Law & Order fic: Stories to Tell (Lupo, Bernard)
TITLE: Stories to Tell
AUTHOR: 1000traenen
FANDOM: Law and Order
PAIRING/CHARACTER/GENERAL SERIES: Det. Cyrus Lupo, Det. Kevin Bernard
GENRE: Gen
PROMPT: 059. Trust
RATING: T
WORD COUNT: 850
SUMMARY: Missing scene for 20x13 “Steel-Eyed Death”. They’d been partners for quite a while, but did he trust Bernard enough with this?
WARNINGS:
NOTES: Spoilers for 20x13 “Steel-Eyed Death” For the 100_tales comm. Link to my table.
DISCLAIMER: Law & Order and all characters belong to Dick Wolf and NBC. I’m just playing nicely. I promise to put Lupes back where he belongs when I’m done.
---
The second he realized who the lawyer was, he knew he was in trouble. He knew what she’d ask, what he didn’t want to think about, let alone talk about. He watched her walk away, and then he ran back up the steps to find Mike Cutter.
But the conversation didn’t go as well as he’d hoped, though he knew it was a false hope anyway. He knew Mike was confused by his request, and maybe he should’ve explained, but Cyrus wasn’t about tell Mike. He didn’t quite trust the EADA that much.
After court was dinner, which was a quiet affair for both detectives. They talked about the weather a bit, sports mostly, and the rest of the time was filled with an emptiness that made Kevin unsettled and that Cyrus didn’t seem to notice. But Kevin was patient, and he waited for Cyrus to tell him what was going on. But it didn’t happen over dinner, and the longer the car ride lasted, the more Kevin realized his partner wasn’t just going to tell him without prompting.
He wasn’t surprised by the quick “See you tomorrow” as Cyrus stopped in front of his building. Kevin wasn’t about to let it go, and he knew how to get the story out of the troubled detective.
“That lawyer knows me from an old case,” Cyrus supplied, but added no other details. Don’t go there, don’t go there kept repeating in Cyrus’ mind.
“And?” Kevin quickly prompted. He understood the “pulling teeth” phrase all too well.
Kevin could see the turmoil in Cyrus’ eyes, questioning and contemplating.
“It was 10 years ago…”
And as Cyrus told his story, Kevin could only listen. There wasn’t much for him to say, no wise words or anything comforting came to mind. So he listened, interjected when appropriate, and when Cyrus was finished, made his offer to be in court the following day. And after the fist bump, Kevin went up to his apartment to sort through what he'd heard, while Cyrus went home to avoid thinking about the next day.
The truth shall set you free. Cyrus snorted when that thought popped into his head as he unlocked the door to his apartment. He was soon in bed, but sleep eluded him. He stared through the darkness at the ceiling, worrying about the follow day’s testimony and the questions that would come. Knowing that his partner knew the story was little comfort to Cyrus, but having someone to tell it to would make it easier. Didn’t mean he wanted to go there, but if he had to…
He knew he could blow apart the PTSD defense. Tell his story, how he learned to cope, and it would undermine the defense’s case. It would help make sure a killer went to prison, would help make Cutter’s case easier (not really a factor), and prove that he wasn’t the same person as he was back then. Sleep eventually came, and morning followed not long after.
Time of truth came, and Cyrus went unwillingly into the court room. On the stand, he did well with the questions related to the crime scene. But he knew what was coming, and it didn’t take long. Cyrus was relieved to see Mike jump from his chair with an objection, but the condescending tone of her past couple questions made up Cyrus’ mind.
He didn’t look at her when he started telling his story. He looked at the floor, at the DA’s table (but not at either Cutter or Rubirosa), anything non-human, so as to make it seem less real than it was. He didn’t look at her until he brought up the husband and the fact that she was his lawyer, and then Cyrus saw Kevin in the back.
“…problems manifested themselves?” he’d barely heard her ask, getting lost in the memories.
Cyrus looked away from her, and to his partner, who only nodded. Focus returned, Cyrus answered the question. The only person he’d look at was Kevin, though Mike’s uncomfortable shifting at the DA’s table got his attention for a second.
He couldn’t stop the few tears that fell, and tried to wipe them away as quickly as possible. At the end, he wasn’t sure if he helped or hurt Mike’s case, but it was too late then. He was grateful when she said she had no further questions, and then was immediately dismayed when Mike stood up.
But from the first question, he knew what Mike was up to. He was relieved to be off the stand once Mike was finished, and he was the first out the courtroom at the end. With a deep breath, and Kevin’s hand on his shoulder, Cyrus felt a little better, but still emotionally drained.
They met up with Mike and Connie, and neither looked at all unhappy to see him. And he could see that he did indeed help their case, while helping himself as well.
That night, when the call of a fresh crime scene came in, Cyrus headed into the building knowing just how much he could trust Kevin.
AUTHOR: 1000traenen
FANDOM: Law and Order
PAIRING/CHARACTER/GENERAL SERIES: Det. Cyrus Lupo, Det. Kevin Bernard
GENRE: Gen
PROMPT: 059. Trust
RATING: T
WORD COUNT: 850
SUMMARY: Missing scene for 20x13 “Steel-Eyed Death”. They’d been partners for quite a while, but did he trust Bernard enough with this?
WARNINGS:
NOTES: Spoilers for 20x13 “Steel-Eyed Death” For the 100_tales comm. Link to my table.
DISCLAIMER: Law & Order and all characters belong to Dick Wolf and NBC. I’m just playing nicely. I promise to put Lupes back where he belongs when I’m done.
---
The second he realized who the lawyer was, he knew he was in trouble. He knew what she’d ask, what he didn’t want to think about, let alone talk about. He watched her walk away, and then he ran back up the steps to find Mike Cutter.
But the conversation didn’t go as well as he’d hoped, though he knew it was a false hope anyway. He knew Mike was confused by his request, and maybe he should’ve explained, but Cyrus wasn’t about tell Mike. He didn’t quite trust the EADA that much.
After court was dinner, which was a quiet affair for both detectives. They talked about the weather a bit, sports mostly, and the rest of the time was filled with an emptiness that made Kevin unsettled and that Cyrus didn’t seem to notice. But Kevin was patient, and he waited for Cyrus to tell him what was going on. But it didn’t happen over dinner, and the longer the car ride lasted, the more Kevin realized his partner wasn’t just going to tell him without prompting.
He wasn’t surprised by the quick “See you tomorrow” as Cyrus stopped in front of his building. Kevin wasn’t about to let it go, and he knew how to get the story out of the troubled detective.
“That lawyer knows me from an old case,” Cyrus supplied, but added no other details. Don’t go there, don’t go there kept repeating in Cyrus’ mind.
“And?” Kevin quickly prompted. He understood the “pulling teeth” phrase all too well.
Kevin could see the turmoil in Cyrus’ eyes, questioning and contemplating.
“It was 10 years ago…”
And as Cyrus told his story, Kevin could only listen. There wasn’t much for him to say, no wise words or anything comforting came to mind. So he listened, interjected when appropriate, and when Cyrus was finished, made his offer to be in court the following day. And after the fist bump, Kevin went up to his apartment to sort through what he'd heard, while Cyrus went home to avoid thinking about the next day.
The truth shall set you free. Cyrus snorted when that thought popped into his head as he unlocked the door to his apartment. He was soon in bed, but sleep eluded him. He stared through the darkness at the ceiling, worrying about the follow day’s testimony and the questions that would come. Knowing that his partner knew the story was little comfort to Cyrus, but having someone to tell it to would make it easier. Didn’t mean he wanted to go there, but if he had to…
He knew he could blow apart the PTSD defense. Tell his story, how he learned to cope, and it would undermine the defense’s case. It would help make sure a killer went to prison, would help make Cutter’s case easier (not really a factor), and prove that he wasn’t the same person as he was back then. Sleep eventually came, and morning followed not long after.
Time of truth came, and Cyrus went unwillingly into the court room. On the stand, he did well with the questions related to the crime scene. But he knew what was coming, and it didn’t take long. Cyrus was relieved to see Mike jump from his chair with an objection, but the condescending tone of her past couple questions made up Cyrus’ mind.
He didn’t look at her when he started telling his story. He looked at the floor, at the DA’s table (but not at either Cutter or Rubirosa), anything non-human, so as to make it seem less real than it was. He didn’t look at her until he brought up the husband and the fact that she was his lawyer, and then Cyrus saw Kevin in the back.
“…problems manifested themselves?” he’d barely heard her ask, getting lost in the memories.
Cyrus looked away from her, and to his partner, who only nodded. Focus returned, Cyrus answered the question. The only person he’d look at was Kevin, though Mike’s uncomfortable shifting at the DA’s table got his attention for a second.
He couldn’t stop the few tears that fell, and tried to wipe them away as quickly as possible. At the end, he wasn’t sure if he helped or hurt Mike’s case, but it was too late then. He was grateful when she said she had no further questions, and then was immediately dismayed when Mike stood up.
But from the first question, he knew what Mike was up to. He was relieved to be off the stand once Mike was finished, and he was the first out the courtroom at the end. With a deep breath, and Kevin’s hand on his shoulder, Cyrus felt a little better, but still emotionally drained.
They met up with Mike and Connie, and neither looked at all unhappy to see him. And he could see that he did indeed help their case, while helping himself as well.
That night, when the call of a fresh crime scene came in, Cyrus headed into the building knowing just how much he could trust Kevin.