Declarations of Love (1/1)
Title: Declarations of Love
Author: tromana
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Jane/Lisbon
Summary: Jane wants to try and win over Lisbon in a very unique way. She's not impressed.
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Spoilers: Very minor for season 4.
Notes: Written for 15genres1prompt. Genre: crack. Also for mentalistprompt: table G (cat and mouse) and for the Paint It Red February monthly challenge. Phew! Finally, I imagine this set some time in the future, when Red John is no longer an issue. I think that's all for notes now? Yes?
Declarations of Love
"Jane! What the hell are you doing in my car?"
Jane grinned sunnily and acted as if it were perfectly normal for him to be found in her vehicle at three thirty in the morning. If they had been in the middle of a case, on the way to a crime scene, then sure, she wouldn't have questioned it. However, Lisbon had literally only just gotten the call from the deputy AG and was about to go and pick him up. She hadn't even had a chance to phone him to let him know she was on her way. So, he had some explaining to do.
"I had a feeling you would be requiring my assistance," he replied politely, but her frown deepened in response.
"Oh really?" she quipped back, disbelievingly.
"Well, no,” Jane admitted, “but it sounds a lot better than saying the deputy AG called me first, doesn't it?"
Lisbon instantly relaxed now that she had received a half decent explanation for his actions, surprisingly quickly, all things considered. It was certainly a lot better than the other thoughts and theories that had been running through her mind. Especially so as the other options were all illegal and she didn't fancy having cause or reason to arrest him. It was bad enough that he drove her mad day in, day out at work without dragging legalities into the sorry mess.
Jane smiled and she scowled back at him. She was half asleep and he had given her quite the shock. Hearing his cheery disposition when she was only just beginning to wake up, had yet to have a morning coffee and was cursing the existence of the deputy AG was more than enough to instill a foul mood into her for the rest of the day. Or probably, anyway.
And they still had a dead body to go and see. Yes, it was pretty much destined to be a bad day all around.
xxx
When they got back to the CBI headquarters, seven hours later, Lisbon was still thinking about Jane's admission in her car in the early hours of the morning. It didn’t make much sense. He certainly didn’t live close enough to her home for his story to add up. She had barely been on the phone for two minutes to the deputy AG, just long enough to get all the information she had required. It had then taken her an additional ten minutes to ensure she at least somewhat resembled a human being and ambled to her car. Jane lived at least forty-five minutes away from her and the CBI headquarters was a good thirty minute drive too. There were no hotels or motels in the vicinity either; she had picked a strictly residential area for good reason. She wanted her home to be an escape from the stresses of work.
So, what the hell had he been doing in her neighborhood then?
As she pondered over this sticking point, she made a detour via the kitchenette. If anybody deserved a nice, strong coffee right now, it was her. With a smile, she headed towards her office. The scent of her hot drink alone was enough to improve her mood considerably.
Catching a certain Patrick Jane rummaging underneath her desk with absolutely no reason to be there, brought her crashing back down to earth, however.
"Jane!"
"What?"
"Under my desk? Really?" she queried, making it blindingly obvious that her levels of patience were being tested to the extreme."
"What about it?" he asked, as he pulled a lollipop out of his mouth.
"Well?" she said, believing that the question didn't really nearly further expansion.
After all, her office was her private sanctuary within the headquarters. Not only was he being disrespectful of her privacy and personal space, but he was giving her cause to question his very sanity. While she had come to expect some level of craziness with Jane, he was acting even more weird than usual.
"Ah. Yes,” he answered eventually, still stalling for time. “I thought I had dropped some candy down there."
"When?"
"Hmm? What did you say?"
"I said when did you lose it there?" she replied, stoically ignoring the fact that he was staring pointedly at her legs from his position on the floor.
"Oh I don't know,” he answered blithely, waving a hand as he did so. “Sometime last week, I guess?"
"You do realize the cleaners tidy in here daily, don't you?"
"Well they don't do a very good job," Jane retorted, grinning and he stood up to look her in the eyes. "Look at all this dust. I'd complain if I were you."
"Duly noted,” she answered back. “Now go find Christine and ask her about your candy."
"Meh. Don't think I want it now."
"That wasn’t a request to get out, that was an order!"
"Was it? Well really, you should be clearer with your instructions then, woman."
"Out!"
"I'm going, I'm going."
When he finally left, Lisbon breathed a sigh of relief. Yes, there was something particularly strange going on in Jane’s mind today. However, as she sat down and placed her coffee down neatly, she cursed. She never did get an answer as to why he was so close to her house at some godforsaken hour this morning.
xxx
Although they had a case, it was yoga night and Van Pelt was insistent that they still attended. Any and all paperwork could wait until the morning, apparently. And if there was a dire emergency, then Rigsby or Cho could contact them on their cell phones. Lisbon was relieved that their instructor wad understanding enough about their careers to make them exceptions to the general class rules. It meant that they could easily participate without the worry of missing something important at work. Yoga was one of the few classes Lisbon actually found the time to fit in; any other hobbies she had, she found she had to bend around work rather than find them easily accommodating.
She was, however, running late for the class. A management meeting with Wainwright had eaten up more time than she had anticipated. Lisbon had called Grace to let her know she’d be there eventually, but she knew the younger agent would be a little disappointed. Sometimes, there was that look in her eyes which suggested she thought Lisbon worked too hard. Maybe she was right, but the fact of the matter was that somebody had to do it and nine times out of ten, that somebody was her.
Still, at least she was here now. Quickly, she rushed to the locker rooms to change into her sweat pants and vest top. Her usual work attire really wasn’t appropriate for yoga, after all. Swiftly, Lisbon organized her belongings before pulling off her work shirt. As she did so, the door swung open. Initially, Lisbon thought nothing of it. It was probably just another latecomer or something. If anything, their presence reassured her somewhat. It meant she wasn't going to have to face the wrath of the instructor alone.
Her reassurance, however, was short lived. When she glanced over her shoulder, she realized her companion was not only masculine, but had a head of all too familiar blond curls as well.
As quickly as she could, she grabbed her shirt once more and held it up in front of her to protect her modesty. Then, she rounded on him, with fire blazing in both her eyes.
"Jane! What the hell do you think you are doing?" she snapped.
"Getting changed for yoga; what does it look like?"
"Why?" she retorted angrily.
"Ah, I thought I would do some research. See if balancing on your head can really solve life's many mysteries."
Lisbon scowled. Obviously he still hadn't quite grasped the point of yoga. In reality, neither had she but that was beside the point. At least she had a genuine interest in trying and if anything, was inspired by Van Pelt’s enthusiasm for the activity. Jane, however, was just there to irritate her. Well, that was probably his motive, anyway.
"Why here?"
"Well you come here, Van Pelt comes here. Obviously they must be good at what they do. You don’t suffer fools gladly and Van Pelt knows her stuff. She doesn’t like to be short changed."
She ignored the fact her cheeks were beginning to warm up, a sure sign that she was blushing. Lisbon also stoically avoided looking directly at her consultant. Especially now, considering he was clad in just his boxer shorts. The fact he was indeed changing amused her more than it should have done; half of her was convinced that the man merely owned three piece suits, all in various shades of brown, gray and black.
"I meant why are you getting changed in the ladies bathroom?"
"This is the ladies?" he inquired, his voice laced with mock innocence. "My mistake. Still, the damage is done. Carry on changing, Lisbon. I promise I won't look."
Lisbon trusted Jane just about as far as she could throw him. She also knew that any promise of his was either sacrosanct or vorticella worthless. For some reason, she suspected that this one would be the latter.
And that this was doomed to be the yoga class from hell.
xxx
“I’m beginning to wonder if you’re stalking me,” Lisbon stated light heartedly as she grabbed a bar of candy. She didn’t care about whatever snide comments he made about it; damn it, she deserved it. After a day like today, chocolate was a necessity, not a luxury.
Jane, however, didn’t utter a word. Instead, he picked up a candy bar too - the same one as she had, Lisbon noted - and placed it in his own basket.
“Stalking? No,” Jane answered back, smiling. “I’m just picking up some groceries, you know…”
“Miles away from where you live?”
“They always have the best offers on here.”
“Oh really?” Lisbon scoffed. As far as she was concerned, a lot of the goods in this specific grocery store were fairly overpriced. However, the convenience of it was what meant she invariably kept coming back to it.
She watched him warily as he picked up some potato chips and some cookies. His selections, at least, made her look incredibly healthy. Then again, food had always been one of Jane’s weaknesses and even she knew that he had a particularly sweet tooth. She shouldn’t have been surprised that he was more than willing to fill up on garbage.
Lisbon drifted away from him as soon as she had opportunity to do so. She had come here to do her weekly shop, not to socialize with a colleague she saw as frequently as Jane. Besides, it was getting late and she had a date with her television to uphold. It was science fiction night in her household and she was ready to suspend her disbelief for a couple of hours or so before bed.
However, almost as soon as she had shaken him off, Jane seemed to manage to find her again. Each time she saw him, he seemed to have more junk food and tried to ply her with some of it. But she wasn’t interested; she did have to keep an eye on her diet, after all. Her job required some level of fitness and she didn’t want to make it that much harder by continually filling up on candy and other crap. One chocolate bar on rare occasions wouldn’t hurt, but too much more than that would easily become a problem.
Eventually, she gave up running away from him and instead, headed to make her purchases with him. They remained in a companionable silence as they did so, but she couldn’t help but notice that Jane’s eyes never left her alone. She cursed silently; maybe he was imagining she was still wearing that tight vest top he’d seen her in earlier, or worse, her bra. In reality, she didn’t want to know, but it still surprised her somewhat. After all, even she could recognize that the cashier was fairly attractive, if a little young for Jane.
When she headed to the car, Lisbon was relieved that she could finally so goodbye to Jane for the day. She really, really did deserve some peace and quiet now. And some time to stop thinking about work, to stop trying to solve the case when they had barely started working it and to stop worrying about what the hell was wrong with Patrick Jane.
She also had an impending headache too. That was something which she wanted to nip in the bud as soon as possible. Some Tylenol once she got through the door at home would do the trick, she considered.
xxx
When she found him camping out in her closet, Lisbon knew that she should have been shocked. Instead, she was only faintly surprised and found herself glaring irritably at him. After all, he had been springing up on her in all sorts of weird places today, so what was one more to add to the list? His latest hiding place just had to be one of the most personal. He wouldn’t have been Jane if he didn’t break down a few barriers like that. But breaking and entering was a felony, as she constantly reminded him, but naturally, her complaints always fell on deaf ears. Surprisingly enough, she wasn’t particularly annoyed by it; the situation was absurd enough for her to see the funny side of it. Besides, he seemed to have camped himself up quite comfortably there; all the junk food she’d seen him buy just hours earlier was pooled at his feet. Briefly, she wondered if he had been planning this for a while.
Lisbon was just relieved that she was decently dressed. Or that she was wearing her bathrobe rather than just her old pajamas, at the very least. Otherwise, this incident could have been a thousand times more humiliating than the one they had endured at the gym. She still hadn’t forgiven him for making a mockery out of the yoga class, even if she had expected it before they’d even entered the room. And she swore that she had caught him ogling at him while she’d changed her pants, despite the fact he had promised not to.
She smirked. Anyone would think he hadn’t seen bare human flesh before.
“What are you trying to do? Wear down my patience so thoroughly that I’ll sack you?” Lisbon asked.
Jane rubbed the back of his head; it was something he did whenever he felt guilty. Reluctantly, he stepped out of her closet and looked desperately at her. Lisbon frowned. Sometimes, she wished there was such a thing as psychics. That she was one and that she could read Jane’s mind. It would certainly make things a hell of a lot easier than trying to work out what was going on in that strange brain in his. He really was a bizarre creature. It was something he seemed to know, seemed to revel in, even, but Lisbon wanted to know him better, simply to make working with him that little bit easier.
“Not exactly,” he mumbled guiltily.
“Well, what are you trying to do then?”
“Catch your attention?” he said hopefully.
“You do that anyway,” she grumbled. After all, it was his fault she had piles of paperwork that multiplied like rabbits.
Jane reached out to touch her, but Lisbon pulled away. As she did so, he looked momentarily hurt, before he managed to gather together his poker face once more. Was that the problem? That she wasn’t being tactile enough with him?
But they were tactile. She let him touch her in ways where other men would earn themselves a kick in the groin. Lisbon let him clasped hold of her wrist, touch the small of her back and so on, without even a second thought. She stared at him, until finally comprehension dawned.
It wasn’t the lack of touch that was bothering him. It was the lack of meaning behind the touch.
This level of crazy she had been subjected to in the past twenty four hours was his madcap way of telling her that he wanted to move their relationship onto the next level. That he was ready to put the past behind him and start afresh.
That he saw her as more than just a good - a very good - friend.
And if she was entirely honest with herself, something she struggled to be on occasion, the feeling was more than entirely mutual.
In a swift motion, she closed the gap between them. With confidence, she wrapped an arm around his waist, one of the most forthcoming moves she’d ever done on him, rolled onto the tip of her toes and allowed her lips to briefly touch his. Shocked at herself, she pulled away tentatively, but Jane pulled her back in for a second, more passionate embrace. It surprised her just how willingly she offered herself to him, on a silver platter, almost. Whenever she had previously allowed her thoughts to wander down such pathways, she had always imagined herself resisting, fighting against the inevitable. Lisbon had always believed that the fact she had always been more than happy to be alone was because she thrived as a lone wolf. She didn’t need male company. It was enjoyable, yes, but it didn’t make her any better a person.
In truth, it was probably because she already had her eye on one (broken) individual. Of course, having a relationship with him wouldn’t change her as a person much, but it would be nice to have somebody to come home to every night. The fact that they would be going to work together as well was irrelevant.
When they finally took a break for air, Lisbon smiled wryly at him. This had to be the strangest way for someone to admit their affections for somebody else she had ever known. Then again, it was Jane. Only he would see stalking as being a sign of endearment.
“You know, you could have made this a whole lot easier.”
“How?”
“You could have just asked.”
Author: tromana
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Jane/Lisbon
Summary: Jane wants to try and win over Lisbon in a very unique way. She's not impressed.
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Spoilers: Very minor for season 4.
Notes: Written for 15genres1prompt. Genre: crack. Also for mentalistprompt: table G (cat and mouse) and for the Paint It Red February monthly challenge. Phew! Finally, I imagine this set some time in the future, when Red John is no longer an issue. I think that's all for notes now? Yes?
Declarations of Love
"Jane! What the hell are you doing in my car?"
Jane grinned sunnily and acted as if it were perfectly normal for him to be found in her vehicle at three thirty in the morning. If they had been in the middle of a case, on the way to a crime scene, then sure, she wouldn't have questioned it. However, Lisbon had literally only just gotten the call from the deputy AG and was about to go and pick him up. She hadn't even had a chance to phone him to let him know she was on her way. So, he had some explaining to do.
"I had a feeling you would be requiring my assistance," he replied politely, but her frown deepened in response.
"Oh really?" she quipped back, disbelievingly.
"Well, no,” Jane admitted, “but it sounds a lot better than saying the deputy AG called me first, doesn't it?"
Lisbon instantly relaxed now that she had received a half decent explanation for his actions, surprisingly quickly, all things considered. It was certainly a lot better than the other thoughts and theories that had been running through her mind. Especially so as the other options were all illegal and she didn't fancy having cause or reason to arrest him. It was bad enough that he drove her mad day in, day out at work without dragging legalities into the sorry mess.
Jane smiled and she scowled back at him. She was half asleep and he had given her quite the shock. Hearing his cheery disposition when she was only just beginning to wake up, had yet to have a morning coffee and was cursing the existence of the deputy AG was more than enough to instill a foul mood into her for the rest of the day. Or probably, anyway.
And they still had a dead body to go and see. Yes, it was pretty much destined to be a bad day all around.
xxx
When they got back to the CBI headquarters, seven hours later, Lisbon was still thinking about Jane's admission in her car in the early hours of the morning. It didn’t make much sense. He certainly didn’t live close enough to her home for his story to add up. She had barely been on the phone for two minutes to the deputy AG, just long enough to get all the information she had required. It had then taken her an additional ten minutes to ensure she at least somewhat resembled a human being and ambled to her car. Jane lived at least forty-five minutes away from her and the CBI headquarters was a good thirty minute drive too. There were no hotels or motels in the vicinity either; she had picked a strictly residential area for good reason. She wanted her home to be an escape from the stresses of work.
So, what the hell had he been doing in her neighborhood then?
As she pondered over this sticking point, she made a detour via the kitchenette. If anybody deserved a nice, strong coffee right now, it was her. With a smile, she headed towards her office. The scent of her hot drink alone was enough to improve her mood considerably.
Catching a certain Patrick Jane rummaging underneath her desk with absolutely no reason to be there, brought her crashing back down to earth, however.
"Jane!"
"What?"
"Under my desk? Really?" she queried, making it blindingly obvious that her levels of patience were being tested to the extreme."
"What about it?" he asked, as he pulled a lollipop out of his mouth.
"Well?" she said, believing that the question didn't really nearly further expansion.
After all, her office was her private sanctuary within the headquarters. Not only was he being disrespectful of her privacy and personal space, but he was giving her cause to question his very sanity. While she had come to expect some level of craziness with Jane, he was acting even more weird than usual.
"Ah. Yes,” he answered eventually, still stalling for time. “I thought I had dropped some candy down there."
"When?"
"Hmm? What did you say?"
"I said when did you lose it there?" she replied, stoically ignoring the fact that he was staring pointedly at her legs from his position on the floor.
"Oh I don't know,” he answered blithely, waving a hand as he did so. “Sometime last week, I guess?"
"You do realize the cleaners tidy in here daily, don't you?"
"Well they don't do a very good job," Jane retorted, grinning and he stood up to look her in the eyes. "Look at all this dust. I'd complain if I were you."
"Duly noted,” she answered back. “Now go find Christine and ask her about your candy."
"Meh. Don't think I want it now."
"That wasn’t a request to get out, that was an order!"
"Was it? Well really, you should be clearer with your instructions then, woman."
"Out!"
"I'm going, I'm going."
When he finally left, Lisbon breathed a sigh of relief. Yes, there was something particularly strange going on in Jane’s mind today. However, as she sat down and placed her coffee down neatly, she cursed. She never did get an answer as to why he was so close to her house at some godforsaken hour this morning.
xxx
Although they had a case, it was yoga night and Van Pelt was insistent that they still attended. Any and all paperwork could wait until the morning, apparently. And if there was a dire emergency, then Rigsby or Cho could contact them on their cell phones. Lisbon was relieved that their instructor wad understanding enough about their careers to make them exceptions to the general class rules. It meant that they could easily participate without the worry of missing something important at work. Yoga was one of the few classes Lisbon actually found the time to fit in; any other hobbies she had, she found she had to bend around work rather than find them easily accommodating.
She was, however, running late for the class. A management meeting with Wainwright had eaten up more time than she had anticipated. Lisbon had called Grace to let her know she’d be there eventually, but she knew the younger agent would be a little disappointed. Sometimes, there was that look in her eyes which suggested she thought Lisbon worked too hard. Maybe she was right, but the fact of the matter was that somebody had to do it and nine times out of ten, that somebody was her.
Still, at least she was here now. Quickly, she rushed to the locker rooms to change into her sweat pants and vest top. Her usual work attire really wasn’t appropriate for yoga, after all. Swiftly, Lisbon organized her belongings before pulling off her work shirt. As she did so, the door swung open. Initially, Lisbon thought nothing of it. It was probably just another latecomer or something. If anything, their presence reassured her somewhat. It meant she wasn't going to have to face the wrath of the instructor alone.
Her reassurance, however, was short lived. When she glanced over her shoulder, she realized her companion was not only masculine, but had a head of all too familiar blond curls as well.
As quickly as she could, she grabbed her shirt once more and held it up in front of her to protect her modesty. Then, she rounded on him, with fire blazing in both her eyes.
"Jane! What the hell do you think you are doing?" she snapped.
"Getting changed for yoga; what does it look like?"
"Why?" she retorted angrily.
"Ah, I thought I would do some research. See if balancing on your head can really solve life's many mysteries."
Lisbon scowled. Obviously he still hadn't quite grasped the point of yoga. In reality, neither had she but that was beside the point. At least she had a genuine interest in trying and if anything, was inspired by Van Pelt’s enthusiasm for the activity. Jane, however, was just there to irritate her. Well, that was probably his motive, anyway.
"Why here?"
"Well you come here, Van Pelt comes here. Obviously they must be good at what they do. You don’t suffer fools gladly and Van Pelt knows her stuff. She doesn’t like to be short changed."
She ignored the fact her cheeks were beginning to warm up, a sure sign that she was blushing. Lisbon also stoically avoided looking directly at her consultant. Especially now, considering he was clad in just his boxer shorts. The fact he was indeed changing amused her more than it should have done; half of her was convinced that the man merely owned three piece suits, all in various shades of brown, gray and black.
"I meant why are you getting changed in the ladies bathroom?"
"This is the ladies?" he inquired, his voice laced with mock innocence. "My mistake. Still, the damage is done. Carry on changing, Lisbon. I promise I won't look."
Lisbon trusted Jane just about as far as she could throw him. She also knew that any promise of his was either sacrosanct or vorticella worthless. For some reason, she suspected that this one would be the latter.
And that this was doomed to be the yoga class from hell.
xxx
“I’m beginning to wonder if you’re stalking me,” Lisbon stated light heartedly as she grabbed a bar of candy. She didn’t care about whatever snide comments he made about it; damn it, she deserved it. After a day like today, chocolate was a necessity, not a luxury.
Jane, however, didn’t utter a word. Instead, he picked up a candy bar too - the same one as she had, Lisbon noted - and placed it in his own basket.
“Stalking? No,” Jane answered back, smiling. “I’m just picking up some groceries, you know…”
“Miles away from where you live?”
“They always have the best offers on here.”
“Oh really?” Lisbon scoffed. As far as she was concerned, a lot of the goods in this specific grocery store were fairly overpriced. However, the convenience of it was what meant she invariably kept coming back to it.
She watched him warily as he picked up some potato chips and some cookies. His selections, at least, made her look incredibly healthy. Then again, food had always been one of Jane’s weaknesses and even she knew that he had a particularly sweet tooth. She shouldn’t have been surprised that he was more than willing to fill up on garbage.
Lisbon drifted away from him as soon as she had opportunity to do so. She had come here to do her weekly shop, not to socialize with a colleague she saw as frequently as Jane. Besides, it was getting late and she had a date with her television to uphold. It was science fiction night in her household and she was ready to suspend her disbelief for a couple of hours or so before bed.
However, almost as soon as she had shaken him off, Jane seemed to manage to find her again. Each time she saw him, he seemed to have more junk food and tried to ply her with some of it. But she wasn’t interested; she did have to keep an eye on her diet, after all. Her job required some level of fitness and she didn’t want to make it that much harder by continually filling up on candy and other crap. One chocolate bar on rare occasions wouldn’t hurt, but too much more than that would easily become a problem.
Eventually, she gave up running away from him and instead, headed to make her purchases with him. They remained in a companionable silence as they did so, but she couldn’t help but notice that Jane’s eyes never left her alone. She cursed silently; maybe he was imagining she was still wearing that tight vest top he’d seen her in earlier, or worse, her bra. In reality, she didn’t want to know, but it still surprised her somewhat. After all, even she could recognize that the cashier was fairly attractive, if a little young for Jane.
When she headed to the car, Lisbon was relieved that she could finally so goodbye to Jane for the day. She really, really did deserve some peace and quiet now. And some time to stop thinking about work, to stop trying to solve the case when they had barely started working it and to stop worrying about what the hell was wrong with Patrick Jane.
She also had an impending headache too. That was something which she wanted to nip in the bud as soon as possible. Some Tylenol once she got through the door at home would do the trick, she considered.
xxx
When she found him camping out in her closet, Lisbon knew that she should have been shocked. Instead, she was only faintly surprised and found herself glaring irritably at him. After all, he had been springing up on her in all sorts of weird places today, so what was one more to add to the list? His latest hiding place just had to be one of the most personal. He wouldn’t have been Jane if he didn’t break down a few barriers like that. But breaking and entering was a felony, as she constantly reminded him, but naturally, her complaints always fell on deaf ears. Surprisingly enough, she wasn’t particularly annoyed by it; the situation was absurd enough for her to see the funny side of it. Besides, he seemed to have camped himself up quite comfortably there; all the junk food she’d seen him buy just hours earlier was pooled at his feet. Briefly, she wondered if he had been planning this for a while.
Lisbon was just relieved that she was decently dressed. Or that she was wearing her bathrobe rather than just her old pajamas, at the very least. Otherwise, this incident could have been a thousand times more humiliating than the one they had endured at the gym. She still hadn’t forgiven him for making a mockery out of the yoga class, even if she had expected it before they’d even entered the room. And she swore that she had caught him ogling at him while she’d changed her pants, despite the fact he had promised not to.
She smirked. Anyone would think he hadn’t seen bare human flesh before.
“What are you trying to do? Wear down my patience so thoroughly that I’ll sack you?” Lisbon asked.
Jane rubbed the back of his head; it was something he did whenever he felt guilty. Reluctantly, he stepped out of her closet and looked desperately at her. Lisbon frowned. Sometimes, she wished there was such a thing as psychics. That she was one and that she could read Jane’s mind. It would certainly make things a hell of a lot easier than trying to work out what was going on in that strange brain in his. He really was a bizarre creature. It was something he seemed to know, seemed to revel in, even, but Lisbon wanted to know him better, simply to make working with him that little bit easier.
“Not exactly,” he mumbled guiltily.
“Well, what are you trying to do then?”
“Catch your attention?” he said hopefully.
“You do that anyway,” she grumbled. After all, it was his fault she had piles of paperwork that multiplied like rabbits.
Jane reached out to touch her, but Lisbon pulled away. As she did so, he looked momentarily hurt, before he managed to gather together his poker face once more. Was that the problem? That she wasn’t being tactile enough with him?
But they were tactile. She let him touch her in ways where other men would earn themselves a kick in the groin. Lisbon let him clasped hold of her wrist, touch the small of her back and so on, without even a second thought. She stared at him, until finally comprehension dawned.
It wasn’t the lack of touch that was bothering him. It was the lack of meaning behind the touch.
This level of crazy she had been subjected to in the past twenty four hours was his madcap way of telling her that he wanted to move their relationship onto the next level. That he was ready to put the past behind him and start afresh.
That he saw her as more than just a good - a very good - friend.
And if she was entirely honest with herself, something she struggled to be on occasion, the feeling was more than entirely mutual.
In a swift motion, she closed the gap between them. With confidence, she wrapped an arm around his waist, one of the most forthcoming moves she’d ever done on him, rolled onto the tip of her toes and allowed her lips to briefly touch his. Shocked at herself, she pulled away tentatively, but Jane pulled her back in for a second, more passionate embrace. It surprised her just how willingly she offered herself to him, on a silver platter, almost. Whenever she had previously allowed her thoughts to wander down such pathways, she had always imagined herself resisting, fighting against the inevitable. Lisbon had always believed that the fact she had always been more than happy to be alone was because she thrived as a lone wolf. She didn’t need male company. It was enjoyable, yes, but it didn’t make her any better a person.
In truth, it was probably because she already had her eye on one (broken) individual. Of course, having a relationship with him wouldn’t change her as a person much, but it would be nice to have somebody to come home to every night. The fact that they would be going to work together as well was irrelevant.
When they finally took a break for air, Lisbon smiled wryly at him. This had to be the strangest way for someone to admit their affections for somebody else she had ever known. Then again, it was Jane. Only he would see stalking as being a sign of endearment.
“You know, you could have made this a whole lot easier.”
“How?”
“You could have just asked.”