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The chandeliers in the large ballroom glisten as their light reflects off each other, the music just loud enough to be heard but not impede on conversation, and the room itself decorated floor to ceiling in twinkling holiday lights, a few sprigs of mistletoe, wreaths, and expertly decorated Christmas trees.
It should come as no surprise that a holiday charity gala hosted by Patrice Evers and Luna Grey would be anything less than picture perfect.
(The two women are a force to be reckoned with when they put their minds to something.)
There’s at least 1500 people in attendance, scattered between the ballroom and attached rooftop patio; the majority of the LAPD officials and Mid-Wilshire Station, hospital staff, trustees from charities and friends of the Evers family.
The food and drinks are expensive, delicious, and free flowing. And for as much as everyone was dreading the evening, it has so far turned out to be a rather enjoyable event.
John and Bailey are seated at a table with their closest friends and colleagues — Angela and Wesley, Nyla and James, Tim and Lucy, Celina and Miles, and Wade and Luna, all settled nicely around the large round table — and he has no doubt Luna did it on purpose. So none of them were stuck in awkward conversations and annoying small talk all night.
Their first course has just been cleared by the sharply dressed waitstaff, and the table’s conversation shifts to everyone’s plans for the upcoming holiday.
The year had been hard and long for them all in one way or another and it was nice to see joy and excitement return to their group.
John smiles wide as Lucy excitedly details her and Tim’s plans for the week before New Years, a trip up north to see some real snow.
Conversation shifts again and he takes the opportunity to look around the table, catching from the corner of his eye as Tim wordlessly gets up from their table, squeezing Lucy’s shoulder affectionately as he does. He assumes the sergeant is heading to the bar for a new drink for himself before their next course is served, having taken the last swig of his whiskey as he stood and excused himself from the conversation.
And he does, predictably, but he also returns with a champagne flute.
His brows knit in confusion — knowing Tim isn’t one for the sparkling beverage or to “double fist” as the kids say — until John looks back at Lucy and sees her take the last sip of her champagne right as Tim places the fresh glass down in front of her with a kiss to the top of her head.
He shouldn’t be surprised really, because he’s never seen two people read each other better than Tim and Lucy. They’ve had their own silent language since John and her were rookies together, but it’s almost like he’s seeing it for the first time, in a completely new light.
It’s astonishing, really, the way Tim knew, without even looking at Lucy or her glass.
Although maybe it’s only startling because he’s watched his friends finally get together, lose each other and find their way back all within the last year (without any real disruption to their deeper connection). A journey he knows was hard for both parties involved.
He remembers a time early that year, when he and Tim were on protective detail, and the state of Tim and Lucy’s relationship was unsettled. John was venting about his fight with Bailey that worried him to his core, the look in Tim's eyes when he mentioned how hard it was to sleep without Bailey beside him, and how Tim had given him some solid advice to not give up too soon. To continue to fight for the woman he loves.
Sure Tim was helping him, but John could see his sergeant was also speaking about his own situation, his shattered relationship with Lucy. Regret, pain and longing written all over his face as he leaned back in the arm chair.
(A look John had seen on Lucy’s face, too. The pair had been like walking corpses in the initial aftermath of their break up, and all the way up until they’d managed to find their footing. Though the longing never quite left their faces, and everyone knew it was only a matter of time before they truly found their way back together.)
Now though, as John observes that very same man look at the very same woman, all that he sees on Tim’s face is contentment and love.
A helluva lot of love.
He watches, as Tim sits back down beside Lucy, his arm automatically resting on the back of her chair as she leans into him, her own hand moving under the table to no doubt rest on Tim’s thigh. Pressing a kiss to his cheek, in thanks for her refreshed drink, and Tim squeezes her shoulder in response.
A whole conversation between them without words, or even really looking at each other.
John smiles softly to himself, tearing his gaze away from the couple and back to whatever conversation the table is having. Happy that his friends have found peace together once more.
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The dance floor starts to really fill up once dinner is cleared. Just about everyone in attendance is either dancing or enjoying the views of downtown from the outdoor terrace. Celina has managed to convince Miles to join her and let loose on the dance floor.
Most of their table is already there, even Tim and Lucy.
Celina (and Miles) had assumed when the couple got up from the table, hand in hand, that they were headed outside. As neither Celina nor Miles could picture the more hard-edged of the two sergeants “letting loose”, but much to their surprise Lucy had dragged Tim onto the crowded dance floor.
Though, perhaps drag wasn’t the right word, because Tim followed Lucy with enthusiasm.
The couple is dancing a bit away from the group, in their own little bubble, and Celina can’t help but watch her former roommate and her boyfriend.
It’s almost startling to see the usual gruff and sometimes mean Sergeant Tim Bradford twirl Lucy around, his smile just as big and bright as hers. The couple laughing when Tim spins her out and then pulls her back in with a bit of force.
But really, it's not at all surprising to catch him in a moment like this, because Celina has seen since her first day at Mid-Wilshire that Tim is different with Lucy. He’s kinder, softer. The way he would look at her from across the station like something out of a period drama.
The longing even more prominent in his eyes in the aftermath of their sudden breakup.
And Lucy was no different. The way she looks at Tim as if he hung the moon, how she relaxes around him in a way that Celina has never seen her do with anyone else. Not even when it was the two of them having a relaxing girls night in at the apartment when they lived together.
It warms her heart to see two people she admires and cares for find that special kind of peace.
Celina nudges Miles subtly, nodding her head in the couple’s direction just as the song changes to something slow. They watch as Tim pulls Lucy even closer, leaving not even a centimeter of space between them. Lucy lays her head on Tim’s shoulder and Tim places their joined hands against his chest. The arm Lucy has around his back moves up, her hand caressing the back of his neck.
Tim dips his head down, pressing a kiss to Lucy’s forehead, whispering something against her skin Celina can’t quite make out, but is almost positive she knows what he’s said by the way Lucy’s face just melts into pure adoration and joy.
She looks away quickly as the couple lean in for a kiss, letting them have their sweet, almost secret, moment in the otherwise crowded room.
Celina silently hoping, as she and Miles move off the dance floor, that she can find a love like that one day, too.
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Angela tucks her phone back into her bag, satisfied with her check-in call to her and Wesley’s sitter. It wasn’t often that she and her husband got to have a fancy night out, and Angela intended to enjoy every minute of the expensive food, alcohol and lively dance floor.
She moves back to the table, majority of her friends having taken their seats again as well. A brief reprieve from dancing while the dessert was being set out. Angela takes her seat, between her friend and husband — and across from her other BFF and his girlfriend.
She’s glad to see everyone happy, and enjoying the evening that’d once been dreading, Tim especially. There was no one Angela thought deserved peace, love, and happiness more than Tim Bradford.
And it would seem, over the past year, that he’d finally found it again.
He’d tried to keep his rekindled romance with Lucy a secret in the beginning. Never quite giving Angela a straight answer when she’d ask about the state of his relationship, but as the weeks passed and Lucy took up the open position of the second day shift sergeant — Angela commended the younger officer for lasting as long as she did on the night shift. Knowing how brutal it could be — the couple could no longer hide their relationship.
Not that they were ever really good at hiding it, or subtlety.
Like right now for instance.
She’s known Tim for a long time and has never seen him so content, unfazed, by public displays of affection. Not even when he was married to Isabel and they went to the occasional party together (when his ex-wife wasn’t undercover) would he do more than hold her hand.
But with Lucy…
She once more proves to be the exception to every rule he’s ever had.
They’ve been touching in one way or another all night, and it doesn’t look like it’ll be stopping anytime soon.
Angela looks at the couple again, hiding her gaze behind her wine glass, as Lucy scoots closer to Tim. Her hand reaching up to scratch the back of his neck.
It doesn’t even look like Lucy is aware she’s doing it. Neither her or Tim pausing in their conversation with the Greys, even as Tim places his hand on Lucy’s leg under the table.
It’s sweet actually, how they naturally gravitate to each other.
But Angela knows it's deeper than just your standard couple in love. They’re each other’s comfort, each other’s safe space. Both had been through so much over the years, never letting anyone in behind the fortresses they’d built along the way.
Except for each other.
They reach for one another like a life line when the world is too much — too loud, too chaotic. Their touch grounding, the silent conversations they have with a single look instantly setting them back down to earth.
And while Angela does enjoy teasing Tim every now and then, she’s glad he has this.
A love so pure, so right, that he’s content, at peace with himself and his life. That he doesn’t carry that same hesitance to show his softer side anymore, and allows himself to lean over and kiss Lucy the minute his conversation is done, without a care in the world who may see.
It’s all she’s ever wanted for her closest friend.
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Wade stands off to the side, holding his and Luna’s coats as she finishes her last conversation of the night.
The gala had been a hit, which really comes as no surprise to the Lieutenant. His wife is a mastermind, a force to be reckoned with. And he’s damn proud of the work she’s done during this new chapter in their lives.
Wade smiles fondly as Luna continues to work her magic on the donor, when a giggle to his left grabs his attention. He shifts his gaze, catching his two patrol sergeants under one of the many sprigs of mistletoe that had been hung for the event.
He isn’t one to intrude on a private moment between his subordinates, but this particular couple he has a soft spot for.
He’s watched both Tim and Lucy crawl and fight their way through mountains of mud in their time at Mid-Wilshire, both individually and together. And while he wasn’t too happy about their relationship in the beginning (or during their sudden break up), Wade is immensely happy for them now. Proud of them both for the work they’d done to come back together.
He’s never met two people more perfect for each other. Even if they tend to give him a massive headache with their bets that they swear aren't flirtatious at all but anyone with eyes can see that they are, or their “inappropriate” moments in various places around the station he’s heard about through the grapevine.
But he will concede that once they hit the streets on patrol, they’re nothing but professional.
(Aside from the occasional over protectiveness and slight panic when either is in even a lick of danger. Which Wade could never fault them for because if it was Luna in danger, he’s certain he’d lose his mind.)
His wife returns to his side, breaking him free of his thoughts, her brow raised in a silent question as to the look on his face. He subtly nods his head toward Tim and Lucy, still blissfully unaware of their surroundings. Whispering to each other through a string of kisses.
Luna smiles, shaking her head in amusement, while he helps her into her coat. They leave the happy couple still kissing under the mistletoe, neither wanting to interrupt their sweet moment.
Wade will just tease them about their lack of situational awareness and cop eyes before roll call in the morning.