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"I’m sorry, what? You dated Nolan?"
Lucy shrugged, chuckling at his incredulous expression.
"It was in the academy.” At his raised eyebrow, she elaborated. “ And, a little while after the academy." She tucked her legs beneath her, and shifted in her chair, reaching over to his plate and retrieving a piece of toast. She crinkled her nose at him. "What? Nolan is very sweet. And handsome."
"And too old for you, Luce." Tim cocked an eyebrow, smiling wickedly suddenly. "Oh my God, you're a badge bunny."
"What?! No!" She grimaced, but her eyes sparkled. "You know, he's not that much older than you."
Tim Bradford took a long sip of coffee, a smug smirk on the corner of his lip.
"Officer Chen." He tilted his head away from her, inviting her into his space. She acquiesced silently, matching his smirk with a gentle smile as she stood, and moved around the table between them. "You are definitely a badge bunny." He set his coffee down, and took his toast back, smirk shifting into a grin as she settled on his lap, twining her arm around his neck.
"Ooh, d'you think?" She pressed a delicate kiss to his temple, before dropping a slow, thorough kiss to his lips. "I think I just have a type."
"Oh? Is that right." He mumbled, snaking his arm around her waist, smiling soft as she giggled into his kiss, shivering from his light touch on her thigh.
"Yeah, I definitely have a type. Strong moral compass." She kissed him sweetly. "Kind and giving heart." She ran a hand through his hair, making him groan softly. She paused, before continuing, in a light, teasing tone. "Older, so, you know, obviously well seasoned in the arena of physical intimacy-"
"Did you just call me old?" He pulled back, feigning offense.
"I also called you a great lay." Lucy reached over and picked up Tim's coffee mug, taking a sip. "Mm, wait, if I'm a badge bunny, so are you." She shifted in his lap and straddled him, the gentle curls of the steam off the hot coffee between them. "Only one of us married a cop, and it wasn't me, Sergeant Bradford."
There were several seconds of silence between them, and Lucy started to worry that she had hit a sensitive topic. When Tim responded, he spoke quietly.
"I'd like to marry another one someday." Tim took the coffee mug from her, and drank quietly, eyeing her carefully. She pursed her lips, holding in a smile. Lucy didn't say anything, but took another bite of toast before meeting his gaze.
"Is that so." Her tone had a singing quality to it, and he took another sip of coffee, regarding her amused expression before nodding.
"I think so. It seems a bit early for all that right now, but definitely promising."
"Is this a badge bunny fetish situation, or do you just have a type?" She took back the mug, taking a slow sip. He cracked an easy smile, amused. He watched her as her eyes drifted, taking inventory of the scars along his torso. Her fingers reached out to touch the faded scar from a gunshot wound on his left side.
"I've got a type." His voice had a low, raspy whisper quality to it, and Lucy suppressed a small smile, feeling heat in her chest. He shifted, sitting up straighter, wrapping one arm around her waist and holding her steady, while reaching up with his other, fingers tangling easily in her long, wild hair. He didn't look her in the eye right away, but when he spoke, he was calm, even, and assured. "Dedicated to the work. Brave. Stubborn. Highly intelligent." He drained the coffee cup, and set it down on the table beside them. "Empathetic, kind. Fiercely loving." His gaze flickered to hers, and he was pleased to see she had the faintest of blush in her cheeks. Pleased with the effect of his words, he continued.
"Loyal, affectionate. Supportive. Joyful. A well developed sense of humor."
"Did you just call me funny?" She teased, feigning shock, grinning. She leaned down and pressed a slow, deliberate kiss to his lips, causing him to shift her body in his lap, and pull her closely, her hips flush with his. He twisted his fingers into her hair at the nape of her neck, and she shuddered, letting out a soft groan.
Tim broke off their kiss, and splayed his fingers along her back, pulling her closer in a tight embrace. He buried his face in her collarbone, pressing a kiss to her exposed skin. She hugged him tightly, recognizing his need for contact, and security. One arm across his shoulders, the other cradling the back of his head. He could feel the feather light touch of her errant strands of hair over his shoulder and down his back, and he breathed her in deeply, taking in the scents of lavender shampoo and coffee and fresh laundry and her, here with him now, loving him for exactly who he is, talents and faults and all.
Lucy closed her eyes, feeling him breathe against her. He had held her this tight after resuscitating and rescuing her from her abduction, shielding her from the rest of the world, giving her space to settle, and center. He made her feel safe then, and she was overwhelmed with the same feeling now, sitting in his kitchen.
Four days ago, he had suggested that this thing between them, this deep connection surging with electricity, was worth the risk. Barely two days had passed from when they had stood in Grey’s office, alone together, and now, Lucy suspected they had both come to the same conclusion.
This thing between them was real, and it was permanent.
She dropped a slow, gentle kiss to his hair, messy and unkempt from sleep and other activities. It felt incredibly fast, to be so intimate and forward after what amounted to mere hours total of dating, but it also felt slow, as if they had been together for years, and had just now, this week, decided to flick the switch and turn on the romantic part of their relationship. It wasn’t different, it was just more, and Lucy loved it.
She loved him.
She felt his heart rate slow to a steady, even pace, and hers broke, thinking of how this man spent so many years in solitude when his love language had always been companionship, and physical touch. Vaguely, she wondered how she had gone so many years without this new development in their relationship. He had alluded to marrying her, less than a full 48 hours after asking her on a date, and she had felt warm excitement and contentment at his words, rather than panic and dread.
Tim’s grip tightened on her waist, pulling her from her thoughts.
"You ok?" She breathed beside his ear, and he nodded against her. She let the silence sit with them for a few minutes before speaking again. "What's more scandalous- a female rookie shacking up with her TO, or a male TO asking his female rookie out on a date?" She felt him break a crooked smile against her skin. "Like, who is sleeping with who, here, really?"
Tim pulled away, revealing a smug smirk that did nothing to hide the smile in his eyes. She was struck by how vulnerable he looked, just openly expressing his feelings and emotions on his features and with his words, like he had never had to build and maintain any emotional walls.
"No one’s a rookie here, Chen, and no one’s a TO, anymore either.”