In Hindsight.
A Peraltiago one shot
-x-
Five words. Five small, simple words. None of which were any more than five letters long; all of which held their own varying levels of insignificance.
But the importance of these five words - the true importance of them, only came when they were neatly strung together in the correct order. Though, even as they were, and the five words in question slipped out so easily from between the minister's lips, it was almost as if they hadn't been spoken at all.
For the longest time, Jake Peralta had wondered whether he was ever going to be lucky enough to hear those five, small, simple, insignificant words. His heart skipped a beat.
"You may kiss the bride."
The final syllable jump started his chest to the point where he thought it would absolutely implode. His lips were near totally dry, the lack of moisture almost certainly making his kiss particularly undesirable in that moment. But even so, as his breath eventually unhitched and his dress shoes squeaked against the wooden floor of the basketball court, the beaming grin was impossible to hide from Jake's face as he leaned down.
And then, he captured Amy's smile with his own and swapped with her the most exhilarating, incredible kiss they had ever been blessed enough to share.
The thunderous applause and cheeky cat calls of their guests were completely drowned out by the sound of fireworks going off in both their minds. The perfection of the kiss was indescribable - sultry enough that it had their blood pumping, but sweet enough that there was minimal cringing from both their families in their respective front row seating.
As she reluctantly pulled away from him, her tears were still visible where they pooled in the corners of Sergeant Amy Santiago's eyes.
Her voice came to a whisper, "I love you so much."
Jake's stomach flipped.
"Ladies and gentlemen," their minister recommenced, "It is with my greatest pleasure that I present to you Mr. and Mrs. Peralta!"
The sounds of Charles Boyle's ecstatic squeals from his place by Jake's side were unmistakable as the newlyweds turned away from he and Kylie and took their first step back down the makeshift aisle of the rec centre together.
Slipping his arm around his wife's - his wife's - shoulders for the shortest second, Jake whispered right back to her before joining his hand together with Amy's.
"I love you so much, too."
Jake had never felt more happy in his entire life.
It was incredible what Amy had been able to pull together at Shaw's Bar in the fourteen hours leading up to Rosa and Adrian's almost-wedding over a year ago. One could only imagine what she would be able to do in the same space with seven whole months of preparation.
But of course, the wedding reception that the list-making, binder-loving, organisational queen had thrown in their beloved downtown bar completely blew everyone's expectations out of the water.
Every table top and window frame was laced with gorgeous red roses. An infinite number of fairy lights were beautifully strung from the ceiling. The whole side wall opposite the fireplace was lined with a candy bar featuring all of her twelve year old boyfriend's - excuse her; husband's - favourite sweets. And, of course, the beer and bubbles were flowing as each of Jake and Amy's guests mingled, drank and celebrated together.
At the foot of the main bar, Detective Peralta was standing alongside Captain Holt and Sergeant Jeffords, chatting and laughing as the two of them teasingly prodded at Jake with as much advice on married life as they could offer. Their suit jackets and ties were long discarded, their sleeves were rolled halfway up their arms, and they were each sipping from a tantalising glass of scotch on the rocks - only the finest bottle that Raymond had added at his own expense to the bar tab.
While the moment in time certainly couldn't beat any of the thousands of milliseconds he had spent with Amy that evening, this particular snapshot of his night was still undoubtedly one of his favourites. Jake only hoped that he would be half the husband and even a smidge of the man that both Raymond and Terry were.
Just as Jake choked on another laugh and went to throw the remainder of his drink into the back of his throat, the detective froze on the spot. Out of the very corner of his eye, he spotted another figure approaching him. One that had the same height, build and facial structure as him, but was instead accompanied by long, gray hair and a half ironed suit.
Peralta groaned under his breath. He really did not feel like speaking to his father right now.
Quietly clearing his throat to gain his detective's attention, Terry offered Jake his fuller glass as the two of them subtly swapped drinks. Jeffords has a feeling that Peralta was definitely going to need a scotch for this conversation.
As he and Raymond exchanged a cordial smile with Roger, and a much more comforting one with Jake, the captain and his sergeant took their exit. And again, Jake cringed.
"Hey, son," Roger offered calmly, "I was hoping I'd get the chance to talk to you, ya' know, one on one kinda' thing."
Jake's parents were separated again. One drink too many at their son's bachelor party and one particularly attractive escort was all it took for the fire that Roger and Karen had rekindled to go completely up in smoke. Jake was feeling a lot of different things. Anger. Guilt. But as much as he hated to say it, surprise was certainly not one of them.
The newlywed swallowed back a lump. The collar of his shirt was starting to feel awfully tight around his neck. He stole a single, precious second to glance across the bar at Amy where she was chatting away with both of their mothers. Karen was smiling. She was so selfless. Jake's mum had insisted that both she and Roger put their re-break-up aside for just one night and simply enjoy their son's wedding together. She wasn't willing to let anything ruin their day, so neither was Jake.
Don't make a scene...
The foreboding phrase repeated itself in the detective's mind as his father opened his mouth to speak again.
"I'm so proud of you, Jake."
Another cringe. Jake couldn't tell if there was any sincerity in his dad's words. He nodded silently, politely, watching as Roger scratched the back of his head.
"Ya' know, I never thought I'd be more proud than the day you graduated from the Academy, but now... I dunno', looking at her, and looking at how happy you are, I just..."
As Roger trailed off, seemingly lost for words, Jake subtly shot his eyes back over to his 'her' - to Amy. Holy crap, she was stunning. It still gobsmacked Jake to this day how beautiful she was.
Echoing his dad's awkward chuckles, the younger Peralta actually managed a faint smile, his face softening a little. He resisted the urge to kick himself for a split second. His father was obviously trying. It was Jake's wedding day for crying out loud - Roger wasn't a complete monster. Maybe he actually did need to cut him some slack.
"This might, um," Roger stuttered, "This might sound a bit dumb, but there was something I wanted to give you. It's probably the only piece of fatherly advice I can offer. It's the only secret little trick I had up my sleeve that kept your mother and I together for as long as we were."
Jake felt a dull pain rumble in his chest. It only lasted half a second. There wasn't a whole lot of genuine love and affection Jake could remember between his parents during his childhood, but his brain had stored away just a few very short, very sweet moments of happiness the three of them had managed to create together. That meant that Roger had to at least have been doing something right, even if for a moment. And if now he wanted to share that special something with Jake, as well?
"Oh. Aw, Dad. That's actually kinda' sweet," Jake finally verbalised, "But, look, you and Mom already paid for half the wedding, you really don't have to give me anything else."
"No, no, I insist," Roger said, cutting him off as he dug into the pocket of his suit pants for his wallet, "It's really not much, I promise."
Keeping a curious eye on his father's movements, Jake felt his brow narrow into a frown as Roger eventually retrieved a plain looking piece of rectangular card from inside his wallet. Dancing it between his fingers for a second or two, the elder Peralta passed the card to his son.
Jake's frown deepened as he took a silent moment to study the small piece of cardboard in his hand, "Motel ONE?" he stammered with an awkward laugh, reading the words written on the business card, "I don't understand?"
Proudly clapping his hand on his son's back, Roger cleared his throat, "ONE is an abbreviation," he began to explain, leaning in towards Jake and bringing his voice to a murmured hush, "'One Night Escape'."
And just like that, Jake felt his heart plummet down into the sick pit of his guts.
"This is the place I used to stay whenever I... well, whenever I needed a teensy bit of 'me time', ya' know what I mean?" he went on, squeezing Jake's shoulder, "And for the nights when you need a little bit of an extended break, there's a pretty swanky gentlemen's club right across the street. The ladies are experts at relieving all the stresses of married life."
Jake was almost certain he as going to puke. He looked down at the card, then up and across the room at Amy, and then back down at the card again. He flipped over the red coloured cardboard, taking note of the South Manhattan address written in cursive black font.
And then, finally, Jake stared up at his father.
Don't. Make. A. Scene.
The words continued to turn over again and again in his head as he somehow managed to find his voice. Jake swallowed, raising a single, shaking finger.
"You see that woman standing over there?"
For a fleeting moment of confusion, Roger only stared blankly at Jake. When the detective's expression stiffened, the older man reluctantly follows his son's gesture, his eyes eventually landing on Amy.
Quickly retracting his arm before anyone else could notice what he was doing, Jake instead ran his hand down his face, shaking his head in disbelief.
"She is the best thing that has ever happened to me," he spat, "Why the hell do you think even for a second I would want to do anything to screw that up?"
Roger's eyes widened in shock. The realisation hit him like a tonne of bricks. He had majorly messed up.
"Look, son, I didn't mean to offend you, I just - "
"Oh, that is bull crap, Dad, and you know it," Jake interjected heatedly, "You knew exactly what you were doing. Your 'one night escapes' ruined our family, and now you actually have the balls to insinuate that I would consider doing the same thing?"
Roger immediately shot his vision down to the floor, his face burning a faint shade of red. He prayed that none of Jake's other guests standing nearby were listening in on their sudden confrontation.
"Jake, that's not what I'm trying to do, okay? I'm not trying to insinuate or hint at anything," he went on, arguing his point, "It was only meant to be a harmless joke, I was just ribbing at ya', I didn't know you were going to take it so seriously."
"I am taking everything about this marriage seriously," Jake hissed through gritted teeth.
His blood was boiling. The venom on his tongue directed at his father still tasted fresh as he lowered his voice and tried to reel himself back in. It wasn't fair in any sense of the word for him to be feeling these insane emotions on what was the happiest day of his life. And so, as Jake downed the remainder of his scotch and felt the liquid sear the back of his throat, he took a deep breath.
"Amy is everything to me," he stated with a calm firmness in his voice, "She's the reason I wake up every morning. She's the reason I'm always making so many stupid damn jokes despite my crappy childhood. She's the reason I strap a gun to my hip every day and risk my life protecting this city. Because I know she's proud of me for doing it."
His words may have left him without a second thought, but still, they burned at Jake's insides more than the pure alcohol had. He had never spoken anything more true in his entire life.
"But, clearly, you can't even begin to understand what that feels like," he scoffed at his father with a sarcastic laugh. Falling back to silence for a moment or two, Jake's expression turned stoic once more, "You don't deserve Mom, and I know I don't deserve Amy, but I'm doing everything I damn well can to keep her."
Roger cast his eyesight down once more. He could see just how tightly his son was holding onto God forsaken piece of cardboard between his fingers. Jake was so angry. But what was worse than just that, was that Roger didn't exactly know what he was supposed to do to fix it all.
The older man half-heartedly shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know what you want me say, kiddo."
Jake merely rolled his eyes. He wasn't a kid anymore. He was a man - certainly more of a man than how his dad was acting right now.
"I don't want you to say anything," he snapped back. Keeping the tone in his voice hauntingly quiet, Peralta took a step towards his father and put an arm around his shoulders, towing him in slightly, "What I want more than anything else right now is to ask you to leave. Except someone might actually care enough to notice that you're gone, and I am not going to start any drama and ruin her day."
At this latest mention of his son's bride, Roger timidly glanced up to spy at her across the bar again. Only this time, the older man's pupils widened behind his glasses when the brown orbs of his new daughter-in-law locked onto his and she smiled at him. Her lips parted to show her pearly whites as Amy spotted the close moment Jake and his dad seemed to be sharing.
As she took a first step over to them, Roger cleared his throat, nodding towards Amy and redirecting Jake's attention.
Flicking his own chocolate coloured eyes up to mirror hers, Jake froze in a split second of uncertainty. Keeping up his facade as best he could, he turned back to his father, lowering his voice again as he patted Roger on the back.
"We're done here."
The three emotionless syllables stung like ice in Roger's chest as he sighed to himself. Jake barely even flinched.
"Son, I'm sor-"
"No, I don't wanna' hear it, Dad," Jake immediately fired back. Amy was well and truly closing in on the pair of them by now, so before she could cotton on to any wrong-doings, Jake finally picked up his suit jacket from the bar and turned his back on Roger, "I said we're done."
The powerful feeling of control was overwhelming as it swept over him. Jake could already sense a renewed contentment fill him as his father's presence quickly and ashamedly vanished from the bar and away from he and Amy. Without wasting another second, Jake subtly slipped the business card into the breast pocket of his jacket and slung it over his arm.
And then, all he was left with was Amy.
The detective's heart began to race at the mere sight of her. Amy's dress was pure and white and angelic and fit her slender body like a glove. The lace detailing over her chest crept all the way down the bodice and flowed out in a silk skirt that hugged her hips perfectly. Her new, shorter haircut was styled with beautiful waves and her veil cascaded down her back almost all the way to the floor.
Everything about her was breathtakingly incredible. So much so, that Jake had already almost completely forgotten about how much Roger had just stabbed him in the guts.
"That looked cosy," Amy offered with a hopeful grin, lacing her arms around Jake's waist, "Burying the hatchet with him? Again?"
After a moment of hesitation, Jake simply nodded his head. He wasn't sure if he could bear seeing the sadness in Amy's eyes if she ever found out the truth.
"Something like that."
The newly-promoted sergeant smiled again, "Well, good. I told you you'd feel better if everyone just pushed all their crap to one side for twelve, measly hours," she added cheekily, tracing comforting circles on Jake's hip with her manicured fingertips, "I know he's a massive jerk ninety-nine per cent of the time, but I really do think you need a relationship with him, babe."
Gritting his teeth behind his fake grin, Jake silently nodded yes once more. His hand trailed down Amy's dress, taking its time to examine every piece of lace and ribbon that lined her corset before settling on the small of her back.
She truly was the most amazing woman in the world.
"Not as much as I need you."
As a kaleidoscope of butterflies soared in her tummy and her cheeks turned bright pink with a heated blush, Amy leaned up on the toes of her wedding heels and cupped the firm jawline of Jake's face in her hand. His clean shaven skin was irresistibly smooth as she gently rubbed his cheek with her thumb.
She chewed down on her bottom lip, "Ditto, Peralta."
Jake's response was immediate, "Why thank you, Peralta."
Bursting into an array of giggles, Amy Peralta finally caved as she kissed Jake for what had be the billionth time that day. She only stopped herself and pulled back when the first few chords of Jessie's Girl suddenly played through the speakers of the bar. She gasped in realisation, taking her hand down to grab tightly onto his.
"Sounds like it's time for another dance!" she sang sweetly, "You did promise me I'd dance to this song at my wedding one day, remember?"
Jake barked out a single laugh, shaking his head at the torturous forty-eight hours he and the squad had spent working non-stop on the case he had almost messed up all those years ago.
Well, torturous except for the fact he had got to spend so much time with Amy, of course.
"How could I forget?"
Conceding to the hideous irony of almost every time he ever picked on her, Jake gave Amy's hand an affectionate squeeze and allowed her to lead him back towards the dance floor. He set his jacket down once more, hanging it over the back of a chair they passed by on their way to the middle of the bar - all the while making absolutely certain he remembered where he was leaving it.
And then, in the very next second, just as he was feeling goosebumps rush down his arms from Amy's hand on his shoulder, Jake's eyes caught Roger's where the older man sat in the corner of a very sad looking booth.
Peralta stifled a deep breath, swallowing down the sharp instant of betrayal he could still taste from his father's actions. His wedding may not have been ruined - in no circumstance could a day where he got to marry Amy Santiago ever be ruined. But a brief moment of that day certainly had been. It was a moment he wasn't sure if he would ever be able to forgive.
Jake had never felt more disappointed in his entire life.
Hindsight truly was a funny thing.
At the time when the Vulture had robbed them of their dream venue, Jake and Amy almost felt like the world was coming to an end, and that their wedding was doomed to fail.
But of course, those thoughts had been almost as ridiculous as the amount of tears Charles blubbered his way through while giving his best man speech at the reception.
The downtown Brooklyn public rec centre certainly had its flaws, but it would be slanderous to say that both Jake and Amy weren't riddled with their own, as well. For one thing, it was definitely going to make a hilarious story to share with their kids and their grand kids and their great grand kids one day. As a second point, the money they saved on booking a real venue went on to contribute to a much more lavish honeymoon than either of them ever could have dreamed of. And thirdly, each of their past concerns were far, far from both Jake and Amy's minds as the detective currently had his new wife pinned up against the steamy, glass wall of their villa's shower.
The Hawaiian sunset was just beginning to leak through the small window of the bathroom as Amy panted in desperation and moaned out Jake's name for what was surely the eleventh or twelfth time. Her mind was spinning, her abdomen was aching with tense pleasure, and despite how warm the water was that pelted down onto them from above, Amy could feel nothing else but spine-tingling goosebumps coating her body from head to toe.
Jake's face remained buried in the nape of her neck, kissing and sucking at her deliciously sensitive skin. The muscles in his arms were twitching from holding her up against the glass, but as he readjusted his grip and heard her gasp when he took a firm hold of her backside, Jake easily willed himself on with an aroused smirk.
Both of their breathing was getting heavier with each thrust into her Jake made. He was definitely getting close, but Peralta was determined to make the moment of passion last as long as humanly possible.
Pulling back from her mess of wet hair draped over her neck, Jake tensed his arms and lifted Amy up just a little higher. The sight of the glowing, red hickey and the teeth marks scattered across her chest were calling him as he dived back into her and caught one of her breasts in his mouth.
Amy immediately cried out loud once more, revelling in the wet sensation of Jake's tongue circling her nipple and gently taking the pink nub between his teeth. The pleasure was almost too much to take as she forced him back and whispered his name with a lustful tone that made him shiver.
She was instantly there, fastening her mouth to his and darting her tongue into his mouth. Their heated breath filled each other's lungs as she scraped her nails up and down his back. Jake was shooting fireworks into her that exploded in Amy's very core, and she only needed one more fuse to truly light up the coloured specks dancing in front of her eyes.
"Jake..." she moaned in the way that drove him crazy, "Jake, oh my God... ah, h-harder, babe..."
A stubborn grunt finally escaped from between Jake's teeth as his whole body rocked and he thrashed himself upwards and into Amy as hard as he could. The adrenaline that filled him was overwhelming as he smashed his kiss back to hers and bit down on her bottom lip, echoing her fulfilled murmurs with his own.
"Oh my God, oh my God," Amy repeated, "Shit! Ah... Jake..."
Jake swallowed, hard, "Ames..."
Peralta groaned, and then with only two more thrusts, he sensed Amy tense up around him and practically squeal with an all too sensual pain as she rode out her orgasm and turned into a quivering mess in his arms. His was almost simultaneous to hers as he threw his head back and grunted with each final, pleasure filled movement he used to completely empty himself inside of her.
It was a miracle their heavy gasping wasn't causing them to inhale every molecule of steam that filled the four walls of the shower. Amy leaned forward, pressing her forehead against her husband's. The line of sweat that trickled across his face and the sight pinch of his nails digging into her thighs quickly told the sergeant that maybe the exhaustion from holding her up for such a long time had well and truly started to kick in.
Wriggling just slightly where she sat in his grasp, Amy hinted at Jake to pull out of her and put her down. He did so gently, but very quickly as the detective tried to resist the sensation of his legs turning to jelly. Amy merely stared up at him, fixing her love struck smile onto his. She pressed her fingers into his sternum, slowly easing him backwards so he was eventually leaning against the opposite wall. She immediately filled the unfamiliar gap between them, wrapping her arms around his waist and resting her head on his chest.
When he hugged her back and leaned down to firmly kiss her hairline, Amy felt her heartbeat race just as rapidly as she could hear Jake's doing so in her ear.
Neither of them were sure exactly how long they stood there for, silently holding one another, stroking the other's skin and feeling the water continue to run over them. But of course, neither of them particularly cared, either.
Finally deciding to pull back and look up at him once more, Amy left a loving peck against Jake's chest before she did. He instantly mirrored her adoring grin, sighing contentedly as he tucked a loose strand of brown hair behind her ear.
"Do we really have to go to dinner?" he offered with a teasing tone, "Can't we just stay here and do more of this?"
Amy scrunched her nose up at him, "I've had this dinner booked for over a month, doofus. And this is the first full day of our honeymoon - we are not missing it!"
Rolling his eyes at her with tormenting affection, Jake eventually nodded along in agreement as he held her closer and raised an inquisitive eyebrow, "Need any help washing your hair?"
Spitting out a surprised laugh, Amy shook her head at his silliness, "Wow, still nine days of vacationing to go, and you've already gone Full Boyle on me," she said with a giggle, "Clean yourself up, go get dressed and just give me ten minutes, okay?"
Jake resisted a sneeze as Amy held up a bar of soap towards him, practically shoving it against his nose. He chuckled right back at her, ceasing any and all arguments and simply taking the fragrant block from her hand.
The detective took less than two minutes to attend to the parts of his body affected by either his body odour, or any post-sex fluids. Arm pits, butt, groin. Check, check, check. He was so simple sometimes that Amy could swear she was actually married to a child. But at the same time, as he took every couple of seconds to nip at her with quick, cheeky kisses and absolutely drown her in all of his teasing affection, Amy was certain that she would never, ever want him any other way.
As he tipped his head back under the shower one last time and ran the water through his hair between his fingers, Jake glanced down at Amy, beaming at her.
"Clean as a whistle," he joked, placing the soap back in its tray, "And with that, my love, I shall leave you to it."
Each of his pearly whites joined together in the irresistible beacon that was his smile. Jake reached behind himself, pushing open the glass door and turning around to take a first step towards it. But at the very last second, he felt his skin tingle as Amy took a gentle hold of his wrist and coaxed him back to her.
She only stared at him for half a second before climbing up on her tippy-toes and pressing her lips to his in a long, chaste kiss. Jake's head spun as Amy reluctantly pulled back and stroked his cheek with her thumb.
"Love you, Jake."
Jake's chest raced, "Love you, babe."
A thousand butterflies were still tickling her tummy as Amy watched her new husband step out of the shower and retrieve his towel. He quickly dried himself off, wrapping the white fabric around his waist and smiling back at her one last time before relocating to the bedroom of their villa.
Amy resisted the happily pathetic urge to absolutely swoon at just how perfect Jake was. There was nothing she loved more than telling him that she loved him. And there was nothing that made her more ecstatic than knowing that she was going to be able to tell him that every day for the rest of their lives.
These similar thoughts of newly wedded bliss were the ones that remained with her as she quickly finished washing herself and scrubbing her fruity shampoo and conditioner through her hair. A cool breeze crossed her as she turned the water off at the faucets and stepped onto the tiled floor of the bathroom. All she took was another few minutes to dry herself, slip into her underwear and a plain tank top, and quickly run the hair dryer through her short, brunette locks.
Twirling around on the spot, Amy's lips wriggled into a smile at the sight of Jake's suit jacket dangling from a clothes hanger on the back of the bathroom door. Her delighted little smirk only grew as she ran her hand down the pressed, gray fabric - a million images of him standing in it on their wedding day only two days ago instantly reappearing in her mind.
The restaurant they were attending was one of the more luxurious locations on the lush, island state - hence the month's advance in booking their table and the immediate opportunity for Jake to wear his wedding suit again. Carefully pulling it down from its place on the door, Amy draped the jacket over her arm, fixing up the collar and flattening out the breast pocket.
When she felt something sitting inside the confined, square space, Amy frowned.
Peeping into the small pocket, the sergeant dug her hand down between the gray material, retrieving what appeared to be a rectangular piece of card. As she flipped it over and read the cheap looking cursive font lacing the cardboard, Amy felt her brow furrow even deeper.
"Motel ONE...?" she read quietly to herself.
Without requiring any further context, Amy could already sense how dirty the two words tasted as they slipped out from between her lips. Twirling the end of a short strand of hair around her finger, Amy chewed down on her bottom lip in hesitation before tucking the hair behind her ear. She took a silent minute to think, her brain twisting and turning with every possible conclusion that immediately leaped out at her.
But then, eventually, Amy could only shake her head.
Looking over to the bathroom mirror, Amy picked up both her engagement and wedding ring from the basin where they had been sitting while she showered. She slid the two white-gold bands back onto her finger and then nervously reached for the brass door handle.
Jake was sitting shirtless on their bed in his gray trousers, twisting his own wedding ring around his finger and smiling down at it when his wife rejoined him. Flicking one corner of the card back and forth with a manicured nail, Amy placed Jake's jacket on the very corner of the bed spread and cleared her throat.
"So... Maui isn't really your cup of tea, then?"
Slowly turning his head to face her at the sound of her voice, Jake narrowed his eyes in confusion for the first second. But then, as he spied the hauntingly familiar piece of card sitting in her hand, Peralta's orbs shot open and his jaw dropped.
"Were you planning on waiting for me to fall asleep so you could sneak back across the country to New York?" she asked, chuckling slightly.
Jake's heart just about stopped. The immediate guilt that stabbed him in the guts ricocheted throughout the rest of his body, puncturing all his other organs and causing his face to turn white as a sheet. The bizarre calmness in Amy's expression was wildly unnerving.
"Jake?"
"Y-you... you're not freaking out," he stuttered, quiet as a mouse, "You just found a business card for a sleazy Manhattan motel in my jacket pocket... and you're not freaking out."
Amy raised a challenging eyebrow, "Should I be freaking out?"
"No! No, no, no, of course not," Jake immediately spat back.
At the panicked, rambling tone in his voice, Amy's face softened, "What's going on?"
The gentle sounds harmlessly dancing between each syllable she spoke settled Jake's chest slightly as he somehow breathed his way through a deep sigh. Was she going to believe what he had to say? Was she going to be upset with him for not telling her the truth sooner? Was she going to immediately question why he had held onto the damned card instead of throwing it away?
Whatever the answer to each of his sudden, paranoid fears - Jake knew that Amy deserved the opportunity to make those decisions for herself.
"Um... so, you know the so-called 'cosy' conversation you interrupted between my dad and me at the reception?"
With instant understanding flickering behind her brown eyes, Amy released her own disappointed sigh, "Oh, no..."
"He gave it to me as a gift," Jake continued to explain, sarcasm dripping from his words, "He said places like that were the one thing that made him stay with my mom for so long. Because he could get away from her and have an escape and a break from married life when he needed it. So, of course... he wanted to pass that golden nugget of advice down to me."
The dismal sadness she could hear lingering in her husband's voice broke Amy's heart, "Jake..." she sighed again, "Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I didn't want to upset you," he snapped back in an instant, "Because I didn't want him to make you mad like he made me mad. Especially not on our wedding day, I wasn't going to let him ruin that for you."
"Babe," she soothed him, taking a seat on the bed, "I was marrying you, dumbie, nothing could ever ruin that for me."
Inching closer to him, Amy could feel the tenseness in each of Jake's muscles and tendons loosen as he took a shaky hand to her bare thigh. His silence still left her with the faintest concern as she nudged her shoulder into his, "Right?"
Scoffing under his breath to himself, Jake shook his head, "Yes, absolutely, of course," he assured her, "I still should have seen it coming, though. I mean, he couldn't keep it in his pants at my bachelor party, why the hell did I think he'd actually start behaving himself in time for the wedding?"
"Jake, none of this is your fault," Amy spoke sternly, "You can't be blamed for any of the mistakes he's ever made, certainly not when you were a kid, and none of the ones related to our wedding, either, this is all Roger."
As he felt an irritated grumble echo in his throat, Jake moved his head back and forth again, pinching the bridge of his nose, "All Roger," he repeated begrudgingly, "Yep. That's jut typical Roger. He ruined my childhood, and now he's already trying to ruin my marriage."
The final word that left him acted as the last straw that broke across Amy's back and shattered her insides. She hated that he sounded so miserable, she hated that he had been hurt by someone so close to him - again - and she hated that his first two days of married life had been marred by something so horrible.
Placing her hand on top of his, Amy gave Jake's a firm squeeze, forcing him around to face her.
"Do you know why I didn't freak out when I found that business card in your pocket?"
Jake was frozen for a second or two, sort of thrown by her abrupt change in demeanour. He timidly shrugged his shoulders.
The corner of her lips popped up in an affectionate smile, "Because you're not your dad. You've never been your dad, and you never will be your dad. I knew there had to be some other kind of explanation, because I know you would never do anything like that to hurt me."
A shiver raced down Jake's spine as a chilled breath of relief escaped him, "I wouldn't. Not ever."
"I know," she repeated with a giggle, tracing her hand down the side of his face. Every familiar dimple and prickled hair was like a zap of lightning coursing down her fingertips. The feeling was indescribable. She was never going to let anyone ruin that feeling for her, for either of them.
"'Till death do us part', remember? That means you're stuck with me, Peralta."
Her sentence rolled off her tongue with all the flirtatious cheek in the world. But despite how much he'd normally leap on her and her tormenting tactics and fire back with some similarly seductive banter, for perhaps the first time in his life, Peralta remained still.
Just as Amy was beginning to think that maybe there was something else he needed to tell her, she instead sucked in a surprised gasp as Jake simply took her by the arm and tugged her into a tight hug. She waited a second longer to see if he would say anything, but it seemed Jake's actions were telling her everything she needed to hear.
Amy breathed out against her husband's shoulder, wrapping her arms further around his bare back and tingling as she felt Jake's hands innocently creep up under her tank top. He made her feel so loved, and she made him feel utterly secure. They both knew they never had to worry about any of that ever changing.
"Have you decided what you're going to do about him when we get home?"
Amy could feel Jake shake his head no where it sat in the crook of her neck, "Not yet. I wish conspiracy to commit adultery was a crime so I could just throw him in jail."
Giggling at his classic, joking Peralta nature, Amy squeezed Jake that little bit closer to her, "Well, whatever happens, you know I'll support you."
Her promise to him rumbled in his core and took the weight of thousand tonnes off his shoulders. He placed a loving kiss to her cheek, then pulled back from their hug to peck another on the tip of her nose and a third on the corner of her lips. And then, Jake smiled softly at Amy.
"Thanks, babe," he murmured, nervously clearing his throat, "I'm sorry..."
Amy immediately frowned at him, "Jake - "
"Sorry that I didn't confide in you straight away, and that I stupidly forgot to just throw the dumb card away," he clarified with an embarrassed sort of laugh and a roll of his eyes.
Amy snorted a laugh of her own, "I think I'm more appalled that you clearly didn't have your suit dry cleaned before we left like I asked you to," she stated matter-of-factly. Teasingly sticking her tongue out at him and ignoring the faux guilt in his puppy-dog eyes, Amy slowly held out the tacky, black business card, "This was the first and last time we speak about it until we get home. Deal?"
Jake didn't even hesitate. Taking the cardboard from her hand, Peralta ripped it right down the middle in two pieces and tossed it over his shoulder.
"Deal."
Jake's smile made Amy melt. She leaned in to quickly kiss him one last time, gently tickling the back of his neck with her nails and then standing up from the bed.
"I just need to get dressed and do my makeup and then we can go grab a drink before dinner, okay?"
"You're the boss," Jake agreed with an obedient nod of his head.
Amy blushed her way through a smile. She lingered in the doorway to the bathroom, glancing back at Jake with concern and affection and love pooling altogether in her eyes.
"You gonna' be alright?"
Jake's heart skipped a beat.
"Absolutely."
Amy smirked as she ran her finger over her wedding bands.
"Good."
As she vanished on the other side of the door and into the bathroom, Jake felt a serene sense of relief wash over him. He had said far too many times that he didn't deserve Amy, and maybe he was slowly starting to admit to himself that she didn't just fall into his lap via pure luck, but it was moments like these that definitely showed Jake the importance of never taking his wife for granted.
Simply knowing that he was finally building the family he had always wanted as a kid was enough to push Jake and Amy through any obstacle that fell in their way.
Jake had never felt more complete in his whole life.
Happy New Year all my little Peraltiagos!
I'm so excited to finally be posting a new one shot surrounding Jake and Amy's engagement. Now, I know, I know, it was a little angsty. But I sort of hope Jake and Roger do get a little bit of time to sort through their crap before the wedding. It almost got a little swept under the rug in the show and it just seemed like an interesting story line for me to roll with here :)
Please feel free to favourite and leave me a review! I would love to hear what you all thought!
My aim for 2018 is to launch into the multi-chapter Nine-Nine story I've been planning for a while now... keep an eye out for that hopefully sooner rather than later ;)
Till next time guys,
Reneyyyyyyyy x