Chapter Text
Early season six…
Kelly’s bedroom was full of late morning sunlight as he stretched and came awake. He was off shift today, which was a good thing because he hadn’t gotten much sleep. Stella hadn’t come home last night. Correction, she’d come home, but it didn’t so much count as night, because he’d heard the front door open and shut just after seven this morning.
Last night he’d already put the game on, and he'd been grabbing a couple of beers for them out of the fridge when she’d come out of her room dressed in black velvet pants that hugged her curves, and a silk spaghetti strap tank top that left most of her skin to the air. This was most definitely not her standard lounging on the couch with him attire. He may have stared at her a beat too long from where he stood, half in the fridge, and he slipped one of the beers back in before straightening and leaning back against the counter.
“Going out?” He asked casually.
“Yeah.” She said, not looking at him, as she loaded her phone, apartment key, and wallet into her clutch. “A bunch of old academy buddies and I are meeting up to go dancing.”
Kelly nodded but didn’t say anything as he watched her walk to the door. He noticed that she’s missed taking her car keys as she opened it.
“You forgot your keys.” He said.
“Oh, yeah, I so won’t be in any condition to drive tonight. I’ll Uber home.” She laughed and headed out the door with a “Goodnight!” thrown over her shoulder.
He’d gone to the couch and sat down, and it felt too big. Maybe he’d gotten used to her being there. Or how after the game, they’d sometimes go out and grab a drink or pizza. Or he would sprawl on the couch reading, as she went over some training manual she’d found on his shelf and pepper him with questions as she had them. Maybe he’d gotten too used to having her around all the time.
He stared up at the ceiling. It bothered him how much it bothered him that she had stayed out all night. She was his roommate, his friend, and a grown woman, she didn’t have to tell him when she would be back. Or where she’d slept last night. Or with whom. As he was watching the game, reading, and checking his phone last night, he kept telling himself that, but it didn’t stop his mind from wondering. It didn’t stop him from realizing how much he cared, and how much he missed her being with him.
He shook his head to clear it, and needed something to do. Getting up he pulled on a pair of sweatpants, grabbed his hamper, and carried it out of his room. He stopped at the coffee maker and started a pot. He headed on to the stacked washer and dryer that were tucked into a closet in the hallway near Stella’s bedroom. He’d barely rounded the corner when he heard her singing through her door. He had expected her to be hungover and passed out for most of the say, but from what he could hear she sounded happy, jubilant even.
He didn’t like the pit he got in his stomach at the thought that maybe she hadn’t just been out drinking and dancing with friends.
“Whatever.” He muttered under his breath, as he crouched and opened the washer door. It was right about then that he realized what he was looking at. A load of clean wet laundry just sitting there, abandoned, in the drum of the washer.
“Stella!” He yelled towards her room.
A few seconds later her door yanked open and she padded out in a long T-shirt and her hair piled in a bun on the top of her head.
“What? Where’s the fire? Get it?” She chuckled to herself, as she waved a hand back and forth between them. “Cause we’re firefighters.”
He just looked at her, incredulous, from where he was crouched by the washer.
“You left wet clothes in the washer.”
“Yeah, I threw a load on when I got home, and then fell asleep before it finished.” She shrugged, not seeing what the big deal was. “I was out of clean underwear. We’re in desperate times, Severide.”
His first thought was to wonder what she was wearing under the oversized T-shirt, but then he shook that thought right out of his head.
“You didn’t flip the load to the dryer.” Kelly bit out. “The dryer takes longer than the washer.”
Stella’s eyes told him that she thought he was losing it. “I am aware of laundry cycles.”
“So, your things will still be in the dryer when my wash is finished.”
Stella looked overly contemplative. “I feel like you’re saying these things to me like I have never done laundry before.”
“It’s a shared space, Stella.” He said, straightening up, and raising a finger to make a point. “Know who never did this?”
“My guess is you’re going to say Casey-“
“Any roommate I’ve ever had before.” He said as he walked away.
“Geeze.” Her eyes widened a little and she put her hands on her hips. “Why are you so grumpy? Did you get stood up, or something?”
“Yeah, I did.” Was out of his mouth before he even knew he thought it. He gate barely faltered as he kept walking to his bedroom and shut the door behind him.
Early season seven…
Kelly had woken up a little while ago, but hadn’t moved from where he lay on his back because he was enjoying the feel of Stella curled over his body, one arm and one leg thrown over him, her head resting on his shoulder. He traced nonsensical patterns on her arm until she lurched away from him, flopped on her stomach and kept sleeping.
Kelly got out of bed carefully, so as not to wake Stella. He placed a soft kiss on the centre of her bare back, and then pulled the blankets up over her shoulders. He glanced over at his hamper and saw it was overflowing with dirty clothes, and he grabbed it before heading out of the bedroom. There was so much laundry in the hamper that he had to lock an arm over it to keep the clothes from spilling out onto the floor as he walked. He knew he’d gotten behind on laundry lately, because he and Stella were usually up to more interesting things, but this was ridiculous.
He opened up the closet and then the washer, and then crouched to start throwing clothes in for a load. As he did that, he began to notice that more than half of what he was putting in wasn’t his.
It was right about then that Stella walked into the hallway.
“I put the coffee on, but I could eat all the eggs, but I don’t want to make all the eggs… So…” Still half asleep, she yawned and squinted at him about a half second before one of her t-shirts hit her in the face. “Does that mean you’re not going to make eggs?”
“I’m on to you.” He said with the smile and twinkle in his eyes that always made her smile back.
However, given that he seemed to be accusing her of something, she tried not to smile back. She wasn’t fully successful at acting stern. “What?”
He nodded towards the half empty hamper, and half full washer. “I went to do my laundry, and there’s more of your clothes in there than mine.”
“That can’t be right.” She said mock defensively, and shook her head, but knew that was totally true. The Herrmanns were a family of seven and it was crazy hard to score laundry time, and often Kelly’s machines were just sitting there empty. So, maybe she had started to sneak a few items of hers into his hamper, because he’d just wash them, fold them, and put them in the drawer he’d given her. And okay, maybe she’d taken it a little to far this time, but she wasn’t about to admit that to him.
He leaned back against the stacked machines, folded his arms across his bare chest, and gave her a smirk. “When you moved out, you lost laundry privileges.”
She thought about her argument for a second. “I feel like the time that I do spend here, more than warrants some assistance in this area.”
“Forget it. You don’t pay rent. You do your own laundry.” He teased back.
Suddenly her demeanour changed, and he could practically see an idea come to her. They’d been enjoying this little back and forth, and now she was giving off the aura of someone who knew they were going to win. Kelly looked at her and waited, mentally preparing to counter whatever she had come up with to say.
“You’re right.” The way she said it, he knew he was in trouble. “I should do my own laundry."
Her fingers caught the hem of the short slip she’d put on when she’d left the bedroom, and she pulled it up over her head, and tossed it into the hamper.
Kelly’s mouth went dry, and every sense he had snapped to attention as she slowly started to walk towards him, naked as the day she was born.
“Don’t react.” He said over and over in his head as she reached him, her hands coming to his neck and then running warm trails along his shoulders.
“You’re not playing fair.” He couldn't help but smile, liking how not fair she was playing.
“I would hate for you to think I’m taking advantage of you for your washer and dryer…” She wrapped her arms around his neck as she pressed her full length into his. “When really, I’m taking of advantage of your smoking hot body, Severide.”
Her lips took his, and all his faux resistance fell to the ground along with his pants. He deepened the kiss and then hoisted her up into his arms and started towards the guest bedroom.
She ripped her mouth away and squealed. “The laundry!”
He laughed as the fell onto the bed. “You can do it while I make us eggs. Later.”
“Deal!” She laughed, and then focused on the hot matter at hand.
Mid season seven…
In the locker room she’d overheard Kelly and Casey talking about where they were going after shift. Casey was going to headquarters with Boden for the morning, and Kelly said he was going to hit the gym. She waited until they were gone to text him that she was going to drop by the loft to grab her things.
Before she opened the door to the loft she took a deep breath and let it out, steeling herself for the emotions that were going to try flood her when she walked through this door. Letting herself in, she moved quickly, trying not too look around too much, trying not to remember every good time they’d had here, and all the moments that had, with each one, led her to fall a little bit more in love with him.
The bathroom was easier, so she started there, loading her items into a tote and then leaving it on the kitchen island before heading to the bedroom. Again she tried to implement a fast approach wanting to pack up her clothes and get out of their fast.
She had just finished shoving the clothes she’d kept in one of he drawers into a small duffle when she heard the front door open, and she held her breath, hoping it was Casey, but knowing deep down that she wanted it to be Kelly. She missed him.
Just the way he tossed his keys onto his workbench, and the rhythm of his gate as he walked towards the bedroom, told her who it was.
She didn’t turn around, she just focused on the task. It had unbelievably hurt her to break up with him, but she didn’t doubt that it was the right choice for her. Maybe there were women that were okay with being shut out, and maybe Kelly could find one who was, but it wasn’t her. She needed to feel connected, and so hated how it felt when he shut her out, and when she couldn’t figure out a way to get him to let her in. It had come to a head when she’d told him that she couldn’t do all the work here, and he’d responded that maybe it shouldn’t be this much work. It had felt like a painful kick to the gut, but when she’d thought about it, let it sink in, she realized he was right. Maybe it shouldn’t be this much work. She’d meant everything she’d said to him the other night outside his apartment, especially that she loved him, but that she couldn’t be with him.
She could feel him watching her. “Hey.”
“Hi.” She said, not turning around but speeding up her packing. “I’m almost done.”
“Take your time.” He said as he walked around to the far side of the bed, now only about a yard away from her, and sat down.
The silence grew, and so did the tension between them.
He said softly, honestly. “I hate that the last time was our last time.”
Her hands stilled. She knew exactly what he was talking about. Since they’d met there’d been an electric spark between them. For most of his life, Kelly had never had to pursue a woman, for the most part he usually just had to put himself into locations like bars or clubs, or grocery stores, or libraries, or anywhere, and women would hit on him. Then he’d met Stella Kidd, and there had been an instant electric current between them, and they’d talked, and laughed, and flirted hard during the training, but she’d never made a move on him. When the training had ended he'd realized he'd been waiting for her to instigate seeing the attraction through, and he was truly surprised when she didn’t. So, for one of the rare times in his life, Kelly Severide made a first move. And it showed. Letting yourself into a woman’s apartment was never a good idea, even with flower and beer, and even worse than not finding out if she was married.
The first and second times they started sleeping together, it had always been good, in fact, really good, to the point where he freely admitted to himself that sex with Stella was the most satisfying he’d ever had. And he loved making it feel good for her as well, as much as she seemed to love making it feel good for him too. Everything about their physical relationship had felt mutually super hot and pleasurable.
Which is what made their last time together so glaring. It hadn’t been bad, but neither one of them would have said it was good. They were disconnected from each other, and each in their own head. The idea that it would be their last intimate memory of each other didn’t sit well in his gut. Or at least that is what he told himself. Certainly not that he still longed for her.
Stella must have felt it too, because she slowly turned around and walked to him, coming to stand between his legs. Kelly’s hands found her hips, squeezing them, as hers cupped his jaw, stroking it. For a moment they just looked at each other before she leaned in and kissed him.
Later, they lay curled around each other on his bed, their breathing slowly returning to normal. Too soon she started to pull away from him. His arms tightened fractionally, and his voice was barely a whisper, but she felt it roll through her body and down to her core. “You don’t have to go…”
With everything in her she wanted to stay, to stay with him. She loved him, but walking away from him had been the best decision for her.
She was tense in his arms when she finally spoke. “I don’t want to be here when Casey gets home.”
He nodded, and let her go, rolling away to lay back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. He heard her put her clothes back on, and then finish emptying the drawer of her things. He listened as she walked out of the bedroom, and then out of the loft.
Kelly got up and, needing something to do, went to throw a load of laundry on. As he started loading the washer, he realized he was throwing in a pair of her jeans, a top, two pairs of panties and three pairs of socks. He smiled remembering his little laundry sneak, and then his smile fell, and he glanced over his shoulder towards the front door.
This was harder than he thought it was going to be.
Early season eight…
“Stop it.” She whispered trying to sound stern as she lay one her side with him curled against her back. All she wanted to do was stay in bed, preferably with him right where he was, but he had other ideas.
“Let’s go get breakfast.” He kissed her bare shoulder.
“It’s one o’clock.” She pointed out, smiling because he couldn’t see it.
“Okay, lunch.” He chuckled and leaned over to kiss her cheek.
Stella wracked her brain to think of a reason for them to stay in bed, and happened upon one. “Kelly, my clothes from yesterday are not fit to be worn again, especially to lunch.”
He was quiet, so she glanced over her shoulder at him, and raised a brow as she watched his lieutenant’s mind work. He gave her a brilliant smile as he practically sprang out of bed and walked to his dresser. Stella leaned across the bed to get the best angle of him walking naked across the room. God, he was hot.
He came back to the bed and dropped a stack of clothes on top of the blankets. For a moment she was about to give him hell for offering her some random woman’s clothes, but then she looked at them and realized that she was that random woman.
“How did these get here?” She asked confused.
“You left them in my hamper.” He shrugged. “I guess I always hoped there’d be a reason for them to be waiting for you.”
She touched them and smiled, liking that he’d hoped that they weren’t over. But then another thought came into her head when she looked at the top.
“Babe, that’s so sweet.” Stella looked awkward for a moment. “But, like, you’ve had them this whole time?”
He nodded.
“It’s just that… That sweater is actually Brett’s… And I had no idea where it had went…” She explained, her jaw twisting. “To the point where I actually thought I’d given it back to her. In fact, I told her I’d given it back to her, so she must have lost it… and it’s pretty much the biggest fight Sylvie and I have ever had.”
Kelly looked at a loss for words, and Stella took pity on him.
“It’s fine. We just have to destroy the shirt and never speak of it again.” She sat up, her hair all around her. “Now, where are we going for lunch?”
“If we’re destroying the top, what are you going to wear?”
“I’ll just wear something of yours.” She looked at him and raised an impish shoulder. “I’ll even promise to wash it!”
"Lies!" He laughed and tackled her back onto the bed.
Lunch plans turned into a dinner date, and neither one of them minded.