Author's Notes: Response to the slashthedrabble community prompt #381: New/Old. Set during the early part of Season 13. Characters property of NBC/Dick Wolf. Written purely for fun and not for profit.
Sitting at McGinty's with Amanda, waiting for the others to arrive for an evening round, Fin knew that eventually he'd get used to having a new partner. He didn't necessarily want to get used to it, but circumstances had made it such that he'd had no choice in the matter—not with two green detectives to break in.
After initially rotating them between the senior staff to see how the chemistry played out, things had settled into a tentative new normal, Nick with Olivia and Amanda with Fin. John had even been the one to insist upon it to the captain, once he'd felt certain he could trust Amanda to watch Fin's back. John soon faced mandatory retirement, Captain Cragen as well. And as much as John disliked being in a command position, even just when Cragen was away and needed back up, it simply made practical sense for him to stick with more precinct-bound duties at this point in his career.
Meanwhile Olivia's heart was justifiably breaking. Elliot had left without saying goodbye, without reaching out to even talk to her. Without ever truly acknowledging what had been between them, what could have and perhaps should have been so much more. In contrast, Fin knew how lucky he was. At the end of the day he would go home and John would be there for him, his partner in life even if no longer on the job.
Fin had a good feeling about Amanda. She might not look it, but she was tough. He sensed she'd been through her own rough times, even if she wasn't ready to share with him just yet. She hadn't flinched when he'd told her his son was gay, nor when he'd made his situation with John clear to her early on, because he had to. Anything happened to him in the field, she had to know who to contact first, that John was named in his health care proxy to make any critical decisions.
If she'd been surprised by the revelation (surely she must have been; Fin knew he and John virtually defined "odd couple"), she'd covered it smoothly in her breezy Southern way. "You and John been together so long, why don't y'all make it official already?" she asked him now over drinks.
"Couldn't, legally, until this year. I'd do it in a heartbeat, but trying to convince Munch to get married a fifth time..."
"Fifth?" John's marital track record seemed more a surprise to Amanda than his and Fin's relationship status. "Damn, that's a lot of exes to deal with."
"You don't have to tell me. But maybe you could lay on some of that Georgia charm and help wear him down."
"You're devious. I like that."
"Do I want to know what you two are scheming?" John asked, joining them finally with Olivia close behind.
"No," Fin and Amanda answered in unison, then sharing a wink and a laugh.
Yeah. Fin had a feeling this could work out after all.