UPSTEAD ONESHOTS

μετάνοια (METANOIA)

Metanoia : the journey of changing one's mind, heart and self.

They had been together for four months now, in their little bubble. That honeymoon phase every couple has at the beginning of the relationship, just enjoying their time together without stressing about the future.

But they couldn't avoid talking, sorting everything out. They knew well their boss had a specific rule, that had been broken countless times, of no relationships in his unit. They both had gone through the difficulties of working with their lovers, but they could feel this time was different.

They had been partners, friends and then best friends before getting together. They had built a strong foundation of mutual trust and respect, and no romantic feeling could ever break that.

But their job was still risky. They put their lives in the game, in danger every single day, and it wasn't easy to control their feelings, to avoid their emotions clouding their judgment.

It was hard, but not impossible.

She knew how to be professional, how to restrain herself from looking at him for too long, keeping her hands, that desperately wanted to touch his, at her side.
But when the cases got real, there was no space for other thoughts for neither of them.

They just needed a little time to sort this out, think of the best way to tell Voight. They both agreed it was the best thing, he would have figured it out sooner or later, and coming clean was the best option.

But it wasn't that easy, it could have meant that one of them had to leave the unit, and although they loved each other and cared about each other deeply, their careers were not up to any risk.

But life was unpredictable and luck was never by their side.

***

Snowflakes were softly falling on their jackets while Hailey's laugh echoed in the park.
It was quite and peaceful.
White splashes of snow everywhere: on the benches, on the kids swing and on the slide.
Her legs on his lap, trying not to lose balance and failing to hold back her laugh.
His heart racing in his chest, almost exploding with happiness. Her smile and her laugh, he would never get tired of looking at her, her beauty.

Her gloved hands were holding her coffee close to her face trying to warm up her frozen face.
He felt the need to kiss her red nose making her laugh even harder.

-Hey there Rudolf-

She was carefree and light hearted, and he was loving this side of Hailey.
He had fallen in love with her long before they even got together, even if he wouldn't dare telling her yet, but she had always been a composed person, never giving away the way she was feeling.

Seeing her like this, always smiley and hell of a lot flirty made him feel as if his heart had wings.

Her nose was cold as he imagined and when he looked in those beautiful blue eyes he couldn't stop from laying his lips on hers.
It was supposed to be a chaste kiss but she grabbed the back if his head and brought him closer, her tongue dancing with his.

They hadn't ever been fans of PDA but lately couldn't keep their hands to themselves.
But it wasn't that big of a problem, it was an empty little park in front of a small coffee shop, they liked hanging out there, having breakfast before heading to work.

But actually it was problem

They abruptly broke away to look at the man who loudly coughed above them