Beers at Maura's:
Jane rang the bell on the door of her best friend's house, pizza in one hand and a six-pack in the other. Even though Maura wasn't a huge fan of beer, sometimes she'd drink a bottle or two with Jane's encouragement. Hearing the bell, Maura checked her lipstick in the hallway mirror and quickly walked to the door. She swung it open and smiled, opening her arms to give Jane a hug before taking the beer out of her hands.
The two women walked to the kitchen counter and put down the food and drinks. Maura grabbed a bottle opener from the drawer and cracked open two beers. "Here you go," she said, handing one to Jane.
"Thanks," Jane responded with a smile. She had a plan for tonight, one different than ever before. She wanted to get Maura tipsy, maybe even a bit drunk. Jane had an inkling that with her walls down, Maura would admit to having feelings for her and the detective would be ecstatic to know that her hunch was correct.
The brunette took a small sip of her beer as Maura chugged a mouthful. She wanted to make sure that she was sober enough to get to the bottom of Maura's feelings and desires.
"Should we sit?" the strawberry blonde questioned, motioning to the couch. "We could put something on the television or just put some music on and talk."
"Let's talk," Jane said, "I think we probably both have some things we want to say."
Maura looked at Jane with a small smirk. When Jane asked if they could spend the night at her house instead of the Dirty Robber, she had a feeling that something was up. More than that, Maura was hoping that there was something up. For a long time, she had wanted to feel her friend's strong and curvy body in her arms, she had wanted to lace the brunette's curly, soft hair between her fingers, and she had wanted to feel her lips on top of her own. Maura led the way to the couch, bringing her beer with her and sipping along the way.
She noticed that Jane wasn't enjoying her own drink and wondered if maybe something was actually wrong and Jane wasn't just trying to make a move on her. "Is everything okay?" she asked, "You've barely touched your beer."
On the couch, Jane looked down to her lap. She was too nervous to be straight up with Maura even though she wanted nothing more than to lean over and kiss her. Denying everything, Jane replied, "Yeah, no, of course. Everything's fine."
Maura took another gulp of her drink before speaking, "Okay, if you say so."
Jane nodded briefly and took a small sip. The two of them were sitting in awkwardness for a moment and then they spoke at once.
"So – " Maura said.
"I – " Jane cut in.
"Oh, sorry – " Maura tried again.
"No, I'm sorry – " Jane began, "You go."
"I just – I was just going to ask about what you wanted to say earlier. What do you think we both need to talk about?" Maura asked.
Jane sighed, nerves taking over again. "I – I don't know. Nothing, maybe. I'm not sure," suddenly she was regretting the whole night. She felt stupid. How could she have ever thought that Maura had feelings for her?
"Nothing? You seemed pretty clear earlier," Maura pressed on, trying to get Jane to open up to her.
"I don't know," Jane began, looking down at her hands, playing with the label on her beer bottle. Her eyes flicked up to Maura's, looking into the caring face of her friend. She took a deep breath and decided to jump in. "Okay. Let me start over. I – I think that you, maybe, are interested in me as more than a friend. And I – I know that I am."
Maura's lips formed a small smirk, almost unnoticeable. "You know that you're what?" she asked, teasing Jane just a little bit.
Jane sighed with a joking sense of exasperation, "I know – I know that I'm interested in you, as more than a friend."
The strawberry blonde reached to her right, placing her hand on Jane's thigh. She smiled, looking into Jane's eyes. "Well," she began, taking her time, "it certainly took you long enough to tell me."
Jane opened her mouth and sighed once again, this time from relief. She knew that Maura was teasing her, which could only mean one thing: Maura must feel the same way about her.
Maura's hand continued to tease Jane's leg, her thumb rubbing soft circles on the inside of her thigh. She reached her other hand up, brushing Jane's curly locks behind her ear before placing her hand on the detective's cheek.
"Should we test the possibility of being more than friends?" the medical examiner asked seductively.
Jane bit her lip and nodded silently. Her eyes flicked up to Maura's and she smiled. Maura took her opportunity and leaned in for a kiss, her soft lips landing on top of Jane's.