Author's note: Written for the Paint It Red December 2012 Monthly Challenge - prompt: "when lies become the truth".
Tell Me Lies
Teresa Lisbon had spent almost a decade trying to work out all the possible outcomes of Red John's apprehension. Ending up in bed with Patrick Jane had never figured anywhere in her list though.
To her credit, she'd even half-heartedly attempted to make him see sense. Both of them were too hyped up to think clearly, and unprepared for the fallout that would inevitably follow.
Jane had merely replied that he'd waited long enough – then he'd crushed his lips against hers and pulled her towards the bedroom.
So there she was now, with his warm body spooned against her back and his fingers tangled in her hair. And all the while she dreaded the moment when he would finally realize what he'd just done; then he would simply freak out and leave, and she'd never see him again.
It was only as he began to drop lazy kisses along the line of her jaw that she eventually dared to speak.
"What's going to happen now?"
He paused, his lips a breath away from her ear.
"What do you mean?"
Lisbon braced herself for what would come next. The fact that he'd always said he wasn't going to stay once he got his revenge didn't mean it would hurt any less when he actually disappeared on her.
"Red John will be sent on death row as soon as feasibly possible. The reason why you joined the CBI will become null and void then."
"I'm well aware of that."
She closed her eyes briefly. Maybe she didn't need to deal with his impending departure right now; maybe she could try and enjoy the moment just for this once.
"Could you do something for me, Jane?"
His arm tightened around her waist as he drew her closer to him.
"You only have to name it, Teresa."
"Tell me that this wasn't a mistake. Whatever happens next, I need to hear it – no matter if it's just another lie."
In the silence that followed his hand reached for her shoulder, gently forcing her to turn around. She bit her lip and stubbornly avoided to meet his eyes.
"I'm not going to lie to you, Teresa – not anymore. Do you get that?"
"Okay."
Lisbon loathed how weak her voice sounded in spite of her best efforts. She made a feeble attempt at disentangling herself from his arms, but he refused to let her go.
"I've wanted to do this for years. How could it possibly be a mistake?"
Her breath caught in her throat when the implications of what he'd just said finally sunk in.
"Years?"
He chuckled softly and tucked her head under his chin.
"Yeah. Though I'm quite sure you'd have killed me if I had ever dared to mention anything of the kind."
"You bet."
His soft laughter reverberating through his chest was enough for her to feel as happy as she hadn't been in longer than she even cared to remember.