Sighing warily, Sharon leans across her desk, signing the last case file with a flourish. The last week had been harrowing for all involved in the case that had just been closed. Closing her eyes briefly, Sharon massages her temples slowly, exhaling sharply in relief as the tension lifts from her taut muscles. Wincing slightly, she rolls her shoulders, returning fluidity to the stiff joints as she stands and stretches completely, satisfied when her knees and elbows crack. Smiling grimly, Sharon begins packing her briefcase – she wants to be home in time to make Rusty some dinner before he comes back from his classes – sliding files carefully into the pockets. She is interrupted by a sharp knock at the door. Peeking from behind the curtain of hair that had fallen across her face, Sharon is relieved to find that it's just Andy. Motioning for him to enter, she returns to her packing.
Andy sidles in quietly, his steps barely audible on the carpeted floor. Then, he subtly slides the folder in front of her before moving to exit, having gathered by her demeanour that she is in some rush to get home. Before he can leave, however, Sharon stops him.
"Are you busy this evening, Lieutenant?"
If Andy feels any surprise at the question, he hides it well, smiling instead as he responds, "No, Captain, I'm not."
"Would you like to join me and Rusty for dinner tonight?" she asks quietly, surprised at herself for even stopping him in the first place. Except she wasn't – not really. She'd enjoyed his company immensely when he'd stopped by a few weeks ago, and these last few months, she'd felt something whenever she was in his company.
This time, Andy allows surprise to cross his features as he replies, "I'd love to, Sharon. So long as it's not an imposition, of course."
"Would I ask you if it were an imposition?" asks Sharon wryly.
Chuckling to himself, Andy shakes his head, knowing that Sharon's sense of humour can be brutal when she's in the mood to tease.
"Should I bring dessert?" asks Andy, only half-suggestively as he's well aware that Rusty will be joining them. Sharon giggles at the question, semi-irritated with herself for finding his suggestive question funny.
"How about bringing the usual with you? I'm sure Rusty would appreciate some, too." She responds coolly, an attempt to stifle her giggles.
"What time should I make my way over?"
"Oh, about eight," she responds wickedly, the dating cliché (Friday at eight) springing to mind before she can stop herself.
"How charming – you're aware of movie clichés," he smirks, "but isn't eight a little late for dinner? I'm sure Rusty's probably already starving…"
Laughing openly at Andy's remark, Sharon shakes her head slightly, thinking of how true his latter statement probably is. Smiling, Sharon amends her invitation, "fine, come around six-thirty?"
"Sounds good," grins Andy, tipping his hand in a mock salute as he leaves her office.
Smiling in spite of herself, Sharon recommences her preparations to leave, snapping the buckles of her briefcase shut as she gathers a few errant files in her hands.
It is exactly six-thirty when Sharon hears a triple knock at her door. Smirking, she passes off the duty of opening the door to Rusty, her hands full with final preparations for dinner. Quickly stirring some home-made sauce into a large pot of pasta Sharon chuckles as she hears Rusty greeting Andy at the door. She particularly enjoys Andy's mock disappointment at not being greeted by her personally. Dishing up the pasta, Sharon distributes the food evenly, calling her boys to table as she does.
Conversation at dinner flows well, and both Sharon and Andy are at ease after a painful and disturbing case. For his part, Rusty keeps conversation light with anecdotes about his college buddies and the dumb things they do when they're supposed to be studying. Sharon and Andy laugh in all the appropriate places, well aware of what can happen to college kids, but trying not to dwell on it outside of work. They smile lightly to one another as Rusty becomes more animated, both pleased that he has become so well-adjusted. As dinner ends and dessert is brought out, and both Sharon and Andy are visibly relaxed and are finally enjoying the evening. Tugging the tub of ice-cream from the freezer with large, theatrical gestures, Sharon elicits a laugh from Andy, who remembers her joke from his previous visit. As she serves the ice-cream, Andy smoothly clears the table, placing the dishes in the sink before resuming his seat at table. Rusty rolls his eyes good-naturedly at his behaviour, noting that Andy looks right at home as he does it.
"Hey mom, I've gotta go – I'm meeting a couple of the guys from class for a gaming session at Drew's," yells Rusty from his room as he prepares his bag to leave.
"What time should I expect you home?" asks Sharon, warily.
"I don't know, maybe one? Either way, I'll text you before I leave and I'll let the security team know, too," says Rusty nonchalantly. This is the compromise he had to work out with Sharon: for his being able to drive himself to his friends' houses and college, he has to notify the security team a full hour before he leaves anywhere, to give them enough time to subtly tail him. Although it's not ideal, Rusty loves that his mom has given him this leeway.
"Fine," replies Sharon, drawing out the word, "you may take leave of the two old fogies," she jokes.
Chuckling at Sharon's attempt at humour, Rusty slides out of his room on his socks and reaches to give Sharon a quick hug before getting his shoes on. Laughing at his eagerness, Andy waves as he leaves, enjoying the relationship that Rusty and his mom finally share. Grabbing his keys from the hook by the door, Rusty yells out his goodbye as he leaves, shutting the door loudly behind him.
"And then there were two," murmurs Sharon jokingly.
Having cleared up the table and kitchen, Sharon and Andy retire to the sofa with a drink – herbal tea for Sharon and a steaming mug of hot chocolate for Andy. She'd laughed at his choice, initially. Of all the things he might be, Andy did not seem to be a lover of hot chocolate to Sharon. Then again, he was full of surprises. Such as his love of The Sound of Music which is currently playing quietly in the background. They only half-watch the film, however, as both he and Sharon seem intent on just talking. It takes a while (until Maria finally realises her love for the Captain, while) for them both to settle in to watching the film. It takes less time for Andy to fall asleep, and for Sharon to follow suit.
It had been one hell of a week, after all.
Andy blinks slowly, his eyes still bleary from his unintentional nap. Laying half across him, Sharon breathes evenly, evidently having fallen asleep not long after him. Looking down at her slightly curled frame, a fond smile comes to his lips, softening his already sleepy gaze. Gently, he lifts his hand from her waist (with some surprise that it had been resting there in the first place) and runs it through her hair, allowing himself to enjoy the feel of her silken strands sliding through his fingers. She moves beneath his hand, nuzzling her face further into his thigh as her hand curls softly around his knee. Stunned, Andy stops his ministrations and simply enjoys her. Slowly, his hand returns to its former position, lying softly atop Sharon's ribcage.
Breathing in deeply, Andy realises that he's too tired to drive home (and Sharon definitely is, too) and he doesn't have the heart to wake Sharon, beautiful (as always) as she is in sleep. Smiling softly once more, Andy attempts to adjust their position to one more comfortable for Sharon, now too tired to consider attempting to move her to her own bed. Sliding the coffee table closer to the sofa with his feet, Andy props his legs up on it, moving a rather squished cushion out from under his elbow to his lower back as he slides down on the sofa, careful all the while not to jostle Sharon. Then, he reaches for a cushion situated just behind Sharon's ass (careful not to accidentally touch it as he extracts the cushion) and lifts her head gently, cradling it in his hand, as he places a cushion where her head had been. Finally, he softly places her head on the cushion, satisfied that he has done his best to make them both more comfortable. His eyes drift shut once more, drawing him promptly back to sleep.
About an hour later, the sound of keys on the front door's lock fills the silence in the apartment. Rusty lets himself in as quietly as possible, half-expecting to find Sharon asleep on the couch, as she has a habit of doing. Sliding his backpack to the floor without a sound, Rusty toes his shoes off, hanging his keys on a hook by the front door after locking up. He pads silently into the kitchen, glancing at the sofa nonchalantly to confirm Sharon's presence. Instead, he is greeted by the sight of a contently-slumbering Sharon, spread across an equally slumbering Lieutenant Flynn's lap. Laughing inwardly, Rusty grabs a bottle of juice from the fridge and shakes his head, 'Not dating, my ass,' he thinks with a chuckle, glancing at their position once more.
Silently, he pads to his room, placing the juice on his nightstand before reaching for a blanket from his wardrobe. Then, returning to the living room (with the full intention of covering his mom so that she doesn't get cold) Rusty realises that this opportunity is too good to pass up. Grinning widely, Rusty pulls his phone from his pocket, selecting the camera icon as he lines up the perfect shot of the slumbering adults. Content that he's captured the best possible photo, (one that frames all the details of their position very clearly) Rusty slides the phone back into his pocket and moves to settle the blanket atop Sharon's petite frame. He almost laughs out loud at the sight of Andy's hand resting comfortably on Sharon's ass as her head is cradled on his lap, supported by a cushion. Smirking, Rusty pulls the blanket over Sharon, ensuring that it covers Andy's legs, too. Tired himself, he returns to his room and shuts the door quietly, ready to sleep in until well after noon the next day.
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