"Enigma (12/16)" - Hobbs/Raydor Fic
Title: Enigma (12/16)
Co-author: sharon_ray
Pairing: Hobbs/Raydor
Rating: T
Word Count: 2, 384
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, Ch.11,
(graphic made by me with my own screencaps and those taken with permission from MajorCrimesTV.net. Please do not take or re-post.)
“Hey, Andrea,” Rusty muttered nonchalantly as he opened the front door for the blonde.
She was holding an apple pie in her hands, Sharon’s favourite. She was dressed in a pair of dark bootcut jeans and a white v-neck t-shirt that hugged her curves, a casual black cardigan thrown over it. “Hey yourself,” she smiled at him as she entered Sharon’s condo, immediately heading to the kitchen to set the dessert down and greet the Captain.
They’d settled into a routine the last few weeks; Andrea came over on Friday or Saturday evenings for dinner and Rusty, who had grown quite fond of her, and Sharon would clamour for her attention at dinner. Rusty would eventually retreat to his room, leaving Andrea alone to spend some time with Sharon on the couch. Andrea always went home at the end of the evening out of respect for Sharon who was easing into the rhythm of being in a relationship again, and for Rusty, who they were always mindful of.
“We started reading Macbeth in our literature class today,” he informed her as he courteously hung her coat and handbag up in the closet.
“Oh, did you?” Andrea smiled as she bent down to kiss Sharon, who was stirring...something... in a big bowl, on the cheek. Andrea had always been better at baking than cooking, so she often left the dinners to Sharon, while she took care of dessert. She glanced down into the bowl to see an array of ingredients and smiled. She had no idea what it was, but it looked delicious. “Macbeth is one of my favourites. How long will you be studying it for?”
“A week. My teacher makes us sit in a circle and read the lines out loud. I’m reading the part of Macduff, he’s a pretty cool character so far,” Rusty mused, as he sat at the bar so that he could talk to Andrea while she began to help Sharon in the kitchen.
“I’m making enchiladas, can you grab a baking dish, please?” Sharon requested as she continued to mix peppers, onions, tempeh, and a host of other vegetables with a green sauce in the purple, glass bowl in front of her.
“Enchiladas and apple pie?” Rusty questioned as he watched the two women work side by side. Andrea had already grabbed the tortillas and cheese and began stuffing the enchiladas while Sharon continued to chop and mix and shred.
“We didn’t talk this morning, we were both swamped at work and couldn’t coordinate the meal,” Sharon laughed as she moved away from Andrea to rinse her hands at the sink, “and you better watch it, you don’t have to have dessert if you’ve got any complaints about the way it mixes with dinner.”
Rusty just looked skeptically at the two of them before grabbing the place settings and dishes and arranging them on the dining room table. He put wine glasses for Andrea and Sharon and a regular glass for himself next to the plates and cutlery at each setting.
“Rusty has some exciting news,” Sharon prompted. She gave Rusty an encouraging smile.
“Oh?” Andrea turned around and regarded him excitedly. “What’s up?”
“I made chess team captain,” he said bashfully, “I’m in charge of team morale, making sure we all show up to our weekly practices, stuff like that,” he said.
“Rusty that’s amazing! Two Captains under one roof, huh?” she said as she winked at him.
Rusty laughed at her and shook his head gently. “Yea, something like that,” he muttered as he finished setting the table, placing a napkin next to each of their plates. “Did you close that murder case yesterday, Andrea? The one you’ve been working on all week?”
Andrea nodded her head as she leaned against the counter next to Sharon. She really wanted to wrap her arms around the older woman, but she afforded her her space; she didn’t want to rush things or make Sharon feel smothered, or make Rusty feel uncomfortable, so she settled for standing close to her. She hoped that as they got more comfortable with each other, and with Rusty around them, that they’d settle into being more physically affectionate. “I did. I won.” She smiled, a faint blush creeping into her cheeks. “I managed to secure a second degree murder conviction, 30 years, to be served starting immediately.”
“Andrea, that’s fantastic,” Sharon smiled up at Andrea as she slid the enchiladas into the oven, “Congratulations!” She grasped Andrea’s forearm and afforded her a wink. “Though, I knew you’d win it.”
Andrea grinned at Sharon. It meant everything to her that she was so openly supportive of her work, and that she vocalized her pride in what Andrea did. “Thank you,” she said warmly, “Do you have any of the white I brought over last week?” she asked, “I think it’ll go nicely with this.”
Sharon nodded. “Yes, it’s in the fridge still. I’ll have some too, please.”
They moved about the kitchen with an easy flow; readjusting to this, the weekly dinners, the time spent cooking and laughing together, had been much easier than either woman had predicted it would be. And instead of hindering the rhythm between them, Rusty only added to it. He was thoughtful and curious and quite a decent cook for a boy his age. They dined in more often than they dined out so that the three of them could have the shared experience of cooking for one another and trying new recipes, and discovering new things.
In no time at all, the meal was ready and served in their respective dishes. Andrea had poured both herself and Sharon half a glass of the chilled Riesling while Rusty had helped himself to a soda from the fridge. All three of them settled into an easy discussion while they enjoyed their meal.
“You know, if we get really good, we may get to play against out of town schools too. Like high schools in Northern California and stuff,” Rusty said, in respect to his chess team’s prospects, “And we might even get to travel for the tournament,” he said, he eyed Sharon carefully to gauge her reaction.
“Well, we’ll have to see about that,” Sharon said, her tone and expression were both neutral. “It’s a big maybe right now, so, if it becomes a certain possibility we will discuss it.”
Rusty looked at Andrea. “Wouldn’t it be so cool Andrea? To get to go to a tournament at another school?” he pressed. Maybe he’d have better luck with her.
Andrea raised her eyebrow at Rusty, she knew exactly the game he was playing at. “Well, it certainly sounds like it would be a great experience. But I agree with Sharon, it’s a big maybe right now.”
Rusty scoffed, “You’re always telling me about how you travelled all over the place after school,” he reminded her.
Andrea blushed guiltily as Sharon shot her a glare.
“Andrea was older than you are now,” Sharon said.
“Yeah, by less than two years,” he reminded her. Andrea had told him about the year she’d taken off between finishing high school and starting college so that she could backpack across Europe, as well as her study abroad experience in university. He was both fascinated, and envious, of her experience. “Her parents let her go all over the place unsupervised, and then when she did finally go to school, they sent her to Italy.”
Sharon laughed quietly and rolled her eyes at Rusty. It made her smile that Rusty thought of her as his ‘parent’ now without hesitation, but this argument was moot. “Yes, they did. And I still question their parenting skills for that. I can only imagine how much trouble she must have gotten into over there,” she smirked at Andrea, referring silently to a few of the stories Andrea had shared with only her about Europe.
Andrea jumped in quickly to smooth things over, doing her best to give Rusty a stern glance, “Sharon hasn’t said no, Rusty, and neither have I. When you make it that far, I’m sure she’ll reconsider... but for now lets drop Europe before you get me in trouble with the boss, okay?”
Rusty smirked to himself. He’d get the full story out of her eventually. “Sure,” he said.
Sharon ran her foot halfway up Andrea’s leg under the table, smirking. She’d have to bring up Andrea’s travels again later after Rusty went in his bedroom. She’d heard a few of the stories, but she was convinced that she hadn’t gotten the full set of tales out of Andrea yet, either. “Everyone ready for dessert?” she asked pleasantly, moving her foot as quickly as she had placed it on Andrea’s leg, doing her best to redirect the conversation away from Andrea’s mischief making.
“Yes,” Rusty said quickly as he pushed his chair back and started grabbing their empty dishes.
Sharon winked at Andrea as Rusty walked into the kitchen, then stood and followed him so she could grab the pie Andrea had made for dessert. “Can you grab some dessert plates, please?” she asked as she cut into the pie, slicing it into equal pieces.
“Already got them.” Rusty smiled, handing the small purple plates to his foster mother. “Sharon, can I ask you something?”
“Anything, Rusty,” Sharon muttered casually, more concentrated on dessert than any question Rusty could be getting ready to throw her way.
“Are you and Andrea, like, seriously dating? I mean, I know you said you cared about her, and you said she’d be around...I know for sure that you’re kind of dating. But, I guess I just want to know if she’s going to stick around for good,” he asked quietly, careful not to let Andrea, who was getting the couch ready for a movie, overhear.
Sharon paused, still holding the knife in one hand. How could she answer that question? Granted, she didn’t get much time alone with Andrea, and they still hadn’t rekindled their sex life yet; they’re made a promise to one another to work through their issues and fully gain one another’s trust again before jumping into bed. No, their romance wasn’t traditional, but that didn’t make it any less serious. She was in love with Andrea. She wanted to be with her for as long as Andrea would have her.
“Rusty,” Sharon said quietly, turning to face him so he had her full attention, “Yes. We are dating seriously and she isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, but we’re also transitioning from a friendship of many years to a romantic relationship. The first time we tried this, we hurt each other a lot. It happened too soon and it scared both of us; so, we’re taking things slowly this time. She’s not moving in anytime soon, nor are we moving in with her, but we are committed to each other.” She felt the need to reassert that his stable environment was, indeed, still stable. “Right now isn’t the best time to discuss this though, if you like, we can talk more fully tomorrow?” she offered.
“Yeah, I mean, I didn’t ask because I have an issue with her or whatever, I just wanted to know for sure I guess. We can talk tomorrow, that’s cool,” he said as he smiled genuinely at her.
Sharon set the knife down so she could give Rusty a quick hug; she felt the need to have him in her arms. She hated that his mother had caused so many insecurities in him, and that Rusty had any reason to doubt Andrea’s presence in his life. She felt a wave of protectiveness wash over her as she squeezed him gently, then patted his back before letting him go. She knew that he wasn’t one for lingering shows of affection. “Are you going to stay up and watch the movie with us, or do you have far cooler people to text message and Facebook after dessert?” she teased, messing up his hair before she turned her attention back to the pie.
“I’m going to talk to my friends and listen to music for a bit. I’d rather do that than watch you two kissing in a tree,” he teased her back, accepting the plates she handed him to carry into the living room.
She scoffed at his crude joke. “Don’t be silly,” she said. Her heart swelled with pride and happiness for him that he could use the term ‘my friends’ so easily, and so often now.
“Okay, Sharon,” he laughed and rolled his eyes at her as he walked into the living room. He handed Andrea her plate, then turned on his heel. “I’m going to go eat this in my room. You two enjoy the movie.” He smirked at Sharon, then quickly made his way down the hall.
“That kid.” Sharon shook her head as she sat down next to Andrea on the couch and grabbed the cable knit throw hanging off the back to cover herself with. She helped herself to her piece of Andrea’s homemade apple pie. “Thank you for bringing this,” she mumbled between bites.
Andrea grinned as Sharon devoured the dessert. “You’re welcome,” she said as she nibbled on her own piece. “So, what were you and Rusty whispering about in the kitchen?” she asked.
“Were your ears burning?” Sharon asked as she put the plate and fork on her coffee table. “He asked me if we were seriously dating. I told him shortly after we reconciled that I was very fond of you and that he’d be seeing you around more often. He wanted to know for sure what that meant,” she explained.
Andrea set her own half-eaten dessert on the coffee table next to Sharon’s plate. “Hmm, fond of me are you?” she teased as she drew Sharon’s legs into her lap and began to massage her feet through the thick socks she wore.
“Very,” Sharon said sweetly. She bent her legs so that she could slide closer to Andrea and tuck her head in between Andrea’s neck and shoulder.
Andrea put one arm around Sharon and kissed the top of her head. “You just love me because I can bake,” she whispered playfully against the auburn tresses.
Sharon giggled. “Oh yes, that’s entirely it,” she laughed.