Perfect.
A Peraltiago fanfic

-x-

"So... are you going to let me ditch this party early and take you home, or what?"

It was literally all the convincing he needed.

Jake wasn't certain what kind of emotion he was going to feel once he stepped foot in his and Amy's building for the first time in the eight weeks he had been gone. Most ex-prisoners would detest the idea of spending their first night of freedom confined to the four cramped walls of an apartment. But in all honesty, Peralta had been feeling a thousand times more suffocated simply being surrounded by so many people at Shaw's Bar. There was nothing he wanted more that evening than to finally return home. To his home, with his girlfriend.

The smell was probably the first thing that got to him. It sent goosebumps shooting up his arms. The sweet concoction of old books and flavoured candles and slightly bad cooking all knitted together with every other scent that was perfectly home and perfectly Amy.

He inhaled slowly, breathing it all in as his skin tingled along with the rest of his senses. Every piece of furniture and fluffed pillow and lace doily that stared back at him exactly as Jake remembered almost made it feel like no time had passed at all. He thought for sure that the temptation to rearrange some of his personal design choices would be too much for Amy to handle in his absence, but even his beloved Die Hard poster remained in its place on the wall above the couch.

The sound of Amy gently placing her keys down on the kitchen counter broke the eerie silence and snapped Jake out of his trance as he glanced across the room to her. He stayed still, soaking in the familiar space and her overwhelming presence for a moment longer before shooting her a soft smile.

The corner of Amy's lips turned up in a small smirk as she stared back at him, "You okay?"

Jake almost laughed in disbelief as he nodded his head.

"Definitely."

The few quiet syllables from him echoed in Amy's chest with relief.

"Good."

Dropping her purse down beside her keys, Amy sensed her heart rate peak a little as Jake shrugged out of his jacket and strolled across the dining room to join her. He was still musing quietly to himself as he ran his hands across the counter in an awkward kind of silence. She watched him as he seemed to be examining the wooden structure rather closely, as if he was assuring himself that this was all real and he truly was back home.

The thought crossed her brain with an uncomfortable pinch as Amy subtly narrowed her eyes at Jake. She was desperately trying to shake off her concerns about how well he may or may not readjust to the outside world now that he was free. Eight weeks away from home may not have necessarily been an incredible amount of time, but two months in prison was much, much different to a two month vacation.

He must have sensed just how much she was piercing him with her brown orbs, because before the thought could be allowed to consume Amy for a second longer, Jake looked up at her with a grin.

"Shall we have another drink, m'lady?"

The cheek in his final word caused Amy's face to expand into a smiley blush as she held down a giggle. Jake may have been to hell and back over the last few weeks, but at least on the surface, he was still Amy's adorable, goofball of a boyfriend.

Humming with indecision as she walked around the counter and reached for the fridge, Amy raised a teasing eyebrow at him, "Is this a trap? Are you trying to get me somewhere between and Four Drink and Five Drink Amy?"

The flirtatious tone in her voice sent a shiver racing up Jake's spine. As enticing as the thought of a slightly pervy and weirdly confident Santiago may have been, Peralta was almost certain he would pass out in a drunken stupor before the pair of them even reached that point.

"I dunno', four or five? I haven't had a drink in two months - that many beers would probably hit me even harder than the meth did..."

Just as she had been about to pull open the silver door to the fridge, Amy snapped her neck around and glared at Jake. Instantly, Peralta felt his expression drop and his face turn white at the idiotic slip of his tongue.

Amy was shocked as she hissed through gritted teeth, "The what?"

"What?! Pff, no! Blizz? What blizz?" Jake awkwardly stammered with a half-hearted laugh, "No! No, I did not get incredibly high off meth infused soap in a prison shower, Amy, what the heck are you talking about?"

Her vision cast straight through his fake laughter and obvious lie as Amy's frown deepened. She hesitated, taking a moment longer to decide whether or not to launch into full Detective Santiago interrogation mode. But, soon enough, Amy only shook her head.

"Why do I get the feeling that's actually not the craziest thing that happened to you while you were in there?"

Sheepishly scratching the back of his neck, Jake tried to avoid Amy's glance as she rolled her eyes, completely unimpressed. While she may not have been willing to drown her boyfriend in all of her spiralling panic on his first night out of prison, that sure as hell didn't mean Amy wasn't planning on gently coercing all of Jake's thoughts and feelings and grief out of him eventually. She cared about him far too much to pretend like every second he was behind bars hadn't been absolutely eating both of them alive.

Before her sad and sombre thoughts could dull the atmosphere in the kitchen more than they already had, Amy suddenly jumped back in surprise as she finally pulled open the fridge. A small gasp left her lungs as a tub of butter, half a tuna sandwich and her protein shake flew off the second shelf and landed on the floor at her feet.

Quickly peering over the bench to make sure nothing had spilled out and caused a mess, Jake smirked again. He scurried around the wooden island, bending down to help Amy pick everything up as he teasingly nudged her in the ribs, "Geez, you really were worried about me. I thought refrigeration organisation was one of your fortes?"

Amy elbowed him right back, "Shut up," she sniped, "This place was perfectly tidy until I had to rush around here this morning and pack a bag for Charles to bring down to you."

Amy wished more than anything that she could have been the one to meet Jake outside of the South Carolina penitentiary that afternoon. Instead, she had spent her entire day writing up the paper work on Lieutenant Hawkins and assisting Captain Holt in building their initial case against her.

It's not like Amy wasn't happy to let Charles have the honour of being his best friend's escort on his flight back home. After all, it did mean that she wouldn't have to fight with her colleague for any 'touching time'. It just would have been a nice little moment of magic for both her and Jake if her face had been the first one he saw on the outside.

Shaking her head to herself, Amy tried to rid it of the selfish thought. At least she had been able to do something for Jake that afternoon, and that was relieve him of his uncomfortable, dumb courtroom suit that he had been wearing upon his entry to prison. Her stomach still tickled with light butterflies at the thought of his scent woven into every stitch of his favourite leather jacket as she had neatly folded it into the duffel bag for Charles to take to him.

But, of course, none of that could possibly compare to how she felt to have him actually standing in the flesh only a few inches away from her right now.

She almost jumped as Jake snapped her out of her deep trance. He leaned past his girlfriend, brushing against her as he placed the butter back in the fridge and snatched up a bottle of sparkling wine from the shelf just inside the door.

Tucking her hair behind both ears, Amy sensed a sudden nervousness cross over her. The brisk contact with him felt like something out of a dream. She shut the tall, silver door, clearing her throat slightly as Jake's last teasing words echoed in her head.

"If you think the fridge is a mess, just wait till you see our closet. It's looks like a hurricane swept through it," she offered with a chuckle, shrugging her shoulders in her woollen sweater. She crossed her arms over her chest, cringing as she looked down at the fluffy, pink material that stared back at her, "I couldn't even find anything decent for myself to wear to your 'Welcome Home' party."

By now, Peralta had his back to her. He was facing the counter, fiddling with the bottle of wine and the cork screw and muttering under his breath as he struggled to release the brown, rubbery plug from the neck of the bottle.

But no matter how quietly he may have been talking to himself, Amy heard Jake loud and clear as he suddenly mumbled something else with a scoff.

"Oh, please, you look perfect..."

Instantly, Amy froze on the spot, her heart skipping a dozen profound beats. Each of his five tiny words, in all of their unexpected nature, struck her like a bolt of lightning as they slipped out from between Jake's lips. It was the first time in eight long weeks that she had felt an emotion so powerful from something so sweetly simple.

And then, that's when it truly hit her.

He was back. Her boyfriend was back. Jake was back, and she never had to be away from him ever again.

Feeling all of her uncertain nerves finally wash away, Amy took a single step forward and reached out, placing a gentle hand on Jake's arm. She felt his skin tingle in surprise at her touch. He glanced over his shoulder, looking down at her. And the very second that he locked his eyes onto hers and shot her a loving, little smirk - Amy sensed herself break.

Jake's brown orbs widened with an all too pleasant shock as Amy lunged into him and absolutely fastened her lips to his. He dropped the cork screw cold to the kitchen counter, taking his hands down to her waist and impulsively wrapping them around her. His eyes closed shut as he kissed her back with just as much tender passion, squeezing gently at her hips and humming into her with happiness.

Amy's chest raced as Jake exhaled hard against her lips for the first time in two months. She exchanged the gasping breath, tip-toeing on the verge of sudden desperation as she pushed him back into one of the two stools at the head of the counter. As soon as he clumsily fell down into the seat, Amy forced herself into the gap between his parted legs and lovingly threw her arms around his neck.

This was exactly what she had missed. Everything about this moment was what Amy had been longing for every second, minute and hour that Jake had been gone. She had craved his teasing comments and his sweet compliments, his adorable smile, the twinkle in his chocolate coloured eyes, his irresistible laughter, and the unbelievable taste of his kiss. Everything about him was everything that Amy knew she needed to have for the rest of their lives.

But as each of these thoughts continued to dance across her mind with pure joy, they slowly began to tangle back together with the crippling fear for him that she had been stubbornly ignoring over the last eight weeks. And then, Amy felt herself shudder. Her rapid breaths hit a sudden speed bump as the realisation slapped her hard across the face and a sob hitched in the back of her throat.

As soon as he heard it, Jake only kissed Amy once more before gently pulling away. His brow was scrunched into a concerned frown as he kept his face only an inch or two away from hers. She was looking down, her vision piercing the tiled floor of the kitchen and completely shying away from his as a second, sad sound escaped her.

Moving with slight trepidation, Jake timidly licked his bottom lip and took his forefinger to Amy's chin, tilting her head up to stare at her. For a split second, he felt his chest ache at the twinge of pain in her eyes. His left hand remained glued to the soft skin of her hip where it sat under her jumper as he wiped away the single tear staining her cheek with his opposite thumb.

Swallowing back a lump of his own, Jake tried his hardest to force down his emotions as he whispered to her with a quiet chuckle, "Why are you crying?"

The sound of the last word to leave him acted as a trigger as Amy sniffled and sobbed again. She lamely heaved her shoulders up and down in a shrug as Jake found her fingertips with his and clutched at her tightly.

"Because I missed you. Because I'm happy you're home safe," she answered simply. Another tear sprung from the corner of her eye as she cupped his cheek with a shaky hand, "...Because I don't have to sleep alone tonight."

The lump in the back of his mouth plummeted to the pit of Jake's stomach and immediately formed a sick knot. He thought for sure he was instantly going to throw it back up.

Being alone every night on his single mattress of cardboard and under his paper thin blanket had definitely been one of the worst parts of his two month nightmare, as well. There had been nothing to soothe him to sleep except for the sounds of his cannibal cell mate grinding his teeth together and the distant, muffled screams of snitches and other inmates being beaten and tortured. It made Jake's skin crawl. He couldn't believe he was actually about to spend a night back under his own roof, in his own bed, with his girlfriend securely in his arms.

And as this calming thought stayed with him and continued to relieve the twisted mess bubbling in his stomach and the horrors flashing through his brain, Jake reached up to remove Amy's hand from his face and pull her closer towards him. He waited only two seconds longer, wanting to make sure that the couple of lone tears would be the only ones to escape her, before he gently pressed his lips back to hers.

The two remained frozen in the innocent exchange for what felt like the first time in forever. Only when Jake was certain that Amy had stopped shaking and her sadness had melted away into pure bliss did he finally dive into her with more passion.

The anticipation stabbing at him in his guts was overwhelming. Jake knew from the very second he saw Amy standing in the doorway to Shaw's Bar that this was exactly how their first evening back together would end, but never in a million and one daydreams behind bars did he imagine it would feel this amazing.

She tasted endlessly sweeter than any of the food he had been craving while in prison. An electric shiver raced up his spine as he parted her lips with his tongue and slipped further into her. They stumbled and tripped their way through the intimate dance with starved moans and clashing of their teeth as Amy ran her hands through the tiniest of brown ringlets laced throughout Jake's hair.

Her hips had him cornered where he sat as they rubbed against the inside of his thighs. He held her there, as closely as he could, running his hands down her lower back and over her backside as his thumbs hooked around the belt loops of her jeans. Everything about her felt incredible, but before long, Jake became restless, feeling trapped in his place on the metal stool.

He heard Amy suck in a surprised gasp as he suddenly tightened his grip around the back of her legs and lifted her from the ground as he came to his feet. Any previous thought of sharing a quiet drink together was abruptly abandoned as Jake pushed the wine bottle to one side and swept the cork screw and her keys and a stack of random papers to the floor, making room for the gorgeous figure in his grasp as he placed Amy firmly on the counter. He clutched seductively at her thighs, pulling her to the edge of the bench and attacking her lips with his again.

Amy stifled another moan, feeling an almighty adrenaline rush through her as Jake nipped harshly at her skin. He left a trail of moisture glowing between her pores as his kiss lingered away from her lips and took a hungry detour at her ear lobe before running down her neck. Her timid hisses and groans suddenly sprung to life at full volume from the back of her throat as she felt a pinch from Jake's teeth that she imagined left an enticing, red love bite sunk into her collarbone. She inched closer still to the edge of the counter, grinding into him and coaxing his hands to find the hem of her sweater.

When he finally mustered the courage to lift the pink material over her head, that's when Jake and Amy truly felt all the awkward butterflies confidently soar away from their stomachs. All the paranoid fears they had both held about their relationship changing from being separated for what felt like the millionth vanished into thin air. Jake and Amy felt more alive and more together in that very moment than either of them ever had before.

Peralta lunged for her again, tangling his hands in her mess of brunette locks and darting his tongue back into her mouth. Her skin was sizzling under his fingertips as they trailed along the bare skin that followed the wiring of her black bra. He still felt utterly bewildered, in the best possible way, to finally be reacquainting himself with every dimple, freckle and faint hair that lined her body. No longer did he have to rely on blurry photos on the wall of his cell and the memories in his mind to get him through the long, lonely nights. Better still - thankfully, mashed potato would only be used for eating from here on out, as well.

Quickly being shaken from his childish thoughts, Jake sensed a cool breeze cross his stomach as Amy tugged his navy blue hoodie over his head. She scrunched it up and threw it to the floor to join her sweater, wasting little time capturing Jake's lips between her teeth again and taking her hands to the buckle of his belt.

The heated thump Jake felt in the crotch of his jeans was instant. His throat went totally dry, every molecule of saliva evaporating in his mouth to the point where he slowed in the sensual kiss with his girlfriend. Santiago immediately eased further into him, causing Peralta to arch back with a husky groan as she bit and sucked and kissed at his neck. Her nails scratched against the surface of his skin as she clawed at his bare chest with one hand and worked at his fly with the other.

Amy could barely contain her lustful anticipation any longer. If she was forced to wait even another second she was certain that she would burst at the seam of her own jeans. She wanted Jake. She needed Jake - and she needed him now.

But then, right as Santiago could feel the metal of his zipper between the tips of her fingers, Peralta froze in his place. After the longest possible fraction of a second, he shifted suddenly, pulling away from her kiss in complete silence. And as he lead her grip away from the denim over his fly, Jake stopped Amy dead in her tracks.

The sense of disappointment chopped her hard across the chest, knocking all the wind out of her as she shot her boyfriend a hard, wide-eyed stare.

Peralta swallowed, desperately trying to muster some moisture in his voice as he gawked right back at her. He remained quiet for a moment, the only sounds leaving him being his heavy breaths as he gasped for fresh air from their intense lip lock.

And then, after what Amy could swear felt like a terrifying eternity, Jake's twinkling, brown orbs softened.

"Just, uh - " he stuttered, trying to find the right words, "Just... thanks."

His eventual admission left Amy speechless as she frowned in confusion. She gulped, whispering to him, "For what?"

As he chewed down on his bottom lip and squinted his eyes shut for only half a millisecond, Jake finally succumbed to his own emotions, a stubborn sob breaking through his clenched teeth.

"For waiting for me," he spoke through choked up murmurs. Rubbing away the single tear pooling in his vision, Jake mirrored Amy's love struck blush, wanting to pinch himself.

It was all truly just starting to hit him, too. She had kept her promise. She was still here. She still looked, sounded and tasted exactly the same. She was the same perfect angel. And she was still all his.

"I love you so much, Ames."

Amy's chest raced. Her heart was beating so hard that it stung the space between each of her ribs. The two whole months without him may have been the longest she had ever suffered through, but despite all that, he didn't need to thank her for a single damn thing.

Amy would wait for Jake for a dozen lifetimes if it meant she and her partner would always end up back together.

"Jake," she cooed with another whisper. She ran her hand down his cheek, stopping at the top of his neck as she cupped his wobbling jawline, "I love you, too. So much."

The sentiment sounded surreal. Jake had prayed every night for the past eight weeks that he would hear those words from Amy in person again one day. And as he shyly nuzzled his face into her hand where it sat against his cheek, Jake knew now that he had absolutely nothing to worry about.

Breathing in the scent of her lavender hand cream, Jake pecked softly at his girlfriend's palm, knotting his fingers back together with hers. He only managed to trace one delicate circle around her knuckle with his thumb before Amy suddenly tugged him in towards her.

He truly was the sweetest, most adorable guy in the whole world. There was nothing that made Amy feel more cherished and loved than when Jake got all sentimental and sappy. But the time for tears was over, and the opportunity would come later for them to properly talk through all their twisted, battered and beaten emotions. Because as Santiago gently ran the very tip of her tongue over the faint hickey she had left against his throat and reached for the zip of his pants again, that's when she made her true intentions firmly known.

Peralta didn't dare argue with her for a moment longer. Clutching seductively at the base of her neck where she still sat on the counter, Jake forced his kiss back upon Amy's, echoing her murmured giggles as she helped him shuffle out of his jeans and they both heard them hit the kitchen floor.

There were a million other things he could feel aside from the hook of her bra slipping open between his grasp, and her manicured fingertips dancing dangerously close around the hem of his underwear. Because as Jake allowed his desperate hands to roam over every curve of Amy's body and fling her black negligee away into the sink, he knew that the person he finally had back in his infatuated grip was much more than just his girlfriend.

She was his other half. She was his entire world. She was undeniably his past, his present, and his future. Amy was Jake's whole life.

And he was never going to leave her side ever again.

Old mate Ed Sheeran and I at it again! This one shot was inspired by his amazing song Perfect :)

I hope you all enjoyed reading! I definitely loved writing it. I'm on such a Peraltiago high this week for very obvious reasons... ;) But seeing as I'm such a perfectionist and edit each of these fics for at least 3-5 days before posting them, I am a little behind the show at the moment... meaning, you can probably expect a couple of cute little HalloVeen related stories in the coming weeks! :)

Please feel free to leave me a review! I would really appreciate to hear what you all thought!

Till next time guys,

Reneyyyyyyy x