#fenixtj

"Pfft..." Tweak scoffs. "We be inside th' fuckin' hold. This be my house, bi-atch." She turns and takes a smug bite of her sandwich. "Th' fuck up yer ass?"

"Women, women are up my ass, Tweak. What is it with your..whole damn gender" he snaps . Here is someone he doesn't have to be nice about or to "You want romance, we romance you. You want us to take the lead, we try to take the damn lead ...you complain when we don't share our feelings, but when we can tell you're most shaken and worried and hurting you want 'time to yourself'. Women is my problem, Tweak. The whole lot of them seem put here to drive men mad when all we WANT is for your maniac sex is to be happy ...and yes, maybe sex and sandwiches now and then. But no...a man gets nearly kkilled finding the perfect gift, risks his neck, and it's 'nice' or 'very sweet' and they close up like a fan. Yet ever stupid song by a woman seems to be complaining about MEN being afraid of love? To quote you nockers "FAH""

"Feh"Shuri corrects ..or maybe it was gas

Tweak listens with a bit of a dubious sneer, chewing her sandwich as he talks. "'Less you been fuckin' 'round while she gone, sound like B th' one you talkin' 'bout. What, she bein' a tight-ass priss who don' tell you shit? Join th' goddam club. Whad'ya do, specific-like?"

"A snowglobe crafted from the very heart glacier of the Near Dreaming overlooking Rivervale itself. I fought chimera, I aided rovers against Dark Kin..do I boast to her? No..but what I do do is get a piece of that glacier and have someone fashion it so she can see Rivervale as is anytime she looks at it. Her and her alone, because the lady of the hold bound to the area welcomes her. I Look at it? I see a tacky tourist globe. But's a damn work of art, and I thought would be of comfort to her when she was missing new Jersey. Stupid of me, how can anyone miss New Jersey?"

A frown. "Huh." Another bite of sandwich. "She jus' back from there, right? Maybe somepin bad happened?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," He sighs and half closes his eyes "She doesn't talk to me, Tweak. And worse, some part of me thought I'd earned...I apologize. I should not raise my voice in front of your little girl. i suppose you're right. She doesn't talk to anyone about personal things. Why would I be any different."

"Eh, Shuri be used to raised voices. Lookit th' fuckin' mom she done ended up wit'!" Another bite of sandwich and a measuring look. "Sound like you wantin' t' be diff'rent. Like you, uh, want some kinda...special status, or some shit?"

"We both have to want it, or it doesn't matter does it?" A sigh "If I am the wrong man for her, I do wish she'd just tell me. I've been a force on these streets for years. Men fear me. I've made people vanish. I've turned survivors into conquerors. then? Jessica. Suddenly I care about someone, nd I learn I suck at it."

"Fuck, I think you both suck at it, but whadda I know?" She hands a baby bottle of juice back over her shoulder, and Shuri takes the pass like a pro. "See, if more peeps be like me an' Crawley, ev'rybody be a hell of a lot better off. Piss each other off, curse up a storm, get it all out. But no, you big-ass smurfs gotta choke that shit down so nobody see it. Give yerself big-ass ulcers."

"You may have a point" he concedes

"Huh." A surprised blink. "Don' hear that a lot."

"We are who we are, we trolls. We feel deep like an ocean with undercurrents that could tear one assudner while the surface seemingly has steady almost boring waves. Born of our dreams I suppose, of what we are dreamt of. Besides, people don't always like emotion trolls. When a nocker loses their temper, they yell at you until your ear drums bleed. A satyr migh punch you but later buy you a drink. when trolls cut loose? villagaes used to get broken. But I can no more FORCE Jessica to talk to me , and I won't beg"

"You won't, huh? How's that shit workin' for ya?"

"It's giving me the urge to shoot nockers" He gets himself a beer "So it's a side effect I'm good with"

"Try it, bitch. See how much that help you make time in her bed."

"That, and if I start shooting nockers, I soon won't be able to buy the weapons to shoot them with" Sigh

Shuri's face scunches obligingly

"There be that, yeah. So, she ain' sharin', an' you ain' beggin'. You both gonna be fucked up an' mis'rable, but dammit you be true to yer blue." She smacks the counter with ironic emphasis.

He pops open the beer and drinks 'I sense you are mocking us." Straight faced and he drinks

She smirks and taps her temple. "There be that keen troll perception. Can't get nothin' past ya."

"Look, I dunno, but if she jus' comin' back and you be all like, hey sweetcheeks pay attention t' ME!!...well, maybe ain' th' right approach. Kinda like somebody getting 'tween me an' th' Forge when I got craftin' on my mind, maybe."

He ponders "Not the impression I intended to give"

Shuri is drinking her juice placidly, perhaps getting a bit drowsy.

"In point of fact, I once told Jessica I had strong and deep feelings for her. She..did not feel the same, or so she said. I decided I would take what I could get." A sigh "Maybe i was fooling myself"

A shrug. "I be guessin', like I said."

"Huh.... That sucks."

"You don' think....nahhhh....."

"That's the frustrating thing, Tweak. Despite the fact I am her lover, your guess IS as good as mine, or better. I thought perhaps it .." A raised brow "Think what?"

"Eh, ferget it." She waves him off.

"the funny thing is you think I'll be able to now that you mentioned it" Wryly and a drink "Go on, Tweak. We might not get along always but I'd never make the mistake of ignoring your intellect"

"Oh, you hear that babygirl?" Over her shoulder to Shuri. "Now he sweet-talkin' me." Shuri gurgles and farts.

"Look, I know her dad from th' way-back, an' he be a big ol' sap what got himself wrapped up wit' her moms an' they done had her afore they was ready. Maybe she jus' ain' lovin' th'idea of what sound like settlin' down? I mean, she an' the balefire got this intense thing goin' on, but maybe she wanna play th' field otherwise? And 'member..." She puts her hands in the air "...this jus' be me takin' pot-shots, I got no real clue on this one."

a nod "It could be a lot of tings. And if she IS hurting, my anger isn't going to make her feel better." A drink, "Thank you, Tweak. Oddly enough.. thank you" then a raised brow, "I think your child has begun to fart herself to sleep"

"What, like you don' enjoy letting off a good gas bubble afore you konk out?"

"No, trolls never fart. Honor won't allow us to. So instead, Sometime during our grump years we simply explode" He raises his beer, and heads out.

"That big ol' stick get in th' way," she calls after him. "C'mon, babygirl. We clean you up an' put you down fer some z's."

Shuri's litle head nods off in agreement. Tweak finds Nec with the Diaperbag already out and the two of them put their little girl up for a now clean nap. Should Tweak tell Necropsis of Blue Drama and views on romance, he'll laugh .

Oh, of course she does. And of course he does. But they might end up talking seriously about What To Do About B....but that's a story for another time.

*end scene*