If You Can’t, Leave it Be (Casual, Aramis) FIN

[DETECTIVE PETER ARAMIS]

When Peter invited Lestrade to come and play with the kids sometime, he had meant it. It would do them good to see some positive adults in positions of authority as real human beings. Also, Lestrade might just get another point of view, and that was always important.

“Should I?” Lestrade asked, seeming honest in his desire to know.

“Well, yeah...You’re invited. It’s fun,” Peter replied, wondering if the man had ever played before. “And besides, the kids seem to get a kick out of kicking our butts.”
Peter grinned, thinking about how those kids seemed to like it when he lost more than anything. He didn’t often lose, but it was good fun either way.

“I’m more of a soccer guy,” Lestrade offered.

“Soccer?” Peter frowned, thinking he’d had more fun spent watching paint dry than watching soccer. “Well, to each their own.”

That’s when the other man stood, clearing his throat. “Well Aramis, you’ve been pretty good. And…I’m sorry about before, honestly. I – I don’t want to seem like I’m making excuses, but I really don’t lose my temper too often. But... it was wrong of me to at you. So, I'm sorry."

Peter blinked, not sure what to make of that. Lestrade had been angry and terse, but his kid was in the hospital. Peter could understand that. He certainly wasn’t expecting an apology, though.

“It’s alright, Inspector,” Peter replied, standing as well. “Maybe sometime we’ll have a do-over.”

He offered Lestrade a small smile, hoping he knew he was sincere and didn’t hold anything against him from the conversation. It was likely that they had started off on the wrong foot and could possibly be friends in the future. Who knew, maybe the man was misjudging Peter just as badly as he was misjudging Lestrade.

"Anytime you need my help, I'm only a call away."

[GREGORY LESTRADE]

“Well, yeah, you’re invited. It’s fun. And besides, the kids seem to get a kick out of kicking our butts,” Aramis said. Lestrade smiled at that; kids did take certain joy in winning. Though, in all honesty, adults took just as much joy, if not in such an innocent sense. He slightly jokingly expressed his partiality to football, but Aramis didn’t take it so well. “Soccer? Well, to each their own.” Lestrade shrugged. Of course, that was true.

“It’s alright, Inspector,” Aramis said once Lestrade’d apologized for his temper, and Lestrade was happy to be forgiven. Being forgiven was nearly a need for him, after all. Which wasn’t a good thing to need with his occupation. “Maybe sometime we’ll have a do-over,” he said smiling, and Lestrade nodded; they certainly should try again. After all, Aramis only saw the very worst of Lestrade today, and they should try to get along.

Aramis stood to leave, “Anytime you need my help, I’m only a call away,” he said.

Lestrade snorted good naturedly, “Hopefully I won’t need it again,” he said, and then, before Aramis left. “Well, bye.” It was an awkward sendoff, but it was better than the welcome. ’Right,’ he thought sitting back down at his desk, ’I feel… if we start again… It might go better, won’t it?’ Perhaps he would actually take Aramis up on that offer to meet ‘his boys.’

[DETECTIVE PETER ARAMIS]

Peter knew the dismissal when he heard one. Lestrade had what he needed, and everything the pair said after the fact was awkward. So he climbed to his feet and gathered up his things, keeping everything tucked under his left arm.

"Bye, Inspector."

He opened and closed the door behind him, letting out a long breath once he was in the hallway. Wow, that meeting had been tense. Peter shook his head, hoping to leave the tension upstairs, where it belonged. If he brought it back to his desk, it wouldn't leave for a while. It was a full two minutes later when he moved towards the stairs, bare feet slapping against each step.

When he finally made it back to his desk, he flopped down in his worn leather chair, tossing the notepad onto the cleanest portion of his desk. He stretched out, letting out a long breath before picking up the report he'd left off on.

"So, I take it things went well with Lestrade?" Gerry asked, not looking up from where he was focused on his own case file.

Peter wasn't sure how to answer that. He had been snapped at, treated like he was the most useless creature on the planet, and then...things had shifted into some odd sort of guilt from the Inspector, but at least he'd listened to him. That was all Peter had been sent upstairs for in the first place - to be listened to because he was in the know. And if the information helped put someone away for Jay's death, then it would all be worth it in the end.

"Yeah," Peter replied, clicking his pen. "Just needed to pick my brain for a bit."

Gerry snorted, muttering something about there not being much to pick, and Peter threw a crumpled up post-it-note at him, glad that things were like this between him and Gerry, putting Lestrade out of mind. He wished he could do something to make things better between them, but right then, he knew it was just going to take time.

And like Don aways said, if you can't change it - leave it be.