A/N: I thought I would have another stab at this fandom, because honestly I loved writing about LeFou. So here's my take on Gaston!
Enjoy, oh and Happy New Year!
He fumed, he raged, he hollered and no-one heard him. He drifted around the castle which should have been his as a trophy. He should have strode through the halls, with so much more wall space to mount his kills, he could have spent hours moving through the castle admiring his work. Instead, he moved through the castle as a shade, watching his Belle marry that lumbering aristocrat and turn the castle into a school.
Gaston was appalled by what he saw; Belle sitting with groups of children and adults with one of the many books in the castle. These were villagers he had led in to kill the beast that were now sat beside Belle, listening attentively as she read; they bowed to the Beast they had been set to slaughter and it made Gaston grind his teeth in frustration. His kill had been so close; one of the greatest trophies he could have had and now that trophy was ruling the village of Villeneuve.
The bit that hurt Gaston the most was LeFou. The little traitor had found Gaston's body sure, and buried it in the chasm to which Gaston had fallen rather than taking it to the churchyard. Maybe that's why Gaston was forced to roam about this eternal torment. Gaston did not ponder on it long; he tried to catch his servant's attention with everything he had, which admittedly was not much. He tried punching the squat man, kicking him, biting him, running at him with full speed but it did nothing other than made the fellow shiver every so often. At which point some devil of a man would wrap his arm around LeFou's shoulder to keep him warm.
"You are so prone to draughts Claude." The other man murmured quietly and Gaston seethed. Wait who was Claude?
"I know, I don't know what happens but I am almost always stood in a chilly spot!" LeFou replied in exasperation. LeFou's first name was Claude?! Gaston stared down at his old servant in shock; he didn't recall LeFou having a first name. He didn't recall ever asking if LeFou had a first name, Gaston was Gaston Gaston… either way worked for him and he presumed LeFou had been the same, he had never thought to ask if that was the case. But his amazement was quickly dropped as the other man cuddled up closer.
This was the other shock that Gaston had come to learn; while he thought that LeFou had been infatuated with the three sisters in the village, Gaston soon realised that his manservant had altogether different inclinations, and they culminated in this ruffian from the village. He was ample parts flabbergasted (a word he had learnt unconsciously from listening to Belle read), and ample parts horrified.
Watching LeFou sit quite comfortably with the other man, Gaston stormed his way up to the topmost turret, which was one of his favourite brooding spots. It was far enough away from where he had slipped and fallen but it still gave him some comfort by being at the top of the world.
"Difficult is it not?" A female voice was behind him and he turned in surprise. He did not really recognise the woman before him and he frowned at the interruption. Until it hit home that she could see him. "Yes I can see you." She said patiently. "You probably do not recognise me like this." The blonde woman smiled as Gaston stared at her confused. "You may recall me as Agathe from the village, who found Belle's father when you left him out there to die. I would also be the one who cast the spell on Prince Adam." She explained patiently as his expression changed from confusion to horror.
"No." Gaston stood quickly but the woman held out her hand to calm him.
"I am here only to talk to you and nothing more." She soothed and Gaston sat back down hesitantly. "I sense you are somewhat lonely since your passing." She murmured and Gaston grunted in response.
"I don't get lonely."
"Nonsense, we all get lonely." The Enchantress smiled, smoothing her skirts around her legs. "Is there anything you want to talk about?"
"Why on earth do you think I want to talk." Gaston bit out, turning to stare back at the horizon with a churning anger in his gut, he missed the Enchantress' knowing smile, but felt her presence at his back.
"Everyone likes to talk, I remember you in the village Gaston, you would talk about yourself endlessly. It must be hard not having LeFou here to listen to you." She said lightly and without taking his eyes off the skyline, Gaston immediately launched into a tirade of pent up emotion.
"…and he doesn't see me anymore. There's a look of awe and inspiration when he sees that scoundrel from the village, but it has more depth than anything he ever looked at me with." Gaston finished, suddenly aware that he may have been talking for about ten minutes about his woes and that the woman was now sat beside him instead of behind him.
"It is hard when someone we love moves on." She said thoughtfully and as expected he exploded at her words.
"I do not love LeFou."
"Of course you did. He loved you and you loved him, I just wish you could have realised it while you were alive. You may have had a Happy Ever After." The Enchantress sighed.
"I . ." Gaston hissed at her.
"No, you are right." She said suddenly, catching him off guard. "You did not even know his first name. You just turned to him whenever you were in pain, hurting, or angry. You turned to him to calm you down, bolster you and put you back on your feet. He was there for you no matter how badly you treated him, even if he slept in a stable while you fucked your way around the women of France, you would still return to him every morning after." The Enchantress said lightly and Gaston frowned at her.
"He was my manservant, that's what he was there for."
"If you say so." She shrugged. "Now if you excuse me, I have matters to attend to in a far off land." She stood, shook out the fabric of her skirts and smiled kindly at Gaston. "I will give you one piece of advice before I leave Monsieur, try showing him kindness instead of brutality." She vanished before his eyes and Gaston was left staring slack jawed at the empty space.
Later that night as he mooched his way down to dinner and saw LeFou sat between an old woman and a one of the sisters from the village Gaston stopped and stared. There was a light in the fellow's eyes Gaston could not remember seeing before, his face was animated as he jabbered away to both of his companions, switching between the two quite easily as he soothed the sister's worries about a suitor and he listened patiently as the old woman offered advice on youth and how to use it. Gaston sighed and turned from the room, opting to float through the corridors towards the library. It was a room he utterly despised but Belle seemed to always have ideas while she was surrounded by the thick worthless tomes, maybe he would as well.
After a fruitless four hours of no such luck, Gaston left and unintentionally found himself in LeFou's rooms. His short friend came in alone, thank heavens and spent a good hour faffing before bed, another half hour working on his reading by candlelight and then tucked himself beneath the covers. All of this Gaston watched, he was bored admittedly but where else was there to go? He watched as his friend dropped off to sleep before he moved towards LeFou, and out of an absent mind he tucked a stray strand of hair behind the other man's ear. He was amazed when the hair actually moved and Gaston stared in horror at his hand. He had done it.
Then the Enchantress' words came back to him. Try showing kindness.
She watched with a fond smile at the scene before her, utterly invisible to Gaston and any living mortal that may spot her. When she had come before the Prince, she had sensed his selfishness had needed a different treatment to those she usually tried to reform; hence the complex magic she had wound around his castle and his people. With Gaston, there had already been a softness in his heart, even if he had not realised it. It was a matter of making Gaston realise he could show kindness.
The hunter still had a long way to go penance wise before he could move on, but if he was stuck with his decision to become LeFou's guardian angel then it would happen.