Cruel Summer || A Chenford / The Rookie FanFic Collection

Wicked, Wicked Ways

And yup, Lucy is already starting to push herself up into a seated position. She reaches down to adjust her bra, and it should be criminal really — so casually taking parts of herself away from him like that.

He pushes himself up onto his elbows. "What are we doing, Chen?"

The up and down movement of her chest is rapid as she attempts to recover and collect herself. She glances down to where her fingers are attempting to pull her shirt back together, frowning at where the buttons are supposed to be before glancing over to where they are instead scattered across the floor around them.

Whoops.

She looks suddenly wary — like he's broken some cardinal rule by daring to interrupt their postcoital routine of either a) more sex or b) pretending that they aren't both completely naked after exchanging bodily fluids and continuing on with their days.

"What do you mean, Tim? Did you not have Sex Ed back in the olden days?"

Tim glowers, choosing to ignore the dig because he knows she's attempting to get out of the conversation. Again. Like she has been for weeks.

"I mean, what are we doing?"

She fixes him with a deceptively sweet smile, but he knows her wicked, wicked ways. "What do you mean, Tim? Same as always. We're friends. We're being friendly."

She reaches over to trail her fingers all the way up the length of his happy trail in a way that has his dick actually twitching despite being nowhere near ready to go another round.

She bites her lip and meets his eyes, "Very friendly."

And her voice is such a fucking perfect combination of sultry and sweet that he can see that it's already happening again.

That she is going to distract him with sex and her sexiness and being the sexiest woman on earth doing the sexiest things in the sexiest ways he could ever imagine and they aren't going to have this conversation. Again.

He steels himself, narrowing his eyes as she lifts his hand to her mouth, and begins to suck the taste of herself off of his fingers. First one. And then the next. And then the next.

Fuck.

"Friends don't do the things that we do, Chen," he finally manages to assert with a rasp, his throat suddenly bone dry.

She drops his hand and stares at him, looking suddenly confused and uncertain. "I don't understand. What are you saying, Tim? Do you... do you not want to do this anymore?"

She can be a real idiot sometimes for being the smartest, sexiest, most beautiful, sexiest, most aggravating, sexiest, most absolutely incredible woman that he knows.

"That's exactly what I'm saying, Lucy."

Her face falls, and she looks away from him. He reaches over, gently grasping her chin to guide her gaze back to his.

She takes a deep breath. And she thinks she's fooling him. Pretending to be brave and nonchalant like she just doesn't care. A total and complete idiot that he could not adore more.

She shrugs, not quite meeting his gaze. "Uh — okay. Sure. I get it — if this isn't working for you, and you want something else then I — uh — yeah. I understand."

"That's not what I said, Lucy."

She looks back at him in confusion. Like he's the idiot.

And somehow, she's still not getting it. He'll have to spell it out for her. But that's okay. He'd do just about anything for her; she has to know that.

"I said I don't want to do this anymore."

And yet...

Lucy shakes her head. "I feel like there are a lot of fucking italics in this conversation, Tim. Can you please just say what you mean?"

He sighs. Here goes nothing. "I'm done pretending this isn't happening — that this isn't anything more. You're all I want, Chen." He wonders how she likes those italics.

She looks surprised and thoughtful now, "But I can't... be your aide anymore."

He shrugs, "Who cares? You're ready for much bigger things. Besides, everyone knows you love me, Lucy. It's probably best for both of us to get it out in the open. I don't think you're nearly as stealthy as you think."

Lucy scoffs, "Well, that's awfully arrogant. What do you mean 'everyone knows I love you'?"

Tim fixes her with a look. Who does she think she's fooling? He starts to tick away on his fingers, "Come on, Lucy — little booties in my locker? A cat personality quiz for Webb? Getting all pissy when Smitty got to be my aide. All your little bets and pranks? Begging me to go undercover and then we just happen to end up UC as a couple? It's pretty obvious you're in love with me."

She rolls her eyes at his exaggeration, her eyebrows knitting together in some combination of thoughtfulness and annoyance as she considers what he's said.

"Oh yeah?" Lucy challenges.

He arches an eyebrow.

"If that's true... then... well, everyone knows you love me, too!"

Tim laughs, pushing himself into a seated position and then swinging his arm around her waist to pull her into his lap. "Obviously. That part's a given."

He nuzzles his face affectionately into her neck.

Her eyes soften at the unexpected sweetness. "Tim..."

Now, who's talking in italics?

He takes hold of her face and kisses her sweetly at first and then a little more roughly.

"I've been in love with you for far longer than I'm willing to admit."

"Yeah?" he sees a brief flash of wickedness in her eyes as she tips her head back to return his affection... and then some.

A little bit later, she's wrapped in his arms in what appears to be completely blissed-out satisfaction.

And yet...

"Okay, but when was it?" her eyes flash with curiosity and delight.

"Was it... when we kissed? When we went undercover? Nyla's wedding? Angela's wedding? When you got all caveman about me going UC? Before that?"

He ignores her, letting his fingers trail affectionately down her side instead.

"Did you sneak in and watch me at American Idol?" she asks with suspicion.

He snorts, simply rolling his eyes.

"After Caleb?"

Tim softens, giving her a squeeze and pressing his lips to her temple.

"When we thought we were going to get blown up by a missile? When you almost died from that virus?"

"Lucy," he groans.

"Oh my god... Was it Plain Clothes Day? I knew you had a soft spot for me!"