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

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.]

From:

lordfuckleroy

[ It was the equivalent of a yippy dog running circles around him. Henry was not sure where on the height score they would be if Henry was back to his mortal form and he did not want to think about it. Because that felt too depressing..

And real.

Though the cleverness did hit him square in the chest. Yes, he was dodging questions and perhaps that was a good thing because it was distracting him from what he should do and that was send Alex home and just suffer through his minus year of his life before who knew what would happen. ]

Colour me absolutely terrified.

[ Enjoy that posh accent, Alex. Because it was absolutely infuriating and perhaps a little bit smug. ]

From:

internationalrelations

[Oh entirely infuriating. Alex wondered if anyone had ever tried to strangle Henry before, because he was considering it. So smug!

But honestly there was part of Alex that had lit up at the realization that there was indeed more to Henry than just that gruff anger. There were layers to this Beast. Good. Though it also made Alex want to poke at him more. That probably said a great deal about him.]

Yeah you are. You should be.

[Fear him.]

From:

lordfuckleroy

[ Do not joke about that, you never know-- Henry may be into benign strangulation?

A little gruff sound to Henry's voice as he heard the way that Alex was going to seriously poke the beast. And yet he could do nothing about it except for bear it? He was, after all, the one who had told Alex that he had to stay here. It may very well be that Henry hand delivered Alex back to the village for being an unmitigated pest.

Another snort before he threw the first thing that he could find on the desk. which just so happened to be a crumpled up handkerchief. Feel relieved that his hands hadn't touched the paperweight in the shape of a unicorn. ]

Do you ever shut up?

From:

internationalrelations

Not when I have something to say.

[Alex ducked the handkerchief. Mostly. He also picked it up, balled it up, and chucked it right back at Henry. Take that. Attack him like that. How dare you. Unprovoked! Assault! He was totally going to tell Bea.]

Do you ever smile?

[Now what, Henry. Huh.

Yeah Alex would probably be forcibly evicted from the castle and Henry's hair well before the year was up.]

From:

lordfuckleroy

Only when I have something to smile about.

[ He was hit by the handkerchief because he did not care to dodge it, right against his cheek and with no true retaliation to speak of. His eyes sparked but it probably was far preferable to the moping ]

Are you not a little bit afraid that I will eat you for lunch in order to get you to be quiet?

From:

internationalrelations

[There was something about that first statement that would linger in the back of Alex's mind after this conversation, would have him wondering when the last time Henry did have reason to smile was.

For now though he laughed, a short HA of a sound.]

Nope. If you were gonna eat me, you would've done it last night.

[He lifted his chin then, his turn to be smug as he informed Henry,] Though like, who could blame you. I am a total snack.

[No one would blame you for murdering him, Henry. No one.]

From:

lordfuckleroy

[ despite the two of them, the mystery was starting to settle in-- along with the burgeoning fascination. It was the pulling of fate betwixt the two of them, the feeling of enormity that wrapped them up in a blanket's embrace. They could fight it, but they were on the losing side here because there were larger forces at work.

Such would be their hubris. ]

I was tempted to eat you; it would not have given me the pomegranate back but I thought it might have made me feel better.

[ There was a single beat before he continued. ]

But now with the light of morning, I realize you would have probably given me a horrible case of indigestion.

From:

internationalrelations

I would've had my revenge in your digestive tract, yeah.

[Alex agreed with him, eyebrows raised. Whatever else this conversation was proving, it was that Alex Claremont-Diaz was not smart enough to be afraid of a large beast with claws and fangs and every reason to want to murder him. So that was something maybe?]

Missed opportunities, huh?

[He reached out to pat at a furry bicep.] Oh well. That's life, buddy.

From:

lordfuckleroy

[ Wow wow wow wow wooo~w--

The bicep pat, so very condescending and playful well he had not encountered anyone nearly so playful-- certainly not like Bea who was fluttering around the room like something mad and outrageous. It wasn't just the conversation that was proving Alex to not be the smartest when it came to social clues, it was also this.

But you know, you really had to applaud him his balls, because they were very large and likely had sweat dripping down them right now. ]

You are clearly not going to make it a year, are you. [ He flashed his teeth, this was of course just a ploy to assert dominance. ]

From:

internationalrelations

[Alex was tempting fate, and he was aware of it. He only smiled ight back in turn to that little threat of fangs.]

Honestly, I haven't decided whether or not I'm staying yet.

[He stepped back then, holding his book to his chest.]

So you know. Better bring your A-game to lunch, Henry.

[Gauntlet thrown challenge laid? Alex had decided that he was going to figure this guy out whether it killed the both of them or not.]

I'm gonna go read in the bath.

From:

lordfuckleroy

[ What was this and why did Henry's heart start to beat faster at that playful banter? Had he seriously not seen a man in so long that he was reduced to following Alex with his eyes rather dumbstruck as if there was no thought in his brain. He could scent Alex, and it was annoyingly good smelling.

And was that a dimple? Of all the audacity, how dare Alex be like he was for now the Beast was 100 percent confused with what he was that he was feeling.

There was a twitter from Bea, which translated approximately to 'maybe he will be able to break the spell' but Henry rather shoo'd her away lightly. ]

From:

internationalrelations

[Alex would wonder at himself too. Something in Henry was impossible to ignore, a challenge that Alex felt compelled to rise to, want to rise to. And as he strode his way down the hallway back to his room, his heart was hammering away in his chest too.

Very weird. Super weird.

He settled into his room, stripping and climbing right into that tub and sinking slowly down until only his eyes were above the water. What the hell was even happening here? He didn't know. At all. He lifted up enough to breathe but then relaxed back in the warm water and tried to sort his thoughts out, building a list in his head as if that would help him make sense of it.]

From:

lordfuckleroy

[ It was a pull that Henry could feel the very beginnings of, like some strange magic that was getting it's tendrils into him-- though he had been a cynic for far too long that a burgeoning feeling of hope was almost unheard of.. but perhaps that was the strange ache that he felt in the very core of his soul when he looked at Alex.

~Could this be the one?~

He continued his reading though thought that perhaps if Alex were staying here, he should probably get to know him, in an effort to make him more comfortable. So he spent a great deal of the next hour brainstorming ways to make him feel at home. This was harder than he had anticipated and he attempted to get Bea's input but unfortunately there was nothing solid nor concrete. It had been over a hundred years, he did not know what people did nowadays for fun. ]

From:

internationalrelations

[Alex was in danger of turning into a raisin by the time he got out of the tub, but it had given him a chance to try to sort out his thoughts. It had only helped a little. He'd at least gotten himself to focus on the immediate, on the now, and figure out the next step once he got there.

He dressed -- borrowed clothes that were quite conveniently provided for him. He was surprised by how well they fit, but would chalk it up to strange magic. There was a lot of that going on here, so why not?

In any case, conveniently appearing perfectly fitting clothing was not half as strange as the fact that he couldn't get Henry's eyes out of his head. He was a straight (ha) human, so why was he thinking so much about the Beast who he'd barely had a civil conversation with.]

From:

lordfuckleroy

[ Honestly, Henry did not realize that Alex liked to lounge in the bathtub quite so long because it was reasonably to lunch and a little bit after when he started to look at his pocketwatch, a thing that had to be wound to perfect time.

Tucked into the pocket of his waistcoat because of course he wore clothing, he was a civilized beast-- minus the slight feral crazy about pomegranate protection.

When Alex appeared, the table was set in the library with food, a spread of favorite things here and there for the Beast but also it had been noted by Bea and the magic of the kitchen that had noticed what Alex had gravitated to the most. Thankfully pomegranates were left off the menu; but there was a three tiered luncheon tray with scones, cakes and other such delicacies, hot soup with bread and also pots of tea (because he was not a heathen). ]

From:

internationalrelations

...wow.

[Alex couldn't help the startled exclamation as he stepped into the dining room and saw, well, a feast. And a Beast. A Beast with a feast. Stifling a laugh at his own idiotic brain's attempt at joking.]

This looks amazing.

[He was already eyeing the cakes. Yeah he'd have to try that.]

Sorry if I kept you waiting. I lost track of time in the bath I think. The water never got cold.

[MAGIC WAS WEIRD.]

From:

lordfuckleroy

[ Good thing that Henry was not a mind-reader because he would've canceled Alex almost immediately for such words coming out of that mouth. A beast with a feast? Really? But at any rate he was sitting there all prim and proper and waiting, though he was drumming his fingers(clawed ofc) against the wooden table as he waited.

Never mind the fact that Alex looked very nice cleaned up.

Oh and he smelled good too, and it was hubris that his own nose was so keen that he could scent the soap under the surface, as well as the replenished cologne; Alex's favorite being summoned for consumption. ]

It does not get cold, you could literally sit in there for two days and the water would still be hot.

From:

internationalrelations

This is my first experience with magic. Not really sure how to wrap my head around it all just yet.

[It was confusing and strange and a little worrying, especially because he was certain by now that magic had not exactly done Henry any favors. Or Bea. The whole curse thing that did... well something to do with pomegranates.

He offered a smile in Henry's direction though.]

Food looks great though.

From:

lordfuckleroy

[ Henry nodded toward the spread, it appeared to be all of the things that Alex had reached for initially was laid out in plates on the table, the soup and the bread, the charcuterie board-- and yes even a carafe of very light honey wine.

Unlike the Beast from the movie, he did have impeccable manners and knew how to hold a knife and spoon.

It was just that attitude and those sudden pockets of annoyance that did him in. ]

Magic is a convenience but also it is a curse.

From:

internationalrelations

Yeah. We're still not talking about the curse, right?

[Just, establishing the ground rules here. Alex settled himself into a chair and well, went straight for the soup and bread again because yes, that had been delicious. And he also remembered a little bird enjoying the bread too, so he was already breaking off some pieces to set beside him because he was certain Bea was around somewhere.

He looked over at Henry, curious.]

Besides you and Bea, is there anyone else here?

From:

lordfuckleroy

We are not. I was merely alluding the the existence of them.

[ This person was remarkably focused like a cat with a laser pointer. The fact that it was still on his mind was rather remarkable and he knew that if Alex stayed here for any reasonable length of time, he most decidedly would not be able to avoid it. One of his shaggy beast brows rose up sharply in response. ] The fact that you are so invested in what happened especially when you are adamant that you do not want to be here...?

[ But there was another question, a much safer one. ] There is, but not in the conventional manner? [ Had his odious brother turned into a clock somewhere, probably-- and it was completely stationary and did not talk because that was what fujoshi warlocks did to homophobic brothers. ]

From:

internationalrelations

The fact that you are so invested in not telling me what happened when you demanded I stay here..?

[Et tu, Henry? Alex lifted an eyebrow right back at him before quick adding,]

And it's not that I don't want to be here. I didn't plan to end up here, and I... sort of didn't tell anyone I was going into the forest to begin with. So they're probably worried, and I'm probably going to get my ass kicked four times over when I get back. It'll just be a matter of who gets to me first.

[Though that was a very curious thing that Henry just said.] More unconventional than a bird and a beast?

From:

lordfuckleroy

[ There was a point there, of course there was a point and Alex had a very good one. Et tu indeed, the sort of call out that he could not deny, and if he construed the way that Bea came in to chirp a litany into the air around his head? Well, perhaps he deserved it. ]

It is a long and complicated story and right now the only thing that I am inclined to tell you is that I am infused with a curse makes it that the only thing that can break it is...

[ True love, except-- he was a man, and his preference was for other men so like it was easier said than done though the obvious would absolutely be the fact that he was a beast and fairly unloveable. ] As for unconventional, try a clock and a writing desk.

From:

internationalrelations

Is... what? Some magic artifact in a land far away? A unicorn's tear? Kissing the right frog?

[Alex rattled off all the various magical story cliches he could think of.] Because let's go find it! Maybe that's why I wound up here, right? To help you break it. If we've got to go on a quest, I'm down.

[Alex would be more than happy to help Henry if it was at all possible.

Though he paused to blink at him.]

...they got turned into furniture?