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A few days ago, Stanley had no idea who he truly was.
Stanley had always been one to follow the crowd and fade into the background. He stuck with his two lifelong friends, Tom and Dick, who often made him feel like a child. Often Stanley thought of himself as an intruder to Tom and Dick's friendship since they were much closer to each other that they ever had been with Stanley. They were also manly men who enjoyed drinking, hunting, and girls, in that order. Stanley had realized that he only enjoyed one of those things, and honestly, it was a learned habit. Stanley had never drank with Tom and Dick regularly until he spotted LeFou there once.
Seeing LeFou at Gaston's Tavern stirred something deep inside of Stanley. LeFou was so free, always smiling and dancing around like a fool, yet he didn't seem to mind if anyone else thought he looked ridiculous. LeFou had a sassy attitude, he wasn't afraid to sing in front of an entire tavern of people, and he most certainly wasn't insecure about wearing a large, pretty pink bow with every outfit. He was carefree, and Stanley was both jealous and infatuated with him.
These faraway encounters with LeFou not only made Stanley itch to drop the fake version of himself, but it also made him realize that he wasn't a late bloomer like Tom and Dick said. Stanley was introduced to the idea that maybe he preferred being with a boy rather than a girl. It made sense, considering the lengths he went through to try and impress his friends by acting more straight and masculine than he was.
Before, Stanley didn't know what to do with this newfound crush. But that was then.
When Gaston led the villagers to the castle to kill the beast, Stanley had come prepared for a fight. When he, Tom, and Dick, went up to confront the wardrobe, however, Stanley got more than he ever bargained for. He was faced with Madame Gardrobe, who had been turned into a wardrobe, and she was more than eager to take on the three men in front of her. The wardrobe had opened her drawers and colorful fabrics flew out, dressing Stanley and his friends in elegant dresses.
Of course, Tom and Dick were disgusted, running away and trying to rid themselves of the feminine garments, but Stanley just smiled at the wardrobe as she spoke to him.
"Pretty little boy! Beautiful! Go, be free! Be free, be free!" The wardrobe had sung out, and from the moment Stanley held his dress and skipped away, he lived by Madame Gardrobe's words.
After this, Stanley promised that he would allow himself to talk to LeFou when an opportunity presented itself. He waited patiently, and then fate landed in his hands in the form of a letter. He was invited to Prince Adam and Belle's royal ball at the castle. Stanley thought it was guaranteed that LeFou would be there since there was dancing involved, but he wasn't going to get his hopes all the way up.
Stanley arrived to the ball that afternoon, dressed in his finest clothes. He had spent all morning perfecting his appearance, softening the hair that curled on his forehead and making sure he looked as pretty as Madame Gardrobe made him feel. When he entered the ballroom, he nonchalantly searched for LeFou, his stomach filled with anxiety when he saw the man standing across the way, talking to Mrs. Potts. Stanley was going to approach him, his legs wobbly as he moved across the floor, but he was interrupted by the music starting.
People paired off to the dance floor, each man taking a woman in a white dress to the floor. Stanley kept his sights set on LeFou, but he was already taken by a girl, and someone was tapping on Stanley's shoulder. A girl with dark hair asked him if he cared to dance, and Stanley obliged, not letting this discourage him.
Stanley danced with the girl in soft, easy movements. When they went to switch partners, Stanley was surprised when he was in the arms of none other than LeFou. They held each other for a minute, spinning in confusion. Stanley's nerves were jittering through him and he was nervous as all hell, but he held on anyway. He gave a bit of a shrug, and LeFou went along with Stanley, a hand on Stanley's waist and one on his shoulder. They continued to dance lightly, Stanley finally having a sense of weightlessness. For the second time, Stanley was free to be himself, dancing in the ballroom with the person he had an everlasting crush on.
When the song ended, Stanley held onto LeFou's embrace and said, "You're a really great dancer."
"You're not too bad yourself," LeFou said, his cheeks pink, "It was nice dancing with you."
LeFou said this and turned, looking a bit embarrassed. Stanley followed after him, saying, "Wait! LeFou, there's something I need to tell you."
When LeFou faced Stanley once more, his eyes wide and full of wonder, Stanley continued with his hands shaking, "I know we've never spoken before, but I just want you to know that I admire you for being so open and free with who you are. I look up to you a lot and think you're a lovely person, so I was wondering if maybe you'd like to do something together sometime? Maybe we could have dinner or dance again, or anything you want, really," Stanley rambled, his brain scattered.
A smile danced across LeFou's lips, "I'd like that. Yeah, we could figure something out," he responded.
Stanley was high on his enthusiasm, "Great, just let me know. You know where you can find me, we're almost always at the tavern at the same time."
LeFou nodded, "I've noticed you around a lot. Why didn't you ever talk to me before?"
"Nervous," Stanley admitted.
LeFou touched Stanley's shoulder, "Don't be."
Just as LeFou said this, the music started up again, and LeFou smiled, "So, can I have this dance, Stanley?"
"Yes," Stanley answered, following LeFou to the dance floor, feeling freer and happier than he ever had before this moment.