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Belle ran her fingers down to the ends of his hair, giving a happy sigh as their lips touched one last time. Kissing Rumple was her drug of choice, leaving her relaxed and content... and always tempted to have one more. Giggling a little, she stole one more peck, her heart beating faster at the sound of approval he made.
Only then did she open her eyes, unsurprised when she found him already looking back. In the beginning she had thought that he was still unsure whether she was real. Alive. Then, after their first fight, she'd wondered whether Rumple kept his eyes open to check that it was really Belle at his side, in his arms, kissing him.
Now she understood that it was just part of who he was, to always be vigilant of every detail around him and never miss a single sensation available. Sight, to him, was just as important as touch or taste, and of course he would hoard it all.
Belle had decided that she liked it. It definitely made it the more rewarding when, at their most intimate moments, his eyes closed and he allowed himself to drown in sensation only.
"I love you," she had to say, apropos of nothing, closing her arms around his neck to erase any distance between them. "I love you so much."
Rumple's smile softened his expression even further.
He would have returned the sentiment, but Belle raised to her tip toes and kissed the tip of his nose, effectively rendering him mute.
"I love that you bring me lunch," she told him happily, gesturing at the empty containers on the desk. "And I love that you remember I love red peppers in my Chinese, but not the green ones." He might be rolling his eyes now, but he still had picked the green bits out. Or, more probably, Belle admitted to herself, he'd paid someone to do it. The point was that he'd remembered and made arrangements just to make this hour perfect for her. "And I love that you did all of this when we're going to have dinner at home later."
"It means I get to spend time with you now, my dear," he explained.
"I can't do much about it now, but remind me to show my appreciation for that later tonight."
Rumpelstiltskin shook his head. "If I need to remind you, then I'm not doing it right."
He was just so sincere. Belle thought she would melt at his earnest tone. "I love that you mean that," she whispered, giving in and pressing up for another kiss. She tried to hold onto his gaze, but her eyelids won the battle, sliding shut as she focused on the dance of lips, the sound of his breath and his warm hands at her waist. Her own hands moved to cradle his cheeks, keeping him close until the kiss drew to an end.
This time she kept her eyes closed.
"And I love," she said softly, feeling her way up the sides of his face, finding the indent at the height of his eyes and carefully moving to trace the brush of his eyelashes, "that I know you're looking at me right now."
"That's not weird?"
"Not at all. I think it's adorable."
"Good." Rumpelstiltskin chuckled. "Do you also know that all I see now are the pads of your fingers?"
Belle retracted her hands, but he caught her wrists, bring them back to their last position.
"It's okay," he said. "All I need to see is you."
The End
29/10/16