Laws of Attraction - Chapter Forty-Three: No Time Like the Present [Part Two]
Title: Laws of Attraction
Author: Major Roon
Fandom: The Closer
Pairing: Brenda/Sharon
Rating: NC-17/M
Sharon contemplated dialing her mother’s number so she could break the news, that she might not be leaving tomorrow morning, but rather tomorrow night, to the rest of the family but knowing that she would put on that pitiful voice and say somewhat condescendingly, “As long as you make it here for Christmas,” put Sharon off that idea.
She stared at the phone, annoyed with herself and with Pope for dumping this mess on her doorstep, including Brenda and her attitude, but realized she at least had to let her family know.
Sharon decided to text her father. She couldn’t be sure whether or not he really read texts but writing her son was out of the question - ‘hey, I’m sorry, it really was out of my hands, there was a terrible accident, I’ll be on time next time, promise, really, I promise.’
That wouldn’t fly anymore with her children.
Instead she said, ‘Last minute orders. Will try to catch my flight. Will let you know of any changes. See you soon.’
The door to Pope’s office opened as she hit send and for a moment she could merely stare open-mouthed at Brenda.
The blonde stared back at her, a strange expression on her face. “We’ll get this sorted out.” She breezed past Sharon.
The brunette stuffed her phone into her pocket and rolled her eyes - promises, promises.
“We better,” Sharon commented sourly, “Because my daughter has very nearly forgiven me for being late to her graduation.” She had barely finished the sentence when Brenda pulled her aside. She walked right into the woman’s back as the door the blonde had intended to catapult them both into wouldn’t budge.
“Ooooh, I hate this buildin’!” Brenda fiddled with her keycard.
Sharon sighed and stepped back, crossing her arms. She tried to look defiant and perfectly confident but in truth she was merely steeling herself for whatever was about to come. “What are you doing?” She asked lamely, not protesting as Brenda pulled her into the room.
“Get in here!”
Sharon straightened her jacket and pushed her glasses up her nose. She wanted to be angered by the other woman’s audacity, she wanted to tell her how inappropriate she was and how her conduct was unacceptable but the blonde frequently reduced her to a speechless, insecure, stuttering little girl.
“How long are you gonna be in Park City?”
The brunette blinked. “I want to say five days but as you can see, I’m here and not yet...there.”
“Got any plans for New Year’s?”
“Yes,” Sharon said carefully, feeling like this was verging on an interrogation. “Yes, in fact, I do.”
Brenda crossed her arms.
“I thought you were spending Christmas and New Year’s with your parents?”
“I was,” the blonde shook her head. “I am. I was just wonderin’...”
“Ah,” Sharon uncrossed her arms, finally regaining some semblance of composure. The ball was in her court, she realized and she could tell by Brenda’s expression that the blonde was expecting a certain answer.
Sometimes, Sharon thought, she really wished she could surprise the blonde and say, thanks but no thanks, but Brenda gave her a tingle, a prickly sensation that seemed to rule her mind. “You were wondering what?”
There, she had done it yet again; Sharon swallowed heavily and crossed her arms once more, realizing in despair that, yet again, she was utterly helpless. It was despicable and vile how the woman could just make her do these things, she was her kryptonite.
“I was just wonderin’ if...” Brenda came closer, biting her lip and reaching out. “If you’d like to maybe get together...sometime.”
Sharon glanced down as the woman’s fingertip drew a circle onto the back of her hand.
Yes, she wanted to say yes but tried not to. The answer should be no, I do not, not ever again. What we’re doing is utterly wrong, I can’t look at myself anymore. I feel awful. I wish you’d leave me alone.
“I know it’s maybe a bit inconvenient but Fritz’s not gonna be there,” the blonde babbled along, Sharon had been quiet for a moment too long, “He’s visitin’ his sister. By himself.”
The brunette nodded slowly.
“She coulda come see us...even though she’s just terrible, and gets my Mama upset.” Brenda shrugged. “But he wants to get away for a few days,” she added somewhat nonchalantly. “Again.”
Sharon studied the woman’s features for a moment, she wasn’t stupid or naive, and realized what was happening. It all sounded strangely familiar.
“Oh.”
“Yes...oh.” Brenda turned around and leaned against a table, her typically sullen expression on her face. “He needs more time.”
She didn’t really want to hear it.
The fact that it was partially her fault didn’t help her heavy conscience.
“Maybe we shouldn’t see each other for a while,” Sharon said slowly, feeling strangely proud of herself. “Maybe that would be for the best, don’t you think?”
Brenda stood back up. “Of course not!”
“No?” The woman frequently confused her.
“No! What gave you that ridiculous idea?”
Ridiculous? Sharon blinked and shook her head.
“Let’s just meet on the 1st. I can come over to your place, my parents will be asleep, they won’t even know I’m gone and--”
“Hold on.” She took a deep breath. “We’re not going to my place anymore.”
“Where else would we go? You can’t get a hotel room in all of L.A. at that time of year,” Brenda went on frantically. “And it’s not like we can go to mine and--”
“Stop,” Sharon interrupted. “Stop.” She rubbed her forehead and took a deep breath, gathering herself. “This is getting out of hand.”
The blonde didn’t look pleased but what could she do?
Sharon stared at her for a moment, waiting for the blonde to comprehend then rolled her eyes. “We cannot meet when your parents are in town.”
“Why?”
“Don’t you think we should just let things cool--”
“No!”
“What about--”
“No.”
Sharon turned around and took a few steps, gathering her resolve. She was making excuses and she really wished she had the balls to say what she really meant but...
But there was always a ‘but’.
Facing the developing nightmare in the room, Sharon decided to do what she knew was never permitted - there was an unspoken rule between them, so far it had been honored, mostly, but Brenda was persistent.
The reason was obvious and even though it pained her to do so, Sharon laid it out for the blonde.
“Don’t you think it would be better if we didn’t see each for a while,” she wanted to say ‘never ever again’ but couldn’t. “This was never meant to go on for this long but first and foremost it was never meant to impact on your marriage.”
“But it isn’t! If I hadn’t told him about the kiss, we wouldn’t even be havin’ this conversation.”
“Clearly.” Sharon had to roll her eyes again - if she didn’t know any better, she would have to think that the woman was just plain thick.
“Look...Sharon.”
The brunette raised her eyebrows, unimpressed - she knew where this was going - and folded her arms calmly, tilting her head just to let Brenda know that her little routine wasn’t really working.
She had heard that tone before and even though it dripped along her spine like honey, she knew not to show it. Brenda was an expert at exploiting other people’s weaknesses, she exposed them and took advantage, she was a user.
There was the occasional glimmer of selflessness but those moments were far and few in between so Sharon, who usually tried to see the good in people, in Brenda, wouldn’t bother to hope that there was more.
That she would change.
Because the heart of the matter was this: Brenda was not her problem.
She had a husband.
“Did I abandon you when you were havin’ a hard time?”
Sharon narrowed her eyes. “Not the same thing.”
“And how is that?”
Yes, indeed, how was that?
Sharon waited for her brain to come up with an answer.
“Thought so,” Brenda said in a self-satisfied tone. “B’sides...” She sing-songed and swayed closer, “I still got your gift.”
Sharon’s shoulders slumped as the woman stopped in front of her and gently pulled on her arms, unfolding them.
“Don’t you wanna unwrap it?”
The brunette rolled her eyes yet couldn’t help but smirk at the sight of Brenda’s cheeky grin.
“Sharon...” The blonde stepped even closer, their bodies touching faintly. “I’m not done with you yet.”
Brenda’s hand trailed over her hip and settled onto her behind.
She swallowed. “Chief...” She couldn’t remember what she had wanted to say.
“It’s Brenda.” Their breaths mingled. “And I know you don’t really mean what you said.”
Their lips touched.
The blonde sucked gently on her bottom one.
Never had she been kissed like that; sweet as honey, sticky warmth and a gentle harshness that made her want to paw and claw at the woman.
Sad, truly, Sharon thought, throwing caution to the wind, and opened her mouth. Brenda always managed to worm her way back in, it was just one of her talents...at least that was what Sharon preferred to call it.
Before she knew it she was perched on the edge of the table.
“Nnnh,” she tried to say and fisted the blonde’s blazer. Her lips were so pliant and her body so warm and soft and firm, all in one. Full breasts.
She wanted to touch it - it being that strange sensation of womanliness - but it didn’t seem like a physical thing, Sharon had come to realize, it was something about Brenda, something she couldn’t grasp, and she had tried, but never could she get a hold of it.
She just always wanted to touch everything.
The thought of which seemed somewhat inappropriate for a woman her age, even though Brenda would disagree, but it wasn’t always about Brenda, was it?
Sharon groaned.
Then her phone vibrated in her pocket.
“Wait...” She tore her lips away and squirmed, freeing herself. “I’ve got to, I mean, uh, 911 calls.” She nodded with finality.
Brenda just looked at her with a blank expression, fixing her lipstick. “Right,” she finally said and smirked, biting her lip. “So we’ll get together then? After Christmas?”
She sounded hopeful, Sharon thought, and that didn’t help.
The brunette shook her head, her eyes momentarily focused on the ceiling before she closed them and said, “...okay.”
Pushover.
“Great!”
Argh! She would never rid herself of the woman! She would be forever stuck with this, with her, with the guilt and, eventually, somebody would find out and then her life would go down the drain, she--
“And don’t you worry,” Brenda interrupted her pity party. “We’ll get this sorted out in no time. I’ll get Lieutenant Tao to help you.”
“Thank you,” Sharon responded evenly, not feeling it in the slightest.
“Right,” the blonde seemed too happy to care. “You’ve got...lipstick...” Brenda wiped at it with the pad of her thumb, her own lips forming a pout.
Sharon watched with interest as the emotions flitted across the woman’s face, a rare treat that she treasured.
“There,” Brenda said slowly, her eyes darting upwards, her gaze smoldering. “All better...”
Part Three
Author: Major Roon
Fandom: The Closer
Pairing: Brenda/Sharon
Rating: NC-17/M
Sharon contemplated dialing her mother’s number so she could break the news, that she might not be leaving tomorrow morning, but rather tomorrow night, to the rest of the family but knowing that she would put on that pitiful voice and say somewhat condescendingly, “As long as you make it here for Christmas,” put Sharon off that idea.
She stared at the phone, annoyed with herself and with Pope for dumping this mess on her doorstep, including Brenda and her attitude, but realized she at least had to let her family know.
Sharon decided to text her father. She couldn’t be sure whether or not he really read texts but writing her son was out of the question - ‘hey, I’m sorry, it really was out of my hands, there was a terrible accident, I’ll be on time next time, promise, really, I promise.’
That wouldn’t fly anymore with her children.
Instead she said, ‘Last minute orders. Will try to catch my flight. Will let you know of any changes. See you soon.’
The door to Pope’s office opened as she hit send and for a moment she could merely stare open-mouthed at Brenda.
The blonde stared back at her, a strange expression on her face. “We’ll get this sorted out.” She breezed past Sharon.
The brunette stuffed her phone into her pocket and rolled her eyes - promises, promises.
“We better,” Sharon commented sourly, “Because my daughter has very nearly forgiven me for being late to her graduation.” She had barely finished the sentence when Brenda pulled her aside. She walked right into the woman’s back as the door the blonde had intended to catapult them both into wouldn’t budge.
“Ooooh, I hate this buildin’!” Brenda fiddled with her keycard.
Sharon sighed and stepped back, crossing her arms. She tried to look defiant and perfectly confident but in truth she was merely steeling herself for whatever was about to come. “What are you doing?” She asked lamely, not protesting as Brenda pulled her into the room.
“Get in here!”
Sharon straightened her jacket and pushed her glasses up her nose. She wanted to be angered by the other woman’s audacity, she wanted to tell her how inappropriate she was and how her conduct was unacceptable but the blonde frequently reduced her to a speechless, insecure, stuttering little girl.
“How long are you gonna be in Park City?”
The brunette blinked. “I want to say five days but as you can see, I’m here and not yet...there.”
“Got any plans for New Year’s?”
“Yes,” Sharon said carefully, feeling like this was verging on an interrogation. “Yes, in fact, I do.”
Brenda crossed her arms.
“I thought you were spending Christmas and New Year’s with your parents?”
“I was,” the blonde shook her head. “I am. I was just wonderin’...”
“Ah,” Sharon uncrossed her arms, finally regaining some semblance of composure. The ball was in her court, she realized and she could tell by Brenda’s expression that the blonde was expecting a certain answer.
Sometimes, Sharon thought, she really wished she could surprise the blonde and say, thanks but no thanks, but Brenda gave her a tingle, a prickly sensation that seemed to rule her mind. “You were wondering what?”
There, she had done it yet again; Sharon swallowed heavily and crossed her arms once more, realizing in despair that, yet again, she was utterly helpless. It was despicable and vile how the woman could just make her do these things, she was her kryptonite.
“I was just wonderin’ if...” Brenda came closer, biting her lip and reaching out. “If you’d like to maybe get together...sometime.”
Sharon glanced down as the woman’s fingertip drew a circle onto the back of her hand.
Yes, she wanted to say yes but tried not to. The answer should be no, I do not, not ever again. What we’re doing is utterly wrong, I can’t look at myself anymore. I feel awful. I wish you’d leave me alone.
“I know it’s maybe a bit inconvenient but Fritz’s not gonna be there,” the blonde babbled along, Sharon had been quiet for a moment too long, “He’s visitin’ his sister. By himself.”
The brunette nodded slowly.
“She coulda come see us...even though she’s just terrible, and gets my Mama upset.” Brenda shrugged. “But he wants to get away for a few days,” she added somewhat nonchalantly. “Again.”
Sharon studied the woman’s features for a moment, she wasn’t stupid or naive, and realized what was happening. It all sounded strangely familiar.
“Oh.”
“Yes...oh.” Brenda turned around and leaned against a table, her typically sullen expression on her face. “He needs more time.”
She didn’t really want to hear it.
The fact that it was partially her fault didn’t help her heavy conscience.
“Maybe we shouldn’t see each other for a while,” Sharon said slowly, feeling strangely proud of herself. “Maybe that would be for the best, don’t you think?”
Brenda stood back up. “Of course not!”
“No?” The woman frequently confused her.
“No! What gave you that ridiculous idea?”
Ridiculous? Sharon blinked and shook her head.
“Let’s just meet on the 1st. I can come over to your place, my parents will be asleep, they won’t even know I’m gone and--”
“Hold on.” She took a deep breath. “We’re not going to my place anymore.”
“Where else would we go? You can’t get a hotel room in all of L.A. at that time of year,” Brenda went on frantically. “And it’s not like we can go to mine and--”
“Stop,” Sharon interrupted. “Stop.” She rubbed her forehead and took a deep breath, gathering herself. “This is getting out of hand.”
The blonde didn’t look pleased but what could she do?
Sharon stared at her for a moment, waiting for the blonde to comprehend then rolled her eyes. “We cannot meet when your parents are in town.”
“Why?”
“Don’t you think we should just let things cool--”
“No!”
“What about--”
“No.”
Sharon turned around and took a few steps, gathering her resolve. She was making excuses and she really wished she had the balls to say what she really meant but...
But there was always a ‘but’.
Facing the developing nightmare in the room, Sharon decided to do what she knew was never permitted - there was an unspoken rule between them, so far it had been honored, mostly, but Brenda was persistent.
The reason was obvious and even though it pained her to do so, Sharon laid it out for the blonde.
“Don’t you think it would be better if we didn’t see each for a while,” she wanted to say ‘never ever again’ but couldn’t. “This was never meant to go on for this long but first and foremost it was never meant to impact on your marriage.”
“But it isn’t! If I hadn’t told him about the kiss, we wouldn’t even be havin’ this conversation.”
“Clearly.” Sharon had to roll her eyes again - if she didn’t know any better, she would have to think that the woman was just plain thick.
“Look...Sharon.”
The brunette raised her eyebrows, unimpressed - she knew where this was going - and folded her arms calmly, tilting her head just to let Brenda know that her little routine wasn’t really working.
She had heard that tone before and even though it dripped along her spine like honey, she knew not to show it. Brenda was an expert at exploiting other people’s weaknesses, she exposed them and took advantage, she was a user.
There was the occasional glimmer of selflessness but those moments were far and few in between so Sharon, who usually tried to see the good in people, in Brenda, wouldn’t bother to hope that there was more.
That she would change.
Because the heart of the matter was this: Brenda was not her problem.
She had a husband.
“Did I abandon you when you were havin’ a hard time?”
Sharon narrowed her eyes. “Not the same thing.”
“And how is that?”
Yes, indeed, how was that?
Sharon waited for her brain to come up with an answer.
“Thought so,” Brenda said in a self-satisfied tone. “B’sides...” She sing-songed and swayed closer, “I still got your gift.”
Sharon’s shoulders slumped as the woman stopped in front of her and gently pulled on her arms, unfolding them.
“Don’t you wanna unwrap it?”
The brunette rolled her eyes yet couldn’t help but smirk at the sight of Brenda’s cheeky grin.
“Sharon...” The blonde stepped even closer, their bodies touching faintly. “I’m not done with you yet.”
Brenda’s hand trailed over her hip and settled onto her behind.
She swallowed. “Chief...” She couldn’t remember what she had wanted to say.
“It’s Brenda.” Their breaths mingled. “And I know you don’t really mean what you said.”
Their lips touched.
The blonde sucked gently on her bottom one.
Never had she been kissed like that; sweet as honey, sticky warmth and a gentle harshness that made her want to paw and claw at the woman.
Sad, truly, Sharon thought, throwing caution to the wind, and opened her mouth. Brenda always managed to worm her way back in, it was just one of her talents...at least that was what Sharon preferred to call it.
Before she knew it she was perched on the edge of the table.
“Nnnh,” she tried to say and fisted the blonde’s blazer. Her lips were so pliant and her body so warm and soft and firm, all in one. Full breasts.
She wanted to touch it - it being that strange sensation of womanliness - but it didn’t seem like a physical thing, Sharon had come to realize, it was something about Brenda, something she couldn’t grasp, and she had tried, but never could she get a hold of it.
She just always wanted to touch everything.
The thought of which seemed somewhat inappropriate for a woman her age, even though Brenda would disagree, but it wasn’t always about Brenda, was it?
Sharon groaned.
Then her phone vibrated in her pocket.
“Wait...” She tore her lips away and squirmed, freeing herself. “I’ve got to, I mean, uh, 911 calls.” She nodded with finality.
Brenda just looked at her with a blank expression, fixing her lipstick. “Right,” she finally said and smirked, biting her lip. “So we’ll get together then? After Christmas?”
She sounded hopeful, Sharon thought, and that didn’t help.
The brunette shook her head, her eyes momentarily focused on the ceiling before she closed them and said, “...okay.”
Pushover.
“Great!”
Argh! She would never rid herself of the woman! She would be forever stuck with this, with her, with the guilt and, eventually, somebody would find out and then her life would go down the drain, she--
“And don’t you worry,” Brenda interrupted her pity party. “We’ll get this sorted out in no time. I’ll get Lieutenant Tao to help you.”
“Thank you,” Sharon responded evenly, not feeling it in the slightest.
“Right,” the blonde seemed too happy to care. “You’ve got...lipstick...” Brenda wiped at it with the pad of her thumb, her own lips forming a pout.
Sharon watched with interest as the emotions flitted across the woman’s face, a rare treat that she treasured.
“There,” Brenda said slowly, her eyes darting upwards, her gaze smoldering. “All better...”
Part Three