Five Reasons Abbie Thinks They'd Never Work As a Couple

Summary: (And the one reason she knows they will.) More character study-ish than plot driven. Ichabbie.

A/N: Guys, help me, I'm so obsessed with these two and all the plot bunnies are just hopping around my head like little carrot-starved maniacs. So here's another fic to help me tempt them out.

There are a thousand reasons, probably, why Abbie thinks she and Crane would never work out together romantically. It's not that she thinks about it that often, it's just that they have been mistaken for a couple a few too many times and so of course her mind starts to defend why that could never, ever be. There are just so many reasons, she thinks.

1. The height discrepancy is such an inconvenience

She'd need to keep a little stool around just to kiss him, she thinks. Okay, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration. If she leaned up and he leaned down, they could probably make it work. And if the apocalypse ever ends and they win, well, she could maybe start wearing heels a bit more often, when it's less likely she'll have to outrun demons for her life. But what kind of life would that be? Heels suck most of the time and she'd still be a cop that needs practicality over a little height boost. And he'd hurt his back always reaching down and she'd hurt her neck always leaning up. Of course, a little voice whispers, it wouldn't matter if you were both laying dow- she cuts that thought off immediately. (Better not to think about it.)

2. He's married

He looks at Katrina like she's his world. He's a man of a different time. For him love and vows are meant to be eternal. He looks at Katrina with a radiating passion and a comforting warmth. And if Abbie sometimes thinks that the look starts to fade for Katrina and instead shine in her direction as time goes by, well, she know she's just imagining things. (Even if she wishes that she wasn't.)

3. He wouldn't understand a modern relationship

Sure, she could say that about a lot of guys who just kind of fail at doing it right even in their own time period. Most of them are just too emotionally immature to maintain a healthy relationship, but that wouldn't be his problem. He just literally wouldn't understand that falling into bed together wouldn't have to mean he needs to propose on the spot. Or that she doesn't need to be courted in the same way he'd like to court her, or that kids might actually never be something she wants for herself. Oh, yes, he's learning. She's encouraged him to read about the new era of female empowerment and civil rights and acceptance of alternative lifestyles, and all things considered, she's pretty impressed with how open he is to these changes. It just doesn't mean he's accepted how these changes would apply to himself in this new world. (He still won't get rid of that damn coat. It does suit him, though.)

4. She has no idea who he really is

She knows the facts about Ichabod Crane, certainly. Man out of time, married, Witness, friend, proper, easily perplexed by the modern world, smart, fighter, married, thrown into this world and this war with little to no choice on his part. But she doesn't know who he is beyond the apocalypse, beyond their entwined fates. She's been his guide and they are bound together, but if they weren't...would they even like each other? How would they spend their days if they weren't filled with demons and the Headless Horseman and Moloch? They have next to nothing in common. All she knows is that he's her partner in this because the universe forced them together. All she knows of him as a person is that he's brave enough to fight. (And he's kind, and warm, and loving, and funny, and smart, and attractive, and loyal to a fault...)

5. It is meant to end tragically

She is, at all times, hopeful and brave and willing. She wasn't born a soldier—she was made one, through the abandonment of her parents and Corbin's encouragement and her fate as a Witness. She is determined to fight until the end. That doesn't mean she doesn't sometimes think that the end is rushing to meet them. Already he tried to die to save the world. Already she let herself be separated from him to face her own demons. They have lost so much and the world keeps turning and the perils keep coming. If there was ever a "them," they'd be a work of Shakespeare. Destined to lose each other and themselves. She can't risk increasing the inevitable pain for either of them (she hopes if they must lose, they lose together.)

(And this she knows)

The first time he kisses her, she knows all her reasons have been swept away by the deceptively simple truth. Abbie has never believed that old line that love conquers all. The world is too complicated for that; you can love someone until you're blue in the face, but circumstances and a thousand more things can make that mean very little in the long run. Most people won't find their soul mates, and will settle for reasonably happy at best. Life isn't made of fairy tales, no matter how many fairy tale monsters they've faced.

But she knows now, with his lips against hers and his warmth surrounding her, that the only reason that has ever mattered (will ever matter) is the way they feel about each other. It's the reason she contemplated those other excuses in the first place. It's the reason they've always stood too close, the reason her heart stalls at the thought of losing him, the reason his eyes twinkle for her alone. She fell slowly, he fell quickly, but by the end she knows. It's not just the bond between Witnesses, it's not even the fate of the universe, written in some metaphorical stone. They are choosing each other above all else, and together it makes them strong enough to win (the war, the happy ending, everything).

This Abbie knows:

Love conquering all is a lie (but for them it's true.)

A/N: The alternate title was going to be Gnbrules Has Fun With Parentheticals. Reviews greatly appreciated, as always!