「 ✩ Unhealthy Habits • A Chenford Fanfic ✩ 」

"You talk a lot. Don't stop."

The, almost overwhelming, heat radiating from behind Lucy makes her eyes flutter open as the early morning light filters through Tim's—definitely not black-out—curtains.

She grins and presses her eyes closed at the sensation of his chest rising and falling against her back. Being wrapped up in his warmth, surrounded by his strong, comforting arms, is even better than she thought it would be.

"Mmh.." he groans as he wakes.

Lucy shifts in his arms to face him. "Good morning, handsome," she coos, her voice still laced with sleep.

Tim immediately breaks out in a ginormous grin, and it makes Lucy's heart reel.

"'Morning' yourself," he murmurs fondly, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "I thought I was dreaming."

"Oh yeah?" Lucy inquires, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah. I was wondering why the hell Dream-Lucy snored so loud." He rolls his eyes in mock annoyance.

"I do not snore!"

"How would you know? You were sleeping. Very heavily."

Lucy scoffs, failing at suppressing a smile, and swats at Tim's chest. He positively beams at her as he snakes his free arm around her waist, eyes growing to the size of saucers when he realizes she's only wearing a t-shirt.

"What? I got hot," she meets his gaze innocently.

"Sure you did," he mumbles, his voice low and sultry. "If you want to 'take things slow,' then you're gonna have to tone it down."

"Are you saying you can't keep your hands to yourself, Sergeant Bradford?"

"Not when it comes to you," he growls, burying his face in her neck before continuing, "Officer Chen." He begins to pepper her neck and jaw with soft, sweet kisses. She shifts onto her back to give him easier access, and he smirks against her.

"Eager, hm?" he hums in her ear, his stubble grazing the skin in a way that makes her want to squirm.

Lucy giggles embarrassedly and turns her head away. "It feels nice," she murmurs against her hand as she raises it to her mouth.

"Hmm? What was that?" Tim slowly skims his hand across the skin of her stomach, smirking to himself when her breath hitches.

"I said, that feels nice," she repeats shyly.

He chuckles at her confession and continues his exploration of her neck and shoulder. She brings a hand up to the back of his head, raking her fingers through the short hair as she bites her lip. Tim's fingers travel further upward under her shirt, leaving goosebumps in their wake.

"God, I'm so glad we're off today," Lucy breathes.

"Why is that?" Tim asks, his finger ghosting over the lower curve of her breast. He grins when he hears a tiny gasp escape her lips.

She squirms under him and turns to face, stopping his assault. He pouts when he meets her eyes and she giggles. "Because I get to spend the day with you." She brushes her thumb over his bottom lip.

"You're adorable," Tim observes.

"I know," Lucy purrs, bringing her lips to his.

The hand under her shirt drifts to her lower back as Tim presses her into him, immediately welcoming her mouth. She hums contently into his and smiles against his lips, bringing a hand to his shoulder to push it down.

Tim breaks their kiss and shifts onto his back, watching in awe as Lucy throws her leg over his hip to straddle him. He's sure his pupils are heart-shaped as he gazes up at her warm smile. Her hair creates a curtain around their faces as she leans down to rejoin their mouths. His hands immediately find her ass and squeeze gently, enlisting a squeak of surprise.

He breaks the kiss after a moment and she leans back up, straightening her back. His hands move from her ass to her thighs, his thumbs tracing circles over the exposed skin.

"You're so beautiful," he gapes softly, worshipping her as if she's a deity.

"You're not too hard on the eyes, either." Her warm little hands cup his face. "I've been waiting for this for ages."

Tim's eyebrows shoot up in surprise. "Have you, now?"

She giggles, "Yeah. I have, Tim." She removes one of her hands from his face to tuck her hair behind her ear, intertwining her fingers with his after. "You make me unfathomably happy. At first—I honestly thought it was just because of how much time we'd spent together. The 12 hours we spent side-by-side, the innocent bar hangouts, the occasional alone time."

Tim grins and presses his eyes closed, shaking his head.

"What?" Lucy prods, slightly embarrassed.

"You just talk a lot," Tim responds.

Her lips form a pout and she swats at his chest. "Rude," she grumbles.

"I didn't mean it that way. I like listening to you. Don't stop, Lucy."

She furrows her brows, but it does nothing to mask the admiration in her expression.

"Anyway," she says curtly, failing at suppressing a smile." Of course, there were times that I thought, 'Do I have feelings for Tim?' but I didn't let myself expand on it. I always forced them down because—...I was terrified."

Tim's brows knit together as his head tilts. "Terrified of what, Luce?"

"I don't know—I guess, one, the thought that you didn't feel the same way. Two, what others would think. And three," She pauses and sighs deeply. "I've never felt this way about...anyone.

"Tim, I can't even begin to compute how I managed to keep it down for this long. My feelings for you are so overwhelming that, sometimes, I genuinely don't know what to do with myself."

Tim chuckles and nods in agreement as her face reddens. "I feel the same way. Lucy, you have me wrapped around your finger so tightly. Any moment you're away, everything reminds me of you. I tried to live in denial for way too long, and it was exhausting.

"After the confession prank, I practically refused to let myself think of us as anything more than coworkers. Not even friends."

Lucy frowns. "I'm sorry, Tim. I never meant for that to hurt you." Her tone is genuinely so upset over something so small, and it almost makes his heart explode. "I was trying to gauge your reaction. The confession—It was not the best way for me to do that, but the way you stuttered and hesitated told me everything—I thought—I needed to know. So, from there on out, I decided you would never think of me that way. I tried with every fibre of my being to store my feelings for you in the very back of my mind, but every time I saw you, I just—It was impossible.

"Tim, I'm crazy about you," she finishes as her eyes gloss over and her thumbs rub back and forth over his knuckles.

"I'm crazy about you too, Lucy," he chuckles as she lowers her lips to his again.

This kiss is different. They'd kissed just mere minutes ago, yet it didn't feel like this one. This is vulnerable and almost...electric. Both of their feelings just out in the open, lacing the air between and around them with overwhelming tension. Their hands break apart, almost frantically exploring one another. Their tongues tangle in earnest, seemingly making up for lost time even though they have forever.

They begrudgingly break apart, gasping for air as their foreheads rest against each other. Tim's hands venture under the hem of her t-shirt to settle on the hot, bare skin between her shoulder blades. She brushes her lips against his again, bringing her own hands to cup the sides of his face.

"I could stay like this forever," Lucy mumbles against his lips.

"You and me both," Tim agrees with a soft smile.