A/N: Happy (early) Valentines, all! This just popped into my head as I was working on my western AU, because I love Tom Wopat's voice with Jane's character. This story correlates to a video I just posted on my youtube channel (username mrsbronsoncoburn). Go multimedia!
Disclaimer: Aside from stating the obvious fact that I don't own R&I (*sob*), I also wanted to put it out there that yes, I know this is an incredibly stupid situation, and I don't think women as professional as them would actually do something like this at work. That's why it's just fan fiction. Also, I know they're just already a couple at this point. It's a one-shot. I work on slow build-ups in everything else I write, to the chagrin of many.
Out of the many arguments Jane had been involved in during her long, confrontational lifetime, this was probably the stupidest one. Most of the time she liked to tell herself that stupid conversations came from stupid people- like Tommy, or Stanley, or Giovanni. But this time, she had played just as stupid a part, which was a little surprising considering that her adversary was a woman as smart as Dr. Maura Isles.
Jane practically worshipped the ground that woman walked on. For all of their differences and all their little habits that annoyed the heck out of each other, Jane Rizzoli and Maura Isles were impossibly in love. They were fools. They were head over heels. They were together for all of about five months when Jane suddenly decided to just pop the question.
Somehow Maura had shanghaied Jane into taking her to a swanky soiree being held at the nearest Marriott. It was a benefit for one of Maura's many charities, and as she had contributed enough to be considered an honorary member of the board, she knew it would reflect poorly on her not to attend. She loved getting Jane to come with her on occasions like these, because not only did Jane look dang good on her arm, but it proved to her how much Jane really was willing to go through for her. Events like these seemed to exist for a good cause, but Jane couldn't help feeling like they were also an opportunity for wealthy people to show off to each other. But Maura loved them, and Jane loved Maura, so off they went. Tonight she had even gone the extra mile by actually wearing a dress, black to contrast beautifully with Maura's deep red one.
After a few drinks and introductions to people whose names Jane had already forgotten, she asked Maura to dance. Normally Jane avoided dancing like the plague, but at parties like these, it was the only way to get Maura alone. When they danced, nobody tried to shoehorn in (God help the man who ever would), nobody was competing for Dr. Isles' attention, and Maura was able to focus solely on Jane.
"Jane, I was just about to introduce you to the chairman of the board," Maura complained lightly, when Jane pulled her away for a slow waltz.
"I wanted to talk to you, just for a second," Jane said in a patient, low voice. The kind she knew could melt Maura into butter.
Still pretending to be annoyed, Maura said, "I doubt it could be anything more important than what Dr. Barringer would've had to say."
Jane just smiled, interlacing her fingers with Maura's and tightening her grip on the woman's waist, pulling her closer. "I love you," she whispered.
Maura couldn't attempt sarcasm anymore; she just reflected Jane's smile. "I love you back."
"Don't know how I ever lived without you," Jane sighed.
By now, Maura had finally learned that statements like these were not meant to be taken literally. It was a sweet gesture on Jane's part, so instead of pointing out the many scientific reasons of how Jane had been able to live before meeting her, Maura merely said, "Keep talking."
"You're the only girl in the whole world."
Same deal. "Keep talking."
Jane hadn't even planned on saying it; the words just came out of her mouth and into Maura's ear when she leaned in closer and said, "I wanna marry you, Maura."
Maura pulled back abruptly. "You can stop right there," she said, shifting her hand down from Jane's shoulder and lightly pressing it against her chest. Her tone was light, but looking into Jane's eyes, she could see that the proposal had been totally honest. "Oh, Jane," she said softly, feeling her breath catch. "Do you really...?"
They had stopped dancing, not even swaying, just looking steadfastly at each other and completely ignoring the world around them. "Yes," Jane said, only slightly mortified to feel tears stinging at her eyes. "Yes, I really do."
At the moment, Maura was too overcome with surprise to speak. When she had been heavily involved with Garrett Fairfield, and then with Ian, she had allowed herself the silly fantasy of wondering how they might propose. Elaborate designs came to mind, always ending with him getting down on one knee, holding up a box with a spectacular diamond ring inside. Right here right now, there was no ring, no getting on her knee. Jane was holding both of Maura's hands, looking earnestly back into her eyes, adoring her even while at a function she hated. There was no questioning it whatsoever: Maura knew for a solid fact how deeply and completely Jane loved her.
"Jane." She lifted a hand up to stroke Jane's cheek, leaning in for a chaste kiss. "I want to be your wife."
Things had worked out all right after that. As soon as Maura had given her answer, they'd left the party and spent the next several hours drinking in celebration, making love, getting carnal, and finally passing out. The problem didn't come until about a week later, when they had finally the broached the process of planning their wedding.
Angela's voice was sharp and exasperated. "Jane! What've you done now?"
"What do you mean now?" Jane cried. "This is just as much Maura's fault as it is mine!"
"You sound twelve, honey. Please go make up with her."
"No! She's the one who spazzed out, she's the one who needs to make up with me!"
Ugh. Wait. Jane was instantly aware of how petulantly childish these words sounded, but she couldn't help it. Maura had riled her up so badly, and she hated feeling like a loose cannon in their relationship. Yesterday, accusations and insults had flown between her and Maura like arrows, the competitive streak in both of them refusing to let the other win. Both of them wanted desperately to be married, but neither of them had anticipated how easily they would get into an argument about the specifics of that one, oh-so-important day. In the back of her mind, Jane was suddenly able to sympathize with couples that had broken up over the heated debates that went on inside of Ikea- it amazed and sort of embarrassed her that she and Maura could not have a civilized discussion about their wedding day the first time they tried it.
It had started out innocently and romantically enough: they were sitting on Maura's back porch, sharing a bottle of wine and admiring the sunset. "If you could plan the perfect wedding, Jane, what would it be?" Maura asked.
Jane glanced over, wondering if Maura was joking. "I guess... something old-fashioned and simple. There's this really gorgeous little chapel a few blocks down the street from where I grew up- I have no idea what, uh, denomination it is, but as a kid I always thought I'd like to get married in it. And have a sort of a low-key wedding, you know? But still really beautiful, and in the spring."
"Ooh, I always wanted a winter wedding," Maura said, sighing nostalgically. She pulled her legs up onto her chair, putting her arms around them and continuing to gaze out at the sunset. "It all started when I got what my mother called an 'unsettling' obsession with the Romanovs."
"The Romanovs?" Jane laughed. "Like Anastasia?"
"Yes."
"Of course you did. I had no idea they even existed until Disney made that movie."
"Actually, that wasn't a Disney film. It was Twentieth Century F-"
"Beside the point, Maura," Jane gently cut in.
"Right," Maura said with a soft chuckle. "Anyway, I became just enamored with Russia, and it's one of the only places I've still yet to visit that I ever really, really wanted to see. I loved the imagery of snow-covered castles, and the atmosphere of wintry gray skies. Sometimes after my ballet classes, I would keep on my dancing attire and pretend I was Anna Pavlova. Sometime during this period of Russian fascination, my aunt got married- I was about nine or ten- and I became fixated with planning my own wedding. It wouldn't have to be in Russia, of course, but I thought winter was just so romantic! And oh, I thought how wonderful it would be to get married in a castle, like all the ones we saw in Europe. And there would be reporters and photographers, and champagne and caviar, and my bridesmaids would all be wearing gold or blush-colored dresses designed by Givenchy."
Jane snorted into her wine glass. "Wow. Well, sorry we haven't got any castles here in the states... unless you count Hearst's, but I don't think the estate is open for weddings."
Maura made a face at her. "Oh, ha. I suppose...I suppose going to Europe would be unreasonable?"
Raising her eyebrows at the honest hopefulness in Maura's voice, Jane said, "Sweetie, no. You know my family couldn't afford that."
"What if I paid for them?"
"What? No! Maura, we're not starting out that way. I don't want my family indebted to you anymore than they already are."
"What do you mean, indebted? They're my family too- I mean, soon they will be legally, anyway. What's the difference?"
"It just makes me uncomfortable, Maura. Besides, we're all from here... you're originally from here, too. Shouldn't we get married here?"
Frowning, Maura said, "I suppose you're right. Could we go for our honeymoon, then? Just you and me?"
"Maybe," was all she got, and Maura was a little surprised by Jane's reluctance. "Maura, I really don't want to do anything fancy."
"Why not? It's an important day, isn't it?"
"Well yes, but I'm- I mean, we're not a fancy family. Things should be... you know, simple."
"Oh, all right. Should we just visit a justice of the peace in the middle of the night? Come on, let's just go right now."
Taken off guard by the biting sarcasm in Maura's tone, Jane said, "Maura, come on."
"No, Jane, you come on! You're dismissing my desires like they're of no importance to you!"
On impulse, Jane got on the defensive: "You're treating my concerns like they're ridiculous!"
"Well I think they are!" Maura said, alarmed at how much higher that had made Jane's eyebrows rise up (they appeared to be in danger of disappearing into her hair). "All right, I can see that Europe would be a bit too extravagant for you. But... Jane, I know this is silly, but I've dreamed about this day for my whole life. I fantasized about it like any little girl, and-"
"You're not a little girl anymore, Maura."
"I'm perfectly aware of that, Jane. What I was going to say was that I realized some of those fantasies were indeed childish, but many of them still fall into the realm of economic possibility for me, for us! Jane, this day should be an event! It should be big, bold, special!"
"Why couldn't it be special in a small church?" Jane countered. "What, does something have to be in a huge gallery or mansion to impress you? Does it have to be dripping in diamonds, with butlers and footmen and horse-drawn carriages?" A voice in the back of Jane's head was telling her how utterly ridiculous this all was. If any of that was really important to Maura, she never would have started dating a small-time detective with a one-room apartment. But sometimes it didn't matter to Jane that Maura had made the decision to interact with people from a lower socioeconomic status than herself. It still ruffled her to think of the high-class expectations Maura had for things, often ignorant of how self-conscious they made Jane feel. Their class difference was something Jane hated to admit she still struggled to come to terms with, and she heard herself go on: "Maura, when you say having things be small and humble isn't good enough for you, it feels like you're saying that I'm not good enough for you."
Maura looked horrified. "Jane, how could you say that? That isn't it at all. I just think you're taking out your own prejudices and insecurities on me, and that hurts."
"That hurts?" Jane asked. "Maura, we've established this: I'm the guy in our relationship. I know it sounds stupid to you, and blah blah blah gender theory, but it makes me feel like crap when I can't provide for you. I don't want you to take the financial brunt of everything."
"I won't, Jane, not hardly ever! I just don't see why you won't at least consider making an exception for this-"
Jane surprised even herself with how abruptly she stood up. Shaking her head and setting down her glass, she said, "No. No, Maura, I'm done talking about this. Good night."
Some small part of her (the part that too often secretly indulged in crappy romance movies) had hoped Maura would come after her, or at least call after her. But no. The only sound Jane heard was the loud "bang" of the porch door as she let it swing shut behind her. For a few moments she stood alone in Maura's house, giving the woman another chance to talk Jane out of leaving, but Maura had her pride, too. So Jane had to settle for shooting Bass an accusatory look before storming out the front door. In retrospect, glaring at a tortoise as if this was all his fault might actually have beaten Jane's conversation with Maura for most pointlessly retarded thing of her life, but if she thought about it too much, she got depressed.
The next day, a knock sounded at Jane's door much earlier than she had set an alarm to go off. The knocking was insistent, ultimately forcing Jane to roll out of bed. Groggily pulling on a pair of jeans to go with her tank top, Jane ambled slowly across her apartment. As she walked, her fight with Maura the previous night came slowly back to her, and she found herself hoping it would be Maura at the door. She could really go for some make-up sex right now- which was not a great thing to have in mind when she finally opened the door and saw her mother standing there.
"God, ma!" she groaned, and Angela pushed her way inside.
"What did you say to her?" Angela asked, as Jane resolutely shut the door.
"What do you mean, ma?"
"To Maura! What did you do?"
"Did she tell you?"
"Of course not, that's why I'm asking you! I saw her this morning eating breakfast, and she was obviously miserable! She wouldn't tell me what it was about, and she went right off to work before I could properly interrogate her!"
And this was how they wound up getting into the kind of conversation Jane hated, namely any discussion alone with her mother. As Angela so often did, she eventually managed to wrangle the truth out of her daughter, and insisted that Jane man up and apologize. Shortly thereafter, Jane finally managed to usher Angela out of the apartment, gruffly explaining that any apologizing she did would be in her own time from her own decision, not because Angela had pushed her to do it. In fact, after her mother was gone, Jane (again immaturely) considered not apologizing to Maura right away, just to piss off Angela. But she quickly acknowledged the pointless pettiness of this act, and that if she really was going to be the man in this relationship, she needed to be willing to cave first. As she drove to work a short while later, Jane convinced herself that she and Maura would work this out. Maybe a big wedding wouldn't be so bad... especially if it would make Maura happy.
That's the most important thing, you a-hole. To make her happy.
With this resigned thought in mind, Jane walked into HQ. Korsak immediately strode right up to her, asking if she could take a new case file down to Maura. Jane quickly agreed, not really thinking- the important thing was just to get to Maura and make up as quickly as possible, get over this stupid hurdle as quickly as possible. Not stupid, Jane reminded herself, getting into the elevator and heading down to the morgue. Weddings days are not stupid, or hurdles. Maura deserves better.
Before she knew it, she had reached the bottom floor and was walking down the hallway. She didn't have time to fuss over the proper tone to strike as she entered the morgue, thoughtlessly dropping the case file on the nearest table and just heading for Maura. The doctor glanced up from the Y-incision she had just finished, giving Jane a weary look. She had felt completely blindsided yesterday by Jane's attitude, always having had the impression that Jane wouldn't care about the technicalities of such proceedings as long as they went through smoothly. Maura had realized with no small amount of embarrassment how presumptuous and self-centered it had been to assume that Jane would just roll with it and have no opinion of her own. Really she was the one who needed to apologize, but she didn't know where to start.
"Maura, I'm sorry," Jane husked, summoning her deepest, most molasses-like voice in an attempt to cut down Maura's anger.
For even at the apology, Maura didn't look particularly pleased or even relieved. She still looked pained. For a few agonizing moments, Jane interpreted this to mean that Maura was still upset, but that wasn't quite the case. Maura was caught off guard, not knowing what to say, possibly because there was so much to say. At the end of the day, it didn't really matter if they were married in Xanadu or in a registrar's office; what mattered was how much they really loved and needed each other. They had their fights just like any other couple, their skirmishes and disagreements. But when all was said and done, they always came back, they always forgave, they always expressed love.
Perhaps that was why the best response Maura could come up with was, "Just kiss me."
Whatever reply Jane had been expecting, it definitely hadn't been that. Maura's tone was lightly challenging, making her desperation for Jane to kiss her as equally clear as her "just you try it" attitude. Jane hesitantly took a step forward, forcing herself not to screw up. "Okay..." She felt a bit encouraged when she saw that Maura appeared to be smiling (albeit unwillingly). "Let's... let's get this right," Jane said, putting her hands on Maura's waist. "Priorities, I mean. Maura, I hate that I upset you. I don't ever want to do that to you again. I-"
Maura yanked off her protective gloves, then put a finger on Jane's lips. "Sh. I asked you to kiss me."
Clearly this wasn't the time to talk. But Jane couldn't help feeling Maura had more than kissing on her mind as she felt herself being led back into the doctor's office. As soon as the door had closed behind her, Jane felt herself pushed up against it, Maura's fists at her collar and tongue driving into her mouth. It certainly hadn't been Jane's intention for anything like this to happen between them, but now suddenly it seemed inevitable: Maura looked beyond sexy in a blue dress underneath her long white lab coat, golden hair cascading down her back, fierce desire incredibly evident in those hooded hazel eyes. Were they really about to get intimate at work?
Maura answered this unasked question by quickly sliding Jane's jacket off of her shoulders, then walking them backwards, towards her desk. This was a position both were unaccustomed to- Maura being the aggressor. She was typically the, well, the little woman, while Jane strutted and dominated and drove her wild. Despite their argument and despite her unfamiliarity with this new role, Jane couldn't help feeling incredibly aroused by Maura's sudden aggression.
"I'm finding this sexy, how about you?" Maura asked in a gorgeously stimulating murmur, starting a trail of kisses down Jane's neck.
Sparing a glance for the closed blinds of Maura's office, Jane choked out, "We have to be really quiet."
Any more words were quickly stifled by another long, languid kiss. But when Jane reached up to take off Maura's lab coat, the doctor pulled back. Surveying Jane as though she were an exceptionally easy bit of prey, Maura led her around to the other side of her desk, and sat calmly in her chair. "You came to apologize," she said, crossing then quickly uncrossing her legs. "You want my forgiveness?" Her voice, like a certain other part of her body, was dripping with sex, and Jane could only nod weakly. "Then on your knees," Maura said in the same deliciously deep tone, making the hair on Jane's neck stand on end.
It didn't occur to Jane for a second to disobey, no matter how awkward or uncomfortable this position was- she was nearly under Maura's desk, as the doctor had purposefully left very little room between her chair and the desk. She sat up just enough to help Jane push up her dress, and Jane's sense of smell was instantly overwhelmed by Maura's arousal. Logical thoughts of crap, we're at work left her head for good when she noticed Maura was wearing a lacy pair of boyshorts that Jane had recently picked out for her, and judging by their dampness, it was quite possible they would never be wearable again. Jane pulled them down, and much as she wanted to look Maura in the eye, could not bring herself to look away from what was literally right in front of her face. She brought the chair closer, gripping it by the back and preparing to make this as quick and pleasurable as possible, but Maura tugged lightly at her hair before she had time to do so.
Directing Jane's face upwards to look sternly at her, Maura set forth another command in a voice as dark as tinted glass: "Sip it slowly."
Jane bit her cheek, but resignedly leaned forward to acquiesce this request. Maura knew that when it came to this most intimate of acts, Jane preferred not to draw it out. She enjoyed the build-up to an orgasm as much as the next person, but she found it extremely difficult to hold back in this position. Maura shuddered at the feeling of Jane's heavy breathing down there, and she unconsciously gripped Jane's hair more tightly, moaning softly. Despite Jane's best attempt to move slowly, Maura's legs were already trembling, and she knew that she was releasing more and more of herself into Jane, both of them panting.
"Maura," Jane whimpered, surprisingly emotional, all but begging Maura to just let her do this at the pace she wanted.
"Jane," Maura said back, her voice impressively steady, completely belying the fact that Jane was this close to sending her over the edge.
It couldn't be much longer now. As much as this was killing her, Jane couldn't help smirking internally when she finally heard Maura really reacting to this- the panting, the moaning, the stifled breathing that came as Jane interchanged the sucking with kissing. She was starting to wonder how she might be able to use this newfound self-control of hers to her advantage (what could she do to make Maura apologize for her own behavior?), when she heard somebody- definitely not Maura, currently caught up in the throes of passion- clear their throat. Jane jumped and swore, banging her head on Maura's desk, gratified only in the sense that she heard her oh-so-proper doctor swear in alarm as well.
Still hidden by the desk, Jane couldn't see him, but Korsak was easily identified by his voice, which sounded as though he was fighting off laughter: "I came down to see if Jane had given you the newest case file, doc. But... apparently I was a bit premature. Please forgive me."
He shut the door, and Jane just sat there on the floor, shaking her head. "Oh, my God. I can't believe we did that. I can't believe we did that at work, I can't believe Korsak just-"
She looked up to see that Maura was smiling at her. Had she gone mad? Did she not realize how psychologically damaging and embarassing all that had been? But...
"You win, Jane," she chuckled, stroking the detective's cheek. "Small wedding it is."
A/N: Happy Valentines' Day, folks! And thanks for reading. Also, if you're curious and would like to make my day, I made a companion video piece for this one-shot. Just go to Youtube and search "Rizzoli and Isles Old-fashioned wedding." Should lead ya right to it! :) They don't correspond perfectly of course, but I did my best with the ending.