She had forgotten this side of him.
As she looked over the current state of her living room it all came rushing back to her.
Adam Ruzek was a slob.
There was no other way to describe it.
To be fair it had been balls to the wall since he had returned from his undercover assignment and his ultimate return to the unit. Add on that awful fire and Lexi's death little time had been left to breathe let alone discuss their current situation.
It was all a bit overwhelming, and a bit confusing.
He had kissed her, and it had been as wonderful as ever. It was perfect, an amazing kiss under the stars. It was a lot like their first kiss, except he wasn't engaged to someone else at the time.
It had been weeks since that kiss, and neither of them had mentioned it. She had gone over a thousand different scenarios in her head. Her insecurities getting the best of her, she tried reasoning with herself but it was pointless. So much had happened around them that talking about that kiss was near on impossible or appropriate. Their friend had lost his daughter, of course their personal drama had taken a back seat.
Didn't mean she liked it or that she wouldn't over analyze the shit out of it.
That was what she did best, turning little bumps in the road into massive sinkholes that swallowed everything in its path.
"Grr!" She growled in frustration as she began ripping the sheet off the couch, her senses immediately flooded with his scent. It was one of her favorite smells in the world, she plopped down on the couch and buried her nose in the sheet. She allowed herself to get lost in it for a few minutes before tossing it in the hamper, and collecting Adam's dirty clothes from the floor.
It seemed nothing had changed, Adam still stripped and dropped his clothes wherever he stood.
That place was her living room.
Just knowing he had stood naked in her living room did things to her that caused a blush to creep across her cheeks.
"Stop it, Kim. Get your head out of the gutter" she admonished herself, but damn she wanted in that gutter or to be more precise she wanted him in her gutter.
It was a damn good thing he had left already had he been here she would've jumped his bones. She was slowly losing her restraint where he was concerned, he'd been crashing on her couch for just over two weeks now. Each day she felt herself wanting him a bit more, she was certain she was going to burst at the seams over it.
He was going to hit the gym and then meet up for breakfast with his father before work. She was curious to how that was going to go down. Bob had called her just a few days after Adam had left, he had been pissed off that Adam hadn't returned his calls and wanted to know if she knew what was going on with Adam. The man didn't have the time of day for her when she was engaged to his son, but wanted answers from her. Answers she didn't have, saying he wasn't pleased was an understatement.
Adam hadn't told a soul he was going under, and he had faced some harsh consequences because of it.
Kim caught sight of the clock on the wall in her peripheral vision, she was pressed for time. Her daydreaming had eaten up most of her morning. She tossed the clothes in the hamper and moved it to the small laundry room in the back of her apartment. Rarely did she ever fall behind in laundry, she now found herself with at least three loads waiting to be washed.
Adam Ruzek was back in her life.
What that meant Kim had no idea, it was anyone's guess.
Though no one knew he was crashing on her couch, that they had discussed. It was no one's business and they certainly didn't need any outside influence on what was going on between them.
They've had enough of that to last a lifetime and then some.
Breakfast had gone over like a lead balloon, not that Adam had expected anything different. Bob Ruzek wasn't the poster boy for relationships of any sort, familial or romantic and he'd given Adam an earful on both fronts.
The second his pops started bad mouthing Kim, Adam was done. He angrily tossed two twenty dollar bills on the table and told the old man to 'fuck off'.
Perhaps he should've hit gym after breakfast, at least than he would've been able to work his frustration and anger out on the heavy bag.
Whatever, what's done is done.
He grabbed a cup of coffee before heading to his desk, conveniently placed opposite his old desk, which was now Kim's. He was a bit surprised that she hadn't made her way in yet, she was always an early bird.
He hadn't been at his desk for more than five minutes when he was called into Hank's office. His gut churned, "What's up?"
Voight pointed to the chair, "Sit. Close the door." He barked.
Adam felt like a fifth grader who had been sent to the principal, "Everything good?" What a dumbass question, rarely were things good when you ended up in a closed door meeting with Voight.
The silence was deafening, Adam's knee began to bounce, he drummed his fingers rhythmically on his thigh. He wished the garbage can was a bit closer he was pretty sure he was about to get a second viewing of the eggs he had inhaled at breakfast.
Hank stretched his arms over his head before clasping his hands on the back of his head. He was enjoying this, perhaps a bit too much.
"Boss?" Adam gulped as the silence stretched on.
Hank dropped his hands and cleared his throat, he sat upright in the chair, "I just got off the phone with the CO from your undercover case."
Adam nodded, "Okay." He stiffened a bit in the chair, "and?"
Hank grinned, "Relax, Adam."
Adam felt the tightness in his chest loosen a bit, "Kind of hard too, you're kind of intimidating."
"You did good, kid. Your CO was just letting me know he's put you and the rest of the team in for an accommodation." He watched as Adam exhaled, the familiar smirk filled his face, "obviously with it being an undercover case, there's no big ceremony. No pomp and circumstance, but he wanted me to know."
Adam ran his hands along his thighs, "Wow. Okay."
Hank stood up and extended his hand to Adam, "I'm proud of you Adam. You handled all of this as I hoped you would have. I assume you've learned your lesson. You did the right thing, but it should have started in this office" Hank shook his hand, "I would've placed you in a unit, while you got your head together."
Adam nodded, "I understand. I'm sorry, and I'm grateful that you welcomed me back. This unit? It's my family."
Voight jammed his hands in his pocket, "That includes Burgess, right? You're good with her up here? She's good, Adam. A great addition to the team."
"Absolutely. I'm good. Burgess is great." Adam told him.
"Can I help you?" Erin greeted the woman.
She smiled, "Yes, the desk sergeant said I would find my sister up here. Kim Burgess. I'm Nicole. Is she here?" She glanced around surprised it was so quiet and calm. The way Kim talked it seemed there was never a dull or quiet moment.
"Ah, okay. I thought you looked familiar. It makes sense now. Kim should be in any minute. She had a meeting. You can sit at her desk."
Nicole set her purse on the desk, "Thank you."
Adam never gave much thought to accolades, yes it was nice that his hard work had been recognized but it wasn't why he was smiling. Nope. He was smiling because Voight was proud of him, that despite the brief punishment Hank was proud of him.
He could count on his hand and still have fingers remaining the times his pops had said he was proud of him, he'd given up on that before he hit puberty. He learned early on where he stood with his dad, it was the job, beer, the bears, and then Adam.
Whatever. It was water under the bridge, he needed to get his old man out of his head.
He stopped on a dime, "Nicole?" Adam called out, it was a bit weird to see her at Kim's desk, "Hey."
Nicole cringed at the sound of his voice, the man who had broken her little sister's heart, not to mention her daughter's heart. Zoe had thought Adam hung the moon and was beside herself when he had stopped coming around and cried for days when she realized he wasn't her 'Uncle Adam' anymore.
She set her cellphone on the desk, and looked up at him. There was a thousand people she would have rather seen, "Adam." Her tone was icy, "How are you?" As if she cared, she wouldn't spit on him if he was on fire.
"Good" He replied, he could see the daggers in her eyes, "How's Zoe?" He hoped bringing Zoe up would soften her just a bit.
"Fine." She snapped.
Maybe not.
Adam thumbed over his shoulder towards his desk, "I've got work to do, I should go." He knew when he wasn't welcome, "Take care."
Kevin leaned over, "Damn, Ruzek. She don't like you, homie."
"What was your first clue?" Adam rolled his eyes and focused on his work, he heard Kim's voice when she finally returned and her and Nicole vanished just as quickly.
Kim had been dreading this visit for days and she had hoped that something would have fallen into their laps. Anything.
Sadly, nothing had jumped off and they had been sent home for the day, and now she had to have dinner with Nicole.
Fun.
"Zoe how is she? I hoped she would've come too." Kim picked at her food, "I miss her."
Nicole pushed her plate away, "Zoe's fine. You could've come up you know. It's been months since you visited." They lived just a few hours north of Chicago, a bit far for a day trip but not impossible. "How are you? Really? Don't lie to me Kim, I'm not mom."
Kim sucked her teeth, "I'm fine, work has been crazy."
"Yes. I know all about work. The fire was all over the news. It was awful, and that poor man losing his daughter" she shuddered at the thought she had come far too close to losing her little girl.
"Well, it seems you know it all." Kim replied crossing her arms over her chest.
Nicole rolled her eyes, "You look like your niece right now, playing the petulant teenager are we?"
"What do you want to know?" Kim snapped at her. She wasn't a fool, she knew what her sister wanted. Didn't mean she was going to give it to her.
"Adam! That's what I want to know about, and you know it. I hate what he did to you, and now you're forced to work with his stupid ass. Do you know he had the audacity to speak to me. Even asked about Zoe! As if he cared, just the sight of him makes me so angry. I wanted to strangle him."
"He loved Zoe" Kim announced, she had loved watching Zoe and Adam interact, it was adorable. They had been thick as thieves, it had given her insight into the type of father Adam would be, she couldn't wait to have his children.
"Right. Like how he loved you? I wouldn't call that love, and I certainly don't want it around my daughter or you for that matter. You should transfer."
"Excuse me?" Kim nearly spit her wine out, choking a bit as she forced it down her throat. "I will not transfer. I've worked hard to get to Intelligence, I'm not going to transfer."
"So you're going to breathe the same oxygen with the man who broke your heart? Are you a glutton for punishment? Adam is a deplorable excuse for a man, Kim. He's disgusting, just like our father!"
Kim jumped up from the table, "How dare you!" She screamed.
Every head in the restaurant was turned in the direction of the arguing sisters. Kim leaned over the table, "How dare you! How dare you use Adam's name in connection with our father. Adam is nothing like him! He's a good man! A loving man, a man who has never raised his hand at me in anger! A man who stood by me through the worst thing that has ever happened to me in my career! Even after I broke his heart in that courtroom he still wanted the best for me!" Tears pricked her eyes, the room began to spin, she was suddenly confronted with the truth. It wasn't pleasant, and in her defense of Adam she had finally faced reality.
It hurt.
She had sabotaged her relationship with Adam. He wasn't the one who didn't want to be on the hook.
It was her.
"I need to get out of here" she mumbled.
She needed to see Adam.
Adam was flipping through the channels desperate for a distraction of some sort. The run in with Nicole had knocked him on his ass, it had reminded him of how quickly his relationship with Kim had fallen apart. It had reignited his insecurities and had him doubting that he and Kim could find their way back to each other.
That night he kissed her, he had been hopeful. Fuck he had been hopeful right up until he ran into Nicole.
Suddenly the door flew open and Kim was in front of him. She was hysterical, her make up running as she cried.
Adam jumped up, "Kim!" He grabbed her by her upper arms, "What happened? Are you okay? Are you hurt?" He looked her over from head to toe and she appeared to be physically okay.
Emotionally? Not so much.
Kim sobbed, "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry." She repeated as she pulled away from him.
Adam followed her into the kitchen, "Kim. Tell me what's wrong. Why're you so upset?" He watched as she angrily loaded the dishwasher, "Kim!"
She stopped and looked up at him, "I've made so many mistakes.." she had managed to pull herself together, well enough to speak. She was still a mess, it wasn't easy knowing she had been the one to obliterate her life.
Adam groaned at the sound of the doorbell. "I will get it. Don't move. We need to talk, about a lot of things. I will get rid of whoever it is." Adam had done a bit of soul searching, he realized he wasn't the only one.
"Come on Kim." Nicole muttered as she bounced on her toes in the hallway of Kim's apartment building. She had made a promise to herself that she was going to remain calm and talk rationally about getting Kim to transfer. She really wanted her to move back home, but she knew that wasn't going to be an easy feat.
Baby steps. That was what her husband Doug had told her, but here she was sprinting right out of the gate.
Her heart stopped when he opened the door.
"What the hell?" Nicole blurted out.
"Nicole." Adam backed further in the apartment, "Come in. I will get Kim." He closed the door after she had stepped inside.
Nicole spotted the couch, that had been turned into a make shift bed, she recognized the black duffle bag in the corner of the room.
Adam was sleeping here at the very least, if not living with Kim.
It was official, her sister had lost her fucking mind.
Nicole followed Adam into the kitchen, "This son of a bitch is sleeping on your couch? You've lost your mind Kim! What the fuck!"
Adam grabbed his coat off the back of the chair, "I'm gonna give you two some space." He grabbed his keys off the hook the on the wall, "Nice to see you too, Nicole. Tell Zoe I said Hi." Was he being a bit passive aggressive? Absolutely, but it was clear to him why Kim had been so upset.
"Adam!" Kim called out for him, the slamming of the front door his reply.
Well, I'm giving it another go here, hope you enjoy it! Can't wait to read your thoughts on it.
Thanks for reading!