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Tim tried to distract himself. He wasn’t worried or concerned, just bored. Maybe a little antsy. He got used to spending his nights with Lucy, but she wanted to have a girls night. And he wasn’t about to beg her not to go, even though he desperately wanted to.
So, he waited. He changed into Lucy’s favorite pair of his sweats and propped himself up on the couch with Kojo and a beer. He was attempting to pay attention to the Rams game on the TV, but his mind was elsewhere.
Nearing halftime, he heard shuffling. Keys clanging together and against the wood of the door, hushed voices, a few giggles, and eventually a thud.
Kojo jumped down and started toward the door, tilting his head. Putting his beer down, Tim followed after him as the door swung open, “Tiiimmmyyy-“
“Hi, babe,” Tim said as he stared at the women in front of him, Lucy slumped against Angela’s side, trying to balance herself on one foot while trying to take off one of her shoes.
Lucy, having managed to get the shoe off, haphazardly tossed them in the direction of the shoe rack. She pulled her arm from around Angela’s shoulders - where she’d draped it in hopes of getting Lucy from the car to the house in one piece - and stumbled toward Tim. She wrapped herself around him, somewhat akin to an overly affectionate koala. He held her against his chest, her chin tilted up to look at him as her hands ran up and down the planes of his back under his shirt.
“Oo! Hi, Koj, I missed you!” Lucy squealed at the dog staring at her in utter confusion.
Tim managed to grab her before her body slumped to the floor to reach their fur baby. She drummed her fingers against his skin and continued to stare up at him.
“Ange?” he prodded, brushing the hair out of Lucy’s face.
“Tequila.”
“Ah.”
He looked down at the women pressed against him as she giggled at… him? Kojo? Tequila? He wasn’t sure, “Did you have fun?”
“Oo, yeah! We did trivia and then we did shots!”
“Shots, huh?”
“Mm hmm,” she giggled, twisting her fingers in the hem of his t-shirt, “Well, me and Nyla did. Angela was being boring.”
Angela shook her head, “Sometimes, I really hate breastfeeding.”
He nodded in response. At least they had a designated driver and didn’t have to bother with Uber.
“Thanks, Ange,” he said.
Even if Lucy was going to have a massive headache in the morning and he missed her like hell for the three and a half hours she was gone, he was glad she had fun and that Angela had her back. After previous experiences, Lucy became weary of bars and drinks and going out.
While Tim had known Angela for fifteen years, she and Lucy had only known each other for four. But the bond they formed in that time was something Tim would never take for granted. They trusted each other. Lucy trusted Angela to have her back, even if it was just to watch the bartender pour her drink or look after it while she went to the bathroom.
She saluted them with an amused smile before turning back toward the half open door and making her way back to her car.
“How many shots did you do?” Tim asked as he tried to maneuver her further into the house.
“Mm, like five…maybe? I had tequila. I like tequila.”
“I know you do,” he chuckled.
She stumbled over her own feet as he tried to aim her in the direction of their bedroom.
“Angela made me try mezcal too.”
“Did she now?”
“Did you know it’s made from worms? Where are we going?”
“It’s not made from worms, babe,” he replied, trying not to laugh at her alcohol induced childlike state.
“Yeah, there was a worm in the bottle,” she grumbled, an adorable pout on her lips.
“They put those in after it’s made. It’s just a gimmick.”
He managed to guide her far enough into the bedroom for her to flop on the bed, her hair falling in a halo against the comforter behind her head. Kojo followed after them, sniffing Lucy’s ankle, seemingly trying to make sure she was ok.
“Hiiii, puppers!” she squealed, rather unceremoniously starching the top of his head.
He bristled when her pinky finger inadvertently made contact with his cornea and trotted off to his bed in the corner of the room.
“It was kinda cute.”
“The worm?” He wasn’t sure if she was talking about Kojo or the worm. Knowing Lucy, especially tipsy Lucy, it could be either.
“Mm hmm… would you still love me if I was a worm?”
He chuckled from where he stood in front of her, his hand on his hips, taking her in, “Bold of you to assume there’s a universe where I wouldn’t love you.”
She sat up, making herself dizzy, “You do love me?”
He took a step forward, now desperately trying not to laugh, “Yes, I do. Luce, I’ve loved you for years. If that ring on your finger is any indication.”
Her eyes grew comically wide as she pulled her right hand out in front of her, searching for the ring he claimed was there.
“Other hand,” he encouraged.
Her other hand made its way into her field of vision, almost making her fall backward, having forgotten she was using it to support her weight.
“Oo, pretty!”
“I’m glad you think so,” Tim said, finally letting a half a laugh escape him.
“When did that get there?” Lucy asked, pulling her hand closer to her face to examine the sparkly object.
“Few months ago," he said, grabbing one of his sweatshirts from the dresser, “Come on. Time for bed.”
She tore her attention away from her ring long enough to look at Tim, “Are you coming too?”
“Yep, I’m coming too.”
“Good.”
“Come on,” he said, motioning for her to stand up.
She slowly, and rather ungracefully, stood up.
“Arms up,” Tim said tugging at the hem of her blouse.
She raised her arms and he pulled the fabric off her body. He popped the clasp on her bra and tossed both items to the floor, “Sit down.”
She sat on the edge of the bed, pouting at him, “I wanna sleep, Tim.”
“You can’t go to bed in jeans, Luce.”
He eventually freed her of the rest of her clothing and replaced it with his sweatshirt. He tucked her into the covers and crawled in behind her.
She plastered herself against his side, her head on his chest and her leg between his. He thought she was asleep until he heard her soft, somewhat slurred voice, “So you would still love me if I was a worm?”