Title:Burning Jealousy
Author:Little_firestar84
Rating: T (to be safe)
Characters: Patrick Jane, Teresa Lisbon.
Summary: With Red John gone, Lisbon knew she didn't have any right asking jane to take a decision about his future. Nor she could try to manipulate him into staying. Still, even if she didn't have any saying, it still hurt seeing him flirting with a woman who wasn't her. All she could do was hoping he was oblivious to her feelings.
Disclaimer: Uhm. well, my father is called Bruno, but since it's Negro and not Heller, I'd say that I don't own the rights to the Mentalist.

From her office, Lisbon looked at scene unfolding right before her eyes with mixed feelings.

She had to admit, she was, maybe not happy for her consultant, but at least, somehow relieved. Jane had spent the good part of a decade chasing Red John and his own demons as well, in the form of an obsession for rightful revenge (at least in his own opinion) and an incapacity of properly grieving due to sense of guilt. Now that the demons had been put to rest, especially the killer who was now six feet under, he had all the rights to take an hold on his life. She had told him herself since they had met, after all, that the right thing to do was moving on with his life, that if they had loved him as much as she thought, his family would have wanted for him to stop living in the past and be happy.

But it had been one thing saying so few years back, when it was just a sort of virtual possibility having him really moving on. Now, it was a whole other matter.

For one thing, now Red John was gone. And with him done and dealt with, Lisbon knew that Jane didn't have anything holding him back any longer. Now that he was, somehow, free, he could leave whenever he wished to. He didn't have any longer a proper reason for staying, nor they had the right to ask him to.

And besides...

Here it was problem number two. Teresa Lisbon had finally decided to surrender. She had stopped fighting herself, and, put right before the chance of losing him, she had finally broken down in tears, sitting in her bathtub, admitting that Jane was no friend to her.

He was the man she was in love with.

Admitting the truth with herself had been hard enough, she couldn't even fathom the possibility of telling him how she actually felt about him. For once, the almighty Patrick Jane was oblivious about what was hidden in the deepness of her heart and soul, and she was more than happy -and relieved- to keep things that way. She dreaded the possibility of him discovering the truth, because she knew him. In the aftermath of Red John's death, he had been... clingy and suffocating. He needed to hold onto someone and he wanted to show her how he was grateful to still have her, that he felt guilty that his vengeance had put her in danger, that she had almost died.

Was he to discover the truth, he could very well have asked to marry him just to repay her of all the troubles she had endured during his quest revenge because of his selfishness.

And yet...

Yet, as she saw flirting with the sister of the last widow they had helped finding closure, there was a knot in her heart. Jane had been sweet and flirty with miss Carla Roberts for the whole case and now, ten days later, she could see the feeling was mutual. He flirted and she flirted back. He looked at her amused and her pupils dilated in response, showing off her ample chest.

And now, the stupid, giggling goose was touching him right before the elevator, one hand on his chest while the other was holding a card, maybe her number, or, knowing the type, it could very well have been a room number. If not the hotel key itself.

Oh, well, like she cared. He had already sent to hell almost ten years of celibacy for Lorelai. If he wanted to bed an idiot the first time it could make it matter, so be it. Like she cared. He was just demonstrating that he was a Neanderthal like the majority of the men out there, focused only on sex and getting release. If Jane was like that, then she wasn't interested any longer.

Ok, all right. She was going to admit it. She was as jealous as a cat. There. She had admitted it. It hadn't been that hard, right? Now she just had to learn to keep her feelings on check and...

"Now, now, now, Lisbon dear, the is no need for you to be jealous that I am dating..." His amused voice brought her back to reality, and Lisbon blushed furiously. All this time she had stared in the void thinking of him, and here he was finding her red-handed.

Life was definitely unfair.

"I am not jealous that you are dating, Jane. If you remember correctly, and I know you do because of that huge memory palace of yours, I've been the one talking you to just do that for, like, ten years. Actually, I think it's been one if the first thing I told you to do when we first met." She smiled slightly, remembering their first meeting. And how, even if she hadn't been already infatuated with him, she had already felt the need to protect this apparently strong, and yet frail, man.

"You know, your denial that the thought crossed your mind intrigues me" he grinned again, and reached her desk. He sat on the surface of the piece of furniture, not caring about all the documents she was working on, making her grunt annoyed.

As much as she loved him, sometimes she couldn't stand the man.

"Have you ever heard about live a little or carpe diem? I think you should reevaluate your priorities. If paperwork is what's important for you, I think we are in dire need of a little chat, the two of us." He charmingly told her, chuckling, grabbing what she was currently working on without a care in the world.

She took it back, furiously, and not for the first time she wondered if he was well aware of her feelings, if, maybe, he wasn't just playing games with her. He had told her that there was no stopping him, that he was ready to do anything to reach his goal. Maybe he had been playing games with them for so long that now he didn't know how to act differently.

"Yeah, well, I am no golden boy, nor I can leave whenever I feel like. I may not like paperwork, but my superiors do, and if I don't please them, I can kiss my job good bye."

And for the first time, Jane realized how much his stunt, the six months in Vegas, had hurt her, how scared she was of losing him once and for all.

It all made suddenly sense. Lisbon wasn't simply enamored with him, she was in love with him

"You know, there is no need for you to be jealous. I don't have any intention of dating Miss Roberts." He grinned, but Lisbon could feel an hint of sadness, of insecurity and seriousness in the depth of his tone. And she wasn't sure she liked it. Actually, it was somehow scary, for a reason she couldn't fully explain.

"Listen, Jane, there's no real need for you to explain to me what you..."

But she couldn't end the sentence, because he cut her short, leaning over her and kissing her quickly and softy in the lips. Something awoke with a passion in h, and Teresa could feel butterflies dancing in her belly furiously, a sense of need and longing she didn't remember having felt before in her life.

If that was love, well, than she had never really been in love before.

"Uh, uh. I am sorry, but there are things that I like to do in a proper order, and if you want to make out with me, I fear we'll have to wait until you'll kiss me good night at your doorstep after a rather sweet, and yet awkward, Disastrous first date."

He left, just to stop at her doorstep once again. He smiled, and she blushed even more. "Can I be by you at eight? Pizza and a movie? Or dinner at that small Italian place on your road..."

She nodded, and as soon as Jane gave her his back, she wondered between herself if his wicked grin meant that he was going to break his promise to never try to seduce her over a meal.

She had wanted him for so long, that she really hoped he was going to turn her world upside down, no matter his long done promises. And the hell with clichés.

On second thought, though, it wasn't like she really cared about what he wanted or didn't want out of their evening: she was going to take the matter into her own hands for once.

Maybe he was even going to do something more than making out with her at the doorstep, if he was going to behave...