#thank i love that father-son-in-law duo 😭

[lumiereandcogsworth]

do you think Maurice was ever distrustful of Adam after his transformation?

okay despite most of my thoughts being in pre-canon i actually HAVE been thinking about this a lot recently too. that whole beginning period just after the curse is lifted is SO intriguing to me i wanna tackle it so badly. i’ve tried to write it 30 different ways. but anyway:

i don’t think maurice was ever fully distrustful, but i do think he was understandably cautious. it’s a tricky thing for him really because on the one hand, he KNOWS belle has a good head on her shoulders. he’s seen the way she’s handled the men in the village who have attempted to pursue her, and she’s always been very independent and has good instincts about things and people. BUT on the other hand, she’s never been in love before. and maurice also knows what a romantic dreamer his daughter is. so i think he’s just mostly feeling very protective of her heart.

he trusts her when she says that adam is good now and she’s gotten to know him over a longer period of time than it appears (see this post for my elaboration on the concept of time during the curse), and they became good friends before their love fully blossomed. maurice can see in her eyes and general disposition how safe she feels with adam, she has a comfortability about her that he’s previously only seen in her when she’s with him or père robert. BUT, he still doesn’t want adam to break her heart, of course, and he only has one memory of him and it wasn’t great at all, so it’s hard to conflate the two facts. how can the monster that locked him up and then threw him out and imprisoned his daughter, now be human and kind and in love with her just as she is in love with him?? all in supposedly a week??? it’s just a very wild 180 for maurice to experience lmao. but he’s doing his best to catch up.

i think a big factor that really does help a lot in adam’s favor though is the first time maurice and adam Properly meet after the curse is broken. adam is so immensely apologetic and just basically expresses that he feels like the most worthless piece of shit ever for what he’s done. i’d really love to write it some day. but i think maurice sees then that adam really doesn’t hold anything back, he knows he’s fucked up and, even more importantly, he knows he doesn’t deserve such a treasure as belle. and maurice gains a lot of respect for him from that. and it only grows as his actions fulfill his words, as adam continues to treat belle as she deserves, as he continues to TRY. maurice sees how much he fumbles and struggles to be a good person now. he fully sees his humanity and humility and kindness.

the thing is, maurice has a big heart. he’s so protective of his belle but he also has such a big, loving, forgiving heart. so while he is absolutely cautious at first, and very much Watching Adam’s Behavior, i don’t think it takes him too long to welcome him into his little family. once he actually talks with adam, he finds that he’s actually just this little nerd boy who doesn’t have any idea who he really is because he’s been living behind masks and shadows his whole life. and maurice is more than happy to help him out with that, because he knows what it feels like to be so riddled by grief that you just lose yourself. he knows how hard it is to get to a point where you actually LIKE yourself. he sees how hard adam is working and how much he wants to be better, so i think the caution fades with ease. they may not have remotely gotten off on the right foot, but i don’t think it takes too long before they very much become family.

#thank i love that father-son-in-law duo 😭 #i love writing them. they always have such adorable little conversations #nothing ever turns into fic though ya know? it’s just like these little tidbits #but i do adore them. and i adore you for asking!!! thank you!!!!! 💖💖💖💖 #papa maurice #batb headcanons #batb 2017