"I told you leaving me unsupervised in the hot spring was going to put me to sleep." But Tina didn't make a move to get up yet, just resting next to him.

"I assumed it would," Gold pointed out, smiling a bit. "You needed the time to rest."

Tina snorted. "And you didn't count on me latching on to you all night."

"Indeed, although I find I didn't mind as much as I thought I would," Gold replied.

Tina laughed quietly. "Well, you should have known, given the number of times I've fallen asleep on you on the couch."

"I had intended to sleep there," Gold admitted. "When I found you asleep here. I was going to let you remain here, and I would have gone elsewhere had my plans not been changed for me."

Tina shook her head. "Well, for future reference, I'm fine if you sleep in the same bed. I don't mind it. I don't expect you to be fine with it, but I am." She stretched again and scooted over to the edge of the bed to get up, figuring he'd want some time alone.

"I don't mind," Gold said, watching her. "If you'd like, I can give you some privacy to dress, and I'll go see about breakfast."

Tina nodded after a moment. "Sure. I'll just take a minute or two." She smiled a little.

Gold nodded and got up, only avoiding stumbling from practice. Picking up his cane, he left the room to head towards the kitchen.

Tina watched him go, still speculating, before she got dressed quickly and headed into the kitchen after him. At least her leg was feeling better.

Bae was already in the kitchen, leaning back against a counter. It was different than he'd expected, but then he'd only known his father's tastes when they had no money.

Gold paused when he saw Baelfire in the kitchen.

"Bae?" he said, surprised. He'd thought Bae had left already. "Good morning."

"Morning." Bae nodded to him. "You look surprised."

"I suppose I am," Gold admitted. "I had hoped you would still be here, of course, but I hadn't thought you would stay."

"I'll go find the village later," Bae said with a shrug. "Even I'm not cruel enough to leave without warning." They both had experience with that. Too much experience.

"I'm glad for that," Gold said. Bae was right; they'd both had too much experience with people leaving, although perhaps Bae had a bit more of a reason to be wary.

Bae nodded briefly. He'd agreed to give Gold a chance, but he had no idea what to do now. It had been so long, and he'd spent so much time avoiding Gold, he had no clues where to start.

Gold was quiet for a moment.

"If you'd like," he said, "I was going to see about breakfast. You're welcome to stay."

Bae hesitated for a moment before he nodded. "Alright," he agreed. "I'll stay, for a little while."

Gold smiled a bit and turned to the stove to see what he could put together for breakfast. He would have to use a little magic, simply because he couldn't flit around the kitchen like Tina could, but he wasn't a terrible cook himself.

Bae settled down to watch him cook. So far, there had been a distinct lack of magic, which made him curious.

"You look different than last time I saw you," he noted quietly, raising an eyebrow. It wasn't quite a question.

"Indeed," Gold replied as he worked. "I've spent the last twenty-eight years in a world without magic. There could be no Dark One there. Although I can't explain why I remain this way." He was quiet for a moment. "Although, I find I can't complain about it."

"Oh?" Bae raised his eyebrows. "I find that hard to believe."

"Allow me to rephrase," Gold said. "I don't really mind as much as I thought I would."

Bae snorted. He still found that hard to believe, but oh well.

"So you have magic, you're still the Dark One, but you're different." Bae believed that much. He knew he'd seen that much. Apparently those twenty-eight years had done him some good.