Shoes and Belts

Chapter 2

"What will it be Mr. Gold? Truth or dare?" Belle bit her lip, a mischievous smirk creeping on her face.

He paused, rubbing his hands together, before deciding. He exhaled deeply, and nodded his head, "Truth."

"Starting out easy, are we?" Belle's eyes narrowed, but the undeniable smirk on her face made him almost regret his choice. "Well that's okay, there's something I always wanted to ask you anyways." Ever since she started working for him, she's always wondered about his limp. Sometimes she'd have to resist the urge to just ask him (or if she was feeling particularly curious or confident, it was to prop his leg up on another chair and massage him right then and there on one of their many late night chats at his desk in the office). "What happened here?" Her hand glided from his thigh down to his lower leg; her light touches sent sparks all over.

Gold inhaled sharply, but didn't dare make a move towards her.

Belle's hand was nearing his calf when she started back up again; slowly dragging her hand up and down his leg.

She was killing him, and he thought for sure she knew exactly what she was doing to him. "I-I... There was..." He struggled to find his words, distracted by her hand.

With a sudden movement, Gold picked up the glass of alcohol and finished it within seconds. It was so fast, Belle jumped back away from him; landing almost half a cushion away from him.

"Well that was unexpected." She hesitated to speak, watching him awkwardly place the empty glass back on the table.

Gold finally looked up at her, feeling almost ashamed at the fact he couldn't answer her. "Sorry dearie, I supposed I'd save you the rather boring story of my lame leg." He expressed a brief moment of sadness and guilt before relaxing into the couch as something else came across him, causing his accent to thicken. "Now Miss French, it's your turn. Truth or dare?"

She almost whimpered at the sound of her name in his Scottish brogue, but she straightened her back, allowed a sly smirk to briefly wash over her face, and looked back at him directly in the eyes. "Dare."

Those piercing blue eyes stared back at him, and he almost lost the tiny sliver of confidence he held onto. "I'm not going to go easy on you. You brought this on yourself." He leaned forward, so close that if she never jumped back, their faces would be only inches away.

"I dare you..." Gold thought for a moment, his hand running through his silky hair. The realization that he'd never played this game before hit him like a bus. Gold knew he was over thinking (as usual) and tried to quicken his train of thought, but what he didn't know was what type of dare was actually appropriate for two adults who might be considered friends.

"I dare you to..." he pretended like he had an idea. Belle playfully raised her eyebrows and cocked her head, waiting for a dare she knew would never come.

"Just a second, dearie. It's a good one..." he tried to buy himself some time.

Belle laughed and placed her arms on the table. Her eyes narrowed, but her smile remained.

"Its...a...good...one...," Gold said again, knowing she was buying none of it.

"You mean you don't have one," she said shaking her head. Gold gave up and for the second time that night, leaned back in his chair, and relaxed a little. "You got me," he chuckled softly, raising his arms into the air in defeat.

Even though this last minute had made him feel more comfortable around Belle, it also made him feel incredibly old. Gold sighed, and looked over at the clock on his wall. Thinking he'd embarrassed himself enough for one night he said, "It's getting late, maybe we should think about walking you home dearie," he sighed, running another hand through his greying streaks.