A/N: I've been having a hard time at work, which has led me to write this second variation of Chapter 21 of A Prince in Disguise. This version follows the original chapter a bit more closely, save for two key differences: Adam and Belle wake up around the same time and break the spell earlier. It's not as sensual as the previous chapter, but hopefully some of you will enjoy it. Happy reading!

Adam awoke to a tantalizing, flowery scent, and something silky brushing against his nose. Is this my fur? he wondered, opening his eyes.

He could barely see anything in the darkness, so he pulled his arm closer towards the object. His fingers brushed over what felt like a breast and the inside of an elbow until he found what he was looking for. No, it wasn't fur; he realized. It was softer and longer than his fur had ever been, and it was much thinner. It was hair, human hair. His hand travelled further across the delicate strands, eventually touching an ear, then a cheek, eyebrow, nose, and lips. This hair was attached to someone's head, he concluded. Belle's.

Memories of the hours before came flooding back. He'd come to Belle's room to reveal himself, only to learn that she'd slipped off to find the Beast. He'd found her in the West Wing, crying over the remains of the enchanted rose. After fighting with her over the magic mirror, he'd kissed her, and she'd discovered his true identity. They'd both admitted their feelings for each other. Then... Well, he didn't need a refresher of what happened next. What had started with a simple kiss had blossomed into an unstoppable night of passion, a beautiful moment where he'd succumbed to pleasures he'd wanted to experience with her for months, but until recently, thought impossible.

His heart raced as he rested his hand on her shoulder, listening to the sound of her breathing. She was so amazing, so incredible, so brave. What he'd give to spend the rest of his life falling asleep and waking up beside her just like this.

But they'd only been together for one night. And considering how free-spirited and independent Belle was, Adam wasn't even sure if she would want to stay with him after tonight. It was devastating to think about, but not without cause. Now that Belle was no longer his prisoner, there was nothing to stop her from leaving him… again.

Suddenly, the warm, fuzzy feeling in him was gone, replaced by a bitter sense of dread. He wasn't sure he could sleep anymore. He tried to get out of bed, only to realize that his right arm was completely dead, wedged between Belle's head and the pillow beneath her. Fighting back a groan of pain, he gently pushed her head up with his free hand to drag it out. Then, he rolled over and untangled himself from the blankets.

He tried to do all this without waking her, but unfortunately, his actions did not go unnoticed. As he rose from the bed, he heard her groan and call faintly behind him, "Adam? Where are you going?"

Her voice was a spell, holding him in place. Admitting defeat, he sat back down on the edge of the mattress, facing away from her. "Nowhere," he answered. "Just… thinking."

The sheets rustled as she shuffled closer to him. He felt her trace circles across his back before resting her head atop his shoulder. The warmth of her touch was like a magnet, slowly pulling him in. Closing his eyes, Adam rested his own head against hers, basking in the feeling of simply being with her. How could he ever think of letting her go after tonight? He tried to remember how he'd managed in the years before he'd met her, but it was impossible. There was no life before Belle. She was his light at the end of the tunnel, his raison d'être, the only one who made him believe he could be more than who he was. And now, his heart ached to know if she returned his feelings; both in body and in soul.

"I can't believe you're really here," she breathed. "That this isn't a dream. It's not, is it?"

"It's not."

He thought he could see her smile in the corner of his eye. "So… What are you thinking about?"

He hesitated before replying, "You."

Giggling, she pressed her bare chest against his back and moved forward to kiss him. But Adam put a finger to her mouth before she could. As much as he longed to capture her lips again, he couldn't let himself get carried away. Not while his concerns about their new relationship were still fresh in his mind.

"Belle?"

"Hmm?" She moved back, frowning at him in concern.

"Tonight… was the best night of my life. I never thought I could feel that way before. Or that I could feel that way with you." He rubbed the back of his neck, flustered by his inability to clearly put their night of passion into words. He was no Romeo and lacked the eloquence to express his feelings without someone like Lumière to prompt him. But at the sight of Belle's patient gaze, he decided to keep trying. "I'm just worried we were too hasty," he finished. "And maybe we let our emotions get the better of us."

Belle creased her brows, taken aback by his startling confession. "Are you saying you… regret what we did tonight?"

"No!" He winced. "It's just… It's complicated."

"I'm listening."

Feeling the heat of her stare, he took a deep breath, voice coming out in quick bursts. "Belle, do you realize that you'll never be able to live a normal life after tonight? I took something from you that you'll never get back. And if you become with child—"

She let out a sharp exhale, and Adam was unable to finish the sentence. While he wouldn't hesitate to take responsibility for a child if they had one, if Belle wasn't ready to become a mother, a pregnancy would be the kiss of death for her and her future. All because his selfishness had driven him to act without thinking.

"I never meant for things to go this far," he finished, bowing his head in shame. "I thought I'd know better than this. But even as a human, I still can't change who I am. I'm still a beast."

"That's not true!" she protested, placing her hand on the back of his shoulder. "I share the responsibility for what happened as much as you. And I can tell you with all my heart that I wouldn't have consented to be with you unless I was certain I loved you and trusted you." She looked into his eyes; lips pursed with conviction. "This isn't your fault, Adam. It's nobody's fault. We needed this time together. It wasn't a meaningless tryst. It was the most wonderful night of my life. You were wonderful."

Her words were more than he could hope to hear and sent his heart all aflutter. Moving closer to her, he asked, "Do you really love me, Belle? Even now that you know who I really am?"

"Of course," she insisted. "No matter what you look like, my feelings for you will never change. Even when you were in disguise, a part of me always knew. You made me feel safe like nobody else could. You understood me, respected me. The only reason I held back on opening myself up to you was because I was scared of betraying the Beast. But now that I know that you and the Beast are the same person, I'm not scared anymore. All I see is you. I'm just happy to know you're alive."

"Me too," he uttered softly. Then, with a nervous gulp, he added, "Belle? Will you… marry me?"

The effort of saying those five simple words left him breathless. But he had to ask. Belle had to know that he hadn't only wanted her for her body tonight. He'd wanted her for her mind, for her spirit, her heart. For the fact that he'd failed her in so many ways, and she'd forgiven him every time. He could travel the entire world and never meet a woman as special and wonderful as she was.

In the dimly lit room, Belle's eyes shimmered like diamonds. "Do you... want to marry me?" she whispered.

"Yes." He nodded. "But… I understand if that's not what you want, after everything I've put you through. I know I've made a lot of mistakes. I forced you to become my prisoner. I hid my face from you for weeks because I doubted your feelings for me. You almost died because I was too much of a coward to reveal myself to you. But I swear to you, Belle, that all that time we were on the road together, I never once stopped loving you. I know I'm far from perfect. But when I look at you... I feel like maybe one day, I could be. I don't care what the law says. I don't care that you were born a peasant, and I was born a prince. I just want to do whatever I can to make you happy."

Belle's face softened. "Adam, I feel the same," she admitted. "I always knew there was a special bond between us. But I never understood how deeply it went until I lost you. You set me free, you've saved my life and you've helped me and my father escape from Gaston, all while expecting nothing in return. After all this time, how can you think you're not good enough for me? I've spent the past three weeks thinking you were dead, and it was agony. Now that we're together again, I can't imagine my life without you."

"You really mean that?" He blinked.

"I do."

"So then... you'll marry me?"

"Of course."

He returned her smile, then leaned forward and kissed her. As he did, his desire for her grew like an unquenchable fire. Soon, she was pulling him back into the bed, purring seductively in his ear, "So what do you say, husband? Are you going to leave your new bride cold in bed for the rest of the night?"

That alone was enough to send a flood of heat rushing through his veins again. But before he could respond to her question, he heard two sets of footsteps coming from the corridor outside.

"But I don't understand, Lumière! Why on earth would they be in there?"

"My guess is as good as yours, mon ami, but we've tried everywhere else. Where else could they be?"

Hearing the familiar voices, the young couple sat up with a start.

"Is that Lumière and Cogsworth?" Belle said, eyes widening as she scrambled to cover herself with the blankets.

"Sounds like it," Adam grumbled. Perfect timing too. Though he couldn't exactly blame them. He and Belle must have been gone for hours now—more than enough time for the servants to worry.

"Let me take care of this," he told her. "You get dressed." Climbing out of the bed, he picked her nightgown off the floor and passed it to her before closing the curtains to give her some privacy.

After hastily changing into his breeches, he scrambled to the West Wing doors. Outside, Cogsworth and Lumière were inches away from entering the room.

"Oh, Master, there you are!" Cogsworth said, looking up at the Prince in relief, then confusion. "Erm… why aren't you wearing a shirt? Or shoes?"

"Never mind," he replied, crossing his legs and forcefully propping himself up against the doorframe. "You were... uh, looking for me?"

But it seemed Lumière wasn't willing to let the mystery of his master's half-naked appearance go unsolved. He took one good look at him, and his expression went from surprised to smug in two seconds flat. "Belle is in there with you, isn't she?"

Adam's cheeks grew scalding hot, a sight that pulled concern and amusement from his servants respectively. Even though he wanted to lie and claim he had no clue what Lumière was talking about, he knew that the maître d' could see right through him. And why wouldn't he? As a self-proclaimed love expert, Lumière was the one who had first taught the Prince about intimacy, back when he was a sullen youth who believed he would never break his curse, let alone know the flesh of a beautiful woman.

He nodded reluctantly, causing Lumière to let out a guffaw of triumph.

"Oho, I knew it!" he said, turning to Cogsworth gleefully. "I knew they could not hold back their feelings forever. Tell me, Master, was it everything you dreamed it would be?"

The Prince pressed a hand to his forehead and sighed. "Can we please not talk about this?"

"Fine, fine, not now, but at the earliest opportunity?" Lumière continued, lowering his voice ever so slightly. "I'm so happy for you, I can hardly contain myself! This is wonderful news. Why it's so wonderful, I think the entire castle should know about it. Right, Cogsworth?"

"Please stop," Adam groaned. If only the floor would swallow him whole already. All he needed was for Maurice to show up, and they could have a party.

Thankfully, Cogsworth had the good sense to change the subject. "If you don't mind, Lumière," he exclaimed, giving his colleague a sharp jab in the side, "we need to discuss more serious matters. So mind your own business if you please!"

"What?" Lumière protested. "I was only trying to lighten the mood! This is a happy occasion for Belle and the Master, is it not?" He looked between Cogsworth and Adam, both stiffly staring. His expression crumpled, and he sighed in defeat. "Fine." He cleared his throat. "To business, Master, we have come to bring you some urgent news. The hunter has breached the castle."

"What?!" Adam gaped. "You're telling me this now? I thought you sent guards to patrol all the entrances so he couldn't get in!"

"And we did," Cogsworth confirmed. "But he didn't come through an entrance, he came through a window. We found one of the windowpanes smashed in a study on the third floor. He must have slipped past the guards outside and climbed up the East Tower. Crane saw him lurking in the corridor leading to the castle's old apartments and alerted us straight away."

There was a sudden sound of curtains opening behind them. When Adam turned around, Belle was rising from the bed, pulling down her nightgown so it properly covered her legs.

"Gaston's here?" she said in surprise. She started to limp again when she tried to walk, so Adam ran over to bring her to the front of the room.

"Ahem, good evening, Mademoiselle," Cogsworth said, averting his eyes from her clear state of undress. "Wonderful to see you… up and about."

"Yes," Lumière echoed. "Nice to see that you could get the Master up—Out of his shell!" he added, noticing that Cogsworth was prepared to smack him again.

"Another word, Lumière, and I swear I'll melt that waxy mouth of yours shut," he said with narrowed eyes.

"What? I didn't say anything!"

"Yes you did, you obnoxious orangutan! Everyone heard you!"

"Where is Gaston now?" Adam interjected. He and Belle had returned to the West Wing doors.

"When we left to find you, he was heading up the main staircase, towards the library from the looks of things," Lumière replied in a more serious tone.

Hearing this news, Adam nervously ruffled the back of his hair. The library was only a few floors away from the West Wing. Meaning that time was of the essence if he wanted to get Belle and Maurice out of the castle before Gaston found them. "Take Belle back to her room and get the horses ready for her and her father at the entrance by the tunnels," he directed. "They should be able to evacuate the castle safely that way."

"Wait, you're sending us away?" Belle turned to him in shock. "But what about you and the servants?"

"Gaston's not interested in the servants. Just me. I have to stop him."

"What?" She gasped. "No, you can't do that!"

"Belle, listen to me. Gaston will stop at nothing until he finds you. I can't let that happen."

"But what if you get hurt?" she countered. "I can't lose you, not again. You promised me. You promised we'd be together. You said you'd marry me!"

At her anguished tone, Adam's heart twisted painfully in his chest. "I know," he said, taking her hands in his. "And I meant everything I said. But I can't put your freedom on the line, not again. You're too important to me. So please, just do what I say. We don't have a lot of time."

Belle searched Adam's face, then, realizing she couldn't make him change his mind, hugged him so tight, he feared all his bones would break at once. That flowery scent was still in her hair. For a moment, he wondered what it would be like to leave with her, how easy it would be. They could settle down in a distant village, live a normal life together. But how well could either of them sleep every night, knowing Gaston was out there looking for them?

No, he had to do this. He had to because nobody else would. Because Belle's life meant too much for him not to make a stand for.

"This isn't fair," she sniffled beneath him. "I love you."

Adam's throat tightened, and he shut his eyes, trying to suppress the well of tears that threatened to fall. "I love you too," he replied quietly. "But—"

His sentence was cut off as a sudden blast of wind cut across the West Wing, followed by a blinding golden light. It happened so abruptly, Adam swore that an explosion or cataclysmic event had struck the castle. He clung to Belle in terror, certain they would soon be dead if they weren't dead already.

And then it was over. The light faded, and the wind died down, leaving the couple in complete silence. Cautiously, Adam loosened his hold on Belle, surveying the room with wide eyes. The West Wing was perfectly spotless; not a single portrait or furnishing out of place. The broken window that Gaston had pushed him out of three weeks ago was fully intact.

But the most shocking change of all was when he looked into the corridor and saw that Lumière and Cogsworth were human again.

"C'est incroyable," the maître d' said, examining his hands in amazement. "The spell… it is broken. But how is this possible?"

The answer came to the Prince a second later. "When Belle said she loved me, and I loved her—"

"It broke the spell," she finished.

"Exactly." He raked his fingers through his hair, unable to believe that it had been that simple. To think that he and Belle could have broken the spell weeks ago if he hadn't disguised himself! If he hadn't doubted her love for him...

"Well, you know what this means, don't you?" Lumière said with a coy smile. "We now have a fighting chance to beat back this Gaston. Provided he's not cowering in a corner, soiling his breeches already."

"Right behind you, Lumière," Cogsworth said, face screwed up with determination. "We shall rally up the staff and teach our invader a lesson. Belle and the Master will live to see their wedding day if we have anything to say about it."

"Wait!" Adam shouted, but it was no use. Lumière and Cogsworth were already scurrying down the corridor, eager to put their plan into action. The Prince let out a dismayed sigh. Just because Gaston was outnumbered by an army of now-human servants didn't mean he was any less dangerous. Still, with the spell broken, he felt a sense of hope. Maybe, with LeFou and the servants' help, Gaston would finally see the light.

"Adam!" Belle suddenly cried. "My ankle—it doesn't hurt anymore."

He looked down at her leg, and sure enough, the grotesque bruises that had covered her skin moments before were nowhere to be seen. Her foot had returned to a normal, unswollen size.

"The Enchantress must be looking out for us," he said in awe. Maybe the tides really were turning in their favour.

Together, he and Belle put on the rest of their clothes, sharing relieved, passionate kisses along the way. Then, they hurried to catch up with the servants, certain that nothing was impossible as long as they had each other.