Disclaimer: seriosuly, do we really have to do it? Because, Jeez, if I'd own them, I'd not be here writing it, I'd be the writeer of a TV Shows and, well, we'd have the LIsbon romance for real... I just "write, draw, create, dream, hope and believe in Bruno, waiting for him to be blessed by the light of reason..." (No, this discalimer isn't mine, it belongs to one fo the girls who wite Mentalist fiction on the italian site efpfiction, but don't tell me many of you don't share this vision...)- I'm thinking about doing few vodoo on him as well, you don't know how things could work out...
So, a little somehting my mind elaborated using petitj's polt bunny from the jello forever forum ("Whould you please be my boyfriend for 5 minutes?" ). That's chapter one, I'm not sure when I'm goingto post chapter two, though, but I'm pretty sure it will be soemtime next week...
Lisbon had always followed the rule according to which work was work and the private was the private, and mixing them was a bad idea; the fact that she followed that rule, though, didn't mean she really believed in it. With her team, the line between work and private was extremely slim, and even if she kept telling Van Pelt that they weren't allowed to talk about private business, she was the first one to not believe it – the only reason she had said that the red head, immediately regretting how she had hurt her coworker, was because she really didn't feel at easy when her father come in the discussion. Besides, there was that little fact, that her team was the closest thing she had to a family, considering that her brothers lived all 3 off state and that she didn't have a love life from… well, from the day her ex had broke her heart, leaving her for another woman. Jeff had been the perfect boyfriend until she had discovered his little affair – in their bed, the bed of her place, the place they shared. It wasn't the broken heart; the real problem was the trust. Jeff had been perfect. Jeff WAS perfect. And she trusted him. She trusted him so much to give him accesses to her sanctuary- her bedroom. She talked with him; she confessed to him things she had never said to anyone. And now she was pretty sure he hadn't listened to her half the times. If Jeff, the perfect man, had been such a failure, how could she trust other people again? How was she supposed to trust a man with her life again? No, she simply couldn't. Jeff had been the proverbial last drop, the last man in a long line of failures; if there was a lesson behind their break up, was the she and men were done, so done, very done: in a rod, over. Since the day she had run away from her apartment in the rain, back to the CBI building to close herself in her office to cry, she had decided that the only thing men were good for her was sex- and since Jeff, it wasn't like she had that much either. She was too focused on her carrier, on keeping her job and on controlling Jane in the limits of her possibilities to look for a friend with benefits. Ok, maybe her life wasn't perfect, but at least she still had the closed case drinks at Sullivan's with the team, the recently substitutes to the closed case pizza or donuts after the cholesterol got the better of Rigsby and his doctor ordered him to drop them immediately.
The door singed with the sound of the small bells as someone entered, and Lisbon was brought back to reality from her reverie just to fell like dying. Her green eyes remained stuck on the two silhouettes that were standing still by the door busy talking with a guy. She blinked, one, two, three times, hoping that, once opened her eyes back, he'd not be there, but there he was, better than before, better than he was when they were together. Jeff Newman, her ex, was inside her favorite bar, his arms around the waist of Sally, Manny, Jenny or whatever Blondie was called- Blondie, the girl she found that damn day in her bed, the girl he was still with, the girl he preferred to her, the girl who seemed to make him happy. Apparently, Jeff had moved on, and didn't have any particular problem in doing so, while Lisbon, on the other hand, was still frozen in time, in that particular moment, when three pairs of eyes met. Jeff Newman had broken her, and now he was going to have the satisfaction of seeing it first hand, he was going to taste the victory on his lips. Like hell she was going to allow that. Jeff Newman had already done too much of a damage, she wasn't going to allow him to destroy her further more. The fact that her life was pretty miserable didn't mean that he had to know it. She just had to let him believe she was doing fine, great actually, that she was back in the dating game, and had found a perfect and caring boyfriend and… ok, maybe what she was going to do was a brand new level of low, but man number one didn't need to know that he had destroyed her life, that he had left a mark so deep she was still six feet under, and man number two owed her too much to simply say no.
"Guys, I'll go to ask Sully the next round since the waiters seem to be so busy – she said as she left her chair at the secluded table she and her team always sat, trying to sound as ok as always, even if inside she was a bit scared of what she was going to do, also because her whole plan could only work with the aforementioned man number two's help- Jane, do you mind coming along? I'll need help with the trails"
"Is it really necessary? I'd prefer to stay here, if you don't mind, this chair is quite comfortable to belong to such a place. – he looked at Lisbon, already standing, and, elbows on the table and hands under his chin, he looked at her with his charming but yet childish smile, the one he usually reserved to his boss alone for the moments he needed something or he had done something – besides, I intended to leave. I think I already had my good share of drinks for this evening"
"C'mon Mr. Know it all, being helpful outside work will not harm you -Jane thought she was going to say something sarcastic, maybe something even a bit rude. He thought she was going to cross her arms and look at him with that annoyed expression she usually had just for him, the one she used to make when he did something stupid or childish. He so didn't wait for her to flash him a shy smile, an adorable shy smile, while biting her lips, a tender look, almost a plea in her green eyes, and a sweet and soft pinch at his forearm; if he didn't know any batter, he'd say she was seriously flirting with him – C'mon Jane, please?"
Flashing her one of his megawatt grin, under the wide eyes and open mouth of their other 3 team-members, Lisbon left in direction of Sally, the bartender, followed at close distance by Jane. As they approached the counter, Lisbon let herself fall on one of the bar stools, elbows on cold the material of the counter, and divided her attention between Jane, whom she looked at with uneasy and uncomfortable eyes, and Jeff, who she just wanted to kill. She turned towards Jane again, knowing too well that he had already seen her stealing glances at the dark haired and eyed 30 something man with the younger Barbie (his never ending grin and that way he looked at her, so terribly amused, said her so), and immediately covered her face with her palms. Did she really want to do that? Was she really so desperate to do something in that line? Was vindicating her broken heart worth her dignity? If she was going through that, he wasn't going to let her live with it… and then she noticed him walking in her direction. Ok, she could do that. She only had to take a big breath and go along with her plan- hoping that Jane wasn't going to ruin everything.
"I need you to be my boyfriend for the next five minutes" she suddenly said, looking at him, almost whispering, with a look that was screaming plea. Jane looked at her, trying to understand if she was serious or what. He had always red quite easily, not as much as he'd like to, but Lisbon wasn't quite an enigma for him, she gave away pretty much everything about her, especially with him- there weren't any longer secrets between them, honestly had always been their best policy after the first few years together, but right now he really didn't know what to do or what to say, what to believe. Lisbon asking him of all to be her fake boyfriend was quite hard to believe- she had never been too happy when they had to pose as a married or dating couple, and nowadays the role of the wife/girlfriend had been taken by the more willingly Grace. So, why now was it different? Then, he noticed whom she was stealing glances at – a black haired guy not so distant from them, who was walking in their direction in company, good company it seemed, of a blonde who was, obviously, half fake. "Please Jane, would you please be my boyfriend for the next five minutes?"
"Is it jealousy or revenge? – He whispered in her ear, getting close, too close for comfort, to the dark haired agent, without actually answered her. Lisbon remained stunned and closed her eyes as she felt his hot breath on the sensitive skin of her neck, and shivered, having to suppress a moan of pleasure, there was something about Jane's voice, that she had felt only once before, and she wondered if it was the fact that is voice was so warm and sensual when he spoke at low that made him so good at hypnotizing people – I say revenge. Barbie doesn't play with her wedding ring, it means she is already used to it, and since you are not kind of woman going after married man, I'd say her is an ex."
Lisbon closed her eyes, only, this time, it was to avoid crying. She hadn't seen the wedding ring. She didn't know they had got married. Jeff had already planned of breaking up with her. Maybe it had been a game right for the beginning. Maybe they had laughed about poor little Teresa, too focused on her work to notice small things like the fact that her boyfriend was cheating on her. Maybe he just needed a place to live. Or who knew. But this wasn't the worst. Jane had said she wasn't the kind of woman who went after married man, but right now it was like she felt. She was, after all, openly flirting with Jane, begging him to pose as her boyfriend. And he was a married man. Sure, he was married to a ghost, but Jane never felt like his marriage was over, she knew that. After all, he was the man who broke tons of hearts by saying "I'm married". The ring on his left hand was evidence enough of how he felt about other women. His wife had been lucky she thought I bet he was a great husband. Great, now it was time for retreat and she had made a fool of herself for nothing…
"Teresa? - She turned, stunned, to look at person who just spoke to her. She had been so taken aback by Jane she had completely forgot about the other man, about the man she had to get revenge against. She gulped as their eyes met. She couldn't believe how he was behaving. Jeff was acting like nothing happened at all between the two of them, like they were two old friends catching up after a long time apart, his voice bright and a smile pasted on his face while he was hugging her. At least Barbie had the decency to smile between her teeth, showing that not only she remembered Lisbon, but who Lisbon had been for her current husband, too. – Oh, look at you, Teresa! You are great! How have you been? It's been such a long time!" Jeff put his hands on her shoulders, and looked at her. Teresa really felt like crying now, she didn't know what to do, what to say. Here he was, the man who had ruined her love life and chance of happiness for good, behaving like what they had had been nothing! What was she supposed to answer to that, saying seeing how happy and how perfect life he had, while she was still crying over how she had left her- but not about the fact that he had actually left herself?
"Do you mind? – Jane suddenly entered in the conversation, and Lisbon shivered. What was with her and men, that she always forgot one when she was with the other? First, Jane had stolen Jeff's thunder, not it was vice versa – I'm Patrick Jane, I'm Teresa's… - he smiled a little, a smile Lisbon had never seen Jane do before, not to her, at least. She knew, though, that it was the kind of smile he used on particular occasions with women, when he wanted to win them over, when he wanted to seduce them. She wondered if his wife, Sophie and Kristina got to see him smile like that, or if the women he truly had in his heart deserved something different. Something truer - boyfriend" he ended the sentence kissing her lightly on the check, hugging her from her back; Teresa suddenly felt the need to cuddle against his chest, glad he had accepted to play along, and biting her lips again, like every time she was nervous, she let herself wander in his embrace and took his arms in her own"
"I'm Jeff Newman, nice to meet you, Mr. Jane – Jeff politely offered him and hand, but Jane refused, and preferred instead look at Teresa, pinching playfully her nose between two fingers – wait, Jane, Patrick Jane…like in the consultant, the one she couldn't stand?"
"What can I say, Jeff, opposite attracts- Lisbon's head was in the crock of the neck, and from his position he could see her eyes, and looked at her while he was talking with Jeff, mostly to be a bit polite, not really acknowledging the man's presence. Teresa smiled a bit shy again, noticing the look of deference and devotion Jane was reserving her. Now she understood why he had been able to keep his act for that long- Patrick Jane was a natural born performer- I guess you are the one I have to say thank you to. Your loss has been my happiness" Looking down at Lisbon, Jane just whispered the last few words. Without caring about anything else in the world besides the woman in his arms, he made her shot position, so that they could be face to face, and after having gently rubbed her lips with his right thumb, making her shiver once more, he slowly and uncertainly put his hands on the sides of her face, and kissed her, closing his eyes and smiling as his lips were pressed against her owns. It wasn't a forced kiss. It wasn't animal. It wasn't hurried. It wasn't one sided. It was a sweet kiss, a sweet, long kiss, where, yet, their tongues battled for a dominion they both wanted and few moans escaped their lips. It was slow but yet sensual. It was a kiss she was reciprocating, a kiss she was answering to, deepening it by forcing Jane to get closer by keeping him with her hands in his curls. His soft as silk blonde curls…
Suddenly, she no longer felt the ground under her feet as Jane pushed her away, a look in his cerulean eyes that was screaming he was feeling guilty. Again, for not the first time in the evening, Teresa had to close her eyes for few times to avoid crying in front of this man. "He is gone" he said uncertain and uneasy as he had been just once before with her, and she remembered the tone. He had used that tone just once before, the only time he had confessed her he had been ashamed of his breakdown. Jane was ashamed of his reaction, was feeling guilty for what he had done.
"Good. Thanks" she managed to say, just a mere whisper, faking a smile while looking everywhere but in his eyes. She regretted this, though; had she looked in his eyes, she hadn't seen him taking his wedding band back from his waistcoat pocket and put it back in place.
Again, she gulped, and Teresa felt the need to look at him in the eyes. For all she knew, that was the first time he had taken off his wedding ring; she had always wondered how he would have looked like once he had done that, and couldn't really suppress the curiosity.
As soon as she saw the lost and distant eyes, the tears almost ready to leave his orbs as the ring was back where it belonged to, she felt the need to get lost, to run away from him, from this moment, and forget everything. She just wanted to forget this evening. It wasn't for Jeff. The only reason she wanted to forget it was that Jane had kissed her- and the only emotions he was feeling were regret and guilt.