Chicago Fan

 Team Uzumaki: Naruto discovers and embraces his legacy as an Uzumaki and undergoes massive changes.  He eventually goes on to take a genin team of his own. - Now Live On AO3

Shadows & Strength:  Yandere Shikamaru meets and fixates on a Naruto who stumbled upon the secret to Tsunade’s strength. Includes changed up Genin Teams and either Kakashi or Genma as sensei. - Now Live On AO3

Shadows & Strength: Snake Style:   Yandere Shikamaru meets and fixates on a Naruto who stumbled upon the secret to Tsunade’s strength. Includes changed up Genin Teams and Anko as their sensei with a still loyal Orochimaru as their grand-sensei.

Fox In A Snake’s Nest:  Loyal Orochimaru comes across a young Naruto on the run from angry villagers and takes him in as a student.

HoH Naruto:  Naruto isn’t dumb no matter what anyone says.  Turns out he’s just HoH because the normal every day sounds around him are drowned out by something more.

Loophole:  Comedy.  Sarutobi decrees that none of Minato and Kushina’s friends can have direct contact/interaction with Naruto.  Kakashi finds a loophole.

Trauma Bonded:  A series of unfortunate circumstances end with a bickering Team 7 trapped in a brutal genjutsu.  As it turns out trauma has a way of bonding people.  Sometimes to an unsettling degree.  

Naruto Don’t Gender Good: Comedy. Genderfluid Naruto who is under the impression that gender is decided by hair length. - Now Live On AO3

Team Shisui: Non-Massacre AU where Shisui ends up as sensei to Team 7. And then he promptly makes that everyone else’s problem. Slated as KakashiNaruto fic

Flower Power: Inoichi decides to take Naruto under his wing to a degree.  With a job at the Yamanaka Flower Shop Naruto develops a friendship with Ino, gathers a lot of knowledge and blackmail material, and develops a deadly affinity for plant life.

The Fox and The Weasel: Despite being her godmother Uchiha Mikoto isn’t allowed to raise Uzumaki Naruto, the daughter of her best friend Kushina.  She’s in for a surprise when she finds out that her son Itachi has taken a liking to the girl and is determined to marry her when they’re old enough.  And he’s more than willing to go through anyone who stands in his way. - Now Live On AO3

Chef Naruto:  After going hungry one too many times as a kid Naruto decides to take matters into his own hands.  He discovers that seals aren’t the only thing that come naturally to the Uzumaki.  Food, Naruto decides, is the ultimate expression of love and can, in fact, change the world.

Golden Prince of Uzushio: Naruto and Kurama are thrown back in time.  Faced with Uzumaki Mito realizing Naruto holds the Kyubi and is obviously from the future Naruto and Kurama decide to take a chance and attempt to change everything. Now known as the Golden Prince of Uzushio and splitting his time between both villages, Naruto soon discovers that despite the new peace that’s been established Uchiha Clan Head Madara seems to be around every corner he turns.

A Fox and His Earth: A young Naruto is turned over to Danzo and Root and spends years being forged into the ultimate weapon.  When faced with Danzo’s attempt to massacre the Uchiha Clan, Naruto turns on him and Root both.  In the aftermath Naruto, now a young but legitimate shinobi of Konoha, takes in an abandoned baby.  The first of many.  Years later Itachi comes face to face with the shinobi who, unbeknownst to him, saved his entire world. And falls completely in love. - Now Live On AO3

Whirlpool Calls Him Home: A young Naruto is no longer able to cope with the sharp cruelty of Konoha.  In the distance something calls for him, a voice in the back of his head begging for him to come home. To Uzushio. And so he does. - Now Live On AO3

Altered Beginnings: Things shift and the future members of a young Team 7 ends up emulating different Sannin this time around.  Featuring Medic!Sasuke, Taijutsu!Sakura, and Ninjutsu!Naruto.

Unbroken Legacy: Being the jinchuriki of the strongest biju comes with consequences that go far beyond common knowledge on the subject.  Because when you cradle a biju beside your soul for years on end things have a tendency to … mesh. And there are some connections that not even death can sever.

Shelter: The Forest of Death is much more than most people believe it to be.  Naruto finds shelter in the deep, dark woods that were once nurtured by Hashirama, beloved by Mito, and protected by Tobirama.

Fishcake’s Psychic Hotline:  Crackish. Naruto can talk to ghosts and has no qualms about sharing what he learns. Shenanigans ensue.

The Fox Bride: KakaNaru Youkai AU.  Lone wolf youkai Kakashi takes in and befriends a wounded and starving one tailed kitsune months before he’s called off to war.  The last thing he’s expecting when he returns home a year later is to find a nine-tailed kitsune boy living in his house and calling him husband. - Now Live On AO3

Uzumaki Househusband: Somewhere along the line Sasuke realizes that he, like many a Uchiha before him, really only wants one thing out of life. To be an Uzumaki Househusband.  Sage help Konoha.  Or not.

Bridge Between: Tired of Tobirama and Madara’s squabbling, a drunk Mito decides that the only thing to do is summon someone to be the ideal bridge between these two idiots.  Naruto happens to end up being that someone. 

Rebel Rebel: Kakashi is a loyal shinobi of Konoha. Naruto is a member of the rebel faction.  When Kakashi unexpectedly finds himself with a member of the opposition firmly in his hands he knows exactly what he has to do.  But Naruto’s no regular rebellion member and sparks are sure to fly.

2 Shinobi And A Baby: 14 year old Kakashi takes an infant Naruto home, determined to give his sensei’s son the best childhood he can. Gai, never one to let his eternal rival go it alone, follows directly behind. The Idiots to Co-Parents to Lovers fic that should have been canon.

Bijū And A Baby - In a desperate gamble to stop the worst from happening, Kurama performs the ultimate sacrifice in order to safe guard the one soul he truly cares for.  As a result Naruto, regressed back to a baby, ends up in the warring clans era.  Thankfully Naruto’s found by the current timeline’s Kurama who, after absorbing the memories embedded in his alternate self’s chakra, decides that the only thing to do is raise Naruto himself.

Still Is Sitting - When the mission to Wave goes horribly wrong and Sasuke lay dying in Naruto’s arms, he gifts the closest thing he’s ever had to a friend with all that he has left.  The weight of vengeance that’s weighed Sasuke down for years now and a newly awakened Sharingan eye.  And so the future of Team 7, and the Elemental Nations as a whole, shifts.

CREAM - Growing up on a orphan’s stipend that never seems to cover everything, Naruto learns a very important lesson from a very young age: Cash Rules Everything Around Me.  Which, of course, leads to him being very good at one skill very quickly: budgeting.  Team 7 eventually learns just how far that expertise goes.  Who’d have guessed that Naruto’s skills with money would ripple out this far?

Mess Is Mine - A Naruto who never developed a soul deep loyalty to Konoha and instead longs to travel makes a different choice at the VotE.  Now traveling together with Konoha left far behind them, Sasuke and Naruto both learn that sometimes home can be a person.

Combustion - When a young, fire obsessed Sasuke finally takes the time to pay real attention to a young and shunned Naruto whose wind nature shows itself early, all of Konoha might just go up in flames. But they’re too wrapped up in each other and what they want together to really care either way.

Of Fang And Scale - A bitter Orochimaru falls further and further from the light before his downward spiral is stopped by the most unlikely of sources.  Hatake Sakumo and his young son Kakashi.

Tsunami - The Uzumaki were well known for more than their long lives and their skills with Seals.  They were also known for their connection with the sea.  When a natural disaster strikes during the Wave Mission, Naruto and the rest of Team 7 will be put to the test as they learn just how deep that connection goes.

Slippery Slope - Naruto and Sasuke end up in possession of a young child that they find themselves rapidly attached to.  Deciding to raise the kid together is easy.  Dealing with the feelings they have for each other?  Not so much.  It’s a slippery slope right into domesticity where they one thing they forget to do is tell everyone else in the village that they’re parents now.

Strawberry Fields - Bleach Crossover. Ichigo, long used to the twists and turns his life throws at him, finds himself stranded in another world.  After some extended time spent on a ruined island populated only by ghosts with no signs of any way home, he sets out to see if he can find a new place to call home.  Neither Konoha, nor Kakashi, are ready for the chaos having a full fledged universally displaced hybrid of Ichigo’s caliber in their midst is sure to bring.  

Aside from soft!Buck, SEAL!Buck is also my kink so have this developing AU series in my head. No guarantee that I’ll ever post a completed fic but I have these list of characters from other fandoms who I casted for Charlie Team (Buck’s SEAL Team)  that I’d like to share. Please note though that except Steve McGarrett, none of the other characters are SEALs in their respective canon.  Also as I’ve learned from watching H50, SEALs have crazy nicknames. Buck’s is ‘Mayhem’ and his “twin” is called ‘Mischief’… 

Disclaimer: None of the images are mine. I just found them on google. Also none of the characters are mine. 

Fandoms: 9-1-1, 9-1-1: Lone Star, Criminal Minds, Grey’s Anatomy, Hawaii Five-0, S.W.A.T., Supernatural, Teen Wolf

Also if I ever wrote this pairings would be Buddie, McDanno, Garvez, Stiles/Jackson/Lydia, Dean/Benny and Nico/Levi.

AGAIN THIS IS A CHARACTER LIST NOT A FIC

Ray: That was almost a thousand years old!

Sonny: Oh.

Sonny: Well thank goodness it wasn’t new.

Team Uzumaki: Naruto discovers and embraces his legacy as an Uzumaki and undergoes massive changes.  He eventually goes on to take a genin team of his own. - Now Live On AO3

Shadows & Strength:  Yandere Shikamaru meets and fixates on a Naruto who stumbled upon the secret to Tsunade’s strength. Includes changed up Genin Teams and either Kakashi or Genma as sensei.

Shadows & Strength: Snake Style:   Yandere Shikamaru meets and fixates on a Naruto who stumbled upon the secret to Tsunade’s strength. Includes changed up Genin Teams and Anko as their sensei with a still loyal Orochimaru as their grand-sensei.

Fox In A Snake’s Nest:  Loyal Orochimaru comes across a young Naruto on the run from angry villagers and takes him in as a student.

HoH Naruto:  Naruto isn’t dumb no matter what anyone says.  Turns out he’s just HoH because the normal every day sounds around him are drowned out by something more.

Loophole:  Comedy.  Sarutobi decrees that none of Minato and Kushina’s friends can have direct contact/interaction with Naruto.  Kakashi finds a loophole.

Trauma Bonded:  A series of unfortunate circumstances end with a bickering Team 7 trapped in a brutal genjutsu.  As it turns out trauma has a way of bonding people.  Sometimes to an unsettling degree.  

Naruto Don’t Gender Good: Comedy. Genderfluid Naruto who is under the impression that gender is decided by hair length. - Now Live On AO3

Team Shisui: Non-Massacre AU where Shisui ends up as sensei to Team 7. Slated as KakashiNaruto fic

Flower Power: Inoichi decides to take Naruto under his wing to a degree.  With a job at the Yamanaka Flower Shop Naruto develops a friendship with Ino, gathers a lot of knowledge and blackmail material, and develops a deadly affinity for plant life.

The Fox and The Weasel: Despite being her godmother Uchiha Mikoto isn’t allowed to raise Uzumaki Naruto, the daughter of her best friend Kushina.  She’s in for a surprise when she finds out that her son Itachi has taken a liking to the girl and is determined to marry her when they’re old enough.  And he’s more than willing to go through anyone who stands in his way.

Chef Naruto:  After going hungry one too many times as a kid Naruto decides to take matters into his own hands.  He discovers that seals aren’t the only thing that come naturally to the Uzumaki.  Food, Naruto decides, is the ultimate expression of love and can, in fact, change the world.

Golden Prince of Uzushio: Naruto and Kurama are thrown back in time.  Faced with Uzumaki Mito realizing Naruto holds the Kyubi and is obviously from the future Naruto and Kurama decide to take a chance and attempt to change everything. Now known as the Golden Prince of Uzushio and splitting his time between both villages, Naruto soon discovers that despite the new peace that’s been established Uchiha Clan Head Madara seems to be around every corner he turns.

A Fox and His Earth: A young Naruto is turned over to Danzo and Root and spends years being forged into the ultimate weapon.  Then when faced with Danzo’s attempt to massacre the Uchiha Clan, Naruto turns on him and Root both.  In the aftermath Naruto, now a young but legitimate shinobi of Konoha, takes in an abandoned baby.  The first of many.  Years later Itachi comes face to face with the shinobi who, unbeknownst to him, saved his entire world

Whirlpool Calls Him Home: A young Naruto is no longer able to cope with the sharp cruelty of Konoha.  In the distance something calls for him, a voice in the back of his head begging for him to come home. To Uzushio. And so he does.

Altered Beginnings: Things shift and the future members of a young Team 7 ends up emulating different Sannin this time around.  Featuring Medic!Sasuke, Taijutsu!Sakura, and Ninjutsu!Naruto.

Sylvie Brett x Jay Halstead

1

written by @anotheronechicagobog​

Warnings: swearing, implied smut, Daswon sibling bashing, background manstead

A/N: Please comment :)

Jay was on the floor, in pain. The area around his socket was throbbing in pain, and his lower back was definitely going to have a bruise. He didn’t have time to react before Antonio was back and punching him in the face again. “Oh my god, Antonio stop it!”

He wasn’t fighting it, he just didn’t have it in him to try and stop the man he called his friend, though Jay supposed they wouldn’t be friends much longer. 

Antonio had managed to get in a few more punches before he was hauled off of Jay by Voight and half of the members of 51. Jay exhaled and went to close his eyes, but was interrupted by her entering his line of vision.

Sylvie.

Her mouth was moving, and Jay could vaguely hear her speaking over the shouting men and women. “Sylvie? Are you okay?”

“Me- What? Jay, I’m not the one who just got mauled by Antonio.”

“So you’re okay?”

“Alright get up, I’m taking you to med now. No arguments.”

“Okay.”

“Oh pickles, you’re actually agreeing to go to the hospital, something must be really wrong with you.”

“As long as you’re okay.” His voice was so hoarse he almost didn’t recognize it. Sylvie sighed as he looked at her dazedly while she buckled him up in her car. “I’m okay, I promise. I just have to make sure that you’re okay too.”

——————————————————————————————————————————-

SIX MONTHS AGO

It had been months since Erin left, and months since Sylvie had to dump Antonio because of his ex-wife. Jay and Sylvie ended up at a table together, neither one was feeling particularly happy at the moment and didn’t want to be around their romantically successful friends. So they sat together, nursed their drinks, and talked about Harry Potter. They’d bumbled around in discussion for a while, not having a whole lot in common, before finding out they were both Harry Potter fans. Will, the rest of the intelligence unit, and 51 weren’t big fans of the book series, sure they’d seen the movies but that was about it. They both found it relaxing to just talk about something that wasn’t about their important work or love. 

They started to spend more and more time together. It started because Sylvie mentioned how she hadn’t grown up in Chicago and was so busy she never got to see the sights, so Jay took it as a challenge and started showing her his favourite parts of the city. Restaurants, theatres, parks, museums, galleries, all of it. He even took her to a restaurant in Canaryville where everyone who worked there had known him his whole life. Sylvie was enthusiastically told stories from Jay’s childhood. Hiding behind curtains buck naked, exposing everyone on the street to his six-year-old butt while he and Will shook in giggles. Block-wide water gun fights. Years of ding dong ditch. Sylvie was in stitches before she even got her food.

——————————————————————————————————————————-

THREE MONTHS AGO

There was a fire. A bad one. And after receiving a patient on a gurney, something in the basement exploded, Sylvie and the patient were thrown several metres away. No one else had been injured, but Sylvie wouldn’t wake up, was bleeding profusely out of a cut on her head, and she had shrapnel in her back. It didn’t look good.

“Alright everyone, gear up. 51 just responded to a fire at a suspected meth lab, it was confirmed five minutes ago by an explosion. A paramedic, Sylvie Brett, was critically injured and is currently fighting for her- Halstead? Halstead where do you think you’re going? Halstead get back here!” At the words ‘Sylvie Brett’ Jay’s blood ran cold. At ‘critically injured’ he went into autopilot. Just stood up and left. Didn’t even grab his jacket. He ignored his boss’s enraged screams. He just got in his truck and drove to Med.

He ignored the odd looks he got from those at 51. He ignored his coworkers and boss when they came by to talk to their witnesses/ask him what the actual fuck was going on. He ignored his brother and sister-in-law when they asked him why he was there. He just stayed sitting in the uncomfortable chair for hours, watching nurses and patients flitter between the doors to the ED. It had been six hours when Platt came by to yell at him too only to be interrupted by Dr. Rhodes. “Sylvie is awake and stable, I expect her to make a full recovery. We can only allow one visitor at a time, and she has been asking for Jay since she woke up, she’s pretty frantic, so you’ll have to come quick.” He stood up and almost ran past Rhodes into her room, ignoring the confused looks from everyone at firehouse 51 and Trudy Platt.

“Jay, Jay, Jay, Jay, Jay-”

“I’m here Syl, I am right here.” She sobbed as he wrapped her hands in his. “I am right here, and it’ll take an army to get me to move. Or you, but that’s basically the same thing if someone denies you chocolate.” The laugh that briefly interrupted her sobs made his day, releasing the tension he’d been holding all day. Jay sagged in relief, and just held one of her hands as he used the other to gently hug her, hold her as she cried, sobbed, hiccuped and, whimpered from the physical pain expressing her emotions was causing her. “I thought I- w- was goi-i-ing to-o die-e.”

“I know,” he choked, “I thought you were going to die too.”

Jay had refused to leave the hospital until Sylvie ordered him to. “At least shower and change, ooh, get something to eat too.”

“You just want me to bring you mac and cheese don’t you?”

“You know me so well.”

“Alright, I’ll be back in an hour, don’t watch ‘Say Yes to the Dress’ without me.”

“You will take at least three hours to come back here.”

“Sylvie-”

“You have been sitting and worrying for the past three days, take some time for yourself. Don’t make me get Maggie involved.”

“Okay, fine, I will be back in three hours. Can you still wait to watch ‘Say Yes to the Dress’ with me?”

“Duh.”

“Okay, see you later.” He kissed her on the side of her forehead that wasn’t bandaged, and left, starting an alarm on his phone for three hours. He would be back on the dot.

The second he got to the lobby, however, he was met with all of firehouse 51 and the 21st district standing up, expecting news from him. “I’d love to stay and chat, but I have orders to shower and change from Syl. Apparently I smell.” Trying to use his charm to get out of a situation he didn’t feel like explaining. But, he knew everyone glaring at him well enough to know that they needed some kind of answer. “Sylvie has become a very important friend to me, that day was one of the worst I’ve had in a long time.” Fewer glares, more confusion, and a free Jay Halstead.

He returned to his favourite person on the planet exactly three hours later with two containers filled to the brim with homemade macaroni and cheese, his laptop, and a box set of the Harry Potter books. “You, are an absolute angel, Jay Halstead.”

“No more than you, Sylvie Brett. Here is your food.”

“Oh, it’s still warm. Okay, time for bridal drama and lots of carbs!”

Sylvie was still in the hospital with Jay at her side as much as possible for another week. When she was given the all-clear to leave, no one seemed satisfied with the answer that Jay was taking her home. “Gabby I’ll be fine! Jay is one of my best friends, okay? He’s gonna drive me home, insist he stay longer than he needs to, before eventually leaving me with Otis and Cruz.”

“Okay, seriously, when exactly did you become friends with Jay Halstead? And are you sure that’s all you are?”

“Three months ago, and yes, I am sure that we’re friends. I am gonna hang up now, because I really do not appreciate the third degree.”

“Oh, come on Sylvie, I’m just looking out for you and Antonio, I just want to make sure Jay’s not moving in on you guys.”

“Gabby, there is no me and Antonio. And there hasn’t been for a while. He was great, Eva and Diego were great, it was fun, but he in no way protected or prepared me for Laura. He kept from me how erratic and impulsive and rude her behaviour was. He told me that she knew about me and was fine with cause she’d dating a few guys since the divorce. But it turned out a lot of that wasn’t true. He lied to me, leaving me to fend for myself when she came barreling in on a warpath, and then yelled at me for reacting in a scared and shocked way. He was actually the one who suggested we break up. Whether he likes it or not, she is still a significant part of his and his children’s lives, as well as a significant hindrance. And please, don’t act like we’re getting back together. I loved him, but I’m done with him.” And she slammed her finger on the touch screen much harder than she needed to. “Gabby again?”

“Yes, I love her, and I know she means well, but she doesn’t know everything.”

“And she has a lot of audacity trying to tell you she does. It’ll be okay, I think that everyone is just really stressed out and confused. I think that if we just tell everyone that we bonded over Harry Potter they’ll understand and leave us alone pretty quick.”

——————————————————————————————————————————-

ONE MONTH AGO

Intelligence had set up a meet with a coke dealer to arrest him and get some intel. The buy wasn’t until 1 am and they didn’t have to start gathering equipment and double-checking everything for another three hours, so everyone was just going to eat and try to relax until then. But then Jay’s phone rang. Luna appeared on his screen with a picture of Sylvie staring at a tank of baby jellyfish with complete and utter fascination. “Hey Syl-”

“I need your help.”

“What’s wrong?”

“I know you’re working tonight, but- oh I probably shouldn’t have called-”

“Sylvie, what’s wrong?”

“The blind date I’m on right now? I- he was fine at first but I’m scared. There are red flags everywhere and I’m afraid I’ll end up in a ditch.”

“Marco’s Bistro, right?”

“Yeah.”

“I’ll be there in ten minutes, you’re hiding in the bathroom, right?”

“Yes.”

“Good, stay there until I get there.”

“Of course.”

He nodded at Voight and ignored a livid Antonio. When he got to the restaurant, he told the hostess he was here to rescue his friend from a dangerous date and she didn’t even blink. “She’s still in the bathroom but you might wanna deal with her date after, he’s getting agitated.”

“Green dress shirt by the painting of the heron?”

“Yup.”

“Got it, thanks.”

“Hey,” he knocked on the door, “Sylvie I’m here.”

She exited and before he could even make eye contact with her she wrapped him in a bone-crushing hug, despite her shaking body. “I am so scared. He picked me up, saying that I couldn’t refuse him, he knows where I live.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll handle it.” 

Jay watched her until he could see her in safe his truck before he approached the man, and he knew that Sylvie had every right to be worried. Sharp eyes, nasty temper, tan line on his ring finger, and he looked one second away from just grabbing the next person and caving in their skull. “Excuse me-”

“And just who the fuck are you pal? I’m here on a date so leave before I kick your ass.” Jay pulled his badge out from underneath the collar of his shirt and sat down across from him. “Give me your driver’s licence, please.” The douche (as Jay would call him for the rest of his life) handed it over pretty damn quick, he waved the waitress over. “This man is going to need his bill immediately, please.” She nodded quickly and darted off, then Jay pulled out his phone. “Hey Burgess, I need you to run a name for me. Arthur Garrett. Two t’s. Okay, thanks. Can you send down a couple of officers for me?” He waited until the bill was paid and backup arrived before speaking again. “Mr. Garrett, stand up and turn around. You are under arrest for failure to pay child support and failure to attend court. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you.” After the handoff, he saw his least favourite thing in the entire world. Sylvie crying.

“He had an arrest warrant out, he’s being taken to detainment now. I’m sorry this happened to you Syl, you don’t deserve it.”

“I just feel so stupid.”

“Well don’t, you weren’t even the one who set up the date. Can I ask you a favour though? Let me do a check on everyone you go on a date with, please. I’ll worry a lot less.”

“After tonight? You have a deal.”

“Oh thank God, I was worried I’d have to try and convince you.” He leaned over the console to kiss her cheek, he looked into her expressive eyes and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ears. Neither of them realized how close their faces were until Jay went to speak and their lips brushed together, in a feather-light touch. “We, uh, we were going to order a bunch of pizzas for dinner. It doesn’t look like you got to eat, would you like to join us?”

“That sounds great.”

——————————————————————————————————————————-

THREE WEEKS AGO

Sylvie had gone back to Fowlerton to spend the holidays with her parents and brother, and Jay stayed in Chicago to celebrate with his brother’s family. Will was in the kitchen with Helen, he and a very pregnant Natalie were watching the looney tunes version of ‘A Christmas Carol’ in the living room with Owen. It wasn’t until Jay thought, about ten minutes into the movie, that Sylvie would love to watch this and he’d have to add this to their movie marathon lost for when she got back that he realized just how much he missed her. Her demeanour, her personality, the way she made him feel warm and fuzzy without much effort. And then he had another, much more startling realization. “I’m in love with Sylvie.” Beside him, Natalie snorted and Helen called from the kitchen “congrats on being literally the last person to know.”

“What? How did my brother’s mother-in-law-in-law know before I did?”

“She follows you on Facebook, remember? Basically everything you post is Sylvie, about Sylvie, or Sylvie related. And vice versa, I see the way she looks at you, she’s into you too.”

“It’s only been a few months, how am I in this deep?” Jay completely ignored his brother’s observation, he could barely register his feelings, he didn’t want to get his hopes up about hers.

“Take it from me, Jay, when the right person shows up it doesn’t matter how long you’ve known them or had a bond with them. If it feels good, go with it. It will only cause you pain to move away from it.”

“I don’t know if either of us are ready for that. The timings just not right.”

Nat covered Owen’s ears, “timing is a bitch.” She released a confused Owen who immediately zoned out looking at the tv again with a kiss on his tiny head, “if you don’t think that you’re ready, that’s fine. But don’t put anything down for timing or the universe, they’ll just mess you up.”

“Yeah… I’ll think about it.”

——————————————————————————————————————————-

ONE WEEK AGO

Sylvie had been all set to go camping with Gabby and Stella, she’d been so excited and Jay had spent the last three days with her helping her pack and hanging on to her every word. Watching flit around in a flurry of excitement for a girls week. He was sitting on her bed rolling up her light blue sleeping bag with white polka dots when she got a call from Gabby and her face fell. Lines and bumps moved their way on to her face which was carefree and bright only seconds ago. “Okay, Gabby. I hope you and Matt and Stella and Kelly have fun.”

“She cancelled the trip? Or cancelled you out of the trip?”

”She decided to make it couples only. She also took the opportunity to tell me that Antonio’s single again.”

“You know what? You are not going to be sad. Because you have a week off of work, and so do I because we worked too much OT the past two months. Let’s go to Universal studios, I hear they expanded Harry Potter world.”

She smiled again. Bright and beaming and in a way that was just so, so her. “I’ll look at flights.”

Thanks to a bunch of last-minute deals, coupons, and first responder discounts they were on a plane bound for Florida in three hours. And when they got there, they went into prep mode for the next day, making sure that everything was ready to get up and go to the park, and they were so busy that neither of them noticed that there was only one bed until they were both drifting off to sleep, centimetres apart.

Waking up entangled in each other hadn’t been as awkward as either of them thought it would be. It was nice, warm. And it only got better as the week went on. They spent three days at Universal Studios, three at Universal Island Adventure, and one at Disney. Taking as much time as they could at each place. They went on every ride they could, multiple times, enjoyed all the themed food, took far more pictures than they had ever taken in their entire lives, and waited until the last day to buy any souvenirs because of how expensive everything was. They even held hands every day, Jay’s reasoning was so that Sylvie wouldn’t get separated from him but because of the time of year the population of the park was sparse compared to what it could have been. Sylvie knew this, knew that she didn’t have to hold his hand, but she wanted to. Badly. She didn’t care if it was only for while they were in Florida, she could pretend while they were there that they were more than friends. Because once they went home, she had to pretend that she didn’t love him with all her heart. But honestly, they had the time of their lives. Fun, food, and unresolved romantic tension. What could be better? It was their last day in Florida, their rental car was already loaded up with their stuff and after the fireworks display at Disney they were headed back to Chicago. 

Sylvie’s hair was mussed from the long day, and while she looked tired, she couldn’t take her eyes off of the display. And Jay couldn’t take his eyes off Sylvie. The multi-coloured lights were reflected in her eyes and the wind was blowing her hair gently. Sylvie could feel him staring at her and when she turned to ask him was what wrong, she stopped, her words dying in her throat. Jay’s entire soul was playing through his eyes. It was as if there was a tether connecting the two of them. Neither of them could turn away or blink. And Jay just went for it. He leaned down and kissed her with all the emotion his body possessed. The kiss making Sylvie feel weak in her knees. She wrapped her arms around his neck in part to stabilize himself, and in part to pull him closer. They’d missed the rest of the display just holding each other, but neither of them could bring themselves to care.

——————————————————————————————————————————-

PRESENT DAY

Dr. Choi had been assigned to Jay. He raised an eyebrow at Sylvie seated on the bed beside him but made no comment, paying heed to the words of wisdom Maggie had just bestowed upon him, “she’s the only reason he’ll behave and accept treatment.”

“Alright, while I’m happy you’re not here with a bullet wound detective Halstead, coming back after a fight wasn’t exactly what I had in mind when I said ‘avoid lead’.”

“And deprive you of my charming personality?”

“Yeah, yeah. Now follow my finger, let’s hope you don’t have a concussion.”

It had only taken about twenty minutes to determine that Jay, miraculously, didn’t have a concussion or any broken bones. Just a lot of swelling and bruises. “Thanks, Choi.”

“No problem, while you are discharged and free to go, you can’t travel yourself, I’m actually you can see with how swollen the areas around your eyes are.”

“That’s no problem, I’ll drive him home.”

“Alright, good. Remember Jay, desk duty for a week.”

“Ugh, I’m already bored.”

“I’m sure you are, now let’s go. I want to leave before a Dawson comes barreling in here, cause I might start swinging punches too.”

——————————————————————————————————————————-

The next week Jay avoided Antonio, not intentionally though. After hearing what happened Voight decided to keep Halstead in the basement as much as possible for his desk duty. While it was boring and agitating not being in the field, Sylvie made sure to send him as many hilarious snapchats as possible, many of which consisted of her hiding in ridiculous places to avoid Gabby. The photo that had offended the Dawsons so greatly sat framed on his temporary desk. Apparently, the people behind them at the fireworks display their last day there thought they were so cute that they took a couple of pics during and after their kiss, but the new couple had left before they could be asked for contact info for the pictures. Luckily, they’d overheard them before the fireworks display talking about how while they were sad to go back to Chicago that night, the fire and police departments desperately needed them to keep their partners in line. It had been an amusing joke to Sylvie and Jay, but a way to post the photos for the people behind them. The Dawsons were already pissed that Jay was ‘moving in on Antonio’s girl’, but when they saw the photos on Facebook, with that mother posting the, admittedly gorgeous, pictures with the tags for CPD and CFD, looking for them so that the ‘adorable couple’ could have pictures from their first kiss, they were both livid. Gabby unleashing all of her fury, most of which was for unrelated things, on Sylvie at Molly’s, while Antonio just started punching.

It all came to a head when Jay was picking up Sylvie from her shift after he had finally been cleared to drive and go back to work. “Hey, you.”

“Hello, gorgeous.” Their quick peck was stopped by Gabby darting in between them and physically pushing them apart.”How can the two of you do this to Antonio? He still loves you Sylvie, even after all this, how can you-”

“Okay, you know what Gabby? You need to shut the fuck up.”

“Brett-”

“Uh-uh. I am talking now. Antonio screwed up. He lost his chance with me. So not only do you need to stop trying to meddle in my love life, but you need to stop feeling entitled to it. You have no say in who I do or do not date. End of discussion. No, ifs, ands, or buts. I am honestly at my wit’s end with you. I don’t even consider you a friend anymore because of how poorly you’ve been treating me.”

“Bu-”

“And don’t pull any more of that ‘but you dated my brother’ crap. I only did so at your encouragement. And I seriously regret dating him because of how much trouble you two are causing for me now because I choose to have a life and not let the end of my relationship with Antonio be the end of me. You need to leave me alone. I’ve already reported you to HR. I had no other choice after you locked me in the ambo for hours today without my phone or radio and wouldn’t let me out unless I got back with your brother. Goodbye Dawson. I’ll see you next shift.”

——————————————————————————————————————————-

THREE MONTHS LATER

Sylvie and Gabby were finally back on speaking terms, but took them a while to get there. Natalie and Hailey had become her best friends. They both understood how awful it was for someone to feel entitled to your love life, and how much gossipy coworkers who were closer than peas in a pod knew how to affect you more than anyone else. 51 had originally been avoiding taking sides, something that Sylvie was grateful for, and she made sure they knew she’d never ask them to choose. Everything, barring their relationships with Antonio and Gabby, went back to normal. Stella was asking for details about Jay, Cruz, Otis, Hermann, and Boden cornered him at Molly’s one night and threatened him, Upton told Sylvie plainly that she wasn’t allowed to hurt Jay, and the two made each other their emergency contacts. Jay also made stops by the firehouse with doughnuts from the place just around the corner from the 21st district. Sylvie, a secretly amazing cook, also dropped by the station with homemade food for the unit and Trudy on long nights.

Molly’s, in a bid to get more customers, started having trivia nights. Sylvie and Jay were practically vibrating in excitement because the trivia night that night was for Harry Potter.

“What did Draco steal from Neville during flying lessons in the first movie?”

“A remembrall!”

“What was the name of Hermione’s cat?”

“Crookshanks!”

“What was the device Hermione used to go back in time during the third movie?”

“A time turner!”

“Okay, and the winning pair is… Sylvie Brett and Jay Halstead! And can I just say that even though I work at 51 and not at the 21st district, I feel like I should have known that detective I-am-a-badass-army-ranger-and-can-kill-you-twelve-different-ways-with-a-pencil-eraser Halstead was such a nerd!” There was a roar of laughter from everyone including Jay. “Laugh all you want, being a nerd is how I got my amazing girlfriend.”

“Damn right it is.” A celebratory kiss was met with cheers from the tipsy group. “Alright, alright, stop making out with my honourary sister and come get your gift card to the aquarium.”

——————————————————————————————————————————-

EIGHT MONTHS LATER

Jay was trying to be sensitive to Antonio, really, he was. He put his photos of Sylvie in his locker, not on his desk, he took calls from her in another room. He didn’t talk about her with anyone from the unit. Sylvie was like an entity of golden light, anyone would be a fool to mistreat her or let her go, and Jay knew that both of the Dawson siblings were beating themselves up over their mistakes. But now Jay was pissed. Did he really think that Jay was so stupid he wouldn’t spot him at the table three rows down from them? That he wouldn’t make sure to take a closer look at the man sitting alone in a restaurant designed for dates, wearing all black, with a baseball cap and shades? And that was seriously the worst disguise, too. He could see numerous other couples and the staff take notice of him and they all looked concerned. Hell, even Sylvie noticed him the second he walked in! So they had decided in a little bit of revenge. They normally wouldn’t display PDA above hand-holding or a quick kiss, but tonight they’d made an exception. They were going all out, even choosing to sit on the same side so not only did Antonio have a clear view of both of them, but Jay would lean down and nibble on Sylvie’s neck, Sylvie would lean close to his ear and whisper in his ear, far, far too much physical contact. Oh, and kisses with tongue, can’t forget those when trying to make someone immensely uncomfortable.

They kept it up all throughout dinner and dessert. At some point in between appetizers and receiving the dessert menu, the PDA stopped being an act. They started riling each other up, enjoying what they were doing to each other. They finished dessert incredibly aroused, and paid the bill as quickly as possible. Jay was vaguely aware of Antonio following them but he couldn’t bring himself to care.

They made it to Jay’s apartment in record time and started ripping off each other’s clothes the second the door was locked. Jay lofted Sylvie up and carried her into his bedroom with Sylvie distracting him, kissing and biting his neck. Once they made it there everything happened slow and steamy, with Sylvie screaming Jay’s name multiple times, Jay purring and growling in her ear. They were vaguely aware of someone pounding on the apartment door, whoever it was (Antonio) had been doing so since Jay and Sylvie locked the door. But they didn’t care. They only focused on each other. They let him knock.

——————————————————————————————————————————-

*Brring, brring*

“Mhm, Halstead.”

“Halstead, we caught a case in Humble Park. Meet Upton there.”

“Sure thing Voight.” He hung up and stared at Sylvie for a moment, taking in her soft skin, mussed hair, and even breathing. He kissed her forehead and closed his eyes as he wrapped his arms around her. “I love you, Sylvie Brett.”

“Mmm, I love you more, Jay Halstead.”

“Did I wake you?”

“Your phone did. You want me to make you some breakfast while you get in the shower?”

“That would be great.” He kissed her, revelling in the feeling of his naked body against hers first thing in the morning.

Jay walked onto the scene with a spring in his step, homemade breakfast in his stomach, and a reusable take-out cup filled with amazing coffee. “You’re looking happy Halstead. How’s Sylvie?”

“She’s great. She made these egg muffins, they’re really good, she sent a few in a container for you if you want them.”

“I absolutely want them. Sylvie is so sweet.”

“She really is.”

“You are so smitten.”

“I am, I uh, I’m actually thinking about proposing.”

“Oh my god, that’s huge!”

“Do you think she’d say yes?”

“Oh, she definitely would.”

“I haven’t had a chance to talk to Nat yet, but would you come with me to help pick out a ring?”

“You got it.”

——————————————————————————————————————————-

Jay was beyond nervous, but he was ready. He was ready for Sylvie to be his fiance, then his wife, then the mother of his children. Sylvie was just getting dressed and then they were heading to the park for an Irish festival, which would end in green fireworks. “Hey!” Sylvie jumped out from their bedroom in a deep green knee-length dress. “What do you think?”

“You look absolutely gorgeous. Seriously, I have absolutely no idea how I got lucky enough to date you.”

Later, just before the fireworks were about to begin, after they’d spent the whole day dancing and eating, Jay led Sylvie to a spot on a hill that two officers had been guarding for him, courtesy of Trudy. “This is an amazing spot, Jay. What did you have to bribe Trudy with to keep it?”

“Permission to take pictures and a speech if you say yes.”

“Yes to what- oh my god.”

“Sylvie Brett. You are the light of my life, I have never been this happy before and it’s all because of you. I love you so much and I want you to be my everything for the rest of our lives. So please, Sylvie, will you marry me?”

Like, yeah, sometimes you’re drawn to a ship because you see parts of yourself in one or all of the characters involved and it strikes a note with you on a realistic level.

But then sometimes you like a ship because it’s interesting and the dynamic would be entertaining to play with either in a good or bad way.

And then other times there’s not too much behind you liking a ship except for the fact that you just wanna see the big one absolutely rail the smaller one. (Or vice versa, whichever works)

Sometimes things get wild and it could even be all of the above.

It’s because 99% of the arguments boil down to denying an individual’s agency

Fiction is one of the safest ways to exercise your right to choose - especially fanfic, which comes with an entire culture of tagging and content warning etiquette

If you go seeking fanfic on AO3, you can try new things with a fairly good understanding of what you’re getting yourself into

And if you get in over your head - you can close the window and walk away with no regrets

No real people were hurt in the production of words on a page - you aren’t sitting there thinking “gosh, I hope those people in this YouTube video survived that fall”

Fiction gives you the right to try on all kinds of ideas

Which is why I get so indignant when I see stuff like “XYZ content could be bad for some people, therefore it shouldn’t exist”

Or “what if minors clicked on porn for ABC fandom uwu”

The truth is, you have agency

My god, but you have agency

If you are old enough to be poking around these sites without parental supervision, you are old enough to start reading the warning labels on what you consume

And if that isn’t true for you? Then ask someone in your real life for help

(I have some pals who do ask me to screen fics for things that might trigger them)

But seriously, with fiction, you can choose what to access, and learn (in private) what you can handle

“nothing to see here.” - The Field Museum of Natural History

This girl has a strong message for body-shaming victims: “Wear whatever the hell you want”

Sara Petty created a collage of tweets she found, alongside pictures of her wearing the clothes that the tweets said not to wear with a big smile strewn across her face. The result was glorious and in addition to helping other girls feel good about their bodies, she also helped herself.