Author's Note: This story has no real plot...just fluffy, flirty, sexy surrera goodness which I think we all might need at this point in Season 5. It is clearly AU, or perhaps just set some time in the future.
It is dedicated to my Twitter friend, Moo, who thinks that DMs like: "The sofa really is a minor character in the story, but the dining table should probably get its SAG card" are perfectly normal. Happy birthday, Moo! Thanks for being a great friend, a loyal fanfic reader, and a source for random fanfic ideas! I hope you enjoy "the sofa fic."
Andy and Robert had finished dinner and watched some mindless television together before Robert left his wife sitting on the sofa, and moved to the dining table, where he proceeded to open their laptop and spread out piles of paper. He sighed to himself as he attempted to make sense of the various budget documents in front of him. Under orders from the mayor, Chief McAllister was looking to cut costs, and as a newly re-appointed battalion chief, Robert was a participant in all the SFD budget meetings. McAllister's original plan had been to close a station, but Robert had asked for a few days to see if he could figure out an alternative. Unfortunately, his work shifts had been busy, he had little time to analyze budget spreadsheets, and he was getting more and more concerned that he wouldn't be able to identify a plan to avoid a station closure.
After an hour of flipping through channels by herself, Andy looked from the television to Robert. "I could help you with that, you know," she suggested. "I used to help my dad with budget stuff all the time."
"I can handle it," Robert replied with a tired smile. "You had a busy shift; I'm sure you're exhausted. Why don't you head up to bed and I'll join you after I make some headway on this."
Andy shot Robert an annoyed glance before getting up from the sofa. She loved her husband, and they were in a good place now, but sometimes he was just too obstinate for his own good. Once he set his mind to something, there was little anyone could do to deter him. This served him well in the SFD, but at home, it sometimes grated on her nerves.
Rather than push the issue, and potentially start an argument, Andy decided to head upstairs. One of the things their therapist had pointed out was that given their crazy work schedules, and their quick to anger personalities, starting a charged conversation when they were both exhausted was something to be avoided at all costs. Just about any disagreement would be easier to resolve when they were both well-rested.
And, if he didn't want to accept her assistance, maybe she could find another way to persuade him to put the budgets away for the evening. Once in their bedroom, she picked out an attractive nightgown with a matching robe. Glancing in the mirror, she realized Robert was right about one thing, she did look tired, but with a little bit of preparation, she was sure she could get Robert's attention. She stepped into their bathroom, stripped down to her panties, and grabbed her bottle of coconut body lotion. After making sure her skin was soft and smooth, she pulled the short burgundy slip nightgown over her head. Then, removing the ponytail holder from her hair, she combed her fingers through her curls. Checking the mirror one last time, she was happy with the effect, and she hoped Robert would be too.
As she left the bedroom, she grabbed that robe that matched the nightgown, pulled it on, and cinched the belt loosely around her waist. Walking down the stairs, she hoped to get her husband's attention, but he was so focused on the numbers in front of him, he didn't look up until she was almost in front of him.
He may have been absorbed in his work, but he wasn't blind. Seeing Andy's attire, he looked away from his computer and smiled. "Is that new?" he asked
"Yes," Andy replied casually. "I got it a few days ago. Do you like it?"
"You look great," Robert replied, before refocusing his attention on the work in front of him. As much as he wanted to join Andy in the bedroom, he still hadn't figured out a way to cut enough costs that he could make the argument to McAllister to keep all of Seattle's fire stations open.
"I'd look even better out of it," Andy teased. "Why don't you close the computer for tonight and come upstairs."
"Give me five more minutes, and I'll come up," Robert responded with a sigh, hoping Andy wouldn't be hurt by his decision to work a bit longer. She really did look beautiful.
"If you say so," Andy said, leaning over to give him a quick kiss before she turned and walked toward the stairs. As she did, she loosened the tie on the robe, and slipped it off, tossing it on the sofa before she headed up the stairs.
Robert, noticing the slight movement, glanced up to see his wife, in a short nightgown with an open back, heading to their bedroom alone. His eyes followed her as he sat debating whether to give up on the spreadsheets for the evening and start fresh in the morning.
At this point, Andy's competitive side took over. Even though she understood the importance of Robert's work, she was a little hurt that he was choosing the SFD budget over her, and she wanted to win. She wanted him to follow her upstairs, and she had one last play she could make. Pausing for a moment just outside of his view, she called downstairs playfully: "Robert, I'm not going to wait forever."
Rather than settling for just those words, however, she quickly removed her nightgown and tossed it over the banister. Robert glanced up when the garment hit the floor, not far from where he was sitting. His focus still on the work in front of him, it took him a moment to process what it was, and what it meant that it was on the floor. He might be determined, some might say stubborn, but even he had his breaking point. He quickly saved what he was working on, closed the laptop, and bounded up the stairs two at a time. The spreadsheets could wait.
The next morning, Andy woke up early, and seeing her husband still fast asleep, decided to let him rest, and go down and start the coffee machine. The stress of transitioning back to his old job and the budget situation had been weighing on him. Before heading downstairs, she pulled on his t-shirt from the night before, as her nightgown was, presumably, still on the floor where she had tossed it. His shirt was long enough that it covered her, but still left plenty of her legs visible. Once he woke up, she wouldn't mind a repeat of the previous evening.
After turning the coffee machine on, she opened up the laptop and glanced at the papers Robert had spread around the table. It didn't take her long to familiarize herself with the situation that had been plaguing Robert. Filling up a cup of coffee, she set to work. Not more than an hour later, she had opened up a new Excel spreadsheet, identified several redundancies that could be eliminated and a scheduling change that should lead to fewer overtime hours, and thus less overtime pay. With those changes, she had a partial budget that, while not quite balanced, was a step in the right direction.
Glancing up from the table, she saw her husband making his way down the stairs in his boxer briefs and a new t-shirt. Realizing he could probably use a cup of coffee, she got up from the table, removed a mug from the cabinet, and poured him a cup. By the time she returned, she found him sitting in front of the laptop, considering the changes she had outlined. She walked to him, placed the cup of coffee on the table next to him, and stood, leaning against the dining table as he glanced back and forth between her work and the notes he had made the night before.
"Andy," Robert began, taking a sip from the coffee mug. "This is great. It gets us more than halfway to the goal. With some of the cuts I identified last night, I think I can make the argument to McAllister that we can meet the mayor's demands, and still keep all of the stations open."
Andy smiled at the compliment. While she didn't have the same number of years of service as her husband, she was more knowledgeable about the inner workings of the SFD than an average lieutenant. She just hoped he would remember her abilities the next time he encountered a challenging situation.
"You know, if you had just accepted my help last night you could have gotten to this point more quickly, and had extra time for some other things," Andy replied, her tone teasing, but with just an undercurrent of dissatisfaction.
Robert knew he had messed up. At this point in their marriage, he should have known better than to discount Andy's abilities, even if he was just trying to prevent her from having to assist him with an unpleasant work task after she had just completed a busy 24-hour shift. All he could do now is apologize, and do his best to make a different choice next time.
"I know. I'm sorry," he said with a bit of a sheepish grin as he pulled Andy onto his lap. "I should have listened when you said you could help."
He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close for a kiss. "Forgive me?"
Andy pulled away slightly. She was more annoyed than truly angry, and Robert had been nothing but attentive the previous night when he finally made it upstairs, but all of that didn't mean she couldn't have a little fun at his expense.
"Maybe," she teased, the small grin on her face making it clear she wasn't truly angry. "Or maybe I need a little more convincing."
Robert knew he was being played, but as the "convincing" wasn't exactly a hardship for him, he didn't mind. "Oh really?" he asked, matching her smile with one of his own. "And do you have any suggestions for what I could do to move that 'maybe,' to a definite 'yes'?"
"You're a smart man," Andy replied playfully. "I'll let you figure it out."
Pondering his options for just a moment, he lifted Andy from his lap and sat her on the edge of the table. Standing in front of her, he moved between her legs, his hands pushing up the hem of his t-shirt as his lips found a certain spot on her neck.
"Robert," Andy protested half-heartedly. "We're at our dining table."
"Do you want me to stop?" he asked, just as his hands slid between her thighs. While she had covered herself with his t-shirt, finding her panties clearly hadn't been a priority when she got out of bed that morning.
"God no," Andy said with a low moan as his hands and mouth were busy finding just the right places to touch.
"Didn't think so," Robert replied, his tone betraying just a bit of cockiness.
Andy knew she could play coy, pretend that she didn't want him to continue, but why would she do that? She did take a moment to contemplate the strength of their table. She had no desire to find herself crashing to the floor if it happened to collapse under their weight. Robert, however, had other activities in mind. After trailing a series of kisses from her ear, down her neck, and to her collarbone, which was left exposed by the neckline of his shirt, he knelt on the ground, the height of the table perfect for what he intended to do.
Andy moaned quietly as Robert's mouth found the inside of her thigh. Reaching down, she grabbed the end of the table tightly, as if she needed something to ground herself. As he kissed and nipped at the sensitive skin there, one finger found her clit and began to draw gentle circles around it. As he did, Andy felt the tension building. Standing up for a moment, Robert continued to touch her with one hand as the other slipped under her thick hair, pulling her toward him for a passionate kiss. As their tongues dueled, Andy attempted to reach down to remove Robert's boxer briefs, but he pulled away slightly. He wanted this to be about Andy.
He knelt again, replacing his finger with his mouth. As he did, he glanced up at his wife. She had moved her hands from the edge of the table and they were now behind her, her back arched and her head thrown back. He loved to see her like this, and, truth be told, he felt a certain amount of pride that he could move her from thinking about the SFD budget to the throes of ecstasy so quickly. He knew she was getting close, but rather than send her over the edge, he pulled back just a little. Using his tongue, he applied just the smallest about of pressure as he explored her body intimately.
Andy loved the way he loved her, and this time was no exception. After bringing her to the brink, and then allowing her a moment to calm a little, his tongue soon found her clit, and using the same circular motion his finger had used minutes prior, she soon climaxed, calling out his name as she did. He stood up, sat down in the chair, and pulled her into his lap once again, holding her tight as she came down from her high.
"So, am I forgiven, now?" he asked with a grin, as she snuggled up against him.
"Yes, you are 100% fully forgiven," Andy replied as she leaned in to kiss him.
The kiss began slow and soft, but soon enough, they were both standing up, completely disrobing as they stumbled their way to the sofa. She pulled the blanket off the back of the sofa and quickly spread it out. She lay back, and Robert soon covered her body with his own.
A few days later...
"I don't care, Andy. Choose whatever sofa you want."
They were at the third furniture store of the day, and he had reached the point where all of the sofas were starting to look alike and he was sick of hovering salespeople. As long as it was a neutral color, and didn't stick out like a sore thumb with the rest of the decor, he'd let Andy make the final decision. With his height, it was rare that he could find a sofa that completely fit him anyway.
"Come sit down," she insisted. "Try it out. I want to make sure you like it."
"Ok, ok," Robert said as he sat down next to his wife on the sofa she had decided she liked best. "Why is this so important to you anyway?"
"Well," Andy teased with a sly grin that Robert knew meant trouble. "Babe, I love you, but your sofa sucks. The next time you find a well-organized spreadsheet to be an aphrodisiac and decide to go down on me on our dining table, I don't want to be sore for two days after we decide to go for round two on the sofa."
