Disclaimer: I do not own Person of Interest or the Characters
"Please stop" Reese's voice was just as quiet as usual, but the tone was different. Not quite desperation, but as close, Finch imagined, as he could get.
"Pardon Me?" Finch responded, thoroughly confused. They had been eating Chinese food yet again. He hadn't done anything to agitate Reese to his knowledge.
"I need you to stop"
Finch could see that the taller man had more to say and yet he got the feeling that he couldn't continue for some reason. Finch started to feel worry creep to the forefront of his mind. "Stop what, John?" Finch questioned in a low and even voice. Putting down his chopsticks and planting his feet squarely on the ground. Reese hadn't looked at him since he had made his first request. Finch desperately searched his mind to try and find what he had done that had elicited such a response, he came up empty.
"Zoe…and that reporter" Reese finally stated. Immediately Finch felt an overwhelming sense of guilt.
"John, I'm so sorry, it never occurred to me that they would be a constant reminder of Jessica, I hope you can find it in yourself to forgive me". He wanted to do something, to look at John, to seek out a response to his apology –
A broken chuckle escaped Reese, "It has nothing to do with Jessica, Harold" he tried to explain.
These new words only confused Finch more. "Then I'm afraid I don't understand John".
"Yes you do, of course you do, and that's why you keep on doing it" he said. "I need you to…" He never expressed his feelings, he just never had, but he couldn't keep this up. He couldn't keep pretending to be Zoe's husband when he was in love with someone else. "I need you to stop asking me to fall in love with them, because I can't" he continued. Because that was the truth wasn't it? Finch didn't just want Reese to pretend to be in love with them, he actually wanted the former agent to be in love with these women because he knew. And it absolutely broke John's heart. "I know it's not what you want, you can trust me Ha-Finch" Reese corrected himself.
"John" Finch said, it wasn't difficult to call the man by his 'first name', he simply refrained from using it so as not to make the other man uncomfortable in most cases. And, he supposed maybe to try and maintain a professional relationship. But of course it was a professional relationship wasn't it? "I assure you if I knew what you were talking about I wouldn't have caused the problem in the first place" Finch had spoken quicker than he should have unintentionally giving away his nerves. "And as for trusting you John, It has never been a question, I trust you completely?"