A/N: I decided to experiment a little bit with this fic. I focused less on the words and more on the meaning behind them, leaving a lot up to the reader's imagination, and I really enjoyed the results. I hope you will to! (Side note: "Watermark" by Enya was on repeat as I wrote this; I highly recommend you listen to it while reading.)
Maura lay in bed with her eyes wide open. Her phone had slipped under her elbow after she had checked the time. She spoke to the empty room as if there was somebody there to listen to her.
"I don't know what it was. I don't know why, or when, or how, but suddenly it was just there. I loved you and that was that, who would have guessed? …Nobody, I suppose…I became so good at lying to myself that when the truth finally poked its head above the surface, I was able to keep on going. … No hives. … No way to tell. … … Jane, sometimes I wish you could hear me. I wish you were in my head and could see what I think…what I feel. … I wish you could understand without needing me to explain it to you. … I can't really explain it, it's just…it's you, Jane. … It's just you. … Nothing but everything about you. … I mean, if anybody was ever to ask me why I love you, I wouldn't know what to say. It would be like somebody asking a five-year-old child, 'Why is the sky blue?', or 'Why do we breathe air?'. They clearly don't know the answer, but they don't care. It is and we do. The sky is just blue, and we just breathe air, and I…am just in love with you. … I'd do anything for you, Jane. … I'd do everything for you. You're perfect. I love you. … I love you…I love you, I love you…and I wish I wasn't so sure I'd lose you if I ever said it out loud. … … I want you my life, no matter how much of you I have. … It's you. … It's always been you."
Across town, Jane hung up the phone. She only waited a moment before she left her apartment and didn't stop moving until she was standing on Maura's doorstep.
Maura got out of bed when the doorbell rang. She opened the door and Jane walked right past her into the house. She turned around to face Maura and began to talk before she could say anything.
"You know what it's like, when somebody asks you what your favorite song is? And no matter how many genres you actually enjoy listening to, you suddenly remember every single song you've ever heard, and cannot for the life of you pick one above all the others? … … If anybody was ever to ask me why I love you … I would suddenly remember every pair of shoes, every high-end jacket, every half-grin, every turn of phrase … every time your eyes smiled at me … and I wouldn't know what to say. … It's everything you are, and everything you ever will be, and … I hope to God, Maura, that I'm around for all of it … because it's you. … It's always been you."
Jane took Maura's face in between her hands and smiled. Maura looked like she couldn't decide whether to be overjoyed or terrified.
"I heard you tonight. I heard you … and I think we've wasted enough time being stupid, and stopping ourselves from having the one thing that would make us really, really happy. And I hope, Maura, I make you even half as happy as you make me, because it seriously feels like I'm about to explode. My heart is pounding, and … … and …"
Jane was at a complete loss for words. She locked eyes with Maura for a very few seconds before she kissed her as hard as she dared. Maura stumbled backwards and wrapped her arms tightly around Jane and kissed her harder. Both of them were crying but neither of them noticed until they pulled apart several long moments later.
"… God, Maura … … You've made me the happiest sap in the world."
"… And that's a good thing?"
Jane laughed and rested her forehead against Maura's.
"And that's a very good thing. As long as I'm going to be a sap, I better at least be happy about it. … Oh God, I just … … can I love you? … Can this even be real?"
Maura nodded firmly as more tears fell.
"Yes, Jane. It's real. I love you. I really, really do."
Jane smiled and wiped Maura's cheeks dry. She slid her fingers gently into Maura's hair and kissed her deeply.
"I really, really love you, too."