Author's note: Thank you very much for the reviews, remarks and PMs (this story will come to an end on Wednesday and I will start a new one on Sunday).

Chapter Thirty-Seven: A Corsican Competitive Spirit

"What are you doing?" Amused by the way she had apparently walked in on Jane, Maura trotted towards her partner then looked down at the computer screen. A smile of surprise lit up her features. "Real estate in Corsica?"

Jane shrugged. She mumbled an inaudible excuse then rolled her eyes in frustration. She had made the research out of curiosity. Yes, it was just that: curiosity. She was barely able to cover her very own mortgage every month so buying a house abroad was not part of her plans for the near future.

"Let me see..." Maura sat down next to Jane and scrolled down the website page in spite of Jane trying desperately to shut down the computer. "Maybe I could get us something. I mean..." Us? Really? What did she think they were? They had been together for a week and a half only and she was already talking as if they were married. "I could... Buy a little something that you could also enjoy."

"What? No! Don't buy me a house, Maura. Don't buy me anything." Panicked, Jane shut down her laptop then went to set it down as far as she could from Maura. "I don't like the idea at all. It's... Nah! Some fantasies are made to remain fantasies and it's cool, you know."

It wasn't that Maura's financial status embarrassed Jane but she had never felt comfortable when Maura suddenly felt like buying her half of the world. This odd sentiment was actually even worse now that they were more than friends. She found it unhealthy. Besides, she didn't need anything. Having Maura by her side was largely enough to make her happy.

"Fine." Maura flashed a bright smile. "What do you want to do, today? It's our last day in Ajaccio but I won't make you walk a lot because of your ankle."

Jane had woken up with a very sore ankle. Thankfully it wasn't swollen anymore and she didn't limp too much either. The bruise – however – was still quite impressive. She shrugged, hands in the pockets of her jeans shortpants.

The day before had been strange, emotionally difficult. She had enjoyed her time with Maura a lot – the museum, the rock climbing – but the end of the day had turned into something very different.

Jane wasn't about to forget the conversation she had had with her mother nor the confession of her feelings to Maura a few hours later. And then Maura's father walking in on them.

She needed a quiet time right now; something sweet.

"I don't know... Maybe just go to a park and enjoy the view from there. You know, in the shadows and all."

The Serendipity would head to an island the day after so she didn't mind much if they didn't go to the beach today. Staying in the shadows of a park – at the terrace of a cafe – seemed rather appealing.

"Excellent idea. We need to be back on board of the yacht around 6pm for the special Trivial Pursuit game night though. Remember all the questions will be about Corsica. Perhaps we can actually take advantage of this quiet day to revise our knowledge."

Jane didn't dare to make any remark regarding the fact Maura already knew by heart every single detail of Corsica. What for? There was no point in throwing herself into an argument that could easily be avoided.

Besides, she wasn't in the mood. A drama free day was more than needed right now.

...

Maura stormed in the cabin – made five steps – then turned around. She crossed her arms against her chest before squinted her eyes at a very amused Jane. How did she dare to look happy? As a matter of fact, she looked ecstatic.

"What?"

Jane raised her hands as if to prove that she wasn't guilty of anything and burst out laughing. Seeing Maura angry was hilarious. Hilarious and cute. There was something childish about her behavior.

It was rare to see Maura furious for something as frivolous as a game.

"Oh, come on." Maura tilted her head and squinted her eyes. "You did it on purpose, didn't you? You answered correctly the question just to make sure I would lose. That's so low, Jane... So, so low."

Jane held back a laugh, this time. Something told her that if she dared to show the slightest ounce of lightness then Maura would kick her out of their cabin for the night.

She wasn't sure many people still ignored they were pretty much a couple now – especially after the fiasco of Maura's father walking in on them the evening before – but she still wanted to avoid at all cost the spread of a domestic crisis rumor.

"I happened to know the answer. It's not my fault if it turned out to be the very last and decisive point of the Trivial Pursuit game."

Jane walked to the bathroom. It wasn't late but she was tired and wanted to go to bed. Of course she would have preferred to not face any kind of ridiculous argument but Maura seemed to see things a bit differently right now and there was no way Jane would let her do. Winning against a genius at Trivial Pursuit was just too big to not celebrate properly.

"The only question you were able to answer, Jane! Don't you think it's an odd coincidence?" Maura rushed to the bathroom and leaned against the door frame. "You could have pretended to not know!"

Her mouth full of toothpaste, Jane widened her eyes in surprise and pretended to be shocked by the remark. She brought a hand to her chest and rolled her eyes.

"Are you telling me that I should have cheated just to make sure you'd win?" She shook her head. "Oh, Maura. How dare you... What happened to your ethics?"

Of course it worked right away. Maura completely missed Jane's sarcastic second degree and started stuttering. She always respected the rules. She wasn't a cheater and even less a person who influenced others to get what she wanted.

She wasn't this kind of person.

No. That wasn't true.

"You're making me say things I don't mean, Jane. It's absolutely not what I... What I meant." Yet it was exactly how it had sounded.

Ashamed, Maura turned on her heels and went to sit on the bed. It was the first time in years that she lost at Trivial Pursuit. In front of her employee, besides. Susie hadn't said anything but Maura still saw the situation as being slightly humiliating.

"You're enjoying it, aren't you? I can see it in your eyes. They're sparkling of delight. It's disgusting, Jane!"

What on Earth? Jane blinked. She was desperately limping her way to bed. The only look she probably had was the one of an excruciating pain because of a sore ankle. She slid into bed but winced as the bedsheet brushed her ankle. It had been a long day even if she hadn't done much and her injured body was asking for a break; a well-deserved break.

"I'm glad to see my team won – although I owe most of the answers to your uncle – and seeing you going all crazy over an insignificant game is quite something but I swear to you I couldn't care less, Maura. And you know what? You should do exactly the same. It doesn't matter. It's just a game!"

Maura snorted. Jane had a competitive spirit that was a lot worse than hers. She wouldn't buy this kind of speech, not if it came from her lover. She jumped out of the bed and walked to the bathroom to get ready for the night.

She couldn't believe she had miserably failed on a Porto-Vecchio question. As a matter of fact, it was her fault if she had lost. Not Jane's.

She should have been able to answer every single question. She knew Corsica even better than some Corsicans. It was Battistu who had said that. Failing on a Porto-Vecchio question was really not a good thing.

"Don't even think we're going to do anything tonight, Jane. I'm definitely not in the mood. Don't you even dare to touch me." Maura paused but resumed her talking since Jane didn't reply. "Do you hear me?"

Silence.

Confusion caused Maura to step outside the bathroom to make sure that everything was alright. Perhaps she had underestimated Jane's injury and she was now lying unconscious in bed.

She hadn't been able to answer a question about Corsica so it definitely put back into question any kind of knowledge she was convinced to have.

The gasp that passed Maura's lips didn't change anything. She only came back in the main room of the suite to realize that Jane had fallen asleep. Who dared to fall asleep in the middle of an argument?

"Jane Rizzoli, apparently."

Maura murmured the answer to herself between clenched teeth then went back into the bathroom rather angrily. Jane wouldn't get away with it so easily. She had dared to make her lose in front of every single person who happened to have importance in her life.

This called for war.

Yet the moment she slid into bed and rolled on her side to look at Jane, Maura laughed her ridiculous and childish frustration away. She had a competitive spirit too – just like Jane – but she didn't have to make it weigh over the relationship they were now having.

It was a waste of time, a waste of opportunities.

She turned the light off and molded her body against Jane's. Her lips brushed her lover's forehead with a lot of care. Her relationship with Jane was worth any victory, any game.

As a matter of fact, it was even probably the best accomplishment Maura had reached in her life.