Nikki sat on the corner end of the couch, next to the fireplace as she looked to the different pictures on his mount. There were ones with him and Happ, or with Angelina even a few with an older couple that she assumed were his parents. While looking to the different ones, it was the last one that really caught her attention, she stood, not sure if she was really seeing what her eyes were showing her, it was a picture of her old junior class. She could see Daniele with her long blonde hair and bubbly attitude, Sarah and Sam, twins, as she looked through the list of students in her mind and named them, there were a few students she didn't recognize.
The first one had dark curly brown hair and the beginnings of a beard showed on his tan skin, he had large brown eyes and wore a familiar blue, white and black flannel shirt with the first two buttons un-done, he had a black long sleeve shirt under it with a pair of baggy jeans and a pair of converse. He had a small smile on his face as he looked at something, or, someone other than the camera man. Nikki followed the boys eyeline and gasped lightly, the boy was staring at a younger version of herself. In the picture Nikki wore a pair of tight, low-rise dark navy blue jeans with a black, tight spaghetti strapped tank top that showed a little stomach, the sweatshirt she wore was too big for her and fell off her shoulders to just above her elbows. Her long black hair was messy, her bangs fell into her large ocean blue eyes, she was leaning back against a desk with an easy going smile, a mischievious glint appeared in her eyes as her canine bit her bottom lip. Like the boy that was watching Nikki, she was looking back to the boy. While she looked to the picture closely, specifically the boy, she was oblivious to the heavy footsteps that came up behind her. She couldn't keep her eyes off the boy and wondered why he looked so familiar, why she knew those soft brown eyes and gentle smile, feeling something press up against her back she turned to see Monroe standing behind her.
"Did you know the girl in that photo, the one with the over sized sweater on became a detective for the Portland police?" her eyes widened,
"H-How do you know that g-girl?" she stuttered, he smiled warmly at her and took a half hold on the picture frame, using his free hand as a guide, he pointed to the boy and girl using her pinky finger and index to show her.
"That boy and girl were good aquatinces in high school, unfortunately she was oblivious to the boys feelings he had for her and hadn't had the chance to tell her that he had a huge crush on her back then, after a few years he finally lost contact with her just as they went into college, but, now, that boy finally has the girl within sights and won't let her go, even if she has a boyfriend" putting the picture frame back in it's spot Monroe pinned Nikki to the fireplace and leaning down slowly, he gently brushed his lips against hers. Nikki's eyes fluttered as she gently kissed back, they pulled apart and put their foreheads together.
"What happened to the boy and girl after he refused to let her go?" she asked, a little breathy, her eyes kept flashing back to his lips and how she enjoyed the feeling of them against hers,
"Well, the girl hadn't recognized him when they met up again, and she had him arrested for a case she was working on and finally found out the one other thing he had always wanted to tell her but never had the courage to" he told her quietly, Nikki felt her heart pound a million miles a minute as she kept staring at his lips, wanting to taste more of him, but she restrained herself, barely.
"What was that?" she asked just as softly, Monroe leaned down again and tilted his head just a little as he kissed her neck, right where her pulse is, she swallowed as her chest started to heave slightly, his hands trailed to her slim hips and pulled her closer, her chin resting on his shoulder,
"That he was a blutbad," her eyes widened, before slowly starting to soften, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, burying her face in his shoulder as he sucked lightly on her neck, she grinned, knowing what he was doing,
"I've never had a blutbad give me a hickey before" she giggled, she felt his body tremble as a few chuckles escaped his throat, he pulled away and stared down at her with such love and affection that she wasn't used to, even Jared wasn't this affectionate with her anymore, thinking back on it, has Jared even been this affectionate with her other than wanting sex? She couldn't remember, but that didn't matter to her anymore, Monroe has been more like a boyfriend to her than he ever was lately.
"You were so kind and gentle in high school, you always had a smile for anyone who looked your way, even for the troubled teens, you always smiled, even if you were in pain, or hurting, that smile never left your face" Nikki suddenly felt nostalgic as she remembered that time, life had been going pretty great with her at that point, her grades were better and she and Aunt Marie had been spending more time with each other. She sighed as her arms fell to his elbows, her eyes never leaving his, now, as she remembered her time in high school, she finally remembered the boy who had always been there, watching her from the shadows.
"I remember one time I had been a huge rut, I was fighting with my parents a lot lately and I wasn't able to keep the wolf in me in control as much as I made sure to, and, without even knowing anything about me you sat with me and talked to me, we didn't talk about what was going on at home but we just...talked. You made all these weird jokes that made no sense but it still made me laugh, it was the first time in a long while when I felt sincere about laughing, I had even forgotton that I was a blutbad, which is really hard, believe me" he laughed nervously, at this point Nikki was biting hard on her bottom lip, trying to keep from laughing, a few giggles escaped, but she clamped hard on her mouth.
"After that we hung out for a while, then...I guess your aunt didn't like the idea of her niece hanging out with a blutbad, and we couldn't hang out anymore. There were times when we'd talk in the halls, but when we took that senior picture, that was when I realized how much I had fallen for you, hard, and hated that I couldn't see you anymore, that was when we lost contact" Nikki did remember that, she remembered hanging out with a boy in high school and that boy was one Aunt Marie didn't want her near so they had to stop seeing each other, her eyes fluttered as she gripped the sleeves of Monroe's jacket tightly in her two fists. Tears pricked her eyes,
"You were the boy, then, back when I had arrested you, why didn't you tell me who you were?" she asked, he sighed, not like he was angry but like he was regretful, and it made her guilty that she made him feel that way,
"I didn't want to force a memory on you that you might not've remembered, plus, you seemed pretty busy thinking about the little girl and I can understand why so I didn't want you to have a too full of plate on your hands" he told her gently, he lifted his hand and brushed some hair back behind her shoulders, he played with the strap of her top but left it where it was and placed his hand back on her hip. Nikki stepped closer and, without moving her eyes from his, stood on her tip toes and gently kissed him, as she pulled away he pulled her back and completely dominated her mouth. After a minute of making out they parted, both needing air, Nikki placed her head on his chest as Monroe circled his arms around her chest, she looked back at the picture,
"You know, I still have that sweater in my closet back home. I usually wear it on a day off or something" she grinned, remembering a time when Jared got jealous thinking she was cheating on him, she had told him truthfully she had it since high school and that it belonged to an old friend of her she hadn't seen since high school, he still doesn't like it but she still wears it when he's not around,
"I should hope so, I gave you that sweater" she looked up him, her eyebrows raised, he looked at her with wide eyes, he pulled away and took her hand, leading her back to the couch, he laid on his side and pulled her down so she was laying near the edge, but she knew Monroe wouldn't let her fall, literally or metaphorically.
"Tell me about it then" she asked, as Monroe told her the story her eyes fluttered closed as she snuggled closer into him, wrapping her arms around his waist, just as she fell asleep, she felt his lips on her temple as he covered them with a thick blanket, wrapping his arms gently around her lower back and pulling her closely,
"Goodnight Scrappy" was the last thing she heard. That night Nikki dreamed of times she spent in high school, the whole time dreaming of her times with Monroe and all the memories she spent with him.