Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Part of Annabelle felt that this was a bad idea. Mr. Gold was her boss. She shouldn't be dating him. However, here she was outside his house. She was even fifteen minutes early. Annie got out of her and tugged the hem of her dress. She'd wanted to where something simpler, but when her friend, Ruby, found out that she had a date (Annie hadn't told her it was with Gold, of course), she'd made it a mission to get Annie into something else. Now, she stood at Gold's door in a little black dress Ruby had found in her closet and knock hesitantly.

She waited a few minutes before Mr. Gold finally answered. He was dressed in a blue dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and black pants. He was obviously shocked by her timing but smiled none the less.

"Miss French. You're early. I was just finishing dinner."

He stepped back to let her in, but Annie could tell that he was slightly nervous. "If we're going to have a date, the least we can do is call each other by our first names though I have no idea what yours is."

Gold blushed faintly. "Of course. It's Arum."

"Really?" She had to laugh. "Arum Gold?"

He chuckled as well and guided her towards the dining room. "My parents had a sense of humor, I suppose. My full name is Arum Ulysses Gold."

"A.U. Gold.," she said with a laugh. "Your parents must have had a sense of humor. What happened to yours, I wonder."

"I have a sense of humor, dearie," he replied, pulling out her chair. "It just takes a bit to get me to laugh."

"Then I'm going to do my best to make sure you do tonight. Is there anything I can help you with?"

"I've got it. You just sit down and look pretty until I get back.

Annie sat down, smiling. "However will I accomplish such a feat?"

"You're doing pretty good job so far, dearie. You look very lovely this evening, Belle."

"Thank you. You look nice, too. Without the jacket and tie you seem...different but in a good way."

"I try. I'll be back shortly, but if you really want to do something, feel free to open the wine."

Annie nodded and watched him leave. He returned just as she finished pouring his glass. He balanced both plates easily despite his leg, and they smelled wonderful.

"I hope you like pasta," he said as he placed both plates down.

"I do. It smells delicious."

Arum took a seat and smiled. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Annie then took bite and froze. "This really good."

"Don't sound so shocked, dearie. I told you I could cook."

"Sorry. I'm not used to men cooking for me. My father's cooking is horrible. Thankfully, my mother taught me to cook before..."

Now he was interested. "Before what?"

"My mom...She died when I was fourteen."

"I'm sorry."

"It's alright. She battled cancer for a year before she finally passed away. She was a strong woman."

Arum looked at her and smiled. "I don't doubt it one bit."

Annie blushed a bit. "Thanks. Everyone that knew her always said that I could have passed for her twin. She would always read to me before I went to bed every night when I was little. I guess that's why I love reading so much. When she got really sick, I'd read to her instead."

That explained why he always spotted a book on her desk when he came in in the morning. "What's your favorite?"

"I don't have one really. I just read whatever I can get my hands on. I think I read everything in the library in my town twice before I left."

"I know the feeling. Most of my room was filled with books when I was younger. I didn't really do much else except read."

Annie smiled at the thought and pictured a teenager version of her boss in a room lined with shelves of books. "Really? No sneaking in after a long date?"

He chuckled. "No. I was dreadfully shy back then, so dating was something I rarely did."

"You were shy?"

She had a hard time believing that. She was used to him striding down the hallways of his building completely confident. Nothing rattled him, and even with a cane, he intimidated people.

"Yes. I kept to myself mostly. Most girls wouldn't look twice at me and went after the bigger boys that played sports instead."

"They did that at my school, too, so I didn't date very much, "she said, sadly. "I always preferred brains over brawn. I'd rather have a man that could talk his way out a situation than one who always settles things with his fists."

"Is that the reason you're here with me instead of Gaston?"

She looked up at him then. "How did you know?"

"Just because I'm at the top of the building doesn't mean I don't know what's going on below. I've heard him talking multiple times about how you've rejected him. I even remember seeing him with a black eye once afterward."

Annie blushed. "That was Ruby's doing, not mine. Though I did leave a nice hand print on his cheek." Arum laughed. It was long and loud, and it was the first time she'd ever heard him do so. It was strange but nice. "Mission accomplished."

"What do you mean?"

"I got you to laugh, and all I had to do was tell you about how my friend and I harmed one of your employees."

"You probably bruised his pride the most, dearie. That's what I'm laughing at."

"I hope I did. His ego needs to be deflated a bit."

Arum smiled. "I'm pretty sure you did an excellent job of that, dearie."

Anne smiled back at him. All thought of this being a bad idea vanished. She quickly began making plans to invite him to her house. The two continued to talk throughout dinner. As they did, Arum revealed more and more about himself to her, and Annie did the same. They eventually left the table and retired to his den. It was just as large as the rest of the house and looked even better when he lit the fireplace before joining her on the couch. Annie was close to falling asleep on his shoulder when he spoke.

"Belle?"

"Yes, Rum?"

Gold blinked at the shortening of his name but said nothing of it. "I'm glad you came over. This evening has been the nicest I've had in a long time."

"Me too. If you're up to it, you can come over to my place, and I'll make you dinner."

"I'd love to," he said quickly. He then blushed at his own eagerness. "Name the time and date, dearie, and I'll be there."

"I'll think of something. Granted, my house isn't nearly as grand as yours, but my homemade fudge will blow you away." Annie knew about his secret sweet tooth. She'd caught him eating chocolate chip cookies that he'd hidden his desk once.

Arum's eyes lit up at the mention of dessert, and he kissed the top of her head. "Dear God, she bakes too! I don't care if you live in a shack. If your food is as delicious as you say, you're going to have trouble getting rid of me."

"There isn't much room, but I'm sure I'll find somewhere for you."

"You could always stay here, dearie. I have more than enough room."

"Maybe one day. Why did you buy such a large house away from everyone if you live alone? This place seems awfully lonely."

"It is at times. I bought this place in hopes of having a family, but my wife left me and I never found another woman that interested me." He remembered how he'd once pictured Bae running around in the yard playing with his little brother or sister. "Until you came along, of course."

Annie looked up at him. "You want a family?"

Arum quickly realized his mistake. "I do but not right now. I have to make sure you can tolerate me long enough first."

"If you keep cooking like this, I'll have no choice but to stay."

He smiled down her. She held his gaze, and before she could stop herself, she leaned forwards and kissed him. Arum was stunned to say the least but quickly returned the kiss. The remained that way for the longest time and Annie wound up straddling him with her hands buried in his hair. Suddenly, his hand moved from her waist to her shoulders and pulled her a away from him.

"What is it?"

"As much as it pains me to do this, we have to stop, Belle."

The hurt look on her face nearly crumbled his resolve. "Why? Was the kiss that bad?"

"No! The kiss was wonderful. You're wonderful. It's just that if I don't stop you, I might do something we'll both regret in the morning. I want to do things right with you, Belle."

Annie understood where he was coming from and moved off of his lap. He wanted to take things slow, and she respected that.

"Alright," she said. "We'll go slowly, but I still get a kiss goodnight."

He smiled before leaning forward to deliver that kiss. It was softer than the first, and both were smiling when she pulled away. "Let me walk you to the door."

He stood slowly and held out a hand for her to take. She accepted it, and walked slowly to the door with him. Once there, they faced each other, and Arum sighed sadly.

"So, this is it."

"I suppose it is. I had a wonderful time."

"As did I. We have to do this again sometime, Belle."

"Well will. I promise."

Annie kept her word. On Wednesday, Mr. Gold received a note along with the papers he had to sign for the day.

Dinner on Friday at my place. Be there at 8.

Gold found himself smiling as he reread the note and found her address on the back. Friday wasn't going to come fast enough.

TBC