Line #2 Heartwarming/KnightAndRogueSeries


1	* Fisk and Michael met because Michael happened across a trial that was rigged by one of the judicars so the fine was unpayable. And Michael, perhaps because of his instinct to see the best of people notes several signs that there was a good person in Fisk (he unconsciously stopped another prisoner from falling due to a hangover, and seemed to only target terrible people) and refused to allow him to be unjustly flogged for his crime.
2	* Michael jumping into combat with the magica boar. Fisk is the one holding the dead magica animal and that boar is coming after him but Michael doesn't so much as hesitate to fight it himself, not even remotely bothered that Fisk bolts the moment he has a chance. Even hoping Fisk was smart enough to climb a tree. And Fisk notices. He warms up to Michael significantly afterwards; helping him get to a savant even though Michael is frozen in fear, being relieved when he makes Michael laugh, fussing over him when the savant wouldn't let him help, and taking care of his wounds after.
3	** And Michael is entirely unaware of it, wondering why Fisk's suddenly referring to them as we. Like he didn't just put himself in a lot of danger to save Fisk's life.
4	* Fisk when Michael gets flogged by the ship captain. Fisk stays up with him and cares for his injuries so attentively he's falling asleep sitting up. Then when his wounds start to get infected Fisk risks his own neck and Willard's to get Michael off the ship so they can get some help. It's all told through Michael's POV and once the infection starts to kick in and he gets a fever Michael's reaction to most problems is just that Fisk will take care of it.
5	* At the end of "The Last Knight", Michael redeems Fisk and frees him so that he is not obligated to follow him around anymore and starts to leave. After a startled second, Fisk follows, complaining that if he'll only get into more trouble without him.
6	** Even more Fisk is actively worrying about him. Actually trying to get Michael to charge him for Tipple instead of just giving her away. Which says a lot for a theif and con man.
7	* Anything in ''Rogue's Home'' that involves magic from Fisk's point of view. Considering that he's usually so sardonic it's sweet to see him being so sensitive to Michael's feelings.
8	* Anna's story of Fisk's backstory is a mixture of this and tearjerkers. Her remembering her parents and how much they loved each other. How happy they all were. The burglar that tried to help Fisk find some magica medicine for his mom and then hiring him on as an apprentice later. And then Michael sticking up for Fisk when Anna trys to justify Maxwell forcing him out of town.
9	* Fisk's attempts to restore Michael's confidence throughout the second book. Introducing them as Knight and Squire though he thinks it's ridiculous. And Michael realizing that Fisk has slowly been putting him back together again after he'd nearly given up on his dream all together.
10	* Judith put together two sacks of food and hid some money in them the moment she heard or realized Maxwell was kicking them out again being the only one of Fisk's sisters to make it out in time to say goodbye. And this time Fisk accepts the money.
11	* Benton in Scholar's Plot. He's one of two people in Michael's family who haven't written him off as as a screw up even after Michael is disowned and pronounced unredeamed. He believes in Michael enough that when he needs help he, through Kathy, finds a way to get a hold of Michael who isn't even writing to Kathy and isn't with Fisk, who does write to Kathy. Which had to take some determination. As far as we know he hasn't even told his own parents about his plight. But he tells his estranged baby brother.
12	** Kathy notes that when Benton needs help it's not their parents he goes to, but the family embarrassment.
13	* Fisk's CharacterDevelopment in ''Scholar's Plot'', which is especially rewarding after he hits his breaking point at the end of ''Thief's War'': [[spoiler: he finally has a support system again, which he lost in ''Rogue's Home'' after his brother-in-law exiles him from his hometown, which was next to impossible to restore because of Jack's betrayal. On top of Michael, whose friendship with Fisk has been restored (and arguably improved), there is the mad jeweler who is the first person after Michael whom Fisk shows great concern for. But the most telling is Kathy, whom Fisk falls in love with.]] The book ends with [[spoiler: Fisk declaring that he'll do whatever it takes to do right by Kathy, making his first conscious effort to stay away from a life of crime since his falling out with Jack Bannister]].
14	* Michael's character development as well. It's a bit more subtle than Fisk's at first but near the end, he's almost unrecognizable. He's still got that Incorruptible Pure Pureness thing, but he's much less idealistic. He sees the world for what it is, rather than what he wants it to be and still chooses to do good for the world, despite all the bad the world has done for him. But even more so, he knows how to take care of himself now. In the beginning, it's a miracle Michael managed to survive without Fisk, [[spoiler: but in the end, when he goes off on his own with no one but a runaway apprentice you know he'll be alright.]] And all that is because of Fisk. He's taken Fisk's lessons of self-preservation and ran with them.[[spoiler: The many times the two get separated in the last three books is proof that Fisk isn't the only one who has benefited from the other's company]]
15	* [[spoiler: Michael's reaction to finding out Fisk is in love with his sister. Fisk spends a good portion of the book, even before he realizes he's fallen for her, reminding himself that Michael's sister is off limits and after he realizes his love fo her he decides he's more frightened of Michael's reaction than her father's. However, Michael's reaction is simply irritation that no one bothered to tell him about it. It's sweet to see that Michael trusts Fisk so much that he'd leave his own sister to wed an ex-criminal.]]
16	** [[spoiler: And even that irration doesn't last long as he quickly realizes this is a new development for them too. He's blindsided by it sure but he's actually glad that Fisk didn't ask for permission and trusts him to do right by her. And in the last book he repeatedly goes on about how happy they are together and how much he loves that for them, even if it means he'll have to leave Fisk behind eventually.]]
17	* Any time Michael notices Fisk genuinely smiling he always comments on how rare and wonderful it is. [[spoiler: Once commenting that he'll have to tell Kathy how much more often it's been happening since they got together.]]
18	* Everything about Fisk's new dog and how they warm up to each other. They struggle to find a name for it but it's obvious from moment one that the dog has decided Fisk is it's new mommy and Fisk proceeds to start acting like it. When Michael meets the dog Fisk ends up holding it in his lap and Michael wonders if that's how he'll hold [[spoiler: Michael's nieces and nephews when Fisk and Kathy start having kids.]]
19	* Michael leaving Fisk behind in the end is equal parts this and tearjerker. It's hard to see them split up but their character development as a result of knowing each other makes it necessary.
20	** [[spoiler: Fisk the con man whose life has been full of people he loves letting him down who's so scared of poverty that he memorizes the price of everything, gets happily married and spends everything he has on a print shop that he wanted since he was a kid. Having to rely on his family to help him get it up and running.]]

Context Heartwarming / KnightAndRogueSeries