Papa II, Beauty And The Beast AU

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Request: Papa 2- He was kinda tough, but I went for Beauty and The Beast for him. The part I was stuck with was choosing between the scenes "Something there" & "Tale as old as time" I like both, but i don't wanna ask for too much, so I'll go for the 2nd one with them getting ready & leading to the ballroom scene. Maybe Cirrus or Cumulus singing? & 3 being Lumiere & 1 is Cogsworth.

For context, Cumulus is singing, cirrus is the one who cuts II's hair, III is without a doubt in my mind Lumiere, and I is cogsworth. I just used the names of the real characters instead of the ghost characters because while you can imagine the personalities are the same, i would want you to imagine that they still look like a teapot and a candlestick and a clock. 

"Tonight is the night." Lumiere smirked from a stool beside the tub as one of the servant-turned-coat racks scrubbed and brushed at Papa Emeritus II's rough skin, where he sat angrily in the soapy water. The hanger dumped a water over his head from a wooden pail. 

"I'm not sure I can do this." Papa grumbled as he separated the thick black hair that had fallen into his eyes, water dripping down his chin. He looked across the room to the small table that held a glass case. Inside, a slowly wilting and pale rose, glimmering gently in what little like shone on it from the lamp by the tub. Oh, I'm running out of time...

"You don't have time to be timid! You must be bold... daring." Lumiere held his burning hand over his chest passionately as he spoke. 

"Bold, daring." Papa sat up straighter in the water, puffing his chest out a little. He liked the sound of those words, but was beginning to realize he didn't know what they mean if it had nothing to do with anger, or fighting. He didn't know how to fight for some thing he wanted - or, someone  - all he knew was fighting to keep people away. But they still sounded nice to him. He still wanted to be those things. Papa stood out of the tub, dripping water across the floor and subsequently extinguishing his brother's flames, as he walked over to the vanity table.

"There will be music, candlelight, provided by me of course..." Lumiere spoke as he reignited his ever-burning wicks. Being a candle had it's troubles, Papa supposed. "And when the moment is right, you confess your love."

"I can- I confess-" Papa sighed as he dried himself off. "I can't do that." 

"You care for the girl don't you?" Lumiere taunted.

"More than anything." Papa spoke all too quickly. She was all he could think about. She was all anyone in the castle could think about, she'd made quiet a splash really.

"So then you must tell her...." 

"Ahem..." Cogsworth said from the mouth of the room, bowing forward slightly. Everyone turned to him. "Your lady awaits." Once Papa was dressed in his most pristine attire, Lumiere and Cogsworth followed him down the many halls the lead him to the ballroom. S/O was already standing there in the most magnificent golden dress. Sleeves hung around her arms from the sweetheart neckline, her waist perfectly cinched into an hourglass figure, the long ballgown spreading out from her waist to the floor. She held the side of it as she stepped down the stairs, so not to trip, a nervous and excited smile on her face. He looks wonderful. Papa wore a long blue coat with intricate gold embroidery around the neck and middle, with a caramel colored vest underneath, and a white linen shirt peaking through just at the top of the chest. On the bottom, a black pair of knee breeches, long white socks, and a freshly-shined pair of patent leather boots. Then they met between the staircases of each wing, they shared a nervous, yet excited smile. He bowed, she curtsied. 

"Barely even friends, then somebody bends...unexpectedly," The pair only clues into Mrs. Potts singing when they reach the bottom of the grand staircase, Papa's arm hooked tightly around S/O's. Though they largely acted in silence, it wasn't hard to tell that there was much more afoot than met the eye. The electrically charged glances. The smirks from behind the long tines of their forks. Every sip of champagne. When the music grew louder, S/O could no longer contain herself. All she wanted to do was dance. She pushed herself from the table and stood from her chair, running over to Papa and taking his hands. 

"Come, dance with me." There wasn't a single star or moon or planet or comet or god that Papa could have thought of that would make him say no to her. That look on her face, he would have done anything just to look at her a little bit longer. And to told her? To share a dance with her? He was sure his heart didn't have the strength for such a beating. 

"Of course." He stood from his chair and placed the linen cloth from his lap onto the table beside his place, before following S/O to the center of the ballroom. Only then, as she was placing his strong hands on her waist, and holding the other, did Papa realize that it had been far too long since he'd danced. What if he were to mess up the steps? What if he were to detrimentally embarrass himself in front of the girl? Papa swallowed harshly. Thankfully for him, muscle memory is a powerful thing - remembered the steps in seconds, his body taking over and allowing his mind to absorb every wonderful second he could spend staring into S/O's beautiful brown eyes. The longer they danced for, the easier it became. The more comfortable they became being so close to each other. Though S/O had danced much more recently than Papa, she was still just as nervous. What if he thinks she's no good at it? What if she misses a step? Both were too worried about their own performance to even pay enough attention to the other's to catch a mistake if they made one. Lumiere nudged Cogsworth excitedly from the sidelines of the ballroom as Mrs Potts continued singing.

"Bittersweet and strange, learning you can change, finding you were wrong..." Those seemed to be the only words Papa could hear past the beating of his own heart in his ears. That dance meant much more to him than falling in love. More than even saving his castle, his brothers, and himself, by fulfilling the prophecy. It meant letting someone in, for the first time ever. It meant accepting he was wrong about her, and likely many others before her. It meant learning that there is no shame in breaking something - only in not being big enough to fix it. As the dance slowed gently, S/O leaned into Papa, burying her face in his chest softly. Papa had never been so surprised by the action of another in his life. She used to be so afraid of me. Afraid of the monster that I was. And now, this? She's.... cuddling me? Oh my. When he looked to his brothers on the side of the room they cheered for him silently, shaking their hands in their air with big smiles on their face. They had almost forgotten about the prophecy too, that night. The beautiful, budding romance before them too precedent over everything that evening.

"Tale as old as time, song as old as rhyme," Mrs Potts sang gently. "beauty and the beast...." her voice followed the pair out of the ballroom and onto the balcony, the stars hanging above them like a blanket over a fort with a million tiny holes for bright light to shine through. S/O was sure she'd never seen a more magnificent sky as they sat on the cool stone bench. In the beginning, every love grows sweeter by the second.

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