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It’s not like Lucy had never seen him in the color. Hell… it was the color of their uniforms. She’d seen him in it almost every single day since they’d met. But this—this should be illegal.
They’ve only been back together for a few weeks and she was still getting used to living with Tim. Being in each other's space all the time was different but in the best way. She loved knowing she was always going to come home to him. She loved that he was always going to come home to her.
But most importantly she loved him.
And she loved being able to openly admit that whenever she wanted. To whoever she wanted.
She loved Tim Bradford and more importantly Tim Bradford loved her.
It was rare that Lucy was awake before him but she’d just gotten off her last night as the newest sergeant and knew that he’d either be getting ready for the day or waiting for her when she walked through the door. When she walked into the house and didn’t find him in the kitchen, she listened and heard the shower running.
She decided to make herself a cup of tea and sit down at the island and wait for him to emerge from their bedroom. She was scrolling on her phone, trying to keep her eyes open and herself upright long enough to greet him before she fell into their bed and slept for the next few hours while he puttered around the house, waiting for her to wake up so they could spend their next couple days off together.
It was in the middle of a particularly interesting true crime ClipTok video when she heard the familiar sounds of Tim getting dressed and then the door creaking open.
When he walked into the kitchen, Lucy was aware of his presence but didn’t look up immediately, wanting to finish the video she was watching.
Tim snuck up behind her and rested his hands on her shoulders, leaning forward to plant a kiss on her crown.
“Good morning,” he whispered as he walked around to begin making himself a cup of coffee.
“Morning,” Lucy replied, still not taking her eyes off her phone. The video was almost over and then her wonderful boyfriend would have her complete and full attention for a few minutes before she passed out.
Finally the video started over and Lucy swiped up out of the app and locked her phone as her eyes lifted to the figure in the kitchen.
Tim’s back was to her as he fiddled with the coffee maker and then rested his arms on the counter while he waited for the beverage to brew.
She had never been rendered speechless before. Not really. She doesn’t think. She was usually pretty expressive and articulate—even during high stress situations. But right now?
She was… mute.
She simply stared at his taut form, mouth hanging open, openly ogling the way the fitted black t-shirt outlined every single muscle the man had. Every muscle that she had come to know oh so well. The way his biceps filled out the sleeves, looking like one flex would cause the fabric to merely tear. Not that she would particularly mind.
Lucy continued to stare as Tim picked up the mug and turned to face her. She couldn’t take her eyes off of him and when she came face-to-face with his chest, she’s pretty sure she made some type of whimpering sound before feeling a little bit of drool pooling in her mouth.
“Luce?” Tim’s voice came from in front of her but she couldn’t tear her gaze away from his chest. “Luce?” His voice was a little firmer now, laced with concern.
Lucy managed to meet his eyes, but only just and she opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Her brain was short-circuiting. She forgot what day it was. What time it was. Forgot what words were.
Sure she could blame it on the exhaustion of the night shift. But who was she kidding? Her boyfriend looked dangerously hot in his fitted black shirt and pair of light gray jeans. And being unable to form a coherent thought right now… was all his fault.
Because DAMN!
Who knew a piece of his wardrobe could have this effect on her. A t-shirt that looked like it was made just for him. The black color somehow deepened the blue of his eyes and made his skin look more golden. He looked… edible.
“Baby?” Tim raised a brow as he came to stand directly in front of her on the opposite side of the counter. “Are you okay?”
Lucy blinked but still couldn’t find her words.
Tim was staring at her now, concern etched in every corner of his face. “Do I have something on me or something?” He looked down quickly and then back up at Lucy who was nodding.
“Y-yeah. You got something on you alright,” she said, smirking.
He looked down again, longer this time, trying to figure out what she was talking about but he didn’t see anything. He ran his hands over his shirt to wipe off whatever imaginary thing Lucy had seen and then once again looked at her with concern.
“Luce? What?”
Finally, she managed a strangled sound. “You—” her voice cracked. She cleared her throat and tried again. “You—um.”
His brow furrowed in amused confusion. “I what?”
Lucy set her phone down, realizing it was still in her hand, her fingers were trembling slightly. “I—what is—where did that shirt come from?”
Tim looked down at himself once again and dragged his eyes back up to watch her walk around the counter and stand in front of him. “This?” He tugged at the hem. “I’ve had this forever.”
Another choked sound came out of Lucy before she looked him in the eye, bringing her hands to rest on his chest. “No, you have not,” she whispered.
He chuckled softly, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her in. “Yes, I have.”
She ran her hands up and down the contoured planes of his chest. “I would’ve remembered this shirt,” she said, eyes widening, still fighting for composure. “I would have memorialized it. Written poems. A song. Gotten it tattooed on my body. Jesus Christ Tim.”
That made him laugh. A real, deep, unguarded sound that rumbled from his chest. “What is going on with you?” He leaned in and pressed a kiss to her temple before pulling back and raising his eyebrow in question.
“You cannot just walk in looking like this,” she gestured vaguely at him. “And expect me to be normal about it? It’s not safe. There are laws Tim.”
Tim’s face scrunched in confusion before dropping his hands and crossing his arms. He opened his mouth to say something when Lucy audibly gasped.
“Oh my GOD, don’t do that!” she whined.
“Do what?” he asked, clearly enjoying this now as he was catching on to her little tantrum.
“That!” she pointed. “That…arm-crossing thing. Your biceps move. There’s a ripple. It’s ungodly hot. Illegal really.”
Tim grinned. Pleased with himself and that he still had this effect on her. “Are you okay baby?” he asked, uncrossing his arms and drawing her back into him.
“No! You broke me.” she said, the words muffled by his chest.
Tim placed a series of kisses on her head, savoring every second of Lucy Chen’s brain being broken.
She pulled away and looked up at him once before turning around to escape his hotness in their bedroom but he stopped her. He grabbed both of her hands with his and spun her so she was facing him again.
“You know you’re cute when you’re flustered,” he murmured, bringing his hands up to cup her face and place a slow, sweet kiss to her lips. She melted into him and tangled her fingers into the shirt that had short-circuited her a mere five minutes ago. “I didn’t know a t-shirt could have this effect.” He whispered against her lips.
“It’s not just the t-shirt,” Lucy said breathlessly, opening her eyes and meeting his sparkling blue gaze. “It has a little something to do with the person in the t-shirt.”
Tim smiled and leaned in again, pressing one, two, three kisses to her lips before pulling back and dropping his hands from her face. “So… if I wore this shirt to the station? What would happen?"
Lucy’s jaw dropped and she wanted to be annoyed at the knowing smirk on his face but she couldn’t. Instead she played along. “You can’t. People will crash their cars. I’ll be the first casualty.”
He raised a brow in surprise, chuckling at her answer.
“Seriously Tim,” she said a little firmer now. “Do you know how many female officers have a crush on you? If you wore that to the station… I'm pretty sure I’d have to kick some asses for staring a little too long,” she sighed, shaking her head and looking away as if she was imagining that very scenario.
Tim smiled and pulled on one of her arms until she was tucked safely into his arms. “Then you get to be the only one to see me in this shirt,” he kissed her head and ran his fingers through her hair. “The only person I want staring at me is right here.” He squeezed her a little tighter to him and she wrapped her arms around his middle, nuzzling into his warm embrace, letting out a content sigh.
She felt another rumble of laughter from his chest and pulled away to look up at him, a sly grin playing at his lips. “So should I change?”
Lucy looked genuinely pained. “Yes. No. Maybe. I don’t know.” She knew they were going out later and while he looked so damn good in it, she didn’t want anyone else leering at him.
Tim smirked. “You can take it off of me if it bothers you—”.
Lucy swatted his chest and backed away from him. “Timothy Bradford!”
“What?” He laughed. “This one t-shirt is clearly causing a lot of emotional turmoil for you. I’m trying to be a supportive boyfriend and help find solutions.” He tugged at the bottom of the shirt like he was going to pull it off.
“God, you’re the worst,” she giggled, walking away from him and into the bedroom and collapsing onto the bed.
“You love me,” he muttered, opening the drawer to pull out some of her sleep clothes and tossing them to her.
She sighed dramatically, as she sat up and began taking off her work clothes. “Unfortunately, yes I do. Very much. Even when you weaponize fashion.”
Tim smiled at her as she changed into her pajamas and he leaned down to kiss her. “Get some sleep Luce. My black t-shirt and I will be waiting for you when you wake up.
Lucy smiled up at him, eyes already falling closed as she laid her head on her pillow.
“Love you,” she whispered sleepily.
“Love you too,” he said back, stepping out of their room and closing the door behind him.