Disclaimer: Not mine.
A/N: Had a little help from Toby Keith, specifically his song, That's Not How It Is.
He's always hated clichés. Hated all those stereotypes and "classic" moments. How, in the end of every book, the woman and the man always get back together, no matter what it takes. How the bad guy is always vanquished, the good guys always pulling through. All the stuff that made up every childhood fairytale. Like Little Red Riding Hood being saved in time, Hansel and Gretel saved in time, Beauty and the Beast falling in love despite all odds so he can turn back into a man, the prince finding Cinderella and marrying her all because of her glass slipper.
But he wished it could happen. Just this once, for probably the first time in his life, he wished his life could be a fairytale. He could vanquish the evil murdering scum of Baltimore, and still be home in time to wed the love of his life, the princess in the castle. His castle. And they would live happily ever.
He knew it would never come true, life could never be a fairytale, but he had never wished it more. Never wanted it more. Because it would mean that she still loved him like before. Like before being a cop got in the way of being the love of her life. Like before he was at the station more than he was at home. Like before he pushed her away. Like before.
She was really the only one he ever truly loved. The other women, the other wives, that was him seeing if it really was over, if he could live and move on without her. Without her love. Obviously, after three tries and three errors, he couldn't, at least, not with someone else. It was either her or... by himself.
The truth was, he still wanted her, years later. And what made it worse was the fact that she lived in the city as well. And the bigger truth was how much he would do just to get her back. Because a part of his heart was still with her, following her everywhere she went, waiting to see if she would ever return to him.
He would catch moonlight in a bottle if they could drink a toast to happiness. Fill a pickup truck with roses, back it right up to her door. Write her name in Hershey kisses from New York City to Baltimore. If only she would love him again.
But he knows, his life has never been a cliché.