Brenda/Sharon (4)

Butterflies

Sharon stands in the airport, her stomach in knots as she waits. Her hands are stuffed into her jeans and she can feel herself rock back on the small heels of her boots every few minutes as the time goes by slowly. She's never enjoyed waiting for people in airports. There are so many people coming and going, mixing up, blocking her from seeing who she's looking for.

Sharon feels butterflies fluttering in her stomach every time she catches a flash of blonde hair out of the corner of her eye, but so far none of them have been Brenda. It's been a few months since she's seen her in person. A lot has happened since her mother passed and she went home to Atlanta. Sharon's mind is going over those months – the phone calls, the time spent on Skype, the e-mails, the truths that finally came out about her marriage, and most importantly their feelings for each other.

Sharon checks the time again. Brenda's plane has landed already, and at the thought of seeing Brenda at any moment, Sharon feels the flutter in her stomach again. She mentally chastises herself; she's too old to be getting butterflies. But all their conversations have made Sharon miss the blonde more and more as each day passed, and finally being able to see her is something she's been wanting for a while.

They spoke the night before. Brenda did most of the talking, going on and on about all the things she wanted to do when she finally got back home. There was so much excitement in her voice. Sharon sat at her desk, trying to both listen to Brenda and finish up some last minute paperwork so she would have Saturday free. She hadn't been able to keep the smile off her own face at the sound of that thickened southern accent.

Sharon scans the crowd of people with luggage, rushing off in different directions, some meeting people and others leaving. She smiles lightly at the sight of happy reunions. She looks at the time again and then sighs softly. She's been there for a long time; she was eager and came a little earlier than she needed to. And each second that passes by feels more like minutes, hours. She looks towards the escalator again, but she doesn't see Brenda.

"Lookin' for me," Sharon hears come from behind her in a familiar southern accent that makes the butterflies in her stomach flutter wildly and her smile grow as she quickly turns.

Brenda's smile is wide as well. Her eyes seem brighter than Sharon remembers. Her hair is in a braid and she's dressed in comfortable, loose-fitting jeans with a sweater. Sharon's eyes move back to Brenda's, and before she has the chance to say anything, Brenda closes the space between them, throwing her arms around her neck, bringing their lips together.

Sharon feels herself melt and the butterflies in her stomach move to her heart, making it thud in her chest. Brenda's hand cups the back of her head and she sucks Sharon's bottom lip into her mouth. Sharon hums in the back of her throat and puts her hand on Brenda's neck, her thumb brushing her jaw. Brenda's lips are soft and taste like chocolate. Her tongue is delicate and tender when it licks her upper lip, making her moan before she can stop herself.

Sharon almost forgets they're standing in the middle of an airport. She pulls back, breathing a little quicker than before as she opens her eyes. "Hey," she whispers before licking her lips. She can still taste chocolate and something sweeter – something fruity.

Brenda brushes hair from Sharon's face, eyes sparkling as she looks at her. "Hey," she echoes.

A moment of silence sits between them, where they both look at each other, oblivious to those around them. It's been so long since they've seen each other in person. Though they communicated as much as Sharon's life permitted, nothing compares to being able to have the person right in front of you.

"I missed you," Brenda breathes.

Sharon lets out a slow breath as she feels the butterflies disappear. "Missed you, too. But you're here now."

Brenda nods and smiles one of those adorable, wide, dimpling smiles. "I am. Maybe we should get outta the airport and let me take a shower so I can take you on that date I've been wanting to take you on all this time."

Sharon laughs as she looks at the time. "It's not even noon."

Brenda shrugs, reaching behind her to get the handle of her suitcase. She takes Sharon's hand in her other hand and looks up at her. "We have a lot of dates to make up for. No reason why we can't start now."

Sharon only smiles, walking with Brenda out of the airport, happy to finally have Brenda where she belongs.

Confessions Over Alcohol

"You know, if we had met under different circumstances a lot of things would have happened differently," Sharon murmured as she looked at the amber liquid in the shot glass. It hadn't been a question. It was merely a thought that came to her mind before she lifted the glass to her lips, quickly swallowing her second shot of the night.

Brenda watched her, wanting to respond with something other than 'I know', but nothing else came to mind. So, instead of trying to respond, Brenda poured herself another shot, licked the back of her hand, put salt on it and then picked up the shot glass. The tequila had a familiar burn as it slid down her throat. She focused on that instead of the words on the tip of her tongue.

Sharon sighed softly, looking around the bar they were sitting in. She turned back to Brenda, her eyes trained on her the blonde's face until she looked up at her. Brenda smiled lightly. The bar had horrible lighting, but Brenda's brown eyes still gleamed before she looked down and poured them both another shot and slid Sharon's over to her.

Sharon uncrossed her legs under the table and sat up a little. Wasn't it a bad idea for them to do this? These nights they shared twice a month always went the same. Brenda would complain about something before asking Sharon if she would join her for drinks. Sharon would accept the offer and they would pay for an entire bottle of tequila once they were at the bar. They sat in the same corner booth, as far away from everyone as they could possibly be. They would drink and say things that they wouldn't bring up once they were back at work. Then they would share a cab back to Sharon's condo, where things always seemed to become a blur. The only real proof of what happened was the marks they left on each other. So wasn't taking another shot a bad idea when she knew where it would leave?

"If I had known you were interested in me then, I think a lot of things would have..."

"Worked out differently?" Sharon suggested. Brenda nodded. "You weren't available then," she reminded her as she took the salt shaker from Brenda's hand.

Brenda only hummed and watched Sharon lick her hand and sprinkle salt on it. Brenda reached for one of the lime wedges and then waited for Sharon to do the same. They both threw back their heads after licking off the salt. They swallowed and then bit their limes, their eyes meeting.

Brenda smiled and then licked her lips, reaching over and running a finger over the back of Sharon's hand slowly. Sharon didn't pull away or react much, but Brenda knew she liked it. "Sometimes I think about you." It seemed like an odd thing to say, but Brenda knew Sharon understood what the words really meant.

"As do I. Well, about you," she clarified. "There are even times I think about calling you just to see how you're doing." Sharon laughs as if it's a joke, but the way her eyes move away from Brenda shows that she's serious.

There's an awkward silence before Brenda pulled her hand away. "I'd answer if you did," she said as she reached for her cell phone and called the cab. Not much was said as they waited.

When they were walking through the door, not quite as drunk as they usually were, Brenda stopped them, pulling Sharon to her. "I wanna do this without the alcohol next time," she whispered.

Sharon's only response was a slow smile and a tug on her hand, bringing her inside. Next time she would also take her to dinner. They were too old to be pretending they didn't know what was going on between them.

Cinnamon

Brenda's having a hard day, which is the most logical reason for why Sharon drove all the way to the other side of town to pick something up to improve her friend's mood. When she knocks on the door, bakery box in one hand and a wine bottle in the other, she hopes Brenda's up for an impromptu visit. Brenda comes to the door wearing kitty printed flannel pajamas with her hair in a braid, looking smaller than her already small self. Sharon doesn't fight the small smile that slowly forms at the sight.

"Hey," Sharon says.

"What are you doin' here? I mean... Uhm. Hi. Come in," she says, stepping aside with a sheepish smile. "If I had known you were comin', I would've-"

"You're fine," Sharon insists. "I just wanted to bring you something," she tells her, holding out the box, which Brenda takes. "It's just those cinnamon buns."

Brenda smiles brightly, the first smile Sharon's seen her make all day. "They aren't just cinnamon buns." Sharon only smiles; she knows they're Brenda's favorite. "You didn't have to drive all that way over there to get me these."

Sharon hums, walking them into the kitchen. She puts the wine down and then gets two glasses. That familiar moan lets Sharon know Brenda's already eating one of her cinnamon buns. Sharon smiles to herself, bringing the glasses to pour them some wine.

Brenda takes the offered wine glass and puts it down, taking Sharon's free hand into her own. Sharon opens her mouth to say something, but Brenda quickly leans in to press a kiss to her lips instead. Sharon's eyes get a little wide with surprise as Brenda pulls back, licking her lips.

"Thank you, Sharon."

Sharon can only hum as the taste of cinnamon lingers on her lips.

Ironing

Sharon Raydor was ironing her uniform when it all hit her. She was moving up a rank, becoming a commander. It was long overdue, but that didn't lessen the mix of emotions she was feeling because of it. Rusty had left her; Andy had taken Rusty with him when he left her to get ready. She was alone, which was good because she was all over the place as she tried to get ready for the ceremony. For a moment she considered making a phone call she had been putting off for months, but decided against it. She finished ironing her uniform, got dressed, pinned up her hair, and then she was on her way out.

Sharon got through the entire ceremony without thinking about the one thing that always managed to sneak into her brain. It wasn't until she was walking out with the members of Major Crimes that a flash of a memory came to mind. And what brought the quick thought to the forefront of her brain was those bright brown eyes that met hers as she stopped in her tracks. Everything around them stopped as Sharon saw Brenda Leigh waiting for her, her hands on her hips as she smiled brightly. You could feel the electricity in the air as they finally crossed the space between them.

"What are you doing here?" Sharon asked as she was embraced by the other woman, a body against hers that she missed more than anyone other than Brenda would know.

Brenda sighed against her neck, her breath so warm. "What do you mean? I wouldn't have missed this," she said against her neck, hugging her for a moment more before she pulled back.

Sharon slowly opened her eyes, looking into Brenda's. Brenda's brown eyes were glistening and her lip was caught between her teeth as she tried to hold back the emotions she was feeling. Sharon didn't care that everyone around them was looking at them. She tenderly caressed Brenda's face before she leaned forward and smiled.

"I've missed you," Sharon whispered, the only words that her brain could come up with.

"You shoulda called," Brenda told her before she sighed, licking her lips. "I've missed you, too," she said, leaning in, pressing a kiss to Sharon's lips.

Memories and memories flooded Sharon's mind as their lips touched, something that hadn't happened in far too many months. She remembered the bond they formed, the way she was there when Fritz left, the first time they kissed and all the times they almost did more. Sharon sighed into Brenda's mouth as she pulled back, feeling herself smiling against her lips.

Sharon stepped back and looked behind them. Provenza's face was one she wished could capture in a picture and save. "About time," she heard Andy murmur and other little things were said. When Sharon was ironing her clothes earlier in the day she hadn't expected the day to end like this. But as she turned back around, kissing Brenda once more, she couldn't think of a better way to celebrate her promotion.