If He Wasn't Doomed To Die

Uncertainty

"Fidèle!" The town hero groaned aloud from his position on the couch.
LeFou hid in the kitchen a moment longer, waiting for his reddened face to simmer down. His friend's moan had drawn an unnecessary image in his mind which was hardly appropriate for the time. He peeked around the corner into the sitting room again. "Oui, Gaston?"
"C'est chaud..." the large man complained with a noise that oddly sounded like a whine- but Gaston did not whine, no sir, never!
LeFou let out a lengthy sigh and shook his head. "I know its hot, it's early July. Just keep drinking that water I left you. I'm making us some lunch." He dipped back into the kitchen to return to his task.
Another moan from the living area. "I drank all the water already! I'm boiling alive! Can't we please go jump in the river or something?"
"No Gaston, you're feverish. Sweating it out is good for you, and will have you better in no time. Swimming is what got you sick in the first place."
"But Fidèle-!"
"C'est chaud, I know." The pudgy man in the kitchen cut his friend off, knowing exactly what was about to be said. "You're just going to have to put up with it."
The other made a few frustrated noises, and LeFou could hear rustling fabrics. He assumed Gaston's was simply repositioning himself, and concentrated on small amount of pork he was cooking up in a pan on the wood stove. Surely having a fire going wasn't making Gaston's complaining any better, but LeFou needed to use up the meat before it spoiled and making it into a few sandwiches was what he'd decided on.
With the pork cooked through and put on bread with some lettuce, tomato slices and some mustard he'd purchased at the market recently that had cost more that a pretty penny but tasted absolutely amazing with the rest of the ingredients, LeFou wandered into the room his friend occupied. Three steps in he froze in place, cheeks heating fiercely, and barely containing a shriek of shock. "Gaston! Where have your clothes gone?!"
"I took them off." The naked man grunted. "It's too hot."
"Oh... well... uh-um..." the shorter stuttered, mind clouded with unwanted thoughts as he got an eyeful of his best friend's nude form. He caught his eyes lingering where thighs met torso, a most inappropriate part, and tore his gaze away with a few forceful blinks to clear his head. "I'm uh- I'm going to have to ask you to put them back on, Gaston. Your pants in the very least..."
"I refuse. I'm sweating my balls off as it is!"
LeFou let out a small, quiet, whimper. Forcing his eyes not to look anywhere near his friend as he placed the food on the small table in front of the couch. "Please Gaston... it's hard enough without you drawing attention to yourself..."
"What the hell are you-?" The larger asked turning to look at his friend's very red complexion and then it dawned of him. "Oh yeah... my cock is... and you're..."
"Out... and... well, out again." The other muttered, eyes trained on his sandwich as he sat on the floor and picked it up to eat.
"Yeah..." Gaston said with a small nod as he sat up. "I guess I kind of forgot about that... this is awkward."
The shorter merely nodded stiffly as he bit into his mid-day meal.
"If it makes you feel better, I'm alright with you looking. It's nothing you haven't seen already."
LeFou let out a huff. "Yeah because that really makes me feel better about it, sure..." he shook his head in disbelief. "I don't understand you anymore, Gaston! What the hell is wrong with you?!" He snapped.
His friend merely blinked confusedly. "J'ai chaud? It easier to manage in the nude."
"Well, yeah, I know that! I mean...." another distressed sigh as he finally looked up from his food and met his best friends eye. It was one thing to be supportive of a friend despite his obvious difference. It was one thing to be curious about said difference. But it was something else completely to strip down to bare nothings and be alright with your homosexual friend's wandering eye! There was something about that that really irked LeFou, something about that that crossed the line, didn't seem right or normal to him and caused him to snap. "Aren't you afraid of me?! Of what I am?! How can you lay there completely exposed to the world and be so comfortable with me being here?! I'm an invert, Gaston! Doesn't that scare you?!"
"No?" The other tilled his head to the side. "I see no reason why I would need to be. You're still the same person as before. There's never been any reason for me to fear you, my friend."
LeFou sighed again, unsure of what to say. He extended the arm holding the plate towards his friend in offering and Gaston accepted it. They sat in silence for a long moment as they ate. LeFou chewed in consideration. He thought once again about all of Gaston's odd behaviours in the weeks since he'd come out and told him what he was. Dare he call them signs? Hints? Gaston seemed to go out of his way to understand LeFou and let him know that he accepted and was comfortable with him being such. We're his questions and actions meant as clues? Would he ever know?
"Fidèle?" Gaston hummed around his funk mouthful, and LeFou looked up in response. "Are you really uncomfortable? Parce que... I could get dressed again if you really want me to."
The shorter shook his head. "Stay as you are comfortable." With a shallow shrug he explained. "I think I'm just having trouble understanding. That's what's got me uncomfortable."
"What do you mean? What don't you understand?" The other asked.
"You, Gaston." LeFou replied. "You've been different ever since I told you what I am, but in the opposite ways I had expected. You're Gaston, and Gaston is something I've always really understood. Strong, quick, brave, handsome, smart in your own special way... you've always been one of a kind. You're the guy every guy wants to be, and every girl wants to have. I've known you so long that I learned to recognize recognize your patterns, the way you speak, act, the things you do and care about, but lately... it's different. I don't know what to expect anymore. You don't make sense anymore."
The larger scrunched up his nose in thought. "I don't? I feel like I'm the same. I'm still everything you just said and more."
"Yeah, I guess but... you used to be, I don't know... distant? Dismissive? You were focused on Belle, and couldn't care less about what I was up to. You haven't so much as spoken of Belle, or any woman since I told you what I am. You're always on me, now. Asking questions I'd never thought you'd ever ask,  saying things that don't quite sound right, reassuring me that you don't mind every chance you get... it's... it's odd."
The other blinked a couple times before shrugging and sitting back against the sofa. "Belle's not around to distract me anymore. It's better spending time with you."
After a moment LeFou stood and crossed the roof to stand before Gaston. He pressed the back of his hand against his friends forehead for a moment before murmuring that his fever was going down. After an awkward moment in which his eyes wandered over his nude friends form, he wet his lips, eyes jumping back up to meet Gaston's. The larger man grinned, mouth forming a lopsided smirk. "Like what you see?" He teased, voice low.
LeFou held in the urge to gasp by biting down on his tongue. "I-I..." he stuttered before glancing towards the door. "I'm going for a walk in town. Is their anything you want from the market?"
—
"So, hold on... what exactly are you thinking? That he's been taking pleasure in your attention?" Stanley asked as he shuffled the deck. "And what are we playing?"
"Maybe, I'm not sure... but it seems that way now." LeFou shrugged. "And I don't know, something simple? What's the one the kids like to play? Where we flip cards and the highest wins?"
"War?" He asked before beginning to separate the deck into two equal halves. "So he's comfortable with you seeing him naked? And he definitely knows?"
The chubby man nodded. "Oui et oui. He told me he didn't care if I looked and he seemed happy when I did."
The lanky man hummed and focused on his little task. Once the deck was evenly split the flipped their top cards. Stanley flipped a six, LeFou flipped an eight and took the cards. They flipped again, this time Stanley won with a nine against his friends two. Third go they both flipped aces and war began. They each laid their three top cards face down and flipped a forth, Stanley flipped a ten, LeFou got king and won two fives, a queen and of course Stanley's ten. It was as LeFou was adding the card to his deck that Stanley spoke. "Have you tried making a move on him?"
The stout man froze and then gave the other an off look. "Why would I do that?"
The flipped again, seven against four. Stanley won. "You like him, yes? And he knows that?" LeFou nodded, they flipped six against four, Stan won again. "Well if he's not shying away and instead drawing attention to himself why not give it a go?"
Nine and nine. War. LeFou sighed, shaking his head. "He's a normal man, Stan. He's not like us. That's why." Two and eight, Stanley wins a seven, and two jacks.
"Is he really, or does he just say that? Maybe he's interested but hasn't recognized it yet. Maybe he's curious. It can't hurt to try." Four and four. War. Queen and Queen, the battle progresses. Six to seven, LeFou wins eight of Stanley's cards and doesn't bother to look at them.
"Stanley I can't just do that... what if it freaks him out? What if he reacts badly? Gaston could  seriously hurt me if provoked."
The other rolled his eyes. "Gaston wouldn't hurt you. Worst thing that could happen is he gets upset and doesn't talk to you for a few days." They flipped again Stan won. "I think you should kiss him."
"K-kiss him?!" LeFou stuttered, shocked at his friends suggestion. "Stan, have you gone mad?!"
"Non, mon ami." The other laughed. "Just a quick kiss. Enough to throw his off guard, but not scare him."
"I-I couldn't Stan..." Flip, Stanley wins again.
"But what if he likes it? The only way to find out is to try."
There's a long stretch of silence in which they only play the game. Stanley doesn't press, but LeFou also says nothing until the game ends with Stanley holding the whole deck and winning the game. The loser sighs. "Maybe..." he mutters, not anything more, but they both know what he's referring to.
"That's the spirit Fidèle! Now go and get him! Go on, shoo!" The other said with a beaming grin, shooing his friend away from their card table with quick little flicks of his hand.
With a quick, half-awkward set of goodbyes LeFou wanders away back in the direction of Gaston's house. One thing running through his mind. Should he try and kiss his best friend like Stanley suggested? Could Gaston possibly be interested like they've been wondering?