Chapter Text
Maura
Maura groaned and buried her face deeper into her pillow. Her head was pounding, her mouth was dry, and a bad taste lingered in her mouth. She squeezed her eyes shut tighter and took a deep breath. As soon as she did, she realized that she was most definitely not in her own bed. Her head shot up quickly, causing her headache to intensify and her stomach to churn.
Maura shifted in the bed, sitting up slowly. It was at that point that she realized that she was completely naked. She pulled the sheet over her chest as she glanced around. She didn't recognize the room she was in, and she had no recollection of how she got here.
The room was small with yellow walls. There was a radiator near the window, indicating that she was likely in an older apartment building. Maura continued to look around the room to see if any of the items would give her a clue as to whose bedroom she was in. The sheets were made of cheap cotton, and the duvet was a simple light grey – neither were much help. There was a hamper in the corner that was overflowing with clothes. It looked like mostly t-shirts, sweatpants, and basketball shorts, but she couldn't tell what size anything was from her position on the bed. There was a Red Sox pennant on the wall that clashed terribly with the paint color. On the floor, there was a pile of books, which included a book on the history of the Red Sox – no one Maura knew cared this much about the Red Sox – a murder mystery, a book about the Boston strangler, a book about negotiation, and a book about someone named Babe Ruth.
Maura heard a shower shut off down the hall – in her haze, she hadn't even realized she could hear the shower. She looked around for her clothes, but she didn't see them anywhere. Just as she started to get out of the bed and wrap the sheet around her, there was a soft knock on the door. "Come…come in," she called nervously. She didn't really want anyone to come in, but she didn't see any other option.
Maura's eyes went wide at the sight of the woman standing in the doorway. She was breathtakingly gorgeous, and Maura felt herself get instantly wet. The mystery woman was tall and thin, but she also looked strong. She was wearing shorts and a t-shirt and her long, dark curly hair hung wet and loose around her shoulders.
"You're awake," the woman said kindly, flashing Maura a dimpled smile. "How are you feeli…oh!"
Maura had tried to stand up straight, but the woman's smile and sparkling dark eyes had her mesmerized. Instead of standing, Maura tripped on the sheet that she was attempting to cover herself with. The other woman instinctively stepped forward and caught Maura around the waist, causing heat to flood Maura's system.
"Careful!" she said as she helped guide Maura so that she was sitting on the edge of the bed.
"Th-thank you," Maura said, but her voice was still scratchy.
"Are you…how are you feeling?" the beautiful woman asked.
"I think I drank too much last night," Maura said stupidly. Her usually quick brain was very sluggish this morning.
The woman laughed, and her deep, hoarse laugh caused another shot of arousal to course through Maura's body. Wow, Maura thought to herself, no wonder I went home with this woman. I'd take her to bed sober. Maura's felt her cheeks blush at her own thoughts.
"Yeah, you had a bit much," the woman said. "I was going to ask how you like your coffee. I have plain half-and-half, sugar, and vanilla creamer. Or black, obviously," she added as an afterthought.
"Oh, the vanilla creamer sounds perfect. Thank you," Maura replied. As the woman left the room, Maura tried to blink the fog away from her brain. She adjusted the sheet to make sure she was covered before running her hand over her face in frustration and pushing her hair out of her face.
The woman returned carrying a steaming mug of coffee, a water bottle, and a bottle of aspirin.
"Thank you," Maura said as she took the bottle of water that the woman offered first. She opened it awkwardly as she tried to keep the sheet from falling. The mystery woman set the coffee on the nightstand and opened the aspirin bottle.
"Do you want aspirin?" the woman asked, holding out the bottle.
Maura nodded, but she instantly regretted it when the pounding in her head increased in response to the movement. Maura groaned as she took the two pills the woman tipped into her hand. Maura vaguely thought that she probably shouldn't be readily accepting drinks and medication from this woman, but there was something about her that made Maura instantly trust her.
Once Maura had finished the water – even in her hungover state she knew that dehydration was her biggest problem – she picked up the coffee and asked, "Do you know where my clothes are?"
"Yeah, your dress is hanging up in the closet. You were very worried about it getting wrinkled last night," the woman said, and it was obvious she was trying very hard not to laugh.
Maura blushed. She did care about her clothes but hanging her dress in her one-night-stand's closet was a bit much.
"Your bra and underwear are on the dresser," the woman said, pointing to the garments on the dresser. "Um, would you like to shower?"
Maura looked down at herself. It seemed inappropriate to say yes, but on the other hand, she felt like she needed it. She definitely smelled like a bar. She ran her fingers through her hair, and it was all tangled. "Are you sure it's okay?" Maura asked weakly.
"Yeah," the woman said. "I'll put your clothes and towels and whatever else you need in the bathroom while you finish your coffee."
"Thank you," Maura said gratefully. Maura sighed once the woman was out of earshot. She had had the occasional one-night-stand. However, not only did she usually leave before morning, but she also always remembered it. She had absolutely no memory of anything that happened after she walked into that bar last night.
Once she had finished her coffee, Maura stood up and situated the sheet around her body so that she could walk to the bathroom without tripping. She walked out of the room with her empty coffee mug and met the woman in the hall.
"Everything you need is there, but just yell for me if you need something else," she said as she took the mug from Maura's hands.
"Thank you," Maura said quietly. She closed the door behind her and smiled at the consideration of the other woman, who had left two towels, a new unwrapped bar of soap, a toothbrush, toothpaste, and even a new disposable razor.
When Maura stepped into the shower, the warm spray instantly relaxed her. She let the water flow over her body for a few minutes before she started her usual shower routine. By the time she was done, her mind was feeling much clearer. Overall, this was a good thing; however, with the clarity came the embarrassment.
After her shower, Maura quickly towel-dried her hair before pulling it back into a French braid. She turned to put on her clothes from last night when she noticed that the woman had also left a clean t-shirt and yoga pants with a note that said, 'just in case you want something more comfortable.' Maura hesitated for a minute. But after smelling her dress, which smelled just as much like the bar as she had before her shower, she decided to just put on the t-shirt and shorts with her undergarments from last night.
Maura looked at herself in the mirror. She didn't look great with her tired eyes and no makeup, but she definitely looked better than she had 30 minutes ago. Maura took a deep breath. She really wished she could just sneak out like she usually would in the middle of the night after a one-night-stand, but that didn't really seem like a possibility.
Maura found her way to the kitchen, where the mystery woman was plating a full breakfast with eggs, toast, and bacon.
"Hey, perfect timing," the woman said, flashing Maura another one of those smiles that made her stomach flutter.
Maura smiled, but she feared it came off as more of a grimace. "Thank you for the clothes and toiletries," Maura said somewhat shyly.
"Yeah, no problem."
"Um, do you know where my car is?" Maura asked, really hoping she hadn't driven in the state she had obviously been in last night – although, she was usually very responsible in that regard.
"It's still at the Dirty Robber," the woman said. "I'll drive you back, but you should eat something first. You'll feel a helluva lot better."
Maura took a tentative step forward. "It really wasn't necessary for you to cook," Maura said weakly, but she sat in the stool at the breakfast bar, facing the kitchen, anyway.
"Everyone's gotta eat," the woman said with a shrug as she put a fresh mug of coffee and a full plate in front of Maura.
Maura looked down at her plate, still feeling distinctly awkward.
"Sorry," the woman said, sounding nervous for the first time since Maura had woken up. "You don't have to eat. I mean, I didn't even ask what you like. I can get you something else, or I can just drive you back."
Maura looked up and smiled as her politeness won out. "No, I'm sorry," Maura said as she picked up her fork. "I'm being rude. I'm still a little fuzzy. This was very kind of you."
They ate in silence for a few minutes. The breakfast was actually incredibly good, and Maura vaguely wondered if it was because the other woman was a good cook or because she was hungover that it tasted so good. Maura really wanted to ask the woman her name, but she couldn't bring herself to ask. She'd never slept with someone before without at least knowing their name. Well, she very well could have known the woman's name last night, at least. She also really wanted to ask what happened last night. She was too embarrassed to speak, though.
The woman was standing on the other side of the breakfast bar eating. Every once in a while, they would make eye contact before they both quickly looked the other way.
"Do you remember anything?" the woman asked eventually.
Maura blushed a deep red. "No," she admitted. She didn't miss the smile the other woman was trying to hide by biting her bottom lip. "I don't usually drink that much," Maura said more defensively than she had intended.
"Yeah, you said that a lot, last night," the woman teased. To Maura's surprise, the teasing put her at ease. She was used to being made fun of, but something about this woman's teasing felt different. "Really, it's okay," the gorgeous dark-haired woman tried to reassure her. Something about the warmth in the woman's eyes made Maura feel better, but she still nodded awkwardly as her gaze fell back to her plate.
"We didn't sleep together," the other woman said quietly, causing Maura's eyes to snap back up to meet hers.