"Enigma (11/16)" - Hobbs/Raydor Fic
Title: Enigma (11/16)
Co-author: sharon_ray
Pairing: Hobbs/Raydor
Rating: T
Word Count: 1,668
Disclaimer: Not our characters or television show
Summary: Sharon and Andrea's relationship has been balanced on the precipice of friendship and something more for longer than either of them care to admit. Will the ever-present danger of their jobs finally push them over that fine line? Or will it pull them apart?
A/N: Fic starts out in season seven of The Closer, and follows the events (we've taken some liberties of course) of Major Crimes. This fic is complete and chapters will be posted on a weekly basis. On ff.net: Enigma.
Ch.1, Ch.2, Ch.3, Ch.4, Ch.5, Ch.6, Ch. 7, Ch.8, Ch.9, Ch.10,
(graphic made by me with my own screencaps and those taken with permission from MajorCrimesTV.net. Please do not take or re-post.)
“Come in,” Andrea muttered in response to the knock at her door without looking up from her work. She caught a whiff of familiar perfume and grinned.
Sharon seated herself across from Andrea with a smile; she placed a steaming cup of coffee on Andrea’s desk. “Thought you could use it, I heard that the coffee maker in your lunchroom broke down. Perhaps someone has been overusing it?” Sharon asked with a raised eyebrow.
“I have no idea what you are referring to,” Andrea said indignantly.
“Mmhmm, does everyone in the DA’s office consume a dozen cups of coffee a day like you?” Sharon teased.
“I do not consume a dozen cups of coffee a day. Sometimes I have tea,” Andrea replied.
Sharon simply gave her a knowing look.
“I do appreciate it though, thank you. I’ve been so busy that I haven’t had time to make a coffee run. I was going to grab lunch in a few minutes, if you have time?” Andrea asked hopefully.
It had been a few days since they’d reconciled, they had enjoyed their lunch in silence and then returned to Andrea’s place for coffee and a lengthier discussion. Andrea had bid Sharon goodbye that afternoon with a lingering kiss and an overwhelming sense of hope for their future.
“My pleasure,” Sharon said softly. “I do need to get back to my office, but I wanted to deliver that in person. May I take you up on your offer some other time? I have a meeting with Provenza and Taylor in fifteen minutes,” she said sadly. “But trust me, I’d much rather have lunch with you.”
“Of course,” Andrea said easily. She felt a delicious warmth spread out from her chest to her limbs as Sharon voiced her pleasure at doing something as mundane as fetching coffee for her, and as she voiced her desire to spend time with her. “I’m sorry about your meeting. Hopefully Provenza won’t allow Taylor to talk for too long,” she said with a dry chuckle.
“Oh, I doubt that even Provenza can hold him back. I’m really sorry that I can’t stay longer Andrea,” she repeated.
Andrea waved her apology off. “I understand. Duty calls.” She gave Sharon an easy smile which Sharon returned.
“Have a good day,” Sharon said as she rose and walked towards Andrea’s door again.
“I will now, thank you.”
***
Sharon was putting the finishing touches on dinner for herself and Rusty when her phone rang. She turned rested her wooden spoon against the top of the pot of soup and searched for her phone in her purse.
“Hi,” Sharon greeted Andrea warmly. She didn’t need to check her caller ID to know who was calling.
“Hi. Am I interrupting dinner?” Andrea asked nervously.
“No,” Sharon balanced her cell on her shoulder and stirred the soup again, “I’m just making it now. We’re having soup. Rusty’s been feeling under the weather so I thought vegetable stew might be good for him.”
“I’m sorry he’s feeling sick. You should make him some tea, if he’ll drink it.”
“Already have. I have to add a ridiculous amount of honey to it for him to drink it, however,” Sharon said.
“The kid has a sweet tooth,” Andrea chuckled. She filed that bit of information away for later; she’d have to shuffle through her recipe book sometime and see if she had anything that called for honey.
Sharon hummed in response. “What are you up to tonight?”
“Oh, nothing much. I only just got home a few minutes ago. I’m thinking of having take-out for dinner. I really can’t be bothered to cook tonight. But maybe I’ll have a bath first. I don’t know. It was a long day. I can’t think clearly anymore,” Andrea sighed.
Sharon turned the burner on the stove down and covered the pot of stew. “Have a bath first, take a glass of wine with you and just soak in the tub for a bit. It will help,” Sharon said. “Do you want to talk about today?”
“No. I just want to listen to your voice for a bit, if that’s okay?” Andrea asked softly.
“Of course it’s okay,” Sharon replied; she heard the sound of running water and smiled to herself as she pictured Andrea getting the tub ready. “What did you feel like ordering for dinner?”
“I hadn’t thought that far ahead, maybe Thai?” Andrea chuckled. “Or sushi. It’s been forever since I’ve had either. Maybe I’ll order both.”
Sharon shuffled through a drawer in her kitchen and located the take-out menus for both the local Thai and Japanese restaurants. “Sounds like a good plan,” she said absentmindedly as she skimmed the menu, looking for the meals that Andrea preferred.
“Can you hold on for a second? I need to put my phone down so I can get undressed,” Andrea said.
Sharon blushed fiercely. “Oh, um, of course.” She rolled her eyes at herself for her reaction. She could head the sound of a zipper being pulled down, the soft swosh of fabric hitting the floor, and then the sloshing of water and Andrea’s sighs.
“Still there?” Andrea asked.
“Yes,” Sharon practically squeaked. Her overactive mind couldn’t help but picture a very beautiful, very naked Andrea in the tub. Ever since reconciling, she’d started giving herself permission to give into her daytime musings about Andrea. It was a bit overwhelming to finally think of Andrea as the woman that she was committed to after denying herself any thoughts about Andrea in a romantic capacity for so long.
“You were right, I’m starting to feel better already,” Andrea moaned as she tilted her head back and submerged her entire torso under the hot water and dense bubbles.
“I’m very glad,” Sharon said, her voice was low and rough.
“How was your day?” Andrea asked sweetly. Her cheeks burned delightfully at the sound of desire in Sharon’s tone. It felt insanely good to be desired by the woman she loved.
“Eventful, but not overwhelmingly so. My highlight was seeing you,” Sharon said shyly.
“I’m glad. That was my highlight too,” Andrea said.
“I’m glad,” Sharon said lamely, then blushed in embarrassment. Finding the right words were still difficult for her. “I mean, I’m glad that I could make you happy. I want that, I want to make you happy Andrea. I want to make things up to you.”
“You do,” Andrea said encouragingly. It was the truth, the last several days she’d walked around with a sense of peace and happiness that had been absent from her life for far too long.
“You make me happy too,” Sharon said breathlessly. “I love you.” It was only the second time that she had voiced those words; but it felt a little easier than before. They felt more familiar on her tongue, like they were starting to make their home there.
“I love you too. I wish you were here with me. In the tub,” Andrea admitted. “I just want to hold you, if I could hold you right now I’d be perfectly happy.”
“I’d like that,” Sharon said warmly, “I’d massage your neck for you.”
“Oh god,” Andrea moaned, “if you did that I might never let you leave,” she teased.
“Sharon, when are we having dinner?” Rusty poked his head out of his room to inquire.
Sharon checked on the stew again. “Ten minutes,” Sharon replied; she heard Rusty close his door again.
“I should let you get back to Rusty,” Andrea said, though not unhappily.
“Okay. You’re still coming over tomorrow for dinner, right?” Sharon asked.
“I wouldn’t be anywhere else,” Andrea confirmed. “Enjoy your evening Sharon,” she said softly.
“You too,” Sharon said.
Andrea smiled to herself as she carefully tossed her cell onto the counter. Each conversation with Sharon got a little easier. Each affectionate gesture, each declaration of love, felt a little more natural. She was both surprised and grateful at how far they’d come in the last little while. She sighed happily as she thought about their dinner plans for tomorrow evening; this would be her first official dinner with both Sharon and Rusty as Sharon’s significant other and she was both elated and a little bit nervous.
As the water started to cool, and her fingertips started to prune, Andrea exited her tub and let the water drain. She wrapped a fluffy robe around her skin, which had turned pink from the heat of the water, and shuffled into her kitchen to contemplate where she might order her dinner from. She was pouring over the take-out menu for a Japanese place around the corner from her home when there was a knock at her door. She tightened the knot of her robe and answered her door.
“Good evening, Ms. Hobbs?” A young delivery boy greeted her with a smile and a bag of food in his outstretched hands.
“Uh, yes, thank you,” she said as she grabbed the bag from him. “Um, just give me a moment?”
“Oh, don’t worry, it’s been paid for and I’ve been tipped already. Have a good night,” he said before retreating.
Andrea stared at the bag in stunned silence. She locked her door and went back to her kitchen; she smiled as she unpacked a tray of sushi and a small container of miso soup. Knowing that only one person could have arranged to have dinner sent to her, she grabbed her phone and typed out a quick text, not wanting to interrupt Sharon and Rusty during dinner with a phone call.
That was insanely thoughtful of you. Thank you for making my day.
Surprisingly, she received a reply just moments later.
Rusty and I are making pad thai for you tomorrow night. Enjoy the sushi. xo
Andrea chuckled and risked sending one last text.
I will. And you ordered my favourite! Can’t wait for tomorrow. Love you.
For the rest of the evening, Andrea wore a ridiculous grin on her face.