AN: Thank you all for sticking with this story til the end. What a ride.
It's just past seven in the morning.
The winter sky is still dark—but only just, and the sun is due to rise at any moment. Jane's in his pajamas, sitting cross-legged on the ground, staring out the window of his apartment. He rubs at his eyes.
Jane had thought that sleep would come easily to him after six months of restless nights. And though he is exhausted, he still feels haunted—he has yet to sleep soundly despite the passing of one week's time since Red John's capture. If he's being honest with himself, he hasn't been able to keep his eyes shut for fear of what he may see. He sighs, reminding himself once again that peace will come with distance.
He hopes it will, at any rate.
A warmth suddenly descends on Jane's upper back. He jumps before realizing that Lisbon has draped a blanket over his shoulders.
"Hey," she says.
"Good morning," he says. "How are you?"
She ignores this. "You didn't sleep, did you?"
He sighs. "Not a wink."
Lisbon sits down beside him, the length of her arm resting against his. He opens the blanket so that she can scoot underneath it as well. She leans her head against his shoulder, and they both look out across the city, watching droplets of rain chase each other down the windowpane.
"You stayed here occasionally," notes Jane. "When I was gone, that is."
He feels her shrug. "It seemed like the thing to do."
"What if someone had seen you?"
"I'm sure they did. But everyone knew how I felt about you—it wouldn't have been unreasonable for me to be in mourning of the relationship I'd lost. Of the relationship we'd lost." She shrugs. "If I'd really arrested you, I would have tried to get over you. I'm not sure I would have succeeded."
Jane grabs her hand, resting their twined fingers on his thigh.
"Plus," adds Lisbon. "You had a lot of tea here."
Jane glances at her out of the corner of his eye, not sure where she is going with this.
Lisbon rolls her eyes. "You're going to make me say it aloud?"
"Uh, yes, considering I have no idea what you're talking about."
Lisbon ducks her head. Jane watches as a blush creeps up her neck. "It tasted like you," she whispers.
"Ah," says Jane.
A beat passes.
"I missed you, too, my dear," Jane whispers. Then he smiles. "And that explains why I was unable to find any teabags here. I thought I'd left the place stocked."
Lisbon laughs, and Jane joins her.
"Welcome home," Lisbon says, and Jane is reminded of when she'd said the same words to him several months ago.
He takes a deep breath, plunging into the blue. "Would you like to call this your home as well?" he asks in a rush.
Lisbon turns to him, her eyes wide. "Are you asking me if..."
"Yes," he says firmly. "Of course. A thousand times over."
She stares at him for a few seconds before she nods, unable to speak. Jane wraps an arm around her, and they remain there, just being.
"I've been living here on and off for six months," Lisbon suddenly admits. "But I was never able to call it home because you weren't here."
The sun breaks over the horizon, flooding the room in a soft orange glow, and they take in the city below them, the roads already packed with cars.
Jane is suddenly thoughtful.
"Life is such madness," he says, gesturing with his hand to the sprawling city. Lisbon lifts her head to get a better look at his face. Jane continues. "Life is chaos, really, and yet—somehow, we found each other. We made order out of chaos." He turns his head to meet her eyes. "How?"
Lisbon stands up and offers him her hands. He reaches for her, and she pulls him up.
"Some things," she says, "we're not meant to figure out completely. That question is one of them."
He leans over to kiss her. Then he pulls back slightly, only to wrap his arms around her. "Love you," he says.
Her arms encircle his torso. "I love you, too," she exhales. Then she rises on her toes, brushes a kiss to his forehead, and steps around him, reaching out for his hand as she does so. "Come back to bed?"
Jane nods, and Lisbon leads him forward once more.