±500 Miles Afar

Birthday Girl

4 months later

Unusual for a Sunday morning, the alarm clock echoed through the bedroom.

With sleepy eyes and barely awake, Maura carefully removed Jane's leg from above her hips. Then, clumsily, silenced the hideous sound and reached for the drawer on the nightstand to grab her gift-placing it underneath her pillow. Sliding into her girlfriend's warm, the blonde snuggled against her chest, unmotivated to start the day yet-briefly shutting her eyes as she smelled her lavender shampoo. Sighing, she allowed her lips to rest on Jane's neck. Unlike her, the detective was always relatively sweaty when sleeping. Maura smiled, getting the dark curls away from their faces. Placing delicate kisses on her shoulder, she started whispering.

M: "Janie...birthday girl..."

Chuckling as she heard a groan, the ME sat up. Grumpy Jane, without her first-morning coffee, was still the most adorable thing. She could never get tired of this. She could never get tired of how she made such flawed characteristic look so cute. Lowering herself, she proceeded with the kissing- adding more pressure this time.

M:" I know you heard the alarm."

Jane groaned loud and rested a hand on the blonde's lower back.

J: "Can't we just sleep a bit longer?"

M: "We can, but then, once your mother gets here, you're gonna need to explain to her why she couldn't find you in the guest room."

J: "Just a few extra minutes..."

Maura sighed in annoyance, but it ended up sounding like a whine.

M:" Fine. But I don't want to give you your present in front of everyone."

With that, Jane's eyes spanned open- inquisitively looking at her.

J: "You already gave me a gift."

M: "I had to give you something today...You don't need to get up."

Gasping in surprise as Maura swiftly straddled her and reached for the gift, Jane nervously shifted, realizing what it was. Breitling.

M: "You need a new watch, Jane."

J: "It's...You sh-"

M: "It is my money, and if I want to spend it on you, I will."

Never stop holding the watch; the blonde carefully showed it to her. Jane could've sworn it was made especially for her. When she tried to reach for it, Maura stopped her and turned it around—pointing at the two dates engraved on it. The detective, embarrassed, had no idea what it meant. She had never been good with dates, not even with the ones she was supposed to. Worrying about Maura getting hurt or upset, she felt relieved hearing a soft chuckle.

M: "The day when we first met, and when we finally got together."

For once, she didn't know what to say nor do. She simply gazed at her in amazement, feeling a sense of warmth and fulfilment embracing her body.

Taking Jane's wrist and removing the old shattered watch, Maura lightly brushed her lips against the skin, placing a few more kisses before setting the new one. Spontaneously, the brunette stroked her cheek, in an attempt to take all of her girlfriend's beauty in. She wanted to say something. She wanted to tell her how perfect she was, even though nothing she could ever say would match what she was feeling. Trying to think of something, she withdrew herself, realizing Maura was gazing at the place their bodies met, clearly pondering about something. Then, vulnerable, almost scared, hazel eyes looked at hers.

M: "Jane...I...I love you a-and...I'll make sure you know it for the rest of m-my life. I love you."

J: "Maur..."

Jane, rested a hand on her back, gently pulling her down to her chest. This was the first time Maura said those three, yet so meaningful words. In the past months, the brunette felt nothing but love from her; sometimes even wondering if she deserved such care and affection. Still, actually hearing it from her, especially knowing how hard it was for her to be this open...it meant everything.

Lightly tearfully but giggling, Maura hid her face on the brunette's neck before focusing on her lips. Licking their own, she clumsily kissed her. Running her tongue over her bottom lip, to then suck on it. Still tasting her salty tears, Jane intensified the kiss while running her hands over her thighs. Settling in a place, she hadn't touched before; she began rubbing the skin. Fast breathing, the blonde moved her lips to her neck, intensely sucking on it. Shivering, the detective decided to be bolder with the touches, adventuring in further areas. In a second, she felt her girlfriend freezing above her and slightly pulling away- grabbing her hands and placing them on a safer spot.

J: "I'm sorry."

M: "No. Don't be, i-it's my fault. I should be the one apologizing. I'm sorry, Jane."

J: "It's not your fault, I...I shouldn't be pushing you into something you're not ready."

M: "But...I... I'm ready. I've been ready for years but I... it's not you. It's the medication. I don't feel anything."

J: "Maur...Why didn't you tell me this before?"

M: "I didn't want you to think this was somehow your fault and that I'm not attracted to you."

J: "Sweetheart, you need to tell me these things so we can work them out together."

M: "We already spend too much time focusing on my issues. We need balance. We need to focus more on you. Can't we just be like other couples?"

J: "We have all the time in the world, and you're doing amazing. The hard part is over."

M: "...I still want to please you. It's not fair."

J: "And I already told you, I don't want our first time to be like that."

M: "I just want to make you feel good."

J: "How long do we know each other?...That's how long I'm waiting. Waiting a bit longer is not gonna kill me."

M: "I'm sorry."

J: "Don't be."

M: "We can still make out like a couple of aroused teenagers."

Jane chuckled, wrapping her arms around Maura's neck while she resumed the kissing.