Obligatory Disclaimer: Dark Horse and Mr. Mignola own all, save for my own original characters. A special thank you to Guillermo del Toro for bringing this wonderful character to my attention.

A/N: Hope everyone's holidays were merry and that your New Year has started off promising and only continues to improve.

Thanks for your patience with this story and thanks for taking the time to stop by and read. Means so, so much to me! =)

Torie tucked her hand inside Hellboy's as they descended the steps of the nearly empty theater, the soft click of the lights being turned off behind them barely perceptible over the whispering of their coats brushing the carpet. Neither one had spoken since the concert ended, almost as if they were in silent communion, reflecting on the events of the evening.

It was agreed that they would stay in their private balcony until theater staff let them know that the building was nearly vacant. Hellboy wasn't the only celebrity in the crowd, but he was the only one who politely refused being lead out the back of the building. After the last encore, Torie simply slid onto Hellboy's lap, tucking her head under his chin, and listened to his beating heart, holding onto his wrists when his arms wrapped around her protectively.

But as they descended down the never-ending staircase, nodding greetings to the few remaining staff members, Torie let her left hand trail along the brass railing that divided the stairs, thinking about the performance she had just witnessed. She had overheard several other patrons saying that they could "die happy" now that they had seen Tom Waits. But while the concert was indeed one of the highlights of her short life, it was the fact that Hellboy stepped in behind her during the song "Innocent When You Dream" and held her close against his chest while his arms rested around her hips that made the concert endearing. From that moment on, words seemed superfluous between her and Hellboy. And the truth of the matter was that neither wanted speak for fear of ruining the magic that seemed to envelop them once the house lights had dimmed four hours prior.

Wearing the concert t-shirt she had bought when they arrived and having the poster sticking out of her bag, Torie was glad that she had made her purchases prior to the show, as the merchandise booth was positively picked through as the couple meandered through the lobby. Both reached for the outside doors with their free hands and felt the cold air pinch their cheeks. A few people milled around outside. There was the occasional head-bob in acknowledgement of Hellboy. Some reached out to shake his hand. A few just openly stared in curiosity. But all seemed to know not to stop him for conversation. Their sideways glances at Torie were telling – the whole world knew that they were on a date.

Snow tumbled down from the heavens, softly landing on the ground down horns that Hellboy had painstakingly taken his grinder to that afternoon. Torie's grey skullcap hugged her head, providing no protection from the snowflakes determined to land on her eyelashes. Hellboy kept casting glances down at his… girlfriend. I have a girlfriend. And she looks… ethereal in the moonlight. I am a lucky bastard, that's for sure! One of these days she's gonna come to her senses, so enjoy it while you can.

A sudden gust of wind tugged at Torie's skirt, so they scurried into an alley, hoping to escape the blustery breeze. Hellboy wrapped his arm around her waist and spun Torie so that her back was against the brick wall of the theater, his body pressing against hers, a smile curving his lips.

In the shelter of Hellboy's arms, Torie looked at her… boyfriend. He's your boyfriend! How crazy – and wonderful – is that! Gads, what does he see in lil' ol' me? Better enjoy it while it lasts, James. But instead of fretting about the shelf-life of her relationship, Torie arched a brow in curiosity, waiting to see what he had in mind.

She didn't have long to wait.

Cupping her chin in his hand, Hellboy leaned down and gently, but thoroughly, kissed Torie. Rising up to the tips of her toes, Torie wrapped her arms around the back of Hellboy's neck, attempting to deepen the kiss, but he refused to open his mouth to her probing tongue. But he did pin her to the wall, pressing his weight against the length of her body, his tail curling around her leg… just above the knee.

When he finally did break their kiss, causing Torie to mew in protest, Hellboy was panting just a hard as she was. Letting go of her chin, Hellboy placed his hand high on the brick wall, bracing himself, and tilted his head so he could look at the moon. This is a date. You have to keep some semblance of control. And as hot as you think it would be to screw her here in the alleyway, do not let your hormones take over. Not yet, anyway.

Seeing that he was fighting with himself, Torie took pity on the big guy. She finally broke the silence as she hugged Hellboy's arm tightly. "I want to thank you. That was the single best night I think I've ever had. I can't decide if it's because you took me to see Tom Waits or because I got to see Tom Waits with you." Her cheek was pressed tightly against the leather of his coat, but Hellboy could hear the smile in Torie's voice.

Grateful that Torie didn't push for more… fervor, Hellboy let himself be led down the alleyway, back towards the street so that they could catch a cab. "Well, Tom Waits is cool and all, but no way would I have enjoyed the concert half as much if I weren't with you. Besides, the night's not over yet." The chuckle in his voice promised further adventures… and something a little more illicit.

The day was very nearly perfect. They had arrived in New York late morning and gone directly to her office so that they could lunch with Monica. And in the spirit of making their first date more official, Hellboy reluctantly agreed to let Torie spend the afternoon with her friend and then pick her up from the office at 5 o'clock to go to dinner.

Debating on whether presenting Torie with flowers would be hokey or not, Hellboy decided that carrying around flowers – or leaving them behind at the office – was counter-productive, so he opted to give her a small anniversary edition of Steinbeck's The Red Pony. Roaming the streets of New York in an attempt to kill time while waiting to pick up Torie, he happened to see it in a bookstore window. Remembering a conversation they had had about Steinbeck – and how Torie had only read The Grapes of Wrath – Hellboy picked up the tome. It was a damn shame that she had only read one book by his favorite author, but maybe he now had opportunities to open her horizons. Reading, amongst others.

And then when he picked Torie up…

She was wearing a simple black pencil skirt and a sleeveless marmalade colored top with an asymmetrical waist. Her hair was piled on top of her head and long dangly earrings framed her neck. Black open-toed pin-up heels and a black coat draped across her arm completed the look. People at the show were going to stare – and it wasn't going to be at him for once.

But Torie wasn't the only one dressed for the occasion. Hellboy was sporting his requisite brown leather duster, but instead of his usual uniform of black leather pants and black t-shirt, he was wearing an indigo blue button-down shirt – open at the neck – which was tucked into a pair of charcoal grey slacks. While he looked slightly uncomfortable in his clothing, Torie had to admit that she could get used to the change in wardrobe – and was looking forward to helping him out of it.

And as they exited the alley, Hellboy didn't think he could be any happier. Now all they had to do was hail a cab and head off to the next phase of date…

"So, I'm taking the job." Torie's voice was soft, yet firm.

Fuck. Fuck me harder.

Hellboy closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose with his left hand. His other hand balled up into a fist. How does it go? In through the nose, out through the mouth. Deep, relaxing breaths. "Torie…" Good, his voice was even, but had a slight note of disapproval.

Torie held onto his sleeve as if her life depended on it. She could tell by the way he tensed that he was about to launch into a fast pace, but Torie tethered him to her side. Hating that she was upsetting him, she nonetheless thought it best to have it out in public where neither of them were likely to make a scene. But she did step in front of him so that their voices wouldn't carry. "Nope. Don't want to hear it. I've made up my mind. And it's not like Manning was offering me a full-time gig anyways. After hearing him out, yes, I agreed to join the BPRD. As a consultant. Very rarely will I ever go on assignment with you. If anything, I might debrief a team going in… and I can't say that my mind didn't drift to sharing a room with you in a foreign location. And if we don't work out, he's cool with me resigning.

"I'm also going to teach classes to the new recruits. I'm going to guest lecture at the university; Kate said that I'm more than welcome in her classroom whenever I want and says that she knows of several other professors who would be happy to hand over the reins whenever I wanted. I'm going to go back to writing. I'm going to work from my office here in New York a couple times a month. I'm going to travel abroad and see what I can do to help others. It's what I used to do before and it's about time I got back to what I do best.

"But before I do any of that, I'm going to Africa. To return the totem and find out why the Spriggans wanted it so badly." Torie knew that the former part of her speech was suddenly forgotten due to the last two sentences she uttered.

That was it! He couldn't keep quiet anymore. She had her say and now he was going to have his. "No you aren't! I'm not thrilled that you're going to be working for the Bureau, but I can see why. But there is no way that I'll allow you to put yourself in jeopardy," he roared. There was no way he was going to let Torie put herself in danger. No way! His tail slashed through the air as he bent down to look her square in the eyes.

Heads turned in the direction of the couple. Torie visibly winced. Not at Hellboy's tone or his words, but at the fact that people were now actively listening to their conversation. She knew that the people that were lingering outside the theater were curious about them, but Torie was now concerned that their interest might become fodder for news outlets. Of course they had no idea who she was, but there was no way Hellboy could ever blend in with the scenery. Not that I would want him to, but I don't want any bad publicity tainting his reputation.

"Yes. I am." Torie was quiet, but matter of fact. "And Kate and Liz have already volunteered to join me." She then visibly winced in anticipation of the verbal onslaught.

"What?!" Even Torie could see Hellboy's red skin darken in anger in the low light. She talked to his friends before she talked to him? What the fuck?

Crap. He's pissed. Great timing, idiot. "Sam, I didn't say this to upset you. I… I just didn't want you to accidentally find out from anyone else. And… I just thought that being completely honest, and completely ourselves, was really important. I am who I am. Just like you are who you are. And if I let you fight my battles, who does that make me?"

Suddenly, a cab pulled up to the curb in front of them. Torie looked at Hellboy for a cue – were they going to get in or were they going to continue arguing on the sidewalk?

Hellboy sighed heavily, his right hand balling up into a fist. He could feel his blood pressure rising. But he forced himself to look down at Torie, her brow furrowed with worry and her mouth tight with concern.

And then his heart absolutely melted.

Grabbing her hand, Hellboy smiled down at Torie. "No more fighting. Okay? I realize that there really isn't anything to talk about, but we're not done with this. I will be bringing it up again – and soon. Count on it.

"But I also realize that as much as I hate it, and hate to admit it, you are right. You need to do what you need to do in order to sleep at night.

"But," Hellboy paused for proper effect, "do not think that I'm not going to keep quiet about this. You are you, and I am me. So, I understand that you are going do – and say – things that I don't always like or agree with. And you're going to think the same about me. However, we will do it because we care about each other.

"Now, would you care to continue this date… and get out of the cold… by getting into the nice man's cab?"

Hellboy held the door for Torie, then slid into the seat next to her. After rattling off an address to the driver, who looked more than a little shocked as he stared at his fares in the rearview mirror, Hellboy settled back in the seat and pulled Torie up against his side.

Torie rested her head on Hellboy's shoulder, picking at imaginary lint on her skirt. "I should have kept my mouth shut," she muttered.

Placing his fingers under her chin, Hellboy forced Torie to look up at him. There was a twinkle in his eyes as he admonished, "Yes, you should have. But it's over, it's done with. For the time being. Now, I have an idea of how to keep your mouth shut."

With that, Hellboy leaned in and kissed Torie hard.

Torie's left hand involuntarily grabbed the lapel of Hellboy's duster as his right hand gently cupped the back of her neck. Despite hormones clouding her ability to think, Torie was still able to marvel that such a large and stone-like appendage was still able to be so delicate and adroit. And the way his fingers were working their way up into her hair made Torie sigh with pleasure. She was getting dangerously close to pulling up her skirt and straddling Hellboy's lap.

Both were breathless when Torie pulled back. She knew that her pupils were just as dilated as her boyfriend's, but if he kept kissing her the way that he was, Torie was fairly certain that the cabbie would be either charging them multiple times the standard rate… or giving them the ride for free. Either way, she knew that there was a camera on the dashboard to help in case of robbery – and she had no desire to end up on the internet… or worse.

Tracing the line of his jaw, Torie looked up into Hellboy's golden eyes and winked. "Sam… I hope you realize that I put out on the first date."

"I was kinda hoping," Hellboy replied, then nipped at Torie's finger.

Torie giggled as she snatched her hand away, feeling slightly drunk. She then rolled onto her right hip and swung her left leg over so that her left knee was resting just above his own knee. "So we going back to the hotel room?" she whispered in his ear, her hand snaking inside his duster to unbutton Hellboy's shirt.

"Not just yet." Hellboy had to close his eyes as Torie's knee slid further up his thigh. He was absolutely sure that the cabbie would have a field day telling everyone about not only his unusual fares, but what they were doing in his back seat. In fact, the story would probably be so embellished that it was tempting to go ahead and pull Torie up onto his lap. But he had plans. Specific plans. And as much as he wanted to deviate from them at that moment, Hellboy had put a lot of effort in planning the evening.

But if Torie climbed all the way up onto his lap, plans would instantly change.

Torie was quiet a moment, absorbing the news. Curiosity got the best of her and she asked, "So… where are we going instead?"

Hellboy raised a brow smugly, then let his lips slide into a smile. "I was thinking some… foreplay was in order."

The look of confusion on Torie's face was classic. "And what, pray tell, do you mean by that?" What the fuck have we been doing then?

Wanting nothing more than to smooth the furrow between Torie's brows, Hellboy instead tucked an imaginary lock of hair behind her ear. "I heard about a little chocolate bar that supposedly has an amazing chocolate fondue. Was kinda hoping you'd be up for it."

Dessert? As foreplay?

Fuck yeah!

"Oh, I'm up for just about anything with you," Torie replied, her voice husky. She then placed a hand on Hellboy's thigh. She smiled and whispered in his ear, "It seems like you're up, too."

Hating himself for doing it, Hellboy set his hand on top of Torie's to prevent her from wandering into areas best explored later in their hotel room. "Now, now," he admonished. "You be good now… or I won't let you be bad later."

"Such an empty threat," she replied, shaking her head in amusement.

A shit-eating grin split his face. "Of course. I wouldn't cut off my nose to spite my face."

Torie had shivers dance up and down her spine. Then, with a deep breath, she slid back onto the seat and arranged herself properly. After making quite a production out of smoothing her skirt into place and sitting square on her backside, Torie said, "You certainly would! But I promise to be good. Very, very good. Now, and I'm being good but the topic might be construed as naughty, I think I heard something about our hotel room having a… hot tub. Is that correct?"

"Good things come to those who wait," Hellboy drawled.

"Who wait…" Torie repeated quietly before brightening. "And who see Tom Waits."