When a baby Grimm Pesters his Half-Blooded Royal
Renard came back to the police station to find Nick in his office. Again. He wonders what the Grimm is going to say as he hung up his coat and sat down to listen to him. Ever since the detective found out that he was a Royal, visits before his desk like this has been becoming increasingly frequent….or maybe it was because he first started asking about Juliette when he was under the influence of the purification potion. Who knows? Either way, it doesn't change the fact that Nick is now in front of him, blabbering off about some accommodation issues as he thought back to how it all started….
The first time he spoke to Nick outside of work was when all he could think about was Silverton. Whammied by whatever Catherine had given him, he couldn't help himself.
"So, how are things with Juliette?" Renard asked out of politeness and of course, out of unnatural concern. Besides, He refused to be complained about not caring for his subordinates- not after he found out about the private poll results as the most distant figure in the precinct. It was detrimental to his reputation.
"She still doesn't remember me…" Nick answered with a face crestfallen, devastated that the only person his girlfriend couldn't remember was him.
While Renard didn't particularly feel for the guy, he doesn't really want to have an emotionally unbalanced Grimm around either. So, after a giving him a few words of comfort and other nice sounding words, the detective left the office feeling…probably none the better. Huh. At least he tried, even if it wasn't sincere.
Little did he know that this little conversation was one of many more to come.
The second time Nick talked to him in his office about things outside of work was after he was exposed as the Royal in Portland. The Grimm was like a rebellious teenager, words dripping with sarcasm and animosity as if the world owed him… being about one head shorter is not helping the imagery.
"Still feeling the hots for Juliette?" Nick sneered; visibly disgusted by the fact the captain went after his girlfriend like an animal in heat.
"No. It seemed like the potion had worked" Renard said as a matter of fact. There is no point in making this a big deal, especially in public eye. "Anything else? " The prince queried with a tone that implied that he was already bored with the whole issue.
The detective seemed like he had something more to say but ultimately decided against it as he got up to leave. Halfway through the door, he turned around and said "Just so you know, I'm not going to call you 'your Highness' or anything".
Renard just rolled his eyes and replied "Never expected you to" but Nick was already gone.
The third time they spoke privately was a few cases afterwards. As usual, he found Nick waiting in his office, pacing around like some hyperactive kid.
"Am I late for something?" Renard asked. Sometimes he feels that the pretty boy needs to get it in his thick skull that despite his noble status, he is still a police captain with a day job – which includes meetings; budget reviews and NOT entertaining the Grimm.
"In a way… It's about the key" He said as he flopped down onto the chair by the desk.
"I suppose this is a good time as any" The Royal responded, resigned to the fact that he'll never get any work done if he doesn't answer Burkhardt's questions. So, he told him all he knew about the key and the bloody history to obtain them. He also told him that he was estranged from his family, just in case Nick accused him of trying to deceive him. Grimms are paranoid like that.
It wasn't long before they were interrupted by Sergeant Wu with a weird case that sounded potentially Wesen related. This conversation probably isn't over yet, but right now there are more pressing matters at hand.
The fourth time Nick barged into his office was right after he found out that there was one casualty in the bar fight when he was affected by the Cracher-Mortel's toxin. He felt so bad about it and Renard had to max out his Emotional Quotient to convince him that it wasn't his fault. Given his horrible skills at getting cuddly with people, the half-blooded prince eventually resorted to appealing to Nick's utter hatred of his slimy brother and the rest of the Royal Family.
"You have to understand something Nick - my brother did this to you. It was all part of a plan to destroy a Grimm or at least get one to work for him. If you turn yourself in, you will give them exactly what they want."
That seemed to get through to the detective.
It was only awhile later he learnt that Hank and Juliette were unable to prevent their friend from turning himself in. Renard then began to get curious about how much of an influence did he have on the baby Grimm. Sure his family had their own books on Grimm, but they were sketchy at best as they were recorded after the Grimms left the Royals, so it was hard to confirm if what was written was accurate. Among was books was an excerpt discussing the Grimm's odd obsession with Royals. It was speculated that this was why they allied themselves with them in the first place. Hence, it wouldn't be a far stretch to assume that the increased interaction between him and Nick was due to some sort of primordial edict they've inherited.
The prince could only hope that this is true.
It shouldn't be a surprise when Nick entered his office the fifth time to talk about non-police matters. He looked kind of worried.
"I'm beginning to remember…" He started to say.
By now, Renard was pretty annoyed by this groundless guilt Nick has been carrying on his back. The captain has been keeping an eye on him ever since his abilities awakened – that means he knows how high a body count Nick has accumulated and it is pretty stupid to let yourself go to jail for one accidental murder after all the killings you have committed. It just doesn't make any sense.
"Let me ask you something Nick. What's really bothering you? Is it the fact that you killed somebody or the fact that you killed somebody who wasn't a Wesen? Because God knows you killed plenty of them" Renard snapped at him. Grimm or not, Nick should be called out on his hypocrisy in dealing with his murders.
Nick grew silent at his response, head hung low like a child reprimanded.
This time, it was Sean who left the office, leaving the Grimm to ponder over his words.
Then on, it was as if he had stirred up something within the detective – Nick continued coming to him to talk about other things, things that were neither Grimm nor case related.
The sixth time he appeared before Renard, he talked about Monroe. Without waiting for any indication, Nick went on about how happy he was to move back in with Juliette, with friends throwing him a surprise 'good-bye party' complete with a cake baked by Bud's wife.
"That's good?" Renard commented, furrowing his brows in confusion – as in 'Why am I being told all these trivial information?'
It was apparent that either the detective failed to detect his body language or he chose to ignore it, continuing his rant on how he found out that Rosalee moved in to Monroe's a few days later. "I know I shouldn't be upset… I can see why he asked her to move in - but it feels like I'm being replaced," he exasperated.
"You're jealous? You know he isn't going to help you any less when he's together with Rosalee…" the Royal supplied, apparently giving up trying to patronize the Grimm.
As Nick carried on with his lengthy monologue about all things unrelated, Renard just sat there as listened, giving the occasional comment or advice. He thought about all the times he had gone the extra lengths to protect the Grimm, about how he told the other Families that this Grimm was his.
Maybe now it doesn't have to be a lie anymore.
-END-
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