Chapter Text
Somehow, after what has felt like the longest day in the history of the world (probably because it was actually two days with no sleep in between), Brenda and Sharon still find time to relax on Sharon's balcony after dinner. They sit together on one of the chaise lounges with Brenda settled comfortably between Sharon's legs, head resting on her captain's shoulder as they both look up at the stars. The world seems quiet from the 11th floor of the high rise, where they can't hear the hustle and bustle of busy Los Angeles streets below, and for a time, they are content to just be together and enjoy the stillness.
"How's that application comin' along?" Brenda asks, breaking the silence.
"Finished except for your signature," Sharon admits, a little surprised that Brenda is the one to bring the topic up this time. "Are you actually considering it?"
"I dunno. Maybe. It's just an application, not a commitment," Brenda shrugs and takes a sip of her wine.
"What changed your mind?"
"For starters, I guess I can't hide behind keeping our relationship a secret anymore," Brenda says with an accusatory glance back at Sharon, as if she weren't the one who had kissed Sharon in front of half the department.
"Hmm, yes, you certainly obliterated that excuse, didn't you Brenda Leigh?" Sharon hums as she takes a drink from Brenda's wine glass. They'd had steak for dinner so Sharon is drinking red for a change but she left her empty glass on the table in favor of stealing sips from Brenda's.
"But if I remember correctly," Sharon continues, "that wasn't your main reason for not applying in the first place. So what else?"
"Why do you want me to apply so badly?" Brenda answers with a question of her own.
"Lots of reasons. But I will admit that after today, keeping you out of danger has jumped to the top of the list," Sharon says, pulling Brenda closer and kissing the top of her head. "I don't know if I've ever been so scared in my life as when I thought I might lose you."
"Oh, Shari…" Brenda turns to look at her with emotion welling up in those big chocolate brown eyes, but words seem to fail her again so she resorts to cupping Sharon's cheek with her free hand and kissing her. Not the desperate, frantic kiss from the crime scene, but a soft and sensual kiss of reassurance. It's a kiss that speaks of love, of solace, a kiss that says 'I'm not going anywhere,' and Sharon finds it far more intoxicating than the wine she had with dinner.
Brenda's hair had started out straight at the beginning of the case, but is now curling up at the ends after two days without any maintenance. Sharon loves her hair like this, soft and wild and with no danger of ruining all of the work Brenda puts in to tame it each morning, and she takes full advantage of it now by threading her fingers through the blonde locks and pulling Brenda closer. She would devour her, if it meant keeping her safe.
Brenda murmurs something against Sharon's lips and she reluctantly pulls away just enough to hear her clearly. "OK," Brenda says simply.
Sharon pulls back further so that she can look Brenda in the eyes. "Really?" she asks. She is doing a poor job of playing it cool but at the moment she doesn't care.
"Sure. Show me where to sign. I'll do it now if you want," Brenda shrugs as she sits up and reaches for her wine again, the romantic moment apparently over.
Sharon, however, isn't quite so ready to let it pass. She gets up from the chair, pulling Brenda along by their tangled fingers. "It'll still be there in the morning," Sharon purrs in Brenda's ear, so close she can feel the heat of her own breath coming back to her off of the blonde's slender neck. "I have other things on the agenda tonight."
"Oh?" Brenda asks, her breath hitching as Sharon unties the belt on her comfy sweater.
Sharon's fingers, chilled from the night air, find their way under Brenda's top, quickly warmed by the heat of her skin, and she hums with pleasure. "I plan to get a head start on sleeping my way to the top," she husks, suddenly yanking Brenda's body flush against her own and drawing her into a bruising kiss.
"I don't even have the job yet," Brenda groans as Sharon's lips begin to move down her neck and to her collar bone.
Sharon murmurs her response against Brenda's chest so that she can feel the words more than hear them. "You will."