The walk to Bigby's office was short. Some would say having it in the same building was convenient, but it just felt awkward to Sunny. The thought of it made her feel like there was no space to breathe or think. She hardly had any time to organise her thoughts before they arrived and opened the door to find Nerissa waiting for them.
"Hi, Sunny, Sheriff," Nerissa tried to smile, but there was that ever-present sadness in her eyes.
"Hi, Nerissa," Sunny replied as the way walked in and closed the door behind them.
"Have a seat," Bigby motioned as he sat down at his own chair behind the desk.
As Nerissa sat down looked back and forth between the two of them. Sunny had sat next to her in another share chair. Looking like she was about to pass out from exhaustion. Bigby didn't look much better as he held his hand to his temple.
"I, um... Are you okay?" She asked them both. "You didn't look good last night. I wasn't sure you'd be...you know, around...if I came by."
"I'm fine," Bigby and Sunny accidentally said at the same time. Making them both look away in embarrassment for a second.
"Your hand..." Nerissa meek pointed out.
"It's nothing," Sunny told her. "Don't worry about me."
Bigby tried to say something but stopped to let out a painful-sounding cough.
Nerissa gave them a look. Like she knew they were both full of shit. Bigby took a pack of cigarettes out of the draw. Taking one for himself, then offering to Sunny and Nerissa.
Sunny waved her hand as a no thank you, and Nerissa raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Huff 'n' Puffs? Not many people smoke those."
The Fable took out her own pack and let Bigby light one for her. Sunny could have sworn she saw the name Shorette on the box. She would have laughed if she wasn't so tired.
"So what is it you wanted to talk to us about? I know what you did sending me to the Open Arms. And I think you want to help us again," Bigby said to Nerissa.
Nerissa looked at the floor. "There's not a lot that I can talk about. You know that."
"So that spell Crane was trying to break... It's not just while you're at work, huh?" Bigby asked.
"What I mean is... I don't want to waste your time. But I don't want you wasting your own time, either." Nerissa tried to explain.
"Back at the dressing room, you found a way to tell us," Sunny wondered. "You got Bigby to the Open Arms. Maybe that will work again?"
"You can try. I just... Go ahead. It...might work," Nerissa shrugged.
"You're here because the Crooked Man just sent Crane to the bottom of our list of worries," Bigby walked through it. "And you have something you want to say about that, right?"
"These lips are sealed," Nerissa told them once again. "If I could answer you just like that... I wouldn't have had to make this appointment with you."
"No, I guess not," Bigby sighed.
"Sometimes, we have to find our way through life on our own. Grasping and fumbling in the dark. I...I used to have friends. To help me find my way. But now...they're gone. And I don't know what to do. Is this making any sense?"
Sunny was trying to think of how she could help. The right words to make it all click into place, but she was having as much trouble with it as Bigby and Nerissa. "Are you trying to say something about Faith and Lily?"
"What I'm saying is friends matter. And I...I don't have any left. So I hope you're looking after yours."
"Who are you talking about? Are my friends in danger?" Bigby asked.
"I'm sorry. I thought I could do this. I need you to know... I want to help, but... But..."
"But your lips are sealed," Bigby finished. Sounding a bit defeated.
Sunny placed a hand on Nerissa's shoulder. "It's okay."
"I'm...sorry if I'm wasting your time. I thought I knew how to say it," Nerissa said with tears in her eyes.
Things went quiet for a moment. Bigby looked from the hand on Nerissa's shoulder to the ribbon around her neck. "Ribbons... Faith wore one, too."
"Do you like it?" Nerissa asked. Sounding a bit dead.
"How can I? It's a tool to keep you stuck in that life. Subservient," Bigby huffed in frustration.
"That's why you can't tell us anything?" Sunny tried to confirm but then remembered the spell wouldn't let her anyway.
Sunny and Nerissa stared each other in the eyes. Trying to think of a way to get this to work.
"You mind if I just-" Bigby reached over the desk towards the ribbon. On instinct, Sunny smacked his hand away.
Bigby retracted his hand with a growl. "What!?"
Nerissa had jumped out of the chair in a panic. Sunny stood in front of her protectively.
"You don't just-" Sunny started to yell before stopping herself.
Bigby seemed to realise what he had done and lifted his hands up. "Okay, okay. It's alright. I'm not gonna do anything."
Sunny gave Bigby one last look before turning to Nerissa. "I think I'm getting how this works now. If the ribbon comes off, it's all over."
Nerissa gave her a sad look. She looked like she wanted to burst into tears then and there. Sunny let out a frustrated sigh.
"I'm sorry, Nerissa. I...wish there was something I could do." Sunny said to her as Bigby picked the knocked-over chair off the floor.
Nerissa opened her mouth to say something, but a knock at the door made her jump in surprise.
"If anyone finds out I came here-" Nerissa told them nervously.
"That's probably Snow," Bigby said as he walked to the door.
Nerissa grabbed him by the wrist. "Listen... Can you two keep this conversation between us? I could be in a lot of...trouble. I shouldn't be talking to you. Please."
"What are you worried about?" Bigby asked her.
"Just...please don't say anything," Nerissa insisted.
Bigby and Sunny nodded to her. It was honestly the least they could do for her.
"Thank you."
The door opened, and it was none other than Snow. Having changed out of her bloody clothes and holding a bag in her hands. She seemed a bit surprised to see Nerissa gripping Bigby's arm. "Sorry, I just need to talk to the Sheriff and Deputy for a moment. Please excuse us."
Nerissa sat back down. Sunny and Bigby talked with Snow though at the door.
"I might have a new lead for you, but I don't know how solid it is. Beauty and Beast called the office just now. They said they wanted to talk to you about something."
The former mermaid's eyes widened at the mention of the married couple. She grabbed her bag in a hurry and stood up. "Thank you for listening, Sunny, Sheriff. You should go on to your next business. I don't think you'll be wasting your time."
"Nerissa, wait, are you sure you'll be okay?" Sunny followed her out the door.
She didn't say anything. She stopped for a moment but then left without another word. Sunny stood in the doorway. Staring at the leaving Fable in concern.
"That was...abrupt," Snow said.
"It's...one way to send a message," Bigby walked back to his desk. Grabbing another pack of smokes from the draw.
"I'm worried about her," Sunny said without looking back.
"What did she tell you? I didn't mean to rush her out. Did you get anything from her?"
"Don't worry. It's handled. She couldn't talk because of the magic. But we all managed to understand each other," Bigby explained.
Snow gave him an annoyed look. Making him pinch his nose in equal annoyance. "I did my job. My way. What did you expect?"
"Do you really want to know? Because you have given me reasons to doubt you," Snow bit back.
"Now isn't the time," Sunny said but realised she shouldn't have said it as she was saying it.
"Surely, even you can see that," Snow turned to her. "And the past few days have been...trying."
"I think we're on the right track," Sunny shrugged. "Or at least Nerissa is convinced we are."
"Okay, then. Good work," Snow nodded with a frown. "So, about Beauty and Beast. Do you think there's something to it? Is this the right place to look? What could they know about the Crooked Man? Or do you think they just heard about last night?"
"That's what Nerissa was doing. Telling us to go there. I think she made it as clear as she could have," Bigby shrugged as he walked out the door.
Sunny moved to follow him, but Snow stopped her. She shifted around uncomfortably. Lifting the bag towards Sunny.
Sunny took the bag with a confused look.
"I wasn't sure if you'd have time to drop by your apartment," Snow explained. "I just grabbed this from my closet."
Sunny looked inside to see a clean white button shirt sitting inside. "Oh, thank you," She said in genuine surprise.
Snow gave a small shrug and a smile. "I just figured you wouldn't want to walk around covered in dry blood. I didn't get a chance to say anything."
Sunny was a bit perplexed by Snow. The mixed messages were spending her for her loop. Did she feel bad for Sunny, or was she just trying to get her to clean up her act? Especially given the times Sunny had gone against her direct order in the last few hours.
"I'm not sure if you'll wanna explain," Snow gestured to the leaves peaking out from her neck and hand. "This. I can grab a jacket for you, too."
"Oh, um.." Sunny looked around the office. "Bigby! Do you mind if I borrow this?"
Bigby looked back to see Sunny lifting up a cream-covered coat. "Sure, I'll meet you at the elevator."
"Appreciate it!" Sunny called back as she closed the office door. Snow in front of it. Patiently waiting for Sunny to change.
"Hm... You know, Beauty came to me a while back... She was looking for...financial assistance. I told her there was nothing I could do, and...and she said that meant she'd have to go somewhere else. Sunny, you don't think she meant that she was going to go to the Crooked Man, do you?"
"I mean, probably," Sunny mused. "It would explain why they called."
"We need to solve this before something else happens," Snow said just as Sunny stepped out.
"We will," Sunny assured her as she adjusted the coat over her shoulders.
The frown Sunny was slowly becoming familiar with returned. "I have...other matters to attend to."
"Right," Sunny nodded before running off to the elevator.
Once they got there, it was painful right from the word go. One could hear the bitter arguing coming from Beauty and Beast's apartment from the moment they stepped off the elevator. Uncomfortable was one of the many words for it.
Bigby knocked on the door. Greeted by a grumpy-looking beast. "Oh. What do you want?"
Both the Sheriff and deputy gave him an unimpressed look.
"Well? You're just going around, knocking on doors? Stirring the pot?"
"What's with the cold shoulder?" Sunny asked Bigby.
"Well, if you-" Beast started to say.
"It was a rhetorical question," Bigby told him. "You called, right?"
"Why would I call you?" Beast scowled.
Bigby rubbed his eyes. "Listen, I've had a shitty night-"
"You think you're the only one?" Beast interrupted him.
Sunny was half tempted to ask him how many times he had been shot that night.
"And I really don't wanna deal with the runaround. Snow said you called and wanted to talk to us."
"Well, I didn't call. Must have been Beauty. She's been...surprising me a lot lately," Beast frowned.
"Can we-" Sunny tried to cut in.
"With all the sneaking around and secrets, somehow, I'm still the bad guy in this. I've had to hear about it all night long from her."
A voice suddenly called out from inside the apartment. "Who is it?"
"If you don't wanna talk, can you just get Beauty for us?" Bigby asked, rather, told him.
"I don't know. Is it safe to turn my back?" Beast bit. The door closed with a bang, and Beast started unlocking the door.
"Your pals are here," Beast sneered. "Bigby and the half-blood."
Sunny couldn't help the scowl that appeared on her face. It was the tone. Always that damn tone with people.
"Hi, Bigby, Sunny. Please excuse us for just a minute?" Beauty asked with an apologetic look then turned to Beast. "Can I talk to you in private?"
"Yes. Let's," Beast narrowed his eyes at Beauty's guests.
The married couple made their way into the kitchen. The arguing started again. Just as awkward as before.
The apartment was nice... too nice. There was no reason for anyone in New York to have a crystal chandelier hung in their living room.
"Hm. I guess I really do have the smallest apartment in the Woodlands," Bigby tried to joke.
"Sorry, what was that? I'm still processing the giant oil painting," Sunny joked back. Gesturing to the giant painting of Beast and Beauty that took up most of the wall. It was a scene of them holding a glowing rose with loving smiles on their faces.
Bigby made a noise of agreement. "Talk about living in the past."
Bigby paced around the room for a bit. Idlely touching random things.
"What are you doing?" Sunny couldn't help but smirk.
"What do you think the electric bill is for that thing?" Bigby wondered as he looked up at the chandelier.
Sunny cringed. " I don't even wanna think about that."
Once the married couple was done talking, Beauty made her way out of the kitchen with a sad look on her face, along with a still grumpy-looking Beast.
"Sorry, it's been a long night," Beauty told them.
"Yeah, you know what they say. Centuries of marriage come with centuries of baggage," Beast huffed.
"I gotta say, your place... It looks, uh..." Bigby shrugged.
"Expensive," Sunny finished. Giving them another unimpressed look.
"What do you mean by that?" Beast asked with a frown.
"Beast!" Beauty scolded.
"No, really, I wanna know. What are you trying to say, huh? Did you come to give us decorating tips?" Beast stepped towards Sunny.
Sunny gave Beast a dirty look as Bigby interrupted. "You've lived here a long time, and you've never called me over. So what's this about?"
Bigby looked to Beauty. "Is this something about that loan you took out? From the Crooked Man?"
"I didn't know what else to do, so-"
"We should deal with this on our own. These two are just going to complicate things," Beast insisted.
"I called them here, and I want to see if they can help us out," Beauty explained. "Why are you being like this?"
"I'm just trying to do what's best for us. That's all I ever do." Beast sighed.
"Well, what kind of trouble are you in? Either it's the money, or it's something else." Bigby pressed. Clearly growing tired of the couple wasting time bickering.
"I gotta know one thing first," Beast approached Bigby.
"Here we go," Sunny muttered.
"What if we did have something to say about the Crooked Man? What if we talk, and you don't get him, and all this comes back on us? We'd be risking a lot." Beast told Bigby with a frown.
"We're just looking for a little peace of mind in this," Beauty tried to say in a way that seemed less threatening.
"We can protect you. But only if you tell us what we need to know," Bigby told them. "And that means details. No more stonewalling."
"We aren't," Beauty tried to tell them.
"Then just tell us what's going on here," Sunny said.
"Look, we're used to a certain kind of...lifestyle, okay?" Beast started saying. "We couldn't just give that up."
Sunny turned around so nobody could see her rolling her eyes. She couldn't help the bitter feelings boiling away in her gut. She had met a good amount of Fables who weren't able to pay for glamours so that they could be treated as equals in this fucking town. Some were hardly able to afford to raise their own kids.
Seeing the way Beauty and Beast 'had to live' just felt like a big insult to her.
"We never meant for it to get like this. It's just that...we had nowhere else to turn. And we got in over our heads." Beauty said.
"There's not a lot of work out there. Who would we be if we just lived like..." Beast trailed off.
"Like what?" Sunny snapped around and glared at Beast. Challenging him to finish his sentence.
"Like-" Beast started to say bravely. Only to stop was the phone started to ring.
Everyone stood there in silence until the call went to the answering machine.
"Hi there! You've reached Beauty,"
"And Beast," A recording sang out. "And we're out doing something fabulous."
Sunny and Bigby both looked like they were dying inside. You could practically feel the disappointment radiating off them.
"Uh, let me just, uh," Beast tried walking over to the phone, but Bigby stood in his way.
"A day at the beach?
"Skiing the slopes?"
"And we can't come to the phone right now, so leave a message at the beep, and we'll get back to you as soon as..."
"I should-" Non-recording Beast tried to move to the phone again, but Bigby seemed determined to make Beast feel as awkward with the whole situation as he was.
"Humanly possible," The recording ended with a laugh and beep.
After the beep, a new voice came out of the answering machine. More gruff and pissed off. "That fucking message. I'm gonna come down there and bash your heads in with that machine if I have to call again and hear that fucking message one more time!"
Beast and Beauty stood there with scared looks on their faces.
"I've been doing this long enough to know that if you had the cash, you'd have paid by now. So consider yourselves outta warnings. It's time to start thinking about how else you can settle this. 'Cause next time, I'm making a house call."
"Okay!" Sunny shouted. "Enough is enough. We need to find the 'Crooked Man' as soon as possible. Do you have any ideas?"
Beauty and Beast moved to hug each other.
"The Lucky Pawn. That's where I borrowed the money. The Crooked Man's behind that place. I'd overheard people talking to Jersey about loans before. So...when I needed money... That's where I went." Beauty answered as she held onto her husband tightly.
"You could have told me," Beast said.
"You had enough on your plate," Beauty sighed.
"Wait, who's Jersey?" Sunny questioned.
"A slimy prick," Bigby growled.
"Okay, so what's the deal with this place?" Sunny asked Beauty.
"The Crooked Man knows what people need to get by. So...he provides. Besides, it didn't seem like such a bad deal when Jersey was explaining it. I see those Tweedles always going in and out, probably dropping off a loan payment they squeezed out of some poor Fable."
Sunny didn't say anything. She was mostly just processing the information.
"I can see now that it was a mistake, but," Beauty tried to justify. "I'm not the only one who goes there, y'know. I saw the Woodsman's axe there just the other day. It was in a display case."
"I guess he's hit hard times, too. There's a lot of that going around. I can't imagine he has a lot of 'marketable skills'. Beast added.
"Sometimes... Fables just don't have anywhere else to go."
As Beauty and Beast continued to spin their 'tragic tale' something suddenly clicked in Sunny's head.
"That axe!" Sunny snapped around to face Bigby. "It was the same one Mary had last night!"
"His people seem always to be going through there," Bigby thought out loud. "If we can't track down the Crooked Man there, maybe we can make enough noise that the Crooked Man will come find us?"
"Hold on, you two, don't go there," Beast stopped them. "Sounds like you're just going to get Beauty in trouble. And-"
Beast paused and moved to sit on the couch along with his wife. "You know that butcher shop? The Cut Above? It's the place on Tubman Street. Same block as the baker and the candlestick maker. Well, I've been delivering packages from there for a while. The thing is...it's for the Crooked Man. And...I don't think it's meat in the packages."
"How do you mean?" Sunny questioned. Already moving towards the door.
"You gotta understand, I needed work," Beast told her. Completely ignoring her question.
"You have to believe us. We didn't think it would get like this," Beauty defended.
"We're decent people, really."
"Have you ever delivered to the Crooked Man?" Sunny asked in an attempt to avoid making a snippy comment.. she also wondered if Beast had a point to suggest it. "Can you give us an address?"
"No. I delivered to places all over town. But never to the man himself. It never seems to be heading to the same place. But it always comes out of the butcher shop."
"And how did you get involved with this?" Sunny added.
"Johann, the butcher, called. He had a problem with the refrigeration unit one night. But when I finished, it was your pal, Mary, who showed up to pay me. She said I was reliable, she liked that, and... It's the only thing I've been able to pick up. And it's still not enough. I don't want Beauty to have to work. Especially not where she was. It's up to me to take care of her."
"It's Mary you deal with? Bloody Mary is there?" Bigby seemed a bit heated as he asked.
"No, Johann is the one who hands over the packages. You know, day to day. But I've seen her around there. She, uh...gets under my skin, you know? I...I try to avoid her, but I don't need to tell you what she's like."
"You're damn right you don't. I don't need a rundown on her reputation," Bigby turned to Sunny with a frustrated look. "If Mary works outta there, we need to look into it."
Sunny thought about it for a second. "If you go there, I could head to the pawn shop."
Before they could walk out the door, Beast spoke up again. "I just wanted to provide for Beauty. Give her the kind of life she deserves."
Beauty and Beast held each others' hands. Looking at each other with defeated expressions. "We shouldn't have to live like this. Scraping to get by."
"None of us should. We were royalty once. We were accustomed to a certain lifestyle. All we want is to make this place feel a little bit like home. You wouldn't understand, Bigby."
Sunny felt that annoyed feeling coming back tenfold. She started stomping towards the door. "We need to go..."
Bigby looked back at them with a disappointed look. "I don't need to understand."
"Wait... I don't know what you're planning to do when you find the Crooked Man, but is there any way you could...help us out?" Beast implied.
"What are you talking about?" Bigby frowned.
"Well, maybe you can make this all just...go away."
"We would really appreciate it. What do you say?"
"Can you help us out?"
"Are you asking us to kill him?!" Sunny shouted. Stopping just shy of the front door.
"No! Of course not," Beauty backpedalled. She seems to be backing away in fear.
There was a strange feeling in Sunny's neck and arm. She looked down to see more previously hidden plants peeking out from the coat. "Shit."
After almost fifteen years of keeping her powers in check, suddenly, two classist dickheads were enough to set her off.
"We just...we know that the Crooked Man is dangerous. To all of Fabletown."
"We've wasted enough time!" Sunny growled as she pulled the plants off her. "I'm going to the Lucky Pawn. I'll meet you back at the office and let you know if I find anything."
"Wait," Bigby followed her out the door and down the hall. "You don't have to... if you didn't want to split up-"
Sunny stopped. Causing Bigby to nearly crash into her. "I can do this."
"Are you sure?"
"Just... let me do this," Sunny tensed.
It seemed like she was trying to convince herself rather than Bigby.
Bigby seemed to relent. Placing a hand on Sunny's shoulder in an attempt to be encouraging. "Okay."
Ughhh I gotta tell you these past two weeks have not been fun. I've been forced to come in on my day off twice now, and I feel like it's only gonna get worse as Xmas approaches. That is partly why this chapter is a bit late. If you've been enjoying this story so far, a comment would been a lot to me. I think I just need a little bit of encouragement right now <3
Okay, and now, onto the notes for this chapter:
Placeholder title: damn bitch you live like this?
Be as on brand as Bigby and Nerissa by having smokes referencing that time you blew up for a bunch of houses and having a shore pun in their smoke's brand name.
Gotta love /s how Beauty and Beast keep saying all this classist shit to the daughter of a Chinese immigrant and Fable social worker...yeah they aren't winning.