Ask Me
Disclaimer: I do not own Rizzoli and Isles, including the book and the TNT show; Jane Rizzoli belongs to Tess Gerritsen and Angie Harmon, and Maura Isles belongs to Tess Gerritsen and Sasha Alexander. The plot for this story is my own, but that is all I could or would stake claim to. Leave feedback if you wish; these girls are delectable, and my muse would appreciate your affirmation!
Synopsis: "It's just that I didn't ask for much. I don't think I really knew how." In the face of Maura's childhood, can Jane teach herself to give what the doctor can't ask for? Post-ep for 1 x 08, with lines from 1 x 06. Mostly fluff with a little bit of sugar on the side. Rated T for language use only.
"I don't want to stop kissing you," Jane commented, pressing her lips to Maura's cheekbone, then taking a sip of her cocoa. The pair was settled into a bench at the lower end of Central Park, just a few feet from the Central Park Zoo. They had strolled slowly up Fifth Avenue, Jane's arm wrapped around Maura's waist, and stopped at each of the decorated Christmas windows. Jane had said that it was an integral part of the Christmas season in New York, and Maura was only too excited to peek inside of the most famous Saks Fifth Avenue store in the nation.
Now, however, they had grabbed a couple of hot dogs from a street vendor—Jane had insisted and Maura had immediately fallen in love with them—and were cuddling closely on a recycled plastic bench. Maura turned her face into Jane's Boston Police Department jacket, inhaling deeply as her free hand found Jane's. The tall detective moved her arm from its place between them and wrapped it around Maura's shoulders, dropping yet another kiss to the crown of the knit blue hat.
"You doing okay?" Jane asked, knowing that the city, and perhaps the unexpected kissing, might be putting a strain on Maura's immersion therapy. The blonde head moved against Jane's chest, nodding, but she didn't release her tight grip on the brunette's hand. "'Kay."
Jane was okay with just sitting for a while, watching as Manhattan moved around them. Their reservations weren't until seven, anyway, and it was only just four o'clock now. After a few moments, Maura lifted her head from its resting place in Jane's chest, and craned her neck up to press a deep kiss on her best friend's lips. Jane responded willingly, releasing Maura's hand to cradle her head. When they pulled away, Jane's grin was wide and huge with unchecked smugness. Maura giggled.
"Sorry." The brunette squeezed Maura into her side more tightly. "I just never imagined I'd get to kiss you before I even took you out to dinner."
"We're going out?" Maura sat up, looking excited. "Where?"
"That is a surprise," Jane replied, running her fingers through the blonde curls tumbling from under the blue hat. Maura's shoulders slumped slightly, maintaining her constant poise but involuntarily expressing her disappointment.
"Is everything a surprise? How will I know if I am appropriately dressed?" The M.E. looked imploringly at Jane, and the detective couldn't take it.
"I'm never going to be able to deny you anything, am I?" Maura grinned sweetly. "Okay, I will tell you. But, first, we have to talk about the rest of your birthday."
"The rest of my birthday?" Maura arched a delicate eyebrow at Jane who nodded, suddenly fidgety.
"Mmmhm. When I got you the day off on Friday, I also got us the day off on Monday. We're not even on call."
"Jane," Maura said slowly, touching her friend on the arm and halting her nervous movements, "that's wonderful. But we've already done so much for my birthday. I can't ask you for more than this."
Jane looked up at Maura's words as the blonde unintentionally referenced their quiet conversation in the precinct weeks before.
"I know Maura, that's the issue." Jane sat up straighter and took Maura's hands in her own.
"I don't understand."
"Do you remember the day you went to see Hoyt in prison?" Jane hated the shadow that passed over Maura's face, and the pained look which flooded her eyes, but she didn't know how else to bring up the subject.
"Of course."
"He told you that you were…" Jane couldn't finish the sentence.
"Like him," Maura continued, quietly.
"Yes. And you're not." Jane hurried to say what she needed to say. "You're so not. I mean, God, look at today. You feel and you care and I've never been kissed by anyone the way I've been kissed by you." This brought a slight smile to the blonde's face "But I really hate that he got under your skin and he brought up all this shit from your childhood and got you to doubt yourself like this."
Maura shrugged and tried to turn away from the taller detective, but Jane refused to let go of her hands.
"I hate it because this isn't like you, Maur. You're the woman who keeps her chin up no matter what nicknames the pencil pushers at the precinct come up with, and you wear insane heels to crime scenes because you know you look beautiful, and you don't take shit from anyone. Ever." Maura looked bashful and started to shake her head, but Jane pressed on. "I'm serious! Ma wishes you were her kid instead of me, and you're helping Frost stop hurling chunks over dead bodies, and then there's this thing that makes you feel like you're somehow less than the rest of the world and that's ludicrous!"
Jane paused here, unsure of how to continue, and a bright-eyed Maura pulled one of her hands away to tuck a silky strand of deep brown hair behind her best friend's ear. Jane cracked a small smile, then leaned in to kiss Maura.
"I don't fully understand what this has to do with Monday," Maura commented as they separated, returning her hands to Jane's warm grasp.
"Right. Sorry." Jane looked bashful. "Got distracted." Maura grinned and Jane couldn't help but press a kiss to her pink cheek. "Monday." Jane paused to pull a folded piece of paper from her back pocket which she unfolded and handed to Maura. "This is the rest of your present." The blonde's eyes absorbed the words quickly.
"Why are they blank?" Jane laughed. She pulled the paper down to rest between them, displaying two homemade coupons. One read, "Happy Birthday, Maura! Hope you like _!" The other was similar: "Happy Birthday, Maura! I can't wait until tomorrow when we _!"
"They're blank because I want you to tell me what you want for your birthday, and what you want to do on Monday."
"Why?" Maura looked shocked and Jane felt her heart sink a little.
"Because I realized that you were right. You've never asked for a single thing your whole life." The blonde had pulled her hands away and now she stood, folding and unfolding the coupons as she faced away from her best friend. Jane started to speak, but realized that she had nothing more to say.
"That's not true, Jane, I—." Maura's muttered voice died out. "What I mean to say is, I'm not—." Another silence. Jane stood up slowly and carefully placed her hands on Maura's biceps from behind.
"Maura, please, I'm not doing this to make you upset, I swear. I'm sorry if I ruined your birthday. I just… I want you to have everything. I want to do this right. And I want you to not let him get under your skin any more." They stood quietly for a minute or so, the constant hum of Manhattan and the gentle rustle of Jane's mittens as they rubbed up and down the sleeves of Maura's coat blending seamlessly.
"I don't know what to ask for. How to ask for it," Maura finally admitted, her small voice almost lost in the November wind. Moving quickly around her best friend, Jane cupped Maura's cheeks in her hands.
"I know, babe." The term of endearment slipped out with Jane noticing. "I know. But I want you to ask for things. I want you to tell me that you want us to take the weekend to go parasailing, or you want me to stand on my desk at P.D. and tell the whole squad room I love you, or you want me to go out and buy you every Jennifer Aniston movie ever created, or whatever."
Maura looked shell shocked and Jane could no longer stand to see her so dejected. Desperate to return the blonde to her earlier happiness, Jane pulled Maura's lips up to meet hers. The shorter woman responded immediately, fisting her hands into Jane's B.P.D. jacket and opening her lips to a questing tongue. They kissed as long as they could before separating, gasping for breath. Maura retained her grasp on Jane's jacket, the coupons crushed between them, and Jane obliged her sudden need for contact by wrapping long arms around a slim waist and shoulders.
"I'm sorry, Maur. I never meant to ruin everything. I just hate seeing you sad, okay? I'm not good with words, you know that. I figured I could just show you… but I screwed up." Against her chest, Maura's head shook back and forth. "Okay, I'll shut up now." Another shake. "I shouldn't shut up?" One more shake. "Okay, I'm confused." Maura's body trembled and Jane immediately thought she had made her friend cry, but when she pulled back, she realized that Maura was chuckling. "And now I am totally lost."
"I'm sorry. You're just…" Maura grew serious. "You're really, incredibly sweet, Jane." Jane frowned.
"I don't like that word, or that tone of voice. I'm sorry I messed up your birthday. Can we just forget about it?" Maura shook her head.
"No, I don't want to." The blonde looked down at the wrinkled coupons in her gloved hands and smoothed them out carefully. "This is the sweetest gift I have ever been given." She looked up into worried brown eyes. "I'm not exactly comfortable with this, Jane. Actually, I'm rather embarrassed because I don't like to think that anyone has seen me in a place where this is necessary. But you're Jane, and you've been the exception to the rule for a long time."
"It's okay that you're not a hundred percent down for this, Maur," Jane replied, trying not to sound as choked up as she was. "I wouldn't be comfortable either. But I lo—I really care about you. And I want you to be confident with me. If you want something, I want you to ask for it."
"I don't know what to ask for," Maura shrugged, looking up at Jane with a resigned look on her face. Jane reached for the coupons, refolded them, then reached around Maura and slipped them into the back pocket of her new jeans.
"You don't have to decide now." Jane kissed the side of Maura's head, just under the brim of her hat, and wrapped her arm around strong shoulders, steering them back downtown. "Here's the plan. Tonight, we're going to dinner, then home. Tomorrow, at lunchtime, I'm going to bring over those bagels you love from the organic place on Mass. Ave., and we are going to watch the Red Sox game on your couch. If you're not completely pissed at me, we'll makeout during commercials. And then we're going to go to gnocchi night, and if you'll let me, I'll hold your hand on the way in and finally tell Frankie to stop ogling my girlfriend." Maura chuckled, but squeezed Jane's waist tightly.
"And then?"
"And then you will tell me what you want for your birthday." The women were silent for a couple of blocks until they reached Jane's car.
"Okay. I accept your challenge." The detective grinned slightly.
"Have I completely ruined your birthday?" Maura shook her head, then stretched up to kiss Jane gently.
"No, Jane. You're given me more than anyone has every given me. And these," she pulled out the coupons once more, "these I will treasure. Even though they terrify me."
"Doctor Isles, scared? Never." Jane's voice was light, but the look in her eyes belied her seriousness. Maura grinned.
"Only of being terribly underdressed for dinner tonight." Jane guffawed, her head dropping backwards as she shook with happiness. "Jane, I'm serious!"
"I know! That's the funniest part," Jane replied, making Maura glare at her through a smile. "Don't worry, we've got an hour and I've got a box in the trunk. We'll use the bathroom at the video game store."
"What?" Maura looked concerned. "What are we doing in a public bathroom?" Jane almost pointed out how dirty that sounded, but bit it back at the last second.
"Well, you want to get dressed up, don't you?" Jane reached behind the SUV's rear seats and retrieved a Saks Fifth Avenue box, then started towards the video game store on the corner.
"What? Wait, Jane!" Maura's heels clicked vehemently as she hurried after her best friend.
"C'mon. I know you're going to need a half hour to reapply all of the make-up you think you need." Jane steered the blonde through the store with a gentle hand on her lower back, then locked them in the one stall bathroom. It was surprisingly clean for NYC, smelling faintly of dampness and ammonia, and Maura relaxed slightly.
"My parents used to bring us to this store to use the bathroom when we came to New York at Christmas, only we had to buy something because it's a bit obvious when you drag three kids into a store just to use the bathroom. That was Frankie's favorite part." Jane had opened the baby changing table and placed the box on the shelf it created. "And, voila!"
Maura figured she should simply stop being surprised by Jane. The brunette seemed intent on spending the entire weekend spoiling her. But when the brunette pulled a royal purple cocktail dress out of the box, Maura had to admit to a moment of breathlessness.
"How?" The blonde found herself lacking any articulation ability as she reached involuntarily towards the silk creation in Jane's hands.
"It wasn't difficult," Jane responded as Maura ran her hands over the dress's pleats and stitches. "The overly kind people at Saks had your measurements on file. Personally, I was a little creeped out by that, but I let it slide for now."
"I shop there frequently," Maura responded, "but I haven't seen this!" Maura began unbuttoning her coat and Jane blushed.
"I think the chick said it was new. I don't really remember." Maura was gently stripping off her sweater and camisole. "I told her it had to be purple and I didn't want to go bankrupt buying it. This is what she gave me." Maura unzipped the dress and slipped it over her head, then pulled her jeans off.
"Why purple?" Jane shuffled, embarrassed.
"'Causetheshoesarepurple." Maura tilted her head as she folded the jeans neatly.
"One more time?" Jane sighed.
"'Cause the shoes are purple." Jane reached in the box and pulled out a pair of Maura's shoes.
"When did you steal these?," the M.A. asked, laughing.
"The weekend after the Sarrison case." Maura unzipped a boot and traded it for the peep toes with the six inch heels.
"Why these?" Jane blushed again, and now she had nothing left to fidget with.
"Can I plead the fifth?" Maura stood straight once both heels had been secured, and walked over to the small bathroom mirror, smoothing the dress over her stomach and thighs. The dress fell perfectly, its purple silken halter top hugging the curve of her neck, and draping over two delicate collarbones to hug her breasts. Black lace wrapped from the edges of the silk encasing her chest, around her shoulder blades, and down her back in a corset-style gap along her spine. More purple silk wrapped around her abdomen in loose pleats, giving her abs a smooth definition, and the silk skirt draped over her hips and ass to fall against the tops of her knees. Against the right thigh, a black lace butterfly had been embroidered into the silk so that it fluttered as she moved. Jane had known the dress would look good on Maura, as all clothing seemed to, but now? Now was, "Wow."
"Why would you need to?," Maura asked, intent on following her line of questioning. "And, thank you." The blonde returned to Jane, standing in front of her and resting her hands on the detective's biceps.
"You're welcome," Jane responded automatically, her hands falling to wide hips. Their lips met hungrily and Jane clutched at Maura's waist to remain grounded.
"So, why these? I know they were not in the front of my closet." Jane sighed.
"I just… I remembered them. That's all. And I know you like the dude that makes these because there were about 35 identical boxes in that closet." Maura grinned.
"So, these are your favorite?," she teased. Jane groaned.
"No, not my favorite. They're shoes. I don't have favorites."
"Well, you like them for a reason! What is it?" Although she was still grinning, Maura's voice was tinged with seriousness. They were heading, she hoped, into a more intimate relationship, and it seemed appropriate to begin studying Jane's appreciation for her clothing.
Jane sighed.
"I can't believe I'm admitting this." Maura smiled gently. "Sometimes, I… I kinda like it when you're tall. Taller than me." Leaning against the changing table in the thick, practical boots she had worn that morning, Jane was indeed shorter than Maura by about an inch and a half. The blonde had never noticed that five and six inch heels raised her above Jane's height, but then again, she hadn't had too many opportunities to stand flush against her best friend while wearing heels.
"That's logical," she replied, making Jane arch an eyebrow at her.
"Logical? Butch, badass Jane Rizzoli confesses that she likes being short sometimes and your only reaction is that it's logical?"
"Cyborg, remember?" The joke was effective, and Maura felt Jane's hold loosen on her hips. "Besides, you aren't butch, you're sporty." The brunette snorted.
"Tell that to the rest of the precinct." Maura tilted her head to the side and considered the woman before her.
"You want to get into this now, Jane? I recognize that your chosen profession has not been kind to a woman gaining the ranks you have achieved, but I would have thought that the opinions of crass men like Detective Crowe would mean little to you." Looking away from Maura, Jane chuckled humorlessly.
"You're right. I'm not even sure you're gonna let me date you and I'm already bitching about work." Jane sighed, then forced herself to look her best friend in the eye. "I'm sorry. I really like those heels and although I appreciate my height when I'm tackling a criminal, I find it sexy when you're taller than I am." Maura rewarded the detective with another bruising kiss, slipping her fingers into thick, chocolate hair.
"Why don't you ask me?," Maura breathed between deep kisses. Jane grinned.
"Maura, I have spent the last three years falling for you." A short kiss, her tongue sweeping through Maura's mouth. "Teasing you, buying you coffee, fantasizing about your heels, and coming to you when nightmares get the best of me." Jane ignored the glistening of tears in Maura's eyes and kissed her again. "Will you go out with me?"
"God, yes." As the women fell into another kiss, a sharp knock on the door shook them out of their reverie. Jane looked at her watch.
"Perfect timing. We've got thirty minutes before our reservation and I still need to change." Jane stood up straight and turned to pull a pair of slacks and a suit jacket from the box. "Hold on!," she called out. Maura giggled.
"I've never kissed anyone in a public restroom before," the M.E. explained as she checked her make-up in the mirror. Jane grinned, pulling on the slacks.
"Of course not." In just a few minutes, Jane had changed out of her street clothes and into the hottest suit Maura had ever laid eyes on. The slacks were freshly pressed, the crease in the front falling evenly down the center of her thighs, and her usual white Oxford button-up was crisp, as well. The jacket she'd thrown over the basic pant and shirt combo, however, was brand new and made the blonde's heart race. It was black, but extra long, tailored to curve into Jane's waist, then out over feminine hips and down to where the jacket ended at the tops of her thighs. As they left the bathroom, refusing to look guiltily at the annoyed mother on the other side, Maura was treated to the perfect shape of Jane's back, beginning with a strong set of trapezius and rhomboid muscles before arching concavely into a trim waist and over an excellently proportioned gluteus maximus. Maura licked her lips unconsciously.
. . .
Jane found it utterly adorable that Maura had fallen asleep again. The blonde sat absolutely primly in the passenger seat of the car, her upper body turned slightly in Jane's direction, but her legs crossed at the ankles and her hands folded into her lap. Dinner had been wonderful and Maura had looked… happy.
It was a relief for Jane. She hadn't screwed up Maura's birthday, and the blonde had looked delighted to eat a tiny, gourmet meal at One If By Land, Two If By Sea with her. They had laughed about Jane's choice of ironic restaurants for them to visit in New York, and talked about a hundred things none of which Jane could remember as she parked the car in Maura's driveway.
Reaching over to her girlfriend—Jane felt like a giddy teenager when she mentally realized she was allowed to call her that now—the brunette ran her fingers through the hair that had fallen in front of her face. Brushing a wind-pinked cheek softly, Jane called Maura's name. The blonde blinked slowly.
"Did I fall asleep again?" She rubbed her eyes slowly and yawned.
"Mmhmm. I'm going to get a complex." Maura grinned.
"Oh, yes, because I usually date people who are boring."
"Well, now, that doesn't exactly comfort me." Jane teased.
"I was being sarcastic! I've been practicing." Jane laughed out loud, now, then opened her car door, moving quickly to the passenger side.
"I know," Jane responded as she opened Maura's door and reached down a hand to help the woman in the six inch heels climb out.
"Thank you," Maura stated demurely when she was standing in front of Jane.
"You're welcome." The brunette followed Maura to her front door, but stopped on the stoop when she unlocked it.
"Do you want to come in?" Jane shook her head, then stepped closer to Maura.
"I'll be by tomorrow afternoon, remember?" Maura glanced down and nodded.
"Bagels and coupons, right." Jane raised her hand to Maura's cheek, letting the pads of her fingers trace a defined cheekbone, jaw line, and neck.
"Thank you for letting me teach you to skate," she breathed quietly, delighting in the way Maura's eyelids fluttered closed.
"No, thank you. This has been my favorite birthday so far." Maura let her hands wind their way under the suit jacket, warming instantly against the heat of Jane's skin through her thin button-up. Then, Jane reached up and kissed Maura slowly, letting their lips move over one another gently as If she wanted to memorize the taste from this one kiss. As they ran out of air, Jane pressed smaller kisses to Maura's lips, ending with several soft, breathy kisses which left the blonde wanting more even as they made her heart flutter.
"I'll see you tomorrow, beautiful," Jane murmured softly before pressing a kiss to one cheek and leaving Maura's doorway.