Author's note: Here's a series of one shots about Jane and Maura's possible first kiss. I hope that you will enjoy them. Daily updates, reviews more than appreciated.

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One – Unexpectedly

The nerves she had. Jane clenched her fists and cast a very last glance at Maura before turning on her heels. This wasn't how it was supposed to work. No – no – and no. She headed towards the door of her friend's office and prepared herself for a dramatic exit. But as usual in these moments of anger, nothing went as planned. Focused on the corridor that was straight in front of her, Jane missed one of the cardboard boxes on the floor and stumbled on it.

She lost her balance – hit the door frame – and loudly landed on the floor lost in an ocean of plastic bones.

"Oh my God, Jane!" Maura rushed to her friend and squatted next to her. At no moment had she showed any sign of resentment, even before Jane knocked herself out. She was impulsive; childish, at times. It was simply the way she usually was. "Are you alright? The femur missed your eye by an inch..."

Jane's dark eyes stopped on Maura.

It was just one of these days when nothing went as planned. In the morning, her favorite coffee place - Boston Joes - had run out of sugar. How was that even possible? Then she had made it to the BPD only to learn that she and Frost were losing a case to the drug unit. Then by lunch time half of her burrito had landed on her shirt because food never managed to defy gravity when she was holding some with her hand and now she got assaulted by Maura's latest bone obsession.

"Am I bleeding?" Jane brought a hand to her head and winced in pain. She had actually hurt herself. Way to leave the room with class. Really. "Don't think I've forgotten what you've done because I haven't, Maura."

Yet not really eager to leave the room, Jane settled on the floor and sat Indian style before leaning her back against the door. She pursed her lips and shook her head at her friend. She was dizzy. Maura didn't even look annoyed. As a matter of fact, a perfect serenity seemed to embrace her features and echoed the smile that played on her lips.

"It is just a dinner."

Jane snorted. As loudly as she could. She folded her legs up – wrapped her arms around them - and leaned her chin on top of her knees. Her position betrayed a cruel need of protection. She felt too bare, too vulnerable right now.

"You accepted for me without letting me know first. What if I had planned something else? What if I didn't feel like going to it? You know I hate these socialite things."

An imperceptible shade of red went up Maura's cheeks.

Slightly embarrassed by the comment, she looked down and grabbed one of the bones that had fallen out of the box that Jane had knocked over. Her finger went from one extremity to the other following its singular shape.

"I didn't want to be alone."

The confession took Jane aback. Maura's loneliness wasn't novelty but she hated it when her friend dared to admit her reluctance to face such side of her life. It always made her feel guilty and bad.

As much as Maura said that she was accustomed to the idea of being lonely, Jane knew that a habit was not necessarily something sweet. The nuance was harsh, actually.

"Oh." Ugh. Really? That was all she could come up with? Cursing against herself, Jane took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Sometimes the words came better this way. She forgot all the rest – her surroundings and Maura's gaze on her – then she focused on what really mattered, what she wanted to say to her friend. "You won't find Mr. Right if I'm always by your side, you know. This isn't how it works, Maura."

Humor.

A pitiful way to escape the seriousness of the situation. A typical Jane move too.

Although even if she wasn't being serious, Jane had to admit that there was something true in her words. What kind of people always showed up with 'a friend' apart from the ones who hadn't found their significant others yet? It was just a subterfuge to keep distance with a loneliness that didn't fool any guest.

And at the age of forty years old, it worked even less.

"I doubt that I will meet anyone during these dinners. It isn't the purpose of such kind of events. I mean, not really... Of course there is always the possibility to share a nice moment with someone but it rarely goes any further."

Unless she wanted to but Maura had turned the page over such kind of scenarios for quite a while. She wasn't interested in this anymore. It never led anywhere anyway.

Jane tried to ignore the latent bitterness in her friend's tone of voice and forced herself to smile instead. She had to cheer her up, no matter how.

"You're ruining the fun. What's the point of getting drunk on Champagne then if it's not to flirt with some good-looking millionaire?"

Jane started retrieving the plastic bones that littered the floor. Her attempt to sound casual and funny had failed. Her so-called joke fell flat. It didn't make Maura laugh. But then the idea of dating millionaires wasn't foreign to her reality so she couldn't get Jane's joke properly.

That and the fact she was too literal; way too literal.

Jane raised a hand in the air to apologize and shook her head. She had learned to not make fun of her friend. It did not work all the time but the current context was such that she actually didn't feel the desire to laugh. She had just thrown a scene at her best friend because of a charity dinner. It was almost as ridiculous as the way she had stumbled on a box full of plastic bones.

"Never mind. We're not in the 60's anymore. This Mr. Right bullshit gotta..."

Her very next word got trapped in her throat and died in a gasp of surprise as she felt Maura's lips on hers. It lasted two seconds, barely two seconds. A furtive kiss.

An unexpected one.

"I am not looking for any Mr. Right."

Maura's voice rose with an impressive self-confidence, the logical continuation of her bold move; of her unexpected kiss. Vulnerable but charmed – shaking like a leaf – Jane remained still and began to smile the moment she locked her eyes with Maura's hazel ones.