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One could say.
(A few weeks after the end of the movie, Nuala gets injured instead of dying.)
One could say he´s only being kind, gentle, just a nice person trying to help, one could say she´s just being nice, thankfull and most likely tired of not being able to properly move because of her wound, and certainly, it isn´t far from truth, but there´s something else, something easy to tell by the way they look at each other, the way he always knows what to do before she even tells him, the way she smiles everytime he´s on the room with her.
In fact, it´s obvious, many like to tease Abe about it and once in a while someone will mention him around the princess to see her reaction, but in all reallity, it isn´t like they care.
"My princess..." he says every time he refers to her, and Nuala will always call him Abraham, to a certain point, it´s their equivalent of those cheesy nicknames couples give to each other, but they aren´t a couple, despite acting like one, they aren´t a couple, not yet.
He would always stay with her for hours, reding something together, none of them paying attention to the world, acting like everything has vanish, and they hold hands, Nuala rests her head on Abe´s shoulder, sometimes he would even wrap his arm around her shoulders, brush her hair out of her face and she would let out a small and shy laugh as she blushes and smiles, and his reaction to that, oh, the poor fishy´s reaction, being more than lucky that he is unable to blush or else he would look more blue than the usual, the look of surprise on his almost expressionless face making her laugh a little bit harder, awkward to some degree, but it undoubtely brings joy to his heart, to see that lovely smile he loves so dearly, her golden eyes shining like the prettiest gemstone and the tender touch of her hands againts his.
One could say they are in love, one could say they´ll soon will be together, one could even say they are meant to be, and frankly, evidence makes it hard to disagree.
Happy new year.
(These two just being cute and officially dating, new year´s party, both of them drunk and yes, Hellboy got Abe drunk again. (I mean, in the comics Abe drinks without someone telling him to do so... little reference to that...)
She laughs between each kiss, her face blushing with golden tones, her arms wrapped around his shoulders, Abe´s hands around her waist, being as careful as he can. "You had a little bit too much alcohol, my princess..." and it was easy to tell, despite of being more than drunk, she still had that regal character of her, maybe a little bit more cheery and even childish, "What about you, Abraham?" she laughs again, the memory of that night when she heard the faint singing of the one she loves comes back to her mind.
Next thing they knew, they fell asleep on the couch, wrapped into the firts blanket they could find, no distance between the two of them, and to be fair she was using him as a pillow, Abe had ended up in a position that made him look like he was dead, probably a murder, his face burried on Nuala´s hair.
It was quite funny when they woke up, a little bit of embarrasment, still, she kept laughing, a moment of holding hands, a kiss on her forehead and another on the lips and they were getting out of the couch, not before feeling the effect of a terrible hungover.
- Oh, my, I... This never happened to me...
- Oh, no, no, no, don´t worry, I... I had worst...
- Really?
- I... won´t get into any detail...
- I never had that many wine back in Bethmoora, oh dear, I got carried away...
- I´ll get you something for the headache!
- Thanks you, a lot...
- No need to thank me, it will always be a pleasure to help you.
Babysitters.
(Hellboy and Liz´s twins are born and somehow these two ended up like improvised babysitters or something.)
Once in a while parents need to take a rest, sometimes that involves leaving the children with someone else, naturally, you would find someone you can trust and is no secret that certain amphibian and certain elven princess have earned that trust, besides, she should have experience with twins, shouldn´t she?
In all reality, it wasn´t that much of a rest, it was more of a mission that compared to changing diapers and dealing with twins crying at the same time, it was way less stressing, naturally. "Shouldn´t you be there? you usually work together..." Nuala asked while leaving one twin on their craddle, "They need someone who is fireproof, that leaves me out of the picture."
Is not like it this was safer, after all, little Trevor and Rebecca had the same ability as their mother, besides being quite literally two little demons.
"I should consider in all reality but... I guess the idea of Liz and Red getting mad at me is more terrifying than the mission it self..." and with fair reason, he wouldn´t want to become an actual fishstick, "Besides, they are family."
The twins were playing with each other, that means they were throwing their toys and blankets all over the place, Trevor had a better aim than his sister, "Stop that! you shouldn´t do that, little ones..." she picked up the toys, "Listen to your aunt, little ones..." Abe helped with cleaning all the mess, the word aunt actually surprised Nuala, "Aunt?" with a sheepishly smile on her face, she stands there in the middle of the room, "Well, Liz keeps refering to you as the twins aunt and you are like family..." and like always, he sounded like what he just said was extremely inappropiate, "Well, I don´t mind being called their aunt, and I must confess you are an excellent uncle..." and out of nowhere she was standing right next to him, smiling like always, that smile that made his heart beat faster than it should.
Later on that day, with the twins already asleep, they sat on an oversized armchair right next to the craddle, in case the little ones woke up, it took a while to get them asleep, about three books and some lullabyes from Nuala´s childhood, she sounded angelic, Abe was conviced that she had the voice of an angel, and now, as she was sitting right next to him, her legs on his lap and her arms wrapped around him, humming something, he couldn´t help but to feel at ease.
"Don´t they look lovely when sleeping?" and then she yawned, she was also tired, quite sleepy in all reality, "Of course they do..." and he wasn´t talking only about the twins that he considered as his little niece and nephew. Soon, Nuala was also asleep in the same position as before, her breath steady, looking so sweet and calm like everything that worried her was gone, Abe did his best to reach for a blanket that was right next to the armchair without waking her up, not even standing up, minutes later, he found himself having trouble to stay awake, his hand stroking Nuala´s hair, soon, he also fell asleep and he surely did not miss being underwater that night.
Advice from a friend.
(It´s time for the big question and our lovely fishman really needs some advice.)
"You´ll see, Red, I..." and words didn´t come out, the thought walking around in circles all over the place might help but it didn´t, "Oi, Blue, calm down, just calm down and sit down, you´re making me dizzy!" he would of course, look for advice from his best friend, despite not really turning out so well last time he did, but that was also the prince´s fault, and when it came to what he was planning to do, asking Nuada would most likely end up in murder.
"Is just that..." and he finally sat down on the stairs, covering his face with his hands, clearly frustrated, "I just love her so much and I want her to be happy and-"
"You are afraid that you end up rushing her..." now, it may not be a good idea to ask for advice from someone who just drank two packs of beer but it can´t be that bad, drunk people tend to be honest, at least some of them are, "Listen, you just gotta... go ahead and ask her, yeah, you do that..." another drink, a little bit more of drunkness, "Is not that easy, for instance, what am I supposed to do? just kneel and ask her? just like that? I highly doubt-" another interruption, "That´s your problem Abe, you´re overthinking that crap..."
"Well, then what am I supposed to do? it´s a big step and I want it to be special." before another piece of drunk advice could even came out of Hellboy´s mouth, Johann entered the room, yelling about how dissapointed he was that he was getting drunk instead of doing his job, "And you, agent Sapien, what are you even doing here? I expected more from you!"
"Let him alone, the poor guy needs relationship advice, now get out, would ya?" and he threw a can of beer at Johann, who instead of being offended was intrigued, "Relationship advice? how so?" and another can was thrown at him, "Agent Hellboy!" more cans of beer.
- Red, stop...
- Not until one breaks something!
- Red!
- Hold on, just a sec.
- Excuse his behaviour, Dr. Krauss, I... I would advice to avoid confrontation in this case...
- I must agree... But this will not be forgotten!
And he was gone, just like that, now clearly offended, "Now, listen here buddy, when the moment comes you´ll know it, you just gotta ask her, ok?" and that´s the best he could say before being too drunk, the rest of the conversation didn´t actually made sense, it was just the two of them talking about the women they loved and nothing more. Just some time later and it was official, he had done it, he asked her and now they were engaged, his advice did something after all.
Morning routine.
(Married life and such.)
They both had a routine, shaped by years and years of their particular life styles, but this was different, and it was good, it was good to wake up next to who you love, it was good to feel him hugging her at the middle of the night, it was good to see her smile every morning, it was good to be married.
Usually, Abe wakes up firts, mostly to get some water before he dehydrates, maybe a quick shower and in case she still asleep, he would stay next to her, hugging his wife until she wakes up, in the rare ocassion that Nuala is awake before he does, she would rest her head on his chest, one hand tracing the patterns on his skin, one thing is for sure, whoever wakes up firts says goodmorning firts.
Something thay they also tend to do is to just stay in bed for a while, mostly on cold days, cuddling, talking to eachother, exchanging thoughts and feelings, laughs and smiles, kissing and holding hands, like it was the firts time.
It´s a good thing, something to forget about everything that worried them, a way to encourage each other for the day, a way for them to be happy.
Breakfast can´t be forgotten, Abe cooks, though Nuala is trying her hand at it, nothing fancy, eggs, bacon, even pancakes or waffles, just cereal in lazy days, maybe one toast, maybe two, a cup of coffe, even tea in some ocassions, mostly for Nuala, the kitchen´s windows are always open, unless it´s raining, the table is clean, the food sizzles while being cook and the smell can easily make everyone being extremely hungry all of the sudden, most of the time Nuala is already wearing her normal clothes for the day, normally getting ready while he cooks, but on lazy days she would just pick the most confortable and loose dress she owns and wear her husband´s shirt under it, with it being a little oversized for her, mostly due to the heigh difference.
Showers can´t be excluded, most of the time Abe would has a quick shower before returning to bed, other times he would take some extra time and stay on the bathtub in case he really needs to be on water, Nuala would sometimes take long showers, other times quick ones, once in a while one would join the other, with only two outcomes.
It´s a good thing, to have something to forget your worried, it´s a good thing, to have someone who you love at your side, it´s a good thing, to see that smile, to see those eyes, it´s a good thing, a good thing.
Pregnancy.
(Title says it all. Also, since in the comics Liz and Abe are pretty much best freinds or at least really close, Liz is gonna act like a proud sister or something...)
"Have you pick a name?" Liz asked, she was surprised when they told her and the others about the baby, "Ida." Nuala answered, when they told everyone, their reactions were... quite something, of course, congratulations for the parents, a little teasing here and there, but Liz´s reaction did stand out, a big smile, like she was somehow proud, "Ida Elizabeth." she was more surprised with that.
"Are you naming your child after me?" a small tiny little part of her actually expected that, after all, Abe was sort of like a brother to her, that one other person who everyone treated badly and who knew what she was going through, that one person who was her friend and listened to her, and it would be a lie to say she wasn´t more than happy when she found out about his and Nuala´s relationship.
"Of course we are, you are a great friend..." she paused a moment, then smiled back at Liz, "And family." her hand on her six months old pregnant belly, "Have any advice?" she asked, being quite sheepish, "Does knowing how to deal with twin half demon babies help? I doubt those are the same as a little guppy" it´s funny, nobody even imagined that they would end up like that, not only her, but the rest of them. "Well, Abraham is the only one of his kind and you have known him for the longest time."
"Well, I don´t remember him doing anything that he doesn´t do now and he already was an adult when we met..." Nuala knew where Abe came from, he told her that one time, she saw it, and despite of Liz being so close to him, he never told her, "But, I can give general advice." she looked at her kids again, sleeping on their craddle, "I´m not gonna lie, you will lose tons of sleep, get tons of stress, you´ll be tired of diapers in less than a week but it is worth it." she paused after seeing Nuala´s confused face, "It´s a learning process, I´m still learning, but that´s how it works, you just... know it and some times you just... sort of figure it out..." the explanation wasn´t helping, but it was a nice conversation, something they both can relate to, a new friend indeed, and Liz couldn´t be happier for them.
Little guppies.
(These guys had three children in my fanfic so... there´s that.)
They would never forget when their firts daugther was born, Ida, blue skin, big dark eyes like his with the same golden color as her mother, blonde hair, gills and pointy ears, the same patterns covering her skin, her tiny little hands with webbing between her fingers, her mother´s nose, two years later, their son was born, Finn, gills and pointy ears like his sister, blue skin, his mother´s blonde hair, his father´s blue eyes, shaped like his mother´s, his father´s nose, and then, three years after that, their daugther Eada was born, pale skin like her mother´s, the same patterns her father has, dark eyes, shaped like his mother´s, one blue, the other golden, blonde hair, gills and pointy ears, fins similar to her father´s.
They loved them so much, their little guppies, children, a family, something none of them even imagined.
Ida Elizabeth, Lugh Finn, Edith Eada, their little guppies.
Family reunions.
(Guess what, uncle Nuada is in the picture...)
It was no surprise that Nuada didn´t aprove their relationship, neither their marriage and the idea of them having children, but there´s nothing he could do, and with the years, our prince, king Nuada has learned to acept it, to acept him, sort of, but it is also no secret that he has grown fond of his nieces and nephew.
"No, Eada, I´m not teaching you how to use a spear, now leave your brother alone..." the five year old frowned, once in a while they would find a place that can be somewhat private and bring the kids, it was nice to see them, growing up so fast, though it was hard to tell if they looked more like their mother or their father. "Leave your uncle alone, he´s having a headache..." in all reality, nobody wanted him to snap, specially Abe, who would probably end up severely injured if that happened, probably some stab wounds.
"Thank you..." and saying that might be a direct punch to his pride, but he said it, that´s what counts.
Most reunions were similar, finding a nice and private place, getting some food, talking about stuff and the kids play while the adults talk, still, they would always involve their uncle involved into that, and their parents would just sat there and watch, enjoying how three little kids manage to confuse Nuada.
No cousins to play with, at least not the ones who were related by blood, Trevor and Rebecca, who grew up witht them, are obviously the closest thing they had.
It´s getting dark, the kids are trying to catch fireflies a their uncle watches, their parents sitting on the grass, as the wind gets colder, Nuala gets closer to Abe, he wraps his arm around her and she rests her head on his shoulders, no words needed, as their bond let them know what the other was thinking.
- Look at them... I never imagined this would happen...
- It´s been years and it still feels like a dream to me...
- But is not a dream, and I can´t be more grateful that it isn´t.
Nuala smiles, the smile she had when he proposed, the one she had when their children were born, "Have I ever told you how much I love the way you smile?" a thought, a question, "Millions of times..." she closes her eyes, "Then let me add one more time to the list."
Stay close.
(In the comics it is said that Abe has nightmares, really bad nightmares, that can be used as fluff material and maybe angst...)
Even if there´s anything bad going on in their lives, once in a while Abe would wake up panting, in fear, unable to speak, he did a good job hiding it from the kids, however, Nuala knows about it, she always did, and of course, those aren´t frequent and they had gotten better with the years, but there are moments when those memories would haunt him once again.
Nuala is no stranger to nigthmares, she would have those once in a while, as equaly terrifying as the ones her husband has, memories of a long time ago, stuff she tried to forget, the thing she saw back when Bethmoora was in war with the humans.
In moments like that, the other would wake up, trying to calm down whoever had the nightmare, a hug, silence, thoughts doing what words cannot, it wasn´t like the nightmares their children had, it wasn´t as simple as letting them stay on their room but the solution was always based on the same thing.
Stay close.
"Stay close..." she says, at the verge of tears, his arms wrapped around her, rocking back and foward, her face burried on his chest, her eyes closed, a gentle kiss on her forehead, their fingers interlaced, soon to find his hand brushing her hair.
"Stay close..." he says, while hugging her, face burried on her shoulders, her hand on his back, feeling how she tilts her head and closes her eyes as she hugs him, soon pulling away just for a moment to look at him and smile, her hands on his face, pulling him closer, pressing their foreheads, then a kiss.
Stay close.
Aniversary.
(Title explains itself.)
The smell of food drifs through the air, pie? cake? something sweet for sure, still in the oven, classical music and tea, the smell of flowers, lilies, sun entering through the windows, next to the wind and the faint smell of rain.
"How long has it been?" Nuala asks, a big smile on her face, "Thirty years..." he responds, standing behind her, hugging his wife, she clutches his hands to her abdomen, tilting her head and laughing, "We haven´t aged a little, have we?" it was a little bit of a tragedy, seeing your friends get older and knowing they will someday die yet you wont unless it involves non natural causes, but it wasn´t time to think about it, "I guess we haven´t..." a kiss on her neck and that lovely smile of hers.
"Remember when we met?" the memory carved on their minds, "Of course I do, my princess, I would never forget that..." she turns around, smiling, a little mischivious glim on her eyes, "Then answer truthfully, why are you following me?" and she laughs at Abe´s reaction, "It was my job and..." he kisses her cheek, "I don´t regret doing it..." her smile only seems warmer, her eyes gleaming with joy.
Thirty years, thirty years of being together, a house, a family, one could call it a happy ending.
You know I can´t smile without you.
Can´t smile without you.
A familiar song pops out, her eyes widen, Abe takes her hand and kisses it, "May I have this dance?" followed by him tilting his head like he always do, and she didn´t answer, not with words, the fact that she was holding hands with him, slowly moving around the place, rocking back and fowards at some bits of the song, it was perfect.
Time passes by, everything changes, just last week they learned their oldesd child was pregnant, their son is getting married and their youngest child seems to be taking interest in Bethmoora, but everything feels the same, their feeling are the same, like they kept falling in love over and over again, day by day, but one thing is for sure, time sure passes by.