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Hmm…Celina thought…That sweater was new.
The navy-blue sweater had been tossed over one of the kitchen stools. She picked it up and held it open. It hadn’t been there last night. And it definitely wasn’t hers. But it didn’t look like Lucy’s. In fact…it looked like a man’s sweater. Crew-neck, left breast-pocket, seams that appeared too broad to be for a woman. But it wasn’t Rodges. At least she didn’t think it was his. It was hard to keep track of what had been left behind.
“Oh!” she heard from behind the sweater curtain in front of her. It was whisked away by Lucy’s quick hands. “Sorry! I got distracted while I was getting dressed.”
Celina wasn’t buying it for one bit. There was an odd flicker in Lucy’s eyes that she could’ve sworn was almost…possessive? But it was so quick she wasn’t sure if it was her imagination.
“All good, I just wasn’t sure if Rodge left it here.”
Lucy hummed with a little smile, ducking her head apologetically. “No. No it’s mine. Sorry I know I’m usually better about leaving things out here.”
“No biggie. This was your place first after all.” Celina smiled gently, circling the island to get to the coffee pot.
“That doesn’t matter…we set ground rules together. I’ll just—” she raised the garment slightly, indicating she was going to put it away. Celina simply nodded as Lucy turned to head back into her room. But just as Celina was about to return to the counter, she caught a glimpse of Lucy raising the garment to her nose, smiling softly against the fabric. Her eyes fluttered closed for a moment before she hugged it to her chest and disappeared into her bedroom.
A few days went by, and Celina had forgotten about the sweater. She and Lucy had begun driving separately to and from work, Lucy heading in slightly earlier than her these days. She was taking her Sergeant preparations seriously. Studying in the evenings, getting a jump start on paperwork in the mornings. Though Celina was pretty certain it was also to get some face time with a certain Sergeant before their shifts took them in different directions.
But the evening before their day off, she came home to find Lucy curled up on the couch, a steaming mug of tea in her hands, wearing the sweater. It was clearly too big for her, yet she somehow made it look intentional. She had on a pair of green sweatpants—also way too big given the way they were rolled up at the ankles—and thick grey socks. Her hair was piled into a messy bun on top of her head, and a reality cooking show played on the screen.
“Hey! What are you watching?” Celina called out as she stepped into the apartment, setting her bag down by the entry bench with a soft thud. Lucy glanced up from her spot on the sofa.
“Mmm.” She hummed swallowing a sip of her tea before answering. “Hey! Oh…um just…catching up on Top Chef.” Just then Lucy’s phone vibrated on the armrest beside her. She picked it up instantly, swiping to read the message. A grin came over her face, slow and unguarded, as she set her tea aside to type out a response, bottom lip caught slight between her teeth.
“I didn’t know you liked cooking competition shows.” Celina said amusedly, though her words didn’t seem to register immediately.
Lucy didn’t answer right away, still distracted until her message was sent and she finally looked up. “Huh? Oh! Yeah. I only watch Top Chef. I had stopped for a while, but I got back into it.” Her voice trailed off a bit at the end, a faint blush on her cheeks.
Celina looked at her curiously. It didn’t seem like something to be embarrassed about. Shrugging it off, she headed further into the kitchen, pulling a container of leftover pasta from the refrigerator.
“You ready for the game?” She asked as she grabbed a bowl from the shelf and a fork from the drawer.
Lucy didn’t answer immediately, her eyes glued to her phone again, another small smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. Her thumbs moved quickly across the screen as she focused on her message, but fortunately, Celina’s question did register this time.
“Oh of course. We lost the last five years because they kept making Wrigley and Webb Team Captain’s for some reason.” She rolled her eyes. “We ended up having to work late the first few years I was on the force. And the one time Tim and I played? We did most of the work to score the only four touchdowns of the game.”
“Wow, I didn’t realize you got into it.” Celina said, genuinely surprised as she placed her bowl in the microwave drawer and setting the timer.
“Mmhmm…riding with Tim for so long, I ended up getting into football a bit. Not actually watching the games, but I followed the stats, and I always watched highlights. Then when we started dating I ended up watching the games with him.”
“Wow…every week? All day?” That did not sound appealing to Celina in the slightest and Lucy laughed at her horrified tone.
“Not every week,” Lucy shrugged, a secret smile on her face. “If one of us found something else we really wanted to do, he’d record the games. But anyway, it drove him nuts that we’ve lost the past few years.”
“I’m surprised they gave Captain to Wrigley and Webb. No offense to those guys, they’re perfectly nice…but they don’t command a room like Tim does.”
A glint came to her eye, but Lucy didn’t acknowledge her comment. “Last year Hinds did it. He was pretty good, but one of his kids ran out mid-game and handed the FD pick-six. Tim was about to lose his shit.”
“Oh yeah, I remember that. I think Tim actually pouted.” Celina chuckled as the microwave pinged and she pulled her bowl out, placing it on the counter.
“He sulked for a week.” Lucy said, grinning at the memory. “Grey did too. Then he called him and told him come hell or high water he was going to make him Team Captain the next year. And unless it was a life-or-death case, he’d better to hand it off and play.”
She picked up her tea again, warmth in her voice. “And now, he’s got Penn for a rookie, so the odds bode well for PD this year.”
Celina raised her brow, swirling her form through her pasta. “Do you think Miles will play? From what he’s told me…he’s really trying to put football behind him.”
Lucy shrugged. “If anyone can convince him to pick up the ball for a few hours…it’s Tim. But I guess we’ll see.”
The next morning Celina was up at out before Lucy, deciding to make a pastry run as a little treat for their shared day off. The little French bakery a few blocks away was known for their cinnamon rolls (Celina’s favorite) and Lucy loved to enjoy a pain au raisin with her morning coffee.
The weather was beautiful: warm sun, a gentle breeze, and just enough chill in the air for her light spring jacket. She took her time on the walk there, strolling leisurely down the streets, enjoying the rare calm that they’d sometimes get in their area before the day really began.
By the time she got back, Lucy was up, headphones in and setting down a pile of laundry to fold. But what made her do a double take, wasn’t that she was up and already…it was what she was wearing.
That same sweater.
Her makeup was done. A delicate gold necklace rested at her collarbone. She had jeans on.
This sweater was slowly becoming a uniform.
Celina’s eyes narrowed slightly as she set the pastries down. Again, she had the same thought as the first time she saw it…That’s definitely not a woman’s sweater.
And there was really only one person in Lucy’s life, who Celina could ever fathom her taking their clothes from…whose clothes she’d want to end up in.
Tim.
Celina hadn’t spent much time around them when they were dating, not really. Sure, their relationship was common knowledge, but they were almost professional to a fault. The couple only allowed themselves to let their guards down around those closest to them. And then when Celina was finally included with the whole crew for Nolan’s wedding, they were fighting the whole time, only making up while she was off getting herself kidnapped.
Things fell apart quickly after that. The next thing she knew, Tim had broken up with Lucy. No one ever explained why—not even Lucy, even after they started living together. But ironically that was when Celina realized how much they loved each other. She heard Lucy cry herself to sleep for weeks. She watched Tim move through the station around like a ghost of the Sergeant he used to be. It was, ironically, the most they actually revealed about their relationship.
Until now.
At some point, things turned a corner. She never heard the details—just started to notice small changes. A little more light in Lucy’s eyes. A little more calm in Tim’s voice. She could only assume Tim had said something to her because slowly they began to come back to life. Only…different.
Lucy was a bit wiser. A bit more grounded…maybe even a bit more serious. Tim, a bit softer, more expressive. It was almost as if through their separation they had grown the pieces of each other that were missing.
Then came the flirting.
At first, it was just little things—playful digs, lingering glances. But she caught on quickly. Each day they started interacting a bit more, until one day she watched Tim openly flirting with her as he took over for Grey as Watch Commander. Others could say what they wanted about the ‘friendly competition,’ but she definitely overheard Detectives Harper and Lopez talking about how a bet was so on brand for Tim and Lucy’s idea of foreplay.
Then the Gala happened.
Lucy had been beside herself that afternoon, tearing through her closet, muttering curses as shoes and dresses flew across the room. When Celina asked if she was okay, Lucy practically growled, “I have to look stupid hot tonight.”
And she did.
Celina had been prepared to go into full protective-friend mode when she saw Lucy standing across from Tim and a gorgeous redhead. But then Lucy hugged her. And she realized…it was Tim’s sister.
Tim Bradford had brought his sister to a Valentine’s Day gala.
That alone spoke volumes, both to Celina and to Lucy who had stood there stunned as Tim stared at her in awe, acknowledging how amazing she always looked.
Then Tim subdued a drunk partygoer in an insane takedown that—even Celina had to admit –was hot.
She didn’t see Lucy for the rest of the night.
Technically they were supposed to share the ‘Galentine’s’ suite. But Celina ended up going back to Ben’s room and did the walk of shame the next morning…only to find Lucy just getting in too. Purse on the bed, heels in hand, dress still on. They hadn’t said a word about it.
Since that day, it was as if something bloomed anew between the pair. They stood a little closer, eyes lingered a bit longer.
Then Lucy slipped out of the apartment in the middle of the night on April Fools Day.
When she saw her in the shop that next morning, Celina had never seen Lucy look quite like that. She was literally glowing. She was smiley. A bit more made up—similar to a few days after the gala. She denied it—vehemently. But it was clear to Celina.
Just as it was clear when she caught Lucy fixing her shirt coming out of the Metro Liaison office with Tim.
And it was clear when she saw the pair rushing out of the station at end of shift.
Tim and Lucy were well on their way to being back together.
In fact, if Lucy hadn’t been so adamant that nothing was going on, she would’ve been certain they were already back together.
But she couldn’t be certain about that. She only knew that something was going on between them. What Celina was certain about was that the sweater Lucy continuously wore these days…was Tim’s.
Electing not to comment—pretty much her M.O. these days—she started talking about the pastries, though Lucy didn’t even hear her because of her podcast. And a few moments later everything was forgotten about because suddenly Celina discovered there was a podcast that was about to talk about her sister.
The missing person’s case that had landed in Lucy and Celina’s laps had taken an emotional toll, especially on Celina. Everything hit far too close to home. But in the end, she had made peace with it. The sisters were reunited and Lucy had saved the baby. And Celina had confronted the relentless podcaster who wanted to exploit Celina’s own family trauma for entertainment. She’d walked away from it all with a strange sense of peace. Peace that she already thought she’d had.
So she went into the PD/FD football game ready to go and was riding a high that she hadn’t felt since Nolan announced that she was officially a P2. Not only had Mid Wilshire pulled out a win, but she had scored the game winning touchdown. With an assist from none other than Tim Bradford. It was exactly what she needed to take her mind off things.
She did wish Lucy had been up to celebrating with them afterwards, but she understood her absence. Lucy had wanted to stay home and decompress…recharge after she’d one again been forced to shoot someone. Celina couldn’t blame her. Still, she smirked to herself, as she pushed through the door into the bar, imagining her roommate curled up in that navy sweater.
Celina noticed the clear pattern. Lucy always made it a point to change out of it before leaving the house. And before they went to question Greta, Celina had caught Lucy raising it to her nose one last time—just as she did the first time—before she laid it gently on the bed, as if it was resting there for later.
“Hey there winner!” Aaron’s voice pulled her from her thoughts. He waved from a nearby table, where most of Mid Wilshire was gathered. The whole place cheered when they spotted her.
Grinning, Celina walked over to Aaron wrapping him into a tight hug. “Hey there stranger! What are you doing here!? I didn’t know you were coming.”
“I couldn’t resist. Not when PD wins for the first time in five years.” Aaron lifted his drink in congratulations. “That’s history. When Tim texted me I couldn’t believe it.”
“Wait,” she reeled back in surprise, “Tim told you to come?”
“Yeah. He tried to rope me in to playing, but I’m still working hard to try and get past everything that happened. It wasn’t a good idea to get involved in the game just yet. Gotta make a name for myself at NoHo first.”
“Hey, Thorsen! Glad you could make it to celebrate with your OG family.” A voice boomed from behind him.
Celina whirled around to see Tim standing a few feet inside the bar, freshly showered and changed. Despite being dubbed ‘Grumpy Cop’, the man seemed to know endless people—a testament to the big softy underneath the scowl. Somehow, he must have had an in at the field house and was able to get himself in to clean up before joining them.
“You know I wasn’t going to miss out on a chance to celebrate when Tim Bradford is Team Captain and scores a victory for the LAPD.” Aaron grinned.
Tim smirked back, “Yeah well, next year I expect you to have made enough of a name for yourself to come back and play with us. And the only thing I did was assemble the team. The rest was up to our few MVPs.” He nodded at Celina who beamed at the praise. Compliments from Tim Bradford weren’t given lightly. She was going to bask.
“Oh ho ho! You scored a touchdown! Go girl!” Aaron bumped her hip and Celina giggled.
“Alright on that note…” Tim turned towards the light, cupped his hands around his mouth, and shouted, “Drinks on me!” The bar erupted into cheers.
But Celina abruptly froze, mid-laugh and did a double take.
Because Tim had on a sweater.
Brushed wool knit. Crew neck. Left breast-pocket. Maroon.
It wasn’t navy, but the resemblance was unmistakable.
A mirror image of the one Lucy had worn like a second skin. Like it belonged to her.
And just like that, Celina’s suspicion wasn’t a suspicion anymore. It was a confirmation.
Her eyes went wide, as she watched the Sergeant swagger over to the bar, handing over his credit card. She saw him reach in his pocket pulling out his phone to check his messages. He gave a little lopsided smile, a rare genuine one that only a few people could pull from him.
Double confirmation.
“I knew it!” Celina blurted, practically vibrating with excitement.
“Knew what?” Aaron asked curiously.
“Yeah, champ.” A voice cut in, laced with suspicion, “Knew what?”
Celina and Aaron turned to see Angela and Nyla eyeing them curiously. Celina’s eyes went wide when she realized she’d spoken aloud.
“Uhhhh….nothing.” She deflected, eyes darting to Tim and back to the pair.
“Yeah, like that’s going to work.” Nyla said dryly, raising a skeptical brow. “You do recall we’re detectives? Don’t think we didn’t see you staring at Bradford when you made that little exclamation.”
Angela crossed her arms, popping her hip out. “And since that’s my best friend you’re talking about…and we’re pretty sure we know who else is included in whatever it is you know. You’re going to spill.”
Celina sighed, knowing she was caught, “Fine. Can I at least get a drink first?”
“We’ll be waiting.” Angela grinned hooking her arm through Aaron’s to find an empty booth.
Celina took a breath, turning back to the bar. Tim was still standing there on his phone wearing that smile. She shook her head smiling to herself, before making her way over to order. She wasn’t going to say anything to him. There were still hurdles that they had to climb in order to claim each other publicly.
But she could say something to Lucy.
And Angela most definitely was going to say something to Tim.
They both had vested interest in making sure their friends end up happy.
And they were happiest together.
The bartender handed over her drink and Celina took it with a cheerful nod, heading over to the table where the other three officers were seated. Tim had already gotten immersed in conversation with Grey, Webb and Penn.
“Alright.” Angela said eagerly as Celina sat down, “You’ve got your drink. Now, tell us what you know.”
“I—” Celina hesitated, drink halfway to her mouth. Was she really about to dish about everything she’d seen? It felt wrong to gossip about everything that had happened over past few weeks. It was theirs. Their business. At the end of the day whatever happened between them was not her news to share.
But then Nyla casually nodded toward the bar, her tone amused. “Does it have anything to do with the fact Lucy just walked in and suddenly she and Tim now look like they pick out their clothes together?”
All four turned to look. None other than Lucy had just slipped in the door, heading directly towards Tim, who was still talking with Penn.
And she was wearing the sweater.
Celina couldn’t help the laugh that burst out of her. “That’s exactly what I was talking about. She’s been wearing that sweater any time she was at home since April Fool’s day.” Celina gestured towards them, “Today only confirmed that it was Tim’s when I saw him wearing its twin today.”
They watched as Tim beamed down at Lucy, and she did the same back to him, almost leaning into his side just as his arm was about to come around her. The quickly realized their error and moved away slightly. It was a movement that if you didn’t know what to look for, you would’ve missed it. But this foursome knew.
Tim returned to his conversation with Penn, Lucy’s attention only half on the conversation. When the two finally noticed the matching sweaters, their faces shifted, from smiling, to stunned, to panic.
Tim muttered something to Penn, eyes darting around, before ducking towards the bathroom. Lucy turned her attention back to Penn, who eyed her curiously, but seemed entertained by his T.O. fluster.
“So…are those two back together?” Aaron asked uncertainly.
“No…not quite yet,” Celina replied. “Tim’s still in her chain of command.”
“Oh please,” Nyla dismissed with a wave of her hand. “That won’t last long. The Sergeant’s exam is in two weeks.”
“They’re fucking though.” Angela added with a smirk.
Celina choked on her drink. “How do you know that?”
Angela held up a hand and started ticking off fingers. “First, there was no way those two were going to stay away from each other once they were back on friendly terms. Second, they’re way too hot for each other—”
“That’s technically still the first,” Aaron cut in, earning a glare.
“Hush,” Angela said smoothly. “Third, Tim’s my best friend, I know what it looks like when he’s getting laid regularly.”
“That’s weird, and so not a thing,” Aaron said making a face.
“Ehh not really,” Celina added. “The morning of April Fools, Lucy was glowing. And it was not a normal glow. You can tell if you know what to look for.”
“Is there a fourth one?” Nyla asked amused.
Angela nodded. “Absolutely. Those two are like…two halves of one freaky ass whole. They’re the epitome of ‘you complete me,’ ‘meant to be,’ and all that cliché sappy crap that I usually hate.” Nyla and Aaron both snorted.
“I do agree with you there,” Celina said, “I won’t get into the ‘woo woo’ as you like to call it, but they mesh on a cosmic level.”
Aaron just shook his head, laughing at his found family. “I just find it comical that you figured all of this out because of a sweater.”
FIN