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cas-kingdom · 10 months

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I’d love it if you could write

“Well, this went horribly wrong…” And “Idiots. They are all idiots.”

With Chicago Fire pretty please ❤️

The atmosphere of Firehouse 51 was one of absolute secrecy. The majority of the house had crammed into the common room, some filling food dishes while others strung up decorations, each person adopting a very temporary and absolutely rare attitude of quiet.

"Hey, Kelly, grab that," you whispered as loud as you could. Balancing on the edge of an armchair, you had been attempting to stick a Happy Birthday banner above the doorway.

Kelly put his stack of party hats down and rushed over to help. "Where am I going?" he asked, taking the end of the banner. He pulled it over to the other side of the room, standing on the tips of his toes to stick it in the corner. "Here? Hey, Stella, pass me the tape?"

Sylvie slapped Mouch's hand as it reached for the bowl of popcorn. "Uh, no! Hands off the party food, Mouch."

"Oh, come on, there's more than enough here," Mouch sulked.

Sylvie stared. "Off."

"Guys, where am I putting these party poppers?" Violet called, slapping a hand over her mouth when a chorus of hushes came her way.

Cruz pointed towards the pile of presents on a table. "I think Y/N said over there."

Hermann cursed. "Damn, I think I forgot my present."

"No, no—" You turned momentarily away from the birthday banner, which you were still struggling to hang up the right way, to point Violet in a different direction— "By the cake."

Stella, about three party hats on her head, frowned. "Did that personalised birthday sash every arrive?"

"Mouch, I said off the food!"

"Please, Sylvie?"

"Y/N," Kelly said, "this is impossible." The birthday banner did not want to stay up, its finicky material ripping and slipping every time you and Kelly tried to stick your respective ends to the wall.

You, ever the tenacious one, set your lips in a tight, determined line and frowned as you concentrated. "Nothing's impossible Just—reach a bit more—"

Ritter's voice, riddled with nervous laughter, broke through the quietude of the common room. "Uh, guys?"

"What in God's name are you doing to my firehouse?"

Your head swung around so fast you lost your balance on the edge of the chair and fell, only saved from falling in a heap on the floor by Cruz, who caught you and steadied you.

Chief Wallace Boden stood inches in front of the open doorway, stern face surveying the common room's new features. Behind him, Capp and Tony lingered, the we fucked up looks absolutely at home on their faces. They escaped not a single glare from the occupants of the room, who stood scattered, each with their own job that they took one hundred percent seriously.

Capp leaned over Boden's shoulder. "You said twelve!" he hissed.

"We said half twelve!" Stella hissed back.

There was a general silence and very little movement that lasted approximately three seconds before Sylvie stepped forward, hands clasped in front of her and smiling as wide as she could without it looking too forced.

"Chief!" she said. "Surprise?" At the ensuing silence, she spun on her heel and glared until everyone shouted "surprise!"

The birthday banner fell on Kelly's head.

"Well," Hermann said around an awkward cough, "this went horribly wrong."

On any other day, in any other circumstance, you might have laughed about the upheaval. But this was a party you had been planning for three shifts. Each detail had been meticulously thought out, greatly desiring the man who'd been there for you since you were toddling around the firehouse to have a good birthday despite working. Now, that plan had plummeted downwards.

You sighed and your shoulders slackened in defeat. Noting this, and finally grasping what this was, Boden let himself smile and picked up a party hat from one of the tables. "On the contrary," he said, putting the hat on your head, "I think it's wonderful."

A chorus of cheers rounded the common room and Cruz struck up the music player.

"Thank you, guys," Boden said as he pulled you, finally grinning, into his side, "truly."

Chicago Fire Masterpost

#chicago fire #Boden #Wallace boden #chief Wallace boden #reader #reader fic #sister reader #sister!reader #Stella kidd #sylvie brett #violet mikami #Christopher Hermann #mouch #Joe cruz #mine

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cas-kingdom · 2 years

Text

Toeing the Line

A/N: Probably set around season 10, when Matt’s sister (OC!reader) has finished college and is training to be a firefighter. Let’s say Kelly has another shot at teaching a FA class.

Title: Toeing the Line

Summary: After a life raised by firefighters, you’re ready to become one yourself. Fire Academy, however, is making you question the decision.

Words: 2330

“Hehey! Look who it is! The future Candidate of Firehouse 51!”

The common room erupted into cheers as you trudged in. Your exhausted eyes and sluggish walk completely juxtaposed their celebration, but you smiled despite it, raising your hands in acknowledgement as you swung your duffel bag down and onto the sofa beside Mouch.

You were quickly swept up by Hermann, who had, perhaps unsurprisingly, been the one to precede such celebration. “How was your first day at the fire academy, Candidate?” he asked delightedly as he pulled away and held you at arms’ length.

“Instructor Severide treating you good?” Cruz called from the kitchen.

You straightened and forced a larger smile, eyes subconsciously darting around the room for a moment. “It was tough,” you told them, ignoring Cruz. “But hey, so’s the job,” you said with a shrug. Hermann clapped you on the back and there was a round of agreement. “It’s great, guys. I love it.” You cleared your throat. “Can’t wait for tomorrow.”

Boden pressed a quick kiss to the side of your head as he passed through. “That’s what we love to hear,” he said before pulling Hermann into the corridor to help with some documents.

Sylvie grinned from her place at the table. “Hell yeah. We’ll make a firefighter out of you yet. Best one Chicago’s seen.”

It was a weary job, maintaining the same expression so that the men who had each helped raise you would be unable to tell it was forced, and exhaustion wasn’t the culprit. At least not entirely. Still, your smile and your willpower preserved its way throughout the next bout of congratulations and hugs, and when Matt came in from his office and wrapped you in a hug, the smile grew slightly in authenticity.

“Tired?” Matt asked.

“As hell.”

He chuckled and pulled back. “Means you’re doing something right. We’ll order takeout soon to celebrate. Sound good?”

Your breath involuntarily hitched when you caught Kelly walking in. In a valiant attempt not to appear as though his presence bothered you—which, as awful and unfamiliar as it was to admit, it did—you quickly averted your gaze and smiled hurriedly at your brother. “Sounds great,” you said, perhaps a little too chipper. Matt’s forehead creased in silent response. “Though I might sleep a bit first.”

“Oh, sleep away. You’ll need it,” Matt said just as Kelly came to stand beside you, his hands dug deep in his pockets. He glanced between you both but ensured his eyes did not linger on you too long.

“Hey,” he said.

“Hey, Kelly,” Matt said. “Good first day?”

“Great first day.” He looked at you. “Candidate, got a moment?”

You swallowed the slowly building knot in your throat and nodded silently. Kelly said nothing more, simply turning back towards the door he’d just come through, and you took a gulp of air, muttering something inaudible under your breath. It was obvious Matt knew something was wrong between you, the two of you acting far too suspiciously for people who were normally the best of friends, but he also knew that you were entirely capable of sorting out your differences, or whatever this happened to be, alone. So, with a reassuring squeeze to your arm, he offered a tight-lipped smile and walked backwards towards the table.

“Proud of you, sweetheart,” he called for good measure with a point of a finger and a raise of one eyebrow. You breathed a short sound of amusement before rolling your shoulders back, blinking away the dryness in your eyes, and jogging after Kelly, no small number of butterflies wreaking havoc in your stomach.

Kelly glanced over his shoulder only once to check you were following, but aside from that he didn’t say a word, walking through hallways and beds towards his office. He opened the door and stood aside for you to go in before moving after you. After he shut the door, he took a moment to himself. His head dipped down, teeth chewing at his bottom lip, one hand on his hip while the other rested against his forehead. You weren’t entirely sure what to do. You had spent countless hours in his office, silently doing your own thing as he worked through paperwork, and you had never once felt out of place before today. Sitting on the chair almost seemed to be a sign of defeat. The bed would be more.

You both knew what the point of discussion was. You were ready to make your point, no matter how drained and aching for sleep you were.

Kelly lifted his head. Hesitated for a moment. Ran his tongue around his mouth. Then, “You wanna tell me why Chief Tiberg called me in today to discuss your transfer papers to another instructor for rescue class?”

You blinked in surprise. That hadn’t been entirely what you’d expected.

Kelly’s brows were raised in stern expectation and you found yourself impulsively pulling your sleeves down to your wrists. “It’s really not what it sounds like.”

“Well, that’s not what Tiberg thinks.” Kelly dropped his arms and crossed them over his chest as he leant back against the door. He fixed you with a look so rare you felt uncomfortable. Never in your life had you felt uncomfortable around Kelly, but you’d both had to have known that your fire training would cause more rifts than it had when you’d been a little girl and him the guy you knew as the name under the ‘second legal guardian’ section of some documents somewhere.

“He started asking me questions,” Kelly continued, none too gently, “if anything comes to mind about my teaching that’d make you wanna transfer.”

You barely refrained from gasping audibly. Instead, you frowned and stopped fidgeting with your sleeves. “Your teaching? Seriously? I told him…” You trailed off, irritation overwhelming your discomfort for a moment. Kelly made a gesture with his hands, a clear “I’m listening”, and you sighed, finally resigning yourself to sitting at the end of his bed. Your forearms rested on your thighs as you leaned over and shook your head. “You as instructor and me as student, Kelly,” you started. “I don’t think it’s working. I know as a firefighter I’m supposed to be able to handle anything, take orders from anyone, and I can, but I…I can’t do my best work when I’m constantly trying to make you proud and worrying about disappointing you, Kelly. Because that’s what the Academy is. Everyone’s trying to impress someone. It’s different than when you’re actually on the job. Every time you yell…” You caught your top lip between your teeth, suddenly conscious of the fact your voice was trembling. In all honesty, you’d been hoping to avoid Kelly tonight. You’d gone straight to Tiberg after finishing at the Academy and had been intent on collapsing on the first comfy surface that looked free when you reached 51. You’d thought Kelly would go home after the first day of his short Instructor stint and considering his clothes you figured he’d thought so too, but Tiberg had obviously reached him first. You should have expected it. You shouldn’t have gone to Tiberg.

You swallowed the knot in your throat. “This kinda shit broke Matt and Gabby apart,” you stated slowly. “I don’t want the same thing to happen to us. And I get that it’s only been a day but…every day counts in this job, right? I told Tiberg that was the reason and he agreed and said it’d probably be for the best.”

When you hazarded a glance up at him, the lines in his forehead had decreased enough for you to feel slightly more at ease.

“Okay,” he said eventually. He did not sound okay.

“Kel, I don’t want you to be mad at me. This is what I was trying to avoid.”

“Could’ve avoided it properly by talking to me beforehand, Y/N.”

You rubbed a clammy hand down your face. “I didn’t have the guts to test that. I didn’t know how you’d react. Tiberg…I don’t understand why he said that.”

“‘Cause he’s an ass,” Kelly spoke around amusement that sounded ironically unamused. You thought his frustration would continue, but when he pushed himself away from the door to sit opposite you by his desk, the atmosphere shifted. “Look,” he said quietly, resting his forearms along the back of his chair. “I’m not mad, okay? I just don’t understand why you didn’t wanna talk to me. This is between us, no one else. You really think I’d have refused your transfer because you didn’t feel comfortable with me as your instructor?”

You vehemently shook your head. “I was more worried about you being upset or—or thinking I didn’t want to learn from you, because I do! I do, so much. But I’m not gonna be joining Squad yet, I’ll be joining Truck. I prefer to learn from you from afar, to be honest.”

“You’ll be okay taking orders from Matt?”

“Honestly? Better than I would be taking them from you.” You fell back on the bed and shut your eyes against the ceiling light. Emotion was welling in the pit of your chest, an awful result of the physical and mental struggles of the day. You adored the physicality, your dream of becoming a firefighter edging ever closer, and you had expected your emotions to be heightened…but you hadn’t expected it to come between you and Kelly. You could take a raised voice from Matt. He’d been your father more than your brother and though things were tamer at home than they would inevitably be on the job, you knew he would be able to act as your lieutenant without either of you worrying about the rules and orders. Kelly, on the other hand…your relationship was softer, in a sense. He could reprimand you fine, and had done in many aspects, but Fire Academy training was worse than being on the job. It was rough and person-centred, majorly opposing the sense of family and togetherness felt within a fire house. Kelly as Squad lieutenant and Kelly as Fire Academy instructor differed immensely, and you hadn’t liked it.

“I don’t know what the logic is here, Kelly,” you said quietly. “I’m sorry. I’m really sorry. I’ll speak to Chief Tiberg and explain, or re-explain, more like, see if he—”

“Hey, hey, no, don’t. Just…leave Tiberg. Like I said, this is between us.” He dropped his chin to his forearms. “You thought I’d be upset?”

“I don’t know.”

“Yeah, you do.”

You sniffed. “Maybe, yeah. I would be.”

Despite the situation, Kelly let a sliver of a smile pull at his lips. Tiberg calling him in to discuss your transfer papers had been a bit of a blow. Though the Chief had annoyingly not disclosed the exact reason behind your wishes, he’d figured that had been it. His frustration had only come from you not telling him beforehand, though at your revelation, he couldn’t help but understand. You rarely did anything for yourself that would compromise another’s feelings.

Standing to his feet, he stretched his arms above his head and came to lie beside you, his legs hanging off the edge. He turned his head to look at you, noting the faint dampness of your cheeks beneath your closed eyes.

“Sweetie,” he said, “the only thing I’m upset about in this situation is that you didn’t feel confident enough to speak to me before you went to Tiberg. We could’ve worked this out together, gone and asked for a transfer together. Avoid a lot of emotions in the process. I wouldn’t have been upset, I promise. If anything, I’d have agreed.”

Your eyes flickered open to stare at the ceiling. “Really?”

“You think I enjoy the yelling?” He sighed and reached down to enclose your hand in his. “I know you’re supposed to keep your work life and home life separate, but who are we kidding? That never happens. If I hadn’t thought you might prefer someone you know teaching you, I would have gone to Tiberg and asked to transfer you myself before today had even started.”

There was a regretful sigh as you rubbed at your eyes with your free hand. “This shouldn’t have been so messy,” you whispered.

“Alright, get over here.” Kelly let go of your hand and moved his arm across you, pulling you close towards him. He pressed his lips to the top of your head as you muttered a quiet apology. “Let’s just forget about it. You’re not my student anymore, I’m not your instructor. But for what it’s worth, you were my best. I haven’t a doubt you’ll pass first time.” He paused for a second. “I’m so proud of you, you know that, right?”

You nodded, your head bobbing against his shoulder. You shut your eyes again and slung an arm over his chest, your next words hushed and slow. “Thanks for teaching me so far, both at the Academy and before.”

“You kidding? Highlight of my career, even if it was only one day. You’re not regretting it yet, are you?”

“No way.”

“That’s my girl.” He squeezed your shoulder. “You ready for tomorrow?” You didn’t respond, and your breaths evening out told him quite assuredly that you had quickly dropped off. Kelly watched you for a moment, one hand stroking the back of your head while his eyes roved your sleeping face. No longer were you the baby he’d helped learn to walk and talk. No longer were you the toddler who’d stolen helmets from the turnout room and walked into walls without complaint when you couldn’t see beneath it. No longer were you the girl who’d rope him into sleepovers with Shay and ask to help with imaginary 51 talent shows. You were an adult now, someone he rarely held like this anymore, so despite your discussion and despite the tension still apparent in the air, he made the best of it.

“Best damn firefighter,” he said to himself, and he meant each word.

Chicago Fire Masterpost

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