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1.
The first time they hang out as friends is a few days after Lucy is no longer his rookie. Jackson, Nolan and Lucy decide to go to the bar and for whatever reason they invite their former TO’s. Angela and Nyla can’t go but Tim agrees. Lucy orders their drinks and brings them back to the table.
Jackson and Nolan are talking and Tim is sitting the booth silently watching the other men. He smiles slightly when Lucy puts the drink down in front of him.
“I’m surprised you agreed to come.” Lucy says taking a sip of her drink. Tim shrugs and plays with the label on his beer.
“I always stay in.” He says simply and Lucy snorts because if that ain’t the truth. Tim narrows his eyes at her but doesn’t say anything. Instead he takes a drink of his beer and sets it down on the table, wiping up the water on the table.
“How is it riding without me?” She asks him. Tim is silent as he once again plays with the label.
“Quiet.” He says and Lucy rolls her eyes at him. Typical Tim Bradford answer she thinks. “But I do miss you. Riding with you.” Lucy glances at her two friends who aren’t paying them any mind and moves closer to Tim.
There’s something about him that is like a magnet and it just draws her closer to him.
“What about you?” He asks his blue eyes vulnerable as he looks at her. “Do you miss me?” Yes. Lucy thinks but she’s not sure she can handle smug Tim right now. She bumps her thigh against his and he moves his hand down a little his finger ghosting her leg. And then they are touching her leg gently as he makes circles up and down her leg.
“Sometimes. But other times it’s nice not to have such a grumpy presence with me.” She says. He rolls his eyes at her. Maybe it’s the alcohol running through her but she leans into him her lips ghosting his skin ready to whisper. Of course I miss you. How can I not? When you literally made my life better?
But than Jackson is calling her name and she jumps back and turns to look at her friend. She hears Tim let out a loud breath. But she doesn’t look at him, she can still feel his fingers on her leg. She can feel his eyes on the back of her head so she moves farther away trying not to think about what could have just happened.
2.
The second time they hang out as just friends is a couple of weeks after Jackson dies. Tim has been watching Lucy all day and she just seems off. Not her usual self, so at the end of shift he takes her arm and leads her to his truck and tells her to get in.
“Tim! My car!” She says but Tim shakes his head.
“We can get it later. Right now we are taking a drive.” He says and Lucy sighs but doesn’t argue anymore as she shuts the door. Tim looks at her through the window for a second and then makes his way to the driver’s seat.
“Where are we going?” She asks him once he’s inside the truck. He looks over at her and she just looks exhausted.
“Somewhere I like to go to think.” He tells her. “To find peace.” Lucy opens her mouth to say something but she closes it and shakes her head. She drops her hands to her knees and digs her nails into them.
“Okay.” She says. He looks over at her a little concerned but he knows she will open up when she wants to.
He drives to Griffith park and up to the observatory. Lucy looks at him curiously.
“This is where you go?” She asks. He nods and climbs out of the truck and she follows suit. He leads her up the hill and to a little corner of the space. She pauses as she observes the scenery. It overlooks LA and beyond.
“It’s nice.” She says. He nods and motions her to come over to sit. She does and crosses her legs as she continues to look out on their city.
“It’s nice to be away from all the traffic.” Tim says. Lucy looks over at him.
“How did you discover this?” She asks. Tim looks over at her and remembers the first time he drove up here and parked. He was so angry at the world. At the universe for giving him his dad. For making Isabel addicted to drugs. He just wanted some peace. And he found it. And then a few days later, Lucy was taken by Caleb. He came up here after she was found and he had thought about how close he was to losing her.
“I just drove.” He says. “And parked and then walked around and found this little corner away from everything.” Lucy nods and turns back to the city, her shoulders slumped a little.
“I miss him.” She says quietly. Tim moves closer to her, he reaches out to put his hand on her back but then pulls back a little.
“I know.” He says. He doesn’t need to ask who she is talking about. “I thought you could use a little peace.”
She looks at him tears in her eyes and before he can think he gathers her in his arms holding her close to him. She buries her face into his chest and sniffs. He lays his chin on the top of her head and sighs. This feels so right.
He presses his lips to her head and she pulls back to look at him her hand reaching out to cup his face. He’s not sure what is happening but he does know he feels like she is the light leading him home.
He leans in and she does too and then.. there’s a buzz besides her and she jumps back. She turns away like she did at the bar last time they hung out and looks at her phone.
“Everything okay?” He asks. She nods and turns back to him.
“Tim.” She says quietly but he shakes his head at her and stands up offering her his hand. She takes it and he feels the electricity run through him from just that single touch.
“We will talk later.” He says and she nods.
He’s not even sure what they would talk about but at least he would have time to think about what just happened.
3.
The next time they hang out as just friend, they don’t talk about what happened at the observatory because it’s a whole group of them. It’s a random day in the middle of the week and Angela drags Lucy, Tim, Nyla and Nolan to the bar. Lucy is not even sure why she agreed. It had been a long shift and she just wanted to go home, get in her PJ’s and drink a glass of wine. She had almost said no but then she saw Tim nod his head when Angela asked him and like always she felt a pull towards him she couldn’t resist.
She sat down at the booth Tim was on her right and Nyla on her left. Nolan was across from her and next to Angela. Even he looked like he didn’t want to be here. She shifted her body towards Tim and he put his arm across the top of the booth.
“Hey.” He says when everyone else is distracted and she turns to look at him. “Did you even want to come tonight?” She shakes her head No and he grins at her.
“Me neither.” He says and she grins back looking at their friends who are talking amongst themselves. She moves closer to Tim and wiggles her eyebrows at him.
“What would you be doing if you weren’t here.” She asks. He looks at her and then his eyes move behind her. She turns to see the TV on with a football game.
“Typical.” She says bumping her knee against his. He rolls his eyes at her and bumps his knee back.
“And what would you being doing?” He asks. She licks her lips, eyes darting to his and she wonders what they would feel like against hers.
“Watching trash tv in my PJ’s and drinking wine.” She answers. His eyes light up and he reaches over to tuck some hair behind her ear. She freezes and he does too but then he trails his fingers down her face.
“Typical.” He says. Lucy sticks her tongue out at him, feeling all sorts of things but she can’t pinpoint just one. She looks at him and opens her mouth to say something but Angela voice cuts her off before she can.
“Do you guys want another drink?” She calls out. Lucy turns away from Tim reluctantly.
“Sure.” She says shakily.
Angela nods and heads off towards the bar. Lucy doesn’t look at Tim for the rest of the night.
4.
The fourth time they hang out as just friends is at Nyla’s wedding after they danced. They both sit down in some chairs and Tim smiles as he studies Lucy. She absolutely glows in the light and he always wants to see her this way. She’s always beautiful but tonight she’s happy too.
H e thinks back to last time they hung out at the bar and it felt like they were about to do something but didn’t.
He had so much to say to her, stuff he didn’t really understand himself. But he felt something for Lucy that was so strong it kept pulling him towards her. But she is in a relationship and even if it kills him he knows he can’t be that guy.
Lucy taps his knee and he turns to look at her. “You are a good dancer Bradford.” She says. “Didn’t know you had it in you.” She smiles at him teasingly and Tim relishes in her smile. He loves her smile.
“You would be surprised at my hidden talents.” He says and Lucy laughs happily. She taps his knee again as if that’s just something they do. He looks up at her and her eyes are sparkling even in the dark.
“Thank you.” She says softly. “For always seeing the best in me.” Tim looks at her and he’s not quite sure what to say. He knows there has been a shift in their relationship and even if neither of them wants to admit it, there’s something more there. Something that is keeping them tethered together.
“Always.” He says fiercely. “Like I said earlier Lucy, you deserve to be recognized.” He moves closer to her and she rests her elbows on his knees and looks up at him.
“Tim.. I.. there’s something I need to tell you…” She says. Her voice breaks a little and she leans forward more. But before she can say anything else her phone buzzes and she leans back to get it but she doesn’t go far. She looks at the screen and sighs loudly.
“What’s wrong?” He asks. She looks at him a little nervously and takes a deep breath.
“I broke up with Chris and he wants to get back together.” She says and then quickly adds when she sees the look on his face. “I don’t want to but he won’t stop bothering me.” Tim takes a deep breath and he has to literally contain himself from cursing Chris out.
“Is that what you wanted to tell me?” He asks but Lucy shakes her head.
“No. I—” She says. Her phone buzzes again and she jumps up. “I will be right back.” Tim nods stiffly as he watches her go. Cursing Chris in his head as much as possible, he’s not sure what just happened but he is sure that it would have continued if Chris hadn’t interrupted. He just needs to tell her how he feels.
5.
The next time they hang out as just friends is a few days after he gets out of the hospital after his surgery. She comes over to his house, and brings take out and she curls up on the couch while he sits next to her. Lucy had insisted on coming over, she didn’t want him moving around and she just wanted to be near him. It didn’t matter where as long as he was there. They were finally getting back on track after Vegas and now that Lucy knew what his lips felt like against hers she wanted more. And even if it was awkward at first, they found a way to work through it.
She watches as he eats and she bites her lip from reaching out and cupping his face in her hands and pulling him towards her.
He had on a shirt and sweats on and when he stood up the sweats hung a little low on his waist and Lucy mouth was watering.
He glances over at her curiously, and she moves closer to him. And he reaches out to pull her into his side. She cuddles into him without thinking.
“Thank you.” He says softly as he only wanted her to hear even thought there was no one else in the room. “For coming over and being my friend.” Lucy’s heart drops at the word friend and she hates that she feels like she’s about to cry.
They were friends and Lucy couldn’t be happier about that but there was a big part of her that wanted more and she thought maybe Tim felt the same way.
“You think we are friends?” Lucy teases him and he rolls his eyes at her as he taps her thigh once.
“Of course we are friends. Who else would annoy me on a daily basis?” Tim teases back and Lucy bursts out laughing as he starts tickling her. She giggles and gasps and then suddenly she’s in his lap and his forehead is against hers.
“Lucy?” He says softly. “Why does this always happen when we hang out?”
She shrugs and climbs off his lap because this definition isn’t what friends do. She starts to scoot to the end of the sofa but Tim pulls her back.
“I didn’t say it was a bad thing.” He whispers. She swallows hard as she studies him and his handsome face and wonders how they haven’t given into the sparks they both have been feeling. Lucy is sure at this point Tim feels it too.
“So what should we do about it?” She asks. He tucks a piece of hair behind her ear and smiles at her.
“Let’s talk about it.” He says. “Let’s see where it goes.” Lucy nods and combs a shaking hand through his hair.
“So you definitely feel something?” She asks. Tim nods at her and gives her a once over before he’s pulling her closer.
“Yes. And I have for awhile.” He says confidently. She doesn’t move just continues to look at him.
“I can’t lose you Tim.” She says in almost a whisper. “You are the most important person in my life.”
Tim swallows this time but he looks at her his eyes sparkling, his voice still confident. “It’s worth it to try. You are worth it.” He pauses. “Do you want to get dinner sometime?”
“Yes!” Says Lucy quickly and Tim’s face breaks out into a soft almost boyish smile. “Yes I would love to.”
“Yeah?” He says and he reaches out to squeeze her hand. “Then it’s a date Lucy.”
Lucy can’t help but giggle a little as Tim squeezes her hand. At least she knows what she’s feeling now and that Tim feels the exact same way.
+1
The next time they hang out it’s not as friends but as more. It’s their first date and Tim picks her up and she takes his hand as they go down to his truck. He opens up the door for her and as hard as it is not to lean in to kiss her he doesn’t because he’s saving that for later. When he slides into the driver’s seat, he reaches over and grabs her hand squeezes but doesn’t let go. He feels a sort of electric charge go through him, one only Lucy can make him feel.
Tim pulls up to the restaurant and she meets him in front of his truck as he takes her hand again and leads her to the restaurant.
The dinner is nice and they chat quietly. She is smiling the entire time and Tim wants nothing more than to bask in her smile.
“I’m glad we did this.” She says as they are waiting for the check. “It was nice.” Tim reaches and grabs her hands.
“I’m glad we did too.” He says and she grins bouncing in her seat a little. She’s absolutely glowing and beautiful even in the dimly lit restaurant. And because he feels like he can now. He brings her hand up and kisses it gently.
She blushes a little bit but it just makes her more beautiful and he’s not sure he will ever get used to call Lucy his. Because he can confidently say she is his. She has his heart fully and completely.
The waiter brings the check and they argue over who is going to pay, Tim wins of course and when they get up to leave his hand slips a little further down her back. He leads her to his truck and before he knows it she’s pulling him to her. It’s a quick movement that almost has him stumbling but he catches himself and he kisses her. He cups her face and backs her into the side of his truck. She kisses him back softly at first and then she lets go.
He pulls back for a moment, holding her to him and presses his forehead against hers.
“You have no idea how long I have wanted to do that.” He mutters. She grins at him and kisses him again.
And it’s worth it. All the feelings, the heart breaks, the sadness, the stubbornness it all led to this moment and Tim couldn’t think of anything better.
This was the start of something beautiful and perfect and right.