Another snippet from Jane's Death part 4: Sex Life
Thanks to pirbid for inspiring me to pick up my story again.
Okay, here's a scene from about the middle of part 4, the next day. A grocery trip. Hee. Even a grocery trip is diff with Jane around.
What do you think?
They arrived at the grocery store, and Cho immediately grabbed a shopping cart, walking determinedly to the first aisle on the predetermined map in his head to work through his mental list methodically. He had picked up a few items when he realized it was quiet. Cho frowned; Jane was rarely this quiet. He looked around and saw Jane back at the beginning of the aisle, picking up different items and then with a bored expression, putting them back on different shelves, deliberately introducing chaos into the organized shelves.
To Jane, everything was so fascinating. And everything was a game. Or something to play with. Or both.
Cho tightened his lips. 'How childish!' he thought in annoyance.
Jane looked up and Cho gave him a piercing look, which prompted Jane to grin abashedly, put everything down and walk towards Cho.
As Jane walked, he mused on Cho's reaction to him having a bit of fun. 'Unfair, really. Why be boring and ordinary? Can't people find the fun in looking at everyday things in a new way? Life is too short not to have fun!' he muttered to himself, annoyed at Cho being staid and ordinary. Boring! And his Cho was anything but ordinary. Jane smiled fondly a moment, musing on how Cho was his. Not completely alone anymore. Or so he hoped.
Cho quirked an eyebrow at Jane as he walked up to him then started pushing the cart forward again, checking items off his list in his mind. Jane walked on with him, picking up a few items here and there, adding them to the cart. Cho tried to igore it, too busy being relieved that Jane wasn't off trying to do something crazy like climb the shelves or have an impromptu picnic on the floor in the deli or make someone call security. That was the last thing he needed.
Jane's next game was to mess with Cho's boring organized way of shopping, suddenly "remembering" an item he needed two aisles back. Cho just tightened his mouth and let Jane lead the way. After the third time, Cho'd had enough. He rolled his eyes and said, "When you're done playing, come find me."
Jane just smiled, said "never mind" and let Cho get back to his way of shopping, like an efficient little ant.
'Huh, interesting,' Jane thought, looking at the store and shoppers and organized shelves like a larger version of an ant farm. 'Fascinating. I wonder if they'd react to something unusual happening the way an ant did when it suddenly encountered a new leaf or twig on its predetermined path, confused and lost until it finds its way again.'
Cho looked at Jane at that moment, noticing the sudden mischievous look in Jane's eyes and inwardly growled. That look was as good as a neon sign saying "Mischief! Danger! Beware!" Cho cleared his throat, raised his eyebrows and gave Jane a "don't even think about it" look.
Jane just smiled like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar and let Cho get back to his shopping.
Cho. Jane mused on what a puzzle his Cho was. So predictable and organized and yet so much fire and passion underneath. Jane looked at how Cho shopped, how he deliberately Chose "safe" options; quality but not the best, almost like Cho didn't think he deserved nice things, perhaps?
Jane was determined to get Cho to spoil himself a little. Cho wasn't cheap, but he wasn't self-indulgent; he focused on the value and benefit of the things he spent his time and money on, favoring substance over style. 'Well, that's about to change,' Jane thought to himself with a smirk.
Jane started small, picking up items that individually weren't extremely pricey but were a bit more than Cho seemed to spend, judging by the look of annoyance flashing on his face from time to time. Some fresh pasta, about three times the cost of the dried packaged kind, a selection of gourmet cheeses and some good quality extra virgin olive oil all went into the cart without comment. Cho, however, was tightening his grip on the cart handle and beginning to look ticked.
'Time to amp this up,' Jane thought as he picked up his favorite shower gel, one he knew that Cho would like as well, if he let himself. He casually put it in the cart and waited for a reaction.
Cho's eyes widened and he frowned. "Dude. That's 20 bucks."
Jane just shrugged carelessly. "So?"
"I don't need that; I've got soap," Cho replied, thinking what a waste of money this was.
Jane gave a mock horrified look "Soap?!"
Cho muttered, "It's fine, Jane. Really."
Jane wouldn't give up. "But do you know what that does to your skin?" he asked, reaching out to touch Cho's arm.
Cho pulled back out of reach, tightened his mouth and said, "Jane." He shook his head, realizing he was losing the battle. "Fine. I'll get it."
Jane just smiled smugly and walked alongside Cho, who'd begun pushing the cart again.
Cho asked in annoyance, "What, no jewel-encrusted toothbrushes?"
Jane's eyes widened in false innocence. "No, the gold plated ones will do," he said with a smile.
Cho shook his head, muttered "ass" under his breath and walked on, definitely not enjoying the mischievous look on Jane's face or the banter. Not at all.
* * * * *
They finally made their way to the last section, produce. Cho breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that even Jane wouldn't be able to get up to mischief here. Jane soon proved him wrong.
Cho let Jane wander around in the produce section, restraining the urge to just grab Jane by the arm and get out of there. Jane was looking around casually, stopping here and there to check out some vegetables. When he got to the cucumbers, his eyes lit up with mischief; Cho suddenly had a bad feeling. Jane had picked up a large cucumber, eyed it and then glanced oh-so-casually at Cho's crotch with a measuring look. He muttered almost under his breath, "no comparison," and put it back in mock disgust.
Cho gave a choked noise that he quickly turned into a cough, recovering his cool nonchalance even as he felt his face heat up.
Meanwhile, a young guy restocking the produce next to Jane was unwittingly pulled into the game; as though he was under Jane's spell, he looked down at the cucumber Jane was holding and then at Cho's crotch before snapping his eyes back up to Jane's eyes, completely flustered and knocking over the whole display of artichokes he was setting up.
Jane just winked slyly at the guy, stepped around him, and moved over to the fruit display. Jane was wearing his "why yes, I AM hilariously clever" smile, so pleased that he had not only managed to embarrass the normally unflappable Cho and also caused the kid who was stocking to lose it.
Jane looked up to wink at Cho, who was obviously trying to keep his composure when Jane noticed that he'd attracted an audience; two old ladies were now watching him curiously.
He couldn't help himself; he went right into "entertainer" mode, charming them, picking up some apples with a flourish and juggling them deftly while making small talk and pulling out some of his "psychic" tricks, telling them little things about themselves, like how one had three cats; grey, white, and black. They were completely under his spell.
Enough was enough. "Jane, come on, let's get finished and out of here," Cho said, trying and failing to get Jane's attention.
Jane just winked at him then turned back to his audience, clearly having a great time amusing himself.
Cho shook his head at Jane's antics, then got a wicked idea.
With his trademark deadpan delivery, Cho said, "Okay, honey. I'll just get the condoms, and we can go." He turned to go, paused and looked back, raising an eyebrow. "The ribbed kind this time!" he said and walked away without waiting for a response.
Cho heard a loud gasp from the ladies and he caught Jane's reaction out of the corner of his eye and walked on, smirking to himself where Jane couldn't see and thought, "Clever Agent: 1 - Thinks-He-Was Being Clever Mentalist: 0!"
Jane dropped the items he was juggling, did a "you got me" double-take but quickly recovered, following Cho. He began to get a sneaky idea of his own. He paused a moment to admire the very fine sight of Cho's ass as he walked away then smirked and changed direction to put his plan into action.
* * * * *
Mostly for show and with a more than hopeful thought, Cho actually did stop and pick up some condoms and lube. He looked around to see Jane's reaction, but he wasn't there. Cho frowned thoughtfully, dropped the items into the cart carelessly, shrugged and pushed the shopping cart toward the front cash registers.
As Cho pushed the cart, he looked down at the heaping pile of items in the cart and started doing some quick calculations, alarmed at the rough total he calculated. 'Damn. I was going to get new tires,' he thought, feeling frustrated and angry that Jane would just assume that Cho could easily afford the pricey items that he'd put in the cart. He was ready to read Jane the riot act when suddenly several images flashed through Cho's mind; Jane being shot and falling, then Jane's smile and the way his eyes lit up when he saw Cho.
He took a deep breath and let the anger go; after all he'd gone though lately, losing Jane and then getting him back? Some expensive groceries were a small price to pay. 'Oh well. The tires will just have to wait,' he thought, resigned as he made his way to the front of the store.
Jane was chatting with one of the cashiers, a young woman who was thoroughly being taken in by Jane's charm by the captivated look on her face. 'This does not bode well,' Cho thought to himself, his body tensing a bit, ready to intercede if whatever game Jane was playing went too far.
He walked to the checkout line, suspicions mounting when Jane caught sight of him and turned his body towards Cho and smiling his patented "Who me? I'm not up to anything" smile. Cho saw something vague as Jane turned; was that Jane hiding something behind his back? Cho pressed his lips together, determined to find out what was up.
As he reached the cashier, she gave an overly enthusiastic smile as she greeted him, "Congratulations, sir! You are our 10,000th customer this year. Since it's the store's tenth anniversary, your groceries today are free."
Jane kept smiling his trademark sunny smile, and there was a glint of mischief lurking in his blue, blue eyes.
Cho opened his mouth to argue then realized the futility of finding out what Jane was up to. 'Better to wait until I get him alone,' Cho thought to himself fatalistically. He shrugged, said "whatever" almost under his breath and let Jane help him load the groceries onto the conveyor belt. He watched Jane, trying to figure out the game and missed the total being added up. He turned to the monitor and saw "$250.00" flash before the cashier hit a button that reset the screen.
Cho narrowed his eyes at the cashier and then at Jane, who were giving him identical looks of false innocence. The interrogator side of him noted that the woman's smile was beginning to waver a bit, turning a bit nervous. He thought, 'I could break her in 30 seconds flat' before he got a hold of himself. She wasn't some perp to interrogate and besides, he was now starting to hold up the line. Cho muttered "thanks", shook his head slightly, straightened and pushed the cart out the door, catching the relieved look she gave Jane as Cho passed as well as a slip of paper changing hands.
'You are so busted, Jane,' Cho thought as he walked on to the car.
* * * * *
Okay, here's a scene from about the middle of part 4, the next day. A grocery trip. Hee. Even a grocery trip is diff with Jane around.
What do you think?
They arrived at the grocery store, and Cho immediately grabbed a shopping cart, walking determinedly to the first aisle on the predetermined map in his head to work through his mental list methodically. He had picked up a few items when he realized it was quiet. Cho frowned; Jane was rarely this quiet. He looked around and saw Jane back at the beginning of the aisle, picking up different items and then with a bored expression, putting them back on different shelves, deliberately introducing chaos into the organized shelves.
To Jane, everything was so fascinating. And everything was a game. Or something to play with. Or both.
Cho tightened his lips. 'How childish!' he thought in annoyance.
Jane looked up and Cho gave him a piercing look, which prompted Jane to grin abashedly, put everything down and walk towards Cho.
As Jane walked, he mused on Cho's reaction to him having a bit of fun. 'Unfair, really. Why be boring and ordinary? Can't people find the fun in looking at everyday things in a new way? Life is too short not to have fun!' he muttered to himself, annoyed at Cho being staid and ordinary. Boring! And his Cho was anything but ordinary. Jane smiled fondly a moment, musing on how Cho was his. Not completely alone anymore. Or so he hoped.
Cho quirked an eyebrow at Jane as he walked up to him then started pushing the cart forward again, checking items off his list in his mind. Jane walked on with him, picking up a few items here and there, adding them to the cart. Cho tried to igore it, too busy being relieved that Jane wasn't off trying to do something crazy like climb the shelves or have an impromptu picnic on the floor in the deli or make someone call security. That was the last thing he needed.
Jane's next game was to mess with Cho's boring organized way of shopping, suddenly "remembering" an item he needed two aisles back. Cho just tightened his mouth and let Jane lead the way. After the third time, Cho'd had enough. He rolled his eyes and said, "When you're done playing, come find me."
Jane just smiled, said "never mind" and let Cho get back to his way of shopping, like an efficient little ant.
'Huh, interesting,' Jane thought, looking at the store and shoppers and organized shelves like a larger version of an ant farm. 'Fascinating. I wonder if they'd react to something unusual happening the way an ant did when it suddenly encountered a new leaf or twig on its predetermined path, confused and lost until it finds its way again.'
Cho looked at Jane at that moment, noticing the sudden mischievous look in Jane's eyes and inwardly growled. That look was as good as a neon sign saying "Mischief! Danger! Beware!" Cho cleared his throat, raised his eyebrows and gave Jane a "don't even think about it" look.
Jane just smiled like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar and let Cho get back to his shopping.
Cho. Jane mused on what a puzzle his Cho was. So predictable and organized and yet so much fire and passion underneath. Jane looked at how Cho shopped, how he deliberately Chose "safe" options; quality but not the best, almost like Cho didn't think he deserved nice things, perhaps?
Jane was determined to get Cho to spoil himself a little. Cho wasn't cheap, but he wasn't self-indulgent; he focused on the value and benefit of the things he spent his time and money on, favoring substance over style. 'Well, that's about to change,' Jane thought to himself with a smirk.
Jane started small, picking up items that individually weren't extremely pricey but were a bit more than Cho seemed to spend, judging by the look of annoyance flashing on his face from time to time. Some fresh pasta, about three times the cost of the dried packaged kind, a selection of gourmet cheeses and some good quality extra virgin olive oil all went into the cart without comment. Cho, however, was tightening his grip on the cart handle and beginning to look ticked.
'Time to amp this up,' Jane thought as he picked up his favorite shower gel, one he knew that Cho would like as well, if he let himself. He casually put it in the cart and waited for a reaction.
Cho's eyes widened and he frowned. "Dude. That's 20 bucks."
Jane just shrugged carelessly. "So?"
"I don't need that; I've got soap," Cho replied, thinking what a waste of money this was.
Jane gave a mock horrified look "Soap?!"
Cho muttered, "It's fine, Jane. Really."
Jane wouldn't give up. "But do you know what that does to your skin?" he asked, reaching out to touch Cho's arm.
Cho pulled back out of reach, tightened his mouth and said, "Jane." He shook his head, realizing he was losing the battle. "Fine. I'll get it."
Jane just smiled smugly and walked alongside Cho, who'd begun pushing the cart again.
Cho asked in annoyance, "What, no jewel-encrusted toothbrushes?"
Jane's eyes widened in false innocence. "No, the gold plated ones will do," he said with a smile.
Cho shook his head, muttered "ass" under his breath and walked on, definitely not enjoying the mischievous look on Jane's face or the banter. Not at all.
* * * * *
They finally made their way to the last section, produce. Cho breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that even Jane wouldn't be able to get up to mischief here. Jane soon proved him wrong.
Cho let Jane wander around in the produce section, restraining the urge to just grab Jane by the arm and get out of there. Jane was looking around casually, stopping here and there to check out some vegetables. When he got to the cucumbers, his eyes lit up with mischief; Cho suddenly had a bad feeling. Jane had picked up a large cucumber, eyed it and then glanced oh-so-casually at Cho's crotch with a measuring look. He muttered almost under his breath, "no comparison," and put it back in mock disgust.
Cho gave a choked noise that he quickly turned into a cough, recovering his cool nonchalance even as he felt his face heat up.
Meanwhile, a young guy restocking the produce next to Jane was unwittingly pulled into the game; as though he was under Jane's spell, he looked down at the cucumber Jane was holding and then at Cho's crotch before snapping his eyes back up to Jane's eyes, completely flustered and knocking over the whole display of artichokes he was setting up.
Jane just winked slyly at the guy, stepped around him, and moved over to the fruit display. Jane was wearing his "why yes, I AM hilariously clever" smile, so pleased that he had not only managed to embarrass the normally unflappable Cho and also caused the kid who was stocking to lose it.
Jane looked up to wink at Cho, who was obviously trying to keep his composure when Jane noticed that he'd attracted an audience; two old ladies were now watching him curiously.
He couldn't help himself; he went right into "entertainer" mode, charming them, picking up some apples with a flourish and juggling them deftly while making small talk and pulling out some of his "psychic" tricks, telling them little things about themselves, like how one had three cats; grey, white, and black. They were completely under his spell.
Enough was enough. "Jane, come on, let's get finished and out of here," Cho said, trying and failing to get Jane's attention.
Jane just winked at him then turned back to his audience, clearly having a great time amusing himself.
Cho shook his head at Jane's antics, then got a wicked idea.
With his trademark deadpan delivery, Cho said, "Okay, honey. I'll just get the condoms, and we can go." He turned to go, paused and looked back, raising an eyebrow. "The ribbed kind this time!" he said and walked away without waiting for a response.
Cho heard a loud gasp from the ladies and he caught Jane's reaction out of the corner of his eye and walked on, smirking to himself where Jane couldn't see and thought, "Clever Agent: 1 - Thinks-He-Was Being Clever Mentalist: 0!"
Jane dropped the items he was juggling, did a "you got me" double-take but quickly recovered, following Cho. He began to get a sneaky idea of his own. He paused a moment to admire the very fine sight of Cho's ass as he walked away then smirked and changed direction to put his plan into action.
* * * * *
Mostly for show and with a more than hopeful thought, Cho actually did stop and pick up some condoms and lube. He looked around to see Jane's reaction, but he wasn't there. Cho frowned thoughtfully, dropped the items into the cart carelessly, shrugged and pushed the shopping cart toward the front cash registers.
As Cho pushed the cart, he looked down at the heaping pile of items in the cart and started doing some quick calculations, alarmed at the rough total he calculated. 'Damn. I was going to get new tires,' he thought, feeling frustrated and angry that Jane would just assume that Cho could easily afford the pricey items that he'd put in the cart. He was ready to read Jane the riot act when suddenly several images flashed through Cho's mind; Jane being shot and falling, then Jane's smile and the way his eyes lit up when he saw Cho.
He took a deep breath and let the anger go; after all he'd gone though lately, losing Jane and then getting him back? Some expensive groceries were a small price to pay. 'Oh well. The tires will just have to wait,' he thought, resigned as he made his way to the front of the store.
Jane was chatting with one of the cashiers, a young woman who was thoroughly being taken in by Jane's charm by the captivated look on her face. 'This does not bode well,' Cho thought to himself, his body tensing a bit, ready to intercede if whatever game Jane was playing went too far.
He walked to the checkout line, suspicions mounting when Jane caught sight of him and turned his body towards Cho and smiling his patented "Who me? I'm not up to anything" smile. Cho saw something vague as Jane turned; was that Jane hiding something behind his back? Cho pressed his lips together, determined to find out what was up.
As he reached the cashier, she gave an overly enthusiastic smile as she greeted him, "Congratulations, sir! You are our 10,000th customer this year. Since it's the store's tenth anniversary, your groceries today are free."
Jane kept smiling his trademark sunny smile, and there was a glint of mischief lurking in his blue, blue eyes.
Cho opened his mouth to argue then realized the futility of finding out what Jane was up to. 'Better to wait until I get him alone,' Cho thought to himself fatalistically. He shrugged, said "whatever" almost under his breath and let Jane help him load the groceries onto the conveyor belt. He watched Jane, trying to figure out the game and missed the total being added up. He turned to the monitor and saw "$250.00" flash before the cashier hit a button that reset the screen.
Cho narrowed his eyes at the cashier and then at Jane, who were giving him identical looks of false innocence. The interrogator side of him noted that the woman's smile was beginning to waver a bit, turning a bit nervous. He thought, 'I could break her in 30 seconds flat' before he got a hold of himself. She wasn't some perp to interrogate and besides, he was now starting to hold up the line. Cho muttered "thanks", shook his head slightly, straightened and pushed the cart out the door, catching the relieved look she gave Jane as Cho passed as well as a slip of paper changing hands.
'You are so busted, Jane,' Cho thought as he walked on to the car.
* * * * *