Chapter Text
The day is hot, scorching sun beating down unrelentingly. Thankfully, Lucy’s beneath the shade of a tent, but not even the cheap plastic material keeps out the full force of the furnace in the sky. Lucy’s been hydrating all morning, but the fabric of her uniform and long sleeves do not breathe, that’s for damn sure.
“You okay, Chen? You look a little warm,” Tim asks, with a tinge of smugness. He will no doubt later say that she should thank him for preparing her for an assignment like this, denying her the use of the air conditioning in the Shop in order to make her ‘not soft.’
“I’m fine,” she grumbles, then plasters on a smile as she hands out fake plastic badges to another group of kids.
The reason Lucy is currently trying very hard not to melt is because of some new initiative begun by the community relations department in an effort to, well, improve community relations. So, it had been the task of every precinct to hold a sort of block party with music, food, games, educational elements, and plenty of opportunities for free stuff. Any other time, Lucy would be thrilled, but today was not the day to spend eight hours outside.
“This is nothin’,'' Tim continues, sitting in the cheap, folding chair next to her, arms crossed over his chest. He bends his legs, tilting the chair back slightly. “Afghanistan is at least three times this hot. And we were in full tactical gear.”
Lucy listens pointedly, as Tim does not make a point of speaking much to his time in the army. “I can’t imagine that kind of heat.” And suddenly, her woes do not seem as pressing.
Tim shrugs. “It seems like so long ago now, you know? Kind of like a dream.”
Lucy wonders for a second if maybe the heat had gotten to him. Tim never made it a habit to speak about his personal life. Ever. But in the past six months or so Lucy’s gotten little tidbits here and there, little puzzle pieces that she’s taken time to put together to get a picture of who Tim Bradford is.
Another handful of kids approach the table and Lucy plasters on a smile, greeting them and giving them the swag Grey had demanded they get rid of. The rookies had done this before, but for whatever reason, Lucy and Tim had been roped into this again.
The music, which had just been background noise to Lucy up to this point, changes, and the DJ calls for everyone to the center of the makeshift dance floor. The familiar notes of the Cha Cha Slide start, and Lucy gasps.
“Oh my God, Tim, come on!”
“No, absolutely not.”
“What’s the matter? You chicken?” Lucy makes clucking sounds, and flaps her elbows as she backs away from the booth. At this point, someone could come up and take all the rest of the stuff, she doesn’t care.
“I am not dancing,” Tim gripes, and Lucy just continues to make the motions and the sounds, until finally, she heckles him enough into getting up.
“You can’t go wrong, the song tells you what to do,” Lucy reassures him.
Sure enough, DJ Casper instructs them to slide to the left, and Lucy complies. To her great shock, Tim also does it flawlessly, and when it comes to the actual cha cha part, she gapes as he absolutely nails the hip work.
Lucy can’t recall the last time she’d done the Cha Cha Slide, but she loves every minute of it, laughing until she’s breathless, from the movements and from the heat. But it’s worth it to see the expressions on the members of the community’s faces to see them loosening up.
They’re going absolutely wild for Tim, and many of the female (and male, really) members of the crowd watch him raptly.
The song comes to an end, and the DJ transitions smoothly into the next, a song familiar to her from middle school and high school dances. “You and Me,” by Lifehouse. God, this song brought back many memories for Lucy. Some good, and some bad.
“Chen,” Tim says behind her.
She turns, and he tugs her into his arms, one hand high on her back and the other clasped with hers, held aloft. He moves them slowly, in a simple rocking motion, nothing fancy or elaborate. But the suddenness of it leaves Lucy speechless.
“Um…” She sputters. “What’re you doing?”
“We’re dancing,” Tim states simply.
“Okay, but… slow dancing?”
Tim shrugs. “You made me get up here. Only seems fitting. Besides, everyone was cheering for it.”
Lucy rolls her eyes. “Who?”
Tim nods towards someone behind her, then turns them slowly until Lucy sees a group of middle school-aged kids, clapping and cheering them on.
Lucy feels her face flush.
Despite the heat, it feels… nice… to do this? Which absolutely shocks the hell out of her. He’s close. And though they’d been close in the shop before, it had never been this close.
It’s funny, he complains about her perfume from time to time, but he’s clearly wearing some type of cologne right now. It’s earthy, and while she’d never given much thought to what Tim would smell like, she realizes immediately this is exactly how she would’ve imagined the scent.
He’s a head taller than her, and that makes this feel more intimate. Which freaks her out, but Lucy doesn’t have enough time to process, because suddenly a kid comes running up to them, blabbering on about their friends trying to break into their police car. Lucy and Tim drop their hold on each other instantly and sprint off.
Lucy’s never been more thankful for an interruption.