The gift was antlers from a buck Gaston had killed in case anyone didn't catch it x)

*Warning: mentions of injuries and/or blood ahead

Enjoy! (yes, enjoy, even after I give you that warning haha)

Summary: Lefou turned up in town days ago - badly injured and without Gaston. There's been no sign or word of the great hunter. His wife begins to worry that her husband is not alright.
Number of years married: 6
Sons: 2
Daughters: 1


~:~ You sure you want to marry into this family? ~:~

Gaston grimaced as he came up the path into Villeneuve.

The hunt hadn't gone according to plan. Eight in the party had started out and only three were able to walk away. Everyone had lived, don't worry, just.. injuries ranged from minor scratches to crippling. It had been a brutal scene- Gaston felt a chill race up his spine at the memory but he shook it off. All he wanted to do was go home and sleep next to his woman.

He spotted her in the firelight beside the pillars at the start of the town. He dismounted his horse and went to her. Her hands were on his jacket tugging at the lapels then curling into fists and thumping his chest faster than he could ask why she was there.

"What's the matter?"

Her brown eyes blazed with anger and he swallowed nervously. She looked furious at the question. "What's the matter? You have been missing for days! No one's heard anything! Lefou came back two days ago and we couldn't get anything from him. He had a nasty bite on his leg and I started to worry that you- But no, I tried to tell myself that you were a great hunter and that you couldn't be out there dying- And now you've come back daring to act like you've not had me worried sick for a week!"

He let out a long breath and nodded in defeat. He surrendered to her sharp and hard hits - verbal and physical, as she kept cursing at him. He hadn't meant to keep her worrying and yes, he shouldn't have asked such a stupid question.

Soon, her curses turned to soft whimpers and her fists stopped hitting him. Her fingers uncurled then clung to his coat then his shirt and she hung on for dear life as she sobbed into his chest, shivering with the winter air.

He took off his coat, hiding the clear pain that coursed through him when he did so, and put it around her shoulders. His heart broke a little more when she buried her nose in the material, inhaling his scent as if she had been craving it all her life. He pulled her close, embracing her tightly.

"I'm sorry," he whispered into her hair.

She sniffed and exhaled shakily. "You should be."

"Forgive me?"

She shook her head. "I don't think I can for a while."

He shifted, "What can I do?" He wanted to make things right again.

But she didn't answer him and he felt her tears wet his shirt once more. He tucked her against his side and grasped Magnifique's reins, leading the horse into town.


Belle folded her arms across her chest and scrutinized her husband as he stood with his back to her in their bedroom. She noticed he had been awfully silent on the walk back home. She wanted an explanation as to why he didn't come home sooner. Or why Lefou wasn't able to say what had happened. He better speak soon or else he would feel her wrath-

But his hiss of pain brought her thoughts to reality. Her lips parted in a soft gasp when he finished taking off his shirt.

His skin was covered in old bandages and god-awful bruises. She watched him for a mere moment as he painfully peeled off the bandages on the side of his torso before aiding him.

He grimaced at her contact but didn't argue. He looked at her - she bit her lip as she cleaned his wounds.

"It was my fault," he croaked. He grunted as she applied the salve she found in his pack. "The area hadn't been surveyed properly. I-" He hissed in pain. "I trusted them enough to do their job right. I should have double-checked."

"What was it?" she asked, smoothing down a new bandage.

He watched her move to stand in front of him and braced himself for more pain as her fingers touched the bandages on his left pectoral. "A pack of wolves."

"I don't understand," she frowned. She thought back to the night he saved her in the forest, before they married. "You've handled that before. I mean-"

"It was pitch black. We-" He grimaced. "We wandered into their territory, set up camp. We were unaware. I was off-guard." He winced as he remembered the first man who was attacked. "The firelight- it was all so sinister. Basile didn't see it coming. We all didn't. He was bitten on the shoulder, so near his neck-"

She shook her head, trying to tell him he didn't have to talk about it if he didn't wish to.

"It reminded me of the war," he sighed. "When I couldn't save my unit."

"Stop," she soothed. She placed new bandages on him. "All of you lived." She met his eyes and softly touched his stubbled cheek. "I presume you were the last to see your men to their hometowns?" she guessed.

He nodded.

She pursed her lips. Her Gaston was a good man, she had to admit, but that didn't give him the right to leave her worried sick at home with their three kids, two of which had been asking constantly for their papa. She reached for the wet cloth again and he twisted around so she could do the same with the last wound on his bicep.

"I'm just... I'm glad you're home," she said honestly. "You were the least injured out of your crew, weren't you?"

"Second to least," he winced. "Jérémie was only scratched."

She felt herself nod. Of course, Jérémie fought in the same war as he, she remembered. He knew how to quickly kill an attacker.

Gaston rubbed the back of his neck nervously. He knew he was going out on a limb here but she didn't seem to be mad anymore. "Am I forgiven?"

She glared at him but her eyes held no fire. "Don't start."

He grunted when she smoothed down the bandage a little too tight - so, no, it looks like he wouldn't be getting off the hook so easily. "There's some bark in my pack. I used it for the pain."

She nodded and dug through the bag. She found six pieces and gave him a curious look.

"I didn't know how long it would be until I made it home," he shrugged. "I wanted it to last."

She smiled sadly and handed him one, watching how he eagerly bit off a piece and started chewing. "I'll need to change your bandages again in a few hours."

He nodded and didn't object. "I should go see Lefou."

Belle's head snapped up. No, he was not leaving the house so soon. Not if she had a say in it. "Not right now. In the morning," she tried. Though Lefou's house was in town, just across the square, she would not be at all pleased with him so far away so soon after getting him back.

He shook his head. "I cannot wait until morning-"

"I did not wait for hours out there in the cold just to have you go to Lefou's," she snapped suddenly and she noticed her suddenness surprised him.

He nodded carefully and set down his boots. "Then I'll stay." He turned to leave the bedroom but she blocked his way. "I am only going to the washroom. I'll be back."

She folded her arms across her chest and tried to look cross with him. But the longer she glared at him, the more exhausted she became. The worry of the past week finally caught up to her and he could see it in her face. "Please don't," she said quietly.

He frowned but made no move around her. "What do you mean?"

"Don't go out hunting any time soon. I need you here. You've no idea what this has done to me."

He nodded without question. "Of course."

She stepped aside a bit but spoke one last time when he passed her. "And maybe then, I'll forgive you."

He looked at her and gave a soft nod.

Her resolve to stay upset with him worked until he returned to the room. She turned over and curled into him when he lied down. She buried herself further when he put his arm around her and pulled her closer. He kissed her head and she closed her eyes, falling asleep listening to the constant beat of his heart.