Chapter Text
Tim Bradford was standing around in the bullpen, conversing with Angela, when he saw Kike Hernandez, entering the bullpen wearing a visitors badge, sporting a tan bomber jacket over a white henely,
“Isn’t that Kike Hernandez?” Angela asked,
“Yeah,” Tim spoke, a little starstruck, noticing the baseball player walking over, as Angela got called away by Nyla.
“I’m Kike,” the player spoke up,
“I know, I’m a fan,” Tim replied, “Tim Bradford,” introducing himself shaking his Kike’s hand,
“Always nice to meet a fan,” Kike said, as they began discussing the reason he was there in the first place, he was going to give a coaching session to the Mid-Wiltshire’s baseball team, in preparation for the stations game against the LAFD, as a favour, to the LAPD.
They began talking animatedly about baseball, Tim mentioning that he briefly coached his nephews little league team, deciding not to bring up that he did it with his ex, he didn’t want to get into that conversation.
“I’m just saying,” Tim said, voice excited, “I tried teaching my nephew’s little league team last year, and they just kept dropping the ball - literally”
Kike laughed, “Sounds about right, I mean at that age you’re lucky if they remember which base is first”
“Tell me about it! One of them, during training, ran to the third from home. Backwards”
As they talked, Angela and Nyla walked past with some files, giving Tim a look. Angela raised an eyebrow, but kept walking, for now.
Just then Lucy rounded the corner, staring at the paperwork in her hand walking over to the pair. She paused beside Tim, lifting her gaze.
“Tim, I need you to sign off on these arrest reports,” she said professionally, but both her voice and face failed her in that aspect, expression and voice softening at the mere sight of him.
Kike’s gaze drifted immediately, “Wow” he said, blinking with obvious interest, “I didn’t realise that the LAPD was hiring supermodels now”
Lucy blinked, clearly caught off guard, and smiled politely. “Well, we aim to exceed expectations”
Tim then stiffened. His hand dropped from his belt, to rest on his hip as he subtly shifted to stand closer to Lucy.
“Hey, man,” Tim said with a tone that was calm on the surface, but clearly only just. “Maybe you wanna take it easy?”
Kike blinked. “Oh. Wait - you’re…?
He then glanced between the two of them, as they glanced at each other, a longing look in both of their eyes, grinning awkwardly, “My bad. I didn’t realise she was your girl, or wife? I mean I don’t see rings but I know you can’t wear them on shift”
Lucy’s cheeks flushed immediately, “Oh-uh-actually, we’re not… I mean, no, it's not like that”
“Right. Not together” Tim said, avoiding her eyes, not wanting to see the hurt, even if they were getting there, it didn’t change what he did.
Kike chuckled, “Really? Because you’ve got that whole ‘husband about to fight someone for hitting on his wife’ energy going”
Lucy let out a nervous laugh, “We’re just colleagues and friends”
“Sure,” Kike said, not buying it for a second “but there’s history isn’t there?”
Before either of them could respond, Angela’s voice called out, coming back over,
“Hey, Bradford,” she grinned teasingly, “you might wanna stop acting so jealous, you might scare the guy off” a knowing look on her face,
Tim turned to her, an unamused look on his face, but Angela just continued smiling, knowing full well that was his intention, despite being a fan. Nyla and Celina had joined her, just in time to catch the tail end of the awkward conversation.
“Did I hear that right?” Nyla asked, a little amused, “Or did Kike Hernandez just call Tim and Lucy, husband and wife?”
“Loud and clear,” Angela nodded, the other women just tried to hide their smirks in their mugs of coffee.
Kike looked between the women, realising he had walked into something deeply entertaining, and raised his hands in mock surrender, “I’ll just… go take that tour now”
Tim gave him a quick handshake, (slightly firmer than necessary), and the baseball player nodded, before heading down the hall with another officer.
As soon as he was out of earshot, Angela turned to Lucy and Tim.
“You two have got to stop doing this” she said, smirking,
“Doing what?” Lucy asked, too innocently.
Nyla chimed in, “Acting like a married couple, everywhere you go. You’re throwing off the entire buildings equilibrium”
“We’re not-” Lucy began
“Together. We know,” Celina said with air quotes, “but your body language and auras? Screaming ‘domestic partnership’
Tim sighed, arms crossed, “He was hitting on her. I shut it down. That’s all”
“Mhmm” Angela smiled, “you can believe that all you want, but we all saw you acting like a jealous husband”
Lucy opened her mouth, then closed it again. Her face is still pink.
Celina grinned, “I’m telling you, Chenford isn’t just alive. It’s thriving in denial.”
Nyla raised her mug in agreement, Angela too, the three women clinking their mugs together.
Tim groaned and turned away, while Lucy just buried her face in the folder of paperwork she was still holding, but the smile tugging at her lips was undeniable.
~~~~~
The break room was empty, a rare pocket of peace in the chaotic station. The hum of the vending machine and distant chatter were the only sounds. Tim stood at the counter, stirring some cream into a mug of coffee for Lucy, planning to bring it over to her to apologise for earlier, however a moment later she stepped into the room anyway, closing the door behind her.
“You okay?” she asked, voice casual, but the glance she gave him was anything but that.
Tim didn’t look at her right away, handing her the coffee, “Yeah. Just… didn’t expect to be the subject of teasing like that before 10am”
Lucy leaned against the counter beside him, arms crossed, copying his stance, “You did kind of ask for it though”
“I wasn’t going to let that guy talk to you like that”
“I know,” she said softly, eyes fixed on the side of his face, “but he didn’t know, he wasn’t trying to cross any lines”
Tim finally turned to look at her, “He didn’t have to know, I knew. And it bothered me”
Her brows lifted, surprised by his honesty,
“I thought we were trying to keep things professional,” she said, her voice quieter now, “At least until the results from the exam come in.”
“We are,” Tim replied, then added, “But you know I didn’t stop caring, that doesn’t just go away.”
Lucy exhaled, eyes flicking down to the ground, “No. It doesn’t”
Tim leaned back against the counter, coffee forgotten, “When he assumed you were my wife, I didn’t even think before stepping in.”
Lucy glanced up at him, a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips, “You didn’t deny it at first though”
He gave her a light half smile, “Guess a part of me didn’t want to.”
That made her chest tighten a little,
“Tim…”
He looked at her again, this time with something softer in his expression, a vulnerability layered beneath his usual tough exterior.
“I know how much I hurt you when I broke us,” he said, “But that moment back there, it just made me even more sure that I never want anyone else”
Her eyes met his, searching, and something unspoken passed between them. Warm. Heavy. Familiar.
Lucy swallowed, pulse quickening, “You think maybe… we put a pause on the talking and come back to it later?”
Tim’s gaze dropped to her lips for the briefest second, then back up to her eyes, “That depends”
“On what?”
“On if I’ll regret not kissing you right now” he said, voice low,
Lucy stepped in, just a little closer, close enough that the heat between them sparked up again,
“We’re in the breakroom,” she whispered,
Tim smirked, “So, we wait”
Then Lucy smiled too, “But not for too long”
Their moment was short lived, when Celina popped her head in the door,
“Uh guys” she said loud enough to break them out of their trance, “Grey wants to see you guys in his office,”
They both turned towards the door, but not before exchanging a charged look,
Tim looked at her, raising an eyebrow, “Talk later?”
Lucy nodded, “Sounds good,”
They headed out, walking side by side, arms brushing as they left the breakroom, and whatever that moment had been, was hanging in the air between them