Lucy continued to hum Flex 'n' Flow's "Make Da Noise" as she drove out of Mid-Wilshire's parking garage, still bursting with adrenaline after the documentary interview.

She'd been so geeked all day. And yes, she'd probably admit she behaved a little over the top. But she couldn't help it. As her handle said, she was a true crime junkie, and even though Aaron's case had been all over the news and social media, she never dared to believe she'd actually get to be interviewed again. For lack of a better term, and heaven forbid Tim actually heard her use this, she'd fangirled. Hard.

After their interview, Lucy had hoped to be able to debrief with Tim about how it had gone, but he'd been immediately swept into a meeting with Sergeant Grey, so Lucy took the opportunity to get caught up on paperwork until end of shift. But by the time she finished, Tim had already ducked out.

Even though she hadn't been on patrol all day, the frenetic energy of the station from having the camera crew mixed with her own adrenaline wearing off left Lucy feeling pretty wiped. She couldn't wait to curl up with some dinner and catch up on her shows.

As soon as she put her key through the door, she could already hear the sound of paws tapping the hardwood floor.

She got inside and was immediately clobbered with affection by Kojo. "Hey, sweet boy! I missed you today!"

"Food's already here!" came a shout from the kitchen. "I got us burritos from the place up the street."

After she set her bag down, she headed to Tim's kitchen, her arms folded and her face wearing a scowl.

Tim began to walk toward her but stopped once he took in her stance. "What?"

"You overcompensated."

Tim scoffed. "And how did I do that?"

"You were a lot grumpier this time! You could have at least cracked a smile once, but nope, you acted as if every single thing annoyed you."

"I was annoyed. I hate those interviews, you know that. But it worked, didn't it? That idiot interviewer never once questioned the nature of our relationship. Now we can go back to anonymity, however much of that we have left."

Not that much, Lucy thought, opting to save the nugget of info she'd found out for later.

"Besides, you're the one that nearly tipped them off."

Lucy was floored. "Me?!"

Tim nodded.

"I don't—wait, the arm touch?"

"Did you not see my face trying to tell you to ease up?"

"Are we in middle school? There is no way that even got their attention. But let's get back to the fact that you were grumpy."

"Alright, look, I'm sorry I overcompensated, as you put it. I didn't want to do the interview, and I hated that case. Thorsen didn't deserve all that he had to go through. It wasn't exactly happy material we were working with, Lucy."

"It's just that I know you're not as grumpy as the image you sometimes project. It would have been nice for the world to see the more authentic side of you."

Tim moved closer to her and slowly wrapped his arms around her waist. "That's reserved for those that know me the best. Besides, last time we were interviewed, somebody shot down my attempts at humor, so maybe I didn't want to bother this time."

Lucy snickered. "Well, they were pretty bad attempts at humor, which you'd notice if you ever watched the first one."

"And relive the humiliation? No thanks. Are you going to watch your rapping over and over when this one comes out?"

"Yes, I'm proud of that! It really is one of my karaoke staples, not that you would know since you won't come with me."

"Pick a better song and I'll think about it."

"Or you could just come with me because you are supportive."

Tim cracked a small smile. "That too."

He leaned in, his lips just inches from hers when she placed her palm on his chest to halt him. "Oh, and by the way, 'why are you so happy?'"

His smile grew, "First thing that came to mind. I mean, you were pretty giddy."

"I was excited, Tim. And also, did you ever think that maybe I'm also happy because of you?"

"Yeah, well, you make me happy, too."

"Could've fooled me." Lucy's lips curled into an unhappy twist.

Tim brought a hand to her cheek, gently caressing it with the backs of his fingers. "A lot of things can annoy me, even you sometimes. But, as for what makes me happy, that's a much shorter list, and you are at the top of it."

"Ok, keep talking."

"And I'm glad you got to have your fun today, but if I never do another interview it'll be too soon."

"Fair enough," Lucy said, closing the distance between them.

Kissing Tim never failed to feel like coming home, the moment she could finally mentally exhale from the day. It was a euphoric high never before achieved in any of her previous relationships, and while still a new experience, she had a suspicion that the feeling would not be going away soon, maybe ever.

Her arms wound around his neck as they deepened the kiss, desperate to be as physically close as possible. His right hand slowly slid under her shirt and glided up her stomach until reaching the ink that still remained etched on her skin. With Chris, she'd tensed whenever his hand got anywhere close to it, but with Tim, his soft touch was always welcome, making her feel alive and whole all over again.

"Hey," Tim said, his voice low and velvety as he placed soft kisses near her ear, "You ok?"

It was their shorthand that had been so beautifully pieced together with time and trust. She knew exactly what he meant, knew he had seen her uncomfortably touch her side in the interview when she'd suddenly felt gross as Tim had put it.

"Yeah, it had just kinda hit me how ridiculous it all seemed to spin the case into something exciting when people still died. You can't really put a happy face on a tragedy. I know that way too well. Maybe I had more fun than I should have with that interview. I just need to be more stoic like you."

"No, I want you to be exactly who you are. You just got caught up in the moment a little, but you still had the awareness and not everyone does."

"Maybe we both need to be done with interviews for a while."

Tim gave her one more peck. "Music to my ears. Are we good?"

"We're good. Come on, let's eat, and then I'll show you the fanfiction about us that Smitty found." She figured it was as good a time as any to divulge what she'd heard.

"Wait, what?!"

"Mmhmm, from the first doc. Can't imagine what they'll write about this time around!"

Although, she knew no fanfiction could match what she actually had with Tim.


Hi, friends! I figured there had to be a significant time gap between 4x15 and 4x16, given all that happened with Aaron's case, and then enough time passing where a crew would come in and collect interviews about it. So, this is what my brain came up with. It's a quick read, and I wrote it in less than a week, which is a miracle, but my apologies if there's anything that doesn't read well. Mistakes are my own. Thanks for reading!

The title is from The Way I Am by Ingrid Michaelson.

You can always find me fangirling over on Tumblr! theawkwardanglophile