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The knocking at his door was persistent if nothing else. With a hand on his service weapon, he went up to cautiously check the peephole. And a familiar face was looking back intently.
“Sergeant Bradford!” Lucy Chen bellowed through the door, apparently unaware of how close he was to the door.
His official title.
Combined with her somewhat angry face, Tim knew this was not a happy visit.
Despite having the impression that he was in trouble, his heart couldn’t help get excited at Lucy when he opened his door. She didn’t even wait for an invitation, pushing him aside to march into his house. She threw her keys and wallet onto his couch, before spinning around at him, arms already crossed.
“Want to drink?” Tim asked her. His mind instantly jumped to him, tattooed and greezy, inside her own apartment, her asking him the same question. That felt like a lifetime ago. Apparently Lucy’s mind did not go to the same place, as she completely ignored his question, before she charged straight into her Rant.
“I just don’t get it! My mind literally can’t comprehend. I’m going to have to deal with Rosalind’s shit for the rest of my life!”
Tim got the distinct impression that she was starting her venting half way through, and watched as Lucy started marching mindlessly around his kitchen, arms waving.
“I have to deal with what she did to me! What she orchestrated! It haunts me everyday. It effects every decision I make!” Lucy was almost yelling.
Tim chose to add no opinions to the mix, simply allowing Lucy to say what she needed to say. instead, Tim turned down the football he had abandoned watching, until it was a low hum in the background. He then lent against the armrest of his couch and listened to her.
“But I was just a BLIP on Rosalind’s radar! A tiny moment that she barely thought about! In the end, all she gave a shit about was fame and attention. But she fully fucked over my life! Forever! And let’s not get me even started on my relationships!” Lucy was picking up dirty dishes from his sink, that still needed to be washed, and putting them away in the cupboards. He mentally reminded himself to undo her work after she leaves. “It was like I was just a funny little joke to her!”
Seeing Rosalind’s lifeless body earlier today, was undoubtably a lot to process. It will absolutely take time to come to terms with. However Tim had incorrectly assumed that Lucy would be relieved. The rather angry Lucy in front of him was a total surprise.
“And you want to know the most fucked up thing?” He nodded dutifully at her rhetorical question, “She arranges to get shot. No rotting is prison! No, that’s too good for her! No, she gets the luxury of controlling everyone’s life, and never sacrifices her own control! I just can’t-”
Mid thought, Lucy paused and looked at him. Almost waiting for him to join in, to argue about how bullshit everything is.
“It’s good to see you,” was the only words that came out of his mouth instead.
Tim had intended his honest thought to sound happy. And it but it came out as barely whisper. Perhaps his own voice knew exactly how much he had missed her.
Was that frustration in her expression?
“You rejected me.” Lucy stated matter-of-factly in response.
His leg slipped out from underneath him in shock and he almost fell off his perch on the armrest of his couch. “What? When!”
“You practically push me out of town!”
“What, to go under undercover school?”
His heart was pounding. Is that what she thought he had done?
“You know that was the right decision!” He declared. She was now moving his kettle onto his dinning table, for no reason whatsoever. “The opportunity was outstanding for you. And you excelled at it!”
“Of course I excelled, I’m a…” she paused, “Wait. How did you know I did so well? Did you check up on me?”
Was he meant to hide that?
He couldn’t remember.
Her eyes were piercing into him.
“Of course.” Again. His voice betrayed how much he cared.
His words seemed to break through the red she was seeing, because she stopped incorrectly rearranging his life, and stepped out of the kitchen.
“It hurt.” She whispered, once she stood in front of him.
Tim knew exactly what she meant.
His heart ached when she had been away. She was a constant in his life, and suddenly she was not there. Instead a vacant seat beside him. A silent car ride. An emptiness of sneaky comments or thinly vailed teasing.
He had told himself everything will be fine when she returned.
But that couldn’t be further from the truth.
Lucy’s absence was nothing compared to seeing her across the station, and not being able to talk to her. Not being able to feel her beside him. Not being able to share his day with her. It was torture. He felt like he was ready to break at every moment.
“I was trying to do the right thing by you,” Tim confessed.
“You are always trying to do that,” she mused, as she took another step closer to him. Her big eyes unblinking back at him. Her anger was all gone now, as though it has been all used up.
“Well, you are my partner,” and that was the truth. Regardless of their work status, she will always be his partner. Someone he looks out for. Someone he trusts.
She was so close to him, he could just reach out and touch her. And his hand twitched, desperate to do so.
Lucy looked at peace.
Maybe she liked being here.
Perhaps as much as he liked her here.
“Like you did today, when going under the floorboards to check the tank? You could have… you could have gotten hurt.” Lucy was whispering now too.
“You watched me,” Tim commented quietly.
“You watched me,” she corrected him. He huffed a little as he remembered her expression as he descended through the floor. She had been so worried about him.
“You were the only face I wanted to see,” he couldn’t stop the truthfulness, when she looked at him like.
In the dark of his house, with nothing but the tv flickering to break the spell, Tim could be honest with himself. He had encouraged her to go in the past. But now, he knows he doesn’t have the strength to do that again. He needed her to stay here with him. For as long as possible.
With that he accepted what he truely desired; Lucy. He reached out, gently taking her hand and tugging lightly to pull her closer. She did not resist, and he wondered if that was what she had been waiting for.
He still sat on the edge of the armrest, but now she stood in between his legs, smiling at him. He couldn’t take his eyes from her lips. His brain tricked him, begging him to kiss her lips again to see if they tasted the same as he remembered.
Tim could feel his own smile against hers as their lips finally met. And their distance apart had confused his memory. Her lips were so much softer than he remembered. But they melted into his, like it was meant to be.
Their practice session in her apartment has been a surprise, yet passionate. The aeroplane had been a desperate, blinding rush. But this was a gentle touch. There was no haste. But all of the intensity.
As her hands wrapped up around his neck, the coolness of her skin brushing over him, shooting goosebumps down his shoulders. As a reward, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her as close to him as possible.
How long had he wanted to kiss her like this? With nowhere to be but together in this moment. Their lips danced together, exploring, tasting, adoring.
Who needs air?
When you have Lucy Chen.