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It’s not too long ago that every morning started the same. The early morning sun slipped through the gaps in the blinds but Tim would already have been awake, having gotten just enough sleep to make it through another day but not enough to be comfortable. Everything had been a routine at that point, the minute of silence he’d allow himself to stare at nothing before he faced whatever awaits him that day. Then he stretched his arms out, not surprised that his subconscious reflex still fell to the space next to him. Tim had given up fighting the agony at the sight of his hand next to empty sheets brought him, accepting the reminder of what his mornings really were.
Empty. Cold. Lonely. And entirely his fault.
But that was then.
Tim had been up as the first rays of sunshine slipped through the blinds, but this time it wasn’t for the reason that sleep was a difficult thing to come by– quite the opposite, he’d finally been reminded of the peace that sleep could bring.
Now as his hands move across the sheets, it curves just the way that he prefers with warmth under his fingertips instead of the unwelcome chill he’d met too many times before. In all these months that have passed, Tim seemed to have forgotten how beautiful the mornings can be and that it was once common for him to smile each time. It’s familiar but unfamiliar at the same time– he remembers the soft skin his lips meet, he knows the softer sounds of satisfied hums holding onto the last few moments of sleep yet it feels like he’s relearning what it’s like to have all of this back.
The sun is shining on his back and while Tim is sure that the sunrise is beautiful, he has something just as nice- someone better than any sunrise. He had Lucy again.
“Hey” Lucy said, her voice a little raspy from sleep but to Tim any sound from Lucy was his favourite.
Tim forgoed any form of a verbal response and leaned down to press his lips against Lucy’s for a soft kiss that would be better than any “good morning” that he ever could give.
“Someone seems to be in a good mood this morning” Lucy giggled, keeping her own lips near his, each short brush sending a shiver down Tim’s spine.
“What other mood is there to be in” Tim smiled– how could he not when Lucy was here with him again.
“You’re cute when you’re all happy like this,” she chuckled as she caressed his cheek with her thumb.
There’s no words that Tim could come up with at the moment to explain how Lucy being here, giving him– giving them another chance and making this house their home makes it very easy for him to be happy. Instead he kisses the inside of her palm and while it does not say everything he wants it too, Tim is content enough with the smile it brings to Lucy’s face.
They should be getting out of bed and getting ready for work, and maybe in the past he’d rush their moment and remind them of the importance of being on time. But Tim has learned a lot on his many empty mornings– back then he thought they had time and there’d be enough time after to have as many moments as they want, but unknowingly to them both their time was running out. There is no countdown now, they both know that, they’ll make sure of that but it’s no reason to rush the mornings.
Tim has come to love savoring these smaller moments that he took for granted before. Now he lays in bed longer than he usually would, just for the chance to see the sunlight dance in Lucy’s eyes and count the specks that look golden when the sun hits them just right. Somedays Tim thinks he’d risk it and stay here all day just to be able to stare at the woman he loves and take in that all of this is real– Lucy’s here again and it really is him who she’s smiling lovingly at like that.
And if the sun could kiss her then he should be able to as well.
Ironically, it is Lucy that gets them out of bed and pushes him to take Kojo out while she showers (which he is denied from following her into).
This house feels much different now, for one it no longer feels like just a house. Lucy being the missing puzzle piece to making this place be the home they both dreamed of.
The other difference to their house is how much of Lucy there seems to be everywhere now. Before it was just the few clothes and random accessories that she had never collected from what was then his house and the only remainders he had to cling onto during the breakup. Yet now, Tim walks down these same halls of their home shaking his head as he chuckles to himself at how cramped the place looks with Lucy’s boxes still scattered everywhere despite it being a few days since she officially moved in.
Kojo doesn’t seem to mind that much, sleeping next to a box near his bed that is interestingly labeled “Kojo” surprisingly. Tim had attempted to move the box to a different corner to create more space but one bark that quickly turned into four had Tim placing the box back where he found it.
“Is that how it’s going to be now?” Tim rolled his eyes but he can’t be all that surprised that his dog has turned against him now that his favourite human was living with them.
Lucy is dressed and in the living room searching through one of her many boxes by the time Tim and Kojo return from outside. She lets out an annoyed sigh before she abandons one box to open another.
“Everything ok?” Tim asked as Kojo ran off back to his bed.
“Nothing- it’s nothing, I’m just looking for my phone charger” Lucy answers but it’s clear most of her attention is focused on digging through this box.
“Shouldn’t your charger be on the bedside table from when you charged it last night” Tim said, pointing in the direction of their bedroom.
“Yes I know but I mean my extra phone charger, you know, the one I prefer using when at work” she explains as if it’s common sense but Tim’s brows only raise at that.
“What’s wrong with using the one you used last night?” Tim asked.
That seemed like the wrong question to ask given the incredulous look Lucy gives him. And it looks like she’s about to correct him or grill him for not knowing the very clear difference but she cuts herself off as she stands in front of him.
“You know what, there isn’t enough time to explain this. We’ll need to leave soon and you haven’t even showered yet.”
“Well I would’ve by now if someone didn’t push me away,” Tim pouted.
“You are so ridiculous- just go” she laughed, pushing him in the direction of their room. “I’ll get started on breakfast while you freshen up” she smiled, kissing his cheek before she gave him a final nudge down the hallway.
While having a certain extra body in here with him is Tim’s much preferred way of showering, he can settle for Lucy’s lingering scent that envelopes him for this time. It just adds to the many reminders that all of this is real and not those dreams he chases when sleep gets away from him again.
Tim had done it. He got his life on track and ready to spend the rest of it with the woman he loves. There was nothing that could take away his smile–
“Shit-”
Lucy tightens her hold on the pan as she rushes over to the sound of the commotion and the loud grunt that follows it, not even realizing that Kojo is hot on her heels.
“Are you ok?” Lucy gasped, rushing over to Tim who was rubbing at his foot.
“Yeah, yeah just kicked my foot on one of the- woah…” Tim cuts himself off when he sees the opened boxes scattered even more across the living room and now also the kitchen. “What the hell happened in here. Last time I checked more than half of these boxes weren’t opened” Tim gestured around, mouth dropping lower as he notices the more things that are littered around their space. “All this for a charger?”
“Well yes, but also no,” she grimaced, looking around at the clutter due to the random stuff she remembered that she just had to put out. “I promise that when we get back from work I will get all of this sorted out.”
Lucy isn’t sure if Tim is even fully listening to her, sure he’s nodding along but she watches as his eyes sweep across the room, wincing when she sees how his frown deepens as his living room space disappears behind her boxes and knick knacks.
“This is killing you, isn’t it?”
“No, no!” Tim said so convincingly that his voice went high pitched in the way that it does when he’s lying. “If art sits on the floor for longer than two days, it leaves there now,” he shrugged, trying and failing to act like he wasn’t bothered by it.
“I’ve known you long enough to know that you’re not being fully honest with me,” Lucy pointed out. “If this is going to work then we have to be better communicators, you promised…”
One unwavering stare from Lucy was all it took. “I guess that I am just used to a more clean and organized space- and this is not me calling you messy it’s just, things are starting to feel a little cramped.”
“Was that so hard?” Lucy smiled, leaning in closer.
“I just want you to be properly moved in, I want this to really feel like our home and these boxes are blocking that…literally” he uttered, smiling when he’s able to get a soft chuckle out of Lucy. He's pretty sure she just called him an idiot somewhere in that quiet giggle but he’s happy to be an idiot for her.
Lucy gets closer to him, staring up into his eyes with nothing short of love. “I want that too.”
Their lips are about to meet when a bark pushes them apart and the culprit doesn’t seem any way apologetic for his actions. Tim and Lucy share a look with each other before they’re both laughing but Kojo is only paying attention to Lucy, circling around her while sniffing the air.
“I think someone is ready for their breakfast,” Lucy pets Kojo on the head, trying to wind down her laughing. While she had temporarily forgotten about the pan in her hand, it’s clear that Kojo didn’t as he nudged Lucy’s leg with his nose in what is meant to be a “push” in the direction of his bowl.
“And yet you forgetting to feed him is not going to deduct points from you being his favourite,” Tim rolled his eyes playfully, following Lucy into the kitchen.
“What can I say I’m just naturally most people’s favourite,” Lucy bragged proudly before turning her attention back to feeding Kojo.
“That you are” Tim uttered, grabbing Lucy by the waist when she stands back up again, pulling her in to bring his lips down onto hers more fiercely than this morning in bed.
“Trying to earn points on my favourites list Bradford?” Lucy said, every word her lips brushed his.
“Don’t need to, I’m already on top” he grinned.
“Last I checked, I’m usually the one on top” she whispered, her voice taking a sultry tone, seeming satisfied with the groan that she’s able to get out of Tim when she presses her chest to his.
“How much time do we have?” Tim asked, starting to kiss down Lucy’s jaw, the vibration from her laugh only motivating him to go lower.
“Just enough to eat our own breakfast before we have to head out the door” Lucy laughed, lightly pushing on Tim’s chest. “Can’t have people asking questions about why the Watch Commander is late.”
“How thoughtful of you Sergeant” he mocked.
Lucy kissed his cheek before walking away. “I know. What would you do without me?”
It’s meant to be nothing more than a simple joke and Tim knows that but some say there’s truth in every joke. And this is his truth. He doesn’t know where he’d be without Lucy– definitely not here, not this happy and not this full of life.
“It actually really is a mess in here, maybe we should sit out back” Lucy suggested, coming back with two plates in her hands and two coffee cups on the countertops.
“Sounds perfect,” Tim smiled, placing a soft kiss to her cheek before grabbing both cups and following Lucy outside. Kojo reaches out back before them both.
The morning echoed something that had been missing for far too long and incomplete. In eight letters she was called Lucy Chen, but when words were infinite yet nothing could ever perfectly describe what Lucy brought into his life. Lucy was his hope, she was the one who showed him how to live and gave him a future.
Lucy was more than the love of his life, she was his mornings, his nights and every second in between.
Tim lingered near the back door, where outside the sun had risen and for once the start of a new day didn’t bring dread, how could it when outside he no longer had to stay alone, instead he’d be the one to kiss his girlfriend instead of the sun.
Sure, inside the boxes were still scattered all throughout their home and making a mess of everywhere with each day that passed.
But it was their mess, and they’d figure it out. Just like they have done before.