[fic] pomegranate seeds - grimm
Title: Pomegranate Seeds, Or: Unintended Consequences
Fandom(s): Grimm
Pairing: gen, implied Juliette/Renard, background Juliette/Nick
Rating: G
Word Count: 700
Written for: womenverse's mythology/fairy tale "rewrite" challenge
Warnings: N/A
A/N: I actually wrote this way back in September, when "Quills" was the most recently-aired episode. I was pretty surprised by how close some of the contents of this story were to the contents of the story in later episodes!
He pulls up in a big black SUV, and rolls down a window.
She doesn’t recognize him at first, and it should be creepy when he calls out, “Hey, Juliette!”
It’s not.
Then she remembers that he’s Sean Renard, captain of the Portland PD. She has a moment of cognitive dissonance about why he should be so familiar, and that’s when she realizes that he would be Burkhardt’s boss.
Nick’s boss.
“Juliette?” Sean asks her when she hesitates, and, wow, she must have been more familiar with him than she thought, because since when did she go around thinking of police officers by their first name? Not since she woke up in the hospital, anyway. Apparently it was a regular thing before that.
She smiles at him. “How are you, Captain?”
“I’m well.” His fingers drummed against the top of his steering wheel. “Do you have a minute?” he asked her. “I’d like to talk to you. We could get a cup of coffee.”
That was weird, right? She barely knows him (or maybe not?) and he's asking her out for a coffee in the middle of the afternoon. And she has an appointment for which she is already running behind. But still…
“Sure. I’d love to,” Juliette finds herself saying. She walks around the nose of the big black SUV and climbs into the passenger seat.
He makes small talk with her until they’re seated at the small café, drinks in hand.
“I’d like to talk to you about Detective Burkhardt,” he says, and Juliette feels inexplicably disappointed. She fiddles with the lid of her cup, waiting for the coffee inside to cool just a bit.
“Nick,” she makes herself say.
“Nick,” Sean repeats with a small smile.
‘Renard,’ she makes herself think.
“He really loves you.”
“I know.” She closes her eyes in embarrassment and gives her head a small shake. “I mean, I can tell. We had a life together.”
“Had.” Sean frowns and leans back into his chair.
“Yeah.” Juliette pokes the side of her cup, sliding it a few inches across the surface of the table. “It’s just… he’s trying so hard. It’s intimidating.” She sighs. ‘Intimidating’ is a generous choice of word. ‘Stifling’ might be a more appropriate word choice.
But it’s not easy to talk about, not even to Sean. Juliette frowns at the stray thought and tries to clear her mind.
“I think you’d be surprised to find how much he’s holding back,” Sean says, taking a sip of his coffee, and Juliette feels the doubts start to return.
He must see it in her face, because he sets his cup back down and adds, “What I mean to say is: Nick is the sort of person who would hide how difficult this situation is for him.” Juliette opens her mouth, but Sean continues on. “He wouldn’t want you to feel obligated to him, or guilty that you can’t remember. Meanwhile, he feels obligation to be there for you, and guilt that he can’t do anything to help you.”
“I don’t need help,” Juliette shoots back, frustrated. “I’m not broken.”
“You just can’t remember your boyfriend of three years.” Sean raises an eyebrow. “Drink up,” he continues, rising from his seat at the table. “I’ll take you back to your office.”
Juliette stands, too. “That won’t be necessary,” she says, and taking a single proprietary sip from the still-full cup before tossing it into a trash can. “I can walk.”
She takes a step away from him and feels a wave of dizziness wash over her. “On second thought,” she says faintly, and sits back down.
“Juliette? Are you all right?” Sean asks her, and she looks up and notices for the first time how blue his eyes are. Or maybe they’re green. She can’t decide. Whatever else they are, they’re pretty.
“I’m fine,” she says, surprised at the question.
He looks at her doubtfully. “If you say so.” He holds out a hand to her.
She takes it.
His hands, she discovers, are very warm.
Fandom(s): Grimm
Pairing: gen, implied Juliette/Renard, background Juliette/Nick
Rating: G
Word Count: 700
Written for: womenverse's mythology/fairy tale "rewrite" challenge
Warnings: N/A
A/N: I actually wrote this way back in September, when "Quills" was the most recently-aired episode. I was pretty surprised by how close some of the contents of this story were to the contents of the story in later episodes!
He pulls up in a big black SUV, and rolls down a window.
She doesn’t recognize him at first, and it should be creepy when he calls out, “Hey, Juliette!”
It’s not.
Then she remembers that he’s Sean Renard, captain of the Portland PD. She has a moment of cognitive dissonance about why he should be so familiar, and that’s when she realizes that he would be Burkhardt’s boss.
Nick’s boss.
“Juliette?” Sean asks her when she hesitates, and, wow, she must have been more familiar with him than she thought, because since when did she go around thinking of police officers by their first name? Not since she woke up in the hospital, anyway. Apparently it was a regular thing before that.
She smiles at him. “How are you, Captain?”
“I’m well.” His fingers drummed against the top of his steering wheel. “Do you have a minute?” he asked her. “I’d like to talk to you. We could get a cup of coffee.”
That was weird, right? She barely knows him (or maybe not?) and he's asking her out for a coffee in the middle of the afternoon. And she has an appointment for which she is already running behind. But still…
“Sure. I’d love to,” Juliette finds herself saying. She walks around the nose of the big black SUV and climbs into the passenger seat.
He makes small talk with her until they’re seated at the small café, drinks in hand.
“I’d like to talk to you about Detective Burkhardt,” he says, and Juliette feels inexplicably disappointed. She fiddles with the lid of her cup, waiting for the coffee inside to cool just a bit.
“Nick,” she makes herself say.
“Nick,” Sean repeats with a small smile.
‘Renard,’ she makes herself think.
“He really loves you.”
“I know.” She closes her eyes in embarrassment and gives her head a small shake. “I mean, I can tell. We had a life together.”
“Had.” Sean frowns and leans back into his chair.
“Yeah.” Juliette pokes the side of her cup, sliding it a few inches across the surface of the table. “It’s just… he’s trying so hard. It’s intimidating.” She sighs. ‘Intimidating’ is a generous choice of word. ‘Stifling’ might be a more appropriate word choice.
But it’s not easy to talk about, not even to Sean. Juliette frowns at the stray thought and tries to clear her mind.
“I think you’d be surprised to find how much he’s holding back,” Sean says, taking a sip of his coffee, and Juliette feels the doubts start to return.
He must see it in her face, because he sets his cup back down and adds, “What I mean to say is: Nick is the sort of person who would hide how difficult this situation is for him.” Juliette opens her mouth, but Sean continues on. “He wouldn’t want you to feel obligated to him, or guilty that you can’t remember. Meanwhile, he feels obligation to be there for you, and guilt that he can’t do anything to help you.”
“I don’t need help,” Juliette shoots back, frustrated. “I’m not broken.”
“You just can’t remember your boyfriend of three years.” Sean raises an eyebrow. “Drink up,” he continues, rising from his seat at the table. “I’ll take you back to your office.”
Juliette stands, too. “That won’t be necessary,” she says, and taking a single proprietary sip from the still-full cup before tossing it into a trash can. “I can walk.”
She takes a step away from him and feels a wave of dizziness wash over her. “On second thought,” she says faintly, and sits back down.
“Juliette? Are you all right?” Sean asks her, and she looks up and notices for the first time how blue his eyes are. Or maybe they’re green. She can’t decide. Whatever else they are, they’re pretty.
“I’m fine,” she says, surprised at the question.
He looks at her doubtfully. “If you say so.” He holds out a hand to her.
She takes it.
His hands, she discovers, are very warm.