He was mesmerized by how beautiful she looked in the center of the night club. Marginalized, really. Humbled. The world seemed so small when he was looking at her. Nothing else mattered. The whole universe faded into a haze til she was the only thing in existence.

Every move she made was fluid, natural and easy. Maybe Amy wasn't that good at the type of dancing that you entered competitions with, but night club dancing she was the best thing he had ever seen.

It was possible that the heat of the night club mixed with exhaustion contributed to the delusion feeling he had, but she was like a mirage. She always was, and it always took him by surprise. Just a dream dancing all by herself. Hips moving to the rhythm and wrists crossing over her head whenever it felt right, and it always felt right. God, he loved dancing with her and feeling her at the same time, but sometimes it was amazing to just watch. See her whole body move in time to the music as she swayed to the beat and breathed in tune. Hair plastered to her forehead with sweat and she was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen.

He liked the smell of her sweat. That's when he realized how much of a goner he was for the first time (definitely not the last). When he realized he thought that her sweat smelled good. Not just bearable or even not bad. He actually preferred the scent of Amy Santiago's sweat. Made him want to get all sweaty with her.

Jake was sent to buy drinks but he got distracted. He wasn't even sure what part of the process he was in when he decided to abandon post. Still waiting for a breakthrough in all the other suckers trying to buy drinks? Waiting on an order?

He left the bar empty handed though. To go fill his hands with her.

When his hand met the small of her back she opened her eyes to check if it was him, then went from dancing with herself eyes closed to dancing with Jake Peralta eyes closed.

She trailed her fingers on the back of his neck as she ghosted her hot breath up his skin and he let himself be drowned in all she was. All her heat and movement. Just followed and responded to every push and pull she gave. Every tug on the back of his shirt to get him where she wanted him, every not-quite-close-enough for a kiss she placed over his lips. Anything she wanted.

When she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and grinded into him with way too much purpose for a crowded night club he gave into her pressure.

Work partners: good. Sexual partners: fantastic. Romantic partners: the best. Dance partners: pretty great too. All four together was unbelievable.

She twisted around so they were back to front, his hand splayed over her stomach to hold her to him as she moved her hips in time with his.

When he kissed her neck, he was reminded of just how much he liked the taste of her sweat too.


It was no surprise, with how handsy they were on the way home, that the night ended with them falling into bed and having a little fun.


"I need to take a shower," Amy said, rolling away from him when they had just gotten into the after sex cuddles. "Ugh. All sweaty. I probably smell awful," she chuckled.

Jake let out a downright pitiful whine, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her back into bed with him. "You smell fine," he reassured her.

Amy rolled her eyes at his quite frankly predictable response. Honestly, she was fine with not smelling attractive after a night of dancing in a hot, crowded night club and some raucous and fulfilling sex with her boyfriend. But the sweat now cooling on her skin left the back of her neck feeling sticky, and she knew she could use a shower, despite his protests at cutting cuddling a bit short.

"Jake, I'm all sweaty. Even more than usual for sex after a long day at work. I smell sweaty, not fine. I'll be coming right back anyway," she told him, shaking her head with a smile.

"You smell sexy," Jake corrected her without second thought. "Fine, sweaty, and sexy."

Amy gave him a weird look at that. Apparently needing further elaboration, though now realizing it, Jake really didn't want to elaborate on it. Not now that he was getting that look from her.

He groaned. "I thought that was a science thing. Please tell me it's a science thing, and not just a weird me thing."

"Huh?"

"Where your sweat smells good. I thought it was a science thing that I liked that. All the pheromones and stuff. Is it just a me thing and I'm a total freak for getting turned on by your sweat?"

"It's a science thing," Amy eagerly confirmed, perking up the way she did when anything nerdy was brought up ever. The way her eyes brightened when she started her excited babbling about science-y shit was just about so endearing it could make his heart explode. "But it's not something you started liking subconsciously because you're in love with everything else about me after working together all these years. My sweat has always smelled good to you. If I was just a stranger walking down the street I'd smell just as good to you. It's a human science thing."

Jake pulled a face at that. "I know you're trying to make me feel better by telling me more about the real thing, but the way you're describing it is taking it to a whole new level of creepy."

Amy considered that for a moment, then landed on the perfect thing.

"Just think of it as our bodies telling us to bone," she grinned.

"That I can do."


AN: Just another one shot that has been sitting in my dropbox for literally years, not quite done, but almost finished (like 95% done) and just waiting for me to fix up and publish and... I never did.