Chapter Text
It was a Wednesday, day two into Lucy Chen’s three days off, four days on work schedule. Lucy spending the day by catching up on the chores that needed to be done around the one-story house. The carpets had been vacuumed, the hardwood floors and the tile of the bathrooms were swept and mopped, the dishwasher loaded and running, two loads of clothes washed with one load in the dryer and the other in the basket in her hand.
The melodic harmony of Lord Huron carried through the Bluetooth headphones in her ears as she quietly hummed along, keeping the music to herself as Tim slept the day away in their bedroom. It had taken him several months, but his body had finally adjusted to the schedule he took over a year ago, becoming the Sergeant of the nightshift.
Lucy placed the clothes basket down onto the navy-colored sectional, pulling the different colors and fabrics out of the basket one by one, hanging up those that needed to be returned to the closet and folding the rest of the miscellaneous pieces as she separated them into two different piles. The upbeat song coming through her headphones ended, fading into another hit on her cleaning playlist, Lucy humming along to Stevie Nick’s vocals before the tune switched to a top 40 hit from ten years earlier. Folding the last pair of socks, she added them to her pile before grabbing the mound of clothing, placing the various materials back into the basket to be put away later before picking the laundry up, placing the clothing basket on the armchair just outside the hallway.
She walked back to the sofa, collapsing onto the plush cushions as she mentally made note of the tasks that still needed to be completed as she checked off the chores that had been accomplished. A tired sigh escaped her as she pulled the headphones off and away from her ears, extending a hand to lay them on the coffee table as she reached down for the phone in the pocket of her charcoal-colored leggings. She tapped the screen, her thumb hitting the pause button to stop the music, leaving a relatively quiet house around her. The sound of the ceiling fan overhead spinning, Kojo snoring from his dog bed in the corner and in the distance, the dishwasher running in the kitchen filling the empty silence.
Lucy rotated through the apps on her phone, retweeting and liking a few posts on Twitter, double tapping a few photos on Instagram, and returning a Snapchat to Jackson as she took a few minutes to relax. Soon, the sound of dog tags jangled from the corner of the room, Kojo letting out a whimpering yawn before stretching on top of the stuffed material, his paws clicking against the hardwood floor as he padded over to his owner.
“Hey boy.” She greeted with what Tim had long ago deemed her baby voice, her fingernails running along his brown and white coat as he stepped closer.
The dog panted happily as his head and body received the scratches he craved before he walked away from Lucy and though the kitchen, heading towards the back patio door.
“Need to go potty?” she asked as she followed the dog, watching as his tail hit the glass paneling of the door. “Come on.” She told him as she opened the door, the dog darting out of the house and off the patio, running across the yard.
Lucy chuckled as he zoomed around the open space, going about his business before laying down under the shade tree in the back corner. She watched as he happily rolled around in the plush green grass, shaking her head as she turned around, leaving the door open as she made her way back through the kitchen, intent on returning to her previously occupied spot on the dark blue sectional.
She had just stepped through the entryway that separated the kitchen and living room when a blur of white and brown went running in between her legs, her phone falling out of her hand and onto the oak flooring below. “Shit.” She cursed as she stumbled into the built-in bookcase, attempting to catch herself before she fell. “Kojo!”
The dog skidded across the floor as his four paws turned him towards the dining room, guiding him around the table and through the room quickly before he went running through the small hallway and into the kitchen as he ran back outside. Lucy muttered under her breath, hoping that the screen of the device on the floor wasn’t cracked as she bent down to retrieve it, breathing a sigh of relief at the sight of the flawless glass as she pushed herself up from the crouched position.
She slid the device back into the pocket on her leggings and turned, eyes glancing around the three shelves of the built-in bookcase for anything that may have been disturbed. The various picture frames and knick knacks looking unharmed as she wiped away the layer of dust that had accumulated over the past few months. Her hand reached for the picture frame that sat on top of a stack of books, pulling the frame down as her fingers wiped away at the thin layer of dust as she cleaned the glass. The image was one of her personal favorites, Tim dressed in his Class A uniform, holding a commendation plaque as Lucy stood by his side, posing together for the picture.
Deciding to rearrange the shelf, Lucy placed the picture frame onto the lower shelf before reaching back up for the books, a black velvet box sitting where the picture frame had just been.
“Holy shit.” She whispered as her right hand reached for the item, removing the box from its place of hiding. The small black box fit in the palm of her hand, meaning that only a few select pieces of jewelry could be kept inside. Her left hand moved on its own accord, her fingers grasping the lid to open-
“What are you doing?” Lucy jump, the voice startling her as she let out a squeal. Quickly, she let go of the lid, the box closing with a snap as she moved her hands behind her back, turning her body around from where she stood.
“Tim!” She exclaimed, finding her boyfriend leaning against the open arch with a bad case of bed head. “What are you doing?”
Tim rolled his eyes, sighing exasperatedly. “I live here Lucy. And I asked you first.”
“Nothing.” She told him briskly. Maybe too briskly as his eyes narrowed as he studied her.
“Uh-huh.” He disbelievingly agreed. “And what’s in your hand Lucy?”
Lucy gripped the box tighter. “Oh, it’s just something that fell off the shelf when your dog-, I mean my dog-, our dog? Came running through the house like the Tasmanian devil he is.”
Tim raised an eyebrow, giving her an incredulous look as he took a step forward. “Really?”
“Yep.” She nodded as she took a small step back.
“So Kojo, our seventy-five-pound dog, came running through the house, causing a picture frame that’s been there for three years and through countless earthquakes, to miraculously reveal the hiding place of the box you’re hiding behind your back?” He deducted as he slowly moved towards her, like a cat stalking their prey.
“You know, I think you would have made a really good detective. Are you sure it’s not too late to-“ she deflected as her back hit the wall.
“Lucy.” He leaned down, whispering against her lips before he pulled back, ever so slightly.
“Yeah?” she asked as she began to stand up onto the tips of her toes, moving to meet the lips that had moved away from her own.
“You found the wrong box.”
Lucy’s eyes grew wide as she silently gasped, her head flying backward as she moved to look at the man pressed against her, her skull meeting the plastered wall behind her with a dull thud.
“I found the- what?”
“I figured if I hid it in the obvious places, you would stumble across it eventually.” He told her, knowing that it’s hard to hide physical objects when your spouse is in law enforcement and has an eye for noticing every little detail. “So, I took some precautions. Open the box.”
“I don’t think-“
“Lucy.” He smiled. “Open the box.”
Lucy looked at him as she slowly brought her left hand around, producing the black velvet box in her hand. She looked back and forth between him and the box, unsure how to proceed.
“Open the box.”
“This one’s not rigged to explode, is it? You know, to see how long it’s going to take me to find something and then it blows up in my face. Literally.”
“Lucy.” He groaned. “Just open the damn box.”
“So impatient.” She grumbled as her right hand lifted the lid, showing her… nothing.
“What?” Lucy asked as she tore her gaze from the empty box to the man standing before her.
“I told you it was the wrong box.” He told her with a shrug.
“So, where’s the right box?” she asked him as she threw the empty box back at him.
Tim caught the box with ease, giving her a thoughtful look before posing a question. “Is there a right box?”
Lucy’s mouth opened and closed as words failed her. “I don’t know!” she groaned.
Tim couldn’t help but lean forward, placing a lingering kiss to her lips as she pouted.
“Would you like to know?”
Lucy sighed against his lips. “This is mean. You’re mean.”
“You love me.” He smirked as kissed her once again.
“You know what, that’s debatable at the moment. So tell me, what’s the catch?”
Tim fumbled with the box in his hand as he threw her a smirk. “Five boxes have been hidden throughout the places that you frequent most. You’ve found one-“
“Which means there’s four left.” She determined.
He nodded once. “I will give you two hints.”
“Per box?” Lucy asked, hope lacing her voice as she peered up at him.
“Now that,” he said as he stepped back. “would be too easy.”
“You ass. You’re going to have fun with this, aren’t you?” She asked as she took a step forward, shoving his shoulder as she walked around him, making her way to the couch. Sitting down on the navy cushion, she pulled her knees to her chest, resting her head on her knees when a thought occurred to her. “Why the bookshelf?”
Tim absentmindedly licked his bottom lip, biting it as he thought about the words to say. “You’ll have to figure that out yourself.”
Lucy groaned, mentally cursing herself for her love of mysteries.
“How long has it been there, how long have you had this planned?”
Tim shook his head, refusing to answer as he watched his girlfriend groan at his response.
“You’re the one that never backs away from a challenge Luce.” Tim told her as he joined her on the couch, sitting down beside her as he continued to fumble with the box in his hands, absentmindedly opening and closing the lid.
Lucy groaned. “I assume all the boxes are already in place?”
“Some of them.” He confirmed. “But, if you would rather-“
“No!” She exclaimed, effectively cutting him off. “No.”
Tim chuckled at the rush of her words as he set the box down onto the coffee table in front of them. “So Officer Chen, would you like to play a game?”
Lucy bit her bottom lip as she looked away, shaking her head with a smile on her face. “You know I can’t back away from a challenge.” She mumbled before releasing a long sigh. “I’m in.”