Part 27

She considers her True Love as he lies on the bed in front of her, almost asleep but still fully clothed, wondering where she'll begin her quest to make him more comfortable.

Presuming that his shoes will be the easiest part, she starts with those. Kneeling down before him, she undoes the shoelaces with some difficulty, somewhat bewildered by how he managed to pull them so tightly and neatly in the first place.

Once the laces are undone, she wriggles first one, then the other shoe until she can free his feet from them, revealing black socks with blue stripes. They look wonderfully warm and fluffy and she decides to ask him for a pair of her own when the proper moment occurs.

By now, she's entirely convinced that there is only one way - and one place - where she wants him to spend the night. Deciding that there's nothing that's going to prevent that from happening, she pulls off his socks as well. He won't be needing those for warmth or comfort tonight.

She places his shoes beneath the bed and lays the socks on the armrest of the chair. Maybe it's her imagination, but he already looks more comfortable to her, which makes her only more eager to continue.

Sitting down at his side again, she briefly wishes that she would have done this before he laid down on his back, but seeing his serene expression and hearing his steady breathing is more than worth it.

Still, his features aren't calm for long when she starts to tug his jacket off him.

"Belle, what...?"

His eyes bursting open, he appears to be more confused than upset or uncomfortable, and she simply continues her work.

"Just making you feel better. Here, bend your arm a little."

He does as she asks, his eyes closing again already. The dark circles beneath his eyes have never been more pronounced.

"You already did, Belle. Much better."

It's easy to get his jacket off him once she has released his left arm from it. She folds the ever so soft and thick material carefully before placing it on the chair as well.

"So much better," he whispers, by now all but slurring the words.

It reminds her again that he has missed her as much as she has desperately longed for something, not knowing at the time what - whom - she craved exactly.

His tie still looks like it could suffocate him at any moment, so she starts to work on that next. Her fingers have rarely felt more clumsy then when they try to undo the smooth but strongly tied knots, but this too she manages, her hands eventually just knowing what to do.

Once both ends of the tie are free, she carefully lifts his head to cause as little inconvenience to him as possible when she pulls the delightfully soft fabric away from him.

She places his tie over his jacket on the chair, not allowing herself to further appreciate the fabric which is so very close to him all day. She isn't finished yet after all; the jacket she already took off him revealed only more layers of constricting fabric.

He doesn't protest when she removes his waistcoat too, simply shifts just enough to enable her to do so without opening his eyes for only a moment.

Still, his eyes fly open once more when she reaches for the blue shirt he wears underneath, the material ever so soft but tight against his throat.

"What are you doing?" he gasps, very much awake again, as if only fully aware now that she's slowly divesting him of his outer clothes.

"Like I said, I'm making you more comfortable," she says, beginning to doubt her intentions after all, whether she may have crossed a line she didn't know about.

"Just... just leave it like this," he says, lifting his head with visible effort in order to glance down his body to determine what he is still wearing.

"All right," she says, relieved that he doesn't seem as upset as she feared. Besides, she has already taken off all the items that looked like they caused him the most discomfort. Everything but that first button of his shirt, the one so very close to his chin, the collar that's so tightly around him. "Just the top button of your shirt? You should be able to breathe freely."

He nods weakly in agreement, but he tenses nonetheless when she reaches for the offending button.

"Rumple?"

"It's all right," he says, his eyes dropping closed again as a testimony of his sheer exhaustion. "Do it, if you want to."

She does, with fingers that start to tremble slightly, trying to find out without having to ask him why he reacted like this when she was about to start on, presumably, the last layer of clothing covering his chest.

Surely, he isn't nervous that she might see him without most of his impressive suit in place, almost as if it were an armor? She doesn't know much about the things that might happen between a man and a woman who are in love, true love, but surely something like this, bordering on embarrassment, isn't part of it?

Those questions will have to wait for later. For now, she congratulates herself on having managed to get him to this state, as comfortable as she can achieve. The leather belt that's still around his waist, especially the clasp at the front, looks far from pleasant to wear in bed, but she leaves it right where it is, not just his possible disapproval stopping her. She herself isn't quite at ease with the notion of removing it.

Pointedly not looking for longer than a second at the few inches of tanned skin and toned chest she revealed when undoing the top button of his dress shirt, she reaches for the wonderfully soft blankets.

"What are you doing?" he mutters, partly opening his eyes only to close them again immediately.

"Just making you more comfortable," she says, her reply completely honest although probably not in the way he suspects.

"Nice," he says, the single word barely audible as he burrows his face against the mattress. "Before going home."

She makes a noncommittal sound. It'll probably do more harm than good if she reminds him that he isn't in any shape to go anywhere.

"Got to leave you, Belle, just for tonight. So you can make your own choice. Got to give you space."

"I know that," she says, pulling the blanket from beneath his legs nonetheless.

She has made her decision already and this only persuades her further that going with him, living and being with him, is by far the best choice she can make.

"Just need to rest for a while," he murmurs, struggling in vain to even open his eyes by now.

It's terrifying indeed what the magic has done to him, its draining effect still so very visible.

"Are you certain that rest is enough? Don't you need anything else to help you?"

"All I... need is you," he responses, speaking so slowly that she's surprised that he finishes his sentence to begin with, having given up all pretense of maintaining at least some level of energy. "Rest is all I need to replenish..."

She waits for him to continue, but isn't surprised when he doesn't. She hoped that he could reassure her for once and for all that there will be no permanent consequences to this, that a good night's sleep will indeed be all he need to return him to his usual, strong self.

Then again, she supposes that there isn't assurance enough in the world to entirely take away her concern upon seeing him like this. But since he wasn't particularly worried when he was still mostly responsive, she tells herself that she shouldn't be, either.

"You'll get your rest. As much as you need."

"But not here. Can't..."

She almost rolls her eyes in amused bewilderment to find him still talking.

He attempts to sit up again, but doesn't even manage to move more than a few inches this time. He makes a sleepy sound of deep frustration, which leads her to believe that this is about more than him insisting that they spend the night separately so she has time to independently consider her future.

After everything she has learned of him throughout the night, she presumes that he's ashamed of being seen like this. He has insisted so often on protecting her, on being strong for her, that it must be difficult for him to appear defenseless to her.

It doesn't matter to her, every little thing he has said and done throughout the evening already making him as powerful as he is wonderful to her. It's something else that they'll need to discuss in the future, another item on the ever growing list of issues they have to sort out.

There is no doubt in her mind however that this too will be something that they'll solve together, especially when she lets go of the blanket and reaches for him instead. Even now, he immediately leans in to her touch when she strokes his jaw and cheek, letting her reassure him.

"Rest, Rumple. Just rest. You have done so much already."

"Just... need to close my eyes for a moment."

She doesn't reply with anything but a fond smile. Reaching for the blanket again with her free hand, she deftly covers him.

"Let me take care of you now," she says, her smile lingering at his lack of objection as she looks around for the nearest pillow.

"Always... you've always done so."

He smiles a little at that, his expression slowly relaxing after all as sleep and good memories alike appear to take a final hold on him.

She intended to guide his head onto a pillow, but as she shifts closer to him in order to reach for the intended object, she gets a better idea.

"I'm not going to stop caring for you, Rumple. Not even when you're as foolish as you just were."

He doesn't deign to respond to that, which is hardly surprising to her. She doesn't care all that much, because he willingly moves with her as she lifts his head from the mattress and urges him to shift towards her.

Taking the pillow which she selected before, she puts it between her back and the headboard of the bed. Leaning back against the pillow, she pulls the blankets up until they're covering both him and the lower half of her own body.

Although his reaction is much more guarded than hers is, both of them sigh in contentment when she guides his head onto her lap.

Her hands finding their way back to his hair, caressing and scratching his nape ever so slightly, she smiles with affection as he makes soft noises of appreciation.

He quickly becomes more quiet. Much as she enjoys listening to him, it's a relief to find him finally giving in to the urgent demand of his body.

"Darling Belle..."

Those two words, almost inaudibly soft, broaden her smile. It's wonderful to hear him talk about her like this, even when he is practically too exhausted to be aware that he does so.

She can't exactly see or feel it or notice it in any other way, but she knows when he falls asleep. Instead of ceasing her caresses, she is only happy to continue touching him, stroking all the way from the crown of his head to the nape of his neck, over and over again.

She inhales deeply, savoring his continued nearness. She encouraged him to rest only to make sure that he wouldn't accidentally harm himself or others while making his way home in such a state of fatigue, but now it's starting to dawn on her that her actions have an unintended but very delightful and more than welcome consequence.

She sighs in relief that she won't have to spend the night all alone once more after all. But it's more than the absence of loneliness and the fear of abandonment that fills her when she gazes upon him.

The two of them have already shared a variety of closeness and intimacy throughout the time they spent together here. Watching him sleep however, seeing him while he is as relaxed and unguarded as he's likely to ever be, is a whole new gift, and so is the possibility to watch him unobserved.

He is sprawled over the bed, despite his slight frame managing to cover most of the mattress. His head is lying comfortably on her thigh, but the rest of him is still just about where he collapsed on the bed quite a while ago.

That is remedied with some gentle urging, his body moving to make itself more comfortable on its own accord after her experimental nudges.

She is overcome with protectiveness and yet more love alike as he draws his knees upwards in his sleep, curling up around her. With a little help from her, his arms find their way around her waist, holding her even in his sleep.

Giggling a little when he starts to snore quietly, she only leans back against the soft pillow behind her back when she is convinced that he's as comfortable as he can possibly be.

The small smile doesn't fade from his lips, and neither does hers as she watches him like this.

Tired she may have been, but there's nothing left of that as she sits in that beautiful bed with her True Love sleeping at her side. It's a lovely prospect indeed to just stay like this for a long time.

And if she were to fall asleep after all... well, she can't think of a more perfect way to do so than like this, reclining against the headboard with his head pillowed on her thigh.

The fixed cup is still standing on the small table next to the bed, visible in the corner of her eyes. It's almost difficult to believe that the china, just like her relationship with her True Love, was broken until so very recently, seemingly damaged beyond repair.

But here they are, together and whole, not quite unblemished but so much better than they were before.

There'll be a lot to rediscover and reclaim, so much that she'll have to learn and find out all over again. But whether she can recall the past or not, there's a whole new life ahead of her. She's got her freedom, the love of this wonderful man, a home they can share, a future together.

With or without memories, Belle has a life worth living.

The end.

Thanks so much for reading all the way to the end of this fic.

I'm working on the sequel (with lots of True Love's kisses :P), but that story is turning out to be such a huge undertaking that I'm focusing on some shorter, more manageable Rumbelle stories for the time being.

The NC-17 fics and one shots among these stories will only be posted on my tumblr: AngelofDarkness1605 dot tumblr dot com.