A/N: This isn't for people with arachnophobia, just as a warning!
"-so I'm there, trying to bandage up this man's arm, who, let me remind you still won't sit still and he's just continuing to natter on about Danny. He takes a breath, and to try and end the conversation or get him to quieten down, I say 'Danny sounds lovely, you must be so proud to have him as a son'. And then he looks at me, his expression one of indignation and he says to me 'Danny's not my son, he's my fish!'"
Kim sits at a table in Molly's, opposite Sylvie Brett, listening as the paramedic regales her with tales from her last shift. As Sylvie ends her latest tale, Kim can't help but laugh, the laugh exploding out of her at the ending twist.
For not the first time, Kim finds herself glad that the blonde reels you in and captures you with her energetic enthusiasm when she tells her stories, so that you can't do anything but sit there, totally absorbed into the story. If not, Kim probably would've taken a sip from her beer and be choking right now. (Although, she thinks, even if she was, at least she's be with a paramedic).
"A fish?" Kim's voice is filled with disbelief. Sylvie grins, nodding.
"My exact reaction. I've had patients talk about their pets like their kids before, but never about a fish."
"Seriously, a fish?" Kim repeats, eyebrows furrowing. "But how? The story about the book, how could that be about a fish?"
"Chilli and I were trying to work out that all the way back." Sylvie shakes her head, before taking a swig of her beer. Kim mirrors the action, both girls giggling to themselves for a few moments at the story. They compose themselves, and Sylvie nudges Kim with her hand.
"Okay, c'mon, your turn. Tell me a crazy patrol story," she encourages and Kim doesn't have to think for too long about what she should tell. Patrol and crazy go hand in hand.
"I've got one. It's no match for your fish story, but it's good," Kim tells her, but before she can begin, from next to her Kim's phone starts to buzz, the screen lighting up, showing the selfie she and Adam took together. Kim frowns slightly, before looking apologetically at Sylvie.
"Hang on a sec," she says before answering, bringing the phone to her ear. "Hey baby, trying to convince me to come home already?"
Adam had opted to stay home, watching TV, then go out to Molly's. Kim had plans to hang with Sylvie, to have some much needed girl time. Adam had said that he was tired, and just wanted some quiet, and that the only reason he'd want to go out is to spend time with her, and if they wouldn't be together at Molly's, he would prefer to stay home.
Of course, the man had pouted when she was leaving. Every other man Kim's been with has gotten annoyed when she's wanted to go out with friends when they don't, but Adam doesn't, saying her happiness is what's important and time away from each other is good; although that by no means doesn't stop him from pouting and being cute about her leaving him alone. Especially when she had finished getting ready and had gotten herself looking all pretty.
"It should be a crime," he had said. "That my fiancée looks that good and she won't even stay home with me," he was pouty, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close to him. He had kissed her shoulder, continuing to kiss upwards, to her neck, to her jawline. The kisses were both soft and fierce, and near made her reconsider going out.
"I'm sure Sylvie won't mind if you change your mind," Adam had murmured to her, dropping his voice in the way he knows gets her heart going. His hand had traced the waistband of her jeans, before slipping up her top, his fingertips lightly brushing against her stomach. "We are engaged after all, no one will judge us for being unable to stay apart,"
"Baby," Kim had said, her voice a bit more breathy than she intended. "I'm going. But when I come back, you better continue what you're trying to start," Kim had unwound herself from him as she said that, stepping away from him, only her hands on his arms as she pulls away. Adam's eyes had darkened, and she was glad that she had turned to face in his direction, as when Adam looks at her like that, it makes her feel like the most sexiest woman alive.
"I will, and darlin', that's a promise," Adam had told her, and then Kim was having to leave. But just before she did, he gave her a deep kiss that left her breathless and her heart aflutter. He had smiled at her, told her to have fun, but "not to stay out too late".
Of course, Kim knows he wouldn't mind if she and Sylvie stayed out late into the night, that's one of the things she loves about him.
But Kim also knows that the way she feels about him, feels when she's with him, means the idea of staying out too late, away from him for too long—especially when he set her body on fire in that way he did before she left, a fire still awake inside her waiting for the time of the night she'll return and he'll fuck her in the incredible way only he can—is something that feels crazy, wrong to even consider. Another thing she loves about him, that she never doesn't want to be with him, in his arms, in the best sort of way.
Kim smiles as she answers the phone, expecting the reason why Adam is phoning her to be because of his—admittedly adorable—impatience, that he'll be half-playfully asking her to home and keep him company. The way he's impatiently needy with her, the way the second they're home he's all over her, makes Kim fall for him even more.
But instead of Adam's calm, playful whine telling her the TV is boring and he needs her to come entertain him, preferably with nakedness, she gets a very high-pitched desperate yell.
"Kim, you need to come home. Now." Adam's voice was panicked, urgent, and Kim could almost hear the sound of his heart beating fast through the phone. It activates Kim's cop mode, and she sits up straighter. Sylvie clocks onto her sudden change of demeanour, sitting up more alert herself, ready to help Kim with whatever was the problem.
"Why? Are you okay? What's happening? Halstead's at the bar, should I grab him, get him to call anyone? Sylvie's here if you need any help medic—" Kim's mind leaps around, going a hundred miles a minute. Adam cuts her off, his voice sounding strained.
"No! No one else, just you." There's a pause and Kim hears sounds that she thinks is him moving. "Please, Kim. And hurry." Adam's pleading makes her heart twist, but she forces herself to not immediately leap up and go to him, her cop minds telling her she should get the details first.
"Okay. I'm coming, but Adam, you're going to need to tell me what's happening,"
"What's happening is I'm in danger! There's a spider in the apartment. Out right in the open. And Kim, Kim, it's staring at me." Adam's voice sounds so serious, so panicked but that just made it harder for Kim to hold back her laughter.
Luckily, it only came out as a spluttering kind of laugh.
Unluckily, it was still a laugh.
"Kim! This is not funny, okay? It's not one of those tiny little ones, it's a fucking huge one. Like really fucking big," Adam defends.
"Just, please, come home. Save me." Adam's voice sounds so desperate, cracking when he spoke that all—well, most—of the humour and amusement Kim was feeling goes, only leaving her with the need to get home to her man immediately and comfort him.
"Okay, baby. I'm coming home now. I'll be there soon, just sit still and, uh, stare back at it. Love you," Kim tells him.
"Is everything okay?" Sylvie asks her after she hangs up. Kim nods, standing up and collecting her things.
"Yeah. But sorry, I'm going to have to cut this short; I've just got to go home, Adam he, uh, needs me." Kim explains, before pausing, looking at her friend. Sylvie's looking curiously at her, and Kim bites her lip, quickly weighing up if she should tell her. Deciding it'll help her keep a straight face when helping Adam, she leans in to the blonde.
"There's a spider in the apartment that's gotten Adam rather on edge," Kim tells her, unable to keep the amusement out of her voice. The edges of Sylvie's mouth stretches up, and Kim sees the change in Sylvie's expression as she processes Kim's words and before long, the women are giggling to each other again.
"Seriously? A spider? Adam?" Sylvie laughs.
"Apparently it's a 'really fucking big one'" Kim can't keep the glee out, her eyes surely full of amusement, as she quotes him. Sylvie giggles again.
"Well, you better go rescue your man. Text me if you need backup from such a dangerous matter. And, uh, don't worry about having to end this early; this is so much better than my fish story," Sylvie reassures her, still smiling wide at the whole situation.
Kim quickly leans down to hug her friend, promising to buy her a beer another day to make up for this, and then she's leaving Molly's, making sure she doesn't accidentally make eye contact with anyone else she knows, certain that if she does, she wouldn't be able to keep her laughter in.
It doesn't take too long for Kim to get home. Longer than it would if they were at her apartment, the apartment she still has for god knows what reason, but luckily the roads were relatively clear—well, for Chicago—which made the journey relatively fast.
And when she opens the door to the apartment, walking into the sight before her, Kim has never felt more lucky and grateful for the clear roads, because if she was just a few seconds later, she'd have missed the most hilarious sight ever. (There is a part of her, small but there, that thinks if she was a better fiancée, she'd wish she gotten here sooner so it never happened, but Kim's laughing too much to spend much time on that thought).
Kim doesn't know what she was expecting to walk into, but her six foot, broad, tough cop of a fiancé standing on the coffee table, his posture one of utter terror as he brandishes a gun yelling "don't think I won't do it," was not it.
And she was definitely not expecting to only see that sight for a second, before the coffee table broke from underneath him and Adam falls down.
"Oh my god, Adam! Are you okay?" Kim exclaims, quickly running to Adam's side. It's impressive that she manages to get the words out, and sounding concern, depending the spluttering laugh that rumbles from the back of her throat.
"Ow. No, I'm not. I just fell through a fucking table!" Adam whines, looking up at her. He's pouting, shock from the fall still in his expression, and he looks so adorably pathetic. Yet again, if Kim was a better fiancée she'd just hug him, or comfort him, but the sight of him pouting, surrounded by the broken table, looking so needy, all Kim can do is laugh.
And laugh.
Her laughter just makes Adam pout more, which unfortunately does not help the giggles bubbling out of her. "Kim. This is not funny."
"No, of course it's not, baby," Kim coos at him between her giggles. Adam's pout deepens, clearly not appreciative of her tone. Kim takes a few deep breathes, trying to calm down her laughter. The last thing she wants is to give herself hiccups or a stitch.
"Oh, I'm sorry, baby, I am, for laughing. But come on, you fell through the coffee table! Why did you even think that could support you?" Kim makes a mental note to give Adam lots of cuddles later to make up for her laughter. She takes a few more deep breaths to regain her posture, trying to not focus on Adam's deepened, unamused pout.
Instead, turning her attention to the reason Adam had called her home for, Kim looks around the room, trying to spot this infamous spider that ended her evening prematurely.
"So, where's this spider, then?" She asks, unable to spot it. Clearly the shock of him falling through the table had made him forget the thing that made him climb onto it, as at her question, Adam leaps up with a hilarious speed, eyes going wide and panicked.
"Oh, god. Oh, god. Oh, god! It was right there!" Adam indicates to a spot, his voice going higher and more panicked. And ever the bad fiancée, Kim lets out another laugh, rolling her eyes at his dramatic, frantic movements.
"Adam, it's okay. It probably just scuttered away when you fell." Kim reassures him. Adam turns around to look at her, his expression almost comical in it's horror.
"That's not okay! That's worse! It could be anywhere! It could reappear at any time! You've got to find it, I'm not going to be able to sleep if I know it's still out there. Waiting. Probably still watching me," Adam's eyes darts around the room suspiciously.
Kim questions all her life choices that led her to this moment, wondering if she's as sane as she thinks, if this is the man she's decided is the love of her life, the man who'll be her husband, the father of her children.
"I doubt it's watching you," Kim rolls her eyes. Adam scoffs.
"It has it out for me. You didn't see the way it was staring at me, challenging me. Oh god, it's probably getting back up." Adam's hand grabs her arm.
"You know what, baby. Let's go stay at yours. Yeah, that's what we should do." His eyes looks around, assessing if it was safe to walk to the door. Kim rests her hands against his chest, stopping him.
"Adam. There's no need to leave." Kim states calmly. "One, it's a spider. Just a spider. It's not getting back up, nor does it have it out for you. If it was staring at you, it's probably because it's scared. That's it. And two, look. I'll look around, pull out the furniture. No need to panic and leave,"
"It's cleverer than you're assuming." Adam argues back to her, sticking firm with his paranoid thoughts, but his voice is noticeably calmer, his body becoming slightly less tense at her plan. Kim counts that as a win.
"Well, if it is, we could always just shoot it." Kim grins at him, picking up his gun from the floor as she first tidies up the mess he made by falling through the coffee table. Adam snatches the gun from her.
"You laugh, but the thing is fucking huge. And it was messing with me, I know it." Adam defends himself again. "I would've been fine if we didn't have neighbours. I would've shot the fucking thing." At that, Kim snorts.
"Yeah, that'd be an amusing report to make. Officer Adam Ruzek, firing his off-duty in his apartment to kill a spider," she laughs, shaking her head. "I don't know, baby. Every day at work you face bullets, yet this has you terrified, even more than Zoe is around spiders,"
"It's massive." Adam responds. "And it just appeared, here, in my own home. And you know how I feel about spiders, I hate them. They're nasty creatures and this one was the worst, huge and plotting. It knew I was alone, defenceless,"
"Thank god you could call your fiancée," Kim grins, her tone light and teasing. Adam hms in agreement.
"Exactly. The blighter didn't see that—you're mocking me, aren't you?" She's not facing him, as she hunts for the thing in question, but she can hear the pout in his voice. She turns to look at him, seeing his cute little pout.
"Just teasing a little," she replies. "But I came, didn't I? And you weren't defenceless remember, you had your gun," Kim reminds him, looking away from him again and under the shelf.
"I was never going to use it, and the fucking thing knew it." Adam scoffs. Kim's about to respond to him, but then she hears his high pitched yell and movement. She turns around, to see Adam on the sofa, wildly pointing near where he was just standing.
"There! Kim, it's there. God, I told you it was out for me. Kill it, fucking kill it."
In Adam's defence, once Kim lays her eyes on it, she agrees with his claims of how big it is. If Kim was alone and had suddenly seen it, she'd be lying if she said her heart wouldn't jump out her chest a little bit. Not to the point of calling Adam to come home—which would be pointless anyway since of his 'hatred' (aka, fear) of spiders—but it would unnerve her nevertheless.
Kim gives Adam a look. "I'm not going to kill it."
"Seriously?! It's a fucking beast, don't show it mercy, it doesn't deserve it. It'll just exploit your kindness." Adam argues, once again making Kim question her life choices. Keeping a watchful eye on both Adam and the spider, Kim grabs a cup before slowly approaching it, despite all Adam's protests.
Once she had gotten it trapped in the cup, and on top of something, Kim stands up with it. Adam is still standing on the sofa, looking utterly horrified and indignant at her mercy towards his new foe.
"I'm going to go put this outside now, okay. Please stop standing on the sofa, everything is alright." Kim tells him. With another roll of her eyes at her lovable idiot, Kim leaves the apartment.
By the time Kim's gone outside, put down the spider, and come back up to the apartment, Adam has done as she asked and gotten down from the sofa, instead sitting on it. His body is looser, much less tense and on edge than he was, but he still sits up straight, alert, as if waiting for it to come back out.
"Hey, baby," Kim greets him softly, shutting the door. It may be an amusing situation, but she's always had this deep need to comfort him when he's been upset, and this is no different. She takes off her shoes before walking towards him, sitting next to him. She's kneeling on the seat cushion, her body facing the side of his, and she pulls him into her arms, one leg hanging off the sofa and draping over his.
Kim softly runs her hand down the back of his neck, over his shoulders, over his shoulder blade and the curve of his arm, repeating the action for a few minutes as they sit, cuddled, together, the only sound their soft breathing.
"Darlin'?" Adam murmurs into her, lifting up his head to look at her. He looks tired, the events having drained him, but at the same time, his eyes are awake, full of such deep love it makes her heart ache heavily. "Thank you,"
Kim traces his jawline with her hand, her other arm still and draped over his shoulders. She looks between his eyes, so full of adoration, and his lips, so kissable looking; the air between them thickening with tension.
She opens her mouth, only to close it again, swallowing, unable to put the emotion she's feeling into words. How could she describe how she'll always come when he calls, no matter how ridiculous the situation, that she'll hunt down any and all spiders for him forever, that they way she loves and cares for him aches her heart in a way she could never imagine?
There's not enough words in the English language to describe exactly what's pulling on her heart, but as they stare at each other, as if they're the only people in the universe, Kim knows she doesn't have to: he knows. Knows because he knows her better than anyone else has, than anyone else will, better than she even knows herself, and knows because he feels exactly the same thing for her.
Kim doesn't know who kisses who, but she's long learnt that it doesn't matter, all that matters is that they're together, and totally and utterly in love with each other.
"I'm sorry for cutting your evening short," Adam says after they've caught their breath from their love-making. They lie in bed, curled up together, his arm around her, his hand softly drawing circles on her bare skin. Kim looks up at him.
"Really?" She laughs. "You're sorry I had to come home early, and you got to have me naked sooner?"
In response, Adam laughs. It's a deep, throaty laugh, one Kim loves. It stirs something deep inside her, twisting at her heart strings, and it reminds her of how much she adores him.
"Well, I can't say I'm sorry how the evening turned out," he agrees. "But I am sorry that it came at the expense of your girls night." He looks down at her, his eyes reflecting the earnestness in his voice. Kim can't help the soft smile that appears on her lips, and she leans up to give him a kiss.
"It's alright. I was missing you," Kim snuggles deeper into his arms, as she watches her words having a similar affect on him that his did on her, his face lighting up with a soft, loving smile.
This is her favourite side of Adam; the adoring, soft, loving Adam, an Adam just reserved for her. Kim likes to imagine despite the women he's been with before, despite being engaged before, she's the first he's ever been this settled with.
"That makes two of us." Adam tells her before lifting up a hand to run through his hair, sighing. "I just wish I called you home for a less ridiculous reason."
Kim raises her hand softly to his face. "Hey, baby. It wasn't ridiculous," At her words, Adam raises an eyebrow, looking at her disbelievingly.
"Darlin', you nearly pulled something laughing."
"Okay, true. It was ridiculous, but baby, Adam, that doesn't matter. What matters is you needed me, and I'm always going to be at your side when you need me. Forever." Kim holds up her left hand, drawing attention to the ring he put on her finger.
"Plus," she continues, moving her leg to the other side of him, adjusting herself so she's positioned sitting on his lap, facing him. She touches both sides of his face with her hands. "A man who has no problems showing his vulnerability, especially a tough cop who's a member of an elite unit, that's very attractive. A huge turn on,"
Adam smirks, his eyebrow raising again, his hands positing themselves in her waist, digging in softly. "Is that so?"
"Hm. Yeah," Kim leans in close, thinking that it's times like these where she knows he may be an idiot sometimes, but she absolutely made the right life choices that led her to this, him, being her life.
"Hey, baby?" Adam calls to her later that night. They had spent the rest of the evening fucking again, where Adam showed her just how grateful he was for her to coming to rescue him, before ordering something to eat in. Now they were unwinding, getting ready to turn in and sleep, both tired from the day's events.
"Yeah?" Kim looks up from where she's folding up their clothes, carefully placing them in the drawers. Adam stands in the doorway to the bathroom, shirtless and in his cotton pyjama bottoms. She takes a few seconds to admire him, letting her eyes roam up and down him, soaking in that this man was hers.
"You didn't, like, tell anyone, right? About my, uh, dilemma," Adam asks.
"No, of course not." Kim answers. He nods at her in acknowledgement, and Kim bites her lip, the conversation with Sylvie popping into her head.
"Well. I told Sylvie." She admits. "But I was leaving her! And I didn't get chance to tell her a story, and that fish story, it was really something, baby!"
"So, what're telling me is that I have no chance of going into work tomorrow and having no one knowing about this?" Adam folds his arms.
"Sylvie won't tell anyone." Kim defends her friend, but in response, Adam just gives her a look.
"Okay. Fine. Maybe she'd tell Gabby,"
"Who'll then tell everyone. Or at the very least, Herrmann, who will absolutely tell everyone." Adam continues her sentence. Kim walks towards him, looking apologetic.
"Sorry, baby. It was just too funny," she apologises, wrapping her arms around his neck when she gets to him. Adam leans down to steal a quick kiss.
"It's alright. I expected it, really." He kisses her again. "At least I can prepare,"
"Well," Kim kisses him now. "If anyone gives you grief, you know, you have a wonderful fiancée you could call," she grins at him. Adam returns her kiss before rolling his eyes, unwinding them and walking to the bed.
"Yeah. Sure. And you could peacefully take them outside," Adam teases her.
"Hey!" Kim exclaims, indignant. "Or I could tell them the low down, or even embellish a little," she adds, following him and playfully poking him in his sides.
"Oh really?" With a quickness that catches her unaware, Adam turns, grabbing her by her waist, running his hands down her so he can lift her and lays her down on the bed, kneeling above her. His eyes are dark, a devious smile dancing on his lips. "Well, I'm just going to have to make you forget about everything, then,"
If he hadn't leaned down to connect their lips once again, Kim would've complained that he was playing dirty. And if she was honest with herself, she'd acknowledge she wouldn't really complain, because this was so much better than gossiping with their co-workers.
The next day, they walked into work together, hand in hand. Platt was at her desk, clocking them immediately as they enter her district.
"Morning Spider killer, Scaredy cat," She says, her expression still flat, with her usual non nonsense demeanour, but there was a ghost of a smile on her lips. Adam opens his mouth, going to protest or argue, before deciding against it.
"See you after work, darlin'," Adam speaks to her instead, giving her one last quick kiss on the cheek before heading up the stairs. Kim walks to stand in front of Platt's desk, the woman giving her a look expectantly. As usual, Kim has no idea what Platt's expecting her to say.
"Just for the record, I didn't kill it. I just put it outside." Kim tells her after a few, long seconds.
Platt scoffs. "Some cop you are, Burgess." She shakes her head, turning back to her paperwork. "Didn't even kill it. Sure, you'll make it into intelligence,"
Fortunately for Adam, the case they're working on currently has kept the team quite busy all morning. There was a couple of quips—mostly from Halstead, Atwater and Lindsay—and one not very funny comment from Antonio when they were inspecting a suspect's basement, but that was it.
Until lunch. They—him, Kev and Jay—are in the break room, using the chance to get a few bites in before Voight and Lindsay comes out of the interrogation room and Al gets back from chasing a lead. Jay and Kevin had taken the opportunity to do the much expected teasing.
"You know, Kev? I think Voight should reassess this unit; we'd be much better off with Burgess." Jay grins.
"I think you're right. Those years of patrol he skipped out are really showing." The two men clink their coffee cups together, both wearing smug grins. Adam rolls his eyes.
"Don't you think you've made enough jokes now? Ever heard of beating a dead horse?"
"What—you think we'd let you off so easily? Man, you had to call your fiancée," Jay snorts. Adam just shrugs.
"Whatever man. Make your jokes. It doesn't bother me." At his words, they both look at him disbelievingly. Adam takes a bite of his food before continuing.
"Seriously. Water off a duck's back. I'm not so insecure that it bothers me to have Kim save me. And, for the record, she's a badass cop, so I'm lucky to not only have her as a fiancée but have her come help me." Adam shrugs again.
Maybe in his youth he would've been insecure about the whole ordeal, but being with Kim, being in love with her, and having her in love with him, has just taught him that none of that stuff matters.
All that matters is her opinion, and he knows this hasn't made her see him as any less of a man, in fact, as she told him, it just made her love him more, and so nothing they say can affect him. With Kim at his side, he can just be him.