Work Text:
8 weeks ago:
Lucy knows she needs to get Tim the perfect Valentine’s Day gift. He was always so good at it and she was always at a loss for words when he gave her stuff.
Like the 17th place trophy, the memorialized radio and of course her necklace. She puts a hand to her chest. She wore the necklace as much as she could now. She had ripped it off after the breakup and only put it on when she thought Tim was bringing someone to the gala.
(Thank god it was just Genny, she really thought she was going to have a panic attack if she saw Tim with another woman).
He always is so thoughtful and loving, and now that they are back together she knows it won’t be any different.
He was loving and thoughtful even when they were broken up. He showed up for when she got her sergeant exam results and made all that food for her.
He might be more loving and thoughtful even now because that’s just who Tim was.
So she needs to find the perfect gift, which is why she is looking at eBay that has a lot of baseball memorabilia.
She scrolls through signed jerseys, baseballs, and even some old school baseball cards.
(Tim would love those). She scrolls through everything that looks interesting (or she thinks Tim would find interesting. Lord knows her boyfriend loves baseball).
He loves the Dodger’s, she has been subjected to more than a few nights of watching the game. She doesn’t mind—Tim doesn’t get excited about a lot of things but baseball is the one thing she knows will excite him and if the Dodger’s win.. well it’s a win for her too.
She focuses on The Dodger’s stuff, and then she sees it and she almost wants to cry because it’s perfect.
For Tim.
A signed Fernando Valenzuela ball. It was in pretty good condition too. She had heard Tim talk about this particular player more than once. Tim told her on multiple occasions that watching a Dodger’s game and Fernando Valenzuela helped him get away from the noise of his father.
Oh.
Lucy quickly puts it in her cart and then buys it without hesitation.
She got it.
She got the perfect gift.
She dances in her seat a little. She couldn’t wait to give it to Tim. To see the look on his face when he opened it.
She couldn’t wait because even if this was just a baseball it would mean so much more to Tim. He didn’t always open up about his father but when he did it was like flood gates would open wide.
And oh.
She really couldn’t wait to give this to him.
***
A couple of months ago:
Tim knows his Valentine’s gift this year needs to be special. I’m t needs to be something that Lucy really loves. He knows that she will love anything he gets her but—
Last year, he didn’t get her anything and then he fell into bed with her. And then it was awkward and he felt nothing but guilt afterwards.
And want, he couldn’t forget that.
Because one night with Lucy was never enough and it never would be enough. He luckily doesn’t have to worry about that anymore but still.
He needs to find the perfect gift. He needs to make Lucy knows how much he loves her and he wants this to be the perfect Valentine’s Day.
(Their first they were fighting, and what was suppose to be their second they were broken up).
He sighs softly, he would call Genny because this would be the perfect thing to ask her. He knows Genny and Lucy talk and really there’s nothing he could do about it.
But he wants to figure this out on his own, Lucy is his girlfriend. She lives with him for God’s sake.
He could do this.
He could figure it out and he would find the perfect gift if it was last thing he did.
***
Two days later, and Tim is on the computer looking up the brand of skincare that Lucy loves. It’s some kind of Korean brand but she uses it all the time and she raves about how it makes her skin feel.
(He can’t really argue with that because her skin does feel really soft. He would know first hand).
Really, really soft.
He scrolls through the website looking over his shoulder every few minutes to make sure Lucy isn’t there. This took him awhile to come up with but he did notice she was running out of it, and she mentioned to him that it was expensive and she didn’t get it all the time.
And that made a lightbulb go off in Tim’s head. He just hummed and nodded along acting like he wasn’t that interested but—
He was planning and scheming how to get it. It was perfect and she had no idea that she put the idea in his head.
He stares at the screen, he had to switch the language to English and then he just started adding things to his cart. He wanted to get her everything, so she wouldn’t need it for awhile. And she deserves it.
(Plus her skin really was soft).
“This is genius.” He mutters to himself. He’s not one to pat himself on the back but for this he was.
This was special to Lucy and that’s what he wanted. He wanted something special, he wanted something that would make her happy. He had done the jewelry thing the first time around (which she still wears the necklace..so he counts that as a win).
But now it’s something she use for awhile and she didn’t have to worry about replacing her old stuff.
It was perfect.
Absolutely perfect.
He looks at the cart price and his jaw drops a little. But he ignores the price, and the red flags telling him this probably wasn’t right and presses buy.
It was getting shipped from Korea so it probably would take some time to get here. He reads down the screen.
Your should have your items in 3-6 weeks.
Perfect. Valentine’s day wasn’t for a few months, they should be here in plenty of time. This was perfect.
Absolutely perfect.
***
February 12th
Lucy knows this is bad. She knows that drinking tequila and then hiding Tim’s Valentine’s Day present wasn’t a good idea.
Hell drinking tequila with her boyfriend wasn’t the smartest choice.
It’s not like they went overboard except they kind of did and now she can’t find Tim’s Valentine’s Day gift and it was in two days.
She takes a deep breath and continues to search, she tries to think back to what she was doing a few nights ago. What her tequila riddled mind was thinking but—
Nothing.
Shit.
Why did Tim have to bring home that tequila and why was that her weakness? And Tim was her weakness. The two of them together, she had no chance.
And neither did a signed baseball by Tim’s favorite player.
Damnit.
“Hey Luce—” Tim’s voice comes from the hallway and she freezes looking at the mess she made.
Shit.
“Just a minute I—” She calls but it’s too late. Tim is in the bedroom. He looks around with raised eyebrows.
“What’s going on?”
“Just looking for something.” She says.
“It looks like a tornado went through here.” He says. “What were you looking for?”
“Nothing of importance.” She lies. “What’s up?”
“I brought dinner.” He says with a cheeky grin on his face.
Of course he did.
“You know Valentine’s Day is in two days.” She says. “Are you buttering me up—” Tim freezes and his face goes white like he just remembered something.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” He says and he puts his hand on her back and leads her out of the room. “Let’s eat.”
Lucy sighs. This was a good distraction but she needs to find that damn baseball.
And soon.
***
Later that night:
Tim is panicked, he didn’t realize the date until Lucy mentioned Valentine’s Day was in two days. And her present hadn’t arrived yet. He realized that a few days ago and sent a email. He got no response.
He sent another one yesterday and gave them a call at the number provided but to no avail.
He didn’t want to think the worse but—
He had been scammed and there was nothing he could do. They took his money, and his naive belief that he would get the items and ran.
Shit.
It was the perfect gift, he knows Lucy would have gone crazy over it and he probably would have been subjected to facials but—
It was worth it.
“Tim.” He jumps a little and looks over to see Lucy looking at him with concern. “You looked like you saw a ghost.”
“It’s nothing.” He says. He gives her a smile that he hopes is convincing and picks up her plate from the table.
“Wesley’s thing is on Valentine’s Day right?” He asks. “We are doing something after?”
“That’s my plan.” Lucy says. Tim gives her a smile but he is still tensed. She probably has an amazing gift for him and he got scammed.
Shit.
Fuck.
Lovely.
This Valentine’s Day was suppose to be different.
And maybe—
He can salvage this and make it worth it but—
He needs to get to the bottom of this.
He needs to make sure Lucy gets her skincare products.
No matter what.