so jiara just had their (first of many i’m assuming) almost-kiss and i feel like i’m high and also like my heart is malfunctioning if it hasn’t fully stopped yet
One moment, Tim is stepping up behind her and sliding his arms around her torso as he buries his nose in her hair, and the next, she’s inhaling sharply and flinching away from his touch.
Tim jerks as though he’s been scalded, arms flying away from her as he takes a large step back and slams his elbow against the refrigerator in the process.
“Lucy.”
“Sorry,” she mutters.
“Did I hurt you?”
She shakes her head, but she still has her back to him and she’s clenching the edge of his kitchen counter so tightly her fingers are white, so he’s not exactly convinced.
She’s taking deep, measured breaths, Tim notices, so he focuses on the rise and fall of her shoulders and attempts to synchronize his own breathing with hers. He’s not entirely successful, but by the time Lucy finally turns to face him he’s feeling marginally less panicked.
Her left hand rises to press against her ribs, and Tim instantly realizes his mistake.
“Shit,” he breathes. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay.” Lucy takes a step toward him as she speaks, her right hand gently lifting to rest on his arm as her left slowly falls to her side. “You just caught me off guard.”
“I should have…”
“No,” she interrupts before he can finish whatever he’s planning to say. “You shouldn’t have. I never asked you not to touch me there.”
“But…”
“No,” she says, more determinedly this time, because she needs him to understand her. She places both hands flat against his chest, not pushing him away, but not a gentle caress either, and it serves its purpose as he falls silent. “Tim, listen to me. It happens. Not as often as it used to, but it does, and I can’t deal with your guilt every time. You’re not the one who tattooed me. It’s not your fault.”
Rationally he knows what she’s saying is true, but rationality isn’t always enough to quell the feelings of guilt that sometimes overwhelm him. And though he knows he didn’t hurt her just now and he knows her reaction isn’t his fault, he can’t help but feel awful that his touch was the trigger.
even though chenford made some changes so that tim is no longer lucy’s superior - he was still acting in a superior position (over her and the rest of the team) during tonight’s operation, right? i guess i really don’t understand how metro police fit into all this
