Maura couldn't lie.
But she was a smart, capable woman. She could work around it.
If only Jane would stop asking direct questions.
It came up quite often. Surprisingly often. Susie, for example, has never asked Maura if she wants to sleep with her.
But then, their relationship is different. They are colleagues and friends. Maura doesn't have dinner with Susie every night of the week, doesn't drop into Susie's home unannounced, doesn't house Susie's mother and other miscellaneous family. Susie doesn't come over after work and fall asleep on Maura's couch. Maura has never woken up in Susie's bed. And Susie is probably the closest female friend Maura has; one that isn't a Rizzoli, anyway.
Susie once said that being best friends should make everyone question if you're lovers, and clearly people questioned it.
Especially Jane. But Maura was always able to analyse the question, find a loophole. Because Jane appeared to find the very idea of Maura being attracted to her repulsive, to the point that Maura wondered if her best friend was a bit homophobic. But Jane wasn't weird about Camille and Robyn, or any of the other gay people they've met.
And men don't ask Maura if she wants to sleep with her. Well, they do. Strangers do. Colleagues don't. Frankie and Tommy don't. Giovanni does, every time, and every time Maura has to remind herself that the tall, physically attractive man wants to lick her face.
It was just Maura. It was just the idea of Maura being attracted to Jane.
Unless... Unless it was about Jane, and Jane finds the idea of her being attracted to women repulsive. Maybe it was repression on Jane's. Her family is Catholic, after all. And Jane is in the police force; someone had to have made a stereotypical joke about her at some point. And she was a tomboy. Maybe she just didn't want to conform to what people expected of her? Impossible to know, without asking, and even then, Jane had the ability to lie.
So the next time Jane asked, her face screwed up, Maura didn't rephrase Jane's question in her mind. She didn't bother with the mental gymnastics.
"Jane. You're a very attractive woman and it would be an absolute honour to sleep with you." Jane's mouth dropped open. "If that's what you're offering, I'd gladly accept, but our friendship is paramount, so if you don't think it would survive..."
"You.. you are?"
"You're going to need to articulate that question a little more coherently," Maura said, eyeing Jane's flustered face, her flushing chest. All the signs of arousal in the human female Maura had been politely trying to ignore for years. All the signs that Jane showed when Maura drew attention to her mouth or cleavage. All the signs that Jane showed when Maura changed in front of her, in the car, in the office, in the gym, in the bedroom.
"You want to sleep with me?" Jane asked, her voice very high-pitched and fast, her face incredulous.
"We already share a bed, Jane. Technically we've already slept together, but I assume you mean the colloquial terminology which refers to sex, in which case it's still an enthusiastic yes."
"Right now?' Jane asked, looking panicked. They're both in sweatpants in Jane's apartment, Jane's hair in a messy bun and her eyes wide with surprise. There was no revulsion on Jane's face, just hope. Maura sighed.
'Whenever you're ready," Maura said gently.
"Right now," Jane said firmly, pulling Maura to her feet and leading her to the bedroom.
Notes:
tumblr oneshot aka fanfic without the commitment.
