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Claire giggled lightly as Jim nuzzled in to her, inhaling deeply and contentedly.
“You’ve been doing that a lot,” she commented.
“Hmm?” Jim sleepily droned.
“Breathing all deep like that when we cuddle. Not that I mind, but you didn’t really do that before, so it…stands out, I guess.”
It was true. Jim and Claire were not complete strangers to physical affection; they’d already been a couple for a few months before the final battle against Gunmar and Morgana, and hugs, handholding, even some kissing were familiar territory. But this kind of nuzzling was a behavior that hadn’t cropped up until after Jim’s transformation.
Jim’s eyes shot open as a low wave of self-consciousness washed over him. “S-sorry,” he stammered, face growing warm as he pulled back slightly, gaze cast to the side. “I didn’t mean to make it weird…”
“No, no, like I said, I don’t mind it,” insisted Claire. “It’s not weird. It’s just…different.”
Jim’s eyes remained adverted as he fidgeted with his uneven fingers.
“It’s just…” he began, unsure exactly how to explain. “It’s just…your smell…I mean, my nose…I mean…” He took a deep breath. “Ever since turning half-troll, my sense of smell is a lot stronger. I mean, I don’t think I could, like, track a scent like Arrrggh does or anything…but I can definitely recognize people by how they smell. Yours…yours is nice,”
“Soooo…when you nuzzle into me like that and inhale, what you’re really doing is…smelling me?”
Jim nodded lamely, eyes still aside. Claire paused for a moment, processing this new information, before shaking her head and smiling.
“So what do I smell like then?” she asked, part teasing, part genuinely curious.
A smile tugged at Jim’s lips, relieved that she wasn’t weirded out.
“As much as I’d love to wax poetic and tell you that you smell like flowers and sunshine on some beautiful summer afternoon,” he teased, finally meeting her eyes again, “It’s…kind of hard to explain. It’s not really directly comparable to other smells that humans detect. It’s like…well, you know how when you walk into someone else’s house it smells different from your own? It’s like that but tenfold, and tailored to each individual person. Unique to other smells. Like I said though, yours is nice…”
Without realizing it, Jim had re-closed the distance he’d made earlier, nuzzling back into Claire and taking another deep but brief inhale, trying to think of the words to describe her scent.
“It’s…it’s…well, like I said, it’s not really quite comparable to…to what would be regular smells for you, I guess. But it’s…comforting, and warm…” He trailed off, unsure how to continue.
Claire took a moment to absorb this information before smirking and reaching a hand up to brush through his hair. Jim relaxed further against her.
“Well, as long as I don’t stink, I guess it doesn’t matter,” she laughed lightly, scratching against Jim’s scalp in a way they’d discovered he quite enjoys. “So what about your other senses, Trollhunter? Do you have super hearing now too?”
“Not really. I hear about exactly the same as I did before. Eyesight too…I mean, I think my eyes might adjust a bit faster to low light now, but as for clarity and color and stuff, it seems to be the same. And touch. It might be just sliiiightly duller with the thicker skin, but not super noticeable. Really the only thing that’s changed as much as my sense of smell is my sense of taste.”
Claire supposed she should’ve seen that one coming. Ever since his transformation she’d seen Jim munching on unusual things, especially metal, which he somehow seemed to genuinely enjoy.
“Although…” Jim continued, brows furrowing, “I’m not sure that it’s my taste itself that has changed so much as what my…my brain considers good, I guess. Like, when I take a bite of a well-done steak, it still tastes like well-done steak. It’s just that…now that particular flavor just…isn’t good anymore. Doesn’t feel right in my mouth anymore, even though objectively it’s like…the same flavor as before. It’s really weird. And like…eating a tin can, it’s like…it still tastes like a tin can, but suddenly tin can flavor is an AMAZING flavor. It’s….it’s…” He broke off a moment, grimacing.
“It’s just kind of frustrating, I guess. I mean, there are still some human foods that have been good so far, it’s just…a weird adjustment, when your brain enjoys the fork more than the steak. I asked Blinky about it actually, he says stuff like metal is a normal in a healthy troll diet, something about being made of stone and needing different minerals or something…I don’t remember exactly but…yeah,”
“Hmm,” Claire hummed. “You’re not really made of stone, though, are you? I mean, your skin’s definitely tougher than before, but it’s not really…like…corse or scratchy like Blinky or Arrrgh. Compared to them,” she smiled, snuggling in closer, “you’re still pretty soft. In a good way.”
“I guess,” said Jim, looking around Claire at his own mismatched hands. “I’m…not really sure what I’m made of, really. It’s like you said, it seems to be somewhere…in-between…I don’t know. I’ve…” he paused. “I have wondered a few times actually…if I’m only half-troll…if, when I die, will I turn to stone like a…a full troll? Or…well…I don’t know. Sunlight is painful but like…would it really turn me to stone, or just give me a really really bad burn?”
“Don’t try it,” Claire warned.
“I won’t, I won’t,” Jim assured. “I wouldn’t want to risk it. It just…makes me think. I know so little about my own body now. I mean, it’s good to have Blinky there to ask about troll stuff, but it doesn’t always help because I’m not really a normal troll. I mean, as far as I know, I might be the only person like me…the only half-troll…in the world. Stuff’s bound to be different and I don’t really know how to figure it all out. I mean, I guess I could try asking Merlin, but something tells me I won’t really get anything useful out of him.”
Claire scoffed. “Yeah, probably not.”
The couple fell silent for a while, lost in their own thoughts. Eventually Claire spoke up again, giving her boyfriend a brief kiss.
“Well, I may not have all your answers, but I’ll be here to help your figure it out in any way I can.”
Jim smiled, returning a kiss. “Thanks. I really appreciate that. Though you know,” he added cheekily, “That steak may not taste so great anymore, but youare just as good as before.”
Claire snickered. “Oh, really?”
“If not better.”
“Ooo, frisky.”
The two shared a contented laugh.
“Seriously though, Jim,” Claire said after a moment, “I’m here for you. I want to help you. If you need to talk to someone about anything…just ask.”
Jim nuzzled into his girlfriend again, breathing deeply and smiling as her comforting scent filled his senses.
“I know. Thank you.”