The Mentalist fic
Title: Sweet Talker
Author: Wolfine
Rating: PG
Characters/Pairings: Cho/Jane, Van Pelt, Rigsby, Lisbon
Spoilers: none
Warning: Proof that Halloween sugar rots my brain. I can't tell if this is cute or just stupid! I'm currently experiencing epic tragedy in Real Life, and I think I wrote this silly little piece to balance all that out.
Word Count: 1173
Van Pelt smiled as she dumped her overflow stash into a large bowl in the break room. She had spent last night handing out the treats to any child who came to her door, but she always bought more than she needed, always wanting to be prepared. Normally November was the month to hone her self discipline, trying to keep from eating the leftovers, a task which she usually failed miserably. This year she decided not to tempt fate and to trust her fellow co-workers to help her out.
From the look on Rigsby's face, the mountain of candy would be lucky to make it to the end of the day.
Settling in at her desk, she tried not to sigh at the amount of paperwork she had and just how boring her day was sure to be. To amuse herself, she decided to apply some of Jane's notorious observational skills and watch just who ate what out of the stash.
Rigsby made it until eleven before he gave in, opting to start with a lollipop. Having to watch him tongue the thing for even a few minutes was making her blush like an overheated tomato. She grabbed up some papers and headed into Lisbon's office, only to find the woman looking somewhat frazzled, candy wrappers littering her desk. Grace noted they were all chocolate, and beat a hasty retreat. She had been there long enough to know Lisbon plus stress plus chocolate was never a good equation.
A while later and she was just getting bored with her paperwork again when she spotted Jane in the break room. He smiled at the huge bowl of candy and began digging through it, curious as to what was on offer. He sauntered over to Cho's desk and hitched up one hip to have a seat on it. Cho gave him a mild glare, but Jane was facing Rigsby so it was lost on him. Jane leaned forward, poking at the lollipop wrapper on Rigsby's desk.
"Dum Dum, Rigsby?"
Rigsby leveled a look at him. "And I suppose you only eat Smarties, right?"
Jane smiled, but Cho chimed in, hiding his Butterfinger wrapper. "A person's choice of candy is based on taste, it doesn't have any ulterior meaning."
Jane's smile stretched Cheshire wide as he turned to face him. "Oh, on the contrary. Ask Van Pelt why she doesn't like Nerds."
The three men suddenly looked her way, but Rigsby started snorting and Jane pointed to the unopened Snickers bar on his desk. Rigsby shook his head. "Oh come on, that's just coincidence."
Jane rose smoothly, heading for Lisbon's office. "The Victorian's had an elaborate language of flowers. Candy now communicates in much the same way." He grinned over his shoulder at the two men. "Trust me."
Rigsby pursed his lips and looked at Cho, who shrugged and went back to typing. After that, people came and went, eating lunches and other tasks, and Van Pelt hadn't really kept track of things until Rigsby caught her attention.
"Hey Grace, you know where Cho went?"
Van Pelt looked around the office before heading over to stand by his desk. "Er, no. Haven't seen him since after lunch." She swept another look around the office and then down at his desk. She couldn't halt the small gasp, and Rigsby stared at her.
She shifted Cho's coffee mug, and there on the far side stood three Kisses in a row.
She looked at Rigsby, who looked at her, and neither could stop themselves from looking over at the couch that normally housed Jane. On the table beside it stood more foil-wrapped Kisses. Van Pelt bit her lips as Rigsby turned back to her, his eyebrows shooting up to his hairline.
She waved her hand in the air as if to dismiss the whole concept. "I'm sure it's a coincidence."
"Sure. And you don't like Nerds."
Van Pelt gave Rigsby her best wicked grin. "No, I prefer Whoppers." She chuckled as she turned on her heel and went back to her desk, listening to Rigsby choke a little.
Work took up her attention again, but she did keep an eye on what candy appeared on whose desk. At some point a packet of Sweet Tarts appeared on Jane's desk, followed by a tiny box of Hot Tamales on Cho's. She did catch Jane sneaking a Mr. Goodbar onto Cho's desk, which was followed up by a Sugardaddy on Jane's. Things really started heating up when Jane found a Skor bar on his seat and begged Van Pelt to trade him a Reese's cup for her Now and Later, which promptly appeared on Cho's desk.
At one point, while Jane was with Lisbon and Cho was busy at the copier, she decided to have some fun and flipped a 3 Musketeer's bar onto Jane's couch. It was all she could do to keep her composure when Jane returned and stared at the candy, then sent a wildly curious look first to Cho, then at Rigsby, and then back to Cho. She never got to see Cho's reaction due to the fact that she had to seek refuge in the ladies room before she started giggling madly.
The day was winding down as fast as the amount of candy left in the bowl. Jane and Cho were, once again, noticeably absent, and she hadn't really thought about it until she looked over at Rigsby, who was staring at Cho's desk with a look of horror on his face.
She joined him at his desk, eyes searching for the cause of his distress, when she spotted the Blow Pop sitting in Cho's pencil cup. She and Rigsby locked eyes again, and slowly turned to Jane's desk. Sitting in plain sight was a Jawbreaker.
Rigsby whined and rubbed at his eyes in a futile attempt to banish the image while Van Pelt hustled back to the safety of her desk, whispering "TMI, TMI."
Later, Lisbon watched Jane munch down another chocolate bar and suggested he was going to get a stomach ache, which prompted him to cheekily explain to her that it wasn't so bad because his Milky Way was fun sized, all while looking over her shoulder at Cho. Van Pelt had to bite the inside of her cheek and she had no idea how Cho managed to keep such a poker face, but it was a good thing he could. Lisbon would pop an aneurism if she knew what the two men were up to, but Van Pelt was determined she would not be the one to out them.
Work finally ended and they all went home, back to their normal routines. Van Pelt thought no more of the excess Halloween candy until several months later when she came in to work early. Jane was sprawled on the couch, eyes closed and grinning as he fiddled with a Ring Pop, while Cho was typing away at his keyboard, a soft smile on his face and a Mary Jane by his stapler.
FIN
Author: Wolfine
Rating: PG
Characters/Pairings: Cho/Jane, Van Pelt, Rigsby, Lisbon
Spoilers: none
Warning: Proof that Halloween sugar rots my brain. I can't tell if this is cute or just stupid! I'm currently experiencing epic tragedy in Real Life, and I think I wrote this silly little piece to balance all that out.
Word Count: 1173
Van Pelt smiled as she dumped her overflow stash into a large bowl in the break room. She had spent last night handing out the treats to any child who came to her door, but she always bought more than she needed, always wanting to be prepared. Normally November was the month to hone her self discipline, trying to keep from eating the leftovers, a task which she usually failed miserably. This year she decided not to tempt fate and to trust her fellow co-workers to help her out.
From the look on Rigsby's face, the mountain of candy would be lucky to make it to the end of the day.
Settling in at her desk, she tried not to sigh at the amount of paperwork she had and just how boring her day was sure to be. To amuse herself, she decided to apply some of Jane's notorious observational skills and watch just who ate what out of the stash.
Rigsby made it until eleven before he gave in, opting to start with a lollipop. Having to watch him tongue the thing for even a few minutes was making her blush like an overheated tomato. She grabbed up some papers and headed into Lisbon's office, only to find the woman looking somewhat frazzled, candy wrappers littering her desk. Grace noted they were all chocolate, and beat a hasty retreat. She had been there long enough to know Lisbon plus stress plus chocolate was never a good equation.
A while later and she was just getting bored with her paperwork again when she spotted Jane in the break room. He smiled at the huge bowl of candy and began digging through it, curious as to what was on offer. He sauntered over to Cho's desk and hitched up one hip to have a seat on it. Cho gave him a mild glare, but Jane was facing Rigsby so it was lost on him. Jane leaned forward, poking at the lollipop wrapper on Rigsby's desk.
"Dum Dum, Rigsby?"
Rigsby leveled a look at him. "And I suppose you only eat Smarties, right?"
Jane smiled, but Cho chimed in, hiding his Butterfinger wrapper. "A person's choice of candy is based on taste, it doesn't have any ulterior meaning."
Jane's smile stretched Cheshire wide as he turned to face him. "Oh, on the contrary. Ask Van Pelt why she doesn't like Nerds."
The three men suddenly looked her way, but Rigsby started snorting and Jane pointed to the unopened Snickers bar on his desk. Rigsby shook his head. "Oh come on, that's just coincidence."
Jane rose smoothly, heading for Lisbon's office. "The Victorian's had an elaborate language of flowers. Candy now communicates in much the same way." He grinned over his shoulder at the two men. "Trust me."
Rigsby pursed his lips and looked at Cho, who shrugged and went back to typing. After that, people came and went, eating lunches and other tasks, and Van Pelt hadn't really kept track of things until Rigsby caught her attention.
"Hey Grace, you know where Cho went?"
Van Pelt looked around the office before heading over to stand by his desk. "Er, no. Haven't seen him since after lunch." She swept another look around the office and then down at his desk. She couldn't halt the small gasp, and Rigsby stared at her.
She shifted Cho's coffee mug, and there on the far side stood three Kisses in a row.
She looked at Rigsby, who looked at her, and neither could stop themselves from looking over at the couch that normally housed Jane. On the table beside it stood more foil-wrapped Kisses. Van Pelt bit her lips as Rigsby turned back to her, his eyebrows shooting up to his hairline.
She waved her hand in the air as if to dismiss the whole concept. "I'm sure it's a coincidence."
"Sure. And you don't like Nerds."
Van Pelt gave Rigsby her best wicked grin. "No, I prefer Whoppers." She chuckled as she turned on her heel and went back to her desk, listening to Rigsby choke a little.
Work took up her attention again, but she did keep an eye on what candy appeared on whose desk. At some point a packet of Sweet Tarts appeared on Jane's desk, followed by a tiny box of Hot Tamales on Cho's. She did catch Jane sneaking a Mr. Goodbar onto Cho's desk, which was followed up by a Sugardaddy on Jane's. Things really started heating up when Jane found a Skor bar on his seat and begged Van Pelt to trade him a Reese's cup for her Now and Later, which promptly appeared on Cho's desk.
At one point, while Jane was with Lisbon and Cho was busy at the copier, she decided to have some fun and flipped a 3 Musketeer's bar onto Jane's couch. It was all she could do to keep her composure when Jane returned and stared at the candy, then sent a wildly curious look first to Cho, then at Rigsby, and then back to Cho. She never got to see Cho's reaction due to the fact that she had to seek refuge in the ladies room before she started giggling madly.
The day was winding down as fast as the amount of candy left in the bowl. Jane and Cho were, once again, noticeably absent, and she hadn't really thought about it until she looked over at Rigsby, who was staring at Cho's desk with a look of horror on his face.
She joined him at his desk, eyes searching for the cause of his distress, when she spotted the Blow Pop sitting in Cho's pencil cup. She and Rigsby locked eyes again, and slowly turned to Jane's desk. Sitting in plain sight was a Jawbreaker.
Rigsby whined and rubbed at his eyes in a futile attempt to banish the image while Van Pelt hustled back to the safety of her desk, whispering "TMI, TMI."
Later, Lisbon watched Jane munch down another chocolate bar and suggested he was going to get a stomach ache, which prompted him to cheekily explain to her that it wasn't so bad because his Milky Way was fun sized, all while looking over her shoulder at Cho. Van Pelt had to bite the inside of her cheek and she had no idea how Cho managed to keep such a poker face, but it was a good thing he could. Lisbon would pop an aneurism if she knew what the two men were up to, but Van Pelt was determined she would not be the one to out them.
Work finally ended and they all went home, back to their normal routines. Van Pelt thought no more of the excess Halloween candy until several months later when she came in to work early. Jane was sprawled on the couch, eyes closed and grinning as he fiddled with a Ring Pop, while Cho was typing away at his keyboard, a soft smile on his face and a Mary Jane by his stapler.
FIN