A/N: Thank you all for your follows and feedback! This turned into a very lengthy chapter somehow. One more to finish up.


Maura's car was parked down the street. She explained that she'd gotten out and was pacing earlier because she'd felt herself getting anxious behind the wheel, and one of the best ways for her to counteract that was by getting some air and exercise. Tommy had dropped Jane off at the Dirty Robber, freeing her up to accompany Maura in her car—and, she explained, get some more important intel. She figured it would be useful to learn a bit more about what Maura's school years had been like.

It wound up being a surprisingly somber drive, because Jane's first question had been to ask about Maura's childhood and Maura didn't hold back. Maura was glad that she was driving for this part of the conversation; it was easier for her to be open when she could keep her eyes on the road instead of Jane's face, although it was still somewhat distracting knowing that Jane was watching her. She talked about the benign neglect she'd faced from her parents, and how that had led her to make the decision to go to a boarding school on her own. It would take the sting out of that loneliness a bit if she only saw her parents on holidays, and they would even seem pleased to see her after such long stretches of time. She talked about being on the fencing team and the chess club, and how the best friends she'd had at school were the teachers. It made her laugh to reminisce as Jane asked to talk about her favorite ones.

"Okay, so let me see if I've got the general idea," Jane said. "Your parents were never very expressive of their love for you, and that may have contributed to the fact that you were a really subdued kid. They were artsy-fartsy types who weren't really 'kid' people, so they kinda just brought you up without adjusting their taste or concerns so you've always maybe been a bit mature for your age, and that made it difficult to make friends at school."

"Huh. You've astounded me once again with your—"

"Deductions?" Jane smirked. "Detective, remember?"

Maura chanced a look at her, and smiled. "Right. What were your parents like?"

With a dismissive wave of her hand, Jane said, "Overbearing mother, a dad I adored until he cheated on my mother, cuing their divorce—"

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"It's no big deal, it's fine," Jane said curtly, signaling her intent not to dig deeper into it by moving on without a breath: "Two younger brothers who annoyed the hell out of me growing up but were also my best friends, if that makes sense." She cleared her throat. "But we're not talking about me, we're talking about you."

"Hey, if you're the one who's so intuitive and I'm the one who's bad at lying, shouldn't you be the one baring your soul to me?" Maura countered.

Jane shrugged, smiling at the teasing tone of Maura's voice. "Not a whole lot to tell. I pretty much work all the time, and when I'm not working, I'm watching sports or hanging at the Dirty Robber with my friends. I have a small dog, given to me by a co-worker, her name's Jo Friday and she's the love of my life. Besides you, of course," she added with an exaggerated chuckle, patting Maura's shoulder, which got the doctor to laugh. "I used to be a night owl, but then I started getting up early in the mornings to work out, so now I'm a grandma who's usually in bed by like ten. Children's cereal is my guilty pleasure, which is a habit you've been trying to cure me of for the last …six months? How long do want to say we've been dating?"

"Hm, six months is maybe too pat a number. Let's say ten."

"Deal. We met on a case, and you couldn't resist flirting with me right at the crime scene."

Maura scoffed. "I would never flirt over a dead body."

"That's not how I remember it, sweetheart," Jane said, pitching her voice even lower than usual, ostensibly for comedic effect, but Maura had to hope her own nervous laughter would hide how turned on she'd gotten. "See? This is totally what couples would do when talking about how they met, anyway. Disagree. We're solidly on our way. And while I'm thinking about it, where do you stand on pet names? I don't want to make you uncomfortable."

"Oh, um, I guess it's not something I've ever thought about before. I mean, I get very frustrated when older men call me 'darling' on the job, but that's the only thing I can think of. So, anything that feels natural to you is fine."

"You got it, sugar ti—"

"Okay, not that."

They passed the rest of the drive discussing what shared nostalgia they might have in common (shared disdain for boy bands and shared love for The Princess Bride; the movie Contact being the closest thing Maura had had to a religious experience; Jane saying she should have known she was gay when she was far more attracted to Kelly Kapowski than Zack Morris or AC Slater; and so on). When they arrived at the most posh venue Jane had ever seen, she started putting on her tie and whistling "My Heart Will Go On." Maura parked and as Jane focused intently on the rear view mirror to do her tie, it gave Maura moment to unabashedly take her in.

How am I here? How am I here, with this woman who's so sexy it's almost frightening, and what possessed her to offer to do this for me? Theory is one thing, but can I pull this off? Is this real life? Or is it fantasy? Oh geez, what song is that? That's going to drive me crazy.

Jane asked if Maura was ready to go at the same time that Maura blurted out "Bohemian Rhapsody!", which led to a brief awkward stare-off, before Jane assumed it was a continuation of their discussion and she said she'd never cared for that song because it was so overplayed. She got out of the car and Maura took a deep breath, trying to steady herself and not be so weird. She jumped when Jane opened the door, holding out a hand for her.

"Sorry, I don't mean to rush you," Jane said, leaning against the car. "Want me to get back in?"

"No." Maura took her hand and stepped out. It was surprising how normal it felt, walking along hand in hand, as if they'd done this many times before. Jane gave her hand a squeeze when they reached the main entrance, and pulled her to the side.

"I just realized we didn't set boundaries," she whispered. "I'm guessing if you didn't want to take my hand just now, you wouldn't have, well, taken it. But I'll tell you upfront I'm not gonna get grabby, or like try to kiss you out of nowhere, or something. I trust you, so do whatever feels natural for you. And please don't hesitate to tell me if I overstep in any way."

Her intention had been to make just a quick aside before they went in, but Maura was looking at her as though Jane had just recited an epic romantic poem. Only partly conscious of the reunion guests filing past them, Maura touched Jane's cheek and patted her thumb against it.

"Can I kiss you here?"

Jane's expression of concern morphed into a small smile. "Of course, doc. You don't have to ask."

Maura pecked her cheek and kept their fingers intertwined. "You've somehow already managed to be much more considerate that several of my previous partners. Thank you."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Jane said with a sad smile. "I mean, I'm sorry that must mean you've had to put up with some creeps in the past, but I'm glad I can be here with you now."

Wondering if she had over-shared, Maura worked to get past it. "Right. What is it cops say when they're going undercover? About not getting caught?"

Jane's smile widened at the hopeful sincerity in Maura's expression. "Don't get made."

"Right! Don't get made. Got it."

"That's the spirit," Jane said, heading for the doors. "Shall we? Wait. Wait, hold on." She pulled Maura to the side again, so they could both watch the person walking into the venue. "Is there a dress code you failed to mention?"

Maura laughed. It was very easy to see who Jane was talking about: a woman with a headpiece which could've been mistaken for a small ecosystem. "That's Clarissa Wyndham. I googled some of my more prominent classmates the other night, and it turns out she married the Duke of Shernandorne."

It was hard for Jane to hide her disdain. "What is it with the English and their ridiculous hats?"

"The Anglican church made women cover their heads."

"With a pink migrating goose?"

Maura just laughed again and led Jane back to the doors. It was a surprise to go inside and hear nothing but chatter. They had both been anticipating loud music, but there was none. After a few moments of looking around, they saw a deejay and people on a dance floor, all of whom were wearing clunky headphones. Jane was bewildered, leading Maura to explain this concept, which allowed for some people to dance to the music in the headphones and others to be able to converse without shouting over music. Near the doorway was a table with nametags and Sharpies. Maura took her time trying to figure out where she could place a nametag that would be the least aesthetically intrusive. Jane wrote "if lost, please return to Maura Isles" on her own, and slapped it on her blazer.

It seemed to Jane that either Maura had misjudged what people thought of her, or they were so shocked at her transformation that they couldn't help gravitating towards her. They'd gone to the bar for a drink, and doing the same was one of Maura's former lab partners. He was there with his wife, and rather tactlessly went on about how he'd had a huge crush on Maura all through school. Jane also thought it was a bit tasteless of Maura to seem delighted by this, as his wife tried not to look uncomfortable.

"Bygone days, right?" laughed his wife, looking at Jane as if for help.

"Oh, sure," Jane said, shaking her hand. "Good thing for us that Maura was too invested in science class to flirt back, huh?"

"Excuse me, 'us'?" cut in the lab partner, whose name Jane had already forgotten (he had illegibly signed his nametag as if he were autographing something). "You two aren't…"

"Dating? Yes," Maura said. "I'm sorry, didn't I introduce her as my girlfriend?"

"You did," he said slowly. "I guess I thought you meant your friend… who was a girl."

"Who brings a friend to a reunion?" Jane asked.

He had no response to that, and instead made a show of waving to someone over Maura's shoulder and saying he'd see her later. Jane and Maura wandered over to a wall that had been decorated with pictures of the class in 1999. Jane was busy trying to find a picture of Maura, but Maura seemed entertained enough just getting nostalgic for the goofy hairdos and clothes, and shared choice anecdotes inspired by various photos. Hearing her go on about class trips and funny teachers made it sound like maybe high school hadn't been a total wash for her.

"Hey, there you are!" Jane said. She pointed to a picture of Maura in fencing gear, her helmet off. A boy was standing behind her, pretending that he was about to attack her. "Looking good!"

"Oh, gosh. Thank you," Maura chuckled. "I was captain of the girls' team, and that's Mike Lazarus, the boys' captain. He was a nice kid, I was sorry I didn't see his name on the RSVP list. Fencing drew an interesting crowd. I'm not sure that it's the same everywhere, but at Goddard, it seemed like it was the sport of people who… well, they wanted to participate in something, you know, they weren't anti-social. We just weren't particularly athletic in the traditional sense. Mike used to call us the island of misfit… something."

"Toys?"

Maura turned to her in surprise. "Yes, toys! How'd you know?"

"My detective skills hard at work, dear."

They were standing arm in arm, although Jane couldn't remember which of them had initiated that or how long they'd been so positioned. All she knew was that it felt nice, and that it was surprising how not-strange that was. She didn't want to bring it to Maura's attention, in case that made her feel weird. But it seemed that Maura had to be liking it, too, or at least feeling comfortable with it.

At the far end of the wall were the class superlatives with their senior pictures attached. "Hey, you won Class Eyes," Jane observed.

"Oh, I'd forgotten that. It was quite a surprise. I was sure Melissa Paul would win; her eyes were such a beautiful electric blue. People seem to have a thing for blue eyes."

"Overrated," Jane said. "Let me get a good look at yours. Huh. Hazel?" She bit her lip, not wanting to sound cheesy, but it was such a perfect set-up for a compliment that it couldn't be avoided: "Y'know, I think I agree with whatever committee slapped that title on you. You've got the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen."

Maura blushed, shaking her head with a small laugh. "I don't know what to do with you, you're too much. What superlative did they give you, Class Clown?"

"Hey, I don't clown around when it comes to complimenting women." Then it occurred to Jane that maybe it hadn't been a deflection. Maybe Maura had been trying to pivot away from over-familiarity overextending its welcome. She hastily retreated into self-denigration: "Nah, not enough people were really aware of me to vote me in for a superlative. I remember electing someone with green eyes to win Class Eyes, though. I always wished mine were green."

"Hm, that could be an interesting look on you. But I think yours are lovely, for what it's worth."

"Yeah?"

"Yes. That's partly why I've been having a hard time getting myself to look away from them tonight."

That finally got Jane to blush, but the lighting was too dim for Maura to see it. "You gotta watch yourself, doc, you're getting a little flirty. Which I don't mind," she hurried to add, when Maura's expression turned anxious. "In fact, uh, quite the opposite. You just wanna be careful in case someone overhears you. Those compliments oughtta sound ten months deep."

"Oh, right. Don't get made. So…" Maura wasn't usually this playful, but something about Jane made it easy. She was sure she had to be matching the goofy grin unfolding on Jane's face. "Could you give me an example of some that might seem more in character, so to speak? Timeline-wise?"

A couple passed them by, and Jane gently put her hands on Maura's waist, pulling her a little closer and conscious of being overheard. "Oh, baby. I could compliment you all night."

But then the woman by them recognized Maura, and had to say hello. She was one of Maura's old fencing teammates, and though Jane was sort of sorry for the interruption, she was glad to see Maura's social grace on display. Maura looked luminous, happy, and her hand never left Jane's arm as others came by—it seemed that, like Jane, she was more of a hand shaker than a hugger, despite the fact that many an old classmate seemed ready to initiate one. Maura was relieved that nobody was asking too many details about how they'd met or about their relationship: they looked so comfortable together that their history just seemed like a given.

Things got a little harder, though, when Maura's closest friend in school approached them.

"Detective Rizzoli?"

Jane turned around, surprised. What was someone from work doing here? And what was her name, again? She squinted to read the nametag. "Uh…"

"Chang. Susie Chang."

Maura had missed the interaction, and only noticed Jane turning in Susie's direction. She gasped in delight at seeing her, and it was easily the happiest Jane had seen her all night. Susie even got a hug, and as the women exchanged their initial greetings, Jane quickly got to thinking about how to spin this. To those who had inquired politely about what Jane did for a living, it had been easy to imply that as a cop, Jane had met Maura on the job in Connecticut, where Maura lived and worked. No need for anyone to assume she lived in Boston. Obviously Susie would know differently.

"Gosh, I'm just so terrible at keeping in touch," Maura said.

"We really do need to get you on social media, Maura. Catch up to the digital age," said Susie.

"I know, I just don't like putting so much of myself out there."

"Not even on dating profiles? Or how did you meet Detective Rizzoli?"

"We—" Maura's smile dropped off as she registered what Susie had just said. They haven't been introduced yet, have they? "Do you…?"

"Let me catch you up. I'm a criminalist at BPD."

"That's it!" Jane said, snapping her fingers. "Senior Criminalist Chang, of course! Yes. Now remind me, how long have you been with us?"

"It'll be a year in three months."

Jane raised an eyebrow. Why couldn't this type ever be direct? "So about nine months, then. Well. So, that means you were never on the Gage case, right?" She cleared her throat and Susie shook her head; Jane hoped Maura was keeping a cool expression. "Boy, I tell ya, that case was a real mess. Psychological mumo-jumbo out the ying-yang, and you know Dr. Pike is hopeless when it comes to that kind of stuff, yeah? Forensic psychology?"

"Oh, brother," Susie said, rolling her eyes. "What isn't he hopeless about?"

"Huh. Well, let's put a pin in that. Anyway, I took it upon myself to put out the word that we were looking for someone with credible experience in that field in the tri-state area, and that lead me to the esteemed Dr. Isles."

Susie raised her eyebrows. "Oh? Where are you these days?"

"Hartford. I'm a medical examiner."

"Wow!" Susie gushed. "Good for you, how exciting. I always knew you were brilliant. Isn't she brilliant?" she asked Jane, who had never heard her talk this happily. "I was such a fangirl in school. I wanted to do whatever Maura was doing. N-not in a creepy way, I mean, because I respected her so much and she was the smartest person I knew. Might still be."

"I'll be damned," Jane chuckled. "You've been holding out on me, babe! You had a fan club in school and everything."

"If I did, I assure you, Susie was the only member. And the feeling was mutual."

Jane was positive she'd never seen Susie beaming like this, even after helping to make a useful discovery on the job. "Hey, either of you ladies hungry?" Jane asked. "Why don't we snag a table and check out the goods? I'm gonna hit the restroom, but I'll be right back." When Susie struck out for the fanciest buffet Jane had ever seen, Jane pulled Maura back for a moment. "I think she likes you. Don't go making me jealous, huh?" She winked.

The wink left Maura feeling flustered as Jane went in the opposite direction for the restroom. That was a joke, right? That was a "ten months in" kind of comment. She's funny. Oh, no. She's funny and gorgeous and sweet and I need to get it together.

Susie had already grabbed some things and was waving to her from a table. Maura got some food and went to join her, and was ready to catch up on Susie's life but Susie beat her to the punch:

"Wow, sorry, I just can't get over how bizarre it is that one of my best friends from high school is dating Jane Rizzoli."

"It's a small world, isn't it? Or do you mean you're surprised because of the type of person Jane is?" Now Susie looked uncomfortable for having said anything, but Maura couldn't help wanting to follow up now. "Quick, before she gets back and acts all embarrassed—what's she like at work? You can be honest with me, I won't be offended. What's she like at BPD, when she's not trying to curry favors from an outsider like me?"

It took Susie a moment to decide how to answer. Her memory of Maura was that she had always been a straight-shooter, not from a place of rudeness but from ordinary openness. She appreciated honesty, but still, there was a way to go about it delicately.

"Detective Rizzoli is very… professional," she began.

"How diplomatic," Maura chuckled. "She told me I'd find her bossy if we worked together regularly. Would you say that's fair?"

Maura's cheery attitude helped put Susie at ease. "Well, I mean, she likes people to be on the ball, and fast. I'm told she has a sense of humor, but I've never seen it on the job. I guess I can't hold her impatience against her, though, because she doesn't ask anything of us that she doesn't do herself; I mean, in terms of working long hours or following through until something is exactly where or how it needs to be. She can be tough, and she runs a tight ship, but I try not to take it personally. I'm sure part of it must come from trying to prove herself in a typically male-dominated field. You should be proud knowing that she's maybe the best-respected detective in the city. She's brilliant. Just maybe…"

"Is there a word you want me to put in for you? I can try to exercise a little of my influence."

Susie laughed awkwardly. "Well, if it comes up, remind her that p's and q's are always appreciated.

Maura promised to bring it up discreetly, then changed the subject by asking for Susie's contact info. She was in the process of texting her own phone number to Susie when Jane came to the table with a small plate.

"You two done talking about me?" she joked, putting her arm around Maura's shoulders.

"All good things, detective," Susie said.

"So formal!" Maura said. "You're not at work, you can use first names, right?"

Jane and Susie exchanged an uncomfortable glance, and Jane said, "Yeah, Chang, lighten up."

"You're terrible," Maura laughed. "We'll work on that. Jane, this'll be good for you, learning about your colleagues' non-professional lives. Susie, catch me up."

It took a while for Susie to get comfortable talking so openly in front of Detective Rizzoli, but it became easier as she focused on Maura's enthusiasm. And then (in Jane's opinion) it got maybe a little too easy, because Susie had started talking about how she'd scandalized her parents by taking one, then two, then three years off after college to live on a nudist commune with her boyfriend. They were still together, but he was at a conference that weekend and hadn't been able to join her for the reunion.

"We still like to go on nudist retreats now and then. Is that something you'd ever be interested in?" Susie asked Maura, and Jane choked on her drink.

"Hm, how do you feel about nudism? Somehow we've never talked about it," Maura said, turning to Jane.

"Yeah, uh, that nudity is reserved for you and you alone. I guess you could say I'm pretty conservative that way."

A new voice joined the conversation: "Maura's a real exhibitionist though, isn't she?"

The three of them looked up to see a man leering at them, and Jane felt Maura tense up. As he said his goodbyes to the men he was with, Jane whispered, "I'm sorry, did you go to school with Garrett Fairfield?"

"I didn't see his name on the RSVP list," Maura said back. "We dated for almost a year in college. It didn't end well."

Jane looked at her incredulously, then asked, "Can I be rude to him?"

Maura was surprised by the question, but said, "If he dishes it out, he should be able to take it."

Garrett spared a hello for Susie and sat himself down across from Maura, smirking and rolling his shoulders like a big-shot. "So! What were we talking about, ladies?"

"You said something about Maura being an exhibitionist?" Susie said, displaying a sudden inability to read the room.

"It was one time," Maura sighed.

"Sure got my attention, though," Garret said.

"We were at BCU, and they wanted to make cuts to the equestrian team," Maura explained, looking apologetically at Jane. "As a form of protest, I… well, I rode my horse through campus. Um, nude."

Jane had to laugh, but her reaction was tampered somewhat by Garrett's presence. "Wow! I can't believe you never mentioned that before. It never would've occurred to me to use nudity as a form of protest. Was it effective? And I didn't ask you," she said, pointing at Garrett but keeping her eyes on Maura.

"A bit."

"Aw, she's being shy," Garrett laughed.

"Well, I won't be," Jane said. She reached across the table to shake Garrett's hand, surprising him with a firm grip. "Jane Rizzoli. I'm Maura's date. So I'd appreciate it if you could uh, restrain yourself a bit there, buddy."

Garrett looked from one of them to the other, his smile lessening just slightly. "Wait, you two are—? Wait. No."

Jane's arm was still around Maura's shoulder, and Maura reached up to take her hand. "No what?"

He took a drink, trying to buy time to compose himself. There was an excited glint in his eye that Jane really didn't like. "Maybe your Lady Godiva moment should've tipped me off, Maura, but I didn't know you were so adventurous. What is it you do, Ms. Rizzoli, that swept Maura off her feet?"

"First of all, please, you don't need to call me Ms. 'Detective' would be just fine."

"A flatfoot! How charming."

"A flatfoot?" Jane snorted. "What's that say on your nametag—'grandma'?"

He gave his blazer an unnecessary flourish. "It says Garrett. Or are you pretending you don't know who I am?"

"Oh, I know who you are. Takes one to know one, right?"

"What?"

"A dick. Or are we not using outdated slang to describe my job anymore?"

Susie gasped and Maura was unsuccessful in covering her laugh with a cough. "That reminds me, I missed the cheese plate at the buffet table up there. Jane, would you be a dear and get me some?"

Under the table, her hand squeezed Jane's leg. It was an intimate gesture Jane hadn't been expecting, because no one else could see it; it wasn't a display. Maybe she'd ridden Garrett too hard, and Maura was trying to be gracious. Either way she trusted Maura felt all right to handle the situation, or else she wouldn't be sending her away. Jane patted her shoulder and made to stand up, but not before Maura had kissed her on the cheek.

Jane took her time finding the cheese. She kept glancing back to their table, wanting to make sure Maura was all right. To her relief, even pride, it seemed that Maura was doing just fine: she looked serious, but not worn down, and Jane wondered what she was saying. She also wondered what it was that had kept Maura with such a tool for almost a year, and she figured for the moment she could chalk it up to youthful indiscretion. But it was hard to imagine a time and place when Garrett wouldn't have been such a creep.

The cheese provided a nice distraction, but it was brief, because when she turned around Garrett was standing right in front of her.

"Excuse me," she said, trying to step around him.

But he had his hand held out, presumably for another shake. "Sorry, just wanted to make sure there were no hard feelings. Wanna make sure you're gonna use those cuffs on Maura, not me."

Is he for real? "Don't tempt me, Fairfield."

"I'd hate for you to think poorly of me."

"I don't think of you at all," Jane said blankly.

"You've got a lot of disdain for someone who met me five minutes ago."

"And you've been gross for all five minutes. Now if you'll excuse me, it's been a pleasure walking away from you." When Jane got back to the table, Maura's face was in her hands and Susie was gone. "Did that jerk scare your friend away?"

"He was ignoring her and asking inappropriate questions about me, so she found some other people to catch up with," Maura sighed. "I'm sorry. If I'd known he was going to be here, I wouldn't have risked exposing you to him."

"Okay first of all, now that Chang is gone, let's stop this talk of exposing people," Jane said, and that got a weary laugh out of Maura. "Second of all, please don't feel bad on my account. I have to deal with creeps every day on the job, and I barely had to deal with him. It's fine. Are you okay?"

She nodded, taking one of the cheese cubes and grapes Jane had gotten. "Yes. Felt good to tell him off, actually."

"Don't answer this if you don't want to, but I'm curious… did he pass those rules you set up? Your criteria for deciding whether to date someone?"

"At first, yes," Maura said. "I mean, I was flattered. He was the golden boy at Goddard, and getting his attention at BCU kind of felt like a big deal. He's not intimidated by intelligent women, so we connected over some things, but then I started feeling a bit like his arm candy. We never had any quiet time, any down time. I stopped feeling like I could be vulnerable in front of him, and I didn't think he respected me. So I guess you could say, actually, he laid the groundwork for me learn what I didn't want in a romantic partner."

"Well, there's something to be said for figuring that out. And for what it's worth, if I'd known he'd be here, I'd have still come. If an unpleasant moment with him was the price for an evening out with someone as wonderful as you, I'd say I got off easy."

Maura just shook her head. Her face was starting to get sore from smiling so much. "It's going to be hard to say goodbye to you when this over."

Jane knew the feeling all too well. "Hey, it's not over yet, so let's not worry about that. See any other folks we should talk to, or what's next on your reunion checklist?"

Maura bit her lip, surveying the room. At this point she'd spoken with everyone she cared to, and while the food had been delicious, it had also been rich and she'd had her fill. Her eyes landed on the couples dancing, seemingly to nothing, but with headphones all synced up to something that now appeared to be a slow dance. It was kind of a funny sight, but all of a sudden Maura wanted to be part of it.

"Would you dance with me?"

"Of course." Jane took Maura's hand and kissed it before leading the way to the dance floor. "Where do we get those headphones?"

Maura came to a stop as soon as they reached the floor. "I don't want them. I think I'd rather talk and dance with you."

She hadn't intended it as some sort of test, but that's what it turned out to be: if Jane had indicated in expression or tone that she thought this was a stupid idea, that sneer would've hurt. But this entire evening, she had never made Maura feel weird or dumb, which was sadly a new experience in meeting someone for the first time. Jane made a comment referring to how odd it seemed to dance without music, but she smiled and was clearly game.

"So based on what you've learned tonight, do you think we would've been friends in high school?" Maura asked. It was saddening how quickly Jane had said no, but Maura figured she shouldn't be sad because it at least seemed very obvious that Jane was fond of her in the here and now. Still, she tried to mask the disappointment: "Ah, yeah, I guess I didn't like myself much either, back then."

"Hey, no, you asked me if we'd be friends. Not if I'd have liked you," Jane said. "I would have for sure had a big-ass crush on you, but never would've told you. I'd have walked into a locker trying to watch you pass by. I'd have been awed by you sitting from my desk in the back row of the classroom, trying to figure out how you were so smart. You were a brain, I was a jock. I'd have been way too self-conscious about that to try befriending you. Believe it or not, I wasn't a very confident teenager."

Maura briefly shifted her hand from Jane's shoulder to stroke her cheek. "I'm not sure I believe that. Or at least, it's rather amazing what a turnaround you've had that allowed you to be in this space with me here, now, after not even knowing me for three hours."

"We've crammed a lot into these three hours, though," Jane chuckled. "I feel like I've known you much longer. I'd have been sorry I missed my chance to be your friend in school. I'm sorry I missed my chance to ask you to the prom." She shifted to twirl Maura out, then pulled her back in a little closer than before. "But I'm glad I'm making up for it now."

There was no romantic music to hear swell, just Maura's own heartbeat pounding harder and harder as she hoped she wasn't misreading everything that had happened between them. "A boy asked me to prom, but I was so sure it was as a joke, that I said no. Did you go to yours?"

"Well, I was supposed to. My date stood me up."

"Oh, no!"

Jane sighed. "Yeah. He was kind of a jerk. It sounds kinda like you and Garrett, though; Casey was really popular, and also a jock, and I felt like I should've been flattered that he was paying me any attention at all. But I wouldn't put out, which to him was I guess the whole point of dating or at least going to prom, so… at the last second he found a girl who would put out and took her instead."

"Oh, my gosh. That's terrible."

"Eh. Yeah, I mean, it was pretty humiliating," Jane chuckled. "I'd had to go through days of shopping with my mother to find a dress we could both agree on, and she made me up and took me to a salon to get my hair done all nice. I think she was just so excited that I was finally gonna do something girly, y'know? She was way more into it than I was. Then time kept passing, and he kept not picking me up, and uh yeah it was pretty lame. I was sitting out on the porch all night, until my brother Tommy came out with a chess set and we just played for a couple hours. No one else knew what to say to me."

The mental image was so upsetting, it took Maura a few moments to think of anything to say. "Well, that boy really missed out."

A rueful smile graced Jane's features. "I missed out, too. Not on him," she was quick to clarify. "It's just been on my mind, being here and seeing all the décor and like the pictures and stuff from your class when they were in school. Twenty years isn't that long, but at the same time, it really is. The world is such a different place. A friend of mine's got a daughter who's in eighth grade, I think, and she just came out and she talks all the time about this girl she's got a crush on. And I'm thinking about all the firsts she's going to have, all the experiences she's going to get that I never did. And that's so great, I mean it. I'm so happy for her but I can't help being kind of jealous, too, you know?"

"How old were you when you came out?"

"Twenty-nine. Better late than never, right? And I should be grateful, I know, because there are people who live twice as long before they figure it out, let alone come out."

"It's not a competition, Jane," Maura said softly. "It's okay."

"I know. I'm just sad I missed the innocent stuff. The innocent phase. Or, that window of time where it's socially acceptable for you to be innocent, you know? It shouldn't be like that. We should all be able to have our comfort zones, and leave them in our own time, but when you're in your late twenties people just expect you to… I dunno, to be experienced or want to be experienced. They expect every date to end in sex, or for you to be ready to just dive into anything. I felt kinda rushed. And now I'm thinking about all those things I wish I could've been experiencing with my friends in high school. Little things, dumb things, like talking about crushes or trying to work up the nerve to borrow a pencil from a girl you liked."

Maura stroked her cheek again, and that drew Jane's smile back out. "Those aren't dumb things."

Jane went on: "I wish I could've done like my brothers, and brought a girl home and just made out for hours. No pressure. Asked her to a dance. Whatever. I've gotten a lot better at figuring out my boundaries and setting them, but I wish I could've goofed my way through all that other stuff when I was a kid, like everyone else."

There was a lot to unpack here, and Maura took her time sifting through it all. It wasn't uncommon for people to fantasize about how much better their teenage life might've been if it hadn't been for factor x or y, and the gift of distance made it all the easier to conjure pleasant daydreams about what might've been. But there was an aching truth to yearnings like Jane's. She didn't imagine a past girlfriend for her young self as much as the opportunities to try getting one.

"I would've said yes," Maura said.

"Hm?"

"If you'd asked me to prom. I would've said yes."

Jane's only response was a quiet laugh. She closed her eyes, leaning her forehead against Maura's.

"Now, can I ask you something?" Maura whispered. "And not under the guise of trying to impress anyone else here?"

Remembering herself, Jane straightened up. "Shoot."

Jane's smile was so warm and so sincere, and she seemed to know what Maura wanted to request. This helped give Maura the boost of courage she needed to ask, "Can I kiss you?"

By way of response, Jane stopped swaying to the non-existent music and pressed her lips to Maura's. Jane was so grateful to whoever had decided the dancers should have headphones instead of speakers, because this arrangement allowed her to hear the soft sigh that escaped her date. Maura slipped her arms around Jane's neck, and Jane pulled her in still closer by the waist, deepening the kiss. A very faint sense of decorum registered moments later as Jane remembered they were in a very public space. She broke off the kiss with a shuddering sigh, and leaned her forehead against Maura's once again.

Maura shifted to give her one more short kiss. "Do you want to get out of here?"

The whispered question sent a tangible shiver down Jane's spine. "Want to come back to my place, maybe make out for a few hours?"

A soft kiss to Jane's cheek, then her lips. "I do."

"Want to say goodbye to any—"

"No."

Jane grinned and kissed Maura's forehead. "As you wish."