Tags and Warnings: Rinch, Reese/Finch, squishy adorable fluff (because I'm in that mood), domestic AU I guess?, holiday-themed fic
Just something that hit me last night that I wanted to get out because I think it'd be cute. :) This is also my first POI fic so yeaaaa if I fucked it up, SO SORRY! XD
The Machine doesn't exist in this fic. Sorry guys. :P I needed it to be as normal as possible for my idea to work. XD
Soundtrack: All of my Days – Alexi Murdoch
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John must have stood outside Harold's library for five minutes before he actually managed to walk up the steps and inside. The package in his hand felt extremely heavy but he did his best to pay it no mind. He was going to do this if it killed him, which hopefully it wouldn't but when it came to Finch, who knew?
As always, Harold was in his library in front of his computer. He was perplexed. He had been working on the same piece of script for the last 2 hours or so and for some reason, it still wasn't translating properly, making everything look distorted and just plain ugly. It irritated him to such an extreme point that he had gotten up twice to get himself some soothing tea just to calm down.
Just as he was preparing for a system check to see if the problem was internal, a soft voice came from behind him.
"Something wrong, Harold?"
As always, John Reese had the terrible habit of standing just far enough behind him that Harold couldn't see him out of the corner of his eye and thus had to fully rotate in his seat to see him. John was dressed in a suit (forgoing the tie as always) but he was wearing a heavy overcoat on top of it, a scarf around his neck and gloves on his hands. Harold hadn't been outside all day so he had no idea what the weather was like. Seeing as it was Christmas Eve in New York City, he was thinking frigid and possibly snowing.
"I'm having some trouble getting this script to work correctly." Harold said, turning back to his screen and typing some more as John removed his clothing layers, putting them on the empty seat next to Harold's chair. Reese remained as silent as ever behind him and if Harold wasn't already used to it, he'd be unnerved. But he was used to it, so he paid the silence no mind.
Until it was interrupted by shuffling of feet. Reese didn't shuffle his feet. Ever. Harold stopped typing mid-sentence and turned again, raising his eyebrows in question. He had noticed the package in Reese's hands but that was before it was being extended to him. He took off his glasses and eyed it warily as John spoke.
"Since it's basically Christmas…" The taller man didn't finish his sentence, his throat bobbing as he swallowed. Harold took the wrapped object, eyes staying on Reese for a few seconds longer before he began to open it piece by piece. He was careful not to tear the wrapping if necessary, peeling the tape back and folding it onto itself. He was pretty sure he heard John snort a laugh watching him but he paid him no heed, his eyes widening as he stared at the now-revealed object in his hands. John was speaking again.
"I know you like your books with pages made of paper and spines that you can touch but." He broke off again, searching for words. Harold placed his hand gingerly on top of the electronic book reader, fingers stroking the screen almost reverently.
"Figured it would be easier on you when you travel." He said softly. Harold could almost hear him kicking himself so he smiled, turning again. He didn't have to turn very far this time because John had moved to stand directly next to him.
"You bought this for me?" He asked. John put his hands in his pants pockets, falling into a falsely-relaxed posture.
"No it's actually for Lionel. I thought you might want to unwrap it for him since he's so fond of you and would probably appreciate the favor."
The sarcastic remark earned him a genuine chuckle from Harold, one that he easily echoed as he watched Finch smooth his fingers over the screen again like it was a piece of stained glass and not an ordinary piece of everyday tech.
Harold had often thought of purchasing an eReader for traveling purposes but then he thought twice and realized that he wouldn't ever use it. John was right, he preferred to be able to touch his books and know they were books.
But this was a gift from John, something the man had spent money on just to give it to him as a gift. That meant more than Harold cared to say, and more than John would ever know.
When the smaller man finally looked back up at John, his eerie blue eyes were full of crackling fire light, something people didn't get to see very often. It did weird things to John's stomach, weird things that he hadn't felt since high school. His first instinct was to run because this was Harold for God's sake. But his second instinct told him to ignore the first and see how it played out.
"Thank you, John. I appreciate it immensely." Harold's voice was soft as he looked back down at the device in his hands before he placed it gently on the desk next to his computer. One would think that Harold had never been given a Christmas present before. John then paused, watching the way Harold kept looking at the eReader, fingers seemingly unable to stop touching it. Perhaps that was exactly it. All at once John felt a strange warm feeling spreading through him. The fact that he had just given Harold Finch his first Christmas present filled him with such joy that he really didn't know what to do with himself. He was so focused on that feeling that he hadn't noticed Harold grip the edge of the desk and haul himself out of the chair, grabbing his cup of tea.
"Won't you join me on the balcony, Mr. Reese?" The soft almost hypnotic cadence of Finch's voice made John grab his coat and automatically follow him. The french doors were pushed open and a cold breeze wafted into the study, making dust particles fly into the air like a zillion tiny pieces of gold, floating about in the rapidly fading New York sunlight. The two men stood on the balcony, their breath (and the steam from Harold's tea) making trails of white in the air. They sat watching in silence as the sun sunk down behind the skyline.
Below them, dozens of different shades of green and red and even gold and yellow lights and decorations helped bring the spirit of Christmas to the city. People were still walking around, some of them even doing last-minute shopping, bags tucked under their arms and slung on their shoulders. John didn't feel bad for them when a taxi passed them and they looked absolutely exasperated. Serves them right for waiting so long.
It was a few minutes later when John noticed Harold shiver slightly, which was expected being that he was only in his vest and button up shirt and dress trousers. John didn't even think twice about removing his jacket and slinging it around Harold's shoulders, smiling at the surprised look on the other man's face. Their eyes met and even in the dark, John could still see that light shining in the bright blue irises as Harold slowly smiled back. They went back to people watching but John couldn't stop glancing out of the corner of his eye at the smaller man currently wrapped up in his coat, cup of tea in his hand, looking totally at ease with the world.
Eventually John went inside and brought out two chairs for them to sit in, along with a fresh cup of hot tea for Harold and some hot coffee for himself. Harold took the new cup with nothing more than a smile and nod and John smiled back, not breaking the silence. He put the empty cup on Harold's desk, grabbed his scarf and gloves and then returned to sit outside. John was only a little chilly so he let Harold keep his coat. He seemed quite content to remain bundled up with it, his arms not actually in the sleeves. The coat was more of a cape than anything at that moment, but John didn't comment, only smiled a little more.
They sat there on the balcony until the clock chimed midnight, signaling the arrival of Father Christmas. John turned to Harold and smiled.
"Merry Christmas, Harold." He said softly, his voice barely above a whisper.
Harold turned and smiled back, everything about him looking more relaxed than ever, his nose and ears flushed red from the cold.
"Merry Christmas, John."
John stood and rubbed his hands together, sad to see the moment end. He did however have a theory he wanted to test.
"I should head home. I'll see you later today, Harold."
As he turned to leave, a firm but gentle hand laid itself on his arm, stopping him. When he turned back, he wasn't surprised at all by the soft but confident kiss that was placed on his lips, nor was he surprised by how Harold lingered against his mouth before pulling back. They looked at one another for a moment before Harold limped inside.
"You're not going home at this hour. I'll set up one of the couches for you." He said. John chuckled and cleaned up the balcony, closing and locking the doors, placing the chairs against the wall.
"You're going to make me sleep on the couch?" He asked, grinning.
Harold placed John's coat on the back of said-couch and, after putting his glasses on, turned back around, a serious look on his face. John saw right through him, saw how hard he was trying not to smile.
"There's no need to rush into something we don't understand, Mr. Reese." Harold said.
John approached the smaller man and dared to put his hands on his hips. Harold started under the touch but he didn't pull away or look irritated. He kept his gaze focused on John.
"I understand it. And I'm not rushing if you aren't." John said softly. That did the trick. There was the smile John loved to see. Secretive, slow-forming, but so easy for him to read now.
"Well played, John." Harold said, pulling out of his grip and limping towards what John knew to be his bedroom, the command to follow going unsaid. John chuckled and shook his head, toeing off his shoes before padding after him.
Lying under the covers with Harold moments later, buried under a mountain of blankets and pillows, (seriously, Harold must have had thirty pillows on his King-sized bed), with the smaller man tucked under his chin, his breathing slow and steady, John allowed himself a moment of peace. His eyes slid closed and soon his breath evened out as well, sending him head-first into visions of sugarplums and gingerbread men.
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A/N: DUDE I AM SO SAPPY ohmygod! /flails/ But I needed a fic of Reese giving Finch a Christmas present. X)
Did you guys hate it? Love it? Not know what to think? Let me know please! :'D