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They were never very big on PDA.
It wasn’t like they didn’t enjoy it. When they were at the bar, after a long day, and they wanted to go out for drinks, just the two of them, they would share small touches. Hands intertwined on the counter, Hailey reaching in Jay’s pocket for his wallet, Jay brushing Hailey’s hair out of her face. They knew each other so intimately that when they were around their friends, it felt like they were airing their private business out to everyone.
“You guys don’t even act like you're married!” Adam drunkenly exclaims one night. The unit had gone out for drinks after a particularly difficult bust. Jay just smirks, glancing over at Hailey. She was wearing her usual jeans and a shirt, but to him she looked beautiful.
“Yeah, like you’re the marriage expert here, Ruze.” Hailey says after nursing her beer. This gets a laugh out of everyone, and Adam tosses his hands up in the air, jokingly upset.
“Yeah, yeah. But you guys get what I’m saying? It’s- they’re not very big on the whole acting like a couple thing.” Adam turns to Kim and Kevin for backup.
Kevin puts his hands up in defense. “Don’t look at me, bro. They seem plenty married to me, just watch any of their day-to-day work in the bullpen.”
“No, no, I’m saying like outside of work. Here, like at a bar. Where we are going from being a unit to just being friends.”
Jay and Hailey have tuned them out by this point. They didn’t need to explain their relationship. Even if they didn’t hold hands all the time or kiss around their friends, they knew that their feelings for each other didn’t always need public displays of affection to show it. They could understand what this was between them just by the small touches.
----
At their apartment - hair and face
“Good morning” Hailey turned over to Jay in bed and smiled at him. He could just stare at her smiling face all day, but unfortunately the city of Chicago does not care if your wife has a beautiful smile. Duty calls.
“G’morning” Jay smiles back, looking at the cute wrinkles around her eyes, and the way her hair is cascading around her face to frame the gorgeous complexion she has.
Hailey pulls herself out of bed before she gets too distracted in the morning and walks into the bathroom to get ready for the day. Jay sits himself up in bed. How did he get this lucky? Hailey left the door to the bathroom cracked, and he walks in to see her pulling her hair back to start her skin routine.
Jay grabs the fluffy headband she uses and helps her put it on. Hailey makes eye contact in the mirror and smiles at him. He smiles back, and gets to work pulling her hair into a temporary messy bun. While he’s combing out the knots in her hair, Hailey gets to work putting cleanser on. The two work in tandem, and every skin step she completes, she puts it on Jay’s face too.
“Is my skin not naturally beautiful? Are you saying I’m in desperate need of,” he glances at the bottle Hailey is holding in her hand, “CeraVe Foaming Facial Cleanser?”
Hailey tosses her head back in laughter, “Jay, honey, the bar of soap in the shower is not enough of a cleanser. And I thought you liked it when I touched your face?” She has a smug look on her face now.
‘Don’t get me wrong, love when you’re on my face,” he tosses her a wink, “but I’m supposed to be helping you! The reason we do this is to get the routine faster so we can sleep in but still be on time.” Hailey smacks his arm, but has a large grin on her face. He kisses the corner of her mouth and turns her back around so he can make sure the bun didn’t get jostled during their playing around. It didn’t.
“Well you’re making my hair look very pretty Jay.”
“It was already very pretty, Hailey.”
----
In the car - hands
It was 11:30 at night. On a Tuesday. Hailey and Jay could feel the exhaustion deep in their bones. They had been up since 4 that morning after being woken up for a case. They didn’t exactly have time for real, filling meals so they were essentially running on coffee and adrenaline. The couple piled into his truck with a groan.
“It was easier to do this when I was 25, I don’t know how Voight hasn’t collapsed yet,” Jay sighs and runs a hand through his hair, messing up its gelled perfection. Hailey is struggling to keep her eyes open in the passenger seat.
“Let’s just go home and sleep for 16 hours, pray that we don’t get called in tomorrow, and hope that this back pain goes away in the morning.” Hailey yawns, and reaches over to grab Jay’s hand that's gripping the center console. Their fingers intertwine, and Jay rubs his thumb over the cracked skin of her knuckles.
Hailey had a particularly rough run-in with the perp. She tackled him down the stairs, landed on her back, and then had to engage in a fist fight for a little bit before Jay could tear the guy off her. Jay wanted her to get checked in with Med, which of course Hailey refused.
“Is the back pain still bad? I can call Will and ask him to stop by tonight. I'm sure he wouldn’t mind.” Jay looks at her with concern.
Hailey waves him off, “You’re telling me Will wouldn’t mind us waking him up after a 12 hour shift when he has to be up at 5?” she stares at him incredulously.
“Hailey, it's you . Of course he wouldn’t mind. If I called him with my back problems he would tell me to shut up and call him when the suns up. But even though he’s my brother and should probably act like he loves me, Will would do anything for you. You’re his family now.”
Hailey feels a grin tugging at her lips. She brings his hand up to her lips and kisses him gently.
“I love you.” She looks into his eyes. Jay feels warmth spreading throughout his chest. He can’t help at the smiles that form, and continues his rubbing gesture on her knuckles. The kind of gesture that says “ I love you too ”.
----
Out for dinner - footsies
“It has been way too long since we went out for a nice dinner, just the two of us.” Hailey laughs, looking up at Jay with a shit-eating grin.
“Is that supposed to be a jab at me? We work one of the busiest jobs in the world, babe. I’m sorry the people of Chicago can’t take 5 hours off for us to enjoy a nice night out.” Jay leans in to kiss the grin off her face. She smiles against his mouth, and adjusts to deepen the kiss. Jay’s hand grasps the back of her head. Hailey’s hand reaches up to cup his cheek, and gently pushes him away.
“Maybe we shouldn’t make out in the car like high schoolers and get to the restaurant before our job decides to ruin the evening.” Hailey rubs her thumb across his lips that might as well be stuck in a grin. It kills her to end a moment like this; a moment where Jay just stares at her like she hung up the stars. She quickly kisses a freckle on his face, and unbuckles her seatbelt.
“Alright food time. I am starving .” Hailey turns to open the door. Jay, being the gentleman he is, is already on her side waiting for her. After Hailey climbs out of the car, Jay closes the door behind her. The two hold hands, and head to Bartoli’s. Drinks are poured the night seems to be going well.
“Ok, I know fettuccine alfredo is such a basic option, but Hail, it’s the safest. I have eaten some foul dishes before that vary from place to place, but alfredo is a safe bet,” Jay is twirling the pasta on his fork, and is giving Hailey a look to show that he is only half offended she called his pasta choices basic.
“Oh you’re so Irish it’s painful. Honey, where’s the flavor?” Hailey giggles, and sticks her fork right into his dish. Jay stares at her, doing his eyebrow raise to show that he isn’t actually annoyed by this. Hailey’s distracted by trying to get a perfect ratio of fettuccine to alfredo that she didn’t notice Jay poking her shoes with his. By the time she successfully gets the perfect bite, she’s realized what he’s doing.
“So if the making out in a car wasn’t high school enough, footsies under the table was your next bet?” Hailey taps his shoes with hers. Jay just smiles.
“I don't know, I guess it just helps me stay in the moment,” Jay’s giving her the “you hung the stars” look again, and she can’t help but look away under the intense gaze.
“Why?” Jay pauses for a moment at this, averting his eyes.
“I think I just- I just feel so much for you that sometimes I find myself getting distracted in the moments I want to enjoy. I love thinking about you, Hail. I love thinking about our morning routines especially when it’s slow at work and we have to do paperwork. I love thinking about our car conversations when we can’t be around each other while working cases. It’s become such a habit to distract myself when things are mundane that I tend to, I dunno, lose focus.” Hailey nods at him, urging him to continue.
Jay takes a deep breath. “I’m here, with you, right now, and I don’t want to slip into the habit of thinking about what we have done in the past so that I can make new memories with you. In the now.” Jay has a slight blush to his cheeks, and the low lighting of the restaurant makes Hailey want to haul herself across the table and jump his bones.
“I get it, that's why you like the footsies?” She has a soft smile on her face.
“Yeah, I guess so. Being able to touch you is my best grounding mechanism.” Jay rubs his foot up and down her leg, and goes back to twirling his pasta.
“You are such a sap,” Hailey pokes his foot with hers.
“I have my moments,” Jay sips from his wine. “So did you enjoy my food?”
“Fettuccine alfredo is okay , I guess,” Hailey drawls sarcastically, and Jay nudges her foot with his.
“Want another taste to see if it gets better?”
Hailey pauses, “I guess that's the logical way to determine if it’s the best” and eagerly dives in for another taste. Jay tosses his head back in laughter. He is so gone for her.
----
At the bar - elbows
“Hey Hail, I’m going to grab another beer, you want another whiskey sour?” Jay gets up from the tall table he’s sat at next to her.
“Can you get me whatever you’re having?” She looks up from her phone. Jay nods and heads off to get their drinks.
Jay turns back with the beers in hand and smiles to himself at the sight of Hailey scrunched over her phone. It’s amusing. She’s kind of like an iPad kid. As Jay gets closer to the table he’s well aware Hailey is too engrossed into whatever she’s doing she wouldn’t hear him even if he called her name right into her ear, so he resorts to nudging her with his elbow as he sits down.
“Whatcha doing?” Jay peeks over her phone.
“Kim texted me her Connections results and I totally forgot to do it. And it bothers me when it’s not perfect so I’m going to just sit here and stare pretending like that’ll make me solve it faster.” Hailey passes the phone over to Jay so he can have a look.
“That’s beyond me, babe. I don’t really know what a ‘connections’ is.” Jay shrugs and pushes the phone back to Hailey.
“Just some fun game, but I obviously take it too far.”
Jay has a shit-eating grin on his face. “As you do with most games, huh?”
Hailey elbows him but laughs out loud at that, and reaches to take a swig of her beer. “You hurt me, Jay. I do not !” She waves her arms out dramatically.
“Right, of course. The bruises I get after playing Sorry with you, Will, and Connor are just from a ghost then?”
“You make it personal,” Hailey pouts, but their elbow brush says differently. The two sit in a comfortable silence, with Jay people watching and drinking his beer and Hailey locked in on her phone.
After a moment, Jay asks, “Well, are you winning?”
“...No”
“How about you pick that up before we go to bed?” Jay raises his eyebrow and gives her a look that hints at something dangerous. Hailey can’t help but blush at that.
“And what do you have in mind?” She lets her hair fall over her shoulders, and looks at him with an equally dangerous look.
“Wanna play chess? Because-” Jay is cut off from an elbow by Hailey. He bursts out laughing and can’t help the wheeze he lets out at the look on Hailey’s face.
“You’re awful, you know that? Truly evil.” Hailey gets up from her stool, but has a smile on her face hinting that she isn’t actually angry. Jay grabs her hip and pulls her close to him. He has a smile on his face.
“You’re sleeping on the couch tonight, you know that right?”
“You would never banish me to the living room, Hailey you love me too much.” Jay grabs his wallet and phone off the table.
“Not with that stunt, I don’t.” Hailey winks at him
“I guess chess can be the aftercare if you’re feeling so kind as to forgive me?” Hailey elbows Jay in the gut.
“In what world is chess aftercare? It’s clearly foreplay.” Hailey and Jay both laugh. After a beat, Jay turns to Hailey.
“My abs hurt.”
“Oh you poor thing.”
----
Their living room - massage
“Hey you done for the night or are we doing another round?” Hailey walks into the living room from their bedroom, wearing just an oversized t-shirt that is clearly Jay’s. Jay is leaning against the counter, shirtless, a grimace on his face. “Was I really that bad?” Hailey asks, masking her concern in the hopes he can be honest with her.
Jay groans, and rolls his shoulder. “Flare up. Hasn’t happened in a while and especially not during sex, I’m sorry.” Hailey grabs two glasses from the cabinet and fills them up with water. She hands it to his good side and takes a swig from her cup.
“I’m sorry honey. Did you take some motrin?” Hailey is about to walk over to her bag to grab a small container full of painkillers that she carries with her. Jay grabs her shoulder to stop her.
“I did. It wasn’t as bad and I thought I would be fine in the bedroom, I’m sorry. I guess getting older means I can’t bounce back as well.” Jay tries to chuckle, but she can see the knots in his shoulder and the sweat lining his hairline, which could’ve been mistaken from them having sex, is clearly from the pain. Despite the light pink, almost white of his bullet wound scar, he still is facing problems from what happened a while ago.
“I could try to massage it out?” Hailey offers. Jay is usually the one giving Hailey massages, whether it be her feet after a long day with little to no sitting, or her back after the stair incident a bit ago. He pauses with the cup near his mouth, and considers it for a second.
“Actually, that sounds really nice right now.” Jay puts his cup down and smiles softly at Hailey. She was not expecting him to say yes, which is a testament to how bad he is hurting right now. She puts her cup down on the counter and heads over to the couch.
“Okay, sit here. If it goes from pain of knots to genuine pain, please say something.” Jay nods and walks over to where she’s gesturing for him to sit. He groans as he sits down, and it turns into a growl as she starts kneading the muscle. She pauses, afraid she hurt him.
“No, please, keep going. I just want this pain to stop.” Jay closes his eyes and his head hangs forward in defeat. Hailey’s heart breaks. She works her way down his shoulder, and can hear him sniffle.
“Deep breaths, honey. I’ve got almost all the knots out.” Jay just nods, unable to get words out. As Hailey works on the last few knots, she can see the tension leaving his body. His knuckles are no longer white, gripping his pants. His posture is a little straighter, and he isn’t groaning as much. Hailey finished the last knot and pulled away. She wanted to give him a moment but he wouldn't look at her.
“Okay, all done. Are you good?” Hailey pulls Jay up from the couch and turns him so he will look at her. Tear tracks are evident on his face, but the sweat on his hairline is gone. “Did I hurt you?”
“No, no you didn’t. I feel better now I promise.” He drags a hand down his face, and rubs at the tears. “Sorry for the crying”
“Never apologize for crying Jay. You have chronic pain and it’s not easy to deal with.” Hailey rubs her hands up and down his arms.
“I’m- I’m just so tired of hurting. I’m not old enough to be in this much pain all the time, and even though structurally everything is fine I feel like since I got shot, I’ve been flying crooked. My work performance isn’t affected, it's just harder to keep that up.” Jay looks up at the ceiling trying to control his breathing.
Hailey frowns, “which makes you ache more.”
“Yeah, it does.”
“If you need me to help with the knots, or see what Will can do at Med with the ortho department you should reach out, Jay. It isn’t good to keep this close to your heart when we can share the weight.” Jay, unsure of what to say, just reaches out and hugs her.
Hailey is caught off guard, but makes sure to hold him tight. “I got you. I got you.” She whispers platitudes while he puts most of his weight against her.
“I- I love you so much Hailey. You numb the pain.” He mumbles into the crook of her neck.
“What affects you affects me. We’re in this together, Jay. You and me.” She runs a hand through his hair in a gentle, repetitive motion.
“You and me.”
----
Back at the bar
“Earth to Hailey and Jay!” Adam waves a hand in their faces, breaking up whatever longing gaze they were sharing with each other. Jay give Adam a look that resembles a “hey fuck off” and Adam just laughs.
“I think Jay and I are going to head home.” Jay looks down at Hailey and shoots her an appreciative look.
“Boooo you two are such old people!” Kim teases.
“Well these old people are going to go home and be married in private unlike you hot single mess of a group of officers.” Hailey jabs back.
“Don’t loop me in with this Hailey,” Kevin puts his hands up.
“Kev, man, you are not the problem here.” Jay pats him on the back. “I actually like you, unlike Ruze.” Adam chokes on his swig of beer, eliciting a laugh from Kim.
“See you later, guys!” Jay and Hailey wave as they head out. Once the door of the bar closes behind them, they take a moment to intertine hands and share a look.
“Time to get into bed and watch trashy TV?” Jay offers.
“You know me so well.” They head out to cross the street to where their car is parked. Out of nowhere, a car makes an aggressive turn around the corner, its tires screeching. Jay and Hailey barely even have time to look up before blaring its horn driving straight for them.
A large crash following the screeching from outside has Kim, Kevin, and Adam rushing outside. They see the screeching car slammed into a parked, smoking.
“Adam, check if the driver’s okay! Kim, let's see if any pedestrians were hurt.” Adam nods at Kevin’s orders and makes off towards the car, while Kim joins Adam on their lookout for injured. They spot Jay on the driver’s side of the car, sitting on the ground.
“Is-” he pants, voice unable to get above a whisper. “Hailey! Is she-” he takes a panicked gasp.
“Take deep breaths, Jay. Slow down.” Kim looks up at Kevin, and he gets the Idea to go around and look for Hailey. Thank whatever deity exists, because she is on the passenger's side of the crash, also sitting on the ground.
“Kevin!” Hailey gasps, her voice hoarse and quiet. ‘Where’s- where’s Jay?” Her eyes are wide in fear.
“Slow down, Hailey. he’s okay, he’s on the other side of the car. We should wait for a paramedic to check you out.” Kevin keeps a hand on her shoulder hoping it keeps her sitting. it does not, not that he expected it to.
“No- no I have to see Jay.” Hailey stumbles up and makes her way around the car. When she and Jay lock eyes, the two disregard everything they were thinking earlier about not needing to kiss around their friends. They rush towards each other, and grab each other, Hailey checking Jay for injuries and Jay checking Hailey for injuries.
All thoughts of privacy go out the window, because they lock lips in a desperate kiss. It’s long and messy and kind of gross because tears are all over them and they have the dirt from a Chicago road covering their clothes but they couldn’t care less because the other is alive .
“I got you. You and me.” Jay gasps, resting his forehead against Hailey’s.
“I got you. Me and you.” Hailey smiles and couldn’t care less their friends witnessed that private moment. They stand in the other’s embrace, the only sound is their gasps for air.
“So you two can act like a married couple!” Adam chimes in, getting smacked by Kim.
Jay and Hailey laugh. It feels good to do so.