After lunch with Tessa, Greg went to Jake to let him know about Meredith's offer, before heading back to Victor's apartment to read. It'd been so long since he was able to truly lose himself in a good book, he almost didn't realize it'd gotten dark until a drunk Victor stumbled back to the apartment and passed out on the floor. Greg moved him into his room, making sure he wouldn't drown in his own vomit, before heading into the city for the night.
He still had a few of the psychotic ferals he'd learned about from the spider girl to hit, so he didn't waste any time looking for an informant that night. However, he did decide to limit himself to one fight every hour, spending the interim working on creating a GURPS campaign, having dissolved the core books so he could remake them whenever he liked, along with a notebook so he could write things down. "I wasn't sure if you would come here tonight." A voice called out after he finished dealing with the fourth feral of the night.
Greg turned to find the spider girl leaning against a nearby building, watching him with a complicated look in her eye. "Have you been waiting for me?" Greg asked, raising an eyebrow at her, or at least, what constituted an eyebrow in his current form.
The spider girl nodded, stepping towards him. "Indeed. I was wondering if you might consider a more… active partnership."
Greg frowned, taking a step back, watching the spider girl warily. "In what way?"
The spider girl cocked her head, looking confused. "In what you are doing? Tracking down dangerous individuals and… disposing of them."
Greg breathed out a sigh of relief, relaxing. "Ah, okay, cool. I thought you wanted to sleep with me or something."
The spider girl frowned. "Sleep with you? I suppose resting together would provide a sense of comfort… you are powerful, and your presence would deter any violent ones who may attempt to harm me."
"Uh, that's not- you know what, nevermind." Greg shook his head, deciding to move on. "What would this partnership look like? How would you help me?"
"I would investigate the violent ones, determine their level of… assholeness, as you say, then deliver you a list of locations, strengths, and weaknesses, which you will then… take care of." The spider girl explained simply.
Greg considered her offer for a moment, before shrugging. He didn't really see any reason not to accept. He'd have to check out the first few she sent him after, just to make sure she wasn't using him to settle her own personal grudges, but he had to observe just to see whether they were redeemable or not anyway, and it'd be a good way to waste time while he reduced his strain. "Sure, why not?" He paused, before creating a piece of glass and tossing it to her. "Just break that whenever you want to talk, alright? Or if you're in danger or something."
Spider girl caught the glass in surprise, her eyes widening, looking down at it before looking back up at Greg. "I- I break it?!?"
"Yup, like this." Greg replied, making another piece of glass, before breaking it and reforming it, then dispersing it back into smoke. "I'm aware of anything made from my smoke, so I can tell when you break it and know where to go. It'll also let me find you if I need to talk to you for any reason."
The spider girl studied the glass for a moment longer, before nodding seriously, sticking the piece of glass to her wedding, adding a few more threads to secure it firmly. "Then I shall do my best to find as many assholes as I can." She replied seriously.
Greg nodded. "Cool. Have fun. Don't get yourself hurt, you hear?" He waved her off, sitting down and creating the GURPS books, getting back to work on his campaign.
The spider girl watched him with a complicated expression, before turning and slinking off through the alleyways. She wasn't sure why the elders had tasked her with directing this mighty one, but she would fulfill her task diligently, focusing him towards the most dangerous fiends that stalked the city, and away from the more benign threats, beings that were simply cruel, rather than dangerous. The tentacled one for example. If anything, his cruelty was beneficial, keeping many females safe, if not happy. Not ideal to be sure, but not dangerous. Not harmful. No, beings such as he did not need to be disposed of, as the Mighty Shifting Cloud seemed to believe, but the others… She agreed that the others needed to go.
*
Greg returned to the safe zone after another long, bloody night, almost wishing he could yawn and stretch, but he just wasn't tired. Sure, the strain was there, but if anything that inhibited stretching. Honestly, this endless stamina was beginning to mess with him. Every time he did something, fought a particularly vicious feral, flew further into the city, struggled with the strain, any time he exerted himself really, he felt like he should be tired, but… he just wasn't. There were no aches, no pains, no yawns or stretches, just… nothing. He didn't even particularly feel good, he just felt functional. Like he was ready to do whatever he needed to do. He missed the satisfaction of a good rest, of a tense knot suddenly releasing. Hell, he even missed a bad rest, where you snuggled back under the covers and refused to move again, too groggy to face the world. He didn't miss minor aches and pains though… Those were annoying.
Greg sighed lightly as he returned to the apartment, checking briefly on Victor to make sure he was still okay, before returning to the couch and his book. At least he still had reading. Glorious, glorious reading. He lost himself in the book once again, until there was a soft knock at the door. Greg got up to answer it, setting aside his book with a sigh and opening the door to see Tessa. He glanced at the clock on the wall. "Time for training?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.
Tessa nodded, a bit of stiffness to her nod that Greg failed to notice. "Are you ready?"
Greg sighed. "When am I not? My ability eliminates any need for hygiene. Or sleep." He spat the last bit out in a bitter tone.
Tessa rolled her eyes, turning to go as she glanced over her shoulder. "You know, most people would think that was a good thing."
"Yeah, well, most people are dumb." Greg retorted, following her, closing the door behind him. "Sleep is one of the most beautiful things one can do! Napping, dozing, dreaming. God do I miss dreams." Greg added wistfully.
"So you've said." Tess replied, smirking slightly.
"It bears repeating." Greg shot back. "You people… you have no idea how lucky you really are." He added, clicking his tongue.
Tessa shook her head, unable to keep the smile off her face, until something hit her and her expression turned complicated. She glanced over at the man walking next to her, staring off into the distance with a slightly bored expression, and she couldn't stop her heart from beating faster. He was just so… Tessa looked away in frustration. Why didn't he seem to get that she liked him?!? Did he just not see her that way? Tessa glanced over at him again as they stepped out into the street, watching his eyes flicker as he looked around, occasionally pausing for a moment before moving on, almost as if he was searching for something, but never finding it. He always did this whenever they were around people. She thought he was paranoid or anxious at first, but from the way he walked, the way he talked while doing it, completely relaxed, as he was with almost everything he did, she knew that wasn't it. He was just… observing. Occasionally a small smile would play across his face as he seemed to find something amusing, before quickly disappearing as his eyes flicked away again, searching for the next thing he found interesting. She wondered what he thought when his eyes landed on her…
"So, what's the plan for today?" Greg suddenly asked, glancing over at her. "More stances and punching?"
Tessa's expression twisted before releasing a sigh. "Actually, today I was thinking we would move on to sparring." She replied. "You could use a good beating." She added under her breath.
"Sparring, huh? Sounds fun." Greg agreed. Since he'd paced himself last night, he barely had any strain to deal with, so it wouldn't be an issue if he pushed himself a little. "Though, I get a lot of that during the night."
Tessa rolled her eyes. "Against ferals. You need some practice against someone who actually has some skill."
"Oh? So you're bringing in someone else then?" Greg asked, suppressing a grin. Tessa shot him a dirty look, instinctually sharpening her arm and stabbing it into his side as the aggravating man burst out laughing. She added an extra stab for good measure, venting a bit of frustration as Greg yelped.
They walked the rest of the way in silence, barring the occasional snicker from Greg, soon arriving at the training rooms. Tessa stripped off her outerwear, revealing her training outfit, which… Well, usually she wore a pair of loose shorts and a cutoff T-shirt with these, but- Tessa watched as Greg's eyes widened slightly, taking in the form fitting outfit, a slight grin playing across her face. "Ready?" She asked, falling into a fighting stance as his eyes snapped up, his face flushing in embarrassment.
Greg nodded stiffly, falling into a fighting stance of his own, trying to keep his eyes from straying downwards. *It's just yoga pants and a sports bra, dude! Calm your shit!* He internally scolded himself, another part of him reflecting on the unfairness of shapeshifters. That ass could not be natural. "Ready." Tessa nodded, before shuffling forward using her smooth footwork, jabbing at Greg's face as the spar began.
Once they got into it, Greg's distraction quickly faded as he focused on Tessa's attacks, dodging as much as he could, blocking when he couldn't, occasionally attempting a counter attack when he thought he saw an opening, which usually ended up with him being thrown over Tessa's shoulder or something as the opening turned into a trap. Still, he had to admit that the spar really helped him see how all of Tessa's lessons fit together. She'd repeatedly drilled into him that he needed to dodge, block, and attack, in that order. Dodging was his first focus, since the best way to survive an attack was to not be hit in the first place. If he couldn't dodge, blocking would at least minimize the damage. Then, once he wasn't in danger, he could think about attacking. In Tessa's opinion, people who traded blows were stupid. Attacking took more energy than dodging or blocking, so why not just sit back and let your opponent tire themselves out? Of course, the actual number one priority was the parry, turning your opponent's attack into your own, like Tessa was doing, but Greg wasn't skilled enough for that yet, and if he tried it, he'd just end up getting himself hurt. Not that that particularly mattered considering his ability, but if they considered his ability, the only thing he'd need to worry about would be attack, which would kind of defeat the purpose of these lessons.
Still, even if they didn't consider Greg's healing factor, there was nothing they could do about the fact he just didn't get tired, and they weren't doing anything significant enough to accumulate strain. Honestly, Greg was beginning to think he couldn't do anything to accumulate strain in his human form. He'd started to notice that even when he ran as fast as he could as a human, it still only added the same amount of strain as jogging in his cheetahman form, which was about the same speed. He was beginning to think it wasn't about how hard he pushed himself, but about the actual amount of force he used, and his human body just wasn't capable of exerting a significant amount of force, at least not compared to his feral forms. So even twenty minutes into the spar, he was still feeling fine, while Tessa began to make mistakes, the openings Greg saw no longer always feints, and about ten minutes after that, he actually managed to land a hit. A few minutes later, Tessa was forced to fall back with a groan, landing on her butt, looking up at Greg with a scowl as she panted. "It's just. Not. Fair." She grumbled between breaths.
Greg shrugged, grinning slightly. "This is the price you pay for access to that wonderful plane called dreamland." He chuckled.
Tessa waved a suddenly bladed arm. "Stab. You." She growled through her panting.
Greg crouched down, just out of reach, his grin widening. "Oh? And how are you going to do that?"
Tessa half-heartedly swung the blade at him, before collapsing backwards with a groan. "Unfair!" She complained.
Greg chuckled, turning into smoke and reforming lying on the ground next to her, hands behind his head as he stared at the ceiling. "Just enjoy your rest. Then we'll go get lunch. My treat this time."
"Never." Tessa hissed, slapping the blade down at him, hitting him with the flat of it, though there was no force behind it. Greg clicked his tongue, but knew not to start a losing battle.
The two of them lay there for a while in silence, staring at the ceiling as Tessa's exhausted panting slowly began to subside. Greg used the time to let his mind drift, going over their spar, seeing how he could incorporate what he'd learned into his nightly activities, which was as close to sleeping as he got these days. Tessa was laying there with a mix of frustration and nervousness, occasionally glancing over at Greg as he stared at the ceiling, obviously lost in thought. He still didn't get it! Did he think these clothes were normal?!? Tessa paused, her mind flashing to what Meredith usually wore, before shaking her head. She was not going to compare herself to that woman! Still… Tessa bit her lip nervously. Was she really going to have to just come out and say it?
"Greg?" Tessa called out to him, searching through her mind for something to say, something that could get him to realize, to actually think of her as a romantic option.
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"Yeah?" Greg replied, glancing over at her, wondering what she wanted to say. Did she have some tips for him after they'd sparred?
Tess hesitated slightly. "What- what do you look for? In- in a woman."
Greg froze for a bit, surprised by the question, before a stupid grin spread across his face. "Tits, ass, then fa-ah!" He yelped as something sharp stabbed into his side, before bursting out laughing.
"I'm serious!" Tessa exclaimed, stabbing him a few more times for good measure, which only made him laugh harder.
"I kno- gah! I know! I just had to. Too perfect an opportunity." Greg replied, still laughing as Tessa snorted, before calming down, his expression turning serious. "What do I look for in a woman, huh?" He muttered, thinking through it thoughtfully. He didn't think much of the question, since it wasn't the first time a female friend had asked him it. Sometimes someone got it in their head that they needed to help him find a partner, though obviously it wasn't going to be them. Still, he appreciated the help, since he clearly had no idea what he was doing, so he still took the question seriously. "Well… I think we need to be friends, first and foremost. Be able to get along, laugh, have fun, you know, enjoy being around each other. I'd also want her to be a good person, someone who does what's right just because it's the right thing to do, not for benefits or because it makes her feel good or some bullshit. I mean, that's fine and all, but it can't be why you do it. Way too unstable." Tessa frowned at that one, almost wanting to interrupt and get a better explanation, but pushing it aside for the moment. "Other than that… I guess just the basics. The same values, some shared interests, and different flaws." Greg finished with a shrug.
"Those are the basics?!?" Tessa asked incredulously, unable to help herself this time.
"Yeah? They're the foundation of any good relationship. You need the same values, because when you're making major decisions, like where to live, how to raise your kids, whether to even have kids, you need to both be on the same page, talking about the best way to get to a shared goal, not arguing over which goal to even strive for. Then, you need some similar interests, so you actually have something to talk with each other about… this one isn't that important I suppose, it just makes things easier. Then, you need different flaws, because if both of you are bad at the same things, then together you're going to be absolutely terrible at it. If you're bad with people, you need to find someone who's good with people. Disorganized? Find an organizer. Financial problems? Get an accountant, actually. Making your spouse deal with your money problems is a recipe for disaster. Same with mental illness. Need to get that fixed on your own, not let your spouse be your personal therapist. Well, not on your own… but not by your spouse." Greg explained, rambling a bit towards the end.
Tessa furrowed her brow thoughtfully. It made sense? She couldn't poke a hole in it at least. A part of her wanted to argue that if you truly loved a person, you could make even dissimilar values work, but… when she thought about it more, she began to doubt it. There were things that people- that she considered way too important to waver on, and if she was with someone who would… it would be a problem. As she thought about it, she couldn't help but compare herself and Greg. They obviously had similar interests, so that was covered. As for values… they'd need to talk more, but from everything she'd seen so far, that was also good. They tended to approach problems from different angles, but they seemed to share the same goals. Then the flaws… she paused, frowning as she tried to think about what her own flaws were, before moving to Greg. The man got bored way too easily, which wasn't a problem for her. Other than that, he was a bit goofy, maybe not the best at reading people, incredibly oblivious, but otherwise… she wasn't sure.
Tessa paused for a moment. "So… what flaws are you looking to cover?" She asked tentatively.
Greg let out a weary sigh. "I need someone who cares."
Tessa frowned, sitting up and looking at him with a confused frown. "Huh? What are you- but you care! A lot! I've never seen anyone who cares as much as you do! You're out there every night helping ferals!" Tessa retorted incredulously.
Greg shook his head. "There's a difference between action and intent. What you do doesn't define why you did it. I do all that because it's right. It needs to be done and I'm the only one who can do it, so I have to. But… I don't actually care. I don't particularly care about anything really… Well, no, that isn't true either." Greg muttered with a frown. "I care about enjoying myself, however that may come about. And the things I enjoy…" Greg flashed to thoughts of tearing through flesh, the look in his enemy's eye as rage turned to fear and fear turned to hopelessness, women worshiping him, begging to- he twitched, tensing his neck as he shook the bad thoughts out of his mind, locking them up behind solid walls of sheer self-control, before letting out another weary sigh. "I'm just not a good person. I need someone who is."
Tessa stared down at him with a complicated look, before snorting and laying back down. "I think you're a better person than you might think. Better than most people. If- if you really don't care, then the lengths you go to to actually help people are even more impressive. There are lots of people who do care, who don't do anything. They'll yell and rant about feeding the poor, while living in a gated community so that they never have to actually see a poor person. Yell tax the rich, but never donate or volunteer at the struggling soup kitchen down the street. Sneer at the low minimum wage, but get offended if the cashier at McDonald's has a tattoo or smells even a little off. God forbid they have an accent." Tessa huffed, her tone turning spiteful towards the end.
Greg turned towards her, a slight smirk on his face. "Thanks for that, but I didn't actually mean it that way. I mean, I know I do good, that I help people, it's just… I also know it doesn't come naturally to me. I have to think through every action I take, to make sure I'm doing it for the right reasons, not for some ulterior motive or just to enjoy myself. It just gets exhausting sometimes, and I start to question why I even do it, why I even try, and I know if I let myself go down that path… things will get bad. I need someone… like an anchor, to keep me stable, secure, so I don't… drift off. To remind me why I do what I do. To remind me that people are worth the effort. Cause sometimes- sometimes it just doesn't feel like it."
Tessa frowned. "But what if they aren't worth the effort? I mean, I know there are people who are, people who need help and deserve to get it, but… there are leeches out there. They'll take anything you give them and just suck and suck until there's nothing of you left."
Greg shook his head. "I don't think you're quite getting where I'm coming from. I know about the leeches. I don't coddle them. What I struggle with is wondering why I should help anyone at all. Like with the ferals. They're getting smarter, and this tension between them and the humans is going to blow at some point, but… so? What can I do about that? Why should I even try? I just want to be happy, you know? Be able to curl up with some good books, hang out with my friends, maybe start a family, and that's really it. By that logic, what I should be doing is helping the humans, making sure they're as strong as possible, so they can keep what I enjoy safe. Much less work, and just as effective. Why should I care if a bunch of people I don't know die?" Greg explained, his expression darkening. "But… I mean, I know that isn't how I should look at things, you know? I know that the right thing is to work towards the best solution for everyone, not just myself. I just need someone to give me that- actually, the look you're making right now." Greg grinned as he glanced over to see Tessa looking at him with a mix of concern and incredulity. "That look that says 'how could you possibly think that way?'. It sends my bad side packing, at least for a bit, if the person giving it is close enough to me. Maybe because I care about staying on their good side, so that I can keep hanging out with them and stuff? I'm certain it's still for some messed up reason, but hey, it works, you know? I don't really have anything else to work with." Greg finished with a sigh.
Tessa frowned as she took it all in. This- this was a side of Greg she hadn't expected to find. She thought back to his list of things he wanted in a woman, remembering the one about doing things because they were right and not because it made you feel good. It made a lot more sense now. It was what Greg did. He didn't even enjoy doing the right thing, but… he did it anyway. Tessa felt a heat rise in her chest as she thought about it. It felt wrong, but Greg's admission that he wasn't some amazing moral bastion, that he was flawed, that he struggled, only made her like him more. She wanted to take care of him, to help him. It was like she'd finally found the place where she was needed in their relationship, and suddenly she felt more secure. Still, something was bothering her.
"What would you do if you actually found a girl like that?" Tessa asked tentatively.
Greg let out a long breath of frustration at that. "Oh, god, nothing."
Tessa frowned. "Nothing?!?" She asked incredulously.
Greg sighed, shaking his head. "Probably. See, this is how it would go, how it does go. I would initially notice the attractive qualities in the woman, and attempt to get closer to her. Now, this goes one of two ways: I can't, in which case she's gone and no longer an issue, or I can, and now we're friends. So, now I'm friends with the girl, which is nice, and I keep finding more and more attractive qualities about her, which is good. However, since I'm fucking crazy, I have a small issue. You see, I have absolutely no idea if a girl likes me. I just can't pick up on the signals. Wait, scratch that, I can pick up on the signals, but I think everything is a signal. My stupid brain, because it knows it wants a girl, several if possible, willingly convinces itself that every single available woman is into me. Hell, it'll even drag in unavailable women if I'm attracted to them enough. So, I find myself in a conundrum. Do I attempt to ask the girl out, based on what are most likely false signals created by my way too over eager brain, possibly ruining the friendship? Or do I just go with it, and keep things the way they are? And of course, since the only real thing I'm giving up is all the romantic, sexual stuff, I can't really justify going for it, so… yeah, nothing." Greg finished, frowning in frustration.
"You think everyone likes you? Seriously?!?" Tessa asked incredulously.
Greg nodded. "Yup. I know, it's crazy, but… I have no idea how to fix it. My brain just reads into everything to an insane degree."
Tessa's eyes narrowed. "What about Casey?"
Greg coughed awkwardly. "Well, she's not exactly available, but… well, every now and then I get ideas."
"Jennifer?" Tessa continued, raising an eyebrow.
"I actually think I might be right on that one, but I think it's just because I'm the first person who's ever been nice to her. Well, at least that she remembers. Same with Tina, by the way." Greg replied.
"What about Sarah?" Tessa asked, her eyes narrowing again.
Greg froze, flushing. "I have a disease, woman! I can't help it!"
Tessa scoffed, rolling her eyes, before hesitating. "What about me?" She asked next, trying to keep her tone as normal as possible.
"Well, yeah, obviously at this point, right? But… Well, I'm pretty sure you just feel responsible for me. I mean, you were the one who found me and brought me here. I could see you just thinking you needed to make sure I had everything I needed. Plus, I mean, we're friends, right? It's normal to do things to help out your friends." Greg explained, focusing on the reasons against her actually liking him, not because he actually believed them, but because he couldn't afford not to believe them. Because Tessa… Tessa was amazing. As much as he denied things when talking to Victor, it wasn't because he didn't think he could be right, it was because of how much he wanted him to be right, and he knew he couldn't let the idea get into his head or it'd be over. He'd get obsessed, and then he'd do something, and everything would blow up. Again. Because what genuinely good and caring woman would actually be interested in him?
Tessa blinked at him a few times, before turning to stare at the ceiling again. "I can't believe I actually have to do this." She muttered under her breath.
"What was that?" Greg asked, frowning slightly as he turned to look towards her, not having heard what she said, when suddenly Tessa was on top of him! She straddled his waist, leaning down to press her lips against his in a rough, almost angry kiss, before pulling back, glaring down at him.
"Is that clear enough or do I have to whip out my tits before you get it!?!" She growled.
Greg looked up at her in a daze, blinking a few times as his brain struggled to process what the fuck just happened, before something clicked. "Well, I think I got it, but maybe do it anyway, just to make sure?" He replied, grinning slightly.
Tessa's arm instinctively sharpened, before she suddenly paused, a grin of her own slowly forming. "Well, we have to be sure, don't we?" She muttered in a low voice, carefully sliding the sharp edge of a bladed finger between her cleavage, slowly parting the fabric of her bra, until just a tiny fragment was holding it in place. Greg's eyes went wide, gulping slightly as he took in the view. "But… are you ready to take responsibility for what comes next?" She asked, raising an eyebrow at him, her heartbeat quickening as she wondered just what his response would be.
Greg paused for a moment, before carefully sitting up, arms wrapping around her waist to keep her stable as she shifted into his lap. "Tessa… all I am is responsible." He replied, his face inches from her own. Tessa smiled, the finger blade finishing its journey, and the next moment their lips met.