He told Gaston he wasn't a beast, and he proved it.
But Belle didn't need any proof. She knew for herself that the man – yes, the man – she had fallen in love with was no beast. He'd turned out to be different than how she'd seen him at first, and different than how he'd seen himself the whole time. She had found kindness within him, and love – that was more than enough to convince her.
When he fell to the floor, wounded, Belle nearly started crying. She held it in, though, in case there was something she could do to help him. But he was dying, and she knew it. Three gunshots, plus the other countless injuries from Gaston's merciless attack. She could see the life draining from his eyes, and just thinking that she had to say goodbye was enough to make her let it all out. Soaked in tears, she held him as he said his last words. And when his heartbeat was nearly gone, she told him.
Belle had been confused about it, but now she was sure. In one of the books from his library, she'd read that love is what truly makes us human. She knew that the Beast has fallen in love with her. And, though at first she didn't want to acknowledge it, she loved him back. She whispered it, "I love you", and knew: he wasn't a beast.
And when he transformed back into his old self, she had trouble recognizing him. His blue eyes were still the same, though. Belle cautiously reached out to touch his face – there he was, the man she had known was underneath the fur, the rage and the fear.
One day, when they had been strolling around the gardens, she'd asked him what his name was.
"I don't want to call you Beast anymore," she had told him, putting a hand on his chest so he would stop walking and listen to her. He had looked down at the ground. "It's Adam."
"Adam." Belle let his name slip out of her lips, as if savoring it. She looked at him, and tried to see him as an Adam. "It's going to be hard to get used to it."
"Don't call me Adam," the Beast had snapped. Belle frowned. "I'm not Adam," he said in a gentler tone, but sadder. "I'm the Beast. Don't call me what I'm not. Please."
She had placed her hand on top of his paw in an attempt to let him know, without calling him Adam, that she saw past his bestiality.
And now he was human, and he was standing in front of her. Overcome with the joy of seeing him alive more than anything, she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. When they broke apart, she finally said it: "Adam!"
Hand in hand, they started their way downstairs to greet the others. Adam led the way, but in the middle of a staircase in a small tower, Belle tugged on his hand and made him stop. He turned, curious. Leaning against the cylindric wall of the tower with her hands behind her back, she offered him a shy smile. "It's so strange."
Adam chuckled and looked at himself. "I know."
"I thought you were dying," she continued. "But now you're here, and the sun is shining, and everything seems to be back to what it once was but – I don't understand. Is it because the last rose petal fell?"
"No," he replied. And with a smile he explained, "It's because you love me." She felt a blush creep up her cheeks. He went on, "My curse could only be broken if someone came to love me. It was easy for me to fall in love with you. I mean, look at you!" He extended his arms towards her, and she laughed and waved them away. "But it was harder, and deserves greater credit, for you to fall in love with me."
He fell silent and she looked in his eyes, which were still the same. Thank heavens, she thought.
"Well, if it isn't obvious enough," Belle said, her arms folded and her hands behind her back, between her and the wall, "I love you."
She said that with a smile, like it was something they couldn't change but just had to accept. As if saying, there you have it, enjoy.
Adam let out a big laugh and pulled her into a hug. "I love you, too!"
They stayed that way, in each other's arms, Belle's head nuzzled against the crook of his neck and his arms around her back, until she said, "We ought to get to the others. They'll want to see you as well!"
They danced for a long time. Around them, the servants and the villagers who'd joined them in their celebration laughed and danced. Eventually, their feet started hurting from so much tip-toeing and twirling around, that they went to the balcony.
"It's nearly a full moon," Belle noticed, looking up at the sky. The stars were shining bright, and she could recognize the few constellations she and the Beast – Adam, that is – had learned with the help of a book on Astronomy that they had found.
"There's Cygnus," Adam pointed, as if reading her mind. "And Cassiopeia."
She leaned on the railing of the balcony and watched as he pointed them out. She couldn't believe what her life had come to during the course of a single day. He was happy, and so was she. And now it was blatantly obvious to see – her Adam was no beast.
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