A/N: Sorry for the delay in updating. Going to A&E over a 10 day migraine just to be told 'it's a migraine' isn't the best way to spend the day. (I did get given some nice painkillers though, so it's all good.) x tromana
Title: Patience
Author: tromana
Rating: K+
Characters: Jane/Lisbon
Summary: Lisbon really didn't seem to understand the meaning of the word 'patience'.
Disclaimer: Not mine; I'm just playing in the Mentalist sandbox. Figuratively speaking, of course.
Prompt: PhoenixWytch's prompts 092: Games
Notes: In 1.11, you can see a chess board in Lisbon's office, and it got me thinking. Chess isn't my game, at all. I apologise to all the chess players in the world if I have misrepresented something.
Patience
He'd given it to her as a joke. Lisbon really didn't seem to understand the meaning of the word 'patience'. She never seemed to like waiting for a plan to unfold, her hand constantly twitched to the walkie-talkie, desperate to be able to give out orders, or at the very least, check on the situation. Waiting suited Jane a hell of a lot more. He'd half expected the chess board to be thrown at him in disgust when he was dozing on the couch. Certainly not that she'd set it up (admittedly, with a few pieces in the wrong position) in her office.
Chess was much more Jane's game. There was a finesse about the game. It required an eagle eye, making sure you can take into account all the possible future outcomes and planning for them. And most importantly in his opinion, watching the game unfold, preferably in your favour. Chess wasn't something to be rushed; you had to think about each and every move. It was a game to be savoured.
When she left him alone for five minutes, rather than his usual snooping, he took the opportunity to correct her and make his first move. To be honest, he knew he'd be surprised if she even noticed that one piece had been moved. If they weren't working on a case, for some reason, she always seemed inundated with paperwork.
The first few games, he beat her with ease. Mate in twelve, mate in fifteen, mate in eleven. He'd watch from the security of the bullpen as she discovered her King flicked over yet again, observing the rigid determination written across her face as she set up the pieces and started another game.
But come the fifteenth game, she seemed to have learned a few tricks. Learned when to hold back, what pieces to sacrifice, how to elude certain attacks. As opposed to lasting just a couple of days, this game lasted just over a week. Jane sauntered into her office. He was bored, the rest of the team weren't up for being teased. They just wanted to get on with their work. Good for them. She glanced up from the form she was in the middle of filling in, and smirked at him.
He strolled over to their chessboard. She'd obviously taken relish in her final move.
Checkmate.