You could be my favourite place
I've ever been
I got lost in your willingness
To dream within the dream

You could be my favourite faded fantasy
I've hung my happiness upon what it all could be

And what it all could be
What it all, what it all could be
What it all, what it all could be
With you

-Damien Rice

Modern AU - Belle X Gaston - American City - Coffee Shop AU

Gaston really wished his friend had chosen a less crowded section of the metro to meet him today.

It was bad enough he had to drive over four hours into the city with a packed bag in his backseat and a receipt for a tuxedo rental in his glove compartment. LeFou could have at least given him a few hours to settle in before his phone buzzed with the address to a local coffee shop and an insistent message to meet him there as soon as possible.

Walking through the cacophony of noise between the tall buildings did nothing to ease his nerves and neither did the pointed looks he was receiving from women and a few men as he passed by. There had been a time when looks like that would be the highlight of his day. He would have puffed his chest in pride and probably stopped to chat up one of the blushing, young women. Only things had changed.

Coming back into the city this weekend was bringing back a different collection of memories- ones where his habit of preening for the crowds had left him more alone than ever. As disgruntled as he felt in the moment, Gaston knew his friend was nervous about the weekend ahead so he was working hard to stamp down his own feelings and try to be there for one of the few friends he had left.

Wherever he was heading was bound to be trendy as Lefou's fiance Stanley had better tastes than two men raised out in the country did. Gaston was thankful he had thought to change out of his tan Carhartt jacket for a better fitting and nicer leather one LeFou had sent for Christmas the year before. It would make his friend happy to see it get some use.

As he worked his way through the narrow sidewalks of downtown, Gaston couldn't help but keep an eye out for a certain brunette he knew had moved to the city around the same time LeFou had, even though logically he knew the likelihood of spotting her was slim in such a busy area. Still, it was a hard habit to break as he kept seeking out her face in those he passed by, half hoping to see her honey-brown eyes look back at him and half flinching at the thought the next person he passed really could be her.

At last, he reached the coffee shop, silencing his phone's buzz on the maps app Gaston slipped past two women with long, blonde dreads sipping green juice and reached for the wooden door of the shop, pushing it without taking notice of the name. The cleaning of the bell attached the door was so unexpected it took him a moment to step further inside.

What he had been expecting to be some posh and sleek coffee bar was actually an older looking place filled with wooden features, overstuffed chairs and couches and a wall along the far side of tall, wooden bookshelves filled with books. It felt cozy and oddly familiar. When Gaston noticed the roses placed at each table, it was the last detail he needed to trigger thoughts of the beautiful brunette from his past. The cafe could practically have been Belle Duerre's own living room and he hoped for the sake of keeping his temper that LeFou wasn't up to something dangerous. His thoughts continued to travel back to remembering the way Belle's fingers would trail across a bookshelf and how she always kept fresh roses at her dinner table, except for one time when she accepted a bouquet of wildflowers from him. One time that could have been more if he hadn't been such an idiot.

With relief, Gaston spotted LeFou waving his arms back and forth over his head to get his attention and for about the tenth time that morning, he shoved the thoughts of her away.

"Settle down, now," he admonished gently as he approached his friend's table and opened his arms wide for a hug. Gaston was ever grateful that LeFou had forgiven him for his rudeness to him in the past. It has taken time but now they had an ever deeper and more honest friendship, one filled with true support and never the haggling for attention it once had. Sometimes Gaston thought if it wasn't for LeFou's weekly emails and phone calls, he would go weeks without talking to anyone he could call a friend.

His friend's returned greeting caught his attention. "Gosh, Gaston it's good to see you! Sit sit sit!" Gaston was ushered into the chair next to LeFou's and handed a thick piece of cardstock with a printed menu on it. Looking down, it was hard to decipher most of the items claiming to be coffee and he bit back a grunt at the list marked as 'Half-Sandwiches' on the back. Half a sandwich? Such a city thing, he thought. Can't give a man a full meal.

"So," LeFou began, dragging out the end of the word for damn near three beats. "Tell me how it's been back home? Did those sisters manage to lure you into their web yet?"

This time, Gaston couldn't hold back the grunt. "No, I've got no time for their petty dramas. Enough to do in setting up the lodge as it is."

There was little need to go into more detail. LeFou had a financial stake in the lodge he was setting up north, a place for those who enjoyed hunting to learn more about eco-friendly practices and get involved in preserving wildlife areas. It was win-win for everyone involved. The hunters could have a more sustained source and the preservationists could see the results of their efforts in action. It even gave his LeFou a way to stay connected to the hunting culture he used to love before finding his way into the city. So far, Gaston had a good relationship built between the various interest groups and with the addition of funding from the Ruffed Grouse Society, he was well on his way to build his dream.

At last his requested cup of black coffee was delivered to their table along with an iced latte and a plate of tiny yellow macaroons for LeFou who quickly scooped up the three cookies, one after the other with a sheepish grin on his face. "I've been a bit stressed," he offered as an explanation but Gaston waved it off, wishing LeFou didn't feel the need to apologize for eating. The man was one of the kindest he had ever known and if his only vice was a bigger appetite then LeFou was a saint in his book.

Taking a sip of the coffee, he said. "I'm picking up my tux tomorrow morning. Do you need me to take care of any other errands? I have nothing else to do around here."

It was his friend's turn to wave him off. "Nah, Stanley's brothers and sister are in town and have everything in order already. They don't even need me to do anything and I'm a groom!" LeFou leaned closer then, his dark eyes darting around them. Gaston furrowed his brow and looked around as well, wondering what had come over the man next to him. Eventually, LeFou spoke again in a hushed tone. "Besides, a free day means you could check in on a special...and single...someone."

There was no need to voice who the special someone LeFou whispered about was. In all of their conversations about her, though they were less and less often as they years past, Gaston rarely said her name at all. Images of thick, chestnut hair piled into a high bun and a ghost of smile on pink lips flooded his mind.

"Single? What happened to what's-his-name?" Gaston asked, sighing as the topic he was dreading was being brought up not even five minutes in.

Taking a long swig of the whipped cream topped latte LeFou smirked. "Well, it turns out they were too similar after all. She broke it off with him, Adam, because she said she was bored."

"Bored?" he repeated, his brows knitting in confusion. "That was her word? Or yours?"

"Yes! Bored! She came over to our condo one night... in tears, I swear it... saying Adam wanted to do nothing but sit around and read with her. She wanted to take trips and explore things but he was such a homebody who thought reading about adventures was enough. Imagine that, eh? She got bored with reading next him! She told us there was no spark anymore once they settled into life here. She said it broke her heart to hurt him but Stanly assured her a man like that would find a new girl in no time." At Gaston's raised eyebrow, LeFou sputtered out, "He's a bit blunt. But anyhoo - now Belle's back in school and doing quite well for herself."

Interesting. "You know, LeFou, this place," he nodded his head towards the exposed brick wall beside them with a large map of Paris. The coffee shop was a bit too familiar. Gaston continued in a lowered voice, "It reminds me a bit too much of her to be a coincidence. Any reason why I'm sitting in her dream world right now?"

The chuckle LeFou emitted convinced Gaston there really was something underfoot. "Can you blame me, old pal, for wanting to see if you still felt the same way about our Belle? Yeah, yeah... I'll admit it, this is her store. She opened it up less than a year ago and we think she's doing great with it!"

His use of the word our flared a protective streak in him and he felt his arms flexing in response. Quickly the shorter man added, "She's not here I promise. And she suspects you are coming in for the wedding but I haven't spoken to her in a couple of weeks. You can relax, Gaston. I asked you to meet me here when I knew she wouldn't be around." Once again, Gaston felt irritation churning and his friend was quick, as always, to pick up on it. "But, but...I did it more for those who work here to see you around. Not to upset you but to see if her hearing you were here would stir up some old feelings."

"You're meddling, LeFou," he warned in deeper tone.

At that he was given another sheepish grin from the soon-to-be-married man. "You used to like it when I meddled. Just trust me on this one."

If that tall man of pure muscle is one of Stanley's brothers you better tell LeFou to set a girl up!

Belle looked up from her notetaking to see the odd text lighting up her phone's screen. Usually, she would ignore group texts from the baristas at the coffee shop since most of them were bits of gossip or complaints being sent out to their group and never really meant for 'the boss lady' to respond to. Except this was particularly odd since she had met Stanley's brothers and they were all as lanky as the flamboyant groom.

Man of muscle? She quickly texted back and then her jaw quite literally dropped.

Oh.

It hit her exactly who the stranger. There was only one person LeFou would have brought to her shop on a week where visitors from their hometown were expected and only one man she knew who could be described as a 'tall man of pure muscle.'

Oh, she should have expected this! Since her and Adam's breakup a few months earlier she had heard more about what good things Gaston was doing back in her hometown than ever before.

First, there were texts from Stanley boasting about Gaston's lodge, peppered into the middle of other conversations as if it was a casual reference. Then, Facebook messages and forwarded pictures from LeFou started after that along with emailed links to the local newspaper about Gaston's volunteer work with helping rebuild the elementary school after a big storm. Of course, Stanley had followed after with stories about how exciting it must be for their old pal to be starting his own business and working as a volunteer firefighter. All things Belle really didn't need to sneak into her late-night fantasies as she was trying desperately to forget both Adam and Gaston in the hopes of someday having a new and better relationship with someone new.

"Dammit!" she cursed aloud.

It was no good that he was here and in her coffee shop of all places. That arrogant and disturbingly handsome jerk would only bring trouble just as she was starting to move on from her last heartbreak and she was sure he was mocking her choice of business just like he used to when he heard of her dreams to move down to the city. Belle let out a frustrated sigh and pushed her notebooks aside to grab her phone again, this time scrolling to find LeFou's name highlighted in her contacts list. With thumbs typing away furiously she sent the text before she let the butterflies in her stomach make her wimp out.

Get him out of my shop or I swear I will tell Stanley what you said about his mother!

There. Belle smiled knowing that message would do the trick for all the sweetness she was known for, she was equally known to go to any lengths necessary to protect what was close to her heart and dammit, Cup o' Love was hers!

All hopes of returning to her studying were gone and her betraying mind went back to the image of 'man of muscle' sitting at one of her tables and drinking coffee from one of her mugs. It should have continued to irk her but Belle found her emotions leaning in another direction altogether which only added to her feelings of unease. As she should have expected, given how many romance novels she had read over the years, this wedding/hometown reunion weekend was turning out be one of emotional mayhem indeed.