#mallory denney

[queen-scribbles]

I wonder why it is I don't argue like this with anyone but you // I wonder why it is I won't let my guard down for anyone but you

---

Aaand Mallory/Adam complete my Wayhaven seasonal YCH set from th fantastic and wonderful @commander-sarahs-art

[queen-scribbles]

Time for the last one of my girls to get @turtleybeachin's fabulous Detective template, after great delay 😅

GENERAL AND PERSONAL DETAILS

Name (and nickname): Mallory Denney (no nickname)

Gender and pronouns: female, she/her

Sexuality: straight

Eye Colour: hazel

Hair Colour: silky black

Hair Length: allll the way to her waist(her one vanity in life)

Height: 5'2"//157.4 cm

Build: athletic, she does martial arts for fun and it shows :3

Distinctive Marks (tattoos, piercings, scars, etc.): pierced ears, "non ducor, duco" tattooed in script along the lower edge of her right shoulder blade (I am not led, I lead in Latin)

Clothing Style: practical; t-shirt and cargo trousers with combat boots and a leather jacket when necessary

Apartment Style: sparse. She's not much for decorating, so the funiture is relatively comfortable and coordinated, but there's not a lot of art or knick-knacks or other decorations.

Highest Skills: Combat, by a mile

Highest Personality Traits: Stubborn and Intimidating lol

Rules (by the book or bend them): By the Book by a hair, largely bc while she values having parameters and a process to handle things, she WILL break it if someone she cares about is at risk(or she thinks it's sufficiently stupid)

Team Player?: Only if they let her be in charge :)

Logic (heart or mind): Heart

Outlook (optimist or pessimist): pessimist slowly being pulled to a more balanced view by a certain couple vampires(one very tall and the other very energetic)

RELATIONSHIPS

with Rebecca:

past: strained through her childhood/teens. Mallory was happy enough to see her mother whenever Rebecca deigned to visit, but she's also hella independent so she was perfectly happy doing her own thing without parental guidance. She's also turned into a workaholic(oh no), so she... gets it. present: working on making it better. She believe Rebecca genuinely wants a better relationship and is a bit lost in How to Do That, so she'll meet her halfway, but she's not going to bend over backwards to soothe mamma dearest's feelings over her absence while Mallory was growing up.

feelings about Rook: She misses the concept of who he could have been, his being a cop was definitely a factor in her choosing it as a career, and she wears his (non-functional) watch like a bracelet.

with Bobby: hahaha. HA. College exes. He was the first time she really opened herself up to someone, let herself go along with the charming words and start to fall in love and then the bastard stole her criminal justice thesis(she'd been working on it for two years before she trusted him enough to share) to run with it as a hot story in the campus paper. It became his break-in to reporting and thus useless to her bc everyone would think she was copying him. She very nearly slashed his tired for that, but decided she didn't want him to know how much he'd hurt her. She's... coldly polite to him now, will protect him as a Citizen of Wayhaven bc it's her job, but she might shove that damn recorder down his throat if he calls her Angel ONE. More. Time.

with Douglas: She's frustrated by his lack of motivation and listlessness, bc she's always been a hard worker and go-getter who had to fight for a lot of the things she wanted. She wants to encourage him to try harder, but also wonders if some other career would be a better fit that inspires him to work at it without needing outside encouragement.

with Tina: They're friends, but Tina's enthusiasm is a bit much for her most of the time.

with Verda: She gets along with him very well, and appreciates how hard he works. She desperately wants to keep his family safe and him uninvolved in all the supernatural nonsense. (which is why she told the Agency he was looking into the illness in book 2 so they could stop him. >.>)

with Mayor: gritted teeth, gritted teeth allllllll day

with Captain: She respects him and wants... not to live up to her father, bc she doesn't want to be judged against Rook, she wants to be judged on her own merits, but she does want to be a good detective and was trying for the role. So knowing how she compares is something she's thought about asking him, but always decides it would be Unprofessional. She wants to give a good impression to him, as long as it's honest.

Romance: Adam :)

are you in a relationship?: hahahahahhaaaaa. no. have you kissed?: Yes. :) have you been intimate?: no do you love them?: so much it terrifies her. She keeps having PTSD nightmares about Murphy stabbing him/the Trapper fight and not being Good Enough to protect him. (yes he's a foot taller and ridiculously strong. no, that doesn't lower her protective drive one bit)

Best Friend in UB: Mason, and this was my absolute favorite twist from all my girls; I never would have called the two of them becoming any level of friends, let alone the ride or die that they've developed. I've written essays about their friendship, it's quite possibly my favorite relationship(platonic or romantic) from all my runs. (and I have, uh, a lot of variable runs) tldr; he doesn't coddle her and she pulls her weight, and they're both unflinchingly honest and like to hit things as a solution to problems. :D

BOOK DECISIONS

Decisions in Book One

Did the detective shoot A: Of course she did

Reason for joining the Wayhaven PD: Her family (grandparents, I guess??) disapproved of the military, so "following her father's footsteps" into the police force was the next best thing.

Went out or stayed in: She stayed in. Not much of a social drinker--or drinker in general--and she had a lot of work to do. And then. BOBBY.

Reaction to vampire revelation: Accepting. She watched Adam's arm heal. Like, them being supernatural is honestly less scary than some of the other explanations she could come up with, and it fits a bunch of other little pieces she didn't realize were there until the reveal.

Agreed to Agency blood tests: Yes. Can't fight what you don't know about.

Did Murphy bite you: Nope, she punched him and damn did it feel good.

Murphy's fate: Captured, rot in jail, bastard.

Decisions in Book Two

Dealing with the trauma of Murphy: Angry, trying to suppress it, still has nightmares about him(mostly the jamming a dagger in Adam's ribs segment, less what he did to her gee I wonder why)

Carnival choices: Carousel (ehehe) and fortune teller

Supernatural research or combat: Combat combat combaaaat. It's what she's comfortable with/good at, so she figures she has the best chance if she hones that.

Did Tina or Verda learn the truth: No, Verda was looking into it, but she told the Agency so they could redirect him. (He'd be in danger if he knew)

if Bobby route, kiss?: Ew, no. She'd rather lick the floor of a city bus.

Unit Alpha impression: She likes Lesedi. The rest of them are too.... undisciplined. She'll be polite and work with them, but they're never gonna be best friends or anything.

View on Supernaturals / how do Supernaturals view you: Both positive

Who was saved from the Trappers: Sanja (yeah, no it's fine she had to see Adam beaten unconscious. She needed some variety to her nightmares.)

Sanja's fate: Alive

Maa-alused outcome: Treaty

Decisions in Book Three

Supernatural research or combat: Combat, once again. She WILL punch a supernatural someday. She WILL.

Romances: if A, did you kiss: Oh, yes. And she was defiant about it; see below.

have you told them you love them?: She did, and it's so juicy with her, bc after Bobby she's very protective of her heart, and she straight up refused to admit she was falling in love with Adam all the way up to "Tu omnia". She made excuses, denied it to others and herself, flatout refused to admit she had feelings for him. It was supposed to be even longer, but she's the Language Nerd of my detectives and one of the seven she knows is Latin. :) So she knew exactly what he said, semi-conscious and beaten within an inch of his life and I couldn't justify it lasting any longer. She had a mini-breakdown about acknowledging it to herself, and then switches goals to getting him to acknowledge it. So by the time of the kiss, her confession is a challenge "I love you, what're you going to do about it?" and she thinks his whole "we can't be together bc it would hurt too much to lose the other" is bullshit cuz she's been having nightmares about him getting mortally wounded for months so clearly Not Being Together isn't going to save them any pain, stop being a stupidhead, du Mortain HONESTLY.

current relationship with Rebecca: Pretty good, 83% I think, if we want a number on it. Again, there's the both workaholics thing. And that Mallory's not gonna bend over backwards to soothe Rebecca's guilt. Also, while she understands where the fear is coming from, she's NEVER reacted well to people trying to coddle/protect her. So Rebecca trying to shield her from everything, while she gets where it's coming from, grates on her nerves. Bu they're working on it. There's hope for mending fences.

Townsfolk storylines:

View on Supernaturals / how do Supernaturals view you: Still pretty positive, she likes the thought of working for the Agency, honestly, and she's a badass even if she is "only" human(god, that phrase makes her bristle).

Did you go with Rebecca or alone to the auction?: She went alone. She works best that way, felt like Rebecca was being overprotective in wanting to come. So she did the stubborn indepent thing and well. Bobby showed up.

if alone, how did you handle the fallout with your unexpected companion: She tried being bristley and rude to get him to leave. That didn't work, and now He Knows. She let him keep his memories, and with their history it's gonna be so complicated and fun to explore going forward. Bc Mallory knows what Bobby is like as a reporter, she knows what he'll do (who he'll screw over) for a story, but he seems like maybe.. possibly... he's turning over a new leaf? Like he.... cares? Ridiculous, but she can't dismiss the possibility.

is Sin an ally?: No, he's spent so long tied to what someone else wanted him to do, Mallory didn't even ask. He deserves freedom to do as he wants.

[queen-scribbles]

Ooh could I get casual affection #5 for whatever ship you want?

5. squeezing the other's shoulder [Mallory/Adam, post-book 3, ~600 words >:D] -----

Late Night Assurance

To anyone unfamiliar, Mallory's position would look absurdly uncomfortable. Slouched far down in the chair, one leg hooked over the arm, neck craned to read to book propped against her thigh. Tina had once complained walking in on her sitting like that had given her an instant neckache.

But for Mallory it was perfect; comfortable enough she could focus, not so much so she risked falling asleep. A good thing tonight--it was late, and the Agency handbook was extremely dry reading. At least the hour meant fewer people about, so she wouldn't be interrupted.

Or so she thought.

The library door wasn't nearly as quiet as one would expect. And the noise--along with the surprise of company here, so late--jolted her out of reading about the interdepartmental chain of command.

"Agent." There was a note of surprise in Adam's voice to match her own. "Should you not be sleeping?"

"Wasn't tired." For once it was true; it wasn't fear of nightmares or what have you. "I think black tea at 3pm was a mistake."

He chuckled and she thought she caught a glimpse of his dimple. "So you are... making use of the time?"

"Might as well be productive, right?" Mallory said wryly. She stretched and straightened, letting the book fall open across her lap.

Adam raised a brow when he saw it. "You are already an agent, Mallory."

God, would her stomach ever stop doing a funny little dance at how he said her name? Signs pointed to no.

"I know." She bit her lip, picking at the edges of the pages. "I want to know the rules. even if we're frequently in situations that preclude following them. I want to do it right, I want to know I'm here, I'm an agent, because I deserve it. Not because of my blood or my mother or... anything else. That I'm good enough."

"You are." The words were quiet but firm. Unhesitating and unflinching. And they made her breath catch in her throat.

But not as much as when his hand came to rest on her shoulder a moment later.

"I had doubts when we first met, I don't deny it," he said in that same quiet tone. "But you have dispelled them. And I may still harbor concerns about you being human and.... what it might cost, with the threats we face, but rest assured, Agent Denney." He paused, looked her in the eye. "You, more than almost any, deserve to be here."

His conviction left her speechless a moment, her voice stuck on the lump in her throat before she managed, "High praise, Commanding Agent. And a high bar."

"One I am sure you will reach."

"Of course." She held his gaze as well. "I wouldn't give you any less than my best." In anything.

"I know, Mallory," Adam said softly. His hand tightened briefly on her shoulder, then dropped. "You always give your all."

And that's what scares him.

She knew that, of course. She was painfully aware how much that scared him. But she wouldn't be less than herself, and she'd left that ball in his court.

"What were you looking for, Adam?" she asked softly. A change of subject. (or perhaps not.) "When you came in here?"

"A book," Adam said, shaking out of his reverie. "That I am certain is here. I shall locate it and leave you to your reading." His hand flexed. "Good night, Mallory."

"Good night, Adam." She wriggled back down on the chair, definitely not staring at the motion.

His brow furrowed but he didn't comment on her position. "Try to get some sleep."

"I will."

She didn't dwell on how the warmth of his hand lingered long after he'd left the room.

Casual Affection Prompts

[queen-scribbles]

I know I'm Superwoman, I know I’m strong // I know I've got this 'cause I've had it all along

Mallory Denney | Amaryllis

And now a wild Mallory from @gncrezan appears, second in the plan for all my Detectives. Her hairrrrr, her face, she's so perfect and done with Adam's shit

[AJ] ∙ [Janine] ∙ [Kasey] ∙ [Chessi]

[queen-scribbles]

how about close and/or tug, for the Wayhaven pair of your choosing (or anyone else you'd like 😉)

*shows up nine months later with Dunkin and fic*

Close fill for Mallory/Adam, post-book 3 (grab your popcorn) ---

Pulling Punches

Mallory had thought she timed it right to be the only one in the training room.

She'd thought wrong.

"Agent," Adam greeted her, only half turning from the dummy he was practicing against.

"Only when I'm on duty," Mallory muttered as she shrugged off her jacket and started to wrap her hands. The annoyance was more at herself for guessing wrong--and the odd leap her heart did seeing him here--than him for the greeting.

"Which is, in a sense, all times," Adam countered, completing his turn toward her and clasping his hands behind his back. "Would you care for a partner, Mallory?"

She crossed her arms at the deliberate pause before he said her name. "For sparring, or did you have something else in mind?"

A muscle in his jaw twitched, the only reaction to her verbal jab. "Sparring, of course. That is why we're both here, is it not?"

"I wouldn't want to keep you, if you were finishing."

"I'm hardly worn out," Adam said, glint of amusement in his eyes. And it was true; however long he'd been at this, there was only a slight sheen of sweat on his skin, faint stains dampening the back of his t-shirt. He wasn't even out of breath. "And I would do what I can to assist you."

She did prefer sparring with an opponent to hitting a punching bag. More fun if she had to strategize and react. And she'd never gotten to hit Bobby after he broke her heart.

Of course, given how their last few training sessions had gone, she wouldn't get to really hit Adam, either. But maybe just trying would be cathartic. Wasn't like she'd hurt him even if she did land a punch.

It annoyed her how much that last point mattered.

"Yeah, alright," Mallory nodded, reaching up to check the hairband around her bun was secure. "Ready?"

"When you are," Adam said, inclining his head.

She sized him up and lunged forward, already swinging. It wasn't surprising when he knocked away both the punch and its follow-up. But he also dodged the sweep at his ankles she'd been trying to distract him from.

"Very good." A genuine smile curved his lips. "So long as you don't overextend yourself, such a combination is a smart choice. Keep your opponent's attention divided."

Something prickled in her chest at him talking like an instructor, detached, when he was--and should be--so much more to her. "Creating weaknesses to exploit?"

She kicked at the back of his knee, pivoted and felt her elbow strike glance off his ribs as he twisted out of the way.

"Or take advantage of exisiting ones." He raised an arm to deflect a punch, swept her feet using the momentum.

Mallory hit the mats, growled as she rolled back to her feet, immediately ducking under a kick. "And that's why you try not to have- any-." She punctuated the words with two more swings. Adam was silent, but Mallory was pretty damn sure it wasn't through any luck or skill of her own that both hits connected with his abdomen. "Trying to avoid getting hurt?"

Like you hurt me. She only just kept from saying it.

"To protect myself and others, yes," Adam said, blocking her next strike easily. "I have a responsibility to the team." He twisted to pin her arm behind her. "I cannot--"

"Show weakness?" Mallory bit out, swiveling in the heartbeat his grip loosened to pull free. She slammed the heel of her hand up into his shoulder joint, hoping to unbalance him.

She didn't. "Have them," Adam corrected.

Mallory snorted and huffed loose tendril of hair out of her face. "Well, that's bull. I know you care about the team, or protecting us wouldn't mean so much." She swung, he dodged. "Are you you trying to tell me Mason and Felix aren't weaknesses, by that metric?" Another swing, deflected this time, and she gave a breathless, sardonic laugh. "Hell, you've been best friends with Nate for three bloody centuries, Adam. D'you really expect me to believe it wouldn't hurt you if something happened to him?!" She kicked at his hip and almost fell when he braced to take it rather than avoid as she'd anticipated.

Adam caught her ankle. "That is not the same," he bit out, tugging on her leg just enough to unbalance her.

She hit the mats with a curse, tasted blood from biting her lip as she sprang back to her feet. "How?"

She knew, and if he said it, God help her, she was going to punch him in the face.

A strange vulnerability flickered in Adam's eyes, chest heaving with a breath. "He is not mortal, Mallory. None of them are."

"And I'm not fragile!!" she spat, launching herself at him again.

He caught the punch, easily keeping her at arms' length as he swiveled. "Yes, you are." The words were steady, implacable, and just a hint pained. "Compared to us, you are."

"And yet I'm still bloody here!" She tugged on the trapped wrist, swung with the other hand when he didn't let go. "Despite the danger, despite the fact you can be the most arrogant, condescending, stubborn--"

"Stubborn?" Adam interjected, giving her a significant look as he caught her other wrist in the same hand as well.

"Guess we're made for each other," Mallory retorted, yanking her hands free. He let her. "Except in that case, you're being stubborn in the wrong direction. I thought fear made us fighters, so why are you giving up so easily?!"

Rather than swing at him, she crowded into his space, breathing hard, as she made the demand. It hung in the air as Adam ran a gaze over her, as a muscle in his jaw twitched when that gaze lingered on her lips before returning to her eyes. As he held her gaze for several long seconds.

"Because I have already lost everything once," he finally said, level, quiet. Hollow. "I would not care do it again."

She swallowed hard, Tu omnia burning bright in her thoughts.

'You are everything'.

But she was not letting it go. He didn't get to break both their hearts and pretend it was the right thing, the noble thing, to do.

"So you're going to lose it to surrendering instead?" Mallory said bluntly, rolling her shoulders as she stepped back to resume sparring.

Adam's jaw tightened. "I am not-"

"You are!" She brought her hands up, fingers curling. "You're giving up even if I haven't!"

He frowned, emotion gleaming in his eyes. "You don't know what it feels like, Mallory, I cannot allow--"

"Don't tell me what to do!!" she yelled, frustration boiling over in a wild punch. "Just b'cause you don't want to fight f--" Another punch.

Adam caught both, one wrist in each hand, grip gentle but unyielding "I have seen the cost of fighting to follow my emotions. I would spare you that." He swept her feet from under her, following down to pin her to the mat, one knee by her hip and a hand still around each wrist. "My parents, my brothers, my sister, my friends, everything." He held her gaze, both breathing hard. "I have borne that for nine hundred years. But if I allow... us and something happened to you..." His gaze wandered her face, unfathomably sad when it met hers once again. "That I could not bear for nine minutes, let alone nine hundred years."

Mallory was silent as the words washed over her, as she caught the spark of pain and fear in his eyes. "I understand what you lost. That it hurts." She pushed herself up on her elbows, wrists still pinned, until mere centimeters separated them. "But I love you, Adam du Mortain. I am not going to stop because you're afraid..." A deep breath, the words shaking as they whisked against his skin. "...and I don't think you will, either."

He stared at her for so long she half-expected him to kiss her. Was more than half tempted to kiss him. But he pushed away, releasing her.

"It is too great a risk," he said softly, fingers tracing through the air a whisper from the edge of her jaw. This is... just for show...

"Have you forgotten how much I like risk?" Mallory challenged with a snort as she pushed to her feet. For once taller than him as he remained sitting cross-legged on the mat. "However much there is, it's worth it to me. I'm in love with you and you can't stop me. Denying that only hurts both of us." She moved to pick up her jacket and take a drink of water, swallowing hard around the lump in her throat. "Just keep that in mind."

And she strode from the room without looking back.

[queen-scribbles]

Fill #1 for @storyknitter​ bc this one spoke to me for two different OCs and I can’t say no to either 😂

---

Mallory grumbled under her breath as the stack of files she was poking through shifted and started to slide off the table. A mess of loose paper was all she needed right now--

Her wild grab for the stack missed, but another hand interposed itself and caught them. Sure, the steadying shove sprawled them across the table instead, but that was better than jumbled all over the floor.

Mallory turned to her new company and arched a brow. “If you’re actually the first one here for a briefing, I may have to mark it on the calendar.”

Mason snorted and raked one hand through his hair. “Not my fault he’s a slowpoke sometimes.”

She frowned. “He?” This was supposed to be with all of Bravo.

“Oh. Yeah. Your mother co-opted Nate and Felix for some people-persony shit, so you just get me and Adam.”

“My two favorite people,” Mallory deadpanned as she restacked the folders, her snark doing little to hide that it was probably actually true.

“Lucky you, then,” Mason shot back. He surveyed the stacks dotted on the table and her desk. “Awful lot going on, I thought this one was straightforward.”

“I do have other cases, Mason,” she said, gathering her hair up in a messy bun when it slid in her eyes one time too many. “Y’know, for my other bloody job. The one for you is-”

“Alveres? Here.” Adam stepped into the office, plucked the required folder from the top of a stack on her desk--rather than the table she’d been checking--and held it out.

Of course it was there. “Thanks.” Their fingers brushed as she took it, and Mallory grit her teeth against the way the touch made her chest clench.

Adam swiftly let his hand fall and cleared his throat. “If you devised an organizational system for... all this, Detective, you wouldn’t lose important files.”

She huffed. “It wasn’t lost-” I knew it was in here, just not precisely where. She shook her head, teeth gritted for irritation reasons now. “Let’s just... get this done. It shouldn’t take long.”

“Let’s,” Mason drawled, slouching against the wall and toying with an unlit cigarette.

“You light that in here, I kick you out,” Mallory warned. Normally she wouldn’t care, but, “There’s too much damn paper right now.”

Mason looked between her and Adam, smirked, and started reaching for his pocket.

“Mason. Don’t.”

It was an order and a request all in one, and he was acquiescing even before Adam turned to give him a stern look. “Fine, fine. Your show.”

“Thank you.” Mallory flipped open the folder and started going over what they knew, what they needed from Unit Bravo for this one, trying to ignore the festering irritation over Adam’s remark.

He’d been much more critical of many more things the first few times he was in her office. She didn’t know why this one was lingering. (Yes, she did.)

Adam headed for the door as soon as she finished. “We know what must be done. We shall inform the others and attend to it, leaving you to your...” his gaze swept over the stacks of folders around her offices once more. “...work.”

Mallory growled softly watching him leave, briefly distracted from her pique by his shoulders as he passed her. She was only human. As he kept reminding her. She bit the inside of her cheek as another scowl twisted her features.

“Don’t worry, Mallory, he likes you, too.” Despite the heavy sarcasm on Mason’s words, there was something in his clear grey eyes that made her feel incredibly seen. It was a supportive type of seen, cloaked as it was in a verbal jab. Even so, Mallory hated that feeling and folded her arms tight across her chest.

“Right, and next he’ll advance to pulling my hair to show it,” she snarked.

Mason shrugged. “Only if you’re in to that.”

Now her scowl was aimed at him. “Oh, for- We are not....” She huffed. “What makes you think I even care?!” 

He caught her gaze and held it, piercing and steady, as he leaned closer.  “Because your heart has been beating too damn fast to be standing close to someone you don’t care about, Detective.” 

Damn vampire hypersenses.

He straightened, twirling his lighter between two fingers, and smirked. “And so was his.”

There was a sparking click, the sharp scent of nicotine, and Mason was gone with a thin trail of smoke.

Mallory stared after him, arms still crossed, heart in her toes, and his words running circles in her head.

“And so was his.”

It was a long moment before she shook it off and got back to work.

[queen-scribbles]

Have that Mallory& Mason ficlet idea that hit me yesterday. I love this brotp with all my heart <3

~360 words

---

Mallory didn’t expect to have company when she stepped outside the side entrance to the Agency facility. She definitely wasn’t expecting that company to be Mason, perched backwards on the bench circling the small, lone table, leaning against the table’s edge as he smoked a cigarette.

He barely spared her a glance before looking back out at the surroundings. But he didn’t sneer at her presence, so that was... some kind of progress.

Mallory shoved her hand in her jacket pocket as she walked toward the table, pulled out the five pound note she’d tucked there for such an opportunity. She slapped it down on the table as she straddled the bench not quite halfway round from him. “Here.”

Mason looked at the money, arched a brow at her.

 “What’s that for?” the words came with a rush of smoke that was carried away on the light breeze.

“You bet I’d get knocked out by the end of the bloody fight.” She shrugged and gestured to the bandages that still circled her head. At least it didn’t hurt any more. “You won that one.”

“Heh.” Another rush of smoke flurried out onto the breeze. “You weren’t completely shit in that fight, but yeah.” He smirked, eyes glinting with the orange ember of his cigarette. “I did.”

Mallory rolled her eyes and surveyed the surrounding woods a moment before she started to get up. She been going stir crazy inside, but even with their limited interaction, it wasn’t hard to tell Mason wasn’t much for company.

He shoved the fiver back toward her and she paused, halfway up. Arched a brow. “What’s that for?”

Mason shrugged, looking out at the woods as he exhaled more smoke. “I also bet you wouldn’t stick around if you found out the vampire thing.” He glanced  at her, one corner of his mouth twitching up. “Lost that one.”

Mallory bit back a grin as she took the note and returned it to her pocket. “You did. See you around, Agent.”

“Guess you will. Detective.” He was smirking as he got back to his cigarette, but in the brief glimpse she got before she ducked inside, she could tell.

It was almost a real smile.

[queen-scribbles]

🖊 🖊 🖊! -em

Okay, rather than use this to specifically ramble about a character, I'm gonna instead ramble out some thoughts on my Wayhaven Love Interest Swap bc that brainworm has settled in GOOD and I need to let some of these this out before I explode. xD (this Swap being AJ/Adam, Mallory/Nate, Janinie/Mason, and Kasey/Felix. Yes, I realize there's three pens and four characters. I'll be much heavier on one or two of these that are really driving me insane)

🖊 AJ/Adam first bc AJ is always first, and it's the one I've thought about most(thus most likely to happen).

She's very easy-going and willing to work with Bravo, open to suggestion, and basically takes an "I know the town better, you all clearly know the case better, let's pool that knowledge" attitude rather than trying to be In Charge. Adam appreciates that, while it also irritates him and he cannot figure out why. (Spoilers, it's bc he likes her and her working so closely with them puts her in danger and he doesn't want her to get hurt. I think Nate would put those pieces together before Adam does, tho :3) Mishka's mentioned that A's route is them Love-at-First-Sighting the Detective, but I see it being something they both try to downplay for most of book 1(AJ's trying to be professional, Adam's trying to Make It Go Away bc he's trying to protect her from the dangers of the supernatural world, including him). It would be probably when she stops by his room after her arrival at the Agency facility following the vampire reveal that AJ starts to maybe acknowledge/lean into the attraction a bit more. Adam's still fighting it, but it's so hard to do.

He wants to protect her, from everything, but being around her is a different kind of dangerous for both of them(Nate is watching his best friend's struggle with equal amounts of sympathy and amusement). Then it turns out her blood is Special™ and she's in this world whether she likes it or not(she does) and Adam just doubles down on wanting to protect her. I think failing to keep her safe from Murphy would hit harder than it did with Mallory, which is so deliciously angsty. There's this amazing, palpable tension between them in the hospital after she's rescued; not sexual, but definitely something romantic brewing there. (I'm dying at both the patrol scene with him giving her his coat and the first time he makes one of the comments alluding to being viewed as a monster and she just looks him dead in the eye "You're not a monster, Adam" said with such genuine gentleness and conviction it makes him stop breathing for a second)

(Sidenote: her loving to read and him being such a protective grump makes them together give major Beauty and the Beast vibes and I am HERE FOR IT)

Book 2 is where things get really fun bc AJ would actually be more bold about flirting with Adam than she is with Nate in canon. This is because Nate is very suave/charming/open about being attracted to her, which makes her appreciative but shy. I wanna say she was somewhere between 70-80% shy on the romance meter by the end of book 2 with him(and it would be about the same if I put her with Felix or Mason bc they're also both very open about being attracted to you, it's just the tone/nature that changes). With Adam, while she wouldn't be flinging herself at him or anything, she would be a little more obvious with showing signs of her attraction. She'd figure his reticence was due to not being sure she felt the same(he's a vampire, could be from an era/culture with standards about "protecting a lady's honor") and want to clear that up. So it would be little things like touching his arm or holding his gaze. Stuff that's obvious without being forward.

I mentioned in the original post that the main things attracting them to each other is her genuineness(there is no guile in this girl) and how much he cares about his team(she'd notice that real quick). He worries her sweetness/trusting nature is going to get her hurt and she's terrified his protective streak is going to get him hurt again. Enter Trapper Fight and the "Tu omnia" which she would need Nate to translate for her bc she doesn't know Latin. She would definitely go supernatural research on his route and I would go feRAL over the library scene. And while she's willing to give him time and be patient, I feel like moving in to book 3, when it's really hard to deny this mutual attraction, she would start gently pushing for him to either commit or explain why he can't bc this back and forth isn't fair to either of them.

ALRIGHT THAT GOT LONG, sorry about that.

🖊 Mallory/Nate isn't super fleshed out as a concept, I just really like the idea of them together bc she will call him on his bullshit when he tries to deflect about discussing his past and he's easygoing to work with her wanting to be in charge while having the patience to deal with how long it takes her to open up. Suave enough to navigate her prickly topics, too, and the mental image of the fourteen inch height difference is also hilarious. She would want to Protect so badly with him, even if he is a foot and change taller than her. xD Bc he cares about people and he's so good and gentle and the world needs more people like that. Even if they're actually centuries-old vampires.

🖊 Janine/Mason is also not very fleshed out, just Sunshine/Grump pairings are my JAM. While there would still be flirting, it's far less sarcastic/challenge-mode than Kasey's flirting with him. Janine just likes him and is so genuinely sweet and charming, the "Sweetheart" nickname starts almost mocking and the shift to it being a more genuine thing is so subtle Mason doesn't even really notice he's doing it.(Nate and Felix sure do👀👀👀) Janine would want to hold off on sex until it means something, further confusing him about why he's so drawn to her and why he likes her so much, when she doesn't even want to "have fun". The bakery scene in book 3 would be BRUTAL, she would leave in tears, Mason's internal monologue would be something along the lines fuckfuckfuCK SHIT FUCK. >:3

🖊Kasey/Felix is the other one I've put some decent thought into. It starts out just as fun. It's casual flirting, at least on her end, sweet how much he cares, and he's kind of adorable, but Felix is definitely to more invested of the two of them until the Carnival Date. His unmitigated joy sends her just plunging head over heels, like she stepped into the deep end of a pool with no warning and she doesn't even look back. ("Look how happy you are, that's so much sexier than any pout" Girl's a GONER) She loves taking advantage of being slightly taller to wrap her arm around his shoulders, he's jokingly asked for piggyback rides bc he thinks it'd be funny. She would hesitate even more than Janine did about saving him vs Sanja in the Trapper fight. I think she would still save Sanja, but fullblown panic attack about seeing him so hurt, like we're talking walks like a zombie, Nate or Mason has to drag her by the arm to get her where they need her to go, absolutely stays when Felix asks and wraps around him like a very protective big spoon.

🍪🍪🍪Cookies for anyone who read all that, I'm now taking bets on how long until I run at least the AJ/Adam one(I'm a teeny little nudge away), and I'm high-key amused all these swaps put my girls in the perfect spot to rack up friend points with their bffs xD (AJ-Felix, Mallory-Mason, Janine-Nate, Kasey-Adam)