Characters are not mine.

Again a rather short one (please forgive me).

Maura was pulled out of sleep by something falling onto the ground, followed by Jane shouting "fuck".

Immediately the blonde's lips formed a smile despite her state of disorientation from having slept until just seconds before.
She didn't like swearing, but when Jane did it it could be quite amusing.
When it stayed completely silent she tried to figure out what was going on.

Apparently Jane was in her closet, as the door stood slightly open. She imagined Jane standing in there, face pulled into a grimace as she waited for a sign she had woken up her friend.

"That's not a very nice word to hear first thing in the morning."
She heard the brunette whispering "fuck" a second time while she got out of bed to take a closer look on what was going on.

The detective's feet were covered in boxes with shoes scattered all over the place.
What was Jane doing in there?
The taller woman's shoulders were pulled up, her eyes wide in shock and her back bend forwards. Her whole body told the story of one specific emotion: guilt.

Before Maura could say anything, Jane spoke up. "I'm so so sorry Maura. I promise these weren't supposed to fall down." The words rushed out of her mouth. "What if some of them are broken?" She panicked. "Maura if there are scratches on some of them, I'm going to fix it. I don't know how, but I'm going to do it anyway. Please don't be mad at me." She was almost sobbing, not crying yet but close to it.

Today's a bad day again, Maura thought while approaching her friend with her arms reaching out.
"Shh" she whispered, pulling the brunette against her. "Don't be sorry. I'm not worried about the shoes. I care about you."

She softly combed Jane's hair with her fingers. "What were you searching for? You're never up this early."
Instead of answering Jane pressed her body harder against the smaller woman's.
Realizing she wouldn't get a verbal response, Maura thought about the previous day, subconsciously knowing the answer was connected to it.

Finally, after stroking Jane's back absently for some more minutes, her sleep drunk mind picked up with her and she remembered.
The blade.
"Oh my God. I'm so sorry Jane."

Pain spread through her chest as she imagined how bad Jane must have felt to get up and search for it in Maura's closet.
A second rush of pain went through her body when she understood that the brunette didn't wake her, didn't ask for neither comfort nor where the blade was hidden. She's building up a wall again.

She had just made up her mind on what to say to make Jane feel better the alarm went off, reminding them they had to work that day.
The blonde sighed. Why hadn't she set the alarm five minutes later? The timing couldn't have been worse.

With one last stroke of her hand she left Jane standing in the pile of shoes and boxes to turn off the beeping.
She quickly returned to help the detective with the shoes.
Quickly Jane stepped aside, not knowing which shoes and boxed matched.

"Do you want to have it?" Maura asked while placing the boxes upon another.
The brunette shook her head no. "Don't have time for that."
"Why did you look here?"

Jane tripped from one leg to the other.
"I knew you put it in here, I just didn't know where exactly. I thought you would put it into a box or at least underneath or behind one."

Quickly they were finished.
"There are some of your clothes in the lower left drawer. You left them sometime." Maura said lovingly before excusing herself to the bathroom.

One hour later they were dressed, had eaten a little bit and were on their way to Maura's car.
"Are you okay?"
Jane just nodded in response. Yet the doctor sensed something wasn't quite right, but this time it was different.
Jane seemed to be annoyed on top of her general mood that day.

They were almost at work when the brunette finally opened her mouth.
"You know..." she started, making a pause to gain Maura's full attention.
"I really appreciate having my clothes in your closet. By the way, there was more than one outfit in there, how have we never noticed we are almost living together?"

When the following silence turned awkward Maura realized Jane was waiting for her to say something.
"I don't know, Jane. People tend to ignore situations related to ignored feelings."
She risked to look at the brunette for a moment. She had turned serious.

"I don't want to ignore this any longer."
"Neither do I."

They parked but stayed inside the car. Their hearts were beating faster and the air seemed tense.
After what felt like an eternity Jane found her voice again. "Maura?"
They leaned towards each other.
"Yes."

Smiles formed on their faces.
"I would feel honoured to call you my girlfriend from now on."
Maura reached out for Jane's face, guiding it towards her own. Looking at the detective's lips and then her eyes she waited before closing the distance.

"I would feel honoured to be your girlfriend, Jane Rizzoli."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Once they managed to part from each other they got out of the car, walking towards the exit of the parking lot hand in hand.

"Are you going to tell me what bothered you before we left?"
Jane laughed.
"There were jeans and shirts in my drawer, but no underwear. So I picked some of yours and hell you deserve an award for walking around in it all day long."

The image of Jane in her underwear made Maura's mouth go dry.
"W-why?"
"It looks all nice and stuff, but it's really really -" she spoke slowly, voice going deeper with each word "scratchy."

So, I hope you liked this chapter.

Thanks for all the kind messages and reviews again! (Just for the ones wondering: My finals went well, I passed all of them)

Have a nice week and don't be afraid to talk to me!