Standing on the Edge
By Kadi
Rated K
Disclaimer: This is not my sandbox, but I do enjoy playing in it!
A/N: For the twin kate04us who asked for a follow-up to S4x04 "Turn Down".
The view from the roof was decent, but as the first fireworks began to light the sky over the ballpark, there was a sense of longing on the air. They had come so close to making it to the game. There was still a sense of camaraderie, however, to chase away any missed opportunity blues that might linger.
Where the bottle of wine that she brought to the roof ended up, Sharon didn't know. She was certain that Amy might have taken it, but as she glanced at the younger woman, who stood laughing with Buzz and Mike, she realized that the bottle must have been passed along. It wasn't really important, little more than a stray thought that had entered her mind before she let her attention turn solely toward the colorful explosions lighting the distance. She lifted her cup to her lips, but a smile curved them as a hand settled against her waist.
There was a cool breeze on the air. Sharon had her sweater pulled tightly around her. Sometimes he marveled at how easily the woman could get chilled, but still he learned to take advantage of it. Andy settled a hand against her waist, the other slid down her arm until his hand circled her wrist. He only gave her a slight tug, but a smile spread across his face when she leaned against him. Her back settled against his chest, and her ball cap covered head was tipped back to rest against his shoulder.
Andy's eyes were on the fireworks, even while his hand moved to splay across her stomach. When his thumb stroked upward, toward the spot that he knew would make her laugh, her hand covered his. Andy smirked when her fingers wrapped around his, effectively trapping them, while her elbow delivered a well-placed warning nudge.
He heard her sigh and let his chin brush her shoulder when he leaned in. His voice was a soft rumble against her ear. "They're back in town next weekend," he said, "and again at the end of the month. Maybe we'll have better luck with a smaller crowd."
Sharon hummed thoughtfully. "What were you thinking?" She didn't have to look to know that there was mischief in his gaze, or that the corners of his mouth were twitching toward that crooked grin that she could never say no to.
"You. Me." There was a pause as he shrugged. "Rusty if he wants to go." Andy knew that she had really wanted to take the kid. It would have been his first game, and even more reason to mourn the fact that they hadn't made it tonight.
She hummed again. "Maybe. We'll have to see." Sharon was thinking that it might be more fun if it was just the two of them. She couldn't imagine that Rusty would actually enjoy tagging along when it wasn't a group event. She wriggled back, moving just a little closer, and a smile played at her lips. She caught the edge of his jacket and tugged it around her. It was warm beneath it, and he knew by now that she was a heat seeker. A small thought at the back of her mind reminded her that she was entirely too relaxed with him at the moment, especially given their company, but it also reminded her that at least they were in a casual setting.
Sharon couldn't help it. She had thrown herself back into her life and it was moving forward now at a velocity that surprised her. Not that the pace was unusually fast, but rather the haste in which her comfort level had conformed to it. There was a sense of anticipation to it all, a thrill that was beginning to overlay any reservations or disquiet that she felt with a few personal decisions that she had made lately. She was very comfortable, especially at the moment. When the arm that was around her waist held her tighter, she knew that he sensed it. She felt his chin brush her shoulder again, and the soft caress of his breath against her neck. She exhaled quietly and let her fingers stroke lazily along the back of his hand while her attention remained, at least outwardly, on the fireworks that were on display for them.
A deep cough sounded beside them just a moment before Provenza bumping his partner's shoulder jolted them. He cast a dark look in their direction and rolled his eyes. "Can you be anymore obvious?" If they were going for discretion, in any way, shape, or form, they were failing at it... miserably. "There are people watching," he hissed.
Andy just shook his head and looked away. "What? She's cold." He fought the urge to smirk, and this time, he didn't bother to step away or hide what he was doing.
"Uh huh." Provenza grunted at them. He cast a quick glance toward the others. He was sure that they had noticed, but would be too polite to say anything. At the very least, they were pretending to not see what was going on in front of their faces. "Somehow, I doubt that's it. Otherwise I could've just as easily found her cuddled up to Buzz."
Having heard his name, the younger man's head popped up. He looked toward them. "What?"
"Hm." Sharon tilted her head. It might have been the wine, or perhaps the beer; she wasn't entirely sure, but she did feel pleasantly at ease. She was also aware that it could also just as easily be the playful mood that she had been in for the past few days, but whatever prompted her response, she did not allow the Lieutenant to spoil her good time. "No," she replied easily, if a bit airily, "but then he isn't wearing a jacket is he?" She glanced at the Lieutenant, and her lips curved into a small smile, "You, on the other hand, are wearing one." Sharon bit her lip and fluttered her lashes at him.
"Good god, are you drunk?" The very idea made his eyes widen in horror. Provenza took a step away from her. "I'll do a lot of things for this job; I'll even do a lot of things for you people away from this job. That," he pointed a finger at her, "is not one of them." The shudder went through his entire body. He grunted in disgust. "Flynn, for crying out loud, do something with your woman."
While Sharon laughed at the desired response, Andy rolled his eyes. "Well I would," he complained, "but you won't go home."
The older man's eyes widened in alarm; Sharon laughed in abject delight when his jaw dropped open and he sputtered. "Well played," she said. She straightened so that she was not slumped so casually against him, although she didn't move away completely.
"Yeah," Andy agreed. "I thought so." His hands moved so that they rested casually against her hips. If his partner thought that he was going to let go of her, just because they were all standing there, he needed to rethink the situation. He wouldn't say that they were together, although he supposed that he could say that they were actually dating now. He wasn't exactly sure that there was a name for it at all. What he did know was that they were hovering in that space between what they were and what was next. There was a kind of uncertainty about it, that next step, but it wasn't bad. A little unsettling, sure, and he still wondered if he was good enough for her, but it wasn't enough to make him walk away.
He was enjoying it, this place that they were in right now, where they could indulge in the familiarity that the many long months of close friendship had wrought. A place where expectations were beginning to take shape, but did not circulate wildly or make the air around them uncomfortable. They were friends, definitely, but there was a level of attraction between them that neither was willing to deny anymore. There was also an undercurrent of deeper emotion, and whatever else was coming next, they were both moving toward the opportunity to explore it.
"I'm pretty sure that I don't want to know what I missed," Buzz grumbled. He turned away from them and back to the conversation that he was having with Mike about making their own fireworks. It was an idea that he wasn't entirely sure was sound, but it was entertaining for the moment.
"Nothing." Julio hid a grin as he took a drink of his beer. "Just horny old people," he muttered.
"Oh god!" Rusty covered his face with his hand. Why had he chosen that exact moment to join them? He was really okay with watching the fireworks on television. He didn't have to be there. If it weren't for the fact that he knew Sharon would come looking for him if he didn't show up, he would have stayed where he was. "There should really be a rule about what you people are allowed to talk about."
"Ha!" It was Julio that laughed. "Rusty likes rules. Raise your hand if you really think that he's adopted."
Buzz frowned at him. "What is so wrong with rules?"
"Oh my god, she's corrupted them all. Quick, Tao let's get out of here while we still can," Provenza exclaimed.
"Leave Rusty alone." With her son present the situation changed, and so did the air around them. Sharon moved away from Andy. She walked over to join the teenager, on the other side of the group, and if she managed to bump her shoulder against the older Lieutenant, well they were crowded together rather closely near the ledge. Julio was still laughing when she passed him. She gave his arm a light smack and shook her head at him. "I'm glad that you were able to pull yourself away from the computer long enough to join us," she admonished gently. Rusty had spent the entire game with his head buried in his laptop, working on his Alice project she knew. It was admirable, and although she was incredibly proud of him, he needed to come up for air occasionally too.
"I said that I would." Rusty shrugged at her. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans and looked across the city toward the fireworks that were still coloring the sky above the ballpark. "It looked better on TV," he said.
"I know." She sighed. "The coverage from inside the ballpark is always better."
"Oh my god!" Buzz threw his hands up. "I said I was sorry."
"Yeah." Andy stared at him. "You're going to be," he promised. Then he grinned. When the other man took a step to his left, moving farther away, his smile just got wider. Buzz was always so easy.
"Okay, that's enough," Sharon decided. The fireworks began to slow. She laid a hand on Rusty's arm and gave it a squeeze before she moved away from him. She walked around the small gathering and began picking up their empty or half-filled wine cups. She noticed the others begin doing the same with the bottles that they had brought up to the roof. The evening had effectively drawn to a close.
The banter followed the group back downstairs. There was not a lot of cleanup involved with the impromptu gathering. Sharon stood at her door, bidding each of them goodnight as they left for their homes or other activities. With any luck, their holiday weekend would not be further interrupted, and it would be Monday before she saw any of them again.
She was left with only Rusty, who quickly gathered his computer and retreated to his room to continue working, and Andy who had lingered in the kitchen while the others left, under the guise of putting away the last of the snacks that were brought out during the game. It was a flimsy excuse, and they both knew it, but neither of them cared.
She pulled the hat off her head and combed her fingers through her hair as she walked across the living room. She tossed it onto the sofa and smiled at the man who had only pretended to not know her kitchen almost as well as she did. Sharon walked out onto the terrace while he finished his self-imposed task. She leaned against the rail and let her gaze sweep over the city.
"Funny place to be for the lady who's always cold." Andy stepped out behind her a minute later. He moved to stand beside her and leaned his arms against the rail.
"I like the view," she said, and not for the first time. She straightened while she stood there and offered him a smile. "I have ways of dealing with the cold," she teased.
"Yeah. I know." He moved behind her. Andy let his arms circle her again and drew her back against his chest. When she wriggled beneath his jacket and leaned into him, he laughed. "For example."
"You don't have me completely figured out yet," she said. Sharon turned, but without stepping out of the circle of his arms. She let hers slide around his waist; her hands moved up his back beneath the jacket. "There are still a few things left for you to learn, Andy Flynn."
"Think so?" His brows lifted at the teasing challenge. He was sure that she was right. His hands settled against the small of her back, fingers locked together. "Do I get a hint?" Andy was almost sure that he might like this side of her best, the teasing, playful woman whose eyes were sparkling in the glow of the lights from inside.
"Nope." She tipped her head back and continued to smile at him. "But I don't think you'll have a hard time stumbling across it."
"Stumbling being the operative word, huh?" He grinned crookedly at her. When she laughed, he lowered his head. He pressed a kiss to her upturned lips. "You know that you outed us this week, right?"
She hummed. "I didn't think that we were a secret." Sharon tilted her head at him. Her look turned inquisitive. "Is that a problem?"
"Not for me." Andy shrugged, his hands moved up her back. "I guess I just thought you'd want to keep it all under the radar."
"Out of the office," she told him, "but not out of the open." The breeze caught and lifted her hair, so she leaned closer, nearer to his warmth. "I think we will call that lesson number one," she decided with a smirk.
"You think?" He decided he was going to kiss that smirk off her lips, but first, he shook his head at her. "Thing is, sweetheart, if you want it out of the office, you might want to stop playing with my ties in the Murder Room." She laughed again, but this time he captured the sound. His hands moved into her hair and he tipped her head back while his mouth angled over hers. He felt a moment of triumph when her bubbling laughter faded to a low, throaty moan.
She melted into him with a sigh. This was what she had missed about being in a relationship, although she had not necessarily missed dating. It was the slow, lazy kisses, but the gentle build toward deeper intimacy reminded her of just how new this was. She hummed as he teased her lips apart. Heat danced across her skin, licked deliciously at the tiny sparks of excitement that were travelling down her spine. They were not children to lose themselves in the lust of the moment, although the promise of desire and passion was certainly there, floating in the air around them. For now they were reveling in the slow burn, in the heady and delightful build of a much stronger need.
He could forget, with her small hands moving up and down his back, that he was tired. He could lose himself in the taste of her, in the sound of her low sighs and quiet hums. When his lips moved down her neck, and he felt her shiver against him, he knew that it wasn't from the supposed chill that had given her an excuse to burrow close to him. He could have stood there with her all night, but they were not alone, and it was too soon for the thoughts that were running rampant through his mind. Andy was reluctant to let go of her, but he did.
"I should get going," he said quietly, but his lips moved against the corner of her mouth, and his hands slid down her arms to loosely grip her wrists.
"Yes." She was as reluctant as he was to step out of the haze their moment on the terrace had created. "Are you good to drive?" Sharon cupped his chin for a moment and gazed into his eyes while she gauged just how tired he was after working all night and day.
"I'm sure I'll manage." He kissed her again before pulling away completely. There was no way that he would be sleeping anytime soon, not with the heat that was currently moving through his veins. Andy tugged on her hand and drew her inside with him. "Besides," he reminded her, "I'm picking you up early."
If their weekend plans held, then the two of them were driving up the coast for the day. Rusty had begged off, as they had known that he would. It would only be the two of them, and she was quite looking forward to it. "Yes, you are." Sharon had already decided that whatever she could, she would push onto Robbery-Homicide for the weekend. Her people had more than earned the time off. She walked with him to the door and leaned against it. "I'll see you soon."
The thrill of anticipation danced through her. It would be a new day, another chance for exploration. It allowed her to say goodnight to him with a smile, to stay the temptation that wanted her to ask him to stay. There would be time enough for that. For now, she would just enjoy gazing at the fireworks.
Soon, they would be dancing in them.
~FIN