Never ending charade
Disclaimer:I don't own The Mentalist or their characters. Just borrowing them for a while ;)
Fandom: The Mentalist
Pairing: Jane/Lisbon
Words: 3589
Summary: It was only for the charade, all an act. But then why were the feelings so damn real? (Jane/Lisbon.)
A/N: I know, I know… undercover operation, really? But I couldn't escape the cliché. So, yeah. Hope you'll enjoy it, it's my longest one yet!
There'd been a massive amount of murders in the last couple of weeks; all men. All happily married men.
All cheating men.
At first, they didn't think they were connected. Only Jane did.
(Obviously.)
But after six coincidences in two weeks, they finally agreed with the consultant. And the week after, they found a suspect.
All the victims had bought flowers for their lovers from the same person. The shop was in front of a hotel, where the couple would usually spend the night.
The suspect was a forty-two year old man, whose mother had committed suicide after finding out her husband was cheating on her.
Since then, he'd made his mission to save all those women from suffering the same destiny, by killing their husbands.
The only problem was: they had no evidence.
All they had was Jane's intuition, but nobody could be arrested with that. So, he came up with a brilliant plan: he and Lisbon undercover.
He'd be the cheating husband, and Lisbon his "lover". They didn't really need someone to be his supposed wife, because he had the ring.
The only thing he had to do was induce the suspect into thinking he was cheating his wife with Lisbon; and if there was one thing Jane was good at, was playing tricks with people's mind.
"I think that's a great idea." had said Minelli; and Lisbon knew that she was screwed.
They had arranged that Jane picked up Lisbon at her home, so they would arrive together at the hotel.
Jane had borrowed one of Mashburn's cars, since they couldn't get there with the SUV, and Lisbon refused to use what she called "a sorry excuse for a car", that was Jane's.
It was almost seven, when she heard a knock on the door. She gave herself another look at the mirror: she was wearing a red dress that ended just above her knees, and left nearly nothing to the imagination. She also had a lot of make up on, and she had curled her hair.
She didn't feel like herself at all, but she knew she needed to look like that so the suspect would buy it.
No man would cheat on his wife with normal Lisbon.
(Except for… okay, never mind that.)
She opened the door shyly, feeling self conscious.
There was Jane, in his usual three piece suit, smiling brightly at her.
He didn't seem surprised or amazed to see her like this; but she could feel his eyes slowly traveling over every inch of her body. She prayed she wasn't blushing.
"You look lovely, Lisbon" he said, his gaze finally meeting hers. "Ready to go?"
"Sure." she said as she got out of her apartment, closing the door behind her.
Jane was being unusually quiet, and it was making her feel weirdly uncomfortable. She turned on the radio, but it still didn't make the feeling go away.
"It was very nice of Mashburn to lend you the car." she said, trying to make conversation.
"He's a very nice man; you should consider giving him a chance. Poor guy, he's got everything he wants except you." he replied playfully, knowingly repeating the words he'd said that day.
"Jane, don't start again…" she was blushing, and it hadn't even been an hour. How would she survive the whole night?
Jane just gave her a half smile, and she looked away.
They stayed silent the rest of the way.
When they finally arrived, they made sure to walk right where the flower shop was, so the suspect would see them.
As she was walking, she felt Jane's hand on her back. She tried not to flinch at his touch, after all, they were pretending. So it was okay for him to touch her, where he normally wouldn't.
She could feel the man watching them; it was sort of creepy.
After what seemed like the longest walk of her life, they finally arrived to the hotel. It wasn't all that luxurious, but it looked nice.
"I'd like to make a reservation, please." he smiled charmingly at the receptionist; she smiled back.
"Sure thing. One bedroom, full services?"
"That'd be fine, thank you. And if it isn't much bother, I'd like to order a full bucket of strawberries? With cream, too." he said, as he winked at Lisbon, bringing her closer.
She didn't know where to hide, she was very embarrassed. It just sounded so…
"No problem, sir. We'll have them delivered in a minute."
As soon as the girl turned around, Lisbon pushed him subtly off of her, frowning.
"What the hell are you doing?" she whispered.
"Hey, I just thought you'd like the strawberries, I know it's your favourite fruit…" he moved his eyebrows up and down, suggestively.
"Would you stop that?! And did you have to make it sound so… dirty?"
"Oh, but that wasn't my intention at all, dear Lisbon. I'm sorry if I made you think that way…" he smiled innocently at her; she was about to reply when the receptionist came back, giving them the key.
"So… what do you want to do?" he asked, as they entered the room.
"I don't know, Jane… sleep?" she said hopefully.
"But that would be boring! And besides, it's eight fifteen. You never go to sleep that early." Jane stated, and she already felt a headache coming.
At that moment, a knock interrupted them. Right, the strawberries.
"Hope that's enough cream for you, sir." the man said, smiling knowingly and handing him the strawberries with a great amount of cream. He also gave Jane two bottles of rum, in case they got thirsty.
"That'll do, thank you a lot." he said with a wink, as he closed the door.
"Look, Lisbon! Doesn't this make you happy?"
"God, you sound like a five year old sometimes, you know that?" she commented, exasperated. But when he gave her the strawberries, dimples forming on his face, she couldn't help but smile back.
(It was her favourite fruit, after all.)
He watched her eat silently. After a few minutes, he got bored.
"Wanna play a game?"
"What kind of game?" Lisbon asked, unsure.
"Truth or dare?" he offered.
"I don't see the point: is there anything about me you don't know already?"
"There must be something. Although I don't think so. But anyway- it'd be way more interesting if you chose dare."
"No way in hell." she replied quickly, and he didn't question it.
"Okay. I guess we could play cards… but I'd always win, and you'd get mad. So that's a no."
She only glared at him.
"I know! We could play I never!" Jane said, like it was the greatest idea in the world. She continued to glare, obviously disapproving. "Or, we could do what normal people do while they're in a bedroom…"
"I'm not sleeping with you!" Lisbon interrupted, her face redder than a tomato.
"I was actually going to suggest a pillow fight, but your idea seems way better…" he said, getting uncomfortably closer to her.
"Jane, what are you…?" she gasped as her back hit the wall; she was trapped on a bed between Jane and a wall, with nowhere to go. "We're in an undercover operation, you have to stop this right now or I'll…" she couldn't help it: her eyes went immediately to his lips.
(His very inviting lips.)
"You'll what, Lisbon?" he dared her, a flicker in his eyes.
But just when she thought she would loose all her self control and do the unthinkable, he stepped back; she felt as the air came back to her lungs, giving her back the ability to breath.
"Don't ever do that again." she muttered, and he chuckled.
"Do what?" he pushed.
"Don't make me say it."
"I'm not making you do anything you don't want to, Lisbon." he replied simply, a mocking look dancing in his eyes, with a little of something else.
"I'm going to change." she said, grabbing a long sized t-shirt and heading for the bathroom; she didn't even glance at him as she passed by his side.
As soon as she entered the bathroom, she let out a long breath. She forced herself to relax, and started changing.
(It doesn't mean anything; he's just playing with you because he's bored.)
She quickly removed her make up, pulled her hair up in a pony tail and got out, prepared to face Jane.
But she wasn't prepared to face him… half (fucking) naked.
He was only wearing a pair of pajama shorts, his chest completely uncovered.
Oh boy…
"What's up, Lisbon? Like what you see?" he said teasingly, pointing at himself, his charming smile at full force.
…she was screwed.
"I don't know what you're talking about. Goodnight." she said as fast as she could, turned off the lights and went to the bed.
"Wait! Where am I supposed to sleep?!"
"There are some blankets there."
"I'm not sleeping on the floor!" he whined. She ignored him. "Lisbooooon…"
"You won't sleep anyway, why do you care?"
"It's not fair that you get the bed and I don't. It's a bed for two, you know?" he climbed to the bed, and she felt his weight beside her.
Her heart beats accelerated.
"There's no way you're sleeping here." she stated, and tried to push him off the bed. But he only got closer.
"Why? Are you scared?" he whispered in her ear, his hands traveling up and down her right arm, very slowly.
"Jane, stop messing around." she hit him, and this time he did move away.
"Okay, there's no need to get violent here. I'll just stay in my side of the bed, and you'll stay in yours, alright?" he offered.
"Alright. But no funny stuff."
"Really?" he mocked, and she could feel herself being transported back to that night. The feeling of his arms around her, slowly dancing to one of her favourite songs.
Stop it, girl. Not the time, or the place.
(But it never was.)
When she woke up, she found Jane wasn't beside her; not a surprise, really.
She looked at her wrist watch. Seven thirty. She had plenty of time to shower and have breakfast, and then they'd go to the flower shop, so the real operation started.
They had it all planned. She and Jane would make an appearance, he'd buy her flowers, making somehow very clear the she wasn't his wife; Jane was good at that, after all.
Then, at night, he'd go out of the hotel to supposedly talk to his "wife". If everything happened according to the plan, the suspect would choose that moment to act; it was perfect.
"Good morning, sunshine." greeted Jane happily, as he got out of the bathroom. He'd just had a shower: a towel around his waist, hair and chest wet; he was obviously trying to kill her.
"Good morning, Jane." she muttered, trying not to look. "I'll go shower, too."
Lisbon grabbed her clothes; they were less slutty like, but still a little too much for her.
She didn't take long in the shower; ten minutes and she was done.
She changed in the bathroom, she didn't really need another encounter with Jane with nearly no clothes on.
When she got out, he was waiting for her with a playful smile on his face.
"I like the outfit, Lisbon. It suits you." he commented, and she shyly smiled at him.
"Thanks. Ready?" she was back to professional.
"Only if you are." he let the door opened for her, as they both walked out of the bedroom.
The breakfast was good. Or maybe she was really hungry; she hadn't had dinner the night before, only the strawberries.
The only bad (really?) thing was that Jane insisted on feeding her himself.
"It's for the charade, Lisbon. We have to make it believable." he whispered almost against her lips, his eyes shining in that special way.
And she agreed, of course; she would have agreed to pretty much anything with him looking at her like that, so close to her.
It was almost ten when they finished eating. They both got up, and went to the reception table.
"Excuse me, I'd like to give you the key of the room 108," Jane said to the girl; she wasn't the same one of the night before. He brought Lisbon closer to him, drawing random patterns on the small of her back. "we're going out for a while, and we'll be back by noon."
She couldn't stop the shiver that ran through her body as she felt his fingers softly touching her through the shirt. He looked at her for a moment, and then looked back to the receptionist who was expecting the key.
(It was only for the charade, all an act. But then why were the feelings so damn real?)
They entered the flower shop, and there he was. He looked like any normal guy, nothing special in him. Nothing that made you look twice.
"What kind of flowers would my favorite girl like?" Jane asked her smiling, left arm around her shoulders. This was a tactic to make more obvious his ring to the suspect, but she still felt, irrationally, like she was on fire.
"Oh, I don't know darling… they're all so beautiful." she tried to make her voice more girly like, as she softly freed herself from him and went to examine the flowers, so she would leave Jane alone with the suspect.
"Women, you know how they are." he commented, his tone casual.
"Yeah, they are something." the suspect replied, distracted.
"You'd think that one would be enough, but then, how do they expect you to be faithful with pretty things like these around?" he smirked with an arched eyebrow, pointing at Lisbon.
"I guess you are right…" Jane could see the exact moment his eyes changed, and knew he was the murderer. Right there, he differenced himself from any other man, the shade of emptiness in his eyes. He was the one. "So, you're staying in the hotel across the street? I believe I saw you last night going in that direction."
"Yes, we are. Such a lovely hotel…"
"Honey, I know which ones I want!" Lisbon interrupted, sensing he'd already done the job. "I want those orchids over there."
"You got them, babe." he said, as he brought her closer to him. His arms around her waist, his face inches away from hers.
This would break him, he thought. If he kissed her, there was no doubt in his mind that he'd crack.
"What are you…?" she whispered, but he stopped her.
"Just trust me." and he brought his lips to hers, kissing her softly.
She felt like she was floating, and for a moment there, she almost forgot where she was and why she was doing this.
(Only a charade.)
"Did you really need to do that?" muttered Lisbon, flowers in hand. They'd already gone out of the shop, and they were walking down the street.
"What? Afraid that you liked it way too much?" teased Jane, a cocky grin on his face.
"Of course not. I'm a professional." she started walking faster, leaving him behind.
"That doesn't mean that you didn't like it." he said, grabbing her hand and turning her around; his eyes challenging her.
"I just think that it was unnecessary." she freed her hand from his hold, defiantly. "You had already planted the idea on his head."
"But the kiss broke him completely. The betrayal, you know? Right on his face." Jane took a step closer to her.
"Whatever you say, Jane." she said, acknowledging deep down, that he had a point.
That didn't make the feeling from her chest go away, though.
"And you did like it." he whispered in her ear, as he walked past her.
(In that moment, she knew: nothing ever would.)
They had lunch in a small restaurant near by, and then they went to meet the team- to plan the ultimate details.
Lisbon and Jane silently agreed not to tell their colleagues about the kiss. It wasn't really essential to the plan, after all.
"The flower shop closes at seven thirty. So, you should come out of the hotel to talk to your supposed wife around that time. You have to make sure there's no one near, okay? We don't want anyone hurt."
"Everything's gonna be alright, Lisbon. Don't worry so much." said Jane, passing an arm around her shoulders, smiling at the rest. "We've got the best team of the CBI, right guys?"
They all nodded, confident.
"We'll be there if anything happens, boss." said Rigsby, with a comforting smile.
"I know, I know…" said Lisbon, getting away from Jane and pointing at him. "but if you screw this up, I'll make sure you never set a foot inside the CBI again, understood?"
"Yes, sir." he mocked, and she couldn't help smiling a little.
Seven fifteen. Jane would have to go in about ten minutes.
They were in the hotel room, packing all the stuff. Lisbon seemed nervous; she always preferred to do the operations herself, so if anything happened she'd be the one to suffer.
Besides, she knew how to handle these kind of situations, she had been in plenty of undercover operations before. Jane didn't even know how to shoot a gun.
"Lisbon? Everything okay?" he asked, touching her shoulder slightly. She'd been staring at her hands for about five minutes, completely still.
"I'm fine, Jane."
"If I didn't know better, I'd say you were worried about me…" he teased, sitting beside her on the bed.
"In your dreams." she replied, out of habit more than anything. He had this weird glowing in his eyes, and she found herself unable to look away.
"Always." he whispered, and they were so close their noses almost touched.
"Okay, we have to go." she snapped suddenly, running the moment, as she got up. Jane didn't move. "Are you coming or not?"
"I'm coming, I'm coming…" he got up and they both walked out of the room.
Lisbon would be waiting inside the hotel, while Jane went outside to "talk", just in case.
They were both in the reception, subtly watching if the shop had already closed or not; Jane moved to stand in front of Lisbon, his arms touching her hips softly.
"Stop that." she whispered, for only him to hear, while she faked a smile.
"But we're supposed to be a couple." he whispered back, obviously amused by her discomfort.
"So? Is not like they're watching."
"You know I could go and shout to everyone that this is all an act, right?"
"You wouldn't…" she was starting to freak out. "Jane, don't you dare fuck this up."
"You'll have to shut me up, then." he smiled playfully at her, and in that moment, she realized what his goal was.
"Oh, no way. I'm not kissing you again." he opened his mouth as if to, indeed, shout to everyone.
She glared at him for a second before putting both her hands at the back of his neck, and bringing his mouth to hers.
Lisbon tried to pull away quickly, but he wouldn't let her. He deepened the kiss, and she had to try her hardest not to give in.
"Jane, we're gonna lose him. Go out there!" she whispered desperately, pushing him off her softly.
With one last smile, he walked out of the hotel.
As expected, everything went according to the plan. The owner of the flower shop tried to attack Jane two minutes after he got out of the hotel. He didn't even put a finger on the consultant, as Cho appeared out of nowhere and tackled him from behind.
"See, Lisbon? I told you everything would be alright."
She and Jane were again in the hotel room, getting all their stuff out so they could leave.
"Lisbooon, are you there?" she didn't reply, and he couldn't see her expression. Her back was to him. "Come on, don't tell me you're mad at me for a little kiss!"
"Of course I'm mad! Because of your stupidity, we almost lost him."
"I don't think that's why you're angry." he said, slowly coming closer to her. He put his hands on her hips, his chest in full contact with her back. "I think you're angry because you like me." he pressed a kiss on her neck.
"Get off of me."
"Only when you admit I'm right." another kiss; she let out a sigh.
"Jane, stop it. I'm not in the mood for playing with you."
"Who said I'm playing?"
She turned around, an exasperated look on her face.
"I don't know what you think I feel, but you're wrong. I have no romantic feelings for you; yes, I do care about you. And yes, I am somehow attracted to you… but that's it." she said simply. "So, stop messing with me. I'm not interested."
He would have believed her, you know?
If it weren't for the trembling of her hands, or how her gaze wouldn't stop going to his lips; or the way her hands were drawing invisible patterns on his chest distractedly.
He kissed her, forcefully, almost desperate.
And when she moaned against his lips, her fingers running through his back, leaving irremovable scars on his skin, he thought it was kinda sad that after all those years working with him, she still was such a bad liar.
by blondieland.