quirkysmuse: (marilyn)
quirkysmuse ([personal profile] quirkysmuse) wrote2012-02-21 10:07 pm

Grimm, "Phantom Secrets" Juliette/Nick, rated G

Fandom: Grimm
Title: Phantom Secrets
Author: Paynesgrey
Word Count: 300
Characters/Pairings: Juliette, Juliette/Nick implied
Rated: G
Genre: Angst/Introspective
Warnings/Spoilers: No warnings. No spoilers, general knowledge of series is ok.

Notes: Written for the "tease" prompt for [livejournal.com profile] fanfic_bakeoff.

Summary: Juliette notices something wrong with Nick.



Often, she finds herself alone during long nights. Her job keeps her busy, and she’s had her own late work nights with emergency surgeries or sympathetic house calls.

Beyond long nights at the clinic, Juliette has still come home to an empty house. She’s resolved herself as the girlfriend of a detective, and she understands what Nick’s job entails.

Yet, lately she wonders if she understands him. Despite his recent behavior after his aunt died, being a cop seems the most normal thing about him.

Long nights get longer, and Juliette is accustomed to sliding into a cold bed at night - by herself, barely aware when Nick slides next to her in the early morning.

(He always smells of the woods when he returns. It’s never another woman, but the scent a dark secret that keeps him distant, dragging him from their comfortable, normal lives and into the mysterious unknown.)

People have told her, “You are an intelligent woman, Juliette.” Nick has even told her that himself, so why doesn’t he know that she suspects something is wrong? She knows when he’s not telling her everything. It isn’t just the scared children egging their house or the terrified people who stalk them and run away in horror as if Nick were a monster and not a simple cop.

Well, he isn’t, she thinks, and as she clutches her hand over her heart, she feels the weight of Nick’s phantom secret pushing over her. She looks at the clock in the bedroom - the harsh contrast of neon against black. Her thoughts stir like circling dust in the room, always teasing and coiling in anticipation at what he’s really hiding from her.

That night, without Nick and his secrets, Juliette somehow manages to fall asleep - all alone once again.

[identity profile] anat-astarte.livejournal.com 2012-02-22 04:53 am (UTC)(link)
YAY Grimm fic! This is the first fic I have ever read for this series, and you've done a wonderful job here! Love how you captured so much emotion and information in this ficlet, both through Juliette's intuition and her physical senses about the events happening and about Nick (loveeee the part in parentheses), and through Nick's physical absence once again.

Love love love this! ♥ *give you a virtual cookie!*

[identity profile] quirkysmuse.livejournal.com 2012-02-22 11:23 am (UTC)(link)
Wow, thank you very much. So glad you enjoyed this. :)