Ashes Chapter 21, a grimm fanfic

Author's Note: Okay, that was MUCH longer than I had thought it would be but I hope you guys enjoy it nonetheless. I also hope that it makes up for the fact that I probably won't be posting another chapter until the 9th or so. I tend to stay away from my computer on the weekends so that I can spend time with my family and let my muse recharge. But also, I have developed a cold and plan on trying to get rid of it in two days so that I don't come back to work sick, lol.. Wish me luck on that one - I'm going to need it.

Anyways, here's the next installment! Let me know what you think of how it all played out.

Also, the German may change as my main native speaker wasn't available when I was writing this. :-)

Enjoy!

Chapter XXI

Monroe paced back and forth in Nick's living room, rubbing his hands together or along the sides of his jeans. It hadn't taken him or Rosalee that long to find what they had been looking for and so they had been sitting at Nick's house for about an hour now, waiting for him to return. Less than five minutes ago, Hank had called asking if Nick had come home yet. Monroe had panicked a little when it seemed that the detective had been expecting his partner to be there and he wasn't. He'd begun wondering if something bad had happened to Nick and no one had known about it. But then Hank had explained what had happened in the woods and Monroe began to figure that things had just taken extra-long at the hospital like they always tended to.

The dog – and really? Couldn't they come up with a name for the poor animal yet? – sat beside the couch, watching Monroe with every turn he made. She was looking at him expectantly but for the life of him he couldn't figure out what it was that she wanted. While they'd been out, Monroe and Rosalee had grabbed some kibble so that the poor thing didn't have to live off leftovers for the rest of the weekend and she now had proper food and water sitting in the kitchen by the back door if she wanted it.

"Monroe, sit down," Rosalee calmly bid, though she did sound a bit tired. "I'm sure Nick will be back any second."

"You're right," Monroe granted, doing his best to stop fidgeting and sat down on the couch next to her. "I'm sure Nick will pull up any moment now."

It had taken another half an hour for that to become reality and when he did, Monroe had stood in shock when he'd also seen Nick's captain accompanying him.

For the most part, Nick seemed well. He was once again on crutches, his right leg in a brace that surrounded his knee and his shoe was off suggesting that maybe something was also wrong with his ankle or foot but other than that – and was that a bandage around his wrist as well? – he seemed perfectly fine.

Knowing that Nick wouldn't be able to – or at least he shouldn't be doing it – open the door on his own, Monroe got up to do that for him. Nick's face expressed brief surprise but the most of it was held in the regnant's expression, though he barely showed it. Monroe made sure to avoid as much eye contact as possible with the royal but it was hard as the man was outright staring – one might even say glaring, actually – at him.

"So what's the prognosis? You gonna live?" Monroe teased as Nick crutched his way into the house with the captain following closely behind.

Nick smiled, though it seemed tired and strained, at his attempt to avoid the awkwardness that seemed to fill the room.

"Yeah, I think I'm gonna live," he returned, making the answer show just how ridiculous Monroe's question had been. "It's just a sprain. I'll be fine in a few weeks."

Behind him, the royal damn near rolled his eyes.

"You have a deep, partial tear in your LCL, Nick, and a decent sized tear in your ankle. The doctor said that you might be able to start doing some strengthening exercises then, not that you'd be fine."

For once, Monroe was glad that the regnant was there because if he hadn't been, Monroe would have easily believed that Nick would have been fine in a few weeks and would have let him pretend that he was so. Now that he knew the truth, however, the likelihood of anything of the sort happening wasn't very. And though he wasn't going to be going into mother-hen mode, he certainly wasn't going to be allowing the grimm to do anything that might cause further damage to himself either.

Nick did roll his eyes at the captain's correction and proceeded to balance precariously on one leg while he shed his coat. Monroe stifled a smile or a comment when he noticed that the captain was staying quite close to Nick, perhaps ready in case the man fell tipped onto his injured side. Though that may have been the logical reason for the close proximity, Monroe could tell that it wasn't the main reason. The plain and simple fact was that Renard wanted to be that near to Nick and if Nick's lack of complaint about it was anything to go by, Nick wanted to be that near to Renard.

Well wasn't that interesting? He wondered what had happened that had the two men acting on their instincts for once instead of fighting them. When he looked over at Rosalee, who stood just to his left, he could tell that she was thinking the same thing but while he was trying to hide his smile, she was doing no such thing.

"So sprained ankle and pretty badly sprained knee, anything else I should know about?" Monroe asked, filing the information away just in case.

"No, I'm fine," Nick said but the captain soon answered for him, "He has a pretty deep bruise on his left side but other than that and the two mentioned before, he'll be alright."

"Uhuh, and what about his wrist?" Monroe asked, noticing that Nick was doing his best not to favor the hand while using the crutches.

"It was pretty harshly twisted but it should be fine within a week or so." The captain stood where he'd been from the start – by the front door, though with no apparent desire or intention to leave. His eyes followed Nick like a hawk as the grimm slowly and carefully made his way over to the couch where he gingerly sat down, elevating his leg onto the soft cushions. The regnant's posture never relaxed for a second the entire time; his back was straight and his shoulders were strong; his hands remained inside his pants pockets and his feet stayed hip-distance apart. Actually, the man appeared relaxed but Monroe knew it to be different and so he hadn't considered it to be anything but.

"Uh, I am right here you know. You don't need to talk about me like I'm a child that you're passing from one person's custody to the other," Nick groused, looking annoyed but still tired.

"We wouldn't have to if you would just admit your injuries and not try to pass them off as nothing," the regnant easily returned.

On the couch, Nick sighed. The sound seemed to register with Rosalee who slipped her hand within Monroe's and started to pull him towards the door.

"We should go and let you get some rest," she cooed at Nick, her mothering side coming out a bit at the sight of a friend, granted a new one, in pain.

"Wait, wasn't there something you guys wanted to tell me?" Nick asked, now looking confused.

At a sharp look from Renard, Monroe knew that either him or Rosalee telling Nick anything wasn't an option. He slipped his coat on and then helped Rosalee put hers on as well, smiling.

"It can wait," he answered, throwing a look over at the royal who stared far too evenly for the emotions he was projecting back. "Somehow, I don't think we're the correct people to tell you anyways."

"Okay," Nick said, sounding like he didn't really understand what was going on. He cocked his head to the left and in doing so, looked at his captain. Something about the man's expression must have told him what Monroe wouldn't say because the confused expression cleared from his face and a smile replaced. "Well, thanks for stopping by."

"No problem," Monroe said. "Oh! We grabbed food for the dog while we were out. And dude, you really need to name the poor thing because simply calling her 'the dog' isn't going to cut it for long."

Out of the corner of his eye, Monroe saw the captain give as much of a surprised expression as the man would allow and it made Monroe smile a little. Apparently the royal hadn't noticed the yellow lab sitting like a statue at the end of the couch. Suddenly wondering if the dog was still there, Monroe turned to look and found the spot empty. He was actually a little surprised that the animal hadn't come to the door to greet Nick when he'd gotten home but then again, with whatever Renard was giving off, all Monroe wanted to do was escape so he imagined the dog felt the same way.

"Yeah," Nick agreed, showing the blutbad that he already knew that. Something in his expression – which he was trying to hide by bowing his head – said that he wasn't wanting to get too attached to the dog in case she had an owner but Monroe had no such misgivings. If that sweet animal had an owner, they would have tried to find her by now. Going by the level of starvation Monroe saw in the dog, he guessed that she had been living on the streets for at least a week if not much longer. Still, he couldn't blame the grimm for being cautious and so he didn't mention any of his thoughts.

When Nick looked back up, he had a smile back on his face. "Thanks Monroe. Sorry if this ruined your Thanksgiving."

"Are you kidding?" Monroe scoffed, "I once had a Thanksgiving where two of my cousins ended up dead. Granted, no one missed them but still, you get my point. This one was actually nice in comparison."

Nick smiled but said no more and so Monroe took that as his cue to leave. Rosalee offered the grimm a gentle smile and bid him to feel better and then the pair left. They both let loose sighs of relief once they were outside as being in there with the royal practically shining with alpha mojo, silently warning them off for the time being was beginning to be stifling.

"Well, I should probably go home," Rosalee said, pointing to her car which was now parked in between Monroe's beat up Beetle and the regnant's SUV.

"Yeah, I should too," Monroe said somewhat unenthusiastically. He actually didn't want Rosalee to go home to her own apartment but he wasn't about to say that in case it should make her nervous. Luckily they had both agreed to a lunch at the shop where they could put away the newest deliver that was destined to come in and so Monroe wouldn't have to wait too long before he could see her again. "So I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah," she replied with a soft but warm smile. "Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow." She waited for a moment and then she leaned up and gave Monroe a kiss on the cheek. "Have a good night," she said, blushing slightly before going to her car.

Monroe's cheek burned where she'd kissed him and he knew that he had the dumbest look on his face as he put his hand on the spot but he couldn't help it. It had been extremely chaste and sweet, but it left him wanting more and suddenly Monroe looked forward to their lunch date tomorrow more than he could have ever imagined.

oOo

"Here."

Sean's voice broke through Nick's tired stupor, bringing him back to reality with painful clarity. Bleary blue eyes opened to find the police captain standing in front of him holding a mug of steaming coffee. Nick gave the older man a confused expression. Not exactly sure why he'd need coffee, Nick slowly reached out to grab the mug, wincing a little as the weight settled onto his hurt wrist.

Above him, the captain did his equivalent of a shrug.

"I figured you'd want to be awake so we could talk about what was going on," he explained, disappearing into the kitchen. His voice had no trouble carrying throughout the house as he continued, "Aftering seeing how tired you're getting, I figured you'd need the coffee."

Silently, Nick conceded that the man was right but it still bothered him that his boss felt comfortable enough to make a cup of coffee without asking him.

"And you just thought, 'I know, I'll make a cup of coffee in a house that isn't mine'?" Nick asked, voicing his concerns with a bit of sarcasm thrown in just for the fun of it.

He shifted on the couch, clenching his teeth when the pain in his leg ramped up from just over tolerable to 'Don't do that again!' Much to his chargrin, Nick was going to have to remember to be gentle with that leg for the next week or so. He honestly doubted the doctor's diagnosis for just how long he'd be down and so he wasn't counting on being on crutches that long. Not that he wouldn't be in pain but pain was something Nick could handle and with the way his life was going lately, it looked like it was going to become a close, personal friend.

Nails on the floor told Nick that the dog – Monroe was right, he really needed to name the poor thing – was heading downstairs. In no time she was sitting in front of the couch, pushing her cold, wet nose against his hand. In a fluid motion Nick's hand floated up to the top of her golden head and proceeded to glide down her spine until his arm could no longer reach. Out of repetition he repeated the process, staring idly into her brown eyes.

"Hey there," he said quietly, talking to the dog since it seemed the captain had no intention of answering him. "How was your night, huh? I heard you went on a road trip."

The dog licked his hand as it moved from her back to her head. After she'd finished, she leaned hesitantly and licked her tongue out. It was as though she were asking permission to lick his face. Nick smiled, appreciating that she was grateful but he shook his head.

"No," he said. "Not the face."

Her ears went back and she readjusted so that her head was at a more natural angle. How she managed it, Nick didn't know but she actually looked sad that he wouldn't let her lick his face. Well, if she thought the guilt trip would work on him, she was wrong. Nick didn't mind dog licking, but he did not allow it on his face.

Sean's footsteps sounded from the kitchen, coming closer, and the dog turned around, putting her back to Nick and facing the new person head on. Instead of being docile and happy but shy like she'd been with Hank, Monroe and Rosalee, her hackles rose and she bared her teeth. No growl escaped her throat – yet – but Nick assumed that that was only a matter of time.

For his part, Sean stopped to face the dog. His back straightened as his posture grew proud and tall. He watched the dog, practically staring the dog down. Either that or he was daring her to attack him.

As though accepting the challenge, the dog growled, quiet at first but growing in volume the longer Sean continued to stand there, staring at her.

"Hey, Kylie, that's enough," he commanded, firm and loud enough to get her attention. He wasn't exactly sure where the name Kylie had come from but he winced when he realized how close to Kelly it sounded. It wasn't a surprise, really, given the encounter he'd just had with his mother, but the last thing he wanted was a constant reminder of the mother he'd lost and doubted he'd get back.

Kylie's body snapped out of the tense, attack-ready, position she'd been in and she looked over at him. She stared for a few minutes and then proceeded to sit down at the end of the couch where his head was – or would have been had he been lying down. She kept an eagle eye on Sean as he approached Nick, her body still somewhat tense, but she allowed him to get close.

"Sit up," the older man commanded, keeping a peripheral eye on the dog but otherwise not paying her any attention.

It was at this command that Nick noticed that Sean carried a few ice packs by way of frozen vegetables. Was the captain really planning on taking care of him? When the man continued to patiently wait for Nick to do what he was told, the grimm concluded that he was, in fact, planning on taking care of Nick whether Nick wanted him to or not.

Again Nick shifted, doing his best to withhold any pain from his face as he did so, and scooted back. As he prepared to move, Sean put the bags of vegetables down on the coffee table behind him and bent over to help Nick move. The process wasn't painless by any means but thanks to the captain's help, it wasn't near as bad as it could have been had he been doing it on his own.

Once he was more upright and nearer the arm of the chair, Sean went and grabbed one of the handmade throw pillows that Bud's wife had made and placed it behind Nick's back and then adding a couple more beneath Nick's injured leg. It was all done without conversation which allowed Nick to observe the man in a way he hadn't before.

The captain was a masculine man. He seemed to abhor emotion unless it was necessary and he was stoic when under immense stress or pain. He was also strong and Nick wasn't just talking about the man's personality. Even though he saw him every day, it wasn't until Nick had gotten close – or rather the captain had gotten close since Nick was technically just sitting there – that he noticed just how toned and strong Sean's body was.

Muscle, lean and taut, had wrapped around him in the forest while the captain's wings – and how in the hell did the man have wings?! – shielded him from the cold. While against him, Nick had felt the captain's heartbeat, strong and steady in spite of the load he carried in Nick, but that wasn't what had occupied his mind the most. Sean's chest and stomach were muscular, showing just how good of care the captain took care of himself. Nick had no doubt that the rest of Sean was just as toned and – dare he say appealing – but for the moment he was content with having seen his torso, arms and shoulders.

It wasn't only Nick's attraction that he spent time noticing, however, though that was something that he wanted to deal with eventually. As in, tonight. There was also the tenderness with which Sean was treating him.

He'd first noticed it when the captain had arrived in the snow-covered forest. He'd approached confidently and knelt down next to him as though it were natural. But the hand that had traced the bruise on the left side of his face had been soft and tender, caressing almost. As the hands continued to feel his person – something that Nick had been both comfortable and uncomfortable with – they were gentle as though they were trying to make sure he was fine without causing more pain.

When Sean had picked him up to get him to the black SUV, the captain's arms had been strong but his hands had been gentle, caring. He'd been attentive to where he'd placed his hands, making sure that they weren't causing any pain. And then throughout the rest of the night, including now, he'd done his best to take care of Nick without a word of protest. His face had remained neutral, stoic in some moments, but every time he had touched Nick, his touch had been tender, almost loving. And every time he'd looked at Nick, his eyes had been soft, sometimes changing from his normal, human, green, to a warmer orange, which Nick was sure only he could see.

Ice cold shocked Nick back to the present and he realized that Sean had just placed the vegetables, which were still decently frozen even with the warmth of the house, over Nick's swollen knee and ankle. Without a word, Sean went back into the kitchen and Nick heard a few drawers open and close and then the faucet turn on and then the freezer open and close. When Sean came back, he carried a wet towel, bunched up in the center.

Not bothering to check and make sure that it was okay with Nick, Sean sat on the edge of the couch, his hip just in the middle of Nick's thigh, and placed the towel against Nick's right cheek.

Nick hissed, more at the cold than the pain, and tried to shy away from the uncomfortable sensation. Sean's hand immediately snatched out and stilled Nick's head. Beside Nick, Kylie let out a small growl, but she quieted when Nick instinctively snapped to take her attention off the captain and onto him. Her ears perked at the sound but she ceased growling and kept her attention focused on him. He moved his hand and petted her, scratching behind her ears a bit before withdrawing.

"It'll help," Sean soothed, taking his spare hand away from Nick's chin and lowering it to his lap. It didn't escape Nick's notice that said hand was close to Nick's hand which rested in his own lap.

Green eyes roamed over Nick, Sean's expression carefully blank as they did so, leaving Nick wondering what the older man was thinking about. When they landed on Nick's empty hand, they moved over to his right hand which held the undrunk mug of coffee.

"You should drink that," he said, nodding with his head towards the coffee.

Knowing the captain to be right, Nick lifted the mug to his lips. Keeping a grip on the cup strained his weakened wrist, but carrying its weight actually hurt, though not enough to make Nick change hands. The coffee was bitter but invigorating. Though it was his own coffee, Nick was impressed by how Sean knew how he took it.

"You should drink that," he said, nodding with his head towards the coffee.

Sean eyed the hand that Nick was using but he didn't say anything about it. Instead, he stayed sitting next to Nick long enough to be satisfied that Nick was comfortable and then he moved over to the chair across from the couch, on the other side of the coffee table and settled in.

"You don't need any?" Nick asked when he noticed that he was the only one needing the caffeine.

"No, I had some while I waited for you to finish with the MRI."

Oh, yeah. Nick had actually wondered what Sean had done while he'd been getting images taken of his knee but in all the bustle of getting home and such, he'd forgotten to ask. Nick's face wrinkled into an expression of distaste.

"That couldn't have tasted good," he empathized.

"I said I had some," Sean said. "I didn't say I had the hospital's."

Nick nodded and ducked his head while he smiled. He used that moment to take another sip of the coffee, which was slowly cooling to a more drinkable temperature.

"So, what is going on between us?" he asked, not really wanting to beat around the bush.

As though sensing that things were about to calm down, Kylie laid down, still making sure she was close to Nick. Nick shifted on the couch, the process made a little easier by the numbing of the eyes. He pivoted a little so that he was facing Sean more, wincing ever so slightly when his side gave a small twinge. His mother had left a pretty decent bruise there, but the pain of it was dwarfed by the shockingly overwhelming amount that radiated from his knee whenever it was moved.

Across from him, Sean smiled. Well, it wasn't so much a smile as a brief quirk of his lips but that was what Nick had taken it for. He inwardly shrugged. It didn't really matter whether or not the captain smiled and so he wasn't going to spend too much time debating it. However, Sean remained quiet for a bit, choosing just to stare at Nick with an almost blank look on his face. It actually reminded Nick of an expression someone would wear when they're sorting through their mind, trying to decide what to tell someone and what to leave out.

He was just about to say something about telling the full truth when Sean spoke.

"It's called the Gebunden Kollegen."

The way the foreign language – German if Nick had to guess. Because what isn't in German these days? – rolled off Sean's tongue enthralled Nick for a second. He generally wasn't one for foreign languages. It was one of the reasons he mainly stuck with knowing English, really. But hearing Sean speak them, he made them sound beautiful. Monroe did a good job of that as well, although his German was much more fluid than Sean's.

"It's called a what?" Nick asked as the name meant nothing to him since it wasn't in English.

"In English it translates as Bonded Mates."

Nick did his best to keep his expression neutral but it was hard. Because if what he'd just inferred from the name alone was true, he was already railing against the concept. It wasn't so much who he'd apparently been bonded with, it was that he wasn't being given a choice.

"And what does that entail?" he asked, thinking that would get him the best understanding of the situation. He took the now warm vegetables off his knee and ankle and placed them onto the coffee table where they stayed as Sean made no move to grab them.

"It happens when a regnant finds their mate," Sean answered. He crossed his right leg over the left and smirked a little when Nick slightly glared at him. He was enjoying answering Nick's questions without actually answering them a little too much.

"I'm guessing you're a regnant," Nick supplied, hoping that this would lead Sean to actually explain everything.

"Yes," the older man answered. "Those with royal blood are; excepting the occasional bastard of course."

"And what is a regnant, exactly?" Nick asked, somehow doubting that he'd actually seen Sean in full woge earlier in the forest.

"They were often mistaken for dragons in the dark ages," Sean answered. "Back then, it was harder to travel continents to find others of our kind and so they married whomever they could find that would strengthen their positions in wealth and property. Through one of those bloodlines the däemonfeuer was born."

He paused to shift, now leaning forward with his forearms resting on his knees and continued.

"Regnants have a longer lifespan than humans or some wesen. We are older than most other races of wesen in our lineage and we take longer to reproduce than they do, which is why there are so few of us. Even so, we are lucky to find a mate. Only one other person in my immediately family has been fortunate enough and that's my sister, Justine. The rest of my family, including my parents, married out of duty and for their partner's connections like my ancestors did. We mostly marry within our race but there are times when that hasn't happened as I've explained already."

"And has any of your ancestors ever mated with a grimm?" Nick asked.

Sean smirked. "No, you would be the first."

"So what does being mated mean?" Nick had a suspicion that Sean was leaving out all the vital parts. He understood that, for as private a man as Sean was, sharing his family's history with Nick wasn't necessarily easy, but it had begun to feel like the captain was pussyfooting around the things that Nick truly needed to know – although as a grimm, he was getting quite a bit to put down in one of aunt Marie's books later on – and it was starting to worry him a little.

"In the simplest form it means that I am yours and you are mine," Sean summed up.

"And in the more complicated form?" Nick countered, not as unhappy with the idea as he thought he would have been.

"Things go deeper than that. Regnants with mates are stronger than their non-mated counterparts. They can draw strength and healing from the bond their share with their mate, as can the mate in a vice-versa sense. Mates can sense when one another is near. They can, or so I'm told, communicate in small ways via the bond, though that one has yet to be proven. My sister has said that she was able to connect with her mate on a more intimate level than she had with anyone else."

Sean gave a colder smile and Nick felt its chill run his spine.

"On the flip side," Sean continued, "having a mate weakens the regnant as well, although I'm assuming that would be the same for both mates in actuality. If something were to happen to the mate, the other would be able to feel it through the bond. If, let's say, you were kidnapped, I would be able to tell immediately while also being powerless to stop it if I wasn't close. One's enemies could use that to their advantage. All they would have to do is take one of us, leaving us off balance just long enough to strike."

Sean's eyes went from green to dark red, making them look almost black as the next thought clouded his vision.

"If my brother, for instance, were to get ahold of you and do to you what I think he wants to do, I would be able to feel everything he did through our bond and vice versa."

"Is that how you knew where I was?" Nick asked, just now wondering how Sean had managed to find him at night in a wooded area. Even as brightly lit as it was, Nick doubted that anyone else would have been able to track him and/or find him as easily as it appeared Sean had.

At this, Sean smirked again.

"Actually, I could smell the pain on you."

Nick's eyebrows rose in surprise. He knew that Monroe had an excellent sense of smell, and given his lineage, why wouldn't he? But he never thought that captain did as well.

"What do you mean you could smell the pain on me?" he asked with something akin to trepidation in his voice, though he wasn't feeling that at all.

"Blutbadden aren't the only ones with excellent senses of smell, Nick," Sean replied sounding amused and indulgent in one. "The main difference is that while your friend Monroe can smell you, I can smell your emotions as well as your natural scent."

"Okay, that's a little weird," Nick admitted without hesitation. Because it was. Actually it was more than that. It was flat-out creepy.

Sean smiled, neither admitting nor denying the statement.

"Is it another plus to the bond?" Nick asked, wondering if that had something to do with it.

"Perhaps," Sean conceded, though he didn't sound overly convinced. "To be honest, I've always been able to tell how you were feeling my sniffing the air. It just wasn't as precise as it is currently."

"And can you do that with everyone or am I just special?"

Sarcasm came through his tone, but the truth was that Nick was mildly amused by the whole thing. Why, he couldn't explain, but he was. He took a sip of his now-cold tea and, with a grimace, placed it on the coffee table. He'd never been able to stomach the taste of cold coffee. It seemed to ruin the whole flavor for him and so he knew that he wouldn't be drinking any more of that cup unless it was reheated. It wasn't a huge problem, actually, since the conversation was keeping him pretty much awake as Sean was making him work for his answers.

"We both know you're special, Nick," Sean answered, his eyes conveying a very different meaning than the one his tone inferred. "However, I suppose you could say that from the moment I met you, I knew there was something different about you and my interest was sparked. It wasn't until later that I realized just how different you were and how important you were to me."

"Ah, you mean your plans for me," Nick assumed, remembering that Sean had mentioned that he'd had plans for Nick but as of yet hadn't said what those plans were.

"Yes and no," Sean admitted. "I can say that I hadn't planned on becoming bonded with you, but I also cannot say that it's all that unpleasant of a surprise. I've found myself drawn to you ever since you came to be under my command."

"So you're okay with all of this, then?" Nick said, waving his hand in the general vicinity of the two of them.

"Yes," Sean answered without hesitation. "But I've had some time to become okay with it. I understand that you'll need more time."

"Yeah, that's an understatement."

Sean smirked. "You might be surprised, Nick. You might just find yourself more okay with this than you are currently admitting."

"And what makes you think that?" Nick challenged with a smirk.

In one fluid motion, Sean stood and walked over to the couch that Nick currently lay on. Kylie lifted her head, her lip briefly curling up in a warning, but she seemed to have slightly warmed up to Sean, or his presence, and so she quickly backed down and went back to sleep.

Sean sat, this time sitting closer than he had the previous time. His hip was pressed against Nick's thigh. Nick felt the heat radiating off from Sean and he seemed to try and soak it up even though he wasn't cold in the least. Sean's scent filled his nose. It was spiced from his cologne, mild from his soap and altogether comforting to the grimm which actually made him a little uncomfortable.

Without hesitation, Sean reached out his hand and caressed the right side of Nick's face. He was careful to avoid the deep bruise that Nick's mom had created, but even if he hadn't, Nick wouldn't have cared. Whether it was unconsciously done or not, he leaned into Sean's touch and his heart rate increased slightly in pleasure at the touch.

"Because I can hear your heartbeat, Nick," Sean whispered, his voice deeper than his normal baritone. "I heard its steady beat jump a little when I got close and I heard it speed up when I touched you."

"Well isn't that handy," Nick retorted, a little annoyed by that fact. It was going to make hiding anything from this man nigh impossible.

Sean chuckled. The sound rumbled through his chest and stifled in his throat. It drew a smile from Nick, though the grimm couldn't explain why.

"I could also tell how pleased you were by my touch from the smell of lavenders on the air."

"Lavenders?" Nick asked, puzzled.

"it's one of my favorite scents," Sean replied.

Ever since he'd come back over to Nick, Sean hadn't moved, even while they'd talked. His hand had changed positions, going from Nick's face to slide down his neck – which had damn near drawn a groan from the grimm – before landing on the spot by Nick's right hip which was brushing against the couch. It was a perfect position for Sean to trap Nick while making it all feel more than a little seductive but thanks to the damn bond – apparently – the grimm didn't mind.

"So how I'm feeling is based on your preferred scents?"

"Essentially," Sean answered.

"And what am I feeling now?"

"Tired," Sean answered without hesitation. At Nick's challenging eyebrow raise, the regnant smiled. "You currently smell like fresh laundry which is what I think of when I think of bedding. That and your eyelids fluttered shut a little."

"That's cheating," Nick reprimanded, not denying Sean's assessment.

"Maybe," Sean said. "I've learned that you use everything at your disposal or you don't last long."

Nick chewed on that for a moment. He knew that it was going to take him a while to remember that he and Sean were raised in very different families and with very different styles. While aunt Marie could be harsh or cold sometimes, there was never a doubt in his mind that she loved him and though they weren't as open with their affection as other families, they had never been violent like Sean's family had been.

Somewhere out of the corner of his sleepy mind, Nick had a thought.

"Does being mated mean that we have to get married?"

Later he would blame the fact that he was about to fall asleep for precisely how childish that question sounded but for the moment, he couldn't care less.

"If, later on we decide that we want to, yes. But it does not automatically mean that we are destined to do so, no."

There was a pause in which no one said anything. Nick was slowly becoming too tired to think let alone to force his mouth to open and Sean, he supposed, was just watching him slowly fall asleep where he sat.

"Come on," Sean prompted, withdrawing from his spot on the couch and standing up. Nick blearily looked up at him in time to see him open the door to let the dog out. Kylie hesitated for a moment but soon her needs won out and she went out to relieve herself and then came back in and returned to her spot at Nick's side.

For a moment Nick thought that Sean had been talking to the dog but when he came back he resumed talking, "Let's get you upstairs to your bed."

"Why can't I just stay here?" Nick asked, not really wanting to move since he was almost certain that it would hurt.

"For one, it won't be all that comfortable for you with your injuries." Okay, Nick had to silently concede that Sean had a point there. "And for two, I'll need a place to sleep."

Wait, what?

"Why are you sleeping here?" Nick asked, trying to keep a note of displeasure out of his voice.

It wasn't that he was unhappy with the idea of Sean staying with him – actually he was tempted just to say to sleep in bed with him since it was more comfortable than the couch – but he was confused as to why Sean thought that he needed to stay there at all.

"Nick, you're injured and you're stubborn. Not only do I not trust you to take care of yourself or that leg, but you are a weakened grimm and there are far too many wesen out there who would take advantage of that. It's safer for you if I stay and it ensures that I will actually get some sleep."

"Why does no one seem to think that I'm capable of taking care of myself?" Nick asked, annoyed.

He began the slow process of getting up. He managed to stifle any sound of pain from coming out but he wasn't as lucky with his expression. Before he could do anything about it, his face wrinkled into a grimace. His eyes briefly scrunched and his teeth ground together.

"Past experience," Sean said, watching Nick with a pointed look.

It had taken far longer than it should have, but eventually Nick was able to sit up properly on the couch. His braced leg was stretched out on the floor and he shifted to scoot closer to the edge of the couch so that he could use the crutches he'd gotten from the hospital to leverage himself up off it.

"Why do I feel like we've had this conversation?" Nick asked with a sigh that was too tired sounding to be more than just what it was – an audible release of breath.

"Probably because we have," Sean answered steadily. His nose suddenly wrinkled and his face scrunched into an expression of extreme distaste.

Before he knew what was happening, Nick was being lifted into the hair and being held by a pair of strong, supportive arms. He wasn't able to stop the brief cry that escaped at being suddenly picked up or the pain that it had caused and he felt Sean's biceps contract as though he'd tensed at the sound.

"Sorry," he said, his voice barely breathless even though he was carrying a full-grown man. Behind them, Nick heard Kylie growl but they both ignored her. "I figured this would be easier and less painful all around."

"Why is it people seem to think it's easier to carry me upstairs rather than let me get there by myself?" Nick groused, slightly snuggling against Sean.

Sean was quiet this time but Nick heard his heart rate increase and it made him wonder why.

"The blutbad?" the regnant asked, turning to his right and carrying Nick into the bedroom. He deposited him as gently as though he were broken onto the bed and then stepped back a bit with his arms folded over his chest.

"Yeah. It was when the reapers had caught my leg," Nick answered and explained in one. He wondered why he'd felt like he'd had to explain. Then he focused a little and actually felt a sense of jealousy coming from the captain. It wasn't strong, though, so either the man wasn't all that bothered or he was clamping down on it. Either way, it was an odd thing.

Sean didn't respond, in fact he didn't move a muscle, but Nick knew that he'd heard and so he didn't feel the need to add anything else. Without a word, the regnant walked out and went back downstairs.

In his absence, Kylie came in. She trotted around to Nick's side of the bed and then nudged his hand. He obligingly petted her for a bit and then he heard Sean's footsteps back on the stairs. Apparently taking that as her cue, the lab crawled under the bed, leaving the two men to do what they will.

When he came back in, Sean had Nicks' crutches in one hand and a glass of water in the other. He deposited the crutches against the wall near Nick's head and then reached into his pocket, pulling out a pill bottle once he was done.

Nick took his medicine without a word of protest. He wanted the sleep and he knew that he wouldn't be getting it if he didn't have some painkillers in his system.

Sean stayed nearby, watching as Nick took his meds, no doubt to make sure that Nick did as he was told, and then took the empty glass from him.

"Now, sleep," the regnant bid, somehow making it sound like a gentle command. "I'll be downstairs if you need anything."

As much as he wanted to, Nick didn't invite the captain to stay with him. Instead, his eyes fluttered closed. It took him far more energy than he thought he'd had to open them again, only to find Sean placing a pillow under Nick's knee and ankle. He then covered him with a couple blankets from the hall closet.

"Thanks Sean," Nick sleepily said. Now that he had the blankets on top of him, he realized how chilled he'd been before and he snuggled down a little to curl up in them.

He wasn't too sleepy to notice the warm smile that spread itself across Sean's face when Nick had used his name. Nor had he missed the dangerously close to loving look the captain had given him. However, he was too sleepy to act on either and so he closed his eyes, this time letting them stay shut.

Just as he drifted off into wonderful nothingness, Nick heard Sean whisper something that made him smile. It wasn't because of the words themselves, though. It was because of how they were said – with so much emotion, Nick could feel the safety and caring coming from them. It was crazy how this bond-thing worked because all the captain had said was,

"Sleep well my grimm."

TBC