Title: Enigma
Word Count: 339
Rating: PG for slight angst
Fandom/Pairing: POI gen drabble starring Reese/Finch, Lionel
Disclaimers/Warnings: Spoilers for "Legacy". Also? Not true, no own, don't sue.
Author's Notes: Um, none I guess. Other than comments being highly appreciated and most welcome.
Summary: The man runs through John's mind too much for his own liking.
John's used to waiting in the silence of a bustling crowd of people. When he knows what, or who, he wants the right opportunity always presents itself. Always. Whatever the situation calls for he knows what to do.
Maybe that's the problem.
Even back when he used alcohol all the time to drown out the sounds of the dying. The people he killed, the people he lost, Jessica. Day or night didn't matter. Flashbacks, anxiety, nightmares. They came whether his eyes were open or closed so he drank. Heavily. And was on the verge of rendering his liver useless in the process, but he knew exactly what was happening the whole time.
But that was then. Right now he's completely out of his depth. The numbers keep coming in and he keeps working them. He's beginning to wonder if they will ever stop. He could do this for the rest of his life and still only help 1,000 people if he's lucky. Then there's Finch. He tries to get into the man's head every single day, yet he barely holds a handful of truths to show for his effort. He's not afraid of him so much as afraid for him. Finch seems to believe his secrets make him safe. Secrets, John's well aware, have the unnerving tendency to haunt a man to his grave. He's told Finch that in a few different ways. Hell, having the genius know everything about him has freed him more than he ever thought possible.
That's what bothers John the most, though. Finch won't let him in out of some misguided sense of privacy when he only wants to guard that privacy, protect and nurture it. He's finally been given a real purpose in life, and hope along with it. He will never betray such a gift or willingly let it go. Which is why Lionel is tracking him move for move. To make sure Finch doesn't get into any trouble.
Hearing confirmation that the man hasn't left him yet is merely a bonus...
The End