Then and Now

Once upon a time, there was a man and a woman. They were madly in love. The man would do anything for the woman. He would rip out his own heart and feed it to her if she wished. He would walk off the edge of the world and come back unscathed for her. Anything that she wished, he would do. He loved her that much. He was dedicated to her wholly and unconditionally. For she was his true love, and nothing would tear them apart.

There were many stories like that, weren't there? Monroe sighed, folding the page of the book back and closing it softly. He was a softie for romance novels; it was true. But stories like that just made him want to vomit. Maybe it was because he had been like that... once upon a time.

Angelina Lasser. She'd been the most sought after girl in the town. It just happened to be a happy coincidence that Angelina seemed to show no particular interest for the many boys who ogled her without reprieve. It just happened to be a happy coincidence the day that Hap had mentioned he had a sister, a sister that Monroe should meet. It was all just a happy coincidence.

Monroe should have known. Happiness was an illusion. Coincidences were fake. And true love was not something that could last forever.

It had been legendary- when they had first met. The instant chemisty was intoxicating, despite Monroe thinking that maybe, just maybe, Angelina was a little too much to handle. But, back then, he didn't care. It had been magnificent. Storybook fodder, even, if you overlooked the Blutbaden part of it and the things that went along with. Magical.

And then it had all gone downhill. If Angelina being his lover had been the frying pan, Angelina not being his lover was the fire. Either way, he was playing with heat and he got burnt. He became emotionless, numb. The faerie tale was over; there was no happy ending. His emotions had been ripped away from him, leaving him only discontent and feeling fried.

And like a candle in the wind- a flame that would never go out- she came back. It wasn't as if Monroe was unhappy that she had come back. It was just... inconvenient. He'd been good these past years. He'd gone Wieder when no one was looking. Okay, so he had kind of become acquainted with a Grimm- but that didn't count, right?

And then she messed it all up.

"Which would have made you sadder?" she had asked once, referencing Nick's or her own death, before she'd all but vanished again. Another falling out. Monroe didn't expect he'd see her again after this time.

"Which would have made you sadder?" It echoed in his ears, even now. Ever tormenting him. Angelina would always torment him for years to come. Monroe knew she would, but he couldn't do a thing about it.

Back then, in his more wilder days and even when she'd just showed up with the Bauerschwein case, Monroe thought he knew the answer. To her question, that ever antagonizing question. Monroe had stepped in front of Nick, when the Grimm had been about to shoot her. He would have taken a bullet for her that day. He felt foolish for it now, looking back, but he knew he would have.

Then, he had started waking up with blood smeared on his lips, caked into his beard, dried on his clothes, and he knew he wouldn't anymore. It was another fire, another unemotionless trend. He wouldn't be upset by any of it.

However... What he knew he needed and what he felt he wanted messed up his emotions.

When it had passed, when he could talk to Nick again without thinking about Angelina getting shot, or trying to kill the cop, or remembering the past, Monroe found it wasn't so hard to forget. He'd done it once, and it had been heartbreaking. His heart couldn't break again. It already had.

So he recovered quickly. Angelina was bad for him. He knew that.

"Which would have made you sadder?"

Monroe stared at the book cover, frowning. "You know the answer..." he murmured aloud, to himself.

"What?" From the other side of the couch, Nick looked up from a case file. He'd been here for better part of the hour, quietly poring over a case and asking Monroe for advice when he needed it.

"Nothing," Monroe replied, offering up a small smile.

Angelina had been part of his wilder days. He wasn't the same Blutbad anymore. He knew where his loyalties lie now.

It had been frightening, when he had realized it. When the threats had started, when he got attacked with crude symbols drawn on the hood of his car, he had realized how dangerous it was. And that was plain stupid. Just because Nick was a Grimm, it warranted all this attention. That made Monroe angry, because Nick was different. People didn't understand. Monroe sympathized. He was a different, too. The Blutbaden community had ostracized the Wieder lifestyle for the longest time, and now the one Grimm who wasn't the same was getting targeted, too. It made Monroe want to stick up for him, for the underdog, because he knew what it felt like. He knew what it felt like to be alone on the losing side.

Angelina was fiery- a full instinctual Blutbad at her finest. She was a strong woman, capable, a bit reckless, true, but strong nonetheless. She could handle herself with no help.

Nick was... did he dare say vulnerable? He was new to the Grimm realm. Struggling to find a place between good and bad, Grimm and cop, was Nick's regime. And he couldn't do it alone.

It wasn't really a case of who he cared for more. If he was asked, he would admit to caring for Angelina. Not in the way that he had, but she had been a very prominent part of his life. He couldn't just ignore that or throw it away. He could choose to not dwell on it, however, and that's what he did. And then Nick, Monroe had established that he did care for Nick. Obviously not in the same way at all as he had for Angelina, but he did care. And right now, Nick was the one who needed help. Nick was the one who wouldn't try to change him.

Together, they could help each other. Monroe could help Nick with the troubles of being a Grimm, and Nick could help Monroe by just being a friend. An accepting friend. Monroe needed one of those.

"Which would have made you sadder?"

Once upon a time...

"Are you sure?" Nick was frowning, looking a bit agitated.

... your death would have been devastating for me.

"I'm sure. Don't mind me."

But now. . .

It's kind of a The Three Bad Wolves tag, but it's set after the events of Tarantella. Angelina's line, I'm not sure if that's exactly what she said- didn't pay attention that much when it aired a couple days ago, and it's not online anymore for me to find out. So, if it's wrong (or right), please let me know.

Thanks to ROSSELLA1, for throwing the idea down in her forum. I know this isn't exactly what you mentioned, but I liked the idea of doing something like that.