#hellboy headcanon

TW: parental death, discrimination

honestly?? no hate to liz i love her dearly but i genuinely think someone who looks physically different would be the best for him

not for attractiveness' sake but because they would understand more of what its like to feel the way he does

i mean if you've grown up almost entirely with other elves in Bethmora, then you probably won't have a lot of experience with trying to blend in but for the sake of the post we'll go with the timeline where you were cast out from a young age and had to live alongside humans

your parents had told you of a distant past where humans and mythos lived alongside one another in harmony, undisturbed by things like environmental disease and pollution

but greed overtook humans, leaving the remains of the mythos' culture scattered and torn, just like your family

once your parents passed away you were cast out for wanting to live outside of Bethmora since your parents made it clear that while human beings were capable of great evil, they were equally as capable of great good. you didn't want to give up on them just yet.

but time hardened you, and so did hiding yourself from the outside world. living in underground the city amongst those who understood the struggle of not feeling like you fit in was comforting enough for you to get by without the embarrassment of going back “home”, but your specific set of expiriences made it hard for you to really connect with others once you became an adult

that was, until you met him.

when you first see him, hellboy is scary. he's tall, big, and this deep shade of red that reminds you of the feeling of rage and power. its something that makes you cower in spot when he walks up, gun firm at his hip as he... asks for directions

right. okay. directions.

you grew up here, so you know your way around pretty well, but he makes it kind of hard to think straight with all his staring. he probably thinks you look funny if you're being honest, but you try to ignore it as you bring him over to a lone vendor at the end of the street

he's kind of... brash. from what you can tell. the entire walk there was silent but he seems to have plenty of words for the vendor who honestly can't understand a word he's saying

you can tell they're both getting more aggravated by the second so, in a moment of clarity you offer to translate

the language, though complex and mostly lost to time and lack of native speakers, rolls easily off your tongue as you explain what he's looking for

living around these parts meant you picked up a lot of languages in your time, so acting as this weird strangers translator isn’t that much of a problem for you. it lessens the chance of blood being spilt, anyways

it doesn't take you long to get him the information he needs (more directions it seems, but not for any place or thing you know about)

he's quiet for a second after you translate, staring down at you with a steely but... bemused look? curious? you can't really tell in the dim lighting, but before you can open your mouth to break the uncomfortable silence, he speaks

"You ever consider working for the government?"

and the rest is history. it didn't take you long to move into your own room at the BPRD, where you met a few of Hellboy's (tall red guy, he was astronomically less scary than you thought he was once you got to know him) coworkers including Abe, a friendly blue fish guy that was more than fascinated with your life stories. you almost felt bad for him for being stuck in a tank most of his life, he would’ve been an excellent traveling buddy

but anyway Hellboy was, as previously stated, a lot less scary than you originally thought him to be. sure he was tall and imposing and could most definitley rip someones limbs off if he wanted to, but he also liked old human music bands like Motley Crue and Queen. he also, to your surprise, had a VERY strong affinity for cats

needless to say the two of you become close over a very short period of time. having your rooms be next to each other certainly made running into each other a lot easier, but if you were being honest knowing him is the first time you ever really felt like someone... got it

certain feelings, certain struggles and pains you thought you faced alone were shared by him, more deeply than a way you ever thought possible. being hated for your appearance and heritage was something he knew all too well, and never feeling like you ever truly knew where you came from was one of the many things both of you had long, drawn out talks over

it was only a matter of time before you began to feel more than just... friendly feelings for him. it was just approaching them that was the issue

but thankfully you wouldn't have to considering he accidentally told on himself while he was drunk LMAO

like obviously he tried to play it off like he totally didn't remember what he said the next morning even though he was nuzzled into your shoulder while hugging you and telling you how much of a coward he felt like for just not being able to say that he wanted you ("I feel like shit, Y/n." "Why...?" "I'm such- I'm such a fucking wimp. I can't even say I like you. Do you know how that feels, too?" "A little too well, Red.")

but after hearing from abe how upset you were about him pretending to not know about it he called you to his room once he knew you were settled down for the day to talk

you obviously assumed the worst considering you were pretty sure he was going to turn you down, expecting something along the lines of "it wasn't meant for you" or "i can only ever see you as a friend"

preparing yourself for the dissapointment makes it a lot easier, but as soon as you walked in and saw him dejectedly sitting on the dge of his bed like a child in trouble, you knew something wasn't like you predicted

his face is a little more red than it usually is (hard to tell, but you can tell he's embarrassed by the fact that he won't hold eye contact. that or he's ashamed of himself.), and he pats space next to him

you sit down gently so as not to freak him out, and he takes the lead with the conversation by apologizing

"I'm uh- really sorry for last night. I didn't mean to-"

but you stop him, a small smile on your face as you place a hand on his admittedly too-large bicep. its hard not to feel small next to him sometimes, but it doesnt help the hurt in your heart as you look up at him

"Red- honey. It's okay. I know it wasn't meant for me."

there's a pause.

"Huh?"

"I know it wasn't meant for me. It's okay, I'm not angry with you."

"Wh- No. It WAS meant for you."

you shake your head a little bit. it's getting hard to hold back tears. you always hated that about yourself- being so emotional made it difficult to keep it together in sensitive times like these

"You don't need to lie to me, I'm not going to take it pers-"

"No Y/n, you don't understand. I am in love with you."

oh.

OH.

oh god, you feel kind of stupid. i mean it takes a second to actually sink in but god he was actually in love with you? so you weren't like, hung up over someone who would never want you back??

admittedly you almost don't believe him, thinking it to be some kind of cruel joke at your expense, but the desperate, confused look in his eyes is enough to give it away; he's not lying, and he never would. not about this. not to you.

your stunned silence goes unnoticed to you and, before you can process it, it looks like his face is dropping in realization. he's under the impression you don't like him back or something insane like that.

"Oh. I uh- forget it."

"WH- No no wait! Sorry I just needed a second to process. I like you too!! I just- I couldn't really believe it? I mean I just- I didn't think you'd ever like me back. Ever. It's just a lot to take in."

"Oh. Got it."

you two fucking dorks just kinda like?? sit there for a second before you finally look back at him. once the information has finally sunk in you smile at him, all wide and toothy as you place your hands on his own in his lap. he's still blushing, but it flares up again once he realizes how close you are

"Does this mean we're a thing now?"

you swear you feel the room get warmer just from the blood rushing to his face alone. but he's smiling a little bit!! that's more than you've seen him smile at like.. anything. it makes you smile in turn and, as the night goes on, things return mostly to normal

its rocky at first considering neither of you really know what to do, but if there's one thing you two are good at its communication

having a long standing friendship means that you already trust each other fairly deeply, so talking through things isn't nearly as hard as it normally would be. he feels comfortable enough to share his insecurities with you, so talking to you about other things is so much easier for him

in turn, you do the same. your relationship is built on trust and understanding, and the two of you are almost made for each other. you've gone through the most same struggles and pain trying to blend in in a world that doesn't feel like it was meant for you, and although your issues are unique to you as individuals it means a lot to both him and you to have someone that knows what being so different feels like

but aside from all the super deep stuff that builds the fundamentals of your relationships you also focus on the simple things too!! like for instance he LOVES the fact that you're smaller than him because he can quite literally just pick you up and carry you around if he wants to

he already did that shit normally but if you think you aren't getting picked up and taken away in the middle of a conversation with someone you are GREATLY mistaken. not paying attention to him? took. he wants you to see this cool thing he thought you'd like but you're too invested in paperwork? took. you will get Took and he will ignore your complaints about it (unless you really hate it then he'll apologize and put you down ofc)

if you like to do your makeup you bet your ass he'll watch you the whole time. he won't admit that he wants to try on some lipgloss but when you finally get him to say it he'll say something stupid and suave like "Well kiss me then." and wait for you to share 🙄

if you try to take his clothes to wear them anywhere except to sleep he will try on your clothes

he ripped your shirt one time trying to fit it over his chest and when you said his boobs were too big he covered his chest like an embarrassed maiden LMAO

it goes without saying but he likes to act like he's tough and shit with his beers and big hammer hand but as soon as you're around he can't keep up his hardass front anymore. it gets SO difficult to not laugh when you make jokes that you know he'll find funny but a good portion of your relationship is him acting all tough and manly and you just showing up and him relaxing instantly

Thank You For Reading!! :]