Half and Half

Chapter Thirty Two

Beast held back a sigh as he wiped down the counter of Lord Hades' restaurant. It had been a few days since he received a letter from Belle, personally telling him about how it had been Leah who had been the one messing with the food supply and who had been the one responsible for all of the deaths and that he could come home, and if Beast was honest...he didn't know how to feel about that last part.

Yes, he missed his wife. Yes he missed his children. Yes, he missed the sun and the life he had in Auradon. But...as he continued to live among the people of the Isle, as he continued to grasp the lives he had subjected them to...he couldn't go home. He didn't deserve to go home.

The only issue now was he didn't know how to tell Belle.

It's not fair to her, me dragging my feet, he thought. And it's not fair to Ben to always be going back and forth every six month, or Abby as well once she's old enough to start coming. It's not fair to have their education always be interrupted though I know Belle would probably work with their teachers; with how much she values education, I know Belle would never let our kids slip through the cracks.

"Okay, what's eating you?"

Beast looked over at Hades and tilted his head. "What do you—?"

"You've been wiping that same spot for about fifteen minutes now. I'd be impressed if I wasn't more concerned I'd need to get a new counter because you wiped a hole in mine," Hades told him. "I'd thought you'd have been jumping for joy at the idea of leaving this hellscape of a rock."

Beast sighed. "I...I don't think I should leave."

"...What?!"

"I'm being serious," Beast said as Hades stared at the former King in shock. "I miss Belle and of course I miss my children but..."

"But?"

"But as I look around at these people, these kids who have been forced to live in this mess that I was at least partially responsible for..." Beast said with another small sigh. "I should have checked on the Isle, I should have investigated what was causing the delay the first time we got a report of a delayed shipment—."

"But you didn't," Hades said and Beast nodded.

"But I didn't," he said.

"And because of that, you want to stay here?" Hades said raising an eyebrow. "You might be even more selfish than I thought you were."

"I...I beg your pardon!"

"You heard me," Hades said. "That whole speech of yours, I only heard you say how you'd be impacted, why it matters to you, how you missed your wife and your kids. Gods, hearing you talk, I can understand how you and Gaston used to be friends."

"How is it selfish to continue with living here?" Beast asked. "I don't deserve to go back to Auradon and it would put more strain on Belle anyway, trying to figure out what my new title would be. Not to mention Ben would likely riot if I made it so he couldn't see Uma or Harry anymore."

"Then tell Belle that."

"I...huh?"

Hades chuckled as he saw the confused look on Beast's face. "You need to Beast up and tell your wife what you're planning on doing. Otherwise, you're making even more work for her regardless of your intentions of making it so she didn't have to worry about extra work. Knowing what I know about our High Queen, she's likely hard at work with Persephone and the castle staff trying to see exactly where you could fit. And do you really think it's fair to your sunspot to be excited that his father's leaving the Isle only to find out that's not the case?"