Beauty and the Beast Imagines

If Only (part one) | Gaston

requested by _Yugen

I changed it a little bit (I'm sorry) so it could be based on If Only from The Little Mermaid on Broadway!

I didn't end this with fluff, so if you want a part two I'm up for it. :-)

//

Gaston. Your closest friend in the village and the only person (besides LeFou) that truly cared about you. Being friends with him gave everyone else in the village a desire to speak to you, but it was Gaston that cared.

You knew you were in love with him. It completely came out of nowhere. He just wasn't your type. He was cocky, confident, and too much of a brute for his own good. But he was also funny and protective, and that opened your eyes to see every beautiful thing about him.

Unlike all the other girls in the village, you saw him for more than his looks. His facial features were beautiful, yes, but so was his laugh. His muscles and the strength they held were breathtaking, but he was much more attractive when he was quiet and daydreaming. His war stories were mesmerizing, but the story of his past he told only you was more heartfelt.

Just because you had feelings for the man did not mean he had feelings for you. He was caught up in catching Belle's attention. Between the bookworm and the three crazed swooners, you didn't stand a chance.

The morning sun was shining on you as you leaned against the stables. The horses were quietly slurping at the water in front of them. You pressed the side of your head against the wood board and watched the man you love try to offer Belle a bouquet of flowers.

She didn't look impressed, but he looked persistent as always. You couldn't help but smile even though it wasn't you he was giving flowers to.

Your smile faded slowly. "If only you could know the things I long to say. If only I could tell you what I wish I could convey. It's in my every glance, my heart's an open book, you would see it all at once if only you would look."

Belle shook her head. The grin on Gaston's face vanished at once as she began to slowly back away, pulling her arms to her sides stiffly as he would force the flowers in her hand.

Gaston watched her go, his eyes sad. It was a brief moment of vulnerability that hurt you deeply.

"If only you could glimpse the feeling that I feel. If only you would notice what I'm dying to reveal! The dreams I can't declare, the needs I can't deny, you'd understand them all if only you would try," you sang, slowly pushing yourself off the wood and walking through the crowd. He stared at the bouquet of flowers, attempting to compose himself.

"All my secrets, you would learn them. All my longings, you'd return them. Then the silence would be broken. Not a word would need be spoken."

You stopped in front of him. He did not glance at you until you cleared your throat.

"Oh! ___, bonjour. I was just taking these flowers to Belle-" he said too quickly.

You smiled sadly. "I saw what happened."

He looked down as if he were shamed. His arm dropped the flowers to his side and he sighed heavily. "I suppose you think I'm weak now? Will you attempt to stop me as LeFou does?"

"No," you said. "But I do worry for you."

He glanced up at you, eyebrows furrowed. "Worry about me?" he asked. There was a strange feeling in his chest as he mulled over those words.

"Gaston, why do you chase after her if you know that she doesn't return the feelings you feel? You're only hurting yourself."

"But she is the best, and that is what I deserve," he said. He grew defensive. "Do you not believe that?"

You felt a pang. "You're the only one that thinks she's the best," you said. "There's a difference between looking the best and acting the best." You shook your head, almost disgusted. "If only you would look, Gaston, you would see that there are people who truly care about you."

With that, you turned away. You walked through the crowd, not wanting to cry, but feeling the heartache really set in. You had fallen in love with the one man that didn't look at you.

Gaston watched you move through the sea of villagers. You were lost in the midst of them, a head of hair hanging loose around your shoulders, a dress made of rags. It swayed around your legs when you came to a sudden stop at LeFou's side.

"What is it about her that's so wonderfully, impossibly familiar? Why do I feel dizzy in a way I've only felt but once before?" he wondered aloud.

He thought back to the moment he felt feelings for you. You were out riding together, your horses galloping through the wood and stopping at a lake. There, on the sandy shore, with the sun on your face and the wind in your hair, you beamed, all teeth and happiness. It was a vision of natural beauty he had never seen before.

You looked back at him briefly, and his heart skipped a beat as he was dragged back to the present. Your sparkling eyes looked sad. For a brief moment, he grew protective. Who was causing that look? Was he the reason for your sadness?

"How come when she looks at me it seems like time stops moving... almost like the way it did that day upon the shore?" He tore his eyes away. He could hear Belle talking to Agathe, exchanging bread and jam. "But that voice!"

"If only it were true," you sang, "If only for a while." He was looking at Belle again.

"Ah, that voice!"

"If only you would notice how I ache beneath my smile."

"Where's that voice?" He was walking away and out of your sight.

You wrapped your arms around yourself. "I guess you never will. I guess it doesn't show. But if I never find a way to tell you so... oh, what I would give if only you could know."

You felt LeFou's hand on your shoulder. A sad smile touched his kind face. You let him pull his arm around you and hug you close. You closed your eyes and leaned your head against his.

He was the only one that knew about your feelings. He pitied you, knowing quite well that Gaston was hung up on Belle for all the wrong reasons. He used to promise that he would wake up one day and see that you were always there for him, but you doubted it. Belle was prettier, and he was Gaston. He would never go for you.

He seemed to read your mind. "Bless you, child."

"I wish he would see right through me," you said. "I want him to understand how much I love him."

He watched your sad features. "If only I knew how, I'd make him see the light. If only it were up to me, this all would turn out right. And if I only could I'll tell you what I'd do! I'd simply wave my hand and make your dreams come true. And wouldn't that surprise you... if you only knew."