Thank you so much Mikki @mksc77 for the ask! I’m sorry it took me so long, I haven’t been really inspired lately, but here I am with a new story. It turned out to be a very very long piece, I hope it’s okay.
This story is an AU set during the Closer season 7. Also, this is very cliché, but it was the only idea I could come up with! I hope you will like it all the same!
Mistakes are all mine.
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13. “Just hold my hand, I won’t let you slip.”
“Just hold my hand, I won’t let you slip.”
Sharon arched an eyebrow as she studied the extended hand in front of her suspiciously. She knew better than to trust some people, especially the ones from the Major Crimes team. She crossed her arms over her chest and huffed, “Allow me to doubt that, Lieutenant.”
Flynn grinned at her, but kept his hand extended for her. Sharon’s gaze shifted from his hand to his face, but she didn’t move. “Well, don’t tell me that cutthroat Captain FID is afraid of some ice.” He teased her.
“Afraid?!” Sharon exclaimed in a high-pitched tone. She cleared her throat and shook her head before replying, her voice down but still firm, “You obviously don’t know me, Lieutenant. I love ice-skating and I used to go every Christmas in my hometown when…” Sharon’s mind wandered back to some old memories, but she quickly chased them away. She shook her head and regained her composure, getting rid of the small wistful smile that had appeared on her lips. “Nevermind…” She gestured with her right hand. “I don’t have the adequate shoes.” She added looking down at her feet. She was glad she had a pair of flat boots in the trunk of her car she could change into, but those weren’t still the right shoes to walk on ice.
“That’s why I offered you my hand, arm or whatever.” Andy replied with an eye roll.
They stared at each other for a few seconds until Andy dropped his hand to his side with a defeated sigh. He shrugged and told her, “Nevermind. Just stay out of the ice rink along with Provenza, I’m sure my partner will be good company.” He added, unable to hide a grin. He was about to walk away, but he stopped and turned around, “Oh Captain, I bet it will be hard for you to monitor us from that far. How can you be sure we won’t mess things up?”
Oh, I’m going to strangle him, Sharon thought. She bit her inner cheek, as she held back the words she wanted to spit in his face. She took a deep breath and looked around. Brenda’s team was already on the ice rink, circling the victim’s body. Only Lieutenant Provenza was standing out of the rink, grumpily shooting orders at Buzz.
“Fine.” Sharon let out in an irritated tone. “If you let me slip, Lieutenant, I want you to know that a sensitivity training won’t be enough this time. I’ll personally make sure that you’ll end up helping in the archive and won’t see the light of the day for at least three months.” She threateningly informed Andy.
“I wouldn’t dream of letting you slip.” Andy grumbled. “Last thing I need is another thorn in my side. Come on, Captain, we don’t have all day.” He muttered as Sharon locked her arm with his and took her first step on the ice rink.
—————–
Sharon was about to grab her coat and leave when her phone buzzed. She glanced at it and frowned when she read the caller ID. She considered not answering, but she was still at work and it could be important. Sharon sighed and placed the phone up to her ear. “Captain Raydor.” She answered, as she started rummaging around in her bag for her car key.
Captain Raydor, this is your lucky day. Sharon froze when she heard the familiar line. She stared blankly at her bag and replied, “Lieutenant, if this is a joke, I…”
Flynn cut her short, giving her an address before she could even finish her sentence. “Lieutenant, are you okay?” Sharon asked, worry in her tone as she recalled the last time he had called her saying the same line more than a year ago. Flynn had hung up before she could even get an answer to her question.
Sharon stared at her phone for a split second before quickly putting on her coat. She grabbed her purse and rushed to the door. “What the hell did you do this time, Andy?” Sharon muttered under her breath.
———————-
Sharon had reached the address Andy had given her in twenty minutes. The drive had been surprisingly short, also due to the fact that she occasionally went over the speed limit. She couldn’t help but wonder in what trouble Andy had walked into this time. Sharon parked the car in the first free spot and was ready to get off when she noticed Andy walking towards her car with his hands in the pockets of his pants. He seemed perfectly fine. Sharon took a deep breath as she felt anger rush through her. She got off her car and slammed the door, “Have you lost your mind?!” Sharon exclaimed, fuming.
“What do you mean?” Andy asked innocently, shrugging as he stopped in front of her.
“What do I mean?!” Sharon repeated, keeping her voice low. She wanted to kill him, in that case she would have had a good reason to be on the scene. “You call me while I’m at work, using that very same line from one year ago and you expect me not to think something bad had happened?!” She glared at him before she added, “I drove over the speed limit to get here and I’ve found you here with your hands in your pockets and your idiotic grin.” She pointed a threatening finger at the Lieutenant as she ordered him, “Wipe that grin off your face, Lieutenant! You won’t be smiling where I’m going to send you first thing in the morning tomorrow.”
“Whoa, whoa, slow down!” Andy replied, putting both hands in front of him defensively. His grin grew wider as he told her, “I can’t believe it, Captain Raydor was worried about me.”
“I wasn’t worried.” Sharon shot back, emphasizing the word. “Do you remember what happened the last time you called me and told me Captain Raydor, this is your lucky day?! I would have never thought you’d be so stupid to use that line again in a non-emergency situation!”
“You were worried about me.” Andy repeated again, grinning and almost chuckling.
This irritated Sharon even more and she had to refrain herself from hitting him. She shook her head and told Andy, “You dragged me here with no reason, made me waste my time… Whatever it was, you were successful with it, I hope you’re happy and enjoyed this prank because I will definitely enjoy the disciplinary note I will be writing tomorrow morning.” She coldly informed him.
Sharon was about to walk back to her car when Andy called to her, “You think this was a prank?” Sharon turned around and arched an eyebrow when Andy added, “So you’re not going to ask the reason I called you here? Maybe you might consider not adding a complaint to my already huge package…” He offered her one of his charming smiles.
“Confident much, Lieutenant?” Sharon glared at him. She didn’t feel like joking at all. She crossed her arms over her chest before she told Andy firmly, “I’ve already waste my time driving here. Come on, make it quick.”
“Uhm, I don’t know if you’re aware… but there is a nice ice rink nearby, they even have hot chocolate.” Andy explained with a faint smile, “It almost feels like being in some cold and snowy city, and not in LA. You can definitely feel the Christmas spirit.”
Sharon stared at him, speechless. She couldn’t tell if he was serious or making fun of her. Of all the excuses he could have come up with, she certainly didn’t expect this one. She frowned as Andy reminded her, “You know, last week, the dead body on the ice rink… you mentioned being good at ice-skating… you also seemed… almost wistful.” He glanced at her, hoping to read some reaction on her face, but Sharon was still staring blankly at him, “I know this is no winter fairy scenery, but it can be great too.”
“Are you drunk?!” Sharon wondered, dumbfounded. She didn’t recognize the hotheaded and stubborn Lieutenant Flynn from work anymore. She didn’t know who she was facing anymore.
“What?! NO!” Andy immediately replied in a high-pitched tone. He lowered his voice when he added, “I wanted to do something nice for you, but apparently I can’t without you questioning my sobriety.” He looked down, trying to hide the hurt in his voice.
Sharon noticed it and she instantly felt bad. She sighed and briefly brushed his arm with her hand to get his attention, “Okay I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.” She sighed again and ran a hand through her hair before she met his gaze, “I’m not used to people being kind to me, so this…” She said, gesturing with a hand, “this feels weird to me, it feels like there’s a trap somewhere…”
“No trap here, Captain.” Andy replied truthfully. “I feel like we’ve been doing good lately, maybe we’re finally past the heads-butting phase. I would like that, so maybe consider this evening as a truce?” He proposed, shrugging.
“You scammed me into coming here.” Sharon shot back with an irritated sigh, “This isn’t a good start.”
“Would you have come down here if I had told you what I was up to?” Andy asked her.
Sharon didn’t reply. She stared at him blankly. As much as she hated to admit it, Andy was right, she definitely wouldn’t have come.
“See?” Andy grinned, knowing he was right, “You can’t blame me for that then.”
Sharon rolled her eyes at him and sighed, “What do you expect, Lieutenant?”
“Uhm, for you to come ice-skating with me?” Andy offered with a shrug. “And maybe some hot chocolate after that? I promise, no funny business.” He added, innocently.
Sharon kept quiet and eyed him suspiciously. Andy gave her a small smile and raised his hands apologetically when he said, “I warn you, I’m no professional ice-skater. I’m awful at it actually, so don’t expect me to let go of the ice rink board.”
Sharon laughed softly and covered her mouth with a hand. She met his gaze again and answered, “Well this could turn out compromising for your reputation, Lieutenant.”
“I feel like you might enjoy watching me make a fool of myself. Think of it as some kind of payback for all the times I said bullshit about you.” Andy told her with one of his renowned grins, “So what do you say?”
“I say it would be totally stupid to give up on such an tempting opportunity.” Sharon smirked at Andy.
——————-
“You know, Lieutenant, clinging to the ice rink board isn’t what I call ice-skating.” Sharon teased Andy as she glided past him gracefully.
“Yeah, yeah, have a good laugh, Captain.” Andy grumbled as he watched her skate around the ice rink. There was no doubt Sharon was pretty good at it, her body was completely relaxed and she was so comfortable on the ice… unlike him.
Sharon chuckled and joined Andy, stopping effortlessly in front of him. She smiled at him as she extended her hand towards him, “Come on, Lieutenant. Let’s do some serious ice-skating!”
Andy’s eyes widened as he stared at Sharon’s hand and then glanced up at her. “No, thank you. I’m really comfortable here.” He clung to the board with no intention of moving.
Sharon chuckled and told him teasingly, echoing the words he had said to her a week ago, “Don’t tell me that hotheaded Lieutenant Flynn is afraid of some ice?”
“Ha ha ha.” Andy let out, rolling his eyes at her. “Are you enjoying yourself?”
“Pretty much.” Sharon replied with a smirk. She went back serious when she patted his upper arm and added, “I promise, ice-skating is more fun if you let go of that board. Here, I can teach you.” She offered with an encouraging smile. “Take a few glides next to the board, we’ll start from here…”
Andy sighed. He met Sharon’s gaze and told her, “You’re not going to let me live through this, right? You’ll be waiting for the best moment to drop this in the middle of the Murder Room…”
“We’re not at work, Lieutenant.” Sharon pointed out. “This can stay between us.” She suggested with a small smile.
“If we’re not at work, then please, Captain, call me Andy.” Andy replied with a goofy smile.
“Same goes for you. Sharon.” Sharon told him as if Andy didn’t remember her name. “Come on, let’s go.”
Andy sighed and looked down at his feet before glancing at his hand clinging to the board. He took a few hesitant glides forward, his hand nearly brushing the board in case he would lose his balance. He then turned the front of his skates in toward each other and stopped clumsily. His hand gripped the railing of the board again as Sharon told him in a surprising cheerful tone, “This was really great, Andy!”
Andy looked at her skeptically. Sharon smiled and extended both hands toward him, “Come on, let’s move to the center of the rink.”
“Uhm, I don’t think it’s a good idea.” Andy replied, feeling suddenly uncomfortable. “Besides, I don’t want to make you fall…”
“Don’t worry about me, I’m a big girl.” Sharon told him with a smirk. “Come on!”
Andy could tell she wasn’t going to take no as an answer. He gave the ice rink a long look before he glanced back at Sharon’s extended hands. His gaze then shifted to her face, his eyes meeting hers. Sharon encouragingly nodded and Andy sighed. His hands came forward and clasped hers. It felt awkward at first; holding hands with the woman he had been butting heads for years. It felt awkward, but not unpleasant. It felt new.
Andy’s eyes met Sharon’s and she shyly smiled at him. “Just hold my hands, I won’t let you slip.” She reassured him as she skated backwards, pulling him along on the ice. “Just push and glide.” She instructed him. “And relax.”
They moved around the rink for a couple of turns. When Sharon felt Andy was starting to feel more at ease, she let go of one of his hands as she told him, “I’m moving to your side. You’re doing great, Andy. Keep going.”
Andy was about to protest, but she was already moving away. He immediately felt unbalanced and lurched forward. He pinwheeled his free arm in an attempt to maintain his balance as Sharon gripped his other arm tighter. “I got you, Andy.” She reassured him, “Straighten up.”
Andy tried to do as instructed, but he found it hard to focus on both his balance and his feet. Before he could even realize, he turned the front of his left skate in and came to an abrupt stop, pulling Sharon harshly toward him. She crashed full-on into him and they both went down, Andy landing on his back with a grunt and Sharon on top of him. He briefly closed his eyes. She was going to kill him, he thought. He felt her shake against his chest and he reopened his eyes. Andy was surprised when he found her covering her mouth with a hand and giggling. When Sharon finally met his eyes, she couldn’t hold back anymore and a bubbly laugh escaped her lips. Andy soon joined her and they lay on the ice for a little while, gasping for air.
“Are you okay?” Sharon asked between chuckles.
“I’m fine, can’t say the same for my ego.” Andy replied with a smirk.
“Poor thing.” Sharon mocked him, her hand patting his cheek playfully. She froze when she realized what she was doing and moved her hand away. She met his gaze and noticed how close they were. It suddenly felt awkward. She looked down and her eyes shifted to his lips. “We should move, lying on the ice won’t help your back.” She added matter-of-factly.
“Yeah, sure.” Andy fumbled as he felt her move off his chest. Sharon was quickly back on her feet and she put a hand out to him. Andy sat on the ice and told her seriously, “I might pull you down again.”
Sharon chuckled and watched as Andy carefully tried to stand. She moved closer, grabbing his arm to help him stand. Once he was back on his feet as well, he told her with a goofy smile, “If you help me to get out of here, you definitely deserve a hot chocolate. My treat.”
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Twenty minutes later they were sitting at a table not far away from the rink, sipping their hot chocolate. Sharon stared at the warm liquid before she looked up to meet Andy’s gaze, “I haven’t had so much fun in a long time.” She told him with a sincere smile. “Thank you.”
“No, thank you for agreeing to come with me. It was really fun.” Andy replied softly. He put both hands around his mug and added with a grin, “Thank you also for the ice-skating lessons.”
“You’ve been a surprisingly good and attentive learner… until that fall.” Sharon smirked.
“Sorry about that, Sharon.” Andy shrugged uncomfortably, “I hope you’re okay. You didn’t hurt yourself, did you?” He asked, worry in his tone.
Sharon put down her mug and looked at him. She smiled softly, surprised by his genuine concern. She waved a hand in the air as she reassured him, “Oh, I’m fine. Don’t worry, Andy. What about you?”
“I’ll probably have a bruise in the morning, but it was worth it.” Andy added with a lopsided grin.
Sharon arched an eyebrow at him. She wasn’t sure to what Andy was alluding, if he was speaking of their evening or more specifically of their fall. She chuckled uncomfortably as she looked away, focusing her attention on the people ice-skating. She could feel Andy’s stare piercing through her. She blushed slightly and ran a hand through her hair before she said, “You were right. It doesn’t feel like being in LA. It almost feels like being in Park City.” She turned to look back at Andy and found him grinning. “Almost.” She repeated, rolling her eyes at him.
Andy smiled at Sharon. The more time he spent with her, the more he realized how wrong he had been about her during all these years. Sharon was anything but the bullshit he and the team had said about her. Wicked witch, Ice Queen… those nicknames had nothing to do with the smiling Sharon sitting in front of him, sipping her hot chocolate. She was actually a pleasant – and even funny – person. She was beautiful – there was no denying to that, he had always known it – she was intelligent, she was smart, she was sassy but she was also unexpectedly sweet. It was the first time Andy had met a woman who possessed all those qualities. Sharon, he was fast discovering, was special and he was so blind he didn’t notice this sooner.
Sharon cleared her throat and Andy realized he had been stupidly staring. He rubbed the back of his neck and fumbled, “Uhm, I’m glad if this evening made you somehow feel back at home. I bet it wasn’t as great as being there with your family, there is no snow nor freezing temperatures here… but I’m glad you had fun all the same.”
“I did. It was really kind of you, Andy, to bring me here.” Sharon replied with an appreciative smile. “I never realized how much I missed ice-skating until now.” She added, her smile slowly getting wistful.
“You’re really great at it, you know.” Andy complimented her.
“Thank you, but my ice-skating skills are a bit rusty.” Sharon replied before she took another sip of her drink.
“Really? Gosh, what did you use to do? Ice shows with jumps, spins and other figures?” Andy asked in a half teasing, half admiring tone.
Sharon chuckled and covered her face with a hand while she gestured with the other, “Oh no, no!” She giggled again. “My daughter, Emily, is the expert for that, not me.”
“I see.” Andy told her with a bright smile. He noticed people slowly leaving the ice rink and he understood it must be nearly closing time. Sharon seemed to have realized it as well. Once he met her eyes again, he told her with a smile, “Let me pay for the drinks and I’ll walk you back to the car.”
Sharon nodded and took the last sip from her hot chocolate while Andy stood from the table. He turned to look at her and couldn’t help but smile when he noticed her upper lip was now sporting a faint chocolate mustache. He moved closer to Sharon and she frowned, clueless about what was going on through his mind. Andy leaned down, his face a few inches away from hers. Sharon was a little taken aback by their sudden proximity, but she didn’t pull back, waiting for his next move.
Andy smiled shyly as he whispered to her, “You’ve got a little chocolate mustache.”
“Oh!” Sharon exclaimed, immediately looking down, feeling uneasy. She couldn’t believe she had made such a fool of herself. She was about to wipe away the chocolate off her face when she felt Andy’s thumb run over her upper lip. She shivered delicately under his touch and looked up, her eyes meeting his again. His lips were a few inches away from hers. Sharon felt a little light-headed at their unexpected proximity. Something lurked in Andy’s eyes, an emotion she couldn’t read. Andy’s thumb was still hovering over her lip and Sharon didn’t think twice when she closed the gap between them.
Andy had been a little taken aback at first, but it didn’t take him long to respond. He deepened the kiss, his hand cupping her cheek as Sharon slid a hand in the back of his neck, drawing him closer. When they pulled back, they stared at each other for a few seconds as they processed in silence what had just happened.
“Wow…” Andy muttered out of breath, his hand still on her cheek. He stroked her face with his thumb and met her gaze, “I swear, Sharon, it wasn’t my intention when I brought you here.” He added in a serious tone.
“I know… I’m the one who kissed you.” Sharon pointed out with a small smile.
“Yeah, but you know I expected nothing from you in exchange, right? I just wanted to do something nice for you.” Andy explained. Despite what the rumors at work said about him, he wasn’t that kind of guy. He wanted to be sure Sharon believed him when he said she didn’t owe him anything.
“Andy…” Sharon stopped him, cupping his face with both hands. “I know. Chill out, I’m a big girl.” She added with a bright smile.
“Okay, uhm… I’m going to pay for our drink…” Andy informed her clumsily, “And then we could maybe talk about who kissed who, who started all this…” He added in a more confident tone, “Uhm let’s say over pizza?” He offered with a lopsided grin.
“I’d love that.” Sharon nodded with a smile. “I’ll wait for you, Andy.”
*clear throat* uhm... so I wrote a new Major Crimes fic and I’ve just posted the first chapter. I’d love to hear from you all what you think about it! ;)
WORTH WAITING FOR
Summary: Sharon kept staring in the direction she last saw Andy, only a couple of minutes before, as he waved at her one last time before disappearing around the corner. She felt her heart twitch and the tears gathering in the corners of her eyes. She didn't know how long she would be able to hold them back, as they were now threatening to fall at any moment. Post 4x14 "Taking the Fall".
First of all, I’d like to thank all of you who read, liked or reviewed on ff.net my story. I really appreciate it.
Now, chapter 2 is up! I hope you’ll like it!
Here’s a little sneak peek for the new chapter:
Sharon looked up and saw Nicole standing next to Provenza. She shook her head in relieved surprise as she stood up from her chair and approached the younger woman, quickly wiping away any lingering tears. “Nicole, I thought you were out of the country!” Sharon exclaimed, hugging Andy’s daughter tightly. “Weren’t you supposed to come back tomorrow?”
Sharon & Andy {The Closer/Major Crimes} || Half Light
- PERSONAL REQUEST: NO SPOILERS, I STILL HAVE TO WATCH SEASON6! Thank you, I appreciate that. -
Andy: "Is that everything?"
Sharon: "Oh, gosh, I hope so."
- WATCH IN HD -
Here it is, my new Sharon & Andy video, this time I've focused only on The Closer era as I wanted to show the beginning of their relationship that was back then far from idyllic.
They butted heads, yelled at each other but even then, there was something lingering between them in my opinion. A smile, a glance, a touch of a hand... that's what I wanted to show in this video.
I'm sorry if some clips are noisy, unfortunately the quality footage is low and I wasn't able to improve it much. I hope it doesn't ruin everything and I hope you will like the video nevertheless!
I'd love to hear what you think about it, so feel free to comment. I'd appreciate that! :)
- DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN THE SHOW (UNFORTUNATELY). NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT INTENDED.
Ok, I'm late to Major Crimes, but I have binged for the last week. OMG!!!!! How have I missed this? Now I'm almost caught up, and I'm torn between watching the first two episodes of this year or holding back.
