"I very well might still be," Belle said, because she still had no idea how time worked here given the strange doors and the way everything seemed to pause. "I've been here for months, but not always here," she led him inside her room at the hotel, which was such a lovely suite that she had begun to tinker and toy with. Her smile was delighted, excited, and she kissed him the way she had been wanting to do for ages, the kind of kiss she thought she'd only get to dream about.

Breathless, she pulled away. "We can go home, here," she said, desperately pleased to break the news to him.