Disclaimer: Lets get this bit out the way! I do not own Rizzoli & Isles or any of the characters associated. I'm simply borrowing them...
AN: Thank you to my amazing Beta's Roxy & Scarlett! Without you two this story would be a complete wreak! Mwah x
Chapter 1
Sex. That's all it was ever meant to be. Uncomplicated, no strings attached sex; The metaphorical scratch to that lasting itch.
The Wednesday that Maura had propositioned Jane had started like any other uneventful morning. Jane had sat at Maura's breakfast bar nursing a cooling cup of coffee as suddenly the honey blonde blurted out, "Jane would you ever sleep with me?"
Jane nearly dropped the grey china cup, choking on her coffee as her eyebrows shot up into her hairline. "Excuse me?!"
"Would you ever sleep with me?" Maura replied matter of factly.
"I heard you the first time, I mean what do you mean, sleep with you... As in sex?"
"Yes," Maura quietly replied as she saw the look of pure shock on Jane's face. Maybe this hadn't been such a good idea, what had po
ssessed her to air her thoughts out loud?
The idea had come to the Dr a few weeks earlier when she had been reading an article on casual sex and the supposed benefits... There had been a case study where two friends had engaged in an "arrangement" that satisfied both their needs, and the idea just wouldn't leave Maura's mind... In fact it had started to fester. The fact she was positive she had recently witnessed Jane checking her out on more then one occasion was adding fuel to her fire.
"Maura, what the hell... Why would you... We're not gay!" Jane tried to explain as she stumbled over her words.
"I know, I'm not asking for us to start a relationship, there would be no commitment involved, I..."
"Wait!" Jane interrupted "Have you actually been thinking about this, seriously!?"
Maura flushed red as she tried to drop her gaze from Jane's piercing brown eyes. Was that disgust in the detectives eyes? Maura desperately wanted to lie and say no it had been a spare of the moment comment but she knew her hives would give her away. Instead she opted to say nothing and moved to pull out the breakfast bar stool next to her friend.
"Maura?" Jane gently enquired as she could sense the unease ebbing off of the woman sat next to her.
"It's just I read this article, and it sort of struck a chord with me, and I know I would only be able to do this with someone I trusted and the health benefits are..."
"Maur, slow down," Jane interrupted again as she placed her tanned slender fingers around Maura's wrist. "What article, what benefits?"
The honey blonde stalled for only a second as she registered Jane's skin touching hers and the sudden jolt of electricity that fizzled from her wrist up her arm. It was that reaction, that feeling which was making it impossible for her to forget the idea.
"About casual sex and it being excellent to combat stress, and it can build your immune system and..."
"You mean a fuck buddy?"
"Jane must you be so uncouth?" Maura scolded, just a little annoyed that the brunette kept interrupting her train of thought.
"Sorry, but that's what it is, "Jane replied defensively.
"Fine...Do you find me attractive?"
"Maura! It's seven forty five in the morning, we really aren't' having this conversation!" Jane replied exasperated as she just stared at her friend, a guilty heat spreading up her neck.
"Well I don't see what difference it makes if we have this conversation now or over lunch. Jane, do you find me attractive?"
"Maur you're my best friend it's not something I've ever really thought of?"
Maura just stared as if she knew Jane was lying... She couldn't possibly know she was lying... Could she?
"Fine, yes you're attractive, a blind man could see that!"
"It's just I thought..." Maura suddenly lost her nerve as has her mouth started to go dry. This whole conversation had gone a lot smoother in her head.
"Thought what?"
"That I had seen you... Appreciating my body on several occasions?" The honey blonde tried to desperately ignore the hot flush creeping up her cheeks.
"What! God no Maur, I was probably, er... merely thinking what a nice outfit you had on... I definitely wouldn't have been perving over you."
"I didn't say perving," Maura assured as she couldn't ignore the heat coming off of her friends face, as she watched the brunette start to wring her hands, clearly uncomfortable.
"As I said, there wouldn't need to be any commitment involved. It would just be sex, the means to an end..." The blonde tried to bring the conversation back under control. "Neither of us have been in a relationship for some time, and we're both going to have needs, why not ease those needs with someone that we both trust and isn't going to try and kill one of us... Or kiss and tell."
Jane winced at the mention of "kiss and tell" and the memories of her one nightstand with Agent Dean and the disastrous consequences that followed that liaison.
"I... I don't know Maur... This is kinda crazy I mean, I've never slept with a woman... I've never even thought about it (god if she was Pinocchio she knew her nose would be growing at an alarming rate), this has just come out of the blue, I mean have you slept with women?" A uneasy knot tightened in Jane's stomach as she honestly didn't know if she wanted to know the answer?
"Yes, but not since college and that was only once, I thought most people had a diligence... It's natural to experiment with your sexuality Jane."
"That it might be, but I've never felt the need to thank you."
Which was true the brunette hadn't... until she had met Maura. At first she just thought the feelings where normal, that this is what you felt for a best friend. After all, she had never been this close to another female before. All those months when she had found herself checking out Maura's ass as she walked and her mahogany gaze glancing over Maura's cleavage when she knew her best friend wasn't looking, those actions started to change her mind.
Then the dreams happened... The ones where Jane would wake up covered in a fine layer of sweat and with the distinct feeling of wetness between her legs. The dreams that when she met the medical examiner at work the following morning she almost felt ashamed to make eye contact.
"Besides I'm quite happy being single. Those "needs" as you put it Maur, I can quite happily fulfil on my own... In private."
"Well yes, so can I Jane... With the right stimulants I too can come to orgasm..."
"MAURA!" Jane moaned, her hands raking over her face and into her untamed curls as she tried to hide her embarrassment and ignore the sudden image of Maura with a sex toy.
"I'm just saying Jane that masturbation is perfectly natural. It has been proven that there are health benefits from a shared release," the honey blonde stated as she tried in her own way to ease the brunette's discomfort. "If you want I can email you the article and you can read it at your own leisure?"
"No that won't be necessary, honestly... I'll take your word for it!"
Letting her index finger trail the rim of the cup which had been placed on the bench in front of her, Jane's mind started to work over time as she surprisingly started to think out the logistics of Maura's offer.
"But what would happen if one of us then finds ourselves in a relationship, does this "thing" suddenly go from a twosome to a threesome?"
"God no! It would be a mutual agreement between the two of us only, should one of us become romantically involved with a partner it stops. No strings, no commitment."
"Right." Jane nodded as she listened to Maura's argument. "It's as simple as that?"
"It could be."
But Jane knew things where rarely as simple and straight forward. If she listened to her head, yes it would be. It would be hot, amazing sex that when one of them said no it would stop. However her heart was saying something completely different. Jane had never been one for one night stands and quick flings. The one time she had let her guard down, it had gone pear shaped. The only reason she was even contemplating what Maura had said (although she would never let Maura be aware of how much she was contemplating it) was because she knew she had feelings for the Dr and being able to hold, touch and love her would be such an easy & natural thing to do. Maybe she wanted those strings attached. How would she feel after holding and touching Maura, and then Mr Right turned up and the brunette got pushed back to the kerb?
Maura was starting to feel uncomfortable again as Jane appeared to be lost her own thoughts, her brows knitting together.
"Jane," Maura sighed as she placed her hand on the detectives upper arm and felt her jump under the touch. "You disappeared on me?"
"Sorry I was just... Hell, this is a lot to take In Maur and I'm only on my first cup of coffee" she bantered trying to lighten the mood and hide her unease.
"Well there is no rush to give me an answer Jane, I'll just leave you with the idea. If you feel like it's something you might want to partake in, we can talk further. If not, I totally understand and we can pretend this conversation never happened." Maura smiled kindly, truly hoping it wouldn't be the end of the topic.
"Okay."
As if saved by the bell, the awkwardness of the conversation came to a hilt as Jane's mobile started to ring, followed a few seconds later by Maura's.
The familiar sound of "Rizzoli, Dr Isles" soon filled the kitchen as both phones where answered simultaneously.
"Okay I'm on my way," Maura replied as she ended the call and grabbed her blazer which was nearby.
"Suspected homicide down at North Acre Park." Jane spoke aloud re-confirming what the Dispatch operator had just said. "Are you ready?"
With that both women left the Boston town house and all mention of their early morning conversation was dropped... Well so Maura had thought.
Over the next week Jane had felt herself stewing over Maura's proposition. As usual the honey blonde had been true to her word and had not mentioned her "fuck buddy" idea once. The fact that Jane had blatantly been avoiding Maura probably had something to do with that though? Apart from when it was absolutely necessary the brunette had stayed away from the crime lab and Maura's office, choosing to submerge herself in the case.
She wasn't even sure why she had been avoiding Maura, but every time she caught her friends hazel eyes, her mind was filled with a hundred unanswered questions.
Mostly, why had Maura asked her? She got that the blonde had said she would only be able to do something like this with some she trusted, but Jane knew that Maura's sexual appetite was a lot healthier then hers and that she had partaken in the occasional one night stand... Why didn't she just go out and find "someone"? What had changed?
But then maybe it was because Maura wanted to do this little "experiment" with a woman. Truthfully it hadn't really shocked Jane that Maura had slept with a woman before. What had shocked her was the tight twist and the rush of heat that built in her own stomach as Maura confirmed those suspicions. Suddenly the brunette started to over analyse simple gestures that before Maura's disclosure had just seemed platonic, but now she was re-evaluating. A subtle touch of the arm, a quick comforting squeeze of the knee... Had there been secretly more behind them? Christ, how many times had they both fallen asleep on Maura's sofa, or on the blondes bed, only to wake up tangled around each other's limbs.
Which of course always leads to the burning and most unsettling question. Was Maura harbouring feelings for her, feelings that went way beyond friendship? At the thought of it, Jane's heartbeat would speed up and her palms would start to sweat as she tried to control the flood of emotions. Emotions she couldn't quite name or describe.
So as Jane sat on the sofa in her apartment; her mind once more engaged in a battle of: head yes, heart no, she was shaken from her inner turmoil by a knock at the front door.
Lifting herself up and making it to the spy hole in four long strides, the brunette's stomached knotted as she recognised one Dr Isles on the other side of the door. Quickly turning the lock and pulling the security chain, Jane was met with a sheepish grin as Maura looked up at her friend.
"Hi"
"Hey, have I missed your text, did you say you where coming over?" The brunette enquired as she stepped aside, fumbling in her rear jeans pocket to check her phone.
"No... I... I thought we needed to talk."
"Oh okay, about what?" When In doubt play dumb Jane thought, as she knew more than likely where this would be heading.
"Jane, I know you've been avoiding me..."
"I haven't!" The detective interrupted.
"Jane?" Maura just raised her eyebrows and gave her friend that look of "I know you, don't lie to me." "You haven't been down to the lab this week, not unless it's been case related and it's Thursday night, which is normally take out night at mine. I know it's to do with our conversation the other day... Which is why I'm here. I wanted to apologise. I shouldn't have asked you the way I did... what I did. I should have known something like that would have made you uncomfortable and the last thing I would want to do is cause any detriment to our friendship."
Jane stood dead still, her back flush against the door as she took in her friend. She'd clearly been home & changed, as the blonde was sporting some figure hugging jeans and a brown cashmere sweater that showed just enough cleavage for Jane's eyes to glance over. Maura had pushed her hands into the back pocket of her jeans and watched Jane casually trying to mask the insecurity on her face, but Jane had seen through the Dr's defences and she could feel it tugging on her heart strings.
"It's just been a busy week, you know this case has ended up turning into a nightmare with dead end after dead end. I've just been working my butt off trying to get it tied up."
"Oh, just... I thought I'd pushed you to far when I propositioned you. I know I said I wouldn't mention it again if you didn't and I won't Jane, but I was just worried..."
"That it might have freaked me out?" It had.
"Yes."
"With this case and the hours I've been putting in, I've hardly had time to think about it." The brunette lied as she pushed herself away from the door frame and into the kitchen area. "So now that you're here, do you want a drink. I'm sure I've got some wine in the fridge?"
"Yes please, that would be lovely." The blonde smiled as she dropped herself down onto Jane's sofa. "So the test results on the victim came back. I asked the lab to email them to me once they arrived. I got them on the drive over. It turns out Angelo Sorrento had some antimycotics in his blood which won't show up in a basic toxicology report. It wasn't until I delved further and noticed the unusual pigment on his liver and ordered the extensive test that it showed up."
Jane was lost, almost mesmerised by the sound of Maura's voice. She had just pulled the cork from the bottle of Sauvignon when she was hit with an epiphany. Here was a woman who, although Jane would never admit to herself, she was in love with and who, forgive the phrase, was offering herself up. Every dream, every thought was sat staring in front of her waiting to become a reality. Maura could be her reality. What if, what only started out as no strings attached no commitment sex, actually developed into something else? What if Maura did have feelings for her... Could she really live with herself if she let this chance slip through her fingers?
"Obviously there could be a number of ways it could have been ingested and I wouldn't want to rule anything out until..."
"Yes," the brunette blurted out and watched as Maura stared at her quizzically.
"Yes, what?"
"Yes to... to your... to the article you read," Jane explained as she walked over and handed Maura her wine and sat on the sofa next to her taking a large gulp of her own beer.
"Oh...oh!"
"You look surprised?" the brunette enquired as she could feel butterflies start to dance around in her stomach.
"Truthfully, I am. I guess I thought you where going to say no, that it wouldn't be something that interested you."
"Well I'm just full of surprises."
"Yes you are... See this is why I don't surmise, I normally get proven wrong." Maura smiled, trying to break some of the tension that had built between them.
After several seconds of silence and Jane drinking nearly the whole bottle of beer, she looked at the woman sat only a few inches away. "So how would this work exactly, this causal arrangement...would I be your booty call?"
"Well I wouldn't exactly phrase it like that but I guess so. It would be a mutual booty call. I suppose we would either pre-arrange when we would stay the night with each other or contact each other to see if we were free to come around."
"Right, that makes sense... And what about when we're in public?"
"We would just be the same Jane & Maura that we are now. Nothing needs to alter Jane. I would suggest we stay away from any public displays of affection though, I mean that might open us up to have to answers questions we might not feel comfortable answering. After all, this is private between us."
"Don't you think my mothers going to find it odd me staying over at yours and sleeping in your bedroom?" The brunette enquired as she tried to pick fault with the Dr's reasoning.
"I doubt, no more than she might normally. It's not like you've never stayed over before. Besides, Angela has never made it a habit of coming into my bedroom, she's happy to remain in the guest house...plus I have a lock on the door if it makes you feel more comfortable."
"Fine!" Jane agreed, as she ran her fingers through her mane of hair trying to pull it away from her face. "And if one of us gets into a relationship or meets somebody, this stops?"
"Yes I think that only seems fair," the blonde agreed as she sipped at her wine. "I wouldn't want to string anyone along and as I've said the whole arrangement would purely be to alleviate a physical need."
"Yeah I'm cool with that," the brunette agreed, although deep down she wondered when that time came if she would be?
"Well if you want to talk over anything else, I'm more than happy to. I understand this could seem like quite a daunting prospect." Maura tried to sooth as she was still slightly shocked that Jane had agreed and seemed quite calm with her decision.
"No I'm fine, we know the basic rules... It's probably best to not over think it. It might get complicated otherwise?"
Complicated in what way the blonde wanted to ask, but decided to apply her newly gained filter as she leaned forward and placed her empty wine glass on Jane's weathered coffee table. "I should probably make a move, I didn't mean to intrude, I just wanted to make sure, you were... We were okay."
"Yep, we're fine,"Jane smiled as she stood up from the sofa. "We should probably both get an early night anyway."
As soon as the words left her mouth, Jane could feel the burn creep up her neck to her cheeks as she helplessly tried to back track. "Separately! To sleep, we're both going to be up early and..."
"Jane, breathe," Maura lightly chuckled as she saw the panic flick through her friends eyes. "I know what you mean, remember this doesn't need to change anything"
The problem was Jane was already starting to think it had. She could already feel the enormity of her decision settling in.
"I know."
Walking Maura to the front door, Jane unlocked the bolt and stepped to the side to let her friend pass. "I'll see you tomorrow Maur, send me a text when you get home so I know you've arrived safely."
"I will," Maura agreed as she leaned up, her hands steadying herself on Jane's shoulders as she kissed the detective's cheek. "Night Jane."
"Night," the brunette replied as her eyes involuntarily closed as the smell of Maura's apple shampoo filtrated her senses.
Feeling the other woman pull away, she watched Maura walk down the hallway and closed the front door, resting her back against it for the second time that evening. Jane desperately tried to ignore the butterflies that where playing havoc in her stomach but somehow she had a feeling she had just agreed to a terrible mistake?
AN 2: So putting the feelers out what do you all think? Reviews would be greatly appreciated! :-)