No monster missions this time. You'll see…XD
Liv's POV
The elevator doors slid open. The moon, the dim lanterns in the trees, and the single candles on each table were our only light. It was a bit chilly outside as it can be at night in the desert area, and I shivered. Warren took my hand and guided me to a small round table in the corner with a handsome red table cloth. We were in Las Vegas (I still can't believe he took me there) and were in a very nice hotel with an equally nice restaurant for a late-night dinner. It would be a light one due to the fact we monsters were literally stuffed with food like a hunter's kill at the White House. We were on the top floor, which is specially reserved for celebrities, politicians, and such. The classy wall-papered walls were only three feet tall, and the remaining ten feet walls and ceiling being consisted of nothing but glass. Beside each table lining the walls, there was an open window graced with curtains. If it wasn't for my wings, I wouldn't see anything outside at all. The lights of restaurants, casinos, and other hotels lit up, and oh, it was a marvelous sight. I'll bet anything there's better night scenes I know Warren made a wonderful for a place only eighty miles away from the facility.
"Before we sit down," Warren began. "I want you to open this." He handed me a standard-sized wrapped box. I gently tore apart the wrapping paper and lifted the slim cardboard lid. I pulled out a black wool coat with ruffles and rosettes along the collar. The general smiled at me. "I saw it a few days after our last date and thought of you. After I bought it, I had the facility tailor fix it up to fit you." I noticed the opening in the back to fit around my wings. I looked back at him. He looked so handsome in the same tuxedo he wore at the White House.
"Thank you. So much." I said. He took it out of my hands and spread it out. I turned around and sank to the floor as I folded back my wings. He gently slid it around my shoulders, careful not to harm the seemingly fragile things. I laughed. "You should know that they're not that fragile at all. Unless you cut them from my back or tear too many holes in them, I should be fine."
"That's good to know." He commented. He pulled out the red velvet chair, sat me gently in, and pushed it back toward the table. He sat himself down and locked his hands together on the table, a gentle smile on his lips. A tall snazzy waiter approached.
"General W.R. Monger, I presume?" He said, prejudicially staring down his nose at us.
"You heard right." The general answered.
"Potato soup, a side of garlic and cheese sourdough bread, and a bottle of 1961 Chateau San Michelle for two?"
"Precisely." The waiter left to the French doors to the kitchen. Warren turned back toward me.
"You should know that was the year I brought the Missing Link and another monster named von Wolfmann to the facility." Warren informed me.
"Who was von Wolfmann?" I asked quietly, aware it could be something still classified.
"He was a German werewolf, about seventy-five when I first found him, who had recently figured out his almost lifelong curse. He was misdiagnosed with violent epilepsy, but-" He paused to chuckle and run a finger through his right eyebrow. "every time he had a 'seizure,' a person or two would be found later in the same room dead. He died four years after his capture in his sleep."
"Hoo boy!" I exclaimed.
"Von Wolfmann had a pretty good impact on Link." He continued. "When the fish boy arrived, that werewolf who seemed like nothing but a stubborn old crab took him under his wing, gave him a barbaric but official language to learn, and taught him as much as he could about human life.
"About a year after that, the first two English-speaking monsters, the Invisible Man and Dr. Cockroach, arrived. Link was intrigued by the new language, but von Wolfmann refused to speak a word of it and communicated with only Link. About a year later, Link became bilingual and translated between the monsters. Sweet Jericho, was he ever broken when von Wolfmann died. It didn't take too long until he spoke only English and forgot the German. Am I boring you?"
"No, not a bit." I responded, smiling back. If my parents were still alive, they probably wouldn't approve of me dating this man, rough and all the way he is. But his slang (the "Sweet Jericho"; I about lost it) and his rough but tender-hearted personality are the things I truly love about him.
"And what about the other monsters?" I asked. "I'm not meaning to be snoopy or anything of the sort; I-"
"Don't be sorry for anything, Faytale." He kindly told me. "To start with…hmm…" He furrowed his bushy eyebrows for a few seconds. "You probably heard where Link came from, right?"
"Cocoa Beach in Florida; he told me all about it."
"Alrightie, I can skip that. Dr. Cockroach was a young and recently fired scientist from the English town of Hatfield who was trying to find longevity for humanity. B.O.B. was a result of a genetically altered tomato and a chemically altered ranch flavored dessert topping-" He saw the disgusted look in my eyes as they turned an ugly olive green. "nasty, I know—from a snack food plant called Old Man Carl's. Ginormica was a bride-to-be who was hit with a meteorite in Modesto. The Invisible Man? Well, he was a scientist as well who was accidently turned invisible during a freak accident in a government lab. If you wanted a personality type, try gender-swapping on Invisoline. He died in 1984 of a heart attack."
The waiter set down one ceramic bowl of soup each in front of us.
"Thank you." I said as he left again. I quickly tested my soup as I took a dip with the soup spoon. Too hot. I watched across as Warren lightly blew on his. "Warren, you should know that etiquette discourages that." I corrected politely. "The same goes with scooping ice out of your glass. It is a great insult to the chef and gives him the right to throw you out of the restaurant." I smiled and laughed. "A former suitor of mine learned that the hard way." I kind of stared at him, unsure if he understood what I was talking about or not. "Oh! You probably haven't heard about my past-"
"Don't worry about a thing." He smiled. "I heard everything one the way home from the Murphys during Halloween." He paused as the same waiter set down a ceramic tray with the sourdough bread slices. I gently grabbed a slice with a pair of tongs and set it on my plate. I cut it into four and placed one in my mouth with a fork. After eating a few pieces, I waited for Warren to finish as he carefully followed my example. In the time that I knew him, I've never seen him this uneasy.
"So, what about your past?" I asked out of the blue.
"Where to start?" He asked himself again. "Let's say that I grew up in Danville, Virginia, got a job at a military office not far from home, and when I was twenty-two, shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor and graduation from West Point with a Bachelor of Science, got drafted into duty. Got sent to Italy as a private where I was wounded in the face and had my tear ducts removed. Got promoted two years after the war in 1947 to a sergeant. Three years later, the advisors of President Truman persuaded him to-" He walked over and bent down by my ear. "keep the existence of monsters a secret."
I cocked an eyebrow. "Warren, was there more to your life than just the war and service in the military?"
"As it was…yes." He sighed. "I trust you enough to keep this secret. I did have a sweetheart in high school. Ruthie. Ruth Netzel. At graduation, I promised once I graduated from college, I would come back and marry her. Then war got in the way and when I came back for her eight years later, she was soon to be hitched with another man."
"I'm so sorry, Warren." I said under my breath. Expressionless, he poured some of the wine in my goblet. "Now I feel awful for all those suitors I dismissed."
He laughed. "Don't be. For wantin' you to be theirs so you can be in the backseat for their lives, make love when they want it, and punch out some offspring, they never deserved you."
"All but one. Remember that awkward scientist I talked to Link about?" He nodded. "He was nothing like that. And because his creation turned me into this, he felt so awful about it. When he told me to hide, I never saw him again. He committed suicide the following week. Walter Lynden was his name."
"Good man." He commented. The same waiter came back with a bill.
"Will that be all, sir?" He asked.
"Yes, sir." Warren handed the man his credit card. The man came back and returned the card. I took a five-dollar bill out of my little black clutch purse and set it on the table for a tip.
About half an hour later we were back at the facility. He escorted me to my cell and took off my coat to hang it up.
"Thank you so much, Warren. For everything." I whispered.
"Don't mention it." He replied.
"No, seriously. War-" My protest was interrupted as he leaned toward me. The next thing I knew his lips were pressed against mine. Nothing slobbery like some of the suitors I had like I was kissing a dog or something. It was a lot like the kiss Walter gave me before I turned into the fairytale human hybrid I am. I shut my eyes and wrapped my arms around his neck. His arms locked around my back, getting a little tangled in my hair.
God, this was wonderful. Why should it end?
"Good night." He whispered. "Olivia."
And thanks so much to HappyHappyJoy14, Claws-McDonald, and girltechcoyote for their wonderful reviews. And von Wolfmann will have more than just a cameo in an upcoming MvA fanfic. Going camping again but only for 3 days and will be back Saturday. May just get some writing done depends on how alone I am.