Chapter Text
It’s finally Christmas Day and Tim and Lucy are busy all day. They go from call to call to call and don’t even manage to eat lunch together. Tim really wanted to ride with her but knew it was better to have officers driving solo so more of them would be available.
They reach the end of their shift and by some Christmas miracle they actually end on time.
“Ready to go?” Tim asks when Lucy walks out of the women’s locker room. She realizes he's been waiting for her.
“Um ya, I guess I’ll just follow you there?” she confirms.
“Ya, sounds good," Tim says.
They walk out of the station together then get into their own vehicles to drive to Genny’s. When they arrive Lucy gets out of her car and goes to her trunk to retrieve a few presents.
“I thought I told you no presents,” Tim says trying to scold her.
“It’s Christmas Tim, I couldn’t show up empty handed,” she insists.
Tim just rolls his eyes as they walk up to Genny’s front door and head inside.
“Genny, we’re here!” Tim calls out.
They head in and the whole house smells like cinnamon and Christmas tree and it’s wonderful. The boys greet Tim, excited to have their uncle for Christmas dinner and he introduces them to Lucy. He tells them she’s a friend from work – Tyler says he doesn’t buy it.
Lucy places her gifts under the tree to be opened later.
She brought the boys a Frisbee, tennis rackets and a Lego set each, for Genny she has a cook book full of easy 20-30 minuet recipes and tips for meal prepping. For Tim she’s gone practical. She wanted to do sentimental or meaningful but she was afraid it would be too loaded or infer too many emotions so instead she’s gone for a backpack (with a Tardis keychain – so sue her) The backpack is identical to the one he uses every day but she noticed his had a tear in the strap (assumedly from Kojo) so she got him a new one. Thankfully she knows the only places he shops at are sports stores or army surplus so it was easy to find him a replacement.
Dinner is fun and easy and relaxing. There’s more than enough food and it’s honestly in the top 5 Christmas dinner’s Lucy has probably ever had. Later she’s standing by the tree admiring all the decorations, looking for the homemade ones by the boys, and seeing some from when Genny was little. Lucy loves that it’s such an eclectic collection of old and new.
“So, you and Lucy?” Genny asks Tim with a questioning look.
“There’s no me and Lucy…at least not yet?” he says still partially unconvinced.
“Not yet? So there’s a potential for a something?” his sister asks.
“I think so…she broke up with Chris about two weeks ago…so maybe with time, and re-arranging our positions at work…” he says trailing off, “I’m not getting my hopes up and I’m trying to let her do everything at her own pace.”
“You’d change jobs for her? If it works out?” Genny asks surprised by the commitment.
“I would, if we work, because if we work Gen…” he says looking at this sister then turning to look at Lucy who is still admiring the Christmas tree.
Genny sees the hope in her brother’s eyes, and the clear admiration he has for Lucy that she knows has grown a lot over the last year.
"She’s important to me; I don’t want to mess it up,” Tim confesses quietly.
“You won’t, just make sure you aren’t too patient or passive, she’s going to need a definitive sign that you’re interested and willing to try Tim,” she advises.
Lucy walks over to where the Bradford siblings are standing in the kitchen and Genny announces she’s going to go check on the boys who are getting ready for bed.
“Thanks,” Lucy says softly looking up at Tim, “I really needed this, needed to spend the holidays with a family,” she tells him knowing he’ll understand that her actual family doesn’t feel much like hers anymore.
“Of course, you’re welcome in this family any time Lucy. It’s still kind of early,” Tim mentions as he checks his watch and it’s just hitting 9:30pm. He knows because they both worked so much leading up to the holidays that they have the next day off. “How about a movie at my place?” he suggests hoping he’s not pushing his luck.
“That sounds perfect,” she says with a smile.
Lucy follows Tim back to his house and they decide on A Christmas Story (Tim insists it’s a classic and he can’t be friends with anyone who hasn’t seen it before) Before too long she has fallen into his side and is curled up against his warm body. He’s let him arm drape over her on top on the blanket she's under and she’s beginning to fall asleep.
She feels the safest she’s felt in a long time and maybe it’s because she’s full of turkey or because she’s half-asleep that she says it.
“We should do this more,” she mutters half asleep.
Cuddle on the couch? He wonders.
“Watch Christmas movies?” he asks.
“No,” she says sitting up to look at him, “spend time together, outside of work, not with other people,” she clarifies.
“You want to spend time with me…alone… as friends?” he asks hopeful.
“For starters,” she says not giving him much to go on.
“Lucy I’m going to need a bit more than that to know exactly what you’re trying to say,” he says more seriously.
“I’m saying,” she says as she moves closer to him on the couch, knees tucked up underneath her as she takes a deep breath and interlaces her fingers with his, “I’m saying that I literally just broke up with Chris so I don’t want to jump into anything today, but I’m saying that I’d like to spend time with you, alone, and then maybe we could see what could happen, if we tried to be something more…if that’s what you want” she adds a bit hesitant. She's so sure he's on the same page as her. Showing up to Thanksgiving, checking in on her on the 9th, inviting her to Christmas with his family - it must mean that he wants more.
Tim can feel his heart beating in his chest as he takes in the words that she’s saying to him. He looks at where they are holding hands and tightens his grip.
“I think that sounds like a really good idea,” he says as her face lights up.
“Really?” she asks both relieved and excited that he is in fact on the same page as her.
“Really,” he confirms.
They stay curled up with each other, hands still interlaced for the remainder of the movie and it feels like they’ve been doing it for years. Lucy manages to peel herself of the couch before it’s too late for her to drive home.
“Are you sure you’re okay to drive?” he asks for the third time.
“Yes officer,” she teases, “I’m awake, I’m alert, and I’ll even text you when I get home,” she tells him.
“Okay, good,” he says with a smile.
“See you tomorrow?” she asks hopeful.
“Tomorrow?” he asks surprised by how forward she’s being, “you sure you won’t be sick of me?”
“Tim, I spent every single day for a year next to you and didn’t get sick of you then, so I think I can handle two days in a row, unless of course you don’t want to…” she says suddenly feeling insecure about asking to see him again.
“Lucy, I want to, trust me,” he says reassuring her heart.
“Okay, good, I’ll see you tomorrow,” she says as she finally heads out the door.
The next day they spend taking Kojo for a hike, getting coffee and lunch which eventually leads to dinner.
“So, is this like our first date?” Lucy asks as they sit at Tim’s kitchen counter eating Christmas dinner leftovers courtesy of Genny.
“Um, no,” Tim starts, “only because I’d like to take you out for a proper dinner, not leftovers in my kitchen,” he tells her.
“Oh really? She teases, “I like the sound of that.”
He reaches out and places his thumb on the side of her mouth and gently wipes something away. Lucy blushes a little at the simple touch and locks eyes with him and holds her breath.
Without skipping a beat or missing the opportunity Tim leans in, moves a hand to the back of her head and kisses her. He kisses her soft lips that he’s been watching all night as she’s been talking to him, the lips that he’s made a conscious effort to not look at for the last few months afraid of starting for too long and getting caught.
Lucy responds immediately and leans into his lips kissing him again and again. Eventually they have to pull back to catch their breath.
“Gravy,” Tim says quietly as Lucy quirks her head at him, “there was gravy on your mouth,” he says.
Lucy starts giggling and smiles at him and decides to lean in and kiss him again because they are really going to do this and she’s not going to hold herself back any longer.