*points* I made that. Look, I love the angry elf man. I just enjoy his face and have ever since the movie came back out in 2009? Well. I wanted to write this after watching The Golden Army again so I did! I hope you enjoy it.
Warnings: Nuada's obvious distaste for humans, no descriptions or pronouns used for you/reader other than you/reader are shorter than Nuada and you work as the librarian basically for the B.P.R.D
It had been simple. Nuada hated humans. He hated them with his own being. He hated the destruction, the bloodshed, everything they stood for. They were simple. Fleeting. They are like dandelions in the wind.
But now he was forced to work along side them as part of the B.P.R.D. He had not chosen this. But after his failure at restoring the Golden Army, he had not had many choices. It had been Nuala that spoke on his behalf. Spoke of redemption and second chances. He wanted to scoff at such things. But his death would mean hers and that — that idea brought him great pain to a heart he long thought cold.
So he worked all side these humans, most of which be did not bother to learn the names of. And then… there was you. Annoying, frustrating, you. You who looked at him with a kind look he was unaccustomed to. It made him uneasy. So uneasy that he avoided the library where you did your work of tending to the tomes and books. You were just… gentle. Gentle in a way he had not experienced in a time frame measured in centuries.
He was used to the fear, the whispers, the large berth that people gave him as he walked through the cold halls of the B.P.R.D. But not you. When he could not avoid the library — often because Nuala would drag him there — you would smile at him. Smile with bright eyes focused on him of all people. It made his heart — his heart with walls high and thick — beat in a way that threw him off-kilter.
And today was such one of those days. A day where Nuala was beside him, pushing the heavy doors open to the walls of books within. And there you were. A book open in your arms and your head bowed as you read. And there went his heart again, beating against his ribs, and finding himself frozen to the floor as he watched you.
Nuala, either unaware or more likely amused by his suffering, approached you with her unnatural grace. She placed her hand upon your shoulder, making you look up in surprise and offering her a bright smile.
"Nuala! Good afternoon!" Your eyes glanced from her to him, your eyes not losing that sparkle as you gave him a smile of his own. "Good afternoon to you as well, Nuada."
You never addressed him by his title of Prince. Most humans didn't. And while with others it enraged him to be reminded of the station he had lost, with you it felt… different. As if you were seeing him as a man and not him as this untouchable figure. He didn't— couldn't — understand why he felt this way. About you of all people.
Nuada offered nothing more than a soft huff, choosing to take a spot near the door and lean against the wall as he watched you and his sister. His golden eyes were piercing, like a hawk's gaze that was hunting you where you stood.
A weaker man would cower.
But you just… didn't. You were good friends with Nuala. And despite knowing the crimes for which her brother had done, you had taken her pleas to heart. Her words of forgiveness. She had asked that humanity giver her brother the chance to right the wrongs for which he had done. And you would not turn against her. Not when she had been so kind to you.
So you were in turn, kind to him. You offered him gentle words and kind smiles. Treated him as you would anyone. But there was something else. There was a deep sadness that lingered in his eyes that you could see hiding under his coldness, the anger he put forth. It only made you wish to give him a safe place. A place where he did not need to be as guarded. You hoped one day he would realize that your kindness did not come with strings attached.
You turned your attention back to Nuala, still smiling.
"How can I help you, my friend?"
Friend. You called her friend.
It made Nuada frown slightly but he stayed quiet as his sister quietly asked you where to find a book, the subject lost on him. While he had been well schooled in elven topics and in warfare but he lacked his sister's thirst for topics that veered into a more human subjects. But he saw how your face lit up, leading his sister to the book of her choice and happily chatting about its contents.
But the way you shined through your work… it made him want to bask in that light. If only at the edges of it.
He was brought out of his thoughts as Nuala thanked you for your help, gliding past him and out the doors thus leaving the two of you alone within the library. The silence stretched between you two as you looked up at him, eyes shimmering and kind. His breath caught for a moment in his throat before he pushed off the wall, hesitating for a moment. He was torn. Torn between following his sister or approaching you. His brow furrowed at the internal struggle before he took a decisive step forward, stalking towards you.
The surprise on your face was not lost on him — if he was honest, he was surprised too. His eyes bore into yours as he looked down at you, his silver hair framing his face and his golden eyes meeting yours. You didn't know what to say — or even if you should say anything — instead just holding his steady gaze. Then you saw it, the intense look in his eyes softened for just a brief moment into something you wouldn't dare call affection. His hand slowly reached for your cheek, his thumb ghosting over your cheek bone and feeling his cool skin against the warmth of yours.
And then he suddenly pulled back. His hand dropped to his side, taking a step back but eyes remaining locked with yours. He said not a word, turning on his heels before walking out of the library. The only thing filling the silence was the heavy thump of the door as it closed and the racing of your heart in your ears. You didn't know what just happened. But, you knew something fundamental had had changed between you two.
Something new from what had been something simple.