Red Letter
A/N: Okay, so basically my friend Cliara Aedai and I have decided to start this thing where we come up with a word, and then both of us write a Mentalist one shot, incorporating that word into it. Then we see how different our stories are! The word limit is 500, and we'll try to post about one a day each on our accounts. At the moment we've come up with 10 words each, so we'll post every day until all 20 are up! Hers are under 'Scarlet Snow' if you wanna read them too! Enjoy…
Sadly, I do not own the Mentalist, or its fantabulous characters
Word - 'break' Word Count - 480
A loud smashing sound came from the kitchen of the CBI, earning a startled reaction from the members of the serious Crimes Unit, who were sorting through pages of notes in the bullpen.
Van Pelt's head shot around to face the direction of the sound, Lisbon dropped her pile of papers and Rigsby jumped so high he fell of his chair, landing on his side with a loud thump. Cho was the only one who managed to stay calm, though he broke his usual straight face, smirking down at Rigsby as he lay groaning on the floor.
"What was that?" Van Pelt asked, peering across to the doorway from her chair.
Seconds later, a figure moved into the doorway, blond hair slightly ruffled, a forlorn look on his face.
"Jane, what did you do?" Lisbon questioned with an exasperated sigh.
He didn't answer, instead raising his right hand from where it was resting at his side. It was clenched into a fist, and he opened it slowly, revealing a cluster of tiny blue shards.
"You broke your teacup?" gasped Rigsby in mock horror. "How the hell did you break your teacup?!"
He didn't answer.
Van Pelt turned to hide a chuckle, placing a hand in front of her mouth, and Lisbon forced her face into an expression of sympathy.
Jane scowled at Rigsby's lack of understanding, remaining silent. He closed his fingers over the smashed remains of his treasured teacup, then folded his arms across his body in annoyance.
"Jane, look, there are heaps and heaps of other teacups and mugs in the cupboards, just use one of them" Lisbon told him, rolling her eyes at his ridiculous exaggeration of the situation.
"Yes, I know, but they're not the same" he complained.
"What do you mean they're not the same?" Rigsby asked sceptically. 'It's just a teacup Jane."
"No, it is not just a teacup" he replied, outraged.
"No, you're right, it's a broken teacup" Cho commented, completely straight faced.
Jane frowned, turning his back on his colleagues and moving over to the corner of the room where he flopped onto the worn, brown, couch. He then leant back, closing his eyes and ignoring everything and everyone around him.
"Come on Jane" Lisbon begged. "Look, I'll get you a new bloody teacup, just stop this nonsense."
He didn't open his eyes, simply holding out an open palm expectantly, waiting for the replacement he'd just been promised.
Less than half an hour later, Lisbon returned looking tired and flustered. She stormed briskly into the bullpen holding a plastic bag in her hand.
"Here" she said, thrusting the bag and its contents into his outstretched hand, which had remained in the exact same position the entire time she'd been gone.
"Thankyou" he smiled.
"I should think so" she grumbled in return.
And so the CBI returned to its normal daily routine.
Hope you liked it! Please review, and also read Cliara Aedai's story!