Pairing: Hobbs/Raydor
A/N: Because I have a horrible attention span and get distracted so easily... this sorta just started writing itself when I was supposed to be working on an entirely different fic. I wanted to get this out sooner, before Sharon and Andy's relationship progressed on the show, but I also wanted to make sure this was something that would actually be finished before posting...so, here we are now.
Sharon/Andy are a thing that actually happens here, fyi. It's discussed, and he appears a few times; it's not terribly shippy, but there's definitely Sharon/Andy involved. It's more about how her relationship with Andy affects the one she has with Andrea, and vice versa. This would take place before things become serious for them - assuming they do on the show. (This is definietly a Sharon/Andrea fic despite how it starts out.)
Title taken from the song Alright by Kinnie Starr.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything but a brain that obsesses over fictional characters.
1.
"It's been three weeks, Sharon. You can't honestly tell me you can't find time for one itty bitty dinner with one of your closest friends."
Sharon Raydor snorted as her eyes rolled heavenward, her smirk hidden behind her tea as she took a healthy swallow of the fragrant beverage. "You can't pull the 'it's been forever' card with me while we're having lunch together." She laughed shortly. "It negates your point."
Fernando Morales met Sharon's eye roll with one of his own, his fork stabbing into a cucumber as he shook his head. "Fifteen minutes spent in a loud, busy cafe isn't the same as you coming over for a proper meal. We haven't had a night out in ages. Or in this case, a night in. Besides, I have someone I want you to meet." He practically sang his last sentence, eyes alight as he spoke.
"Oh," Sharon said with interest, head tilting.
One of Morales' excited grins stretched across his lips. "His name's Anthony. We've been seeing each other for a couple months now. Met him at a friend's wedding – it was a bore. There wasn't even an open bar at the reception. Bride's dress was hideous, too, but that's not what's important right now, is it?
"Anyway. Anthony was also placed at the irrelevant, single, 'I'm just inviting you because we were once close' table, and he was the only thing that kept me entertained that night."
Sharon smiled in response to Fernando's happiness, the doctor's hands gesturing as he spoke animatedly. "So why am I just now hearing about him?" she questioned. Usually this was the kind of thing she found out about right after it happened.
"Oh, please. Like you've had any time for me recently." Sharon went to disagree, but Morales waved his fork and stopped her. "And don't even bother trying to deny it. I'm still trying to get you to come over for dinner after inviting you several times already."
A long sigh left the captain's lips as she checked the time on her phone and leaned back in her seat. "When?"
"When what?" Fernando finished the last of his salad with a final neat bite and then reached for his tall cup of untouched lemonade. He'd be bringing it back to his office, Sharon knew.
"Dinner. When were you thinking about having this dinner of yours? I'm assuming you've already picked a date."
A smirk slowly crept onto his lips as he tilted his head to the door and collected his trash, signaling he was ready to go if she was. "This Saturday, six o'clock. How's that sound?"
Sharon nodded, her schedule clear for that evening. She slid her purse onto her shoulder while standing and straightened out her blue blazer. "Doable." She picked up the two plastic bags from the table, one holding her trash, the other holding the tray of food she was going to deliver before going back to her office.
"Fantastic." Trash was thrown out and then the two made their way outside, thanking the young man who held the door open for them before entering the cafe himself. "So dinner for four? Or am I going to have to make it five?"
Sharon instantly heard the distaste that slipped into his tone at the last part and couldn't hold back neither her eye roll nor the smirk that came afterwards. "You're going to have to stop that," Sharon said, waiting at the corner to cross the street. The sun was bright, so she shielded her eyes as she looked at her friend. "I don't know why you suddenly don't like Andy..."
"Oh, honey, it's not that I don't like the lieutenant. I would just like him far away from my dinner table, that's all I'm saying."
Sharon decided to leave the topic alone. Fernando didn't treat Andy Flynn any differently since Sharon started seeing him, was always as professional with the lieutenant as he was with everyone else. But whenever her dating him came up, there was an obvious dislike for the forming relationship that he did very little to hide. Sharon wasn't bothered by it. His bluntness and honesty about his feelings were things she appreciated in a friend, even in situations like this one.
"Well, I hadn't planned on bringing him with me, if that's what you were getting at."
Taking a sip of his lemonade from his straw, he nodded. "Well, good. I'm only allowing you to bring one person with you. Five's a bit of a crowd. So I didn't think he'd be coming, anyway."
Sharon hummed, crossing the street. It was a lovely day, the sun's rays dancing along the edges of her face and warming her skin. "Andy and I aren't glued at the hip, you know. I don't need–"
"No, that would be you and Andrea," he said with a hearty chuckle.
Sharon was about to respond when her phone started ringing in her pocket, Detective Sykes' name at the top of the screen. "I've got to take this," she said, swiping her finger to answer.
"And I need to get back to work," he said, giving Sharon's arm a squeeze. "Give Andrea my love, and I'll see you both on Saturday."
Sharon nodded and offered him a smile. "Yes, Detective..."
. . .
Andrea Hobbs was pacing the length of her small office, phone clutched between her ear and shoulder. She'd been on hold for nearly fifteen minutes now and her patience was wearing thin. Her head was pounding with her usual midday headache, and her back had been acting up since she awoken at her home office chair at three o'clock earlier that morning. She was scanning some notes as she walked back and forth, needing the movement after spending much of her time being idle. Her body was used to being in action, or at least standing, so long hours of sitting made her restless when she was working.
All of that ceased to matter when a soft triple knock came against her wood door and Sharon's head carefully peaked in. Andrea offered her friend a smile and gestured her in with a head tilt, holding up a finger to silently tell her she'd be right with her. Sharon quietly told her to take her time and placed a bag down on Andrea's messy desk.
Andrea checked her watch, huffed, and then hung up the phone. There was a delicious aroma filling her office and she hadn't eaten anything since the half of a bagel she had before her meeting with Judge Tompkins 8:30 that morning.
When she turned back around, Sharon was neatening up a small section of Andrea's desk and placing the food out for her. Andrea laughed quietly and crossed the room. "You brought lunch and you're cleaning up after me?" She dropped her notes down on the desk and reached over to a container of grilled chicken, mixed vegetables, and white rice and picked up some broccoli with her fingers.
Sharon lifted her head and gave Andrea one of her dazzling smiles. "Your desk was practically begging for it."
Andrea hummed around her broccoli as her brow lifted, a comment on the tip of her tongue that she chose to keep to herself. Instead, she dragged one of the seats over to her own and then sat down, allowing Sharon the more-comfortable option of her leather office chair. After Sharon sat, and her fingers quickly unbuttoned the single button keeping her blazer closed over her dress, Andrea smiled at her friend.
"Did you already eat?" she asked, using her fork this time to spear a piece of chicken and pick it up with some of the rice.
Sharon nodded, turning the chair towards Andrea. Their legs brushed before Sharon got comfortable. She rested her elbow on the desk and cradled her head, eyes raking over Andrea and then settling on her face. "I had a short lunch with Morales before coming here. He wanted to see if I could come over for dinner this Saturday. He wants to introduce me to a man he's been dating."
Andrea hummed as she chewed, incredibly grateful for the lunch Sharon had bought her because she was definitely in need of some proper food. She hadn't been sure when or what she would be doing for lunch, but somehow Sharon had managed to know exactly what she was craving without Andrea knowing herself.
"Anthony, right? I think he mentioned him a few weeks ago while he and I were at the gym together. Professor at UCLA, I think."
"Professor? So definitely not his usual type," Sharon said with a warm laugh, and Andrea smiled at her.
"If you mean not stupidly young, then no, not what he has been going for lately. Which is good." Andrea pushed her mixed vegetables around with her fork as she spoke. "I think it's a sign that maybe he's ready for something serious again."
Sharon agreed. "Dinner's going to be Saturday at six. I don't know if he's already asked you or not..."
Andrea chuckled as she reached for her water. "Since when does Morales invite both of us anywhere?! He always assumes we'll take care of it for him." She rolled her eyes, taking a few swallows of the refreshing liquid as she looked at Sharon. "He's not the only one, though, so I guess I can't be too annoyed with him."
"At least he's not as bad as Barbara," Sharon said with a little laugh, running her fingers through her hair.
"'Well I just thought that you two would bring each other as your plus one so there was no need to give you separate invitations'," Andrea drawled, making Sharon's laughter grow. Andrea smiled through the harsh fluttering in her belly at the throaty sound, her eyes not leaving Sharon in fear of missing even a second of the breathtaking sight in front of her. "I mean, she wasn't wrong, but at least give us the option to actually decide if we want to bring someone else with us, you know."
"We're a package deal, and I guess all of our friends have accepted that. You want one, you get the other as well."
"Well, we're one hell of a package," Andrea said with a wink, tapping her leg against Sharon's.
Sharon hummed throatily, smirk on her lips as she tilted her head and ran her eyes over Andrea slowly. "That we are," she agreed.
Andrea fought off a shiver. She should be used to the way Sharon looked at her, the way her friend's eyes traveled along her body as if she was seeing something new each time and needed to take her time to carefully inspect it. But she wasn't – and the way she warmed on the inside from the look made her feel as if she never really would get used to it.
She cleared her throat and pushed her hand through her hair. "You want me to pick you up from the apartment? Or will you be heading over there from somewhere else?"
Sharon shook her head, checking the time. "I'll be home. I'm not working Saturday. Rusty and I have plans together, but they're in the morning."
"I'll be there at five-fifteen, then." Andrea closed up her food, half of it eaten. She'd save the rest for later since she was expecting it to be a long day. "And you're still coming over tomorrow, right?"
Every month they spent a Friday night together, usually the second, sometimes the third or fourth if they were unavailable the week before, watching old movies and drinking wine. They made pizza together and then ate it in front of Andrea's television. This month they were supposed to be watching Casablanca, and Andrea had made sure to pick up a few bottles of Sharon's favorite Sauvignon Blanc on her way home the other day. They'd been doing this for at least five years now, and it was certainly one of the things she looked forward to most when she needed to push herself through a tough week.
"Absolutely. Buzz has been helping Rusty with another one of his side projects. He asked if he could stay over since it was going to be late by the time they were able to start working, and I agreed. So I was actually thinking we could, if you wanted to, make this Friday more like the ones we used to have before - - you know."
Andrea's heart forgot how to beat properly for a moment or two and skipped a few beats. Andrea arched her brow. "Like before?" she questioned carefully, slowly. "Before..."
Sharon ducked her head, licking her lips. She smiled, although it was partially hidden since she was not meeting Andrea's eyes. "I'd like to stay over if that's okay with you."
"Of course it is," Andrea said immediately, no hesitation, without even thinking about her answer. "You know you're always welcomed at my house, any time, however long you like."
Sharon hummed and slowly lifted her gaze. There was something in her eyes, a bit of disbelief, but she didn't voice whatever she was thinking.
Andrea frowned, wondering if this was another Andy thing. Things had certainly changed between them since Sharon started dating Andy, but it wasn't much, not enough to warrant the amount of uncertainty that Sharon seemed to have from time to time when trying to figure out where they stood. Andrea had told her – and she would again if Sharon ever needed to hear it – nothing between them needed to change unless that was what she wanted. Things, of course, had changed since the summer: they no longer slept over at each other's homes; Andrea was careful with her affection towards Sharon when around Andy because he seemed to have a problem with it; and even though their flirting had always been innocent enough, that mostly stopped as well. But for the most part, nothing had really changed. At least not for Andrea.
"I should get going," Sharon said as she stood reluctantly, looking at the time. "And you need to get back to work so you get home at a decent hour."
Andrea stood as well, moving the chair back around to the other side of the table as Sharon fixed her blazer and then scooped up her bag. Andrea walked her to the door quietly, their shoulders brushing. When Sharon reached for the door knob, Andrea stopped her, wrapping a hand around her slender wrist. She ran her thumb up in a single stroke, feeling Sharon's sigh before hearing it, the soft breath breezing across her cheek.
They embraced naturally, Sharon's arms winding around Andrea's middle once she released her friend's wrist. Andrea smiled and pulled Sharon closer, hair the scent of dark spices and sweetness tickling her nose. The next sigh to fill their little bubble was her own, her lungs filling with the scent and warmth of Sharon, holding on to it, letting it caress her in the most intimate of ways, and then she softly let it out.
"Thank you for lunch, and for stopping by," she whispered, holding on for a few seconds longer. Sharon hummed against her, and the vibration that formed in her chest could be felt in Andrea's own. It moved from one body to the next, and then back again as Andrea heard herself release a pleased sound.
Sharon seemed as unwilling to part as Andrea, her hands gripping Andrea's blouse tightly as her nose rubbed the side of Andrea's neck. It caused a pleasant warmth to bloom in Andrea's chest, lower in her stomach, and she brought one of her hands up to gently stroke the back of Sharon's head. Of course, they both knew they had to get back to work and couldn't stand like that indefinitely. So after another few seconds, they pulled away from each other.
Sharon whispered an apology, brushing her hands down the front of her blazer and then sticking them into her pockets. Andrea rolled her eyes slightly and let her fingers work through Sharon's hair again, this time fixing it in the front and then letting the backs of her fingers caress Sharon's cheek.
"I needed that. Don't apologize for hugging me."
Sharon smiled at Andrea, a softness to her eyes that Andrea found made her want to pull Sharon in for another hug. "I needed that. It's been a difficult week for the both of us, I think, and I've..."
"Yeah," Andrea said, nodding in agreement to what Sharon hadn't said. They used to seek comfort from each other when they were feeling emotionally drained or stressed more often than they had been lately, but Andrea understood that it was still something Sharon needed from her because it was something she needed as well.
Sharon cleared her throat and nodded once. "I'll talk to you later tonight."
Andrea nodded, opening the door for Sharon. "I'll text you."
"Don't forget," Sharon said over her shoulder as she walked away.
. . .
"And don't forget you can call me if you need me," Sharon said to Rusty as he and Buzz packed up to go Friday evening.
Buzz laughed quietly, and Rusty huffed while slinging his bag over his shoulder. "I'm going to be with Buzz, Sharon. Buzz. What could possibly go so wrong that we won't be able to handle it?"
Sharon eyed the two of them, knowing Rusty would be fine with Buzz. She was actually quite glad to hear he had sought Buzz's help all on his own and was showing more and more independence each day. That didn't stop the worrier in her from, well, doing what it did best.
"And aren't you supposed to be having a date night with DDA Hobbs?" he asked with a smirk he didn't even bother trying to hide.
Sharon's eyes widened a fraction before she got control of her reaction and narrowed them instead. "Movie night," she corrected, ignoring Buzz's uncomfortable shuffling.
"Ah, so that's still what you two are calling those. Yeah. Have fun with that. I'll be fine."
Sharon hated how his comment made her stomach twist uncomfortably. She was sure she'd be blushing if she wasn't fighting the reaction with everything she was. She shot him a warning look, and his smirk slid off his face within seconds. It didn't bother her when he made comments like that when it was just the two of them, or even when Andrea was around, because she and Andrea knew what they were and what they weren't. But at work, when others were around, she preferred he not joke about things like that.
"Sorry," he said while pulling at the strap of his bag. "But seriously, don't worry about me tonight. Enjoy your time with Andrea and we'll meet for breakfast like we planned. Okay?"
Sharon gave his shoulder a long squeeze, nodding at him. "I'll always worry about you, you know that." He rolled his eyes a little, but he smiled and nodded as well. "But I'll drop this and let you get going. You two have a good night," she said, looking over to Buzz, who was waiting out of the way but still close by.
"You too, Captain," he said with a warm smile. "Ready, Rusty?"
Rusty waited for Sharon to give him a nod and then left. "Yeah. Let's go."
Sharon watched them leave and then started making her way to her office. Most of her detectives were already gone, Flynn and Provenza the only ones left behind. Sharon arched her brow when she looked at the gray-haired lieutenant, and he held up a form with a deep frown. She smiled sympathetically and turned to Andy, not surprised to see him already looking at her as he leaned against the edge of the desk.
"I remember a time when you were ready to get out of this building as soon as your work was done," she said as she eyed his empty desk.
"Must have been before I had a reason to stay after hours," he said with a hopeful grin. "I was thinking we could grab a bite to eat. What do you say? You in the mood for that vegetarian spot by your building?"
Sharon's smile faltered. "Oh, Andy, I have plans tonight."
He huffed out a breath and nodded, hands stuffed into his pants pockets. "I know. Date night with Hobbs. I heard, but I thought you might want to do this instead."
Sharon's eyes narrowed. If he had heard, then why had he asked her out for dinner? His tone, the one he always used when referring to Andrea nowadays when it wasn't about work, made her skin tingle uncomfortably. She almost didn't even notice that he had called her movie night with Andrea a date just as Rusty had. When he said it, there was no teasing, only jealous bitterness.
She sighed. "It's a movie night, not a date night," she told him tiredly, as she had just told Rusty. "And I told you last time that it's something we do every month, so why do you seem surprised that that's what I planned on doing tonight?"
"Rusty's gone for the night. I just thought it would be nice for us to spend some alone time together." His brow furrowed as he looked at Sharon, and Sharon sighed again.
Sharon looked around them and then tilted her head towards her office. He followed her into the room and then closed the door. Once they were alone, Sharon took her seat and then waved her hand to one of the chairs on the other side of the desk. He hovered at the door with his hands buried deep in his pockets, but after a few seconds of Sharon waiting patiently, he let his shoulders droop and took a seat.
"Andy," she said very carefully once he was settled, "is there something bothering you? Things have been...off...these past few weeks. Is everything all right?"
Andy left Sharon's eyes. He appeared to be looking far off into the distance, a coldness to his features that she was not used to. "You and Andrea..."
Sharon stopped herself from reacting to the way venom seeped into his voice when he said her friend's name. He sighed after he said it, and Sharon could tell he hadn't meant for it to come out like that.
"What about her and me?" Sharon asked in a neutral tone. It was getting late, the streets already darkening behind her. She was tired, physically and emotionally, and was hoping this conversation would continue on a lighter tone than similar ones had in the past.
They'd more or less talked about this topic before, and it never went well - just like she and Andrea had spoken about her dating Andy, and she and Morales had discussed her relationship with both Andrea and Andy. Since Sharon started seeing Andy romantically three months ago, there had been several small conversations and comments about both of those (very different) relationships.
"Are you unhappy with me?" Andy asked instead of answering her question. He sounded unsure of himself, hesitant. Sharon wasn't sure he even wanted her to answer the question. He looked hurt, like she had already rejected him.
Sharon sighed and placed her hand palm up on the desk, offering it to him. She looked at him with kind eyes until he placed his own in hers, allowed her to wrap her slender fingers around his strong hand.
"You don't have to lie to me, Sharon. If you're having second thoughts, or..."
Sharon covered their joint hands with her second. "I'm not having second thoughts about us, Andy. I've enjoyed our time together, and I would like to continue doing so."
His loud breath was heavy in the air, his relief palpable. "Okay. Well, that's, uh... That's good to hear."
Sharon allowed a tiny smile to appear on her lips as she nodded and squeezed his hand. "However, I hope you know that that doesn't change the fact that Andrea and I do have - -" her eyebrows knitted together as she looked away and searched for the appropriate words. "She and I are very close."
Andy scoffed, and Sharon raised her brow and looked at him. "Close? The kid jokes about you dating the woman. Don't you think 'close' is underplaying what you two are?"
Sharon could feel her heart start beating a little faster, her stomach twisting uncomfortably. She started to carefully pull her hands away from Andy, unable to give him the reassurance he needed when she was worried her hands would start trembling.
Andy sighed and scratched at the back of his neck, frowning. "Look, Sharon, I'm not asking you to stop spending time with Hobbs–"
"Excuse me?" Sharon's voice startled even her as the words left her mouth, icy and deadly. Andy jumped slightly in his seat across the desk.
"Whoa!" Andy held up his hands defensively and gave her what Sharon was sure Andy had meant to be a smile to calm her after hearing her reaction to him – unintentionally, she was hoping – hitting a nerve. "That's not what I'm asking."
"Well, good, because I can assure you that that's not an option on the table, Andy." Sharon's tone was still harsh, her words careful and precise, but she didn't apologize for it.
"I would never think I have any say in who you choose to spend your time with," Andy said slowly, almost apologetically, perhaps even a little confused. His brow furrowed.
And Sharon's thumb rubbed over the ring finger of her left hand as she replied, voice tougher than steel, "Well you certainly don't, so I'm glad we're on the same page."
"All I'm-"
Sharon interrupted him with a shake of her head as one of her hands was held up to quiet him. She was starting to feel uncomfortable, and angry, and she no longer wished to discuss this topic with Andy anymore.
"This really isn't the time nor place for this conversation, Andy." She looked around the office and then shook her head again. "We can continue this at another time, somewhere more private – but not here where we work."
Andy looked like he was going to protest for a second, his jaw tight, but then he nodded defeatedly and stood from his chair. "You're right. This isn't the place for this. We agreed to keep our professional and romantic relationships as separate as they could be, so I'm sorry."
Sharon forced a smile to her lips. "I'm the one who asked to speak to you. You were only answering a question I asked you in the first place. It's my fault."
Andy hovered at the door before nodding his head once. "Want me to walk you out?"
Sharon shook her head, looking into Andy's apologetic eyes. Her smile came naturally this time, just a small one. "Thank you, but that won't be necessary."
"All right. Night, Sharon."
to be continued...
