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The last time a man had stood in her living room, carrying a paper sack with his belongings and a vaguely disapproving expression on his face, Belle had been busy making it clear that their engagement was over and she never wanted to see his cheating face again.
Now it was her own face she didn’t know where to hide. “I’m so, so sorry,” she said for what seemed the thousandth time in the last hour.
“It’s… um. It’s nothing, really.”
“Just the most embarrassing moment of my life,” Belle whispered mostly to herself. Other cats would bring back home dead mice and roaches. But no, Princess had decided to stalk their neighbor, slip into his house, dig into his unmentionables, and drag back at least two dozen pieces. “I’m so sorry I didn’t notice sooner,” she told him, wringing her hands.
At least he wasn’t yelling, as she had expected as soon as she understood that she had just printed a couple hundred pictures of Mr. Gold’s underwear and slipped them under the doors of every apartment in her building and into the mailboxes of every building within two blocks of distance.
He had even contained himself to an exasperated glance when Princess had dashed away from her bedroom and come curl herself around his leg. Belle didn’t think she’d heard her cat purr as loudly since the day she’d adopted her, eager for some company in this new town, and brought her home from the local animal shelter.
Belle stifled a gasp when Gold lifted his cane, but had to bite her own tongue guiltily when the tip just stroked against the furry flank. Princess responded in kind to the sign of affection, nudging her head against his calf.
“Know the smell of me, don’t you, you thieving flea-bag?” Gold muttered, his fond tone belying the harshness of the words.
Belle started to breathe more freely, thankful that he had missed her grossly mistaken assumption that he’d harm Princess. Then he glanced at her, eyebrow raised, and it dawned on her that Gold hadn’t missed anything.
“Sorry,” she said again, with even more feeling than before. It was one thing to apologize on behalf of a misbehaving pet, and another to do it because she had let the local gossip get to her.
Either Gold was kinder to animals than to people, and that was why the kindest description she'd heard was of a 'difficult' man, or everybody was wrong about him.
Considering he was not railing at her for having missed the growing collection of purloined briefs and socks hidden deep in her closet, and the fact that now he was looking surprised at her simple apology, Belle had the nagging feeling that it was the latter.
Even if he had a soft spot for the four-legged, furry, and smaller... what sensible person wouldn't? A pet never betrayed you, and the smarter people were well aware of that fact.
Never mind that Belle's soft spot was for the sensible and smart.
Or that she'd had an eye on the man that blended perfectly pressed suits and shoulder-length hair since she'd spotted him during her first week in town. Her attraction had been kept at an slow simmer, not to be taken beyond a passing naughty thought about her neighbor, or a stolen glance (or ten) when they crossed ways on the sidewalk. Belle had already had her share of self-important men who cared for nothing as much as for themselves, and to her disappointment Mr. Gold was said to be one of those. Careful questioning of acquaintances and new friends could be summarized in the fact that the pawnshop owner had no sense of humor, respect for anyone at a disadvantage, or weakness.
It seemed like he had everybody fooled.
Belle knew that she had overheard a quiet chuckle or two as they coordinated a time for him to pick up his belongings, and while it was obvious that she (and Princess) were the ones in the wrong, Gold had been nothing but courteous. Most importantly, Belle knew the look of someone who was restraining themselves from picking up a small animal and putting it on their lap to rub its belly.
Belle trusted a man with a weakness for a kleptomaniac cat a lot more than she did a bunch of people who, on their own admission, hadn’t exchanged more than a few words with Mr. Gold in years.
“Would dinner tomorrow be okay?” she asked him, hearing her brain screech in alarm but not giving herself the option to retreat.
The look on his face was worth her blushes. “Excuse— Excuse me?”
Belle forced herself to relax her shoulders, give what would have to look like a careless shrug. “I did mention I meant to make it up for you. Remember? Over the phone.”
His eyes widened. “I thought you meant…” He waved his free hand, at a loss. Finally he gave her a disconcerted frown. “Dinner?”
Her original idea had been to bake him a cake, or a batch of cookies if he preferred that. But dinner would keep him in one place for at least an hour.
A man who scowled at human beings, but didn’t protest as his expensive black pants got covered with white and orange fur. Surely this was someone worth knowing?
“Yes. Tomorrow. At seven?”
Gold stared at her, open-mouthed for a full second before he snapped it closed. “Any chance this miscreant will be on the menu?”
If he thought to scare her, he should have tried to shoo said miscreant away. Belle rolled her eyes at the attempt. “Princess will be involved only if she has to drag you over in time.”
“A thief and kidnapper, eh?” He glanced down, hair running forward to shield his face. “But worry not,” he added, though his voice was slower, as if testing her reaction after each word before he said the next, “I will be here on time.”
Belle smiled, already planning the menu for the next night. “Great.”
Gold nodded at her, gave a last gentle tap against Princess’ rump, and turned down the hallway.
Belle stayed at the door, watching him until the elevator doors opened and he made his way inside. Their eyes met before the doors slid closed, and Belle felt her smile widen at the timidly hopeful look in his eyes.
“If this goes well,” Belle told Princess, releasing a long breath and kneeling on the carpet to rub between the small, triangle ears, “You’re getting the expensive tuna from now on.”
Satisfied with the outcome of her thirty-two trips into the territory of her future part-owner, Princess curled her tail upwards and marched back into the room.
It had been a grueling month, but the humans finally were doing their half of the job.
The End
26/10/16