Hailey released a heavy exhale when she finally put the last signature on the report she'd been writing for the last half-hour, after being exhausted the whole day. It was a good feeling, though. She was tired but also satisfied, knowing the tiredness was coming from spending the day trying to lock up a known drug dealer and thankfully succeeding at it.

She put the pen on her partner's desk, earning his immediate attention. Hailey was halfway through writing her report when her pen stopped working, so she borrowed one from Jay. He'd playfully protested, telling her she'd better give him that one back. Hailey's response? A dramatic eye-roll, although her lips were still forming a smirk.
It was their thing too.

They sat in the comfortable silence that the bullpen offered. All their colleagues were probably home already (or at Molly's), and the two were first-hand experiencing the cons of being the only two detectives in the unit. It came with benefits, sure, but having to deal with an annoyingly high amount of paperwork to finish definitely was one of the cons.

Jay lifted his gaze from his report and knowingly smiled at her, looking at her surroundings. When his eyes fell onto the package Hailey kept on her desk, his expression shifted. His jawline was set and he couldn't tell when exactly, but he started to grit his teeth.
He'd been glaring at the thing for the last three days as if doing so could somehow help him unveil its content – even though he could at least imagine what it was.
"The Feds are sending packages," he could still hear Sergeant Platt's voice as she handed the fold to Hailey.

He was pretty sure Hailey followed his stare because he saw her left hand touching the package, and then heard her clearing her throat. "So. Remember I told you about that new place that recently opened near where I live? – she checked on him and then proceeded to continue as she saw his nod – Why don't we grab a beer there? You know, try out a new bar and do our thing," Hailey proposed, shooting a timid smile his way.

When their eyes locked, Jay immediately figured she didn't want to just grab a beer that night. The way she was looking at him was more of a we need to talk suggestion.

Jay sighed, already anticipating the topic of the conversation they were going to have, but nodded nonetheless. "Sure. Send me the address," he said casually.

Hailey stood up, "Will do," before walking to Hank's office – their sergeant had been out the whole day, so she didn't need to knock on the door – and then getting back to her desk and starting to gather her phone and jacket.
She could feel Jay's burning stare carefully studying her. "You shouldn't get distracted," she stated with a smirk, putting her jacket on. "Unless you wanna stay here till midnight to finish," she then added.

Jay bit his lip at her remark, he could tell he'd started blushing because he could feel a sense of warmth pervade his cheeks. He decided to ignore the sensation, though. "Yeah, no, can't do that. I got somewhere to be tonight," he retorted back, a proud smug formed on his face when he saw her trying to suppress a smile he had definitely detected.

None of them could really tell when this new dynamic between them – the flirty banter – had started, it was probably around the time Hailey was in New York. The distance became like a shield the both of them would easily hide behind, allowing them to explore this new side of their relationship without being too paranoid about it.
They were afraid things would get awkward once the blonde detective would come back, but they actually found out that this new thing was one of the many that just worked for them, even face-to-face. It was more subtle maybe but definitely felt natural. Like it was meant to be.

Hailey zipped her jacket and put her phone in her pocket: "I'll see you later then," she shot him one last glance, to which he responded with a nod. "And don't forget to check your spelling errors. Well, more like horrors," she recommended, already walking towards the stairs, her back facing him.

Jay groaned, shaking his head. "Get out of here," the sound of her chuckle was the last thing he heard before seeing her disappear from his sight.

Hailey's leg couldn't stop moving up and down. It was hooked on the stool she was sitting on and despite the woman's effort to keep it steady, it still was bouncing.

She'd been sitting at that new bar for not more than seven minutes, but she felt like she'd been waiting there for seven hours. Hailey was obviously agitated, maybe because she still didn't know how to address the topic of what the FBI had sent her, maybe because the bar wasn't a familiar place to her. If she were at Molly's, she could've used the company of Stella ranting about her Girls on fire project, or laugh at Herrmann's unusual antics.

And the fact that Jay was late wasn't really helping her calm her nerves. He was never late.

Hailey fixed her ponytail for the umpteenth time that night. The last time she felt this nervous might've been when she was on the plane from New York. Before taking her flight, Jay had texted her that he was going to pick her up. The feeling of giddiness kept her wide awake from the moment the plane took off to when it finally landed.

All signs of stress could be considered long gone when she saw Jay entering the bar. His eyes were wandering around, not having noticed her yet, and Hailey mentally cheered because she could use that brief time to admire him without him knowing: he was wearing a blue shirt, tight enough to highlight his athletic, toned body.

When Jay finally spotted her, he nodded her way, showing a slight smile.

"Sorry I'm late, I was on the phone with Will," he apologized as he sat down, interestingly looking at his partner's appearance. The dark color of the flannel shirt she was wearing made the color of her eyes pop out and look much more intense. Also, the ponytail. He loved it when her blonde hair was all tied up: it was very… sexy.

Hailey slightly blushed at the way Jay was looking at her but decided not to address it, and instead, "How's he doing?" she asked, her features now in a concerned expression.

Jay tilted his head, shrugging. "Eh. Covid, Hannah's relapse, their breakup, the house search… it's hitting him all at once. I told him he could stay at mine, but he's being stubborn about it…" he waved his hand to get the attention of a waiter who was passing by.

"Oh, so it's a family thing then…" Hailey commented with a knowing look.

Jay chuckled, "Yeah," he couldn't really protest. His stubbornness was probably his most known characteristic.

They were approached by the waiter. Lucas, 23 – that's what his name tag said – stood next to Hailey and looked at her directly. He stayed quiet for a couple of seconds and then, "Woah, your eyes are gorgeous!" he said in a totally non-flirtatious way. In fact, by the mortified look on his face and red cheeks, it seemed like he'd blurted out those words without realizing. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry, you weren't supposed to hear that! – he squinted his eyes and then turned to Jay – I swear I wasn't hitting on her," he tried to clarify, his eyes now staring at his shoes.

Hailey giggled, she was kind of flattered and didn't want the kid to feel bad, it's not like he made an inappropriate comment or something. She crossed her arms, her elbows onto the table, "Well, thank you and it's fine," she dismissively waved her hand. "How about you bring me your best beer, huh?" she shot him a smile that he couldn't see because he was trying to not look at her.

Lucas wrote down Jay's order as well and then, "I'll be right back," he muttered before taking off immediately, finally escaping from the awkward situation he'd gotten himself into.

There was a moment of silence and then, "So, that just happened…" Jay mumbled with an amused smile, his eyes on Hailey's smirk.

"What can I say? Nobody can resist these two icy pearls," she chanted, playfully winking at him.

"Yeah, yeah. I know," Jay nodded in agreement. His words were more intentional than casual, but he wasn't sure Hailey was aware of that.

Jay didn't know how many times he'd found himself getting lost in those blue eyelids. He just knew they brought a sense of familiarity and comfort to him, and at the same time, it was like there was always something new about them.

The blonde detective didn't look too much into his response, although she was blushing at the thought of her eyes having some kind of effect on him.

Lucas came back with their orders. "Here you go. And sorry again for that comment," he says biting his lips and quickly getting back to work.

Hailey handed her beer to Jay, waiting for him to open it for her. It was their thing too: since Hailey had the bad habit of biting her nails, Jay had become her designated beer bottle opener.
When he gave her bottle back to her, "What a guy," she praised him with a smug, showing him a wide smile.

Jay smirked but dismissed the praise with a shrug. He then clinked his rum-filled glass with Hailey's bottle and took a green eyes were fixated on her as she did the same, and couldn't help but focus on her slightly wet lips when she rested the bottle on the wooden table. The detective took a deep breath, feeling kind of flustered.

"So – he cleared his throat, a serious look on his face now – what did the FBI offer you?" he blurted out, finding the courage to address the hot topic.

Hailey bit her bottom lip and smiled slightly. "Joint level task force," she answered, glancing at him briefly and then shily focusing her gaze onto her fingers. "It kinda was in the air when I was in New York, the letter they sent just makes it official," she explained.

Jay's eyebrows briefly arched in astonishment as he registered the information. "Well, that's great news, Hailey. Congrats!" he showed a sincere smile. He didn't know how to feel about the news, what he did know was that he was proud of her. Despite everything.
"I guess you're gonna take it, right?" he sipped from his glass.

"I haven't decided yet," Hailey shrugged, studying Jay's non-verbal language. He looked a bit uncomfortable but didn't seem willing to address it out loud.

Jay locked his eyes with hers and then nodded almost absentmindedly, not knowing what to say at this point. He was conflicted. On one hand, he was genuinely happy for her, and the fact she'd just accomplished something big – a job offer from the FBI was always a big deal. On the other hand, he felt worried: that fact that Hailey hadn't made a decision yet meant that the possibility of her leaving Chicago was still there and that definitely wasn't something to be happy about. At least not for him.

Hailey wasn't conflicted, though. Confused? Yes, a lot.
His lack of a reaction confused her. She knew how Jay was and she of course wasn't expecting anything dramatic from him, but at least a little something.. anything.
"Is that all you have to tell me?" she asked boldly, her previously smiley face was now more serious.

Not looking at her, "What you want me to say? – he chuckled nervously, his palms sweaty – I'm happy for ya," that being said, he chugged down the rest of his drink and didn't wait for an answer from her.
He felt like he needed to escape from that situation, even for just a minute, so he came up with a silly excuse. Jay got up from his chair, "I'm getting a refill," he raised his glass, showing her that it was empty.

"You know you could tell me you don't want me to take it," Hailey hinted, her tone stern and her arms crossed but resting on the table. Her left leg had started bouncing again, but she tried to act calmly in her demeanor.

Jay stopped in his tracks and intensely looked at her, honestly feeling taken aback by her statement. He let out a shaky breath, "Hailey – he forced a smile he couldn't really maintain – you know I can't," he slightly shook his head to better convey his message.
Hailey stayed quiet and shifted her gaze away from his, suddenly finding interest in the cap of her beer. Jay saw her nod and bit his lips, remembering why he was on his feet and going to take another glass of his drink.

In the short time-span Hailey was left alone, she really felt the need to facepalm herself over and over again. Which she did... mentally. Hailey felt stupid.
For wishing, thinking Jay would give her some other answer. Again, she didn't expect him to pour his heart out, she just didn't think that the idea of losing her didn't cause any type of reaction from him. Jay had said exactly what she thought he would say, and to be completely honest, the slight disappointment she was feeling stung a little.
She sighed heavily, trying to find some comfort in her beer.

But then again, Am I crazy? Was I seeing things this whole time?, she asked herself.
The way they looked at each other… it had to mean something more. She wasn't thinking that out of too much pride or self-confidence, but it was the only thing that made sense and felt right.

It took her some time to finally admit it (and Vanessa would've been proud of her, had she been there to hear her train of thoughts), but Jay was not only her partner or just her best friend. Those labels and what they implied weren't enough for Hailey, not anymore. And while whatever she was feeling for him scared her, with each day passing, it also made her more and more eager to take the leap, to act on those feelings. Up until now, at least.

When Jay came back with his glass full, "Your not-so-secret admirer keeps apologizing, he's making the situation even more awkward," he giggled a bit, sitting back on the stool. When he saw she didn't react to what he'd just said, "Hey – he waved his hand toward her, regaining her attention – you alright?" it seemed like her mind was wandering elsewhere.

Hailey put on a fake smile. "Yeah, I'm just starting to feel the tiredness," she said, partly telling the truth. "I don't wanna see any type of paperwork in my life again, like, ever!" she frowned dramatically, totally shifting her behavior.

"I'm gonna play the rank card here, I don't care. But, like, why can't Ruzek do it?" Jay agreed, his brows cockily raised.

The blonde shook her head and rolled her eyes, "Ruzek out of all people, huh?" she asked rhetorically, catching a smirk forming on Jay's lips.

"Exactly," Jay muttered, suppressing a smile. It was always fun to see how they shifted from a normal, harmless conversation to their flirty banter.

They stayed there for another hour circa, chatting about everything and anything, and then, by the time Hailey had finished her second beer, they figured it was time to go.
Jay paid for the both of them, despite the blonde's protests, and as they were exiting the pub, "Where'd you park?" he asked.

"I actually walked..?" Hailey confessed, she could easily read his and you didn't think you would have to walk back late at night? expression. It was around 1 AM and Chicago was in a windy, freezing cold. She raised her arms in surrender, "I know, I know."

Jay shook his head and then, "C'mon," they started walking towards where his truck was parked. Luckily, it wasn't too far – Hailey was starting to feel the cold air really hitting her and therefore untied the ponytail, allowing her hair to cover her neck area.

When they entered the truck, Jay immediately turned the heat on, along with his stereo, and started searching through the channels for some good, soft music to listen to.

He slightly chuckled as he remembered the day Hailey found out that he too enjoyed listening to music, about a year ago. "You're always so stoic and serious, it's hard to picture you, like, nodding to the beat or something," she'd told him mockingly before starting to laugh out loud.
To that, he'd replied, "Hey, I'm a fungus plural!" earning a super confused look from the blonde.
"A fungi," he had added a couple of seconds later. "Fungi, fun guy..." he could still hear her cute laugh.
Eh. They'd come a long way.

Jay could feel his stomach churn at the thought of Hailey leaving Chicago, leaving him. Not when they had such a great partnership, friendship, whatever you want to call it, and not when he wished it was something more.

He honestly felt like whatever god was high up above definitely hated him because what was the chance of making both of the people he was partnered with leave for the same city and work for the same division? Someone was messing with him, for sure.

Hailey abruptly touched his hand to stop it from torturing his stereo as she recognized the voice of Sabrina Claudio in Orion's belt.
They both looked at their hands touching and blushed. Hailey and Jay didn't touch, at least they'd never touched hands. That was an uncharted territory neither of them had the guts to explore, always thinking it was too much.

This mess of emotions got his body questioning
is this feeling alright?
he studying my freckles like the constellations
and he's looking for signs

Jay retreated his hand, feeling the air becoming tense, and started the car.

Hailey was quiet, she could feel her fingers tingle as if they were still in contact with his burning touch. She was looking outside, listening to the R&B song she'd oddly been obsessed with lately - she usually didn't listen to that music genre.

Due to her position, she couldn't tell, but Jay was secretly looking at her now and then with the corner of his eyes.
Her lips were syncing the song, and Jay couldn't help but find her painfully beautiful.
After a minute of silence, he cleared his throat: "When do you have to tell 'em your decision?"

Hailey turned her head to him, admiring his focused expression as he looked at the road. She wet her lips and started playing with a loose thread of her flannel shirt: "Tomorrow," she answered.
She saw Jay's eyes widen in surprise and then come back to normal. He didn't say anything, though, he just started torturing his bottom lip with his teeth.

The drive to Hailey's house took less than five minutes, she lived really close to the bar, but there was no way Jay would've let her walk home alone, they both knew that.
Jay stopped the car once he was in front of the house and lowered the music volume.

Hailey took her seatbelt off, "Tonight was fun. And thanks for the ride," she said with a timid smile. She didn't know why - okay, maybe she did - but she always felt extra shy whenever it was time to say goodbye to him. "Goodnight Jay," she muttered, exiting the vehicle.

"Hailey, wait…" she didn't even manage to take the first step when she heard Jay's voice. He'd come out of the truck and was walking towards her. She turned in his direction and slightly gasped when she unexpectedly felt his hand taking hers, pulling her towards him and wrapping his arms around her body, embracing it in a tight hug.

"I don't want you to go," Jay mumbled.
Hailey exhaled a shaky breath at his words and hugged him back, closing her eyes, her head against his chest – he was quite sure she could hear his heart thumping fast.

I know that you're not used to this
boy, will you let me teach you?
Your mind is askin' for my love
and you just need to hear it
try not to wander off too much
don't let your fears control you

All of this was new for them… it was awkward, kind of clumsy, but oh, did it feel good!

Jay rested his chin on the top of her head, he could smell the familiar peachy scent of her shampoo. "I know it's your decision to make, I just wanted to tell you how I feel," he was slightly shaking and Hailey could say so even by only hearing his voice. And it was not because of the cold Chicagoan weather.

I'll show you
how it's supposed to feel
when we meet at Orion's belt

All the questions she'd been asking herself were now long forgotten. She had all the answers she needed: the way his arms were around her body, his fingers playing with the ends of her wavy hair, the shakiness of his voice when he said those words out loud, the fast pace at which his heart was beating… There was no mistaking.

Is it worth it? Yes
Is it genuine? Can I love like this?

Hailey slightly pulled away from the hug, tilting her head to look at him, smiling at the pinkish color on his cheeks – the light coming from the street lamp showed it perfectly.

She didn't need him to elaborate any further and she wasn't expecting some movie-like cliché love confession… the way his green eyes were looking at her was enough for her to understand.

She went in for another hug, a relieved smile on her face. By the way he leaned against his truck bringing her body along with his, she could tell Jay too was more relaxed this time around. "Can't believe that was our first time hugging properly… we should do this more often," he mumbled with his lips against Hailey's hair.

Let your body get used to this
it don't matter where we are
'cause when we touch, we are caressing stars

Hailey giggled excitedly and nodded in his chest, smiling once she recognized the musky scent of his cologne. "Yeah, we should – she agreed – we will. It feels good," she added blushing, playing with the fabric of the shirt he was wearing.

Jay's heart skipped a beat. We will.
He was pretty sure he'd understood what she meant by that, but decided he was going to worry about it another time. He wanted to focus on this moment, remember it as much as possible, and not think about anything else.

I'll show you
how we're supposed to feel

Jay took in a deep breath, then placed a kiss on the top of her head, "It does."

So… that was it.
If I have to be honest, I'm low-key proud of this fic. The process of figuring out what I think should happen between Hailey and Jay without it being too out of character took me some days – I'm kind of a perfectionist sometimes, especially with things I really care about, so I wanted everything to make sense and be consistent. And I think I did a decent job.
I decided there wasn't gonna be a kiss, it felt slightly ooc and I thought it was too much too soon, especially since they have a best friends-to-lovers type of relationship. Idk, I didn't want to rush things. Sue me lol
As you have probably seen, the OS (especially the second part) was inspired by the song Orion's Belt by Sabrina Claudio. I don't know if you're familiar with it or if you're into R&B music, but it's a great song and you should give it a try… I swear you're not going to be disappointed - I'm sure you're gonna thank me later.

I really hope you enjoyed this OS, and remember comments are always appreciated.
As always, if you find any errors feel free to (kindly) tell me – English is not my first language and writing is an occasion for me to challenge myself and learn something new!

Stay safe, wear your masks and wash your hands frequently. Oh, and drink lots of water bc your skin loves it!
Love you all, Enrica.

PS: I'm 5021ZAIN on twitter, let's be friends! :)