Second update in one night! Thank you all for being patient with me, and I will try and write when I can. I have a lot of work to do, as well as a project type thing with McShipper hopefully coming soon!
As with the previous chapter, I recommend re-reading chapter seven, as this is a continuation of that chapter and you may want to refresh your memory.
He stood watching her. The way she stood and owned everything around her. She didn't look like Erin Lindsay; not the one he was used to anyway. Showing more skin than Jay had seen in a while, she was glowing. The soft wind captured her hair in a light dance across her bare shoulders. Her fingers clutched a small bag in front of her stomach as she took in her surroundings.
The warm glow from the restaurant radiated to the street, illuminating Erin. Before he could register what he was doing, Jay found himself moving closer to his partner. A magnetic pull.
It took a few more seconds for her to notice him amongst the crowd on the street.
"What are you doing here?"
He stared blankly at her, still at a loss for words. He was aware of his mouth hanging agape, struggling to find anything to register what was happening. To why she was at the same restaurant. To why she was wearing a dress. To why she had suddenly gone from that softened look to her rugged self.
"Oh my god. I'm going to kill her."
Everything seemed to speed up to real time and Jay snapped out of whatever temporary state of bliss he was in. He caught up as his partner whipped her phone from the clutch she was holding and held it to her ear following a few angry taps to the screen.
"You get what's going on here, right?" She asked as the phone rang into her ear. Evidently, the look on Jay's face proved he didn't. Until seconds later.
Ruzek was an ass. That's all there was to it.
Jay grabbed his phone back from his pocket and angrily tapped the screen himself. It was one thing being a meddler at work, but Adam had overstepped here.
"Dammit," He mumbled when he heard the smug voice of Adam's answer phone. "Voicemail."
"I swear to god Kim, you're dead when I see you tomorrow." Erin growled into the phone before hitting the end button. Jay guessed she hit voicemail too. Burgess and Ruzek were gonna have hell to pay tomorrow.
With a creased brow, Jay watched as Erin appeared to flush through her cheeks. Was she embarrassed?
"We're such idiots." She stated, rolling her eyes at her self. She angrily shoved her phone back in her clutch and pushed a strand of hair behind her hair that the wind had tangled.
Just then, Erin felt something drop in her stomach. As though this could get any worse. Walking right through the detective's line of vision was possibly the last person she wanted to see.
"Oh my god." Erin mumbled, her mouth barely moving. She felt Jay's eyes on her and knew him well enough to guess that his brow was creased in confusion.
"What?" He asked, turning his head to find what she was looking at.
"Erin?" Stephanie's voice sent chills down Lindsay's spine. As her childhood 'friend' grew closer and drew Erin in for a painfully long, awkward hug, her eyes went to Jay. She watched how it all clicked in his head; how he placed the woman squeezing her tightly to the one outside of the hotel on the night of the reunion.
"Erin, this is my husband." Steph finally said once she relinquished the painful hold, turning to face a man standing nearby Jay. "Don, this is Erin. We go way back." A forced smile and an even more forced 'nice to meet you' later and the four of them were plummeted into an awkward silence.
Stephanie cleared her throat and Erin caught on.
"Oh, right..." She started awkwardly. Too many bizarre things were happening at once she forgot basic manners. "This is my..." Partner? Date? Best Friend who I got set up with? "Jay." My Jay? She cringed internally.
"Jay Halstead." He introduced with full composure, shaking the hands of the two strangers.
"Well Jay, it's very nice to meet you." Stephanie cooed. Jay kept the forced smile painted on his face.
"Likewise."
"Are you two... Are you planning to eat here tonight?" Trying her absolute hardest not to roll her eyes, Erin nodded. She'd never forget the way Stephanie lived to embarrass another human being. "Oh sweetie, this really isn't your scene. I mean, I never really pictured you in a place like this. No offence." Offence taken.
Lindsay was used to crap like that though. So instead of reading into Steph's words as saying she's the kind of girl to eat dinner from a dingy food truck after doing a line of coke, Erin clenched her jaw and tried her hardest not to retaliate.
"That's weird," Jay started soon after, a light tone to his voice. "because we eat here every week."
Steph's jaw practically dropped.
"In fact, we were just saying that the chicken's actually a little dry for us now. So I guess you're right, then. Erin's scene is a little classier than this. But please, enjoy your evening. Actually, you know what? You can take our reservation. I know how hard it is to get a table here."
Lindsay was struggling to keep up with the ease in which Jay spoke, as though the look of inferiority and pity that Stephanie put out was completely non existent.
"Actually, we-" before Stephanie could fathom a response, probably along the lines of 'my husband is a renowned accountant, we can attain seats here whenever we please', Jay slid his hand around his partner's, gripping her close before turning on his heel.
"It was great to meet you."
Still virtually speechless, Erin couldn't even register what Steph was pathetically retorting as she and Jay strode down the street.
His hand was warm against hers, a barrier to the cold. It wasn't until they turned the street that their hands slid free and Jay broke out into a smirk.
"What the hell was that?" Lindsay exclaimed, close to laughter. She wished she had recorded the look of shock on the face of the girl who once made her life misery.
"Did you see the look on their faces?" Jay chuckled, giddy. "Priceless. Come on, I'm hungry."
He didn't give her chance to protest before striding down the street, and before she could think, Lindsay was hurrying to keep up with him.
"Hold on a second," She started, grabbing his arm and holding him still. "Why on earth would I possibly play along with this ridiculous blind date arrangement?" Her smile was bold and challenging.
"Come on, I know this is a dream of yours. In fact, I'm not entirely convinced you didn't set up this thing tonight." Jay said. A wind picked up and blew Erin's hair, concealing her smile.
"You wish."
"You wish."
"No," Erin pushed forward, bumping her shoulder with Jay's. "You wish."
His grin faded to a simple smile and everything seemed to slow down for a brief second. It was just the two detectives, dressed to the nines, standing on a Chicago corner under a streetlight.
"You wanna eat or not?" Jay finally asked, giving his partner the opportunity to bring the night to a very early end.
And Erin didn't have to think twice.
"I remember this place," Erin breathed as she and Jay walked through the aisles in the deserted diner. A radio played softly in the background and only two booths were occupied in the whole place. "We came here last year, after we nailed Burke for that drug ring."
Jay nodded with a smile, taking Erin to the furthest back booth. He slid onto one bench, she the opposite.
"Figured this was more 'us' than some fancy restaurant." Erin pretended something did flutter inside of her at the sound of 'us'. "And since you're paying I thought you might like this place a little better."
"We'll see how this goes. I don't pay for bad dates." Erin assured him, resting her hands on the table in front of her.
"So, this is a date?" Lindsay rolled her eyes. "I'm just confirming. In case Voight kidnaps me and wants the intel, it'll look a lot better for me when I tell him this was consensual."
Erin snorted, looking down at the table. "He's not as bad as you make out, you know."
"Right." Jay wasn't convinced.
"And he'd never kidnap you." She added with a glint in her eye. "He could torture you in the cage just fine."
"I know you're kidding, but a part of me is ready to bolt out the door, Erin."
"Jeez," She laughed again. "Are you always this tense on dates?"
"Only with you."
Jay ordered them coffees and waffles. Not exactly the dinner Erin had in mind. But she loved it nonetheless. There was something so freeing about sitting across from him, laughing at the cream on his chin and stealing a sip of his beverage after she'd finished her own. She'd actually forgotten her anger at Burgess, too. She forgot Voight's rule, she forgot any time she had any kind of doubt about Jay Halstead.
He'd taken his blazer off and rolled up the sleeves to his shirt. His hair was tousled slightly, his grin sideways.
"I've gotta say…" Erin started slowly after a long sip of her coffee. "This is the first time I've had waffles on a date. And it's not half bad." It still felt weird to call it a date. Even if that's exactly what it was.
"'Not half bad'? Is that a compliment?"
"Don't read too much into it." She joked. She broke off a bit of her waffle and scooped it up with whipped cream, savouring the taste. "So, how many girls have you brought here?"
"You're the first." He said it nonchalantly, all the while Erin's stomach did somersaults. "But now that I know it's 'not half bad', I might have to try it out."
"You should. Waffles and coffee for dinner as a first date is every girl's dream." She feigned swooning, struggling to conceal her snark.
"Are you always this sarcastic on dates?"
"Only with you." She countered, a grin extending across her face.
She watched him for a second, noting how he seemed to be hesitating with saying something. Finally, he let it out. "Okay, so say this is a first date, with some guy who isn't me. And you're not here, you're at Marcello's. What are your moves?"
"My moves?" She stifled a laugh, face contorted in a half-smile.
"Yeah, you know, your moves. Little things to keep it flirty. To let the guy know you're interested."
She paused for a second, battling with whether or not they were on dangerous territory.
"Okay." She finally agreed, shuffling in her seat to get comfortable. "Well, to start with it's just light touching. Like this,"
Jay felt her foot pressed against his leg. Nothing special, just a slight graze. Yet it somehow managed to send tingles through his entire being. Or maybe it was the way she was looking at him. Or maybe it was both those things.
"And then this," Her hand swept out and glided onto Jay's. Fingertips stroked the back of his hand. It was electric.
"And then this." Her voice seemed raspier as she went on. Using the same hand, her fingertips left his and traveled to his face. Leaning over the desk slightly to reach him, Erin's thumb ran along the corner of his mouth, achingly slow, to wipe away some cream he didn't even know was there. Her fingertips were tingling on his jaw.
Her eyes swiftly jumped from his parted lips to his engrossed eyes, before smiling mischievously as she let go and slumped back down into the booth.
"And that's how it's done."
"That was, uh… That was..."
"I know." She said, fully aware of the effect she had.
"And when that doesn't work?" His momentary state of being stunned had ended and banterous Jay was back.
"Oh, trust me. It always works." She assured him, the grin never leaving her lips.
After eating the last chunk of waffle on her plate, Erin plucked up the courage to get real with Jay for a minute. "Look, about earlier…"
"No worries."
"You didn't have to do that back there." She said, thinking back to him outside of Marcello's, putting Steph to shame.
"Someone did."
He hoped that she understood. He hoped that she finally realised that he wasn't just a guy who had her back when she had a badge pinned to her side; he was the guy to hold the front when she wasn't strong enough to, wherever they were. He was the guy to pick her up when things got heavy.
"Thank you."
"That's why you have back up, right?"
"Yeah." She spoke softly and looked him right in the eye. "And I'm so glad you're mine."
"My, uh, back up." She choked out, upon hearing the words she spoke and how they came out. "That's what I meant."
"Whatever you say." Jay chuckled.
They finished at the diner at eleven, time passing them both by. As they strode down the street, Erin with her partner's blazer across her shoulders and Jay keeping unconsciously close to her, everything finally felt at peace somehow.
"How do we get them back, then?" Jay finally said, breaking the most comfortable silence he'd ever been a part of.
"Huh?"
"Burgess and Ruzek."
"Oh, right." Somewhere in the midst of it all, those two had escaped Lindsay's mind.
"I was thinking we could tell Voight that Ruzek took you out on a date." Halstead said, his seriousness making Erin chuckle. "That way, he gets the beating as punishment for tonight, but it also softens the blow for later on. You know, for when Voight finds out about us."
"Wow. You're that sure there's gonna be an 'us'?." Jay came to a slow stop underneath a streetlamp, seeing Erin clearly. The depth of her dimples and the curve of her chin. The way her eyes seemed to glisten as she looked at him.
Even though Erin knew he was messing with her, there was still an erratic beating in her chest when he leaned in softly.
"Oh, definitely." He mumbled it through the cold air with a grin that made her melt. But then his smile broke out into a soft chuckle and he started walking again, slow at first to ensure Erin caught pace next to him.
They walked in silence for a few moments, the cold setting in both of them.
"You know if we really wanted to torture Burgess, we could get her to go on the date with you next time."
Jay immediately bumped her shoulder as she erupted in laughter. "I'm kidding, I'm totally kidding."
"I hate to break it to you, but you just blew your chance at a second date."
"Damn," She moaned, biting her lip to stop from grinning. "And I was really looking forward to learning all about your moves."
"You couldn't handle my moves." He scoffed, tucking his hands into his pockets as a barrier to the cold.
"Quick question, do you moves consist only of waffles and scrabble?"
He slowed down softly and turned to Erin, stepping extremely close. "My scrabble moves are a whole other conversation." He whispered, the wind carrying his words right to her ear.
Before Erin could catch her breath, they were walking again. And it just then occurred to her that they were walking in the completely opposite direction to their cars. Somehow, she didn't quite mind.
"I'm starting to think this was a stupid plan." Kim chattered in the passenger seat, a worried look painted across her face. She and Adam were parked across the street from Lindsay's building, waiting for her to return.
"You're just now realising this?" Adam asked, thumbing the steering wheel.
With a sigh, Burgess took out her phone and hit the voicemail option. "I swear to god Kim, you're dead when I see you tomorrow." Erin's message echoed through the silence, her anger evident.
"That sounds pretty serious to me," Kim worried out loud, returning her phone to her pocket.
"Will you relax, what's the worst she's gonna do to us?"
"Did you not hear the message?" Kim responded with an absurd look on her face. Adam just sighed, but Burgess played him the message again just for good measure.
"Where are they, anyway?" Ruzek mumbled a few minutes later, squinting across the street. It was 11:41pm and Erin's car still wasn't there. Kim took the opportunity to suggest that Lindsay had gone to find Voight and the two were detailing out the officer's murder. Adam laughed. Kim hit him, then played the message again.
"Honestly, at this rate, I'm never getting brought into Intelligence. I'll be stuck with Platt forev-"
"Is that them?" Ruzek interrupted, pointing to two figures walking in the distance. They both squinted in unison, trying to make out the silhouettes.
"Oh my god, I think it is."
The two were walking slowly. Closely. His jacket was around her body and they were both laughing.
"Look how happy they are!" Burgess gushed, finally getting the chance to relax. "We're genuises."
Erin felt something drop inside of her when they reached her building. She Jay's face fall too, and wondered if he was feeling the same thing.
"Well…" He breathed as they stood on the steps to her building.
"I had a great time."
"Me too."
Neither moved. Neither looked away. Neither acknowledged how desperate they were not to let it end.
"Do you wanna… Come up for a drink?" She asked, hoping the hopefulness of her tone wasn't too obvious.
He smiled sadly and dropped her gaze for a second. "I should probably get going."
She nodded, breathing out the cold air. Jay still hadn't moved, and instead was looking at Erin. She gulped and felt a thudding in her chest.
"You know," She started in a soft whisper, almost without thinking. "I think there's one more move I have to show you."
She leaned in and kissed his smile. Their lips dissolved against one anothers, everything else becoming completely irrelevant. His lips were soft and moved tentatively against hers, pushing where she wanted and holding back when she needed. Her fingertips were on his neck and tracing the line of his jaw. His tongue collided with hers, and what started as slow soon became the thing to make her heart beat faster than it had in a while. And all the while, Erin felt as though it had been something she'd been doing her whole life.
It never once crossed her mind that he was her partner, and seeing him at work the next day was going to be very awkward. Or that he was her best friend and acting on feelings she'd learned to bury was one of the stupidest things she could do. Or that Voight had practically forbidden her to have anything romantic with him. All that she thought of was that it was the best date of her life, and the idea of waffles with Jay Halstead was the best thing she could think of.
When they finally broke apart, their foreheads rested against each other. Erin could feel Jay's smile before he spoke. "A drink sounds great."
Please tell me how you found this chapter in a review! And don't forget to keep sending in prompts to keep me motivated!