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Something was off the second they walked in.
It was too quiet.
Not the place.
The people.
Lucy’s hand was in his as usual, her fingers loosely threaded through his, her shoulder brushing his arm as they stepped inside the bar they all agreed to meet up after a gruelling shift. Familiar. Easy. Normal.
Except everyone was watching them.
Lucy slowed slightly. “Why are they all staring at us like that?”
Tim didn’t answer. His eyes narrowed just a fraction.
“Don’t fall for it,” he muttered. “It’s a setup.”
Lucy giggled at his antics.
Too late.
“Sit,” Angela called, far too cheerful.
They did.
Together.
Of course.
Same side of the booth.
Lucy slid in first. Tim followed, his arm coming up behind her without thought, her leg brushing over his, their hands still linked. They didn’t even notice.
The table did.
“Alright,” Nyla said, clapping her hands once. “New rule tonight.”
Tim didn’t even look up. “No.”
Lucy blinked. “You don’t even know what it is.”
“I don’t need to.”
Angela leaned forward. “You two are not allowed to sit next to each other tonight.”
Silence.
Lucy stared.
Tim didn’t move.
Without hesitation, “No,” he said again.
“That’s the rule,” Wesley added, already amused.
“Why?” Lucy asked.
“Because,” Nolan said, “you two work together, live together, and somehow still act like you haven’t seen each other in weeks.”
“That’s not our problem,” Tim replied dryly.
“It’s everyone else’s problem,” Nyla corrected.
Bailey smiled gently. “We just want one night where you’re… not attached.”
Lucy looked at Tim.
Tim looked back.
A quiet pause.
Then Lucy sighed. “Fine.”
Tim frowned. “Luce—”
“It’s one night,” she said softly, squeezing his hand. “We’ll survive.”
She pecked his lips in parting and slipped out from his grasp.
Tim didn’t look convinced.
But he let go.
Barely.
Lucy moved to the other side of the booth.
The second she sat down, something felt wrong.
Too much space.
Tim felt it immediately.
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Conversations tried to start again.
It didn’t last.
Lucy kept glancing across the table.
Tim stayed still, but his attention never really left her.
Fifteen minutes passed.
Lucy shifted, then sighed quietly.
“It’s been fifteen minutes.”
Angela didn’t even look up. “You’ve spent your entire lives without each other before you guys met.”
Nyla added, “And an entire year broken up.”
James nodded. “You’ll survive one night.”
Nolan smiled. “He's literally across the table.”
Lucy looked at Tim.
Really looked at him.
“I know,” she said softly, her eyes still on him, like the rest of the room had faded out for a second.
She took a small breath, fingers curling lightly against the edge of the table.
“I know I can,” she added, quieter. “I did it before. We both did.”
A pause.
Her expression softened.
“But I don’t want to anymore.”
Her gaze didn’t leave his. Ignoring everyone else’s stares.
“I don’t want space from you,” she continued, voice gentle but certain. “Not after everything. Not after knowing what it’s like without you in my life like that.”
Another breath.
“It didn’t feel right then, like a part of me that was always missing” she admitted. “And it doesn’t feel right now, even if you’re just… across the table.”
Her lips curved slightly, something warm and steady.
“I like being next to you. I like reaching for you and you just being there. I like not having to think about it.”
She tilted her head just a little, softer now.
“And I don’t think that’s something I’ll ever get tired of.”
A beat.
“So yeah,” she finished quietly, “I miss being next to you.”
He just looked at her.
Really looked.
Something in his expression shifted.
The usual control, the restraint, the instinct to hold everything in.
It eased.
His jaw flexed once.
Then his gaze softened in a way it didn’t often, not in front of people, not like this.
His fingers tapped once against the table, like he was stopping himself from reaching for her anyway.
“Yeah,” he said quietly.
A beat.
“Me neither.”
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The night went on.
Conversation picked up, but it felt different now.
Lucy was quieter than usual.
Still listening. Still smiling.
Just… not leaning into anyone.
Not reaching out.
Tim sat back, arms crossed, expression settling into something familiar.
Grumpy. Guarded.
The version of him everyone knew before.
Except now it wasn’t the same.
Because his eyes kept flickering back to her.
Checking.
Making sure she was there.
Lucy caught it every time.
Didn’t call it out.
Just let it settle.
At one point, their eyes met across the table.
Neither of them looked away immediately.
There was something there.
Something steady.
Something that didn’t need words.
Eventually, Nyla exhaled.
“Okay, this is worse.”
Angela nodded. “Way worse.”
“They’re not even talking,” Wesley added.
James shook his head. “This is painful.”
Nolan looked between them. “You know they’re still attached, right?”
Lucy huffed a quiet laugh.
Tim’s mouth twitched.
Just slightly.
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Finally, Angela waved a hand.
“Alright. I’m done. This was a bad idea.”
Nyla nodded. “Yeah. Abort mission.”
“You can sit together again.”
Lucy didn’t hesitate.
She was already moving.
Sliding back into the seat beside Tim like she belonged there.
Because she did.
Tim’s arm came around her immediately.
Her leg brushed over his again.
Their hands found each other.
Instant.
Easy.
Lucy let out a small breath.
His head dipped, his nose brushing through her hair as he breathed her in, slow and familiar, like he was grounding himself after what felt like forever apart.
“Hi, baby,” he murmured softly.
Lucy melted into him without thinking, her hand tightening where it rested against him.
“Hi, honey,” she whispered back, just as soft.
“I missed you,” he added, quieter now, his lips brushing near her temple. “All night.”
Lucy smiled, eyes warm as she looked up at him. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
Her fingers slid lightly against his chest. “Long shift?”
Tim nodded once. “Long without you.”
Lucy huffed a quiet breath, fond. “You’re impossible.”
“I'm your impossible,” he murmured.
“Good,” she said, like that was the only outcome she’d accept.
His hand shifted at her waist, pulling her just a little closer.
Across the table, Angela shook her head.
“They lasted, what, fourty minutes?”
“Less,” Nyla said.
Wesley smiled. “They tried.”
Nolan nodded. “Did they though?.”
Lucy leaned into Tim again, closer, like the space had never happened.
Tim pressed another quiet kiss into her hair.
No hesitation.
No awareness of anyone watching.
Because they weren’t trying to prove anything.
They just were.
And now everyone else understood.
It wasn’t about not being able to be apart.
It was about not wanting to be.
Not anymore.