Connor slumped on the rail of his balcony, looking down at the scene taking place far below his feet. Jude and Phillipe were taking a stroll around the gardens. The horse didn't seem any worse for wear from yesterday's incident, and Connor was glad. It was clear that Jude cared about his horse. He would pause occasionally to let Phillipe paw through the snow and look for grass and he seemed to be talking to Phillipe as they walked. Connor had listened intently, but even his hearing couldn't pick up on Jude's voice. They were sweet to watch, however, and Connor was more than content, even as he thought that his actions might be a little creepy.

He hadn't had a chance to speak to Jude since Jude had bandaged his arm; he'd only just woken, though it was late morning. He hoped that he would be able to talk to Jude later. He wanted yesterday to be some sort of turning point; he wanted Jude to stay and truly be happy here. He didn't want Jude to run away again. Connor wanted to be good for him, as hopeless as a desire that was.

As he mused, Brandon and Jesus hopped up onto the balcony railing next to him.

"He's wonderful, no?" Jesus prompted.

Connor didn't think of denying it. "He's like no one I've met before." He touched one of his long claws to the bandage around his forearm. "I've never felt like this before."

He glanced over to see Jesus nudging Brandon, and Connor sighed.

"What is it?" Brandon asked.

"I don't know what to do," Connor confessed. "I don't know how to do anything."

"He's a person. It can't be that difficult." Jesus snorted.

"It's been so long since I've been around a person," Connor commented. "And … we all know he's our only chance. I feel something. It could … I could …" He stopped. Jude had said about three nice words to him. It wouldn't help anyone to get ahead of himself now. "I want to do something for him. Something nice."

"Uh …" Brandon floundered. "Chocolate? Flowers?"

"Bigger," Connor said. "Something he'll really like."

"Oh!" Jesus exclaimed. "The Games Room!"

"What?" Connor and Brandon asked him at the same time.

"When we were taking him on the tour," Jesus reminded Brandon. "He showed interest in the Games Room!"

"The Games Room," Connor repeated. "That would be … perfect."

Not only was it something that Jude would like, but it would be something that they could do together, if Jude was willing to spend time with him. Connor had never been great at games and had never liked to play because of that, but he would play for hours if it meant that there was the possibility of Jude smiling at him. He wanted Jude to smile at him. He touched the bandage on his forearm, hearing Jude's soft, hesitant voice as he thanked him yesterday. What Jude didn't realize was that Connor couldn't have let him die; he wasn't as beastly as he looked.

"Let's go look at the Games Room!" Connor announced, sweeping from his balcony.

Brandon and Jesus had no prayer of keeping up as Connor leapt down the stairway and onto the floor that the games room was located on. The hallway was dusty; neither he nor the servants had used these rooms for a very long time. He carefully took the small door handles in his large paws and pushed the lever down, throwing the doors open. The Games Room clearly hadn't been touched since the fateful night of Connor's curse – there were still games set up here and there, waiting for players that would never arrive; there was food bowls sitting about, with nothing but a grim black mold to tell of their former contents; and the whole room had a disgusting, musty smell about it.

Connor walked into the room and over to the windows, throwing them open so that a fresh breeze came through the room. He turned around as Jesus and Brandon hopped through the doorway.

"This place is gross," Jesus announced.

"We'll get everyone in here to clean at once," Brandon decided.

"No," Connor said. "I want to do it."

"By yourself?" Jesus asked.

"I want to do this for him," Connor said with determination. "I can do it. Brandon, would you send up trolleys with cleaning supplies?"

"Yes, Master," Brandon agreed.

He and Jesus left, and Connor only had to wait a few minutes before the trolleys brought themselves in. Connor attacked the dusting with a vengeance. He couldn't remember the last time he had cleaned anything – if he ever had. As a human, his servants had done it for him. As a beast, it had been easier to let the palace become one of disrepair than to bother doing anything about it. But Connor found that it actually felt good to clean the furniture and clean the game pieces. He went over everything meticulously – he needed it to be perfect. He spent most of the day buzzing around the games room and it looked better than he had expected that he could make it. It wasn't perfect yet, and Connor decided that he would return the next day. There were still things that he wanted to do.

He closed the Games Room door behind him and he descended onto the main floor of the kitchen. He'd skipped all of his meals and his stomach was grumbling. On his way to the kitchen, he nearly ran into Jude. Connor skittered backward a few steps, trying not to unnerve Jude. Though, Jude didn't look scared of him like he used to. He didn't look happy to see him, but Connor would take anything over fear.

"Hello," Connor said.

"Hi," Jude answered. "How's your arm feeling?"

"Fine, thank you. You did a good job."

"I couldn't just leave you bleeding."

"Yes, you could've."

Jude's eyes flickered up to meet his own, and Connor was caught in Jude's face. It was such an open, honest face, and Connor felt his heart trip over itself. Jude might have been the first boy that Connor had seen in years, but Connor was absolutely sure that Jude was one of the most beautiful people that Connor had ever seen. His face, while it wasn't something that would have inspired a master painter, was something that Connor couldn't look away from.

"You saved my life," Jude reminded him. "I couldn't have."

Connor had only had the opportunity to save Jude's life because he'd imprisoned it in the first place, but Connor didn't say it aloud. Instead, he asked, "Could we … meet tomorrow?"

"Meet?" Jude repeated. "W-what for?"

"There's some things about the castle that I think you'd like to see. Your tour, um, got cut short, after all."

Jude looked hesitant, and Connor was afraid that Jude would say no. Connor wouldn't blame him for that at all.

"Sure," Jude agreed after a moment. "Um, noon?"

"Yeah," Connor agreed breathlessly. "I'll collect you from your room, then?"

"Sure," Jude repeated. "I guess I'll see you then."

"And you," Connor said.

Jude awkwardly tried to smile at him, and Connor did his best to smile back at him. Jude's expression warmed him from the inside out and, after Jude walked away and up the stairs, Connor couldn't keep the goofy expression off his face. He walked into the kitchens.

"You look happy," Lena commented.

"He smiled at me," Connor admitted. "A little one but he smiled! At me!"

"Brandon and Jesus told us what you were doing in the Games Room," Stef said.

"Oh, yeah. I want to make him happy."

"We're proud of you," Lena said. "Especially for doing it on your own. You never would have done that before."

"If I stayed who I've been, he'd … never stop hating me. I have to be better if I want him to like me."

"He will," Stef assured him. "You have to give love time to grow."

"We're running out of time," Connor whispered. It was only ever to Lena and Stef that he would admit this; they were the two that were older than he and both women had more experience than he might ever would.

"Don't give up hope," Lena said. "You can't."

"I'll try." It was all that Connor could do. He stood up away from them. "I have to go back to the Games Room. It needs to be ready for noon tomorrow and I don't know if I have enough time."

"You haven't eaten!" Stef called after him.

"We'll send something up!" Lena added.

Connor bounded back up the staircase. He'd been anticipating on having the day tomorrow to work on it too but when he saw Jude's face, Connor hadn't wanted to let the opportunity slip through his hands. It was a big palace and Jude could avoid him if he wanted to. And, Connor admitted, he wanted to take advantage of the fact that Jude still felt grateful that Connor had saved him. He entered the Games Room again and set back to work. He paused in his work when Lena's tray of food zoomed in, and he shoved most of it in his enormous maw at once. Connor would work all night if he had to.

He had to get it right.

(-.-)

Jude jumped anxiously as there came a knock on his door. The early winter sun was in the right place in the sky; it was noon. That was the Beast knocking on his door. He swallowed the lump in his throat, thinking that, while he was nervous, he didn't feel nearly as nervous as he thought that he should be. He opened the door, and there was the Beast. Jude blinked in surprise – he'd changed. He was still wearing his dark purple cape, but he'd traded his pants for ones a little less ragged and he was wearing a shirt that covered most of his hairy chest.

"Good afternoon," Jude said.

"Good afternoon. Do you still want to take a walk around with me?"

Jude nodded. If he weren't crazy, he'd say that the Beast sounded nervous too. That made no sense. Why would he be nervous?

"Where are we going first?" Jude asked.

"I didn't really have anywhere in mind," the Beast said.

"Oh, all right."

They started down the hallway in silence. Jude tried not to think of his first night here, when he had trailed behind the Beast. Though they were, shockingly, more silent now than they were then, they were walking side by side. Jude was surprised to find that he felt more comfortable in the Beast's presence. He wasn't totally comfortable with him- he doubted that he ever could be – but the Beast had saved him yesterday, for no reason at all. The Beast didn't need a prisoner – it wasn't as if Jude was being kept for ransom or anything – and it would have been easy for the Beast to let him be eaten by wolves or freeze to death in the snow. Jude knew himself well enough to know that something had shifted.

Despite the Beast saying that there was no destination in mind, Jude began to feel as if he was being led somewhere. The Beast pointed out that most of the rooms in the palace were bedrooms and they passed a lot of them. They came to the end of a long hallway, and two large, ornate doors.

"I think you'll like this room," the Beast said, reaching forward and laying one paw on a door handle.

"Okay," Jude said.

"Um, can you close your eyes?"

"Close … Why?"

"It's a surprise!"

Jude blinked at the enthusiasm in the Beast's voice, and then he did as he was asked and closed his eyes. It was slightly unnerving to be standing in front of the Beast and feeling so vulnerable about it. But the Beast wouldn't hurt him. Jude was strangely sure of it. He heard the Beast moving around and the sound of the doors opening. He almost opened his eyes, but the Beast caught the flicker of his eyelids.

"Not yet," the Beast said quickly. "Can I have your hands?"

Jude held them out, and then he felt the Beast's rough paws gently under his hands. The Beast didn't hold onto him tightly, as if he was worried about scaring Jude, but he gently began to tug Jude forward. Jude followed his movements and they crossed into the room. They walked forward a few more steps, and then the beast stopped him.

"One more moment," the Beast said, and Jude nodded.

He heard the Beast bounding away from him. Then, the sound of curtains being drawn. Jude could sense the change in light and he instinctively turned toward it, though he kept his eyelids firmly closed. He heard the heavy movements of the Beast coming back to stand before him.

"Okay!" the Beast announced. "Open!"

Jude's eyes popped open and he stared around the large room with disbelief, trying to comprehend exactly what he was seeing. He was standing in the middle of a circular room lined with shelves; there were two stories within the room alone – there was a long, wooden bannister surrounding the second floor balcony that looked down upon the first floor. Large windows took up most of the outside wall, shedding light on the many tables in the room; every table was surrounded by comfortable chairs. Jude turned in a circle again, looking at what was on the shelves.

"Are they … games?" he asked Connor.

"It's our game room. We've games from many places and time periods. I thought you'd like it."

Jude turned in a circle again. "C-can I go look?"

The Beast nodded excitedly. "I fixed it up for you."

"For me?" Jude repeated.

"Brandon and Jesus mentioned you'd sounded interested in it and I thought …" he suddenly sounded embarrassed. "I want you to be happy here. And not bored."

"Oh," Jude breathed. "I really don't know what to say."

"Well," the Beast suggested, "you could tell me which one's your favourite."

Jude walked toward the shelf closest to him, running his hands along the intricate boxes. These weren't like the few second hand game pieces that he and Callie had managed to collect over the years. These were exquisite game pieces worthy of grandeur of the rest of the palace. He was almost afraid of touching them.

He looked over his shoulders to face the Beast. "Checkers. My sister and I always loved to play checkers."

"The checkers are on the second level," the beast said. "Should we go up?"

Jude nodded. "Do you know where everything in here is?"

It was such a large room; Jude couldn't imagine knowing it in detail.

"Alphabetical order," the Beast explained. "A is up here on the left and then it goes down to the right."

"Oh."

Jude followed him over to one of the shelves, and the Beast pulled out the board, putting everything in Jude's hands. "Checkers."

Jude looked down at the elaborate board and pieces. "I can't … play checkers by myself."

"Anyone would play, but, um, I was hoping you'd like to play a game or two with me."

"Are you any good?" Jude asked, his voice light.

"No, not at any of them," the Beast confessed.

"And you'd want to play anyway?"

"If you wanted me to."

Jude nodded. "Yeah, okay. Um, let's go sit by the windows."

Jude led the Beast over to a medium sized table, right in front of the second floor's balcony. He looked outside over the grounds, expecting to see something like the snowy gardens he and Phillipe had been in yesterday. Instead, he gasped. There was a sheer drop down into a ravine. There was a single, hearty wooden bridge leading from the palace grounds across the ravine. He leant toward the window, but from here, he couldn't see down to the bottom of the ravine.

"It's a little … scary, isn't it?"

Jude nodded.

"Just try to avoid that entrance to the palace," the Beast suggested.

"Wolves or a sheer drop … You know, I think I might just stay inside," Jude mused.

The Beast made no comment, and so Jude set up the board.

"I'm usually the black pieces," he admitted.

"Oh, I don't mind either way," the Beast said.

Jude finished the board. He made the first move. The Beast had to awkwardly clip his claws around the shallow checker pieces and it took him several minutes to actual make a move. After he had completed it, he looked up at Jude, embarrassed. Jude smiled at him, trying to look encouraging. He did feel bad for being able to pick up his pieces and move them around with such ease, but the Beast eventually got a hang of it, and he even got the first king of the game.

"I thought you said you were bad at this!" Jude accused.

"I was," the Beast promised him. "Did you usually win against your sister?"

Jude's heart ached as he thought of Callie. "Well, no. But I just expected that. Callie was older and smarter so it made sense."

"Your turn," the Beast prompted after a moment.

They were in the final, tense movements of their game when Stef came into the games room, Jesus at her side. The candelabra bouncing about the room, setting the two large fireplaces ablaze.

"It looks wonderful in here," Stef commented.

"Thank you," the Beast grunted.

"King me," Jude told him. "I like it here. It's very homey."

He tucked one leg up under him and leant his head against the tall back of the plush chair. He'd never lived in a home such as this, but there was something comforting about the room with its dark wood paneling and thick carpets. The feeling was particularly strong now that the fires were going.

"Lena was worried that no one has eaten yet, so we were sent to find you," Jesus revealed. He hopped up on the table, looking down at the checker board. "Master, I think he has you beat."

"It's not over yet," the Beast replied.

"It's almost over," Jude told Jesus.

"We'll send some food up," Stef told them.

"Oh no, that's too much trouble," Jude said quickly. "We can come down."

"And ruin your game? It's no trouble at all, love."

Jude felt his heart stop at the affection in her tone and at the pet name. Could she … could she really care? She was a servant but he wasn't her master. He might actually matter to her. The feeling was strange and disconcerting. He didn't remember a time when anyone other than Callie cared about him, and Stef always had a maternal air about her. He wasn't entirely sure what to think about it.

"Thank you," Jude replied.

"Anything in particular you feel like?" Stef asked.

"Anything is great," Jude said. "Everything is always so wonderful."

"We'll surprise you with something not wonderful," Jesus assured him.

"Jesus," the Beast reprimanded.

"Okay, okay, so you haven't found a sense of humour yet." Jesus jumped off the table. "Good luck, Jude."

"I don't need luck," Jude said. "He's only got one piece left."

"What? When did that happen?"

"Your move," Jude said, leaning one elbow onto the table and propping his head up.

"What's the point?" the Beast asked, sounding sulky. "You've already won."

"It's all for fun," Jude said. "It's just one game."

"You've got to give me another opportunity to beat you," the Beast said, sliding his single checker forward.

"Oh, sure, if you think you can win."

The Beast didn't look quite as sulky, even as Jude hopped over his last piece and collected it with ease.

"Round two?"

"Round two," the Beast repeated.

Jude set up the board again. They were only a few moves in when lunch arrived. There was a collection of small sandwiches set up along the tray – a different kind for each of the four plates. Jude picked up one of the one closest to him and took a bite of it, maneuvering one of his checker pieces. He looked up to see the Beast messily toss two sandwiches into his mouth and clamp his jaw shut around them. He chewed with his mouth open as he picked up his checker piece between his claws and jumped over one of Jude's pieces. The Beast looked up at him as Jude pointedly took a single bite off his one sandwich and closed his mouth as he chewed.

"Oh. Um. Sorry," the Beast grunted. He closed his mouth and swallowed the rest of his sandwich.

"You've another jump," Jude pointed out, staring down at the checker board.

The Beast was acting like a person today. A human; not an angry animal that was hiding away from the world. Jude didn't know how to react to that, and so he continued to just play checkers with the Beast. They played three whole games. The Beast had managed to beat him the second time around and they had played a tie breaker, which Jude had taken. By then, the sun was beginning to set and Jude had begun to think about supper. He and the Beast carefully packed up the checker board and the Beast put it back in its place. They walked together out of the Games Room, and Jude paused in the hallway so the Beast could close the doors.

"Do you think we could play something else tomorrow?" Jude asked while the Beast had his back to him. It was easier that way.

"If you want," the Beast said. He turned to face Jude to say, "I'd like that."

"Thank you, Beast," Jude said. "This was … good. I liked spending time with you today."

It was so strange to say, but he had. He and the Beast hadn't really talked much about anything, but he hadn't hated sitting there with him and spending time with him like Jude had expected.

He thought he heard the Beast mumble something under his breath, but when Jude glanced at him questioningly, the Beast straightened up and said, "Would you please join me for dinner tonight?"

Jude nodded. "Yes, I would like that."

They went downstairs and sat together at the long dining table together. They each sat at the head of the table and Jude felt as if he were a ridiculous distance away from the Beast. It was particularly strange as they had spent most of the afternoon together at a much smaller table. If Jude had wanted to, he could have reached out and touched the Beast then. He'd made sure to not do such a thing, as he was sure that the both of them would have been uncomfortable with it, but the point stood that Jude could have. From here, he was hardly able to make out the bone white fangs that stuck out from his lower jaw and over his upper one.

Trolleys bustled in and they were heavy with a hearty soup. Jude picked up his spoon without saying a word to the Beast. He felt far too awkward trying to say anything from this distance. He lowered his large soup spoon into the broth, collecting pieces of chicken and vegetables onto his spoon. Every meal here was an experience. He didn't know how the vegetables were this fresh or how they made these flavours. Jude had never eaten so well and he wished that Callie could have this. He hoped that she had found work somewhere and wasn't skimping on her meals as the two of them usually did in the winter as there was typically less food in the house. He looked out the grand windows, seeing nothing but darkness and the occasional snow flake. He wondered what Callie was doing now.

He was distracted by a strange gulping sound, and he looked down the table, frankly startledby the noise. There was the Beast, tonguing at the bowl awkwardly, his spoon still perfectly positioned at his place setting. Jude had no idea what to do or say. How long had it been since the Beast had been around a bowl?

He cleared his throat awkwardly and the Beast looked up. Jude pointedly dabbed at his face with his napkin and the Beast followed suit, clearing his light coloured fur. Jude lifted his spoon and watched with sympathy as the Beast had to grapple with his cutlery, trying to get the spoon to sit comfortably in his large paw. The metal clicked against his thick claws. The Beast was able to shovel the spoon into the broth, but he wasn't able to get much on it, even as he tried to awkwardly dribble it into his mouth.

"Um," Jude murmured to himself, trying to think it through.

He seized the bowl in his hands. He watched the Beast's face brighten as he realized what Jude was offering and they both contentedly sipped at their soup.

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~TLL~