A/N: I am going to participate in Flufftober 2021, which begins on October 1st and runs through October 31st. The goal is to post daily. I've decided to do it as one story instead of a series of one-shots (because apparently my brain doesn't do one-shots). However, the style will be somewhat different than my usual style, with many shorter chapters (drabbles, I think they're sometimes called) that are more like snapshots into their lives post-series.

Prompt list:
(1) Eye contact
(2) Hand holding
(3) Under the rain
(4) Indirect kiss
(5) Coffee shop
(6) Love letters
(7) Sick partner
(8) Slow dancing
(9) Forehead kiss
(10) Drunk confession
(11) First time (no sex)
(12) Promise rings
(13) Bath time
(14) Comb the hair
(15) Soulmate
(16) Bedsharing
(17) Birthday
(18) Hug
(19) Shared hobbies
(20) Tulips
(21) Fight and apologize
(22) Watching the sunset
(23) Moving house
(24) Pet names
(25) Future
(26) Perfume
(27) Meet the parents
(28) Shopping together
(29) Champagne
(30) First time
(31) "You make me a better person"

Chapter 1: Eye Contact

Maura fidgeted in her seat, and she kept her eyes glued to her plate in front of her. If she looked up – if she looked at any of the people around her – she was going to lose the little bit of control she still had over her emotions. And it wasn't much.

She was sitting next to Jane, just like it was any family dinner. Except it wasn't just any family dinner. It was their last. Okay, maybe calling it their last was a little melodramatic, but that's how it felt to Maura. Everything was changing, and she wasn't ready for it. She didn't want anything to change. She was happy. Or she had been. And she thought everyone else was happy as well. Apparently, she was wrong.

Because now, Jane was moving. Not only was she moving, but she was moving nearly 500 miles away from Maura.

One month ago

Maura's entire body was vibrating in her excitement. Jane was coming with her to Paris. For a month. An entire month. Just the two of them. Just Maura and Jane.

And Maura couldn't wait.

Except, right now, she really needed to get some sleep. They needed to leave for the airport early the next morning. Maura had planned this trip as a way to get over Jane, a way to move on with her life. But this was so much better. Jane had surprised Maura earlier tonight by telling her that she had pushed back her start date at Quantico, teaching at the FBI Academy, by four weeks so that she could spend a month in Paris with Maura. Just the two of them. In Paris. For a month.

Jane joining her for her trip was honestly the last thing Maura had expected. Jane was excited for her new job, and Maura couldn't blame her. It was a great opportunity, and more importantly (at least in Maura's opinion), it was much safer.

But it was also in a different state. Nearly 500 miles would separate them. Maura knew, deep down, that the distance wouldn't dimmish Jane's importance in her life, but she wasn't sure what position she would hold in Jane's life going forward.

Maura knew…she knew that Jane was the love of her life. She would never love anyone else the way she loved Jane. She could never love anyone more than she loved Jane. It just wasn't possible. There was no 'more.'

At one point, Maura had thought that Jane returned her feelings, but that was a long time ago. Before Casey. Before Cameron Davies. Before Virginia. But eventually, Maura had given up hope of something more with Jane, and that was okay because she still had her best friend. Her Jane. That was enough for Maura. In fact, it was so much more than she had ever expected in life.

When Jane had told Maura that she was moving, Maura was devastated, but she tried her hardest not to show it. She wasn't always successful, but she had mostly kept her sadness within best-friend-level appropriateness.

Maura took a deep breath and willed herself to get some sleep. She had another month before she had to say goodbye to Jane.

Except now that month was over, and now, it was even harder to say goodbye to Jane than it would have been a month ago. Their time in Paris had been magical. She felt closer to Jane now than she ever had before, and she had begun to let a little bit of hope for something more with Jane creep through her previous denial. But nothing happened, and now Jane was leaving. In addition to using the trip as an attempt to get over Jane, Maura had also strategically booked her flight before Jane would leave for Quantico so that she didn't have to do the big 'goodbye,' but Jane had ruined that plan too.

So, now, she was sitting at Jane's goodbye dinner in her own home, unable to avoid the situation.

She continued to move on autopilot through the rest of the evening. Eventually, everyone else had left, leaving her and Jane alone.

"You need to get some sleep before your long drive tomorrow," Maura said, looking anywhere but at Jane, who was sitting across the island from her as she wiped it down with a wet cloth for the umpteenth time.

"And you need to stop wiping down your counter or you're gonna ruin the granite," Jane countered, leaning across the island to pull the rag from Maura's hand and tossing it over her shoulder into the sink.

Maura frowned. "That's not possible," Maura said, turning around to pull the rag from the sink. She rung it out and hung it in its proper place. "Granite is very durable, especially when cared for properly as mine has been…"

"Maura," Jane whined, interrupting her upcoming lecture on countertop materials.

Maura's shoulders fell slightly, and she still refused to turn around to face her friend. "Jane, I already told you, I can't do big goodbyes, okay?" she said weakly.

Jane sighed behind her. "I know. I just thought…nevermind," she gave up. "Why don't we watch a movie together? Then, I'll go to bed without complaint."

Maura nodded, dried her hands, and followed Jane to the couch. She barely paid attention to the movie playing on the screen as her mind forced her to relive memories of their evenings together in Paris.

They didn't talk throughout the movie, and they sat on opposite ends of the couch. True to her word, Jane didn't argue with Maura about going to bed after the movie, but she did pull Maura into a bone-crushing hug outside the guestroom door.

Maura held in her tears until there were three doors separating her from Jane – the guestroom door, her bedroom door, and the bathroom door. She sank down to the ground against the bathroom door and let out all of the emotions she had been holding in all evening. She had no idea how long she cried before she forced herself to get up and complete her evening routine.

Despite the fact that that night felt like the longest of her life, morning still came too soon for Maura's liking. She forced her mask of happiness and politeness onto her face before she left the bathroom fully dressed for the day. She beat Jane downstairs, so she started preparing a full breakfast and coffee for Jane before her drive. Jane would be driving her car down to Quantico, and the moving truck with her belongings would arrive in a couple of days. Jane didn't have much furniture since Alice Sands had burned down her apartment and she had lived in a fully furnished townhouse, so she was planning on buying what she needed down there.

"Hey, you," Jane said brightly as she came bounding down the stairs, dropping her bag by the door before joining Maura in the kitchen. "Thank you," Jane replied with a smile when Maura handed her her coffee made just the way she liked it. "Breakfast smells amazing."

"I made eggs, bacon, and toast since they are your favorite, but you also have to eat some of the fruit," Maura explained with a false cheerfulness. "You'll feel better on your long drive after a real breakfast."

"Thank you, Maur," Jane said genuinely, trying and failing to catch her friend's gaze.

"You're welcome," Maura replied, taking the seat next to Jane with her own breakfast of muesli and fruit.

They tried their best to maintain a normal conversation throughout breakfast, but there was nothing normal about this morning and they both knew it.

After breakfast, Jane didn't even say anything as she pulled Maura into a hug that they both hoped would never end. "I love you, Maura," Jane whispered thickly through her own tears. "I promise to do anything and everything to make sure our friendship remains as strong as ever."

"I love you, too, Jane," Maura replied, knowing she meant it in a very different way than Jane did; her own tears soaking the shoulder of Jane's t-shirt. "Promise to text me when you arrive safely."

"I promise," Jane replied as she reluctantly let go of Maura. "Bye, Maur," she added with a sad smile.

Maura didn't even bother going to the window to watch Jane pull away. She didn't think she could handle it.

Maura spent the day trying her best to distract herself throughout the day, but it felt like time was standing still. It didn't help that she couldn't concentrate on anything. She tried writing. She tried cleaning (her already clean house). She tried catching up on some of her medical journals. She tried yoga. She tried watching TV. She tried reading a novel. But nothing lasted long.

She spent the day mentally calculating where Jane should be on her route. She had secretly hoped that Jane would text her updates whenever she stopped, but they hadn't agreed on that. Without stops, the drive would take about 8.5 hours, but it wasn't realistic for Jane to drive straight through (try as she might), so Maura suspected the trip probably took 9 to 9.5 hours.

Except, as Maura climbed out of the bath, she realized that it had now been over ten hours, and she hadn't heard from Jane. Was it too early to start worrying? It was reasonable that she might have taken a longer stop (it was actually preferred in Maura's opinion, but it didn't seem very Jane-like). When would it be long enough that it wouldn't be unreasonable for Maura to reach out – to just check to make sure Jane was okay?

She didn't want to start off their time living in different states with her overreacting, so she decided it was too soon to initiate contact. She couldn't stop the worry, though.

It wasn't that late in the evening, but Maura decided to put on her pajamas and robe after her bath. She was alone for the night, so why not? She was just filling her tea kettle with water when the doorbell rang. She looked down at herself. She didn't exactly want to answer the door like this. Besides, who could it possibly be? Angela was the only person who might potentially stop by unannounced, but she wouldn't ring the doorbell or come in the front door.

When whoever was outside hit the doorbell a couple more times in rapid succession, Maura sighed, deciding she didn't really care what she was wearing right now. All she wanted was for the noise to stop, so she walked over to the front door and flung it open without looking through the peephole.

Maura stood frozen in shock, her mouth hanging open, at the person standing in front of her.

"You see, I was somewhere between New York City and Philadelphia when it hit me that you hadn't made eye contact with me since we returned from Paris," Jane said, her voice hoarse, likely from crying. "And I couldn't exactly move 500 miles away knowing that."

Maura opened and closed her mouth a few times as she tried to force her brain to catch up with her reality. Jane was standing on her porch. Jane, who was supposed to be in Virginia by now, was standing right in front of her.

"I made a mistake, Maura," Jane said somewhat desperately. "I'm so sorry. I've been a coward, and you deserve better than that, but I'm really hoping you'll give me another chance."

"You don't want to work for the FBI academy?" Maura asked, unsure what else to say.

"I do but nowhere near as much as I want you," Jane replied.

"What?" Maura said quickly.

"Leaving you was my mistake," Jane said, her voice full of vulnerability and love. "I love you, Maura, and I don't mean I love you like a best friend. Well, I do love you like a best friend because you are my best friend. I just mean I don't only love you like a best friend. I love you in every way possible. I love you more than anyone and more than anything. I love you more than life. I'm so in love with you that it's insane. No job is worth not getting to see you every single day.

"And the cowardly part is…well, the even more cowardly part, I suppose…well, I'm pretty sure you love me, too. If not, that's okay. You're still my best friend. Nothing could ever change that. But the thing is, you couldn't look me in the eye," Jane continued, her voice becoming more steady and more passionate as she went on. "It's more than that, too, but I just can't get that outta my head."

Maura finally made eye contact with Jane. "I love you, too, Jane," she said through her tears. "But I also hate you a little bit right now for putting both of us through this," she added with a laugh.

"I hate me a little bit too right now," Jane admitted with an awkward shrug.

"What does this mean for us?" Maura asked softly.

"Well, I'm hoping it means you'll let me into the house," Jane quipped.

"To talk?" Maura asked nervously despite the smile that tugged at her lips.

"To talk," Jane confirmed. "I'm done running, Maura. You deserve better. So much better."

"I just want you," Maura replied, stepping aside so Jane could come in.

A/N: Okay, that was really the only angst in this fluff-fest of a story. My goal is to write non-obvious versions of the different prompts; hence, the avoidance of eye contact for chapter 1.

And you can all thank DirtyRobber, but I also made a spotify playlist to go with this (super mushy) story:

open dot spotify dot com slash playlist slash 7IzkwKhW6LXanrN18iAgdy

The order of the songs doesn't correspond to anything.