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Regina stormed into Gold's cabin, not bothering to knock. He had called her at one in the morning and asked her to come over immediately, so he could damn well handle her walking in unannounced.
The living room was dark except for a few dying embers in the fireplace, but the kitchen light was thankfully on. She headed into the kitchen, prepared to tear into him for calling her in the middle of the night, but stopped herself as he came into view.
He was slouched in his chair in front of the table, head bowed and hand clutching a half-full tumbler of what appeared to be scotch, judging by the mostly empty bottle sitting to his left. His tie had been loosened and the first two buttons of his shirt had been undone. He was far from unkempt but, considering how fastidious he usually was in his appearance, it was a bit jarring.
She froze in the entry, not sure what to say. After a long moment, he finally broke the silence.
“I located the author.”
“You did?”
“Aye.”
“And?” He was silent again. “Well, aren't you going to give me anything more than that?”
He chuckled, low and dark. “I don't think so, dearie.”
Regina fumed at his answer. “I've been dragged along by you for long enough, and I think I've earned--”
“I know you've been working with the Charmings, Regina.”
Her jaw snapped closed with an audible click before she regained her bearings. “That's not true.”
Rumpelstiltskin turned to look at her, a small smirk playing at the corner of his mouth. “You've always been a terrible liar.” Regina tensed, instinctively pulling a fireball into her palm before he flicked his wrist and it was extinguished. “Put that away, I'm not going to hurt you.” He slowly lifted the glass to his lips for a long drink before setting it back down. “I've known you were working with them from the beginning.” He shrugged, “It's worked to my advantage thus far.”
“And now?”
“And now it's too late for them to stop me, so I no longer care.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Well, to be frank, I'd rather they stay out of my way until I do what needs to be done.”
Regina scoffed. “I'm sure they'll be more than happy to sit idly by while your happy ending destroys theirs.”
“My... happy ending... is mine alone. I promise you this, Regina. The only one effected by my visit with the author will be me. You heroes will remain unscathed.”
“Even Belle?”
“Belle,” he repeated, slowly. He smiled, but it looked forced, sitting awkwardly on his face for only a moment until it dropped back off. “She has nothing to fear from me. She'll be unaffected.”
Regina crossed her arms, “Really. You expect me to believe that?”
“She found happiness with someone else less than two months after I--” he paused, face pinched, “left. You really think I'd force a woman to my side? I'm a bastard Regina, but not that kind of bastard.”
“And yet you still wear your ring.” He tensed, right thumb moving to the band on his left hand, idly stroking it for a few seconds before reaching again for his scotch.
“To remind me,” he finally muttered. “Nothing more.” He refilled his glass, taking another deep swallow. Regina finally moved to the table, taking the seat next to Rumpel.
“So what are you after? I will keep everyone off your back if you tell me the truth. If this only has consequences for you and no one else, I will help you. But not until I know what you're planning.”
He stood up and wobbled slightly, his body betraying his intoxication in a way his steady voice had not, and made his way to one of the wooden cabinets, withdrawing another tumbler before making his way back to the table, filling the glass and pushing it towards Regina.
Regina hesitated for a brief moment before bravely taking a few gulps, wincing as the strong liquor hit her tongue. Rumpel waited for her to set the glass back down before speaking again.
“I'm going to ask the author to remove my curse.”
Regina sputtered. “What? Why?”
“So that I may die.”
“Bullshit. If dying was truly your endgame, you could have done that in New York, when you didn't have your power. You didn't go through all of this just to die here.”
Rumpel stared into his glass, seemingly enraptured by the amber liquid. “Do you know what happens when a dark one dies? To their soul, I mean?”
“Belle said something about a vault...” Regina trailed off, pretending not to notice Rumpel's wince when she again mentioned his estranged wife.
“Yes, she would know.” He said bitterly, his brow set in a deep frown. “The vault holds the souls of all those afflicted with the curse. Only the souls of those afflicted.”
“Yeah? So?”
“My boy. My Baelfire. Were I to die now, here or in a land without magic, the result would be the same. My soul would be enshrined in the vault. I would never again find my boy, not even in death.” He smiled ruefully, “I searched for my boy across many realms for hundreds of years. Death is just another realm to traverse, another obstacle in the way of an eventual reunion.”
“You expect me to believe that?” Regina couldn't imagine her old teacher just sitting down and dying, no matter his sob story.
He sighed, running his hand across his face. “I don't care what you believe. You asked for the truth, and I've given it to you.”
“So you plan on removing your curse, and then dying tomorrow?”
“That's the idea.”
“Why not just remove the curse and let yourself die naturally like a normal person, instead of going on some suicide quest?”
“And why would I do that? Remove my curse and wait to get stoned in the streets, maybe? Shot in the back? I guarantee you, nobody will mourn my passing.”
“Well, I don't want you to die.”
“If that's true then you're the only one.”
“Belle--”
“--gave my dagger to who she thought was Hook, the man who has spent the better part of three centuries trying to kill me. I'm sure she won't shed any tears on my behalf.”
“Henry, then.”
An indecipherable look crossed his face before he answered. “Henry is a good boy. Tell him... tell him I'm not the monster I appear in the stories. I'm just a man who wasn't strong enough to resist the curse. Who made bad decisions with good intentions. Tell him I'll miss him. Tell him I love him. Please.”
“You can't do this.”
“And yet, I will.”
“And what about my happy ending? You plan on dying tomorrow, without giving me the location of the author, while I--”
Rumpel cut her off with a snarl. “Really, Regina? Look at your life!” He threw his arms out to his sides. “You have a son who loves you. Snow White and her prince, whose lives you made a living hell for years have accepted you as one of their own. You're the reason your new best friend Emma was raised in foster care and was an orphan for 28 years. You're the bloody mayor of a town full of people who have forgiven you for cursing them all!”
“But Robin--”
“For fuck's sake! After all you've done, all the children you sent to their deaths, all the people you've murdered, all the lives you destroyed, and you're hung up because your boyfriend went off with his wife?”
Regina responded, quietly, “So I'm supposed to, what? Just forgo romance because of my past? I'm supposed to just sit by and be happy, when a hole remains in that part of my life?”
Rumpel groaned in frustration. “No, you go out and find someone new. Date or something, I don't know.” He grinned, small but genuine. “I'm not really the best person to give advice on to tracking down a mate. My love life consisted of an arranged marriage and two deals that went sideways.” His face turned serious once more, “My point remains, however. Don't let fairy dust or an abandoned page out of book determine your fate. You're better than that.” He put his hand over hers on the table.
Regina glanced at their hands, then back up at Rumpel's face. “You're really going to do this, aren't you?” He nodded. “I will miss you. As often as we tried to kill each other, I never really thought you'd ever die.”
Rumpel snorted, “We all die eventually.” His expression turned solemn before he continued, “I think you understand me more than anyone else. You may have wielded a sledgehammer where I preferred a chess match, but at our core our darkness was rooted in love. Me for my son, and you for your Daniel.” He removed his hand from hers, but maintained eye contact. “I want you to ignore this whole author nonsense and find someone else to love. Someone who loves you back, and only you. I truly do want you to find your happy ending.”
“I thought villains didn't get happy endings. That was your whole party line from the beginning.”
“Ursula got her voice back. Maleficent was reunited with her long-lost daughter. Cruella ensured what happened to her would never happen to another child. They all got what they wanted, without relying on some almighty being to plunk it into their laps. I need the author because of the nature of my desire, but your happiness is just waiting to be discovered.”
They both continued to drink for a little while longer, a comfortable silence settling over them, the depleted bottle of scotch not lasting as long as either would have liked. Regina finally left the cabin as the sun was starting to crest over the trees, and was surprised when Rumpel pulled her into a quick hug before she left. “Be well, Regina.”
She ignored the tears that threatened to fall as she pulled out of the driveway.