#tim murphy hammond x reader

[gotboredwrote]

Etymology of Us // TM!JFM

Pairing: Tim Murphy x Fem!Reader Word Count: 4K Style: One-Shot Warnings: (16+) Fluff, explicit-ish talk about sexual themes – no smut (implied), swearing Summary: Everyone who knows Tim knows he’s a smart guy, but they think it’s all about the dinosaurs. For the most part, that’s true. He does have a few other passions, though, and he always unconsciously demonstrates that for you, even in the most personal of situations. Permanent Author’s Note: To clarify, I write because I get bored. Nothing is meant to be professional in any way, nor is meant to offend, cause anxiety, cause anger, cause sadness, or promote disagreement among readers in any sort of (semi)permanent way. A/N: I have a lot of confidence in the fact that Tim would be educated on more than dinosaurs, and this just happened to be something I felt really strong Tim vibe from. So, yeah. I’m not proud of the introductory part of this story, but whatever lol.

Masterlist

~

You know Tim is smart. So does everyone who knows him. Except you know him a lot more intimately than most. Considering you have been together for almost six months, after having met him at the museum during a tour, there is not a lot you have not done together. You have gone on every kind of date imaginable, and gone almost all the way romantically when you would stay the night at each other’s apartments. It was the best relationship either of you had been in for a number of reasons, and it felt like you were soulmates. Tim never ceased to amaze you every single day, part of the reason your relationship was so strong. You felt like you learned more about love, life, random knowledge, and dinosaurs than you ever did in all your years of formal education. He was a bookworm and always had new information to willingly share with you, something he would never do with past girlfriends. They did not care like you do, something else that made your relationship so strong. There was mutual pining and mutual adoration and acceptance of the other’s personality – key for a healthy relationship. Tim started teaching you things even back on your first date, and even then, you knew that this boy would make a large impact on you.

~

The first date you went on was extremely traditional, which was classic Tim, as you would come to find out. It was not a super fancy restaurant, but one of those places where you did not feel you could just wear a raggedy tee shirt and jeans or leggings. You elected for something a little nicer, and once the two of you were at the restaurant, you fell into conversation easily. Like two friends who have not seen each other in years and have tons of catching up to do. No awkwardness, no nerves – just two people having a pleasant dinner who also happen to be on a date. The conversation spread across all topics from family to friends to hobbies, and eventually it settled on work. Ever since the two of you met, you had so many one-on-one questions you wanted to ask Tim about his work. You prefaced with one specific memory that flooded your mind.

[flashback start]

You met because you had attended a tour he was hosting on the Mesozoic era, generally aimed at children aged six to fifteen. He had been given a roster of how many people to expect, which was quite a few, and he noticed that you had walked in not bringing a child like most of the adults on the tour. At first, he thought maybe you were looking for a sister that brought your niece or nephew and you just happened to be tagging along, but then you made no effort to find anyone. When he realized you had come alone, he worked up the courage to come over to you and ask if you were in the right spot.

“Ma’am?”

“Oh! You’re Dr. Murphy, aren’t you?”

“Yes, um, are you in the right place? This is a tour for a younger audience.”

“Well, unless I read my ticket wrong,” you held your ticket out in front of his eyes so he could read it, “I believe this says ‘Dr. Timothy Murphy’s Presentation on the Mesozoic Era, Thursday, August 14 at 1:00pm.’ Did I read it wrong?”

Tim simply looked at the ticket, and then back to you in a stunned silence. You had really bought a ticket to see his presentation, despite knowing that almost all the tours he does in the museum are for younger kids.

“No, uh, you… you didn’t read it wrong.”

“You seem a little shocked that I have a ticket, Doctor.”

“Well, it’s just that I don’t really get people my age on these tours, and everyone who comes to the lectures are old coots.”

You laughed at his vernacular, loving how professor-like and old man-like such a young, cute guy could be. When he heard you laugh, his eyes went wide and he felt his heart skip a beat, because a young, cute girl loved his jokes, which never happened.

“Sorry for how bold I just was – that’s not how I usually am. Basically, I have tried attending your lectures in the past, but whenever I get the money to buy a ticket, they’re usually gone or the only seats left are one’s I can’t afford. I’ve read all of your books, some of them more than once, and you just never cease to amaze me. You’re really smart and I admire that.”

Tim felt dizzy. He was hearing the words coming out of your mouth, barely being able to process how kind they were. Never had anyone spoken to him in such a way, not even his colleagues or past girlfriends, of which there were not many because he was always so busy or they hated how involved in his work he could get. But to hear you say them just changed his whole perspective on life. He did not even know your name but he was enamored with you. One could call him desperate, and he would just scoff and look down at his feet. Not denying it, however.

“Well, um… listen. Normally with the kids, I have to dumb down my word choices because the younger ones won’t know everything, so I apologize in advance for how childlike I may present myself.” You smiled sweetly at him, acknowledging him and showing him that you did not mind. “I also would love to have you attend my lectures every time we have them, so let me see what I can do about arranging a sort of ‘seasonal pass’ for you, that way you never have to worry about a seat.”

“Dr. Murphy, you do not—”

“I’m serious. Like I said, it’s always older men who are always judgmental about the way I hold myself up on stage. I’m… not a bold person. I’m shy, and they don’t like that. It would be really nice to have a face like yours in the crowd each night. One that I know is appreciating everything I say, wholeheartedly.”

“‘A face like mine?”’

“…” You could see Tim visibly swallow and his Adam’s apple bob out of sheer panic. “A cute one?”

You felt your lips part slightly at the compliment, somewhat shocked that someone as clearly shy as him paid you one. You knew that coming from someone like him, it had to be genuine. Dr. Tim Murphy thought you were cute, and wanted to see you again. Even if it was only for a lecture.

“Then… this cute face would love to attend all your lectures, Dr. Murphy.”

You saw the toothy grin spread across his face, pushing his cheeks up to high heaven. It made you airily laugh a little, seeing him like that.

“If you keep smiling like that, I’m going to have to start calling you cute, too, Dr. Murphy.”

“I wouldn’t mind that. But there is one thing you have to do for me.”

“What’s that?”

“Call me Tim. Not Dr. Anything. Just Tim.” You nodded your head at him, and he asked you one last thing. “And what should I call you?”

“Y/N.”

[flashback end]

“You remember how we met?”

“Of course, I do – you came to that tour for children and I wanted to make sure you were in the right place.”

“Always the gentleman, Tim.” You and Tim had been finishing up dinner on your first official date, reminiscing about that day. It seemed like you already crammed a lifetime’s worth of memories into that first meeting you had, because you had managed to talk about it for the last fifteen minutes. “I remember being amazed at how you talked to those kids. I mean, you clearly know tons of bigger words that younger children wouldn’t know, yet you know how to explain it to them really well. It made me very impressed with you, seeing that you really were as smart as your books made you out to be.”

“Yeah, I had to explain everything like that because they weren’t going to understand what Mesozoic meant or anything like that. They’re children, and they just like the idea of dinosaurs, not the actual history of them. Back when I was in college, there were certain root words or stems that we needed to know in order to understand the classification of dinosaurs. For some reason, learning about the way the classification worked sparked something in my brain. I love learning about whatever I can, and I guess that was my body’s way of telling me etymology was something for me. I started researching where words came from, going through the dictionary word by word. Seems boring, I know, but… it made me happy.”

You could see Tim start to feel as if he was talking too much, like all his past dates went, except that when he looked up at you, he could tell that was not the case. You had leaned your body in and over the table, propping your head up on your fist, intently staring at him. Taking in every word that slipped past his lips as if your life depended on it. This encouraged him, while also making him really giddy inside. He reached over to the small candle that was burning faintly between you two, and lifted it up, carefully so as not to burn himself. He watched you as your eyes moved to the candle, and back to his own, waiting to hear what he was going to say.

“Like… candle, for instance. Originally, it was candere in Latin, which means ‘be white or glisten.’ Eventually, that became candela, still Latin, and then old English turned it into candel. Then, when modern English came around, we switched the ��l’ and the ‘e,’ probably because it just looks less ugly.” He let out a chuckle at his own humor. “But, that’s kind of what I did with the dictionary. Learning about where words come from, and what they originally meant intrigues me.”

His eyes had not really left the candle once he started to speak. Once he finished talking, however, his eyes nervously looked back into yours. Your facial expression had changed, ever so slightly. Your eyes had gone a little wider than usual, and they were sparkling, more than usual. Then he noticed that your cheeks were a dusty pink and that you had pulled a small part of your bottom lip into your mouth with your teeth. Tim was not the most experienced, considering how girls would treat him in the past, but he could practically feel the tension radiating from you. Something about him knowing those things made you feel… good?

“You’re amazing, Tim. Really.”

“Thanks. I know plenty more where that came from.”

“I’d love to hear more.”

~

Every day since your first date, Tim would always make it a point to showcase his smarts to you in the way that seemed to make you feel a certain way, because he liked seeing that he could have an effect on a woman that way. Especially considering that woman was you. One night, you and Tim were hanging out at his apartment after a date night. The two of you had created a small tradition where if your date ends quicker than expected and you end up back at one of the apartments, you will watch Jeopardy. Tim quickly found out, since you suggested watching the show in the first place, that you loved to learn too, and even though he could typically get about half of the show’s questions right, he loved seeing how proud you got with yourself when you would get three total. Tonight was no exception. You made it back just in time for the show to start, and the two of you were patiently waiting to see what the categories would be for the first round. The first five were announced, each earning a groan from one or both of you at the fact that they were not really subjects you know. Then the sixth one came up.

“And finally, you will be dealing with etymology. [First contestant’s name], you begin the round. Let’s begin.”

You turn to Tim and see a huge smile across his face, and you could not help but reciprocate. You two had seen so many episodes and not once had the category that practically formed your relationship come up. Now, on a night where you two are snuggled into each other, your head on his chest, enjoying the warmth radiating from the other person, that was just the icing on the cake. The contestants seemed to be avoiding the etymology category, moving all around the board in no semblance of order except for skipping that one, and you could hear Tim groan above you.

“Why are they skipping it? It’s the best one up there!”

“I know, babe, but the anticipation makes it worth the wait, right?”

“I guess.”

You could just imagine the small pout Tim had plastered onto his face, knowing that he would have to sit and wait for a commercial break now, as well. It made you smile to yourself, because you had seen that face before when he would work on something and he got intensely focused. It was an adorable face that he only made around you – he never let anyone else see him like that. It made you feel really loved. Eventually, the show came back on and the contestants really did do everything else and left the entire etymology category last. When the final question popped up before the etymology category would start, you turned up to Tim and smiled, as if to say ‘ready to show off your smarts, brainiac?’and he knew exactly what you meant. His eyes were beaming widely, ready to shout out the answers before anyone on the screen could.

“…cable.”

“Neighborhood!”

“Manure. Ew.”

“Aerosol.”

“…Hourglass?”

So far, Tim had gotten every single one correct, and the contestants only managed to get the neighborhood one correct. Then it was time for the final question, and you were waiting to see if Tim was going to make it a clean sweep. Then the question popped up and you waited patiently.

“From Ancient Greek, a diminutive of uncertain origin and probably in reference to its location on the female body, it means ‘I sheathe or shut.’”

“Clitoris!”

Tim was one hundred percent correct, and for some reason, despite the energetic and completely innocent nature in which he said it, it lit a fire in you that only Tim could put out. But you did not want to make it obvious, because he was clearly so happy with himself that he got the entire category right. So, you simply decide to ‘award him’ with a small kiss, but you moved your body upward a little bit so your head could reach the crevasse of his neck and shoulders. The kiss was small, swift, and chaste, but the location is what mattered. Tim had been smiling and celebrating himself, but the feeling of your lips on the small but small amount of exposed skin from his tee shirt stopped him in his tracks, and it made him blink rapidly and swallow a little roughly. You felt as though this was his way of encouraging you to keep going, since he never told you to stop. You lifted your head a little bit, so your mouth was lined up right with the side of his neck, where you placed a breathy, open-mouthed kiss. Still teasingly short, too short for Tim’s liking. You could hear your boy moan quietly, clearly having some kind of effect on him. You wanted him to feel the way you did as he innocently shouted out a part of your body you wished was getting attention from him now.

“Do you know where the word ‘kiss’ comes from?

You hum lightly against his neck where you were still peppering wet kisses to. You squeaked out a ‘no,’ waiting for him to continue with his thought, if he could.

“It has Germanic o-origin, and comes from the old English cyssan… shit. I… I think you know what it means.”

“Mhm.” He could feel the vibrations of your response against his neck, and he groaned louder this time, not wanting to hold back anymore. He could feel you start to pull away and stand up, practically whining at the lack of contact. He did not want you to leave, and you could tell. But you had absolutely no idea what gave him the idea that you were going to be leaving his side anytime soon.

As you stood, you lightly took his hand in your own, and pulled on it to signal him to stand with you. You made sure your back was facing him, though, because you did not want him to see how desperate for him you had become. Now that both of you were standing, you begin to walk as slow as a tortoise toward his bedroom, hoping that he would get the picture and start pampering you and worshiping you on the way there. You felt like you were in a movie, considering how clich�� this whole thing is. But neither of you cared, you just needed to get the cliché’s out of the way. Eventually, it clicks in his brain that he should be following you, and he makes up the distance by walking directly behind you, lightly running his fingers up and down your spine. One particular stroke down your spine went further than the others, and you could feel Tim lightly tug on the hem of your shirt. Indicating that he wants it gone. He spoke in a whisper so quiet you could barely hear him.

“How about the word shirt? It’s from the Old English scyrte, which is Germanic. It kind of means short.”

With every new word Tim chose to tell you, he gained confidence in what he was doing, indicated by the non-shakiness of his voice. You were proud underneath it all. While Tim is speaking, you could slowly feel the fabric inch up your torso with every word. You could begin to feel the cold air of his apartment on your skin, and your body tells you that you need some kind of warmth. You fight off every reflex in your body telling you to latch onto Tim or at least steal your shirt back, not wanting to ruin the moment both of you had been waiting for six months to happen. You never saw it, but you could hear the light noise his shirt made when it hit the floor, Tim always wanting to make sure the two of you were even in all aspects. Even something as intimate as this. You both continue your ascension to his bedroom, and eventually you reach it. What should have taken about ten seconds for any normal person took the two of you practically three minutes, Tim adoring the look and feel of your back and spine, you relishing in the feeling of being appreciated in such an intimate way, something no one has ever done for you before Tim. You reach for the doorknob and simultaneously turn around to see what kind of effect you were having on your boyfriend, and it was clearly the one you wanted. He already looked fucked out, and neither of you had really touched each other. Not the way you both needed to be. Once completely facing him, you turn your hand on the doorknob to let yourselves in, and his hand comes up to your face to lightly stroke and pull on your hair. The strokes to show you he loves you, the tugging to let you know he wants and needs you.

“Hair’s a funny word originally. Hær. Old English, again.”

As he was speaking, you had lost all ability to move your legs anymore, feeling like they would collapse under you simply from the fact that Tim was being the way he was. Most people would have found him annoying for bringing up things like he was during a time like this. For you, though, it made him hotter because he was not afraid to be himself, even in the most intimate of situations. He was smart, and he liked showing you. You also loved the fact that letting him continue to talk was making him more and more confident in the things he was doing to your body, which was a win-win for both of you. Eventually, you were snapped out of your thoughts by the feeling of Tim’s body pushing against yours to get you into his bedroom, fast, based on the force of the push. He does not even need to look behind him as he locks the door, and wraps his arms around your waist and pulls you into his body. It was killing both of you that there still had not been any mouth to mouth contact in this whole situation, but you were both holding out in order to let Tim continue to speak, and to build up the anticipation for later. He did, however, pull you close enough to his body where you could feel each other’s breathing on your lips, desperate and needy, if breaths could feel such a way. You had not even realized Tim had gotten you to move again, so entranced by his breathing and his facial features, until you hit the side of his bed and your knees buckled underneath you. Your bum hit the bed and you bounced lightly, which normally would have made you laugh. This time, feelings were different. More serious. More lust-driven. Once you realized Tim was done taking initiative and wanted to trade off with you, you reached forward to hook your hands into the pockets of his jeans, and you not-so-gently yanked his body to yours. Your face was flush against his chest, chin practically resting on it, and you could feel the front of his jeans where you wanted him against your stomach. You were gazing up at him, face flush pink and eyes blown out black and half-shut. Waiting to hear him speak again. You saw him reach his arms toward your body, lightly resting his hands on your waist and then proceeding to find the waistline of your pants. Just as you began to reach for the buckle on his belt, you heard his angelic voice again.

“How about hips, wanna know where that word came from?”

You never said a word, and neither did he. All that was exchanged was a small pause and silent stares. You were both waiting for the other to make the next move, because both of you knew deep in your cores that if the other took another step forward, the night would end up being far from over. Tim could not take waiting anymore, so he crashed his mouth down onto yours like his life depended on it, and that he would never get to kiss you again at the same time. It was deep, passionate, full of love, and driven by lust. It was never a small kiss to begin with, so much so that it was practically impossible for either of you to deepen the kiss in any way. Tim thought of one more word that he wanted to teach you, so he slowly pulled away from your mouth, the tiniest string of saliva still connecting the two of you. Normally, that would be something you found disgusting, but in that moment, the part of you from the final Jeopardy question started throbbing at the site, indicating your desperation and just how passionate the kiss really was.

“What about the word sex?”

Tim had still been pressed flush against you, and at this point, you could clearly feel what effect you were having on him through his jeans. He caught you off guard with the question he asked, and your motions stopped just as you reached the button of his jeans.

“Instead of telling me, why don’t you just show me… Doctor?

Tim taught you a lot that night. And you taught him a thing or two, as well.

Permanent Taglist: n/a

Specific Story/Character Taglist: @gardnerlangway @dr-tim-murphy

[brian-roger-deaky-and-fred]

Can I get some Tim Murphy requests, please? :^)

[hotsummersimpingogacc]

,,tim murphy grew up pretty well" {joe mazzello one shot}

Summary: watching jurassic park for the first time with joe

A/N: okay this is probably the biggest shit i've ever written. so sorry 💞

Pairing: joe mazzello X reader

It was saturday night and you finally had some alone time with Joe. This past few weeks were mess. Press tour, premieres a lot of traveling. But Joe enjoyed it. The only thing he didn't enjoy was the fact that you weren't with him. But now when he's finally home you can enjoy each other. You were lying on couch cuddled up, him playing with your hair. You were both quiet. Tv was on. Both of you were watching but not paying any attention. You took the remote and started to surf the channels. There was nothing there. Some tv shows who were in the middle of season, some news and some super boring movies. But then, when you skipped another channel with some reality tv show, on the screen of your tv a Jurassic Park logo showed.

,,Joey we gotta watch this!"

,,Okay if you want to." Joe chuckled.

,,I've always wanted to watch it!" You were sitting at the edge of the couch with Joe's hand on your back.

,,Alright. I'll grab some snacks." Joe stood up and moved to kitchen.

XXX

,,Oh wow Jeff Goldblum is real hot." You said with laugh.

,,Yes he is." Joe laughed too.

They're here. After what John Hammond said, Joe started to smile weirdly. At first you thought he just liked this part, not knowing what's gonna follow it. Suddenly you heard kids screaming on tv. Two small kids, boy and girl, basically jumped on John Hammond. Probably his grandchildren. You weren't that focused on them. There was Jeff Goldblum behind them and you really started to like him. Scene moved out, Jurassic Park cars appeard.

,,I've read your book." Little boy on screen said.

You sat at the edge of the couch again. You started to realize something. The boy reminded you of someone. You felt like you've seen that little face somewhere. And then you got it.

,,Are you? Are you? Is that you?" At this point you were almost yelling.

Joe just started to laugh. He was almost rolling on the floor. You didn't understand. Whenever he looked at your confused face he started to laugh even more.

,,Sorry, sorry. I thought you knew it. I thought you googled everything about me. I'm really sorry." He was sitting now too.

,,Well yeah I did google your movies but I haven't seen this!"

,,Well then watch! You need to see this little cute face!" Joe joked.

You turned back on tv. Suddenly you had new person to focus on. You watched every single shot with detail. You were looking for Joe. All he did was chuckle a bit at you. You were again cuddled.

,,Oh no! Don't tell me Tim is going to die! I'm gonna kill T-Rex if he hurts Tim!" You were so into it.

,,You can't kill T-Rex! Justice for T-Rex!" Joe said with his finger up.

,,If he'll kill Tim, I won't care about any justice!"

Joe just laughed and turned back on tv. You turned your head on Joe. It was really satisfying to watch him watching the movie where he is. Big Joe watching little Joe.

,,Hey watch the movie. You'll miss stuff." Joe said without turning his head to you.

The car where little Tim was fell down to T-Rex's outing. His sister was screaming amd you had tears in your eyes. Why would they even kill someone like Tim or why would you even kill a child!

,,Don't cry! It's gonna be fine!" Joe hugged you, trying to comfort you.

,,How can I be fine when Timmy's dead?" You were sobbing.

,,Wait before you cry, you don'y know if he's dead." He kissed top of your head.

,,I threw up." Said little Timmy sitting in car that was hanging from the tree.

,,Oh thank God!" A big stone fell from your heart.

,,I told you. You have to wait till you start crying."

XXX

Once again you had a crying moment. Tim got hit by elecricity in a electric fence. But now you were really crying. Joe hugged you even tightly. He kissed top of your head again and then rested his chin on your head. When Dr Grant brought Tim back to life you sighed so loud probably everyone in New York heard it.

,,I'm sorry that this movie keeps worrying you." Joe chuckled a bit.

,,It's fine. Despite the fact that you're dying almost every five minutes, I like the movie a lot!" You said with huge smile on your lips. 

,,I am happy that you like it."

XXX

Scene now moved to kitchen. Kids were followed by two Velociraptors there. You could've cut the tension there was in the room. You almost forgot how to breathe. You got so into you didn't realize Joe fell asleep next you. For a few seconds you just starred at him. How is he so cute when he sleeps? 

,,This scene is pretty cool you don't wanna miss it." Joe said with sleepy voice.

You laughed and turned head back to tv.  You saw Tim hiding from dinosaurs. Tension was real. In your head you were praying that nothing will happen to Timmy. Suddenly you shivered. Joe's cold hand was on your back, under your t-shirt. He was slowly drawing circles on your back.

,,Stop it! Your hands are colder than Elsa's!" He laughed.

,,I am dead serious! Where did you have those hands?"

He just laughed and pointed at tv. You felt like whole night you were just turning your head back to him and then to tv.

XXX

,,Well that was a good movie." You said as you threw yourself at the couch.

,,Really?"

,,Yes! And you were so cute!" You cupped his cheeks.

,,Can I ask you something?" He nodded. ,,What do you call blind dinosaur?" You said with little smirk on your face.

,,Haha, really funny I've heard that a lot. Do you have any other joke? And please don't ask me what's his dog name." Joe rolled his eyes.

,,I gotta say... Tim Murphy grew up pretty well."

,,You better wish our kids will be cute like me and pretty like you." He tucked your hair behind ear.

,,I hope so!" You chuckled and kissed him softly.

[gotboredwrote]

Amareangelusops // TM!JFM

Pairing: Tim Murphy x Fem!Reader Word Count: 3.2K Style: One-Shot Warnings: Fluff, sexual implications (nothing explicit) Summary: Tim has been on a dig for weeks and comes home with incredible news, but keeps it a secret. Permanent Author’s Note: To clarify, I write because I get bored. Nothing is meant to be professional in any way, nor is meant to offend, cause anxiety, cause anger, cause sadness, or promote disagreement among readers in any sort of (semi)permanent way. A/N: I SWEAR THE NAME OF THIS STORY WILL MAKE SENSE JUST GO WITH IT LMAO. Like everyone else on this site, all inspiration for character traits comes from Rowan’s ( @dr-tim-murphy / @gardnerlangway ) headcanons because she is the supreme Tim stan and no one compares honestly, so thank you, hon! (also if you read this and actually even think its 0.04% good I would cry the happiest tears)

Masterlist

~

Five weeks. That is how long it has been since your angel Tim was physically in your presence. Sure, there were things scattered around your shared apartment that were his, that reminded you of him, or just made you think of him. But the actual Tim had not been able to hold your hand, hug you, love you for five weeks. The closest you came were the phone calls. At least one a day, more if he could manage it. The time difference did not help the situation, and you missed each other a desperate amount. There would even be days that it got so bad for you that you would go to the museum just to sit in his office and take everything in, the staff understanding the slight separation anxiety since they had seen it with other paleontologists and archeologists. Other days you would lounge around at home, throwing on one of Tim’s sweatshirts or blazers just to get some feeling of him. A smell of cedar and old books. It eased your nerves. You chose one of these sweatshirts and practically raced to the airport the day Tim was due home. You had gotten there an hour early, and when you saw him walk out of his terminal, you were not waiting for him with a sign or flowers like most people in the movies do. Being your dorky, supportive self, there you were with the small tyrannosaurus-rex skull replica Tim had gifted you randomly lifted above your head. Neither you nor Tim cared about the looks people gave you because all that mattered was that your love, your angel, was back with you. The reunion hug was euphoric, feeling his arms around you, and his smell entering your body.

“Timmy… I missed you so much.”

“I missed you more, angel.”

~

Once Tim had found his suitcase, the two of you made your way to your car, talking back and forth at one another about everything. He caught you up on the details of the dig, you told him about work and everything you did while he was gone. Normal stuff, like you two had not missed a day without each other, despite it feeling like you had not seen each other in years. Tim was waiting for you to ask the one question he was afraid you were going to ask. He managed to go the entire ride home from the airport dodging the question, but the minute you two were upstairs beginning to sort through his suitcase for dirty clothes, toiletries, and other small things, you asked him.

“So! You know I need to know; did you guys find anything special on the dig?”

“Not really.” He was lying, but you were not about to know that any time soon. “A couple of small drinking vessels, or at least what we think are small drinking vessels. And I think Rory found a piece of what could have been a hieroglyphic of some sort.”

“You mean to tell me you don’t consider that stuff amazing?”

“I mean, it is! Don’t get me wrong. It’s just been a while since our museum team found something extraordinary. The rival museum finds something on practically every dig. It can just be… frustrating.”

“Well, I for one think those idiots are faking it. I mean, I only know about the things you’ve taught me, Tim, but it doesn’t seem possible to find half complete dinos on each dig, ya know? I’ll take a small cup over a fake dinosaur any day, especially if my guy found it!”

You leaned to the edge of the bed and pecked him on the cheek. You were sitting in the middle of it while he was placing all his belongings around you, not even bothering to tell you to move even though he needed the space because you were just too adorable to not be in his sight. He flushed a little bit at the contact. He normally flustered easy around you, despite how long you two had been together, but especially now. It had been five weeks since he could be physically connected to you, and it killed him. He wanted every bone, atom, and molecule in his body to absorb the feeling he got from your lips on his skin and drive him mad for you, but as you did this, he had been looking down into his suitcase at his palms. Upturned. He had gotten a lot better about not feeling a certain way about the way they looked, especially if he was with you. You never paid any mind to the scars littering his body, unless that was your intention in certain instances. However, his mind began to flood with the memory of one of the earlier days of the dig, and his body tensed.

“What is it? What’s bothering you? You were happy not three seconds ago, love.”

“It’s nothing. Really. I just remembered something from the dig.”

“Wanna talk about it? Or would you rather just unpack and sleep?”

“Remember I told you this dig was with the usual crew with one exception?”

“Yeah, vaguely. I remember you mentioning something about a grad student but I don’t really remember anything else. Why?”

“He asked about them. Wanted details.”

Tim was referring to Garrett, a grad student from Yale who had been invited to join Tim and his team on the dig. The kid wanted to be an archeologist, but to Tim, it was for all the wrong reasons. He imagined himself becoming the next Indiana Jones. He was partially interested in the history behind the artifacts, but he was more concerned with bulking up muscles because of some digs being more laborious than others, and being able to say that he is a world traveler and knows stuff to attract the attention of girls. While Garrett was a nice kid, he had a few traits Tim did not like, the obvious one being that he was a user. He did not like the way he treated the people who crossed his path, especially women. Did not respect them at all, really. It made Tim’s blood boil because he could never understand how someone could disrespect a woman for any reason. Another trait Tim was not fond of was his forwardness. You were forward, but in a way that Tim found attractive. You know where limits and boundaries are in certain situations, but otherwise you do not beat around the bush. It made you bold, and being the shyer one in the relationship, he felt it was a good balance. Garrett, meanwhile, had no filter. No understanding that there are things that need to be treaded carefully. Tim was told that Garrett would have been informed by one of his professors or at least someone on the dig leadership team that he should not ask Tim about any marks he may see on Tim’s body. Especially his hands. Either no one told him, or he was informed but still questioned anyway. Tim would place his bets on the latter.

[flashback start]

Cairo, Egypt, 11:24am

“Yo, Dr. Tim!”

“Hmm? Yes, Garrett?” Tim had been leaned over a small cutout in the ground lightly dusting away for Rory while he went to grab some water.

“What’s the deal with your hands?”

Tim froze his motions and stared emotionlessly and expressionlessly at Garrett, dumbfounded at the young adult and the way he phrased his inquiry.

“I got hurt. It was years ago, Garrett. Go work on your section.”

“No way, Dr. Murphy. You’re going to tell me what happened now or I will do no work for the rest of the dig and just follow you around and annoy you.”

How old was this kid? He had the maturity of a ten-year-old. Tim sighed, blowing a little bit of dust around his face, causing a light cough to leave his throat. Then he cleared his throat and began to tell the story of Jurassic Park all those years ago, still burning bright in his mind like the way the fence lit up on his hands. Telling the story to anyone else, he would have already been in tears. Except with Garrett, he held them back, shaking slightly in his seat but not enough for someone to notice. He was experiencing some feelings of PTSD, sure, but he was more so enraged at Garrett for being so forward. With a shuddering breath, he raised his head and eyes to look at the boy, who had a look of interest and fear plastered onto his face.

“Does that satisfy you?”

“Y-yes, sir. I’ll-I’ll go keep working.” And Garrett scurried off, hardly speaking to Tim for the remainder of the dig.

[flashback end]

Unlike the Tim in the story, present-day Tim sitting in front of his girlfriend was crying by the time he finished telling the story. Now the crying was a mix of PTSD as well as letting out the frustration he felt at Garrett that day. He had his hands gripped on the footrest of your shared bed, heaving over it with tears rolling down his face. You suppressed the feelings you had for Garrett and lunged forward to your love, gripping him tightly around the torso. You stood up on your knees so Tim had space to shove his head into your neck and cry to his heart’s content, and he did just that. You rubbed his back with one hand, mixing your motions between deep presses and light scratches with your nails, the other hand coming up to rub his neck and lightly play with the ends of his hair. Quietly shushing him, you could feel the tears start to deplete and his breath calm. It took a while this time, how long it usually takes if he has an attack because of the rain. This situation really got to him, and you could not help but feel like there was nothing you could do for him besides give him your undivided attention like always.

“Timmy, you don’t have to worry about him anymore. He was only coming on one dig, and I find it hard to believe that no one else on your dig heard or saw that conversation. Someone will speak to your supervisors about it. I can’t even begin to imagine how getting that question all the time must feel and what it must do to you, but that kid was just plain stupid. How he got into grad school will forever elude me.”

Tim chuckled lightly at this point. You knew you were getting your Tim back. A little bit more coaxing and you would be there.

“And besides, another thing he doesn’t realize is that your hands and what those marks mean don’t define you. Dr. Tim Murphy – paleontologist extraordinaire.” Tim was beaming up at you, eyes now glistening with adoration instead of tears. “I need to know that you understand that, Tim. You need to tell me that you know those scars don’t define you.”

“I know. I know that because of you.”

“Good. You’re my angel, Tim, the love of my life. I want to hit Garrett over the head with a seven-foot-long dinosaur bone, but for now I just need you here.”

Tim leaned up and kissed you sweetly on the lips, his way of saying ‘thank you.’ He was not an overly-big-gesture kind of guy, so small motions like that had become somewhat of a secret, second language for the two of you. Just like what you did afterwards. The hand that had been around his torso still came around to the front while you leaned back to sit on your calves, eyes half shut looking down at his stomach. Your hand came up right to where his heart was and, using your nails, you lightly grazed your hand down his chest to his lower abdomen, then turning around and going back up. Not making eye contact with him, you spoke quietly, not seeing that the adoration in his eyes had turned into something darker, but you heard the light whine move past his lips at your touch.

“My clever boy…”

The neat piles on your bed from his suitcase were long forgotten, and you both cursed yourselves in the morning when you woke up and there was hardly anywhere for you to walk.

~

While you two were eating breakfast the next morning, Tim casually brought up needing to run to the museum for something.

“My boss told me that at some point today, I need to make my way over to the museum to fill out some paperwork and double-check one of the displays. The stuff we found has been put up, and he just wants me to make sure it all looks okay and fix what doesn’t. Would you care to join me, love?”

“I wouldn’t mind at all. I love going to the museum, you know that.”

The rest of your morning was spent getting ready and making sure your guy’s cats had some food, treats, and toys to play with while you were out. Tim offered to drive, and you two eventually walked into his office where his paperwork would be situated. He told you that it should only take him about ten minutes to fill it out, so if you would not mind waiting for him, he would appreciate it. Normally, if he had paperwork, he did not care if you wandered around looking at the exhibits. When he was done, he would just text you and ask you where you were so he could come find you. Today was different. While it was true that his boss had told him to go fill in his paperwork, the part about him needing to check up on an exhibit was not as truthful. He really did mean that the things that were found on the dig were already up on display, but he had not told you the crowning jewel of the dig. Something that has not happened for the museum in years, and he wanted to show it to you. With his paperwork now complete, he took your hand and the two of you made your way to the Egypt section of the museum where the display was. It was an in-progress display, so some of the things that were in there you had already seen. Those were not the things you paid attention to. You looked for the couple things Tim had mentioned they found, the cups and the piece of hieroglyphic. Easily spotted toward the bottom of the display, you gave Tim a light nudge in the arm showing him just how proud you were of him and his team. Then your eye caught something else. There was another thing in the display that you did not remember seeing before. A fully intact skull with a few bones lying next to it. You looked at it with confusion, not recognizing the shape of the skull as a dinosaur Tim had ever talked about. You turned to him with your confused expression and he just looked back at you wide-eyed.

“What?”

“That skull, Tim. That wasn’t there before, was it?”

“Which one?”

You pointed to the skull and he took a look at it and then proceeded to the plaques in front of the display.

“Read… ah, this. I think this is where it is. Read it out loud, I’m going to continue looking and checking the display, love.”

You began to read.

“The skull of an Amareangelusops, alongside some bones considered to be part of the body. This omnivorous creature, based upon location found and bone structure, is considered to be a shyer species, one that would have only been about ten feet long and eight feet tall.” You continued to read the facts that the museum had established after DNA testing. Then you saw it. “This newly found species of dinosaur was discovered by Dr. Timothy Murphy—oh my god!”

Tim was now turned to face you, beaming wildly at you and trying his hardest not to laugh at your reaction. Your outburst had quieted down your section of the museum.

“Tim, did you not tell me about this? Did you find this on the dig you were just on?”

“Yeah, I wanted to surprise you. I thought you would be proud of me.”

“Proud doesn’t even begin to describe how I’m feeling, Timmy! I can’t believe it! You discovered a freaking dinosaur! A new dinosaur! Wow, I might faint.”

“It’s not that big of a deal, Y/N.”

“Except it is, Tim! You told me yourself when we first started dating; it is every paleontologist’s dream to have that moment where you find something and can name it yourself and feel proud that you contributed to world history! And you did that!” Then it dawned on you. “Wait… does that mean you picked the name? Amareangelusops?”

Tim smiled sweetly at you and nodded his head, it was clear to him you did not understand the name.

“You don’t get what it means, do you?”

“Not in the slightest, Tim.” You started laughing, making Tim laugh.

“Well, it’s actually pretty simple. But before I explain it, let me give you the context. You and I had just gotten off the phone, you were about to go to bed and I was already working, having no luck. Broke a brush right before calling you, too. Then I heard your voice, sleepy and ethereal. It made me so happy. You wished me luck before hanging up, and not an hour later, while I was still hearing your voice and seeing your face in my head, I found it. So, I chose a name that reflected what I was thinking about when I discovered it. The name can be broken down into three parts; amare, angelus, and ops. Ops is basically paleontologist talk for face, and I had your face in mind when I found it, remember? The other two parts are Latin words. Amare means love, and angelus means angel. You always call me your angel, and we call each other love all the time.”

“You… you’re saying you named a dinosaur after… me?”

“Yep.”

“I… don’t know what to say, Tim.”

“You don’t have to say anything. This is my gift to you for putting up with all my antics over the years. I love you.”

Your eyes were welling up with tears, and you felt Tim snake his arms around your waist and pull you tightly into him and kiss you on the top of your head.

“Thank you, Tim. I love you so much. You’re such an incredible scientist, and that Garrett kid is stupid and will never achieve something like this.” All of your words spilled out through choked-back sobs. You were so moved, and you could not help but wonder if his bosses asked him about the name.

“Did they ask you why you named it that?”

“Yeah…” He looked like he was getting embarrassed.

“And?”

“They called me a dork.”

You two laughed uncontrollably because while neither of you disagreed with Tim’s bosses, you were both so happy in the moment that nothing else mattered. You were happy to have your angelic dork right by your side as you made your way home.