little worried. It wasn't like Belle to be late, or to fail to answer the phone, and not being able to reach Gold had only made her more concerned. Looking at him, she realised that there was a perfectly reasonable explanation and she was never, ever going to get drafted to do anything like this again. EVER. Its one thing to know, theoretically, that your son's grandfather was getting it on with his girlfriend, who was only slightly older than Emma herself (well, except for that 28 year time bubble thing that really confused the hell out of her, so she just ignored it). Especially since they had just announced that they were having a baby. It was another thing to come upon the man half dressed, and clearly just fucked. The mental images would probably never go away. "Er... Snow was worried. Belle..."

As she tried to get her sentence out, the other woman came out of the living room. "Hey, Emma," she said, fastening the belt around her dress as she came to join them. Unlike Gold, she was at least fully dressed (she didn't consider him fully dressed without a tie and a jacket at least), but like him, well, Emma knew exactly why they weren't answering the phone.

"Hey, you were not answering your phone, and Snow got a little worried."

"As you see, we are perfectly fine," Gold smirked at her. "Better than." Belle elbowed him rather ungently in the side, and blushed just a little.

"We got a little tied up," Belle said. Rumplestiltskin giggled at her, and Emma, well, she was wishing she was anywhere else, right now, not thinking about that image. "I mean, we forgot the time," Belle said, blushing as she realised her slip. Before she could say anything else that would either embarrass herself or her friend, her lover stepped in for her.

"Tell Snow that we are fine, but running late. We will both be there soon. I personally could use something to eat." Belle giggled at that and blushed a little more throughly while Emma excused herself as quickly as possible.

"No opening doors, no showing up at the house without calling first to make sure," she whispered to herself as she made her way back to her car. Really, the two of them were as bad as her parents, she thought. Only with the added discomfort that one of them was her boyfriend's parent. Not getting any better, she thought and headed away from the house as fast as she could.


	4. Details, details

Two days later, Rumplestiltskin was standing in front of a mirror with Belle. When he had decided to accept the part, he had told Snow he would handle the costume himself, which she seemed perfectly willing to allow as she still had Henry to worry about. A little appearance change was hardly big magic, even in Storybrooke, and besides, he had already decided that he would have to use it to deal with his leg. Regardless of how slow the float was going to be going, or what other safety measures they were taking, he wanted to be at his physical best since his grandson was going to be with him. He'd never let anything happen to the boy. Belle had agreed with him, and was now helping him with his appearance. One of his old world outfits, with some slight modification of colour would serve for the costume part, and that had been taken care of with very little effort. Most of the rest of the details had come together nicely, and it had finally started to snow this afternoon, much to Snow White's relief. For Maine, it had been a surprisingly snow free year, and Belle had been starting to think she was going to have to appeal to her fiancé.

The meeting the other night had been a small enough thing; mostly he had acknowledged his acquiesce when Snow announced it with a flourish that probably still made some of them nervous, and went back to his hamburger. Leroy, the dwarf formerly known as Grumpy, was going to be their driver. The dwarf was well on his way back to his original name of Dreamy now that he had settled down with his lady, the former fairy, Nova. He had been a friend of his Belle before, something which earned him the sorcerer's gratitude. In his turn, Mr. Gold had helped him and his little fairy get themselves sorted when she had left the sisterhood of fairies for her true love. They weren't exactly friends, but they had an understanding, and Rumplestiltskin would trust him to do the driving. Nova, herself, was helping out on the decorating committee (only soft things, fabrics and papier-mâché, just to be safe). Mostly they just made the few last minute changes, and rehashing various schedules. The festival Queen, Gretel, had chosen for her two attendants Grace, Jefferson's daughter, and her brother Hansel, in keeping with passing over the old ways in exchange for practices that were more modern (the festival Queen was traditionally attended by the two best placed or next most beautiful girls in the village), and her Father would ride with her as knight protector. Emma made some quick report about the security set up, distracted by the fact that every time she met Rumplestiltskin's eyes, she turned red and felt the need to look elsewhere. He probably shouldn't torment her, but it was the most fun he had during the whole thing.

Emma had dragged him aside after the meeting to remind him that he had a grandson, and might want to be more careful about what Henry might see. He assured her that he would do so and tried (and failed spectacularly) to be repentant about what had happened. He also reminded her that Henry rarely came to the house without a phone call, or some other arrangement, as it was much easier for him to just run over to the shop or the library when he wanted to see them and catch a ride with them. It seemed to please her, or at least reassure her. It wasn't as if his grandson didn't know what was going on between them, though, not with Belle having announced her pregnancy at Thanksgiving.

"How is that?" he asked Belle. He'd not made a lot of changes, really. He'd threatened to do something horrible and monstrous, but his lady reminded him that he was supposed to look wise and dignified, so he had settled for magically lengthening his hair and turning it completely white, while his skin got even paler than usual. They wrangled about the beard; on the one hand, the white beard was tradition in the village Rumplestiltskin had been born and brought up in, but Belle said that was horribly old fashioned (prompting him to remind her once again that he was not particularly old fashioned, merely old which got the usual response). Besides, she had never been fond of facial hair, especially on him, and she said that everyone would get the point without it.

The last day before the parade was spent practicing with his grandson, Henry so they could make their fight look good 'without any accidental death or maiming.' "Maiming should always be deliberate," Rumplestiltskin told his grandson. "If you are going to hurt someone, it should be planned."

"What about accidents? People get hurt in accidents all the time." Henry pointed out. "Isn't that why we are practicing? So there won't be any accidents?"

"Yes, we are trying to avoid them, but accidents are different, lad. Sometimes accidents are the universe's way of telling you that you shouldn't be doing what you are."

"What about when Belle fell off the ladder?" the cheeky little monkey asked him. He had loved every minute of Belle's stories, especially when she told him all about how they fell in love (well except the love part, that was kind of mushy. But the adventure of living with his grandfather the monster; that was pretty cool.)

"Nothing bad happened though. I think that was the universe trying to tell me something else," the older man said, reaching out just as Belle walked into the room and pulling her down to sit in his lap. Belle laughed, and smacked his hands before telling him to be good and carefully getting back to her feet. After that the talk turned general, with Henry finally opening up about something at school that had been bothering him, and Rumpelstiltskin trying to be reassuring; while resisting the urge to go and solve the problem for him. It was hard to remember that children needed to fight there own battles; he'd certainly never been particularly good about allowing Bae to do that, after his transformation. His son hid his troubles, and that was something he didn't want his grandson to ever feel he had to do. Instead he took him back into the other room and showed him some other tricks, the sort of tricks that his grandfather the prince would never show him; sneaky tricks that served well when fighting uneven odds with opponents who weren't so noble.

"Isn't that fighting dirty? I thought we were always supposed to fight fair?" Henry asked.

"If your opponent is fighting fair, certainly; but not everyone does, and if you know the sort of thing they are likely to do, you can plan accordingly. Now..."

The rest of the day passed quickly, and Rumplestiltskin found himself actually looking forward to the next day; well that and the fact that Belle's enthusiasm was infectious.

The winter solstice eve dawned pearly grey but not threatening. Rumplestiltskin reached up to pull Belle closer to him. The sun hadn't come up yet, and while there were all kinds of things that needed to be done before they left the house, at that exact moment he had his lady love in his arms, and everything else could wait.

"Hmmmm," she murmured, waking just a little and smiling up at him, where he leaned over to kiss her. "Solstice Eve, we should get up; there is so much to do," she said sadly.

"We have plenty of time for that, right now; let us just celebrate each other," he whispered before showing her exactly what and how much he wanted to celebrate on this particular solstice.


	5. Solstice Night

Rumplestiltskin had to admit he enjoyed himself, though he would never admit it to anyone if he was asked (except possibly Belle). He and Belle walked around the bonfire, with a cup of mulled wine for him and a cup of mulled cider for her, his arm around her. The parade hadn't been nearly as horrible as he thought it would be. The float on which he and his grandson rode was all fake ice and snowflakes on his end, with a grand throne for him (probably Marco's carving, the man had a true gift). His appearance was a big hit; the now blue leathers and white shirt showed well in the light, and no one really appeared to fear him. He had even managed a bit of slight of hand, blowing glittering snow from his hand onto the children who crowded the edge of the street with their parents to watch. At the other end, Henry, with his spring green, was throwing little gold chocolates with a sun stamped onto them (and occasionally snitching one for himself). They would meet in the middle and spar a little, before retreating to their opposite sides for a bit. It gave them something to do when the float slowed to let the Storybrooke High School marching band get further down the streets. Belle rode behind them, on a float as one of Princess Snow's attendants, her gold dress glittering among the other princesses attending; Aurora, Ariel, and Cinderella, even Regina had been invited to join them. She had been remarkably quiet, and he was almost starting to feel that she really was trying. Still he made sure that she was on the other side of Belle. Snow had always been a little too willing to forgive Regina, but he was still reserving judgement. Emma had begged off, citing the fact that she was on duty. Surrounding them was an honor guard with Charming at the head. He had asked Bae to join them, though he wasn't a prince, and his son had agreed if only so that they would have the right number to escort the 'court' when they got to the bonfire.

Upon their arrival at the cleared space, he had leap neatly off the float and Henry had properly 'vanquished' him in front of a cheering audience, and he'd been bourn away in state on a bier of evergreens, while Henry took his bows and was crowned by Gretel. She was sitting in state on a little platform with him, with Snow and Charming. It was much lovelier than he remembered, but his had been a poor village so they never had anything like the parade or electric fairy lights for that matter. An ice sculpture of him was currently resting in state on the bier near them, and with the temperature, he didn't even need magic for it to keep from melting. The feat of magic that replaced him with his icy doppelgänger had been easily accomplished and impressed the bystanders. There had been a little concern that the weather wouldn't cooperate, but except for a light snow very early in the day, it had been perfect, cold and clear with a sky full of stars.

Now, he had changed, reverting back to his natural appearance (or at least his human one) and was escorting the most beautiful lady in Storybrooke around the fire, occasionally even being hailed and complimented. "Are you certain you want to stay up for the vigil, love?" he asked Belle as she leaned close to him with a dazzling smile on her face. "With the baby, you need your sleep."

"I'm fine," she promised him, leaning more closely against his shoulder and tugging him down for a kiss. "If I get tired, I will tell you, as long as you wake me for the sunrise." Sunrise on the solstice morning was the most beautiful and most magical. Young lovers would huddle together before the fire, drinking, singing, and occasionally slipping outside the light for a little more private celebration, emerging before the sunrise to watch it come up, making wishes and promises on the light of the new sun.

Rumplestiltskin looked around the light from the bonfire. Bae had coaxed Emma away from her duty long enough to take a circuit among the dancers around the fire. The Sheriff didn't know any of the dance steps but they were simple enough; and by the time they had passed a second time, she was laughing happily, though perhaps a little self consciously. Henry was in close conversation with Gretel, their heads together while her brother and Grace leaned in, probably planning some mischief, he thought fondly. The boy had done a good job, and he had a good head on his shoulders, so he wasn't too worried about what they would get up to. Seeing him watching, his grandson waved to them, and he noticed that David was watching them to, as were her father and Jefferson, who, while he was doing well, didn't much care for crowds and was keeping close to the stage where his daughter sat. It was going to be some time before his friend was comfortable with his daughter being more than a short distance from him. He didn't blame him at all.

Belle was trying to convince him to join in at least one turn of the circle when Princess Snow called them over to congratulate him on how well he had done. They exchanged the usual pleasantries, Snow going on about how well everything came together, and how happy everyone seemed to be. It took some time to extricate themselves without undue rudeness. "I think you have managed to secure the part for the foreseeable future," Belle said as they walked away. "You were so magnificent, no one will even think of asking anyone else."

"Damn, I knew I was doing something wrong," he said but with a smile.

"You enjoyed it, and you know it," she said with a smile. He had never been good at keeping anything from her. But he tried, before she leaned up and gave him a sweet kiss. That was more than enough to convince him to whatever she wanted, even if this time, it meant a quick turn in the center of the circle of dancers. He'd never danced with Belle in the old world, or with anyone since longer than he cared to remember, but the steps came back to him easily enough. If anything. it was surprising how easily people allowed them in, and that no one shunned dancing next to the Dark One and his lady.

After two turns around the circle, really the minimum that a couple should take, he pulled her to the outside and they continued to walk, this time outside the circle of the revelers. Soon enough the dancers would settled down; people had brought blankets and were already starting to lay them out so that people could cuddle together in the damp cleared grass to wait for dawn's approach. He and Belle actually had their own blankets tucked away in the back of the area behind the stage that had been used as a changing area for those who wanted something warmer than their costumes for the rest of the evening. Though Belle had chosen to stay in her gown for now, with a heavy gold cloak pulled over top, he had made sure that she had other things. He had his leathers, which were surprisingly warm, and he didn't have the problems with the cold that some did, especially right now when he didn't have to worry about his leg. He'd pay for the magic tomorrow, but then they had no plans for the next day that actually involved getting dressed or leaving the house.

As they turned the circuit, he saw Maurice French, walking with the widow he had been seeing, walking around much as he and Belle were. Belle hailed her father and he came over to them, perhaps a little cautiously but then Rumplestiltskin was used to that. "Papa," she said as she released him and gave her father a hug.

"My girl, you were beautiful up there with the Princess, like a princess yourself," he said as the couple joined them. "You...er...you were very good as well," he said, greeting Rumplestiltskin himself with at least slightly less reluctance than usual, probably because he was so relieved at having got out of the part himself. He introduced them to Mrs. Thomas, who was polite and earned points in his mind by offering her his hand, which he kissed after the old way. Determined to be polite, the old sorcerer offered to refill their cups as he had noticed his own empty. It was still better for him not to do too much small talk, but when her father offered to accompany him, he had no choice but to agree, leaving the ladies to talk.

"Was there something...?" he asked as he and the florist made it to the booth that Red and the Widow Lucas had set up at the edge of the carnival beyond the bonfire.

"Not really, just wanted to let Belle have a chance to talk to Eve. She and I...well, I'm thinking of asking her to marry me. It's not been long but...she's not been hinting so much, but we are both getting on and..." He didn't finish the sentence. Rumplestiltskin knew enough as it was. Maurice had been widowed since Belle was a young child and had resisted all attempts to be coerced into a marriage in the old world. If he'd found his happiness here, Belle would truly be happy for him.

"You could come by the shop," he said out of some strange spirit of generosity, or possibly finally trying to bury the hatchet with the old man to make his future wife happy. "We can probably find you an appropriate ring."

"That is...kind of you," the florist stuttered, clearly not sure what to make of the offer.

"It's a small enough thing," he told him with a wave of his hand. "I...we are both invested in Belle's happiness, and I know that she will be pleased that you have found someone."

"I hope so. We are. I... I will be glad to do the flowers for you and Belle. I have some ideas about what she wants..."

"Roses," they both said at the same time and then laughed just a little. The two men got their mugs filled and returned to where the ladies were apparently enjoying themselves, heads together talking.

"Rumple, I've just asked Eve and my father to come to the house for the party on Christmas Eve, and she's said she'll come help us," the light of his life said with a smile. It was moving too fast for him, all of this family stuff, but he agreed readily enough, already worried about her over working herself in her condition. With that they shared more friendly words and agreements to exchange phone calls before moving on in opposite directions.

"I think that my father is serious about her," she told him as soon as they were clear of the others. "Eve said she wanted to get to know me. Wouldn't it be grand after all this time, if my father found someone who made him as happy as you make me?"

"No one could ever make anyone as happy as we are, love," he said, putting his arm back around her. He wasn't in the habit of sharing other people's news, though his Belle was canny enough to know. "Now, how about you and I find ourselves a place a bit more...private?" he suggested wickedly. "After all, this is the night for lovers."

The sun was rising over the harbour on the first new day after the solstice. Belle and Rumplestiltskin were wrapped well in their cloaks as well as blankets to keep the winter chill far away from his love or their baby. Everywhere, as the dark sky lightened, he could see other couples or little groups. Some, those that had stayed the night, wrapped like they were (though he had every intention of taking Belle home and returning, well, they got distracted). When he turned his head, he could see other people standing, wrapped in coats, hands around take away containers of coffee, tea and other hot drinks. As the light grew, he began to make out faces and shapes of people he knew. Bae and Emma were huddled with Henry further down the edge of the park near the harbour. Henry was still wearing the heavy cloak that he had been wearing last night and looking more like his father than usual. The white of Snow White's cloak stood out on the other side while her husband rose, probably to go and get their favourite hot drinks. He wouldn't be surprised if Granny had simply turned over from hot mulled drinks to hot coffee and tea. The woman had always had a good head for business. He reached for his stick and slowly rose, offering a hand to Belle as the sky lightened before them. A new day slightly longer than the one before it, and he had Belle beside him. As the clouds began to clear, he turned to her and lost himself watching the first light of the new day play across features that he knew far better than his own. In the light of the new sun, everything was golden. It almost seemed an omen. Perhaps they would finally find their happy ending.

"Rumplestiltskin, you aren't looking at the sunrise."

"Yes, I am love, I'm looking at my own personal sun, and it's beautiful."


End file.
