A/N: hi friends! I was in desperate need of some stellaride fluff, as I'm sure many of you are after this season, so I came up with this! I have an idea for B, but if you have any ideas for letters c-z, lemme know!
alabama
Stella wasn't mad at Kelly. She wasn't.
The arson investigator training was an amazing opportunity and while Van Meter had sprung it on him last minute, Kelly couldn't pass it up. He was a natural when it came to arson investigation, be it the Severide genes, raw talent, or a combination of both.
Being a part of the arson investigator training was a big deal for Kelly. Surrounded by seasoned arson investigators and big names in the field, it would've been easy to feel inferior. Not Kelly though—his passion, skill, and trusty gut had him sticking out amongst the other trainees.
Kelly Severide was an impressive guy, it was no secret.
Van Meter sang his praises every time he stopped by the firehouse to talk with Boden or hand over reports about a fire. Stella could hear the pride in his voice whenever he passed on an update he'd gotten from an acquaintance of his, one of the instructors.
Stella had always been proud of Kelly. That pride swelled every time she heard about how great he was doing down in Alabama. But damn she missed him.
She didn't anticipate long distance being this hard. Sure they FaceTimed every night and texted throughout the day, but that was different than having him here with her. After one too many intense calls, calls and texts weren't going to cut it. Stella needed to see her husband.
Boden understood and gave her the time off she needed to take a long weekend and Stella booked plane tickets and packed the second she got home from her shift at Molly's.
She was going to Alabama.
… … …
Closing his hotel room door behind him, Kelly sighed in relief. The training had been great so far, but he was exhausted.
He'd learned so much and picked up some new skills. While the training program was geared towards arson investigation, Kelly was taking notes on ways to preserve suspicious scenes while actively putting fires out—strategies and ideas he could bring back to the CFD.
He had only been in Alabama for a few weeks and he had already learned so much. Kelly's head spun when he thought about how much was still left to learn in the next six weeks.
Van Meter choosing him to go instead of Seager was surprising, and he was sure the Captain had an ulterior motive, but Kelly wasn't going to disrespect the older man's faith in him by not giving this training his all.
As great of an opportunity as this training was, Kelly missed his wife.
Stella had been incredibly understanding and supportive of the opportunity, but he knew she wasn't thrilled about him being over 700 miles away. Kelly wasn't either. If he was being honest, it brought back a lot of memories from when Stella was off on her Girls on Fire tour—the loneliness, the ghosting, and radio silence. It was why Kelly made it such a point to answer texts and call every night.
He and Stella had made up and moved on from that incident, but he wasn't going to cause a repeat. The last thing Kelly wanted was for Stella to feel the way he did.
Just thinking of Stella made Kelly's heart stutter. As he opened the door to his hotel room, he made a mental note to call her as soon as he could.
As it turned out, that phone call wouldn't be happening because his wife was sitting on his bed, in all her beautiful glory.
Kelly stared at her, mouth agape. Stella smiled at her husband and stood up, giving Kelly a full view of the special little number she'd packed for the trip. "Surprise."
Dropping his bag next to the dresser, Kelly said nothing, choosing instead to admire the woman in front of him. He'd missed Stella so much and the phone screen didn't do her justice.
Without warning he surged forward and captured Stella's lips in a fierce kiss. Kelly's hangs hungrily roamed over Stella's body. Her shocked squeal was quickly muffled by eager kisses as her hands started to eagerly unbutton the buttons on Kelly's shirt.
Soon there was a trail of discarded clothes leading to the bed and, as Kelly stared at the beautiful woman under him, he was incredibly thankful the training program had sprung for single rooms.
… … …
A few hours later, Kelly and Stella were heading to dinner, their hunger and need for each other temporarily sidelined by their need for food. They walked hand in hand down the street, making small talk on the way to the restaurant as Kelly pointed out different restaurants and bars he'd favored in his few weeks there.
It wasn't until he and Stella were at their table, a beer for each of them, that conversation really started flowing. Stella filled Kelly in on everything he'd missed at the firehouse, some of their craziest calls, even her team-up with Seager when they solved the fire at the horse stables.
Stella's brief partnership with OFI was the perfect segue for Kelly to talk about the training. He went on and on about everything he'd learned so far, the people he'd met (and impressed), and what was on the schedule for him to learn as the training progressed. Passion oozed out of Kelly with every word and it made Stella smile, but it also confused her.
Kelly used to fight Grissom and Van Meter tooth and nail every time one of the white shirts tried to get him to work with OFI. Now however, there seemed to be weeks that Kelly worked more with OFI than he did with 51. Stella had always suspected a permanent move to OFI was likely in the cards for Kelly in the future, but part of her was beginning to wonder if that 'future move' was going to come quicker than she thought.
"Wow. I knew this training was a big deal, and Seager was downright envious Van Meter sent you and not her, but this all sounds next level."
Kelly nodded. "It's been intense but so much of what I'm learning here is going to not only benefit OFI but the entire CFD."
Stella smiled, but Kelly must have noticed something on her face. "What's up?"
"I just remember a few years ago, you were ready to rip Grissom a new one for trying to temporarily transfer you to OFI…. Van Meter too, for that matter."
Kelly chuckled because Stella was right; he hadn't been happy when Grissom and Van Meter tried to interfere with his career.
Stella continued. "But recently, I don't know, it seems like you're spending more time investigating fires than fighting them. Maybe Squad's Fire Cop nickname has gone to your head? Or maybe something else is going on?"
At Kelly's sigh, Stella knew she was on to something. She quirked an eyebrow but Kelly stopped her before she could say anything else. "Can we talk about this back at the hotel?"
Stella sighed but agreed. They'd already made it through an appetizer, the entrée, and a few more beers so there was really nothing keeping them there. Kelly paid the bill and they headed back to the hotel. The mood on the walk back was a complete 180 from their earlier walk; instead of the conversation flowing, there was an uncomfortable silence between the two.
It wasn't until they were in Kelly's hotel room and the door was securely shut behind them that Stella couldn't take the silence anymore. "Talk to me. Please. What's really going on?"
Kelly sighed and sat on the edge of the bed, looking at Stella. "Do you remember that infectious outbreak a few years ago?" At Stella's nod, he continued. "When we were getting decontaminated after that call at the college, do you remember what I said?"
"You said that you weren't going out that way," Stella started, realization beginning to hit her. "You said you were gonna go out surrounded by me, our kids, and our grandkids."
"Exactly," Kelly said. "You and I both know how dangerous our job is—hell, the past year has been close call after close call. I figured that when the time for kids, I'd eventually make the move to OFI."
Stella softened. It wasn't the explanation she was expecting—she and Kelly hadn't discussed kids much other than the fact they both wanted them—but it was so like Kelly to be thinking ahead of these things. She crossed the room to her husband and cupped his face with her hands. "My sweet, sweet man."
Leaning down, she met Kelly for a kiss which quickly escalated into more. By the time they broke apart, Stella was sitting on Kelly's lap and they were both out of breath.
"Why didn't you say anything?"
Kelly shrugged and wrapped his arms around Stella, pulling her closer. "We haven't started planning for kids or even talking about kids and I didn't want you to think I was trying to pressure you into anything before you were ready."
Just when Stella thought she couldn't love Kelly more, he went and said things like that. She moved a hand to Kelly's cheek. "You'd really give up Squad and leave 51 for our baby? Even though you don't have to?"
"Of course, I would," The certainty in his voice held no doubt. "The move to OFI wouldn't be immediate but this training, working cases with OFI when the opportunity presents itself, it's all just laying the foundation for an eventual move."
"Well, when the time comes, you are going to be an amazing father Kelly Severide," Stella proclaimed. "And the best damn arson investigator the CFD has ever seen."
"And you, Stella Kidd, are going to be the best mom," Kelly promised. "When the time is right."
"When the time is right," Stella agreed. After a few minutes, she spoke again, a playful statement falling from her lips. "We can still practice though…"
Kelly nodded, serious, but there was a playful glint in his eyes. "Oh we can definitely still practice"
He stood up, effortlessly lifting Stella with him, and walked around to the side of the bed. Kelly all but tossed Stella onto the bed and crawled toward her. Her laugh gave way to silence as Kelly's lips captured hers and they got lost in each other once again.
… … …
The rest of the weekend seemed to go the same way–a few hours spent outside, enjoying the foods and seeing the sights Tuscaloosa had to offer, and even more hours spent inside Kelly's hotel room, making up for lost time.
Passion had never been lacking for Kelly and Stella, and they'd always loved each other even through their breakups, but something about their weekend in Alabama together had stirred something up. The ever-present spark between them had developed into a blazing inferno. Ever since their conversation that first night, the couple hadn't been able to keep their hands off each other. It made the nights fun but it made saying goodbye at the airport even harder.
It was a solemn scene as Kelly and Stella hugged goodbye at security. Kelly had gone as far as he could without a ticket and the only thing stopping him from jumping on a one-way flight back to Chicago was their conversation from a few days prior. Going back to their new albeit temporary normal, going back to being alone, would be hard after the magical weekend they'd had but at least now he and Stella were on the same page; they both knew why he had to do this.
Stella was the one to pull away first, knowing that if she didn't break the hug now she wouldn't be making her flight on time. Taking a deep breath, she looked at Kelly. "Six more weeks?"
"Six weeks," Kelly confirmed. "A month and a half and then I'll be home."
Stella nodded. One last hug, one final kiss that lasted a little longer than it should have, and Stella was hurrying through the security line.
Kelly stared after her for a few moments longer before he turned and headed back out to the car.
Just six more weeks in Alabama for training then he could go back home—back to Chicago where his wife and their future were waiting.
Little did he and Stella know, the biggest, brightest part of their future had already taken root.
A/N: I'm not saying this is what went down when Stella went to visit, or if this was the reason behind all the OFI work Kelly did this season but clues are being laid and the math is mathin.
We also don't know where in Alabama Kelly is at, but the Alabama Fire College is in Tuscaloosa and a big, months-long arson training seems like a thing they'd do so for the sake of this story, Kelly Severide is training to investigate arsons in the land of the Crimson Tide. I don't make the rules here lol