It had never seemed so imperative to Sharon that she be well-dressed for work as it had this morning. Twirling in the mirror, Sharon gazes at her appearance over her shoulder, smoothing the non-existent wrinkles from her pencil skirt.
'Maybe pants?' she thinks forlornly, not wanting to appear as though she had purposely dressed up for Andy's benefit. She considers the colours she's chosen with pride – they complement each other well – her dark grey pencil skirt is situated perfectly around her petite waist, the plum blouse that is tucked into it emphasising it perfectly. She briefly ridicules herself for feeling so self-conscious just because Andy's picking her up, smiling as she slips her feet into killer black heels. Shrugging on her dark grey blazer nonchalantly, Sharon strides to the kitchen, her footsteps reverberating confidently down the corridor.
"You came home late last night," notes Rusty in greeting as Sharon enters the kitchen.
"Good morning to you, too, Rusty," chuckles Sharon lightly, not missing the implication in his voice.
"All I meant is, I didn't see your car in the garage when I came in," insinuates Rusty, missing the fact that Sharon had already noted his previous suggestion.
"Andy gave me a lift home after the case kept us at work late," explains Sharon with a nonchalant wave of her hand, "I was tired out and he kindly offered to drop me off home."
"You should've called me – I wouldn't have minded picking you up," replies Rusty kindly, intentionally not mentioning the fact that it was Andy and not Lieutenant Flynn now.
"That's sweet of you, Rusty, but you shouldn't have to worry about me -I would've been able to drive myself home," responds Sharon kindly, "Andy was sweet enough to offer me a lift home in lieu of me self-caffeinating," laughs Sharon.
"Speaking of…Andy," begins Rusty " How-"
Before Rusty can complete his question, a triple knock sounds at the door, and Sharon moves to open it to greet Andy. She'd know his knock anywhere, by now.
"Good morning, Captain," greets Andy warmly.
"Same to you, Lieutenant," returns Sharon, attempting to maintain a mask of professionalism for Rusty's benefit.
"Are you ready to leave?"
"Almost – just give me a second and I'll be right out," smiles Sharon.
Returning to the kitchen, Sharon fills two travel mugs with steaming coffee from the percolator, grabbing her briefcase on the way out as she waves a quick goodbye to Rusty. For his part, Rusty attempts not to laugh into his cereal as he hears their greetings - Captain and Lieutenant. That's not what they looked like on the sofa last month…
Shutting the door behind her, Sharon smiles lightly as Andy immediately leans in and presses a kiss to her cheek as a means of greeting her properly. Blushing slightly, Sharon grins and hands Andy the mug of coffee she prepared for him, enjoying the grateful expression on his face as he accepts it and takes a long pull from the scalding liquid.
"Sleep well?" she asks conversationally.
"Well enough," smiles Andy, "and you? Did the extra hour in the car help any?"
"Probably one of the best nights I've had this week," replies Sharon dryly. "Sleep hasn't been very forthcoming this week, what with the case."
Andy nods sympathetically – he understands that the workload as the leader of Major Crimes must be far greater than his. By the time they reach the bottom step, Andy has already finished his coffee, and reaches to take Sharon's hand in his. "At least it looks like we might've finally cracked this one, once and for all," he smiles reassuringly.
"True, and once it's completely done, I can get back to – what did you say yesterday? Seducing you?" Sharon giggles slightly, the thought of her trying to seduce him (in reality, she had been trying to do something of that nature) strikes her, especially considering how long she'd taken to choose her clothes this morning.
"Ah yes, once this case is done, I look forward to your seduction," replies Andy mock-seriously. "Have you put much thought into how you're going to seduce me?" he asks with mock concern.
"Oh you know, I thought I'd do it the old way – feed you a brilliant dinner, wear something rather scanty and see how I'm doing from there," responds Sharon equally seriously.
"Ah, then you'll be using a tried and tested method?"
"Of course, I do only the best research," laughs Sharon suggestively.
As she and Andy reach the car, Sharon nods her head in thanks as Andy pulls the door open for her, shutting it carefully after she's situated comfortably in the seat. Then, sliding in and buckling himself in, Andy continues their conversation: "So, when you say scanty…"
Laughing outright, Sharon smacks him lightly on the elbow, smiling widely when he gently takes her hand and holds it over the gear shift. Glancing over at Andy, Sharon notes that their outfits match. She would laugh if she didn't know what the possible implications of this peculiar wardrobe – 'malfunction? Coincidence?' she thinks, unsure of what she'd call this situation –were. Her cursory (and, admittedly, appreciative) glance over Andy's form had allowed her to admire his taste in suits, yes, but it had also caused a revelation as she realised that they were both sporting complements of purple and grey in their choice of wardrobe. She can only imagine what the team will say upon noticing that they've arrived together, no less. Sighing, Sharon mourns the fact that she hadn't changed into her black pantsuit as she'd briefly considered doing earlier.
Keeping his eyes on the road, Andy runs his thumb against the back of Sharon's hand, feeling her tense beside him.
"You okay?" he asks carefully, not wanting to seem intrusive.
"I've just realised that, through fate or cosmic prank, we've somehow matched our wardrobes this morning," replies Sharon, wryly.
"What do you mean?" responds Andy, puzzled.
"I mean, that alongside the fact we're obviously arriving at work together, it looks like we've chosen our clothes together, too," laughs Sharon mirthlessly, the thought giving her some anxiety.
"I'm sure nobody will notice," replies Andy reassuringly.
"Famous last words," quips Sharon, deadpan.
Coming up from the carpark, Andy brushes a small kiss over Sharon's knuckles, smiling as she blushes slightly.
"I think we should stagger our entrances – just so that the team doesn't get too suspicious," she murmurs.
Andy slips his hand away from Sharon's, nodding in agreement. Once the lift reaches their floor, Andy waits by the lift banks for ten minutes while Sharon enters the murder room before following in her footsteps. Unfortunately, Provenza has other plans, stopping Andy at the door of the murder room.
"Did I miss the memo?" asks Provenza snarkily, directing his teasing to Andy.
Blanching slightly, Andy attempts to nonchalantly respond with raised brows, enunciating "memo?" clearly. Glancing around quickly, Andy is relieved to see that Sharon is already well out of earshot.
"I wasn't aware that we were all dressing alike today. Unless you and the Captain decided to synchronise your wardrobes without the rest of us…" prods Provenza teasingly, his wry expression insinuating more than just harmless joking.
Laughing at his remark, the rest of the team misses the knowing glance Provenza shoots Andy's way, intending to get the rest out of him later. Shrugging slightly, Andy tilts his head to the side questioningly, waiting for Provenza to just get on with it. Grinning in the most infuriating manner possible, Provenza says nothing, turning instead to the murder board to begin briefing the team on their progress so far.
Hey guys! Thanks for reading this chapter, and if you enjoyed it please leave a review! Thanks so much to everyone who has already done so, and to Deb57, who I am unable to thank in PM. I hope you've all enjoyed reading this chapter!
