A/N: Thanks to MerriWyllow, 666BloodyHell666 and vanrigsby for reviewing Cinnamon Spice.

x tromana

Title: Hot Tea and Tranquility
Rating: T
Characters: Red John
Notes: Written for Toya (aka janesbiotch) in the Paint It Red Stocking Swap.

Hot Tea and Tranquility

Contrary to popular belief, Red John is quite a normal man. He just has a very unusual hobby.

Oh, some people call him a psychopath, a sociopath, or just plain evil. But they oversimplify the matter; they cannot see the shades of grey hidden in between. After all, he's still human. He can still feel a whole range of emotions, as deeply as the next person. Guilt certainly isn't a foreign concept to him. Neither is love. Nor anything else that any one person can feel, either.

In truth, the only thing that is truly different about him is the way he views the world. He can see things that others can't. The evil that lingers behind a supposedly 'normal' person's eyes, he can see it. Red John is a vigilante. He sees it as his job to cleanse the world of wrong-doers, to knock people back on the right tracks, to make everything right. Just like a law enforcement officer, or indeed, an agent for the California Bureau of Investigation, sees it as their duty to uphold the law. In a way, it's just a shame that they cannot see eye to eye when it comes to their methodology.

For years, Red John has worked on just the one man. Patrick Jane. The conman, fake psychic and charlatan has been a perpetual thorn in his side for many a year. Sometimes, Red John finds that having an adversary who is almost as intelligent as he is fun, refreshing even. However, after so many years, it's wearing. He's tired of the mind games, tired of the fact that Mr. Jane simply does not appear to be as quick-witted as he first envisaged. Now, he just wants it to be over, so that he can focus on other, new, priorities. Even toying with the same person for so long can get a little dull to a serial killer.

But the game is not up. No, Red John is slowly but surely moving it into his final phase of his plans for Patrick Jane. Lorelei Martins proves to be a good little minion; she always does exactly what he wants, when he wants her to do it. She knows when to drop little tidbits and hints into Jane's palms and when to back away. It's been such a long while since Red John had a subordinate so trustworthy. Rebecca, Craig O'Laughlin, each one proved to be a waste of time eventually. Soon, it'll be over, he tells himself. Soon.

For now, he needs to relax. Everything is out of his hands (at the moment). He just needs to wait for everything to be put into place and then, he can finally, finally make a move. Humming gently under his breath, he makes his way to the kitchen. A cup of tea always goes down smooth. While many people he knows much prefer coffee, the delicate tastes of a hot cup of tea have always been far superior in his eyes. To him, it represents the complexity of life, and his life in particular. And irritatingly, it is another thing he shares in common with a certain Mr. Jane.

But that doesn't matter. He's always loved tea and isn't going to let a shared interest in it with somebody he despises so much drag him down.

Once boiled, he returns to his lounge and stares at his DVD collection for a while. There are the homemade ones, surveillance tapes from the CBI, recordings his made of his killings. He keeps them for old time's sake, as little reminders of what he's achieved in the past. However, he isn't in the mood for any of that. A classic is much more his cup of tea, for today, at least.

Eventually, he selects The Wizard of Oz. He's always had a penchant for Judy Garland. And besides, it's the perfect escapism movie. It literally takes him into another world, where things are so much simpler. In Oz, everything just feels right. It's a shame the same can't be said for this place.

But as the dulcet tones of Judy Garland fill his home, Red John relaxes. This, he decides, is bliss.