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𝐟𝐢𝐯𝐞: 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐚 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞!

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"Would you consider this as our first date?" Kelly asks as they finish signing off the papers to their new apartment.

After Maddie's breakdown at dawn and a few more hours of sleep, the couple went around Chicago trying to find the perfect apartment. A day and their second morning into apartment hunting, Maddie and Kelly found it in the two-bedroom apartment with lots and lots of space for Maddie's artworks.

Maddie bit the inside of her cheek before answering, "Hmmm. . .yes? Apartment hunting isn't really a bad idea of a first date."

As they stepped out from the real estate agent's office, Kelly's gloved hand clasps around Maddie's as if it was instinct. She had a slight skip in her step as they walked towards his car. "We're doing everything backwards!" He jokes and this earns him a laugh from Maddie, "People usually go on a date then get married."

Maddie shrugs. "Then have kids."

Severide's crystal blue eyes bugle in shock and he looks at her. "Are—you—uhm. . .pregnant?"

This makes Maddie look at him funnily. Taking this opportunity to have some fun with her husband, she remains quiet and plants a nervous look on her face with her bottom lip between her teeth and her brown eyes downcast. Her silence and body language makes Severide's worry grow bigger. "Mads? Are you?"

They get in the car and she rubs her hands together to generate more warmth. She takes the blue Chicago baseball cap off of her head and runs her fingers to tame her dark hair. Turning the rear-view mirror to get a better look at herself, Maddie quips. "I'm just joking, Kelly."

From her peripheral vision, Maddie noticed his clenched jaw and his hard grip on the steering wheel. Was Kelly mad about her little joke? She timidly places her gloved hand on his shoulder and he doesn't even turn to look at her. "Kelly? Are you—uhm—mad or something?"

"It's not funny, Maddie."

"It's just a joke. Come on."

With a tiny shake of his head, Kelly turns on the ignition and gruffly says. "We should be heading to Molly's. We're going to be late."

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The night was in full swing after Kelly and Maddie entered the bar and were surprised by their friends (well, it was mostly his friends). A purple banner with "congratulations to the newlyweds!" scrawled on it was hanging by the bar as Gabby and Hermann served drinks to everybody. The couple had managed to plaster on smiles as they thanked everybody and mingled around the sea of people. Not a single one of them had a clue about the little quarrel they had.

That is until Matt Casey spots Mrs. Severide alone by the bar, fiddling with the straw of her drink. He walks up to her and Maddie straightens up. She plasters a smile on her face as she sees her husband's best friend. "Hey, Matt. Thank you for this." She says and gestures to the place.

"What's wrong, Mrs. Severide?" Matt queries as he sets his drink beside hers. "Kelly is sulking with Cruz and you're here by the bar—alone."

Maddie shrugs and wipes her hands on her skinny jeans. She noticed that she had barely touched her drink while Matt was probably in his second beer. "It's nothing. I probably said something that ticked him off. No big deal."

"Ah." Matt hums in understanding and takes a swing of his beer. "He's like that sometimes. Kelly doesn't really want to talk about his problems. He likes to wallow in them and fix it by himself. He'll come around though. Want me to talk some sense into him?"

She felt touched by Matt's genuine concern. She wasn't surprised about the revelation; she'd seen many people bottle up their emotions and Maddie usually let them go on about their business until they start to talk to her again. But this was her husband—the one she vowed to stand by for better or for worse—how could she possibly just wait around like a puppy?

"It's okay, Matt." She declines with a glance to Kelly's now empty seat. "I think I saw him head out."

Matt tips his drink to her and calls out, "Good luck!"

It turns out Maddie didn't need luck on her side. As soon as the cold Chicago air hits her face, Kelly turns around and gives her a small smile. Maddie shoves her hands down her pockets to hide the fact that they were shaking. She timidly takes small steps towards him and stops when she's right in front of him.

"Hi." Kelly greets her, biting the inside of his cheek.

Maddie shuffles lightly from side to side and breathes out, "You okay?"

He mirrors her actions—hands shoved in his pockets and blue eyes meeting brown ones. "Yeah. . ." Kelly trails off. He looks down at the ground and contemplates whether he should just tell the truth to the shivering brunette in front of him. "I—it's a stupid reason, really."

She takes a step closer to him. Slowly, Maddie grabs one of his hands despite the fact that she was worried about hers being freezing cold. "It's okay. Kelly, just. . .talk to me." When she sees his frown, Maddie feels her heart break a little. With a gentle squeeze, she pleads him. "Please."

"Renee Royce. She's an old girlfriend who said she was pregnant with my baby. I—ah—fell for it and believed her for a few months. Shay thought the baby wasn't mine and—uhm—she was right." Kelly reveals as he reluctantly separates his hands from Maddie's. His hands run through his hair as the memory of Leslie Shay flashes in his mind.

"We had a fight about that. Heck, I was so stupid, Maddie!" Kelly groans in frustration, "And, when you joked about being pregnant, it just—it—"

Without waiting for him to finish, Maddie encircles her thin arms around his waist. She breathes in his scent as she rests her head on the leather jacket he wore. "Oh, Kelly." She consoles, "I'm so sorry." It was Maddie's turn to comfort him, as she run her hands up and down his back. She felt droplets fall on her hair and hypothesized that he was crying because he remembered his best friend and the pain his lying ex-girlfriend had brought.

Kelly didn't feel the need to stop his tears nor did he feel the need to be embarrassed about going off on such a small subject. He knew Maddie understood. For him, that was enough. 

AUTHOR'S NOTE
happy holidays
everyone!! i hope
you like this
update 💖