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After Tim got changed out after they won the game, he knew there was one place and one place only he needed to go. He had heard Celina talking with the girls that she was going to spend some time with her mom, leaving Lucy alone in the apartment for the night.
He decided to swing by home first, he wanted to pick up Kojo. He always brought a smile to Lucy’s face and after a day like today, that’s all Tim wanted.
Once he had Kojo and her favorite takeout in tow, he made the quick drive to her apartment. Parking in the spot that he had usually parked in, he got himself out and hooked Kojo up to his leash and grabbed the food before making their way up.
He had a brief moment of regret, wondering if maybe she was taking a bath or a nap. The last thing he wanted was to disrupt her. Before he could get too far into his head, Kojo let out a bark. He knew exactly where they were and Tim knew he wasn’t going to leave without seeing her.
So he knocked and waited. It took less than a minute for the sound of the door unlocking and for it to swing open.
“Hey, what are you doing here? Figured you’d be out celebrating with everyone.” Lucy asks, clearly shocked to see him.
“Well, the one person I want to celebrate with is right here.” He says honestly while shrugging.
Taken back a little bit, she blushes before noticing Kojo and the bag of takeout. “Hi boy! Oh I missed you so much.” She crouches down to give him all the pets.
Tim had moved inside of the apartment while the love fest was still going on in the entry way.
“You hungry?” He asks taking the sushi out of the takeout bag.
“Starving. I was just about to raid my empty cabinets, you saved the day.” She walks over to him, Kojo right on her heels.
“Well, I got plenty. Eat as much as you want.” He hands her order over, her favorite roll. She sat down at the island waiting for him to join her.
He noticed she was quiet and kind of picked around at her food, which definitely wasn’t like her with her favorite food.
“You okay?” He puts his fork down and turns his body to face hers.
“Yeah—“ she stops herself, “Honestly, I don’t know. I just can’t stop thinking about everything. That poor girl and her baby, she’s going to have so much trauma for so long. Then you have poor Celina who had the bandaged ripped right off of her again.”
“Luce,” he places his hand on her bicep, running his hand up and down. “You saved that babies life, you gave them both a future. A future they wouldn’t have had if it weren’t for you and Celina. You should be proud of yourself.” He gives her a soft smile, “because I am.”
She returns the smile before it quickly fades, “Thank you for saying that. I guess I’ve spent so much time being strong for everyone else, I haven’t allowed myself to feel anything.”
“And that’s okay, you can feel everything you need to now. I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere.” A piece of hair had come loose from her ponytail, he lifted his hand to tuck it behind her ear before moving to caress her cheek. He could feel her lean into his touch and he melted inside.
“I know, and that means everything.” She closes her eyes at his continued contact. He decides to take a risk and leans forward to kiss her forehead. He was expecting her to pull away but instead he got a big smile in return.
She reaches her hand up to grab his and intertwines their fingers. She was about to say something when she was interrupted by her stomach growling.
“I guess we should eat,” he jokes with a laugh. She playfully swats his arm before turning back in her chair so she can eat again.
“Seriously, thank you for this. I didn’t realize how much I need the company— your company,” she says in between bites.
“No where else I’d rather be,” he shrugs.
Once their dinner was finished and cleaned up, they moved to the couch. It was only big for the two of them, so Kojo laid at Lucy’s feet happy as ever.
They sat there, a small space between them but Tim knew what Lucy needed. Looking over at her, he saw her looking down, hesitation all over her face.
“Luce, what do you need?” His voice soft, knowing but wanting to respect her boundaries.
She picks her head up to look at him, “Can you hold me?— I know we’re not there yet but I just need to feel comfort, to feel safe, to feel you.”
“Of course, c’mere.” He scoots closer and opens his arms. She immediately falls into them and he wraps both of his arms around her, holding her close.
“I got you baby, I got you,” his voice is muffled by her hair, he doesn’t even know if she can hear it.
They sit there for what feels like hours, him just holding her when he notices she fell asleep. He couldn’t help but just watch her for a while and smile. He couldn’t stop thinking about what Angela said to him, vowing to himself that he would indeed say a prayer of gratitude every single night if and when he got her back.
After a few minutes, he carefully sat them up and repositioned his arms so he could carry her to bed. She didn’t wake but she did stir, trying to tuck herself even further into him which made his heart soar.
Once he got her in bed and covered up, he gave her another kiss on her forehead. It was then that she opened her eyes, “Stay?” Her voice was barely even a whisper, but he still heard her.
He’s never been able to say no to her and he certainly isn’t going to start now. Smiling again, he leaned back down to her, rubbing her cheek. “I’ll stay. Let me get Kojo situated and I’ll be right back.” She nods before drifting back to sleep.