Summary: "... Gaston genes only make sons!" But she knew it would be a matter of time until Gaston faced reality. Thinking ahead, she made it part of the compromises. Now she hoped he accepted and loved their new daughter...
Number of years married: 5
Sons: 2
Daughters: 1
~:~ Daughters ~:~
"So, what was it? Another son?" Lefou asked casually, finding the third-time father sitting in the tavern with an untouched tankard of ale in front of him.
"A girl."
"Gaston, are you okay?" Belle asked as she held her newborn daughter close. She was propped up in their bed, the midwife still at the foot of the bed, and Gaston - who had stood beside her the entire way through - had fallen very pale and very quiet.
Lefou did a double take then said, with a very amusing voice, "Ah, I see. And how are you handling it?" though he could see the answer clear as day how the man was handling it.
"It was a girl, Lefou."
Her voice turned near desperate as she tried to coax him from his mind. "Gaston, we've talked about this-" She saw the hopeless look in his grey eyes and feared this would be the last time she would see him. "You won't reject our daughter… But you honestly couldn't have expected another son..."
Lefou nodded. "Yes, I am aware of the other gender. In fact, I think your wife is a girl."
Gaston was in too deep to realize his good friend was making jokes. "I do not know what to do."
"When was the birth?" he asked.
"Two hours ago."
She struggled to sit up further as if her actions would stop him from moving. "Where are you going?"
Where was he going? His feet just started to lead him from the room, away from his wife and new.. daughter. He glanced at her quickly, a strand of his perfectly kept hair falling in front of his face. "I need some air," he grunted before disappearing.
The shorter man tried not to be surprised. "And you left her? Oh, that's low."
Gaston was at a loss for words. "A girl, Lefou. My genes… my Gaston genes created a girl. A girl!"
Belle crushed his hand in hers as she pushed one final time. Gaston was eager to see yet another son slide into the midwife's waiting hands. He watched the baby enter the world and then.. his blood cooled in his veins as he noticed it was not a boy at all.
"Congratulations," the midwife announced. "A beautiful daughter."
Belle let out a cry of happy relief and squeezed his hand again, this time as she used him as leverage to sit up and see her newborn.
He stepped back and watched her face change with love - the same love she had for their two sons. Her smile was wide and her brown eyes were happy as she took in every inch of her little girl. She opened her arms and took the awaiting bundle, cradling the crying child close to her chest. He watched her live the happiness of finally having a girl and he managed a smile - or at least he hoped it was a smile - when she looked up at him. For all he knew, he could be wincing.
And he must've been doing just that for her smile faded.
"Gaston…"
Lefou unknowingly echoed Belle's words. "You couldn't have been so sure it was going to be another boy."
Gaston shrugged. "I was confident," he said not so confidently. He stood suddenly and Lefou quirked a curious eyebrow.
"And where are you off to?"
"I have some things to do," he said hastily before ducking out of the tavern.
Worry gnawed its way into Belle's gut from the moment Gaston left for 'some air' to now, nearly three hours later. She was just about to step outside and go in search of him herself when a timid knock came from the front door.
She checked on her sleeping daughter before answering. She opened the door and found Gaston looking a little worse for wear - his hair unkempt and coming loose from his tie and his grey eyes were dark and tired and unsure.
"Where've you been?" she asked quietly. She didn't move to let him enter the house. She wanted an explanation.
He didn't reply but instead produced a bouquet of flowers and a book that had been in their house numerous times before - Belle's favorite.
Astonished, shocked, conflicted, and very concerned all at once, Belle took the offered parcels and stepped aside. Her mouth couldn't form sentences or even coherent words for a while. She watched her husband step into their house as if he were a stranger to it all.
"G-Gaston, why the flowers? And the book?" she finally got out. "I won't have time to read it for a long while."
What he could barely recall about his mother and the man that was not his cruel father better have been right. "Apology for leaving so suddenly, and to say I love you. I-" His face was warm with embarrassment. "I bought the book… from Pere Robert."
Her jaw dropped. She quickly recovered. "Why?"
He shrugged and actually looked quite shy. Belle fought the urge to demand who he was and what had he done with her narcissistic, boastful, arrogant, overconfident husband! "Figured you enjoy it so much every time you bring it home… maybe it will become her favorite too. Maybe you could teach our daughter to read just like our sons."
Hormones. She blamed the hormones.
She set the flowers and book aside and wrapped her arms around his neck, promptly crying into him. He accepted their daughter - that was all that mattered. His arms encircled her waist and held her still. They stood there for several minutes before Belle remembered.
"We still haven't given her a name."
Gaston looked at the book resting on the table. Romeo and Juliet. "What about Julia?"
She followed his gaze and smiled. "Julia. That's perfect."
I ship them so hard x) I can't help it. They make my heart hurt, I'm fine.
Thanks for reading! :3
