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"Genny, I'm not just gonna invite her to do Christmas stuff with the boys tonight. What do you mean why?"
Lucy isn't quite sure what wakes her up first between the bits and pieces of a phone conversation Tim is having on the other side of his bedroom door and Kojo's snoring. She blinks her eyes open and turns her head to check the time on Tim's alarm clock.
8:01 AM
She already knows Tim has been up for a couple of hours. His routine now becoming a commonplace part of her life, his creature comforts now entwined with her own. His pajamas are folded up neatly on the ottoman at the foot of his bed, a towel from his morning shower hangs out of the laundry hamper, and Kojo is still in his harness from their morning run, commandeering Tim's spot on the mattress, his snout rested against his pillow.
"Good morning, Bubba."
The dog doesn't budge one bit as Lucy wraps her arms around him and buries her nose against the side of his face. She listens as the sound of Tim's footsteps draw closer to the door, his voice clearer.
"The boys have only met her twice so don't try and use them to get your way because I know it's bullshit. I'm sure she has plans for Christmas Eve already."
Him. She has plans with him. They were going to spend a slow morning in bed, sipping coffee and making out before dragging themselves to the living room for a small gift exchange and Christmas movies. She'd promised to watch It's A Wonderful Life with him if he would watch Love Actually with her. Genny can't know that though. No one can.
The doorknob on his bedroom door jiggles and twists. Lucy smiles into Kojo's fur.
"I don't think you are supposed to be up here," she whispers, as if she's conspiring with the dog to keep him out of trouble. She nudges him but Kojo makes no effort to move.
"Genny, you are not going to text Lucy and ask her yourself. Stop, no, that's ridiculous."
Lucy raises her eyebrows at him curiously when he finally appears in the doorway, a coffee mug in hand, a stress line between his furrowed brows, and his phone pressed between his shoulder and ear. He glances between Lucy and Kojo, but only manages to roll his eyes at the pair before carrying on with his conversation. "Genny-"
The call ends abruptly, along with the argument. Tim tilts his head back and lets out a groan, Kojo lets out a huff in commiseration and Lucy laughs at her grouchy boys.
"We have a problem." Right on cue Lucy's phone buzzes on the nightstand. Tim glares at it as if it's personally offended him. He jabs a finger in the air towards it. "Don't answer that."
"Tim," she giggles and rolls back to her side of the bed to grab it, "you're being ridiculous! You don't even know that it's her."
Footsteps patter against the hardwood floor and the mattress dips before she can even manage to get her screen unlocked. Two things then happen all at once. Kojo jumps off the mattress, sensing impending chaos, and Tim crawls on, straddling her waist then pulling her with him as he lands on his side of the mattress. Lucy shrieks out his name when she lands against his chest, her phone abandoned by her pillow and the coffee mug Tim had in his hand sitting on the nightstand.
"You're an idiot," she protests, smacking his shoulder. He grabs her hand with his own, holding it hostage before pulling it to his smirking mouth. "Was that really necessary?"
"Necessary? No." He kisses her palm then rests their hands against his chest. A satisfied grin crawls it's way up his cheeks. "Fun? Yes."
Lucy rolls her eyes, and pretzels her leg around his, tucking her foot underneath his calve. "Why are you so worked up with Genny anyway?"
He sighs. "She called to see if I had plans tonight." Lucy then notices as storm clouds pass through his gaze. His body tenses beneath her. "The boys just got back yesterday from their trip to Rob's and I guess the readjustment has been rough. She's trying to pull out all of the stops to try and make it a good Christmas Eve for them."
Lucy hums affirmatively and presses a kiss against his pec. His fingers comb through her tangled morning hair. "We should go."
"Lucy."
"Tim."
"I tried telling her that I have plans but I couldn't exactly tell her what I was doing, and then she mentioned all of the shit with Rob and-"
"Hey," she interrupts, bringing her hand up to rest against his cheek. He softens under her comforting gaze and melts into her touch. "We can still do what we had planned today and then go see them tonight. Genny needs you, the boys need you, and I know that you want to be there."
"But what about all of this?" He waves his hand at their intertwined bodies. "I thought we were keeping this to ourselves "
"We are," she confirms, kissing him underneath his jaw, "we still can."
He huffs, and pulls her closer. She smiles up at him. "I don't really want to hold myself back from you all night."
"Oh," she smirks, dragging a lone finger slowly down his chest. Her mind conjures up an evening of hidden touches and ways to sneak around. "Don't you know that keeping secrets can be fun?"
He touches her on the car ride over to Genny's like he may not ever get to touch her again. His hand is securely wrapped around her thigh, his thumb tracing circles into the fabric of her tights. Every so often she feels his palm drift up further, his fingers eventually brushing the hem of her denim skirt. She's about ready to order him to pull over to the side of the road and straddle him in the driver's seat when they pull into the driveway of a quaint craftsman style cottage, warm yellow Christmas lights adorning the posts on the porch and the edge of the roof.
"This is so cute," Lucy grins, squeezing Tim's hand. He squeezes her thigh in return. "Did she do all of this?"
Tim peers out the front windshield. "Uh, I believe she said Nolan came over and helped her get them up."
"Nolan?" Lucy questions, glancing his way with a brow raised in question. "I didn't realize they were friends."
Tim shrugs it off as if he doesn't want to think about it too much. He removes his hand from her thigh to take the keys out of the ignition, dimming the cab. "I don't know if they are friends necessarily. He helped with Tom's house and did some repair work at Genny's before they moved in."
"Huh. That's nice of him."
"Eh. Let's not give him too much credit."
"Tim," she protests with a laugh, pushing at his shoulder. "Be nice."
Tim responds by pulling her in over the console, laughter on his breath. He threads his fingers through her hair and kisses her thoroughly on the mouth. "I am perfectly nice."
Lucy rolls her eyes but kisses him again for good measure. "We should probably go inside before they come out here looking for us."
"Do we need to have rules for this?"
"Rules?"
They are at the front door now, not having yet knocked or rung the doorbell. Lucy glances back at him. Tim's bouncing nervously on the balls of his feet, his smooth confidence from the cab of his truck gone.
"I mean, if we are keeping this a secret--" he places his hands on her forearms and gives her a small shake-- "I feel like we need to put some rules or boundaries in place."
"Okay," she drags the word out. Tim let's out a huff of frustration, and Lucy turns to face him. She realizes she's being brave by placing a comforting hand against his cheek, knowing anyone could open the door at any time, exposing them, but she does it anyway. And just as she suspects, it instantly grounds him. "We have been friends longer than we have been in a relationship. We know how to do this, Tim. Less touching and no kissing."
Suddenly he's pouting. "I thought you said keeping secrets was fun."
Her hand drifts from his cheek to rest against his chest. She tucks her fingers under the collar of his shirt, and bites down on her bottom lip. "Well it can be, but rules and boundaries don't exactly mix with fun."
Tim's eyes darken underneath the glow of the Christmas lights, and he reaches over her shoulder to ring the doorbell.
"God, we are so screwed."
"Uncle Tim!"
Tyler's the one that opens the front door to let them in, a cacophony of noises going off in the background. There's a kettle on the stove whistling, a TV blaring Elf in the background, their cat Oscar knocking Christmas decorations off the coffee table, and Genny yelling at Graham to take his toys to his room. It's far from peaceful, but Lucy can't help but smile as she takes it all in. It reminds her of her childhood and holidays spent with her cousins up in Northern California.
Maybe she'll give them a call soon.
"I'm serious, Graham! Get your toys cleaned up or Santa is going to start reconsidering whether or not you need more of them."
"Fine!"
The sound of toys aggressively being added to a storage bin contribute to the rest of the background noise as Genny turns the corner into the entryway, wide eyed with an overwhelmed smile.
"Ty, go take the kettle off the stove for me please." She gently tugs on the kid's sleeve and drops a kiss to the side of his head. The child grumbles and wipes it off with the back of his hand as he goes. "Hi! Sorry about all that!"
Lucy waves it off as Tim shrugs it off, perfectly in sync.
"No worries at all! Seriously. We're just glad to be here."
We're. Lucy wants to bite her tongue the moment it slips out of her mouth. Genny doesn't seem to pick up on it, but Tim does, pinching her on the elbow. She reaches back to jab him in the side with it before pulling Genny into a hug.
"It's so good to see you again! How have you been?"
Genny whisks her away, talking as she goes, leaving Tim in the entry way grouching about being chopped liver until Tyler comes to retrieve him to show him the bat and glove his dad got him for Christmas.
It doesn't come as a surprise to Tim that Lucy manages to have both of his nephews wrapped around her finger in no time at all. Given how prickly he was when he first met her, he thinks it must have been record timing for how quickly she widdled away at his walls. She's magic really. It's just irritating that he has to suppress just how fond he is of of that magic while watching it unfold in real time.
Within ten minutes of stepping through the front door, she's on the couch with a mug of hot chocolate listening to Graham recite all of his favorite lines from Elf while also holding a conversation with Genny. She's then playing catch with Tyler in the backyard, helping him break in his new glove. Genny knowingly watches Tim as Tim watches Lucy, and he knows he probably looks like a complete fool for her, but he's trying not to let it show.
This whole 'secrets are fun' thing is turning out to be a joke until Lucy sits down next to him at dinner time. He can tell just by the way she's looking at him when she approaches that she's up to no good.
"Hi," she says softly, bumping against his shoulder. Genny and the boys are still in the kitchen grabbing their pizza and drinks, and they are finally alone and out of sight for the briefest moment. "I've missed you."
"I've missed you too." He leans towards her because, really, he can't help it. She gazes up at him through her lashes, and he drags his thumb across her lower lip. Every part of him wants to kiss her but it's too risky. "This is torture. You know that right?"
She has the audacity to look smug as footsteps sound close behind them, forcing them apart. Graham comes bounding through the dining room loud and clear, the rest of the crew trailing behind him.
"No fair! I wanted to sit next to Lucy!"
Tyler mutters something under his breath about his younger brother as he takes the chair in front of Tim, and Genny nudges Graham into the chair in front of Lucy while she takes a seat at the head.
"Look! You get to sit in front of me. That's a better spot anyway," she tells him, like she's trying to convince him that he's won a trophy and honestly, Tim would be convinced. "You can talk to me all you want."
"Don't tell him that," Tyler snorts.
"Tyler," Genny warns, stopping him in his tracks with just a single look. The kid holds his hands up in surrender as Graham begins to chatter about what he asked for for Christmas.
It was funny really. Graham reminded him a lot of Genny as a child. His brain ran a mile a minute and you couldn't keep him quiet for anything.
"Graham, eat your pizza, bud," Genny has to remind him thirty minutes into their meal time, just like mom had to do with her when she was a child. Everyone else's plates are cleared and he's only managed a couple of bites of his first slice.
Lucy glances over at Tim with an unassuming smile, resting her chin in her hand. He smiles back and something flickers in her eyes that's akin to what he saw when she entered the dining room and when he almost kissed her just moments ago before everyone interrupted. He almost jumps when he feels her hand run slowly down his thigh and back up again twice before finally and thankfully stopping at his knee, her nails gently scratching at the denim there.
God, if he isn't a freakin' live wire. Heat flushes through him and he scans the table in a panic to make sure Genny isn't paying attention.
"Uncle Tim," Tyler chirps while Tim's distracted. "Hey, uncle Tim!"
"Yeah," he croaks out because he's pathetic. In his peripheral he can see Lucy roll her lips between her teeth to keep from laughing and Genny glance at him curiously. He has to focus. "What's up, bud?"
"Can we play Uno after dinner?"
"Oh, I love Uno," Lucy beams as if she's the poster child of innocence.
"Yeah," Tim manages, and an idea for a brief escape with Lucy comes to him. He reaches down and folds his hand over hers, interlocking their fingers. "Uno sounds great. Why don't Lucy and I clean up the kitchen while you finish watching Elf with your mom and then we will play Uno."
"Sweet!" Graham cheers, and both boys shuffle out of the dining room leaving just the two of them and Genny.
"You really don't have to..." his sister begins to protest, gathering her own plate and cup. Tim wastes no time in rising from his chair, and offering his hand out for her dishes. Genny hesitates, and Lucy cuts in.
"Seriously Genny, go spend time with your boys. We'll worry about the rest."
It doesn't take long for her to give in, and Tim sends up a silent prayer.
"Fine," she relents with a small smile, passing everything over to Tim. He places the plate on top of his own, and stacks one cup inside the other. "Thank you, guys."
Once Genny's out of the room, Tim feels a pair of knowing eyes on him.
"I know what you're doing." He glances up at Lucy, trying to play it cool, but she's on the other side of the table collecting dishes, perceiving his every move. "Also, you're terrible at being inconspicuous."
"Am not," he argues even though he knows she's right. If anyone blows their cover, it will be him.
Lucy picks up the last bits left on the table and starts making her way towards the kitchen. Tim doesn't miss the extra emphasis she puts in the sway of her hips as he follows or the all knowing-smirk she gives him when she chances a glance at him over her shoulder. Teasing him. Torturing him.
"You're evil," he tells her, mouth against her ear as he locks in behind her at the sink. He brackets her in, his front flush against her back, one arm wrapped around her torso and the hand of the other gripping the porcelain on the farmhouse sink. She switches the faucet on, proceeding as normal, but the goosebumps on her arms and the way her neck flushes at his breath on her ear gives her away. She's just as affected by him as he is by her.
"This is not a very efficient method of doing the dishes," she tells him.Tim can't help but laugh a little, and she laughs with him, turning around in his arms. Her hands are now covered in suds and it takes her a moment to figure out what to do with them until Tim grabs the closest dishtowel in reach and passes it over to her. "Thank you," she smiles.
Scheming and sexy one moment. Cute and gracious the next.
Tim shakes his head at her. "You drive me crazy, you know that, right?"
Like a switch being flipped again, her eyes flash and her smile turns into a smirk as she rakes her eyes over his body and tosses the towel back onto the counter.
"Oh--" her arms snake around his waist--"I am very aware." She pulls her bottom lip between her teeth and Tim lets out a small groan. "Question is, are you going to do something about it?"
In one swift movement, his hands are in her hair and he has her turned around and pressed against the cabinets on the other side of the small kitchen. The mouth that he's wanted to kiss all night is now against his own, needy and wanting and Tim is sure that there is nothing quite like giving to go with the spirit of the season.
"Shit, Tim," she laughs breathlessly in his ear when he moves from her mouth to her jawline and down the column of her neck. She finds the hem of his shirt and sneaks both hands underneath, feeling the muscle and taut skin beneath her hands. Her nails scratch gently at the skin, the same movement that they made against his knee at the dinner table and his hands roam down to her backside as his mouth makes his way back up to hers. He squeezes and she gasps.
"We are gonna get caught," she manages through a shaky breath, and nips at his lower lip with her teeth.
And he's about to ignore her and say to hell with it all when a crash from the living room pulls them back to reality and Genny curses at Oscar for knocking over a flower vase.
"Dammit," Tim mutters, going in for one last kiss against Lucy's swollen mouth before tearing himself away from her. He makes a bee line for the sink and flips on the faucet hoping he can hide against it as Genny's footsteps announce her impending entrance. Lucy stands there dazed for half a second before she utters out something about finding the bathroom.
"Is Lucy okay," Genny asks, pointing a thumb at the hallway Lucy just dissapeared down, "I just ran into her on my way to the kitchen. She seemed a little flushed."
He can't help but notice the suggestive tone Genny takes but his brain isn't back to regularly scheduled programming and he knows he himself is too flushed to be able to fight it.
"Uh yeah," he replies dumbly instead, avoiding her gaze as she opens the drawer next to him to grab a towel. "She's good!"
Really damn good.
Tim's phone buzzes just as Genny finally walks out of the kitchen.
Lucy: You're taking me home after this to finish what you started.
Tim: What I started? I think you are misremembering that. That was all you.
Lucy: Not my problem you are so easy.
Tim groans and picks up a plate. Grateful that cleaning the kitchen gives him something else to focus on until the movie eventually finishes, the leftovers find a spot in the fridge, and they all find themselves back at the table for the promised round of Uno. Tim feels like it could be dangerous taking a seat next to Lucy again, but he takes his chances anyway.
"Hi." Lucy turns her head and smiles at him, distracting him as Genny restates the rules and answers Graham's many questions. Her hair is back in order, her cheeks only tinted with her blush now, but her lips are still a little swollen, her lipstick long gone and replaced by a gloss that she applied during her trip to the bathroom.
"Hi," he responds, and pretends to peak over her shoulder to look at her hand of cards.
She sends him her best glare and pulls her cards close to her chest. "Don't be a cheater."
"Who me? I'd never."
"Uh-huh." One hand slips below the table and in between their chairs. Tim glances down at it and then back up at her. She challenges him with her eyes and holds her pinky out. He latches on to it with his. "I'm taking you down."
He raises his brows and stretches his mouth into an amused upside down U. "Is that a threat?"
"No," she responds confidently, straightening in her chair, her pinky still latched to his. She gives it a squeeze. "That's a promise."
And the thing with Lucy is that she doesn't break her pinky promises. Tim knows that, but he's still a pretty sore loser after being dealt two draw 4's from her hand and then watching her celebrate a win.
"Told you so," she teases as Genny reshuffles the cards for another round. He wrinkles her nose at her in displeasure and decides to sit the next round out to lick his wounds and hold her hand underneath the table when she lets him.
"You love her, don't you?" Genny asks him as they both watch Lucy read The Polar Express to the boys in front of the Christmas tree--lively expressions, voices, and sound effects included. Tim feels his heart jump to his throat at both the site of Lucy and the question from Genny. He nervously swallows it down.
"Uh, n-no," he stutters, unconvincing. Genny smiles knowingly at him.
Lucy's right. He's terrible at being inconspicuous. Especially when it comes to her.
"Tim." His name comes out of Genny's mouth but he hears it for what it is: 'come on. Seriously.'
He braves a glance at his sister, and sighs. He won't give her the win of a verbal confirmation, but his eyes say everything he can't.
It seems they have been talking all night.
"It's a good thing," Genny reassures, patting him on the chest, smiling like the cat finally caught the canary. "She's good for you."
She is. She always has been. And maybe that's why he doesn't hide how he feels about her very well. He's loved her for a long time, and it hasn't always looked like it does now, but it's always been second nature. Easy as breathing. A part of him for as long as he can remember.
"She knows doesn't she?" Lucy questions him later in the confines of his truck.
Tim smiles as he backs out of the driveway, one hand on the steering wheel, the other intertwined with hers. "Yeah," he tells her, "she knows."
Lucy's camera roll during their secret dating era:
