A/N: A Tommy interlude before we revisit Jane and Maura tomorrow. There is a love scene in the middle of this chapter if you'd like to skip it or need fair warning. Also, this is the second of two chapters posted today, so if you didn't read chapter 6 yet, go back and do that first.
"Ma had to pick the hottest day of the summer, huh?" Tommy Rizzoli, in dirty jeans and an old, ratty t-shirt, wiped his brow with his forearm. He pushed Maura's shoulder as she worked right next to him in a sunhat and an old pair of shorts in the high noon sun. They dug at one of Angela's old, dead rose bushes with their hands so as to disturb the other flowers around it as little as possible. After a few minutes he stood, rising off of his basketball-worn knees gingerly, and reached for the water bottle just off to his side. The motion, the precaution and the pain in it, fleeting though it was, reminded Maura of Jane.
Jane, who had been so buried in a triple homicide for the past week and a half, that Maura had only seen her outside of work twice: once as she was dropping off paperwork to Angela for the listing of their family home, and once on a rushed morning to get coffee together at Boston Joe's. That time was only because Jane had whined about not seeing Maura's face for days. Which wasn't true, of course, she'd seen it every day at work, but the pleading was so cute and so convincing that Maura had foregone her trepidation about the chain and ordered the least sugary thing they had.
That was eight days ago.
In the meantime, Maura filled her nights with Tommy. They played chess, they watched movies, they helped Angela with any manner of chore, and they fell into bed together. Often. She'd been with him almost every night since Jane started tracking the man who had killed three BCU sorority sisters on a secluded campus research station just outside their dorm.
Tommy made her laugh, and kept their conversation light - he didn't bring up cause of death, or misogynist motive for murder, or the loss that families of victims inevitably experience. He just talked about plumbing and sports and his family, the latter of which was Maura's favorite subject. He also remained very, very attractive, and had some of the best stamina of any of the men she'd been with. She thought about that as she watched him toss his head back to take a generous gulp of water. "I doubt it'll be the hottest of the entire summer, but it definitely feels like the hottest so far," she answered him.
"Well, if it makes her happy, I guess," he said, dropping back down to dig away at more roots. He took a look at their progress, and then glanced over to the new bushes that his mother had purchased to replace the dead ones. "I just hope that she takes better care of these ones than she did those."
Maura followed his finger as he pointed to the two dead plants they had already removed for Angela, who was currently working an overtime shift at the cafe for a little extra cash. Angela had pleaded with Tommy to help her, especially since Jane was, of course, at work again on a Saturday, and he was more than happy to help. Maura inserted herself when he had shown up with a giant, sharp looking shovel and some industrial shears, like he was going to kill every plant in sight. "I've offered several times to have my gardener come over and tend to them, but she refuses."
Tommy chuckled. "I don't know if you noticed, but we can be stubborn."
"You don't say," Maura joked, and he laughed even harder.
"Ma just wants to convince herself she can make it work, is all. Without the help of a professional. Somethin' about gettin' her groove back," Tommy said, finally reaching under the root ball.
"Getting her groove back?" Maura asked. She used the towel around her neck to wipe the sweat away.
"Yeah, you know, divorced lady tryin' to prove to herself she can make it in this world?" Tommy explained. "Anyway. I think it'd help her more if you did this kinda thing together. Set up a time where you're both out here, waterin' and prunin' and stuff. Then you're keepin' an eye on her without really keepin' an eye on her. And helpin' the plants. Because they need a lot of help."
Then Maura laughed. "That's true, they do. You're very smart, you know. And kind. Just like your sister."
Tommy blushed, and then he shrugged. "I don't know about all that."
"You are," Maura reiterated. "Socially, you're smart in ways I never could be. Especially considering that diabolical plan you just hatched about your mother."
"It is pretty evil, isn't it?" He replied, wiggling his eyebrows. "She'd never know."
"It's definitely Jane-level plotting," she said, tracing a finger down the side of his face. Then she leaned forward and kissed him gently. "Now, let's finish this up so we can go inside and cool off."
"You got it," said Tommy, pleased with himself and the way that Maura made him feel. They continued to work together for a few more minutes, until the last of the dead rose bushes came up. It wasn't too large, maybe about three feet tall, a foot and half wide, but the two of them carried it in tandem to the pile where the others lay waiting for the green waste bin. When they made their way back to the hole to ready it for the new plant, Tommy grinned slyly. "Hey, I think I found a little bit more," he said, beckoning Maura over with his gloved hand.
"What? I could have sworn we got all of it," Maura said, confused and kneeling right next to him. Before she could get a good look, he had taken a clump of soil and tossed it right at her face.
"Gotcha!" Tommy shouted, cackling as Maura sputtered dirt out of her mouth and wiped it as best she could out of her eyes.
"Tommy!" She cried out. "What the hell?!"
He continued to chuckle goofily. "I'm sorry, I had to. You were a sittin' duck," he said. She reacted quickly once she recovered, and he jumped just in time to avoid his own dirt clod to the chin. It hit him square in the chest. "Maura!"
"That's what you get!" she argued, looking up at him in challenge.
Something that he never backed away from. "Oh, it's fuckin' on," he growled, and grabbed a bigger, wetter clump - he threw it with such force that it thumped against Maura's arm.
She gasped, shrieked when it hit, but then she was ready for war. She returned the favor, and soon, they were sprinting all across the small garden, tossing grenades and laughing with fervor.
Suddenly, though, Tommy stopped in his tracks, and his dangerous grin was back. Maura stopped, too, unsure of his motives or if he really planned to stop, until she saw him dart with uncanny speed to the wall where the hose was hung. "Tommy, absolutely not! Don't you dare!"
But he already turned the nozzle for the water, occluding the opening with his thumb so that it shot out at her. She shrieked again, and then his escalation escalated her: she ran to him, faster than he probably would have expected, and wrestled the hose away from him, spraying him all down his front and making the dirt on his shirt into mud.
They grappled with the water and with each other for what felt like hours, guffawing and cursing and trash-talking until Maura collapsed on the grass from tiredness and defeat. Tommy wasted no time turning off the water and then bounding over, tickling her from his place above her. "I'm not gonna let you give up that easy," he said.
"Please stop!" Maura pleaded, gassed from exertion and laughter. "I yield, I yield!"
He did no such thing, but then, tickling turned to kissing, and his tongue was inside her mouth and his hands were now flat against her sides. She returned the favor, nipping at his lips and wrapping her legs around him. She felt herself grow wet at his strength when he somehow maneuvered them from the ground to standing, with her still in his arms. "I think goin' inside is a good idea," he said, his voice low, "But I don't really wanna cool off."
Maura took his face in her hands and kissed him as he somehow used one hand to open the back door to the main house. "Do not walk those shoes onto my spotless floors. Otherwise you'll never be allowed back in," she said, and he smirked. But, he kicked off his sneakers, obediently. She did the same with her own shoes behind his back, and then he was taking them up the stairs and to her bedroom.
Maura trusted him, knew that he knew the way after their recent nights together, and let herself get lost in the feel of his strong shoulders in her arms and his narrow hips between her legs. He walked past the bed, however, and lowered her gently to her feet just in front of the giant shower of the ensuite. With one expert hand, he switched the water on, while with the other, he pulled her close to him. "You know you're dirty, right?" he whispered against her lips, and when she licked them, her tongue hit his, too. "Lemme wash you off."
Wordlessly, Maura agreed. She let him peel off her tank top, revealing her nude lace bra, which he popped off effortlessly as well. She pulled his t-shirt off, intent on making them even, and then they embraced, skin to skin. She felt his arousal against the front of her, placed a palm against it over his pants and rubbed, but when they disrobed completely, he seemed focused only on getting her clean.
Tommy held her hand, led her through the shower door first, and then he was all over her. He kissed her back, and she moaned at the sensation, the new skin being touched, as he rubbed over her flat stomach. Then, he lathered up some of her body wash, and proceeded to wash with his hands. They dipped from her shoulders to her ass, across the backs of her thighs, and then between her legs, ever so lightly.
Maura was on fire. She turned around to catch his lips with her own, and gripped at his chest as she withstood the tortuous affection. He never settled too long in one place, even as he kissed her neck under the spray of the showerhead, ratcheting up her desire tenfold. Satisfied enough with the level of clean, she yanked the lever for the water down and pulled him close again. "That's enough. Let's go to bed - I want to be on top."
They dried only as little as absolutely necessary. Then he picked her up again, this time with his forearm just under her behind, lifting. She yelped and he laughed, depositing her on the bed. He walked over to the other side and checked the time on the clock quickly before pulling a condom from the second nightstand drawer, where he'd stashed his own after making good on his promise from their second night together.
Maura watched him with lust as he put it on and then laid flat on his back, waiting for her with his arms crossed behind his head and his ankles crossed at the foot of the bed. She climbed over until she straddled him, their mouths tangled wetly together, and reached in between them to heat herself up just a bit more. When she felt ready for him, she sat up straight, lowering herself onto him until she could adjust to the feeling of him inside of her.
Her mouth dropped open at the sensation, at being filled. At first, she worked slowly, riding with purpose and control, her hands on Tommy's chest again. She wanted to see him, to connect with him, and she searched for his eyes with her own, but his were closed. He had a look of concentration on his face, one that mimicked pain, and when she rubbed her thumbs across his nipples, trying to get him to look at her, he only grimaced, eyes shutting tighter.
"Fuck that's good," he cursed, when Maura sat up straight again and put her hands on her own breasts, speeding up her hips. His hands still weren't on her, but rather clenching themselves tightly above his head. It remained this way until he sat up just a little, his palms hovering just over her thighs, just out of reach. "I'm comin'," he finally said, quietly, stoically, trying desperately to contain the moan Maura knew swam just below the surface - the one that would make him vulnerable and exposed. So, as soon as he let her know, she dismounted, and he finished with a grunt and then a deep sigh.
She placed her hand on his chest as it heaved, and eventually his breathing returned to normal. Then, he looked again at the bedside alarm clock. "What's wrong?" she asked when he shot up.
"Ah, fuck. I'm late," he said. There was another sigh, and he leaned forward to kiss her softly. "I gotta go - I promised a buddy I'd help him out on a paintin' job tomorrow and we're supposed to go pick out supplies today. I got five minutes til I'm supposed to be at the RePurpose place."
"Oh, alright," Maura replied, shell shocked by the admission. She let herself be kissed again before he got up.
"I'll see you around, a'right? I had fun today," said Tommy, excusing himself to the guest bathroom to freshen up and get some new clothes.
"See you," Maura flopped heavily back onto the mattress and listened to the sounds of him getting ready across the hall. It was the first time, she realized, that he hadn't at least stuck around for her orgasm, even if he wasn't the one giving it to her.
After he left and slammed the front door in his haste, she finished on her own.
That Monday morning, in an autopsy for a fourth murder in their sorority case, Maura felt Jane fidget behind her. "This goes much more smoothly if you give me space," she quipped under the lights of the morgue.
"Mmm," Jane agreed distractedly, not even sure what she was agreeing to. At least she looked handsome in her deep purple button up and light gray slacks. Maura internally applauded the pop of color. "She a bleed out? Just like the others?"
"I'm not done, but it's looking that way, yes," Maura said honestly. She repositioned the camera to be just above the gaping wound in the young woman's chest, satisfied to see that yes, there were tiny traces of fibers in the wound that did not seem to match her clothes. "You're very anxious today."
"Yeah," was all that Jane said. She took in Maura's scrubs and surgical gown, and cleared her throat to hide the sudden look of desire that passed over her features.
"You'll catch him. I know you will," Maura said seriously. She placed the fibers in a nearby sterilized dish and labelled them for the lab. Then she set them aside and removed her gloves, facing Jane.
"That's not it," Jane said. "Well that's kind of it, but not the main it," she clarified. Her thumbnail was back in her mouth.
Maura was bold enough to reach for it, and she kissed the scar on the back of its hand before she set it down at Jane's side again. "Stop it. What's wrong, then?"
Jane huffed. "Tommy said he saw you the other night. This past weekend."
"You and Tommy discuss me?" Maura raised her eyebrow and smiled.
"Relax. No, not really. Especially not… details. We were both at Ma's for somethin' and he just mentioned it. Off the cuff," Jane said. She leaned against the open autopsy slab just behind her, and Maura regarded her thoughtfully.
"But you're a detective, so you extrapolated details," Maura said.
"Exactly," Jane replied. She had her arms crossed, but she pointed at Maura with her left index finger.
"So… why does this information make you so… bouncy?" Maura asked. "You know I'm seeing him."
"Yeah, but… I've had a lot of time to ask myself why, Maura," Jane said. "Why, if we're sleeping together, do you need to see him?"
"To be fair to both Tommy and myself, I have two points: one, I haven't been sleeping with you recently. I've barely laid eyes on you," answered Maura. Jane flushed. "And two, our first guideline is that you're not to get upset about my seeing him."
"I'm not upset, I'm just curious," Jane said, perhaps just a little too hastily. "And I'll concede I haven't been the most… present person recently. I've been…"
"You've been hunting. I understand. I even like that part of you," Maura flirted. She leaned back on her own slab and folded her arms, mirroring Jane's stance.
"But, if I'm around more often, if I promise to be, is there gonna be a need for him still?" Jane asked quietly. Her timidity proved her emotionality.
However, Maura needed to be honest despite those emotions - entanglements such as these only worked with honesty from all parties. "Jane. I sleep with you because I get lots of good things out of it - connection, understanding, orgasm, stress relief. I sleep with Tommy because I get one very specific good thing out of it that you won't give me."
Jane hung her head. She'd thought about their conversation the last time they were in bed together a thousand times since then, and it was her bad for not communicating to Maura that her feelings had at least shifted in the time that had passed, if not changed. She swallowed and then stood up straight, dropping her arms down to her belt. No time like the present to make it right. "But what if I did? Give you that?" she asked.
Maura's pupils blew. She licked her lips. "That seemed off-limits before. Are you willing to try it? Because if you are… I'd love to be the one you try it with," she said, stepping forward and receiving the embrace she expected to. That was what made them different. She could ask for, demand affection, and she would receive it. She could expect from Jane. And Jane would deliver.
"Well," said Jane, measured and thoughtful, "it's a very definite maybe."
"That's leagues better than 'a soft no'," Maura replied, calling on Jane's words from before. She smiled when she felt the hammering in Jane's chest slow against her cheek.
"I'm a giver," teased Jane, and the laugh felt good on Maura's face, too.
"You are," Maura agreed indulgently. "Now let me get back to work, and hopefully I can give you something. Something that'll help you wrap up this case."