hi everyone!

this was originally posted on tumblr as a gift to fromiftowhen for chicago pd secret santa 2020! (p.s. please go check out their stories if you haven't already, SO AMAZING)

i would also like to thank haileyyanneupton for helping bring this story to write. she helped out with the plot, helped write and edit. i appreciate her so much! and if you're interested in an upstead high school au (where hailey & adam are the cutest best friends), please go check out her story "small" you won't regret it!

anyway, i hope you all enjoy x

Hailey hadn't gone to many weddings in her life.

It wasn't entirely surprising, given her childhood. Her mother would have to furiously cover up her bruises, as would her brothers. Then there was the chance of her father exhibiting questionable behaviour in public after he'd hit the open bar, and they couldn't have that. So, instead, the Upton family always marked the 'politely decline' option and sent the RSVP with a cheque instead.

But now that Hailey was an adult and old enough to have friends who were getting married, weddings were becoming the new normal. The months of May to September are the classic wedding months, and Hailey knew that better than ever. She had attended three weddings within the past few months and truth be told, she was exhausted of attending them solo. She thought about finding a date, but it honestly seemed more trouble than it was worth.

However, this time, things were slightly different.

Her childhood friend, Raquel Sousa, was getting married this weekend. Hailey and Raquel had grown up on the same street, gone to all the same schools, and even attended the academy together. When they were assigned to different precincts, they hastily grew apart, and when Hailey went undercover, they weren't able to contact each other for months on end. They tried to keep in touch with random little messages every once in a while to alert the other that they were thinking about them, but it wasn't the same. But when Hailey received Raquel's wedding invitation in her mail a few months back, her blue eyes teared up instantly in blinding happiness.

She was incredibly happy for her friend; so much so, that she took out her phone to message her, and hadn't stopped since. It was how she knew Raquel was incredibly stressed about planning, especially about the seating arrangements.

"You need to bring a plus one!" Raquel had said to her two weeks earlier when they met up for coffee. It had been a long day and Hailey was utterly exhausted, but coffee with one of her oldest friends seemed to help.

Hailey took a sip of her coffee, narrowing her blue eyes. "Uh — why is that?"

"Because my tables aren't even! Specifically your table isn't even, and it would be if you brought a plus one!"

Hailey was still confused. "Your argument seems flawed. Why don't you just add someone to the table?"

"Because then it would just unbalance another table!" Raquel explained with a dramatic huff. "And I don't want you sitting alone at the table, Hails. There aren't going to be a lot of people you know there, and I'm going to be a little busy."

"I won't be alone. I have the rest of the table," Hailey replied, enjoying the way her friend's eye twitched in frustration.

Raquel took a bite out of her croissant. "What about that guy you're seeing?"

"What guy?" Hailey snorted. "Do you mean the guy I just arrested a few hours ago? Because that's about the only action I'm getting lately."

Raquel rolled her eyes, but there was a hint of an amused smile. "No! The one that's all over your instagram. He's cute! Why don't you bring him?"

It took Hailey a moment, but she finally figured out who she was talking about. "Oh — oh, Jay? No, I'm not seeing him. He's just my parter."

"Well, whoever he is, you should bring him. Or someone, I don't care who, just do me this one favour and bring someone."

Hailey stared at her for a moment, before breaking into a small grin. "Fine. I'll bring a plus one."

"Yes!" Raquel cheered excitedly. "Just let me know their name by this weekend so I can include it in my display!" She took another bite from her croissant, before raising her devious eyes back up to Hailey's face. "Tell me more about this Jay though..."

The next day following her coffee date, she was receiving hourly messages from Raquel to make sure she actually found a date. Honestly, her friend's confidence in her dating skills astounded her. She spent the day with Jay, but couldn't bring herself to ask him; she just found it so embarrassing.

So, instead, she found discreet opportunities within the day to ask her fellow Intelligence members.

Kim apologized but said she had already devoted the entire day to her niece and she couldn't back out, not that Hailey would let her anyway. And Vanessa had a date, and no matter how much she loved Hailey, this was a very special date that she couldn't miss. Kevin looked frustrated when he informed her it was his little sister's birthday and he couldn't miss it, but assured her in any other circumstance, he would absolutely love to be her date.

Hailey's second last option was Adam and unfortunately for her, he was as subtle as a car alarm.

"You want me to be your date to a wedding?" He echoed her question, in a loud voice that travelled from the break room into the bullpen. Hailey noticed from the corner of her eye as Jay's head peeked up from where he was sitting at his desk, working on paperwork; of course his desk was closest to the break room.

Hailey instantly slapped Adam's bicep. "Shh!" She admonished, but didn't really have an excuse to share with him when he glared at her in confusion. "Yes, I do. If you're available. Please tell me you're available."

"I'm always available for you, Hailey," he replied with flirtatious lilt, but Hailey could see in his eyes it was all just fun and games. They had their fun little run together, but it was clear to both of them, more than ever, that they were better off as friends. Flirty friends, maybe, but nothing more.

For a moment, Hailey was hopeful her begging journey could end here; but then Adam frowned.

"But I can't," he replied, "I'm helping my sister move this weekend. She'll kill me if I try to bail."

Hailey's shoulders sagged and she took a long, deep sip from her coffee mug. "Oh," she responded sadly, "That's okay. Thank you anyway."

"Sorry, Hails," he nudged the top of her head, as he waited for her to catch up. "If it wasn't for that, I totally would. Any place with an open-bar and a dance floor, you know I'm there."

At this point, they were passing Jay's desk and Hailey was positive he could hear their entire conversation, but she couldn't be bothered anymore. Hailey took a seat in her chair, while Adam took his seat behind her. Before devoting his time to his paperwork, he leaned back and whispered to Hailey, "You ask Halstead already?"

"No," Hailey hissed back.

"You should," he replied, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Hailey whipped her head around, completely nailing Adam in the face with her blonde locks; he disgustingly removed her curls from his mouth. "Stop talking about this before I stab you in the carotid with my pen!"

Adam's eyes flashed dangerously. "You really know the way to a man's heart, Upton."

Hailey rolled her eyes, but she couldn't help but smirk at his words.

As she turned back around in her seat, she noticed Jay peering at her from behind his computer screen.

Hailey avoided his captivating eyes.

Hailey was walking to her SUV in the district parking lot, debating whether she should turn around and beg Jay to accompany her to the wedding, when she was stopped by Jay himself.

"Hey," he greeted her gruffly. He was wearing his puffer jacket over his dark blue Henley (one of Hailey's favourite shirts on him) and his eyes were darting around her face, almost as if he was nervous about something. "Sorry, I just have to ask you something."

Hailey looked on expectantly. "Yeah, sure. What is it?"

Jay's eyes danced around her, before finally settling on her blue ones. "Were you going to ask me?" He blurted.

"What?"

"To the wedding," he added, meeting her eyes assertively. "You asked everyone else to be your date, but you didn't ask me. I just want to know why."

Hailey's brain was starting to short-circuit. "Uh — well, I thought about it. I definitely thought about it, but I wasn't sure if it was your thing."

"We face bullets everyday, Hailey," he smirked. "It's just a date to a wedding. If you want me to go, I'll go."

He was clearly leaving her an opening, and Hailey wasn't stupid. He obviously wanted her to say it out loud; say that she wanted him to go.

"I want you to go," she said definitively, meeting his eyes. It wasn't often they did things outside of work, except go get a drink, so this was new territory for both of them. But they've been partners for years, and if there was anyone Hailey trusted to accompany her to such an event, it was Jay.

An excited smile broke out over Jay's features. "Great! Text me all the details. I'm excited."

"Yeah," Hailey answered with a soft smile, "Me too."

Jay nodded his head, stuffing his hands into his front pockets. "Okay, well that's all I really wanted to say," he replied, his excited smile fading into a sheepish grin. "I'll see you tomorrow then. Drive safe, Hailey."

Hailey could feel her insides melting and it was merely over the fact that he said 'drive safe'. She wanted to hit herself, but that would just make her look crazy. "Yeah, you too. Night Jay."

She watched him walk away, completely aware of the butterflies trying to escape under her ribcage.

God, he was going to be the death of her.

Raquel was delighted when Hailey informed her she was bringing a date. She was even more ecstatic when she found out it was Jay; Hailey ignored the "I told you so!" Instead, she busied herself with finding the perfect dress for the occasion. She wasn't one for fancy dresses or fancy events (usually she had her blues to wear to fancy events), so choosing a dress proved to be challenging.

She could only assume that Jay was going to blow them all away with his suit, because he was already naturally breathtaking.

That man in a suit? Lord help them all.

Hailey ended up choosing a burgundy dress she hadn't worn in ages. It was tucked in the back of her closet, but when she pulled it out, she knew it was perfect. It was a floor length gown, with cutouts above the hips and a long slit up the side, and if she was being completely honest, she knew it would look amazing on her.

Plus, she had to compete with Jay somehow.

Hailey already looked fancy enough with her dress. And she wasn't one for hair and makeup, so she kept her curls natural and applied a decent layer of mascara. She was attempting to distract herself from the unsettling feeling in the pit of her stomach; it was almost time for Jay to meet at her house, and she was unbelievably nervous. It seemed to work because as she was pulling on one of her block heels, the doorbell rang.

Swearing, Hailey hobbled to the front door, attempting to not step on her dress. She hastily opened the door and headed straight for the stairs so she could sit and put on her other heel.

"Hey!" She yelled out when her back was to him. "Shit, sorry," she mumbled as she stepped on her dress and nearly fell up the stairs. "I just need to put on my shoe and I'll be ready, I promise!"

When she didn't hear an immediate reply for him, she glanced up. Jay had one foot through the threshold of the door, but his gaze was solely focused on her. His jaw was slightly open, and his green eyes were wider than usual. He seemed as if he was staring off into space, but he was staring at her.

In any other circumstance, Hailey would have averted her gaze nervously. However, once she caught sight of how he looked in his black suit, she couldn't look anywhere else. He looked captivating in every way possible; she could see his white dress shirt peeking out from under the lapels of his jacket, and her gaze travelled down his body all the way down to his dress shoes.

God, he looked gorgeous.

"Hailey," her name dropped from his lips in a ghost of a breath; Jay didn't realize he had even said it until her eyes snapped up to meet his. "You look amazing."

She knew she was blushing before she could even feel the heat in her cheeks. So, she looked back down at her hands where they were fastening the claps on her heel. "Thanks," she mumbled. "You look great too. You clean up nice."

"Thanks!" When she looked up, he was smiling proudly. "You ready to go?"

Hailey nodded her head, standing back up and grabbing her clutch. "I am ready!" She followed him through the door and locked it. Turning back to face him, she stopped and said fondly, "By the way, thank you for doing this. I don't know if I've thanked you already, but I really appreciate this."

The bright smile that formed on Jay's lips brought butterflies into her stomach. "Of course, Hailey. The thought of an open bar is nice, but just getting to look at you in that dress all night is reward enough."

Out of all the things she was expecting him to say, that was definitely not one of them. She was so thrown off her game, that she managed to trip over her own feet. He easily grabbed her arm because he was smooth as hell, and Hailey truly hated he was using that to his advantage and to her demise.

"You alright?"

Hailey pulled away from him to make her way to the passenger side of his truck before he did something ridiculous like open her door. "Yeah, of course," she brushed off his concern. "It's been a while since I wore heels."

"Well, you look great in them."

Hailey huffed, observing him as he started the drive over to the venue. "Okay, you have to stop."

"What? Stop what?"

"You have to stop complimenting me."

She was expecting him to look sheepish or mildly apologetic, but when she spared a glance in his direction, he was smirking wildly. She didn't have to explain; Jay knew.

The venue was close by. It was an outdoor wedding; Hailey peered over to the side where there was a rustic looking arch, complete with delicate flowers, placed at the end of a bed of flowers. There were elegant white chairs spread out amongst the ground, and Hailey could see a number of guests had already taken their seats. Over to the other side, was a multitude of tables decorated beautifully in white and silver aesthetic colours. There was also a dance floor in between all the tables, and a stage where instruments were neatly laid out.

"This place looks fantastic," Jay commented in awe, "Your friend did an amazing job planning."

Hailey nodded in agreement. "She really did."

Before Hailey got the chance to do anything else, she was stopped by a hand on her elbow. "Hailey? Hailey Upton?"

She turned to see Jake Patterson; he also attended the academy at the same time Hailey and Raquel, and god, she couldn't remember the last time she saw him. They had run in different circles, mostly because Hailey liked to keep to herself, whereas Jake was more of an entertainer type. She remembered him as energetic and slightly chaotic, and looking at him now, she could see why.

"Holy shit! It's been a minute!" Jake greeted her, pulling her in for a hug before Hailey even knew what was happening. "How have you been? Where are you working now? What's new with you? Tell me everything!" Hailey merely blinked, overwhelmed by all the questions. To her left, Jay snickered and earned Jake's attention. "Shit, man. I'm so sorry. I'm Jake, Hailey and I went to the academy together!"

Jay extended his hand to meet Jake's in a firm handshake. "It's no problem. I'm Jay, Hailey's partner."

"Oh!" Jake's eyebrows reached nearly up into his hairline. "That's awesome! How long have you two been together?"

Hailey's brows furrowed and she glanced at Jay quickly. It took her a moment, but she understood what Jake was getting at. "Oh — no, Jake, that's not—"

Jake's attention was pulled elsewhere when someone came up behind him and clapped him on the shoulder. They promised to get him a drink from the bar and Jake's eyes lit up. "It was nice to see you again, Hailey!" He nodded at Jay before he hurried off.

"Did he—"

Jay nodded. "I think so."

Hailey couldn't help but stifle a laugh as she met Jay's eyes with a shake of the head. Neither of them addressed the issue any further as they went on about their night, quickly finding their table after catching up with a few other friends. Being the first to arrive at their table bought a flock of others to follow their lead as the seats slowly began filling up, including the ones around them.

"Bride or groom?"

Both Hailey and Jay's heads snapped up at the sound of another woman speaking in their general direction.

"Bride," Hailey smiled in response as she shook the hand of the woman before her. "I was in the academy with Raquel, actually. What about you?"

"My husband is the groom's cousin — speaking of my damn, husband — where is he?" The woman craned her neck around in search for the man who clearly, was nowhere to be found as she settled down in her seat. "Well, at least you can keep tabs on your husband, right?"

"Well actually —"

"Oh! Richard! There you are! Sorry, dear — talk later? It was lovely meeting you!"

For the second time that night, Hailey and Jay turned to look at each other, this time stifling a laugh at the apparent ridiculousness of the concept that they could be in any way romantically involved. Many thoughts were bouncing around in Hailey's head but she pushed them all aside when the organ started playing and the flower girl and ring bearer started making their way down the aisle.

Hailey wasn't usually an emotional person, and she really had no idea how to react at a wedding, considering she hadn't been to many, but she couldn't held the proud smile accompanied by the tears that filled her blue eyes. She watched Raquel walk down the aisle with an almost bursting sense of awe, and she couldn't be any happier for her friend. When she sat back down, she hastily wiped away the tear that escaped. She wasn't expecting Jay to notice, but he was an observant detective, so of course he did. He hesitantly grabbed her hand and laid them in her lap. He gave her the opportunity to pull away if she wanted to, but when she looked up at him with a grateful smile, he relaxed in her grip.

The ceremony was short and sweet; the reception to follow was the real party. Hailey and Jay were sat at a table with numerous other young couples, most of whom Hailey didn't recognize. She saw the odd familiar face from back in the day but for the most part, Raquel was right; she hardly knew anyone there. Which is why she was more grateful than ever that Raquel forced her to bring someone, and that Jay was more than willing to accompany her.

"So, how long have you two been together?"

Hailey turned her head to meet the gaze of the friendly looking blonde to her left. The majority of her table had left to the dance floor or to mingle, but the blonde stayed in her seat while her partner chatted with another man who stopped by their table.

"Oh," Jay chuckled, deciding to intervene. "We actually—"

But frankly, Hailey found it hilarious that somehow, they'd been mistaken for a couple three times that night. So, what was the harm in having a little fun with it?

Hailey turned to intertwine her arm with Jay's and she stared up at him with fluttering eyelashes. Her actions seemed to cut him off mid sentence, and he looked down at her as if she'd gone insane.

"Two years," Hailey replied, leaning her cheek against Jay's bicep and returning the blonde's perky smile. She hadn't gone undercover in a long time, and this gave her a little taste of what she'd been missing. "I'm Hailey, this is Jay."

Jay still looked bewildered, but he plastered on a smile to hide his confusion.

"I'm Spencer, nice to meet you both!" She replied cheerily. "Sorry if I sound nosy, but you two are just so adorable! How did you meet?"

Hailey glanced up at Jay, throwing him a tiny smile that only he could see. "You want to answer that, babe?"

Jay's eyes widened for a fraction of a second before he composed himself. "Uh, no babe, this is all you."

"Okay," Hailey giggled, pulling away from him and facing Spencer. She stayed close to his side and even went as far as to grab his hand as she spoke. "I used to be a detective in robbery-homicide. I found him messing with my crime scene so naturally, I had to rip him a new one."

Spencer's blue eyes were sparkling in excitement. "Feisty! So, not love at first sight?"

"Actually, it was my crime scene," Jay interjected, finally feeling comfortable enough to step into his character. He shot a smirk at Hailey, who raised her eyebrows. "Plus, you were late. Finders keepers."

Hailey scoffed. "That's definitely not how it works. And like I said before, it was a robbery and there was a homicide; therefore, my scene."

"But it was a highly important case, so the commissioner wanted Chicago's most elite unit to take over the case," Jay shot back, eyes twinkling in amusement. Spencer's gaze was jumping from Hailey to Jay, giggling at their banter. "And that meant me. Sorry, babe."

Hailey's jaw dropped. She started this as a game, but Jay was here to win.

Hailey turned back to Spencer with pursed lips. "Joke's on him because his boss recruited me a day later."

"So, you two work together?"

"We're partners," Jay explained, "She always had my six, and now she has my heart."

Hailey choked on her glass of champagne, and one look at Jay's smirk, she knew he was just trying to mess with her now. He really drove it home when he stretched his arm along the back of her chair, fingers lingering on her bare shoulders.

"That is absolutely adorable," Spencer cooed. Her eyes flickered up behind Jay. "Raquel! Caden! Congratulations, I'm so happy for you two!"

Hailey turned to look behind her, spotting Raquel and her new husband. Immediately, Raquel's eyes dropped to Jay and Hailey's intertwined hands and an instant smirk made it's way to her lips. "Thanks, Spencer! I see you've met my friend Hailey."

"And her boyfriend Jay!" Spencer tacked on with an excited smile; Hailey wanted to die at Raquel's amused expression. "They're the sweetest."

"Aren't they?" Raquel replied, trying but failing to hide the slight sarcasm in her tone. "I'm Raquel, it's nice to officially meet you, Jay."

Jay happily shook her hand, moving onto her husband next. "I've heard so much about you! And congratulations on getting married, it's a beautiful wedding."

"Thanks, man," Caden responded, holding onto Raquel's hand. "We need to finish the rounds. But thank you both so much for coming!"

"Thanks, babe," Raquel said, leaning down to press a kiss to Hailey's cheek. "You owe me a conversation later!" She whispered.

As they walked away, Jay looked at Hailey with soft eyes. "I think it's time for a drink. What do you think?"

"I think it's time for a bottle," Hailey muttered, but turned to Spencer with a small smile. "We'll be back soon. Nice to meet you!"

As they walked to the bar, Jay placed a low hand on the small of Hailey's back. "You want to tell me what that was all about?"

Hailey ignored him until she successfully asked the bartender for a gin and tonic for her and a rum and coke for Jay. "I thought it was funny we kept getting mistaken for a couple, and I thought we could mess around with it for a bit. I wasn't expecting Raquel to show up." At his questioning expression, she continued. "Now she's going to be all I told you so and I'm going to have to hear about it for ages."

"Why is she going to say 'I told you so'?"

"Because she originally wanted me to bring the guy I was seeing as my date. She thought it was you because you're all over my Instagram," Hailey admitted.

Jay nodded his head quizzically, a slow smile spreading across his face. "You always did like to post beautiful things."

Hailey's eyes narrowed and without a second thought, she punched him in the shoulder. "That was gross, please stop."

Their attention was brought back to the front when the MC announced it was time for all the single ladies to gather on the dance floor to catch the bouquet. Jay and Hailey watched as a swarm of ladies took up the entirety of the dance floor, and when Hailey didn't move, Jay shot her a curious glance.

"Go on, Hails. It's your time to shine."

Hailey turned to him with an incredulous expression. "I'm sorry, but do I look like the bouquet-catching type? No, thank you."

Jay held his hands up in defence and turned back to the crowd. The ladies had backed up so much, they were only a few feet from where Jay and Hailey stood at the bar. The MC counted it down, and Raquel threw her bouquet on three. At the last second, Jay placed his hand on Hailey's back and shoved her forward, straight into the group of ladies who savagely fought each other for the bouquet.

But as luck would have it, it landed perfectly in Hailey's unsuspecting arms.

Hailey whirled around to glare angrily at Jay, but was distracted by all the congratulations from the other ladies. Raquel smirked wildly in Hailey's direction and held up her glass in cheers. Hailey really wanted to die now.

A nudge from Jay's right tore his gaze away from Hailey's blushing figure.

"Guess that's as bold of a hint as any, isn't it?" An older man, cradling a glass of whiskey, commented while glancing at Hailey. "You thinking of popping the question?"

Jay instantly paled. "Oh, no. It's — it's too early for that." As he looked on at Hailey speaking to Raquel, he realized it wouldn't actually be the worst thing in the world for this relationship to be completely authentic, because honestly, it felt much too real to argue against it any longer. "Maybe one day."

"That was ballsy, Halstead," Hailey hissed when she finally made her way back. "I have half a mind to shove this bouque—"

"Dance with me."

Hailey stopped, blinking in surprised. "What?"

"Dance with me," Jay repeated, shrugging like it was nothing. He placed his now empty glass back on the bar and took Hailey's hand to guide her to the dance floor. His hand settled on her waist while hers hung onto his shoulder, while simultaneously holding onto her bouquet. "I was just thinking."

"Yeah?" Hailey hummed. "About what?"

Jay pulled her closer so he could look over her shoulder as he spoke his next few words. "Someone asked me if I was planning on proposing soon, after you caught the bouquet." He almost laughed when Hailey stumbled and accidentally stepped on his foot. "But the idea didn't totally horrify me."

"Jay, what are you saying?" Hailey pulled away to look at Jay; his words were only confusing her even more.

"I think you're beautiful and I always have. I think I've known for a while but I couldn't bring myself to mess up another partnership. I like you, Hailey. And to be honest, I was really glad Adam wasn't available to come with you tonight, because I don't think I would've been able to keep my cool. I like you, Hailey, and I'd really like to take you out on a date. A real date."

Hailey expected many things from tonight, but a full-blown confession from Jay I-Don't-Talk-About-My-Feelings-Ever Halstead, was definitely not one of them.

"I — I would love that."

A wide smile spread across Jay's features.

"By the way, it was totally my crime scene."

"Oh, shut up, Halstead."

i hope you all enjoyed it!

stay safe everyone & happy holidays x