Fic: It Feels Like Christmas
Title: It Feels Like Christmas
Pairing: Sharon Raydor/Andy Flynn
Fandom: Major Crimes
Rating: R for really minor shenanigans
Word Count: 2,910
Summary: Sharon and Andy spend a few moments together before they have to spend Christmas apart
For: rococoms for the Secret Santa gift exchange on majorcrimes
Disclaimer: Not mine
It was only 9 pm when Sharon opened her eyes and tried to make out the shapes in the dark room, the lights of her alarm clock glaringly bright. It took her more than a few moments to realize that there was an arm wrapped around her waist and a warm, solid body pressed against her back. She smiled and hummed when Andy brushed his lips against her bare shoulder before he kissed the same patch of skin. She’d be content to just stay here, like this, for the rest of the night.
“We should get up and get dressed soon,” she whispered and turned slightly so she could try and see his face. Even in the dark she could see that he was disappointed. Sharon reached up and cupped his cheek, pulling him down for a slow kiss, just to let him know that she regretted it too.
They had had a nice evening, the first evening in months they had had together. An early dinner before they had retired to her bedroom, wanting to make the most of the evening before Rusty came home. In less than hour he would be back and they both had to be out of bed and not look as if they had spent two hours having sex and kissing until their lips were sore.
This evening, these few precious hours, they were using it to spend as much time together before the Christmas break. After the debacle two years ago and then the OIS last year, Sharon had managed to secure a few days off, but she wouldn’t be able to spend them with Andy. She was going spend this Christmas with Rusty, giving him the holiday he had always deserved to get, but according to his stories had never gotten.
“Just a few more minutes,” Andy mumbled against her lips before he sought entrance to her mouth. Sharon moaned as one his hands slid down her body, caressing her side, her hip, tracing the scar there. She ran her fingers through his hair and down his back. If they didn’t stop this soon, Rusty was going to find them in a rather compromising position and she didn’t want to do that to him.
“We have to stop,” Sharon managed between kisses, squirming when he circled her nipple with a single finger. This man was trying to drive her insane, she just knew it. Teasing her like that, knowing that he couldn’t finish what he started. But it felt so good. So good, lying underneath him, his hands on her body, his lips against her throat. “Andy, we can’t do this. Unless you want a sixteen year-old to see us like this.”
“I know. I don’t want to,” he said softly before he started to kiss his way down her body, using his teeth and his tongue to coax moans and whimpers from her, paying equal attention to her breasts before he kissed her quivering stomach and then sat up, ending his maddening teasing.
“You never did tell me where you got that scar,” he whispered, kissing it softly. Sharon rolled her eyes, thinking about the time where he had been in one of his romantic moods, wanting to know the story behind every little scar on her body, from the c-section to a chicken pox scar on her shoulder. When he had finally arrived at the one on her hip, she had turned the tables on him, tracing the scars on his torso. She still had trouble believing that was more than two years ago. Sometimes, it seemed like yesterday.
“Gunshot. I was just a rookie. The guy was faster than I was. It was a stupid mistake, but I like to think it made me a better cop. It was the incentive I needed to become a good shot.”
“Did it hurt?” Andy asked, looking up at her. Sharon shrugged and pushed herself up on her elbows, looking down at him. It was more than thirty years ago. She barely remembered it. It was just flashes, memories of pain, a burning pain, and her husband’s face when she woke up after the surgery, the concern on his face back when they still loved each other.
“Asks the man who needed more than thirty stitches two years ago,” Sharon retorted before she sat up and swung her legs over the edge over the bed as she turned on the lights. She hated to leave the bed, but Rusty wouldn’t appreciate it if he saw them even slightly amorous. He had almost reached the point where he accepted the fact that she was in a relationship with Andy, something she had only told him when he had started trusting her.
Rusty hadn’t liked it at first. He had shouted at her and slammed doors, accusing Sharon of lying to him, of intentionally hiding something that important from him. He had been right about that last part, she had kept it from him on purpose, not wanting to further complicate his difficult and hard life with a fragile and young and technically speaking illicit relationship she had with a co-worker whom Rusty knew and almost liked and trusted.
“Being slashed is different from being shot. I never caught a bullet.” Sharon slipped on a fresh pair of panties, repressing the urge to roll her eyes again. He almost sounded regretful while Sharon felt as if she had just swallowed a brick. When he had gotten slashed she may not have had any feelings for him when he had been attacked, but now it was painful to think about. The thought of him being shot, it was terrible. It made her throat feel dry and her head ache.
“Keep it that way. Being shot, it’s not something I’d particularly want to experience again. And I wouldn’t want you to experience it at all. Now can we please get dressed. Rusty will be here in roughly fifteen minutes,” she said curtly as she put on her bra and grimaced when she saw that the dress she had been wearing that day was wrinkled beyond recognition. From the corner of her eye she saw that Andy was putting on his trousers. She opened her closet and picked out a pair of jeans and a simple black t-shirt.
“Don’t worry, I’m not going get myself shot,” Andy said, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing the back of her neck. Sharon hummed and covered his hands, leaning back against his chest. It was strange to think that it was less than a year ago when they had first kissed in the then empty offices of Major Crimes. It was reckless and stupid, but they had both needed it then. Sharon never thought it would lead to this, to dates, sex and feelings.
“Make sure that you don’t. I’ll kill you if you die on the job.” She could practically feel Andy grin into her hair and couldn’t stop herself from smiling either. She wasn’t sure yet what she felt for him or maybe she was just afraid of her feelings. She already knew what Andy felt for her. He had whispered it to her once when he thought she was sleeping. Those five words, those five simple words, ‘I’m in love with you’, she hadn’t heard them in so long, but now just thinking about them made her feel happy.
“I promise.” He kissed the top of her head and released her. Sharon quickly dragged a brush through her hair and applied some make-up, making sure the somewhat sizeable love bite Andy had left on her throat. It would seem that the teenager in him had never quite disappeared. She prayed that Rusty wouldn’t notice it.
She had barely put down the foundation when she found herself wrapped in his arms again, his lips against her own. She smiled before she cupped the back of his neck and kissed him back. Was this what being in love felt like at this age? The last time she had been in love, truly in love, had been with her husband over thirty six years ago. There had been men after the separation, she’d had relationships that lasted longer than a year or even two, but she hadn’t felt like this.
What had started as a desperate kiss after the whole Johnson-rule ordeal had turned into something that Sharon didn’t want to miss anymore. Brenda would probably have a fit if she knew that her lieutenant and the captain of FID had kissed in her murder room while she had been holed up in her office with the blinds closed or if she knew that Andy had asked her out to dinner for the first time when they had taken Provenza’s dog out. Not the most romantic setting, but she had said yes. Rusty, Liz and Andy’s sponsor were the only people who knew about their relationship.
She moaned when his hands slipped from the small of her back to her ass, cupping it through the jeans. They were like a couple of horny teenagers. The first months of dating had been hectic while Sharon tried to hunt down the leak, just a handful of dinners, a few sleepovers and then Brenda had left and a week later Sharon had taken over Major Crimes and taken in Rusty. Their relationship had been put on a back burner. They were just catching up now.
“Andy,” she murmured against his lips. They had to stop. Andy’s wandering hands always got her in trouble, made her want to throw him on the bed and kiss him and have sex with him until they were both too tired to move. But they really couldn’t. Not now. Before she had a chance to tell him that, again, she heard a key slide into the lock of the front door. She jumped back, out of Andy’s arms and practically sprinted out of her bedroom just as Rusty dropped his schoolbag on the floor.
“Uhm, hi?” he said when he looked at her, taking in her flushed face with narrowed eyes. Sharon prayed that she looked presentable and not like she had just been making out with one of her lieutenants.
“Hey, how was school and dinner?” Sharon asked, noting that she was still slightly out of breath. She cursed herself inwardly. At least she was wearing her clothes. Rusty still looked a little skeptical before he made his way into the kitchen to get himself some water.
“School was school. Dinner was fine. Fun, actually. But boy, am I glad I never had a baby sister. I swear Kevin’s kid sister is - -,” Rusty trailed off and stared at something behind her. Sharon followed his line of sight and found that Andy was standing behind her, looking rather sheepish.
“Hey kid,” he tried. Rusty slowly sipped his water and glanced towards Sharon. This was worse than being caught making out with her boyfriend by her mother when she was sixteen and was then made to confess it to their priest. Where Rusty had learned that condescending and judging look she would never know. He just stood there for the longest nerve-wracking moment of Sharon’s life before he nodded towards Andy in acknowledgement.
“Did you have a nice evening?” he asked, not a hint of sarcasm or malice. Sharon released a breath she didn’t realize she had been holding and she smiled at Rusty. Andy came to stand beside her, his expression slightly more confidant now. They were both relieved that Rusty seemed more accepting of the two of them now, even if it was blatantly obvious what they had been doing only moments ago.
“Yes, it was wonderful,” she replied and looked up at Andy. He smiled a little and placed a hand on her shoulder. Sharon unconsciously leaned into him. She could have sworn she saw the tiniest of smiles playing on Rusty’s lips before he returned his face to a neutral expression.
“Good, I’m glad,” he said as he put his glass in the dishwasher, exactly where she had shown him. She felt a sort of pride. Her husband was long gone and her children hadn’t lived with her since a few years. This was the first time she felt like she had a family again. She was getting mushy in her old age.
“I should probably be going,” Andy said and kissed the top of her head before he walked away from her, getting his coat before he walked towards the door.
“Let me walk you out.” Sharon quickly followed him, leaving Rusty alone in the kitchen. Andy had just put on his coat when she captured his lips in a soft kiss. She liked that even when they had to keep their relationship a secret she had a proper relationship for the first time in years that didn’t make her feel like she was giving some part of herself up. Especially now that it seemed that Rusty was accepting of it too. “I had a lovely evening.”
“Me too. I wish I could stay longer. Hell, I wish I could spend the holidays with you.” Andy shook his head as he cupped her cheek, brushing his thumb against her cheekbone. They had been over this a few dozen times. Even if she wasn’t going skiing with her children and her parents this year, they couldn’t spend Christmas together not yet. Not if they wanted awkward silences and stare-downs between Rusty and Andy. She just wanted Andy to have a nice Christmas for once.
“You know why we can’t,” she replied and saw how his face fell, again. Andy had long come to terms with the fact that they wouldn’t be together on Christmas, they both had, but it was still a little difficult for the two of them. It wouldn’t have been great if they could been together during the holidays.
“I know. I was just saying that it would be nice.” He looked like a grown child with a slight pout. Sharon gave him a sympathetic look before she stood up on her toes and wrapped her arms around his neck.
“Maybe next year,” she whispered before kissing him, running her tongue over his bottom lip. Andy parted his lips and their tongues met. She didn’t want to let him go and she didn’t want to think about the fact that she basically just implied they would still be together next year.
“Oh, for God’s sake, just invite him for Christmas. And stop sucking his face. I think I’m scarred for life.” Sharon pulled back and saw Rusty standing there looking both annoyed and grossed out. Sharon could feel herself starting to blush and she wanted to hide herself behind Andy to stop Rusty from seeing her embarrassment.
“Are you sure kid? I don’t want to impose on your plans.” Andy said, looking from Rusty to Sharon and back to Rusty. Sharon looked at Rusty who just shrugged. She raised her eyebrows. Was he joking? She found it hard to believe that he suddenly wanted to spend Christmas with them, as a couple.
“Rusty, you don’t have to. I know you don’t like the idea of me dating. I don’t want to force you.” She felt Andy’s hand on her hip, his grip briefly tightening to reassure her. He could probably feel the way she had tensed up when they had been caught kissing.
“Oh please, nobody likes seeing their parents or foster parents date, Sharon. It’s part of being a kid. Just invite him over for Christmas. I’ll just have to deal with it.” Sharon could almost feel Andy grin beside her. Rusty would probably never stop surprising her. He was stubborn and unpredictable, but that was why she loved him.
“Rusty, I - -,” Sharon tried to find words to thank him, but before she fully had a chance, Rusty cut her off with another shrug, but despite himself, she could see that he was grinning just a little. Slowly but surely he was getting to be more at ease around her, around Andy. It was wonderful to see him becoming who he was supposed to be.
“Just no kissing with tongue in front of me. And if I hear you two having sex I will play Muse so loud the neighbors from three floors down will send complaints.” Andy snorted before he started laughing. Sharon smiled at Rusty, her smile only widening when Andy pressed kissed her cheek. She walked away from him and carefully wrapped her arms around Rusty, pulling him into a hug. He froze for a moment, still not used to it before he returned her hug.
“Thank you,” she said and pulled back. He looked at her from underneath his hair. If he had been one of her own children she would have kissed his cheek, but she knew he wasn’t ready for that yet. So she just squeezed his shoulders. A year ago she would never have guessed that this was where she would be now. With a child in her house and man who loved her.
“Merry Christmas,” Rusty said, trying to sound aloof, but Sharon saw that he meant it even if it was a few days early. The condo was already decorated. Almost everything with their Christmas dinner was bought. She’d even put some presents underneath the small tree. It already felt like Christmas.
“Merry Christmas,” she echoed.
Pairing: Sharon Raydor/Andy Flynn
Fandom: Major Crimes
Rating: R for really minor shenanigans
Word Count: 2,910
Summary: Sharon and Andy spend a few moments together before they have to spend Christmas apart
For: rococoms for the Secret Santa gift exchange on majorcrimes
Disclaimer: Not mine
It was only 9 pm when Sharon opened her eyes and tried to make out the shapes in the dark room, the lights of her alarm clock glaringly bright. It took her more than a few moments to realize that there was an arm wrapped around her waist and a warm, solid body pressed against her back. She smiled and hummed when Andy brushed his lips against her bare shoulder before he kissed the same patch of skin. She’d be content to just stay here, like this, for the rest of the night.
“We should get up and get dressed soon,” she whispered and turned slightly so she could try and see his face. Even in the dark she could see that he was disappointed. Sharon reached up and cupped his cheek, pulling him down for a slow kiss, just to let him know that she regretted it too.
They had had a nice evening, the first evening in months they had had together. An early dinner before they had retired to her bedroom, wanting to make the most of the evening before Rusty came home. In less than hour he would be back and they both had to be out of bed and not look as if they had spent two hours having sex and kissing until their lips were sore.
This evening, these few precious hours, they were using it to spend as much time together before the Christmas break. After the debacle two years ago and then the OIS last year, Sharon had managed to secure a few days off, but she wouldn’t be able to spend them with Andy. She was going spend this Christmas with Rusty, giving him the holiday he had always deserved to get, but according to his stories had never gotten.
“Just a few more minutes,” Andy mumbled against her lips before he sought entrance to her mouth. Sharon moaned as one his hands slid down her body, caressing her side, her hip, tracing the scar there. She ran her fingers through his hair and down his back. If they didn’t stop this soon, Rusty was going to find them in a rather compromising position and she didn’t want to do that to him.
“We have to stop,” Sharon managed between kisses, squirming when he circled her nipple with a single finger. This man was trying to drive her insane, she just knew it. Teasing her like that, knowing that he couldn’t finish what he started. But it felt so good. So good, lying underneath him, his hands on her body, his lips against her throat. “Andy, we can’t do this. Unless you want a sixteen year-old to see us like this.”
“I know. I don’t want to,” he said softly before he started to kiss his way down her body, using his teeth and his tongue to coax moans and whimpers from her, paying equal attention to her breasts before he kissed her quivering stomach and then sat up, ending his maddening teasing.
“You never did tell me where you got that scar,” he whispered, kissing it softly. Sharon rolled her eyes, thinking about the time where he had been in one of his romantic moods, wanting to know the story behind every little scar on her body, from the c-section to a chicken pox scar on her shoulder. When he had finally arrived at the one on her hip, she had turned the tables on him, tracing the scars on his torso. She still had trouble believing that was more than two years ago. Sometimes, it seemed like yesterday.
“Gunshot. I was just a rookie. The guy was faster than I was. It was a stupid mistake, but I like to think it made me a better cop. It was the incentive I needed to become a good shot.”
“Did it hurt?” Andy asked, looking up at her. Sharon shrugged and pushed herself up on her elbows, looking down at him. It was more than thirty years ago. She barely remembered it. It was just flashes, memories of pain, a burning pain, and her husband’s face when she woke up after the surgery, the concern on his face back when they still loved each other.
“Asks the man who needed more than thirty stitches two years ago,” Sharon retorted before she sat up and swung her legs over the edge over the bed as she turned on the lights. She hated to leave the bed, but Rusty wouldn’t appreciate it if he saw them even slightly amorous. He had almost reached the point where he accepted the fact that she was in a relationship with Andy, something she had only told him when he had started trusting her.
Rusty hadn’t liked it at first. He had shouted at her and slammed doors, accusing Sharon of lying to him, of intentionally hiding something that important from him. He had been right about that last part, she had kept it from him on purpose, not wanting to further complicate his difficult and hard life with a fragile and young and technically speaking illicit relationship she had with a co-worker whom Rusty knew and almost liked and trusted.
“Being slashed is different from being shot. I never caught a bullet.” Sharon slipped on a fresh pair of panties, repressing the urge to roll her eyes again. He almost sounded regretful while Sharon felt as if she had just swallowed a brick. When he had gotten slashed she may not have had any feelings for him when he had been attacked, but now it was painful to think about. The thought of him being shot, it was terrible. It made her throat feel dry and her head ache.
“Keep it that way. Being shot, it’s not something I’d particularly want to experience again. And I wouldn’t want you to experience it at all. Now can we please get dressed. Rusty will be here in roughly fifteen minutes,” she said curtly as she put on her bra and grimaced when she saw that the dress she had been wearing that day was wrinkled beyond recognition. From the corner of her eye she saw that Andy was putting on his trousers. She opened her closet and picked out a pair of jeans and a simple black t-shirt.
“Don’t worry, I’m not going get myself shot,” Andy said, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing the back of her neck. Sharon hummed and covered his hands, leaning back against his chest. It was strange to think that it was less than a year ago when they had first kissed in the then empty offices of Major Crimes. It was reckless and stupid, but they had both needed it then. Sharon never thought it would lead to this, to dates, sex and feelings.
“Make sure that you don’t. I’ll kill you if you die on the job.” She could practically feel Andy grin into her hair and couldn’t stop herself from smiling either. She wasn’t sure yet what she felt for him or maybe she was just afraid of her feelings. She already knew what Andy felt for her. He had whispered it to her once when he thought she was sleeping. Those five words, those five simple words, ‘I’m in love with you’, she hadn’t heard them in so long, but now just thinking about them made her feel happy.
“I promise.” He kissed the top of her head and released her. Sharon quickly dragged a brush through her hair and applied some make-up, making sure the somewhat sizeable love bite Andy had left on her throat. It would seem that the teenager in him had never quite disappeared. She prayed that Rusty wouldn’t notice it.
She had barely put down the foundation when she found herself wrapped in his arms again, his lips against her own. She smiled before she cupped the back of his neck and kissed him back. Was this what being in love felt like at this age? The last time she had been in love, truly in love, had been with her husband over thirty six years ago. There had been men after the separation, she’d had relationships that lasted longer than a year or even two, but she hadn’t felt like this.
What had started as a desperate kiss after the whole Johnson-rule ordeal had turned into something that Sharon didn’t want to miss anymore. Brenda would probably have a fit if she knew that her lieutenant and the captain of FID had kissed in her murder room while she had been holed up in her office with the blinds closed or if she knew that Andy had asked her out to dinner for the first time when they had taken Provenza’s dog out. Not the most romantic setting, but she had said yes. Rusty, Liz and Andy’s sponsor were the only people who knew about their relationship.
She moaned when his hands slipped from the small of her back to her ass, cupping it through the jeans. They were like a couple of horny teenagers. The first months of dating had been hectic while Sharon tried to hunt down the leak, just a handful of dinners, a few sleepovers and then Brenda had left and a week later Sharon had taken over Major Crimes and taken in Rusty. Their relationship had been put on a back burner. They were just catching up now.
“Andy,” she murmured against his lips. They had to stop. Andy’s wandering hands always got her in trouble, made her want to throw him on the bed and kiss him and have sex with him until they were both too tired to move. But they really couldn’t. Not now. Before she had a chance to tell him that, again, she heard a key slide into the lock of the front door. She jumped back, out of Andy’s arms and practically sprinted out of her bedroom just as Rusty dropped his schoolbag on the floor.
“Uhm, hi?” he said when he looked at her, taking in her flushed face with narrowed eyes. Sharon prayed that she looked presentable and not like she had just been making out with one of her lieutenants.
“Hey, how was school and dinner?” Sharon asked, noting that she was still slightly out of breath. She cursed herself inwardly. At least she was wearing her clothes. Rusty still looked a little skeptical before he made his way into the kitchen to get himself some water.
“School was school. Dinner was fine. Fun, actually. But boy, am I glad I never had a baby sister. I swear Kevin’s kid sister is - -,” Rusty trailed off and stared at something behind her. Sharon followed his line of sight and found that Andy was standing behind her, looking rather sheepish.
“Hey kid,” he tried. Rusty slowly sipped his water and glanced towards Sharon. This was worse than being caught making out with her boyfriend by her mother when she was sixteen and was then made to confess it to their priest. Where Rusty had learned that condescending and judging look she would never know. He just stood there for the longest nerve-wracking moment of Sharon’s life before he nodded towards Andy in acknowledgement.
“Did you have a nice evening?” he asked, not a hint of sarcasm or malice. Sharon released a breath she didn’t realize she had been holding and she smiled at Rusty. Andy came to stand beside her, his expression slightly more confidant now. They were both relieved that Rusty seemed more accepting of the two of them now, even if it was blatantly obvious what they had been doing only moments ago.
“Yes, it was wonderful,” she replied and looked up at Andy. He smiled a little and placed a hand on her shoulder. Sharon unconsciously leaned into him. She could have sworn she saw the tiniest of smiles playing on Rusty’s lips before he returned his face to a neutral expression.
“Good, I’m glad,” he said as he put his glass in the dishwasher, exactly where she had shown him. She felt a sort of pride. Her husband was long gone and her children hadn’t lived with her since a few years. This was the first time she felt like she had a family again. She was getting mushy in her old age.
“I should probably be going,” Andy said and kissed the top of her head before he walked away from her, getting his coat before he walked towards the door.
“Let me walk you out.” Sharon quickly followed him, leaving Rusty alone in the kitchen. Andy had just put on his coat when she captured his lips in a soft kiss. She liked that even when they had to keep their relationship a secret she had a proper relationship for the first time in years that didn’t make her feel like she was giving some part of herself up. Especially now that it seemed that Rusty was accepting of it too. “I had a lovely evening.”
“Me too. I wish I could stay longer. Hell, I wish I could spend the holidays with you.” Andy shook his head as he cupped her cheek, brushing his thumb against her cheekbone. They had been over this a few dozen times. Even if she wasn’t going skiing with her children and her parents this year, they couldn’t spend Christmas together not yet. Not if they wanted awkward silences and stare-downs between Rusty and Andy. She just wanted Andy to have a nice Christmas for once.
“You know why we can’t,” she replied and saw how his face fell, again. Andy had long come to terms with the fact that they wouldn’t be together on Christmas, they both had, but it was still a little difficult for the two of them. It wouldn’t have been great if they could been together during the holidays.
“I know. I was just saying that it would be nice.” He looked like a grown child with a slight pout. Sharon gave him a sympathetic look before she stood up on her toes and wrapped her arms around his neck.
“Maybe next year,” she whispered before kissing him, running her tongue over his bottom lip. Andy parted his lips and their tongues met. She didn’t want to let him go and she didn’t want to think about the fact that she basically just implied they would still be together next year.
“Oh, for God’s sake, just invite him for Christmas. And stop sucking his face. I think I’m scarred for life.” Sharon pulled back and saw Rusty standing there looking both annoyed and grossed out. Sharon could feel herself starting to blush and she wanted to hide herself behind Andy to stop Rusty from seeing her embarrassment.
“Are you sure kid? I don’t want to impose on your plans.” Andy said, looking from Rusty to Sharon and back to Rusty. Sharon looked at Rusty who just shrugged. She raised her eyebrows. Was he joking? She found it hard to believe that he suddenly wanted to spend Christmas with them, as a couple.
“Rusty, you don’t have to. I know you don’t like the idea of me dating. I don’t want to force you.” She felt Andy’s hand on her hip, his grip briefly tightening to reassure her. He could probably feel the way she had tensed up when they had been caught kissing.
“Oh please, nobody likes seeing their parents or foster parents date, Sharon. It’s part of being a kid. Just invite him over for Christmas. I’ll just have to deal with it.” Sharon could almost feel Andy grin beside her. Rusty would probably never stop surprising her. He was stubborn and unpredictable, but that was why she loved him.
“Rusty, I - -,” Sharon tried to find words to thank him, but before she fully had a chance, Rusty cut her off with another shrug, but despite himself, she could see that he was grinning just a little. Slowly but surely he was getting to be more at ease around her, around Andy. It was wonderful to see him becoming who he was supposed to be.
“Just no kissing with tongue in front of me. And if I hear you two having sex I will play Muse so loud the neighbors from three floors down will send complaints.” Andy snorted before he started laughing. Sharon smiled at Rusty, her smile only widening when Andy pressed kissed her cheek. She walked away from him and carefully wrapped her arms around Rusty, pulling him into a hug. He froze for a moment, still not used to it before he returned her hug.
“Thank you,” she said and pulled back. He looked at her from underneath his hair. If he had been one of her own children she would have kissed his cheek, but she knew he wasn’t ready for that yet. So she just squeezed his shoulders. A year ago she would never have guessed that this was where she would be now. With a child in her house and man who loved her.
“Merry Christmas,” Rusty said, trying to sound aloof, but Sharon saw that he meant it even if it was a few days early. The condo was already decorated. Almost everything with their Christmas dinner was bought. She’d even put some presents underneath the small tree. It already felt like Christmas.
“Merry Christmas,” she echoed.