Warning: Implied cutting or self-harm.
xXx
Sean carefully pulled his nature close and pushed it down as deep as he could. He glanced around before he silently crept through the bushland. He'd noticed lately, the way that Nick reacted around him and other Wesen and he had a feeling that it was their wild nature that the man was picking up on. He wanted to test a theory without Nick knowing which meant catching the Grimm off guard.
When he neared the clearing that Nick and the Blutbad liked to use for training he could hear the sounds of fighting. His hearing was that of a human, while he held his Zauberbiest nature close, as well as his reaction time so he was being very careful. He crouched down slightly and used the bush as cover as he crept closer to the sounds of fighting. He glimpsed flashes of Nick and Monroe and the way they moved together. Nick was getting a lot better but Sean could see room for improvement and took mental notes of what he could teach him in their next training session.
He crouched down and peered around one of the large trees and smirked as Nick tripped Monroe and the Blutbad went down hard.
"That's cheating!" Monroe yelled as Nick stood back with a grin on his face.
"Whatever works," Nick replied mildly.
Monroe suddenly woged and lunged at Nick and the man yelped and twisted out of the way with speed that surprised Sean. He had to hold himself back as the fight got a little dirty as Monroe fought with the wild nature of a Blutbad. Twisting and turning on instinct as Nick tried to keep one step ahead of the other man. There were reasons why Monroe's kind were feared. He may not be well trained but he didn't have to be. Monroe got the upper hand and brought Nick down with a tackle that had Sean wincing in sympathy.
He then tensed all over when Monroe leaned forward and sniffed Nick's neck. He had to quickly grab a hold of himself as Monroe bared his teeth and growled. By Nick's reaction, Sean could tell he'd been in this position before, as he held completely still but even from this distance he could feel the power of a Grimm on the air. He sighed in relief when Monroe got a hold of himself and pulled himself to his feet and paced away. Nick was careful to sit up slowly and wait the other man out.
Monroe's human mask slipped back into place as he walked back to Nick and held his hand out to the other man. Nick gave him a grin as Monroe hauled him to his feet. The two men spoke quietly together as Sean knelt down and waited for his moment. He had to time this right. The two men drifted back to a fallen tree and took a seat as they pulled out water bottles from Nick's bag. They relaxed back as they spoke quietly and Sean waited until they were distracted enough.
He stood up carefully then took a slow breath, making sure he didn't tip his hand too early. He made sure that he braced himself as he kept Nick in his sights. He waited until Nick looked over towards his direction then woged as he brought his power forward.
Nick started badly and jumped to his feet as Monroe lifted his head and sniffed the air. Nick looked around with wide eyes before focusing in his direction as Sean kept his power forward. Nick rushed towards him and Sean waited. Nick's steps slowed when he saw him with Monroe a step behind.
"Sean," Nick breathed as he rested his hands on his knees. "You scared the shit out of me."
"But you felt that," Sean remarked as he pulled his nature back.
"Well yes," Nick gasped.
"Nick," Monroe uttered, catching on to what Sean had done.
"What?" Nick questioned, turning on Monroe.
"That's what I thought," Sean stated and Monroe looked over at him with wide eyes.
Suddenly he had the Blutbad before him. Monroe grabbed his coat and slammed him into the tree behind him. The blow knocked the breath out of him as he looked down into Monroe's red eyes and large teeth. The man growled in his face and Sean held still.
"Monroe!" Nick yelped.
"Stay back!" Monroe growled over his shoulder as he pushed into Sean.
He met those red eyes as Nick stumbled back in shock. Monroe leaned close and Sean leaned his head to the side to expose his neck. It took everything in him to let the man lean forward and sniff him. Monroe slowly eased back and Sean looked at him as he shifted back to human.
"Could you tell anything?" Sean asked.
"No," Monroe answered and stepped further back. "And I know your scent well enough by now."
"Would one of you like to explain what is going on here," Nick snapped.
Both men looked over at him and they could see the Grimm in him. Nick was pissed, which took a lot, but he was pissed now.
"Ah," Monroe muttered.
Sean snorted in amusement when the Blutbad stepped behind him slightly as Nick stepped forward.
"Tell me, now." Nick demanded.
"I was testing a theory," Sean explained and Monroe snorted. "I was proven both right and wrong."
Nick crossed his arms over his chest and they could still see that look in his eyes.
"And that would be?"
"Nick," Monroe said slowly. "You picked up on what Sean did. You picked up what a Wesen can pick up."
Nick stepped back.
"What was that you did with Sean then?" Nick snapped.
"You have been…close with him," Monroe mumbled then shifted in embarrassment. "Sometimes there can a connection between a Wesen and a human but it has to be entered into willing by both people."
"And you're not human," Sean finished.
Nick uncrossed his arms and stared at them in shock, that dark presence of a Grimm still around him. Both men were sure that Nick wasn't aware of the sense of danger that he was giving off.
"And there isn't a connection that I can smell," Monroe added.
"Then…" Nick trailed off.
Nick's Grimm nature retreated and both Wesens relaxed at that. They loved and trusted Nick but that look still hit them on a different level.
"We're not sure," Sean answered. "You can pick up on my Wesen nature the same as another Wesen-"
"Which is something that a human with a connection to a Wesen can do?" Nick cut in. "But that connection needs to be willing made by both people?"
"Yes, and I haven't made a connection to you, Nick." Sean stated. "However, you have shown signs of it being there."
"And I show talents more than just a Grimm would have," Nick added
Sean and Monroe shared a look at that.
"Nick," Sean said softly.
Nick turned away from them and paced away a few steps before rounding on them again.
"I'm not human!" Nick shouted.
"No," Sean said calmly. "You are not human but you're not Wesen either, Nick."
"I'm a Grimm," Nick hissed then his eyes grew wide. "Is that what happened that night? With you and me and…?"
Sean shifted as Monroe sniffed, picking up the scent on the air.
"I don't know," Sean answered.
"Ah," Monroe muttered. "Should I turn away and plug my ears? Because I don't want to hear something that I can't unhear."
Nick cursed and stalked off, Sean wanted to go after him but knew the man needed time. He had a feeling that's what Nick had been looking through the books in the trailer for that night. He'd known that there was something different about his talents but not what. Sean crossed his arms over his chest as he watched Nick stop near his bag, next to the fallen tree.
"Could you have made a connection with him?" Monroe whispered and Sean glanced at him. "Not that I want to pry."
"If I did," Sean intoned. "It was not intentional and I don't remember doing it. Nick would have also had to make the connection at the same time."
Monroe whistled.
"The talent he shows," Sean remarked. "The hearing, strength and speed. They are more than just Grimm talents. The ability to sense us, that isn't an ability they have. He can see us without us woging and can pick up on the fact that we are Wesen from film. He has been showing abilities beyond a Grimm or a Wesen."
"Oh, man." Monroe moaned.
"I'm sure that he'd already worked out that he is different," Sean added. "I am also sure that he can hear every word that we are speaking now."
"Sean," Monroe whispered with wide eyes. "A connection wouldn't explain all that."
"I know!" Sean snapped in frustration, then leaned close so that he could whisper in the other man's ear. "I'm not sure he would accept a connection to a Wesen, if that is what this is. To do that is to take a part of us into himself and make himself less human. You know that kind of connection can't be forced but I'm not sure what this is."
Sean pulled back as Monroe looked at him in shock. They both slowly looked over to Nick standing there with a bottle of water in his hand. He may be very accepting as a Grimm but could he take a connection to a Wesen? One that may have been forced onto him? Monroe grasped Sean's shoulder, briefly, before slowly walking toward Nick. Sean just watched them, he badly wanted to go to Nick but he didn't want to be refused.
To be rejected.
Against everything in him, he turned and walked away. He felt like a coward leaving Monroe to explain everything but at the moment, he couldn't. He was sure that Nick would rather hear it from his friend.
xXx
Nick tensed when Monroe stepped up beside him and he sighed.
"Please, explain this?" Nick whispered hoarsely. "What a connection between a Wesen and human is?"
"It is a way to allow a human to live in our world," Monroe explained. "To help open their mind, in a way, and give them protection. A Wesen will make a connection to someone, it's a two-way connection. It allows the human to sense Wesen to a degree, similar to what you do but they don't see the physical change. They feel the…presence. That's what your Captain did, he flared out with his power and you picked up on it."
The thoughts in Nick's head stuttered to a stop.
"In return the Wesen can control his wilder nature better," Monroe added. "But Sean is only part Wesen and he is also Royal."
"Gold eyes," Nick whispered.
"What's that?"
"They have gold eyes," Nick repeated. "Not completely human."
"Either way," Monroe stated. "I couldn't smell a connection between you and him. You both have each other's scent on you because…"
Monroe finished in a cough and looked away briefly.
"I'm different," Nick uttered. "I couldn't find anything in my Aunt's books about what I can do."
"I don't know what to tell you," Monroe said with a shrug. "You're the first Grimm I've come across. I doubt other Wesens could shed any light on the real abilities of Grimms…beyond decapitation."
Nick looked down at the bottle in his hand.
"You can stay with Rosalee and I," Monroe offered. "If you need some time to work through this."
Nick slowly looked over and noticed that Sean had left and felt his stomach drop.
"Sean," Nick whispered.
"He's hurting," Monroe commented. "I think he feels responsible for this."
Nick uncrossed his arms before picking up his bag.
"I need time," Nick told him. "I'll see you later."
Monroe grabbed his arm before he could walk away.
"Don't shut us out," Monroe pleaded. "I'm sure that we can fix this."
Nick nodded sharply and Monroe let his hand drop. Nick turned and walked away.
xXx
Sean woke with a start when his alarm went off and he groaned. He rolled over then paused, Nick wasn't there as the memories soaked back into his mind. He slowly pulled himself from the bed and to the shower. He tried not to think about how he was feeling as he dressed for the day. He walked through his empty apartment and his eyes were drawn to the small things that reminded him that he didn't live alone. He was sure that Nick would talk to him when he was ready but what his head told him and how he was feeling were two different things.
Once he arrived at the office, the day just slid further downhill. Rushed calls to get contacts into place for a woman that may be carrying his baby. Another call to Adalind to try and convince her that the Royal family would happily kill her and the thought that he could be a father soon. It seemed to happen all at once as he got bad report after another. As he pushed and put people he cared about in danger. The fact that Adalind seemed to be showing signs of getting her powers back only a side note as he worked.
"Captain," Hank called from the door and Sean looked up. "Have you seen Nick? He's not answering his phone."
Sean felt a chill at Hank's words and pulled out his phone and dialled Nick's number but it went straight to voice mail. It didn't even ring which meant that his phone was off. He looked at the clock on his table and realised how late it was.
"Come in," Sean ordered. "And shut the door."
Hank did as he was ordered and paced over towards him.
"Did you have a fight?" Hank asked, on edge.
"That is hard to explain-"
"Explain then," Hank cut across him with hard eyes.
Sean looked Nick's partner over before waving him to a chair. Hank hesitated slightly before taking it as Sean watched him until the man shifted. Then he found himself doing something that he thought he never would to a human, he explained what was going on.
xXx
Nick just stared at the book in front of him. It amazed him out of all the books that his Aunt had; from many, many Grimms. Not one of his ancestors had written anything down about their own powers. Yes, they said that they seemed stronger than humans but nothing else. They had the talent to see Wesen but they didn't have any of their powers. As far as they saw themselves. They were humans with a greater strength and the ability of sight. Nick's search for more information on Royals had ended the same way. They saw themselves as humans with the blood to rule. A birth given right for them to take, as they saw fit.
He blew out a breath as he leaned back in his chair and rubbed his eyes. The last time he'd slept, he'd been beside Sean. Beside a man that he had fallen for and could be the source of his new talents, but was that such a bad thing. Nick didn't know but his mind kept being drawn back to that drugged feeling after Sean had bitten him. That feeling of being controlled somehow, that feeling of something wild just under Sean's skin as he moved against him.
Then the panicked look on the other man's face. When he'd realised what he'd done or almost done. Nick had felt fear run through him, not fear of Sean, but the fear that the man could have done anything to him and he would have just surrendered. What happened if something like that happened when he was fighting? Nick sighed and grabbed his head to try and stop his thoughts from going around in another circle.
xXx
It was in the early hours of the morning when Nick found his first clue. He'd found it in a small journal tucked away in a larger book. He was half asleep when he opened the small book and tried to read the cramped script before pausing and going back.
'…In a small cottage in the backcountry of Scotland, I found an unusual situation. I had been hired to investigate poaching by a nearby Baron that was concerned that his land rights were being exploitered. When I came across the carcass of a deer, I grew concerned about the monster that had ripped the animal apart in such a way. This was the fifth such disgrace that I had happened upon.
The deer looked to have been brought down by an animal in the way that it was killed and the pelt had been ripped in such a way that no human hunter would do. Which led my thinking to a Wesen hunter, due to the way that parts of the animal had been cut with a knife and yet others mauled like a beast. The Baron believed that a person was using hounds to hunt down his animals on his land and wanted it stopped.
I was led to believe different but had yet to see the beast that was poaching from this land. For over two months I slowly narrowed down my search area until I came across a cottage. With great care I approached with my horse and called to the occupants of the dwelling. A woman of middle years appeared from the rear of the cottage and I approached with care.
The woman held a knife in her hand and I started my name and if she had seen anyone hunting with hounds. She denied seeing anything and yet she reacted to me in an unusual way for a human. She kept her knife close and had a wide-eyed expression on her face. If I didn't know better, I would believe it was a reaction of a Wesen without a change and that drew my interest. She informed me that she would ask her husband, when he returned, and with the amount of hostility she was giving off, I retreated.
I set up camp close by and crept back under cover of night. I kept close watch and was rewarded by seeing a large man approach the cottage and head around back. The sounds of wood being chopped led me to where the man was swinging an axe with strength that gave away his wild nature. I had yet to see the face of the creature but grew concerned for the safety of the woman. I settled in to watch and confirm that this could be the creature that had stolen from the Baron's land.
Concern and fear ran through me at the sight of the woman at the back door and I readied my sword. The man however reacted against nature as the woman came closer and they embraced. Shock kept me in my place as the woman spoke quietly with the man and if I did not know better, I would have believed them true husband and wife. I retreated with care.
Over the next week I become intrigued by this mix couple and their interactions. I had seen the true face of the man and knew him for what he was. The foul Blutbad and from the bodies of the animals I found. He was the hunter that I was hired to find and his violence was clear to see in his kills. However, he showed nothing but care for the woman that he was living with. He would leave early and arrive late and I had yet to find what he did for work.
On one such occasion I crept closer to the cottage to see if I could learn more from this pairing. I was close to the door when the woman barrelled out with her knife in hand and rushed towards me. I parried in the nick of time and the speed and strength of the woman took me by surprise. I would have believed that I was fighting a beast, if not for the fact she did not change her face.
When the woman yelled Grimm, I grew more concerned, while I fended her off. I tried to tell her that her husband was not a man but a beast. She was aware of that fact as I pushed her back. When I had her contained and restrained, I begin to question her. Her resilience was commendable as I pressed my questions and she spoke of a bond to the beast. Which gave her similar powers to the creature that had corrupted her.
As I waited for the beast to return, I noticed something that drew my attention back to the woman as her wounds seemed to heal. I readied my gun as the woman yelled out to her husband in warning. How the woman had been able to know that the Blutbad had returned was something to ponder later as the beast appeared fully formed.
The commencing fight led to the death of the creature and left the wife in a state of distress. Whom later died of her injuries and wasn't able to be put on trial.'
Nick rubbed his eyes after the story and could read between the lines. The soft light of dawn filtered through the windows of the trailer as he paged through the book. The man went on to find another mix couple and there was more information.
'We have split the Pflichttrue and the human with mix results. We have established that they hold some kind of connection and that the human has absorbed some of the beast's talents. Advanced healing seems to be the main ability between them, we have tested this at length with unusual results. We have concluded that distance is the main factor and the further the pair are from the other, the slower the healing becomes. This discovery has allowed us to define if a 'bond' exists between a human and Wesen.'
Nick sat back in his seat for a moment, just trying to process what he was reading. He then leaned over and hooked up one of the knives off the side table. He pushed his sleeve back and flicked the blade open. He pressed the knife to the skin of his arm just below his elbow until blood appeared before grabbing up a cloth and cleaning the blade. He wiped his skin and looked at the cut. It had stopped bleeding already and he sighed.
With a groan he cleared off some space on the bunk and laid down for a few hours of sleep.
xXx
"The trailer is gone."
Sean started and looked up at Hank in the doorway.
"What?" Sean uttered.
"I went to everywhere that I thought that Nick would go," Hank explained as he stepped into the office. "The trailer is gone."
Sean felt that coldness wash through him, over twenty-four hours had passed since he'd spoken to Nick last. He wasn't answering his phone and hadn't made contact with anyone, it was out of character and it was concerning everyone. Sean wanted to give him time but this new news had him on edge.
"Flag it," Sean ordered. "I want that trailer found."
Hank stilled.
"Captain," Hank said slowly. "If we flag that trailer…other people could be looking for it. It's still registered under his Aunt's name."
Sean cursed, he wasn't thinking straight. Sabastian wasn't answering his calls which concerned him greatly. Nick wasn't answering his calls, which was scaring the shit out of him. Adalind was due to have his baby in a few days and that was a whole other mess.
"You're right," Sean agreed as he rubbed the back of his neck.
"This is not like Nick," Hank stated. "He doesn't run away."
"I know that!" Sean snapped and jumped to his feet.
He paced his small office as he tried to think while Hank watched him. He wanted to throw something but had to hold onto his control. He stopped and placed his hands on his desk and bowed his head. He hadn't realised how much he'd come to care for Nick, until now.
"Captain," Hank said slowly and Sean raised his head. "Maybe this is Nick's way of saying that he just needs time."
"I can't help but think that something has happened to him," Sean admitted, saying words that he normally would have kept tucked away inside. "That he's in danger."
"Just give him a little longer," Hank suggested. "Then flag his car. Cover it up as being a welfare check."
Sean nodded in agreement even if his stomach was twisting into knots in concern, which was a new feeling for him.
xXx
Nick stared at the cut on his arm, the fourth one along his forearm in interest. The first one he'd made had healed and the second was scabbed over, the third still looked raw. He had noticed the healing rate had changed the further that he drove away from Portland and he was having trouble getting his mind around what was happening. He had also noticed that some of his other more 'Grimm' talents had faded slightly.
He looked around the scattered mess of the trailer with tired eyes and a pounding headache. He'd noticed that as well as a pull back toward Portland, back to Sean. He now knew there was a connection between them. Had it confirmed the further that he drove and felt like he was running from the truth. He looked back down at his arm before getting out of the trailer and into his car. He'd parked down a side road but he needed food and a drink.
xXx
Nick ducked the clawed hand aimed for his head as the message that a Grimm was in the bar spread like wildfire. He'd been happily having a drink and burger when he realised one minute too late that he'd sat down in the wrong kind of bar.
"I don't want to fight!" Nick yelled. "I'm a cop! I just want to have a drink and a burger!"
"You're a Grimm!" The man before him growled and threw a punch.
Nick blocked him and twisted to the side.
"I just want a drink!" Nick yelped as he looked around.
"Not here, you won't!" Someone else shouted.
Nick winced as a fist slammed into his ribs and he slipped to the side. He hadn't even seen the man moving, which proved how out of it that he was.
"I'm happy to leave!" Nick exclaimed.
"In a body bag, Grimm!"
Nick ducked the next fist as he tried to back up to the door. He'd really just wanted that drink and it was a steak burger as well. He blocked a fist and landed one of his own in frustration. If they wanted a fight he was going to give them one, since they weren't happy to let him walk away.
He pulled back from one man and spun towards another as he flicked out with his fist. He could feel the sting in his knuckles as he smashed it into a furry face and brought his elbow into the middle of another Wesen. They may be fighting with tooth and nail but Nick was fighting with experience. Other Wesen slowly started to back up until Nick had space around him. He looked from fury, scaly to human faces and he could start to see the reluctance to take on a Grimm start to get through to them.
"Can I leave now?" Nick panted. "Now that you can tell others that you met a Grimm and walked away?"
He'd been in enough brawls to know that they had worked out that it wasn't worth going on now that the best fighters had been taken out. Nick gave them a cop stare down before stepping towards the bar and picked up his plate and glass of beer.
"I'm taking this," Nick stated.
"Get out, Grimm." One woman hissed as the four men, that he'd laid out, groaned on the ground.
"Planning on it," Nick remarked and walked out.
xXx
Nick carefully cleaned his knuckles under the tap in the campground's toilet block. Before he wiped down the cuts that he'd made on his arm. He was sure that his healing had progressed back to what he would call normal 'Grimm' healing. He finished up and looked at himself in the mirror. He had one of those moments of; 'what the fuck are you doing?'
He had done just what Monroe had pleaded with him not to do. Gone against his nature and had run away from everyone, even Sean. The man that he had come to care for more than he allowed himself to realise until then. He still had answers to find but he couldn't keep going the way he was. He sighed and cleaned up everything that he'd brought back into his bag and walked back to the trailer. He sat in his car and picked up his phone and for the first time in five days. He turned it back on and just stared at the messages on the screen. He'd been an idiot as he placed the phone in the cup holder and started his car back up.
It was time that he faced his problems and stopped denying what he already knew.
