A/N: Well, I have enjoyed having a look at different characters and also looking at how they might percieve the relationship between Michael and Jackie. So I thought I would combine the two for this story. The basic idea is that the names of the chapters comes from an aspect of the character that the story focuses on that gives them their own insight into the relationship between Michael and Jackie.
This one is loosely based around the episode Fatal Inheritance.
Hope you enjoy :)
This story is for beautywithin22 who also enjoys looking at Michael/Jackie from an "outsiders" perspective :)
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Subtle
Jack McVitie was a subtle man which was why he was suited to the job of Superintendent. He often needed to use all of his subtlety to smooth over issues at headquarters or with members of the general public who had complaints. The fact that most of those issues or complaints had to do with Jim Taggart was another matter entirely.
Jim was a good cop, but he occasionally lacked the subtlety of his friend.
It was this subtle bent to his character that allowed Jack to notice the subtleties amongst those he worked with. It was how he noticed that Michael and Jackie worked well together on a much deeper level.
He had noticed some of the little things on and off in the past. Simple things like how both could be relied upon to have a vague idea of where the other was at any given time. The way Jackie was never more than two steps behind Michael, always just behind his left shoulder.
However, it wasn't until he started working more closely with them, after ordering Jim to take time off, that he started to notice the more subtle indicators.
At first he was surprised that Jim had never mentioned how they both seemed to be on the same wavelength: often Michael would begin to say something and Jackie would know, almost immediately, what he was going to say. But then, he supposed, that was something that Jim either didn't notice or just thought was normal amongst people who worked together long enough.
What had truly surprised him, however, was when a suspect had started to get agitated and Michael had moved, ever so slightly, in front of Jackie; ready to defend her should it become necessary.
In itself it wasn't something that would normally surprise him, what had surprised him was that Michael hadn't even needed to check where Jackie was. He had just shifted slightly to his left, half shielding her from view.
It had been a subtle move, more like shifting his weight, but enough to alert Jack to the slightly defensive posture that Michael had taken.
It was after that incident that Jack began to watch them more carefully and noticed other subtle indicators of their almost symbiotic relationship: how they could have whole conversations with their eyes. The way they could tell how the other was simply through their body language or the timbre of their voice.
He shook his head as he watched Michael turn to share a smile with Jackie over something that had just occurred. Neither having to check where the other was, just knowing instinctively where to look.
Yes, he was a subtle man but Michael and Jackie took subtle to a whole other level.
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A/N: I chose "subtle" for McVitie as he strikes as being the subtle mover in the background, there seems to be more to him than he's given credit for :)