"Andrea, stop fidgeting!" Sharon chastised her partner. Andrea bit her tongue to prevent a smart remark from escaping and merely glared at her. Sharon inspected the puffy dark blue ski coat critically.

"It fits nicely, I knew that you were about the same size as Sarah," she said fondly, grateful that she had kept her daughter's old ski outfit. "You look ready to take on the slopes!" Sharon looked excitedly at the mountaintop, while Andrea wished for the hundredth time today that she were somewhere else.

"I cannot believe that I let you talk me into this," Andrea grumbled, "remind me again why I let you do this to me?" Sharon shot her an irritated, yet triumphant look.

"If you recall, I wanted to take us to a ballet and you insisted, no, begged me, to change my mind. I do recall your exact words being, Anything else, just not a ballet," Sharon recounted, "Skiing would fall under that description."

Andrea sighed in defeat. "Great," she mumbled. "Fantastic."

XXX

This weekend was the first they had alone since Sharon became a foster parent, as Rusty was on a camping retreat with his classmates until Monday night. Sharon wanted to plan something special for them to enjoy; but it seemed that the two women were of opposite minds when it came to how they wanted to spend their weekend together.

Andrea wanted to take a trip to the beach- she'd suggested renting a cottage for the weekend, but Sharon was not so keen on the idea. While she certainly had very healthy body image for a woman of her age, there was no denying the fact that after nearly six decades of life and two pregnancies, her body wasn't as "bikini ready" as she'd liked it to be, and she thought that she might be uncomfortable in such a public setting, surrounded by women decades younger than her, flaunting figures far more fit than hers.

Andrea grumbled a bit at Sharon's objection, insisting that Sharon had nothing to worry about, and muttering something about the whole point was that she had wanted to see Sharon in a bikini. Sharon promised that she would indulge Andrea's fantasy, but behind closed doors, and on her terms. This proved to be a most exceptional compromise this evening. Andrea let herself into Sharon's condo with her spare key, to find Sharon waiting for her in the master bedroom, wearing nothing but a scandalous black two-piece that Sharon had obviously purchased specifically for the occasion. This also proved to be an excellent diversionary tactic, as Andrea was far more agreeable once they'd tested out her beloved bikini fantasy.

"We still need to plan something for the weekend," Sharon said, kissing an uneven pattern across Andrea's flushed collarbone. Their clothing was lying haphazardly across the floor, the sheets were irrevocably tangled around their exhausted limbs and both women were wearing nothing but matching grins.

"This seems like a pretty good plan," Andrea said, wrapping her arms around the feisty brunette. "I vote that we just stay in bed until Monday." She waggled her eyebrows at Sharon suggestively; Sharon chuckled and half-heartedly swatted her lover's arm.

"No," Sharon drawled, "I want to do something extra special. Our one year anniversary is coming up next month and I doubt that we'll be able to celebrate it properly then, so we might as well take advantage of the time that we have now."

Andrea sighed; she knew that Sharon was right. Despite their best intentions, Sharon's job, which was far more demanding than either of them had ever anticipated, and the upcoming staffing changes in Andrea's office would likely prevent them from taking a solid weekend off. Not to mention, Rusty had just joined a swim team, with practices every Saturday morning, and both women loved watching him excel at the sport and make new friends with the other swimmers on his team. There was no way that they were going to miss a practice, not if they could help it.

"Okay. What did you have in mind?" Andrea asked.

"How about the ballet?" Sharon casually suggested, "You've never let me take you…"

Andrea grimaced. "There is a very good reason for that. I'm sorry, but I just do not like ballets. Someone else took me before, and I really didn't enjoy it," Sharon couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy, that someone else, most likely Andrea's ex, had taken her. "Anything else, just not a ballet," Andrea pleaded.

Sharon had anticipated this response; always prepared, she had a second option. "Fine, I want to take you skiing."

Andrea sat up in bed. "Skiing?" she asked disbelievingly, "Me? Skiing?"

"It's not a ballet," Sharon huffed, "And I happen to really like skiing. We can still rent a cottage," Sharon reasoned, "so it's not too far off from your original suggestion."

Andrea considered arguing, but seeing as she rarely ever won an argument with Sharon she simply conceded. "Skiing it is," she said weakly, secretly hoping that most places would be rented out by now.

"Perfect!" Sharon jumped out of bed rather suddenly. "My daughter has a ski coat and snow pants that you can borrow, I have them right here. Her apartment is so small, she asked me to hang onto them for when she comes to visit and we go skiing together," she explained fondly. Sharon hastily threw on her robe, before locating the outfit and bringing them to Andrea. "I already called and made reservations, um, just incase," she admitted, her eyes twinkling.

"Someone was prepared," Andrea said, arching her eyebrow at Sharon significantly. "I will go skiing with you, Sharon Raydor, but I am not wearing that thing for one second longer than I have to. So put it away and get back here," she growled, playfully tugging Sharon back into her arms. Sharon's protests were silenced by a passionate kiss, and neither woman wasted anymore time talking for the rest of the evening.

As much as Andrea was dreading skiing, she loved how happy and carefree her lover had been all day in anticipation of their weekend plans. And so, never able to truly deny her anything, Andrea had agreed to this weekend getaway to Snow Summit. At sunrise this morning, they had both risen and packed Sharon's car with their overnight bags and ski equipment, with Andrea making her very best effort to keep her grumbling at a minimum.

When they finally arrived and checked in, Andrea's resolve began to crack. Suiting up in the ridiculous equipment had been her breaking point. The puffy jacket was most unwelcome. Andrea had never been skiing before in her life, and having grown up in Coastal Southern California, she had been able to, for the most part, avoid snow all together. But it seemed that Sharon apparently loved being outdoors in frigid temperatures.

XXX

Skiing, Andrea thought bitterly. Maybe the ballet would have been less uncomfortable. I could have worn a suit to the ballet, instead of Sarah's ski coat.

Sharon had grown up in New York, and that both of her parents and her younger brothers had all been avid skiers; she had excitedly shared stories about her family skiing trips on the car ride to the resort. Having met Sharon's parents and two other children last month for the first time, she could tell that their weekend ski trips had really shaped their close relationship in a profound way. Sharon's parents were warm and inviting to both herself and Rusty, and Sharon's children, despite being adults and being busy with demanding lives of their own, were obviously happy to put their lives aside for a bit to be in the company of their mother and her new partner. Instead of a guarded, forcibly polite welcome, each member of the Raydor family had thrown their arms around both Andrea and Rusty, welcoming them indefinitely into their family home.

While Andrea felt like a fish out of water, Sharon was so obviously at home; she appeared to practically glide across the flat, snowy ground. Andrea noted that she also looked quite stunning in her black and grey jacket and pants; only Sharon Raydor could make something as unattractive and ridiculous as ski equipment look sexy as hell.

"Ready?" Sharon asked as she made a final adjustment to Andrea's skis. "We'll keep to the bunny hill for now."

The next hour and a half had Andrea spending more time flat on her behind, or on her face, than upright on her borrowed skis. Her face burned hotly with embarrassment, especially when she saw young children flying down the hill with considerably less difficulty than her. Sharon was a patient and wonderful instructor, she never pushed her too hard, or made her feel bad for not being able to accomplish even the simplest tasks on the skis, which of course filled Andrea with the urge to want to make Sharon proud. Determined to master this sport and look like she was enjoying it, for the sake of her partner, she suffered in silence, and refused to stop until she finally made it down the tiny hill without falling.

Sharon was waiting for her at the bottom of the hill, and caught Andrea as she slowed to a stop right in front of her. Andrea decided right then and there that the gleam of unmistakable pride in Sharon's eyes had been worth the embarrassment and pain.

When they returned to their rented chalet, Sharon suggested that Andrea soak in the large tub. "It will help loosen your muscles," she said, kissing her briefly and sending her into the bathroom. Easing into the scalding water, Andrea let out a groan for the first time all day.

"Aaah," she moaned, half in pain and half in relief as the darkening bruises on her thighs and bottom became enveloped by the hot, soothing liquid. She rested her head against the edge of the large tub, closing her eyes and relaxing into the welcoming heat. She heard the bathroom door open after a while, and she cracked an eye open.

"How's my brave athlete feeling?" Sharon teased, smoothing back Andrea's thick hair to place a kiss on her forehead, tip of her nose, and finally her lips. Andrea couldn't help but grin at Sharon's chosen term of endearment.

"Next time, we go to the ballet," Andrea deadpanned, prompting Sharon to giggle. "The only thing I would be in danger of is falling asleep during the show, and having you kick me awake."

"Duly noted. If you're done in here, you should come to the living room, I have something to show you," Sharon suggested. The huskiness of her tone drew Andrea like a moth to the flame. With some assistance from her lover, Andrea exited the tub, following Sharon into the living room, clad in her bathrobe.

The chalet was elegantly furnished, the deep maroons and rich browns of the walls and floors felt decadent and welcoming, and reminded Andrea a little bit of Sharon's own home. This room was the largest in the little home, consisting of two graceful armchairs and a fireplace. Andrea noticed that Sharon had pushed the armchairs against the walls, so that the plush rug in front of the fireplace was now completely exposed.

"What's this?" Andrea asked, allowing Sharon to guide her to lie down on the rug, encouraging Andrea to rest her head on the pillow that had been strategically placed on the floor. Sharon untied the loose knot in Andrea's robe, exposing her body to the warm glow of the fireplace.

"This is called a compromise," Sharon said as she kissed the fresh bruises on Andrea's thighs. "We don't actually have to go skiing all weekend," she purred, "I did quite like your original suggestion."

Compromise, Andrea thought as she gave over to the warmth of the fireplace, and the scorching heat of Sharon's lips and tongue, that's more like it.