A/N: This started out as an exercise in dialogue and humor and then it just kind of happened. It doesn't really have a 'set in X timeframe' kind of thing except Angela is in the guest house.

Disclaimer: Don't own. No money. ETC.

"Detective Barber!" Maura nearly shouted triumphantly.

Jane rolled her eyes. This stupid game had been going on all day. "Wrong." Briefly she allowed her eyes to flick to Maura before going back to the game. Maura was staring at her the way she stared at a piece of particularly intriguing evidence. It was annoying "I'm trying to watch the game."

Maura took a look at the men on the screen. "You don't even like soccer, Jane."

Jane shrugged. "I've had a change of heart."

"You're avoiding." Maura said pointedly. She popped a piece of popcorn in her mouth.

"And you're butting in and diagnosing me." Jane kept her eyes glued to the screen with her arms crossed over her chest. "Besides, I thought you didn't guess."

"It's not guessing, it's creating a hypothesis and testing it."

"Sounds like a guess to me." Jane grumbled. She reached forward grabbing her beer off the table in front of her. This was all because of her mother. Her mother who noticed things before she even could, her mother who always knew about everything in her personal life whether Jane wanted her to or not because she had some crazy Mom Superpower or something.

It all started when they were getting coffee in the café. Her mother just had to go and point out her appearance. Like wearing a suit that she literally just got back from the cleaners and doing her makeup and spritzing on perfume was such a lethal crime against nature. Then Maura jutted in and they were talking like preteen girls and it was over and done before Jane could even say it was just because she woke up early for once.

It was decided amongst the pair that she either had a crush on someone or was seeing someone secretly. Like she had time for that! And if she did it wouldn't be with Markus Barber from Bomb Squad. And if she wanted to date someone it definitely was a close to the vest issue because dating that someone had dire consequences if that want was ever acted upon. Maura was not going to get her to spill no matter how hard she tried.

"Detective Barber is funny, charming, and handsome." Maura pointed out ticking each trait off on her fingers.

"He's also gay." Jane quipped taking another swallow of her beer.

"Oh."

"Oh, is right. He also has a boyfriend and I'm not up for home wrecking just yet." Jane laughed taking another sip of her beer.

Maura narrowed her eyes at her friend. "If you would just tell me…"

"There's nothing to tell."

"Your left eyebrow twitched." Maura pointed out. "If it was Detective Frost or Sergeant Korsak you had a crush on I would –"

"Oh, gross!" Jane threw a handful of popcorn at Maura who laughed. She scrunched her nose in disgust. "Korsak? Really, Maura?" She shuddered. "And Frost is my partner, like a brother to me." She threw more popcorn hitting the pillow Maura grabbed to defend herself. "No more guessing for you."

"I hope you know you're cleaning this mess up." Maura laughed as she threw some of the stray popcorn back at Jane. "And I wouldn't have to guess if you would just tell me who you like."

"Ah!" Jane pointed at Maura. "You just admitted to guessing!" She leaned in close to Maura surveying her neck. "Where are the hives? Or signs of hyperventilation? Do I need to get you a paper bag?" She was able to keep her straight face for about two seconds before barking out a laugh.

Maura pushed her away trying to scowl at her but she also ended up laughing. "You overcompensate with sarcasm and teasing when you're trying to hide or avoid something." She crossed her legs on the couch and turned so she was facing Jane. "I'm not purchasing it so come on," She poked Jane's knee. "Girl talk!"

Jane rolled her eyes. "It's buying and really, Maura? We're not twelve."

"Correct." Maura nodded. "You are thirty-six and I am thirty-seven. But studies have shown that…where are you going?" She called after Jane who got up in the middle of her sentence.

"Beer." Was Jane's one word answer. She would need a lot of it if Maura continued down her line of thought.

Maura stood from the couch and followed Jane into the kitchen. "I thought you didn't let fear control you." Maura challenged going for a different approach. She sat on a stool at the bar.

"I don't." Jane said pointedly.

Maura watched as Jane snapped the top of the beer off. She licked her lips as Jane brought the dark glass to her mouth. It always amazed her that something as simple as Jane drinking beer could streamline a slew of inappropriate thoughts about her best friend. It was the reason she'd been pushing their conversation so hard. She wanted to know who her competition was. Because Jane had been acting differently, dressing nicer, smiling more at times even. "Could've fooled me."

Jane put her beer on the counter giving Maura a hard look. Maura was right she had been letting fear control her, define all of her moves. She had to make a move eventually, right? She'd been running away from whatever it was for too long, and Jane Rizzoli didn't run. From anything. Maura had inadvertently challenged her. And Jane did not step down from a challenge either. She took a step forward towards Maura. "I don't let fear control my life." She dropped her voice to a lower register. Maura raised an eyebrow at her. "I strategize, make a plan of attack and then I go for it." She trained her eyes on Maura's. "Why's it matter to you so much anyway, doctor? Maybe there's something you're not telling me."

Maura couldn't help it that her eyes darted to Jane's lips for a split second. "This isn't about me."

Jane raised an eyebrow at her. She didn't miss Maura's eye movements. "Maybe it is." Somehow this turned into a real situation as the humor slowly started to fade into something else. The air between them was charged, almost static. Jane was sure if she touched metal she'd feel a shock, sure if she touched anything she'd feel a shock. "You really want to know?" The truth was most of her plans sucked. Most of them turned into on the fly, quick thinking, instinctual, just go for it moves. And this apparently was no different. Her eyes locked onto Maura's and she felt a surge of adrenaline rip through her body. It was dumb, their whole conversation was dumb and yet she felt herself inching closer as if she was being lured in by the heat radiating between the remarkably small space between them.

Maura's heart sped up the closer Jane got. "Is it," She swallowed, her eyes once again drifting towards Jane's lips. "Is it me?"

Jane's eyes grew wide. She jumped back. "Nope." And sometimes she failed at challenges and her on the fly moves left her faltering. Her hands were shaking, her heart thudding wildly in her chest as if she had just chased a guy through an alley, fought him, arrested him and threw him in the back of her unmarked. She turned her back to Maura and pinched the bridge of her nose. What the hell was she thinking?

Maura nearly groaned at herself. She always did that, always said something that ruined the moment and now the one chance she had to finally, finally kiss the detective was gone. She didn't know what to say or how to fix it (if it was fixable.) Cheering came from the living room from the TV, Maura figured someone must have scored. "Jane." She said simply for lack of something better to say.

Jane did not turn around.

She sighed. It was ironic that Jane was a decorated detective who could read between the lines of murderers and motives but she couldn't see what was right in front of her in her personal life. Maura thought she'd been pretty obvious about her feelings. She'd worn lower cut blouses, form fitted dresses, higher heels. She'd done her hair differently, she shot flirtatious glances toward Jane, brought her coffee, and spent more Friday nights with her on her couch rather than going out. She thought she deserved at least a kiss, if not more, for her efforts. But Jane apparently was oblivious. It seemed like something was still impeding the forward progression. She stood from the chair she was seated on and walked to her refrigerator. She grabbed a beer and popped the top off. Normally she was not one for drinking beer but there was a time for everything.

Jane watched through her fingers and the strand of hair that had fallen in her line of sight as Maura put the dark container to her lips, watched as her throat moved as she swallowed more and more of the amber liquid. "You don't drink beer."

"Sometimes I do." She said taking the bottle away from her lips. Jane saw a light smudge of pink lipstick on the glass; she licked her suddenly dry lips. Maura narrowed her eyes at Jane's movements, the wheels turning in her head. Perhaps the night wasn't a total loss. "You do have excellent taste in beer." She took a step forward towards Jane who backed into the counter her eyes still on the smudge on the dark bottle. "Are you afraid of me?" Maura didn't get an answer so she pressed further. Since coy wasn't working for her maybe the deliberate approach would do better. "I have to confess there is someone I'd like to date." Jane's eyebrows shot up, her eyes darted to Maura's, who was looking above her head at something as if deep in thought. "Although this person seems to be too bowlegged to take a hint." Jane squinted her eyes in confusion. "Oh, that wasn't right." Maura thought back to what she had said. "Bone…what is it I'm looking for?"

"Boneheaded?" Jane guessed.

"Yes!" Maura pointed her index finger at Jane. "Boneheaded, this person is too boneheaded to take a hint."

"Hey!"

But Maura was on a roll and continued talking. "I don't know what you want me to do, Jane. Do I have to go to your apartment in the middle of the night in nothing but a trench coat and say 'take me' as it falls to the floor?" Well, there was a thought, maybe if this didn't work she'd try that Maura contemplated as she took another strong drink of the beer in her hand.

Jane's eyes grew wide in slack jawed wonderment. What. Was. Happening? This wasn't real. None of this was happening. She was in one of those weird dream state things. But then Maura's hand was on her bicep.

"I mean, really, Jane. I'm a catch, I just don't know what you're waiting for." And then Maura's hand squeezed her bicep and Jane all but lunged forward.

…

The doorbell rang. Jane didn't know how long it had been ringing but whoever was ringing it was doing so incessantly. Jane didn't particularly want to answer the door but Maura was shoving her so she didn't have a choice. Jane hopped off of the couch nearly catching her big toe on the coffee table. She opened the door halfway and stood behind it so only her face was visible, effectively hiding her shirtless torso and unbuckled jeans. She was pretty sure there was popcorn in her hair and lipstick on her face but she didn't care at all. What she did care about was making whoever was on the other side of the door leave.

Frankie.

It was Frankie.

"What do you want?" Jane rushed. Maura walked towards Jane behind the door and placed her hands on Jane's thighs and ran them up. Jane jumped into the door hitting the doorknob into her ribs, but again her level of caring was slowly, slowly dwindling as Maura's hands pushed her jeans down her hips a few inches and her lips kissed her bare shoulder.

"She's driving me crazy, Janie! I told her I'd come over and help her build a spice rack. She keeps force feeding me these different versions of pasta sauce and telling me I need to find a nice girl and get married and I need backup!" Frankie exclaimed. He wasn't used to getting those types of lectures from his mother, and he didn't like it.

Jane bit her tongue and swallowed hard as Maura dipped a finger underneath her bra strap grazing the underside of her breast. Maura laughed breathily into her ear and Jane had to concentrate all of her willpower into not moaning, into not pushing back against her. "I'll be in the bedroom." Maura all but purred into her ear. And then Maura's body heat was gone but Jane still felt so hot on the inside. She knew if she turned around she'd see Maura's hips sashaying away, she'd see black lace that showed off Maura's wonderfully, beautifully sculpted ass.

"Jane!"

The detective blinked. Right. Frankie. "Welcome to the 'you're not getting any younger' club, we have t-shirts and meet every Wednesday." Frankie did not look amused. "You agreed to help her. Next time you'll know better. Call Tommy." Then she shut the door and dead bolted the lock for emphasis before kicking out of her jeans and running up the stairs.

Frankie stood on the other side of the door mouth agape. He blinked as if confused. Jane always helped him. Jane seemed to be in a hurry. Why was she in a hurry in the middle of the night at Maura's house? He blinked again rewinding the look on Jane's face. Her hair was a mess and there was lipstick smudged across her lips barely there but visible nonetheless. His eyes grew wide as he finally, fit two and two together. "Ewwww." He did not under any circumstances need that image in his mind. He stalked back to the guesthouse with his shoulders hunched knowing he had pasta sauce to test, a lecture to listen to, a spice rack to build, with the image, the thought, of his sister and her friend doing things right next door, things he'd rather not think about. He sighed heavily pushing open the door.

"I told you to leave those two girls alone! They've had a busy week, I'm sure they just want to relax." Yeah, 'relax' my ass, Frankie thought. "Here try this one!" Frankie sighed as his mother approached him with a wooden spoon of red sauce. Long night, it was definitely going to be a long night.

A/N: On an unrelated note: I've been thinking about doing a series of one-shots (like a mini-series I guess?) based in the It's Complicated universe. If anyone that reads this has read that one, would you be interested in such a thing?

Thanks for reading!