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

Chapter 30

Rumplestiltskin's P.o.V.

They climbed into the car, and Cruella cranked the keys in the ignition. (Y/N) reached over the seat and handed a bag of brightly-colored candies to Cruella, then dropped a chocolate bar in my lap. I looked up at her.

"You seemed like the type who would like chocolate," she said with a smile. Then she sunk back down in her seat and opened her own chocolate bar.

I wondered where she'd gotten that idea. It was possible she'd remembered, but Ursula could've suggested it, too. A lucky guess? I stifled a sigh and frowned. She was so beautiful, her hair all wild from the wind blowing it about and her eyes blazing with curiosity.

"So... Where are we going?" she asked with her head cocked. She tucked her hair behind her ear and I remembered doing that to her, too. I almost did, my fingers itching to move towards her, but I pursed my lips and looked down when Cruella cleared her throat with a pointed look at me.

Ursula replied: "A little town called Storybrooke."

Her grip on the car door tightened. "Where?"

The older woman pulled a loose string from her shirt. "Storybrooke. Why?"

She swallowed and fumbled with the ring, twisting it around her finger. I thought she wasn't going to continue, but then she whispered, "I know that place."

Cruella glanced back at her curiously. I dragged my gaze from her and forced my eyes to remain evenly on the back of the seat. She remembered Storybrooke. She had to remember me. Did she? No, she couldn't... She hadn't shown any signs of memories, just remembering little things. It was as if Regina had hand-picked what things to let her remember, just to torture me. I just wanted her to remember so terribly badly...

"Why'd you leave?" Cruella asked after a moment. Her voice was gentle, curious, probing. The way that the woman's fingers tapped on the steering wheel and her head cocked slightly made me rethink her attitude towards the young girl. Perhaps she cared more than I believed she could. But I suppose the (Y/N) that I knew certainly had that affect on people.

She was looking out the window. "Well, really the only reason I even stayed was because of a boy... Man, I guess. But he... He let me go..." She looked down and took a deep breath. When she continued, her voice had less emotion. "He let me leave. It doesn't really matter, anyway. I don't even remember what he looked like."

"What about his name?" Cruella asked quietly after another pause.

Her eyes flitted down to the ring once more. I remembered giving it to her, slipping it onto her finger and the dance we'd shared afterwards. Her voice was barely audible; it obviously caused her a lot more pain than she would ever let on. "Gold."

Cruella hit the brakes suddenly and the car veered off the side of the road. (Y/N) gasped and held on tightly to my arm as she was thrown against me. I wrapped my arm around her, as it was a natural instinct, but that probably was not the best thing to do. When the car came to a stop, there was smoke coming from the rear tires. I ran my hand down (Y/N)'s arm, then pulled away. Cruella turned in the seat, her elbow hanging over the edge of the armrest. Ursula was leaning away from her. Her eyes were blazing, her cheeks red with anger. (Y/N) pulled the jacket tighter around her. I swallowed nervously.

"What did you just say his name was?" she demanded.

"Gold. Ad—Uh... M-Mr. Gold," she repeated, her voice meek.

Cruella shot me a hard look that scared even me. I knew that I would hear it from her when (Y/N) was no longer in audible range. The woman was fuming. Her eyes were blazing with a passionate hate and her hands were trembling.

"Take that jacket off," Cruella demanded.

"What?"

"Now, (Y/N)."

"Cruella—"

"(Y/N)!"

She slid the jacket off her shoulders and folded it in her lap.

"Give it to me," Cruella commanded.

"Why?"

"Give me that damn jacket!"

"No!"

Cruella stared back at (Y/N) for a moment. The elder woman's face was blank, unreadable. (Y/N) was glaring at her as if her life depended on that jacket. Cruella pursed her lips and sighed.

"Fine. Keep the damn thing. Whatever."

Slowly, we pulled back onto the road. I sunk down into my seat slightly and looked over at her once more. Her fingers traced the hem of the jacket, her touch gentle like it was her most valued treasure. I tried to imagine why (Y/N) wouldn't have given my first name. It was possible that she had forgotten, but—no, she had begun to say it. Besides, it didn't seem likely considering that she remembered "Gold". Of course... She had promised not to tell anyone else my first name, but why would she have kept her promise? She had no reason to.

I wanted to reach out to her, take her hand, find out just what she did and didn't remember. I wanted to talk to her without Cruella listening, without anyone else caring. I wanted to be able to talk to her endlessly, with no interruptions.

"What's the big deal about it, anyway?" (Y/N) asked quietly.

"The big deal is that some people just don't know when to stop."

"What do you mean?"

Cruella looked over her shoulder, even gave her a soft smile. "Some things are better left unsaid."

(Y/N) looked down at the ring. What I wouldn't give to tell her everything.

i got so into writing that the chapter was like twice as long so i split it in two lol i hope you guys like it