AN: Fun fact time. Many of you probably compared your fingers while reading this last fic chatper. A longer ring finger has also been linked to more testosterone in the system… and very very loosely linked to being a lesbian. Wonder if any of you caught that… Thanks for all the reviews! It makes me excited to write. I especially appreciate those that wrote longer comments or suggestions… motivates me… hint hint.
Day 2 of Community service
Jane POV
They were still re-painting the interior. Maura and Jane had been assigned the northwest corner of the 3rd floor which was unbearable because of the large glass windows and the continued non-existence of air conditioning. Sweat plastered their clothing to their bodies. Jane had half unzipped the jumpsuit revealing a neon green sports bra. Her unruly hair was tied up but some of it still found itself stuck to her face and neck. Maura had opted against the volunteer uniform and was painting in her clothing which today was comprised of a denim mini skirt and a pink pastel tank top that was not covering her midriff.
How can such a cute girl be such a nerd? Did I just say cute? The heat is getting to me. Jane shook her head trying to clear her thoughts. The silence and monotonous stroking sounds from the paint were starting to bother her.
"So you never watched Startrek? I mean. I'm not a dweeb but it's a good show." Jane said trying to appear nonchalant.
"I do not normally watch television. I have ballet three times a week along with tennis, Latin, AP, SAT prep, and volunteer work." Maura said wiping the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand. Jane nodded and continued trying to avoid the hot glare from the windows next to them.
"So what do you do for fun?" Jane said shielding her eyes.
"What I do is fun." Maura smiled softly and stopped painting. "Learning a new step or a new word for something is incredibly stimulating." Jane also stopped painting.
"But do you ever hang out? Just goof off?" Flecks of paint flew as Jane used her hands to gesture.
"I do enjoy shopping." Maura said as she moved away from Jane who was now enjoying herself pelting the wall with paint flecks. "Peter and I love spending free Saturdays at Back Bay." Peter… Dammit… Jane had never considered herself gay but she had known for a while that she was attracted to girls. She had never admitted it and she had never acted on her feelings. But hearing Maura mention a boy's name was slightly disappointing. Jane resumed normal painting strokes concentrating on the wall. After a moment Jane broke the silence.
"Is Peter your boyfriend?" Maura paused her painting and smiled at Jane.
"No, he is our butler."
"Oh." That would explain shopping at Back Bay. That place is ritzy. "So no boyfriend?" Jane said without looking up. Maura laughed.
"I truly do not have time to socialize with the opposite sex and I attend an all girls boarding school which limits my opportunities to meet possible suitors. So no. No boyfriend. You?"
"No. It's been awhile." There was this one guy I thought I liked. But he kept calling me frog-face. Asshole.
They continued painting in silence. The day had been relatively uneventful compared to the day before. Whitney did not return and Jane had promised not to attack any other girls. The Winstor girls had been lectured about exhibiting lady like behavior at all times and refraining from insulting others. Without a queen bee to lead them the complaints about painting had died down but the complaints about the heat had continued.
Maura POV
The smell of paint and the intense heat was making Maura feel light headed. She dropped her paint roller on the pan and sat down in a shady spot hidden from the windows. Jane also dropped her roller and made her way over to Maura with two water bottles in hand. Maura watched as the taller girls raised the dripping bottle to her lips. Drops of water slid down her chin intermingling with the beads of sweat on her clavicle. Maura couldn't help but study how the angles of Jane's skeletal structure casted delicate shadows on her sternum. She loved the human body. Having taken advance anatomy and physiology Maura had found herself reading her textbooks like they were romance novels.
Right now the water is passing by her epiglottis to her esophagus to her… Maura's eyes trailed down to Jane's chest. Her… what is the word for… pectoral… no wait those are her chest muscles which are covered by her… breasts. Breasts? Maura was looking intensely at Jane's chest causing the older girl to raise a brow.
"Maura?"
"Pectoralis Major! I mean. Umm." Maura blushed. "Sweat… did you know that sweating helps remove toxins from your body and keeps your skin cleaner. Less acne."
"You know you don't have to do that."
"Do what?" Stare at you when you are not looking. I know. I cannot seem to help it. You have such nicely developed features. High cheek bones, full lips… word for lips… is labia…oris… labia… I wonder. Maura's eyes followed the zipper of the jumpsuit.
"…facts everywhere." Jane finished placing her hand on her hip. Maura looked up startled.
"What?" Jane sighed and sat down on the hardwood next to Maura.
"I said. You don't have to spew random facts every time someone talks to you."
"They are not random" Maura protested "It is easier to remember things if you repeat them out loud."
"You started talking to Debbie about mass suicide when she mentioned she wanted Kool-aid."
"I was referring to the Jim Jones cult and how they committed suicide by drinking cyanide. Most people believe it was mixed with Kool-aid but they are misinformed. It was Flavor-aid another popular drink mix."
"Yeah well you freaked her out." Jane said as she sat down.
"Why? Death is enthralling. We all do it eventually and there probably more than a million different ways to die." Maura became animated using her hands to emphasis her words. "Our bodies are like ticking time bombs. Mechanisms ultimately built to fall apart. Suicide would seem to give the person a sense of control over their death. Imagine having the nerve to kill yourself… our bodies instinctively try to protect us, even from ourselves. Some recent suicide data suggests that…"
"Maura." Maura glanced up to find Jane's perplexed face inches from her own. She noticed that there was very little space between her eyebrows and her dark brown eyes giving her a permanent melancholy look and probably a very intimidating scowl when angry.
"Sorry. I tend to ramble when I get excited." Maura looked back down at her hands covered once again in paint. She had removed her turquoise ring in order to save it from a paint filled existence but now she felt naked without it. She absentmindedly started rubbing the tan line.
"It's cool." Jane looked at the ceiling. "It's kinda awesome how you can do that. You're like a walking dictionary." Jane started crunching the water bottle in her hands. "Other than field hockey, I don't have much I'm good at."
"Well, I think it was awesome how you could lunge at Whitney. No one has stood up to her before. You are very athletic and aggressive."
"It wasn't always like that. They used to call me…" Jane sighed. "Rolly polly Rizzoli"
"Rolli polly? You mean a Woodlouse. From the suborder Oniscidea within the Isopoda order, genus Armadillidium. Were they referring to your tough exterior and dark colored hair?"
"No." Jane chuckled. "I never thought of it like that." She ran her fingers through her hair. "They were talking about my shape. My weight. I was a little chunky. That's why I started field hockey." Maura ran her eyes quickly across Jane's frame. No one would think that of you now. Stop thinking about her… change the topic.
"I wish we had field hockey at my school."
"Winstor doesn't do field hockey? With all that money they can't afford sticks?"
"They have other group sports such as soccer and volley ball but the girls tend to get very close-knit which is probably a consequence of being at a boarding school. Once social circles have been established it is hard to be accepted."
"Let me guess. You aren't the social butterfly?"
"Maybe more of dormant larvae before it molts." Jane wrinkled her brow. "I mean. I wouldn't say that, no. I studied abroad for a couple of years before arriving at Winstor. My mother is an artist so I traveled with her to exotic locales." Maura stretched out her legs pulling at her short skirt. "Turns out talking about the mating rituals of the African Sacred Ibis are not as riveting to others as I thought. Did you know that they were the symbol used for the Egyptian god Thoth thought to rule the arts of magic, systems of writing, development of science, and the judgment of the dead?"
"Thoth?" Oh gosh, I did it again. Maura if you have nothing socially acceptable to say do not say anything at all. Maura started chewing at her lip while Jane began tapping the empty crushed water bottle on her knee. "He could do all that and his name was Thoth? They couldn't come up with a cooler name?" Maura blinked.
"Well. The Egyptians were a great civilization. They had many gods and many different names for them. He went by Djehuti and Hermopolis Magna in reference to the Greek God Hermes, you know during the Greco-Roman era. He also was depicted with a baboon head instead of an Ibis sometimes."
"Should have called him Baboon head guy." Maura raised an eyebrow.
"Baboon head guy?" Maura said hesitantly. Jane grabbed the empty bottle that Maura was holding using it with her own to pound on her chest. She pushed herself off the wall and squatted jumping side to side.
"I am baboon head guy! Master of Egyptian dead stuff!" Jane started spinning on all fours. "Ooh. Ah. Ooh Ooh" Maura couldn't believe her eyes but she giggled despite herself.
"I think you resemble a gorilla or a chimpanzee more than a baboon at this moment." Jane glanced up. Her brows were furrowed and she had pursed her lips to make them appear larger which made Maura grin all the more.
"What say nerd girl?" Jane rushed Maura on her knuckles before squatting before her. "How dare you insult Baboon head!" Maura giggled and began to squeal when Jane started tickling her. More gorilla sounds ensued as Maura toppled over on to her side fighting a losing battle against the taller girl.
The noise of a throat clearing interrupted the moment. Both Jane and Maura turned to see Nelson sweating like a beast impatiently tapping his foot. His thin comb over was plastered to his shiny bulb.
"Ladies." Jane and Maura both scrambled up to their feet. "Finish up your wall. You have fifteen minutes left." Nelson face seemed to be struggling to maintain composure. "No more monkey business. And Miss Rizzoli, can you maintain a decent level of modesty?" Jane nodded. Her jumpsuit had slipped to her lower waist exposing her toned middle and the red line of her boy shorts. Maura watched as Jane zipped the orange suit back over her lean tan body. The girls quickly picked up their brushes and started painting at a furious pace. When Nelson had walked out of hearing range Jane and Maura leaned against the wall and broke out laughing. Trying to catch her breath Maura turned to the darker girl. The afternoon sunlight had found itself on her highlighting the waves in her pony tail as they rested against her shoulder. Like water rushing down a stream. Beautiful. Jane caught Maura gazing at her and blushed.
"What?" Jane said raising her hands.
"Really? Mr. Baboon head? That was …" the most ridiculous yet adorable thing I have ever seen, "…theatrical." Maura pushed her shoulder length curls behind her ear. It wasn't long enough to put it up but not short enough to keep out of her face.
"When you got two little brothers you learn how to entertain." Jane winked. Maura blushed but stood up to continue painting.
AN: Yep. Any feedback and reviews gives me warm fuzzies. In other news type Sasha Alexander in google images… wowza. I couldn't believe my eyes.
