Prompt: Running Away

The first time Brenda came over late at night, Sharon had stared blankly at her for a good ten seconds before she awkwardly asked Brenda to come in. The chief looked worn out, her tiny frame appearing smaller than usual in her jersey dress. Sharon hadn't asked why Brenda was there, and Brenda didn't offer up an explanation beyond not wanting to be home alone. It was shortly after Brenda had thought Sharon was planning on retiring, and after a few glasses of wine, Brenda had told Sharon she would miss her if she were to really leave.

Two weeks went by without them seeing each other outside of work. And yet, Sharon expected the sound of her doorbell ringing a little past nine on a Friday night. She wouldn't tell Brenda that she had been making dinner a little later in case she showed up, or that she knew how rough Brenda's day had been. She invited her in, served her a plate of food, and poured her a glass of wine. Sharon was a great listener, and even though Brenda never talked about what was bothering her, she could talk for hours. That night she had, and she did it while the two of them shared two bottles of wine. Brenda slept in the guest room that night, even though she insisted she could take a cab home.

After the lawsuit was settled, Sharon was sure the visits would stop. She had guessed that was why they had started. Sharon could read between lines better than Brenda would think, and Brenda said a lot of things without really saying much at all. She gathered from the little things Brenda did say that Brenda was finding it hard to know who to trust, that it had led to her not even talking to Agent Howard about certain things. Not that he wanted to listen, she assumed, from the way Brenda had hinted that he thought she talked too much about work and herself – Sharon agreed that she did focus her conversations around her work most of the time, but Sharon was still willing to listen and understood that was all Brenda really needed. Despite Sharon's assumption that the lawsuit was what Brenda was running away from when she came over for dinner or drinks and the one time all they did was eat chocolate cake and watch movies, a few days after the lawsuit was settled Brenda rang her bell and held up a bottle of Sharon's favorite wine.

The day Sharon told Brenda that she was required to inform the DA's office every time Major Crimes rolled out for a homicide – which Sharon should have known she would have to tell the chief herself, since Chief Pope always left the responsibility of things like informing Brenda of changes to the captain – and Sharon had noticed the thyroid cancer pamphlet, she figured a little space would be good for Brenda. But the next day, after watching Brenda in the interview room, watching the way Brenda just let her emotions get the best of her, she decided space wasn't what they needed. They needed to talk. Sharon knew very little about Brenda's father, not because she hadn't asked what was going on with him, but because Brenda didn't want to talk about it. Sharon understood Brenda's tendency to run away when she couldn't take anymore – a little time away from all the stress was good, even though her usual habit was to bury herself in work – but Sharon knew Brenda needed to get out all the things she hadn't been saying. It didn't matter if she had said it to Agent Howard, or if she had said it to anybody else; this was something Brenda needed to tell Sharon.

Unfortunately, that was a conversation they never had. It looked like things were getting better for Brenda, and where Clay Johnson was concerned, that was true. Brenda had stopped by once, at Sharon's office and not her apartment, and told her as much without Sharon prompting her. Sharon smiled at the sight of the light back in Brenda's eyes that usually wasn't present when she saw the other woman, and told her to have a seat. Brenda apologized, told her she couldn't stay, and then lingered at the door. Sharon raised an eyebrow as she stood, and Brenda closed the door that had been cracked open and walked over to Sharon's desk. It happened so quickly that Sharon didn't even process it until Brenda walked out, but the tingling sensation Brenda's chaste kiss had left on her lips as she thanked her was one Sharon wouldn't forget.

Until the captain heard about Brenda's mother's passing, the feeling of warm lips and fingers against her was all she really thought about when she thought of the other woman. Lieutenant Flynn told her that the chief was leaving for Atlanta, and without even saying anything to him, she whirled around and walked to the elevators with one goal in mind. It wasn't until she was in her car and driving towards Brenda's house that she even considered that maybe a call would have been better, that maybe Brenda wouldn't want to see her. It didn't matter, though, what Brenda would have wanted, because when Sharon arrived at the house it was empty. Since the first night Brenda showed up at her door, the need to comfort the other woman had been growing. While sitting in her car, still outside of Brenda's house, she realized she wouldn't be able to this time and that realization was one she did not like.

Calls and e-mails went unanswered, so Sharon stopped trying after leaving Brenda a voicemail that said only one thing. When you come back, come see me. It was later that same day that things started to finally click together in her search for the leak. That week had been full of interviews, taking statements, and days of feeling a type sickness that she just couldn't shake until she had everything confirmed. Each night she sat at her table with a glass of Merlot, imagining what it would be like when she had to tell Brenda everything she was discovering.

When Brenda came back to Los Angeles, things were different. They didn't speak much, and Sharon couldn't do anything that would help Brenda once the truth came out. Sharon knew Brenda would come to her if she wanted to. Sharon was certain she wouldn't. It was like it was in the beginning, not when they first met, but right before Brenda first started coming over at night. They were friendly enough, professional, but never anything more.

The night after the incident with Stroh, Sharon called Brenda as she walked out of the elevator in her building. The sound of Brenda's ringing phone coming from down the hall surprised her. She looked up, her eyes meeting those of the woman leaning against her door with a bag on the floor and her purse on her shoulder. Sharon didn't remove the phone from her ear, nor did she continue walking down the hall as she felt her heart wildly stat to pound in her chest.

"Hey," Brenda said as she used her elbows to push herself from the door. "How 'bout you come over here and let me in?"

Sharon blinked twice before she finally registered the sound of Brenda's voice in her ear telling her to leave a message. She ended the call, shoved her phone into her pocket, and then took in a deep breath. "What are you doing here?" Sharon asked as she exhaled.

Brenda pulled her bottom lip into her mouth for a second as she shrugged her shoulders. "You invited me. You said to come over when I was back, and, well, I'm back."

"You aren't just getting back today, or even this week. I thought you-" Sharon shook her head and walked over to her door, stopping in front of Brenda as she pulled her keys out of her pocket. The younger woman looked exhausted, dressed in jeans and a henley shirt. Sharon reached down and picked up the bag on the floor that Sharon knew held clothes without having to ask.

"I woulda called," she heard Brenda say as the door was opened. "I just, I didn't know I was comin' here."

"Don't worry about it," Sharon said softly as she let them in and then closed the door. "Out of all the times you have come over, you've called me once. Believe it or not, I'm used to your impulsive tendencies."

"At least somebody is," Brenda muttered.

Sharon didn't question what she meant.

Later, after Sharon got out of her clothes and into something more comfortable, she went into the kitchen to get them some wine. Brenda followed her, the sound of bare feet on the kitchen floor alerting her of the other woman's presence as she reached up for a second wine glass. A warm hand was placed atop her cooler one. Sharon turned to look over her shoulder, already knowing Brenda was directly behind her, knowing how close it would put their faces. Her eyes dropped down to Brenda's lips, as if silently questioning if she would once again be able to feel the soft texture of them. She wanted to, despite knowing she shouldn't.

Sharon leaned in and could feel the other woman's breath against her mouth. When Brenda stayed still, she closed the space between their lips. It was as gentle as the kiss Brenda had given her in her office a few weeks before. It lasted only a second or two, just enough to remind her of the way it felt as if electricity was moving through her body. Brenda sighed, as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders, and stepped back.

"I brought tequila with me."

"What?"

Brenda smiled a little as she raised her eyes to the wine glasses. "I was only gonna tell you that we don't need any of those glasses."

"Oh," Sharon whispered, turning around to fully face Brenda. "Oh," she repeated, licking her lips and watching the way Brenda did the same. "So I just-"

"You kissed me."

Unsure of what she was supposed to say, she hummed and leaned against the counter. She nodded slowly, as if processing it.

"Felt nice," Brenda told her as she turned around and walked out of the kitchen, saying nothing else.

It wasn't until much later, after Brenda had passed her the bottle of gold liquor and she drank from it that she thought that maybe Brenda wasn't only running away. A head was rested on her shoulder, a finger that did not belong to her was absently tracing the seam of her pants, and Brenda's lips were forming a smile. There wasn't any worrying about the decisions she had to make about her job, or thinking about the mother she was still mourning, or anything else. When she was there, Sharon realized it was also the time that she was able to just breathe. Brenda was still running away from her problems, in a way, but it was to be where she was happy. And being in the center of Brenda's happiness was something Sharon thought she could get used to.