A/N: This was written for day four of the "Lewis Week Of Love Challenge" The prompt was; "Impersonal love - (love of places, activities, art, music, literature, work, ideas...) "

James leans against the station wall, drawing deeply on the cigarette held in between his fingers. A slow smile spreads across his face as he feels the calm seep through his body. If there's one thing he loves, its the very unnatural high he gets from the first cig of the day. He's not stupid, he knows that this is only the relief of withdrawal symptoms, but this is of little consequence to him. It feels good, and after such a hard case, that's all he cares about.

One cigarette butt is thrown to the side and Hathaway smiles as he remembers Lewis picking up one of his similar butts ad handing it back to him, exasperation on his face. Lewis has never understood his addiction. Lewis hasn't really understood much of him he supposes. He hasn't really made it easy, but then, he doesn't understand himself.

The man himself rounds the corner and slumps against the wall next to him. He can tell that Lewis has been finding the case as hard as he has. He'd offer the inspector a cigarette if he didn't think that it would disgust the man. Lewis sighs and turns to look at him, an appraising and...almost sorrowful look.

"Sir?"
"Why do you do it Jim? Smoke I mean."

…

The words are out of Robbie's mouth before he realises he's going to say it. Every time James lights up, every time he fiddles with his coat pocket, every time his coffee breaks take 5 minutes longer than Robbie knows the machine takes to make coffee; he wants to grab the lad and stop him. Lewis gets flash backs to LePlassiter and he desperately doesn't want that for his sergeant. He doesn't want to be going to visiting his sergeant in hospital, doesn't want to think that his colleague and friend who is thirty odd years his junior, could die before him. So he turns to look at the younger man, determined that if the reason isn't good enough, James Hathaway is going to quit smoking.

…

James looks back at him. He doesn't really know how to explain this. Does he love smoking? That's what he wants to say; that he loves it, the feeling of calm it gives him. Does he even like it though? He's not overly keen on the taste, not overly bothered by the smell. But can he honestly say he likes it? He knows what its doing to him, what it could mean for him. He knows that with every drag of the cig, he's taking himself one step closer to death. But the feeling of calm...surely if it wasn't for the smoking, his heart would have given out to the stress? But these thoughts don't even make sense to him, so he has no idea how to explain it to his boss. He takes a long drag, much to the disapproving glare of Lewis and blows it out the side of his mouth, careful to direct the smoke from his friend's face.

Stalling for time. Eventually he gives up, realising that Lewis really won't let this go.

"I started when I was 15 sir. I er, I didn't really get on well in secondary school. Might have been a posh public school, but I was still only an estate manager's son. I wasn't nobility, and I was never going to be." He sneaks a look at Lewis to gauge his reaction but the face is blank so he carries on.

"I wanted to fit in. The kids that would have any chance of actually talking to me, well they were smoking. And I wanted to talk to them. So I started too."

Lewis raises his eyebrow and James grins sheepishly.

"There you have it sir, the origin of my long, loving and intimate relationship with nicotine. No hidden trauma, no amazing story. S'bit pathetic really."
"You could stop now. You fit in here."
"I could...but I don't want to. In truth sir, well I enjoy it. Maybe its addiction, maybe its not, but I do love the calm feeling it gives me. The only other way to get that is to get drunk...and I don't think Innocent would be all that happy with me drinking JD during duty hours."
"Aye, that she wouldn't." Lewis grins and then sighs sadly. "You just think about it eh?"
James nods as Lewis turns to go back inside. But as he watches the retreating back he knows he's a lost cause. He was serious about the intimate loving relationship thing he span to Lewis. He has no desire to break it up either.