Archive of Our Own ^beta

Lucy snapped another shot and Tim raised an eyebrow at her, his jaw twitching from trying to hold in his smile.

“You done, boot?”

“Just one more,” she murmured, clicking the button on her phone and trying unsuccessfully to keep her eyes down but they flicked up to Tim and she knew he didn’t miss the heat in them.

A slight smirk appeared on his face and she saw the flash of heat go through them too when his pupils dilated quickly and then shrank in the bright LA sunlight.

“You better not make that your home screen,” he brought down the award just slightly fixing her with a stern look that only served to rile her up.

“I wouldn’t do that,” she whined, “It is now my lock screen.” She held the phone up to him, showing him the picture she had just taken, his mouth a straight line but a glimmer in his eyes, one that he only got when a certain petite brunette was in his eyeline.

“I just wanted to say thank you for what you did today,” his voice got serious, “You really saved my ass.”

A surprised look crossed her face, changing quickly to a smug one, “Just doing my job…sir,” she replied back, her voice taking on a slight husk at the last word.

The smirk on his face came back, the heat in his eyes so intense she immediately took her bottom lip between her teeth, having to do something to stop herself from whimpering out loud. He looked so damn good in his police dress blues, a uniform she had never seen him in before.  After the exhausting events of the day, she didn’t have the strength to play off the obvious attraction she was feeling about it. He knew immediately, she could tell, they both knew each other so well, it was practically impossible to hide their feelings, after everything that had happened.

The awards ceremony went fast and then they were at the food truck park, celebrating Jackson and Tim as well as Nolan’s birthday. She was still relishing in the part she’d played to make sure the truth came out, knowing the whole time that something was off about the accident. For a brief moment, she’d worried she was going too far, bullying the Sergeant in the garage with her knowledge of Tim’s service to the country and the force. Then questioning the victim, attracting too much attention to the two of them again, but then again, she did have a reputation of being thorough. In the end, it had all worked out and Tim’s stellar reputation remained intact, something that was more than necessary after the events of the past few months, Isabel’s reappearance and all.

She looked him up and down again, as he shifted the award to one hand, the other going to his belt, to straighten the shirt where it had gotten slightly untucked. There was a gauntness to him, all buttoned up like this, without the extra padding of the vest under his shirt, the long sleeves hiding his biceps. The past few months had been hard, on both of them, and she’d been trying to keep to a routine but realized that maybe she hadn’t been paying as much attention to his. His cheeks looked a little hollow and sometimes she did notice a slight shadow pass over his face, as if he was remembering the time in the house, the door seemingly separating the two of them between life and death. It still wasn’t over, she still had to make it through the rest of her training with their secret.

But now.

Now they were here, clinking their beers together and sitting side by side at a picnic table, surrounded by their friends and colleagues. Two of whom maybe suspected something but could be hopefully trusted not to say anything. Luckily everyone’s attention was on Nolan at the moment, as he was going on and on about his birthday, and Tim took that opportunity to shift just a bit closer to her.  Not that they weren’t already close, they’d been invading each other’s personal space in public since before they’d started invading it in private.

Lucy was taking a long drink of beer and smiling at Nolan’s long winded speech when she felt a warm hand slide over her thigh. Very slightly she lowered her drink and looked over at Tim, who was taking a sip of his own beer, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down. He lowered it and slowly looked over at her, his hand slipping even higher, setting sparks of flame even through her jeans.

It was brazen of him, even though the movements were hidden, to do this. They were surrounded by people but somehow, that fact sent shivers down her body, heat pooling in the base of her spine. She raised her eyebrow at him and he smirked before looking away, nodding along to what Nolan was saying, as if either of them were paying attention to it.

Leaning in slightly, he turned his head towards her and whispered into her ear, “Finish your beer, Officer Chen.”

His voice rumbled low and deep and Lucy felt a flush go through her, the ruffled blouse and jacket suddenly feeling too warm for the heat that was coursing down her body. She raised her glass up to her lips again, taking a long drink and almost choking when Tim’s fingers explored even higher, lightly brushing against her jeans-covered mound. Her eyes went wide and she put her beer down, swallowing quickly and sliding her eyes over to him, about to hiss for him to stop. He grinned at her and picked his drink up, slamming it back while still teasing between her legs before removing his hand so fast Lucy almost protested even though she’d been on the verge of stopping him. He stood up, his tall frame stepping over the picnic table bench.

“Lucy and I drove here together, I’m going to take her back to the station,” he announced and Lucy nodded, her brain already fuzzy from drinking the beer too fast and Tim’s wandering hands and dress blues. He helped her climb out from the table and she quickly said her goodbyes to their friends, ignoring the looks from Jackson and Angela.

“Happy Birthday,” she said to Nolan, “I owe you lunch this week.”

“Thanks,” he replied, then a look of concern passed over his face, “You okay? You look a little flushed.”

Just feverishly anticipating what my secret boyfriend has in store for me, she thought.

Flashing him a smile, she just said, “No, I’m fine, just a long day.”

“You coming Chen?” Tim’s voice called out and she looked over at him again, cursing at how sharp the damn buttoned up collar of the uniform made his jawline look.

She said a final goodbye to Nolan and Grace and then walked over to catch up with Tim. Once they reached his truck, he finally touched her again, placing his hand on the small of her back to help her in, his eyes following her every movement, smoldering with the plans he had for them once they made it back to his house. She reached out for his arm as if she were steadying herself but let her touch linger longer than it needed to, squeezing at his bicep and tracing her hand down his arm. He finally backed away and closed the door, circling around the front of his truck, the corners of his mouth turned up slightly in a wicked smile and Lucy rubbed her thighs together in anticipation of what was going to happen that evening.

He opened his door and slid into the driver’s seat, his long fingers turning the keys in the ignition and then wrapping around the wheel, deftly backing them out of the parking space and then onto the road.

“My place?” he asked, still facing forward and she nodded before realizing that he probably couldn’t see her.

“Yes,” she answered, her voice sure and the corner of his mouth curved up, the dimple that only showed if his smile got just big enough making an appearance.

His hand dropped off the steering wheel and reached for hers and she met him halfway, entwining her fingers in his.

Once they reached his house, he pulled into the garage and went around to help her out, not that she needed it but she accepted it just the same. Tim was honorable, there were things that he did that she’d never experienced before from a man. But he was complex too, there were things that he did that weren’t always honorable, like their relationship for example. Some things matter more, he’d told her, the first time they’d kissed, when she’d thought she lost him before she’d even had him, after he’d collapsed from a reaction to a vaccine.

Leading her into the house, he pulled her in for a soft kiss, closing the door behind them and dropping his keys in the bowl, all without taking his lips off hers. One hand slid up her jawline, tangling in her hair while his other slowly made work of the button on her jacket, opening it up and sliding it off onto the floor. She wrapped her arms around him, pressing her body to his long one, his heat radiating through the material of his uniform.

Finally breaking the kiss, he reached up and tugged off the tie, placing it down onto his counter and unbuttoning his shirt. She reached down to help him, carefully removing his badge and service ribbons before gently placing them on the counter, alongside his tie. He stopped what he was doing and watched her, his hands moving down to grasp at her hips while she finished unbuttoning his shirt, removing the cuff links from his wrists and placing them next to his badge. She ran her hands up his torso once she’d finished with his buttons, eliciting a shiver from him. Even through the hard muscle she could tell, the gauntness was still there. She made a mental note to have a conversation with him about it, but filed it away to be dealt with later, too caught up in the fact that his hands were inching up her side, grazing the undersides of her breasts and reaching for the buttons of her own blouse.

He pulled her closer, pressing soft kisses to her jawline and then pressing his mouth to her ear.

“I’m going to show you how thankful I am for what you did for me today,” he whispered, his breath hot against her ear and she trembled in his arms as he slowly slid her shirt off her. Goosebumps immediately rose up on her skin but not from being cold. He stepped forward and grasping at her thighs, hoisted her up, wrapping her legs around his waist.

“I’m going to worship you Lucy," he growled, pressing his face into her neck and sucking at her tattoo, most likely leaving a mark that her uniform would hopefully cover. He turned them and walked them towards the open bedroom door, her hands looped around his neck, turning his head so she could find his lips again.

His legs hit the bed and he gently set her down, leaning over to capture her lips in a searing kiss before moving lower, starting a burning trail on her skin. Nipping at her collarbone, his tongue dipped along the groove and licked a stripe down, Lucy’s breath coming out in a soft sigh.

“You’re gorgeous…” he whispered, “So fucking gorgeous.”

His mouth traveled lower, hands going behind her back to unhook her bra and she brought her hands forward, slipping it off while his lips found her nipple, wrapping his tongue around it and sucking gently. She moaned out his name, arching her back against him, his hand caressing her other breast, playing with her already pert nipple.

“And smart, so fucking smart,” his voice was low and he bit gently at her nipple, soothing it with his tongue when she cried out.

“Soft…responsive...so responsive...” his mouth continued to travel lower, giving her open mouth kisses along her stomach, each one with murmured praise. She preened under his touch, at his words, feeling the heat building between her legs, almost to the point where she couldn't take it anymore.

“Tim…please…” She didn’t want to start begging already but she couldn’t help it. Seeing him in the dress blues, the satisfied look he’d given her when she knew she’d cleared him, the touches and flirtations, his words, it was almost too much.

He looked up at her and his eyes took on that playful gleam while he unbuttoned her jeans and slowly slid them off along with her panties. He quickly unbuttoned his own pants and let them pool on the floor before sliding back over her.

“And aggravating…” he bit down at the sensitive spot at the juncture of her thigh and she yelped but he held her down, chuckling softly before placing gentle kisses down her thigh,”..so damn aggravating…always having to be so damn perfect for me.”

She stilled then, feeling a different warmth traveling up her body and looked down at him, his blue eyes earnest from between her legs, “I’m going to make you feel so good baby, because you were so good for me today. Such a good girl.”

She hated that his words affected her so but before she could think so much about it, he went down on her, flicking his tongue against her clit and causing her to cry out with pleasure, bucking her hips up against him. One of his hands went to her stomach, holding her down while the other teased at her entrance, his fingers dipping into her wetness and then sliding inside her, one and then two. She raked her hands through her hair, keening at his touch, his mouth on her, bringing her to the edge so quickly it took her by surprise when her orgasm hit her full force. Her hands went to his head, holding him there while she rode out the waves and she could feel him grinning against her, knowing that he had made her come faster than she was expecting to.

Bringing his head up, he wiped at his mouth with the back of his hand, a smug look on his face and she grabbed at his head, pulling him towards her and giving him a deep kiss, not caring that she could still taste herself on him. He pressed against her and she could feel his hardness as he slotted himself between her legs, entering her with almost no resistance.

“God I love how you feel,” he hissed out, his eyes closing as he bottomed out, “So tight, so wet for me.” He grabbed her leg and wrapped it around his waist, thrusting into her and she wrapped her arms around him, pulling him in deeper.

“Tim…so good…so big…” she raked her hands down his back, “I love how you stretch me.”

He groaned and increased his pace, both of them clinging to each other, lost in their ecstasy before they fell over the edge together, calling out each other’s names, his face buried in her shoulder and her fingernails scraping against his back. Finally they came down and he rolled off of her, chest rising and falling with deep breaths.

“Is this what I can expect every time I bail you out of a situation?” she teased, once she’d gotten her breathing under control.

He opened one eye and looked at her, a playful growl playing across his lips, “Watch it boot.”

Turning to her, he pressed a kiss to her forehead before tenderly rubbing his thumb across her cheek, “Get some sleep…you have to get in early…warbags need restocking and you have to load up a new shop since I crashed my favorite one.”

She scoffed and pushed him away but he pulled her in closer, laughing and adding, “Don’t worry, I’ll make you breakfast in the morning to make up for it.”

He smiled down at her and she snuggled into him, contently falling into a deep sleep in his arms.