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There’s a part of Casey that thinks that he’s got the hang of this kid thing. He thinks that he’s prepared for all of the weird questions that seem to pop up all of the time, but when he’s sitting in the living room working on a few reports that he’d gotten too distracted at work to finish (thanks to Severide) and Ben asks, “Hey, dad, would you ever try to find Atlantis if you were a merman,” he realizes, that no, he definitely doesn’t have a handle on this kid thing.
He nearly spits out his coffee as he looks up at the completely innocent looking Ben, who had been half watching TV and half doing his own homework.
“Uh, … what?”
“If you were a merman, would you try to find Atlantis?” he repeats as if it’s completely normal question to ask on par with what’s for dinner, and what’s your favorite color.
Casey blinks. “Uh, why am I a merman?” he asks as the backdoor opens and Griffin comes in from hockey practice with Severide behind him.
“Well, you’d have to be a merman if you had any chance of finding Atlantis,” Ben states, as Griffin goes upstairs to shower, and Severide makes his way over to them.
“… couldn’t I try to find it with SCUBA gear?” Casey questions, slowly. It seems like an obvious solution over becoming a merman.
Ben shakes his head. “It’s a lost city under the water, dad. And dad talks about his SCUBA training and how it doesn’t last that long. So, you’d run out of air before you could find a lost city under the water, duh, dad!”
Severide reaches them from the backdoor, clearly listening, and trying not to laugh. Because, really, in a world where Casey’s suddenly a merman, then why would the SCUBA gear be forced to keep the same limitations?
“So, in a mythical world where I am a merman, you’re asking if I would spend my time searching for the lost city of Atlantis?” Casey asks, trying to make sure that he understands the question.
He knows that he could just shrug it off as a silly unimportant question and try to return to his work (it’s the kind of thing his father would’ve done) so instead, he actually considers it when Ben nods.
“Alright, well, I’m a merman so I don’t have a job to entertain me?” he questions.
“Why would a merman have a job?” Severide counters as he moves to sit beside him, kissing his cheek out of habit, but trying not to distract him from Ben.
“Why not? What else are they supposed to do all day?”
“Uh, swim, chase fish, try not to get eaten by a shark,” Severide suggests.
“Mermen do have a job, dad,” Ben interjects. When they both look at him, confused, he explains, “They have to save sailors that almost drown.”
“Oh, okay, that makes sense,” Casey offers. “Uh, so, if I’m searching for the lost city of Atlantis then I am … neglecting my job, yeah?”
“Not necessarily,” Ben offers. “I don’t think you’d have to be stuck in one area of the ocean, that would suck.”
Casey hums. “Okay, well, then, I guess I’m searching for Atlantis.”
“Cool,” Ben says, and then, turns back to his homework as if he didn’t have a random thought about mermen and Atlantis.
He looks at Severide, who’s grinning. “How are the reports going?”
“Slowly.”
“Can I distract you?” he asks, batting his eyelashes and giving his puppy dog eyes.
He glances down at his reports, knowing that he does need to get it done, but he also kinda wants to spend some time kissing Severide.
“I suppose that it’s time to cook dinner anyway,” Casey offers, and Severide’s pout turns into a grin.
“Maybe I could help you?”
“You better.”
As they get up, he can see both boys laugh slightly at how easy Severide can get Casey’s attention, as Griffin takes Casey’s seat on the couch to work on his homework.
“I will be a great help, I promise.”
“Good.”
***
They’re half-way through cooking dinner and Severide continues his efforts to steal kisses in between chatting about the plans for next week. Next Thursday is a shift day, and it’s also Valentine’s Day.
Somehow, they’re on shift, again for it. Which isn’t really a surprise, it’s not one of the holidays that the CFD would try and watch to make it even with people having to work like they would with Thanksgiving or New Years.
Since they’re on the same page this year about celebrating, Severide’s trying to figure out a good way to celebrate on shift as well as their planned date on the following Saturday (since Christie is willing to take the boys that weekend so they could have said date). She’d return with them Sunday night and the overnight nanny would watch and take them to school on Monday.
“I’m just thinking that we could find a way to sneak away, right?”
“We could,” Casey offers, humming. “As long as you’re not going to randomly find aphrodisiacs to tease me with in my office.”
He laughs and kisses his cheek. “Oh, please, you loved that.”
Casey gives him a grin and kisses him, lightly. “I absolutely did. Even if I was a little nervous about it.”
Severide runs a hand through his hair and lifts his chin to give him another kiss, savoring the feeling of his lips against him, the slight taste of chili on his lips.
“Still nervous about it?” he teasingly asks.
Casey flushes and laughs. “Considering that since Mouch has been told, he and Herrmann have somehow nearly caught us multiple times and it’s not really something I like happening, but I have hard time resisting you, yeah kinda nervous.”
“Maybe they’re trying to get a show,” he jokes.
He rolls his eyes, leans forward and kisses him, again, before turning back to his chili.
“Yeah, well, doesn’t stop the nervousness about it, but I do enjoy it even if I tease you about not having fun in my office,” Casey assures him. “Still, don’t know if we should be so obvious on Thursday. Given the date.”
“Why not?” Severide asks. “The guys are never going to think that we’re doing anything odd, and if they did, I’m sure Herrmann and Mouch or at least, Ritter, would probably distract them.”
Casey laughs and shakes his head. “You really just love getting lucky on shift, don’t you?”
“I have a gorgeous boyfriend, who I get to watch be… all in charge and hot all day, of course I want to get lucky with you.”
He’s not afraid to admit it. He loves Casey, he loves having sex with Casey, and he kinda has a thing for breaking the rules. Casey has a rule about sex at the firehouse (and the CFD has a rule, too, he’s sure) and he loves convincing him to break it.
He flushes, again. “We have to spend at least some time on shift working on the chili for the cook-off.” To emphasize his point, he offers him a taste. “We want to win, don’t we?”
“We will win, Case,” Severide retorts. “It tastes great. We trying it on the boys?”
Casey hums. “They’re our perfect taste testers.”
“Speaking of…” he offers as he hears the boys coming towards them.
“Dinner ready, yet?”
“Just about,” Casey responds. “Why don’t you two set the table?”
“Okay.”
***
It’s halfway through dinner, the boys have already said that they think their chili is definitely going to win the cook-off when Ben asks, “Hey, Dad, if dad was a merman would you still love him?”
Severide glances up at Casey thoughtfully. “Well, am I a merman, too?”
“No.”
“Then how would I meet him to fall in love with him?”
Ben hums, head tilted. “What if you were a sailor and you saw him in the water?”
“Then I did a bad job hiding the merman secret from random strangers,” Casey offers causing Griffin to snort and Ben to roll his eyes.
“Or maybe you were sunbathing on a rock on a random island,” Ben offers.
“Or maybe dad nearly drowned, and you saved him,” Griffin suggests. “Ben did say your job was to rescue sailors.”
“So, I nearly drown and fall in love with the merman that saves me?” Severide questions. “Why does that sound familiar?”
“Because it makes dad the little mermaid!” Ben says, excitedly, clapping happily.
“He gets to be Prince Eric and I’m Ariel?” Casey questions reminding Severide that they’ve watched that movie too many times because the girls when the sleep over love that movie and always want to watch it. It’s Lana and Annabelle’s favorite (which was somehow a surprise to Herrmann when latter wanted to be a mermaid for Halloween). “Why can’t I be the prince?”
“You are a prince; you’re the prince of Atlantica. ‘Cause King Triton is the king,” Ben says, with a duh sounding voice.
Casey hums. “Wait, so I was trying to find the lost city of Atlantis … but I’m the prince of Atlantica? Which probably includes Atlantis?”
Ben shrugs. “I guess so.”
“Does that mean I got lost or something?” Casey questions, looking very confused.
Ben frowns, clearly trying to figure out how to make this work with his earlier question.
“What about – you had to get lost to find your true love,” Griffin offers. “Like maybe the King pushed you out of the nest or something to find love.”
Severide snorts. “I don’t remember that in the movie.”
He gives Casey a look, who’s smiling and trying not to laugh. “Alright, so… I get pushed out of the metaphorical nest to find true love and decide to find the lost city of Atlantis (even though I was probably just there) and save your dad in the process? That right?”
“Yup!”
Casey looks at him. “Balls in your court, then, you going to fall in love with your merman?”
Severide hums, pretending to consider the question. “Would I have to become a merman, or would you become human?”
“You don’t want to become a merman with me?” Casey teasingly asks. “We could chase fish and avoid getting eaten by the sharks all day.”
“And find the not-so lost city of Atlantis?” Severide offers with a grin. Of course anything that got him with Casey in any way would be the best option.
“Well, it’s probably more fun being a prince of the ocean than a prince of a random island.”
“Good point. Plus, we’d get to rescue people.”
Casey grins. “Exactly, so. Joining me as a merman?”
Severide grins, disappointed that they always sit across from each other, and he can’t just give him a sweet kiss. “I’ll join you wherever you are.”
He loves the smile Casey’s giving him, and can almost forget about that the boys are there for a second until Griffin asks, “Does that mean Ben and I are mermen, too?”
“Do you want to be?”
“Duh.”
“Then, I guess you are, too.”
“Awesome!”
They finish their dinner and move to bring their dishes to the kitchen, leaving Severide and Casey at the table, smiling.
“Our kids have fun imaginations.”
“Yeah, they do.”
“Probably a good thing.”
“Definitely.”
***
Casey shouldn’t be as surprised as he is when a few days later, Ben brings home a writing assignment with an A plus on it titled Mermen of the Not-So Lost City of Atlantis which turns out to be a short story about him and Severide and their boys as they navigate the open seas ducking sharks and chasing fish after they fell in love.
He smiles as Ben regales him with a certain happiness of how his short story was the favorite in the class (having been read out loud) and how he really wants to write more stories because now mermen (or merpeople) have taken over his newest interest from trains (although he deeply loves trains).
By the time he makes it home with the boys, Severide’s leaning in the doorway with his phone. “Why’re Cindy and Lisa texting me about being mermen?” he asks as Griffin breezes passed him with a muttered hello.
“Because of my story!” Ben says, cheerfully taking the story from Casey and giving it to Severide, who reads and grins, laughing at the fun little tidbits and looking slightly proud that Ben loves their life together so much to write about it.
“This belongs on the fridge, bud!” Severide says, enthusiastically. He’s happy to give it back and nod at him. “Go ahead and pin it.”
Ben runs with the story down the hall giving him a moment alone with Severide.
“He’s very proud of our love story,” Casey offers, trying to hide how pleased he is by that. “I gotta say, I really think that says a lot about us and our relationship.”
Severide smiles at him as he takes his coat and shoes off. “It definitely does and it’s definitely good. Even if Herrmann’s going to tease us about being mermen now.”
“He can tease all he wants. As long as I have you, I don’t care.”
“Me either.”
“Good.” He presses a kiss to his lips. “Then, let’s go celebrate with Ben because he’s certainly happy about this and I am, too.”
“Gladly.”