A/N: Some more comfort in this one ! I know this fandom is dying but I'm still going... Hope you like it x
3) Haunting Game
Monroe looks disappointed.
He's looking down at Nick both literally and otherwise, an odd kind of irritation in his expression that's rarely, if ever, visible.
Nick frowns and blinks, seriously confused.
For some reason, he's staring up at Monroe but said Blutbad is shaking his head, disgust clear in his eyes. It's completely unlike the warm patience he usually shows and frankly, it's pretty scary.
Monroe isn't often disappointed in him, and never to the point of grimacing directly at him, so, naturally, fear flashes through Nick; what had he done wrong now?
"Monroe?" Nick's voice sounds wrong, even to his own ears, so he tries again. "Monroe? Monroe! 'Roe?"
"It's Ariel, actually," a voice drawls next to his ear, making him flinch backwards and groan when his head hits something hard.
"What? No, you… Monroe-" Nick stumbles over his words, struggling to move, to get away from her, to get back to Monroe.
Ariel laughs and holds his wrists down above his head, her face so close to his that he can feel her poisonous breath on his lips.
"Please," Nick hears himself mumble, squeezing his eyes shut.
"Try harder, Knight," Ariel taunts, running a hand through his hair.
Wait, wasn't she holding his wrists down? Nick frowns, trying to move but finding that he still can't, he can't get her away from him.
"Monroe!" Nick yells, wondering where he'd suddenly gone. He hadn't just left him, had he? No, surely he wouldn't just leave him…
Ariel giggles at his desperation and leans down as if to kiss him but Nick shakes his head furiously, feeling the rush of fear in his blood.
"I can't-"
She cuts him off by sharply pulling on his hair and he winces, a small groan escaping him as he struggles. It's in vain, she just smiles and runs a sharp nail down the side of his face.
"Oh, you're so fun!" she tells him cheerfully, her nail pressing down on his lip.
"Look at me!"
Nick freezes; that didn't sound like her at all. In fact, it sounded rather like… "Monroe?"
But he opens his eyes and Ariel is all but hissing at him, her hair tickling his neck as she leans down again, her nails now drawing blood from his arms as she tightens her hold on him.
"Let go!" Nick shouts, twisting in her grasp, but he ends up coughing, his eyes watering as she douses him with her flammable breath.
"No, no…" Nick rasps, gasping, unable to focus on her anymore.
She's shouting something but he can't hear her, and then he's abruptly swamped by the scent of oil and ginger.
"Monroe?" he calls again, confused and breathless and desperate.
"-ick! Nick! It's me, it's Monroe, Nick!"
Nick groans, his head pounding and his skin burning and his heart racing.
"There you go! Come back to me… uh, and my poor couch, we're still waiting on that rent…"
"'Roe?" Nick asks as Ariel fades and slightly cracked paint comes into view.
"It's 'Monroe', Nick, and you know it."
Nick finds himself smiling as he breathes deeply, his throat no longer itching and his heart gradually slowing down.
"What-" he clears his throat, blinking- "happened?"
As his eyes open properly, he sees Monroe hovering above him with a relieved smile on his face. "You were totally stupid."
What?
Nick must have said that out loud without realising it because Monroe shakes his head disapprovingly. "Why didn't you tell me you felt like someone had filled your bones with lava?"
That's a very accurate description of what he'd felt like and Nick has the urge to say so in order to applaud Monroe of phrasing it so well, but he just bites his lip and shrugs sheepishly.
"Well, next time, give a guy some warning before collapsing on him, huh?"
He sounds something like annoyed and Nick glances up sharply, worried that he hadn't imagined that disgusted look aimed at him.
But no, Monroe seems to be the regular kind of irritated that comes from being unpleasantly surprised rather than the vicious kind Nick had seen just moments ago. Speaking of…
"Was I… uh, I saw Ariel…?"
Monroe raises an eyebrow. "I'd say it was a dream but your expression tells me it was more of a nightmare."
Nick sighs, and a shiver runs through him at the ghost of her nails on his skin.
He lets himself feel the fabric of the couch beneath him instead, and the slight breeze brushing over him. Ariel isn't anywhere near him and that's the most important thing.
"Hey, just a question… did you by any chance see me as well?"
He hadn't realised they'd slipped shut but Nick's eyes shoot open as he glances over to Monroe sharply, wondering how much of what he'd said in his dream - nightmare - had translated to the real world as well.
"I, uh… You were…" Nick sighs, then decides to just tell the truth. "Yeah. You were- I don't know, you looked like you hated the very sight of me or something and I guess I was just…"
…I was just shocked you'd leave me alone like that, Nick finishes in his head, not wanting to say it aloud because of how childish it sounds.
Monroe smiles reassuringly. "I get it. I reckon I'd be pretty freaked if I suddenly had a vision of you hating me too. Well, I guess I did hate you at one point but that's before… you know, you turned out to be an atypical Grimm. But anyway, have no fear, I quite like the sight of you."
Nick smiles softly. "You do?"
"Believe it or not and at the risk of horrifying my ancestors, yeah. I do."
And that's enough to calm Nick's nerves and let him think clearly. Which is when he realises Monroe is in pyjamas and it's pitch black outside.
He winces. "I'm sorry, I woke you up and… wait, are those trains?"
Monroe looks moderately offended. "Alright, I don't mind having to wake you up from a nightmare - it's not your fault I can smell your fear so strongly - but under no circumstances are you allowed to insult my pyjamas."
Nick holds his hands up, a small smile on his face. "Sorry. But for the record, I wasn't insulting them, I was just curious."
After a moment, Monroe's expression softens. "But seriously, Nick, do you want some tea or something to help you sleep?"
Sighing, Nick shakes his head and pushes himself into a sitting position. "It's okay, I'm not sure even your herbs can help me sleep."
"Hey, my herbs are the reason your bones don't feel like they're made of lava."
Nick gives him a puzzled look. "That's twice now you've mentioned lava. What am I missing?"
Monroe stands up from where he was kneeling in front of Nick and sinks into the couch beside him. "Your Daemonfluer, Ariel? Yeah, well, turns out inhaling her breath is kind of toxic for literally every other species."
His eyes widening, Nick turns so he's facing Monroe. "Monroe, she- she kissed me. I mean, I'm pretty sure I must have inhaled loads of the stuff she was coughing all over me!"
Monroe places a hand on his arm, slicing through Nick's panic. "It's okay, I gave you one of my best herbal remedies. You should be fine."
"Should?" Nick echoes, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, it was aimed at Blutbad incidents but I'm almost certain it'll work on you too," Monroe explains.
Nick groans and lets himself slump onto the couch, not even caring that his head ends up resting on Monroe's shoulder.
"You're welcome, by the way," Monroe says pointedly and Nick snorts.
"Yeah, yeah. Thanks, Monroe. I-"
"Owe me one?" Monroe offers, and Nick can imagine the amused look on his face.
He just nods in reply, the comforting scent of coriander and something metallic coming from Monroe soothing the confused chaos in his head. He lets his eyes shut and sighs, leaning into Monroe's arm without realising.
A small voice inside of Nick is telling him to maintain personal space but Monroe isn't complaining so he just ignores that part of his logic and settles for getting comfortable.
He ends up pleasantly surprised as Monroe doesn't try to lie him down but just shifts and puts an arm around his shoulders.
"Thank you," Nick mumbles sleepily, not even having the energy to open his eyes again.
"Goodnight, Nick," Monroe whispers back as he drapes a blanket over them and the world goes dark, but in a good way this time.
Thanks for reading! Leave a review with thoughts? G'day x