Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

“You’re seeing someone?”

Lucy’s chest tightens. She knows there are far more important things to focus on right now, like the armed and dangerous suspect at large, but she’s stuck on this one point. Tim is seeing someone.

Just last week they were flirting hot and heavy over a bet, and now he’s seeing someone. It shouldn’t affect her like this; Tim has always run hot and cold. Whenever he senses they’re getting too close, he shuts down, closes her out, but it really felt like they were getting somewhere.

She’s been his aide for a few months now, and logically she knows nothing can happen while he’s her direct superior, but they’ve grown so much closer. She thought maybe for once Tim Bradford wouldn’t be so black and white.

She tries to keep the pain out of her expression, but when their eyes lock, she sees it reflected back at her. It’s only a flash, but she sees regret—whether it’s for moving forward with someone else or just revealing it right this moment, she’s not sure.

Lucy focuses on the road ahead, searching the streets for the suspect’s vehicle, and pointedly ignoring the gut punch delivered by one Tim Bradford.

~~~~~~

After Tim changes out, he finds Genny in the bullpen talking to Lucy. He hesitates a moment before walking over to them. He knows the questions are coming from both of them, and he’s not ready to answer them. Not that he can’t state the facts: he’s dating Ashley McGrady, they met when he rode with Jerry a few weeks back, they’ve been on three dates and she’s sweet and pretty and on paper a perfect match.

What he can’t tell them, though, is why he’s dating her. Why he’s suffered through three dates with a woman he’s not attracted to, who frankly is a little boring; a woman who doesn’t challenge him or inspire him or knowhim. He can’t tell them that he asked her out because he panicked. Because he and Lucy have been balancing on the cusp of something and he felt himself falling, so he clung to the first person who came along.

He can’t tell them any of that, but his sister, who has known him all his life, and his aide, who knows him better than he knows himself…well he won’t need to tell them. So, he takes a few moments to put on his mask and does what he does best: deflection.

“Don’t you have anything better to do than harass my sister, Chen?”

As usual, she’s not one bit put off by his gruff demeanor. “Are you kidding me? I finally meet a Bradford who’s not a total pain in my ass and she’s got a lifetime of dirt on you? She’s my new best friend.”

He rolls his eyes and Genny chuckles. “Lucy’s going to help us with the house this weekend, we were just going over the plan.”

“You—you don’t have to do that,” he shoves his hands in his pockets, trying to hide the way his heart leaps at the opportunity to spend more time with her.

Lucy waves him off, “Nonsense, I volunteered, somebody has to be the mediator. Besides, I want to meet whatever poor girl you’ve deluded into dating you this time, help her with an exit strategy.”

He glares at her, searching her face for any hint of hurt, but finding none. “Funny,” he clears his throat, staring at the floor and shuffling his feet. “You’ve, uh, actually already met her.” She cocks her head, eyebrow raised. “It’s Ashley. McGrady. Jerry’s daughter,” he stutters out.

A myriad of emotions play across her face in less than a second before she schools her expression. “Oh. Uh, yeah, she’s nice. Pretty.” She scratches her neck, her tell. “I better go change out; I’ll see you Saturday. Not you,” she whips around, walking backward and pointing at Tim. “I’ll see you at roll call. On the morrow. Morning. Tomorrow,” she stops, inhaling a steady breath. “I’ll see you at work tomorrow morning,” she turns and scurries off toward the locker rooms.

“Shut up,” he doesn’t even have to look at his sister to know she’s giving him her best stern teacher look.

“You’re an idiot.”

~~~~~~

The next day on patrol, Lucy keeps up a steady stream of cheerful conversation, trying desperately to brush off the awkwardness of finding out Tim is dating Malibu Barbie (because of course the beautiful blonde lifeguard is his type). Eventually, though, she runs out of things to talk about that don’t involve Tim’s gorgeous new girlfriend, and she can’t help but ask about her.

“So, you and Ashley…” she begins hesitantly.

Tim clenches his jaw but doesn’t take his eyes off the road. “What about us?”

“Nothing, it’s just…I wouldn’t have thought you two have much in common.” He raises a brow at her, and she continues. “I mean, I know you’re into blondes, obviously, but a lifeguard? Really?”

Tim scoffs, “What’s wrong with lifeguards?”

She raises her hands in surrender. “Nothing, it’s just…I mean, what do you even talk about? The gnarly waves?”

He opens his mouth to speak, but is cut off by Sergeant Grey on the radio. “7-Adam-100, Officer Chen, I need you back at the station.”

“Copy that, ten minutes out.”

She temporarily forgets about their conversation, anxious about what Grey could possibly want with her. Tim is routinely called back to the station for various supervisory tasks, but never Lucy.

She goes straight to Grey’s office and finds him there with Harper and a man she doesn’t recognize. He’s tall and handsome, a little rough around the edges with shaggy hair and scruffy facial hair. He’s wearing jeans and a hoodie, with a badge hanging from his neck. Lucy taps on the door and Grey waves her in.

“Officer Chen, thank you for joining us. This is Detective Noah Foster from Victorville PD.”

The detective turns his charming smile on Lucy, and her stomach flutters. “Officer Chen, I stand in the presence of greatness,” he bows before her, and she laughs nervously.

“Uh,” she begins.

“Detective Foster has been working a case involving the Bautista family,” Harper hands Lucy a file detailing various organized crime operations. Apparently the Bautistas have a long and violent history in Victorville.

“So what does a case out of Victorville have to do with me?”

Detective Foster sits on the edge of Grey’s desk. “According to my intel, Papa Bautista is looking to expand the family business. His son relocated to Los Angeles and is already rumored to be connected to several deals in this district.”

Lucy nods, though she’s still confused. “I have assured Detective Foster that he will have Mid-Wilshire’s full cooperation. Whatever we can do to assure the swift takedown of this syndicate.”

“Yes, sir,” she says to Sergeant Grey. “What do you need from patrol?”

Foster smirks. “I’m more interested in your special talents.”

“Excuse me?”

“He’s in need of someone with UC experience, he asked for our best, and I recommended you,” Harper interjects.

“Me?” Lucy blinks.

Harper’s smirk turns smug. “Well, only because I’m out of the game.”

“Yea—uh, yes. Um, thank you, for the opportunity. Where do we start?” Lucy turns to Foster, whose smile brightens with her agreement.

“I already have a cover set up as Alex Nichols, an enforcer fresh out of Lompoc prison and looking to get back in the game.”

“You can brush off Nova’s spurs,” Harper says. “Alex needed an in and offered up his chemist girlfriend for a meet and greet with Shaun Bautista.”

Lucy smiles, excited to put her skills to use. “When’s the meet?”

“Monday,” Noah says. “Shaun’s in Victorville for a family wedding this weekend, but he’s wanting to hit the ground running as soon as he returns.”

Sergeant Grey takes a seat at his desk. “I’m pulling you off patrol effective immediately. I’ll let Bradford know, you and Detective Foster can spend the remainder of the shift going over the details of the case and sorting out your backstory.”

“Yes, sir,” she turns to Foster. “Where should we start, Detective Foster?”

He stands, one corner of his mouth turning up in a devilish grin. “With lunch. And please, call me Noah. Formal titles really aren’t my bag.”

She sticks her hand out, “Nice to meet you, Noah, I’m Lucy.”

He grips her hand, holding it rather than shaking it. “Oh Lucy, the pleasure is all mine.” He winks and steps through the office door, and Lucy ducks her head to hide her blush as she follows, ignoring Harper’s snickering behind her.

Chapter Text

Lucy changes back into her plain clothes and meets Noah at the door to head to the courtyard. She introduces him to her favorite taco truck and the two of them sit at a table at the edge of the patio, away from the lunch crowd. Noah is giving her the background on the case, which he’s been working for the better part of a year, and he’s just laying out the details of their upcoming meeting when she sees Tim walk up to order, Ashley McGrady at his side. His hand is resting on the small of her back and she’s looking up at him like he holds all the answers to the universe.

“Is that your ex?”

She startles at Noah’s question, only then realizing she’s been staring at her sergeant and his new girlfriend and not hearing anything he’s been saying about the Bautistas. “What? N—no. That’s uh, that’s just Sergeant Bradford.”

Noah shuts the file, shoving it aside and turning to fully face Lucy. “Oh, there is a story there and I want to hear it.” He folds his arms over the table, resting his chin on his fist and looking up at her eagerly.

She huffs a nervous laugh, giving a little shake of her head. “There’s no story. I just, uh, I just wondered who he got to take my place while I’m working with you.”

He studies her face for a few moments, and Lucy tries not to shift under his gaze. “You know, you came highly recommended by Harper, and I asked some of my contacts about you. You’ve got a reputation for being an absolute badass,” he says almost accusingly.

“O—okay,” she says, not following the switch in topic. “Um, that’s great?”

“I just hope to God your undercover skills are as good as they say, because right now all I see is a shit liar.” He grins as he steals a fry off her plate, popping it in his mouth.

Lucy’s jaw opens and snaps shut several times, no words coming out. Noah raises an eyebrow, challenging her to contradict him. He’s blunt, but not judgmental, and she finds she wants to tell him everything. She hasn’t felt this kind of connection since Jackson died. “He’s not my ex,” she begins carefully, looking around to make sure nobody is listening in. “But lately, I don’t know, it felt like he was going to be my…something.”

Noah sits up straighter, his eyes casually traveling to Tim and Ashley. They’ve grabbed their food and are walking to a table on the other end of the courtyard. He sets their food down and pulls out her chair, automatically scanning the other tables until his eyes land on Lucy. They exchange small smiles before he sits, back to her and attention focused on Ashley.

“Until Dream Date Barbie came along and seduced him with her feminine wiles,” he states matter of fact.

“Something like that,” she pushes her plate aside, no longer hungry. She glances over at Tim again just as Ashley leans in to kiss his cheek.  She can’t see his face, but she doesn’t have to. Of course he’s smitten with the blonde, who wouldn’t be? She turns her attention back to Noah, shaking off her sadness. “Sorry, this is really unprofessional. I swear, I am the badass UC you were promised, not some silly girl obsessed with a boy.”

He smirks, “Well, he is a very handsome boy.” She laughs, rolling her eyes. “Look, I get it. My girl just broke up with me, so I’ve been a mopey dumbass the last couple of weeks. At least I can get some distance from April, but you’re Bradford’s partner—”

“Aide.”

“You spend twelve hours a day in close proximity, kinda hard not to obsess, just a little bit.” His smile is disarming, and she marvels at how easy he is to talk to. She’s known him less than an hour and she’s already confessed more than she has to even her closest friends. She can see why he’s a good cop, a good UC. The bad guys must line up to tell him their secrets.

~~~~~~

Tim doesn’t see Lucy for the rest of the shift, which is unbearably long without her constant cheerful commentary.  It seems crazy to think of a time when he welcomed the quiet, and now working half a shift alone is enough to put him in a bad mood. Not that he’d ever admit that out loud. He’s dreading the next few weeks, or however long her assignment with the Victorville detective is going to take. Grey told him to choose another aide for the time being, but he honestly can’t think of anyone he’d want sitting next to him that’s not Lucy.

He looks for her after he changes out, but she’s nowhere to be found. He catches sight of her getting into her car in the parking garage, the scruffy detective he saw her sitting with earlier climbing into her passenger seat. Grey said their undercover meet is on Monday, today was just supposed to be about getting her up to speed on the case. So where the hell are they going? He pulls out his phone and dials her number.

“Hey,” she picks up on the first ring, her voice distant over Bluetooth.

“Hey, you left already,” he says, stating the obvious.

She chuckles, “Yeah, shift’s over, Tim.”

He rolls his eyes and he swears he hears snickering on the other end that is definitely not Lucy. “Yeah, uh, I know that. I just—I was looking for you.”

“What’s up? Did I miss something on the paperwork?”

“No,” he suddenly feels dumb, having no valid reason to call her. “Genny, uh, she’s been bugging me all day to invite you to dinner. With us. Tonight.” It’s a complete lie, but one he knows his sister will happily play along with.

“Oh, shoot. I’d love to hang out with Genny, but No—uh, Detective Foster and I are heading out for a bite right now.” He frowns, unlocking his truck and climbing in. “He just, he’s never been to L.A. before, so I offered to show him around.”

“Yeah, no. Of course. Uh, I’ll still see you tomorrow, right?”

“Absolutely. We can do dinner this weekend. You can invite Ashley.”

“Yeah, okay.” He clears his throat. “I want to get started on time, so I’ll pick you up. Be ready at eight sharp,” he barks.

“Yes, sir,” she chuckles as she disconnects the call. Tim tosses the phone into the center console, his bad mood only intensifying.

~~~~~~

Lucy doesn’t even have to look at Noah to know the smirk he’s pointing her way. “Shut up.” She curses herself for answering that call on speaker.

“So that’s Bradford,” he teases. She focuses on the road, not looking his way or answering. “And you two have exciting weekend plans with Genny and Ashley…who I’m assuming are Barbie and…another sister wife?”

She punches his shoulder, finally taking her eyes off the road long enough to see his blue eyes dancing with amusement. “Genny is his sister, she’s in town fixing up their father’s house to sell. I’m helping with the demolition.”

“Of course you are,” he nods, mock serious, “because that’s a totally normal thing for a platonic co-worker to sign up for. Will the girlfriend also be there?”

Lucy glares at him. “No, I don’t think he even told her about it. Besides, she probably has to work; weekends are a busy time for lifeguards.”

Noah snorts, “I’m sorry, Malibu Barbie is a lifeguard?” She gives him a sheepish look and he shakes his head. “Can he get any more cliché? I’m seriously doubting your judgment if that’s the kind of guy you go for.”

“Oh, and I suppose you’re not the least bit attracted to the perfect, blonde, beautiful type?” She looks at him pointedly and he shrugs.

“I’m not saying I would kick her outta bed, I am a guy, after all. But when it comes to real attraction, I prefer my women a little more…” his eyes roam Lucy’s form appreciatively and that fluttering in her stomach returns, “flavorful.”

She chuckles and rolls her eyes, though she can’t hide the way her cheeks heat up. “You’re ridiculous.”

“And you like it.” Lucy laughs again, turning into the parking lot of the restaurant and pulling into a space. “You and me, Chen, this is the start of a beautiful friendship.” Noah grins at her before shoving the door open and Lucy takes a moment to breathe before she does something incredibly stupid with her hot and aggressively charming new colleague.

Chapter Text

Tim knocks on Lucy’s door at eight o’clock on the dot Saturday morning, and she answers immediately with a knowing smirk. “How long were you waiting out there to be right on time?”

“How long were you waiting in here to give me crap about it?”

She rolls her eyes at his grumbling, knowing there’s no real bite to it. “I’m almost ready.”

“You’re still wearing pajamas!”

“Yes, and after a quick shower I’ll be ready,” she pads into her bedroom and pushes the door, but it doesn’t close fully. When he walks toward the couch he glances over and catches a glimpse of Lucy, back to him, pulling off her sleep shirt. He spins around quickly, sarcastic reply dying in his throat at the sight of a nearly naked Lucy Chen.

It feels like forever, or maybe just minutes, before she’s coming out of her bedroom wearing jeans and a T-shirt, hair pulled back into a simple ponytail.

“Ready?” He nods dumbly, standing to follow her. She’s picking up trash and beer bottles as she goes, quickly cleaning up the evidence of a late-night visitor and tying up the trash bag to toss on the way out.

“Maybe if you didn’t spend your night hosting a house party, you could’ve been ready on time today,” he grouses as he takes the bag from her so she can lock up.

Lucy rolls her eyes, not one bit phased by his grumpy mood. “It wasn’t a house party. Noah just came over for a few drinks after dinner.”

“Noah?” he scoffs. Of course she’s on a first name basis with the detective, who apparently is her new best friend.

“Yes, Noah,” she laughs. “We’re gonna be working closely, so we were just getting to know each other.” He rolls his eyes so hard it almost hurts, making her laugh again. “You know, he’s a great guy, you should get to know him too.”

Tim shoves the bag down the trash chute before smashing the elevator button. “I’m good.” He pointedly ignores her knowing smirk as they make their way down to his truck.

~~~~~~

The day doesn’t go as planned; almost as soon as they start demolition, Tim finds a gun hidden in a wall and he and Lucy rush off to investigate. It’s a heavy, emotional day as old skeletons are discovered and old wounds are ripped open. By the time Tim walks out of his father’s hospice room for the second time in less than six hours, he feels so broken and raw that he’s afraid he’ll literally fall apart in that hallway.

He looks at Lucy, her words from the other day echoing in his head. “The Tim Tests,” he sees the recognition in her eyes before the words are even out of his mouth, the regret for saying something so careless. “Those don’t make me like him.”

She pulls him in immediately, assuring him he’s nothing like the monster dying in the next room. She’s holding him close, holding him together. For the first time in a long time (maybe for the first time), he feels seen and loved unconditionally. He’s not sure how long they stay like that, but when he finally thinks he’s got control of his emotions he pulls back, just enough to look at her. They’ve been here before; one of them grieving while the other grounds them. Finally allowing themselves to get close enough for the magnetic pull to bind them to one another.

He was only able to resist last time because it would have been completely inappropriate, taking advantage of the situation for his own personal gain. But now…well now what’s stopping them? Yes, he’s emotional, but not so much that he can’t clearly decide what he wants. And what he wants is to know what it feels like to kiss Lucy Chen, so he leans in. There’s a flash of uncertainty in her eyes, but then she’s moving forward too, and his heart is racing. When they’re close enough that he can feel her warm breath on him, his phone rings. They both startle, stepping back just enough for him to pull it out of his pocket and check the caller ID.

Right. Ashley. His girlfriend.

His eyes snap to Lucy, an indecipherable look on her face. She nods, almost imperceptibly, stepping back. “I, uh, I’m gonna go wait in the truck,” she says, pointing behind her.

Tim sighs and answers the phone, letting Ashley know the details of their dinner reservation.

~~~~~~

If Lucy is at all affected by their moment in the hospice hallway, she doesn’t let it show. She goes to dinner with Tim, Ashley and Genny, making bubbly conversation and making a real effort to get to know Ashley. Tim is quiet, even for him, but the only one who seems to notice is Genny, who gives him pointed, knowing looks every so often.

On Sunday, they make up for the time they lost investigating the found gun and stay late at the house, finishing the demolition so Nolan and Genny can get started on the repairs. By the time Tim drives Lucy home, it’s well past midnight.

“Thanks for all your help this weekend,” he says as they approach her apartment. He’s not ready to go back to riding solo tomorrow, to Lucy working with Noah.

“Of course,” Lucy turns the lock but doesn’t open the door. “It was cathartic, you know, taking out all my frustrations with a sledgehammer.”

He smiles. It actually did feel pretty good to destroy the walls of his former prison, to tear out all the bad memories and make room for someone to create good ones. “Yeah. Yeah, it’s better than therapy.”

She reaches for his hand, squeezing it before stepping inside. “Goodnight Tim.”

“Goodnight Lucy.”

~~~~~~

Lucy and Noah go straight to the conference room to be debriefed after their meet with Shaun Bautista. Overall it went well, and he said he’d reach out to Nova for an upcoming job, but it nearly went off the rails due to some…awkwardness.

“I’m sorry, I’ve always gone in alone. I’ve never had to fake being a couple before,” Lucy groans as she perches herself on the tabletop after everyone else leaves. Though she’s a tactile person, she’s never been keen on PDA, so she didn’t even think about having to put on a show to sell their backstory as Alex and Nova. The thing is, though, Alex is a little handsy, and Nova’s a little thirsty. While Noah had no trouble embodying the role, Lucy was hesitant.

Noah smirks, “You have been part of a real couple though, right?”

“Of course,” she slaps his arm. “This is different. Even real couples are awkward at first, until they find their own rhythm.”

Noah steps in front of her, placing his hands on her knees. He gently pushes her legs open and steps into the space. The table is just high enough that they’re at eye level. “Then let’s find our rhythm,” he says smoothly.

She tightens her grip on the edge of the table, her heart pounding as his hands move up her thighs. “W-uh,” she tries to swallow the thick lump in her throat. “You mean like practice, uh, practice PDA?”

He smirks at her, his stupid sexy gaze igniting a fire low in her belly. “You were a theater kid,” he states, no question in his tone. She glares at him, and he drags his eyes down her body and back up to her face. “And I’m betting, you were always cast as the lead. Surely you played Juliet in your school’s production freshman year.”

She bites her cheek, holding back a smile. “Tenth grade,” she grudgingly admits.

He hums, mock serious and leans closer. “And tell me, in all your rehearsals, did you save the kiss for opening night?” His hands have travelled up to grip her hips and his face is inches from hers.

“N-no,” her stupid trembling voice betrays her confident façade.

Noah tugs her hips toward the edge of the table, drawing her flush against him. “Then we better start rehearsing,” he says against her mouth. He reaches one hand up to grip the back of her head, pulling to close the distance as her hands automatically grip his lower back. There is nothing tentative about the kiss. He deepens it immediately, plunging his tongue inside her mouth, the taste of beer still on his lips from their earlier meeting.

It’s a damn good kiss. It’s dominating without being aggressive, passionate and just this side of dirty. Lucy can feel the evidence of his arousal as he rolls his hips into her, her own desire burning hot. There is no denying they’re attracted to each other. It’s been a long time since she’s been with anyone, and she’s so turned on right now, she’s about two seconds from wrapping her legs around him and turning this rehearsal into a very real performance when the door opens.

They pull apart sluggishly at a choked cough, and Lucy drags her eyes away from Noah to see a pale Tim Bradford, eyes wild and mouth hanging open. Noah steps back, his smirk turning painfully smug.

“Didn’t mean to interrupt,” Tim says tightly.

“No. This is work. This is work,” Lucy fumbles out.

“Looks like it.” His jaw clenches and unclenches several times and his hands clamp down on his duty belt like a vice-grip.

Noah swipes his thumb across his lower lip, and Lucy doesn’t know whether to punch him or pull him in for round two. “Good work tonight, Chen.” He turns, not bothering to conceal the prominent erection straining against his jeans as he casually and confidently strides past Tim and down the hall.

“Great work, as well,” she says dumbly to his retreating form.

“S-Sergeant Grey is looking for you," Tim says dryly.

She nods, plastering on a fake smile. She watches him storm out of the room but doesn’t follow immediately, since her legs are currently jello.

Fuck.

Chapter Text

Lucy steps out of the locker room and nearly walks right into Tim. He’s standing in front of the doorway, arms crossed over his chest and a scowl on his face. She looks up at him a little bewildered for a moment before realizing he’s about to lecture her.

“What the hell are you doing?” he barks at her.

She crosses her arms and sets her jaw, readying herself for a fight. “What the hell are you doing?” she counters.

“I’ll tell you what I’m not doing, I’m not dry humping my colleagues on the conference room table.”

She waves him off, stepping around him. “I already told you that kiss didn’t mean anything.”

“Right, right. It was for the case. Make out. Stop crime. That totally tracks,” he deadpans.

Lucy whips around, anger flaring. “Not that I need to explain myself to you, but we’re working undercover, Tim, remember? We’re supposed to be boyfriend and girlfriend, but I almost blew it today because I froze when he touched me. We were just practicing so it’s not awkward.”

“That’s how you practice?” he scoffs. “I’m lucky I walked in when I did, or Lord knows what I would’ve seen.”

“Oh, and I suppose he should’ve just given me a grade school peck?” He shrugs and she laughs mirthlessly. “It was a kiss, Tim, just a weird thing we had to do for work. Why do you care?”

She stares at him for a few moments; he opens and closes his mouth, no sound coming out. She shakes her head and turns to walk away from him.

“Goodnight Tim.”

~~~~~~

Noah: Did your man ever pick his jaw up off the floor?

Lucy’s phone chirps once she’s cozy on the couch with takeout and a true crime documentary. She chuckles as she types out her reply.

Lucy: He was still struggling with it when I left an hour later, so I’m gonna go with no.

Noah: Good.

She rolls her eyes and then sobers a little. They should probably talk about that kiss. It was supposed to make things less awkward undercover, but they did get carried away. What if it just makes things more awkward?

Noah: Look, I don’t want things to be awkward, so you’re gonna need more practice. I’m willing to put in the work here to make sure your UC skills are up to par.

Noah: It’s going to take some intense practice sessions, but we can get you there. If we gotta go all the way, well that’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make. For the job.

She laughs out loud. She should’ve known it wouldn’t be awkward. Their attraction is insane but it’s purely physical; there are no deeper feelings clouding things.

Lucy: You’re an idiot.

Noah: Nah. I’d be an idiot not to shoot my shot.

~~~~~~

Lucy doesn’t see Tim much over the next few days. When they do pass in the bullpen, she simply nods in greeting and moves on. She and Noah continue their friendly, flirty rapport, but remain professional. Thankfully, and to her great dismay, there are no more make out sessions.

When Shaun Bautista finally calls, she’s much more comfortable playing Alex’s girlfriend. It’s an easy job, just something to get her feet wet and prove her loyalty. Since she won’t be cooking product, they agree not to make any busts. The goal is to take down the entire Bautista syndicate, so Nova and Alex will need to infiltrate the inner workings of Shaun’s Los Angeles operations.

“I told you my girl was the best,” Noah says to Shaun as he pulls Lucy onto his lap. They just finished the job, Nova had to prove her skills by testing product while Alex provided security for the buy. Now they’re having a few beers at a dive bar downtown. Well, the guys are having a few beers, Lucy is just holding hers.

“She knows her stuff,” Shaun agrees. He drags his eyes along her curves with a lecherous smile as he brings the bottle to his lips. “I’m curious to see what other skills she’s got.”

Lucy keeps her face neutral despite wanting to vomit. “Careful man,” Noah says, sounding amused. “I ain’t the jealous type, but my girl’s as loyal as she is dangerous. She’s put bigger men in the hospital for less.” He pulls her closer and she runs her hand through his hair and nips at his neck to punctuate his point. He caresses her thigh with the hand not holding his beer and she’s momentarily distracted by the feel of his growing arousal against her ass.

“Message received,” Shaun chuckles as he holds his hands up in surrender.

“Are you boys done talking shop?” She sets her beer bottle on the table and leans in to run her tongue along the shell of Noah’s ear, biting gently. “Because I can think of much more fun things to do tonight.”

He growls, slamming his beer down clumsily on the table and gripping Lucy to him as he stands. She clutches him tighter and giggles. “Shaun, it’s been a pleasure, but now I must go pleasure my lady.”

He doesn’t set her down until they’re in the parking lot, but he doesn’t let her go. He keeps his arm around her waist, hand planted in her back pocket and gripping her ass. They’re well out of sight of Shaun and his crew, so the PDA isn’t necessary, but Lucy doesn’t say anything. Their mutual attraction is undeniable and even though Lucy has no intention of acting on it, the attention is nice.

“I’ll drive, I didn’t have anything to drink.” She holds her hands out for the keys once they reach his truck.

“I noticed,” he eyes her as he places the keyring in her hand. “Not thirsty tonight?”

She smiles easily and shrugs, “A girl can never be too careful.”

They drive to his cover apartment, where her car is parked, discussing the case as they go. She parks the truck in front of the building and he walks her to her car a block over. “You were a much more convincing girlfriend tonight,” he smirks at her, bumping her shoulder as they walk side-by-side. “I’d say we found our rhythm.”

She laughs, “Yeah, well, that kiss was a real ice breaker.”

He gives her a mock sheepish grin. “Hey, when a guy gets a chance to kiss Lucy Chen, he’s gotta pull out all the stops.” Lucy rolls her eyes. “Not like you were complaining.”

“What can I say? I’m a method actor.”

They’ve reached her car now, and Noah grips her hips, pushing her gently against the door and stepping into her space. Her hands come to rest on his biceps, and she looks up at him, trying like hell to hide the way she wants to pull him into her backseat and have her way with him. His amused expression shows he’s not buying her act.

“You know,” his voice is unfairly sexy and thick. “My offer to practice was sincere.”

She bites her lip, taking a moment to breathe before answering so she doesn’t do something stupid. “As tempting as that is, one thing I’ve learned is that it’s not a good idea to date colleagues.”

He nods. “I agree, I would never date a colleague,” she raises a skeptical brow. “But I would totally enjoy some naked time with a hot friend from a different station.”

Lucy chuckles and rolls her eyes, pushing him away gently. “You’re trouble.”

“The best kind,” he winks and shoves his hands in his pockets. “See you tomorrow.”

“Goodnight.” She gets in, switching on the engine and driving home with the AC on blast, despite the cool weather. It’s gonna be a long case.

Chapter Text

“We gotta talk about your attitude,” Tim glares at Lopez when she drops down in the chair next to him. He’s annoyed not only at her words, but her company. For the last few weeks, everyone has given him a wide berth, but now his nosy friend has decided to crash his peaceful lunch.

“There’s nothing wrong with my attitude,” he growls.

Lopez crosses her arms, sitting back in her chair, eyebrow raised. “Bullshit.” He rolls his eyes and goes back to eating, hoping she’ll go away if he ignores her. No such luck. “Look, it’s one thing to scare off rookies, but you’ve got everyone avoiding you. This is worse than when Isabel left. What the hell is going on with you?”

He turns to yell at her but catches sight of Lucy and Foster stepping up to order from the taco truck. Their taco truck. At least, it was before Detective Dumbass rolled into town. “Nothing. I just want to be left alone,” he barks.

“Geez, no wonder Lucy was so happy to get the hell away from you.” She must see the flash of hurt in his eyes at the mention of his aide (former aide? He doesn’t even know at this point). “Unless that’s the reason for the bad mood…”

“I told you, there’s no bad mood.” His jaw clenches and unclenches rapidly and he knows he’s not fooling his best friend.

Lopez places a gentle hand on his arm and her voice is softer when she speaks. “Did it ever occur to you to just tell her you miss her?” He doesn’t respond, stubbornly clinging to his denial even though he knows it’s pointless.

Lopez glances over to where Lucy and Foster are now taking their places at a table with Nolan, Thorsen and Harper. The two of them are laughing and play fighting, to the amusement of their table mates.

“It’s just a fling.”

He snaps his eyes back to Lopez. “What?”

“You’re still her favorite work husband.” He rolls his eyes. “They’ll wrap up their case and Detective Hottie will ride off into the sunset, and she’ll come back to you.”

“Whatever,” he scoffs, standing and gathering his trash. “I couldn’t care less if she wants to play detective forever.” Though he does care. If he could figure out a way to bring down the Bautista syndicate tomorrow, he’d pack Foster’s bags himself and drop his grungy ass at the nearest bus station.

Lopez smirks knowingly at him. “Keep lying to yourself, pretty boy,” he narrows his eyes, trying desperately to murder her with his gaze. “Just get your attitude in check by tomorrow night because I will not put up with your shit at my surprise party.”

“It’s not a surprise party if you bullied us into planning it for you,” he grumbles as he stomps back to the station.

~~~~~~

“Lucy, it’s Ashley. Is this a good time?”

Lucy stares at her phone for a second before bringing it back to her ear. What could Tim’s girlfriend possibly want with her?

“Uh, yeah. Hey. What’s going on?” Noah looks up from the case file he’s reading with a curious look. She shrugs, thoroughly confused.

“I have a problem,” she begins. “I like Tim. A lot. But his dog makes me super nervous and I-I know he was yours first. So…why did you give him away? Was he too aggressive?”

She’s caught off guard; she didn’t realize they were having sleepovers. Though it makes sense, she supposes, since they’ve been dating a few weeks now. But she doesn’t like Kojo? Who doesn’t like Kojo? First of his name, king of canines, destroyer of chew toys?

“No! Not at all. I-I mean, my living situation just wasn’t suited to having a pet. Uh, but Kojo is the sweetest guy. I mean, do you—do you not like dogs?”

Ashley sighs and sounds a little ashamed when she says, “I had a bad experience when I was a kid.”

Lucy feels a twinge of sympathy for the other woman. She has a valid reason to be hesitant and surely Tim didn’t handle it in the most sensitive manner. She assures Ashley that Kojo, like Tim, is all bark, totally harmless and Ashley thanks her before disconnecting the call.

“Trouble with Bradford?” Noah asks.

Lucy slips her phone back in her pocket, a mix of confusion and irritation in her voice. “That was Ashley. Apparently, they had their first sleepover and she was asking my advice.”

“Ouch,” he winces. “Talk about awkward.”

Lucy snorts, “Yeah.” She looks across the bullpen and sees Tim talking to Grey. “Excuse me,” she says as she charges out of the room.

The sergeants are just wrapping up their conversation when she approaches.

“We should put a unit on everyone. Squeeze him out,” Tim says.

“All right. Send me that list. I’ll use it to brief the midnight shift.” Grey nods to Lucy before he turns toward his office. “Officer Chen.”

Tim spins around, not having noticed her approach. There’s a hint of a smile on his face before he schools it. “You need something, Chen?”

“Uh, yeah. I just got a call from Ashley.”

His default scowl turns angry. “Why is my girlfriend calling you?” he snaps.

“She wanted to know if Kojo was a dangerous dog ‘cause you told her he used to be mine.”

“Okay. That’s ridiculous,” he turns and starts walking away, Lucy hot on his heels. “I mean, he growled at her a few times, but he’s just getting used to her. I-it’s not a big deal.”

She reaches for his arm, stopping him and urging him to look at her. “It is to her.”

He narrows his eyes, clenching his fists. “And you’re so concerned about my love life because…?”

Anger flares but she tamps it down. She’s trying to help Ashley, that’s what’s important right now. “Look, I’m just trying to help. If you like this girl, you should listen to her.”

“Right. So what happens behind my closed doors is your business but when I catch you practically having sex with a fellow cop in the station, I’m the bad guy for saying something. Got it.”

Lucy draws herself to her full height, once again cursing herself for being so much shorter than him. “She called me, Tim. Because you treated her like her feelings don’t matter. I guess she figured I’d know how that feels,” he scoffs and rolls his eyes, and she wants to punch his stupid handsome face. “So before you yell at me for getting involved in your relationship, maybe you should make sure your girlfriend doesn’t feel like she has to run to me for help.”

She’s well aware of the eyes on her as she storms off to the locker room. Every officer in the bullpen—hell, every officer in the station just heard them yelling at each other; having a very private argument in a very public place. She can’t bring herself to care, though. As soon as she drops down on the bench in front of her locker, her phone chirps.

Noah: I don’t know about you, but watching that show worked up an appetite. What do you say we call it a night and go eat our weight in carbs?

Lucy smiles. Ever since she turned down his offer of no-strings naked time, he’s been very respectful of her decision. They’ve kept it professional at work and left the groping and PDA to undercover only, though their flirty banter hasn’t suffered one bit. He’s proved to be a good friend and they’ve grown quite close. She trusts him almost as much as she does Tim.

Lucy: Sounds good, but this time I get to choose the place. I really question your taste in eateries.

Noah: That’s just because where I really wanna eat isn’t a restaurant 😉

She rolls her eyes even as heat floods her body. He really is the best kind of trouble.

Chapter Text

Tim hasn’t seen Lucy since their fight yesterday evening. He looked for her around the station all day, but she and Foster never came in. He wants to smooth things over with her. He knows she was right; he was way too flippant about Ashley’s concerns. He thinks about texting her, but he figures they must be working with Bautista today.

When he and Ashley arrive at the bar for Angela’s party, he scans the room for Lucy. He keeps his eyes trained on the door as the other guests make their way inside. When he finally spots her walking in, he smiles involuntarily. She’s wearing a black top with a jean jacket and a red skirt that hugs her curves. Her hair is perfectly curled, and she looks beautiful. He’s just about to go over to her when he sees Foster, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and saying something that makes her laugh. Tim bites his cheek and sits back down, facing away from them.

“Hey, Lucy,” Ashley says cheerily a few minutes later.

“Hey, Ashley. How was work?”

Tim sips his beer without turning around. “Oh, it was great. Not too crowded even though the weather was beautiful.”

“I’m so jealous. You get to hang out at the beach all day, meanwhile I was stuck in a warehouse with a bunch of drug dealers who apparently don’t know what soap is.” Ashley chuckles but Tim rolls his eyes. “Hey, Ash, could I borrow Tim for a minute?”

“Sure.”

Tim sighs and stands, meeting Lucy’s eyes for the first time. He holds his hand out, gesturing for her to lead the way. They step outside into the cool night air, and he leans against the wall, hands in his pockets. He waits for her to speak first.

“I just wanted to clear the air, after yesterday.”

“Okay,” he says tightly. He’s not sure why he’s being such an ass; he was planning to apologize to her just minutes ago.

“Look, I don’t wanna fight with you, Tim. I don’t like fighting with you. I’m not even really sure why we’re fighting, but I don’t want to ruin Angela’s birthday. So, can we just call a truce? Please?”

He stares at her for a few beats, her wide brown eyes pleading. He nods and she deflates, moving to stand next to him against the wall.

“So…Ashley seems good,” she bumps his shoulder.

He rolls his eyes fondly. “Yeah, I, uh, I took your advice.”

She taps her ear, as if she didn’t hear him. “I’m sorry, that almost sounded like—”

“You were right,” he scoffs, “okay?”

She grins smugly, “Could I get that in writing, sir?”

Tim rolls his eyes again and snorts. “Shut up.” He stares at his feet, kicking at the ground a few times. “So, you brought Foster…”

Lucy gives him a small smile, “Angela told me to invite him.” He hums, nodding. He wants to ask, but he can’t after yelling at her for getting involved in his relationship. “We’re just friends, Tim.”

“It’s none of my business.”

“You’re right, it’s not. But we are. I know what you walked in on that day…it wasn’t very professional, but it really didn’t mean anything.” He gives her a look and she smirks. “Yeah, okay, we got carried away, but it really was just meant to help me get comfortable with the undercover PDA.”

He nods; it really is none of his business. “Come on, if we’re not in place to yell ‘surprise’ Lopez will put a curse on us.” She grins and follows him. Once inside, he turns to her, “Buy you a drink?” She opens her mouth to answer but something behind him catches her eye.

“All good?”

Tim turns to see Foster, a half-empty beer in one hand, holding out an unopened bottle to Lucy. She takes it, twists off the cap and takes a swig. “Yeah. Uh, should we—should we go sit down?”

Both men nod. She and Foster lead the way and he follows, hands stuffed into his pockets. He’s not used to being on the outside of Lucy’s orbit.

~~~~~~

Noah and Nolan go up to the bar to get another round for the table and Angela, Harper and Bailey swarm Lucy.

“Oh my God, what is it like working with Detective Sexy?” Bailey gushes.

Tim scoffs, “That guy?” The women glare at him and Lucy giggles.

“Don’t worry, Timmy, you’re still the handsomest boy at Mid-Wilshire,” Angela slaps his cheek playfully and he scowls.

“Yes, Bradford, you’re very pretty, but that man,” Harper gestures toward Noah with her water glass before bringing it to her lips. “I would let that man do dirty, dirty things to me if I wasn’t having James’ baby.”

“I love you, too, honey,” James deadpans. Harper winks and blows him a kiss and Tim rolls his eyes.

Lucy laughs at her ridiculous friends. “Yeah, yeah, he’s hot. And he knows it.” Her eyes wander to the bar, and he looks back at her, grinning smugly when he catches her checking out his ass. She rolls her eyes and turns back to her friends. “But he’s a solid cop, a great UC. I’m learning a lot from him.”

The guys return to the table, and she smiles when Noah hands her a sealed bottle. Ever since that first night having drinks with Shaun, he always makes sure she gets sealed drinks or that she can watch them be made. It’s a small gesture, and she appreciates that she didn’t have to explain herself when he asked.

“What are we gossiping about? Is it my chiseled features? My perfect cheekbones?” Nolan playfully asks, turning his head side to side to model for them.

“Yeah, baby,” Bailey rubs his back reassuringly. “You’re very handsome.” The women giggle and Noah smirks knowingly at Lucy.

~~~~~~

By the time last call comes around, Lucy is pleasantly inebriated and very keyed up. She and Noah spent the entire day groping and making out while working with Shaun’s crew, and much of the evening dancing and flirting at the party. The alcohol in her system is only amplifying her arousal.

Noah only had a few drinks before switching to water, so he drives Lucy home. As he walks her up to her apartment, Lucy makes a decision. The chemistry between them is insane; she’s tired of denying herself what she really wants. Tim isn’t an option, he’s happy with Ashley, but that doesn’t mean she can’t have a little harmless fun. Noah is really perfect for a casual fling. They’re great friends and she trusts him. They’re both hung up on other people and their attraction is purely physical, so there is no chance of developing deeper feelings. Plus, he’s leaving town as soon as the case is over, so even if it blows up in her face, she doesn’t have to ever see him again.

“You’re not gonna wake up your roommate coming in this late, are you?” he asks as they approach her door.

Lucy smiles, turning the key in the lock. “No, she, uh, she’s out of town. The family she nannies for is on vacation so she gets an all-expenses paid trip to Disney World.”

“We are in the wrong profession,” he grins.

“Yeah,” her heart pounds as she musters the courage to say her next words. “Do you want to come in?”

His eyes darken and the corners of his mouth turn up. By the tone of her voice, there’s no denying what she’s really offering. He studies her face carefully for a few beats. “How drunk are you?”

She pushes the door open, turning back to look at him. “Drunk enough to say yes, but not too drunk to say no.”

His grin turns mischievous. “That’s the perfect amount.”

He steps forward, one hand gripping her hip and the other tangled in her hair. He captures her mouth, possessing her in a fiery kiss. He pushes her inside and slams the door, spinning them around and shoving her against it as his hands travel her form. He rucks her skirt up, lifting one of her legs to wrap around his waist and pulling her panties aside. He works her expertly with his fingers while nipping at her neck, just enough to send shockwaves of pleasure through her veins but not enough to leave marks. His grin turns infuriatingly smug when she moans her climax minutes later.

“Shut up,” she pulls him to her lips before he can reply, and he kisses her through the aftershocks, hand still working her gently. Her hands drop to his waistband, quickly undoing his pants and reaching inside to pump him a few times. “Wait,” she pulls back, the fog of her orgasm lifting just enough to realize they need to move to the bedroom, where the condoms sit in her bedside stand. “We need a—”

“Back left pocket,” he says against her neck.

She makes an inquiring noise before realizing what he means. She reaches behind him and finds the foil packet, tearing it open with a smirk. “Someone’s prepared.”

His eyes dance with amusement. “I was a model Boy Scout.”

“Somehow I doubt that,” she says as she rolls the condom on him. He lifts her up, her laughter turning into a low moan when he pushes inside her. He kisses her sloppily as he fucks her roughly against the door, both of them still fully dressed. It’s quick and dirty and so good.

When it’s over, it’s awkward for a second. She’s never done anything like this before, and she’s not sure what the procedure is. Noah zips up his jeans while she fixes her skirt, and he smirks at her. “I knew you couldn’t resist me for long, Hot Pants.”

She punches his arm. “You ever wanna do this again, you won’t call me that.” He laughs and pulls her in for a deep kiss before saying goodnight and slipping out the door.

He keeps calling her Hot Pants, and they do it again.

A lot.

Chapter Text

Lucy expects it to be weird the next time she sees Noah, but when she walks into the break room on Monday morning to find him making them both coffee, he shoots her the same sly smile as usual. “Hey, Hot Pants.”

She rolls her eyes and opens her mouth to make a joke about how he’s never getting inside her hot pants again, but quickly realizes they are not alone. “Hot Pants? Is that, like, your undercover code name?” Nolan is rifling through the cabinets, likely looking for the granola bars he hides that everyone steals.

“Something like that,” she says, glaring at Noah. His look is so cocky, she wants to punch him. But then she remembers the way he pounded into her two nights ago, the way she’s still aching, and she decides he’s earned it.

“That’s so cool,” Nolan says, giving up his search for breakfast. “You guys must have so much fun.”

Noah’s eyebrow quirks up and Lucy bites her lip to hold in her laughter. “Oh yeah, it’s a real banger.” She narrows her eyes at his obvious double entendre. Her friend is adorably clueless, but he’s not completely stupid. He’ll figure it out if they’re not careful.

“Are you planning on joining us at roll call, Officer Nolan, or are you waiting on your embossed invitation?” The three of them startle at Sergeant Grey’s harsh tone in the doorway.

“Yes sir, on my way,” he grabs his coffee mug and strides out of the room, throwing a small wave at Lucy and Noah as he goes.

When they’re all alone, the rest of the station occupied with shift change, Noah crowds her against the counter. His body is pressed against hers and his hands are resting on the counter behind her. “Do you have a code name for me?” He brushes his lips along her neck, not kissing her, barely touching her skin, yet still somehow setting it on fire.

“Oh, I’ve got a few names for you,” the way her pulse is racing and her voice is shaking betrays any bite in her comment.

“I bet you do,” his lips crash on hers in a fiery kiss and he rolls his hips into hers. She moans against her will, feeling him grin against her mouth. She pushes him away, but it does nothing to dim his smugness. “Maybe tonight we can make it past the front door; I can actually get you naked before you have your way with me.” His blue eyes dance with amusement, knowing full well he’s the one who couldn’t wait to fuck her once she gave the okay. She’s about to say as much when they hear voices in the hallway. They break apart; Lucy busies herself with sweetening her coffee while waiting for her blush to subside while Noah casually leans against the counter, sipping his coffee with that frustratingly handsome smirk of his.

~~~~~~

“Is this seat taken?” Tim’s head shoots up at Lucy’s voice. He’s gotten used to eating alone, everyone steering clear of him since he apparently can’t hide his grumpiness.

“It’s all yours,” he slaps on a friendly smile, though it’s not difficult when it’s Lucy he’s looking at. It’s been weeks since they called a truce at Angela’s birthday party. Since then, they’ve had friendly conversations when they run into each other at the station but haven’t spent any length of time alone. She gives an almost shy, half smile as she drops down next to him. He looks around, happy to see her shadow nowhere in sight. “Where’s Foster?”

She focuses intently on doctoring her tacos just the way she likes them while she answers. “He has a conference call with Victorville PD, he’s updating his department on the case. I don’t really need to be there for that, so I thought I’d come see what Mid-Wilshire is up to.”

Tim smirks at her. “The rockstar UC has decided to grace the commoners with her presence, I feel so honored.” He bows before her, reduced to chuckles when she pushes him playfully.

“You’re such an ass. You could just say you missed me.”

His look sobers when she steals a fry from his plate, shoving it in her mouth and propping her chin on her fist as she gives him an expectant look. He shrugs, letting his eyes roam casually around the courtyard. “Why state the obvious?”

She doesn’t respond to that, except with that look she gets every time he praises her. The look that falls somewhere between shock and pride. He loves that look, his look. He’s the only one who can draw it out of her.

They chat happily for a while, lost in their own world and completely content with each other’s company. “All done. Who knew a dead hand would require so much paperwork?” They both look up at Ashley, neither of them saw her approaching. Honestly, he’d forgotten his girlfriend was even at the station. “Oh, hey Lucy,” she greets sweetly.

“Hey Ashley, are you here on a case?”

She sits down on the other side of Tim. “Yeah, a hand washed up on the beach and they sent their best and hottest to investigate,” she leans into him, rubbing her hand up and down his bicep. He smiles awkwardly, uncomfortable with her affection in front of Lucy.

“Oh?” Lucy perks up at that comment. “And how is Smitty doing? I haven’t seen him in a while,” Ashley laughs at her joke and Tim glares.

“Hey, do you have plans tonight?” Ashley asks.

“No. Why?”

“My friend Olive won four raffle tickets to this fancy dinner thing, and she just invited us.”

Tim grimaces. It does not sound like his scene at all and quite frankly, he’d rather volunteer for a month’s worth of protection details than spend an evening with boring Olive. “What’s a ‘fancy dinner thing’?”

Ashley’s eyes light up, misinterpreting Tim’s question as genuine interest. “It’s called Osia. It’s an exclusive pop-up on the beach in Malibu—one night only. Twelve fusion courses, wine pairings included. ‘An experiment in molecular gastronomy’.”

“I’ll have to think about it.” He doesn’t have to think about it. It sounds awful.

Ashley cocks her head, “What’s there to think about?”

Lucy pipes up, “Uh, the control freak in him doesn’t like to try new things, so…”

He glares at her. She’s giving him that smug grin that says she knows him so well, and it pisses him off. She doesn’t know everything about him. (Though she is actually right about this, not that he’ll ever admit it to her.)

“I’m not a control freak,” he plasters on a fake smile. “I would be happy to go to your dinner thing.” Ashley claps happily and kisses his cheek, dashing off to get her food. He turns to Lucy, who is sitting back in her chair, arms crossed over her chest, that smug, knowing smile on her face.

He opens his mouth to say something but hears Foster call from behind him. “Yo, Hot Pants, Bautista called, we gotta roll out.”

Lucy flushes red and Tim shoots her an annoyed look, “Hot Pants?”

“It’s an inside joke,” she chokes out as she gathers her trash. “I’ll see you later, Tim. Have fun at Osia.”

~~~~~~

They return to the station just before end of shift. The meet with Shaun was a bust; they weren’t able to get any intel on the upcoming job. They did, however, spend the last six hours kissing and touching, Lucy sitting in Noah’s lap, driving him (and herself) crazy by subtly grinding every so often. Since they started sleeping together, each undercover job has become the twisted foreplay to their after-hours mind-blowing hookups.

Sex with Noah is so much better than she thought it would be. She’s learned a few things since entering their arrangement. For one, he’s insatiable. She’s used to guys who pass out after one orgasm, usually content if she can get there once herself. But he’s like the damn Energizer bunny, always ready for another round. He’s also adventurous; he has her doing things she’s never done, in places she never thought possible. He’s got a bit of an exhibitionist kink. And he loves dirty talk. Most surprisingly, she’s discovered she likes it, too. Nothing gets her off faster than him whispering in explicit detail in her ear what he wants to do to her.

So, by the time she’s done teasing him at Shaun’s warehouse, she’s certain he’s going to have to fuck her in the parking garage before either of them can safely drive home that night. She’s lost in thought, picturing him bending her over the hood of her car in the dark corner she purposely parked in, when she bumps into Tim in the bullpen.

“Woah,” he says, reaching out to grab her shoulders before they collide. “Didn’t your TO teach you better situational awareness than that?”

She flushes, thankful that even though it feels like they can read each other’s thoughts most of the time, he can’t actually read hers now. “S-sorry, just a lot on my mind.”

“Mhmm,” he eyes her suspiciously and she starts to wonder if maybe he can.

“Are you excited for Osia?” she taunts, taking the focus off her.

He opens his mouth to respond, but his phone buzzes right then. “Hang on,” she sees Ashley’s name on the caller ID and expects him to step away to take it, but he stands his ground, so she does too. She’s glancing around the bullpen, trying not to eavesdrop, but then he brings her into the conversation. “Y-you know what? Lucy’s been pining after that place all day. Maybe we ask her.”

She snaps her eyes back to him, a smug smirk on his face. She can hear Ashley ask on the other side of the line if Lucy has a date to bring; Tim scans the bullpen, no doubt looking for someone safe he can force on her. Just when his eyes light up and he’s about to ask someone, Noah walks by and she smiles mischievously.

“Hey, Foster.”

“What?” He eyes her curiously.

“What are you doing?” Tim hisses.

She ignores him. “Tim just invited us to a fancy dinner; you got plans tonight?”

Noah cocks his head at her, but quickly catches on. “Okay. Yeah. I’m in.”

He winks at Lucy and walks off. She turns back to Tim, who is shooting daggers with his eyes. “What?” She stares up at him innocently. “You’re not a control freak, right? It’ll be fun.”

Chapter Text

When Noah arrives later that evening to pick Lucy up, she answers the door in her robe, hair and makeup done. She knows they’re running late, but she’s having trouble choosing an outfit. “Hey, I’m almost ready.”

He closes the door and follows her into her bedroom. He looks around the room, amused at the mess she’s made, and sits on the bed to watch her continue to pull things out of her closet.

“Tell me again why we’re going on a double date with Sergeant Giggles and Boring Barbie,” he says, mouth quirking up in a cheeky grin.

“Because,” she crosses the room, stepping between his legs and wrapping her arms around his neck. He brings his hands up to grip her ass. “There is no way I am missing my chance at front row seats to Control Freak Tim Bradford at a trendy beachside pop-up. He’s gonna lose his mind,” she says giddily.

“Hm,” he tugs on the belt of her robe until it falls open. “And why do I have to go?”

She’s finding it very hard to concentrate now, since he’s kissing across her belly, biting and sucking the exposed skin. “I needed a date, and T-Tim was…he was trying to…” he’s slipped his hand inside her panties, pumping two fingers inside her, effectively clearing her brain of all thought. He tugs on her hip until she sits, straddling his lap. With his free hand, he pulls the fabric of her bra down. His mouth closes over one nipple before moving to the other. It’s not long before she’s completely lost in the sensation, shamelessly riding his hand, teetering on the edge of climax. She moans, low and long, just about to tip, when he pulls his hand away and slaps her ass.

“Traffic’s getting ugly, you better get dressed.”

She shakes her head to clear the fog, trying desperately to grasp what just happened. “What the hell?”

His smirk is so infuriatingly smug. In this moment, she hates him with every fiber of her being. He surges up to give her a dirty kiss. “That’s for volunteering me for this.”

“You’re such an asshole,” she shoves him onto the bed as she stands, grabbing the first dress she sees and stomping into the bathroom to finish getting ready.

~~~~~~

Tim checks his watch for the twentieth time. Lucy and Foster are fifteen minutes late and he’s already irritable. She texted him earlier saying traffic was ugly, but there was hardly anyone on the road when he and Ashley drove over.

“Calm down, babe. I’m sure they’ll be here any minute.”

He glares at his girlfriend; he didn’t want to come to this thing in the first place, and he certainly didn’t want to watch Detective Dumbass drool all over Lucy all night, but the bastard can’t even bother to be on time. He’s just about to dial Lucy’s number when he sees them approaching. He continues to glare even as she hugs Ashley and cheerily introduces her to Noah.

“They won’t seat us until the whole party’s here,” he says grouchily. “So we couldn’t even get on with the molecular gastronomy experiment.” Ashley slaps his arm and Lucy and Foster share a look, which pisses him off.

Now that they’re all here, the hostess leads them to a table and Tim groans. It’s not a beachside restaurant, it’s a restaurant literally on the beach. Who the fuck puts a restaurant on the beach? He says as much out loud, and Lucy glances at Foster again. He can’t read the look she’s giving the other man. Tim’s not used to being on the outside of her silent communication, and it causes a queasy feeling to bubble up from the pit of his stomach.

The hostess returns with a couple servers, who set plates in front of them with tiny portions of ridiculous looking food. He doesn’t understand a word she says, though the others ooh and ahh over it.

“Was any of that English?”

Another look to Foster, seriously, what the fuck is that all about? “Let me translate,” Lucy leans in, taking the weird brown thing off his plate. “All you need to know is that that pancake is made of mushroom, which I know is not your favorite, so I’m just—“

“Ooh no, take it.”

Foster quirks a brow at her, and Ashley looks offended. “I didn’t know you don’t like mushrooms.”

“It’s okay, Bradford, we’re not all adventurous eaters.” Tim scowls at the man. He doesn’t need him trying to find common ground and come to his rescue. “Though my ex did get me to try curried goat once on vacation.”

He can’t help himself, “Was his name Gerald?”

Foster cocks his head in question and Lucy slaps his arm. “God, shut up.” Her laughter is like music to his ears; he feels his mood lightening as they relay the story to their dates. It’s one of Tim’s favorites and the reason for one of the better nicknames he’s given her. At the end of it, Foster looks mildly amused, giving Lucy a goofy smile that quite frankly makes Tim’s stomach turn, but Ashley only looks annoyed.

The conversation is bumpy for a while after that. The servers bring out more courses of pretentious food, he doesn’t understand what the hell it’s supposed to be. Lucy and Foster exchange more looks, which sets him on edge. Ashley looks more and more annoyed with every word he says, and he just wants the damn evening to end already.

Eventually, Lucy asks about the case involving the hand that washed up on Ashley’s beach, and Tim relaxes a little. This is a topic he can handle. It’s interesting for the cops, and it involves Ashley, so it’s a win. At least, it should be.

He and Lucy are locked in a heated debate on the ethics of medical experimentation, when Ashley asks if he’s an organ donor.

“Him?” Lucy jumps in. “No. He wants to be cremated and spread over Dodger Field.” He glares at her, explaining to his girlfriend that it was a joke.

“There’s gotta be some middle ground between that and a body farm,” Foster butts in. Tim freezes, scowl fixed on the other man. How the hell does he know about that?

Lucy uttered her final wishes to Tim one night, six hours deep into a boring night shift her rookie year. After.

“I don’t want to be buried again,” she’d said. She had that faraway look she so often wore now, the one that replaced her carefree sunshine. “When I die, I want my death to mean something. After they harvest my organs, I want my remains sent to a body farm, and then I want my ashes spread in the ocean. I don’t want to be confined anywhere.”

“Body farm?” Ashley asks, looking like she doesn’t really want to know the answer.

“It’s a research facility where they study decomposition in various conditions,” Lucy supplies.

Foster adds, “Lucy doesn’t want to be buried.”

“Again,” the two of them say in unison, sharing a smirk.

Tim looks at them incredulously; he’s being so cavalier about her past, which apparently, he knows about, and she thinks it’s funny. The sick feeling in his gut twists into a knot, and it’s at that moment that the servers bring the last course.

“And for dessert, we have a spherical coconut-mango emulsion with a dusting of jalapeno essence. Enjoy.”

Tim’s had enough. There’s nothing on his plate but a bubble. A fucking bubble! “This is a joke, right?” Lucy and Foster share another secret look, and he clenches his jaw. “What the hell is so funny?” he growls.

Ashley scoots her chair back, “Excuse me. You two have a lovely evening,” she says to Lucy and Foster before glaring at Tim. He sighs and stands, dropping several bills on the table and muttering an apology before following her out.

The drive to her house is silent. He pulls into her driveway and kills the engine, intending to follow her inside, resigned to the fight sure to come. She doesn’t move to get out right away, so he doesn’t either.

“I think it’s best we end this now,” she finally says.

“What?” He looks at her, shocked.

She laughs mirthlessly. “From the very beginning, I’ve felt you weren’t as into this as I was. I couldn’t put my finger on it,” she looks at him pointedly. “Until tonight.”

“Look, Ash, I’m sorry, it’s just not really my scene—”

“I’m not talking about the restaurant, Tim.” Her tone is harsher than he’s ever heard her speak. “I expected you to complain about the food and the scenery; I’m well aware of the kind of man I’m dating. But you’ve been angry ever since you found out Lucy was bringing Noah. You looked like you wanted to strangle him every time he spoke, every time Lucy looked at him. The only time you seemed to be enjoying yourself at all was when she gave you her undivided attention and you two went off into your own world like you always do.”

“We just—” he starts to argue.

Ashley shakes her head. “I thought it was because you were partners; Dad always had a special bond with his partner, so I get it. But this…this is different.” Her voice cracks, and Tim hangs his head. He hasn’t been fair to her, and he’s ashamed. “You love her,” she finally says, no hint of judgment in her voice. “I don’t know if you’re in denial, or maybe you really didn’t know, but I can’t be your beard anymore.”

“I’m sorry,” he says, because there’s nothing else he can say.

She holds his gaze for a few moments, anger replaced with pity. “Do yourself a favor and tell her, Tim. Before you lose her forever.” Before he can respond, she pushes the door open and climbs out. She doesn’t look back as she walks up the path and inside her front door.

~~~~~~

Lucy collapses back against Noah’s chest, panting and sweating after her third orgasm. He’s sitting against her headboard and she’s straddling him, facing away. He’s softening inside her but making no move to pull out yet.

“Holy fuck,” she exclaims.

He chuckles into the crook of her neck. “Nah, I only make you see God, but I’m not Him,” he jokes.

She slaps his leg and he squeezes her breast in reply. “Come on, let’s refuel, and then you owe me three more.” She climbs off his lap, grabbing her phone off the bedside table and navigating to the delivery app.”

He leans over the edge of the bed to dispose of the condom. “Mm, two more.”

“No,” she shakes her head, waving a finger in his face. “Two for our bet, and one to make up for that dirty trick you pulled before dinner.” Noah grossly underestimated Tim’s ability to complain and promised Lucy one orgasm for every ten comments he made at dinner. The grand total was fifty-four.

He pulls her down to him, swallowing her squeal with a kiss. “You’re forgetting, that dirty trick was payback for you dragging me into this fiasco.”

She pouts, batting her eyelashes at him. “Are you really gonna deny me? Deny yourself the bragging rights to six mind-blowing orgasms in one night?”

“Well, when you put it that way,” he rolls them over, kissing her passionately for several minutes. “Okay,” he finally says, “my dick refuses to get hard again until it’s hydrated and fed.” He stands, pulling her up with him.

They order their dinner (neither of them was impressed with the weird, tiny food at the restaurant) and throw on the bare minimum clothing; he’s in boxer briefs and she’s in a tank top and sleep shorts. They’re lying on her bed, scrolling through their phones and showing each other funny memes when the doorbell rings. Lucy jumps up to answer it. She’s so excited for food that she pulls the door open without checking the peephole. What awaits her on the other side, however, is not the delivery driver.

“Tim,” she squeaks.

“Hey,” his hands are stuffed deep in his pockets and there’s a look on his face she doesn’t recognize. He looks her up and down, no doubt noting her disheveled appearance. She prays he assumes she was sleeping.

“What’s up?” she asks, angling her body to hide the apartment, though she knows it’s a futile attempt.

He offers her a small smile. “Sorry to stop by so late. I, uh, I was driving around for a while and—”

“Yo, Hot Pants, we going for the record or what?” She grimaces, not needing to turn around to know the sight that has made Tim’s face pale and his jaw clench so hard she thinks it might shatter. “Shit, sorry.”

She hears the bedroom door close behind her, and Tim’s eyes snap to hers. She wants to crawl in a hole and disappear, but she forces herself to stand her ground. She has nothing to be ashamed of. “I didn’t realize you had a friend over,” he spits out accusingly.

“Tim,” she reaches for his arm but he shakes it off, backing away.

“Sorry to bother you. Won’t happen again.” He says tightly as he stalks off.

Well fuck.

Chapter Text

Lucy considers going after Tim, but the delivery guy passes him in the hallway, handing over the food with raised eyebrows. The older man eyes her, scantily clad and thoroughly fucked, then glances back toward the elevator that Tim just stepped onto. It’s clear he’s correctly interpreting the awkward situation he interrupted.

“What?” She bites out defensively.

He gives her a kind smile, “Have a good evening, ma’am.”

She immediately feels bad for snapping at him, but she’s embarrassed and flustered and afraid she’ll word vomit all over this poor stranger if she tries to apologize, so she just smiles in return and shuts the door. The bedroom door opens slowly and Noah pokes his head out.

“It’s safe,” she mumbles.

He steps out into the living room and she’s both distressed and relieved to see that he’s fully dressed. They were having an amazing time together, but having the man you’re in love with show up to discover the man you’re sleeping with mostly naked in your bedroom is kind of a mood killer.

“Are you okay?” He stops just before her, reaching out to grab her hips but stuffing his hands in his pockets instead.

She frowns and steps forward to wrap her arms around his waist. This thing between them may be casual, but she doesn’t want him to feel like she’s using him. She really likes Noah and enjoys being with him. He’s not a consolation prize.

“I’m good,” she says honestly. “We had good reason for keeping this quiet, it’s nobody’s business, but we have nothing to be ashamed of.”

He pulls his hands from his pockets and settles them loosely on her hips. “True,” he says carefully. “But Bradford—”

“Will get over it,” her tone is firm, decisive. “What I do behind closed doors is none of his business. Even if he comes knocking on said door at one in the morning.” She pushes up to kiss him and he reciprocates.

“Let’s eat,” he finally says, slapping her ass. He jokes and laughs with her while they eat, but the earlier levity is gone and he leaves as soon as their meal is over.

~~~~~~

“Meet me at Charlie’s.”

Tim looks over at Angela, who has fallen into step beside him as he walks through the parking garage. “I’m not up for going out tonight,” he says curtly.

She stops, narrowing her eyes at him. “That wasn’t a request, Bradford.” He sighs, nodding once. He’s not surprised. He knows he’s been even crankier than usual the last few days; his best friend has given him a lot of grace, but clearly, she’s fed up with his attitude.

He walks into the bar and heads straight for their table in the back corner. They’ve spent many nights here over the years, knocking sense into each other (mostly Angela knocking sense into him). They were regular fixtures in this booth over the two years Isabel was gone, but it’s been a while since she had to drag him here. Not since Lucy came into his life.

Tim slides into the vinyl booth, gaze fixed on the brown liquid in front of him. He can gauge the severity of the lecture he’s about to endure by the drinks Angela ordered. A pitcher of beer means some tough love, heavy on the love. But whiskey…he knows he’s about to learn some new Spanish words.

“You need to get over yourself. You created this situation; you don’t get to mope about it.”

One thing he’s always appreciated about Angela Lopez, she doesn’t beat around the bush. That doesn’t mean he’s going to give in so easily, though. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he says petulantly.

“Oh please, you’ve been in a shit mood ever since Lucy was assigned to Noah. So she’s got a shiny new friend, that doesn’t give you the right to act like a child. I swear, even Jack handles his emotions better than you.” She lifts her glass to her lips, never taking her eyes off him as she throws it back.

He clenches his jaw, glaring at his best friend. “She’s sleeping with him.”

Angela looks shocked for half a beat before it turns to pride. “Good for her,” his eyes snap to hers and she holds her ground. “What? He’s hot; she deserves to have fun.”

Tim rolls his eyes, biting the inside of his cheek and fixing his gaze on the wall. “It’s not very professional.” He can feel her narrow her eyes at him, but he stands firm. “This isn’t the first time she—”

Angela holds up a hand. “I’m gonna stop you right there, Timothy, because I love you and I don’t want you to say something that’s gonna make me feel obligated to cut off your balls and shove them up your own ass.” He swallows, dropping his eyes to the table.

He knows it’s not fair to bring up her brief relationship with Nolan. When Bishop told them about it, they all agreed to keep the secret because of what it could do to Lucy’s career. It’s an unfair double standard and he feels like an ass for perpetuating it now. “So she had a fling with a fellow rookie,” she shrugs. “Remind me again how you met your wife?”

He doesn’t respond; he sips his whiskey and takes the lashing he deserves. “You and I both know you’re not throwing this tantrum because you’re concerned about her reputation. It’s been clear to everyone but you since the day you ripped this city apart to find her how you feel about Lucy. You love her, and as your friend, I’m truly sorry that you’re hurting.” She leans in, her expression more serious than he’s ever seen. In that moment, he pities baby Jack. With Angela for a mother, that child stands no chance of ever getting away with anything.

She reaches across the table, squeezing his hand and urging him to meet her gaze. “But Tim, you did this to yourself.” He shoots daggers at her with his eyes, angrier than he’s ever been. “You denied your feelings and pushed her away. She had to watch you date literally anyone but her; you broke her heart every time she had to watch you pretend to be into Blondie. You can’t expect her to sit back and pine for you forever while you’re going home with a Baywatch character.”

He’s quiet for a few moments, waiting to see if she’s done. “Ashley broke up with me,” he finally says.

Again, he watches her expression shift from momentary shock to grudging pride. “Well, good for her, too.” She raises her glass in salute, and the corners of his mouth twitch as he returns the gesture.

They have a few more drinks, and Tim tells her about the double date and what Ashley said to him. He explains that he drove around the city, thinking over her words and deciding to lay it all on the line. He tells her what he saw when he finally gathered the courage to ring Lucy’s doorbell, and how he ran away like a coward. He’s been avoiding the station ever since, praying he doesn’t run into her when he absolutely has to make his presence known.

She lets him talk and doesn’t lecture him any further. When he finally gets all his thoughts out, he feels lighter. She watches him without judgment (a rarity for Angela Lopez). “You need to let her be happy, Tim,” she says gently. He bites the inside of his cheek, focusing on the pain of the abused flesh to keep the tears from welling in his eyes. “Noah won’t be here forever, and you don’t know what their relationship is. You might get another chance, but you don’t get to go disrupt her life just because you’re the one feeling uncomfortable now.”

He knows she’s right. Even though he went to her apartment the other night to tell her how he feels, he’s not sure he was really ready to leap into a relationship. It’s not fair of him to put all that on her if he’s not even sure it’s worth the risk.

Chapter Text

As much as it pains him, Tim takes Angela’s advice. He reigns in his emotions and stops avoiding the station. He even chooses a temporary aide, taking over the last few months of Thorsen’s training while Harper rides the detective’s desk.

The younger man is a good cop. He’s focused and professional, and he has no trouble adhering to Tim’s no personal talk in the shop rule. He considers asking him to stay on after he makes P2, thinking it would be best for both he and Lucy if he let her move on. That’s one move he’s not brave enough to make yet, though, so he keeps his mouth shut.

It’s about a week before he sees Lucy again. She and Foster have been deep undercover, working with Bautista on a big meth deal. Lucy cooked a large batch and they met with Roy Hajek and his crew to make the sale. The warehouse was raided as the product was exchanged this morning and Tim was the lucky one assigned to “arrest” Nova.

The ride to the station is awkward at first; he hasn’t seen or spoken to Lucy since that night at her apartment and he doesn’t know what to say. He doesn’t trust himself to bring it up without losing control of his emotions and shaming her, so he keeps quiet.

“Tim,” he meets her gaze in the rear-view mirror and his heart clenches. She’s biting her lip, obviously nervous about what she’s going to say. “Me and Noah—“

“You don’t have to explain,” he cuts her off gently. “It’s not my business and I’m sorry about my reaction.” They share a smile, and she visibly relaxes, settling into the seat as best she can with her hands cuffed behind her back.

She catches his eye again and the corner of her mouth quirks up. “It’s just like old times.”

He huffs a laugh. “Yeah. I knew from day one I’d be hauling your ass to jail someday.”

She giggles, then gives him an earnest look. “I’m glad it’s always you at my six.” He presses his lips into a thin smile and turns his attention back to the road.

~~~~~~

“Penny for your thoughts?”

Lucy tilts her head to see Noah looking down at her. She’s pressed into his side, one leg thrown over his and her head on his chest. They’re at his place since Tamara’s home, and they’re between vigorous rounds of sex. Though they still avoid sleepovers, the cuddle sessions have grown longer and more intimate.

“I’m just thinking about tomorrow,” she says as he rubs her back comfortingly.

They’re lying low since the raid, letting Shaun believe they’re both in jail. They have a few days off before they gear up for the next leg of their investigation, and with Rosalind’s trial coming up, Lucy’s scheduled to meet with the ADA the next day to prepare.

“Do you want me to go with you?”

She smiles, leaning up to kiss him. She loves that he offered, and part of her wants to say yes, but it feels too intimate for whatever they are. “Tamara already took the day off to go. I’ll be fine, I just…”

She trails off and he shifts them so that she’s on her back and he’s on his side, hovering over her slightly. “What is it?” he asks, his voice soft.

“It’s just, the thought of facing her again, knowing she’s going to be sitting in that courtroom, getting off on my pain…I don’t know if I can handle that.”

His hand comes up to brush along her ribcage, tenderly tracing the numbers permanently etched into her skin. “You survived that,” he says reverently. “You stared evil in the face, and you’re the one that walked away.” She’s heard a version of this speech before, long ago in the station’s gym, and she knows it’s true. “You faced her before and I have no doubt you can do it again, but Lucy,” he rests his forehead on hers, cupping her face. “Nobody will think any less of you if you decide not to.”

She nods, leaning up to capture his lips. The sweet kiss turns passionate, and before long he’s covering her body with his and setting a slow, steady rhythm. His lips never leave her skin as he barely thrusts, their bodies pressed as close as possible. Her orgasm builds slowly and crashes over her in intense waves as he gently fucks her through it. When it’s over, he kisses her for a long time before pulling out and disposing of the condom.

It feels a lot more like making love than anything they’ve ever done before, and she knows they need to talk about it. Before her brain comes back into focus, though, he’s pulling her to his chest, holding her tight as they both drift off.

~~~~~~

When Lucy wakes up the next morning, she’s a little disoriented at first, before remembering she fell asleep at Noah’s place. She’s alone in the bed, but she can hear him in the kitchen. She’s thankful to have a moment to herself before she has to face him.

She quickly finds her clothes and slips into the bathroom to make herself presentable. When she finally musters the courage to join him, he gives her one of his disarming smiles and hands her a plate of eggs.

“You could’ve warned me that you snore,” he says casually, turning back to the stove. “I never would’ve let you badger me into a sleepover.”

She slaps his shoulder, and he laughs. She’s trying to figure out what to say, how to start, but the words never come.

“What time are you meeting Sarah?” He asks as they sit down to eat.

“Actually, I decided not to testify.” He eyes her as he butters his toast but doesn’t say anything. “You were right—I don’t need to prove anything. Rosalind’s in prison for life no matter how the trial goes, and that’s enough.”

He smiles softly at her, expression full of pride. “Badass,” he finally says, winking at her.

She smiles, reveling in his admiration. She decides talking can wait. For now, anyway.

Chapter Text

Lucy plans to talk to Noah, she really does, but she doesn’t know what to say without feeling like a complete ass. Hey, so remember how we agreed to be fuck buddies and nothing more? Well, it kinda feels like you’re falling in love and that’s just not gonna work for me. So whaddya say you get those feelings in check so we can keep banging it out?

So, she keeps quiet. Logically, she knows that’s worse, but she does care for him (even if it’s not the same way he feels about her) and she doesn’t want to mess up what they have. She also starts to think maybe she was wrong. There have been no more sleepovers, no more deep, intimate talks, and no more lovemaking—though there has been plenty of sex. Maybe she imagined it.

(She didn’t imagine it.)

~~~~~~

It comes to a point where she can’t avoid the talk anymore. They’ve just returned to the station from a meeting with Shaun Bautista. The man has been trying to regroup since the bust, and since Nova and Alex have become his most trusted employees, they’ve been privy to all his planning. Things are moving quickly, and it’s looking like the entire case could be wrapped up in a matter of weeks.

They’re in their usual conference room, sitting closer than colleagues have any business sitting, but nobody ever bothers them in their makeshift command center. They’re pouring over case files, gathering all the intel they can on the latest players in Shaun’s game.

Noah’s chair is angled toward Lucy as he reads over her shoulder, his hand tracing lazy circles on her inner thigh under the table. Before long, his fingers abandon their pattern and start to bunch up the fabric of her skirt. His hand slips under the material, igniting a fire on its journey to where she really wants him.

He’s stroking her over her panties, not applying nearly enough pressure for her liking. “Don’t start something you’re not gonna finish,” she says, her shaky voice betraying her calm demeanor.

He leans in, lips grazing her ear as he huskily replies, “I have every intention of finishing. More than once, if you’re lucky.”

It wouldn’t be their first time hooking up in this room. The thought makes Lucy squirm in anticipation, but they really need to focus on work.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were dragging this case out on purpose.”

He shrugs, fingers slipping under her panties. “Maybe I am,” he sucks on her neck gently, just enough to taste the tattoo without leaving a mark. “Since I know I’ll never convince you to come back to Victorville with me.”

Lucy sucks in a breath and he freezes. “Um…” she begins.

Noah withdraws his hand from her skirt but leaves it on her thigh. “I didn’t mean…uh, I just—“

She clutches his hand, turning to face him. “I think we need to talk,” she says reluctantly. “About whatever this is becoming.”

He sits up straighter, giving them both space to breathe. “It’s not becoming anything,” he says casually.

“Sometimes it feels like maybe it is. Like the lines between you and me and Alex and Nova are getting blurred.”

He smiles, his charming, carefree half-smile. “Look, Luce, it’s an intimate act. We’d have to be dead inside for it to not trigger something.” He shrugs, a gesture that reaches his facial expression in a way that reminds her of Tim. “It’s basic biology.”

She searches his face, but it gives nothing away. He was born for undercover work. “So you’re saying it’s not a big deal? Doesn’t mean anything?”

“Right.” He smiles easily, leaning back in to nuzzle her neck. “You can’t really blame a guy for wanting to keep this around,” he squeezes her thigh, “can you?”

She giggles, shoving him gently with her shoulder. “We really do have to concentrate. Back to work,” she plops a file folder in front of him.

“You’re so hot when you order me around,” he smirks. “Do it again.”

She narrows her eyes at him. “Get back to work, or you can forget about that thing I promised you.”

He makes a show of scooting his chair away from her and opening the file dramatically, eliciting another giggle from her. She can’t help but feel he’s hiding his true feelings from her, but he says it’s basic biology, so she chooses to believe him.

~~~~~~

Tim and Thorsen are in the break room refueling before heading back out for the second half of their hellish shift when Lucy comes bouncing in.

“Oh, hey! How’s patrol?” She’s talking to Thorsen, but she keeps glancing at Tim.

“Well, I almost have Bradford convinced to let me spike these coffees,” the younger man says as he fills their travel mugs.

Lucy laughs, “That bad, huh?”

Tim watches as they chat about their respective days. He notices how her eyes light up when she talks about her case, but she schools it when she looks at Tim.

He makes a decision then, realizing that he’s holding her back. She loves undercover. He doesn’t know if she loves Foster, doesn’t even really know what their situation is, but what is crystal clear is that she loves undercover work. And she’s good at it. She can have an amazing career, but he’s been selfishly clinging to her since she was a rookie. Being his aide was only supposed to be a steppingstone to a promotion. It was never meant to be a career path. Just because he’s happy to remain on patrol until retirement is no reason to keep her there.

“Hey, uh, why don’t you go restock the war bags.” Thankfully, Thorsen is nearly as good at reading him as Lucy is, and the man merely nods and bids Lucy goodbye.

“He seems to be doing a good job keeping you in line while I’m gone,” she smiles up at him.

“Yeah, he, uh, he’s good.” Tim clears his throat, gesturing for the table. “Hey, can we talk?”

“Uh, yeah, sure.”

They sit, a worried expression on her face as she waits for him to begin. He almost tells her to forget it when he looks into her big brown eyes, but he knows he has to stand firm.

“I’m, uh, I’m gonna offer Thorsen a permanent position as my aide.”

A thousand emotions play across Lucy’s face and she falls back, as if physically pushed. “Are you trying to get rid of me as your go-fer?”

“No,” he smiles weakly, trying to be reassuring. “No, I’m trying to look out for you. It’s time for you to move on.”

“Where is this coming from?” Her confused expression hardens, her jaw set. “Is this about Noah?”

He takes a beat before answering, trying like hell to keep emotion out of this. “No, Luce, this is about you and your career.”

“Mm-hmm,” her eyes move to a point on the wall behind him.

“Look, I haven’t been very supportive of your career, especially when it comes to UC work. I’ve got my own feelings and hang-ups about it, and I have to stop putting that on you. I’ve been selfish, hanging on to you because I’m not ready to let go. But it’s time to let go.”

Her eyes are shining with unshed tears. He reaches for her hand but she pulls it away, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Anything else, Sergeant Bradford?”

He tries not to let her clipped, formal tone cut too deep. She’s upset now but she’s a rational person. She’ll come to understand his decision when it’s not so raw.

“This is a good opportunity for you to go after what you want, Lucy.”

She clenches her jaw and turns her head. He stands and heads for the door, chancing one look back at her. He doesn’t miss the tear rolling down her cheek, teetering on the edge of her jaw before falling to her lap.

It’s the right thing for her, he tells himself as he pushes the door open, disappearing into the hallway.

Chapter Text

Lucy does her best to hide her heartbreak after her conversation with Tim. She’s not even sure why it hurts so much; it’s not like it was a real breakup. But why does it hurt more than any real breakup ever has?

She’s alone in the conference room a few days later when Aaron taps on the door frame. “Hey,” the rookie says tentatively.

“Hey,” she smiles brightly, closing the case file in front of her.

“I saw Noah at the food trucks, he said you were in here.”

She sent Noah out to get their lunch, claiming she wanted to keep working. In reality, she didn’t want to risk running into Tim. Clearly, she chose wisely. “So, last day with training wheels, you excited?”

Aaron smiles and pulls out the chair next to her. “Uh, ‘excited’ is one way to describe it. There’s also ‘terrified’, ‘nauseated’, ‘questioning every decision I’ve ever made that has led me here’…all good choices.” Lucy laughs and his look turns serious. “Look, Luce, I wanted to talk to you about something. Um, Tim, he—he said he already ran it by you,” the man starts nervously.

She places a calming hand on his bicep and smiles at him reassuringly. “He offered you the job?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s great. You’ll do amazing,” she says honestly.

He searches her face carefully. “I just, I don’t wanna step on any toes here. I haven’t given him an answer, so it you’re not cool with it, even a little, I will go back out there and tell him no. Because, Lucy, you were the first person here to show me kindness, and I value our friendship above all else, and I—”

“Aaron,” she squeezes his arm to stop his rambling. “We’re okay. Take the job.” As much as it breaks her heart that Tim told her to move on, she is happy for her friend. “Tim needed an aide, and I needed to pad my resume. I think I’m doing okay in that department now,” she gestures around the room at all the intel they’ve gathered on their case. It’s a career-defining case. “It’s time for me to move on and find my own path and give someone else the opportunity to benefit from the experience.” She’s surprised at how easy it is to pretend, though nothing she’s said has been a lie. “Tim’s a great teacher, you stick with him, and you’ll have every department begging you to join them come promotion time.”

He exhales, visibly relaxing. “Okay. Okay, if you’re sure—”

“I’m sure.”

“Then I’ll go tell him I accept. Thank you, Lucy. For everything.”

“Let’s see if you’re still thanking me after he’s made you do push-ups after every call because you asked to turn the air conditioner on before noon in August.”

He laughs and stands to leave, and they both notice Noah in the doorway. He greets Aaron on his way out and hands Lucy her food, watching her carefully. She gets the feeling he heard most of the conversation, but he doesn’t say anything about it.

~~~~~~

Lucy can’t get Tim off her mind. They’ve crossed paths several times in the last couple weeks since their non-breakup. He’s been friendly and professional, painfully so. Their interactions have been awkward and loaded, so much going unsaid. It’s nothing like it used to be and she misses him so much. She knows they’ll never get that rapport back; too much has happened between them. So she tries to forget him. It’s not easy.

Even now. Noah stopped by to go over something for their upcoming raid, but he got distracted when she answered the door wearing only a robe, fresh out of the shower. After confirming Tamara is out for the evening, he scooped her up and planted her on the kitchen island. His head is currently buried between her thighs, and he’s doing that thing with his tongue that drives her absolutely crazy, but she can’t help but wonder how it would feel if it was Tim.

She’s leaned back on one elbow, the other hand tangled in unruly curls. How different would it be if the hair she was gripping was cropped short? Would the closely shaved beard stubble burn as deliciously? Would his long fingers reach the spot that’s sure to make her fall apart every time? Would he swirl his tongue the same way, applying just the right amount of pressure to make her moan his name over and over again?

She’s so lost in thought that it takes her a moment to realize Noah has stopped, hands gripping her hips and cheek resting against her thigh. “I’m doing my best work here, Hot Pants,” he’s smiling cheekily, but there’s something else behind his eyes she can’t decipher.

“I’m sorry,” she pulls him up to kiss her. “I’m sorry, I just can’t get out of my head.”

“Everything okay?” He’s standing between her legs, thumbs rubbing soothing circles on her skin.

She smiles, reaching down to work his belt. “Yeah, I’m good. Let me take care of you.”

He grabs her hands, stopping her. “It’s okay. We should focus on work, anyway.”

Noah grabs his laptop off the counter and moves to the couch while Lucy hops down, fixing her robe. “Are—are we okay?” she asks nervously.

He shoots her his signature half-grin. “We’re golden,” and cups the back of her head, pulling her in to kiss her forehead. She goes into the bedroom to put some clothes on and then watches him carefully as they work. He gives no indication that he’s upset, but she can’t help feeling that something’s off.

~~~~~~

The day comes for Lucy and Foster to take down Bautista and his entire crew, and all of Mid-Wilshire is involved. Metro will assist with the raid, scooping up the higher profile players while Tim leads patrol in safely extracting their UCs. The station is abuzz all morning as they prepare, and Tim grows more tense as the day goes on.

He knows Lucy can handle herself, and she has the best of the best backing her, but this is the biggest op she’s ever been involved in. Even with careful planning and swift execution, things can and do go wrong. Criminals are unpredictable and nothing is ever perfect.

When the time comes, it’s chaos. One of the Metro guys moves too early and nearly blows the entire thing. It’s only thanks to Tim’s quick thinking and calm under pressure that they are able to salvage the raid with minimal casualties. In the end, three people are injured: the impatient Metro officer, one of Bautista’s cronies, and Lucy.

It takes every ounce of restraint Tim possesses not to run to her. Nolan gets to her first and provides aid; if he approaches her, her cover could be blown. That would be way more dangerous than the non-lethal gunshot wound to her arm, so he forces himself to focus on rounding up the other suspects.

He somehow winds up being the lucky one to “arrest” and transport Foster back to Mid-Wilshire, and as soon as they’re clear of the scene, the other man drops character. “She’s gonna be okay.”

“I know,” Tim bites.

After a few moments of silence, Foster continues. “It wouldn’t kill you to admit you care. It’s just you, me and God in here.”

Tim glares at him through the rearview mirror. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“Come on, man, let’s drop the act. Everyone knows how you feel about Lucy. You know how you feel about Lucy. You could have everything you want. If you’d only fucking admit it.”

Foster stares at him, and Tim can’t get a read on him. He doesn’t sound angry. He doesn’t look angry. For all intents and purposes, he looks like any other guy giving a buddy advice. Except he’s not any other guy. He’s Lucy’s guy.

“What good would that do? I’m not in the habit of breaking people up.”

Foster laughs, a humorless sound. “Man, are you really this dense?” Tim scowls, staring at the road ahead. “Look, maybe in another universe, one where you don’t exist, we could have a shot,” Tim snaps his eyes back to the mirror. “Because it would be so easy to fall in love with her. As easy as breathing,” he continues to stare at Tim, almost daring him to argue. “But you see, I know better than to let that happen,” he replaces the mask that he momentarily let slip, resuming his typical casual demeanor. “Because her heart isn’t mine to take. It never was.”

Tim stands firm. “She made her decision.”

The other man drops his mask again. “Man, she didn’t choose me,” he practically yells. “You pushed her away and I happened to be there to catch her. Tell me, Bradford, in all that time you were unilaterally deciding what is best for Lucy, did it ever occur to you to consider what it is that Lucy wants?” Tim bites the inside of his cheek. He can’t get to the station fast enough. “You’re over here feeling threatened by me,” Foster continues. “But I’m the one biding my time until you wake the fuck up and realize you can’t live without her.” Tim glances in the mirror again and he could swear he sees moisture shining in Foster’s eyes before he blinks it away. “Because the day you do, man, no one else on this planet will matter.”

Chapter Text

It’s been a week since the raid at Bautista’s warehouse. Noah’s sticking around to wrap up loose ends, and he and Lucy have spent every free moment together, knowing he’ll be leaving soon.

“You’ve already got so many impressive things on your resume, if this op doesn’t get you promoted, I think it’s time you move on from the LAPD.”

She smiles as he unbuttons the shirt she’s wearing and slips his hand inside. She’s lying against him on his couch, both sated and too spent to start anything, but she relishes the gentle way he caresses her body.  “Oh? And where do you suggest I go next?”

Noah’s hand falters and she realizes they’ve entered dangerous waters. All of their encounters and conversations have remained safely in the “friends with benefits” zone, but she’s not sure if it’s because that’s what they truly are, or if he’s just that good at undercover work.

“With your talent, you could go anywhere,” he says casually after a few moments. “I have contacts in the FBI, they’d fall all over themselves to have you join their team.” She hums in reply as he continues his lazy exploration under the material of her shirt. “And I wouldn’t hate it if that team brought you my way once in a while,” he drops kisses to her neck, biting gently at her tattoo. “It’d really soothe the sting of the Feds stealing my case if they all looked like you.”

Lucy’s soft laugh turns into a moan as he nips at the spot just under her ear that drives her crazy. “I’ll be sure to pitch that idea in my interview.”

“Oh, I’ve already written several strongly worded letters to the Bureau. I even included your picture for reference.”

She laughs again and shifts her body so they’re facing each other. “I’ll miss you, too, you know.” Even if her suspicions are unfounded, there is no denying they have a connection. She cares about him, if only as a friend, and she knows he feels at least the same about her.

Noah brings a hand up to tangle in her hair and pulls her to him for a sweet kiss. “I have a feeling you’ll be just fine without me.” Before she can respond, he kisses her again, deeper, more passionately. It’s not long before their previous exhaustion is forgotten and what little clothes they’re wearing are shed.

~~~~~~

Tim has replayed his conversation with Foster over and over again. Maybe in another universe, one where you don’t exist, we could have a shot. It’s clear the man loves Lucy, yet he was practically begging Tim to make a move. And he was right; Tim’s been making decisions for Lucy and her career, but what if that’s not what she wants? She’s a grown woman, one who doesn’t rush into things. He trusts her judgment on every other topic, why not this?

He knows the answer. Fear. As Foster said, he could have everything he wants. The problem is, he got everything he wanted once, and it was all ripped away from him. He won’t survive that again. Not with Lucy.

Her heart isn’t mine to take. It never was.

If anyone is worth risking it all for, it’s Lucy. He decides it’s time to stop moping and start doing. He is a “show you” guy, after all.

~~~~~~

“Sir, you got a minute?”

Tim doesn’t see Lieutenant Pine standing just inside the doorway, but Sergeant Grey waves him in anyway. “What is it, son?”

“I didn’t realize you were busy; I can come back.”

“Nonsense, how can I help?”

He considers backing out, coming back later – or never. Taking it as a sign that he shouldn’t do this. But then he remembers Foster’s words, remembers what’s at stake, and stands his ground. “Sir, I need to move out of patrol.”

Grey smiles as if he’d been expecting this. “If you’d come to me ten minutes earlier, I’d say the only way out is by way of Court Liaison,” Tim hangs his head because that’s not a great job. At all. But it’s worth it for Lucy. “But Lieutenant Pine here was just making her case for stealing you away from me. I guess you just made her job easier.”

“Sir?”

“Sergeant Bradford,” Pine cuts in. “My team was impressed with the way you handled the Bautista raid. Officer Pelton’s error could have cost us the entire operation, not to mention the lives of everyone involved. Your quick thinking and effective leadership saved us from a tragedy, and it would be an honor to have you on our team.”

Tim’s jaw hangs open as he tries to process what she just said. “Um, Sergeant Hicks—”

“Has young triplets at home, so he’s been aching to transfer to a position with less demanding hours. I’m recommending he take the Court Liaison position. Assuming you accept my offer.”

Sergeant Grey moves around his desk to clap Tim on the shoulder. “A move to Metro should clear up any chain of command issues that may be currently holding you back.”

Tim snaps his head to his Watch Commander, who only winks in reply.

“Detective Foster will be heading back to Victorville, now that the op is done, right?” Tim raises an eyebrow at Pine, not following her shift in topic. “I’m sure we could have your transfer processed before then…should you accept.”

Pine and Grey share knowing smiles and Tim rolls his eyes. Foster really wasn’t lying when he said everyone knows how he feels about Lucy. “I accept,” he says, shaking his head as he pulls the door open and steps out of Grey’s office.

A few days later, he’s in the break room when Lucy comes looking for him. “Hey, is it true you’re moving over to Metro?”

He smiles as he fills his travel mug. “Yeah, the official paperwork went through, this is my last day on patrol.”

Lucy’s bright smile lights up the dim room. “That’s amazing, Tim, congratulations!”

“Thanks,” he says shyly.

She moves to the coffeemaker, topping off her own mug and her eyes flit to him. “I—I didn’t think you’d ever leave patrol,” she begins hesitantly.

“Neither did I,” he brings his mug to his lips, sipping slowly. “Until I found something I wanted more.”

Her cheeks pink up, and she looks like she wants to ask what that is, but she’s afraid of the answer. He decides it’s time to be the brave one.

“The offer came at the perfect time, actually,” she makes a noise of acknowledgement, but says nothing, so he continues. “I went to Grey asking for a transfer, any transfer, and Lieutenant Pine happened to be there with the offer.”

He watches as her curiosity wins the battle. “Wh—uh, why did you want a transfer?”

Tim sets his mug on the counter, stepping into her space and staring at her with intent. “Lucy,” he waits for her to lock eyes with him. “Do you love him?”

Confusion crosses her features, but he can see the moment it clicks. “No,” she says simply. “I care about him, deeply. But he’s just not…”

She looks away as she trails off, the heaviness of her implication too much. Tim takes a deep, steadying breath. “I am so in love with you.” Lucy’s eyes snap to his, a myriad of emotions playing across her face. She blinks rapidly as her eyes fill with moisture. “I’ve been so stupid; pushing you away and denying my feelings.” He lifts his hand to push a lock of hair behind her ear, tangling his fingers in her curls and wrapping his other arm around her waist, tugging her gently to him. “I’m done making excuses,” he whispers against her lips, waiting for her to close the gap.

~~~~~~

Lucy couldn’t say who moved first. Truthfully, her brain stopped working properly at “I am so in love with you.” All she knows is that Tim’s tongue is in her mouth and he’s holding her against him, and he tastes like coffee and something familiar that she can’t quite name. He’s biting her lip and pushing her against the counter and she’s moaning in reply. He pulls back to look at her, cupping her face in his large hands, and she’s so dizzy she can’t focus.

“I’ll wait forever, if that’s what it takes.” He leans in to place another kiss on her lips, then he grabs his mug and walks out of the room, as if he didn’t just knock her entire world off its axis.

Once she recovers, she makes her way back to the conference room, where Noah is packing up their files for the day. “What do you want for dinner? I was thinking sushi…” he trails off when he sees her face, and then he sighs. “Bradford finally pulled his head out of his ass, didn’t he?”

She nods, still a bit bewildered. “I’m so sorry,” she whispers.

He looks at her, his signature grin firmly affixed. “Don’t be. This is a good thing, right? It’s what you wanted.” He reaches for her hand, squeezing it. “I’m just honored you chose me to be a distraction while he figured his shit out.”

Her heart clenches at his words. He’s smiling and acting casual, but she senses something deeper. “That’s not all you were,” she says firmly.

Noah finishes packing up the files, holding the box in one hand and cupping her face with the other. “Luce, don’t worry about me, okay? We’re good. You go be happy.” He places a sweet kiss on her temple, and she knows this is goodbye. There was no reason for him to linger so long after the op was finished; it’ll be back to business-as-usual Monday morning.

“Give ‘em hell,” he winks at her before he strides out the door.

Chapter Text

As suspected, Noah heads back to Victorville and Lucy’s stint playing detective is over. She’ll return to patrol Monday morning. It’s going to be strange working patrol without Tim by her side, and she’s not sure what to expect. He made it clear that he wants to be with her, and since he’s no longer in her chain of command, there is nothing holding them back. The ball is in her court.

He told her he’ll wait forever. She doesn’t intend to torture him, but she feels like she needs to take a beat before jumping into anything with him. There’s a lot to consider, a lot to be afraid of, and they definitely need to talk, but she needs some space first. She has the next three days off, and she plans to use them to get her mind right and figure out what exactly she wants.

By Sunday night, though, she’s crawling out of her skin. She wants to be with Tim, plain and simple. It’s what she’s wanted for months, and she feels a little silly for thinking she needed space to figure it out. She considers calling him, but she knows if she does that they’ll end up in bed. As much as she wants to end up in bed with Tim, she wants to do this right, so she forces herself to wait. She’ll talk to him in the morning.

~~~~~~

“Hey Chen,” Lucy pauses her scan of the bullpen to turn toward Harper’s voice. She and Lopez are huddled at their desks, waving her over.

“Hey,” Lucy says as she approaches, a bit distracted. “Have you seen Tim?”

Lopez shakes her head. “He’s doing Metro training; we’ll be lucky if we see him at all this week.” Lucy frowns, resigning herself to talking to him after work. “Forget about the idiot, though, we have something important to discuss with you.”

“Okay,” she turns her full attention to the two detectives, who are wearing matching serious expressions.

“The detective’s exam was just announced,” Harper begins. “And your name better be first on the sign-up sheet.”

She blinks at them. “Are—are you serious?”

Lopez smiles. “Harper and I are tired of carrying the weight, it’s about time we get some kick-ass new blood in this department.”

“And,” Harper interjects, her serious tone only wavering a little. “Passing that test is the vital first step to being a full time UC.”

“You really think I’m ready?”

“Please, you walked in the door ready. Consider your ass tapped.” Lucy chuckles as Lopez nods toward the hallway. “Oh, speaking of tapping your ass, there’s Tim.”

Lucy turns to see him walking toward his new office with a box of stuff. As if he can sense her watching him, he turns to meet her eyes, a faint smile playing at his lips. She smiles in return, taking half a step toward him before realizing the fatal flaw in her plan. The one unmovable obstacle in their path toward happily ever after: undercover work.

She swallows, shaking away their magnetic pull and instead heading for the briefing room. “I’ll uh, I’ll catch him later. I need to get to roll call.” Though she’s still more than thirty minutes early, neither of the women point it out, instead sharing a look as Lucy bolts.

How could she be so stupid? How could she be so naïve to think she could really have everything she wants, when the two things she wants most are incompatible?

~~~~~~

It’s been nearly three weeks since Tim confessed his love and kissed Lucy in the breakroom. He told her he’d wait for her, and he will, but it’s been complete radio silence. He fought every urge to call or text her that first weekend, because he figured she needed the time to get her head right before they talked. When he saw her at the station Monday morning, it looked like she wanted to go to him, but then she practically ran in the other direction. Now, it feels like she’s avoiding him.

At first, he was so busy with Metro training that he didn’t have time to overthink it, but now that he’s settling into his new role, he can’t help but think he did something to screw it all up. Maybe Foster was wrong. Maybe she cared for the other man more than he thought she did. Maybe now that he’s gone, she realizes she does love him, after all. Or maybe she’s testing him, paying him back for all the Tim Tests. A Lucy Lesson, perhaps.

Whatever it is, he wishes she would just put him out of his misery already.

It’s a particularly slow day and he’s been holed up in his office doing paperwork, so he goes to the food trucks for a change of scenery. After getting his food he scans the courtyard and notices Lucy at a table alone near the edge of the patio. She’s hunched over a pile of books, her lunch sitting untouched beside her while she’s deep in concentration. He decides there’s no harm in talking to her; he’s not pushing her to make a decision, just making friendly conversation.

“Mind if I join you?”

She pops her head up, startled at his voice. “Hey, yeah, uh, sure. How—how have you been?”

He smiles tentatively, “Good, you?”

“Yeah—uh, good. How’s Metro?”

“It’s good. Challenging.” He pops a fry in his mouth, leaning in to take a closer look at her books. “What’s all this?”

Her cheeks pink and she doesn’t meet his eye. “I’m, uh, I’m studying for the detective’s exam.”

“You got the tap?” Tim can’t keep the pride and excitement out of his voice, not that he’s trying.

She deflates a little at his reaction. “Harper and Lopez are backing me.” She twirls the pencil she’s holding, picking at the eraser nervously. “I—if I’m gonna work undercover,” she glances at him, studying him closely as if gauging his reaction. “The best move is to become a detective in some division, like intelligence or narcotics.”

“Yeah,” he nods.

“So, all I have to do is score in the top twelve, which—”

“Which you will,” he says with conviction. He knows she will. He won’t be a bit surprised if she gets the top score.

Lucy smiles at his assurance, but there’s something else in her eyes. She’s still avoiding his gaze and picking at her pencil’s eraser. “Yeah,” she says noncommittally.

Tim studies her for a few moments, knowing her hesitation has nothing to do with her confidence in her abilities. Lucy has a tendency to let her anxiety send her into a spiral, but she knows what she’s capable of. Something else is going on, and he has a feeling it has to do with him. “Luce,” he grabs her hand, gently tugging it and prompting her to meet his eyes. “What’s going on?”

She bites her lip, as if deciding whether or not to be honest. “I love undercover, Tim,” she finally says. “I love it.”

He smiles. As much as he hates undercover work, more specifically, he hates Lucy doing undercover work, he loves seeing her thrive. Since her first sting when she was a rookie, he’s known that she was born for it. “I know, and you’re good at it.”

“I am,” she agrees, though it’s not boastful. “It’s just,” again, she hesitates. “It—it’s not the only thing I love.” She looks at him pointedly, willing him to catch her drift. His chest tightens at her confession, but he forces himself to remain quiet while she verbalizes her thoughts. “And I’m just…I’m having a hard time reconciling the two. I don’t—I don’t want history to repeat itself.”

Realization washes over him, and he sits back. “Oh.”

“Yeah,” she says, dejected. “So, I think, for now, at least, we should just keep going the way we have been, right? It’s not worth the risk.”

Tim’s shoulders slump momentarily at the rejection, but then he remembers Foster asking if he ever considered what Lucy wants, and it all becomes clear. She’s not rejecting him, she’s scared he’ll reject her because she’s choosing this path. He sits up straight, resolve washing over him as he takes a deep breath.

“Unless it is.”

Lucy makes a surprised noise, clearly not expecting that response. He decides to go all in, to leave no room for doubt.

“Listen, Lucy, if you’d asked me even a few months ago if I’d ever date another UC, I’d have said ‘hell no,’ because there is no denying I still carry trauma from what Isabel put me through.” Her eyes fall to the table, guilt clouding her features. “But you’re not her. And you never will be.”

She bites her lip, tears threatening to spill down her cheeks as she glances up at him. “What are you saying?”

He smiles reassuringly. “I’m saying I want to do this, Lucy, no matter what you decide to do with your career. I’m saying I made my peace with you doing undercover work a long time ago, and I’ll do whatever it takes to support you. I know I have issues to work on, but you are worth the effort.”

A couple tears slip down her cheek and she wipes them away, a small laugh escaping her lips. “So, what do we do now?” she asks timidly.

Tim smiles widely, relief washing over him. He sits forward with intent, “Do you want to go on a date?”

A soft smile pulls at her mouth. “Yeah. I do.”

They both get lost in the other’s gaze for a few moments, and Tim is about to lean in to seal the deal when her radio crackles to life, reminding them both where they are. They break apart, a little flustered as dispatch relays the details of the call.

“7-Lincoln-19 responding,” Lucy says into the radio, never taking her eyes off Tim.

“Go save the day. Be safe,” he says fondly as she gathers her study materials.

She squeezes his hand before she turns to leave. “Call me later, after?”

“Deal.”

Tim watches as she gets in her shop and drives away, feeling lighter and happier than he has in months. Probably ever.

Chapter Text

Tim courts Lucy for the next few weeks. She told him on their first date that she wanted to take things slow, and he readily agreed. All the men she’s dated before have been so eager to get to the sex part that they never put in the effort to win her over, but Tim has certainly stepped up to the task. She never realized how romantic dating can be when sex is off the table.

Their first real kiss was something out of a romantic movie—sitting under the twinkle lights on their second attempt at a first date, after scaring off a would-be car thief, Tim cupped her head and leaned in. It was sweet and gentle, a sharp contrast to the passionate way he wrecked her in the break room, but it took her breath away all the same. Her stomach swooped and every nerve ending was on fire, and she wanted nothing more than to take back her request to take it slow, but Tim simply held her hand and walked her home, with a promise to see her tomorrow.

Since then, they spend nearly every evening together, sometimes on elaborate, fancy dates, sometimes getting take-out and driving around the city, and sometimes just watching TV at his house and making out on the couch. She’s discovered that relationship Tim is very tactile. His hands are constantly on her when they’re alone, not even always in a sexual way, he just seems to crave the contact. Cuddly Tim Bradford was not on her bingo card, but she wouldn’t trade it for anything. They’ve reached new levels of intimacy she didn’t think possible, and they haven’t even made it past second base.

But she is so ready to move past second base.

When she asked to take things slow, she only meant to have a few dates under their belt before seeing each other naked. To make sure they were on the same page—which they are. They’re both all in, speaking about the future as if it’s a forgone conclusion they will get married and have babies and live happily ever after. So now that that’s established, Lucy is more than ready for naked time with Tim. However, he hasn’t initiated anything beyond kissing and frustratingly pumps the breaks every time it starts to go further. She’s tried to hint that she’s ready for more, but he remains stubbornly chaste in his courtship of her, so she decides it’s time to ditch subtlety and take a more direct approach.

“Lucy, your boyfriend’s here,” Tamara calls out when Tim arrives to pick her up. He tilts his head at the younger woman. “Oh yeah, I figured it out all on my own. I would make a great detective.”

“I have no doubt,” she hears Tim say as she walks out of her bedroom, dressed to kill and carrying an overnight bag.

They haven’t been sneaking around exactly, but they have tried to keep their relationship private for now. They just want time to explore how they fit together without everyone else’s input. But, of course, Tamara noticed Lucy’s frequent absence and put two and two together. Plus, she saw them making out against Tim’s truck as he dropped her off the night before, so…that was kind of the clencher.

Tim’s eyes rove over Lucy’s form, mouth hanging open a little. She’s wearing a green dress, similar to the one she wore to Angela’s failed wedding, but tighter and lower cut, the slit at the side more prominent as she sashays toward him. Her strong legs are elongated by the strappy heeled sandals and her hair hangs in loose waves around her face. A simple gold chain around her neck draws his eyes to the ample cleavage on display. Every detail was chosen with the intent to drive him crazy, and Lucy smiles to herself, pleased to get the response she hoped for.

“You kids have fun, I won’t wait up,” Tamara says when Tim is too stunned to speak, winking at Lucy as she disappears into her bedroom.

Lucy walks up to Tim, kissing his cheek and handing him her bag, which he takes automatically. “Ready to go? Our reservation is in twenty minutes and traffic’s gonna get ugly.”

He nods dumbly and follows her out the door, still taking in the view. It’s not until they’re stepping onto the elevator that he realizes what he’s holding, looking at it and then at Lucy with curiosity. “What’s this for?”

She merely smirks, turning to press the button for the lobby. “Tonight is the night.” She swears she hears him swallow his tongue as the doors close.

~~~~~~

Tim can’t concentrate on dinner. How the fuck is he supposed to concentrate on anything when Lucy is dressed like that, sitting far too close and giving him sultry looks, and running her hand up and down his thigh? Just the knowledge of what will be happening later tonight is enough to leave him distracted, but his girlfriend is pulling out all the stops, employing every tactic in her arsenal to break his brain and it is working.

They’ve been dating over a month, known each other for several years, but suddenly the only conversation topic he can think of is the bread assortment. She’s smirking and giggling, doing nothing to help. She knows exactly what she’s doing to him, and he knows he’s going to have to pay her back later but right now all he can do is go along with her evil plan, putty in her hands.

He's been fighting the urge to suggest they skip dinner since the elevator, knowing they will need all the fuel they can get for Lucy’s plans. She’s currently pressed into his side, nibbling at his neck as her fingers trail dangerously close to his tented crotch.

“Um, uh,” he clears his throat. “What did you order, again?”

She raises her head just far enough to whisper, “The sea bass,” against his ear.

“Right.”

“Mm-hmm,” she hums, biting down gently on the cartilage, sending a shock straight to his already painful erection.

“Yeah,” his voice shakes embarrassingly, and he feels her chuckle against his neck. “Uh, it—it’s good.” He raises his eyes to the ceiling, sending up a silent prayer. For what, he’s not entirely sure. “I—I almost ordered the sea bass.”

She hums again as he glances around the restaurant. They’re somewhat hidden in the corner, so her aggressive PDA goes mostly unnoticed. He breathes a sigh of relief when their entrees arrive, but it’s short-lived when she starts making little noises of pleasure as she eats. He knows damn well the sea bass isn’t that good. This woman is going to be the death of him, and he can’t think of a better way to go.

Somehow, they make it through dinner without Tim exploding and he walks her to his truck. She brought an overnight bag, and by the weight of it, she’s not planning on going home for a while, but he still feels presumptuous going directly to his place. After helping her up into the passenger seat and making his way to his side, he hesitates before starting the engine. Lucy notices, of course, and leans over the center console.

“Tim,” he hums as he turns to look at her. “You and I have the next two days off, and I’m not going home until you’ve fucked me so thoroughly that I can’t walk up the stairs.” She kisses him, hard and dirty, before he can respond. He’s just about to pull her into the back seat when she sits back, her cheeky grin letting him know she knows exactly what he’s thinking. “Drive,” she commands, and he obeys.

~~~~~~

Lucy has never been so forward with a guy before. She’s been blatantly driving him crazy and loving every minute of it. As weird as it sounds, she owes it all to Noah. She’s always been confident, but their time together taught her a lot about her own sexuality. He was bold with her and encouraged her to be bold right back. And after all the things they did in semi-public spaces, a little seduction in a dimly lit restaurant is nothing. Watching Tim melt for her only strengthened her confidence, and by the time she’s demanding he drive her to his house, she’s never felt more powerful. Or been more turned on.

~~~~~~

After pulling into his spot in the driveway, Tim grabs her bag out of the back and pulls her door open, offering his hand to help her down. He doesn’t let go as he leads her up the walkway, only releasing it to let them inside. He sets her bag by the couch and turns to her nervously.

“Can I make you a drink?”

She smiles slyly, shaking her head ever so slightly. “I’m good.”

He shuffles his feet awkwardly. He had been counting on having a task to break the tension. He looks around the room; he hasn’t been this nervous to sleep with a girl since his first time, junior year of high school.

Lucy finally takes pity on him, stepping forward to grab the lapels of his jacket and put him out of his misery. She pushes the material off his shoulders, never breaking eye contact as she works the buttons of his dress shirt. “I’ve fantasized about this so many times, Tim, and I have a feeling you will live up to the hype.”

Tim smiles, reaching for her hips as he draws her closer, finally finding his confidence. “Oh? Want to find out right now?”

“Yeah.” He almost doesn’t hear her answer as he dips down to capture her lips. He helps her shed his shirt, enjoying the way she ogles him shamelessly for a moment before he’s back to kissing her. He walks them toward his bedroom, misjudging the path and pushing her roughly against the doorframe. She moans as her back hits the wood, tilting her head back to give him access to her neck. He kisses a path to her chest and considers fucking her right there but decides there’s plenty of time for that later. They’ve waited all this time to sleep together, and they owe it to themselves to do it right.

He rucks her skirt up, gripping her thighs and lifting her up to carry her the rest of the way. Kicking the door shut, he takes the few steps across the room and plops her on the bed. Her laughter quickly dissolves into moans as he pulls her to the edge, kneeling before her and removing her panties. He gives her a lecherous smile as he lifts her leg over his shoulder and wastes no time living out one of his own fantasies.

He works her slowly, using his mouth and fingers to pull out every bit of pleasure he can before sending her over the edge. He continues to lick at her gently, intoxicated by her flavor, until she’s pulling him up to share the taste with her. She’s pawing at his belt while he tugs at the tie holding her dress closed, both equally desperate to have the other naked but refusing to break their kiss to aid in their task.

They’re finally free of their clothes, and he follows her as she scoots up to lay against the pillows. He knows it’s petty, but he feels smug pride at the way she stares at him after removing his boxer briefs. She looks excited, but also a little scared, and that’s all he needs to know about her previous partners.

“Shut up.”

He raises a brow. “I didn’t say anything.

“That smile says plenty. You’re so cocky.” He grins wider and she rolls her eyes. “Why do all men turn into teenage boys when it comes to their dicks?”

Tim settles between her legs, pressing his body against hers and biting at her neck. “Would it help if I told you that you’re the sexiest woman I’ve ever been with?”

Lucy wraps her arms around his neck, holding him to her. “Mm, it’s helping a little,” her voice is sultry.

“This mouth,” he leans in to kiss her deeply, plunging his tongue inside and biting at her lip. “You’ve been driving me crazy with this mouth since the day we met,” she smiles as he kisses her again. “I used to fantasize about all the ways I could shut you up when you sass me.”

“And yet, you never used any of them.”

“It would’ve been an HR nightmare,” he says as he nips his way down to her collarbone. She opens her mouth to speak, but he shoves his tongue inside, demonstrating technique number one. Once he’s sure he’s effectively shut her up, he continues his previous path, reaching up to cup a breast. “These are great boobs. They fit perfectly in my hand,” he runs his tongue across her nipple, watching as it pebbles in response. “And so perky,” he grins at her and she rolls her eyes. He leans down to place a peck on her chest, just above her left breast. “Your heart,” her look turns soft as he stares at her earnestly. “So kind, so resilient,” his fingers brush along the ink on her ribcage and she sucks in a breath.

“Tim,” she whispers. He kisses her gently, resting his forehead against hers as they’re both overwhelmed with the thought of what could have been. After a moment, she pulls back, bringing levity to the moment. “What else do you appreciate about me?”

He returns her cheeky smile, caressing her belly. “Your skin is so soft and warm; I’m already addicted to the way it feels pressed against me.” As he moves his hand further down her body, her breath hitches and he knows she is just as ready as he is to have him inside her. “And this,” he cups her mound, “I think I already showed you how much I love this,” he dips two fingers inside, pumping and stretching as she gasps.

“Mm, I th—I think you need to sh—show me again,” she moans.

Tim smirks as he reaches into his nightstand drawer. “I think you’re right,” he makes quick work of opening the foil packet and slipping the condom on. He watches her closely as he pushes inside, giving her time to adjust to the feel of him. When he’s sure he’s not going to climax embarrassingly early just from the feel of her, he meets her eyes, checking in. Lucy nods and he pulls out, both moaning loudly as he sinks back in. He grips her right hand, intertwining their fingers as he sets a slow rhythm. “These hands,” he pants between thrusts. “Always so gentle, so comforting,” he presses their joined hands into the pillow above her head as he picks up speed.

With his free hand, he taps her thigh, encouraging her to wrap her legs around his waist. “Your legs,” it’s getting harder to keep his voice even, but he’s determined to continue his praise. “So strong, just like you.” He trails his hand up further to grip her right butt cheek. “This ass,” he gives it a sharp smack, enjoying the way she screams out and clenches around him. “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that.” He smacks it again, filing away her response for later.

He can feel the pressure building, and he thinks Lucy’s close too, so he focuses his words on getting her there first.

“Come for me, Lucy,” she arches into him as he presses kisses against her skin everywhere he can reach. He changes angles slightly and it pays off. Her nails dig into the skin of his back painfully, but it spurs him on. “Come on baby, I’ve got you. Let go for me.”

With a moan of his name, she falls apart. He only has a moment to enjoy the sight before he’s joining her. He collapses against her, pausing to catch his breath before he pulls out and disposes of the condom in the trash can next to the nightstand. They’re both completely spent, panting as he pulls her limp body against his. They fall asleep, tangled together, before the sweat cools on their skin.

Chapter Text

When Lucy blinks her eyes open, it’s still dark in Tim’s bedroom and she doesn’t think they’ve been sleeping long. She’s pressed against his side, head on his chest and one leg thrown over his. One of his arms is encircling her back, the other is gripping her ass to hold her firmly in place. She caresses his chest, placing light kisses everywhere she can reach. She’s not necessarily trying to wake him at first, but she can’t get enough of him.

Sex with Tim was so much more incredible than she ever hoped it would be. It was tender and loving and so fucking hot. If she thought Noah’s dirty talk turned her on, it paled in comparison to Tim’s overwhelming praise as he made love to her. She can still feel the delicious ache between her legs, and she’s already craving more. Her touch becomes more intentional, her kisses turning into gentle nips and sucks.

After a few moments he stirs, loosening his grip on her ass to run his hand from her shoulder to her calf and back up in steady, intoxicating strokes. The hand on her back moves up to tangle in her hair, pulling her to him for a sleepy but passionate kiss. He tugs on her hip, encouraging her to climb on top of him and she does. Rocking against him as she bites at his neck, she can feel him ready to go. He reaches for the nightstand drawer, but she stops him.

“Please, I want to feel you.”

He cocks a brow, a silent question. She’s never had sex without a condom, but she has an IUD and she’s clean. She trusts that he is too, so she merely nods. No other communication is needed. Tim pulls her in for a dirty kiss as he lines himself up, pushing inside and swallowing her gasps as he fills her. She cups his neck with both hands, never breaking their kiss as she moves above him. Lucy rides him slowly, bodies pressed close together as she revels in the feel of him.

“God, you’re incredible,” Tim whispers against her lips. He’s holding her so tight, one hand snaked around her back and cupping her head, the other gripping her ass and helping her movements. She moans at his words, encouraging him to continue. He murmurs more words of adoration into her skin, punctuating his words with kisses along her jaw, neck, collarbone. Just when she feels her orgasm bubbling over and her movements stutter, he presses his lips to her ear. “I love you, Lucy.”

He confessed he was in love with her that day in the break room, and she told him as much when they discussed her working undercover, but they’ve never exchanged those words specifically. They’ve been carefully dancing around them for weeks, neither wanting to scare the other off by saying it too soon. Still, she knows this isn’t a heat of the moment slip; Tim loves her, and he knows exactly what those words will do to her.

Her pleasure washes over her in waves as he continues to fuck up into her. She expects him to follow, but instead he flips their positions, grinning down at her. “One more, baby.”

“Tim,” she whines, exhausted. These orgasms are way more intense than she’s ever experienced, whether from Tim’s skill or their mutual feelings, she’s not entirely sure. “I can’t.”

“Please,” he begs. He shifts his hips, hitting a particularly sensitive spot and his eyes sparkle with delight as she keens. “One more, Lucy,” he commands, his TO voice cutting straight to her core. She digs her nails into his skin as he pumps into her, each thrust hitting that spot deep inside that few men have found. He has one firm hand on her hip, holding her down as he fucks her, and brings the other up to encircle her neck possessively. His hips snap into hers roughly as he coaches her to let go. Their temples are resting against each other, and he rewards each moan with a nip at her skin. “Come on baby, I’m so close, come with me.” Her orgasm explodes within her, and she feels Tim spill inside as she rides the waves. When they’ve both stilled, he once again presses his lips to her ear. “Good girl,” he growls, then traces the shell with his tongue. She feels herself clench around him again and he chuckles, knowing exactly what his words do to her. She smacks his arm but can’t help her smile.

They lie like that for a while, still joined, letting their breathing return to normal and basking in the afterglow. Lucy holds him close, enjoying his sturdy weight on top of her. She tugs on the short strands of his hair until he lifts his head to meet her eyes. “I love you, too.”

The incandescent smile that breaks across Tim’s face is one she will cherish forever, and one she will work hard to draw out of him every day for the rest of their lives. He kisses her so fiercely that she thinks they might go another round, but they are both spent. They eventually get out of bed to clean up and get a snack, but neither bothers with clothes since they’re going back to bed. It’s only three in the morning and if Lucy has her way, they won’t be leaving the bed until they have to report back to work on Monday.

~~~~~~

Tim doesn’t normally sleep in on the weekends, but it’s much, much later than usual when he and Lucy finally crawl out of bed. At first, she protests getting up at all, but when he tells her his sister is in town and wants to meet for lunch, she springs out of bed like a kid on Christmas morning. They shower together, and Tim is proud of how they only get slightly distracted, but they still roll up to the restaurant twenty minutes late.

“I never thought I’d see the day my big brother was late for anything,” Genny teases, and her eyes light up when she sees Lucy. Tim only told her he was bringing his girlfriend, but didn’t say who he’s dating.

“Sorry, that was my fault,” she says, cheeks tinged pink, likely remembering the way she sank to her knees in the shower, bringing yet another of his fantasies to life.

Genny smirks at Tim, putting the pieces together. “This,” she gestures between the couple, “makes a lot more sense than you and the lifeguard.”

He rolls his eyes, ushering Lucy into the booth. “Shut up, Gen.”

She waves him off and turns to his girlfriend. “So, when did he finally get his head out of his ass?”

Lucy giggles. “About a month ago.”

“It was longer than that,” Tim pouts. “You were just…occupied before.”

His sister cocks a brow and Lucy grips his arm, leaning into him. “Aw, babe, are you finally admitting you were jealous?”

“I wasn’t jealous,” he says petulantly.

“Uh-huh,” she deadpans.

Genny picks up the menu, making a show of scanning it. “Do they serve popcorn here? Because I am loving this show.”

“Again, shut up Gen.”

She sticks her tongue out at him and turns back to Lucy. “Tell me all about whoever it was that made this one wake the fuck up.” She rests her chin on her hand, listening with rapt attention as Lucy provides the highlights of her fling with Foster. Thankfully, she leaves out the disgusting details, focusing mostly on their op to take down the Bautista syndicate.

“So he went back to Victorville, and I went back to patrol, but I’m taking the detective’s exam in a few weeks.”

“He sounds hot,” Lucy giggles. “Is he hot? Tell me you have photos.”

“God, I wish I was an only child,” Tim grumbles.

Lucy smacks his arm and he expects Genny to laugh, but her look turns serious. “So, does that mean you don’t want me to move back to Los Angeles?”

Lucy snaps her head up and he coughs on the sip of water he just took. “You’re moving here? What about Rob? I thought he couldn’t transfer?”

Genny brushes at invisible crumbs on the table and doesn’t meet his eye. “Rob’s not coming.”

“Oh,” he responds dumbly. Tim feels like an ass, not having seen the signs that his sister is struggling.

“I’m so sorry,” Lucy reaches for her hand, squeezing it and giving her a sympathetic smile.

Genny brushes her off, having long ago perfected the Bradford method of dealing (or rather, not dealing) with complicated feelings. “It’s for the best.” She tears a piece of bread and shoves it in her mouth. “I just want a fresh start, and it’d be nice to be near my big brother.” Tim smiles; their relationship has been strained for years, but he’s been working to repair it and having Genny and his nephews close would help his efforts. “And the boys will love Aunt Lucy.”

He throws his balled-up napkin at her, but wraps his arm around Lucy, pulling her closer. Aunt Lucy, he likes the sound of that.

Chapter Text

Tim and Lucy spend the rest of the weekend at his place, but by Monday night decide they should make an appearance at her apartment. Tamara grumbles about Sergeant Grumpy being there, until Kojo follows him through the door and makes himself at home in her room.

“Traitor,” Tim mutters as his dog jumps on Tamara’s bed.

Lucy giggles. “Let him go, babe. Then we can have my room all to ourselves.”

“I demand noise-canceling headphones for Christmas if this is gonna be a regular thing. I barely survived Nucy.”

Tim cocks his head in Tamara’s direction. “Nucy?”

The teenager smiles proudly, “Noah and Lucy.”

Lucy’s eyes go wide and she ushers a gagging Tim to her bedroom. “Okay, that’s enough Tim and Tamara bonding time. I’ll call you when dinner’s ready.”

He scowls while she unpacks her bag, looking around at the various surfaces in her room, wondering which ones have been tainted by Nucy.

“Tim,” she steps in front of him, gripping his hands. “We’ve both had relationships with other people, you gotta move past it. You think I wasn’t picturing you and Ashley at your place? Or you and Isabel?”

He scoffs. “Well, you didn’t have visual proof.”

She folds her arms over her chest and raises a brow. “Are you forgetting how I got to be your only rookie to wear short sleeves?”

He rolls his eyes, “That’s different. It was years ago and there were no feelings involved here,” he waves his finger between the two of them and she holds her ground.

“Maybe not on your end.”

He opens and closes his mouth a few times. It never occurred to him that Lucy’s feelings for him went back that far.

“Look, we’re both adults. We’ve had relationships, we’ve had sex with other people. None of that matters anymore, okay? All that matters is you and me,” she steps closer, wrapping her arms around his waist and backing him against the pillar of her canopy bed. It shakes from the contact and Tim pulls away from the kiss she was just about to steal to inspect the structure.

“What is this made of, popsicle sticks?” He pushes on the pillar, causing the entire bed to shake. “Has this always been so unstable?”

Lucy shrugs, turning back to her overnight bag. “I don’t know, I guess it used to be sturdier, but I’ve had it for years. Since I was a teenager.”

Tim gives the bed a few more shakes, smirking at her as he does. “Since you were a teenager? So it’s survived, what, all your previous partners?”

She places her hands on her hips, clearly wondering where he’s going with this line of questioning. “Yes.”

“Hm,” he walks to the other side, testing the headboard. He looks at her pointedly when it trembles beneath his grip. “And it was this shaky when you were with, say, Foster?”

Lucy bites the inside of her cheek, suppressing a smile. “It was.”

“And it didn’t break,” it’s not a question, he just wants to make sure she gets his point.

“It didn’t.”

“Hm.”

“Why do all guys turn into cavemen when it comes to sex?”

He gives her an incredulous look. “I’m not a caveman,” he argues. “It’s a simple observation. If this rickety thing,” he shakes the bed again for emphasis, “can withstand your previous partners, then that tells me a lot about your sex life before I came along.” He shrugs, going for nonchalant, but he’s absolutely acting like a caveman. He wants to beat his chest and break her bed and prove that he’s better than all the other boys she’s been with.

Lucy rolls her eyes. “You’re an idiot, and I’m going to make dinner.”

She leaves him alone in her bedroom to inspect the bed some more. He gives it a few more test rattles, plops down on it and bounces a little. Thankfully, it’s not noisy, just unstable. There is no way that thing will survive even one vigorous round of sex done right.

~~~~~~

Eventually, he joins Lucy in the kitchen, a cheeky smirk on his face.

“What’s that smile? I don’t like that smile.”

Tim shrugs, “This is my smile.” He steps behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing her neck as she prepares the vegetables. “You better start looking for a bed you like, because we will be breaking yours tonight.” His voice is husky in her ear, making her knees a little wobbly.

“Someone’s cocky.”

She feels him shrug before he attaches his lips to the spot just below her ear that drives her wild. “I’d say confident.”

“Mm,” she can’t help the smile that forms so easily on her lips. “You’re confident you’re gonna fuck me so hard it breaks my bed tonight?”

“Mhm.”

It’s becoming increasingly difficult to concentrate as he moves his mouth over her skin, but Lucy holds her ground. “And what if you can’t?”

“I can.”

His gruff, cocky tone awakens her competitive side, and she turns around in his arms. “Fine, let’s make a bet.”

Tim raises a brow, lips quirking up in a sure smirk. “What are the terms?”

Lucy steps out of his arms, giving herself space to think. “If you don’t break the bed by the time we go to sleep tonight, then you have to be my robot for a week.”

He gives her a skeptical look, “Like, sex robot?”

“No!” She scoffs, but then realizes the potential. “Well, maybe…”  He rolls his eyes and she continues. “I just mean that you have to say and do whatever I say, wherever we are. And if that happens to be in the bedroom…well I won’t complain.”

Tim’s grin turns devious, and Lucy can see that there will be no losers in this bet. “Okay, and when I  win…actually, same terms.”

She raises a brow. “You can’t even come up with your own punishment? You hear sex robot and your caveman brain shuts down?”

He lets his eyes roam her body dramatically, “Can you blame me?”

She returns the gesture, “Not at all.”

“Okay then,” he sticks his hand out to shake. “Do we have a deal?”

“Deal. But it has to be fully broken, not just cracked.”

“Ugh, your bets were sexual enough before you started having sex. I don’t even want to know what you’re competing for now.”

They jump at Tamara’s voice, both forgetting she was in the apartment. “Oh look, just in time for dinner. Just give me two minutes to put on the finishing touches.” Lucy scowls at Tim, who still has that cocky smirk on his face, and tries her best to forget about their sex bet.

~~~~~~

The task of breaking Lucy’s bed proves tougher than Tim originally thought, but he is determined to win this bet and claim his spot as her most passionate lover. They’re on their third round. The first, while vigorous, was too loving and sweet to do much damage. Tim got a little discouraged after the second; if pounding into Lucy from behind while she gripped one of the rattling pillars didn’t bring the bed down, he wasn’t sure what to try next. They took a break, sneaking into the kitchen for a snack and giggling when they heard Tamara’s music blaring through her door.

It's well after midnight when they crawl back into bed, Lucy straddling Tim as he sits against the headboard. They make out like teenagers for a while, until aimless groping hands find a determined path and she’s sinking down onto him. She rides him slow at first, both moaning at the feeling of being joined. They’ve had sex countless times since the weekend began, but every time feels as incredible as the first. He grips her ass with both hands, guiding her hips as she picks up the pace. Her hands rest on his shoulders, but soon she needs a sturdier grip, so she reaches for the headboard.

As Lucy bounces on his lap and he mouths at her perky breasts, meeting her thrusts with reckless abandon, all thoughts of the bet flee his mind. He is focused only on the feel of his girlfriend taking her pleasure from him, so at first, he doesn’t hear the cracking sound.

“Oh my god,” she moans in his ear. “Tim.”

“I know baby, I got you, let go.”  He reaches a hand between them to help push her over the edge, both of them about to burst, but before they can get there, the sound of splitting wood drowns out their moans.

He only has half a second to react once he realizes what’s happening, cradling Lucy’s head with one hand and flipping their positions to shield her from the collapsing canopy. Once the dust settles, he checks her for injuries and, finding none, wraps her legs around his waist and captures her lips with his.

“I win.”

He continues to thrust lightly, the shock of the broken bed doing nothing to tamp his desire. In fact, he’s even more turned on than he was moments ago.

“Uh, you didn’t break the bed, I was the one driving that.”

Tim nips at her neck. “We didn’t specify who had to be on top when it breaks. Only that it had to break tonight. And it did. So I win.”

Lucy huffs, but it turns into a loud moan when he shifts his angle just so and hits that spot. Once again, their bet is forgotten in favor of chasing their orgasms, proving once and for all that there are no losers in a sex bet.

Chapter Text

Tim thinks maybe he’s being paranoid. It’s not like he and Lucy don’t have a very active, very satisfying sex life, but in the year they’ve been together, she’s never given him so many blow jobs as she has in the last week. It’s like every fantasy of his come to life, and he can’t even enjoy it. Just yesterday while he was watching football, she came sauntering up to him in his favorite Rams jersey and sank to her knees without a word. He heard cheering as he climaxed, and it took him a few hazy moments to realize it was for someone scoring a touchdown, not Lucy’s unmatched skills.

He’s trying to give his fiancée the benefit of the doubt, but when he reminded her it was time to leave for their double date, she aggressively backed him against the refrigerator and she currently has her mouth around his dick. So he can’t help but wonder if something’s going on.

Not that he asks, because all thoughts leave his brain with his orgasm.

Lucy stands, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, a smug grin on her face, and pushes up on her toes to give him a dirty kiss. “Let’s go, babe,” she says as she buttons his jeans, fastening his belt. Tim nods dumbly and follows her out the front door.

Nearly forty minutes later, Tim pulls his truck into the restaurant parking lot. He scans the space for the familiar SUV, but doesn’t see it.

“I don’t see her car, it’s not like her to be late.”

Lucy shrugs, “I dunno, maybe he drove.”

Tim sighs. “I don’t understand why she’s being so secretive about this guy. It’s not like I’m gonna do anything to him. Just run a background check, make sure he’s not dangerous.”

She leans across the console, nipping at his neck as her hand moves up his thigh. “She doesn’t need you protecting her, Tim.”

“She’s not a cop, she hasn’t seen what we’ve seen.”

Lucy cups his crotch, sucking a mark into his collarbone. “She’s a big girl, babe.”

He continues to grumble as Lucy fondles his eager dick. It’s hard to stay grouchy when his erection is running the show, his thoughts getting lost in the haze of his arousal. A few still manage to break through, like why Lucy refused his suggestion of a barbecue at their place for this meeting, instead insisting they go to this crowded downtown restaurant. Why this man’s identity has been so closely guarded. Why every time he mentions his sister’s new boyfriend, Lucy distracts him with a blowjob.

“Son of a bitch,” he shoves the driver’s side door open, practically falling out, catching his pants just in time. A startled Lucy blinks at him as he does up his jeans. “What are you and Genny hiding?” he points an accusatory finger at her, his face twisted in anger.

“Tim,” she placates, jumping out of the passenger side and rounding the truck.

“No, Lucy. Every time this week I’ve brought up Genny’s boyfriend, you suck my dick and erase my thoughts.” He knows he sounds hysterical, but he can’t help it.

“Babe,” she holds her hands up, approaching him with all the caution of a wild animal. “Calm down, please. Remember we love Genny, and she really loves this guy, okay?”

He runs a hand through his hair, his head spinning. “No, it’s not okay, he paces the dark parking lot. “If it was okay, you wouldn’t be manipulating me with–with your–”

“Hey Hot Pants, long time!”

Lucy’s eyes shut tight and Tim freezes. “No,” he shakes his head, refusing to turn toward the voice and confirm his fears. “Lucy, tell me this isn’t happening.”

“Don’t be mad at her, big brother.”

It’s Tim’s turn to squeeze his eyes shut. “Mother fucker, this is not happening.”

“Babe,” Lucy begins and he holds up a hand. It’s several beats, several deep breaths, before he opens his eyes, glaring at his fiancée. He turns slowly to see Noah Foster, arm wrapped around Genny’s waist, that stupid smug grin on his face.

“ Son of a bitch, ” he snaps. He starts to walk back toward his truck, but Lucy’s voice stops him in his tracks.

“Timothy Bradford, don’t you fucking dare.” He glances at her, and is reminded that his tiny fiancée is not one to be messed with. “You are acting like a child. Your sister and Noah are together, get over it. I’m fine with it, they’re fine with it. There is no reason you can’t get your ass inside and have a pleasant meal like a fucking grownup.”

He huffs, but makes no move to join Lucy. She nods at the other couple and they head toward the restaurant. Once they’re gone, she steps over to him, gripping his hand and placing her other hand on his shoulder.

“Babe,” she begins gently. “I know you don’t like Noah, and it’s awkward, given our history,” he scoffs. “But he and Genny are serious. He’s not going anywhere, so you have to find a way to get past this.”

“Luce,” he whines. His eyes bore into her, pleading, willing her to understand just how much this pains him. Foster has defiled the two most important women in his life. And he’s supposed to, what, break bread with the man and pretend they’re besties?

She cups his cheek, pulling him to her for a sweet kiss. “Tim, you love your sister. You want her to be happy. Noah makes her happy.”

He growls, but he already knows he’ll give in. He just has to pout a little first. “How long have you known?”

Guilt crosses her face, but she holds firm. “Genny told me a while ago, as soon as they figured out the connection. She wanted to make sure I was okay with it. I wouldn’t have kept it from you, but she asked me to wait until she was ready to introduce you. It wasn’t my place to say anything.”

Tim nods; he knows logically that Lucy did the right thing, even if it feels like betrayal.

“Come on,” she tugs him gently. “Let’s go have dinner and you can actually get to know Noah. You might find he’s a great guy when he’s not banging the object of your desire.”

The corners of her mouth turn up in a cheeky smirk, and Tim groans. “No, just my baby sister.” Lucy rolls her eyes as he pulls the door open for her.

They make their way to the table, where Genny has already ordered a round of drinks. It’s tense for a while, as none of them are willing to bring up the elephant in the room, so Tim finally breaks.

“How the hell did you two even meet?” He doesn’t mean it to come out so gruff, but he can’t help it.

Genny sets her fork down, a dopey smile lighting her features. “It was straight out of a romcom, actually. We literally bumped into each other at the grocery store.”

“I noticed her checking me out in the produce section, followed me all the way to the dairy.” Foster grins at her, making Tim’s stomach turn.

“I was not following you! I was shopping.” Genny huffs, but she’s smiling too wide for it to be effective. “Anyway,” she says, turning back to her brother. “I turned the corner and ran my cart right into his, and he said it must be fate, so he asked me out.”

“Smooth,” Tim mumbles, earning a swift kick to his ankle from Lucy.

Foster sits back, draping his arm across the back of Genny’s chair. “I didn’t realize she was that Bradford until a few weeks in, when she was telling me about her badass big brother. It was a bit awkward when we pieced everything together, but Hot Pants was cool about it, so–”

“Okay,” Tim interrupts, “enough story time.” He then remembers a key fact. “Wait, what the hell are you even doing in L.A.? I thought you went back to Victorville?”

The other man gives Lucy a look, which sets Tim on edge. “I transferred to LAPD, Hollywood Division,” he starts. “Funny story, actually, when me and Genny started getting serious, I took stock of my career, and, well, UC work and family life don’t mix so well. So I got out of that game and started forging a new path.” He glances at Lucy again before continuing. “I took the sergeant’s exam, and accepted a new position.”

The mood at the table has shifted, a palpable tension falling over them. He feels Lucy’s hand squeeze his thigh under the table and she clears her throat. “He’s taking over for Caradine, when he retires next month.”

Tim blinks, willing his fiancée’s words to make sense. “Caradine. Your boss, that Caradine?”

“Yes, that Caradine.” Lucy levels him with a look, daring him to make a scene.

Tim nods, eyes wide. “So, your ex, who is now fucking my baby sister–”

“Tim,” Genny hisses.

“Is going to be at our station, working closely with you, as your boss, and that’s why you’ve been distracting me with blowjobs all week?”

Foster grins proudly. “Way to go Hot Pants!”

Tim points an angry finger at him, “You stay out of this,” he snaps. Another thought occurs to him, and he doesn’t think this dinner can get any worse. “Wait, this is who you’re bringing to our wedding?!”

Lucy and Genny giggle, seemingly amused by his spiraling. “Yes Tim, I’m bringing my fiancé to your wedding. You’re just going to have to deal with that.” Tim and Lucy’s heads snap to her, and she winces “Shit, we weren’t going to say anything yet.”

“You’re engaged? ” Lucy squeals.

Genny nods, tears filling her eyes. “We are, he asked me a few days ago.”

“Well, fuck. ” Tim drops his fork, sitting back roughly against his chair.

His sister rolls her eyes. “Get over it Tim. He’s not going anywhere.”

“I was thinking,” Foster grins, “how about a double wedding?” Genny slaps him, chuckling.

Lucy gives Tim’s thigh another squeeze, moving her hand closer to his crotch and leaning in to whisper in his ear. “You want to take a quick walk to the truck, relieve some tension?”

Tim looks at her incredulously, blinking a few times before he shrugs. If she’s really offering to suck him off in exchange for his acceptance, well, there are worse forms of therapy.