Work Text:
Sand gave away to his feet, bunching up at his toes and crumbling off as he made another step. He tossed his shoes to a pile of his clothes and broke into a run, leaving shallow indents in the wet shore as he jumped into oncoming waves. The sea was cold and fresh and salty and he licked it between his teeth as he dove under the surface, resurfacing with three wide breaststrokes. He swam just over the horizon, lying down on the soft cushions of sea foam and currents, sinking into the depths like it was a familiar, leather couch.
Sun was just a mess of colourful, shiny ribbons under the water and they’d turned deep red by the time he bothered to look back to shore. There was a figure standing by the rock formation where he’d left his clothes. He narrowed his eyes, wiping water from his lashes to see as he swam back. With each stroke the figure came closer and became more familiar and he was smiling from ear to ear by the time he treaded the water, kicking through it to run towards her. She was swept up in a hug he seemed to channel from somewhere deep within. He spun her around, droplets of water floating around them in a circle, glimmering, shining like his heart when she laughed.
“What are you doing here?” He asked, resting her down just to stroke her shoulders, stroke her hair - actions that were quickly soaking the white linen shirt she was wearing.
“I came to see you,” she didn’t slap his hand away, in fact her own hand was on his bare chest, mindlessly digging into his skin like she was daring him to not be real, “I thought you’d appreciate some company.”
“I do,” he was smiling so wide it hurt, “I do. I do! Especially yours.” He squeezed her hand as he ran over to his clothes, putting on a shirt that was immediately wet. He rubbed a hand through his wet curls, shaking off as much excess as he could before he joined her on the walk across the beach. “What are you doing here? Is everything okay?”
“Yeah. I think it is.” She smiled, hugging herself as the sun had disappeared behind the horizon. He slapped his jacket against his knee to rid it of sand and put it over her shoulders. “I… I guess you could say I cashed in my vacation days.”
He grinned big, throwing his arms out. “And came to this paradise? Hello, Lisbon! Finally getting what you deserve!”
She smirked. “I guess you could say that. Don’t worry, by the way, nobody followed me. I took a boat here and before that I-”
“I don’t care. You’re here, Lisbon,” he took her around the shoulders, “I’m so happy to see you.”
She sunk into the hug he engulfed her in again, closing her eyes. “I’m happy too.”
“I’m gonna get you the best tacos of your life.”
“Those are big words.”
“And true. You’ll see.”
“The guy at the hotel seemed to know who I was?”
“Oh, really?”
With full bellies and sauce on their fingers long dried, they sat on folding chairs in the garden of the beachfront bistro. Twinkle lights made up a sky of stars on the ceiling, poorly seconding the actual sky of stars stretching over the whispering sea. Cold air came from the waves, weaving itself through loose layers of clothing to raise hairs. A live band was playing not far from them, egging Lisbon’s fingers to drum on the cold bottle of beer.
“I’m really glad you came,” said Jane, leaning back in the chair, his head resting against his shoulder and tilted just so he could see her.
“Me too. You weren’t kidding about the tacos.”
He smiled. “Why’d you do it?”
“What, come here?”
“Why’d you resign?”
It lagged her for a second. She finished the sip of beer she had been in the middle of before nervously nodding her head, watching the label peeling off. “I… realised that I was missing something.”
His brows furrowed but he kept a light smile. “Me?”
She snorted. “Among other things,” the label’s dog ear was annoying her, she caught it in between her nails, slowly dragging it down, “I became a chief in Washington. The state, not the-”
“Yeah, I got you.”
“I guess I always wanted to catch bad guys, I saw sense in that. But the more bureaucracy and petty theft I had to deal with in Washington the more I realised just how broken the whole system really was. The Blake Association - we caught them but what’s really stopping them from trying again? I… don’t know. Maybe it’s some kind of disillusion, “she stopped herself when the label was sticking to the bottle by a mere inch, “Maybe it’ll pass and I’ll regret it.”
“Don’t say that. It was a hard decision. I see why you made it.”
She smiled faintly. “Maybe I’m just running away.”
“Well,” he offered her his hand and she took it, feeling his fingers stroke over hers, “This is an excellent place for that.”
Her smile mirrored his and Jane suddenly turned in his chair, hearing a song coming on. “Let’s go dance.”
“What?”
“Come on. Up, Teresa Lisbon. You’ve been dared to dance.” He stood up and downed the rest of his beer, then did a spin, ending with his hand outstretched for hers. She laughed, looked down at her bottle and ripped the label off. She took his hand and they disappeared in a crowd of locals in front of the stage.
“How are you?”
He hummed, smiling as the night sand cooled him even through his clothes. “Pretty good.”
“No, I mean,” she laid down on her elbows, resting in the sand next to him, “How are you?”
He turned to her and opened his eyes, watching the moonlight shiver on her skin. “I don’t really know. I feel… relieved. I feel lost, too.” She glanced at his hands where his index and thumb finger were spinning the golden band he’d never taken off. “I don’t regret what I did.”
She stayed silent and after a while, he joined her in just sitting on the sand, watching waves roll in and slither back into sea.
“I don’t really know what’s next,” he said silently, eyes trained ahead, “I guess I never planned that far. When I killed Red John I had the gun in my hand and for a moment there I was… I didn’t do anything, just ran off.”
“You chose life,” she rubbed his back, “And I’m glad you did.”
“Now I have to figure out what to do with it.”
“You’ll think of something.”
He looked at her, stiff, salt crusted curls falling into his eyes, wide smile stretching his cheeks tight. “What are you gonna do?”
“I’ll have to figure it out too. Wayne and Grace started their own agency. I haven’t heard from Cho but I think he’s still in law enforcement. I’ll just have to find my own path, I guess.”
“Stay here with me.”
Even in the dark with moonlight reflected off the sea, he could tell she turned red. “What?”
He wished he looked resolved and confident but he had no way of knowing. “Stay with me, Teresa.” Every word caused more blood to pump through his heart and his chest felt like a molten core. It was heavier to breathe and he squeezed his own fingers anxiously. This is what it felt like when he swam too far from the shore - kicking water, barely tethered to the shore, floating above depths that could pull him under with ease. He swallowed when she wasn’t answering, watching him slack-jawed.
She trained her face back into submission and with vulnerability he wasn’t used to, she leaned closer. “What are you asking me, Jane?”
With a nervous smile, he looked back into the sea and wondered if he was gonna sink or swim back to the shore. He dared to look back at her, “I’ve been missing you, awfully. Leaving everything was not as hard as leaving you. You… You have no idea how much you’ve done for me. I can never thank you enough.”
“Jane,” she said the moment he began to cry.
“No, I have to say it. I need you to know that. You’ve been everything good in my life. I don’t want to lose you again. I love you, Teresa. I love you. Stay here with me.”
The second it took her to answer was a year long.
“Okay,” she said simply, breaking into a smile.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah, okay.”
“Oh, good,” he breathed with relief, smiling as she reached over and held his hand. “I… You really said yes?”
“I said yes,” she laughed, “I’ve come here for you, Jane.”
He didn't swim anywhere, he didn't drown. He climbed into a boat she had sailed over, looking for him. That's what it felt like: being rescued, resting on solid ground after hours of kicking water in empty, vast space, all alone. Not anymore.
“I thought it was a crazy idea to come here, to find you. I didn't know if you'd be happy to see me. If you would feel the same way.”
He smiled. “Liar.” She watched him and he revelled in being seen. “I’m usually pretty good at reading people, but I have to be sure this time. Can I kiss you, Teresa?”
Her nose scrunched up with a shy smile. “You can.”
He cupped her cheek, lips meeting lips. They laid down in the sand.
That night they curled up on the small bed in his dusty little apartment. The window was open, inviting the morning breeze to play with thin curtains once the sun crawled over the sea. He got to wake up and see her sleeping next to him, and he kissed her forehead, easily slipping back to sleep.