Work Text:
Lucy should have told someone where she was going. She should have knocked on Tim’s door and let him know of all people.
But she didn’t.
She just called an uber and told him to drive to the cemetery. He gave her a look, she did look out of place. She was in her wedding dress, her makeup and hair was done. She left everything behind, and managed to sneak out without anyone seeing her.
And she was asking to go to the cemetery.
“Got cold feet?” The driver asks.
“Not even a little bit.” Lucy says and this isn’t about Tim. This isn’t about backing out of marrying him because she never would. She doesn’t regret saying yes. She was excited about marrying him. They had been planning this wedding for months.
And it was finally here.
“I mean are you—”
“I know what you mean.” Lucy says. “This isn’t about my fiancé.”
“There’s another guy?” The driver asks. Lucy shakes her head, and leans back against the seat. This driver was nosey but she supposes she would be too if a bride got in her car.
“No.”
“Whoever you are visiting is the love of your life?”
“No. My fiancé is the love of my life.” Lucy says. “You are awfully nosey for a uber driver.”
“I’m just curious.” He says. “I have never seen this before.” Lucy closes her eyes and is silent. The driver doesn’t say anything more. Soon she feels the car stop and then—
“We are here.” Lucy opens her eyes and sees the familiar cemetery.
“I’ll be back.” She says. She takes a deep breath and gets out of the car.
She would go back and marry the love of her life.
But this is exactly where she needs to be right now.
***
Tim knows something is wrong when Angela keeps looking at him and then her phone. He watches her in the mirror.
Him. Her phone. Him. Her phone.
“Okay what’s going on?” He asks. “Why do you keep looking at me?”
“It’s—nothing.” She says. “Nothing.” She’s lying.
“Angela!” Tim says. “What’s wrong? I know there’s something wrong.” Angela smoothes out her dress and opens her mouth to respond but the door opens. Celina peeks her head in and shakes it.
“Okay,” Angela says. “Tim, I need you to stay calm.”
“What?” Tim says and he feels panic more than anything. “Lucy.” Angela sighs because of course that’s the first thing on his mind.
“Lucy is gone.” Angela says. Tim’s jaw drops. Like he can’t quite believe he is hearing those words. Gone. “Someone saw her get into a uber.”
“She’s gone?” Tim manages to get out. “She’s gone?” Celina comes into the room and comes to stand next to Angela.
“She left her phone.” Celina says softly handing Tim Lucy’s phone. “It’s off. She left everything behind. I don’t think—”
“What?” Tim asks and he feels dizzy. Lucy wouldn’t just leave, she wouldn’t leave him. Just last night at their rehearsal dinner she was looking at him like he was the only one in the world. She told him later she couldn’t wait to marry him. She told him that more than once in the days before.
“I don’t think she left you Tim.” Celina says because like always she’s looking on the bright side. “It’s just not like her.”
“Did she say anything?” Tim asks. Celina shakes her head but Angela speaks before he can.
“Celina’s right.” Angela says. “If she was leaving you.. I don’t know I think she would have taken stuff. She would have told someone.”
“So she’s missing?” Tim asks and his throat is dry. He feels like he’s about to have a panic attack. This wasn’t happening again. This wasn’t happening for the third time. “Lucy is missing… again.”
Celina and Angela exchange a look. “We will find her Tim.” Angela says. “Miles and Aaron are out there stalling. We will find her.”
Right.
Tim feels sick to his stomach.
They need to find her. They need to find her before he loses his god damn mind and starts spiraling.
***
“Hi Jackson. I’m sorry I haven’t visited for awhile.” Lucy says to the headstone. “I can’t be here long. I’m getting married today. And my fiancé… they probably have figured out I’m gone.” She pauses and leans down to wipe some dirt from the headstone.
“It’s Tim. Yes, Tim Bradford. The love of my life. I know you probably know that wherever you are. But he’s—he’s amazing. We have been through so much together. He has carried me through all the hard times.” Lucy says. “He proposed to me on the beach and then we got kidnapped. We both are stubborn. We got out— we didn’t just sit around.”
She looks back and sees the uber still waiting. She imagines how weird this looks. But she didn’t care, she meant to do this earlier but—
“I love him Jackson. I can’t wait to do life with him. I just wish you were here to see it all.
I wish you were here for my wedding.” Lucy says. She smiles and straightens up. “I have to go. I miss you Jackson. Everyone does.” She puts her hand on the headstone.
“Look after me okay? I know you have been.” She says. “Now it’s time I go marry Tim before he sends a search party looking for me.”
She wipes some tears from her eyes, and then turns off and walks away without another word.
***
Tim is pacing the room, his palms are sweaty. His head is pounding. Maybe Lucy did change her mind. Maybe she didn’t want to marry him after all.
He was hard to love.
He didn’t make things easy for her.
He was infuriating and he closed down sometimes. He didn’t always communicate even to this day.
He wasn’t easy to love and he thanked whoever put Lucy in his life every single day. Because she did love him.
Always.
Without fail.
She loved him in a way that gripped at his soul, that made him feel things he never felt before. She loved him in a way he knows he never deserved but she did it anyway.
But maybe that had run out and she changed her mind.
His love for her would never run out but he would let her go. He would if that’s what she wanted.
Someone knocks on the door, and then it opens. His mom and sister step through both looking at him with worried expressions.
“Timmy,” Joy says. “Lucy wouldn’t just run away.”
“Well—” Tim starts. It’s not lost on him that his mom has come to love Lucy like a daughter, sometimes he wonders if she loves Lucy more than him. He doesn’t blame her.
“She wouldn’t,” Genny chimes in. “She’s been so excited about this Tim. At her bachelorette party, she almost punched a guy because he kept hitting on her.”
Tim frowns. Lucy had never told him about that. She just said it had been a crazy night. “She never told me that.” Tim says.
“I doubt she remembers.” Genny says. Tim frowns some more. He remembers Lucy calling him giggling and telling him not to wait. He did. “My point is—she kept rambling how much she loves you and how you were the only guy for her. There’s no way she changed her mind.”
“Did she—anyone punch the guy?” Tim says. “Please tell me he got his ass kicked.”
“Almost. He got kicked out.” Genny says. “We will find her.” Tim just shakes his head and sinks down on the chair.
They need to find her.
He just wants to get married.
***
Lucy sees Angela and Celina at the entrance of the venue. She groans a little, she wishes she told the driver to go around back but it was too late. She knows they saw the uber drive up, and they probably see her.
“Thank you,” Lucy says. “I appreciate you doing this and not asking too many questions.”
“Congratulations.” The driver says. Lucy nods and opens the door. Angela is already there and pulling her out.
“Where the hell were you?” She says. She doesn’t look angry. More concerned than anything.
“I—is Tim okay?” Lucy asks because of course he’s the first thing on her mind. She just left. He probably thought—
“He’s panicked.” Angela says. “He doesn’t know why you just disappeared. Where were you?”
“The cemetery.” Lucy says and she brushes past Angela and then Celina. She hurries down the hall where she knows Tim is.
She knocks once. And then twice. “Tim?” She says. There’s footsteps and then the door flies open.
Tim appears looking stressed. His hair is messed up, his tie and shirt are askew. “Oh my god.” He says and he pulls her into his arms. “Where were you?”
“The cemetery.” She says and she’s not keeping it from him. She never would. She just wants him to know she’s in this for the long run.
Forever.
And she would never leave him.
“Why?” Tim asks. “And why didn’t you tell anyone? Everyone was panicked.”
“I needed to do this. By myself with no pressure.” Lucy says. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to worry anyone.”
“What—what exactly?” Tim asks his voice shaking. He leans in and presses his forehead against hers. He breathes softly. “Did you have to do that was so important?”
“Talk to Jackson.” She says. “I haven’t visited him in awhile and I thought he should know. About my life. About us.”
“Oh.” Tim says softly. “So you didn’t get cold feet?”
“My feet are very warm.” She says. “Did you really think I would run away? I wouldn’t do that.”
“No,” Tim says. “I knew there was a good reason. Maybe I was a little worried. I’m not easy to love and I mess up.”
“And yet I love you.” Lucy says. “I’m letting you see me before the wedding.” Tim cracks a smile at that. Lucy wants nothing more than to kiss him.
“Oh right.” Tim says. “Did you tell Jackson everything?”
“Yes and no. I’ll go back.” She says. “I told him I love you and I miss him. I wish he could be here.”
“I know.” He whispers. “Me too baby. But I know he’s watching over us and wondering why the hell we are still talking.”
Lucy lets out a laugh and presses a kiss to his lips. “Okay. Okay. I just need to—I’ll see you at out there.”
Tim nods and backs into the room again. “I’ll see you out there.”
***
“Is everything okay with you and Lucy?” Angela asks Tim. He’s leaning against the bar feeling much more relaxed than he did earlier. All the tension went away the minute he saw Lucy walking down the aisle.
She didn’t leave him.
She never would.
He knows that.
“Better than okay.” Tim says and he takes a drink of his rum. “She just had to do something. I get it.”
“I’m sure you do,” Angela says. “I knew she wouldn’t leave you. Not like that.”
“Not ever.” Tim says. He scans the room and finds Lucy in the middle of the dance floor.
His wife.
He can barely keep his eyes off of her.
She catches his eyes and then she whispers something to Celina. Celina nods and gives her a grin, and then Lucy is hurrying over to him.
“We have a problem.” Lucy says and she throws her arms around him.
“What’s that?”
“You are my husband and I’m out there all alone.” She says. Tim raises his eyebrows. “Without you.”
“Right.” Tim says and he leads her to the dance floor. “My bad.” Lucy grins at him and then pulls him down for a kiss.
“I really am sorry about earlier. I didn’t know how to tell you.” She says. “Or you might think I’m crazy.”
“Your crazy is my crazy Lucy. And I get it. I do.” Tim says and even if he was a little anxious about Lucy just leaving. There was a tiny doubt at the back of his mind, way way back in his mind.
But—
She was never thinking of leaving, she just needed to talk to her best friend. He wasn’t here, he should be here.
“I know,” Lucy says. She gives him a soft smile. “That’s one of the many reasons I love you.”
“What’s another reason?” Tim asks burying his nose into her neck and breathing her in.
“You will help me take these dang heels off.” She says. “And then continue to dance with me.”
“Okay.” He agrees easily. He would do anything that she asks. “Come here.” He leads her over to a chair and gets on his knees. He takes her shoes off one by one.
“Better?”
“Yes.”
She stands up and he leads her back to the floor. He knows she wears heels so it’s easier for him. But he loves when she has to stand on her tippy toes and bring him down for a kiss.
He loves their height difference, and how it plays in their dynamic.
“Hey,” Tim says and she looks up at him with nothing but love in her eyes. “This is the beginning of the rest of our lives.”
“It is isn’t it?” Lucy asks resting her head on his chest. He presses a kiss to the top of her head. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”