SALZRAND: Thank you so much! And as for Adam realizing that, you'll have to see.

GUEST148: Thank you! And your idea is definitely interesting, will consider it.

A/N: Sorry that this chapter is so late in coming. I've been writing for something else for a bit. But finally have a chapter for you all!

CHAPTER 7
Troubled Feelings

Percy felt even more confused about his place in the castle after the day Adam called him "mon petit".

Adam seemed to become a bit more interested in his actions throughout the day, and even in the night. It was rather odd, having Adam visit him in the night to see what he was reading, and in his own way... Tucking him in. He was tucking him in.

The ten year old wasn't sure what to make of this new behavior.

It wasn't that he minded it. Quite the contrary actually, he enjoyed having even more time with the beast he'd come to enjoy the company of. But it still seemed rather odd, finding that Adam was seemingly trying to get closer to him... Just how close did he intend to get? He wasn't sure, and in a way it made him nervous. Especially the more he thought about getting close to someone who could very easily hurt him worse than his father.

Yet, he let things continue on this way.

Adam now took to checking in on him at night in person, rather than through the mirror. He'd often check on him, maybe have a look at what book he'd stuck his nose in now. It actually felt good, having him there, especially when he was always there to tuck him into bed and bid him goodnight.

He wanted to push away from it, but in reality, it was the first time he'd felt loved by a male figure in his entire life.

He thought of this quietly as he woke up in his bed that morning. Rubbing his eye tiredly, as he stretched quietly. He wasn't sure what he wanted to do that morning, but knew that Adam was probably waiting for him in the main hall. So that was the first place he went as he left his bedroom.

Of course, he was right.

The beast was sitting at the head of the table as always. His muzzle moving into a broad smile as Percy entered. "Good morning, Percival. Did you sleep well?" he asked, his voice jovial. "I was thinking today that we might take a nice walk around the grounds... Perhaps-."

"Monsieur Adam, can I ask you a question?"

Adam stopped closing his mouth as Percy said this. It was not often that the boy sounded so serious, or looked it for that matter. After a long moment, he shifted his body forward, and motioned. "Of course, mon petit. What is the question?"

Percy made a slow approach toward his usual seat at the table beside the beast. "What are you trying to be to me?" he finally asked, his voice small, and nervous. "Because I feel as though that's been changing since I first arrived in this castle."

Adam couldn't believe that Percy had asked him that. He looked thoroughly confused on how to answer this question. What was the boy getting at? Making him feel this nervous, to the point he felt the hairs on his neck standing up. "Well, I've never... That is, I'm not sure what you would call me. I have been whatever you choose me to be, I suppose... Your guardian, caregiver, protector... Friend."

He'd thrown that last one on there to hide what the first three options lead to. Percy, on the other hand, didn't seem so keen to let it go. "But you tuck me into my bed now. You visit me at night sometimes too... When I'm sleeping. You don't think I see you... But I do hear you," the boy admitted, surprising Adam a great deal. "I-."

"I simply want to be sure that you're not hurt in the night. That nothing has happened to you..."

"What could happen to me in the castle?" Percy asked. "You said I was safe here..."

Adam tried his best to bite back what he wanted to say. That he enjoyed watching Percy sleep on the nights he himself had a hard time doing so. That it brought him some amount of comfort in doing so, and that watching his peaceful features brought a smile to his muzzle. He leaned back a bit, and huffed a little, thinking it all through so carefully.

The raven haired boy stared at him expectedly. And the prince knew that the boy wanted an answer, but it was not one he was sure he could bring himself to say. "I... Have become quite fond of you, Percival," he finally managed. "As anyone rightfully would given the time I've spent taking care of you."

And then came the words that drifted into the air with such a heavy feeling that Adam wasn't sure what to do. "Do you see me as your son?"

Adam wanted to sink into a hole, get eaten by wolves, anything but broach this subject. After he'd stopped a moment to get a hold of himself, he looked at Percy. "Percival... Seeing someone as one's son is a very complicated matter. And it is not one that I completely or truly understand myself," he explained, and it was true on that matter. "I feel the deepest of affections for you. But we have not known each other long, even if it feels like years have already passed..."

"So you don't know how you feel?" Percy asked, his voice tight.

"I only know that I care deeply for you. And furthermore that your presence here has made me happier than I have been in a very, very long time," Adam admitted, honesty ringing in his words, as it was all true. "Beyond that, I am not sure..."

There was a heavy silence at that, and from Adam's side he could see the disappointment apparent in the boy's eyes. Had he wanted him to say that? That he loved Percy as though he were his own? Adam wasn't sure that he could have answered that way yet. They had only known each other a few months now and they were still getting to know each other

Percy took a deep breath, then looked down at the table. "I understand... I'm sorry, I as wrong to ask you like that. You're... I'm not your problem," Adam immediately regretted saying anything now. "I'm not really feeling good, Adam. Can I take my meal to my room?"

Adam reached a paw forward, and placed it on Percy's arm. "Percival, I did not mean..."

"It's nothing," Percy stood up. "I'm gonna go grab my food."

And then Percy was gone, leaving Adam confused and frustrated.

Percy hated that he'd let that happen.

As a child, his father had taught him one thing: don't be vulnerable. But there he was, acting insanely vulnerable as a result of his confused thoughts that morning. He'd practically begged Adam to think of him as more than just someone he was looking after... He'd been almost convinced that the beast felt the same way, but he'd been wrong.

It was time to stop looking at this in such a black and white fashion.

Perhaps Adam was very lonely after his mother left. That much was obvious, but perhaps he had no intention of filling that hole with anyone. Maybe it was a lost cause to think that someone like Adam, once a prince, would want to do anything but be a loosely-defined guardian to a peasant like him. No, those were the things of fairy tales, he convinced himself. And he needed to stop convincing himself that his life might end up that way. His mother's sure hadn't, after all.

So he'd gone to the library, gotten a book, and retreated to his bedroom. As he'd hoped, Adam didn't grace him with his presence at all. Having probably guessed that Percy needed time to be alone with his thoughts.

A part of him thought that maybe it was now time to leave. No doubt Gaston had long given up his search, right? He could run out of here when no one was looking. None of the members of the castle would ever have to know...

But he felt so bad thinking about it. Adam would be crushed again, and he knew it. And no matter how much the answer he'd given that day stung he didn't want to see Adam hurt. But at the same time, Percy couldn't stay forever. Somewhere, out in the world, was his place within it. And if Adam didn't want to be his father, or anything beyond a guardian, protector, and friend... Well, what kind of place would this be for him?

Eventually, he elected he'd stay longer - given it a little longer... Maybe Adam would change his mind.

Because the truth was, he wanted Adam to be his dead. He wished he had magic and could turn back time, change things... Even growing up with a beast for a father would have been better than being the son of Gaston.

Around mid-day, he finally got the courage to step out of his bedroom. And of course, Cogsworth is waiting there. "The master asked me to wait for you to come out to check on you So I ask... Are you alright? He seemed rather concerned."

Percy looked down at his friend, shrugging his shoulders. "I'm fine... At least I think I am," he was silent for a long moment after that. "Is he...?"

Cogsworth twitched his nose in a way that said he wasn't entirely sure. He put his hands where his hips might have been. "Hard to tell, honestly. I think he's just as confused as you are," Percy supposed he should have seen this coming. "You do know you shouldn't take these things so hard, Percival. The master is not good with emotions, he never has been."

"It was my fault. He was a prince, royalty... I'm just," Percy looked at himself. "I may dress like one, but I'm not one. I'm a commoner. A peasant who up until a few months ago was kept in a basement and slept on the floor... Why would anyone want me?"

Cogsworth's eyes softened, raising his hand for a moment. Then slowly a frown crosses his face. It was clear that he was looking for the right thing to say without insulting his master. "You think too little of yourself, Percival. You're a mature lad, surely you know that you did not deserve that," he explained, surprising the child with his reply. "The master has a conflicted history with his own father, I've told you that much. So do understand that when considering how he makes you feel. I think you may have scared him more than anything."

Percy looked confused at Cogsworth's comment. How did he scare Adam? What had he done wrong? "How could I have ever scared him?"

Cogsworth was silent for a long moment before finally finding a way to answer him: "Because, Percival. I do believe your outburst has caused him to confront his emotions for the first time in far too long."

Percy couldn't help but quietly wonder what emotions those were.

Gaston took another swig of his beer.

He was unquestionably drunk. He almost always found himself as this the longer the time went by that he was unable to find Percy. Whispers had already spread in the town as people wondered just why the boy had left. Rumors, most of them. But there was always a seed of truth in there.

People were starting to talk about how thin the boy had been. Others talked about how Percy had hardly ever been seen in town. Some related that to Belle, saying how she'd always been a "funny girl" and probably thought her son was too good for them. But others? Others...

Others actually had the gull to think that Gaston had something to do with it.

He growled, now the boy was starting to ruin his reputation. He'd combed so much of that forest with nothing to show for it. And without anything to find him... God, who knew what the people would start saying. Perhaps they would start thinking he had something to do with his son's disappearance.

He growled again for the millionth time, smashing his beer against the table of his empty home loudly. No, it wouldn't come to that, he was convinced that he would find the boy and bring him back. He would make that boy tell them that he was simply an ungrateful little brat and restore his reputation in full.

Standing to his feet, he again grabbed some hunting gear. It was time to continue the hunt for his son, since waiting was still getting them nowhere. And to be more blunt, he was not about to give up. Perhaps Lefou would try to fight him about it again, but he wouldn't give in.

No, this boy was going to face the music. He was going to learn just why no one, even his own blood, messed with Gaston or his reputation.