When your imagination flows, and yours fingers do the talking, there is no knowing what you may reveal. So open your mind, and let it flow from the heart.
As much as it hurts right now, there's one aspect in this scenario that I'm really looking forward : their individual journey to getting better.
Right now, Tim is at his lowest low, struggling with his self-worth and identity, stuck in this loop where he thinks he's undeserving of love and therefore, feels the need to punish himself… and unfortunately, that comes at the expense of Lucy.
But it's not like she's doing any better. She just took hit after hit in the past few weeks. Her self-confidence has been rocked, she's spiraling, her anxiety is through the roof, she's feeling isolated, she's probably still reeling from the shooting… and now this. So the truth is, she's not in a position to help Tim. Not without discarding (at least in part) her own emotional state first, which wouldn't be fair to her either. They're both running on empty right now. It's a bit like the oxygen mask theory : you got to secure your oxygen mask first before helping others. And they both need to focus on themselves right now. To decide for themselves who they are and who they want to be without being influenced. To rebuild themselves on more solid ground.
And I really hope we get to see these journeys, for the both of them.
I don't think you're just protecting her. I think you're protecting yourself. There's something else you did, that you don't want to admit. And you're basing this on?