This is fine. It's fine. We're fine.

[sharpasanarrow]

[Well that was.

Something.

Underneath everyone’s door they’ll find a slip of paper, in shaky calligraphy, that reads:

INVITATION

Meet in the Dining Room.

Do not bring alcohol of any sort.

Upon arrival into the Dining Room it’s clear that this is very much...not a party.

The center of the room is cleared of all tables, and instead has all the chairs arranged in a circle, facing inwards. On the tables pushed to the side are jugs of water, cups, plates of saltines, and several hastily-made pamplets that read on the front ”How to cope with Child homicide” that contains an advisory list:

1. Try not to think about it.
2. Do not get hysterical.
3. Crying is permitted, but keep it within a reasonable volume. (For the consideration of fellow mourners)
4. Maintain civility
5. Do not plunder the belongings of the deceased.
6. No drinking or gambling your sorrows away. Set an example.

Standing in front of one of the chairs already is Mr.Arrow. He clears his throat as people start to slowly come in.]

I gathered you all here because I believed it would be conductive to group morale if we all worked through our feelings regarding recent events. Talk about your feelings with one another, but not with me.

[He steps back a little, out of the circle of chairs, in what seems to be an invitation for people to sit down and discuss with one another.]

Comments

[athleticallyinclined]

[ Gaston's expression contorts into something even uglier and more hateful. Insults wrapped in betrayals and false accusations, but perhaps the worst of it all is how utterly unaffected Lefou seems by what Gaston had been sure would be the killing blow.

And then, of course - a word, a phrase, a revelation, that Lefou had tossed aside so carelessly. As if it didn't even matter - when once, to Lefou, it would have mattered most of all. ]

What do you mean, after I was gone?

[toogoodforhim]

[He's vowed not to tell Belle or the Beast about the happy ending that he wasn't sure they could get anymore. About the wedding that might not happen, and the curse that may never be broken.

But he doesn't have any such qualms about telling Gaston.]

You died the night you led the mob to the castle, Gaston. You lost.

[athleticallyinclined]

[ He stares at the mirror, through the mirror to the man on the other side. Once, Lefou would have done anything for Gaston. That much is true. Once, the thought of Gaston's death would have killed Lefou, too.

What had happened?

He shakes his head, refusing to believe it. To accept it. ]

You're lying.

[toogoodforhim]

You wish.

[Said with enough sass to make all of his adorable teenager friends proud.

But then something sad crosses his expression.]

Look, Gaston. I've moved on from you. But if you can learn something in that place, like I did, then...maybe you can come out a better person too. In fact, I hope you do, I really do, because you were my best friend. But you're not what's best for me, anymore.

[athleticallyinclined]

[ After all of the contempt, the unprecedented hatred, the sudden and unexpected discovery that Lefou had, against all probability, grown a spine...the last thing Gaston had expected to see was that sadness in Lefou's eyes. It's an expression too genuine to be faked, and he blinks, momentarily unsettled.

Le Duo. It had never happened, not in the way Lefou had wanted. It was never going to happen. And yet, neither had Gaston turned Lefou away. Reflected glory might not really have been as good as the real thing, but it was better than nothing, and of all the people in the village, Gaston had chosen to share a corner of his spotlight with Lefou.

There had been a reason for that. And now, past all the anger he feels, the venom, the rage at Lefou's daring to betray him, something else pricks at his chest.

Regret?

Could this have been avoided?

Could he have said, done, something to keep Lefou from looking at him with such sorrow, such empty hope?

But as quickly as it had arrived, that confusing, unpleasant feeling of vague unhappiness is gone, replaced by something much more familiar. His expression hardens, eyes growing small and narrow as he glares at Lefou. ]

I was the best thing that ever happened to you.

Someday you'll remember that.

[toogoodforhim]

[LeFou wanted to hate him. He wanted it to be that easy. He was better off now, without Gaston. But the boy Gaston had been had given LeFou hope once, had made him feel like he wasn't alone.

He wouldn't have grieved him, if part of him didn't still love the boy that he'd once been, or the brave war Captain who had saved his life and those of his other men.]

Not anymore.

[With that, he gets up and walks out of the room, and prays that the mirror's view can't or doesn't follow him.]