A/N: Hey guys! Happy New Year!
I know I've been MIA lately, but I work in retail, so it was CRAZY in December. I basically slept and worked and nothing else. I hope you can understand.
While I'm busy posting my winter prompts on tumblr, I had this ready for a while and finally got around to editing it. Huge thanks to my beta Sarah for her help! She doesn't only help me with my grammar, but she continuously offers moral support when I want to quit writing and helps me get the tone of the story just right. She also helps with fresh ideas when mine dry out.
And of course there is you. Without you, there would be no reason to edit and post these stories. Without you, I would feel like I'm shouting into the void, so thank you for all your kind words and reviews. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it.
Prompt #42: Family - She coped with his crazy family, which made him love her even more. But he did have to cope with Voight in return, so it was a pretty even situation.
Word count: 1,718
"Hey."
Erin bites the inside of her cheek and does everything in her power to stop herself from rolling her eyes at how utterly pathetic the other Halstead brother looks standing at her door with a small carry-on. Despite the fact that he just broke up with his girlfriend and essentially has no place to live, his face still carries a hint of humour—as if well aware of how ridiculous this situation is—but begging nonetheless.
"Come in," she tells him, because 1) she's not about to turn a homeless man away, and 2) this isn't just her decision anymore. It belongs to both of them, and she knows her boyfriend well enough to know that he will take one look at his brother and offer him the couch for as long as he needs it. And since his generosity and kindness are just some of the things she admires about him, it's not as if she has any right to complain.
"Man, you just had to screw this up, didn't you?" Jay asks, with a teasing voice that she imagines is a special thing with brothers, because she recognizes it as one Justin often used with her. Her heart hurts for a moment, at the unexpected memories filling her head, but she waves them off, focusing on the situation. Her grief can wait.
"It's not as if you helped. If you hadn't taken Nat to that hockey game, I never would have realized I wasn't over her."
Jay raises both his brows to make sure his brother understands just how stupid that sentence sounded. "I didn't want the ticket to go to waste, since you blew me off."
"It really doesn't matter right now," Erin tries to be the voice of reason. "Though I do want to know what game with Nat was that?" She glares at Jay. "It's getting late, I'll go get the sheets and stuff."
"Thank you, I'd be sleeping in the staff room if it weren't for you. I'll try not to be too much of a bother."
Erin assures him he is nothing of the sort, but hours later, while she's waiting in her bed for her boyfriend to join her and a drunk Will is yelling something about how badly he screwed up, she might be reconsidering.
"Where did all the milk go?" She asks Jay, browsing through the fridge. "I clearly remember getting two cartons the last time I went to the store."
Jay shrugs apologetically, knowing the culprit right away.
"Sorry, I'll get you some more," Will promises, and Erin sighs, frustration bubbling inside of her. Will has only been their guest for three days and he has already managed to consume most of their refrigerator's contents, and spill something on Erin's beloved couch (which may or may not have sent her into a fit of rage so wild that Jay had to use all his persuasion tactics to stop her from going after his brother).
"I'm guessing the cereal is gone too?"
Will seems to shrink into his seat even more, and Erin takes a deep breath, reminding herself that this man is heartbroken and family, so he gets a pass.
"We'll get more later. We need to go now," she throws a pointed look at Jay, who doesn't mention they don't have to be at work for another hour and a half. He follows her outside, and since he's a smart self-preserving man, he treats her to a stack of pancakes for breakfast.
They're running up the stairs like two sex-crazed teenagers. At some point during the day, he remembered it was the anniversary of one day, proceeded to remind her, and all she could do to make it through the shift was think about all the things she was going to do to him when she got the chance.
She's not sure how they even make it up the stairs with their lips constantly glued together, but they do. The fact that their apartment might not be empty doesn't even cross her mind until…
"Ahem," Will makes a noise, afraid that they'll start taking their clothes off in front of him. That is an image of his brother Will just doesn't need at the moment.
Erin and Jay break apart immediately, followed by a frustrated groan from Jay, and an exasperated sigh from Erin, who storms off to the bedroom without a word. The brothers stand there, one moping over the end of his relationship, one dealing with a painful hard-on, but both inevitably flinching at the sound of the door slamming.
"I should…"
Will waves his arm at him to go, so Jay carefully approaches the door. It has happened before that a flying object ended up crashing against his forehead, and he would prefer not to have a repeat of that time. A pissed off Erin is a dangerous Erin, and if you add sexual frustration and a licence to kill, you might as well concede.
"Erin?"
"I'm fine. I'm gonna take a cold shower, and you can order pizza maybe? I don't really feel like cooking, and we have no groceries left."
She's not acting mad, but he can tell by how hard her jaw is that she's pressing her teeth together in anger. "I'm sorry," he tells her earnestly. Because what else is there to say—this is their place now. They both chose this, they agreed to it. And he knows she's not mad at him for giving his brother shelter when he needed it. She's mad, because intentionally or not, her privacy—their privacy—was compromised, and she doesn't know how to act in her own home.
He remembers the time when they started dating—when Nadia was still living at Erin's place, so they more often opted for his apartment. Now, they no longer had that option.
"I know. It's not your fault. It's not like it's forever." At least that's what she hopes.
"Of course not. Also, don't you think I need that shower more?" He asks, sending a pointed look down. Her lips curve into a mean smile as she follows his gaze, landing on his painfully obvious erection. If nothing else, it makes her realize they are in the same position.
"Why don't you take that shower, and I'll run to the store to get some basic stuff? I'm actually out of shampoo."
"Alright. And thank you. For being so understanding about this. I know it's not an ideal situation."
"Your family is my family," she murmurs softly, and marvels at the weight of those words. But however heavy, they are true. He has accepted her family—dinner with Voight, breakfast with Bunny. He never complained (okay he complained little about the Voight thing), and he never judged her for her family.
"I love you."
"Guys, are you having sex in there, or can we order that pizza?"
"We would be, but you're here, so go ahead I guess," Erin yells back, sending Jay into a fit of laughter. She thinks that family might be annoying, but it's not all bad.
The next time it happens, Jay loses it. He's been on the verge the whole week, because Erin has been holding out, since they have a guest, and he just really needs to fucking get laid.
"Out. Get out and don't come back for the next two hours."
Will throws him a look that's a mixture of an apology and humour, but he doesn't care, because his brother is out the door, and Erin is taking off her shirt and giggling as if this whole thing is hilarious.
"I knew you'd snap," she murmurs into his ear, and he loses all sense of control.
"He's a doctor, aren't they supposed to work long hours? He's always here!"
Erin shushes him quickly, and makes the two hours well worth his time.
An hour and a half later, they're snuggled together in bed, limbs entwined, when Jay's phone vibrates.
"It's Will, he's asking if we're done with our sexual escapades, and if he can come back."
"Poor guy. We threw him on the street to get some action. Well, you did."
"I need my dose of this," he replies, pinching her ass. She giggles again—a rare playful moment between the two.
"Well, aren't you gonna text him it's okay to come back?"
Jay pouts. "What about round two?"
"Round two? After what we just did, I'm happy I can move my legs."
"Fine, how about some Netflix instead? No chill, I promise," he pleads, wiggling his eyebrows.
They get dressed and settle on the couch, Erin carefully moving away the sheets so they don't get dirty. She curls into a comfortable position, with the remote in her hand and her feet in Jay's lap. He dutifully starts massaging and she finds the shows they haven't finished yet. Only, she doesn't really remember watching any of these.
"Did we watch the Bachelor? The Real Housewives? Did somebody hack our Netflix?"
Jay shakes his head, laughing so much it's hard to catch his breath.
Just in that moment, Will decides to come through the door—to his credit with arms full of groceries.
"Ah, my favourite brother-in-law, you're just in time for the next episode of The Bachelor."
Will blushes bright pink, which is even worse because of the colour of his hair. "Is there something I should know? Sister-in-law?"
Now it's Erin's turn to blush as she hides her face in Jay's chest, mumbling about how that's just the way it's said. She feels Jay laughing, and wrapping his arm around her, but she still manages to fling a pillow at Will to wipe that smirk off his face.
Later, when they're all entranced in a tv show that isn't The Bachelor, Jay rests his head on her shoulder, leaning his forehead against the side of her head. "One day, though."
"One day," she agrees. She shifts her body so that Will's sleeping head falls off her shoulder on the other side. Jay laughs, Will complains, but if she's learned one thing about real family, is that you can pretty much do anything and they will never stop loving you.
And glancing at Jay's sleepy eyes, she thanks the universe for that.
