#author: cleromanticon

[chenfordfanficquotes]

Tim sat drumming his fingers on his truck’s steering wheel, parked beside his sister’s van in the hospice parking lot, wondering why he was dreading this moment so much. He regretted not telling Lucy where he was going. She would have come with him. This would be easier if she was with him. “Get it together, Bradford,” he said aloud to himself. “Sign a piece of paper, get rid of that damned house, and you never have to come here again. You don’t have to see him. You don’t have to go past the lobby. Win-win-win, so go do it.” He didn’t move. He tried to picture Lucy beside him.The sooner you get this over with, the sooner you get to go back and tell her you just made a million dollars, and you’re taking her out to celebrate. This time Tim opened the truck door, climbed out, and headed towards the front entrance of the hospice. He imagined the actual conversation with Lucy, trying out different ways of asking her. He wondered if he should ask her out on a date. If he should ask her to go out to celebrate with him as friends. He imagined making the invitation ambiguous and Lucy asking him, “Is this a date?” And he’d know by the hope in her eyes that she wanted it to be, so he’d tell her, “You decide.”

- Omne Malum ab Homine by @cleromanticon (submitted by @come-rain-come-shine)

[chenfordfanficquotes]

Tim flashed back to the parking garage with Lucy. ”When I was in that barrel, I knew you would find me. No matter what it took.” He wanted to tell Lucy that he knew that she’d find him, too, but the words got stuck in his throat. Lucy stood and tugged Tim up with her, gathering him into a hug and holding him as tightly as she dared given his injuries. “You’re more of a ‘show you’ than a ‘tell you’ guy, right?” she asked into his chest. “So what if Rosalind manipulated you into saying an exact phrase to her first? You’ve shown me that you love me plenty of times before that. That’s the Tim Bradford version of telling someone.” Tim felt something come undone in his chest, and he circled his left arm around her back to grip her waist. His right hand drifted up her back to wind its into her hair. His cheek rested against the crown of her head, and he let out a dry chuckle. “What?” Lucy asked, her face still pressed into his body. “It just figures that when I finally talk about what happened, you do most of the actual talking,” he answered with a faint smirk.

-Omne Malum ab Homine by @cleromanticon (submitted by @roguetwelve)

[chenfordfanficquotes]

Lucy had a knack for telling that voice to shut the fuck up without even realizing she was talking to it. Part of him was convinced she did hear that voice, when they in the hospice. She’d heard it, she’d told it to fuck off and leave Tim alone, and then she’d wrapped her arms around him and told him over and over that he was good and worthy, building a wall that kept the voice from finding its way back into his head that night. Making him feel safe. Giving him peace. He hadn’t known how much he was lacking that feeling of being cared for until he felt it.

- Omne Malum ab Homine by @cleromanticon (submitted by @queseraone)

[mamadoc]

This is a favorite of mine. It’s so well done. I hope @cleromanticon finds time and inspiration to finish it some day. Sooooo good. And a bit scary at the same time.

Tim sat drumming his fingers on his truck’s steering wheel, parked beside his sister’s van in the hospice parking lot, wondering why he was dreading this moment so much. He regretted not telling Lucy where he was going. She would have come with him. This would be easier if she was with him. “Get it together, Bradford,” he said aloud to himself. “Sign a piece of paper, get rid of that damned house, and you never have to come here again. You don’t have to see him. You don’t have to go past the lobby. Win-win-win, so go do it.” He didn’t move. He tried to picture Lucy beside him.The sooner you get this over with, the sooner you get to go back and tell her you just made a million dollars, and you’re taking her out to celebrate. This time Tim opened the truck door, climbed out, and headed towards the front entrance of the hospice. He imagined the actual conversation with Lucy, trying out different ways of asking her. He wondered if he should ask her out on a date. If he should ask her to go out to celebrate with him as friends. He imagined making the invitation ambiguous and Lucy asking him, “Is this a date?” And he’d know by the hope in her eyes that she wanted it to be, so he’d tell her, “You decide.”

- Omne Malum ab Homine by @cleromanticon (submitted by @come-rain-come-shine)