Chapter Text
Incredible.
“All right!” Lucy declares, accomplishment lacing her tone. “I’ve got dinner prepared for tomorrow night so we just have to come home and heat it up. And I’ve got all the ingredients for Kojo’s breakfast prepared for tomorrow since I know it’s salmon and eggs day so we can get it done quickly in the morning. If you want,” she adds, scanning the refrigerator, “I can meal prep something for breakfast, too?”
Tim smirks, coming up behind her and wrapping his hands around her waist. “Sure. Then we can maybe spend that extra time in the shower.”
Lucy laughs, but she doesn’t argue; after all, showering together has long been one of their favorite past times.
“You know you can let me do some cooking, right?” Tim adds as he plants a kiss on her shoulder.
“I know, but right now your learning curve and hours at work are harder than mine. So let me take the load off of cooking for now.”
“I wouldn’t say that’s true,” he challenges. “You’re the one who’s already had to pull all-nighters.”
“That was only once,” she reminds him, though it had definitely been exhausting and she’s definitely in a learning curve, too. “But you’ve got your first weekly meeting tomorrow and you just worry about making sure you pick up the coffee. Plus, I’m telling you, adding pastries is the way to go.”
“Okay,” Tim relents, “but - Thursday when I’m off, I’m cooking.”
“Deal,” Lucy agrees with a grin. “Especially if you make your carbonara.”
“I think that can be arranged.”
“Anyway, I think I’ll go ahead and do the breakfast so we’re all set for tomorrow. I wouldn’t mind time for a longer shower,” her voice is laced with intention.
It’s been hectic; Lucy moving in, starting her new position as sergeant on day shift, Tim starting his new position as watch commander – all while still riding the absolute high of being back together. They learned quickly that this is like the brand-new relationship, can’t keep your hands off each other phase all over again. Not only are their days busy, they’re not exactly getting as much sleep as they could at night.
But it’s been good; all of its good. Her promotion, his promotion, moving in together, being back together. She’s absolutely happy and content.
Which is why she doesn’t see it coming.
“You’re incredible, you know that?” Tim hums into her shoulder.
Lucy freezes suddenly, the words unexpectedly transporting her back to the Mid-Wilshire parking lot on a dark, rainy night.
You - you are an incredible person.
No.
No, you’re incredible, okay?
It would have been a beautiful compliment in any other situation, instead it was like a knife to the gut. Who wants to be broken up with by being told they’re incredible? That the person you love is letting you go even though they think the world of you, not because they don’t love you. It had almost made it worse knowing it was nothing she had done, that he thought she was amazing but he was still leaving her.
It’s meant to be a beautiful compliment again, in the present, but Lucy feels the reminder of the pain course through her.
When she doesn’t respond, Tim taps her on the shoulder and steps around her to look at her, clearly noticing the change in her demeanor. “Lucy?”
“Huh?”
“You okay?”
“Yeah,” she says, but her voice catches as she does so. “Yes. Fine.”
“Lucy.” Tim moves closer to her, clearly knowing she’s not fine. “What’s wrong?”
“How do you know always know when something’s wrong,” she whines, playfully irritated that he can read through her so easily.
“Because I know you.”
“It’s no big deal, really – I’m just being silly.”
“If it bothers you, it’s not.”
Lucy takes a breath, sees his concern for her, and remembers how she asked him to promise to be a better communicator. She knows that she owes him the same.
“It’s just when you called me incredible…” she trails off, hoping that will be enough for him to understand, for the meaning to click, but he still looks confused. “It’s… you said that to me when you broke up with me. It took me right back there, and all the nights after when I replayed it in my mind when I couldn’t fall asleep.”
“Oh,” he realizes softly, his eyes suddenly glazed with that guilty, sorry expression.
“See?” she says, shifting her stance sadly, “That look, I didn’t want to make you feel bad or bring the past up, I’m not trying to hold it over you or-”
He cuts her off by reaching forward and pulling her into a hug. They stand there together, Tim’s hands running over her back, soothing her, as she quietly melts into him his large hands rubbing her back soothingly.
“Hey. It’s okay. I get it. I didn’t… I didn’t realize my words.”
“And you shouldn’t have to,” she immediately returns. “You shouldn’t have to walk on eggshells especially when you’re just saying something nice to me.”
Tim is silent for a moment, pulls back from the hug and looks at her and she can tell that he’s considering how to proceed.
“You know, you are incredible, though, right?” he finally speaks and Lucy lets out a little chuckle. “And I’m sorry it took you back there. But I don’t want to stop saying it, because you are, and you deserve to hear that. So, I hope we can change the connotation if I keep telling you that you’re incredible. Is that okay?”
Lucy lets out a little breath, a cross between a laugh and a sigh. “Yeah. Yes. That’s okay.”
“I love you,” he tells her softly. “I meant it then and I mean it now.”
She lets out a little laugh of pleasure, the words no longer feeling like a dagger. “I know. So are you, you know.”
“Yeah,” he lightens the mood, eyes shining with mischief. “We already knew that.”
“God, shut up,” Lucy says, a deep, genuine laugh bubbling through her as she shoves at his shoulder in playful admonishment.
But now the moment is light again, and something – pride, she thinks – courses through her at how they just talked through that, how easily they were able to communicate, how Tim had listened to her and instantly come up with a way to work through the problem.
The sudden jolt of pain she’d felt is long gone, replaced with a burst of love and contentment.