The long awaited sequel to 'Frozen Warmth'! I hope y'all really like it.
Warnings: Canon Character Death, Canon Violence.
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A sigh fell from Nick's lips as he ran a hand through his hair looking around the empty house. Sean had told him that the Wesen he was looking for was living in the abandoned home, but by the looks of things it was as if no one had been there for months. He really needed to find that Wesen before it found its next victim.
He had hoped that things would start being easier when his gift finally came in and he could see Wesen, but he had been wrong. Just because he could finally see the beings that he had been chasing didn't mean that anything had changed for him. He still had to go through the same procedures to find whomever he was looking for and try to get them the legal way.
He was good at his job, but being a Grimm had made things a little complicated. There were people out there that already ran away from him when they saw his badge. Which he could handle. Now though, instead of running, if a Wesen saw him they tried to kill him before he could even get out that he wasn't going to harm them.
Which was the last thing that he wanted to do. He really didn't want to harm anyone. That was the reason why he became a cop in the first place. To stop the innocent from getting hurt. It didn't matter to him if they were human or Wesen or whatever. He job was to protect and serve and that was what he was going to do. When they let him.
It was sad, but Nick was actually getting used to the idea that he was going to be feared and hated whenever he first met a Wesen. As long as he wasn't there to arrest them though he was fairly good at getting them to see that he wasn't the brainless killing machine that they thought he was supposed to be.
A part of him wondered if that was exactly what he would have become if it wasn't for Sean. He would have been on his own trying to figure out what the hell was going on. There were really only two ways that he could have dealt with that. Either he went insane and got sent to an institution or he became exactly what they said he would and killed without thinking.
In the end though he hadn't been alone with his gift came in. In fact, he had known that it was coming before it even came. All of that was thanks to Sean Renard. He had been the one that sat there and helped Nick. He had been the one that answered every question that the Grimm had come up with when they should have been fast asleep.
It had taken awhile for the captain to get Nick to listen to what was being said. At first he had thought that the older man had gone insane. Then he Woged for the first time and suddenly it felt as if Nick was the one that was going insane. If he hadn't know Sean as well has he did he might have taken off running just to get away.
But they had known each other for awhile. First as Sean being Nick's captain. Doling out cases and, when things got tough, some advice. He was a good man and the detective had looked up to him. About four months ago though things had taken turn in their relationship. One that Nick was more than happy about.
Throughout those few months Sean had been everything that Nick had needed and everything he never knew he wanted. He had shown the man the life that he was supposed to live. Not just as a Grimm, but as a man as well. It was more than he had ever dreamed of having and now he couldn't dream of having anything else.
Alright, so he knew that four months wasn't a long time, but it was the happiest that he had felt in his life. So he had to keep the fact that they were together a secret. Dating his boss wasn't a bigger secret to keep than being a Grimm. Though it was actually harder to keep. Especially when the older man thought it a good idea to talk in another language.
A small smile came to the detective's lips as he thought about his lover. The older man had been a god send through everything. He had known exactly what Nick needed to learn about his new world. About how to be a good Grimm. The man had even went as far as to get him teachers. He had thought that it was a little overkill until he saw how many books the prince had gotten for him.
Even if it wasn't a lot to learn he'd be glad about it. Mostly because of the people he had as teachers. A Blutbad named Monroe and a Fuchsbau named Rosalee. It was a little bit of an odd group, but they were good people. Once they got past the awkwardness of all of them being in the same room, but they had gotten past that surprisingly quickly.
Nick had liked them both instantly. Monroe had become his best friend and Rosalee was like his little sister. It was the most family that he had ever had and he barely knew them anymore than he knew Sean. It was times like that he when he realized just how often he let his heart lead over his head. His aunt had always said that it would get him in trouble one day.
There was just something about them that made him want them in his life. Monroe was a good guy, no matter what the Blutbad tried to tell himself. It was difficult to not want to have him as his friend. Which was fun to think about when he realized that Monroe hadn't actually wanted to be his friend.
It was just too damn fun to make the man freak out. Of course, by 'fun' he meant easy. It was made all the easier when Rosalee decided to join in on the fun. Whenever Nick had a bad day she would be there picking on their friend to make him smile. It wasn't the nicest thing they did, but he knew that Monroe knew exactly what they was doing and was playing along with them.
Nick loved the fact that both of them were comfortable enough to act like that with him. Mostly because both of them were only in his life because Sean had decided that that was the way it would be. Apparently being the Prince had some perks. Perks that meant that he got to tell his 'subjects' exactly what to do and when to do it.
Monroe was more afraid of Sean than Rosalee was, but the Grimm could tell that she feared the man as well. It was something that Nick hated more than anything. He knew that there was a good reason behind people fearing the Prince, but he knew Sean well enough to have lost any of the fear that he had for the older man.
In the end he had to take it as a good thing that both of them had completely lost the fear that they had towards him. He was their friend and that was all that he wanted to be. He knew what his place was supposed to be in the Wesen world, but that didn't mean he had to be feared by those close to him. Right?
It was one of the few things that he and his lover disagreed on. Sean repeatedly told him that there was a reason they had the rules they had. Everyone was safer if the knew where they belonged in their community. Nick knew that the man knew better than him on these types of things, but that did nothing to change what he felt.
Which was one of the many reasons why his lover kept him away from dealing with a lot of Wesen things. He was to act as a cop in and outside of the Wesen world. Something that he was fine with. He knew exactly what he was doing day in and day out. It was better if he started off slowly and grew to have more responsibility.
He wasn't sure that he was ever going to get that responsibility though. Sure the captain said that he'd get there and that Nick was still too new to their world, but he knew better. It wasn't just because he was new. It was because Sean still thought that the younger man was too soft. Maybe he was.
Nick didn't want to believe in the world that Sean told him about. That there were fractions around the Wesen community that were waiting for their time to destroy the others. That the Royal family was looking for a time to take not just Sean down, but Nick as well. That he needed to learn to be a Grimm and not just a cop.
It was hard for Nick though. He was a cop through and through. He wanted to keep everyone safe. How was he supposed to do that when he was being told that he might have to kill people without seeing if there was a way around that? He took his oath to serve and protect seriously. He couldn't throw that away for anyone.
In the end he knew that Sean was angry at him for holding back from what was supposed to be his destiny. He couldn't really blame him. Sean had grown up having something expected of him. He was never just a little boy. He was the Prince. He was always the Prince. Nothing he did was ever going to change that and he had long since accepted it.
Nick had grown up being a human. As a child. Sure he had to deal with his parent death and moving in with his aunt. He grew up not ever really having a home since he and Aunt Marie usually were on the road, but he got to be a child. Every time he came in contact with any case that had a child involved he forced himself to be thankful.
Still, whenever he and Sean talked about their future it always lead to a fight. He hated the fact that he was making the man so angry with him. That was a lie. Sean wasn't angry at him. He had moved past angry and straight into disappointed. Something that hurt a lot more than the detective liked to admit. Even to himself.
He hated that being himself was disappointing anyone, but it felt different with his lover. He knew that he was quite a bit younger than the other man and that he knew more about the world than he did, but Nick had always thought that he was doing well as himself. That he wouldn't ever have to change who he was.
Except he didn't know who he was anymore. His whole world got turned upside down by one thing. By one little word. Grimm. He was a Grimm and that was a huge deal whether he liked it or not. He wasn't the same person that he was before his gift came. He wasn't the same person that he would be next month. He was still learning who he was.
That was not something that he ever thought he'd have to do again. He didn't want to change all that much though. He liked who he was. He liked the fact that nothing in his life was up in the air anymore. He had the job that he always wanted. He had a person that he was falling in love with. He had a roof over his head. He had everything.
Then he'd look over at his lover and remember what the man had done for him already. He ended up sitting there thinking about how he had no idea what he was doing. In the end he was a new person now and he had no idea what he was supposed to do. He was sitting there watching his lover and his friend hoping that he'd get some kind of answer of what to do.
He knew in his mind that he had so much to learn about the world that he was being thrust into. With Sean by his side and Monroe and Rosalee teaching him he'd knew that he'd get there one day. He just wasn't sure how long it would be before he'd end up making a mistake that would end up hurting not just himself, but someone else as well.
Another sigh fell from his lips as his head gave a painful throb. He hadn't been able to get rid of his headache for very long since the truth came out. Though he wasn't sure if that had anything to do with the added stress that he had been under or the fact he got thrown around in fight a lot more often than he used to.
He used to think that he was a good fighter. Until he had to fight against anyone that was Wesen. The fact he hadn't ended up in the hospital after that first fight was surprising. Though it had forced both Monroe and Sean to decide that he needed training. He had never thought that he was weak, but now that was all that he could think.
And, of course, he made the mistake of saying that out loud. In front of the others. Rosalee had understood a bit, but both of the men had stared at him like he was insane. Then went on to tell him that he just had to study more to gain his full potential and that they had years of experience on their side. None of which made him feel better when they once again knocked him on his ass.
They said that his skills were improving, but it didn't feel that way. It felt as if he actually knew less than he did before he started to train. He knew in the back of his mind that that wasn't true, but when he was icing his bruises he didn't care. All he wanted to do was take a little break from being a detective and a Grimm to try and straighten out his mind. Not that he'd ever say that out loud.
He cared for the older man deeply and every day he saw just how much the man did for Portland's human and Wesen communities. The last thing he could do was complain because he was having a hard time and wanted to sleep. He had to suck it up and that was exactly what he was going to do.
"Are you done in there, Burkhardt?" Adalind yelled from outside causing him to groan, "Some of us have actual work to do!"
Rolling his eyes at Sean's second-in-command Nick started towards the front door knowing better than to keep her waiting. He did not want to deal with a pissed off Hexenbiest. He wasn't exactly afraid of the woman, but he did have a respect for her. Mostly because she was one of the few people that would not back down from Sean when he was in a mood.
He just wasn't sure if he liked the woman or not. She was a little much to handle by himself. Always looking for a reason to tell him why he wasn't good enough for Sean. Or to make Rosalee and Monroe flinch at the sight of her when she was Woged. Don't even get him started on her wife, Juliette Silverton. Juliette might be as creepy as her, but she was much nicer.
In the end though Nick saw why his lover had decided to give her such a high position in his organization. She was good at what she did. Both in and out of the courtroom. If she was told to take someone down than that was exactly what she was going to do. With that fake innocent smile on her lips the entire time.
"Finally," she glared crossing her arms over her chest when he walked out of the house, "Did you find anything important?"
"No," Nick shook his head, "I didn't find anything at all. The place was completely abandoned. I don't think I've ever seen Sean have wrong information before. Did he tell you where he got it?"
"He doesn't share that information with me unless he wants me to double check it his source. You're right though. He doesn't make mistakes like this. Let's go."
A shiver ran down Nick's spine as Adalind Woged. He had gotten used to Monroe and Rosalee Woged rather quickly, but Adalind and Juliette were difficult for him still. Hell, even Sean was difficult to see. Maybe it was because of what they were. Both Hexenbiest's and Zauberbiest's were dangerous. Probably the most dangerous in the Wesen community.
He knew that he hurt his lover every time he flinched away from him. It was like it was ingrained in him though. As hard as he tried to ignore the way his body reacted seeing them Woged he couldn't stop himself from giving something away. Though he had gotten a lot better since pulling his gun the first time Sean had shown him his face.
Shaking his head he placed a hand on his gun while looking around the wooded area. He loved Portland, but there were times when he wished there weren't so many trees. It would be a lot easier to find people if they didn't have a million and one places to hide. Which was odd since the forest was the main reason he moved there to begin with.
His eyes quickly flickered over the Adalind once more to make sure she was safe. He didn't know why he did that. Especially since she looked like she was ready to fight just about anything that came their way. No that he could blame her. That was the exact reason why Sean had wanted him to bring her in the first place.
It was actually a little funny and almost adorable just how overprotective his lover was. At the same time though Nick wanted to point out that he was a trained cop and didn't need someone following him around to keep him safe. He had never seen Sean and Monroe laugh as hard as they did when he said that.
Slowly the two of them made their way to Adalind's car. She was just starting to reach for the drivers' side handle when Nick saw a shadow out of the corner of his eyes. He couldn't see what it was doing, but before he could warn the Hexenbiest she was laying on the ground out cold a dart sticking out of her neck.
Pulling his gun out he leveled it at the shadow and put his finger on the trigger. Something stopped him from firing though. He couldn't explain it, but it felt as if he wasn't in any real danger. Whomever it was that was standing there wasn't going to harm him the way they did Adalind. At least he hoped they weren't.
"Who are you?" Nick questioned keeping his voice firm and his gun unwavering.
"Come now, Nicky," the shadow spoke in a soft yet harsh tone, "Don't be stupid."
"Aunt Marie?"
Nick watched as his aunt started towards him the shadow falling away. A breath laugh left his lips at the sight of her. Still as strong and terrifying as she had always been. It had been years since he had seen the older woman. Hell, it had been years since he had talked to her. How had he forgotten how much he missed her?
"What are you doing here?" Nick asked moving closer to her his gun dropping unconsciously to his side.
"Do you know what she is?" the older woman questioned ignoring him.
"Adalind? She's a Hexenbiest. Why does that matter? Wait. Why did you knock her out? If you had just said it was you I would have made sure she did do anything."
"You really believe that, don't you, Nick?"
Nick couldn't help but freeze when he heard that tone. It was the same one that she used on him when she thought he was being a child and didn't understand. It was not a tone that he was likely to forget. He knew that out of all of the Wesen the Hexenbiest's were one of the scariest, he wasn't stupid, but Adalind wasn't bad. Just highly annoying and a bit of a brat.
Not knowing what to say to his aunt he shook his head and moved so he was kneeling next to Adalind. Reaching out slowly so he didn't startle her if she woke up he checked to see if she was still alive. She looked rather pale and her breathing was a little off. He really needed to get her to The Spice Shop so Rosalee could help her.
"Help me get her into the car," Nick said moving to open the back door.
"Nicky," Marie sighed shaking her head.
"She's hurt. I'm not just going to leave her here."
"She's a Hexenbiest."
"I know that. What's your point?"
A condescending sigh fell from the older woman's lips before she moved so she was standing in front of Nick. Her hands came up so they were resting on either side of Nick's face. As much as he loved his aunt she did not have the warmest touch. Having her hold him there though felt worse than it had before. Like she was trying to control him.
Swallowing roughly the detective found himself straightening his back unconsciously. There was something about the woman that had him on edge. It made no sense though. She was the one that raised him after his parents were killed. She used to tuck him in at night and tell him stories. There was no way that she would hurt him.
"Nick, you are a Grimm," Marie stated firmly her grip on his face slightly painful, "You don't befriend Wesen. You kill them."
Roughly pulling away the younger man took a few steps back and stared at his aunt in shock. He had heard stories from pretty much every Wesen that he'd run into about Grimm's being unforgiving killers. He knew that those weren't made up, but he had always thought that his mom and aunt and possibly his grandmother were different. Were like him.
He hadn't been able to bring himself to see his family as anything but good people. The kind of people that didn't go after another unjustly. Grimm's might be killers, but Burkhardt's weren't. They had a code or something that kept them from going down that dark path. He had wanted to believe that more than anything.
That image was torn away now as he looked at his aunt. She wasn't like him at all. She was a killer. A murderer. How could the woman that raised him be a murderer? Okay, so he had always known that she wasn't the best person on the planet, but he had still thought of her as a good person. At least a law abiding one.
"She's not a bad person," Nick offered softly his eyes darting down to the Hexenbiest that still laid unconscious on the ground before going back to his aunt.
"She's not a person at all," Marie argued back a sneer on her lips.
"So what if she's a Hexenbiest? That doesn't make her bad!"
"That's exactly what it makes her. Her kind doesn't have 'friends'. The have future kills. They use people until they're through with them and then they kill them in cold blood. That's what she's going to do. She's going to kill you. She's going to kill innocent people."
"Adalind isn't like that. We might not be friends or even friendly half the time, but she wouldn't kill me. And she wouldn't kill anyone else unless it was in self-defense."
"'Self-defense'? Do you really think a thing like that needs 'self-defense'?"
"It is everyone's right to protect themselves if someone is putting them in immediate danger."
"You're a Grimm. She's in danger."
"I wouldn't harm her unless I had to and I won't ever have to."
"Why? Because of the Prince?"
Nick sharply inhaled when he heard the angry, dismissive way that she spoke of the older man. He knew that the royal family wasn't liked by anyone in their world, including Sean. Though Nick had been lucky to have no run-ins with them just yet. His lover was nothing like them though. At least that's what Rosalee had told him. Sean was a good man and a good ruler to his people.
"Nick," Marie tried to placate taking a step towards him only to stop when he took a step back, "This is your destiny, Sweetheart. I know it's difficult to understand at first, but..."
"No, there's nothing difficult about this at all. I'm not a killer. I'm a cop."
"To the humans, yes, but..."
"No. To everyone. Human or Wesen or Royal or whatever the hell else is out there. I am a cop and I have a code. I will protect whomever and whatever comes to me for help. I will arrest those that think it a good idea to harm another that they think are weaker. I will serve and protect everyone."
"Their kind doesn't deserve protection."
He stood there silently glaring at the older woman. As much as he loved her he wasn't going to let her stand there and try to fill his mind with hate. He might be new to the Wesen world, but he wasn't new to the world as a whole. He knew right from wrong and nothing was going to change that. Not even his family.
A soft snort fell from her as she reached behind her back and pulled out a wicked looking dagger. Her eyes never left his as she started towards Adalind. Her eyes looked so much darker than normal. It felt as if he was seeing the real her for the first time and he was terrified of the woman that he used to love with everything he was.
The last thing that he wanted to do was hurt his aunt, but it was easy to see that she wasn't going to stop until she got what she wanted. What she wanted was to kill Adalind in cold blood. He couldn't let her harm the Hexenbiest. His hand shook subtly as he reached behind him and took out a knife of his own.
An almost feral grin came to her lips as she cracked her neck. For a moment he thought that it was going to be like the training exercises that he did with Monroe and Sean. Then his head was knocked to the side from a punch that he hadn't even seen coming. Licking his lip he tasted the blood that was already welling on it.
His eyes went wide at that. He knew he should have expected that she'd hit him. They were fighting. Yet somehow his mind had told him that things were never going to get that far. That his aunt was going to realize what she was doing and they'd walk away from it. Maybe not peacefully, but they'd all be alive.
That wasn't going to be happening. She looked as if she was more than ready to fight her nephew. Hell, she looked as if she had completely forgotten that he was related to her at all. He no longer had a real choice anymore. Swallowing back the pain that clenched at his heart he moved to take a protective stance over Adalind.
"I don't want to hurt you, Nick," Marie stated staring at him as if he was nothing, "So, move out of my way."
"I can't let you kill her," Nick shook his head his voice just as firm, "She is innocent. You though… Marie Kessler, you have the right to remain silent."
"You're going to arrest me?"
"Anything you say can and will be used against you..."
"She will kill you! It's what they do, Nick. You can't believe them just because your Captain says you should!"
"If she ever does something then I'll take care of it myself, but until that time comes I'm not going to let you kill her just because you're afraid."
Before Nick could continue reading her her rights an arm shot out and the knife sliced into his chest. He knew that it had cut into his flesh, but he barely felt the pain as he through his own punch. He watched grimly as she stumbled a few steps back and spit blood onto the ground. Steeling himself up he threw another punch only to have it blocked.
He could barely keep up with her as hit after hit rained down on him. If he had thought that Monroe and Sean were good at fighting then he had no idea what to think of his aunt. She was in a league all her own. One that he was nowhere near close to. There was no chance that he was going to win.
A grunt left his lips as he was knocked onto his knees beside Adalind. His whole body had already been aching from the training that he and Monroe had done, but now it felt as if he was both floating and falling at the same time. He wanted nothing more than to end the fight right then and there, but he couldn't. He was Portland's Grimm and he had a job to do.
Steeling his nerves he did what Sean had been teaching him last week and threw his knife at Marie. It stuck into her shoulder causing her to growl angrily before pulling it out. In that moment he knew that she was fighting with anger instead of skill. He could beat anger any day. He had to beat anger.
Taking a deep breath he got to his feet and sent a kick to her hand knocking the knife away and causing her to stumble once more. As she tried to steady herself he reached into his holster and pulled out his gun. A mocking smile came to her lips as she dropped her arms to her sides. He hated how she looked. So calm and sure of herself. Like she knew exactly what was going to happen.
"You're not going to kill me, Nicky," Marie smirked taking a step to him her eyes never leaving his.
"If you try to kill her I will," Nick replied forcing himself not to move and show how scared he was.
"Hexenbiest's deserve nothing short of a painful death."
"No one deserves death. Please, Aunt Marie, don't make me do this."
The older woman shook her head looking at him as if he was nothing more than dirt and raised her arms ready to start the fight again. His heart clenched angrily as tears ran down his face. Firing twice at her chest he watched as her body jerked with each bullet before falling to the ground in a heap already dead.
For a moment he stared at her not believing what he had just done. A choked sob fell from his lips as he stared down at his aunt's body. Slowly all of the strength that he had washed away from him and his legs gave out so he was kneeling on the ground. His eyes never left her body. He had killed his aunt the only family that he had left. How could he do that?
Those questions kept repeating in his head as he knelt there sobbing. He didn't notice anything around him until he felt a strong hand rest on his shoulder. Jerking he pointed his gun up at the person ready to fight if he needed to. Then he saw that it was his lover staring down at him with a sad, broken smile.
The older man gently took the gun from Nick before kneeling down and gathering him in his arms. The Grimm held on tightly his body shaking as he cried. He had no idea how long they'd been kneeling there and frankly he didn't care. The only thing that mattered was that he wasn't alone anymore.
"Nick," Sean spoke gently his hand combing through the detective's hair, "What happened?"
"It was a trap," Nick whispered his face still buried in his lovers chest, "When we realized that we started to leave. I saw a shadow out of the corner of my eye and Adalind dropped. She was… Where is she? Is she okay? I need to..."
"Hush, my Grimm. She's okay. I sent her home with some of my people. Rosalee and Juliette are already there and waiting. Please, continue."
"She wanted to kill Adalind. I tried to talk her out of it. I tried to arrest her. She wouldn't stop. All she wanted to do was kill Adalind. We started to fight. I… I had to. I had to kill her. I had to kill my aunt."
"You had no choice."
"She was my aunt."
"She would have murdered Adalind. She would have murdered you if you stood in her way."
"She was my aunt."
"I know, Love. I know."
The two men sat there in silence for a moment longer before Sean gathered Nick in his arms. It wasn't often that the older man used his strength like that, but the Grimm was grateful. He wasn't sure he had enough strength of his own to get to his feet and into the car. He didn't know if he had enough strength to even sit upright at all.
He was quiet throughout the ride. His head rested against the icy window as he watched the streets unseeing. Somewhere in his mind he knew that they were going to Sean's home, but he wasn't paying attention at all. His mind was completely blank. The only thing that anchored him was the callused hand holding his.
"We're home," Sean offered his thumb running over the back of Nick's hand.
"You were right," he said not hearing what his lover said.
"About what?"
"I'm not ready for this world. I'm not ready to be a Grimm. To be by your side."
"You're still so young, Nick. There's not wrong with not being ready after four months. You have a lot to learn and you will learn. I won't leave you in the dark to face this alone. We'll do this together. One day you'll be ready for it all, but for now let's let you grow. Okay?"
Before Nick could reply to him Sean leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his forehead. A broken smile bloomed on the Grimm's lips at the feeling. He barely paid attention as the older man manipulated him out of the car and into the house. Soon he was laying naked in a bathtub his lover cradling him from behind. His eyes slowly slid shut as he fell into a deep sleep.