#john munch

“I spy with my little eye something blue.” You say as you look outside the car. You, John, Fin, Olivia, and Elliot are on a stakeout. The perp is supposed to be coming by soon. Fin is standing outside the building casually, Olivia and Elliot are in a car a few yards away, and you and John are in the other car. 

You guys had already been there for 30 minutes. You talked for a bit. Normal stuff really. Mainly about what you two were going to do after work. He always felt bad that he doesn’t take you out on dates as often. You never minded. Your schedules are always busy. But he said he wanted to take you out tonight. Which was the main topic of conversation before a comfortable silence consumed you both. 

Soft music played in the car. Despite your deal to be professional when working, his hand lay on your thigh and tapped to the beat of the music. It was nice, but you were growing bored. So you decided to do something about it. 

“You’re kidding?” John says. He tries to make himself sound annoyed, but all you hear is fondness in his voice. 

You grin and look over at him. “Well it’s either this or I go on and on about how Olivia and Elliot won’t get together.” 

That makes him groan. You had a bet going on with him and Fin on when they’re going to get it together since Elliot is going through a divorce. You bet that Elliot was going to get back with Kathy. Fin thinks Elliot and Olivian will get together when the divorce is final. John bet it’ll be at least 3 months after the divorce. 

He never hated your rants. In fact, he loved listening to you talk. But he didn’t like this topic because he’s slowly started realizing that you may be right. 

“Is it the sky?” He asks, looking over his glasses and at you. 

You shake your head. “Nope.” 

“The sign?” He points at the store sign in your view.

“Nuh uh.” 

He narrows his eyes at you. “The car? The flowers? The umbrella? The guy with the coat?”

“No. No. No. And no.” 

He huffs, looking outside seriously with concentration now. Determined to find whatever the hell your subject is for the game. 

Before he can say something else he spots the perp walking past the building. His hand comes off from your thigh and goes to the wheel. “He’s heading your way.” Olivia says on the walkie. 

You and John focus on the perp. He must feel eyes on him because he starts running. You’re out of the car in seconds because you two are the closest to him. John starts driving. Unfortunately the perp climbs a fence. You follow quickly. 

John follows in the car. When he gets to the fence, he curses to himself. It takes him a whole lot longer to get over than it did you. By the time he gets over, Elliot and Olivia arrive. He doesn’t pay them much mind before running toward the noises in the alley. 

You’re fighting with the perp, and even though you’re winning, John hates that he got any hits on you. He puts his gun to the perp’s head. “You done?” He grits out with a clenched jaw. He tries to will himself to not look at you. He’s angry enough as is. 

Worry gets the best of him though. He looks over at you. Your lip is busted and he can see a bruise form on your eye. His grip tightens on his gun. Without thinking, John hits the perp with the butt of his gun. 

“Ah!” The perp cries and falls to his knees. “That’s police brutality!” He angrily says. 

John puts his gun away and takes out his cuffs. “I’ll be sure to get you a customer service number to file a complaint.” John says sarcastically and cuffs him. As he cuffs him Olivia, Elliot, and Fin make their way over.

Elliot takes the perp off of John’s hands. Olivia and Fin had gone over to you to see if you're okay. When Olivia saw Elliot leaving, she followed. Back up had been called so Fin went to go talk to one of the officers. 

John guiltily makes his way over to you. “The big guys are going to be on your ass for that stunt.” You say with a smile. He tries to smile, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. Yours falters. A quiet John is a thinking one, and after what happened, you knew that wasn’t good. “John-” 

“You should let a doctor see you for a concussion.” He interrupts with a mumble. 

You nod, normally you would fight him, but you could see the guilt in his eyes so you decide against it.

As you get assessed, John watches from a far. Fin walks up next to him. “She alright?” He asks. 

John sighs heavily. “Should be. No thanks to me.” 

“The hell are you yammering about now?”

“The fence. I couldn’t get over quick enough.” He scoffs and crosses his arms, slight cracks coming from the movement after the stunt he had to pull. “I never cared about our age gap. Who cares what other people think? But maybe I was wrong. Both as a professional partner and a romantic one.” He keeps his voice level, but the hint of sadness is noticeable. 

It’s Fin’s turn to scoff. “You say a lot of stupid crap but that’s the stupidest I’ve ever heard.” John glares at him. Before he can elaborate, you finish up with your check up and come over to them. Fin smiles at you. “Cragen said we’re good for the night. You two should head home.” Fin pats your shoulder before walking away. 

Once Fin is far enough away, John turns to you. “I can take you home.” 

“Home? What about our date?”

John rubs the back of his neck. “Let’s talk when we get there.” 

You agree, mainly to get answers out of him. The ride back is in silence. Not the comfortable silence like earlier. This one is heavy. Both of his hands are on the steering wheel as he drives. You can see his knuckles turning white. As much as you want to say something, you remain quiet until you get to your apartment. 

He walks with you back up to your apartment. When you open the door, he doesn’t follow you inside. “I’m not talking to you unless you get inside.” You say firmly. He sighs and follows you in. 

He shoves his hands in his pockets. “Maybe this won’t work.” 

“Excuse me?” You cross your arms and narrow your eyes at him. “Are you trying to break up with me?” 

John looks away in shame. “You could’ve gotten really hurt. You did get hurt. All because I couldn’t climb a damn fence fast enough. I couldn’t live with myself if I lost. I really couldn’t if I’m the reason I lost you.” He bites the inside of his cheek. “Maybe we were too quick to look past this gap.”

You scoff and uncross your arms. “That’s not happening.” 

He blinks. “What?”

“If you wanted to break up with me because you fell out of love then fine. But that’s not the reason. Is it?” You narrow your eyes at him in a questioning gaze. 

His mouth opens and closes a couple times. “I- No.” He tries to look at you, but the markings on your face make him look away. 

You sigh and grab his face gently. As much as he tries not to, he melts into your touch. “John, I’m fine. If you don’t remember, you’re the one who got the guy in cuffs. Sure, I took a few hits, but if you expect me to always come out okay in this job then, baby, I’m sorry but your delusional.” 

“There would have been less damage if-”

You interrupt him with a laugh. “If what? If Elliot had been with me? Or Fin? Or Liv? I still would've gotten hit, John. We all have our strengths. I wouldn’t trust any of those three with a puzzle. Remember the RDK case?” You move your hands to his waist and he lets his fall to yours. “I’m right where I want to be so don’t try to move me. Okay?”

He nods. “Okay.” He says softly. He smiles and you lean up for a kiss, but he leans away. “Your lip.” He reasons. 

You roll your eyes. “I don’t care.”

He kisses the top of your head. “I do.” You huff stubbornly which makes him laugh. “Let me make you dinner.”

You sigh dramatically. “Okay.” He releases you, but makes his hand go to yours. You lead him to the kitchen. “By the way, it was your tie.” You say with a smug grin. 

“What?” He asks, confused.

You point at his tie. “Your tie. That’s what I spied.” He looks down.

He furrows his eyebrows. “You were looking outside.”

“Yeah but I never said it was outside.”