"Look," began Tom Herald, staring at Alice Stevens, "if you want to know the truth, Lionel Ulysses was not a good man. Whether a regular human being or something else, the world is a better place without him."
"I can't deny that," she replied.
"It's bad enough that neither the police or my own investigation are no closer now to figuring out who killed him in the hospital than we were to begin with, but the way things are going, it looks like I might never find out definitively one way or another whether or not Ulysses was just a delusional human or something else. The police, who have always claimed it was part of some costume, now have a tail and consider that matter closed. Yet I've looked at the vest cam footage of their raid until my eyes turned bleary, and I could swear that tail just popped out of the back of Ulysses' pants when he was shot. Yet even if I do discover the truth for myself, my editor will never run the story without concrete proof."
"That's important to you, the truth?" asked Alice, staring at him.
"On principle, yes. When I was old enough to learn about them, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein became my heroes," began the reporter. "They stood up to an entire Presidential administration and exposed the Watergate Scandal. While I may never cover a story as big as that, I do feel it's important to always give the readers the truth. After all, there's so many lies and cover ups in the world today..."
"I can't disagree with that either," said Alice. "But what if finding out and exposing the truth hurts someone in return?"
"Honestly? I have yet to find myself in that situation," admitted Tom. "I've had plenty of people beg, plead, attempt to bribe and even threaten me not to run a story, but they were far from innocent in any of those cases. If I ever do encounter a real innocent person, I will think long and hard over my options before making a decision, but I have to be honest and admit that at this moment, I don't know what I'd do if that genuinely happened."
"I see," said Alice, thinking things over. She had become interested in the man before her since he first walked into the costume shop. But being a werevixen herself, if there was any risk of exposing were society to the general public, especially a public that wasn't ready to handle the truth...
"Do you miss it?" she asked him.
"Miss what?" Tom asked in return.
"The dreams of childhood."
"Truthfully? Sometimes," he confessed. "Life seemed simpler back then. Happier. If I knew then what I know now, I probably would have agreed with Peter Pan and never wanted to grow up."
"I think a lot of us feel that way," agreed Alice.
"True. Want to know a secret?" he asked. "This is something I have never told anyone before, but for some reason I feel it's necessary to let you know."
"Really? What is it?" she asked.
"This may sound silly, but I have a DVD copy of Disney's Robin Hood. Only animated film in my entire collection. Sometimes, when I'm alone or feeling lonely, I watch it again."
"Why?" wondered Alice.
"Nostalgia? Hope? I'm really not sure."
"It's not silly. It's a touchstone. Me? I keep hoping to find someone who will truly fall in love with me," admitted Alice. "Most men, and an occasional woman, take one look at my physical appearance and hope to get as intimate as possible with me."
"I can't deny I thought you were attractive when I first walked into the costume shop."
"Thank you Tom, but I'm hoping for more. Whether dream or fairy tale, I'm still hoping for—"
"Happily forever after?" surmised Tom, finishing her statement.
Alice nodded, indicating he had guessed correctly.
"Well, I'm hoping that in time it turns out to be me. I have my rough edges and am usually not any woman's first choice for Prince Charming, but I was flabbergasted when you asked me out and hope things will work out between us. Yet whether it's destined to be me or someone else, I truly hope you do find your significant other," he said, before briefly kissing her.
Alice Stevens remained silent as their lips parted.
Her being a werevixen and him a truth seeking reporter was a major hurdle to overcome.
Yet he was easy on the eyes and a good kisser...