The moment she moved toward him, his reaction was instinctive. Hand shoving up further onto the tree - arm crooked awkwardly and pressed hard into the high knot he’d hidden the book within. Self preservation overriding the incessant need to be infallible and perfection embodied. As if she held the key to his very meticulously crafted visage. As if one glimpse of his attempt at bettering himself would lessen him in her eyes. In the eyes of everyone. It was more than he could bare to imagine.
“ Ah! Maurice. Ever persistent in a time where things are perfect the way they are. As if we need change! ” came the boisterously forced laugh, a crack in his smile appearing as he fumbled to keep himself in the awkwardly propped position. Hand adjusting to grip tightly at his hip. “ I was out here scouting, of course! Why – just the other day I noticed the prints of a beast prowling the outskirts of town. A boar, I believe. Mindless things that seem harmless until they skewer you on their tusks, ” the lie would have been easy, were it not for the occasional pause in his words. A soft clearing of his throat.
“ It’s why I worried about you being all the way out here, Mademoiselle. I could hardly bare the thought of you being wounded on such a simple walk home, ” he continued, shoulders tense as he felt a shift of the book underneath his elbow. Slipping inch by inch from its hold. “ You really ought to get yourself a man who can protect you from the horrors of the world! A man, say, who could recognize the dangers lurking in the shadows. A man like … Oh, I don’t know – Me. ”
His movements are a jerk reaction, although Belle doesn’t know why that is. Eyebrows pull together, the start of a frown tipping down the corners of her mouth as she watches him. She makes no attempt to move, though. She remains in place, eyes far too curious when she knows that, clearly, it isn’t her place to ask. He’s hiding something – that much is plain to see. It must be something… hm. Belle would go with either embarrassing or truly terrifying if he felt the need to hide it. If he felt as though the only place that he could acknowledge it was hidden away within the woods. That just makes her curiosity grow.
“Mm,” comes her reply, more of a hum. Her mouth is still a frown – although it’s now because she disagrees with him. “Change can be a good thing, Gaston, “ she murmurs, although the words are more to herself than him. As though he would care about her opinion on the matter, too rooted in his own. The town loved him, honoured him – why would he want anything to change? The thoughts are gone at the words, her gaze meeting his again. She blinks, surprised. “A boar?” He’s hesitating, though. Stumbling over his words. Her suspicion only rises. He’s lying… Why?
His shoulders are tense and for a fleeting moment, Belle wonders if she should be alarmed. Alone and isolated... but he carries on, talking about a man that she should have. A man that would protect her, as though she could not do so herself. Him, of course. She almost laughs. “A man like you? Are you offering, Gaston?” she asks without thought, an almost coy smile curling up the corners of her mouth. Is careful, one, two, three, as she takes steps towards him. Only lets her gaze falter again once; sweeps it across the tension of his shoulders, the awkward position of his arm. She takes another step and they’re too close, she thinks. He’s too tall, she thinks again as she presses up onto her toes. Smile softening at the edges, eyes bright. A hand finds his chest—— but then she’s shoving, as though she could possibly move him. Enough to startle him, she hopes. “What are you hiding, Gaston?”
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