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beth-yeet365 · 4 years

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Kinda home for Christmas :)

Pairing: Tom Holland x danish!reader

Genre: fluff

Summary: reader can’t go home to Denmark for Christmas and feels a bit homesick so Tom arranges for his family to host a Danish Christmas so she can feel a bit at home :)

Word count: 2.1k

a/n: I hope you enjoy this. This is my first Tom Holland imagine and I decided to do a Christmas one in honour of Christmas just around the corner. I also tried to keep this as neutral as possible by not describing hair colour or skin colour even though ‘cause reader in the story is born and raised in Denmark which leaves room for the reader to have other ethnicities as well.

BACKSTORY!!!!! - I’m born and raised in Denmark and this will be containing a lot of Danish Christmas traditions such as celebrating Christmas on Christmas Eve, walking and singing around the tree and a lot of Danish cuisine. A lot will be explained in the story but you can always google some of the thing if you wanna know more about what I’m talking about.

That was all I had to say... happy reading ;))

_______________________

Reader’s POV:

Tom has always been a sweetheart. I know this and so do all his fans.

But this was just so sweet of him. He had noticed me feeling homesick when we neared December since i couldn’t go back home to Denmark and spend it with my own family so he called his mum, Nikki, and arranged for us to have a Danish Christmas at their house.

I was overjoyed and so happy until now, the 23rd of December, because i promised I would handle desserts and Nikki would handle the dinner and the rest herself.

I never realized how much work went into making just desserts. I’d prepared so much in advanced - gone shopping, asked my own mum for recipes and making sure we had all the tools needed in Tom and I’s kitchen.

Sighing as I looked at the recipe for “risalamande”, a Danish dessert you’d eat on Christmas Eve. It’s made of rice pudding put a lot of cut up almonds in and then only one whole almond in. The person that gets the whole almond wins the present a person has gone out to buy.

“Love? You good?“ Tom asked, walking into the kitchen and putting his arm around my waist and leaning his other arm on the counter, kissing my temple. “What does all of this say?“

“You wouldn’t be able read it ‘cause it’s in Danish, doofus“ I answered his second question and kissed his cheek in return. “I’m sorry I’m just a bit stressed ‘cause normally my mum would make all of this”

He looked at me with a sad smile. “If this is too much for you, darling, then I can just call my mum and tell her that”.

“No ,Tom! It’s honestly fine I’m just confused, that’s all.“ I answered and turned my body around to face him fully.

He looked at me with a raised eyebrow as if asking me if I was sure.

“I swear, Tom,“ I pecked his lips. “Maybe you wanna help? I could really use it.“ I winked at him and went in for a kiss.

He kissed back passionately and wrapped his arms firmly around my waist. No matter how long we have been together, his kisses still cause a storm of butterflies in my stomach.

I stopped the kiss before it could go further.

Tom looked at me with dazed eyes and I smiled cheekily at him, knowing that he would agree to anything if I kissed him like that.

“Yeah sure, Love.“

___________

Today was Christmas Eve.

Tom was driving with one hand on my thigh.

In the back of the car we had all the presents and the desserts.

Tom was driving extra careful to make sure that nothing would be ruined.

“I am looking really forward to tasting all of things you made, love.“ Tom said, not taking his eyes off the road.

“Didn’t you taste some of it while I was making them?“ I asked, glancing over at him.

“Uh, no! First of all you always asked me if I wanted help you but you kept slapping my hand away, love!“

I looked at him sheepishly. I knew this was true but he kept trying to taste it.

Oops, I guess.

“True, I did do that. What I am nervous about is how the reaction is gonna be from your family when they taste all of it ‘cause it is a bit of a certain taste and I don’t know if you brits are used to it.”

“I’m sure it all tastes fine! Stop doubting yourself so much.“ He asked as he tickled my thigh.

“Tom, stop! I swear to God I will hit you in the dick if you don’t stop right now!“ I threatened in between laugh and he stopped immediately.

“I’ll stop bot not because you threatened me and the on thing you and I both now you love so dearly“ he turned to me and winked and turned to look on the road. “But because we’re her now, darling.“

As he said the last bit, he turned into the driveway of his childhood home where his parents still reside.

They had all different kinds of outdoor decorations like lights, a snowman and a Santa Clause.’

Tom parked the car and we stepped out of the car.

Tom went and picked up everything needed to brought inside from.

We didn’t have to open the door since Dom, Tom’s father, stood in the doorway ready to greet us.

“Hiya dad. Good to see you again“ Tom greeted his dad first. “Wish I could hug you but we need to put these down first.“

He went on to go further into the house. Presumably into the kitchen to load off everything in his arms.

“Hi Dom! I can hug you unlike Tom over there.“ I said and went in for a hug.

“Oi! Is that Y/N?!“ A voice from inside the house called as Dom closed the door.

In came three boys also known as Harry, Sam and Paddy Holland.

“Eyyy, we guessed!“ Harry said.

“Welcome!” all three said in unison.

I laughed at them and went to hug them all individually.

“You guys practiced that ‘welcome’, didn’t you?” I asked them laughing.

“Pfft no!“

“Definitely not!“

“What made you think that?“

Tom then came back into the hallway we were at to take off his coat and shoes.

“Hello guys! Long time no see.“ He greeted them all.

I started taking off my scarf and shoes and Tom helped me take off my coat and hung it on the hooks while talking to the guys.

We all started conversing while walking to the kitchen.

“Y/N! You’re here!“ Nikki ran over to me in her apron and hugged me tightly.

“Good to see you too, Nikki.“ I released her from the hug and sniffed the air. “Oooh, something smells nice indeed in here!“

The smell was the duck cooking in the oven... and it smelled awfully like what my mum would cook back home.

“Thanks, hun’, I called your mother and asked for her recipe ‘cause I wanted to make you feel most at home.“

Nikki and my mum met a few months ago at Tom and I’s engagement party and they were instant friends.

Tom went over to wrap his arms around waist and pecked my cheek multiple times making me blush.

“Oi! Thomas please do keep your hands to yourself! Some of us intend to eat tonight.” Paddy teased him.

Tom and I gasped and released myself from Tom’s grasp and put my hand on my hip.

“Since when did you learn talk like that?“ I asked

“What she said.“ Tom added to the conversation.

“Since I had those guys,“ he pointed at his brothers “as brothers.“ he sassed.

“Oh, you little shi-“ Tom went after his youngest brother and gave him a good old noogie.

___________

Dinner was lovely.

We all laughed, talked and had drinks.

And then it was dessert time.

I kinda dreaded this like I told Tom earlier. I don’t think or know if you eat anything remotely close to risalamande.

Tom rested his hand on my thigh as the dessert was brought over.

“It’s gonna be fine. Stop doubting yourself too much.“ he quoted himself from earlier in the car so only I could hear.

“So, Y/N. D’you mind telling me, the obvious chef of the house,” Sam stops his sentence noticing a glare from Nikki. “Sorry mum it was a lovely dinner,“ he then adds and Nikki nods in appreciation. “But what is this Danish dessert you’ve made?“

“Well, Sam, this is risalamande which is traditional rice pudding mixed with whipped cream and chopped up almonds and only one whole almond which the person that gets it has to keep it them self so when we’re all done we have to guess who’s got the almond and the person that’s got the almond wins the present I have bought.” I finish.

“So it’s like a game?“ Tom asks.

“Yes indeed it is, honeybun.” Tom laughs loudly at the nickname. “But that is why it is quite quiet when we eat at home ‘cause we all concentrate on trying not to chew the almond.”

“Well,“ Dom starts. “Let’s get cracking then, shall we?”

Everyone nods in agreement and help themselves to a serving of it.

___________

The Holland’s Christmas tree was very pretty.

It ended up being Harry that won the game ‘cause we could all hear him accidentally chewing the almond that he apparently got.

The dessert was widely appreciated unlike what I thought.

“I told you, Y/N,“ Tom tuts at me while we’re upstairs changing into more comfortable clothes after eating so much food and dessert.

“I know you did“ I say while taking off my jeans and top, Tom looking at me with dark eyes.

“Darling, why are you wearing those?“ Tom asks, referring to the matching red, lacy bra and panties I’m wearing in honour of it being Christmas Eve.

“Don’t know what you’re talking about.“ I shrug innocently, fetching my Christmas pajamas from my suitcase.

“Oh, you know exactly what you’re doing, darling.“ he walks over and puts his hands in my hips, eyes still dark.

“What is it, Tommy?“ I smirk at him. “Is it something I’m wearing?“

“Do you know what you’re doing to me?” he asked, trailing his fingers up and down me waist making a shiver run down my spine.

“I don’t know... Care to show me?“

And, boy, he did just that.

His lips moving gently grazing over mine to give me a taste of what would happen.

It gradually started getting heated with three small pecks at first and then he pushed me against the wall and started passionately kissing me.

His teeth pulled at my lower lip, eliciting a soft moan from me making him smirk and continue to kiss me.

His tongue and my tongue moved against one another until a voice interrupted us before it could go any further.

“Umm, I know Dom and I always pester you guys with asking when you’re gonna give a grandchild but please don’t make one in our house.“ Nikki stood in the doorway with her arms crossed and a small smile playing on her lips. “You guys have your own to do that in.“ She laughs at Tom and I’s surprised expressions as she walks away again.

“Also, Y/N, you might wanna put some extra clothes on!“ she yells from down the hall making me blush so hard and Tom laugh.

___________

“What were you guys doing upstairs?” Harry asks teasingly.

“You already know, you dimwit!“ Tom says making all the boys laugh.

“What do we do now, Y/N” Dom redirects the conversation to what will happen now.

“Well now you’d walk around the tree hand in hand while singing Christmas hymns and carols.“ I tell them. “Usually you open the presents afterwards but I figured we could save that for tomorrow.“

“I’ve heard about that! It looks so fun.“ Paddy says and they nod in agreement.

I smile at him.

“It really is.“ I tell him. “Also because you don’t have to be a great singer to do it so you’re okay Tom.“

He turns his quickly to look at me with an exasperated expression coated on his face, eyebrows raised and mouth open.

“Oh, Y/N, you’re lucky I love you.“ He tells me and I just laugh along with the others.

“I know, Tommy,“ I take his hand in mine. “Love you too.“

“Enough with the sap let’s sing and walk around the Christmas tree.“ Harry says clapping his hands to gather us all.

___________

The festivities all ended around 10 pm and we all went to our bedrooms.

I was laying under the covers in the guest bedroom that used to be Tom’s bedroom when he was growing up.

Writing to my cousins and siblings and wishing them happy Christmas.

“What did you think of today, Tom?“ I yell out to him since he was in the ensuite that’s attached to his bedroom.

“I thought it was lovely,“ he says walking out the bathroom to the bedroom and turning off the lights, leaving the bedside lamps on. “Gave me a good insight on how you used to celebrate Christmas.“

He kisses my cheek as he positions himself under the covers.

“Yeah?“ I ask him.

“Yeah.“

I turn off the bedside lamp on my side and turn to face him, putting my hand on his cheek and gently stroking it with my thumb.

He wraps his arm around my waist to pull me flush against his naked chest to press a chaste kiss to my lips, letting it linger for a little while before mumbling “happy Christmas, my love.”

“Happy Christmas, Tommy. Love you.“

“Love you too.“ He answers, turning his bedside lamp off and kissing my forehead before we both fall asleep into each other’s arms.

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Hope you guys enjoyed it

#tom holland #tom holland imagine #tom holland x you #tom holland x reader #tom holland x y/n #christmas #tom holland blurb

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ruzek-halstead · 4 years

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respectfully

pairing: jay halstead x hailey upton

hailey somehow gets roped into attending her ex-fiancé & ex-best friend's wedding, and there's no way in hell she's going solo. hailey requests jay's help as her pretend boyfriend and he discovers he is incredibly attracted to badass hailey.

“anyway, congratulations on your wedding day but respectfully, fuck off.”

masterlist || ao3

warnings: swearing, fluffery, hailey upton’s badassery

jay can tell something is bothering his partner. he notices it during the first twenty seconds after he picks her up that sunny chicago morning. he doesn’t pry though; that’s just not how they work. he knows she’ll talk about it when she’s ready.

today is actually supposed to be their day off; however, both detectives are interested in some overtime, after sergeant platt asked them to help out oh so nicely.

they are in their blues (which is a very rare occurrence), acting as extra security during a chicago street festival. jay honestly has no idea what the festival was for and platt wasn’t in the mood to explain it to him.

jay and hailey stick together as they patrol the street; the conversation is kept fairly light, but hailey seems distant and uninterested and jay is starting to worry slightly.

“hey, is everything okay?” he asks her, as they turn a corner. she turns to him with her eyebrows raised and he instantly jumps in to defend himself. “i know, personal question. but you’ve been off all morning. just want to make sure you’re alright.”

hailey chuckles, losing their eye contact to watch the festival in front of them. it was busy but not overly crowded that they couldn’t hear what the other was saying. “no, i’m fine. just have a few things on my mind.”

it was jay’s turn to raise his single eyebrow, attempting to catch her gaze again. “anything you want to talk about?”

hailey looks like she wants to laugh and that just leaves jay even more clueless; she really was aloof about her personal life. “no, it’s nothing serious.”

“still,” he shrugs, stuffing his hands into his front pockets. “i’ll listen.”

hailey smiles, patting his shoulder that slumps in defeat. “i know, jay. but i’m fine.”

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jay doesn’t pry anymore after she shuts him down. they finish their volunteer shift, agree to go home and shower and meet up at a bar nearby. they still go to molly’s to hang out with the other first responders, but they’ve started going to this other bar, as to not have other prying eyes around. sometimes they just want to talk, something they just want to drink, but this way, it’s just the two of them.

he’s watching hailey at the bar, buying them another round of beers. she’s still been slightly off, but he’s confident she’s about ready to crack.

jay’s halfway into his second beer when she finally explodes.

“okay, i've decided i'm going to tell you what’s up, but you’re not allowed to laugh.”

she looks so serious and jay is so confused. why would he laugh if something was wrong?

“okay?” he replies, more as a question.

she looks as if she’s mentally preparing herself and he’s clueless, but that seems to be the norm around hailey.

“one of my ex-boyfriends is getting married.”

jay raises his eyebrows, expecting everything but that.

“to my ex-best friend.”

realization is slowly dawning on him.

“he cheated on me with her, so we broke up, naturally.”

he’s kept quiet because she doesn’t look finished venting yet.

“but they’re getting married in like a week, and i wasn’t going to go because fuck them, you know?” hailey was going off now and jay listened diligently, a hint of a smile on his lips. “yes, you heard correctly; i received an invite. anyway, i never sent in my rsvp either just to keep them guessing and mess up their wedding plans. but then,” she adds dramatically, rolling her eyes; jay is trying really hard not to laugh now. “i saw them! i saw both of them last night on my way home. of all the places i could run into them, i ran into them at the convenience store when i was picking up milk,” she looks so annoyed, “milk, jay.”

at this point, jay can’t contain his laughter anymore. hailey looks affronted.

“hailey, i’m sorry, okay?” he can’t seem to stop or look the least bit apologetic. “i’m not laughing at your story, i promise. it's just the way you’re telling it. i've never seen you so invested in something and so annoyed.”

hailey is pissed, but not at jay; it’s just the whole situation in general has been bugging her all day and she just needed to tell someone. “oh, there’s more.”

jay's eyes widen. “oh no, what happened?”

“so, there i am, carrying the milk and they’re being all friendly and shit like nothing happened,” her eyes are squinted, “like what the fuck?”

jay nods, smirking. “how dare they?”

hailey pauses, glaring at him. “i know you’re being a smartass, but i'm going to ignore that because, listen to this,” he leans in, completely invested. “they asked if i was going to the wedding, but like what the hell am i supposed to say to their faces?”

“oh no,” jay mumbles, “hailey, you didn’t.”

“yes, jay, i absolutely did,” she laughs, “when they mentioned they never got my rsvp, i told them it must have been lost in the mail because i definitely sent it.”

jay is full on laughing again and hailey can’t even be mad because she’s laughing too.

“jay, it gets worse,” she groans, dropping her head into her hands. jay is basically already losing it; he’s not sure how much worse it can get. “they asked me for the details so they could add it into their plans, and they asked me if it was two spots; one for me and one for my boyfriend.”

jay's eyes widen. “oh shit.”

“i know they were messing with me; i could see it on their faces,” she adds angrily. her blue eyes are slightly wild, and her messy hair is sticking to her face as she spoke ferociously. “but there was no way in hell i was telling them i’m going to their wedding solo! so, now i need a last-minute date, and the wedding is in like a week.”

jay takes a swig from his beer, amusement still present on his facial features. “wow hailey, that was a rollercoaster. no wonder you’ve been off all day.”

“yeah, yeah, laugh it up, halstead,” hailey sasses while rolling her eyes. “but don’t you worry, your time of reckoning will come.” jay’s eyebrows furrow and he doesn’t like where this conversation is going. “you got a nice suit?”

jay shakes his head rapidly. “no. not this again.”

“what?” hailey interrupts, looking confused. “you’re coming to this wedding with me, you have no choice.”

jay sighs. “are you sure this is a good idea?”

“i'm not showing up solo, jay,” her expression is serious. “and if i have to pretend to be in a fake relationship for one night, i would rather it be you.”

jay ignores the way her words make him feel inside. “okay, fine. looks like i don’t have much of a say anyway.”

hailey smiles toothily and any doubts he previously had disappear. “no, you definitely don’t. also, i'm pretty sure voight is out of town, so you’re really my only other option.”

he chuckles, finishing the last of his beer. “okay, if we’re going to do this, tell me everything i need to know.”

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hailey should probably be nervous, but she surprisingly isn’t.

she's about to spend a night pretending to be madly in love with her partner (which honestly wasn’t that hard to do), and she hasn’t started panicking. it's basically like working undercover; she has just never done this level role-playing with jay before.

but he seemed good. he didn’t seem nervous at all, as she gazed at him from the passenger seat of his truck. he picked her up about twenty minutes ago, looking absolutely dazzling in a pressed simple black suit. she was momentarily speechless, but she awkwardly smiled and gave him a random compliment when he cleared his throat.

contrary to what hailey thought, jay was a little nervous. this was uncharted territory and they hadn’t discussed much of how they would act around each other. it was like an undercover operation and they would just go with the flow. but he had to be honest; with hailey wearing a dress like that, it was going to be extremely hard to focus. her dress actually was quite similar to erin's from their undercover op in the sex club and honestly, the parallels between them lately were uncanny.

“what?” he asks as he catches her staring for the fifth time since they left for the ceremony.

she giggles, “sorry, nothing. i'm just picturing nate’s face when he sees you.”

nate is the ex-boyfriend; kathy is the ex-best friend. hailey had caught him up over the last week on everything he needed to know. she may have omitted a few details, but what he didn’t know, he didn’t know, right?

jay raises an eyebrow, turning right onto the street of their destination. “why?”

hailey rolls her eyes; he can be so adorably clueless. “shut up; you know you’re attractive, okay?”

he smirks and internally debates whether he should use this moment to blatantly flirt with her, but figures he’ll have lots of time for that throughout the evening. he pulls into the venue and secure a parking spot, catching hailey’s fidgety hands from the corner of his eye.

they had decided to keep their fake relationship as close to reality as possible, as to make everything easier. they had been partners for a bit over three years and started showing romantic interests in each other two years in. they decided to give it a try a few months later, and have been together ever since.

“you ready?” he asks in a soft voice.

hailey nods. “yeah, yeah, i'm okay,” she wipes her hands on her red dress (honestly, red? was she trying to kill him?). “just realizing i'm going to see a lot of people from my past in there tonight.”

jay reaches over the console and taps her knee, careful not to linger. “what did you say the other day? fuck ‘em?”

she looks over at him and smiles. “fuck ‘em.”

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the wedding is taking place at an extravagant hotel wedding plaza; the ceremony is happening in the outside garden at sunset, while the reception is immediately following within the hotel. as they make their way to the back garden, hailey is stunned by the beauty of it all. there are fairy lights decorating the whole perimeter, clearly illuminating the make-shift altar where the vows would be held. over the altar, there is a gorgeous arc with lights intertwined and a pathway made up entirely of flowers. the color scheme is off-white and light pink and it blends together beautifully.

“i have to hand it to them; this place looks amazing,” hailey murmurs low enough for only jay to hear.

jay smiles, grabbing two flutes of champagne from the waiter passing through. “you ever think of how your wedding would look?” he asks as he hands her a flute.

hailey chokes into her first sip. “god no,” she licks her lips and jay stares. “after everything we deal with and see on a daily basis, thinking of something like my own wedding just seems so miniscule and pointless.”

“so, you’re a vegas wedding type of girl?” he smirks.

hailey returns his devious look. “if it saves me time and money, i'll cheers to that,” she clinks her glass with jay's before turning to scan the crowd. it was part of her nature to surveillance everyone around her, even if she didn’t realize it. “oh hey, that’s nate, by the way.”

she points to a tall man, dressed in a pressed black tux, laughing with what jay assumed were his groomsmen. jay surveys him for a second, well aware of hailey’s eyes on him, and shrugs, “you can do better,” he says as he takes another sip of champagne.

hailey beams and he fucking loves it.

but he sees her smile fade away as the man in question starts making his way over to them.

“oh my god,” she panics, “here we go.”

“relax,” he murmurs into her ear, sliding closer, “we’ve got this.”

nate reaches them and jay takes a moment to study him up close. he looks polite enough, but jay knows better. nate’s eyeing hailey like she’s a piece of meat and he’s definitely not into that. he decides he doesn’t like the guy.

“hailey! i’m so glad you could make it!”

jay glances at hailey and sees the strain in her features. he can almost read her mind; is this guy serious?

“thanks nate, and congratulations,” she turns to jay with adoration in her eyes (wow, she’s good). “i want you to meet my boyfriend, this is jay.”

jay sets nate with a cool but polite look. “hey, it’s nice to meet you. and congratulations on your wedding, this place looks beautiful.”

nate reaches for jay’s outstretched hand and doesn’t falter under his tight grip. “thanks, man. how did you meet hailey?”

“we’re partners,” he replies easily.

nate raises his eyebrows. “robbery-homicide?”

“no, i joined the intelligence unit at the 21st district a few years ago,” hailey jumps in.

nate looks oddly surprised. “oh, you left? i didn’t know you moved to the other side of town.”

hailey smirks, “yeah, guess i just had to leave some stuff behind.”

nate nods, teetering awkwardly. “sorry, i just always thought you’d be a lifer down there,” he says with such a nonchalant attitude that jay is raising his eyebrows at his audacity. “you always said you weren’t cut out for more.”

hailey opens her mouth to respond but she looks temporarily stunned; jay decides to step in with some truth bombs. “hey man, hailey’s an amazing detective. it it wasn’t for her, i probably wouldn’t even be here today.”

“wait a minute, what the fuck?” hailey snaps and jay bites his lip. her voice is low because she knows better than to embarrass the guy too horribly on his wedding day, but he deserves this. “i never said that, you said that! because you didn’t want a fiancée more successful than you!”

jay casts a quick look at her when he hears her say fiancée, but she’s too heated to notice.

nate also looks affronted that she mentioned that, or that she responded at all. clearly we’re both remembering different situations.”

“yeah, clearly,” hailey snorts. “anyway, congratulations on your wedding day but respectfully, fuck off.”

jay is absolutely stunned as she grabs his wrist and yanks him in the direction of the outdoor bar. she quickly asks the bartender for four tequila shots and downs the first one, all within the minute.

jay has literally never been more attracted to her.

“can you believe the nerve of that guy?” hailey hisses angrily. she takes another shot. “i swear he just invited me to piss me off.”

jay pushes the other two shots in her direction. it's one in the afternoon; he can’t fathom having two tequila shots at that hour, but hailey has already had a day and she clearly needs them. with jay’s silence, hailey stills after her third tequila shot. her brows furrow and worry lines appear on her face.

“shit, was that too much?” she says, panicking. “did i overreact and make a big scene on his wedding day for no reason?”

jay smiles, instantly putting her worries at ease. “oh no, not at all. he was an ass and deserved it, trust me,” she nods and takes the last shot. “that was pretty badass.”

hailey snorts, rolling her eyes. “he's lucky i didn’t punch him in the face. i have a pretty great right-cross.”

“let's not give the groom a black eye before he’s even gotten to the altar,” he says as he leads her to the seating area with a hand on her lower back. other guests are starting to find their seats, while the groom and his party make their way to the altar. “we’re still not halfway through this thing.”

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the ceremony is standard; nothing special.

jay and hailey politely stand for the bride to make her grand entrance. her dress is big and poofy and hailey hates everything about it, but she stands quietly and watches. her anxiety is out the roof given the situation she’s currently in but having jay next to her really does calm her. he's not doing anything special; they’re only touching the bare minimum, sitting right next to each other, but that’s all she needs to relax her.

the reception that follows is also very bland. they are seated with three other couples, who are surprisingly very friendly. hailey doesn’t recognize them, so they must have come into the picture after her departure.

“hey,” jay murmurs, a few minutes after they dim the lights for dancing. “i don’t want to pry, but i’m curious.”

truthfully, hailey has been waiting for this question since her outburst earlier with nate. she’s surprised he didn’t ask sooner, considering his lack of patience when it comes to curiosity. “what do you want to know?” she levels him with a slightly smirk.

“come on, hailey,” jay gives into a half smile. “why didn’t you tell me you were engaged to him?”

hailey pauses for a moment, actually thinking about her response. “the truth?” he nods solemnly. “i didn’t really want you to know about my failed relationships.”

jay’s eyebrows raise to his hairline. “your failed relationships?” he’s almost laughing. “hailey, have you even seen all of mine?”

she laughs, “i know, but i don’t know,” she’s twisting her fingers together to keep her busy. “i just – i really loved him. and then that happened, and i felt like it was my fault, you know? like i did something to warrant that. i didn’t want people knowing. especially you; i didn’t want you to think any less of me.”

jay’s eyes go wide and he shakes his head. “hailey, i can’t even begin to tell you how wrong everything you just said is.”

hailey looks at him shyly; she’s not a shy person.

“i would never think any less of you; you’re one of the best people i’ve ever known,” he says seriously, his eyes star deep into her soul; she can’t escape. “also, none of that was your fault. if he was stupid enough to lose you, he’s an idiot and nothing you did caused that.”

hailey smirks at him. “i know that now. he’s trash and i deserve better.”

the smile jay sends her is blinding. “good. you do deserve better.”

he continues to look at her and she doesn’t tear her gaze away; she can’t.

their tender moment is interrupted by the screeching of chairs, as the bride and groom decide to make their rounds to every table. and because hailey has been extremely lucky lately, all the other couples are either on the dance floor or at the bar when they decide to come to jay and hailey's table.

hailey can see them approaching, and she wants to run, yet tragically, she cannot.

“you got me?” she mumbles to jay quietly, grasping his hand automatically.

he looks at her with a fond smile and tightens his grip. “always.”

both detectives brace themselves for the next few minutes. they've faced flying bullets and bombs, but somehow, this feels worse.

“hailey!” kathy squeals, dipping in for a hug. hailey goes rigid and her facial expression changes to one of pure discomfort. “so glad you could make it! and who’s this?” she sets her eyes on jay, and now it’s his turn to be uncomfortable. nate has looked uncomfortable during this whole interaction so far; probably has something to do with hailey telling him to fuck off. respectfully.

“i'm jay,” he introduces himself, thrusting out his hand before she has the idea to hug him too. kathy pauses, but shakes his hand anyway; clearly, she wanted a hug.

kathy raises an eyebrow. “you’re the new partner, right?”

“sure,” jay shrugs. “it's been a while, but yeah, you could say that.”

she raises her eyebrows suggestively in hailey's direction. “i can definitely see why you wanted more than just partnership with this hunk.”

hailey stares at her. “do you hit on everyone’s boyfriends, or just all of mine?”

jay's eyes widen, but he keeps his composure for hailey’s sake. kathy’s face blanches and she straightens as if hailey has just slapped her across the face; well, she may as well have.

“hailey, please don’t forget you’re here at my wedding, as per my request,” kathy deadpans in response and if jay thinks they were in trouble before, they’re really in for it now. “do not disrespect me like that.”

hailey’s eyes squint and the words she’s hearing are causing her physical pain. “are you kidding me?” she hisses. “you slept with my fiancé and had the audacity to invite me to the wedding, so who the hell do you think you are sassing right now?”

kathy purses her lips. “i thought you’d be happy for me. we were such great friends.”

hailey is about to lose her shit. “jay, i’m going to hit her,” she says quickly and jay decides to take charge and jump in.

“alright, you know what? it's your wedding day, we don’t need to make a scene,” he says calmly; hailey is still breathing deeply. “but you both should acknowledge you did hailey dirty and she deserves an apology, at least.”

the bride looks affronted that he would even get involved. “apology? she should be apologizing to me! she’s causing me stress! you don’t upset the bride on her wedding day!”

“i’m about to do more than just upset you,” hailey growls, quickly standing up and planting her feet firmly to the ground. jay has no doubt in his mind that hailey will not hesitate to give the bride a black eye, but he really can’t let her do that.

with his rapid instincts, he’s able to wrap an arm around her waist and yank her into his side and farther away from kathy, who pales and flinches a few steps back. to anyone watching, it merely looks like he’s unable to keep his hands off his girlfriend and pulled her closer for a quick cuddle. it seems this is enough to snap hailey out of whatever revenge-infused fantasy she’s living in her head. “i'm going to leave,” she says calmly, “and i would like to say i wish you both nothing but happiness but really, i want to tell you both to go fuck yourselves. respectfully.”

with those last few words, hailey grabs her clutch, jay’s hand and pulls him in the direction of the exit doors.

and once again, he has never been so attracted to her.

“oh my god, i can’t believe that just happened,” she groans as soon as she exits the building. she instantly leans against the brick wall and allows the coldness to distract her. at his silence, she peaks an eye open to see him gaping at her. his cheeks are flushed, and he looks flustered, which is highly unusual for jay.

“what's wrong?” she questions. “why are you looking at me like that?”

he seems to snap out of it but he is blushing like no tomorrow. hailey is shocked; this literally never happens. “it's nothing, sorry,” he mumbles. “you just look really good.”

hailey has to strain her ears because she almost can’t hear him, but she does. “what?”

jay huffs but decides he can’t get out of this now. “apparently i have a thing for angry hailey,” he says honestly, and she’s floored. “i’m probably crossing a line here or something, but i'm very attracted to you right now.”

jay is being bold and meeting her blue eyes, but hailey is slightly speechless.

“and if i'm being honest, i really want to kiss you. i've wanted to all night.”

hailey decides to feed off his confidence and play along. “what's stopping you?”

he forces his eyes not to widen at her forward manner and instead takes a step closer to her position against the brick wall. “so many things…” he groans, his hands finding her waist.

“but?”

“but i don’t care.”

his lips meet hers tantalizingly slow.

his kiss is soft, much like his entire character when it comes to hailey. one of his hands reaches up to cradle her cheek and hailey surges forward because it’s not enough. jay pulls back.

“finally,” hailey mumbles, cuddling her face into his neck. he holds on tight, the overwhelming scent of her enough to keep him smiling. “i've been wanting to kiss you since the first time you got shot.”

honestly, he can’t remember when he started wanting to kiss her but he’s damn well glad he finally did. “thanks for coming with me today,” she says quietly, “it’s hard for me to open up about my past, but i really hope i can get there with you.”

he's still holding on tight, and he’s smiling as she sneaks a glance at him. “we have all the time in the world.”

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