Price To Pay (Rumplestiltskin/Mr. Gold x Reader)

Chapter 29

Rumplestiltskin's P.o.V. 

She stared at me for a moment, then smiled. "I guess I could only hope." 

I glanced up and caught the eye of Cruella through the rearview mirror. Her eyes were narrowed and her lips drawn in a tight line; clearly she knew something and didn't want to be left in the dark. I leaned back in my seat and let out a deep breath, trying to shake the negativity away. 

"It's getting late already," (Y/N) commented after a slightly-awkward silence. 

"It's only six," Ursula replied. 

(Y/N) didn't say anything, but she did lift her shoulders in that way she used to when Regina was present. 

"Know a good place to stay, Rumple?" Cruella asked. 

"It's only six," Ursula repeated, annoyance hinting in her voice. 

"The majority of our travel will be done tomorrow, I believe," I said calmly. "(Y/N)'s right, we should sleep and get an early start." 

(Y/N) was typing something into her phone. "There's a motel just down the road from here," she said, scrolling through the contents on the screen. "It's cheap and has good reviews." 

"Name?" 

"Eloise's Inn." 

"And it's on the way?" 

"Well, I'm not sure where we're going, but I think so." 

"We rest at Eloise's Inn," Cruella announced. 

Ursula groaned. "Well, I need to use the restroom." 

(Y/N) rolled her eyes, and I stifled a laugh at her reaction. She glanced over at me, her eyebrows arched in insecurity, then smiled and shook her head. In that moment I felt like nothing had separated us, and here we were joking with each other about the Sea Witch. 

"What's so funny?" Ursula whined. 

"Nothing," (Y/N) said, her eyes shining. "The Inn's, like, fifteen minutes away. Can't you wait?" 

Ursula let out a huff of breath and crossed her arms. "Your apprentice is a little devil, Cruella."

"Hey!" (Y/N) protested, but didn't argue any more. 

"She's not my apprentice, Ursula," Cruella chided. "Things are different in this world."

(Y/N) cocked her head, listening intently. She seemed curious, but not confused, almost like she'd heard a conversation similar to this before and was almost done fitting all the pieces together. But that didn't make sense - she still didn't remember. She didn't remember Storybrooke, she didn't remember her past. She didn't remember me. 

"I really have to go," Ursula said urgently. 

"My word, Ursula," Cruella groaned. "Fine." 

Cruella pulled the car into a parking spot outside a gas station and opened up her purse. She began shuffling around in it, then pulled out a twenty. "(Y/N), darling, why don't you go get something to eat?" 

"I'm not hungry," (Y/N) said sweetly. 

"Well, would you go get something for Rumple and I?" 

"Sure." She took the bill from Cruella's fingers and tucked it into her pocket, then grabbed her phone. "What should I get?" 

"Some fruity candy or something disgusting like that," Cruella replied, waving her off.

"Nothing, but thank you, dearie," I said.

(Y/N) nodded, then turned and followed Ursula into the gas station. (Y/N) had a little skip in her step, and looked so young against the backdrop of the drab afternoon.

"All right, Rumple, what's up with you?"

My head snapped up to her. "I'm sorry, dearie, what do you mean?"

"Oh, don't play clueless with me, Dark One." Her body was twisted around in the seat so that she was facing me almost completely. "You've got some nerve staring at her all the time like that. You think she's pretty? Has a nice body? Watch yourself, Rumple. She's like a daughter to me, and I won't let you hurt her." 

"I'm afraid you don't know what you're talking about, Cruella," I said evenly. I was cursing myself for being so obvious. 

"To hell I don't," she snarled.

It was quiet for a short time after that. I allowed myself to think back to when I'd first met (Y/N). Renting her the apartment, taking her to the hospital, our first date, learning about who she was. My throat felt tight wondering if she'd ever remember, too.

"So this Storybrooke," Ursula spoke again. "I find it odd that people inside welcomed you as Rumplestiltskin."

"Well, dearie, not exactly. My alias was Gold. Mr. Gold."

"No first name? You'd think the Dark One would be more creative than that."

I thought of Adam, the name I'd only ever told (Y/N). "No first name."

(Y/N) and Ursula came back together not long after, laughing. Apparently their attitudes toward each other had changed. The way her smile leaped into her eyes sporadically made me remember, not for the first time, just how much I'd missed her.