Summary: Gaston likes meeting new people. The little family is definitely more than interesting.
A/N: Chapters are not in chronological order as they are a collection of one-shots and prompts of the Stupid Cupid verse.
Gaston likes meeting new people. Better if it is some random stranger on a gloomy day. They hardly fail to amaze him with the stories that flow from their lips. Oh, nearly half of them are lies, but that does not mean he is not amused by the tall tales. Today is one of those days. A father and son sit opposite him in the cramped café, waiting for the sudden downpour to pass.
They tell him stories of the son's adventures at his school, of how he climbed the school tree and nearly broke his arm and of how he courageously stops a boy from bullying a girl named Emma. Said son proudly points out that he helps out at his father's tailor shop during the weekends.
"Baden Gold, stop that this instant," his father warns when his son starts to blow bubbles into his drink. The result was instantaneous, but a few minutes later the grating sound of slurping a glass full of ice breaks the conversation between Gaston and the father.
"That's the sign that we'll need to start going. Promised this lad here I'll take him to the park. It was nice meeting you Gaston," the father says. Holding out a hand they say their goodbye and the older man and his son head to the counter to pay for their meal.
Gaston watches the pair navigates through the crowded café and out into the street. The boy happily skips alongside his father who is tightly holding his cane and doing his best to not slip on the slippery path.
"Who are those people?"
Tearing his eyes away from the window he is greeted by a blinding smile from a slightly wet brunette.
"Dearest sister you are late as usual."
"Oh, stop teasing me. Who are they?" Taking a seat next to him his sister looks at him expectantly.
"Random strangers, a father and his son. Maybe we'll bump into them at the park because that is where they're heading."
With a slight maniacal glint, his sister hastily puts a ten dollar note on the table and then proceeds to drag him out of the café.
"Belle, where are you–Ouch, don't dig your nails into my arm!"
Soon the pair finds themselves sitting on a park bench. Belle's eyes wildly scanning the park for something while he is fuming silently and waiting for his sister to apologise. A few meters away he spots a sandy-haired man who moves with a slight limp and teaching a little child how to fly a kite. Gaston cannot tell from his distance if it is the father and son he met earlier. Belle will have a field day if he admits that his eyesight is failing. She has been trying to get him to check his vision for over a year. He is able to ignore her infuriating bossiness over the issue for a year; he is not going to admit it now.
Out of the corner of his eyes Belle starts to fidget. When the child faces their direction a brilliant smile quickly blooms on his face–there is no mistaking it, even for someone suffering from short-sightedness. The child waves at them and suddenly breaks into a run–heading to where they are sitting. Recognising the boy as Baden Gold, Gaston was about to greet the boy when he but all he sees a blur of blue that is his sister running towards the boy.
Apparently the two are already familiar with each other for his sister scoops the boy up and twirls him around. The same surprise look on Baden's passes over his father's. Shyly smiling at Belle, the father walks towards the pair. Ah, so this must be the adorable little family his sister has been actively talking about these past few months. Their names must have slipped his mind. Then again, one should not talk like a Class 5 freight train most of the time, especially when the listener is constantly sleep deprived and suffering from a cold.
The older man looks unsure of how to act and simply stares at Belle like a lovesick puppy. Oh, this is good. Adjusting his rumpled clothes, Gaston puts on his best overprotective brother face and proceeds to meddle in his sister's love life.