"Match Made" - Hobbs/Raydor Fic (Sequel to This Year's Love)
Title: Match Made
Co-Author: sharon_ray
Pairing: Hobbs/Raydor, Rusty Beck, Gavin Baker
Rating: T
Word Count: 2, 071 words
Disclaimer: Not our characters or television show
A/N: This fic is a sequel to This Year's Love (now complete), which you will need to read first to understand this fic. This was written by request for obsessive_a101 who wanted a sequel fic where Andrea and Sharon try to set Gavin up on a blind date. Thanks to my co-author for her general awesomeness.
Sharon winced as Rusty moved one of his pieces. “I don’t know if I would do that Rusty,” she warned as she surveyed the chessboard.
“Oh hush you. That’s cheating. Not cheerleading,” Gavin said.
Sharon rested her hand on his arm and shook her head. “Don’t be a poor sport, darling,” she laughed. She settled against her best friend as she watched them play the game, waiting for Andrea to call her in to set the table for dinner. In the last six months they had settled into an easy domesticity with Rusty. There had certainly been rough patches, but things were going much more smoothly lately, and their new weekly dinner tradition with Gavin was proving to not only be fun, but beneficial for Rusty. Neither Sharon nor Andrea played chess, so at home Rusty was always short an opponent to practice with, but Gavin had been on his chess team all throughout high school and college, and years later still proved to be quite the player.
Andrea came out of the kitchen to drape her arm around Sharon and watch the boys play for a moment. “Who’s winning?” she asked.
“We’re tied,” Rusty grunted as he concentrated on the board. “But I’m about to beat him,” he said confidently.
“Or so you think,” Gavin snapped in response, rolling his eyes playfully.
Sharon squeezed Andrea’s hand and brought it to her lips to kiss her palm lightly. “Ready for me to set the table, honey?”
“It’s already set,” Andrea confirmed. “Pizza is ready and cut, but it’s a bit too hot to eat right now so we can wait for them to make a few more moves.” She gestured to their chess players.
Gavin moved his piece in front of Rusty’s King and murmured, “Checkmate.”
“Every single time!” Rusty exclaimed as he threw himself back in the chair. He laughed at Gavin as the older man cleared the board, a rather smug grin on his fact.
“You can’t beat the king, Rusty. You just can’t,” he gloated, slapping Sharon’s thigh gently before he stood up. “But you put up a good fight, and you’re getting much better,” he complimented the teen as the four of them sat down at the dinner table, “You’ll be kicking my ass in no time.” He winked at Rusty.
“You’ve got to teach me,” Rusty insisted as he helped himself to the pizza tray infront of him.
“You’re on the school chess team, aren’t you?” Gavin asked as he sipped his moscato wine.
“Yeah, but the teacher who runs the team is an idiot.”
“Rusty,” Sharon scowled.
“It’s true,” he insisted. “He’s awful. Which makes the team awful because we can’t learn from him. It’s bullshit.” He ignored Sharon’s glare.
“Well,” Gavin smiled at Sharon, patting her hand to calm her down, “If you watch your mouth in front of your foster mommy, I’ll help you learn. Deal?”
Rusty smirked at Gavin’s sarcasm, but nodded his head. “Deal, I guess. If I have to.” He grinned at Sharon, then Andrea as he helped himself to another slice of pizza. “Andrea, dinner is really great, thanks for making it again.”
“No problem, Rusty,” Andrea responded sweetly as she took a sip of her wine. “So, Gavin... how are things at work?” She raised an eyebrow at her friend as she asked the question. She wasn’t really interested in how things at his office were going at all, but she needed to pull the attention towards him somehow.
“Oh, you know, same as usual,” he said casually as he helped himself to the specially made vegan pizza. Andrea’s recipe was better than any of the local vegan joints he frequented, the woman was simply a genius in the kitchen. “We’re a bit slow lately, but I’m not complaining. It was a crazy summer.”
“Crazy, how?” Rusty asked as he helped himself to a third slice.
“Lots of divorces, which is ironic since summer is wedding season,” Gavin said, chuckling. “Oh, to be young and in love!” He rolled his eyes and chuckled darkly.
Rusty scarfed down another piece of pizza and pulled his phone out of his pocket as Sharon and Andrea exchanged telling glances across the dinner table. It was one thing for Rusty to be present when they vented about their jobs with Gavin, it was another for him to hear the people who were now essentially his parents discussing dating and love; it was not a conversation they were willing to have in front of Rusty when another person’s life was the subject. Despite Gavin’s confidence and sass, he was an intensely private man and wouldn’t appreciate the two of them discussing his personal life with an audience.
“Hey, Sharon? I got a text message from Christopher...may I be excused, please?”
Sharon smiled softly at him and nodded. She’d heard a lot about this Chris lately. “Sure, Rusty. But just tonight, okay? We’re not going to make a habit of this.”
“Of course,” he said as he excused himself from the table, leaving the three adults alone.
Gavin lifted a well-groomed eyebrow at both women. “Okay, spill. You never let the kid leave when he gets a text. You two are up to something.”
“Gavin, I am horribly offended by your insinuations,” Sharon said in mock offence as Andrea put her arm around her, pulling her closer. “Why is it so hard for you to believe that we invited you over simply because we love your company?”
“Yes Gavin, we’re wounded, truly,” Andrea chimed in with a look of contrived innocence on her face.
Gavin took another healthy sip of his moscato. “Spill.”
Sharon rested her head on Andrea’s shoulder and looked up at her with a wide grin on her face. “Well Counselor, it was your idea. Spill.”
Andrea rolled her eyes and pushed Sharon away playfully. “Well, Gavin... I met someone last week...”
Gavin brought a hand to his mouth in mock horror. “You did? Does Sharon know?” He asked quietly, covering his face as if to hide his question from their red headed counterpart.
Sharon laughed out loud and smacked him from across the table.
“For you,” Andrea laughed, rolling her eyes as she pulled Sharon close to her again. She knew it was meant as a joke, but even the insinuation of anyone but Sharon in her life felt just ridiculous.
“Right, see, I don’t do blind dates,” Gavin drawled.
“Oh please, of all people, you have the nerve to use that line,” Sharon said pointedly. “How many months were you trying to get us together for?” she reminded him.
“Nope, totally different circumstances,” he insisted stubbornly, “you two were so pathetically into each other. It was actually painful to watch. I did everyone a public service.”
“Okay, Gavin,” Sharon snapped, rolling her eyes, “We were not that bad.”
“Ah, ah- Sharon Raydor do not start with me,” Gavin fussed, “Do you not recall the countless conversations of “Gavin I just don’t know what to do. She’s so perfect and I know that I can never tell her and she’s lovely and I’m going to tattoo I love Andrea Hobbs on my forehead!”
“I did not say that,” Sharon said, laughing, “I admit, I was taken with her for a long, long time, but you exaggerate my dear.” She rolled her eyes at her eccentric friend and snuggled deeper into Andrea’s embrace.
Andrea kissed Sharon’s forehead and smiled down at the smaller woman. Gavin rolled his eyes at them. “See? This is what I’m talking about,” he stated.
“And look at how ridiculously happy we are Gavin,” Andrea said, “I never thought this would happen. I never thought that months later we’d be here, and be this content. We just want the same thing for you.” She reached across the table to squeeze his hand lovingly. “We love you and want you to be stupid in love, and this guy is really, really great. I promise.”
Gavin regarded his two closest friends for a moment. He couldn’t deny that the two of them positively radiated happiness these days, even with the unexpected addition of Rusty into their lives, and Sharon’s department transfer. He sighed. These two always were trouble, they could talk him into anything. “Tell me more about Mr. Perfect, and I’ll decide for myself if I want to meet him.”
“Well,” Andrea smiled as she ran her hand up and down Sharon’s arm, “He is in his early forties, newly transferred from a private firm in New York City. He is vegan, so you two will be a match made in culinary heaven right there! He has two dogs, both are rescues. He’s really into environmental issues and work a lot of pro bono cases out in NY for activist clients, he’s tall, dark, very handsome. Works out daily, meditates-”
“Oh god, stop it. He sounds heavenly and I haven’t even seen him yet!” Gavin sighed.
“So...how about that date?” Andrea nudged him gently, hoping he’d agree to it. If she could only get them in the same room, she knew they would hit it off perfectly. “I think he’d be really good for you, Gavin.”
Gavin squirmed in his seat, obviously weighing his options. “I don’t know...what if he turns out to be too perfect?” he asked miserably.
“Honey, just meet him. I’ll tell you where he works out, maybe you should switch gyms for a bit?” Andrea suggested.
“No, no, he’ll think I’m stalking him,” Gavin said stubbornly.
“Fine. I may have mentioned to him that I have a friend who I thought was perfect for him,” Andrea said innocently, “and I may have shown him a picture of you, and he may be totally excited about meeting you.”
“Andrea Hobbs. You sneaky, evil woman,” Gavin said. “What did he say?” he asked anxiously.
Sharon laughed. “He said you were gorgeous, and that he would like for us to pass along his number to you.”
Gavin couldn’t control the deep crimson color that crept up his neck and over cheeks. “Really?” he asked quietly, stunned. “Well, I mean, if he was excited...” he trailed off, losing himself in thought for a moment.
Andrea exchanged a quick look with Sharon, hoping she hadn’t made a mistake in trying to set her friends up. She knew Gavin would be hesitant but she hadn’t expected him to be quite so nervous about it, especially after how hard he had pushed her and Sharon.
After a few tense moments, Gavin finally nodded his head. “Alright. I can give him a call, I suppose.”
****
Andrea stood at the bathroom mirror, clad in a pair of black slacks and matching black lace bra, pushing a pearl earring through her lobe. “Sharon, is that my phone?” she muttered to her partner, who was buried somewhere in the walk in closet, no doubt making a mess of the pencil skirts again.
“I think so,” Sharon said as she walked out of the closet, already dressed for the day. She stopped in her tracks when she saw Andrea bent over the sink, using their mirror. “Don’t you look lovely,” she purred as she came up behind Andrea and started kissing along her bare shoulders.
“The phone Sharon?” Andrea said pointedly.
“Yes, yes. Spoilsport. We have enough time you know,” Sharon said as she retrieved Andrea’s cell.
Andrea laughed at Sharon. “Not really. I’ve got to get Rusty to school early this morning for his retreat. They’re leaving at 8:00am sharp,” she reminded her. She unlocked her phone and scrolled through her messages to see who had been trying to contact her.
“Hey, Andrea, did Gavin text you?” Sharon called from the bedroom again.
Andrea noticed that there was indeed a message from their friend left on her cell. She opened the text at the same time as she walked into the bedroom in search of a blouse to wear.
Hello lovelies. Just want to let you know that he IS Mr. Perfect. In EVERY way. Love you both. xo
Sharon laughed out loud as she read her text message, then threw her phone down on the bed in favor of wrapping her arms around Andrea. “Well... at least one of us got lucky this morning.”
“Mmmhmm, but we get to come home tonight together,” Andrea reminded her. “And remember, Rusty’s gone for the next two days with his classmates.”
“Yes, Ms. Perfect,” Sharon purred.
Co-Author: sharon_ray
Pairing: Hobbs/Raydor, Rusty Beck, Gavin Baker
Rating: T
Word Count: 2, 071 words
Disclaimer: Not our characters or television show
A/N: This fic is a sequel to This Year's Love (now complete), which you will need to read first to understand this fic. This was written by request for obsessive_a101 who wanted a sequel fic where Andrea and Sharon try to set Gavin up on a blind date. Thanks to my co-author for her general awesomeness.
Sharon winced as Rusty moved one of his pieces. “I don’t know if I would do that Rusty,” she warned as she surveyed the chessboard.
“Oh hush you. That’s cheating. Not cheerleading,” Gavin said.
Sharon rested her hand on his arm and shook her head. “Don’t be a poor sport, darling,” she laughed. She settled against her best friend as she watched them play the game, waiting for Andrea to call her in to set the table for dinner. In the last six months they had settled into an easy domesticity with Rusty. There had certainly been rough patches, but things were going much more smoothly lately, and their new weekly dinner tradition with Gavin was proving to not only be fun, but beneficial for Rusty. Neither Sharon nor Andrea played chess, so at home Rusty was always short an opponent to practice with, but Gavin had been on his chess team all throughout high school and college, and years later still proved to be quite the player.
Andrea came out of the kitchen to drape her arm around Sharon and watch the boys play for a moment. “Who’s winning?” she asked.
“We’re tied,” Rusty grunted as he concentrated on the board. “But I’m about to beat him,” he said confidently.
“Or so you think,” Gavin snapped in response, rolling his eyes playfully.
Sharon squeezed Andrea’s hand and brought it to her lips to kiss her palm lightly. “Ready for me to set the table, honey?”
“It’s already set,” Andrea confirmed. “Pizza is ready and cut, but it’s a bit too hot to eat right now so we can wait for them to make a few more moves.” She gestured to their chess players.
Gavin moved his piece in front of Rusty’s King and murmured, “Checkmate.”
“Every single time!” Rusty exclaimed as he threw himself back in the chair. He laughed at Gavin as the older man cleared the board, a rather smug grin on his fact.
“You can’t beat the king, Rusty. You just can’t,” he gloated, slapping Sharon’s thigh gently before he stood up. “But you put up a good fight, and you’re getting much better,” he complimented the teen as the four of them sat down at the dinner table, “You’ll be kicking my ass in no time.” He winked at Rusty.
“You’ve got to teach me,” Rusty insisted as he helped himself to the pizza tray infront of him.
“You’re on the school chess team, aren’t you?” Gavin asked as he sipped his moscato wine.
“Yeah, but the teacher who runs the team is an idiot.”
“Rusty,” Sharon scowled.
“It’s true,” he insisted. “He’s awful. Which makes the team awful because we can’t learn from him. It’s bullshit.” He ignored Sharon’s glare.
“Well,” Gavin smiled at Sharon, patting her hand to calm her down, “If you watch your mouth in front of your foster mommy, I’ll help you learn. Deal?”
Rusty smirked at Gavin’s sarcasm, but nodded his head. “Deal, I guess. If I have to.” He grinned at Sharon, then Andrea as he helped himself to another slice of pizza. “Andrea, dinner is really great, thanks for making it again.”
“No problem, Rusty,” Andrea responded sweetly as she took a sip of her wine. “So, Gavin... how are things at work?” She raised an eyebrow at her friend as she asked the question. She wasn’t really interested in how things at his office were going at all, but she needed to pull the attention towards him somehow.
“Oh, you know, same as usual,” he said casually as he helped himself to the specially made vegan pizza. Andrea’s recipe was better than any of the local vegan joints he frequented, the woman was simply a genius in the kitchen. “We’re a bit slow lately, but I’m not complaining. It was a crazy summer.”
“Crazy, how?” Rusty asked as he helped himself to a third slice.
“Lots of divorces, which is ironic since summer is wedding season,” Gavin said, chuckling. “Oh, to be young and in love!” He rolled his eyes and chuckled darkly.
Rusty scarfed down another piece of pizza and pulled his phone out of his pocket as Sharon and Andrea exchanged telling glances across the dinner table. It was one thing for Rusty to be present when they vented about their jobs with Gavin, it was another for him to hear the people who were now essentially his parents discussing dating and love; it was not a conversation they were willing to have in front of Rusty when another person’s life was the subject. Despite Gavin’s confidence and sass, he was an intensely private man and wouldn’t appreciate the two of them discussing his personal life with an audience.
“Hey, Sharon? I got a text message from Christopher...may I be excused, please?”
Sharon smiled softly at him and nodded. She’d heard a lot about this Chris lately. “Sure, Rusty. But just tonight, okay? We’re not going to make a habit of this.”
“Of course,” he said as he excused himself from the table, leaving the three adults alone.
Gavin lifted a well-groomed eyebrow at both women. “Okay, spill. You never let the kid leave when he gets a text. You two are up to something.”
“Gavin, I am horribly offended by your insinuations,” Sharon said in mock offence as Andrea put her arm around her, pulling her closer. “Why is it so hard for you to believe that we invited you over simply because we love your company?”
“Yes Gavin, we’re wounded, truly,” Andrea chimed in with a look of contrived innocence on her face.
Gavin took another healthy sip of his moscato. “Spill.”
Sharon rested her head on Andrea’s shoulder and looked up at her with a wide grin on her face. “Well Counselor, it was your idea. Spill.”
Andrea rolled her eyes and pushed Sharon away playfully. “Well, Gavin... I met someone last week...”
Gavin brought a hand to his mouth in mock horror. “You did? Does Sharon know?” He asked quietly, covering his face as if to hide his question from their red headed counterpart.
Sharon laughed out loud and smacked him from across the table.
“For you,” Andrea laughed, rolling her eyes as she pulled Sharon close to her again. She knew it was meant as a joke, but even the insinuation of anyone but Sharon in her life felt just ridiculous.
“Right, see, I don’t do blind dates,” Gavin drawled.
“Oh please, of all people, you have the nerve to use that line,” Sharon said pointedly. “How many months were you trying to get us together for?” she reminded him.
“Nope, totally different circumstances,” he insisted stubbornly, “you two were so pathetically into each other. It was actually painful to watch. I did everyone a public service.”
“Okay, Gavin,” Sharon snapped, rolling her eyes, “We were not that bad.”
“Ah, ah- Sharon Raydor do not start with me,” Gavin fussed, “Do you not recall the countless conversations of “Gavin I just don’t know what to do. She’s so perfect and I know that I can never tell her and she’s lovely and I’m going to tattoo I love Andrea Hobbs on my forehead!”
“I did not say that,” Sharon said, laughing, “I admit, I was taken with her for a long, long time, but you exaggerate my dear.” She rolled her eyes at her eccentric friend and snuggled deeper into Andrea’s embrace.
Andrea kissed Sharon’s forehead and smiled down at the smaller woman. Gavin rolled his eyes at them. “See? This is what I’m talking about,” he stated.
“And look at how ridiculously happy we are Gavin,” Andrea said, “I never thought this would happen. I never thought that months later we’d be here, and be this content. We just want the same thing for you.” She reached across the table to squeeze his hand lovingly. “We love you and want you to be stupid in love, and this guy is really, really great. I promise.”
Gavin regarded his two closest friends for a moment. He couldn’t deny that the two of them positively radiated happiness these days, even with the unexpected addition of Rusty into their lives, and Sharon’s department transfer. He sighed. These two always were trouble, they could talk him into anything. “Tell me more about Mr. Perfect, and I’ll decide for myself if I want to meet him.”
“Well,” Andrea smiled as she ran her hand up and down Sharon’s arm, “He is in his early forties, newly transferred from a private firm in New York City. He is vegan, so you two will be a match made in culinary heaven right there! He has two dogs, both are rescues. He’s really into environmental issues and work a lot of pro bono cases out in NY for activist clients, he’s tall, dark, very handsome. Works out daily, meditates-”
“Oh god, stop it. He sounds heavenly and I haven’t even seen him yet!” Gavin sighed.
“So...how about that date?” Andrea nudged him gently, hoping he’d agree to it. If she could only get them in the same room, she knew they would hit it off perfectly. “I think he’d be really good for you, Gavin.”
Gavin squirmed in his seat, obviously weighing his options. “I don’t know...what if he turns out to be too perfect?” he asked miserably.
“Honey, just meet him. I’ll tell you where he works out, maybe you should switch gyms for a bit?” Andrea suggested.
“No, no, he’ll think I’m stalking him,” Gavin said stubbornly.
“Fine. I may have mentioned to him that I have a friend who I thought was perfect for him,” Andrea said innocently, “and I may have shown him a picture of you, and he may be totally excited about meeting you.”
“Andrea Hobbs. You sneaky, evil woman,” Gavin said. “What did he say?” he asked anxiously.
Sharon laughed. “He said you were gorgeous, and that he would like for us to pass along his number to you.”
Gavin couldn’t control the deep crimson color that crept up his neck and over cheeks. “Really?” he asked quietly, stunned. “Well, I mean, if he was excited...” he trailed off, losing himself in thought for a moment.
Andrea exchanged a quick look with Sharon, hoping she hadn’t made a mistake in trying to set her friends up. She knew Gavin would be hesitant but she hadn’t expected him to be quite so nervous about it, especially after how hard he had pushed her and Sharon.
After a few tense moments, Gavin finally nodded his head. “Alright. I can give him a call, I suppose.”
****
Andrea stood at the bathroom mirror, clad in a pair of black slacks and matching black lace bra, pushing a pearl earring through her lobe. “Sharon, is that my phone?” she muttered to her partner, who was buried somewhere in the walk in closet, no doubt making a mess of the pencil skirts again.
“I think so,” Sharon said as she walked out of the closet, already dressed for the day. She stopped in her tracks when she saw Andrea bent over the sink, using their mirror. “Don’t you look lovely,” she purred as she came up behind Andrea and started kissing along her bare shoulders.
“The phone Sharon?” Andrea said pointedly.
“Yes, yes. Spoilsport. We have enough time you know,” Sharon said as she retrieved Andrea’s cell.
Andrea laughed at Sharon. “Not really. I’ve got to get Rusty to school early this morning for his retreat. They’re leaving at 8:00am sharp,” she reminded her. She unlocked her phone and scrolled through her messages to see who had been trying to contact her.
“Hey, Andrea, did Gavin text you?” Sharon called from the bedroom again.
Andrea noticed that there was indeed a message from their friend left on her cell. She opened the text at the same time as she walked into the bedroom in search of a blouse to wear.
Hello lovelies. Just want to let you know that he IS Mr. Perfect. In EVERY way. Love you both. xo
Sharon laughed out loud as she read her text message, then threw her phone down on the bed in favor of wrapping her arms around Andrea. “Well... at least one of us got lucky this morning.”
“Mmmhmm, but we get to come home tonight together,” Andrea reminded her. “And remember, Rusty’s gone for the next two days with his classmates.”
“Yes, Ms. Perfect,” Sharon purred.