A new Smithy/Stevie story simply because I love them. Bad beginning, but I'm hoping it'll get better! If you like it, then read, review and enjoy!
He had never been one for subtlety. He'd dive in, regardless of the consequences, because that was just who he was. He did it in every context: in his work, in his social life, so he couldn't see why this should be any different. So he told her, very simply, what he felt she needed to hear.
"He's not right for you, you know." It wasn't malicious or spurning, but instead a fact that he had decided should be shared. He didn't wait for her response; merely walked off at a gentle pace, leaving Stevie just a little bit puzzled. He didn't look back, even as she called softly after him because he wasn't entirely sure how one would continue a conversation like that. He discovered he hadn't really thought this through - he didn't quite know what he had wanted to gain from such a declaration. Did he feel he was right for her? That he was unsure of, but he knew for certain that he was a better choice than her current man of selection.
They didn't meet for the rest of the day (or the rest of the week), not through avoidance - although a little occurred on his behalf - but mainly through work delegation and the simplicity of the cases. A stolen dog here, failed bank robbery there. Nothing major to bring the team together.
So he went on watching and she kept on dating and nothing was resolved.
Not yet, anyway.
*
It was only a few weeks later that she realised she missed his company, their banter. He hadn't been outwardly avoiding her but nor had he been making the effort to come and see her either. There had been times he'd purposely left his notepad beside her desk just so he could go up and spend even a couple of minutes in her company. But now he rarely made the effort and it only served to make her want it more.
She dressed up, she dressed down but still no recognition. There were pleasant greetings and quaint conversations but nothing riveting, no spark. So she decided. She was going to make him want her again, because she was almost certain he had done in the past. It didn't occur to her to think why she wanted him to notice her so much, all she knew was that she needed his acknowledgement. She wasn't quite whole without him, and he was somewhat lost without her.
But then fate intervened, with a little help from science, and soon enough their chemistry became undeniable.