Thank you to write-it-motherfuckers on tumblr for the following prompt:
Person A: "Don't bother, even if you were all in peak condition, you wouldn't stand a chance against them."
Person B: "We can't just let them get away with what they did to you!"
Person A: "You're going to have to. I knew what I was doing when I decided to play distraction, and the fact they even let me live after they'd had their fun is a downright miracle…. I doubt they'll offer any of you the same mercy."
The last time Lisbon saw Jane, he had offered to distract Red John from the team, so they could escape. They had come so close to finding out his identity, then things had gone downhill and as Jane had said, it was the only way for most of the team to get out alive. And based on how Lisbon hadn't seen Jane in a week, she was willing to bet he was dead. It seemed almost strange, thinking of Red John actually killing Jane, but how else could she explain his absence?
Then he showed up on her doorstep, looking weak and disheveled, and she immediately began to usher him inside. She tried to reach towards him to support him, but he flinched away, so she stepped back and let him make his own way inside, leaning heavily against the wall for support.
"God, Jane," she breathed out after she got him to lay on her couch. "What... happened to you?"
Jane let out a tight smile. "You know exactly what happened."
Lisbon wanted to say that he was just beaten up, maybe just tortured a little bit, but still fine. But having seen his body's shaky movements and the way he had flinched away from her earlier... Lisbon had a bad feeling about what exactly Red John had done to him.
"I'm going to kill him," Lisbon hissed out, clenching her fists in anger. "We all are."
"Don't bother," Jane said. His eyes glanced over her body, still injured from earlier. The gunshot wound on her shoulder ached with pain. "Even if you were all in peak condition, you wouldn't stand a chance against him."
"We can't just let him get away with what he did to you!" Lisbon snapped.
Jane looked away. He shifted a bit on the couch, wincing with pain as he did so. "You're going to have to. I knew what I was doing when I decided to play distraction, and the fact he even let me live after he had his fun is a downright miracle…" He let out a shaky laugh. "I doubt he'll offer any of you the same mercy."
Lisbon hated how he was right. Red John had always been almost... protective of Jane, and now, it was quite obvious why. But Red John wouldn't hesitate to kill the rest of the team. To him, Jane was off limits, but they weren't.
Jane didn't seem to want to say any more, so they stayed there in silence, Jane eventually nodding off into sleep, and Lisbon quietly sitting beside him.
"You're strong, Jane," she murmured softly after she was sure he was asleep. "Don't give up now."
Yet Lisbon had to admit that the look in Jane's eyes had been almost broken.
If you enjoyed reading, please leave a comment!
Concurrent Works
-Heat
Date: 8/8/2022
Fandoms: Detective Conan, Magic Kaito
Series: Nico's Writer's Month 2022
Pairings: Saguru/Kaito
Summary: Kaito doesn't expect his beta enemy to be the one to help him when he's in heat.
Upcoming Works
-Echo
Date: 8/9/2022
Fandoms: Detective Conan, Magic Kaito
Series: Nico's Writer's Month 2022
Pairings: Shinichi/Heiji
Summary: Heiji is upset at the media.
-Life With Three
Date: 8/10/2022
Fandoms: Detective Conan, Magic Kaito
Series: N/A
Pairings: Shinichi/Ran/Shiho
Summary: Shiho is happy with her two partners.
-A Phantom Thief's Heat
Date: 8/12/2022
Fandoms: Detective Conan, Magic Kaito
Series: Friday Funtimes
Pairings: Shinichi/Kaito
Summary: Kaito goes into heat during a heist, where he is then discovered by Shinichi. The detective decides to keep him company until his heat is over.
-Hats and Glasses
Date: 8/14/2022
Fandoms: Detective Conan, Magic Kaito
Series: Nico's Polyam Shipping Days
Pairings: Saguru/Shinichi/Kaito
Summary: Everyone has a tattoo of something their soulmate often wears. Kaito has two: a deerstalker and a pair of glasses.
-Wrapped in Flames Chapters 1-3
Date: 8/15/2022
Fandoms: Detective Conan, Magic Kaito
Series: Nico's DCMK Events
Pairings: Shinichi/Kaito
Summary: When Kaito was little, his parents told him a prophecy, warning him to stay away from fire. Meanwhile, Shinichi is having nightmares of reaching helplessly towards a boy perishing in flames. When a witch pleads him to save Kaito from his curse, Shinichi forms a plan. He will not let Kaito die, even when they have to face an inevitable Reichenbach Fall. KaiShin BigBang 2022.
-School Life Chapter 1
Date: 8/16/2022
Fandoms: Digimon Adventure Series
Series: Nico's Digimon Events
Pairings: Daisuke/Ken
Summary: Seven snippets of Ken's life in high school, from his first day to his graduation. Written (late) for Digiweek 2022.
Upcoming Events
-HakuKai Week 2022
An event that I am hosting, celebrating the pairing of Hakuba Saguru and Kuroba Kaito. Prompts are now on my friend's tumblr (Radibe5), as well as on my AO3 collection, and reblogged on my own tumblr!