"You are astoundingly beautiful," Andrea said as she leaned against the sink. Her arms were crossed as her hungry, loving eyes took in the sight of Sharon as she worked her thick hair into a coconut-scented lather.

Beneath the steady spray of the showerhead, Sharon snickered and rolled her eyes affectionately. "You obviously went back for seconds of that champagne," she concluded. I've only managed to slice through the first few layers of dirt and dust coating me. I'm barely human again."

Indeed, there were still specks of paint and grime on her forearms, as well as on her sinfully taut calves, but Andrea found all of that to be rather...enticing. She thought about making a comment about how sexy Sharon had looked as they'd moved their furniture into their new home. Her hair had been a sweaty, tangled mess threatening to fall out of its clip, her face had been flushed and her eyes had sparkled determinedly as they unpacked box after box, the determination clear even as they'd been forced to repaint a wall in their living room due to Rusty's somewhat overly enthusiastic furniture assembly. But should Andrea make a comment about how she had been on the precipice of both discomfort and arousal all day helping Sharon with their daunting tasks, her partner would likely insist that she was getting soft and or senile in her old age.

Instead, Andrea shook her head, silently disagreeing with her incredibly stubborn, incredibly sexy partner.

"I will have you know that you, my love, had exactly half a glass more of the champagne than I did. I had half a glass, and you finished yours. I even saw you eye the bottle when Rusty offered to pour seconds," Andrea said as Sharon moved under the showerhead again to rinse her hair.

"I like champagne," Sharon said. "I like the bubbles. They feel…decadent," she sighed. She smoothed her hair back and reached for the bar of soap. "Surely you're not going to spend the whole evening just simply watching, are you?"

"Would you like me to join you?" Andrea retorted. She couldn't help but grin at the look that Sharon threw her from over her soap-suds covered shoulder.

Join her she did; moments later an equally naked, equally dirt-covered Andrea too stood under the hot, steady stream of water. "Good water pressure," she grunted as she leaned her head back and soaked her hair.

"Indeed," Sharon said as she handed Andrea the bottle of shampoo. She bent over to place the soap bar back on the lower shelf and Andrea groaned.

Andrea reached one hand out to briefly caress the dip in Sharon's lower back; her fingers trailed lower to tease her partner's backside. "Beautiful. Astoundingly so," Andrea said gently and purposefully.

Sharon hummed as she straightened her posture and turned around to face Andrea. Their lips met in a blissfully unhurried kiss; lately every encounter between them, both at work and at home, had been fraught and rushed.

"You have drywall on you," Sharon giggled as her wet fingers tried unsuccessfully to brush away the offending particles from Andrea's collarbone.

"Working on that," Andrea said apologetically as she squeezed the shampoo bottle, encouraging a dollop of the thick gel to sink into the sweaty, dull mass of hair on her head.

"Let me help," Sharon purred as she encouraged Andrea to turn around, allowing her access to the back of her head. Her graceful hands sunk into Andrea's hair and long fingers worked in circular motions to both cleanse and massage.

Andrea reached behind Sharon to gently pull her hips flush against her own backside. "Good size, this shower," she commented.

"Yes, I believe your exact words to the real estate agent were 'Make sure the shower is big enough for two,' which horrified him, I'm sure. Seeing as we're both old enough to be his mother," Sharon recalled.

Andrea scoffed. "He made a great commission on both of our condos; he does not have my sympathies."

"Why didn't you say the same thing to the furniture dealer?" Sharon teased.

"Because I like having you close when we sleep," Andrea replied easily.

Sharon rinsed the shampoo from Andrea's hair and reached for the conditioner; she applied a generous amount, knowing how thick and porous Andrea's hair was. She smiled as Andrea's hands caressed her hips, managing to send shivers up and down her spine even in their somewhat awkward position.

"Even when I elbow you?"

"Especially when you elbow me, because you always apologize with kisses," Andrea said cheekily.

Sharon nibbled on a drywall-free spot of Andrea's shoulder as a reprimand.

"Love it when you're kinky too," Andrea teased, eliciting an exaggerated sigh from Sharon.

"Whatever am I going to do with you? Hmm?" Sharon asked.

"Well, we've locked ourselves in with a fifteen year mortgage, so, you've got a decade and then some to figure it out."

"I suppose I'll think of something. I'm quite clever you know," Sharon sighed.

"Oh, I do know. Your mind is what I first fell in love with you know," Andrea said. She turned around in Sharon's arms and encircled her partner's petite waist. "And then, after months of phone calls and email correspondence, I finally met you. And that's when I knew that I was a goner."

"Andrea, you can't fall in love with someone before meeting them, I mean, for goodness sake our initial conversations were limited to the subject of murder, kidnapping, and trial dates," Sharon reasoned. Yet, she was unable to keep the flushed grin off of her face.

"I'd love to debate this further with you Captain, but, given that this is our first night in our first home together, I'd much rather finish our shower so I can take you to bed. I wouldn't say no to a post-coital debate however," Andrea responded, eyes gleaming.

Sharon's response was to cup Andrea's jaw and draw her in for a kiss that perfectly illustrated her intentions for the rest of their evening.

"Mmm, we've got the rest of our lives to debate," Sharon murmured against Andrea's lips. "Something tells me we're going to outlast the bank's timeline," she said with no small amount of pride in her tone.

Andrea snickered. "Welcome home," she said as she nuzzled the crook of Sharon's neck.

Sharon held Andrea tighter to her, her chest suddenly felt like it might burst from sheer joy.

"Welcome home," she repeated.