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bluenet13 · 1 year ago

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I Swear That I Am Up to No Good

Tim and Lucy celebrate four milestones one prank at a time.

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Tim is still smiling when he walks back to the station covered in baby powder. He takes the corner quickly trying to get to the men's locker without running into any of his coworkers. But as the universe will have it, he's not that lucky and from all the possibilities, of course, he runs into Angela.

"Bradford, what the hell happened?" Angela yelps, glaring at the baby powder that got on her clothes when they almost collided.

Tim runs a hand through his hand in pre-exasperation and huffs a simple, "Lucy."

Angela's grin gets impossibly wider, and Tim wishes he had chosen to clean up at home instead.

"She got you with your own trick?" Angela asks knowingly, unable to keep her amusement from her tone.

Tim nods, and levels her with a stern glare, but he should have known that never works with his best friend.

"I knew there was a reason I liked her," Angela says proudly, fixing Tim with a smug look. "So, are you already planning your revenge, or will you give her a pass as a graduation gift?"

"If this wasn't the second time she's gotten me in a row, I might consider it," Tim declares, a sly grin playing at the corners of his mouth. "But I can't afford to get complacent. I need to keep her on her toes."

Angela chuckles, knowing all too well the playful rivalry between Tim and Lucy, and more than suspecting what it might be hiding. "What are you gonna do? Pull at her ponytails or hide her juice box?"

"Ha-ha." Tim mocks, trying to get past Angela but she moves a step and blocks his way again.

"What was her other prank anyway? I didn't hear anything about it," Angela questions, used to finding one or the other moping at the station each time they're on the receiving end of one of their pranks.

Tim's face falls as he remembers Lucy's fake love confessing and the way his heart had jolted at her words for reasons unknown, and he instantly realizes his mistake as Angela's interest is piqued. "Nothing. It was a dumb prank," he tries, glaring at her but he looks too spooked for it to be effective.

"You're hiding things from me, Timothy, and I don't like it," Angela says, waiting him out for a beat before continuing, "But you get a pass today. I gotta go get ready to meet Jackson and Lucy at the bar."

"You're meeting West and Chen up for drinks?" Tim asks, trying to sound nonchalant but failing spectacularly.

Angela nods and looks at him questionably. "What, they didn't invite you? I'm sure they won't mind if we show up together."

Tim shakes his head and squares his shoulder. "I don't want to go get drinks with the rookies. They're insufferable enough as it is but I bet they will be even more extra tonight."

"Whatever you need to tell yourself, Tim," Angela says placatingly, patting him on the shoulder as she steps away.

Tim takes a moment to think his idea through before he rushes behind Angela. "Hey, wait up. Can you do me a favor?"

"Anything," Angela says immediately, even as he eyes him warily.

"Chen and West usually do karaoke while at the bar, right?" He inquires with faux innocence.

"Ye-es," Angela agrees doubtfully, not wanting to get involved in whatever evil idea Tim is concocting.

Tim smiles gleefully, getting closer to Angela as if half-expecting Lucy to be hiding behind a desk, listening to their conversation. "Can you get close to the stage and record her?"

Angela is intrigued but also reluctant to get involved, but it's Tim so, of course, she agrees. "Okay. But if anyone asks, it wasn't me."

"Deal," Tim says with a wicked grin. "Thanks, Ange."

"Right." Angela clicks her tongue and waves goodbye, leaving Tim alone in the hallway.

As expected, Angela comes through and that night Tim's phone pings with a text message. He opens it and immediately bursts out laughing when the audio file starts playing. And it's unfortunate for everybody how Kojo is the only one privy to just how fond his face looks as he listens.

Tim forgets all about the baby powder prank and his revenge until three weeks later when Kojo's sitter calls in the middle of roll call. Lucy's tipsy voice fills the room as Tim rushes to shut it off.

He fumbles with his pocket and then his phone, almost dropping it a few times, but mercifully succeeds in quieting it before Lucy starts the second verse.

"Sorry, sorry. That was K-Kojo's sitter. She knows not to call unless it's an emergency," Tim splutters. He bites his lip uncharacteristically, looking down to hide his blush.

"Was that Lucy?" Nolan wonders, breaking the silence that had fallen over the room after the initial bout of widespread laughter and clapping.

Tim runs his hand down his face and wishes the Earth would break and swallow him whole.

"I'm sure I'm not only talking for Nolan when I say we're all eagerly waiting for an answer," Commander Grey prompts, looking expectantly at Tim.

"Y-yes," Tim eventually says, looking up for the first time and wishing he hadn't. Lucy is bright red and looking more than a little bit murderously directly at him. And the rest of the room is looking between them with a mixture of amusement, second-hand embarrassment, and evil delight. "Can we go back to work?" He tries before anyone asks more questions. "Please."

"I'm sure you'd like that, Sergeant Bradford," Commander Grey agrees, taking obvious pity on him, finishing his speech quickly and sending everyone on their way.

"Thank you," Tim mouths to his boss, making a quick exit as soon as they're all dismissed.

He's almost in the clear when Lucy's voice calls from behind, "Not so fast, Bradford."

Tim sighs and reluctantly turns around, trying to look as innocent as possible. "Yes?"

"What the hell was that?" Lucy shrieks, swatting at his shoulder.

"It was supposed to be a response to your stupid baby powder prank! I only set it as your ringtone, Angela's and anything related to Kojo since neither was supposed to call while on shift," Tim shout-whispers, appalled at his own stupidity. "I didn't mean for it to cause such chaos. My phone is usually on silent but Kojo was sick last night and I wanted to be reachable since the sitter was taking him to the vet today."

Lucy's anger softens into a mix of understanding and concern. "Wait, what happened to Kojo? Is he okay?"

"Yeah, he should be. She sent a text, I think." Tim grabs his phone and reads, showing it to Lucy with a relieved smile upon seeing the good news that their dog is okay and it was something he ate on their walk.

"Phew, alright. You're off the hook because you were worried about Kojo," Lucy says, bumping his shoulder again for good measure. "But next time let's make sure the pranks are a little less public."

Tim chuckles and nods. "I'll make sure to change it to just your ringtone now."

Lucy shakes her head and glares at him. "I don't think that should be the lesson from this experience," she hisses.

Tim raises an eyebrow, a mischievous glint returning to his eyes. "Oh, come on, Chen. Where's the fun in that? Besides, more than half of our pranks happen while on shift."

Lucy sighs, unable to hide her smile, full well knowing she can't disagree with that. They wouldn't be them if they didn't prank each other even if it sometimes carried some risk. "Alright, but no more office-wide chaos."

Tim seems to think about it until he eventually nods. "Ground rules are no fun, but okay. I will do my best not to disrupt the whole precinct again."

Lucy shakes her head in exasperation but reaches forward to take Tim's offered hand, sealing their agreement.

They walk away, side by side, their laughter echoing through the halls of the station. Despite the occasional mishap, Tim and Lucy know their antics are an integral part of their relationship, and neither is willing to give that up.

-x-x-x-

Tim steps into his new office at Metro for the first time, still giddy from the morning with Lucy and his heart bursting with pride as he takes in his nameplate on the door. But as he approaches his desk, he notices something peculiar and his smile turns into a frown.

All the personal pictures he carefully placed on his desk and around the office the night before have been replaced and he blinks in confusion before bursting into laughter. Instead of a picture of him with his Military buddies, there's a snapshot of Smitty and his bowling team. A tipsy Angela and Lucy grin at him from another picture, his girlfriend and best friend making funny faces at the camera. A stark contrast to the picture of his nephews it had replaced. As his eyes move to the other pictures, Tim notices Nolan where his picture in uniform had been, a candid photo of Gerald the Goat instead of Kojo, and picture of the Fire Department Banquet instead of Mid-Wilshire's own celebration.

Finishing his exploration of the whimsical images, Tim finally sits down, looking in his drawers for the original pictures but coming up empty. His amusement quickly turns to annoyance as his eyes land on the pile of documents he should be reading to get acquainted with Metro procedure and up to speed with their cases, but then he hears a familiar giggle coming from outside the door, and his irritation melts away instantly.

"I should have known you were responsible for this," Tim says, glaring at his girlfriend when he opens the door, even as his voice is filled with affection. He can never stay mad at her for long. One look at those eyes and he's always a goner.

Lucy's eyes sparkle with mischief as she steps inside Tim's office. She grins at him and nods, looking so proud of herself. "Guilty as charged. I wanted to celebrate your promotion in a fun way."

"The baby booties weren't enough?" Tim groans and reaches forward, pulling Lucy to him.

Lucy can't contain her laughter and only Tim's kiss manages to silence her, but not for long. "I knew you might wake up before me and ruin the surprise. So I had a back up."

"Right, a backup." Tim sighs but ends up smiling softly when he takes in the little makeover of his new space. "Should I be worried about a second back up? Is a baby powder bomb gonna explode on me as soon as I get into the shop?"

Lucy's disappointment is evident at the missed opportunity as she shakes her head. "Not today, baby."

"Then I guess I should be thankful." Tim shrugs, knowing that when it comes to their pranks, it can always be worse.

Lucy steps closer and wraps her arms around him, raising on her tiptoes to whisper closely, "I wanted to show you how proud I am of you. You deserve every bit of this success and I wanted to make your first day a memorable one."

Tim hugs her tightly back, feeling grateful for her presence in his life and incredibly lucky to have someone who cares so much about him to go the extra mile to make him smile. "Thank you, Luce. You sure know how to make every moment special."

"I try," Lucy says shily, burying her face in his shirt and breathing him in deeply. "And don't worry, all your real pictures are safe and we can replace them back before we go home tonight."

"There's space for all of them," Tim offers, his tone a mix of amusement and mild exasperation. "Well, maybe not for Smitty's bowling league. He can have that one back."

Lucy's laughter fills the air, but Tim swiftly captures her lips with another kiss.

And as they stand there, surrounded by the wonderful people and memories that make their lives special, Tim can't help but laugh back. This silly prank is Lucy's way to show him she's proud, but more than that it's a testament to their bond, and a reminder that in the midst of their chaotic lives, they will always have lighthearted moments like this to show each other how much they are loved.

-x-x-x-

Tim and Lucy lace up their shoes, ready to embark on their run. Tim smiles mischievously as he gets up, and reaches behind him, handing Lucy a small gift box.

"Happy Anniversary, babe," he says softly, his blue eyes sparkling under the morning sun. "I know we said we would exchange gifts at dinner tonight, but I thought this might come in handy right now."

Curiosity piqued, Lucy opens the box to reveal a new smartwatch. She looks up at Tim, her face beaming with delight and jumps into his arms. "Oh, Tim, it's perfect. Thank you!"

"Yeah?" Tim asks shily, when they step away. "I already opened it and got it set up and synced with mine. I hope you don't mind."

Lucy frowns, surprised she didn't notice Tim wearing a new watch, but she blames it on the extracurricular activities they indulged in that morning. "It's okay," she says, leaning forward to gaze at his watch. It's gray with a dark blue strap that matches perfectly with her light blue one.

With the new smartwatches strapped on, they set up on their run, with Kojo bouncing excitedly alongside them. For the first few minutes the run goes on as expected, with Tim setting a quick, steady pace around the pond in their local park. They pass the Little Free Library on the right, and the bench with the guy lifting weights on the left, and it isn't until she almost runs into a tree that Lucy notices something is off.

As they make their way through the familiar park, Tim starts changing their usual route, taking unexpected turns here and there. Lucy almost crashes into a kid on a bicycle at some point and gets tangled in Kojo's leash at least twice.

Lucy laughs when it's Tim who almost trips after taking a sharp turn, but then she almost falls into a fountain as she struggles to keep up with the chaotic rhythm of their run. "What's going on, Tim?" She asks eventually, pulling on his hand so he slows down. They're both winded but Tim is somehow still smiling and for the life of her Lucy can't figure out why. "Did you plan a secret obstacle course for our anniversary? Is this some kind of Tim Test? Did I do something wrong?"

Tim chuckles, feigning innocence and shrugs. "I have no idea what you're talking about. I thought we could switch it up and take the scenic route instead."

Scenic? Lucy mouths, wondering if with scenic Tim means that he wants to explore the bottom of the pond, or get intimately acquainted with the trunk of the trees in the park. Still, she nods, and lets him continue to guide them in their haphazard run.

To her relief, the run ends a few minutes later and they make it back to his truck in one piece. They're all breathing hard, even Kojo needing to stop to catch his breath, and Lucy's thankful they had decided to skip breakfast that morning.

As they return home, Tim gestures towards his laptop on the living room table before heading into the kitchen. "Hey, while I get started on breakfast, why don't you check how our run went? The new app should show us a map and some cool stats."

Intrigued, Lucy logs in to Tim's profile and her brows furrow as the tracking app automatically opens. She loads the map, and her eyes widen in disbelief as she takes in what is being displayed. "T-Tim?" She stammers, trying to raise her voice so it reaches him in the kitchen despite her breath being stuck in her throat.

Tim appears beside her, making her jump, and she turns to face him, then back to the map. The screen showcases a winding line that spells out the words 'marry me?' in bold letters, mirroring the messy yet now memorable path they took during their run.

Lucy turns to Tim again, her heart racing, as realization dawns upon her. Her eyes shimmer with unshed tears, and her voice trembles as she asks, "Tim… is this…?"

Tim chuckles, a warmth in his eyes that matches the love in his voice. Instead of responding, he gracefully drops to one knee, and Lucy's hand instinctively flies to cover her mouth, feeling as if she's been transported into the middle of one of her favorite rom-coms.

"Lucy Chen," Tim begins, his voice filled with genuine emotion, causing tears to stream down Lucy's cheeks. "From the moment I met you, you've changed my life for the better in so many fucking ways. I was a little bit broken when we met, but with your smiles, quick wit, and incredible heart, you managed to put me back together so that I could feel I was deserving of your love… of your loyalty… of you. You make every day brighter, and I can only hope I bring into your life even a fraction of what you bring into mine. I'm the happiest when I'm with you and I can't imagine my life without you, baby. Will you marry me?"

Tears well up in Tim's eyes now as he looks up to Lucy and prepares to wait expectantly. But Lucy's response is immediate. She nods enthusiastically and launches herself into his arms. "Yes, fucking yes! A thousand times, yes!"

The ring box Tim had been holding slips from his hands as he embraces Lucy, their kisses overflowing with promises of love, joy, and the joint future they have both always deserved, but never believed they could have.

When they finally break for air, Tim retrieves the ring and gently slides it onto the fourth finger of Lucy's left hand. The delicate band, adorned with small diamonds and moonstones set in rose gold, perfectly symbolizes their love—simple, yet full of brilliance, and inconspicuous enough that it can be worn to work every day.

"Do you like it?" Tim whispers, and it's only then that Lucy realizes she's been completely enthralled, staring at the ring for who knows how long.

She nods and leans forward, pressing her lips against his. "It's perfect, just like you," she breathes, savoring each word against his mouth.

Eventually, they break apart to continue celebrating, but the taste of each other lingers. Their love intermingled, as they revel in the joy and certainty of a forever filled with pranks, love and laughter that's bound to be nothing short of extraordinary.

-x-x-x-

Tim and Lucy settle down for a cozy game night, ready to dive into a round of Monopoly. The game isn't their usual choice but Lucy had insisted and Tim was more than happy to indulge her.

Lucy has an impish look about her as she pulls out a custom-made Monopoly she had ordered from Etsy. "Look what I found, babe!" She exclaims, excitement evident in her voice. "I thought it would be a fun change to try a personalized game tonight."

Tim raises an eyebrow. "Personalized? How so?"

"Well, I found this Etsy seller that's all about creating personalized versions of famous board games. So she created a custom board and Chance and Community Chest cards that are all about us and our lives." Lucy beams as she explains, revealing the intricately designed cards and familiar locations on the board.

"O-kay," Tim agrees slowly, equally intrigued and apprehensive.

The game starts predictably enough, with the only indication that it is a different version, the fact that Tim is able to buy the 'North Hollywood Police Station' and Lucy buys Angela and Wesley's street. Tim then gets a Community Chest card that gives him $100 because he won the betting pool at the precinct and Lucy has to pay $50 to a charity for rescue dogs.

It isn't until they have been playing for a while that Tim notices the strangely specific nature of some of the cards he keeps receiving. This one tells him to pay $50 for a last-minute nanny replacement, and he frowns but pays anyway. On its own, the card is innocent enough, but then he gets a card that says "your baby ran out of diapers and in your rush to get to the store the cops stop you, go to jail." He goes to jail but now his spidey senses are tingling.

He asks Lucy about it but she shrugs and says that it's probably because she mentioned having friends with kids when placing the order for the custom Monopoly so the creator chose to include some things related to that.

Tim accepts her answer reluctantly. But then Lucy gets a Chance card that sends her to the preschool that they suspiciously pass every morning on the way to work and he glances up, unable to ignore his suspicions anymore. "Lucy, what's going on? These cards seem oddly tailored to our lives. And it's not because Angela and Harper have kids."

Lucy's been grinning ever since the game began, her smile widening ever since Tim got the first strange card. But now, her eyes are twinkling with excitement and something else that Tim can't name as she explains, "Those cards are a clue to something else. Do you want to know now or do you want to keep playing?"

Tim's heart skips a beat as he looks at Lucy, anticipation and nervousness intertwining in his chest. His girlfriend looks positively radiant and now that he really sees her he notices a new glow to her already bright persona. "What is it?" Tim asks, his voice shaking slightly. He has an inclination about what this is about but he needs her to spell it to him out loud.

Lucy's grin turns devious as she reaches into her pocket and hands Tim a card that reads, "Congratulations! You're going to be a parent. Advance to 'Parenthood Avenue' and start building your family!"

Tim's eyes widen, and a wave of emotion rushes through him. He blinks back tears as the dream that always felt just this side of attainable is suddenly staring back at him. He opens his mouth to speak, but is unable to find the words.

Releasing the card from his shaking fingers, Lucy sets his hand over her still flat belly and settles her head over his chest. "Tim, we're going to have a baby. We're going to be parents." Her voice trembles with excitement as she murmurs the words against his shirt, and her own tears start falling when she feels his tears on her skin.

He kisses her cheek and forehead, then gently pushes her back and leans down to kiss her belly. "God, Lucy. This is the best prank… the best surprise, the best news ever! I can't believe we're going to be parents."

"Are you happy?" Lucy asks, bashfully. She stares directly into Tim's beautiful eyes and wishes their baby girl or boy gets blue eyes like his.

Blue gazes into brown as Tim's thoughts mirror the sentiment, desiring not just one but two sets of his beloved brown eyes to meet every day. "Happy doesn't even begin to describe it, Luce. This is everything I've ever wanted," he says softly, taking her hand in his and kissing the two rings on the fourth finger of her left hand.

A beaming smile spreads across Lucy's face as she leans in, her forehead resting against Tim's. "I've never been happier, Tim. And it's all thanks to you."

Tim brushes a strand of hair behind Lucy's ear, and stares pensively up ahead. "You know, I can already see our little one running around, causing mayhem, just like his parents, and playing pranks on us and his or her uncles and aunts every chance they get."

Lucy chuckles and nods, because they will for sure inherit their mischievous spirit. "Good thing we have years of experience to keep up with them."

"Can't wait," Tim muses, ready for 9 months and a lifetime more of that spark that makes their lives special.

#chenford week 2023 #chenfordweek23 #chenford week day 5 #chenford #chenford fanfic #the rookie #the rookie fanfic #love languages #pranking as a love language #but also hands hugs and kisses #tim bradford #lucy chen

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