Page 34 of Hearts of Stone

I knew just what to put on.

I watched him, not the screen, as the first stirring strings ofCinderellastarted up. He liked to mock me on my kids’ movie watching habits, but Daniel perked up the minute he saw the opening sequence.

“What?” He shot me a sidelong look, but his eyes trailed back to the screen. “This isn’t a real Disney movie. It’s a classic.” He sighed as he watched Cinderella wake up, looking way too put together, then sing as she went about her dreary morning. “They don’t make them like this anymore.”

“Because they’re boring,” I said, with a smirk.

“Philistine. You know they used to use orchestras and everything when composing these songs and they hand coloured every cell.”

“So it's well-made but boring?”

His eyes narrowed as I started to grin.

“You should love this movie. It’s your fucking story! You started the other day as a pumpkin and you became a beautiful princess.”

“Is that how it works? I thought the pumpkin became a carriage?” I made a show of considering that before he punched me in the arm.

“Of course you loveBeauty and the Beast,” he said in an exaggeratedly disgusted tone. “AndGargoyles…” Daniel always caught every bloody reaction, so when I stiffened, a wild smile spread across his face. “You’re a monster fucker.”

“Shut up.”

“You are! You’re one of those girls who gets all horny for the weird dudes with the horns and the skull heads and shit. Oof!”

He had more to say, but I shoved my elbow into his ribs, before remembering what he’d been through.

“Shit, are you OK? I didn’t hurt you, did I? Daniel?” His low cackle made clear he was fine, dragging a growl of frustration from me. “You bloody prick.”

“So you’re not gonna hang around here and wait for your prince to come?” he asked, flopping back on the nest of pillows he’d created. I’m sure he thought I didn’t see that wince, but I did.

“A prince? Why would I want that? Apart from the whole ‘social inequities created by accidents of birth’ thing.” My words came out in a big rush.

“Oh my god, if you start reciting that speech from Monty Python again, I will literally kill you,” he said, shoving a pillow over his face.

“But a beast, or a monster…” The pillow was pulled back slightly so he could peek at me from behind it. “Well, he’d be loyal, loving, strong.”

“You’re describing a dog,” he said. “A literal dog. You know that, right? You could have any number of dogs now you have this place.”

“Oh my god. Puppies!”

Why was I more excited about that than the fancy rooms upstairs? My parents had never been pet people and Trevor had made it clear there was no freaking way he was allowing a ‘mutt’ into our living areas. I realised that was the first significant crack in our relationship. How can you love anyone who doesn’t like dogs?

“You idiot.” Daniel snatched the remote from me and fumbled the buttons until he stoppedCinderellaand then switched over toBeauty and the Beast. “They don’t make them like this one either… Remember when Hermione was dancing with some CGI-ed Beast?”

“I don’t like to think about that,” I said primly.

“Fine, we’ll watch your monster fucker movie, but…” He fluttered his eyelids at me. “D’ya reckon you could rustle me up some hot buttered popcorn? Harry, the very handy man, told me I need lots of carbs and salt.”

“Ugh…” I pretended to moan, then scrambled off the couch to see if there was anything as prosaic as a popcorn maker in this schmancy place. Of course, there was. I returned with a massive bowl, filling that several times over throughout the movie until finally Daniel’s eyes started to close. It was right at the scene when Gaston leads the villagers on a rampage against the Beast. I grabbed the remote back, about to turn it off when he startled awake.

“No, leave it on.”

His eyelids fluttered as he forced them open, but the skin beneath his eyes looked paper thin and bruised.

“You should go to bed,” I insisted.

“After this,” he said. “Gaston is about to fall from the building.”

“Spoiler alert.”

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