Lewis Ficlet: cede with grace

[kat_lair]

Written for the Season 6 Fanwork challenge over at lewis_challenge. This is for pushkin666's prompt of wanting something from Lewis’ pov in a certain garden scene in 6.1 The Soul of Genius.


cede with grace – Lewis – implied Hathaway/Lewis – 324 words – G





Robbie watches the two of them from a distance: James standing ramrod straight with that little smug curl to his mouth that says he’s just had a chance to show off his knowledge, and her, lovely and genuine like the earth clinging to the knees of her jeans, like the plants she tends to.

She’d suit him, Lewis thinks. This lady botanist. Liv. She’s clearly smart and has a forthright approach to life and unashamed positivity about her that quite reminds Robbie of Val. Yeah, she could be good for James.

That is, if the lad is smart enough to ask her out. Robbie hopes so.

Well. Mostly he does.

With a familiar, dull ache in his chest Robbie turns away, waiting James to finish his conversation. The gardens are beautiful but he’s too focussed on telling his foolish old heart to stop wishing for the impossible to really admire the scenery.

When Robbie had first realised exactly why seeing his Sergeant flirting or involved with someone bothered him so much, he’d been disgusted with himself. Oh, not because of the gay thing – although that had been something of a revelation – or even really because James was his subordinate. No, Lewis had been disgusted because of how selfish he was being, wanting to keep James for himself, even if only in his mind.

Determinedly Robbie pushes his feelings aside, making sure his face is arranged in its usual expression of grumpy amusement by the time James comes back, looking flustered and pleased in equal measure. Or at least to Robbie he does, most people wouldn’t be able to tell.

He teases James a little, fulfilling the expectations of male camaraderie, and they go about the rest of their day. And all the while, at the back of his mind, Robbie is wondering if this Liv will be the one for James. He hopes so for James’ sake.

And he dreads it for his own.

Comments

[sarehkert.livejournal.com]

Lovely... lovely and genuine like the earth clinging to the knees of her jeans is just beautiful. Poor Robbie, buck up man and take possession of what is yours!

[kat-lair.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much! I'm always excited when a reader picks out a sentence or paragraph they particularly liked. And yes, Lewis needs to just be open about his feelings and not hide them away.

[planetkiller.livejournal.com]

I love when you write Lewis fic. You have such a good grasp on the characters. I can see the scene occurring on the show.

[kat-lair.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I've been writing loads this year, but very little of it in fandoms that other people beside me and my co-author care about so this was a nice little break from that. I do hope you get to watch season 6 soon, at least this first episode was very enjoyable.

[margaret-r.livejournal.com]

That's really nice. And very realistic, I can imagine Robbie thinking that.

[kat-lair.livejournal.com]

Thank you muchly! In my slashy heart that definitely was what Robbie was thinking :)

[wendymr.livejournal.com]

I only just caught this now, and what a lovely character study.

This:

And all the while, at the back of his mind, Robbie is wondering if this Liv will be the one for James. He hopes so for James’ sake.

And he dreads it for his own.

makes me aww. I can just see Robbie being this unselfish - as he goes on to be even more so outside the pub later.

[kat-lair.livejournal.com]

Thank you very much - I was hoping to write more ficlets relating to the new episodes but my writing mojo is currently on strike.

Glad you liked it, and I'm always super-pleased when someone picks out a sentence or paragraph that particularly spoke to them so thank you :)

[lindenharp.livejournal.com]

How did I miss seeing this lovely fic before?

James standing ramrod straight with that little smug curl to his mouth that says he’s just had a chance to show off his knowledge

A very apt description.

Determinedly Robbie pushes his feelings aside, making sure his face is arranged in its usual expression of grumpy amusement by the time James comes back, looking flustered and pleased in equal measure. Or at least to Robbie he does, most people wouldn’t be able to tell.

Robbie does read him very well, doesn't he?

[kat-lair.livejournal.com]

Possibly because I didn't really pimp it anywhere outside the challenge comm or haven't even posted it on AO3 yet *wanders off to do that now*

Thank you very much for commenting. I'm happy you liked this and especially gleeful that you took the time to point out the sections that worked for you :)

[dracofiend.livejournal.com]

a sweet little scene, and I like the unrequitedness of it. The title is especially lovely.

[kat-lair.livejournal.com]

Thank you very much. I'm particularly pleased you liked the title as I spent way too much obsessing over my titles... :D