Her smile became more pronounced, and she nudged the containers of creamer and sugar packets toward him. Belle had done enough unexpected travel in her years to know the value of creature comforts after a hard landing.

She had questions. She had so many questions, but for the moment, she let them (and him!) settle, busying herself with two of her own sugar packets before she paused, ripped paper hovering over the black tea.

"I don't think you're crazy," Belle said, expression melting into something comforting, something concerned, and even if what he said was casual, well — maybe he was the type to use casual humor to cope with something very real. Her instincts urged her to reach out and lay a comforting hand on his arm, but she kept to herself, unsure of the boundary. "Trust me. Sometimes it seems like once we overcome one fantastic ordeal, we don't get a chance to breathe before the next one."

That was a life lesson, right? Belle stirred her sugar into her tea.

"Why don't you tell me about home? About —" About her, about their home life, "— Mary Margaret and David, you didn't recognize them, did you?"