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There’s something nice about getting out of the city, and not just going to the cabin, but getting out and spending the weekend at his sister’s place in Naperville. She has a little fire pit and with the nice fall weather, they have the opportunity to set up a bonfire for the kids as they make s’mores and tell stories.
The kids – including Severide’s brothers, but not Voilet, who has insisted that she has a perfectly comfy bed inside – are planning on camping in the backyard. He finds it funny that somehow that means that he and Severide are also camping in the backyard to make sure that the boys don’t get into too much trouble.
The boys had quickly teased that they would never get into trouble, but somehow, that hasn’t saved him from having to spend the night in a tent on the ground.
At least for now, he gets to watch Severide telling ghosts stories as the sun sets. He is still the better storyteller than Casey and he loves that partially because it reminds him of the fact Ben is loves getting Severide’s bedtime stories (even as he’s kinda grown out of them).
“You two are so adorable, you know that?” the teasing voice of his sister, Christie, asks as she moves beside him.
He laughs. “You think we’re adorable because he’s telling ghost stories?”
“You’re adorable because you’re looking at him with this so completely in love look on your face and he keeps glancing at you as he talks and gives you a wink and a smile as if you’re the only two people in the world,” Christie offers. “Like, honestly, seeing the two of you now, I can’t believe it took you so long to get together.”
Casey flushes. “I just – we were just … nervous, that’s all. We spent so much time building our life with the boys and if things were different…”
Christie hums. “I understand that, really, but looking at the two of you now, you could’ve been so much happier so much sooner.”
“Maybe.”
He still thinks that it’s probably better that he spent more time figuring himself out rather than jumping in without thinking about it. Especially because those feelings were so confusing to him, even if they were obvious to everyone else.
Christie gives him a smile and then, nudges him and nods at a couple of seats to let them join the kids and Severide.
He nods. Maybe he could come up with a good story or two himself.
***
Severide loves weekends like this.
Even though he probably shouldn’t be sleeping on the ground (although Christie did give them an air mattress), there’s something fun about spending the weekend away from the city, telling ghost stories around the campfire, seeing the joy on the boys’ faces, and just the pure love in Casey’s eyes as he watches them happily.
Sometimes, it’s still mildly surprising getting that I’m so in love look from Casey towards him. While he’d been hopelessly pining and not wanting to throw their coparenting partnership out of whack, he never really thought he’d get this even though he desperately wanted it.
He’d never thought that that look would ever be directed towards him, but now, he gets it all of the time and it always sends butterflies in his stomach.
And fuck, he feels a little bit like a teenager.
And he kinda loves that.
“What’s on that mind of yours?” Casey asks, quietly, as they don’t want to disturb the boys (who are pretending to sleep but are probably up to something) as they wait for the bonfire to die down. “You just gave me the dopiest smile.”
He chuckles and shakes his head. “I … was just thinking that … I never thought you’d look at me that way.”
“What way?”
“Like you’re stupidly in love and you can’t believe how lucky you are,” he offers.
Casey smiles and laughs. “I never thought I’d feel so stupidly in love, again. Not since Hallie died. I wanted to feel this way about Dawson, but I never did, and I half-think I felt this way about you even before we kissed.”
“Yeah, Case?” Severide asks, raising his eyebrows. There’s a part of him that knows that they’d both had feelings but hadn’t gone for it for a long time. “I didn’t know that was possible, but you’d make it possible.”
Casey shakes his head. “I didn’t know either, but it feels like it. I just spent too long in my own head worrying about being wrong and thinking that there was no way … that you were just naturally affectionate. That’s all.”
“Only with you, Case. You’ve always been special.”
He loves the way his face floods with a flush of sorts, clearly pleased.
“I know it should have been obvious,” Casey admits as he reaches down to playing with his hand. “And maybe it was, I just …”
“You weren’t ready for it,” Severide offers. He gets it. “And that is absolutely okay. I’d rather take our time to end up here than to rush it and end up unhappy or ruining our friendship and coparenting relationship. Honestly, I’d like to think I was ready for it shortly after I figured out my own attraction to you, but maybe I wasn’t either? Maybe it’s good that we took our time because I’ve honestly never been happier.”
Casey smiles brightly at him. “Me either. Don’t know what I’d do without you.”
Severide thinks about the ring he’s kept hidden with him since he confessed to Casey that he has one. “Luckily, you’ll never have to.”
Casey leans forward gives him a kiss.
He easily melts against him; the sounds of the dying fire and their giggling kids fade away as he focuses on Casey.
Unfortunately, just as he reaches up to tangle his hands in Casey’s hair, he feels a sudden bout of cold water over his head.
He gasps and leans back just in time to see Griffin and Charlie run away while he can hear Ben and Caden laughing in their tent. He sends a glare their way, causing them to quickly zip up the tent as Casey opts to chase after the two older boys with a water gun that happens to be laying around.
Severide grabs his own and chases after them.
They are so going to win this.
***
“Weren’t you two supposed to keep the boys out of trouble,” Christie teasingly asks as she hands them towels. “Do I wanna know how you two got soaked like this?”
“It was an ambush,” Severide states.
“They threw water on us while we were distracted, led us to the other side of the house so the other two can climb onto the deck and lie-in-wait for them to lead us directly under them,” Casey explains. “We should’ve known better.”
Christie laughs. “Yes, you should’ve.”
“At least the boys have actually settled down now.”
“And I suppose since you weren’t so good at keeping them out of trouble that you should probably just crash upstairs,” she says, teasingly.
Severide senses that she may have been in on this plan given that she barely managed to keep herself from laughing at them and he definitely heard giggling from Voilet upstairs.
“That would be great,” Casey says. “Especially because it was definitely going to be hard sleeping on an air mattress.”
She smiles. “Your normal room is ready for you once you’ve dried off.”
“Thanks, Christie.”
She gives them both a smile and heads up the stairs.
He waist until she’s disappeared at the top of the stairs. “You think she was in on it?”
“Absolutely,” Casey says, no hesitation. “As soon as she was so insistent on us spending the night out there, I knew. The boys have camped out there before just fine.”
“Good point,” Severide offers, then he leans over and gives him a kiss. “At least we had fun with it, right?”
“Absolutely.”
“Then, it was totally worth it.”
“Yeah, it was.”
Another kiss, the towels thrown into the laundry room, and Casey offers him his hand and leads him towards the stairs.
“Now, it’s time for bed.”
“Definitely.”