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Chapter Text

“Bear! Foei! Volg Rechts! Stoppen!” 

Harold turned just in time to get a glimpse of the brown blur he assumed was a dog darting past him. He felt the leash wrap around his legs, thought ‘ oh dear ,’ and collided with another person.  

“Oh my!”  

“Oh shit,” A hand grabbed onto his arm, keeping him from falling backwards. “I’m so sorry. Bear, zit!”  

Harold managed to brace himself against the other person and start getting his bearings. “My goodness!”   

“Hang on a sec, I got this.” The other person leaned down, still providing enough support that they didn’t fall over, and started untangling the leash from around their legs. “I swear he’s really a good dog, I don’t know what got into him.”   

Said dog was sitting to the side, having finally decided to listen to the commands he was given, looking quite pleased with himself.  

“There,” The leash fell away allowing them to each take a step back and letting Harold finally get a good look at Bear’s owner.  

Oh. Oh my.  

He was, in a word, gorgeous. Tall, broad shoulders, dark hair with flecks of grey, and bright blue eyes framed by laugh lines. The dark blue fleece pullover he was wearing complimented him very nicely.  

“Are you alright?” Harold asked.  

The man smiled a little, “I think I'm supposed to ask you that. I’m John, by the way,” he held out a hand, “John Reese. And this is Bear, if you need a name for the insurance claim.”  

Harold took the hand, “Harold Finch, and I don’t think that will be necessary, I think he’s learned his lesson.” They both looked at the dog who was looking at them very adorably without a hint of remorse. Harold smiled, “Or perhaps not.”   

John knelt down and gave Bear a half-hearted glare, “No doggy danish.” Bear just looked up at him and tilted his head to the side.  

Harold smiled to himself as he started looking around for the book he’d dropped in the confusion. Luckily it wasn’t one of his older books so it appeared to have survived the fall without issue. He scooped it up off the sidewalk, rubbing at his leg as he straightened up.  

“Are you alright?”  

“Hm?” Harold looked over at the very concerned tone and saw an equally concerned expression on John’s face. “Oh, this is an old injury, don’t worry.”  

John glanced around and nodded towards a nearby bench. “We could sit down, unless you need to get going?” It was phrased as a question, giving Harold the option to decline and leave.  

“Not at all. I came out to enjoy the nice weather and I'm not in a rush to leave now.”  

They headed over to the bench and sat down together, just enough room between them they could face each other comfortably. Bear put his head on Harold’s knee and looked up at him with big brown eyes.  

“Oh alright, I suppose you’re forgiven.” He scritched Bear behind his ears. “What kind of dog is he?”  

“Belgian Malinois.”  

“A Belgian dog that speaks German?” Harold raised his eyebrows and put a slight exaggeration on the disbelief.  

John chuckled a little, “Dutch. He was supposed to be a military dog, but it wasn’t quite for him. What about you, Italian?” He nodded at the cover of Harold’s book, La Divina Commedia.  

“Not quite I'm afraid.” He opened it up to show John the English print. “A translation. But a dear friend of mine found a copy with the Italian title.”  

“Is it any good?”  

“Oh yes!” Harold dove into discussion on the book. At one point, he realized he’d been talking for quite some time and started to falter. But John asked him a question, the kind that showed he’d been paying attention, and Harold found his second wind.   

They stayed there for a while, just talking and listening, until John’s phone went off. He checked it, checked the time, and looked at Harold apologetically. “I have plans with some friends of mine, but we could continue the conversation later. Say, 7:30 at Zoe’s?”  

“I would love to. I've been dying to try the food there. And the company will be nice too.”  

“Can’t wait,” John smiled at him, and oh wasn’t that a sight. “See you tonight, Harold.”  

“See you tonight, John.”  

John lingered a moment longer, before turning to Bear as he stood. “Okay buddy, better get going. We’re late. Hier.”  

Bear licked Harold’s hand in farewell before following alongside John. Seeing the dog stay obediently at his side, it was hard to believe it was the same dog who’d brought them crashing into each other. Harold watched them until they’d left the park before turning his attention to his book. He found it a little hard to focus, mind drifting towards the evening plans. Hiring a car felt like a bit much for the evening so he’d take a cab instead.  Thankfully, his favorite suit was ready to be picked up from the cleaners, and he would be able to get his shoes shined in time if he paid for the order push. He'd have to cut lunch a little shorter than usual but given the circumstances he was sure it would be understood.  

Normally having this many thoughts running through his head would make him start to feel anxious, but the excitement took it over. Unable to continue reading, Harold sat and basked in the sun of the crisp fall morning and let the sounds of the park wash over him. It was certainly turning out to be a very nice day.  

Chapter Text

Zoe spotted him first, “There he is!” 

“Ladies. Shaw.” 

“Aw man, Bear brought his human with him.” 

“You’re late, John,” Joss said. “You know what that means.” 

“Drinks on me, don’t worry I already put in an order for another round.” 

Zoe raised her glass in toast, “I forgive you.” 

“I don’t.” Joss leaned in, “You look pretty happy. Late night? You sleep in and miss your alarm?” 

“Actually I got up early,” John told her. “Took Bear for a walk in the park.” 

“So you’re late because you took a longer walk than planned?” 

“Well the walk got interrupted.” 

“By?” 

“I ran into someone.” 

Shaw at this point was ignoring the conversation in favor of playing with Bear but Carter kept pressing. 

“Someone you knew?” 

“Nope.” 

“ And? ” Zoe probed. 

“And I was wondering if it might be possible to get a table on the floor level for tonight, around 7:30.” 

Shaw chose that moment to jump into the conversation, “I’ll dogsit.” 

Zoe gave her a questioning look, “You think he’s going to get lucky tonight?” 

“First of all, ew, please don’t make me think about that. Second, no, I just want to make sure Bear knows he’s still loved even though Reese is cruelly abandoning him for a date.” 

“You know what’s going to happen now,” Joss said, turning back to John, “Everyone at the station is going to think we broke up. Better be ready to get pulled over a lot.” 

“Tell them you dumped me.” 

“That’s a given.” 

“Done.” Zoe held up her phone, “Just texted and reserved your table. Please make sure you shave and dress nice.” 

“Thank you. That reminds me, I need to get another suit.” 

“I told you you need more than one,” Zoe told him. “What happened?” 

“Just a little blood. It's at the cleaners.” 

Shaw grinned, “Yours or someone else’s?” 

“I take the fifth. You’ve got a guy, right?” 

“Riiight...” 

“Get me in with him today and you can take Bear home after brunch.” 

“Deal.” Shaw pulled out her phone and stepped away to make a call. 

Joss smiled and shook her head, “Where would you be without us?” 

“Probably still beating up guys on the subway.” 

“I still want to hear that story,” Zoe said. “But first I want to hear about this mystery date. Come on, John, spill.” 

“He’s just a guy I ran into in the park.” 

“You are so full of shit,” Shaw commented as she rejoined the table. “look at your face, you’re all smug. You're excited and it’s gross. By the way you have an appointment in two hours.” 

“Thank you, Shaw.” 

“Yeah yeah whatever.” 

“Plenty of time to hear more about this guy you just ‘ran into’ in the park.” Joss poked him in the arm, “Come on, John.” 

He hid his smile behind his glass as he took a drink, “What’s there to say?” 

“Anything!” 

They were interrupted by the waitress coming to get their order. As soon as she’d left Zoe and Joss turned back to John while Shaw kept pretending she didn’t care about the conversation. Before they could keep poking, however, he held up a hand. 

“His name is Harold, he likes old books, and the less you ask about him the more I'll tell tomorrow.” 

“Fine.” 

“Deal.” 

“Finally, let’s eat.” 

“Harry!” Root waved him over to the table where two cups were already sitting. “I already put your order in so sit. Spill. What’s their name? How’d you meet?” 

“Good afternoon, Ms. Groves, so nice to see you to. Yes it is a lovely day outside isn’t it?” 

“Harryyyyy,” She pulled his cup away from him. “Come on, you’re ditching me for a date, the least you can do is give me a name.” 

“His name is John. We... ran into each other in the park. He seems very nice, and his dog is quite friendly.” 

“Good sign. What's his dog’s name?” 

Harold started to answer, then caught himself. “You wouldn’t be planning to look into vet records, would you?” She took an innocent sip of her coffee. “While I appreciate your... concern, Root, I'd rather you not cyberstalk my date.” 

“You’re no fun. What are you going to wear?” 

“Well we’re going to a fairly nice place –no, I'm not telling you where, you’ll figure out some way to find his information- so I thought my gray suit with the purple tie would look best.” 

“The purple tie. Wow you’re really dressing to impress. He's cute isn’t he?” 

He didn’t answer but he did give her a slight eyebrow wiggle over the rim of his cup. 

“Good looking. Has a dog. Takes you to nice places. Does he have a sister?” 

“I’ll be sure to ask,” Harold said dryly. 

Root picked the conversation back up after their food had arrived. “So you two just happened to start talking to each other and decided to go on a date? That's pretty bold of you Harry, I'm impressed. If this goes well you can tell people fate brought you together.” 

Who knew fate walked on four legs and spoke Dutch. “Something like that.” 

“You know you’re going to have to give me all the details later tonight.” She grinned, “Or tomorrow morning. Whenever you get home. Just make sure you text me before midnight so I know you haven’t been kidnapped.” 

“I can do that,” he promised. “What are you going to do with yourself tonight? Any plans lined up?” 

“I had a few odd jobs I was looking at, but I'm feeling a Me Night. Might finally check out Violet Phoenix.” She grinned, “If it’s any good we could always go together some night." 

“Thank you, Ms. Groves, but I think I'll pass on a club night. Somehow I don’t think it would nearly as enjoyable for either of us if I went.” 

“You’re no fun, Harry.” 

“And yet of the two of us I'm the one who actually has a date tonight.” 

“Better take pictures, no one is going to believe you at work.” 

“If I decide to tell them.” 

“You finally have plans for the first time ever-” 

“It hasn’t been that long.” 

“And you’re not going to tell anyone?” 

“I don’t see why my private life should be anyone else’s concern.” 

“People like you are the reason kids think teachers live at the school.” 

“I certainly never thought that.” 

“You weren’t much fun as a kid, were you?” 

Chapter Text

Harold arrived at Zoe’s at 7:25, trying not to fidget as he walked up to the hostess station. The young woman there smiled in greeting.  

“Good evening sir. Do you have a reservation?”  

“Hello, I'm meeting someone here. John Reese?”  

Her expression brightened, “Yes of course! You must be Mr. Finch. Please, follow me.” She led him to a table just far enough away from the front to not be affected by the noise of people coming and going.  

John was already there and as he stood up Harold couldn’t help but stare a little. Damn he looked good in a suit. He smiled and came around the table to greet them, “Hello, Harold.”  

“Hello, John.” Harold managed to keep his voice steady even as he was flustered by John, in a suit, smiling, and pulling his chair out for him.  

“I’ll leave you to it,” The hostess said, giving them both a smile. “Darren will be by shortly. I hope you both have a nice evening.”  

John gave her a nod, “Thank you Julia. You look good Harold, I almost feel like I'm underdressed.”  

“Oh no John, you look very nice.” Harold felt the tips of his ears turning pink and picked up the wine menu to occupy himself.  

The waiter arrived at their table a moment later. “Hi John!”  

“Hi Darren.”  

The young man turned to Harold with a smile, “Hello, welcome to Zoe’s. My name is Darren, I'll be your server this evening. I’m sure John can give you an excellent recommendation but if you have any questions about the menu I'll do my best to answer. Can I start you off with something to drink?”  

“Just a water for now,” Harold said. John nodded for the same. When Darren had left, Harold turned to John, “I take it you’ve been here a few times.”  

“Once or twice. The risotto is good, so is the pizzaiola if you want something with meat.”  

“What do you recommend?”  

“ Cotoletta . It’s a bit richer so people tend to avoid it, but it’s worth the indulgence.”  

“Then I'll have a salad to balance it out.”  

Darren returned with their waters, took their orders, and gave a hesitant wine recommendation (“I’m only nineteen, so I haven’t tried it myself, but this is what I've been told goes well with it.”) before leaving them to their complimentary bread.  

“I’ve been meaning to ask,” John said, "are you an English teacher?”  

“Algebra, actually, but it was a close call.”  

“That’s pretty impressive, I feel like math teachers need more patience than others.”  

“It can be trying,” Harold admitted, “But it’s rewarding.”  

“I think I was one of the more trying kids,” John admitted with a slight smile. “I had some really good teachers though.”  

They jumped into a conversation about the best and worst teachers they’d ever had, and Harold shared stories about some of his coworkers. John didn’t talk a lot, but he paid attention. Whenever Harold felt like John might be getting bored, he would ask a question or make a comment that showed he’d been listening and the discussion would continue. At one point Harold was lamenting the choices the English teachers made for course reading and John made a vague comment in defense of one of the worse choices. Harold was halfway through an impassioned rant speech when he noticed the glint in John’s eye and realized he was messing with him. He tried to glare, but John’s amusement was contagious.  

A slight commotion drew their attention to one of the other tables. There was a couple that had probably come on a date, and the man had slammed his hand down onto the table. The woman had flinched back and was staring at him.  One of the other servers appeared at John’s side, eyes wide.  

“He’s been irritable all night,” she said quietly, almost apologetically. “I didn’t-”  

“It’s alright,” John told her. “I’ll handle it. Let Zoe know what’s going on and tell Julia to be on standby in case we need to call the police.” He turned back to Harold, “I’ll be right back.”  

Harold watched John walk over to the table and stood so that he was facing the woman and partially blocking the man’s view. His expression was kind, and despite his height he managed to not loom over her. The man was clearly getting irritated but John paid him no mind. When the woman started gathering her purse, John nodded to the waitress who had come to get him and waited until the two had walked away before turning to the man. There was a complete shift in body language and probably expression given the way the man’s face paled when John faced him. Harold still couldn’t hear what John was saying, but the man almost tripped over himself getting up from the table and making a beeline towards the door. John watched him go before heading back to their table, ignoring the looks and the whispers from the other diners.  

“Sorry about that,” John said as he sat back down. “I hope it hasn’t spoiled the evening.”  

Before Harold could respond, another woman approached the table. This one he recognized from her interview about the opening of the restaurant, Zoe Morgan.  

“Hi John. Sorry you had to work on your night off.”  

“I'm just glad it didn’t escalate.”  

“You might’ve ruined your other suit,” She teased before turning to Harold. “Hi; Zoe Morgan, You must be Harold Finch. I’m sorry we had to steal your date for a bit.”  

“Not at all,” Harold managed to say. “It was good to see that situation handled quickly and efficiently.”  

“We don’t put up with assholes here,” She smiled, “Pardon my language. If it didn’t put you off from coming back, we’ll be happy to comp your next meal. For tonight, dessert’s on the house.”  

“Thanks, Zoe.”  

“Thank you, Ms. Morgan.”  

“Zoe, please. Maybe next time you’ll get to experience John in action.” She threw him a wink and walked away.  

Harold turned to John with a questioning look and received a sheepish smile in return. “I take it you’re more than just a frequent diner?”  

“Head chef,” John admitted. “And co-owner.”  

“And occasional bouncer,” Harold noted with a smile. “No wonder you were able to get a table.”  

“I figured it was the less presumptive way to invite you to my place to cook for you.”  

“I hope that hasn’t been taken off the table entirely.”  

It was a little forward, but it was worth it for the way John’s smile lit up the room.  

They were able to pick the conversation back up and enjoyed the rest of their evening, including the dessert, without issue. John walked Harold out to where a line of cabs waited for guests the would need a ride.  

“If you’d like,” Harold said as they lingered on the sidewalk, “There’s a small diner I'm very fond of for breakfast.” He pulled his small notebook out of his pocket and wrote down the address. “You’re more than welcome to join me. And there’s an outdoor section that allows dogs.”  

“I knew you only liked me for my dog,” John teased. “We’ll be there.” He lifted a hand up to Harold’s face but stopped, “May I?”  

“Yes.”  

John gently cupped Harold’s cheek and leaned down to press a light kiss to his lips. “See you tomorrow, Harold.”  

“Good night, John.”  

When Harold made it back to his apartment, stomach still fluttering, he texted Root, ‘Home safe.’  

The only response he got was a thumbs up emoji. Her ‘Me Night’ must be going well. His phone pinged again with a text from John.  

‘Looking forward to breakfast. Good night.’

Chapter Text

Harold arrived early so he could get a nice table outside. John had texted a few more times so he knew he hadn’t forgotten, but Harold was content to wait for a few minutes and read his book. A bark drew his attention to a familiar looking dog, pulling a leash held by unfamiliar human. 

“Bear?” The dog barked again and put his head on Harold’s knee when he finally got close enough, so yes it was Bear. “Hello again.” He looked up at the woman, “I’m sorry I don’t think we’ve met.” 

“Shaw. You must be Harold.” 

“I am... do you know John?” 

“Yeah. I watched Bear for him last night. He told me to meet him here to bring him back.” 

“I see. Would you like to have a seat while you wait?” 

“Nah. Thanks.” 

There was a whistle and Bear darted away, easily getting out of Shaw’s loose grip on the leash, and they turned to see John smiling as Bear jumped up to greet him. Harold glanced over and had to suppress a smile at the betrayed look on Shaw’s face. 

“Morning Harold. Shaw.” 

“Reese.” 

“Good morning, John.” 

“Thanks for taking care of him. Did he behave?” 

Shaw smirked, “Yeah, we had a good night. Actually, speaking of...” She nodded behind them and they turned to see someone else approaching their table. 

“Hi Harry. Hi Sameen. You must be John. I’m Root, Harry and I work together. Nice to meet you.” 

“Hi...” John shook her hand, giving Harold a questioning look. Harold could only shrug, he didn’t know either.  

“Before you get all worried,” Root said, “We’re not crashing your date, we just wanted to see the looks on your faces when we all showed up. Actually we’re going to put in a to-go order.” 

Harold let out an internal sigh of relief. “You might as well sit while you wait then.” 

“So,” John said as they all sat down. “How do you two know each other?” 

“Well,” Root said with a smile, “It’s a funny story.” 

Shaw stopped by the club with Bear to say hello and drop off the key for the closing shift. Bear wasn’t allowed in, even thought everyone knew he was a very good boy, so the staff that could came out to say hello. 

“Looks like you’ve got the hot date tonight,” said a cheerful voice nearby. A brunette in a blue dress crouched down beside Bear, “You’re pretty cute too, pooch.” 

“Bear,” Shaw managed. “His name’s Bear.” 

“Hi Bear.” She gave him a few scritches and smiled up at Shaw. “What about you?” 

“Me?” 

“What’s your name?” 

“Shaw. Or Sameen. Whatever you want.” 

“Hi Sameen,” she stood up and held out her hand, “Call me Root.” 

Shaw took it, “Hi. You going in?” She nodded at the club. 

“I was thinking about it. You seemed to know a lot of people, you work here?” 

“I’m the bouncer. But I'm off duty tonight.” 

“Do you take private jobs? I wouldn’t mind having you to myself for the night. Bear can come too, of course.” 

“I would, but I'm wearing my good jeans, and if something happened I'd hate to get blood on them.” 

“Yours or someone else’s?” Root smiled as Shaw stared, speechless. “That’s okay, you and Bear clearly have plans and I'd hate to intrude on a woman and her dog.” 

“Well he’s not mine,” Shaw admitted. “That is, I'm watching him for a friend on a date, so we were just going to walk around for the night. You can come, if you want.” 

“I’d love to, Sameen. You know it’s funny,” Root said as they headed off, “a friend of mine is on a date with a man who has a dog. Apparently they ran into each other this morning.” 

Shaw stopped, “Your friend’s name wouldn’t happen to be Harold, would it?” 

“It might. Is your friend John?” 

“Holy shit. If we didn’t have Bear, I'd totally suggest we go stalk them at the restaurant.” 

Root grinned and looped her arm through Shaw’s, “Oh I think you and I are going to get along great.” 

There was a brief moment of silence as John and Harold processed the fact that these particular people in their lives had managed to find someone that was apparently on the same wavelength as them. 

“So you work at the school?” John finally managed to ask. “Faculty or staff?” 

“Faculty. Computer science and any other class that’s even remotely related to computers. Harry and I are basically the IT department at this point too.” 

John looked over at Harold with a smile, “Well I knew you were smart, I should’ve known you were talented too.” Harold hid his own smile behind his water glass. 

Shaw rolled her eyes and hauled herself up from her chair, “Well this has been fun. Come on, Root, I think our order’s ready. Bye Bear.” 

Root stood and smiled, “So nice to meet you, John. Bye Bear, be good. See you tomorrow Harry!” She took Shaw’s hand and they walked in to the register. 

“I’ve only briefly met Ms. Shaw,” Harold finally said, “But I do know Ms. Groves fairly well. I feel like we should be worried.” 

“We should be worried,” John agreed. “But I'm okay with being worried after breakfast.” 

“Maybe we’ll be worried tomorrow. In the meantime, might I recommend the Eggs Benedict? I’ve had them many times.”