"Hey, so why did you do a search for 'magic themed singles night?'" Rosa asks as she drops into a seat next to you, distracting you from the case you were currently looking over paperwork for.
You frown and wrinkle your nose at the paperwork, not bothering to look up at Rosa who's now staring at you. "My last four dates were really boring, so I thought I'd mix things up." You leave out the part where your dates have been sad excuses to try and distract you from a certain co-worker you can't seem to keep your mind off of lately. The co-worker that is currently sitting next to you laughing about the situation. Most people think that she's a terrifying woman, that she's quick to anger and violence and lash out at the smallest inconvenience. They don't see what you see though. Like right now how she's laughing over something so silly, or the soft voice she'll have when she's on a case with a victim that's clearly terrified, and you know for a fact that just last week she picked up knitting supplies for her abuelita because she had a cold and Rosa insisted on getting the supplies for her, so she would just stay home and rest. You know that most of her toughness is for show. Underneath it all Rosa definitely had a heart of gold. Plus, she's hot so that doesn't hurt.
You scoff at yourself softly, hoping Rosa doesn't notice. "Really, Amy? Hot? You sound like a hormonal teenager. Get yourself together." Rolling your eyes at your internal monolog you glance down at the list of computer searches Savant hacked and sent to the NYPD.
"What about you? Why were you looking for real estate in Ropesburg, New Jersey?" you ask to deflect the attention from your pathetic love life.
"Oh. Ropesburg P.D. offered me a job as their new police captain. I turned it down." She shrugged as if it was no big deal.
Your stomach plummets and you feel like you're going to throw up. What comes out next though is thankfully just word vomit while your brain tries to catch up. "You…captain," you chuckle trying to act casual as if what she said didn't hit you like a blow to the gut. "Oh...that's super…super cool." You fumble around trying to grab your purse and stand up hastily. "I'm gonna take a quick break from all this paperwork."
"Okay when you're done meet me in the evidence room to go over that case we worked together," Rosa yells after you as you scamper to the elevator.
"Got it!" you reply as you hastily jam the close door button.
Your shame cigarette is at your lips the moment you reach fresh air. The smoke filling your lungs as you try and wrap your brain around the metaphorical bomb that Rosa just dropped on you. Of course, to her it was no big deal but to you…to you it felt like you had the wind knocked out of you and you were trying to inhale, unable to catch your breath. It felt like your heart was ripped from your chest and you just had a giant gaping void there instead. You chuckle to yourself dryly as you put the butt of your cigarette out and light up a new one.
At least she's not leaving. Yet. But you're not stupid. You know how amazing she is at being a detective. You know she's amazing at her job, it's one of the reasons that you're so attracted to her, but you never thought of it being a catalyst for her possibly leaving the squad one day. The thought hits you like a ton of bricks. She's going to eventually be offered a much better job, or she'll look for one herself and she's going to leave. She's going to leave someday, and you know she's not going to try and keep in touch with you or anything because it's not like you two are actually friends. You're just acquaintances, co-workers occasionally thrown on the same case together. The thought of it all leaves a bitter taste on your tongue, so you search for the gum and perfume in your purse that you always carry to cover up the smell of your shame cigarettes.
Popping the gum in your mouth and sighing, you head back into the precinct up to the evidence room pausing only to drop your purse back off at your desk. Rosa is frowning and digging through a pile of papers and you use this opportunity to really look at her for the first time today. You can't help but to be in awe. Her perfect black curly hair paired with black leather jacket, tight black jeans, and black leather boots to match. She looks so badass while you…you look like an accountant or a teacher quite frankly. While proper for work you know it's not exactly going to make her notice you. You wish you could run your hair through those curls, wanting to be the one to play with them while they relaxed for an evening together and you would give anything to be wrapped up in her leather jacket. You can just imagine how it would feel wrapped around your skin right after the two of you –
"The guy who did the safe in the second apartment, what was his name?" Her question jolts you from your thoughts that were rapidly turning not safe for work.
You shake your head as if it was an etch-a-sketch to clear the thoughts you just had floating around your head. "Cone. C as in Captain, O as in Over-"
"Yeah I know how to spell Cone," she interrupts sharply, and you feel a little guilty for replying so bitterly toward her.
"Okay," you reply softly. "So Ropesburg P.D. You know someone there?" You can't help but be curious, even though you know the answer is probably going to upset you even more.
"Nope." Her reply is curt, and you know you should probably be stepping on eggshells around her right now.
Your mouth seems to have other plans as it just keeps going. "So you were looking for a new job?" You keep pressing, frowning at the thought of her being so eager to leave that she would be actively looking for another job.
"Nope." It comes out just as curt as the first one.
"Weird. So they offered you captain without considering anyone else? Like Scully…Because he has so many years on the force?" You both know you're not actually referring to Scully since you've made it clear from day one that your goal is to eventually become captain. Funny enough it's not the fact that she was offered captain over you, though you're fully aware that's exactly what it sounds like right now.
As soon as you mention his name Scully pipes up from the back of the room. "Hey guys, I think I left my gun in one of these boxes, and I don't know which."
"You have a problem with me you want to talk about?" She hisses through her teeth at me while she glares with squinted eyes.
"Me? No, I am just filing evidence, sir." Your voice sounds higher than usual, and you know it's because Rosa is bordering on scary mad right now because you can't seem to keep your mouth shut.
"I found my gun!" Scully calls from the back of the room, cutting through the tension with his uncanny ability to always be oblivious of his surroundings. "It was on my holster. My holster is on my butt."
"Good solve, Scully," you say awkwardly as you grab the paper from Rosa's hands.
"Here's an itemized list of everything taken from the garden apartment. TV, computer, ster-b-eo? Uh oh spelling error. That's not very Captain-y of you," you know you're pushing her too far, but the bitterness seems intent on seeping out of every single one of your pores.
"I just think you meant "stereo", not "ster-b-eo." Did you mean "ster-b-eo" Captain?" you really need to shut up, but the word vomit keeps coming out as if you've been possessed by some unknown entity.
"That's it. Get in my car, now. And if you say another word, I promise you, you will regret it." She's completely pissed now, and you have to admit you're afraid to keep pissing her off but that doesn't stop the "aye, aye, captain" that comes spilling out before she grabs your ear and starts to drag you to her car until you concede muttering "fine, I regret it. Ah…I'll go. I'm going."
As soon as you shut the door to her car she's pulling out onto the road. "We're listening to metal, and we're going to listen to it loud. You don't have a say in it." Before you even have time to register what she's saying, she's turned the volume on the radio up loud enough that her mirrors are shaking with the bass. You wouldn't have complained anyway. It's her car she's allowed to listen to whatever she wants. Plus, you know you were being an asshole and deserves to drown out any possible chances at communication for the time being. You simply fold your hands in your lap and play with the ring you have on your thumb as you look out the window watching people and places fly by.
It's nearly 2 hours later when Rosa lowers the music to where you can barely hear it anymore and pulls in front of a building with a donut shop attached to it. You look over at her quizzically. Did she drive you two hours to just get donuts?
"What's going on?" you murmur. "Did you drive me out here to kill me?" you ask not completely joking in your inquiry.
"I thought about it. But then I put that thought on hold. I wanted to show you Ropesburg." You detect a little bit of humor in her voice.
"This is Ropesburg?" your brows furrow, taking in your surroundings.
"You wanted this offer so badly, I thought I'd give you the chance at the job." She's pulling you into the building before you can even tell her that the job wasn't the reason why you got so upset.
"Miss Diaz! Are you here to reconsider? We've bought all the deputies bullets, like you suggested." The sergeant seemed pleased that Rosa was back in their precinct, and you feel a little bubble of anger toward him because he's part of the reason you're now so worried about losing Rosa from your life.
"Hi sergeant. No, I'm still not interested. At all. But this is Detective Santiago. She's one of our top detectives, and she really wants the job." Rosa explains while pushing me forward.
You know you can't explain the real reason behind your bitterness to her now, in front of people you don't know, so you chuckle awkwardly and just say yes.
"Can I ask what happened to the last Captain?" you ask while looking around at your surroundings. Unlike the Nine Nine this precinct was quiet. The officers were leisurely sipping coffee at their desks and if she looked closer she could swear she even saw one of them watching Netflix.
"He quit to start a carpet cleaning business, because that was better than being captain here because this is the most boring place on earth." Rosa's explanation sounded exasperated and a little rude.
You awkwardly chuckle again and tell the sergeant that Rosa didn't mean what she said. You know she definitely meant what he said but she didn't need to point it out in front of him.
"It's okay," He laughs at your quick attempt to smooth things over. "It's true. Gotta be known for something." At least he can see the humor in the situation.
Thanking the sergeant for his time, you and Rosa head back to the car to make the two hour journey home.
She turns in her seat and stares at me for a minute before asking "So what did you think of Ropesburg?"
"It's, uh…quaint" your voice is soft, and you pointedly avoid looking in her eyes.
"It's whack, and you know it. Their number one crime is tricycle theft. There's a bakery attached to the precinct. Come on, Santiago. You never would have taken that job, so why'd you even care that they offered it to me?" Rosa exclaims not taking her eyes off of you.
"It wasn't the job I was upset about!" The words slip from your mouth without conscious thought and the second you register what you said you're sure your face goes paler than a ghost.
It takes a few minutes for her to reply while you just imagine actually dying from the embarrassment you feel right now. "What do you mean it wasn't the job you were upset about?" Her voice is soft, the kind of soft you've never heard from her before.
You can't talk your way out of this one, the only thing you can really do is own up to your feelings. Either she'll be awkward about the whole thing or she'll just ignore you, neither of which you have control over now that you opened your big mouth.
"It wasn't the job I was upset over, it was the fact that you would have been leaving that bothered me so much" you whisper, trying to stop your eyes from overflowing with the tears that threaten to fall. "Jesus Rosa, there's no better detective at the Nine Nine than you and one day you're going to either be offered a new job or find a better one yourself because you deserve it. And then you'll be gone because you're amazing and awesome and badass and I'll never see or talk to you again because I'm me I'm annoying and meticulous and I smoke shame cigarettes and honestly, I just blend in because I'm so boring you'd never think about me again. And it hurt Rosa, because I care about you so much. I see all the little things about you that no one does." The tears are just flowing at this point with the pent-up emotions that come flowing freely out of you. "You pretend you're so badass, which don't get me wrong is hot and you definitely look and play the part well, but I know it's just a front to cover up the fact that you care so much. And maybe no one else cares enough to notice that about you but I notice, and I care, and I just don't want there to be a time where you're not in my life. I love you Rosa."
You wipe your eyes, hiccupping softly as you try and calm yourself down. You feel like a fool and wait for the rejection that's surely on the tip of her tongue. You don't give her a chance to speak before you continue. "I know I probably made you feel awkward. I'm sorry, my brain and mouth seem to be working on their own today. We can go back to the precinct and I'll request to not be put on cases with you, so it won't be awkward for you. I'll tell Captain Holt—"
Your words are cut off with a pair of soft lips against your own, and for a second, you're frozen as if you don't know what to do. You have so many questions swirling around your head but at this moment you don't give a damn about any of them. The only thing you can think of is kissing Rosa back, and that her kisses are a lot softer than she imagined them. Rosa pulls back, and you look at her with a confused look on your face.
"What—" you start to say before Rosa cuts you off.
"Shut up and don't as questions." She rolls her eyes playfully at you. "We're going on a date Friday. I'll pick you up. Wear something nice, but not too fancy."
"What-?" you start again but she silences you with another kiss and you can't help but to grab her leather jacket and pull her closer, as if you're afraid this is all a dream and the second she pulls away she'll disappear. She hums into the kiss and pulls you closer too, placing her hands on either side of your face, thumbs wiping away the last of the tears that had fallen.
"I love you too. I don't find you annoying, or boring, and your meticulousness is one of the reasons why I was attracted to you in the first place. So please don't cry. I honestly just thought you were scared of me just like everyone else is. So, will you please go out with me on Friday?" The question instead of the demand shocks you a bit, never having heard Rosa ask for permission for anything.
This time you're the one surging forward to kiss her before saying that "of course, you'd love to go out with her on Friday." You smile and take her hand, and a smirk crosses her features as she rolls her eyes at you. She doesn't let go though as she starts heading back to the Nine Nine.
"Hey Rosa?" you say five minutes into the trip home
"Hmm?" she mutters not taking her eyes off the road.
"I could never be scared of someone who goes and grabs knitting supplies for their sick abuelita," you snicker, knowing she thought no one knew about that.
"YOU KNOW ABOUT THAT?" She screeches. "Okay, never mind! I'm going back to my original plan of killing you out here. My badass reputation must be protected at all costs!" she pretends to start to pull over the car.
"Oh, just drive, you big softy. I'll make it up to you on Friday." She gives your hand a squeeze and you settle in a little closer to her for the long drive home, a smile on your face the whole time.