Work Text:
If you love her… fight
The words he spoke to Nolan hours earlier echo in his mind. He’d been thinking about them since he said them. He’d been asking himself why he could so freely give advice he was afraid to take himself.
He was working at her pace, taking her cues, following her lead… but he wanted her to know what he wanted. Despite her response, good or bad, he wanted her to know. He owed her that.
The rumblings of nearby thunder pulled Tim from his thoughts. He was waiting for her in the same spot he had two years ago, when she sat next to him and they agreed to stop dancing around each other and take that leap together.
He can see her car in front of him and glances up at the station doors every time he hears them open. Finally, she comes out.
His palms are already sweaty and he can feel a slight tremor in his fingers. A deep breath gives him the courage he needs and he pushes to his feet, wiping his hands down his thighs as he rises.
She doesn’t see him initially, or she pretends not to, and makes a direct path to her car.
“Lucy, wait,” He calls as he comes up behind her.
She stops just short of her car and turns to him. She can see how nervous he is and it makes her nervous in return.
“I told Nolan today that if he loved Bailey he should fight for her, and it made me realise, even though I am trying to respect your boundaries and go where you give me permission to, you deserve to know where I’m at, what I want.” Another deep breath and a quick exhale. “I want you back, Lucy. And I know I have no right to say that, I know I’m the reason we’re not together….”
His heart compels him to take a step forward, just a little step.
Her eyes have gone wide and her brows furrowed and he can’t tell if she’s angry or upset, but she definitely wasn’t expecting him to say anything like that.
He shakes his head. “I want you, I want us, and if you still want me, too, then I will fight to get you back. Because I have never felt like this about anyone. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, and I know I have no right to say any of this but I want you to know where I am.”
For a moment, she only watches him, her eyes searching his, and he wonders if he’s ruined everything again. She glances down and shakes her head, then returns her gaze to him and her eyes are cold. His stomach drops. Has he said too much too soon, has he cornered her at the wrong moment, has he pushed too hard…
Tears begin to swell in her eyes as she lets out a deep breath. Her heart in her throat, her hands shaking, her head feeling impossibly hot again the cool night breeze.
“I do want you.”
Her words break through his spiral like a beacon of light. Much like he had when she accepted his invitation to dinner that first night, he releases a breath and adorns a relieved smile.
“Ok,” his hands come forward to take hers. “Then we do this.”
Lucy pulls away from his grip. “Tim…” she turns before her eyes can give her away.
“What?” The spell is broken, in time with another rumbling of thunder, and once again his stomach drops and his mind threatens to spiral. Without another thought, he steps forward and grabs her elbow to turn her back to him.
“Hey, Lucy–”
“I’m scared!”
Her tears fall freely and her voice trembles and ripples in her throat as she speaks, the emotion taking over. “I’m scared, Tim. I told you from the start this was the most important relationship in my life and I… I don’t want to get hurt again.”
He wants to tell her she won’t, he wants to tell her he’ll never hurt her again. But the words get caught in the way his throat constricts and all he can manage to do is brush his fingers against her arm and hold back his own tears.
Tim feels a drop of water hit his head, then another on his shoulder, he doesn’t care. He watches one hit Lucy but she doesn’t seem to notice.
“You just walked away! You just left! Here!” She gestures to the spot under her feet, becoming all too aware of where they were standing. “You just walked away, and I–”
She was interrupted by a sob in throat, the anger and pain she felt that night crashing back into her like a freight train. She felt breathless and scared, numb and broken.
She shook her head. “I can’t go through that again, Tim. I won’t.”
He nods and takes a breath, forcing his throat and voice to clear. “I know,” he takes her hands, “What I did, what I put you through, wasn’t fair and it’s something I will regret the rest of my life. I can’t take it back, but I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you. I am never leaving you again, ever. I promise.”
He tightens his grip on her hands, holding both of hers in between his. The rain is slowly picking up, but neither of them take notice.
“I am in love with you. You’re all I want, you’re all I’ve ever wanted.” Lucy watches as a tear slips from his eye then trails down his cheek, she can feel the way his hands tremble around hers. “I will fight for you, for us, every day–”
He’s interrupted when the sky opens above them and thick heavy rain pours down on the world around them.
They both look up with squinted eyes, then lock their gazes together. The sound overpowers their voices and Tim has to yell above it to be heard.
“Do you wanna get out of the rain?!”
Lucy, with her hair now wet and sticking to her face, shakes her head with a broad smile. “Keep going!”
Tim grins and cups her damp face. “Do you still want me!?”
She nods, “I’ve never not wanted you, Tim!”
His smile broadens and stretches from ear to ear. “Good. Because I am never going to walk away from you again. Never!” He shakes his head. “If you’ll have me back!?”
She nods again and swallows a sob down. “Yes!”
“Can I kiss you!?”
She grabs the back of his neck and pushes up on her toes. Their lips crash together. Wet with rain and warm with emotion. For a few wonderful moments they’re captivated in each other's embrace, lips devouring the other, hands secured on the others head, neck, and jaw.
It’s only when another rumble of thunder roars through that they break from each other.
“We should get out of the rain!” Tim shouts, his hands floating above her head in a feeble attempt to shield her from the falling drops.
She takes his over-shirt in her hands and tugs at the material. “Take me home, Tim.”
His hands fall to cup her jaw again and he leans down to kiss her again. He does. He takes her back to his house. A home he intends to make theirs together, forever.