Of Moat Monsters And Men:
When Nick comes home after a full day of work, it is to find Renard and his son sitting on the sofa, having an animated conversation. Okay, Kelly is doing most of the talking but those are semantics. His son has turned three last month and today Sean has agreed to watch over him for a few hours while Nick has been still stuck at work and Adalind has been meeting an important client.
"Uncle Sean, you are a moat monster!" His little boy shouts with enthusiasm.
"A moat monster?" The man's tone is bone dry as he echos Kelly's exclamation, hiding his no doubt reluctant amusement.
It makes Nick smile. They have come a long way, the Mayor and the Grimm Detective. For a long time things have been tense and poisoned by their respective bad decisions but they have worked through most of it by now. They have defeated Black Claw, together although that has been a close call with all the games and deceit. Sean has retained his position as Mayor – and he is doing good, a lot of good – and Nick has been reinstated as Detective.
Now he trusts him to watch over Kelly just like Sean trusts him with raising his daughter alongside of him and Adalind. Apropos children, his son is just now explaining things to his uncle:
"Yah, moat monster! An' you are defen'ing Daddy's cas'le."
Nick watches from the open doorway for a while. Sean's watchful gaze darts away from shining children's eyes and over to him at once but refocuses on the little boy next to him once he starts talking again.
"An' you are all gwumbly an'... an' scarin' all the baddies away!"
The always dignified Prince looks down on his companion with a small smile.
"So you say being grumbly makes me a good... moat monster?"
It is clear that the concept of being any such thing is rather new to him
"Yes." Enthusiastic nodding makes even the last traces of consternation melt away. Nick decides to help out, anyway.
"Hey, you two. Did you have a good time?"
"Daddy!" Kelly wriggles his tiny butt off the sofa and runs over to him as fast as his short legs carry him. He scoops him up in his arms, nuzzles his nose to Kelly's impossible small one as is their favorite way of greeting and takes a precious moment to cuddle with his exuberant son, before carrying him back over to the couch.
"Daddy, daddy, daddy, Uncle Sean is the bestest moat monster ever and he is green!"
Nick has to repress a laugh that Renard wouldn't take well most likely.
"Oh, I am not sure if Sean is a moat monster, son. You see, he is a real Prince..."
"A real Prince?" A breathless whisper and big eyes staring up at him.
"Yes, a real Prince. And Princes have to rule kingdoms instead of dumpling away in the castle moat to scare off people. But he has a Grimm, who can defend his castle."
Kelly frowns, thinking this through.
"But you cannot be a moat monster!" Is his scandalized exclamation. Nick exchanges an amused glance with Sean.
"Oh and why is that?"
"You a'e not gwumbly and gwowly. Only Sean is."
There so much innocent trust in this that Nick wants to hug his son even tighter.
"Very good reason. And can uncle Sean do a good growl?"
"The bestest!" Kelly's adoration borders on hero worship and makes Nick smile even more.
"Hmm. So how about I see to making dinner and you fight a few monsters with Sean?"
"Yaah!"
Kelly crows and slips off his Papa's lap right onto Renard's, who cannot help emitting a tiny 'uff', no matter how well he can control himself.
GRIMM GRIMM GRIMM
While puttering about in the kitchen Nick listens to his son and former Captain talk in the living room.
"Uncle Sean, can you make a gwowl?"
"And why would you have me growl, young man?"
Throwing a glance through the open doorway Nick sees, that Kelly is leaning against Renard's side.
"Moatie monsters aaalways gwowl an' it makes it all rumbly here." He confides in a whisper that really isn't one at all and pats the Royal's chest with his small hand to show him what he means. Renard still frowns in consideration when Nick turns back to his pots and pans.
"Pleeeeaase?"
By now Kelly will have made himself comfortable against Sean's broad chest. It is his favorite spot and has been ever since he has been a wee little thing.
His son's excited, high pitched giggle erupting suddenly, tells Nick that in the end the hardened Royal has complied. And he can hear it, too:
The deep, rumbling growl, that reverberates through his whole impressively built chest, and truly must sound like the 'bestest growl ever' to his little boy, who has his eyes closed and his ear pressed to his uncle's chest.
Another look through the doorway before he goes back to stirring the contents of the pot:
Sean Renard – Bastard Prince, politically seasoned Mayor and half-zauberbiest – has his arms wrapped securely around Kelly's small form and looks down on him with an expression that Nick would never have expected to find there: Tenderness and affection.
This is right. This is how things could have been for long time now, if only they had set aside their differences a little bit sooner. Oh well. He won't let past memories destroy this precious moment. They have changed and learned and repaired much of their strained relationship...
And now he has to see about feeding the big and the tiny moat monster dumpling about in his living room.
The mental picture of a green, grumpy looking, dinosaur-like Sean-monster brings a cheeky grin to his face that he wouldn't let the Royal see even if his life depended on it.