A/N: I wrote this fic as a gift to funnygirlOoObroadwaybaby for uploading a TM clip of the finale for me, aromanticgirl for sending me a live link to the finale and Iloveplotbunnies because sometimes we all just need cheering up...oh, and she's writing a Body of Proof/Mentalist crossover :D
Anything your recognise is not mine but the creation of the fabulous Bruno Heller.
A Tale of a Teacup
Office etiquette was not one of Patrick Jane's strong points.
He liked to commandeer the couch in the bull pen for his naps. Food in the fridge, labelled or not, was fair game. Important documents left on his desk to sign were seen as the beginnings of origami.
But the one thing that really pissed Lisbon off besides all of that was that Patrick Jane had taken a liking to her mug. Rigsby, Cho and Gilzean bought it for her after a string of cases where she almost instantly figured out the bad guy…all of which she did pre-Jane, which she was keen to point out to Minelli when he suggested Jane join the team indefinitely.
So, it was no surprise when she opened the cupboard on a particularly bad Monday morning to find the wary eyes and "I see guilty people" of her mug missing.
Storming into the bull pen she found his couch empty…ugh, when had she started referring to it as his couch?
She scanned the room carefully just in case Jane had convinced Rigsby and Gilzean to play another round of hide and seek. Something most adults would never indulge in at the workplace in their lives and yet Patrick Jane had already been caught playing…twice…in the whole 33 gruelling days he'd been with the C.B.I.
All seemed clear.
Her eyes shifted to her office where she saw a familiar mess of blond curls through her office window.
He didn't even bother to look up as she stomped into the office, arms folded, wearing the death glare she only reserved for him when he really pissed her off.
"Good morning, Lisbon," he said casually, taking a sip of some no doubt ridiculously exotic tea.
"It's hard to see what's good about it when you keep hijacking my mug!"
His eyes met hers as he blew on the steaming brew.
"Well, Gilzean's got his football mug, Cho his "Mr Cool" mug and Rigsby's got that awesome cup that has a cookie pocket on the side."
Jane took a sip of his tea.
"If his cup is so awesome, why do you insist on stealing my mug?" she countered.
"You have that other one Saunders gave you,"
"I like this one," she said through gritted teeth, resisting the temptation of her gun - she would threaten the mug out of his grubbly little paws if she had to!
"I can see why, it holds the warmth nicely." He looked appreciatively at it. "Also, I spot guilt people too so it only seems fair that we share," He flashed her a binding smile which caused her eyes to narrow even further.
"Relax, Lisbon, when I'm done I'll make you a coffee and I promise not to try and trick you with the de-caf stuff,"
He made to leave her office but she called him back.
"Why are you really stealing my mug Jane? I can't sit it down for two minutes but you're dipping a teabag in it. I've even took a sip of that nasty mint stuff once or twice!"
He half turned towards her though he didn't meet her eyes.
"You got Rigsby his cup because he would leave his cookies on case files and there were crumbs everywhere. Cho's you bought because he's Mr Cool in the interrogation room and Gilzean's you got as a consolation when your team annihilated his. The guys bought you this one."
"So, what? You're too cheap to buy your own mug?" she smirked just a little. He'd slowly but surely been causing her to smile a little more every day.
He returned her smile but there was a hint of sadness there.
"No, it just makes me wish I could be part of your team too, Lisbon."
TMTMTMTMTMTMTMTMTMTM
Jane's words played on Lisbon's mind for most of the day, gnawing at her conscience. Admittedly, she hadn't exactly welcomed him with open arms…well, no, she had welcomed him until he caused a brawl in the middle of a supermarket which resulted in Lisbon having to get stitches after being hit by a flying watermelon.
She couldn't work out whether it was childish or sweet that he stole her mug in the hope she'd buy him a new one.
She didn't quite get why a mug equated acceptance in Jane's book...granted it was a very weird book, but still.
Just as she was about to leave the office for the evening she heard a knock on the door. Immediately she thought of Jane until she remembered he didn't knock.
Intrigued, she went to the door only to be greeted by a huge bunch of gerbera daisies delivered by a very disgruntled looking man. She thanked him rather sarcastically as he thrust them into her arms.
She jostled with the flowers as she tried to find a card.
"Sorry - The Mug Thief."
As she looked up she saw him lying on the couch, apparently asleep, but you never really could tell.
She approached carefully and saw a faint smile playing on his lips, betraying him.
"Thank you" she whispered, hoping he would continue pretending to be asleep but his eyes shot open at her words.
"You're welcome, Lisbon. I knew you'd like those." He lifted a hand to trace one of the flowers with his finger.
"They're beautiful…not my favourite though." She added, teasingly.
"Maybe not but they were your mother's favourites," The smile slid from her face and her eyes grew impossibly wide, "I'm sorry I forgot it was today. I would have had a coffee waiting for you this morning if I'd remembered…in your own mug and everything." His expression was empathetic but he showed no signs of feeling sorry for her or that he got her the flowers out of pity. Although he probably did feel a little guilty for riling her on her mother's anniversary he wanted to show her that, no matter how much of an ass he can and, indeed, would be, he was there for her.
And always would be.
She didn't even bother to ask how he knew what her mother's favourite flower was. In fact, she was quite lost for words.
"I appreciate it, Patrick. Thank you."
"You're welcome,"
As she made her way to the elevator, clutching her bouquet, he called after her.
"Sunflowers?"
She smiled to herself but refused to confirm or deny.
TMTMTMTMTMTMTMTMTMTM
The following day Jane went to the kitchen with every intention of using one of those boring, cheap ceramic mugs they had for visitors.
When he got there he found Lisbon's mug already gone and in its place sat a blue/grey teacup nestled perfectly in a saucer.
He smiled openly as he noticed there was a teabag already inside along with a note.
"Office rule number 1 : Team members do not steal other members' mugs."
He finally felt like he belonged.
A/N: Interesting (or not so interesting) fact - Gilzean was the name Heller originally had for Rigsby and, as van Pelt wasn't part of the team when Jane first arrived, I stole the name for the other consultant :)
If anyone is interested, this : zazzle(dot)co(dot)uk/i_see_guilty_people_mug-168577865496195871 is the mug in question :)
One last thing - if anyone is reading my other story, Froda, I will be updating that soon.