Work Text:
Lucy walks through the front door of the house, their house and smiles as Kojo comes over to greet her. She moved in less than a month ago and they’ve been working hard to make it their own. They celebrated their first Thanksgiving together last week, a quiet little dinner, just the two of them, the day after Thanksgiving because of work. Now it's the Christmas season and Lucy is excited to start their own traditions.
They are both off the next two days and Lucy has big plans, now she just has to get Tim to agree. She sets her things down on the bench and then walks into the kitchen where she finds Tim standing at the stove, stirring something in a pot. She walks up behind him and snakes her arms around his waist, kissing the center of his back. He leans back into her, his hands coming up to cover hers, “Hey. Figured I’d start dinner since I beat you home. Long day?”
She nods against him, “The longest. So glad I have the next two days off, and even happier because you are off with me.”
”Uh-oh. I know that tone. What do you have planned?”
She moves around him and hoists herself up onto the counter, “Well its December, it’s our first Christmas living together, and I think we need to start our own traditions.”
“Ok.. so what are you thinking?”
“Well we should start with decorations, we should go buy all new ones that we pick out together. I don’t have very good Christmas memories from growing up, and I’m sure you don’t either, so I think it's time we replace all of those with happy ones. Ones that we can share with our kids someday.”
He moves the pan to the back burner then comes to stand between her legs as she wraps her arms around his neck, “Kids huh?”
“Well, if we want those grandkids we talked about we kinda have to have kids first Tim, that's how it works.”
He laughs before bending down and pressing a quick kiss to her lips, “I know how it works, trust me. It’s just nice to be planning for our future again.”
She leans forward, pressing her forehead against his, “I know. I’m happy we’re here, that we found our way back.”
They sit there for a minute, breathing each other in before Tim pulls back, “Ok, so what else did you have planned?”
“Well, decorations first. Then we need to get a tree. Maybe some lights to put up on the house. Ugly sweaters for Angela's Christmas party. We can start shopping for gifts, baking cookies, watching Christmas movies..”
“Lucy, Lucy, slow down. We only have two days off. I don’t think we can get all that done in two days. Let’s sit down tonight and make a list then we can figure out where to start and what we can get done on our days off.”
She chuckles, “Tim Bradford, always the organizer with his lists.”
He rolls his eyes, “Well if we left it up to you things would never get done. Now how do you feel about heating up this dinner later and practicing for those kids you were talking about?”
“I think you should stop talking and kiss me.”
He leans down and kisses her, his tongue sliding into her mouth before he grasps her hips, her legs locking around him as he picks her up off the counter. They kiss as he walks them down the hallway, the slam of the bedroom door reverberating off the walls.
*******
The next morning they are up bright and early, ready to head out with their list in hand. They make a quick stop at Nevins for coffee and a pastry then they are headed off to different stores. They find a cute little shop for ornaments and get to work picking some out to decorate their tree, landing on a few personal ones along with some silver and white ones to fill in the rest.
Before they go to pay Tim stops her, “I have an idea. Why don’t we each pick out an ornament for each other? Then when we decorate the tree tomorrow we can give them to each other? We could do it every year, our first tradition.”
Lucy smiles up at him, “I love that idea. Let’s do it.”
They head off in separate directions searching the aisles for the perfect ornaments for each other. Twenty minutes later they meet outside the store, Tim laden down with all the bags and their ornaments for each other tucked safely away.
“Now we need the tree!” Lucy says excitedly, “I’m so excited for a real tree. My parents always said no to a real tree because of the mess.”
Tim smiles at her as he puts the bags into his truck, “Well then let’s go get you a real tree.”
They hop into his truck and head off for the Christmas tree farm that Lucy had found online. She insisted they cut the tree down themselves so they had to drive a little farther out of the city to find somewhere to do that. They walk up to the little barn, greeted by the workers who immediately hand them the saw and offer them hot chocolate which Lucy eagerly takes.
“It’s seventy five degrees outside and you’re gonna drink hot chocolate?”
“You can’t cut down a Christmas tree without hot chocolate Tim, it’s tradition.”
“But if this is the first time we’ve ever cut down a tree, how is it a tradition? Isn’t a tradition something you do year after year?”
“Well yes, but how do you think traditions start? And that’s the whole point of Christmas this year, making our own traditions.”
She holds out the cup, offering it to Tim who just shakes his head as he takes it from her hands and takes a sip. Lucy giggles as he hands the cup back to her then reaches up to swipe the whipped cream off his nose before sucking it off her finger.
Tim can’t help the smile on his face as her laughter rings out, and he knows he will drink hot chocolate with her every Christmas, no matter how hot it is outside.
They walk the rows and rows of trees, Lucy pointing out the faults in every one while Tim listens, his hand firmly placed in hers. He stops every now and then to steal kisses as the scent of pine fills the air and Lucy beams up at him, her cheeks flushed from the heat, and the hot chocolate.
Finally she decides on a tree, and after snapping a selfie of them in front of it Tim lays down in the middle of the field and begins to cut it down as Lucy films. She grabs the top when Tim tells her to so the tree doesn’t fall to the ground and once he stands up he throws it over his shoulder and they start their hike back to the barn. They pay for their tree, load it into Tim’s truck and then are back on the road, heading back to their house to start decorating.
*******
Once they are home they unload everything, get the tree set up in the stand with water and after a quick break for food they get started. They decide to let the tree settle some more so they get started on the other decorations first. Tim hangs the stockings on the console beneath the tv, one for him, one for Lucy and one for Kojo while Lucy stands back telling him exactly where to place them. Then she gets to work running the garland along the console, tucking it behind pictures, the soft white lights casting a warm glow over the living room. Tim runs another lighted garland around the built in bookshelves that frame the television while Lucy starts replacing some of their everyday knick knacks with Christmas ones they picked out. They work in perfect rhythm, the soft Christmas music playing in the background while they transform their home into a Christmas wonderland.
Once they are satisfied they sit down on the couch to admire their handiwork. Lucy snuggles into Tim’s side as she speaks, “I love it. The lights really give it such a nice cozy feeling in here. It’s perfect.”
Tim nods his head in agreement before leaning down and placing a kiss to the top of her head, his hand dragging up and down her arm. All of the sudden Lucy pushes off of him and jumps to her feet, startling Tim.
“No funny business mister. We still have a tree to decorate.”
He scoffs, “I wasn’t even trying to start anything. I was just taking a minute to admire our handiwork.”
She eyes him suspiciously, “Sure you were. Now come on, get up, time for the tree.”
Tim rises to his feet, grabbing her by the waist and kissing her before releasing her and she skips off down the hallway. When she comes back her hands are behind her back and she has a mischievous smile on her face.
“What are you up to?” Tim asks as she sidles up to him.
“I have something I want us to wear while we decorate the tree.”
He raises an eyebrow at her, “I’d prefer you to wear..”
She claps a hand over his mouth, “Don’t finish that sentence. Besides, if you’re a good boy while decorating you might just end up on the nice list later tonight.”
He chuckles, “Ok. What do you want us to wear?”
She brings her hand around to the front and in her hands are two Santa hats, a blue one for him and a sparkly yellow one for her. Tim just shakes his head before taking the hat from her hand and placing it on top of his head.
She grins up at him as she places the hat on top of her head then leans up to press a kiss to his lips, “Looks perfect.”
Then she moves around him to stand in front of the tree and Tim knows he will wear this Santa hat every single year just to make her smile.
They get to work stringing the lights, working seamlessly to wrap them around the tree, placing them just right on the branches. They carefully unwrap all the ornaments they bought and place them on the branches, spreading them out and stepping back to check the placement every now and then. Then Lucy pulls out the star they got for the top and hands it to Tim.
“First Christmas in our home. You should do the honors and put the star on top.”
He shakes his head, “No. We should do it together.”
She grins at him and watches as he walks away to grab the step stool from the garage and sets it up next to the tree. Lucy climbs up as Tim stands next to her, both their hands holding on to the tree topper as they set it on the top branch. Tim plugs it in and they watch as it turns on, the lights twinkling across their faces. Lucy smiles at Tim then leans down and kisses him softly. He hums against her mouth as his hands come up to grip her hips and he helps her down from the step ladder, their lips never leaving each other.
She pulls back once she’s safely on the ground, “Wait, we still have one more thing. Our ornaments for each other.”
They move away from each other, grabbing the ornaments from their hiding places then coming back together in front of the tree.
Tim hands his to Lucy and she carefully unwraps the tissue paper to reveal a beautiful, glass, golden sun, a small heart in the middle of it, the year on the back.
“Tim, it’s beautiful. I love it.”
“I thought it was perfect because you brought the sunshine back into my life. It’s no secret that I was in a pretty dark place when we first met. But you never gave up on me, kept talking even when I told you to stop, kept showing up even when I pushed you away. And now, I’m happier than I’ve ever been in my entire life Lucy and I owe that all to you, my own personal sunshine.”
Her eyes fill with tears as she stares at him, too overcome with emotion to speak she surges up and kisses him, hoping the kiss can convey everything she’s feeling. She pulls back and nuzzles her nose against his, “I love you.”
He smiles, “I love you too.”
She pulls back and swipes the tears off her cheeks, “Well now I feel bad because mine is not nearly as sentimental as yours. But it is something that always makes me think of you.”
He unwraps the ornament and laughs loudly when he sees the little pair of cowboy boots, covered in glitter, the year in the middle.
“It felt fitting to commemorate how our relationship started. Me as your boot and you as my hard ass training officer who, as it turns out, is really just a big softie beneath all that gruff.”
He rolls his eyes, “I’m going to need you to stop spreading that around. Miles barely even flinches anymore when I yell at him, you’re ruining my reputation babe.”
“I think it’s that big smile that comes across your face every time you see me. You need to learn to control your face.”
He pulls her in, “Sorry. I just can’t help myself when it comes to you.”
She cocks an eyebrow at him, “Well how about we hang these ornaments and you show me just how much you can’t help yourself?”
“You’re on.”
They hang their new ornaments next to each other on the tree then hurry off to their bedroom, where they spend the rest of the afternoon.
*******
Three weeks later they are snuggled up on the couch, Lucy’s head resting against Tim’s chest as they enjoy a quiet, relaxing Christmas morning together.
They had filled the month of December making Christmas memories.
Baking cookies together, where more flour ended up on the counter than in the bowl.
Picking out the ugliest sweaters they could find so they would be sure to win the contest at Angela's Christmas party (and they definitely won.)
Watching a Christmas movie every single night after work, all the classics plus those cheesy Hallmark ones that Tim rolls his eyes at but secretly loves.
They spent yesterday with Genny and the boys, exchanging gifts, wearing matching pajamas and playing the new game console the boys had gotten from the two of them.
And today they had woken up, opened their presents for each other, made breakfast together and now they have nowhere to be for the rest of the day except right here in their home.
Lucy tilts her head up to smile at him, “Merry Christmas Tim.”
He presses a kiss to her forehead, “Merry Christmas Lucy.”
It’s their first Christmas together but not their last, and every year they add more and more ornaments to their tree. Eventually their kids begin adding ornaments and then many years later their grandkids, who always love to sit and listen to the story of how their grandparents spent their first Christmas together creating all the traditions they still do every year.