gremlinhaus | Beauty & the Beast AU

[The woods beyond the village were cursed. That was simple, clear fact. It had been true for as far back as anyone could remember -- which was strange in and of itself, really, the way that memory seemed to blur and fuzz at the edges when one tried to concentrate too closely on it. But that strangeness did not make the curse any less real, at least as far as the villagers were concerned. Alex had been raised on the stories and the warnings, that venturing too deeply into the woods would surely end in some horrible fate.

Even now, now that he was a grown man, venturing into the forest was entirely forbidden. His mother, who incidentally happened to be the mayor of their charming little village, had emphasized just how forbidden it was. Alex was well aware.

But god he was so fucking curious. What the hell was even out there in those dark shadowy woods? What was beyond that? He needed to get out of this town someday or he'd lose his mind. Maybe that was dramatic. He had his family. His mother and step-father. His actual father. And his sister. Really, June was his entire sanity, along with Nora. But he was still restless, made even more so by a particularly aggressive suitor who Alex was trying to diplomatically dodge.

Oh there were excuses and reasons, but the day that he finally said fuck it and headed into the woods, it was because something was calling to him. He didn't know what or who. He couldn't even really put words to the feeling, only that something out there needed him. Besides, he was only going to explore a little bit. Barely out of sight of the village outskirts.

That had been the plan at least. But plans did not always come to fruition, and in remarkably short space, Alex found himself turned around. No, no that wasn't right. Turned around was not a strong enough word. He was lost. Totally fucking lost. It felt like the paths were shifting beneath his feet, steering him towards a destination that it had in mind rather than him. Then the storm swept in, drenching, pouring, punishing rain soaking through every inch of him. The wind whipped through the trees, sending branches scraping against his skin. Lightning flashed through the sky, illuminating the silhouette of a castle looming ahead, breaking through the dense forest trees.

What the fuck. Was there supposed to be a castle out here? But whatever, Alex needed shelter, and it had presented itself. So he ran the rest of the way, eventually coming to the large doors of the dark and foreboding castle, run down like it was little more than ruins. How could Alex have known that this place was the source of the curse that had spread across the land? How could Alex know that inside was a handsome prince who had paid the price for his family's pride and offense to a sorcerer, transformed and cursed himself.

And like okay, the sorcerer was probably just trying to prove a point about how terrible it was to try to make someone stay in the closet and defy their heart. The sorcerer was definitely a yaoi shipper. So, the key to breaking the curse? Of course it was true love. That was how these things worked, after all.

But Alex, drenched, bedraggled, scratched and bleeding and looking much worse for the wear, stumbled his way into the seemingly abandoned castle.]

Hello? Is anyone here? I just... kind of need a place to ride out the storm? So I don't get fried by lightning?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

internationalrelations

[Joke was on the castle. Alex would commandeer the kitchen at some point and cook to work out some of his more restless energy -- once he really came to terms with the fact that he was indeed staying here for the longer term.

For now, he awoke to the alluring scent of coffee, sitting up in that bleary confusion when sleep was still trying to keep its hold on him. It came back to him quickly. The storm, the castle, the little finch, the garden, the pomegranate, the Beast.

Right. Yes. Slipping from the bed he poured himself a cup of coffee and popped a roll into his mouth. The bathtub was impossible to resist too, so he would take advantage of that, looking less bedraggled than the storm-blown thing he'd been last night.

Bathed, caffeinated and fed, he dressed and poked his head out of the room. The hallway looked... empty? So he stepped out, considering. Maybe he could find out something abut this place in the library? That seemed as good a spot to start as any.]

From:

lordfuckleroy

[ As Alex wandered the halls, he would find that the halls to seemed to guide him in a certain direction. Sensing his intent to go to the library, it naturally dictated his steps toward that goal, down the stairs, the shifting of pathways within the highly magical castle that denoted that it was going to guide him exactly where he needed to go, where he wished to go.

The Beast had spent a rather restless night as well pacing back and forth in his own rooms (as well as kicking some conveniently present rocks around.. likely some fangirl with a sense of humor put them there.) but now it was morning and per the Beast's own schedule, he could be found in the library drinking his own coffee and reading.

Though he'd never been really found before, at least not since the curse.

He was hunched over a table with a large book open out in front of him, that couldn't have been good for his posture except that his back seemed to already be slightly curved over from the transformation so it was merely the most comfortable for him. But hey, Alex did find the library. ]

From:

internationalrelations

[He'd taken his own coffee cup with him, and was sipping at it as he stepped into the library and stopped immediately short when he saw the other figure already present in the room. It was sort of impossible to miss the Beast after all.

For just a moment Alex froze, cup only half lowered from his lips.

Fuck. He'd wanted to find this guy, right? Apologize again? He wasn't sure how to even start.

So he panicked, and did what came naturally, started the yapping.]

Hey, uh... good morning. Sorry to disturb, I didn't expect... well I don't know what I expected or didn't, but I umm... yeah, I'll leave you to your reading. Sorry.

[He was ready to retreat. Super brave of him really.]

From:

lordfuckleroy

[ the Beast was not a morning person, neither was he a evening person. He was actually an insomniac who got very little sleep and perhaps that explained all the grumpiness that was inherent in him. The gold hair glinted from the light of the sun peeking through the curtain, rather surprised to see the other man here.. still.

He'd expected him to run out of the castle, even though Bea had told him that she left him to sleep in the bed.

A huff that seemed to bounce off of fine parchment. ]

Do not bother leaving, this library is large. [ The voice was soft and only a little bit growly. Bea had cautioned him to play nice. ]

From:

internationalrelations

[Alex stilled and did not flee, turning back to glance at the Beast almost curiously. That almost sounded... not entirely full of loathing? Alex turned to face him fully.]

It is. I mean, like, large kind of undersells it. I've never seen this many books in one place in my entire life. ...honestly I may never have seen this many books period, total, in my entire life. It's kind of incredible.

[More than kind of. Alex still watched the Beast a bit warily as if he was waiting for that rage to resurface.]

From:

lordfuckleroy

[ Coffee was helping him to be decent, but he was still a bit terse and grumpy. That would take a little bit of work from Alex to shake it out of him. However he did not look up from his book, instead he turned the page. ] Unfortunately, I do not have the largest selection of 'current' books, [ most of them were circa two hundred years ago, many obsolete texts. ]

However, they are available for reading.

[ All 8 stories of books, of which he still had not read through them all.

No rage was forthcoming. ]

From:

internationalrelations

[A tilt of his head at that. Current, huh? He hadn't noticed how old they were yet. He'd have questions when did. Not that he didn't already have a whole list of questions lined up.

He had several lists of several things. Questions. Theories. Ways to try to make whatever the hell he did up to this angry dickhead. ...maybe he ought to be kinder. He really had been treated very well here, even after that encounter. So with a softly exhaled breath, he let that annoyance drop away.]

Yeah? Anything you'd recommend?

[It was a tentative step towards an actual conversation.]

From:

lordfuckleroy

[ The man seemed like a rather inquisitive sort, it was a restless energy that he was not entirely certain how to process whatsoever, he looked up and those eyes pierced right into Alex. As if he was attempting to acertain to what end this was levied.

And then he looked over at the shelves. ]

I suppose it would depend on what you like to read? [ This was an open-door invitation to tell him what he liked to read and he would figure out something; there was something gruff in his voice but it lacked the animosity of last night. ]

From:

internationalrelations

Honestly I'll read anything I can get my hands on.

[The word used was voracious, and it summed him up pretty well. Another tentative step closer to where Henry was settled with his own book.]

I guess my favorite is adventure though. Stories of far off places... [That he'd never seen and had started to think he'd never see.] Daring rescues and perils and true love.

[Wait he hadn't intended to admit that last one.]

From:

lordfuckleroy

[ So the mess of blonde hair that marked him as a beast seemed to make the eyebrow raise a little bit less apparent; however, those stories were his favorites too. If there was anything that a bookworm enjoyed, it was another bookworm to share books with. Bea loved him but she had never been the reading sort unless it was her music-- much preferring to have her brother read outloud to her, and Phillip-- as if he'd touch a book at all.

He put the bookmark in carefully with large and somewhat ungainly beast hands, closed the book with just as much care and then he got up from his chair and then headed toward one of the shelves. ]

I happen to know a few adventures with perils, daring rescues and.. true love.

[ He remembered the curse and how true love's tears must break it, but he.. he had been considered unnatural by his family.. minus Bea of course. ] Here is one about a Pirate Prince...

From:

internationalrelations

[Alex fell into step, following the Beast now that it seemed he'd be given a few reading recommendations. ...why was he acting like he was settling in to stay? He really should try to figure that out, try to figure out what he actually was doing.

But then he made the mistake of looking up at the Beast and into blue eyes that did things to something in his chest that Alex couldn't put a name to. Because he was fucking stupid.

The start of a smile on his lips as he reached for the book.] Pirates are pretty good. All the swashbuckling.

[A pause and he tucked the book against his chest before holding his hand out.]

I'm Alex, by the way. I uh... I really think we got off on the wrong foot... which is my fault, I know.

From:

lordfuckleroy

[ The Beast had not thought that the other man would stay, he could not precisely keep him here and he objectively knew that but there had been emotions involved as well as a hopelessness as another year of life had been robbed for him; he only had a short amount of time left and there was no one who would come around to break the spell on him.

He could not very well fall in love with himself.

But here he was making himself.. at home? He cleared his throat and then held out his rather large hand, golden fur covering the back.. and such claws. ] Henry... though most refer to me as the Beast, if they see me.

[ He did not go into the village down below much. ]

From:

internationalrelations

Well that's sort of rude of them.

[And not even remotely creative. Disappointing all around. Alex shook the offered hand -- paw? -- and it was not lost on him now wicked and sharp those claws, how large the hand that wrapped around his own.]

I'm glad to meet you, Henry. And I really am sorry about the whole thing in the garden. I don't entirely understand it, but I get the gist enough that... yeah. Really sorry.

From:

lordfuckleroy

[ Henry did not like being this big, neither did he like the claws and the hair. He let out a rumbled something as his paw was squeezed before surreptitiously taking it back. He pushed the book into Alex's hand then and then he turned to the side, though his ear did perk as Alex started talking. ]

It is a curse, and I do not want to talk about it right now.

[ He was still lamenting the end of the pomegranate and all that it entailed. ] But you did not know.. I suppose.

[ There apologies all around, he managed to lower his pride enough to do at least that. ]

From:

internationalrelations

Yeah, okay sure. Sore subject, I get that. Apparently a lot of things are cursed out this way.

[No, Alex. It was all the same curse. Curses all the way down. He watches Henry quietly, considering the merits of his next move.

Because that was not even close to an apology, Henry. Not even if you squinted at it. In the dark. Through a fog. While drunk.]

I didn't. Still don't.

[Since it was not to be talked about. But he'd piece together something of it eventually. Maybe. He still couldn't exactly say why he hadn't just... left. The insistence that he stay for a year still bristled unpleasantly at him, especially without any reasoning or literally anything at all behind it except loud anger and demands. Worse still was the guilt. He didn't even understand what he was feeling guilty for either, just that he was, and it was bad, and it was his fault.]

So... what kind of books do you like?

[God he felt stupid.]

From:

lordfuckleroy

[ Well at least that was agreed upon between the two of them.

Also, the thought totally did not cross Henry's mind that Alex was very handsome in a way that was incredibly attractive; and well the curse was far more complicated in that it required someone who would slot into him and his life; this included preference. No maidens would ever do for him.

Why was Alex here at any rate?

That was a good question. He could feel his own heart give a tumble through his chest even as he picked up another book that lingered on the shelf, the way that it slumped to the side as if to lament the book that was keeping it firmly in position. ] I suppose the same ones you do? Stories of heroic bravery, perils and true love?

[ Gods, as much as True Love's Tears was his absolute bane-- he could not resist the call of such stories, as if finding himself in pieces of them; in books at least there was some sort of winning. ] Not as if any of that exists, of course. Stories, the lot of them.

From:

internationalrelations

Oh oof. Guess you're a cynic, huh?

[Which like, okay the guy was cursed. Maybe that was a fair reason for someone to be a cynic. Alex glanced down at the book in his hands for a moment, fingers fidgeting over the spine and then the pages, little movements he only half realized he was making. He was a restless thing at the best of times, and this was certainly a more stressful-than-the-best-of-times-time in his life.]

I don't know... I think it exists. Maybe not exactly like they write about it in stories, but come on. You have to believe in true love, beating the odds, good triumphing over evil. At least a little. Or what's the point of it all anyway?

[Alex the eternal optimist.]

From:

lordfuckleroy

[ This would perhaps be their second disagreement, following right on the heels of their agreement of favorite types of stories. Henry's face remained for the most part impassive, except for the eyes which sharpened, the slightest furrowing of the brows at the words of the optimist who still believed in happy endings. ]

I suppose we shall have to agree to disagree then, love is a beautiful concept in books but.. [ He gestures because it is the only thing that he can do. ] well, I will believe it when I see it and not a moment more.

From:

internationalrelations

Or we could argue about it.

[Alex offered in a very serious tone though the start of a grin was playing at the corners of his lips. Look, he liked arguing. He'd probably make a decent lawyer if he weren't planning on jumping headlong into politics after university. ...at this point anyway. He had no idea about the changes that were coming for him in his very near future.]

But maybe the peaceful option is the better one.

[He probably ought to let Henry get back to his books, but well, he didn't want to leave. Not exactly.]

...hey. So uh... would you like to eat lunch together?

From:

lordfuckleroy

[ Henry glanced over to where Alex was giving him a look that he was attempting to decipher. Meanwhile he could literally hear Bea fluttering around somewhere. Did she think to matchmake the two of them? Well that was something that he thought perhaps may be difficult, as he could not imagine this man being gay in any sort of capacity, even the half full type.

He found another book and then then turned and carried it over to the table where he had previously been sitting. ] Why are you intent on eating lunch with me and being friends with me when I was rude?

[ That was the curious part, but then Henry was not even sure if he remembered how to be charming. ]

From:

internationalrelations

Rude is sort of downplaying it. You were an asshole. But...

[Alex shrugged, a sudden and unusual surge of something like shyness in him as he let his gaze drop away, fidgeting with the book again.]

You were upset. And hurt, I think.

[Even if Alex did not yet understand exactly why, except that there was a curse and somehow it was connected to the pomegranate and to the Beast and also perhaps the clever little bird.]

So I figure it's not really fair to judge someone on one encounter. ...if they give me reason to think otherwise.

[That was where they were right now, with Alex trying to find out if there was more to Henry than the anger and rage and demands.]

From:

lordfuckleroy

[ It was quite a few years of buildup and it was hard to be vulnerable enough to reveal it all-- after all he barely knew this man but likewise he knew he had been rude, he had been unmannerly and perhaps it was just the fact that he had been a beast for far too long. He nodded, and it was a terse nod though he did not want to admit to the fact that he had been hurt and upset.

Alex had guessed the right of it, Henry did not want ot vulnerablize himself even further.

Two wrongs do not make a right, I suppose.

[ He would give Alex that much because he had been wrong to eat the Pomegranate and assume that was up for eating. ]

Fine, I will have lunch with you.

[ This was said gruffly ]

From:

internationalrelations

[Alex would die on the hill that picking and eating a fruit was a very normal and natural thing, especially in a place that had basically magically invited you in and fed you at every turn. How the hell was he even supposed to guess that there was one cursed tree just hanging out unguarded, no warning no sign no nothing.

He looked back to Henry at that before sighing heavily.]

You know. For the guy who was demanding I stay here, you really sound like you're agreeing to some horrific prison sentence to share a meal with me. A lot of people consider me good company, you know. I'm apparently charismatic.

[Or so he'd been told. ...he'd also been called infuriating and chaos-incarnate, so the opinions were fairly mixed.

Alex shifted where he stood, uncomfortably. He really had no idea what to make of any of this. And maybe that feeling of being so incredibly lost explained the quiet tone of his voice as he continued,]

Do you... want me to just leave?

From:

lordfuckleroy

[ It wasn't a horrific prison sentence exactly, what it was though was him being just as confused with why this man was attempting to make friends with him, which attested to the thickitude of his own skull. He set his book aside them and then very primly (for a beast) clasped his hands together and looked to Alex. ] I know very well that strengths also have their bad side.

[ A smirk that tugged at the corner of his lips. ]

You many words per minute are you known for?

[ Yes, he was calling Alex a talker. But at least there was a smirk? A little tendril of humor somewhere amid that moodiness. And he was moody. ]

From:

internationalrelations

You're incredibly flexible for someone your size, you know.

[Alex crossed his arms and looked directly at him.] I've never seen anyone dodge questions as well as you. Careful you don't pull something. You should probably stretch first.

[Bite him, Henry.

That smirk was infuriating he wanted to throw something at him. Still, he supposed that almost bit of humor was something. Like a pathetic scrap of something, but still. Something.]

And you have not even heard me get started talking yet.

[THREATS. No peace for Henry.]