Work Text:
2:38am, Sunday.
Lucy was scrolling mindlessly through her photos, unable to sleep, unable to think. It had been two weeks since her break up with Tim, and a week since Tamara had moved. Celina filled the void of Tamara, but it wasn't the same. She missed her endless talks with Tamara about boys, reality shows and the world. She missed the warmth of Tim as he held her in bed, his cold empty side leaving her restless. Everything had changed, her life had plummeted to rock bottom, and she didn't know how to fix it.
While staring at the ceiling, she made the realisation. She was depressed. Very depressed. She hadn't cleaned the way she usually does, she hadn't gotten herself ready properly, and she could barely cook food for herself. Celina was the one making food for them.
Lucy burst into tears, sobbing until she ran dry. In that time, she had made her way silently into the kitchen, and snuck a bottle of tequila to her room. She sat there drinking straight, thanking her lucky stars she had a day off.
--
5:34am
Tim woke up to dozens of drunken messages. All came from one contact, Lucy.
Lucy
i miss you being with me
why did you leave
ijyst wish i was with you rigth now I cant sleep without you tim
im sorry im so fuckng drunk.
ill leave you alone.
goodnight.
sent 3:18am
He rubbed his face, wondering if this is a dream. “What the hell, Luce..” He muttered to himself. He had ad long day ahead of himself.
Fuck.
In came the guilt, the dread of what could come, how he would face Lucy. The shame caged him, even with therapy, it is something he cannot bring up. What if she resented him? Fuck, even he resented himself.
Tim spent the whole day at work, thinking repeatedly about what decisions he’s made, what decisions he will make and how it will happen.
Except, one thing lingered. The love he still has. The purest admiration he has for Lucy Chen, and it somehow will not fade. It sticks, clinging onto his whole being. It is who he is, what his heart still beats for, his soul still stays for, he loves Lucy.
How could he be so stupid? Letting her down when he promised her the world and more. If only she could--
“Tim.” Called a booming voice, easily known as Grey. He signaled Tim over.
“Sir?”
“Have you heard from Lucy? She’s not in today. She’s supposed to be.”
Confused, Tim shook his head. “No sir, why would I know?”
Footsteps came from behind, and a hand newly sat on his shoulder. “Tim, you know everything about her. Just accept it, you’re still gonna be asked about her.” Angela smiles at him, rubbing his shoulder and walking off.
Tim sighs, “Sorry sir, I didn’t mean to be so rude. It’s just- “
“I know, but I have already asked Celina about her, she had left before she could check on her.”
“What?”
“Don’t panic, I was just wondering if you had time to check on her?”
“Why me?”
“You know why.”
He nodded and bit his tongue, refraining from the possibilities of ruining the trust he is slowly gaining back from Grey.
Great. He was gonna have to see her after her drunken messages.
---
1:02pm
Lucy is woken by the sound of loud knocking. Consistent knocking. “Hang on.” She managed to grumble out.
Her head was pounding, spiraling as she stood up. Her phone was dead, her room was a mess and now she had to answer to people in a hungover state.
She walked over, swinging the door opening, thinking it was most likely Celina who had forgotten her key and swung by with Nolan-
Holy shit.
“Tim.” She whispered.
He stayed silent, taking in the sight of her, clearly hungover.
“What are you doing here?”
He realised he was too quiet. “Oh! Uh sorry. Grey wanted me to check on you because you weren’t in today. You were supposed to go in?”
She laughed, “No. I have the day off, it’s a Sunday. You know this.” She shut up as soon as she said that, realising she was not necessarily on the greatest terms with him.
“I know.. I just wanted to be sure. I can’t disobey Grey.”
She sighed, nodding.
They stood there, awkwardly staring at each other.
“Have you checked your phone, Lucy?”
“It’s dead, why?”
“You uh, you sent me some interesting messages last night.”
Her stomach dropped, she felt as if it was a boulder weighing her down. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry. I got so drunk last night I couldn’t-“ She continued to ramble her apologies, profusely swearing it was an accident.
He laughed. “It’s okay. I wanted to speak to you anyway. I have only paperwork to do but I can do it later.”
She tilted her head.
“Come over later tonight. We can talk and you can see Kojo.”
“Okay.” She agreed, a little too fast for her liking.
--
8:27pm
Shift had finished, Lucy had cleaned up and Tim was sitting so nervously, awaiting her arrival.
She knocked, knowing she had yet to return his key, but still did out of politeness. It wasn’t like she was his girlfriend anymore.
The door quickly opened, seeing Tim in cargo shorts and a Rams jersey. Lucy had worn a simple green tee with a cardigan and jeans. She was wearing the necklace he bought her.
“Hey, come in.” He moved out of the way, gesturing into his house.
She had one foot in and Kojo came bolting, he was excited. Lucy knelt down to his level and gave him hugs, whispering things to him.
Tim could honestly melt at the sight, he missed this. He missed the way Kojo would light up at the sight of Lucy, the way she would treat him with such love. He missed her being in his home and more importantly, he missed her.
“Lucy.”
“Hm?” She looked up at him.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” He broke into salty tears. “I didn’t let you decide, I didn’t let you speak. I’m so sorry I ruined it.”
She stood back up, letting him cry. He deserves this more than anything.
“I’m so sorry I brought you into this mess, I’m so sorry I deserted you and shut you out. You know what you deserve and that’s not my decision to make.”
Lucy frowned, pulling him into a hug.
“Tim. Thank you.”
He was sobbing into her neck as she held him tightly, swaying them back and forth.
“You didn’t ruin anything. You deserve happiness too, Tim. I’m so proud of you and I always will be.”
He pulled back, staring into her doe eyes, tears still streaming.
He kissed her.
She wanted more, but she pulled away. “Tim, you’re not okay. I don’t wanna kiss you if you’re vulnerable.”
He shook his head, trying to deny anything, as if she couldn’t see his red eyes.
“I want to kiss you, but I can’t. Not until we sort things out.”
“Okay.” He croaked. “Let’s sort things out.”
They spent hours discussing what went wrong, how Tim has begun therapy, and him recommending Lucy. Sad conversations turned into laughs, talking of memories and futures.
“Luce.”
She turned to face him, one hand on a glass of water and the other on Kojo.
“I want you.”
She tried to protest but he cut her off.
“I mean it this time. I want you; I want the whole thing. I want kids, marriage, a house. I want to tell these funny stories to our grandkids, just as I promised.”
She set her glass down, tears begging her eyes to escape.
“Are you sure?”
“I want to live, not just survive. But I only want it with you.”
She started pouring tears, nodding as she leaned into kiss him. She held his face as he held her.
“I won’t ever let you go, never again. I mean it this time, Luce. I love you.”