Chapter Text
Maura woke up to Jane staring at her. They'd meant to fool around the night before, but the long day at the crime scene and the stress of the family dinner had worn them out, quiet voices chatting into the night about their plans for the future. Jane had questioned if it was all too soon, but Maura had reminded her that they'd been all but dating for years. They knew each other better than any of their former partners.
"I'm in for the long haul, Jane," Maura had said, and Jane had believed her. But it still felt new and scary, the fear always there that she'd end up neglecting Maura and their relationship for her job, the way Korsak had, or worse, end up being one of those cops that took the job out on their wife. Jane was no stranger to anger and violence, and while Maura sometimes irritated her - she was precise, and that made her slow, and Jane was impatient - but Maura never made Jane truly mad. Maura didn't push the buttons Angela and Tommy and even sometimes Frankie did. But that didn't mean it would never happen; Jane was aware of the statistics, had worked with police that had been put away for killing family members, and she wondered if she'd ever be pushed to that kind of violence. Maura was her safest place, the place she could be soft, but she was also part of her work, and her work wasn't safe and soft, it was hard and violent. Jane hadn't seen her psychologist for a while but between the still-recurring nightmares and the fear that she might be the perpetrator of domestic violence rather than the victim she'd suspected she might end up as, it might be time to check in.
In the meantime, Maura was looking at Jane the way she'd seen Maura look at an art installation she'd enjoyed. Maura was an elegant-looking woman, with an aquiline nose and classical mouth, and Jane had overheard Constance describe her. But it was the smile that really turned Maura into a masterpiece.
"You're so beautiful in the morning," Jane said, finishing her thought out loud, tracing Maura's cheek bones. "Without the makeup and the hair and the designer dresses. When it's just you and me, and it's just me that gets to see you like this."
"That's not true. Angela often sees me before I'm ready in the mornings," Maura pointed out, as Jane's fingers drew over her jaw, up to her brow.
"You don't take compliments easily, do you?" Jane asked sarcastically.
"Not when they're factually incorrect, no," Maura said.
"Well it's a factual statement that you, Doctor Maura Dorothea Isles, are the most intelligent, beautiful woman I've ever met."
"That's a subjective statement," Maura pointed out. "But I suppose it's acceptable."
"Maura," Jane whined. "Fine," Jane huffed. "You're gorgeous. End of statement." Maura nodded, examining the statement and finding it appropriate. "We've got an hour or so before we're expected at work - do you want to go for a run, grab some breakfast?"
"I could use the endorphins," Maura mused. "But you are exceptionally comfortable."
"Really, Mau? Really? You get, what, three separate compliments and I get 'comfortable'?"
"Exceptionally comfortable," Maura reminded Jane of her quantifier. She looked Jane over. "And if you weren't classically trained in multiple forms of martial arts, your eyelashes alone would be capable of a complete - as you'd call it - 'take down'. Your zygomaticofacial foramen is one of the most perfectly structured bones I've ever seen."
"My whatnow?" Jane asked, and Maura chuckled.
"Your cheekbones, Jane. They're textbook."
"Well, I've know I've never felt more attractive, are we running or not?"
"That depends. Does the fact we're dating mean you can't to make me coffee in the morning," Maura asked, pouting.
"I was going to, but you looked so peaceful. You didn't get much sleep on Friday... Or Saturday... I thought you'd rather be well-rested than caffeinated."
"Well, we're awake now, Jane, and I'd appreciate it if you didn't start rituals you don't intend to maintain."
"Geez, alright, I never said I wasn't gonna," Jane muttered, pulling away from the warmth of Maura's body reluctantly. Maura's hands tightened on her for a moment before releasing Jane.
"Your gluteus maximus is also perfectly structured," Maura said, watching Jane walk away, pulling Captain Glitterface close to fill the void Jane had left. Jane turned at the door and eyed the angelic-looking doctor in the bed, looking especially innocent with her cuddle buddy.
"Did you just say 'nice ass' to me?" Jane asked, then threw up her hands and walked away.