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"Everything alright here?"
"Everything's fine Matt, nothing I can't handle." Her voice was tired though, a little pained even, and he wondered if he had waited too long.
"Hey man, she said she wasn't interested. Move along,"
The members of firehouse 51 found themselves at a nameless bar not far from the house, having finished yet another exhausting shift and needing the confort of a cold beer and chosen family. They had dispersed as usual, truck on a long booth by the window while squat sat on a table at the back of the bar. Dawson, more often than not, stuck with truck while Shay wandered between the two groups, enjoying a freedom no one else possessed. But she was Shay, and she knew the squad guys would bite their tongues before commenting about her presence in front of Severide. Besides, she was good fun.
That is probably why Kelly hadn't noticed her at the bar, some too drunk to take the hint dude by her side, getting too close to her for his liking. He had stayed put at first, knowing Shay was more than capable of turning the man down, she has been doing it for years after all, but kept an eye on her just in case.
Truth to be told, the paramedic has always been closer to Kelly, being his roommate and all, but she was his friend too and Matt had a tendency of overprotecting the people he loved. That's why when the guy next to the blonde in question had gotten handsy, he murmured an excuse to the other guys, something about his beer getting hot and going to get another one, and had settled in between the two.
He could smell the alcohol on the other man's breath as he grabbed his arm, which was holding Shay's upper one. "Let her go before you start something you don't want to finish." Matt kept calm, his voice low enough not to attract any further attention, knowing that if Severide noticed hell would go down.
"And why the fuck should I do that? Huh?" He slurred, obviously too drunk to just let it go. He did, however, grab Shay with more force, making her squirm under his hand. It was enough for Casey to lose his cool and push him by the shoulder, making him stumble backwards and release his grip.
Maybe he should have said something else, make sure he left the bar right after he punched him in the face, but he could see she was startled and that deserved more of his attention. The guy stood there, watching as Casey wrapped an arm around the woman's shoulders, and —for the first time in the night— made the right decision.
"How about we get another drink and go listen to whatever rumor Ottis heard today?" The firefighter asked, still with an arm wrapped around her, knowing she would welcome the distraction. "Yeah, sure. Uhm, thanks Matt. You shouldn't have bothered." She got a little closer to him, enjoying the feeling of safety after such a scene.
"You are never a bother Shay, don't even mention it."
As they made their way to the table, new drinks in hand but still in each others embrace, some curious looks were sent their way but no one asked. He guessed that maybe he had not been as discreet as intended when he left the table, but was grateful no one mentioned anything even if they had seen something.
The rest of the night went on smoothly, no drunk assholes in sight. Nonetheless, Shay now knew that, even if some other bastard refused to take the hint, nothing was harming her that night. She also made a mental note to remind Kelly just how awesome his boyfriend was.
Kelly Severide took a seat in a stool by the breakfast table on his and Shay's shared apartment.
"Are you planning to poison a date tonight? Someone who didn't take no for an answer?" the silver haired man teased, not used to the view of his roommate so focused in the kitchen. Cooking. Someone was definitely dying tonight. "Yes, your boyfriend," She sassed while waving the knife she had been choking vegetables with not a second ago, a smart smirk on her face. "But don't worry, I'll let him down gently so he's not too heartbroken for you."
"Matt?" Ok so that was unexpected, he thought. "He's coming over?" The squad lieutenant tried to remember if he had forgotten an important date and she was just saving his ass, which happened more often than he would want admit.
"Yep." She turned over to the stove, adding an arrange of colored peppers to what he could only assume was a pot of sauce. "Care to explain how my boyfriend suddenly made you less gay?" He was curious, the blonde was hiding something and, while he was not worried about Matt, he did not enjoy being left in the dark by the two people he loved the most. Not that he would admit that either, so he opted for a humorous approach.
Her eyes rolled so back up her head he wondered for a second if he would ever see them again, "It's stupid really—" she signed, still stirring the sauce with one hand, "I wanted to thank him for the other night."
"Shay, I don't know if you noticed how bad that would sound if you weren't both gay." That earned him a glare and a stick out of her tongue. "If I ever get tired of women he will be my first option, I promise."
"First, ouch. Second, it's lovely how you think he would leave all this," He replied with his usual cocky smirk while waving his hands down his body.
When she didn't reply his mind started racing, whatever the hell is going on had his full attention now. What other night? He shares a bed with his boyfriend almost every night, if they had hung out he would have definitely noticed. Hell, he would have been present.
Unless, "Did something happen at the bar? After shift?" his tone concerned. Had he not noted something after they had made their way home? She did seem closer to Matt than usual, but he had not payed that a lot of mind, they were all friends after all.
The paramedic was about to deny anything happened when he warned her. "Don't lie to me Shay, what happened there that Matt had to intervene and you are attempting to cook for him?"
"Look, some guy wasn't taking the hint and he made him go away, that's it Kelly." It had meant a hell of a lot to her, to know someone else had her back while she was Leslie Shay, the lesbian friend, and not Shay the paramedic of ambulance 61. Matt was always there for everyone, no matter what company, and he was the sweetest guy ever, but having only considered Kelly a close friend for so long, the idea of having Casey too still felt foreign, even after year and a half of the two lieutenants being together.
"What? When?" He had not noticed anything, and no one had pointed anything going on, and everyone knew how protective he was of Shay, often taking the rol of older brother when it came to her. "You didn't say anything."
"There was no need, really. Matt came up before the guy could do much. So I invited him over for dinner to say thank you." And she smiled easily, ending their conversation there.
An hour later they could hear Matt keys and a door opening. As soon as he entered the pair could see the brown takeout bag, the six pack of beer he was holding in his left arm and the grin in his face. No one said anything, Kelly amused with his boyfriend's antics, thanking God or whoever heard his prayers, and Shay just standing there, acting offended.
The truck lieutenant made his way to the kitchen area, leaving the food and drinks on the coffee table in front of the couch and wrapping an arm around the other man shoulders right before kissing him softly. He laughed a little and looked at Shay then, "Cooking was never your thing, you can thank me with a hug."
They all laughed and Matt unwrapped himself from Kelly just to go over the woman behind the counter and giving her tight hug. "I told you there was nothing to thank Shay, I was happy to help. Besides, aren't you like my sister in law?" He pressed a kiss to her forehead and she giggled contently.
If only they were straight, she thought.
"Thank you for taking care of her." It was only the two of them in bed now, wrapped around each other. A mess of limbs and blankets, and Severide didn't think he could be happier. He wasn't even sure if Matt was awake, only being able to see his blonde hair while his head was hidden in the crook of his neck.
The man curled up around him has always had a heart of gold —he knew that, has seen it in action a couple hundred times along the years—, and he loved him for that, but something about him taking care of Shay, loving Shay, in the same way he did, made him fall in love all over again.
Not receiving an immediate respond, he continued."She's like a little sister to me, if you hadn't been there—," he interrupts himself, not wanting to think about the possibilities of Shay getting hurt while he was right there, not aware of his surroundings.
He felt something move in his chest, literally, and then heard Matt talking. "To me, she's a sister too Kel. I meant it when I said I was happy to help," he signed, but Kelly sensed he wasn't finished yet.
"I-I'll admit that at first I wanted to keep her in my good side because of what she means to you, because I love you and everything that comes with you," The older man could hear the smile in the blonde's voice, feel him getting impossibly closer to him.
He was naive to think he couldn't love Matt more than he already does, that the warmth that grows inside of him every time he confides in him this way, so naked —literally and figuratively— would stop overwhelming him someday. It's in moments like this, when they are alone in their little bubble of happiness that Severide wishes they could promise each other to always come back to this, that they could promise each other a forever.
He's about to tell him that, to word vomit love promises he could never back up, and apologies for those, to speak his heart out when Casey keeps talking, "But it didn't take me long after getting to know her, really know her, to see why you protect her the way you do. Me caring about her has nothing to do with you and everything to do with her, Sev."
Matt finishes, and stares at him, looking so damn angelic Kelly keeps blinking just to make sure he isn't dreaming. He should say something, he knows, but it's like his brain can't process whatever his heart is feeling.
He acts on instinct then, whispering "I love you" before grabbing him by the neck and kissing him like his life depended on it, hands caressing his collarbone just so he can convince himself that Matt is real, that this is all real, that he was not about to wake up in his bunk bed without the velvety box in his nightstand and a heart full of promises.
It's almost comical, how such an intimate, innocent moment can become the complete opposite in a matter of seconds. Kelly's teasing hands ending the innocence and Matt's welcoming groans ending the intimacy.
They would make it up to Shay later, it was kind of her fault anyway.