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miss_ingnobit late since I've been busy but here goes
I had the honour to write for the awesometrobadora for ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fffx :D! And got a wonderful Grimm fic from her in return <3
Title: Green-Eyed Monster
Fandom: Grimm (TV)
Ship: Nick Burkhardt/Sean Renard/Juliette Silverton with current Sean/Juliette and past Nick/Juliette
Words: 29k
Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence (diverges mid-season 4), Relationship Status: It's Complicated, Getting Back Together, Hexenbiest Juliette, Endezeichen Grimm, Case Fic, Kidnapping, Murder, Hurt Nick Burkhardt, Protective Juliette Silverton, Protective Sean Renard, Juliette is no Damsel in Distress, BAMF Juliette Silverton, Jealousy, Sex Dreams, Minor Character Death (no worries it's the villain OC)
Summary: When an Endezeichen Grimm comes to Portland, Nick has to face some uncomfortable truths about his own feelings.
In between the deadline and with the generous help of my beta, I managed to add several scenes and rewrite the ending. Part of how I accomplished that was by promising myself I'd get to post the outtakes - which I figured, here is as good a place as any ;)
Jake was a tall guy, so she’d aimed high, hoping to do some serious damage to his nose or jaw. Instead, the figure ducking into her cell was slight and feminine.
“Jesus!” Rosalee gasped, eyes wide on the massive piece of chain that missed her head by an inch. Then she shook herself and turned to Juliette, dropping any questions she might have in favour of focussing on the situation at hand. “Are you alright?”
“Well, aside from this ball and chain,” Juliette joked, tossing her head to get her hair over her shoulder without having to let go of said chain. “Never been better.”
“Right.” Rosalee’s gaze zeroed in on the manacle, and she knelt down next to Juliette. “You’ve made some lockpicks I see.”
“I hate sitting around doing nothing.” Juliette shrugged, holding her ankle out for Rosalee’s inspection. “Not that it did me much good. I’ve got no experience with picking locks.”
“I do,” Rosalee said, throwing her a quick grin before grabbing a new splinter and setting to work. “Part of my misspent youth. Did I ever tell you about my last ex before Monroe?”
“Don’t think you did.” Juliette watched as Rosalee swiftly unlocked the manacle as if by magic. “You should teach me how to do this.”
“Sure,” Rosalee agreed, setting the manacle down. Juliette rotated her ankle, trying to get her blood flowing properly. “Once all of this has died down, you should come by the spice shop.”
Juliette hesitated. She remembered the last time she’d gone, how she’d unexpectedly run into Nick. She had avoided going since. “You’re sure?”
“You’re my friend, Juliette,” Rosalee asserted stubbornly, her expression filled with determination. “You’re always welcome at my shop.”
But not her home, Juliette couldn’t help but notice. So Monroe was still feeling a bit… sensitive, about recent developments. Understandable, she supposed, even if it left her feeling a bit raw at the implied rejection.
Gunfire from further in the building tore her from her thoughts. Rosalee Woged, ears pinning back.
“We should leave,” she urged, sticking her head out into the hallway. She gestured down the hall, where a heavy door stood open by a foot. “While Monroe and the others are distracting the Endezeichen Grimm.”
Juliette tilted her head. On the one hand, sneaking out the backdoor seemed sensible. On the other, she still owed Jake for her headache and the hours stuck in this cold cell. More gunshots echoed through the halls, and Juliette turned into the opposite direction.
“Juliette! Don’t,” Rosalee hissed, soft footsteps following her.
“No. I’ve had enough of men trying to control me.” She bared her teeth. “This Endezeichen bastard thinks he can mess with me? Think again.”
***
It turned out she’d been kept in the basement of an office building. Juliette wondered how Jake had gotten access, then pushed that thought away as unimportant. She stalked up the stairs, a nervous Rosalee on her heels, to find the ground floor an open office plan with dozens of cubicles. The overhead lights illuminated everything, eliminating the option to sneak up on the Endezeichen Grimm. Well, good. Juliette wasn’t in the mood for sneaking.
Movement caught her eye. There was Nick, ducking in and out of cubicles as he made his way towards her. On the opposite side of the office, she caught a glimpse of Monroe doing the same. Wu and Hank were stationed at the entrance door, cutting off the Endezeichen Grimm’s escape; that only left the basement for him to go. Briefly, she wondered where Sean was at, it was unlike him to miss the action. But then, perhaps he was simply better at staying out of sight.
“It’s over, Otis!” Hank called out, taking cover behind a partition. Just in time, as Otis—Jake? The Endezeichen Grimm—shot his gun again, once, twice, three times in rapid succession. His clip must be emptied, Juliette noted clinically, because she saw him duck around the corner ahead of her, crouching as he swiftly changed magazines.
He hadn’t noticed her.
Nick, however, caught sight of her as he moved to the next cubicle. His eyes went wide and he swerved, changing his path from going after Jake in favour of coming to her aid—aid that she had no need of. Abandoning caution in favour of speed, Nick left himself open in the path of the Endezeichen Grimm… and that, Jake did notice.
Everything slowed down. The Endezeichen Grimm raised his gun, aiming at Nick’s exposed back. Juliette could feel her heart beat with the rhythm of time passing, a double staccato for every second. The Endezeichen Grimm pulled the trigger, the bullet shooting out from the barrel with a loud bang!
At the same time, Juliette screamed, "NO!"
Juliette wailed her heart out, fuelled by desperation. No, no, no! She couldn't lose Nick, not like this, not with all the things hanging unresolved between them. She would not, could not confess everything left unsaid at Nick's grave. She refused.
Power exploded outwards from her, the air distorting from the energy. Juliette could feel it, every molecule floating around her, like ants under her skin. A twist of her fingers, and their path shifted.
More importantly, she could feel the bullet.
Eyes flashing black, she forced the bullet to stop before it could reach Nick.
"He's mine," she snarled, voice rough and distorted as it always was when she Woged. Juliette got to her feet, stalking forward until she stood in front of Nick, shielding his body with her own. "Don't you dare touch him.”
The Endezeichen Grimm stumbled backwards, eyes wide with fear.
"You, you— you're a Hexenbiest," Jake stuttered, gaze darting between her and Nick. "B-but. You… he…"
Hexenbiests and Grimms are natural enemies. Everyone told her that, over and over and over. Juliette had never cared less.
"What, afraid?" She sneered and twisted her fingers, feeling her power pulse.
Jake shook his head, scrambling for a weapon. He lifted his gun, but Juliette waved her hand and it flew right out of his hand to clatter down the stairs. Stalking forward, she raised her hand as if she were choking someone, and Jake rose into the air, feet kicking uselessly beneath him. For the first time in weeks, Juliette felt in control.
“This,” she snarled, pushing her hand forward and banging a struggling Jake against the wall, forcing him to hit his head like he’d hit hers, “is for kidnapping me.” Then, she tightened her grasp, watching as he fought for breath without success. “And this is for going after Nick.”
Jake gurgled, his movement slowing. However, Juliette refused to let go, stringing her power tighter around his throat. His hands dropped, his feet stilled, and still she couldn’t let go. It wasn’t until Monroe shook her shoulder, red eyes wide with fear, that she felt her power slipping out of her grasp. Jake’s body crumpled to the floor like a ragdoll.
Monroe swallowed under her intent gaze. “It’s over, Juliette. He’s dead.”
“Is he?” she heard herself ask, her voice dull and distant. Wu stepped forward, gun first, to crouch down at the unconscious body. Only once he gave a thumbs up did she dare to take a shaky breath, stumbling back a step. Monroe and Rosalee caught her, and Juliette allowed them to hold her up for one long heartbeat. Then she pushed herself upright again.
Just because it was over didn’t mean there wasn’t work left to do.
She turned towards Nick, meeting his wide, blue eyes. Swallowing her pride, she suggested, “We should talk.”
“We should,” he agreed, mouth quirking up at the corner, hesitant but real. “You, I, and Renard.”
That surprised her, but she supposed it shouldn’t. Sean was an integral part of the Hexenbiest side of her life, it made sense that Nick would want to include him… if he was finally starting to accept this new aspect of her life to be permanent.
Tears springing to her eyes, Juliette managed to press out a breathy agreement, clutching Nick’s hand.
As you can see, this is a less bloody or involved ending. I needed a good cut-off point in case I didn't have time to write more. I always intended to write the ending fight to be more "epic" (and bloody), with the intention of getting Nick hurt, to make Juliette's outburst of protective rage make more sense. And I also just really liked the idea of Nick leaving that place in an ambulance when Juliette had been the kidnapping victim and he the rescuer, a quick little role reversal to emphasize who the dangerous one is in this relationship (spoiler: both. it's both, but Juliette flew under the radar, so :D)
I'm glad I found the time to flesh the ending out and add more scenes (like Renard's little ritual! That was one of the last scenes I added because I could work around it, but I had to lead up to it satisfactorily first).
All in all, I had a lot of fun and am pretty proud of what I managed to produce! ^^ Thanks for signing up with me,trobadora, and for (re)watching Grimm with me!
I had the honour to write for the awesome
trobadora for fffx :D! And got a wonderful Grimm fic from her in return <3Title: Green-Eyed Monster
Fandom: Grimm (TV)
Ship: Nick Burkhardt/Sean Renard/Juliette Silverton with current Sean/Juliette and past Nick/Juliette
Words: 29k
Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence (diverges mid-season 4), Relationship Status: It's Complicated, Getting Back Together, Hexenbiest Juliette, Endezeichen Grimm, Case Fic, Kidnapping, Murder, Hurt Nick Burkhardt, Protective Juliette Silverton, Protective Sean Renard, Juliette is no Damsel in Distress, BAMF Juliette Silverton, Jealousy, Sex Dreams, Minor Character Death (no worries it's the villain OC)
Summary: When an Endezeichen Grimm comes to Portland, Nick has to face some uncomfortable truths about his own feelings.
Digging his nails into his palms wasn't nearly enough distraction. "I said, don't."
But Juliette wasn't done.
"What I’m doing with Sean, that isn’t about you and me," she insisted, and Nick whirled around to glare at her.
"You're fucking my boss. But sure, it's got nothing to do with me."
In between the deadline and with the generous help of my beta, I managed to add several scenes and rewrite the ending. Part of how I accomplished that was by promising myself I'd get to post the outtakes - which I figured, here is as good a place as any ;)
Earlier Ending Outtake
Noises in the hallway alerted Juliette to her incoming visitor. Tossing the third splinter she’d broken aside, she moved up to the door and picked up the chain’s anchor, getting ready to bash Jake’s head in. The door opened slowly, and Juliette tensed, then swung around with all her might—only to be met by air.Jake was a tall guy, so she’d aimed high, hoping to do some serious damage to his nose or jaw. Instead, the figure ducking into her cell was slight and feminine.
“Jesus!” Rosalee gasped, eyes wide on the massive piece of chain that missed her head by an inch. Then she shook herself and turned to Juliette, dropping any questions she might have in favour of focussing on the situation at hand. “Are you alright?”
“Well, aside from this ball and chain,” Juliette joked, tossing her head to get her hair over her shoulder without having to let go of said chain. “Never been better.”
“Right.” Rosalee’s gaze zeroed in on the manacle, and she knelt down next to Juliette. “You’ve made some lockpicks I see.”
“I hate sitting around doing nothing.” Juliette shrugged, holding her ankle out for Rosalee’s inspection. “Not that it did me much good. I’ve got no experience with picking locks.”
“I do,” Rosalee said, throwing her a quick grin before grabbing a new splinter and setting to work. “Part of my misspent youth. Did I ever tell you about my last ex before Monroe?”
“Don’t think you did.” Juliette watched as Rosalee swiftly unlocked the manacle as if by magic. “You should teach me how to do this.”
“Sure,” Rosalee agreed, setting the manacle down. Juliette rotated her ankle, trying to get her blood flowing properly. “Once all of this has died down, you should come by the spice shop.”
Juliette hesitated. She remembered the last time she’d gone, how she’d unexpectedly run into Nick. She had avoided going since. “You’re sure?”
“You’re my friend, Juliette,” Rosalee asserted stubbornly, her expression filled with determination. “You’re always welcome at my shop.”
But not her home, Juliette couldn’t help but notice. So Monroe was still feeling a bit… sensitive, about recent developments. Understandable, she supposed, even if it left her feeling a bit raw at the implied rejection.
Gunfire from further in the building tore her from her thoughts. Rosalee Woged, ears pinning back.
“We should leave,” she urged, sticking her head out into the hallway. She gestured down the hall, where a heavy door stood open by a foot. “While Monroe and the others are distracting the Endezeichen Grimm.”
Juliette tilted her head. On the one hand, sneaking out the backdoor seemed sensible. On the other, she still owed Jake for her headache and the hours stuck in this cold cell. More gunshots echoed through the halls, and Juliette turned into the opposite direction.
“Juliette! Don’t,” Rosalee hissed, soft footsteps following her.
“No. I’ve had enough of men trying to control me.” She bared her teeth. “This Endezeichen bastard thinks he can mess with me? Think again.”
***
It turned out she’d been kept in the basement of an office building. Juliette wondered how Jake had gotten access, then pushed that thought away as unimportant. She stalked up the stairs, a nervous Rosalee on her heels, to find the ground floor an open office plan with dozens of cubicles. The overhead lights illuminated everything, eliminating the option to sneak up on the Endezeichen Grimm. Well, good. Juliette wasn’t in the mood for sneaking.
Movement caught her eye. There was Nick, ducking in and out of cubicles as he made his way towards her. On the opposite side of the office, she caught a glimpse of Monroe doing the same. Wu and Hank were stationed at the entrance door, cutting off the Endezeichen Grimm’s escape; that only left the basement for him to go. Briefly, she wondered where Sean was at, it was unlike him to miss the action. But then, perhaps he was simply better at staying out of sight.
“It’s over, Otis!” Hank called out, taking cover behind a partition. Just in time, as Otis—Jake? The Endezeichen Grimm—shot his gun again, once, twice, three times in rapid succession. His clip must be emptied, Juliette noted clinically, because she saw him duck around the corner ahead of her, crouching as he swiftly changed magazines.
He hadn’t noticed her.
Nick, however, caught sight of her as he moved to the next cubicle. His eyes went wide and he swerved, changing his path from going after Jake in favour of coming to her aid—aid that she had no need of. Abandoning caution in favour of speed, Nick left himself open in the path of the Endezeichen Grimm… and that, Jake did notice.
Everything slowed down. The Endezeichen Grimm raised his gun, aiming at Nick’s exposed back. Juliette could feel her heart beat with the rhythm of time passing, a double staccato for every second. The Endezeichen Grimm pulled the trigger, the bullet shooting out from the barrel with a loud bang!
At the same time, Juliette screamed, "NO!"
Juliette wailed her heart out, fuelled by desperation. No, no, no! She couldn't lose Nick, not like this, not with all the things hanging unresolved between them. She would not, could not confess everything left unsaid at Nick's grave. She refused.
Power exploded outwards from her, the air distorting from the energy. Juliette could feel it, every molecule floating around her, like ants under her skin. A twist of her fingers, and their path shifted.
More importantly, she could feel the bullet.
Eyes flashing black, she forced the bullet to stop before it could reach Nick.
"He's mine," she snarled, voice rough and distorted as it always was when she Woged. Juliette got to her feet, stalking forward until she stood in front of Nick, shielding his body with her own. "Don't you dare touch him.”
The Endezeichen Grimm stumbled backwards, eyes wide with fear.
"You, you— you're a Hexenbiest," Jake stuttered, gaze darting between her and Nick. "B-but. You… he…"
Hexenbiests and Grimms are natural enemies. Everyone told her that, over and over and over. Juliette had never cared less.
"What, afraid?" She sneered and twisted her fingers, feeling her power pulse.
Jake shook his head, scrambling for a weapon. He lifted his gun, but Juliette waved her hand and it flew right out of his hand to clatter down the stairs. Stalking forward, she raised her hand as if she were choking someone, and Jake rose into the air, feet kicking uselessly beneath him. For the first time in weeks, Juliette felt in control.
“This,” she snarled, pushing her hand forward and banging a struggling Jake against the wall, forcing him to hit his head like he’d hit hers, “is for kidnapping me.” Then, she tightened her grasp, watching as he fought for breath without success. “And this is for going after Nick.”
Jake gurgled, his movement slowing. However, Juliette refused to let go, stringing her power tighter around his throat. His hands dropped, his feet stilled, and still she couldn’t let go. It wasn’t until Monroe shook her shoulder, red eyes wide with fear, that she felt her power slipping out of her grasp. Jake’s body crumpled to the floor like a ragdoll.
Monroe swallowed under her intent gaze. “It’s over, Juliette. He’s dead.”
“Is he?” she heard herself ask, her voice dull and distant. Wu stepped forward, gun first, to crouch down at the unconscious body. Only once he gave a thumbs up did she dare to take a shaky breath, stumbling back a step. Monroe and Rosalee caught her, and Juliette allowed them to hold her up for one long heartbeat. Then she pushed herself upright again.
Just because it was over didn’t mean there wasn’t work left to do.
She turned towards Nick, meeting his wide, blue eyes. Swallowing her pride, she suggested, “We should talk.”
“We should,” he agreed, mouth quirking up at the corner, hesitant but real. “You, I, and Renard.”
That surprised her, but she supposed it shouldn’t. Sean was an integral part of the Hexenbiest side of her life, it made sense that Nick would want to include him… if he was finally starting to accept this new aspect of her life to be permanent.
Tears springing to her eyes, Juliette managed to press out a breathy agreement, clutching Nick’s hand.
As you can see, this is a less bloody or involved ending. I needed a good cut-off point in case I didn't have time to write more. I always intended to write the ending fight to be more "epic" (and bloody), with the intention of getting Nick hurt, to make Juliette's outburst of protective rage make more sense. And I also just really liked the idea of Nick leaving that place in an ambulance when Juliette had been the kidnapping victim and he the rescuer, a quick little role reversal to emphasize who the dangerous one is in this relationship (spoiler: both. it's both, but Juliette flew under the radar, so :D)
I'm glad I found the time to flesh the ending out and add more scenes (like Renard's little ritual! That was one of the last scenes I added because I could work around it, but I had to lead up to it satisfactorily first).
All in all, I had a lot of fun and am pretty proud of what I managed to produce! ^^ Thanks for signing up with me,
trobadora, and for (re)watching Grimm with me!