nerdrumple:

Summary| Belle’s husband died years ago, as did Gold’s wife. The long years spent alone have made their houses empty and their nights haunted – but everything changes when Belle approaches Gold with a strange proposal.

Rating| E, for Eventual Smut

Words| 2,907

Chpt 1 | Chpt 2 | Chpt 3 | Chpt 4 | Chpt 5 | Chpt 6 | Chpt 7 | Chpt 8 | Also on AO3

A/N: Oh, hello, I’m back! Time to return to this lovely story 🙂

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“You’re an amazing cook, Lachlan.”

“I am,” he said, no humility.

He’d done his very best to impress her with a mushroom risotto dish he was fond of, one that required beef stock and thyme and constant stirring. It allowed him to stand behind her and press his chest to her back while he directed the wooden spoon in her hands. If his hips found themselves connecting to her rear with each gentle motion of their stirs, well. He could blame it on the narrow space between his kitchen island and stove top.

They hadn’t bothered making their way to the dining room, just kept things informal by plating and dining right there in the kitchen. Standing at the island and leaning over their dishes together and blinking up at one another between bites of risotto, sips of wine.

“Wonderful,” she said, for what must have been the hundredth time as they finished their meal. She’d been overcomplimenting his efforts all evening. “Nothing came from a box or can or package or anything.”

He blinked, cocked a smile. “What kind of meals have you been eating?”

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