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He can't stop smiling. Well, he's trying not to make it evident to Lisbon. But the truth is, she loves him, and he can't stop smiling about that. He looks at her reflection in the bathroom mirror as he sets up the bed, their bed. She's somehow even more stunning in the low amber light.
I love you
Jane knew that she loved him. He had always known that. Lisbon's love has been his guiding light, his north star, in his darkest times. And he knew now more than ever she had chosen him. She had opened her life, home, and family to him. But to hear the three little words. It meant more than he ever thought it could.
"Jane!" Hearing his name draws him out of his thoughts and motions of making the bed.
"Huh, yeah?" He turns, puzzled, which causes Lisbon to grin at him.
"I said are you gonna spend all night tucking those sheets perfectly, or are you gonna get ready for bed?"
Jane ducks his head sheepishly as he stands and squeezes past Lisbon, "Sorry, I was thinking."
She grabs his hand and gives it a light squeeze, concerned. "You okay?"
He smiles at Lisbon, Lisbon, who loves him and kisses her gently on the forehead. "Never better." He reassures, squeezing her hand, and steps into the small bathroom.
Lisbon doesn't know if she quite believes him, but instead of pushing, she teases, "Make sure you brush your teeth," while waving a hand in front of her nose.
"I do not have bad breath!" Jane defends. "If either of us has bad breath, it's miss 'you must try these pickle chips. They're so good!'" He waves at her with his toothbrush.
This causes her to gasp in mock offense and stick her tongue out at him. Earning her a big smile and a shake of his head.
He looks at Lisbon through the mirror. Admiring her beauty in the moonlit cab. She's putting on a lotion of some kind. A part of him can't believe that this is his life. He gets to look at Teresa Lisbon in a too-big jersey, putting lotion on her legs…in his airstream.
She catches him looking in the mirror and smiles, causing a blush to break out over his cheeks. He knows he's free to look, but after years of not expressing his feelings, he can't help but get a little shy.
She climbs into bed, and as he joins her, she lifts the covers, welcoming him. They've settled into a nice routine now. Jane lays on his back and extends his arm over as Lisbon snuggles into his chest. He loves having her comforting presence rest on his chest. Grounding him to the earth.
He's playing with her hair when he can't take it anymore. "Say it again," he whispers.
"Say what again?" she asks as she rolls onto her side facing him.
He looks at her, no longer hiding his smile, and it hits her all at once.
"Just to be clear, we're talking about the pickle chips, right?" She teases.
Propping himself up on his elbow, he looks at her in the soft moonlight, remembering what she said to him those months ago. "This is no joking matter." He quotes his tone, longing and playful.
Lisbon smiles at Jane, the man she loves, the man she has always loved, and thinks she couldn't be happier in the world. Lightly grasping the side of his face, her fingers playing with his curls, she leans in, "I love you."
His beaming smile lights up the darkened interior of the airstream. Lisbon can't help but draw him in for a gentle kiss, still feeling the smile on his lips as they meet hers. As they pull apart, she runs her hands through his hair before intentionally resting her hand on his heart.
"I love you, Patrick Jane." And she says it with such truth and earnestness that the statement causes Jane to still; his smile falters at the seriousness of her words. He's reminded of what it means to be loved. The weight of being loved for all he is. For all his faults, his past, and his heart.
He gently places a hand over the small one on his chest. Lisbon noticed the shift in him, and she felt it, too. This love was forged in fire, and its strength is sometimes overwhelming. But she also can't imagine her life without the person who understands her best, thinks she's hilarious when no one else does, understands her fears, and isn't intimidated by her strength.
The smile that graced his face is gone, but in its place is a look of reverence and even deeper love than there was before. Jane gently takes her hand from his chest and brushes a kiss across her knuckles, "And I love you, Teresa Lisbon."
She never tires of hearing it. Giggles escape her lips as he pulls her tight to his side, planting little kisses on her neck and shoulders. The feeling of his soft lips tickling her skin; the way they part in a joyous smile only causing hers to grow.
"Say it again." She hears him whisper into her hair.
Smirking into his chest, she turns and rests her chin on him, "I love you."
He looks up at her, doe-eyed and helplessly in love. "Again."
"Jane!" She pokes him in his ribs, causing him to twitch and laugh.
"Oh, come on, Teresa…please." He looks like a lost puppy begging to be brought home, and she can never say no.
Rolling her eyes, she emphasizes each of the three little words with a poke to his chest, "I…love…you! There. Are you happy?"
Laying back against his pillows, he closes his eyes a content grin gracing his face, "Yes. Yes, I am."
This is the moment it hits her all at once. He is happy, 'happy for the first time in you know how long.' Her love, their love, made him happy. As she nestles into his side, she can't help but hope this never ends. That they get to stay this happy forever, cradled in each other's arms, giggling like teenagers, telling one another they love each other.
"Goodnight, Teresa," Jane whispers quietly into the air.
"Goodnight, Jane," she responds as she does every night, and then softly. "I love you."
"I love you too." He smiles, hugging her warmly.
As Jane drifts off to sleep that night, he can't help but rest fully and completely in the arms of the person who truly and entirely loves him for all that he is.