"Damn, this is really hot." Jay said as the entire Intelligence team sat in the bullpen eating takeout for lunch.
"Blow on your food to cool it down, JJ." Adam said in a mocking tone, making everyone laugh.
"I will knock you out, Ruzek. I meant it's spicy." Jay said with an eye roll.
"Come on, bro, grow a pair!"
"You think you can handle spice better?" Antonio challenged, an idea forming in his mind.
"I know I can, yeah. Food is never that hot, it's all psychological."
"I'm glad you think that. How about you guys all come over to my place tonight and I'll make the hottest chicken wings ever for Adam to eat. He eats 6 or he loses and has to buy lunch for all of us for a week."
"Deal! And when I win, you will pay my tab at Molly's this weekend." Adam bet, shaking Antonio's hand and making it official.
"I can't wait to see this." Kevin smiled.
"Yeah, you guys think it's funny. But you aren't the ones who go home with him. Spicy food can really mess up your stomach and I'm not prepared to smell that all night." Kim explained.
"Baby, this won't affect me at all. I have a stomach of steel!"
-/-/-/
"Here they are! The Dawson family homemade hot sauce. Eat six wings coated in it, and your tab is paid." Antonio said, setting a plate in front of Adam.
"Dig in, Mr. Stomach of Steel." Kim laughed from beside her boyfriend.
"I will." Adam said, full of himself and his ability to handle spice.
After one bite, he whistled and took a huge drink of milk. "Damn, Toni. You put ghost peppers in here?"
"No, actually Carolina Reapers, the hottest pepper in the world." Antonio said proudly, eating a wing without even flinching.
"How can you eat that with no reaction? I mean, Adam took one bite and it looks like he's about to cry." Jay pointed out.
"I grew up eating this, man. It ain't that bad." Antonio explained, finishing the wing as Adam continued eating.
By the third wing, he was sweating and his mouth was on fire.
"You good, Ruz?" Kevin asked, trying not to laugh at his buddy who groaned in pain.
"My mouth hurts. Bad." He made out before drinking more milk.
"You can stop anytime you want to. But you're halfway there, your stomach is going to be a mess later, and well, you might as well keep going so you benefit from all of this." Antonio told him, resting his hand on his shoulder, before quickly removing it. "You are really sweating, huh?" He said, wiping his sweat-covered hand on Kim.
"Gross, Antonio!" Kim yelled.
"Don't act like you haven't had his sweat on you before."
"Okay, totally rude."
"You're right, sorry, let's go back to watching Adam suffer." He laughed as they turned their attention back to Adam, who now had tears rolling down his face, mixing with the sweat and sauce around his mouth.
He sniffled and dropped the bone of a wing after finishing it. "Two more, right?" He asked, his voice cracking.
"I'll cut you a break, one more." Antonio decided since Adam was now crying.
Adam took a deep breath and picked up his last one, beginning to eat it fast to get it over with. And he did, he got it over with quickly and won the bet.
"Alright, bro, we got your tab this weekend at Molly's. You did good." Antonio told him, handing him paper towels to clean his face and hands.
"Uh, Cool. I wanna go home now." He said, his hands wrapped around his stomach, already not feeling too good.
"Alright, Steel Stomach, let's go back home." Kim told him, giving him a kiss. "Ow, that's hot. I'm not kissing you until you brush your teeth. How did you eat those?"
"I don't like paying my own tab, Kim. I had the right motivation." Adam shrugged as they left.
-/-/-/
The next morning, Kim walked into the district with Adam following slowly, tired from a sleepless night of being sick.
"Hey, Ruz, how bad was it last night when you got home?" Antonio asked, just knowing his friend got sick.
"I don't know what you're talking about, it didn't even phase me." Adam lied as he sat down at his desk.
"Oh please! He was in the bathroom half the night and our house still stinks!" Kim tattled, earning a laugh from Antonio.
"That sauce shouldn't exist, Toni." Adam sighed. "And I'm drinking like a fiend this weekend, so you might wanna prepare your wallet."
"Huh-uh, you're working overtime on patrol this weekend, Ruzek. Platt's orders." Hank cut in, amused by Adam's face.
"But I -"
"No 'but's, Adam."
"I have lost at life. I give up."
