Fic: Superheroes By Night
Title: Superheroes By Night
Pairing: Sharon Raydor/Andrea Hobbs
Fandom: Major Crimes
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 5,834
Summary: Sharon has been invited to Andrea's 50th birthday party which happens to be one with a superhero theme.
A/N: This is just a silly continuation of defyingnormalcy's awesome story: Everyday Heroes. It's not completely necessary to read that first, but I recommend that you do, because it's just great.
A/N 2: A HUGE thank you to defyingnormalcy for allowing me to play in a universe that she created and for supporting me along the way.
Disclaimer: Not mine.
“Absolutely not,” Sharon said curtly, eyeing the costume that Rusty was holding up. She had expected him to be disappointed by her blatant refusal, but instead he only grinned at her. She wasn’t getting off that easy apparently. Why had she agreed to this again? It was ridiculous. Andrea owed her and Sharon was going to make sure that the blonde knew it someday.
“Why? What’s wrong with it?” Rusty tried innocently. Sharon narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms in front of her chest What was wrong with it? What wasn’t wrong with it seemed a more appropriate question. She may have gotten away with wearing something ridiculous like that when she was twenty, not when she was on the wrong side of fifty.
“I am not wearing a far too revealing corset with star-spangled underwear. I don’t care that it was Wonder Woman’s outfit. I’m not wearing it.” She loved Rusty, she really did, but there was simply no way she would wear that. She was far too old to be sexualized like that even though she had a feeling that Andrea might like it. The blonde has always been very appreciative of her legs. But still she wouldn’t be caught dead wearing that in public.
“Okay, okay, nothing revealing, I get it.” She watched him disappear between the racks of costumes again. She sighed. Her knowledge of superheroes and comic books might be severely limited, but she did know that it was nearly impossible to find a female superhero, or villain for that matter, dressed in something that wasn’t designed to show off as much skin and cleavage as possible.
“So I guess that leaves out Silk Spectre,” Rusty called out before he appeared again, an utterly serious expression on his face as he held up something that looked like a long-sleeved yellow and black bathing suit made out of latex plus a pair of boots that would go well past mid-thigh. Sharon felt her mouth drop open. The boy had lost his mind.
“Rusty Beck, put that away right now.” She had a feeling she looked absolutely horrified. Rusty looked at her and then started to laugh. Sharon couldn’t help but smile. One point to Rusty. She waved him away. “Go find me something decent to wear.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said with a mock-salute. She tried to picture herself in something as ludicrous as that black and yellow thing. It didn’t work. Maybe she simply wasn’t cut out to wear a superhero costume. She was much better off being the villain. She already knew how to play that part. But this was Andrea’s birthday she was going to. She wanted to put in the effort.
She still vividly remembered the way Andrea had looked when she had invited her and Rusty, apologizing for the fact that it was a costume party. Her brothers were organizing it and they were hell-bent on making her fiftieth birthday a superhero-themed one. Sharon had just smiled and reassured her that it was absolutely no problem at all, told her that she was looking forward to it.
And she was, even if she had no idea what to do for a costume. She had gone to Andrea’s house for a date exactly once and that had been disastrously cut short by a double homicide. They hadn’t even gotten to dessert. Balancing her work, a teenager and trying to date, it was difficult, a lot more difficult than she thought it was going to be. But she wanted this. She wanted to see where this very obvious mutual attraction was going to take them.
“How about this?” Rusty asked, holding up what looked like a black catsuit. Sharon raised her eyebrows and took in the garment. It wasn’t bad and the accessories appeared to be somewhat realistic. At least it wasn’t a gold lasso. Carefully she took the costume from Rusty and held it up in front of her body.
“It’s awfully tight,” Sharon commented with a frown, letting her fingers wander over the fabric. It felt a like fake leather. But it would cover her body, probably better than any other costume in here. It was either this or going as one of the superheroes’ love interest and that clearly wasn’t going to happen. Rusty sighed in annoyance.
“Look, this is about as non-revealing as it gets. All superheroes wear tight clothes. Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, the Flash, Captain America, Hawkeye. Iron Man is about the only one who doesn’t wear something skin-tight. And besides, she’s kickass.”
“Oh fine. I’ll wear this,” Sharon finally said. She wasn’t going to find anything better anyway unless she wanted to wear a type of body suit and go as the Hulk which also wasn’t really an option. They didn’t really make age-appropriate superhero costumes for women. She would just have to live with the fact that she was going to wear a catsuit at fifty-six and pray that no one in her team would find out. Or her children for that matter. She would never hear the end of it. “Who am I going to be anyway?”
“You’re kidding. You’ve never seen Iron Man 2 or the Avengers?” Rusty asked, looking at her as if she had just grown a second head. Sharon simply shook her head. They weren’t the type of movies she would normally watch, not without her children. “Okay then, we’ll watch those. Trust me, you’ll love her. Her superhero name is Black Widow, but her real name is - -.”
Sharon tried to listen to Rusty’s story of the woman she was going dressed as, but suddenly the image of Provenza laughing invaded her head. Black Widow. She was going to have bribe both Rusty and Andrea to keep that little piece of information a secret. If Provenza or Flynn ever found that she was going dressed as the Black Widow she would never hear the end of it and she was sure that it would be her new nickname in less than five seconds.
---
Sharon self-consciously ran her hands down her sides and over her hips. The suit was tight, really tight which was the design of the whole thing, but the actress who had worn a similar suit hadn’t even reached thirty yet. Sharon however could barely remember being thirty let alone having the body that came with it. She really wasn’t supposed to be wearing a skin-tight suit. At least it fit.
She pursed her lips when she eyed her cleavage in the mirror. The zipper of the suit didn’t go up as far as she would have liked it to. She would have preferred it an inch or two higher because at the moment there was a lot of skin on display. This suit was targeted to be more esthetically pleasing than it was to be practical.
At least it wasn’t a corset with just a pair of panties and Rusty had been right. After having seeing the movies that featured the Black Widow, Sharon had to admit that the woman was ‘kickass’. She liked that she didn’t have any superpowers, but that she was simply a very skilled assassin who didn’t need a radioactive spider to become strong. She was strong and stubborn, incredibly talented with guns and hand-to-hand combat.
“Sharon, are you ready?” Rusty asked through the door. She wished she could be as relaxed as he was. He was going to have a fun night with two of his newly acquired friends who had even discussed their costumes and were going as a group. She was going to have to face the woman she really liked and who was an utter comic book nerd in a superhero costume that left very few things to the imagination.
“Yes, I’ll be out in a second,” she called back and returned her attention to her reflection. There wasn’t much she could change about it now. She slipped the incredibly real-looking toy-gun into the holster on her thigh and fluffed her hair some more. Her make-up looked good and the rest, well, it wasn’t going to be any better. With a sigh she opened the door. “So, what do you think?”
“You look good. You look really good,” he said as he took in her outfit. She smiled when she saw that he meant it. Rusty actually looked rather dapper in his Captain America suit. He had been able to borrow it from Kevin. Sharon was also fairly certain she had never seen him with his hair pushed back. It looked good although it was a little strange seeing him with his costume. “You do know that Natasha would never wear heels that high if she needed to fight.”
“Yes, well, I didn’t think flats work with this outfit,” Sharon replied with a shrug and looked down at her boots. They were just basic black, not all that special, save for the killer stiletto-heels they had. The few shoes she owned without heels were more for comfort than they were fashionable and none of them were boots. And this outfit needed boots. Of course there was also the tiny detail that high heels did wonders for one’s legs and ass, but she wasn’t going to share that with Rusty. With an outfit like this, she needed all the help she could get.
“Okay, then, let’s go.” Rusty grabbed his shield as Sharon reached for leather gloves with the cut off fingers to complete her outfit before grabbing her coat. Rusty looked at her with a skeptical look on his face as she slid her arms in the sleeves of her coat. “It’s too hot for a coat, you know,” Rusty commented dryly.
“And I’m too old to be seen in public in a catsuit. I’m wearing a coat.”
“This is Los Angeles. Nobody cares. I don’t. And my costume is a lot more noticeable than yours,” he said, gesturing towards his red, white and blue suit and the large round shield on his arm. He had a point, but still, she wasn’t feeling overly confident walking out of the safety of her own apartment in a very tight catsuit. “You could walk out of here naked and nobody would care. Well, some people would, but that’s beside the point. You’ll suffocate wearing that coat.”
“Okay, fine. No coat,” Sharon grumbled, shrugging out of the garment again. Rusty was right, it was too hot to wear a coat. At least it wasn’t a long walk to her car and Andrea’s building had an underground parking lot. “Alright, let’s go be superheroes.”
---
Andrea smiled and sipped her drink as she looked at what once had been a very carefully decorated apartment, which she kept in a permanent state of organized chaos, but was now transformed into a place where her family and some of her friends were celebrating her fiftieth birthday. All of her furniture had been pushed aside and instead there was now a rented bar, complete with a professional bartender and bar tables scattered all over the place. If it weren’t for the costumes this would actually look like a regular party.
Why the costumes? She had nearly killed her brothers when they had announced they had organized a costume-party and had invited her entire family. Once, a long time ago, she had enjoyed dressing up as a superhero and pretending to be one, but now she was a grown woman and not all that prone to dressing up like this. She had liked it even less when they had informed that they had already picked out a costume for her.
But now, looking around at her guests and how they seemed to be enjoyed themselves despite the insane dress-code, or maybe because of it, and now after two delicious cocktails, Andrea felt less insecure about her costume and was slowly becoming more comfortable with it even if it displayed far too much skin in her opinion. She supposed she should be grateful they had given her trousers instead of the very short skirt the character usually wore.
Emma Frost. Really. Out of all the female characters of all the graphic novels, they had to dress her up as Emma Frost with a top that wasn’t much more than a white, sparkling bra. It was a little larger, like a short bustier, but then it still wasn’t a lot of fabric. She was grateful for the fur-lined cape attached to the short top and the fingerless opera gloves, but her stomach and shoulders were left bare. She was very grateful for her strict gym regime. She deemed herself too old for the costume, but she felt that her body could take it.
“You could look a bit happier, little sis,” Graham said, nudging her shoulder. She turned her head to look at him. He looked ridiculous. He had actually painted his entire body green and his costume consisted of a black wig and purple trousers. He always insisted on calling her little sis, despite the fact that he was barely a year older than she was.
“I am happy. It looks great, tastes great as well,” she added, lifting her glass. It had a rather violently purple color, but the taste was fantastic. The bartender they had hired was talented. The man had even come dressed, sort of. He wore a cape and a mask, but she appreciated the effort.
“Then go and enjoy yourself, you’re just looking at everybody now. Join in. You only turn fifty once,” Graham commented. Andrea rolled her eyes at him. Clearly he had had more than one drink already and he was enjoying himself, maybe a little too much, but then his wife and children were having fun as well, so she didn’t particularly mind.
“I turn every age only once. That’s the thing about ageing. I’m fine standing here for the moment.” And she was. She liked watching her family and friends interact, have fun and get somewhat drunk while trying to keep their children away from the alcohol and if she were completely honest with herself, she might be keeping to herself a little because she was waiting for Sharon and Rusty to show up. She really hoped that they would come. Sharon had promised to come and to abide by the dress code, but Andrea wouldn’t blame her if she didn’t.
“Haha, smartass. Are you waiting for someone? That mystery woman you invited and her kid - -.”
“Foster kid,” she interrupted him. Andrea had never met Sharon’s children. She knew that she had them, a boy and girl, but that was about all she knew. She didn’t even know their names. Her knowledge of Rusty was far more extensive. But her brother shrugged it off.
“Whatever. Are you waiting for the stunning brunette with the killer legs and a cleavage that makes a man’s blood boil?” Graham asked. Andrea was about to tell him to back off when she realized that she never told him what Sharon looked like. She had only told him that she had invited a friend from work whom she most definitely did not have any platonic feelings for.
“I never told you she was a brunette or that she has killer legs and I would never ever talk to you about her breasts,” Andrea said slowly and frowned. Graham just gave her his all too familiar grin which simply looked strange with his whole face painted green and gestured at something behind her.
“No, but I have eyes,” Graham replied but Andrea barely heard him as she turned around and felt her mouth go dry. She had expected Sharon to maybe put on a cape or a mask with her little to no knowledge of comic books, but she should have known that Sharon Raydor rarely did anything half-assed which at the moment very clearly showed.
In one word, she looked breathtaking. The Black Widow costume looked incredibly good on her, showing off every curve of her body. Her hair seemed fuller, curlier. Andrea couldn’t help but stare and rake her eyes over Sharon’s body, from her high-heeled boots, tight black catsuit, the gun strapped to her thigh, the signature belt, to the rather generous amount of cleavage on display, more than Andrea had ever seen before and she really liked it.
“That’s not where her face is, little sis,” Graham whispered in her ear and Andrea came within an inch of punching his ribs, but decided against it with Sharon watching her. She smiled instead and watched Sharon return the gesture as she and Rusty approached her. She was stunning and graceful and she could give Scarlett Johansson a run for her money.
“Happy Birthday, Andrea,” Rusty said before any of the adults had the chance to open their mouths. The boy looked good with his hair pushed back and wearing a Captain America costume. He flashed her a grin as he looked at her outfit. “Or should I say Emma Frost?”
“Whatever you like, Captain,” she replied, giving him a salute. She had always liked Captain America for some reason. Noble to the bone, willing to always sacrifice himself to save others. He was quite possibly one of her favorite superheroes. She had a weakness for the Avengers Assembly and she loved it that Sharon and Rusty had dressed up as members of the group like her nephews and her brother.
“She’s the Captain, not me,” Rusty commented dryly and pointed at Sharon who just rolled her eyes at him, but her smile never left her lips.
“Not tonight. I’m just a master assassin at the moment,” Sharon said and let her fingers caress the fake gun on her thigh. Andrea had the feeling that Rusty might have forced Sharon to watch the movies that featured the Black Widow. She knew what she was doing. It wasn’t until she heard Graham clear his throat beside her that she remembered he was still there.
“Do the master assassin and the Captain have a name or will I be referring to you as Natasha and Steve?” Graham asked, interrupting the conversation. Andrea saw Sharon smile freeze for just a moment before she relaxed again.
“I’m sorry, I forgot my manners. Graham, Sharon Raydor and Rusty Beck, Sharon and Rusty, Graham, my brother and eternal pain in the ass and just for tonight, the Hulk,” Andrea introduced them all and watched Sharon visibly relax. Had she thought that Graham was a boyfriend? It was almost endearing. Sharon held out her hand and shook Graham’s as Rusty said a casual ‘hi’. “Rusty, Kevin and Charlie are in the bedroom avoiding everybody and I believe that they’re holding an X-Men marathon.”
Rusty gave her a grateful smile and went off in the direction of the bedroom, but not before Sharon told him to not eat a ridiculous amount of sugar and then she was standing alone with the woman she was sort of dating and one of her brothers who was undoubtedly sizing up Sharon, wondering if she were good enough for his little sister, but quite unsurprisingly Sharon wasn’t the least bit intimidated which led to an awkward silence.
“Well it was very nice meeting you, Sharon, but I think there is a drink calling my name at the bar. If you’ll excuse me.” Much to Andrea’s relief Graham left her alone with Sharon which, judging from Sharon’s face, she really appreciated as well. Andrea held her breath when Sharon leaned in and softly kissed the corner of her mouth.
“Happy birthday,” she said when she leaned back again. Andrea was pretty sure she had a dazed expression on her face. It wasn’t a proper kiss, but it was the first time she had felt Sharon’s lips. Out of the corner of her eye she caught Graham looking at the two of them and she shot a glare in his direction.
“Thank you. I’m glad you came and did justice to my brother’s ridiculous dress code. You look stunning.” Drop-dead gorgeous and sexy was more like it, but Andrea didn’t think that those words would be very appropriate in the company of her family, but Sharon seemed to get what she meant anyway. The look she gave Andrea was downright seductive.
“Thanks, you can blame Rusty who initially came up with Wonder Woman and Silk Spectre. I refused those. You look great as well. I have no idea who Emma Frost is, but this is a very good look on you.” For a moment Andrea wondered if Sharon was just being nice, but her tone and the expression on her face were genuine. She also tried her hardest to not picture Sharon in a latex suit as Laurie Juspeczyk.
“My brothers decided who I should dress up as. I didn’t have much choice. I think they’re trying to tell me that after fifty I won’t have a lot of chances to wear things like this. I’m just glad it isn’t something that resembles a low-cut bathing suit.” Or God forbid, as Mystique, which essentially would have meant walking around naked in blue body paint. Sharon would have had to investigate another murder with Andrea as the prime suspect.
“I’m fifty-six and I’m wearing a catsuit. You still have a few good years left,” Sharon said in a teasing tone. Andrea had to refrain herself from commenting on the fact that not a lot of fifty-six year-olds had a body like Sharon’s.
“Great. Listen, do you want to go out on the balcony? It’s beginning to feel like I brought my girlfriend home for the first and nobody quite knows what to say.” She had felt her brothers’ eyes on her and those of their wives. Everybody was looking at them, waiting for Andrea to introduce the sudden stranger in their midst and Andrea didn’t feel like doing that just yet. She wanted Sharon to herself just for a little while longer.
“Yes, I could you some fresh air. This suit is hot.”
“You can say that again,” Andrea deadpanned as she pushed open the door to the balcony. Sharon gave her a scandalized look. It didn’t improve much when she noticed that Andrea’s gaze had drifted down towards her cleavage. Andrea didn’t even mind that she was being obvious, the sight was just too beautiful. Vaguely she questioned just how much alcohol the bartender had put in her drinks.
“Nice one, Hobbs. You sure have a talent for the lines you use on women,” Sharon commented with a snort, reminding Andrea of the corny line she had used on Sharon in the cinema. It hadn’t been one of her strongest moments, but the grin she had gotten in return from the woman had been worth it.
“I try, but only on you.” Andrea closed the glass door behind them and then, placing her hand on the small of Sharon’s beck, guiding them away from the curious gaze of her family and showed Sharon the view from her balcony. It wasn’t anything special, but it was quite spectacular to watch the sun set. She wanted to share it with Sharon.
“You are incorrigible,” Sharon said coolly, but grinned as she leaned on the balustrade of the balcony, the soft wind moving her hair. Her face looked so much more open without her glasses and without anybody else around.
“Yes, I am, but you like it.” She joined Sharon and watched how the setting sun gave Sharon’s hair an almost auburn hue. She was beautiful. It made Andrea wonder how the hell a woman like Sharon was even remotely interested in her and yet judging from the effort Sharon had made and her rather flirty demeanor, Sharon was definitely interested in her. Andrea counted herself lucky.
“You have your moments,” Sharon replied in a teasing tone and shrugged. Andrea gave her a shocked look that was more than fake and received a chuckle in return.
“Careful now. I’m not above kicking you out of my own party,” Andrea warned. Sharon pushed herself up from the balustrade and turned around, leaning against it with her back instead, arms crossed in front of her chest, an eyebrow raised.
“You won’t. You like this look on me too much. And I haven’t given you your gift yet.” Andrea had to admit that she had a point. She did really love this suit on Sharon’s body. She blinked when Sharon held out an envelope and box of chocolate-covered raisins. Andrea smiled as she took the offered items. She had a feeling the raisins were going to be an inside-joke for a long time.
“Where did you hide this?” Andrea asked as she opened the envelope. The Black Widow costume didn’t exactly have pockets and even though she had no doubt Sharon could hide things in her cleavage, she seriously doubted she had kept something that involved chocolate there. Sharon just tapped the holster on her thigh.
“It’s a lot handier than it looks.”
“I’m sure,” Andrea replied before pulling out two tickets to Lakmé with perfect seating arrangement two months from now. Andrea stared at the pieces of paper in her hand. She hadn’t been to the opera in years. She was also very much aware of the Sapphic flower duet in the opera.“Oh wow. This is…perfect. Thank you so much.”
“I saw your music collection. I took a chance. I’m glad you like them.”
“Like them? I love them. Thank you.” Completely on impulse Andrea leaned in and kissed Sharon. She didn’t fully realized what she was doing until she felt Sharon’s hands on her bare waist and the woman’s lips moving against her own. She had thought about kissing Sharon more times than she wanted to admit. It was definitely better than her fantasies. She was slightly out of breath when she pulled back. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be presumptuous.”
Sharon plucked the tickets and the little box of chocolate-covered raisins out of Andrea’s hands and placed them on the small table that Andrea had on the balcony before returning her attention to Andrea. “Never apologize for that.”
This time Sharon kissed her and it was anything but an almost innocent kiss. Andrea found herself with her back against the brick wall of her building, Sharon’s hands soft against her cheeks, her lips insistent. Andrea’s hands automatically went to Sharon’s hips, pulling her close. She gasped when Sharon’s thigh slipped between her own and a moment later she felt Sharon’s tongue brushing against her own.
Sharon hummed and the sound made Andrea’s knees go weak. It wasn’t surprising at all that Sharon was an amazing kisser and was able to utterly wicked things with her tongue. She allowed her hands to wonder lower and rest on Sharon’s ass, pushing their hips flush together. She could do this for hours, just kissing Sharon, enjoying the feeling of Sharon’s body against her own and just not care about the fact that almost her entire family was inside her apartment and could walk out and see them at any given moment.
“And somewhere a thousand little fanboys just died from sexual frustration. The Black Widow and Emma Frost. Now that is an interesting crossover.” Andrea felt Sharon tense against her and immediately pull back from the kiss, a lethal glare thrown at the person who had interrupted them, but she didn’t move away.
“Graham, I’m going to kill you,” Andrea hissed, moving her hands up again so they rested on Sharon’s lower back. Graham just smirked and held up his hands in surrender, a black purse dangling on his arm.
“Please don’t. I don’t want to have to arrest you. Even though I wouldn’t blame you.” Sharon said softly, causing Andrea to smile.
“I’m sorry to interrupt this, but Sharon, it sounds like your phone was ringing. I didn’t want to be so liberal as to go digging through your purse, but since you’re a police officer, I figured it could be urgent.” Graham held out her purse and Sharon sighed, moving away from Andrea to grab it. A second later her phone rang again and she audibly groaned as she pulled it from her purse.
“Good evening, Lieutenant.” The moment the words left Sharon’s mouth, Andrea slumped against the wall. Of course there was a murder on the evening of her birthday and naturally it required Captain Raydor’s attention. The cons of dating a cop, it came with the territory, but that didn’t mean that Andrea had to like it. And as she watched the captain’s face turn serious, listening to Provenza’s instructions.
“Let me guess, there’s been a murder and you just have to go to the crime scene,” Andrea said after Sharon had hung up the phone and gave her an apologetic look. She knew that Sharon wanted leave about as much as Andrea wanted her to go, but sadly that didn’t mean that Sharon could stay. Murder took precedence over a birthday party. She was too well aware of that.
“Yeah, triple homicide, one of the victims is high profile. Chief Taylor has made it very clear that I need to be there and I needed to be there five minutes ago. Luckily, the crime scene is not far from here,” Sharon explained, but her tone lacked any form of enthusiasm as she slung her purse over her shoulder. Andrea took a few steps closer to Sharon and gave her a weak smile. They both hated this.
“And are they expecting Captain Raydor or the Black Widow?”
“Shit,” Sharon muttered, looking down at her outfit. Andrea grinned at her almost lost expression. A high-profile murder meant press and even if Sharon looked far too good in her costume, it wouldn’t do to have a Captain of LAPD to show up in catsuit at a crime scene. She reached out to take hold of Sharon’s hand.
“You can borrow one of my coats to cover yourself up with, though I’m sure your team would appreciate it if you didn’t.” Sharon pursed her lips, obviously imaging her team’s reaction to her costume. Andrea was tempted to come with her just to see the look on Provenza’s and Flynn’s faces.
“Which is precisely why I need to hide my outfit. Not only would I acquire a new nickname, but I’m fairly certain that the entire LAPD will possess pictures of me before the night is over,” Sharon said curtly. Andrea just smiled at the thought and leaned in to give her a quick kiss, pleased to see that it made Sharon’s annoyed expression disappear for a moment, but it was exchanged for a worried one. “And then there is Rusty.”
“He can stay here. Let him watch the movies and hang out with Kevin and Charlie. I’m sure this party won’t stop until early hours of the morning, knowing my family, and tomorrow is a Saturday anyway. He’ll be fine here.” Sharon cupped her jaw and kissed her softly, brushing their lips together. Andrea ran a hand through her hair before they broke the kiss. She didn’t want to let her leave yet, but duty was calling which was something Andrea herself understood far too well.
“Thank you. I’ll be back to pick him up as soon I can get Taylor off my back,” Sharon said and opened the door before walking back inside where they were met with the sound of music, people talking and laughing and the smell of alcohol. Andrea sighed. It wasn’t going to be fun to clean up after this party, but everybody was enjoying themselves, so it didn’t really matter. And maybe after Sharon had gone, Andrea could try to enjoy herself as well a little.
“I know. With my luck, I’ll be assigned to the case as well. Come on, I’ll give you a coat and you can be on your way to catch a killer.”
---
“Nice boots, Captain,” Flynn commented the second he saw her. Sharon narrowed her eyes and put her glasses on her nose before reaching for one of the blue covers to cover her high-heeled boots. She wasn’t going to let him or anyone else bait her, not tonight, not when she was wearing a Black Widow costume and there was a lot of press just outside the police tape. She had gotten rid of the gloves and the holster. Her outfit looked less like a costume, but she was still a fifty-six year old in a catsuit.
“So, what have we got?” she asked, following Flynn to the bedroom where there were three bodies on the bed and the walls were sprayed with blood. She carefully walked closer to the bodies as Andy rattled off what they knew so far. The man was a millionaire and personal friend of the mayor and the girls were, rather unsurprisingly, escorts.
“Cause of death?”
“I’d say gunshots, but you’ll have to wait for Morales to confirm it,” the coroner said. Sharon nodded and took a step back again. She pulled a little on the collar of the trench coat. Rusty had been right. It was far too warm to wear a coat. It was only held closed by the belt that she had tied around her waist, but it was still hot. Why of all nights was her presence required at a crime scene?
“Okay, see if you can track down his wife and get in contact with the agency that sent the girls. Let’s get as much information as we can.” She saw Sanchez and Tao nod before they left the room. She walked around to the foot of the bed. It was obvious that the whoever had pulled the trigger had stood there and shot three people in cold blood. She pretended to hold a gun and took the position, looking at the bodies at the same time. Something wasn’t right.
“Uhm, Captain?” Buzz’ voices made her look away from the crime scene with raised eyebrows. Buzz was looking at her as if her head was on fire, his camera forgotten in his hand, but pointing in her direction.
“What?” He gestured weakly at her body. Sharon looked down and widened her eyes when she noticed that her knot had come undone and her costume was now completely exposed. Hastily she pulled the coat around her body and tied up the belt again, tighter this time, when she noticed that Provenza and Flynn were looking at her. Provenza was just gaping and Flynn was trying very hard not to laugh.
“Not a single word out of either one of you, Lieutenants,” she snapped and returned her attention to the crime scene. Her cheeks were burning and Sharon was sure that she was actually blushing. Sometimes she really hated those two. And Buzz had probably caught her outfit on camera. She could just predict that she was going to be the main topic of the conversations at the coffee makers and water coolers.
“Whatever you say, miss Romanoff.” Damn.
Pairing: Sharon Raydor/Andrea Hobbs
Fandom: Major Crimes
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 5,834
Summary: Sharon has been invited to Andrea's 50th birthday party which happens to be one with a superhero theme.
A/N: This is just a silly continuation of defyingnormalcy's awesome story: Everyday Heroes. It's not completely necessary to read that first, but I recommend that you do, because it's just great.
A/N 2: A HUGE thank you to defyingnormalcy for allowing me to play in a universe that she created and for supporting me along the way.
Disclaimer: Not mine.
“Absolutely not,” Sharon said curtly, eyeing the costume that Rusty was holding up. She had expected him to be disappointed by her blatant refusal, but instead he only grinned at her. She wasn’t getting off that easy apparently. Why had she agreed to this again? It was ridiculous. Andrea owed her and Sharon was going to make sure that the blonde knew it someday.
“Why? What’s wrong with it?” Rusty tried innocently. Sharon narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms in front of her chest What was wrong with it? What wasn’t wrong with it seemed a more appropriate question. She may have gotten away with wearing something ridiculous like that when she was twenty, not when she was on the wrong side of fifty.
“I am not wearing a far too revealing corset with star-spangled underwear. I don’t care that it was Wonder Woman’s outfit. I’m not wearing it.” She loved Rusty, she really did, but there was simply no way she would wear that. She was far too old to be sexualized like that even though she had a feeling that Andrea might like it. The blonde has always been very appreciative of her legs. But still she wouldn’t be caught dead wearing that in public.
“Okay, okay, nothing revealing, I get it.” She watched him disappear between the racks of costumes again. She sighed. Her knowledge of superheroes and comic books might be severely limited, but she did know that it was nearly impossible to find a female superhero, or villain for that matter, dressed in something that wasn’t designed to show off as much skin and cleavage as possible.
“So I guess that leaves out Silk Spectre,” Rusty called out before he appeared again, an utterly serious expression on his face as he held up something that looked like a long-sleeved yellow and black bathing suit made out of latex plus a pair of boots that would go well past mid-thigh. Sharon felt her mouth drop open. The boy had lost his mind.
“Rusty Beck, put that away right now.” She had a feeling she looked absolutely horrified. Rusty looked at her and then started to laugh. Sharon couldn’t help but smile. One point to Rusty. She waved him away. “Go find me something decent to wear.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said with a mock-salute. She tried to picture herself in something as ludicrous as that black and yellow thing. It didn’t work. Maybe she simply wasn’t cut out to wear a superhero costume. She was much better off being the villain. She already knew how to play that part. But this was Andrea’s birthday she was going to. She wanted to put in the effort.
She still vividly remembered the way Andrea had looked when she had invited her and Rusty, apologizing for the fact that it was a costume party. Her brothers were organizing it and they were hell-bent on making her fiftieth birthday a superhero-themed one. Sharon had just smiled and reassured her that it was absolutely no problem at all, told her that she was looking forward to it.
And she was, even if she had no idea what to do for a costume. She had gone to Andrea’s house for a date exactly once and that had been disastrously cut short by a double homicide. They hadn’t even gotten to dessert. Balancing her work, a teenager and trying to date, it was difficult, a lot more difficult than she thought it was going to be. But she wanted this. She wanted to see where this very obvious mutual attraction was going to take them.
“How about this?” Rusty asked, holding up what looked like a black catsuit. Sharon raised her eyebrows and took in the garment. It wasn’t bad and the accessories appeared to be somewhat realistic. At least it wasn’t a gold lasso. Carefully she took the costume from Rusty and held it up in front of her body.
“It’s awfully tight,” Sharon commented with a frown, letting her fingers wander over the fabric. It felt a like fake leather. But it would cover her body, probably better than any other costume in here. It was either this or going as one of the superheroes’ love interest and that clearly wasn’t going to happen. Rusty sighed in annoyance.
“Look, this is about as non-revealing as it gets. All superheroes wear tight clothes. Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, the Flash, Captain America, Hawkeye. Iron Man is about the only one who doesn’t wear something skin-tight. And besides, she’s kickass.”
“Oh fine. I’ll wear this,” Sharon finally said. She wasn’t going to find anything better anyway unless she wanted to wear a type of body suit and go as the Hulk which also wasn’t really an option. They didn’t really make age-appropriate superhero costumes for women. She would just have to live with the fact that she was going to wear a catsuit at fifty-six and pray that no one in her team would find out. Or her children for that matter. She would never hear the end of it. “Who am I going to be anyway?”
“You’re kidding. You’ve never seen Iron Man 2 or the Avengers?” Rusty asked, looking at her as if she had just grown a second head. Sharon simply shook her head. They weren’t the type of movies she would normally watch, not without her children. “Okay then, we’ll watch those. Trust me, you’ll love her. Her superhero name is Black Widow, but her real name is - -.”
Sharon tried to listen to Rusty’s story of the woman she was going dressed as, but suddenly the image of Provenza laughing invaded her head. Black Widow. She was going to have bribe both Rusty and Andrea to keep that little piece of information a secret. If Provenza or Flynn ever found that she was going dressed as the Black Widow she would never hear the end of it and she was sure that it would be her new nickname in less than five seconds.
---
Sharon self-consciously ran her hands down her sides and over her hips. The suit was tight, really tight which was the design of the whole thing, but the actress who had worn a similar suit hadn’t even reached thirty yet. Sharon however could barely remember being thirty let alone having the body that came with it. She really wasn’t supposed to be wearing a skin-tight suit. At least it fit.
She pursed her lips when she eyed her cleavage in the mirror. The zipper of the suit didn’t go up as far as she would have liked it to. She would have preferred it an inch or two higher because at the moment there was a lot of skin on display. This suit was targeted to be more esthetically pleasing than it was to be practical.
At least it wasn’t a corset with just a pair of panties and Rusty had been right. After having seeing the movies that featured the Black Widow, Sharon had to admit that the woman was ‘kickass’. She liked that she didn’t have any superpowers, but that she was simply a very skilled assassin who didn’t need a radioactive spider to become strong. She was strong and stubborn, incredibly talented with guns and hand-to-hand combat.
“Sharon, are you ready?” Rusty asked through the door. She wished she could be as relaxed as he was. He was going to have a fun night with two of his newly acquired friends who had even discussed their costumes and were going as a group. She was going to have to face the woman she really liked and who was an utter comic book nerd in a superhero costume that left very few things to the imagination.
“Yes, I’ll be out in a second,” she called back and returned her attention to her reflection. There wasn’t much she could change about it now. She slipped the incredibly real-looking toy-gun into the holster on her thigh and fluffed her hair some more. Her make-up looked good and the rest, well, it wasn’t going to be any better. With a sigh she opened the door. “So, what do you think?”
“You look good. You look really good,” he said as he took in her outfit. She smiled when she saw that he meant it. Rusty actually looked rather dapper in his Captain America suit. He had been able to borrow it from Kevin. Sharon was also fairly certain she had never seen him with his hair pushed back. It looked good although it was a little strange seeing him with his costume. “You do know that Natasha would never wear heels that high if she needed to fight.”
“Yes, well, I didn’t think flats work with this outfit,” Sharon replied with a shrug and looked down at her boots. They were just basic black, not all that special, save for the killer stiletto-heels they had. The few shoes she owned without heels were more for comfort than they were fashionable and none of them were boots. And this outfit needed boots. Of course there was also the tiny detail that high heels did wonders for one’s legs and ass, but she wasn’t going to share that with Rusty. With an outfit like this, she needed all the help she could get.
“Okay, then, let’s go.” Rusty grabbed his shield as Sharon reached for leather gloves with the cut off fingers to complete her outfit before grabbing her coat. Rusty looked at her with a skeptical look on his face as she slid her arms in the sleeves of her coat. “It’s too hot for a coat, you know,” Rusty commented dryly.
“And I’m too old to be seen in public in a catsuit. I’m wearing a coat.”
“This is Los Angeles. Nobody cares. I don’t. And my costume is a lot more noticeable than yours,” he said, gesturing towards his red, white and blue suit and the large round shield on his arm. He had a point, but still, she wasn’t feeling overly confident walking out of the safety of her own apartment in a very tight catsuit. “You could walk out of here naked and nobody would care. Well, some people would, but that’s beside the point. You’ll suffocate wearing that coat.”
“Okay, fine. No coat,” Sharon grumbled, shrugging out of the garment again. Rusty was right, it was too hot to wear a coat. At least it wasn’t a long walk to her car and Andrea’s building had an underground parking lot. “Alright, let’s go be superheroes.”
---
Andrea smiled and sipped her drink as she looked at what once had been a very carefully decorated apartment, which she kept in a permanent state of organized chaos, but was now transformed into a place where her family and some of her friends were celebrating her fiftieth birthday. All of her furniture had been pushed aside and instead there was now a rented bar, complete with a professional bartender and bar tables scattered all over the place. If it weren’t for the costumes this would actually look like a regular party.
Why the costumes? She had nearly killed her brothers when they had announced they had organized a costume-party and had invited her entire family. Once, a long time ago, she had enjoyed dressing up as a superhero and pretending to be one, but now she was a grown woman and not all that prone to dressing up like this. She had liked it even less when they had informed that they had already picked out a costume for her.
But now, looking around at her guests and how they seemed to be enjoyed themselves despite the insane dress-code, or maybe because of it, and now after two delicious cocktails, Andrea felt less insecure about her costume and was slowly becoming more comfortable with it even if it displayed far too much skin in her opinion. She supposed she should be grateful they had given her trousers instead of the very short skirt the character usually wore.
Emma Frost. Really. Out of all the female characters of all the graphic novels, they had to dress her up as Emma Frost with a top that wasn’t much more than a white, sparkling bra. It was a little larger, like a short bustier, but then it still wasn’t a lot of fabric. She was grateful for the fur-lined cape attached to the short top and the fingerless opera gloves, but her stomach and shoulders were left bare. She was very grateful for her strict gym regime. She deemed herself too old for the costume, but she felt that her body could take it.
“You could look a bit happier, little sis,” Graham said, nudging her shoulder. She turned her head to look at him. He looked ridiculous. He had actually painted his entire body green and his costume consisted of a black wig and purple trousers. He always insisted on calling her little sis, despite the fact that he was barely a year older than she was.
“I am happy. It looks great, tastes great as well,” she added, lifting her glass. It had a rather violently purple color, but the taste was fantastic. The bartender they had hired was talented. The man had even come dressed, sort of. He wore a cape and a mask, but she appreciated the effort.
“Then go and enjoy yourself, you’re just looking at everybody now. Join in. You only turn fifty once,” Graham commented. Andrea rolled her eyes at him. Clearly he had had more than one drink already and he was enjoying himself, maybe a little too much, but then his wife and children were having fun as well, so she didn’t particularly mind.
“I turn every age only once. That’s the thing about ageing. I’m fine standing here for the moment.” And she was. She liked watching her family and friends interact, have fun and get somewhat drunk while trying to keep their children away from the alcohol and if she were completely honest with herself, she might be keeping to herself a little because she was waiting for Sharon and Rusty to show up. She really hoped that they would come. Sharon had promised to come and to abide by the dress code, but Andrea wouldn’t blame her if she didn’t.
“Haha, smartass. Are you waiting for someone? That mystery woman you invited and her kid - -.”
“Foster kid,” she interrupted him. Andrea had never met Sharon’s children. She knew that she had them, a boy and girl, but that was about all she knew. She didn’t even know their names. Her knowledge of Rusty was far more extensive. But her brother shrugged it off.
“Whatever. Are you waiting for the stunning brunette with the killer legs and a cleavage that makes a man’s blood boil?” Graham asked. Andrea was about to tell him to back off when she realized that she never told him what Sharon looked like. She had only told him that she had invited a friend from work whom she most definitely did not have any platonic feelings for.
“I never told you she was a brunette or that she has killer legs and I would never ever talk to you about her breasts,” Andrea said slowly and frowned. Graham just gave her his all too familiar grin which simply looked strange with his whole face painted green and gestured at something behind her.
“No, but I have eyes,” Graham replied but Andrea barely heard him as she turned around and felt her mouth go dry. She had expected Sharon to maybe put on a cape or a mask with her little to no knowledge of comic books, but she should have known that Sharon Raydor rarely did anything half-assed which at the moment very clearly showed.
In one word, she looked breathtaking. The Black Widow costume looked incredibly good on her, showing off every curve of her body. Her hair seemed fuller, curlier. Andrea couldn’t help but stare and rake her eyes over Sharon’s body, from her high-heeled boots, tight black catsuit, the gun strapped to her thigh, the signature belt, to the rather generous amount of cleavage on display, more than Andrea had ever seen before and she really liked it.
“That’s not where her face is, little sis,” Graham whispered in her ear and Andrea came within an inch of punching his ribs, but decided against it with Sharon watching her. She smiled instead and watched Sharon return the gesture as she and Rusty approached her. She was stunning and graceful and she could give Scarlett Johansson a run for her money.
“Happy Birthday, Andrea,” Rusty said before any of the adults had the chance to open their mouths. The boy looked good with his hair pushed back and wearing a Captain America costume. He flashed her a grin as he looked at her outfit. “Or should I say Emma Frost?”
“Whatever you like, Captain,” she replied, giving him a salute. She had always liked Captain America for some reason. Noble to the bone, willing to always sacrifice himself to save others. He was quite possibly one of her favorite superheroes. She had a weakness for the Avengers Assembly and she loved it that Sharon and Rusty had dressed up as members of the group like her nephews and her brother.
“She’s the Captain, not me,” Rusty commented dryly and pointed at Sharon who just rolled her eyes at him, but her smile never left her lips.
“Not tonight. I’m just a master assassin at the moment,” Sharon said and let her fingers caress the fake gun on her thigh. Andrea had the feeling that Rusty might have forced Sharon to watch the movies that featured the Black Widow. She knew what she was doing. It wasn’t until she heard Graham clear his throat beside her that she remembered he was still there.
“Do the master assassin and the Captain have a name or will I be referring to you as Natasha and Steve?” Graham asked, interrupting the conversation. Andrea saw Sharon smile freeze for just a moment before she relaxed again.
“I’m sorry, I forgot my manners. Graham, Sharon Raydor and Rusty Beck, Sharon and Rusty, Graham, my brother and eternal pain in the ass and just for tonight, the Hulk,” Andrea introduced them all and watched Sharon visibly relax. Had she thought that Graham was a boyfriend? It was almost endearing. Sharon held out her hand and shook Graham’s as Rusty said a casual ‘hi’. “Rusty, Kevin and Charlie are in the bedroom avoiding everybody and I believe that they’re holding an X-Men marathon.”
Rusty gave her a grateful smile and went off in the direction of the bedroom, but not before Sharon told him to not eat a ridiculous amount of sugar and then she was standing alone with the woman she was sort of dating and one of her brothers who was undoubtedly sizing up Sharon, wondering if she were good enough for his little sister, but quite unsurprisingly Sharon wasn’t the least bit intimidated which led to an awkward silence.
“Well it was very nice meeting you, Sharon, but I think there is a drink calling my name at the bar. If you’ll excuse me.” Much to Andrea’s relief Graham left her alone with Sharon which, judging from Sharon’s face, she really appreciated as well. Andrea held her breath when Sharon leaned in and softly kissed the corner of her mouth.
“Happy birthday,” she said when she leaned back again. Andrea was pretty sure she had a dazed expression on her face. It wasn’t a proper kiss, but it was the first time she had felt Sharon’s lips. Out of the corner of her eye she caught Graham looking at the two of them and she shot a glare in his direction.
“Thank you. I’m glad you came and did justice to my brother’s ridiculous dress code. You look stunning.” Drop-dead gorgeous and sexy was more like it, but Andrea didn’t think that those words would be very appropriate in the company of her family, but Sharon seemed to get what she meant anyway. The look she gave Andrea was downright seductive.
“Thanks, you can blame Rusty who initially came up with Wonder Woman and Silk Spectre. I refused those. You look great as well. I have no idea who Emma Frost is, but this is a very good look on you.” For a moment Andrea wondered if Sharon was just being nice, but her tone and the expression on her face were genuine. She also tried her hardest to not picture Sharon in a latex suit as Laurie Juspeczyk.
“My brothers decided who I should dress up as. I didn’t have much choice. I think they’re trying to tell me that after fifty I won’t have a lot of chances to wear things like this. I’m just glad it isn’t something that resembles a low-cut bathing suit.” Or God forbid, as Mystique, which essentially would have meant walking around naked in blue body paint. Sharon would have had to investigate another murder with Andrea as the prime suspect.
“I’m fifty-six and I’m wearing a catsuit. You still have a few good years left,” Sharon said in a teasing tone. Andrea had to refrain herself from commenting on the fact that not a lot of fifty-six year-olds had a body like Sharon’s.
“Great. Listen, do you want to go out on the balcony? It’s beginning to feel like I brought my girlfriend home for the first and nobody quite knows what to say.” She had felt her brothers’ eyes on her and those of their wives. Everybody was looking at them, waiting for Andrea to introduce the sudden stranger in their midst and Andrea didn’t feel like doing that just yet. She wanted Sharon to herself just for a little while longer.
“Yes, I could you some fresh air. This suit is hot.”
“You can say that again,” Andrea deadpanned as she pushed open the door to the balcony. Sharon gave her a scandalized look. It didn’t improve much when she noticed that Andrea’s gaze had drifted down towards her cleavage. Andrea didn’t even mind that she was being obvious, the sight was just too beautiful. Vaguely she questioned just how much alcohol the bartender had put in her drinks.
“Nice one, Hobbs. You sure have a talent for the lines you use on women,” Sharon commented with a snort, reminding Andrea of the corny line she had used on Sharon in the cinema. It hadn’t been one of her strongest moments, but the grin she had gotten in return from the woman had been worth it.
“I try, but only on you.” Andrea closed the glass door behind them and then, placing her hand on the small of Sharon’s beck, guiding them away from the curious gaze of her family and showed Sharon the view from her balcony. It wasn’t anything special, but it was quite spectacular to watch the sun set. She wanted to share it with Sharon.
“You are incorrigible,” Sharon said coolly, but grinned as she leaned on the balustrade of the balcony, the soft wind moving her hair. Her face looked so much more open without her glasses and without anybody else around.
“Yes, I am, but you like it.” She joined Sharon and watched how the setting sun gave Sharon’s hair an almost auburn hue. She was beautiful. It made Andrea wonder how the hell a woman like Sharon was even remotely interested in her and yet judging from the effort Sharon had made and her rather flirty demeanor, Sharon was definitely interested in her. Andrea counted herself lucky.
“You have your moments,” Sharon replied in a teasing tone and shrugged. Andrea gave her a shocked look that was more than fake and received a chuckle in return.
“Careful now. I’m not above kicking you out of my own party,” Andrea warned. Sharon pushed herself up from the balustrade and turned around, leaning against it with her back instead, arms crossed in front of her chest, an eyebrow raised.
“You won’t. You like this look on me too much. And I haven’t given you your gift yet.” Andrea had to admit that she had a point. She did really love this suit on Sharon’s body. She blinked when Sharon held out an envelope and box of chocolate-covered raisins. Andrea smiled as she took the offered items. She had a feeling the raisins were going to be an inside-joke for a long time.
“Where did you hide this?” Andrea asked as she opened the envelope. The Black Widow costume didn’t exactly have pockets and even though she had no doubt Sharon could hide things in her cleavage, she seriously doubted she had kept something that involved chocolate there. Sharon just tapped the holster on her thigh.
“It’s a lot handier than it looks.”
“I’m sure,” Andrea replied before pulling out two tickets to Lakmé with perfect seating arrangement two months from now. Andrea stared at the pieces of paper in her hand. She hadn’t been to the opera in years. She was also very much aware of the Sapphic flower duet in the opera.“Oh wow. This is…perfect. Thank you so much.”
“I saw your music collection. I took a chance. I’m glad you like them.”
“Like them? I love them. Thank you.” Completely on impulse Andrea leaned in and kissed Sharon. She didn’t fully realized what she was doing until she felt Sharon’s hands on her bare waist and the woman’s lips moving against her own. She had thought about kissing Sharon more times than she wanted to admit. It was definitely better than her fantasies. She was slightly out of breath when she pulled back. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be presumptuous.”
Sharon plucked the tickets and the little box of chocolate-covered raisins out of Andrea’s hands and placed them on the small table that Andrea had on the balcony before returning her attention to Andrea. “Never apologize for that.”
This time Sharon kissed her and it was anything but an almost innocent kiss. Andrea found herself with her back against the brick wall of her building, Sharon’s hands soft against her cheeks, her lips insistent. Andrea’s hands automatically went to Sharon’s hips, pulling her close. She gasped when Sharon’s thigh slipped between her own and a moment later she felt Sharon’s tongue brushing against her own.
Sharon hummed and the sound made Andrea’s knees go weak. It wasn’t surprising at all that Sharon was an amazing kisser and was able to utterly wicked things with her tongue. She allowed her hands to wonder lower and rest on Sharon’s ass, pushing their hips flush together. She could do this for hours, just kissing Sharon, enjoying the feeling of Sharon’s body against her own and just not care about the fact that almost her entire family was inside her apartment and could walk out and see them at any given moment.
“And somewhere a thousand little fanboys just died from sexual frustration. The Black Widow and Emma Frost. Now that is an interesting crossover.” Andrea felt Sharon tense against her and immediately pull back from the kiss, a lethal glare thrown at the person who had interrupted them, but she didn’t move away.
“Graham, I’m going to kill you,” Andrea hissed, moving her hands up again so they rested on Sharon’s lower back. Graham just smirked and held up his hands in surrender, a black purse dangling on his arm.
“Please don’t. I don’t want to have to arrest you. Even though I wouldn’t blame you.” Sharon said softly, causing Andrea to smile.
“I’m sorry to interrupt this, but Sharon, it sounds like your phone was ringing. I didn’t want to be so liberal as to go digging through your purse, but since you’re a police officer, I figured it could be urgent.” Graham held out her purse and Sharon sighed, moving away from Andrea to grab it. A second later her phone rang again and she audibly groaned as she pulled it from her purse.
“Good evening, Lieutenant.” The moment the words left Sharon’s mouth, Andrea slumped against the wall. Of course there was a murder on the evening of her birthday and naturally it required Captain Raydor’s attention. The cons of dating a cop, it came with the territory, but that didn’t mean that Andrea had to like it. And as she watched the captain’s face turn serious, listening to Provenza’s instructions.
“Let me guess, there’s been a murder and you just have to go to the crime scene,” Andrea said after Sharon had hung up the phone and gave her an apologetic look. She knew that Sharon wanted leave about as much as Andrea wanted her to go, but sadly that didn’t mean that Sharon could stay. Murder took precedence over a birthday party. She was too well aware of that.
“Yeah, triple homicide, one of the victims is high profile. Chief Taylor has made it very clear that I need to be there and I needed to be there five minutes ago. Luckily, the crime scene is not far from here,” Sharon explained, but her tone lacked any form of enthusiasm as she slung her purse over her shoulder. Andrea took a few steps closer to Sharon and gave her a weak smile. They both hated this.
“And are they expecting Captain Raydor or the Black Widow?”
“Shit,” Sharon muttered, looking down at her outfit. Andrea grinned at her almost lost expression. A high-profile murder meant press and even if Sharon looked far too good in her costume, it wouldn’t do to have a Captain of LAPD to show up in catsuit at a crime scene. She reached out to take hold of Sharon’s hand.
“You can borrow one of my coats to cover yourself up with, though I’m sure your team would appreciate it if you didn’t.” Sharon pursed her lips, obviously imaging her team’s reaction to her costume. Andrea was tempted to come with her just to see the look on Provenza’s and Flynn’s faces.
“Which is precisely why I need to hide my outfit. Not only would I acquire a new nickname, but I’m fairly certain that the entire LAPD will possess pictures of me before the night is over,” Sharon said curtly. Andrea just smiled at the thought and leaned in to give her a quick kiss, pleased to see that it made Sharon’s annoyed expression disappear for a moment, but it was exchanged for a worried one. “And then there is Rusty.”
“He can stay here. Let him watch the movies and hang out with Kevin and Charlie. I’m sure this party won’t stop until early hours of the morning, knowing my family, and tomorrow is a Saturday anyway. He’ll be fine here.” Sharon cupped her jaw and kissed her softly, brushing their lips together. Andrea ran a hand through her hair before they broke the kiss. She didn’t want to let her leave yet, but duty was calling which was something Andrea herself understood far too well.
“Thank you. I’ll be back to pick him up as soon I can get Taylor off my back,” Sharon said and opened the door before walking back inside where they were met with the sound of music, people talking and laughing and the smell of alcohol. Andrea sighed. It wasn’t going to be fun to clean up after this party, but everybody was enjoying themselves, so it didn’t really matter. And maybe after Sharon had gone, Andrea could try to enjoy herself as well a little.
“I know. With my luck, I’ll be assigned to the case as well. Come on, I’ll give you a coat and you can be on your way to catch a killer.”
---
“Nice boots, Captain,” Flynn commented the second he saw her. Sharon narrowed her eyes and put her glasses on her nose before reaching for one of the blue covers to cover her high-heeled boots. She wasn’t going to let him or anyone else bait her, not tonight, not when she was wearing a Black Widow costume and there was a lot of press just outside the police tape. She had gotten rid of the gloves and the holster. Her outfit looked less like a costume, but she was still a fifty-six year old in a catsuit.
“So, what have we got?” she asked, following Flynn to the bedroom where there were three bodies on the bed and the walls were sprayed with blood. She carefully walked closer to the bodies as Andy rattled off what they knew so far. The man was a millionaire and personal friend of the mayor and the girls were, rather unsurprisingly, escorts.
“Cause of death?”
“I’d say gunshots, but you’ll have to wait for Morales to confirm it,” the coroner said. Sharon nodded and took a step back again. She pulled a little on the collar of the trench coat. Rusty had been right. It was far too warm to wear a coat. It was only held closed by the belt that she had tied around her waist, but it was still hot. Why of all nights was her presence required at a crime scene?
“Okay, see if you can track down his wife and get in contact with the agency that sent the girls. Let’s get as much information as we can.” She saw Sanchez and Tao nod before they left the room. She walked around to the foot of the bed. It was obvious that the whoever had pulled the trigger had stood there and shot three people in cold blood. She pretended to hold a gun and took the position, looking at the bodies at the same time. Something wasn’t right.
“Uhm, Captain?” Buzz’ voices made her look away from the crime scene with raised eyebrows. Buzz was looking at her as if her head was on fire, his camera forgotten in his hand, but pointing in her direction.
“What?” He gestured weakly at her body. Sharon looked down and widened her eyes when she noticed that her knot had come undone and her costume was now completely exposed. Hastily she pulled the coat around her body and tied up the belt again, tighter this time, when she noticed that Provenza and Flynn were looking at her. Provenza was just gaping and Flynn was trying very hard not to laugh.
“Not a single word out of either one of you, Lieutenants,” she snapped and returned her attention to the crime scene. Her cheeks were burning and Sharon was sure that she was actually blushing. Sometimes she really hated those two. And Buzz had probably caught her outfit on camera. She could just predict that she was going to be the main topic of the conversations at the coffee makers and water coolers.
“Whatever you say, miss Romanoff.” Damn.