Person of Interest (Season 3): Domestic Intimacy #9: Art Museum

A/N: John might not be into art himself, but he wants to make Harold happy. There is a reference to an Italian painter here. If you get a chance, look up his self-portrait. It's pretty cool, I think.


"Where are we going?" Harold asked, as John steered the town car around a double parked taxi.

"Now, if I told you that, it would ruin the surprise."

Out of the corner of his eye, John saw Harold give a little smile. He couldn't help but grin himself. Harold was going to love this. He hoped. Having a day off from the numbers was rare, but it was good to get out of the library and out of the apartment, no matter whose apartment they'd been spending time in, or even if they'd been alone.

He pulled into the museum parking lot, and watched as Harold's face lit up.

"Oh, I haven't... I haven't been here in so long!"

John's grin widened. Yes, this had been the right choice. There were only so many times they could go to the movies after all.

John made sure to jump ahead in line to pay for both tickets, not that it really mattered. It was the principal of the thing.

And from then on, it was all John could do to keep up with Harold as they toured the exhibit halls, Harold taking on the docent role for John, explaining the history of the paintings they passed as well as factoids about the artists.

John wasn't into art himself and mostly let the facts roll over him. Harold didn't seem to notice John wasn't paying the art much attention. He enjoyed watching Harold having fun, the way his eyes lit up and the way he became animated, his arms waving in the air as he explained everything he could.

Eventually Harold had tired himself out, but was still too happy to reenter the real world. John took his hand then, and quietly walked with him through the remaining exhibits, enjoying the glow that emanated from him.

Occasionally John would stop by a painting that had caught his eye, and because he knew it made Harold happy, he would say, "Harold, tell me about this one."

"Oh, that's a self-portrait by Gian Paolo Lomazzo!" and Harold would tell him everything he knew about the Italian painter, turned writer.


As they fell asleep later that night, Harold wrapped up in John's arms and already sleeping soundly, John told himself they would have to do that again. It had been good for Harold, and it had been good for himself too. A weight had lifted from his shoulders, if only for the afternoon, and it had lifted his heart to see Harold smiling for the first time in a long while. He snuggled in closer to Harold and sighed a contented sigh.

Tomorrow was sure to be a crazy day at the office.