fic: Mentalist - Meet Cute (6)
Meet Cute
- Series part 6 -
Rating: P14
Contents: Meet cute - the encounter of two potential romantic partners in unusual or comic circumstances.
Characters: Jane & Lisbon... mostly... again :D
Disclaimer: This masterpiece of a TV show, The Mentalist, unfortunately wasn't my idea. The lucky man who has every right to pad himself on the shoulder is Bruno Heller, as the show belongs to him, Paramount Television and CBS.
Parts 1-5
Beach
A long weekend. Two days off, plus two days weekend. Oh, she had waited a long time for this. And now she was so going to make something great of it.
It was early Thursday midmorning when Teresa Lisbon got up. Not quite; at first she wriggled back her blanket with her legs, only to then stretch extensively - in a manner that would have put every cat's stretching scheme to shame. There was no part of her body that didn't get thorough stretching attention.
Only after what must have been around fifteen minutes, she finally got up, tapped into the kitchen and turned on the coffee machine. Freshly brewed coffee was just another part of her personal spoiling program; normally, she would get her first coffee of the day from a coffee shop or simply from the coffee machine in the office.
But not today. Today she wanted the whole, the complete program, and that included one or two cups of fresh coffee she would drink while sitting in one of her comfortable armchairs in the living room and reading the morning newspaper.
It also included visiting the beach, something she hadn't done for ages. Not for fun at least. But the weather was perfect, and her new - meaning "never used, but having been stored in her wardrobe for a few years" - bikini just waited to see the ocean. So as soon as she had finished her coffee, now well informed about what had lately been going on in the world, she packed her back and headed for the beach.
---
It was an almost divine feeling, being bathed in the sunlight, the beams tickling her skin. She had chosen a place behind a small rock formation, a little secret nook on the mile-wide beach she had once discovered and always waited for to use. There were only a few people around, while the majority of bathers and sun-seekers were around a mile down the beach. Probably because the part Lisbon was residing was quite stony - apart from those little nooks like the one she had claimed. There warm and soft sand invited to lie and relax on.
An hour earlier, she had tested the water and swum as far as it was allowed, only to then return and rest for a while in the shallow water near the beach. Gentle waves had swapped over her skin, caressed it, and cooled it in the hot sunbeams.
After she had returned to her nook and towel, she had eaten something and then stretched out on her towel and the warm sand to rest.
It could have been perfect. A perfect way to spend a perfect day.
Could have. Hadn't it been for the shadow that was suddenly blocking her sun.
Unwillingly, she cracked open one eye and tried to recognize the person standing there right next to her. But a bit blind due to the sun that had been bright even through her eyelids, and thanks the fact that she now had to look against the sun, she didn't see much.
"I hope there is a good reason for you blocking my sunlight," she mumbled, not caring about greeting the stranger. Intruder.
"Just thought that red isn't exactly your color," a well-known voice answered and she could hear the grin.
"Jane?!"
"Nice bikini, Lisbon." Patrick Jane's voice was cheekier than usual; but the chuckle that followed his words sounded as always. Rapidly, she sat up and almost panicking, she searched for something to cover herself until she found the sun-dress she had been wearing when she had come here, and pressed it against her body.
"What the hell are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be at work?" Lisbon jumped a bit when he slumped down in the sand beside her. As far as she could tell, since her eyes still tried to adjust to the light, Jane shrugged.
"Without you there, they didn't want me. No one wants to take responsibility for me," he explained, and this time she saw his face - and the smirk on it.
"You sneaked out." It wasn't a question. Two years working with Patrick Jane and she didn't need to ask such things anymore.
"I knew you would come here and no one can rub sun cream into the own back. So I came here to help. I'm sure Minelli approves this; he wouldn't need a senior agent with a terrible sunburn."
"You're too kind."
"That's me," Jane exclaimed happily and spotted Lisbon's sun cream. Commenting it with an "ah", he took the tube and looked at her expectantly. When she didn't move, he frowned at her and asked, "You going to turn around?"
"You going to tell me the truth?" she gave back, imitating him.
"It is the truth. Well, the combination of what I said. They wanted me to do paperwork and didn't take me with them when they went to the crime scene, so I sneaked out. Sent Rigsby a message, though. And then left my mobile in the office."
"You're such a child!" Lisbon scolded and shook her head.
"No, I'm just concerned about your health," he protested, still holding the tube, ready for the planned action. "So? Turn around."
"No."
"Alright, then," were his next words before he stood up, pulled his t-shirt over his head and took off his jeans - she hadn't realized he wasn't wearing his usual suit until now - and, left only in Bermuda shorts, he bent down and picked her up.
"Jane!? What are you... no... oh no, don't you dare... Jane... no!" she shrieked and struggled in his arms, but he remained unimpressed by her actions when he carried her towards the ocean.
"I've put on sun cream! And my back was never in the sun!" she tried to put him off his obvious plan of throwing her into the water.
"Sooner or later it would have been. And besides, your skin is so hot, it needs some cooling anyways." And with that, he had reached the deeper water and threw her in, before he dove in himself. When he came up, Lisbon had also reached the surface again.
"Your so..." Cough. "So..." Cough. "Gonna regret..." Cough. "This!" And another cough and a deep, shaky intake of breath.
"Feeling cooler now?" He grinned at her when she gave him a look that for sure was able to kill.
"Oh, you...!" And then she launched herself at him, pushing him underwater with all the force her small body held. It took Jane by surprise, and soon he shared her fate of getting water into his lungs. He came up, coughing like she had seconds before.
"Are we even now?" he asked when he was able to speak again. She thought about it for a moment.
"Think so."
"Good. Come on, let's swim a bit." Jane dove into the waves and took some forceful swim strokes before he realized that Lisbon wasn't following him. Puzzled, he came to a halt and turned around.
His dark-haired colleague just headed for the beach - she just wasn't in the mood for swimming; she rather wanted to resume her sun bath.
"Where do you think you're going?" he called after her, a hint of irritation in his voice. He had made a big effort to get her into the water, and now she was simply leaving.
"Out of the water," she replied in a sing-song voice, not looking back.
"Wait a moment, that's not what I meant!" He managed to follow her and catch her in time, diving underwater and grabbing her ankles so that she wavered a bit and fell back into the water. "You're supposed to stay here and... swim."
"Jane, what is this? You're behaving very strange, to say at least."
"What are you talking about? I don't behave strange."
"Yes, you do. So, what is it? A bet? With Rigsby? God, Jane, how often have I told you..."
"Alright, alright. You've won. But me, too," he grinned widely.
"Let me guess - I don't want to know?" The grin stayed plastered on his face, and it was all she needed as an answer. She only shook her head. He was right - she didn't want to know. Some things better remained unknown. "May I at least go back to my definitely deserved relaxing?"
"No," he simply answered - and emphasized it with one of his hands splashing water into her direction. She looked sternly at him, but otherwise didn't react; instead she made a new attempt to leave to water. Until another splash hit her from behind, with more intensity this time.
"You want war?" she asked, with her back still to him. "You get war." And with that, she quickly turned around and pushed her hands against the surface, producing a big splash that covered him completely. Not ten seconds later, they fought frantically, their hands as their weapons shoving the water against each other. Patrick's blond locks were a mixture of wet, curled strands and countless droplets, while Teresa's dark hair clung to her neck and shoulders and face.
They were equally good, splashing and diving and trying to get away, although especially the latter wasn't easy. Splashes hit them repeatedly, and once or twice, Lisbon gave a squealing sound Jane thought he needed to remember. Only after what must have been a good ten minutes, they slowly but surely stilled their movements and looked at each other.
"Truce?"
"Sounds good," she smiled, and looked puzzled at him when he approached her. Despite his exhaustion, he easily lifted her into his arms - ignoring her protest this time like he had before - and carried her towards her towel where he laid her down on one half of the huge cloth. He claimed the other half, lying down beside her. For a few minutes, they savored the sun warming and drying them.
"Perfect," Jane commented quietly after a while.
"Yep."
"Should do that more often."
"Yep."
"Thanks." Lisbon turned her head to look at him.
"No. Thank you." She placed a short but sweet kiss on his cheek, only to add whispering, "And - you're welcome."
END
... or read on fanfiction.net
- Series part 6 -
Rating: P14
Contents: Meet cute - the encounter of two potential romantic partners in unusual or comic circumstances.
Characters: Jane & Lisbon... mostly... again :D
Disclaimer: This masterpiece of a TV show, The Mentalist, unfortunately wasn't my idea. The lucky man who has every right to pad himself on the shoulder is Bruno Heller, as the show belongs to him, Paramount Television and CBS.
Parts 1-5
Beach
A long weekend. Two days off, plus two days weekend. Oh, she had waited a long time for this. And now she was so going to make something great of it.
It was early Thursday midmorning when Teresa Lisbon got up. Not quite; at first she wriggled back her blanket with her legs, only to then stretch extensively - in a manner that would have put every cat's stretching scheme to shame. There was no part of her body that didn't get thorough stretching attention.
Only after what must have been around fifteen minutes, she finally got up, tapped into the kitchen and turned on the coffee machine. Freshly brewed coffee was just another part of her personal spoiling program; normally, she would get her first coffee of the day from a coffee shop or simply from the coffee machine in the office.
But not today. Today she wanted the whole, the complete program, and that included one or two cups of fresh coffee she would drink while sitting in one of her comfortable armchairs in the living room and reading the morning newspaper.
It also included visiting the beach, something she hadn't done for ages. Not for fun at least. But the weather was perfect, and her new - meaning "never used, but having been stored in her wardrobe for a few years" - bikini just waited to see the ocean. So as soon as she had finished her coffee, now well informed about what had lately been going on in the world, she packed her back and headed for the beach.
---
It was an almost divine feeling, being bathed in the sunlight, the beams tickling her skin. She had chosen a place behind a small rock formation, a little secret nook on the mile-wide beach she had once discovered and always waited for to use. There were only a few people around, while the majority of bathers and sun-seekers were around a mile down the beach. Probably because the part Lisbon was residing was quite stony - apart from those little nooks like the one she had claimed. There warm and soft sand invited to lie and relax on.
An hour earlier, she had tested the water and swum as far as it was allowed, only to then return and rest for a while in the shallow water near the beach. Gentle waves had swapped over her skin, caressed it, and cooled it in the hot sunbeams.
After she had returned to her nook and towel, she had eaten something and then stretched out on her towel and the warm sand to rest.
It could have been perfect. A perfect way to spend a perfect day.
Could have. Hadn't it been for the shadow that was suddenly blocking her sun.
Unwillingly, she cracked open one eye and tried to recognize the person standing there right next to her. But a bit blind due to the sun that had been bright even through her eyelids, and thanks the fact that she now had to look against the sun, she didn't see much.
"I hope there is a good reason for you blocking my sunlight," she mumbled, not caring about greeting the stranger. Intruder.
"Just thought that red isn't exactly your color," a well-known voice answered and she could hear the grin.
"Jane?!"
"Nice bikini, Lisbon." Patrick Jane's voice was cheekier than usual; but the chuckle that followed his words sounded as always. Rapidly, she sat up and almost panicking, she searched for something to cover herself until she found the sun-dress she had been wearing when she had come here, and pressed it against her body.
"What the hell are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be at work?" Lisbon jumped a bit when he slumped down in the sand beside her. As far as she could tell, since her eyes still tried to adjust to the light, Jane shrugged.
"Without you there, they didn't want me. No one wants to take responsibility for me," he explained, and this time she saw his face - and the smirk on it.
"You sneaked out." It wasn't a question. Two years working with Patrick Jane and she didn't need to ask such things anymore.
"I knew you would come here and no one can rub sun cream into the own back. So I came here to help. I'm sure Minelli approves this; he wouldn't need a senior agent with a terrible sunburn."
"You're too kind."
"That's me," Jane exclaimed happily and spotted Lisbon's sun cream. Commenting it with an "ah", he took the tube and looked at her expectantly. When she didn't move, he frowned at her and asked, "You going to turn around?"
"You going to tell me the truth?" she gave back, imitating him.
"It is the truth. Well, the combination of what I said. They wanted me to do paperwork and didn't take me with them when they went to the crime scene, so I sneaked out. Sent Rigsby a message, though. And then left my mobile in the office."
"You're such a child!" Lisbon scolded and shook her head.
"No, I'm just concerned about your health," he protested, still holding the tube, ready for the planned action. "So? Turn around."
"No."
"Alright, then," were his next words before he stood up, pulled his t-shirt over his head and took off his jeans - she hadn't realized he wasn't wearing his usual suit until now - and, left only in Bermuda shorts, he bent down and picked her up.
"Jane!? What are you... no... oh no, don't you dare... Jane... no!" she shrieked and struggled in his arms, but he remained unimpressed by her actions when he carried her towards the ocean.
"I've put on sun cream! And my back was never in the sun!" she tried to put him off his obvious plan of throwing her into the water.
"Sooner or later it would have been. And besides, your skin is so hot, it needs some cooling anyways." And with that, he had reached the deeper water and threw her in, before he dove in himself. When he came up, Lisbon had also reached the surface again.
"Your so..." Cough. "So..." Cough. "Gonna regret..." Cough. "This!" And another cough and a deep, shaky intake of breath.
"Feeling cooler now?" He grinned at her when she gave him a look that for sure was able to kill.
"Oh, you...!" And then she launched herself at him, pushing him underwater with all the force her small body held. It took Jane by surprise, and soon he shared her fate of getting water into his lungs. He came up, coughing like she had seconds before.
"Are we even now?" he asked when he was able to speak again. She thought about it for a moment.
"Think so."
"Good. Come on, let's swim a bit." Jane dove into the waves and took some forceful swim strokes before he realized that Lisbon wasn't following him. Puzzled, he came to a halt and turned around.
His dark-haired colleague just headed for the beach - she just wasn't in the mood for swimming; she rather wanted to resume her sun bath.
"Where do you think you're going?" he called after her, a hint of irritation in his voice. He had made a big effort to get her into the water, and now she was simply leaving.
"Out of the water," she replied in a sing-song voice, not looking back.
"Wait a moment, that's not what I meant!" He managed to follow her and catch her in time, diving underwater and grabbing her ankles so that she wavered a bit and fell back into the water. "You're supposed to stay here and... swim."
"Jane, what is this? You're behaving very strange, to say at least."
"What are you talking about? I don't behave strange."
"Yes, you do. So, what is it? A bet? With Rigsby? God, Jane, how often have I told you..."
"Alright, alright. You've won. But me, too," he grinned widely.
"Let me guess - I don't want to know?" The grin stayed plastered on his face, and it was all she needed as an answer. She only shook her head. He was right - she didn't want to know. Some things better remained unknown. "May I at least go back to my definitely deserved relaxing?"
"No," he simply answered - and emphasized it with one of his hands splashing water into her direction. She looked sternly at him, but otherwise didn't react; instead she made a new attempt to leave to water. Until another splash hit her from behind, with more intensity this time.
"You want war?" she asked, with her back still to him. "You get war." And with that, she quickly turned around and pushed her hands against the surface, producing a big splash that covered him completely. Not ten seconds later, they fought frantically, their hands as their weapons shoving the water against each other. Patrick's blond locks were a mixture of wet, curled strands and countless droplets, while Teresa's dark hair clung to her neck and shoulders and face.
They were equally good, splashing and diving and trying to get away, although especially the latter wasn't easy. Splashes hit them repeatedly, and once or twice, Lisbon gave a squealing sound Jane thought he needed to remember. Only after what must have been a good ten minutes, they slowly but surely stilled their movements and looked at each other.
"Truce?"
"Sounds good," she smiled, and looked puzzled at him when he approached her. Despite his exhaustion, he easily lifted her into his arms - ignoring her protest this time like he had before - and carried her towards her towel where he laid her down on one half of the huge cloth. He claimed the other half, lying down beside her. For a few minutes, they savored the sun warming and drying them.
"Perfect," Jane commented quietly after a while.
"Yep."
"Should do that more often."
"Yep."
"Thanks." Lisbon turned her head to look at him.
"No. Thank you." She placed a short but sweet kiss on his cheek, only to add whispering, "And - you're welcome."
END
... or read on fanfiction.net