Disclaimer: basically one of those disclaimers they put in at the beginning of a show. The views and opinions expressed by the characters do not represent the author's views and opinions.
Like I actually like horses. They're pretty chill.
On AO3 I actually tagged this as 'Jake vs Horses' and I'm so disappointed I can't do that here, cause it's ridiculous how much that cracks me up.
Jake wasn't scared of horses. He hated horses. There was a difference. Who had horses nowadays anyway? Why? There was absolutely no reason to keep them off the extinction list, at least according to him. Humans didn't need them for transportation anymore, and they had better animals for companionship, so there was no use to keep them around. They weren't meant for civilized society. And why were horses off the list for eating? They didn't deserve to live anymore than cows did. So yeah, Jake really hated horses.
He knew it was suspicious when Amy suggested a spontaneous road trip. He was never trusting her again. She promised he would only have to do one boring activity with her every other day, that she would provide lots of junk food, and had some adult fun times in hotel rooms planned. Jake had assumed that boring activities meant museums and stuff that he could sleep walk through or at least mess around on his phone the whole time. He was not expecting a ranch. They were still in the state of New York. Who in their right mind would want to have a ranch in New York?
He would've been happy to meet Amy's friends who were wrong-minded enough to have a ranch in NY and leave. Jake had already forgotten their names. But no , Amy had to go see the four legged monsters, and she had to drag him with her. He thought it was a miracle when her friends said they had some other nonsense to get to across town and Jake was already halfway out the door. But no, they decided to be "nice" and suggested that Amy and Jake go out by themselves. Jake hated nice people.
That led to Amy making buddies with a horse in a pasture while Jake stood a good 20 feet away watching it like a hawk. There was an open gate where conceivably more beasts could walk through, but he had a good vantage point to keep an eye on the one in the pasture and to make sure no more invaders could enter and sneak up on him. It wasn't even a proper pasture- just a little sectioned off area that had easy access to supplies that he supposed horses needed to live (like food and water, but he was sure that they could probably live off pure evil for a few weeks at least) and then that open gate that let them come and go as they pleased.
He felt lied to because these horses made all of these noises, but they barely even neighed. Like 10% of the total noises they made were even close to a neigh. He didn't know they made any other noises at all. He was deceived his whole child hood. See 'N Say lied to him.
Santiago kept trying to wave him over, but he assured her he was fine exactly where he was. She said that he wasn't able to actually see it from so far back, but he made a comment about how he had superior vision that didn't need grandma glasses or contacts to be able to see stuff from from over a foot away. She huffed at him, but he was reasonably convinced that would be the end of it. All he had to wait for was for her to get bored and finally decided to leave.
Which he was hoping would be any moment now. He was trying to remember the last time he rushed her and if it was only a few seconds ago or over a minute (because over a minute meant enough time had passed for him to bug her again) when he heard probably the worst sound in existence.
You see, Amy had been slowly building up his tolerance to nerdy things. When they first started dating her asking him to go to a museum would have been a death sentence. She even started reading poetry aloud when he was kicking ass on the Xbox. And somehow the lines to one came back to him
'This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a whimper.'
And that was wrong . Jake knew how the world ended. With this fucking noise.
Amy had called it a nicker earlier. She said it was a good thing. But it didn't sound like one. It was like when a monster in a horror movie was just around the corner from the soon to be murder victim and let out that freaking sigh breath and then turned and looked at the person they were going to eat before devouring them. Except Jake had only ever heard that noise from speakers at a movie theater or surround sound at his place. Not right next to his ear.
He could never feel the hot breath on the side of his face before.
Jake hated horses so much that he couldn't move a muscle. He was not afraid. His only hope was that horses worked the same way as T Rexes did in Jurassic Park and if he stayed still it would forget about him or at least get bored and walk away. He wouldn't even move his head. He knew it was there, and even if he did turn to face it he'd probably ram his head into it and make it angry.
"Amy!" He hissed, after he figured out that just waiting was taking too damn long. She was still facing away from him having a good old time with her new best friend and couldn't even hear him. He tried her name a few more times at the same volume because he didn't want to raise his voice too loud, but it was no good.
"Amy!"
When she finally turned around, he almost felt bad for interrupting. All smiles and positively delighted. He acted reluctant a lot, but for the most part he actually didn't hate doing boring stuff with her. But only cause it was her. He wouldn't go sight seeing by himself or anyone else even if you paid him. Well, probably if you paid him, but it would have to be over $500. But with Amy all it would take was a little prompting and only minimal complaining. No money changing hands at all.
It was cute when she got all nerdy over stuff. Even if it was boring as hell. When she was excited about something, sometimes it could trick him into being excited too. Her being happy made him happy too.
So even though he would find some way to tease her about it, he didn't like that he couldn't enjoy the experience with her.
"What?" She asked after waiting for him to speak, which he chose not to do. Instead he only shifted his eyes in general direction of the creature cause he wasn't even going to point to it, much less turn his face towards it. She looked back and forth between the two of them, Jake and the thing next to him, then raised her eyebrows to ask what his whole deal was.
"Get it away from me," he demanded, his voice teetering on the edge of too quiet for her to hear him and too loud for it to not affect the horse. Once again her eyes traveled between them, and she was about ask him for clarification when her eyes lit up in sudden understanding.
"Oh my god, Peralta! You're afraid of horses!"
Jake was positive that she could at least try to hide how utterly gleeful she was at her deduction.
"I am not afraid of horses," he bit out. "I don't like them."
"You are terrified! This is the greatest thing I've ever seen!" Amy grinned, and while he was normally more than happy to hear her laugh, he definitely wasn't in that moment.
"I'm not."
"Then why do you need my help to get away from it? If you're not petrified in fear you should be able to walk away. So do it," she challenged, and moved her fingers to mimic someone taking steps. Jake wanted more than anything to prove her wrong and that her taunting had no effect on him, but he literally couldn't make his legs move. He tried to stare her down, but she just sent him back that same smug expression, so he didn't have much of a choice other than to give up.
"Amy, get over here. Now."
"No. I want you to ask for my help." If it were any other situation, her trying to provoke him like this would have been hot, or at least hilarious. But she was making a joke about it when he had never been more serious, so he couldn't find the bright side to it.
"I already did," Jake growled with a low edge to his words. But apparently she didn't count his previous demands as asking.
"I want to hear you say 'Amy, please help me, because I am terrified of horses'," Amy smirked, and it was awful. It was awful when the tables were turned on him with mockery. They teased each other back and forth, and 99% of the time it was nothing more than playful. The other 1% of the time he never went far if it was obvious something really bothered her. Like how obvious it was this really bothered him. Still, she was lording it over him.
"I am never saying that," Jake enunciated each word, fully believing the statement was true in that moment.
"Well then, I guess you're gonna have to figure your own way out of this mess."
"If you don't get the fuck over here right now-" Jake wasn't sure what he was planning on threatening her with, but before he even got to it he felt goddamn teeth in his goddamn hair, and could only manage to squeak out "Amy please help me because I'm terrified of horses."
She sauntered over to him with a swing in her steps looking far too pleased with herself. "Now was that so hard? I'll help you, Jake. I'll help you face your fear of horses."
"No!" He shrieked, before remembering the reason he was trying to keep his voice down earlier. He still continued, but in a slightly hushed version of a shout. "I don't need to face it! I need to get as far away from it as possible!"
"You're right next to her. It's not hard to pet her," Amy said as she reached for his hand hanging at his side and it was wrong how freaked out he was.
"Amy, don't. Don't touch me. Don't don't don't. Don't do it Amy," Jake begged as she grabbed his wrist that he couldn't pull away no matter how hard he tried. Amy was just nodding and smiling deviously and he was shaking his head back and forth as quick as possible, but when she finally place his hand on it he scrunched up his eyes so tight it was almost painful.
"Open your eyes," she attempted to coax him, but he steadfastly refused.
"No. You're the worst girlfriend in existence. I'm never opening my eyes ever again."
Amy breathed a chuckle of a sigh. "I'm gonna let go of your hand, but don't move it."
"Don't leave me!" He blurted, and he didn't even care how desperate he sounded and how much she was going to make fun of him later, cause he really wasn't going to make it through if she left.
"I'm not going anywhere," she reassured him in her most comforting tone. She lifted one hand up to his face before removing the one from his wrist to rest on his opposite cheek. She brushed her hands across his forehead to smooth over the creases that had formed there, then down to his crinkled nose to get him to relax. Her thumb pads whispered over his eyelids until they weren't shut quite so tight anymore.
"C'mon, Jake. Open your eyes," Amy requested in her soft and sweet voice that he hated because he always immediately wanted to do whatever it told him to.
"Why do they have to be so goddamn tall?" He moaned with his eyebrows pulled together in distress and defeat, but he was actually looking at her that time. Jake told himself that he hated seeing the consoling look in her eye, but that wasn't true. He was so very glad to see it. He just hated that he needed to see it for something as stupid as a dumb animal.
"Because they're horses," she reminded him like he was an idiot and that it was an actual question.
"I'm at the top of the food chain. These stupid hay eaters should not be bigger than me."
"They're just animals. There's no reason to be afraid of them."
"They're animals that are bigger than my car. And it's completely rational not to like them because they trample people and paralyze them and kill them," Jake explained his fool proof reasoning. There was no way she could argue with it.
"You know what also does that? Cars," Amy quipped. She still had her hands on his face and he was wishing they would never leave.
"If cars had brains and were capable of feeling hate and holding grudges I wouldn't go near one either."
"Horses don't hold grudges," she sighed with a shake of her head.
"You don't know that! You can't know that!"
"You know you've had your hand on a horse this whole time?"
Jake groaned in response, because of course she had to remind him. He was getting closer and closer to blocking out the fur that was under his palm, but Amy had to bring his attention back to it so that it was all he could think about.
"I'm gonna help you pet it," Amy told him casually, but it was anything but.
"Please don't. I'll do anything. I'll do your paperwork for the month. Two months. And I'll clean the whole apartment. Like actually clean it. With soap and stuff. And I'll go to two museums with you every weekend for the rest of the year. And I won't complain about any of it. I swear."
"You'll thank me later," she claimed in a sing song voice.
"No, I'll get my revenge later," Jake swore through gritted teeth.
He hated the fact that his body still wouldn't move no matter how hard he tried to, even when Amy was repositioning his body so his front faced the horse, but he still had his head craned as far in the opposite direction as possible. She pressed herself to his back and placed her hands over his arms to force his hands back and forth to actually pet the damn thing. Eventually he looked and it wouldn't have been that bad if he could have just stopped reminding himself about all of the hate seething under its skin. But every so often he would forget the evil for a few seconds and it wasn't that bad. Until he remembered.
"See, it's not so bad. It's like a big dog," she simplified and was completely mistaken.
"It is nothing like a big dog," Jake said begrudgingly.
"Yeah, but you're calmer now. You're getting used to her."
"I'm calmer cause of you," he corrected her. She was trying to gloat that she was right, but if she was going to gloat, she might as well do it over the right reason. The whole situation they were in at that moment was more than a little her fault, but she made it a bit more bearable. Really, she took it from completely unbearable to survivable, which was actually saying a lot.
"Really?" She asked sounding surprised. She always seemed surprised when he told her how much of an effect she had on him. A lot of times it was stuff like his heart beat speeding up, or him just feeling happy, but there were times like these when her presence just made things right. She was calming, and an anchor, and safety. He definitely didn't tell her that enough.
"This is the worst thing ever, but you're here. So I have an actual chance of not dying of a heart attack. And I can kinda block everything out and just feel you. At least I'm trying to. I'm not very good at it, but it's better than nothing."
"I'm gonna let go of your hands, but you keep petting her, okay?"
"Don't go," Jake barely even whispered this time, but it was just as urgent as the last time he asked her to stay, if not more so.
"I'm not going anywhere. I won't leave you, Jake," Amy promised and he couldn't help but believe her.
She lifted one of her hands from him and waited for him to continue the movement she had previously helped him with, and somehow he was able to comply. She then wrapped that hand around his waist and leaned further into him and he let out a sigh. She gave the same treatment to her other hand so that she was basically just hugging him from behind, her face resting to the side where his neck met his shoulder, while he was still moving his stupid hands and petting a stupid horse.
But it wasn't as awful as he would have thought. It wasn't that it was good- far from it- but that it was just kinda bad instead of awful and horrible.
"How are you so used to them? Horses? Like comfortable and stuff?"
Amy was always good with animals (even dogs that she always wanted to play with even if it was a near death sentence) but she seemed more knowledgeable here. Jake wasn't sure if there was a right way to pet horses, but if there was, he was sure Amy knew how to do it. He wasn't just watching the gate and the horse the whole time before he was ambushed. He was paying close attention to her.
Her hands always seemed to have a purpose and a place to go, one that she was sure of. It seemed absolutely crazy for her to try to pet it on the face (something Jake would never do in a million years) but it wasn't bothered one bit by her, and even pressed its long freaky face in to meet her palm. He supposed the thing might just like confidence, but that was another thing. Amy needed some experience before she built up confidence in anything, even if it was something like a horse. So he was wondering where she learned it all from.
"I used to go to Oklahoma to visit my grandparents during the summer in high school. I volunteered at a ranch down there that had therapy for people with disabilities."
"Really? I didn't know that. Why haven't you ever told me that before?"
Of course he didn't know everything about her, like she didn't about him. They hadn't even met each other until well into their adult lives. But this felt like something he should have known about her. And he realized he actually didn't know a lot about before he met her. Of course he knew some stories about her family, and some embarrassing moments she had in school, but those were stories. Anecdotes that were practically begging to be told. But he didn't know much of her memories. Stuff that even she found boring and didn't think were worth bringing up. She probably thought they were nothing, but Jake knew that any little thing that led to Amy standing right there with him was more important than she could even fathom. And he wanted to know.
"I guess it never really came up," she shrugged.
"Tell me more. Stuff I don't know about you. When you were younger."
"Like what?" Amy asked like it was a weird request. Which it was. Jake knew it was a weird thing to ask, but that didn't change the fact that he still wanted to know her response.
"I don't know. Anything. Like what your front yard looked like, or how you got to school, or your favorite radio station. Like what color your room was, or how you met your best friend. Stuff you wouldn't even consider thinking twice about, cause I do. I want to think about them." He told her, simple and clear.
Jake wasn't good with mushy stuff, or even remotely sentimental things, but he was actually doing okay in this instance. And yeah, it was always easier to say stuff like that to her when she wasn't staring at him, but even in those cases he would probably stumble through what he just said. He was not going to say that it had anything to do with the horse. He was not being helped by a horse. If anything he was so distracted by how much he hated horses that his mind wasn't left to falter over his words.
He was not going to admit that he actually felt calm and maybe a little nice. And he definitely did not think that it was a good distraction. One that you could mindlessly pay half attention to and be soothed either way, that he didn't even have to think about petting anymore and actually kind of liked petting it. He definitely did not think that at all.
"Uh, I guess my yard was normal? Like it had one of those small trees in the middle that everyone had on the street, and even though they were all the same kind, they never lost their leaves at the same time during the fall. I took the bus to school and it was awful. I always sat in the front seat behind the driver so I could be by myself and look out the window, but I pretended I was in a movie when it was raining. Radio station..." She trailed off as she tried to call back her memories. It was interesting how everyone has memories that they were sure they'd never forget, and even if they don't it takes a while to remember them right. Things that were so common to you as a child you'd always taken them for granted, but when you do finally try to reminisce on them they're buried deep under memories of things you had since deemed more important. "We didn't listen to the radio a lot. Mostly tapes. My dad had all of these Spanish singers, but most of them were Mexican, which he didn't mind, but he had some Cuban tapes from when he was younger that he was very protective of because it was nearly impossible to find replacements for them in the US. So I felt really proud of myself when he let me listen to one when I was away for a weekend and that he trusted me with it. But one thing I never understood was his love of Johnny Cash. It's the only country music I can stand to this day. But he was a musical guy in general. He was amazing at the piano and that was his favorite, but he was good at guitar too. He said he only learned it because pianos aren't portable and he wanted to bring music everywhere. And my mom was an amazing singer. My dad tried to teach me piano when I was in 4th grade and I kept asking him what second to come in and all of the most efficient techniques, and he just kept that I should do what feels right. And even if I got it technically right it never sounded nearly as beautiful as when he did it. He always told me to play with my emotions but I wanted specifics and measurable stuff, and eventually I got so frustrated that I just gave up."
Amy laughed at that, and he did too. It made him feel a little less left out, knowing that she was still just as much of a perfectionist as always. He could picture her wanting to get all of the scientific aspects of playing the piano, and he could see just how frustrated she would have gotten when her father told her the equivalent of listen to your heart, but Amy never was good at letting go.
"What about you?"
"It was mostly the same, year after year. I played baseball until my dad left and I quit. I tried some other sports, and I sucked at all of them, but I wasn't ever going to go back to baseball. A lot of my memories blend together cause it really was the same, night after night. My mom didn't like me watching stuff like the A Team cause she thought it was too violent, but what she didn't know didn't hurt her. So I watched all of those action shows, and if she ever got home and didn't go straight to bed we watched Night Court together. But that wasn't too often. Summer's were boring cause I didn't even have school which meant I didn't have to spend time trying to think of new excuses for why I didn't do the homework. So that usually led to me trying to figure out stuff to do by myself. Which led to me breaking a lot of things. Especially electronics cause I would always take them apart, like all those toys that required batteries, and timers, and anything else that had some sort of battery- because for whatever reason I thought they were the most interesting. Like I'd always take stuff apart cause I was sure that I would remember how to put it back together, and I thought that if I could just look inside that I would be able to figure out how it worked, but I wasn't one of those child geniuses, so when I took apart a clock all that I was left with was a broken clock."
Jake didn't exactly ramble, but that was the closest word he could think of to describe it. He wasn't talking fast or even worried about what he was saying, but somehow he just was so incredibly unguarded. Most of the time he was pretty careful about telling people about his childhood cause people always felt bad for him. Jake didn't really have a problem with sympathy, but he didn't want it in terms of his childhood because it actually wasn't that bad. Compared to a lot of people they thought he missed out on a lot of stuff, but he didn't think of it like that at the time, or even still. It was just how it was, nothing to get upset about. And if he ever told people how it didn't matter to him, they'd just shake their heads because they thought that was even worse.
He was especially careful around Amy.
He was definitely more transparent with her than basically any other human being, but there were some things that he had to watch what he said around her. After being together for months now, he could actually talk about something serious for 10 minutes without making a joke and trying to escape the conversation at all costs. And he still hated feelings, but he could actually tell her about (some of) them (sometimes). So for the most part Jake was open with her. More than he had ever been with anyone else in his life.
He wasn't an idiot. He knew that some parts of his life were pretty crappy, even if at least half of it truly didn't bother him at all. And he didn't hide or keep stuff from Amy, he just tried to frame the sadder bits in the lightest way possible.
She didn't feel pity for him, but felt sad for him- like with him. It was hard to explain. When most people said they were sorry and expressed sympathy it was well intentioned, but there was always something condescending about it. But Amy wasn't like that. She wasn't even sympathetic, but empathetic. Ridiculously empathetic. Like it actually happened to her.
With most people you tell them something depressing and they'll feel bad for a bit, or the whole time you're on the same topic, or until you part ways and go on with your days. Eventually they get distracted and then rest of the day it's like you never even told them. And if they do remember sporadically throughout the day, it's only until they get distracted again. Which is the normal thing to do. Almost everyone did it.
But not Amy. She was one of those I'm-unhappy-cause-you're-unhappy kind of people. But even then, she never got distracted. If someone she cared about was sad in the morning, she was sad the whole day. If they were upset it bothered her, long after that person had stopped feeling upset.
And Jake tried his best to never be the reason she was sad. He never wanted to, but there were some things that were out of his control, and some things that he still needed to work on. But it was worse when she was upset about things that he wasn't even upset about, so he was careful in his phrasing about some things.
"I'm sorry," Amy told him softly as she hugged him tighter.
"It wasn't bad or anything. Like I wasn't a sad kid. I knew my mom loved me and worked hard and stuff. And it was a lot more fun when my nana moved closer, and by then I'd met Gina and she always had something crazy planned. So you don't have to feel bad or anything."
Jake did his best to relieve her, but it was never so simple when she was upset because of something like this. He hated it when she was upset. He wasn't one of those I'm-unhappy-cause-you're-unhappy type of people. He was more of an I'm-unhappy-cause-Amy's-unhappy kind of person.
"I wish I would've known you back then. And I could've kept you company. And watched A team with you. And help you put clocks back together."
Her voice was still quiet and full of regret for something that wasn't even remotely her fault and that she could not have possibly changed. Amy was warm against his back and so much more than a comfort. That was another thing she did, one of the many things about her. He wasn't ever going to admit to it, but he was actually a fan of cuddling. One of those touchy-feely people, but he was never ever the one to initiate it. But because he never said anything most people (and every other girlfriend he'd ever had) assumed he hated it, but he never corrected them. But Amy knew him. Like really knew him. So she always started the contact so he wouldn't have to.
And he really was getting better at the whole communication and expressing feelings things. Like he could actually let her know that he liked holding her hand. Not how much he liked it, but just that he did. Jake wasn't up to that point yet, but he was getting there. And Amy knew how big of a deal it was for him to say anything at all, so it all worked out.
"But then you wouldn't have been able to make friends with horses and help all of those people," he reminded her with a light chuckle.
"I would have brought you with me," she responded immediately without even thinking about it. But he knew even if she did think about it her answer wouldn't change.
"I like where we are now. I was even more annoying as a kid. Talk about pulling pigtails. I bet you wouldn't've been able to stand me."
"No, I would have. I know good people when I see them," Amy assured him, and since they could never be positive, he chose to believe her. If anyone was could have found anything redeemable about him back then, it was Amy. Really, he only started to have anything redeemable about him when he met her. She made him want to be better.
"Well I wouldn't change a thing," Jake told her with a level of sincerity that was rare even for new and improved Jake. "Cause I don't want to be anywhere but with you, how we are. Right here, right now."
And because he could never leave well enough alone and always needed to end his speeches one sentence earlier "I mean, not literally right here. 10 feet back would be perfect. But this is close enough."
Amy didn't say anything to that, but she nestled her head in between his shoulders and that let him know all he needed to know. When they were getting all hot and heavy there was usually this feeling that they could never be close enough, it was an impossibility that they just couldn't pass. But there were times like these when just a simple touch was all he needed. More than enough. More than he ever hoped to get. Just holding her hand was enough.
Jake wasn't sure how long had passed until Amy spoke again. They had these silences that were never really silences. More like they both listened at the same time. And if the other didn't speak, than they listened to each other's serenity.
"We can leave now," Amy informed him as she shifted to support herself. "I think you've sufficiently faced your fear."
"No-" he objected far too quickly to make any attempt at a save. "Let's just... let's just stay here a bit longer."
Without a word she settled back into him. Gave him her warmth, her comfort, and her love without asking for anything in return.
Jake didn't know how much warmth or comfort he provided, but Amy already have all of his love. And anything else he had to give was all hers.
"I can help you, you know," Amy offered as they headed off. It was just getting dark when he said he was good to go. They were there for way over an hour, which would have been 59 more minutes than Jake would have predicted he could stand that morning. "With clocks and toys. I have a good memory. So I can help you put them back together. I know it's kinda late, but we could try it and it might be symbolic and you can get some closure."
He could hear that she was a bit hesitant to tell him her idea. Amy was still getting used to him too. Sometimes she had the most nonsensical thoughts that no one would ever guess would have come from someone who was so serious and such a perfectionist. And Amy never really told anyone all of her illogical and crazy and often nerdy thoughts before.
She was still getting used to telling someone about her silly and immature ideas because she had never had a relationship close enough that she felt comfortable doing that with. But she was finally opening up too, because Jake was all about that. Childish and stupid was his thing.
And so was Amy.
"Yeah. That sounds nice."
Jake still hated horses, and he was sure the feeling was mutual. But horses didn't seem to hate Amy, so he figured he would be okay around them if he stuck with her. Really, he would be okay around anything if he stuck with her, but he already knew that.
He was still working on it, but someday he would be able to tell her just how much he liked holding her hand.
AN:
Remember when my ones shots used to be 1,000 words?
Me neither.
Okay, so I've been staying at my brother's place for a couple of days (why this took so long to get out) but I'll be here for at least another week, so that's the kink in my update schedule.
And can anyone give me some tips on the correct way to find a beta? Cause I have no idea where to begin or like formalities or anything.
Let me know if the length of this was worth it, or if I took too much liberty with back story.
Since I was barely old enough to form lasting memories by the time the 90s ended, I actually have to do some research for some 80s-ish stuff. But I actually have watched Night Court, used to do it with my mom.
It was kinda similar to Brooklyn Nine Nine in some respects. Like it was light hearted and funny for the most part, and it wasn't exactly a family show (the same way B99 wouldn't be considered one, but they're definitely not inappropriate like some other stuff). But most of the fun/happyish shows from the 80s that I've heard of were all like family sitcoms, so Night Court kinda jumped out.
I actually haven't watched it in forever, and I don't even remember if I've seen all of the seasons, but I'm going to get on that now that I've been reminded of it.
Hope you guys have a good night/day!