I'm in the middle of binge-watching The Office (and LOVING it), and when I saw episode 5x01 the other day it inspired me this.

Hope you'll like it :)

"You're waiting for a call or something?"

For the past twenty minutes, Jake and Amy have been stuck in a police car, waiting for a perp to show up. The woman detective hasn't stopped sneaking small peeks at her phone ever since, her mind seemingly lost elsewhere as she didn't let out much words from the beginning of their stakeout either.

"Yeah," she sighs as an answer, putting her mobile back into her pocket, and finally looks back at her colleague with a desperate, annoyed expression in her brown eyes. "Remember Teddy?" she starts.

"Mmmh," the other nods, suddenly regretting his question. He's not so sure he wants to hear about the guy Amy's been seeing for a few dates now… just whenhe had found the guts to ask her out as well. Too late, of course.

"Well, we're supposed to go out tonight," she goes on with her explanation, and he can feel his heart tighten in his chest at the words. He doesn't let it show, though, keeping a straight face as he waits for her to talk more. "I thought things were going well between us, we seem to have a lot in common, so I bought tickets for a 'Harry Potter book night' event but… he hasn't called me back since last time we saw each other, to confirm it's still good and he's coming, like he said he would."

"Nerd," Jake can't help but gently mock her and her plans as a first reaction. But when she glowers at him in return, clearly not amused, he quickly corrects himself, "I mean, that sucks. But there's still time. I'm sure he's just been busy with work or whatever and will call you later in the day."

He'd be a fool not to, he adds to himself. Because who would be dumb enough to pass on a date withwonderful Amy Santiago when they got that chance?!

She manages a small smile, though still skeptical when she tells him, "Thanks, but I doubt it."

There's a pause then, during which she takes a short glance at her phone once more, and when she sees there's still no news from her date, she sighs again. "Why is dating so complicated?" she complains, and sounds simply defeated now. "Why say 'I call you back' when you have no intention to actually do it? That's such a rude move."

Jake wants to say something to cheer her up, seeing how all of this is affecting his friend, but he doesn't know what.

Or, he knows, but doesn'tdare to. He wants to tell herhe could come with her if Teddy doesn't show up and she wants, but he's afraid such an offer would be too intrusive, and only make things weird between the two of them. He can't really ask her on a date of his own right now either.

Unless…

"Well, if that's any consolation, if he doesn't call back, I can buy your tickets from you," he says with a smug rictus.

She watches him for awhile without a word, suspicious at his proposition. "You, at a book event?!" she eventually exclaims. "You don't even know a thing about Harry Potter."

"Hey, that's rude," he replies, pretending she hurt him with her assumptions (which are pretty much right, though, he has to admit – but still). "I'm trying to help you, here," he reminds her. "Plus I do know some things about it, I'm not a complete ignorant."

"Okay, then," Amy challenges him with a look. "Tell meone fact you know about it."

She's sure she has him cornered with her question, but Jake doesn't seem to lose it one bit in front of her. On the contrary, that's with a huge grin he answers her, "Easy. The hero's name is Harry Potter."

"Seriously?" she rolls her eyes in return. "His name is in the title of every book. And movie. Everyone would know that!"

"Maybe, but you asked for a fact, and I gave you a fact. You didn't make it clear it didn't have to be obvious. So, I win."

He's smiling more than ever now, apparently very proud of him and his trick.

Amy sighs.

"No, but seriously, why would you want to buy my tickets?" she stares into his brown orbs, trying to understand his move here. "Aren't you supposed to be in 'crushing debt' or something? How would buying something you don't even care about possibly be something you'd want to do right now?"

"Well, I'm glad you finally asked," Jake replies. "It's not for the event I'm doing it – it's because I havesomeone I'd like to take there with me. Someone I know for a fact loves Harry Potter, and who I've been waiting to ask out for awhile now. That would be the perfect opportunity."

The way he looks at her is so mysterious, piercing right through her core, never leaving his gaze away from her, she starts blushing.

"Oh…" the female detective remains speechless. Is he trying to pass her some kind of message here?!

Is he… askingher out? For a second anyway, the crazy idea that maybe he's talking about her lingers in her mind. That would be such a cute move, if it's the case, though.

"You really don't have tobuy them," she manages to let out when she eventually finds her words again, then.

"Yes, I do," Jake insists. "That would be way less romantic if you'd just give them to me, y'know."

A light giggle escapes her throat at that. "Okay, fine," she searches her pockets, for the tickets this time, and hands them to him. Her friend seems hesitant before taking them. "Can I… pay you back later, though?" he asks. "As you know, I'm in debt, and…"

"Of course," Amy agrees.

If he's going to do what she thinks he's going to do, he can well never pay her back, for that matters. She doesn't really care.

All she cares about is that he seems willing to go to an event he would normally callboring anddumb just to please her. A smile spreads across her face at the thought.

Who would have thought that of him?!

"Perfect," he finally takes the tickets, then his phone out. He starts searching for a name in his contacts' list, calling it when he finds it. "Wish me luck," he praises his colleague with a small rictus as he waits for the ringtone to stop, meaning someone would have picked up.

She furrows her brows in response. He's really taking the 'prank' very far – so much that she begins to wonder if she hasn't badly misread the signs here.

Which happens to be the case indeed, when she hears his voice talking to whoever the lucky girl it is on the other end of the line, "Hey, I've got two tickets for a Harry Potter event tonight. Care to come with me…? Perfect, I'll pick you up at 8 then."

Her smile, just like her heart and her hopes, instantly drops. How foolish was she to think he might be interested in her. She's just his friend – nothing else.

She's mad at Teddy, too. For making her believe during their past encounters it might be the start of something between the two of them. Why didn't he call back?!

Jake doesn't seem to notice her change of mood when he hangs up and thanks her, though. Probably because he's too happy about his date to wonder about anything else.

Hopefully for Amy, they don't have to talk more, because soon enough their perp finally appears, and they have to go after him.

At least work will help her forget about her desillusion, she thinks.

But it doesn't. Because as soon as they're back at the precinct, it seems like the male brunette can't help but brag about his date to everyone who cares to listen to him. All day long. Until, later, she spots him gathering his stuff to go home behind her computer, leaving a bit earlier than usual.

(Surely to get ready for his date – she can't keep the thought away from her mind despite her attempts at doing so.)

As she discreetly watches him standing up from his desk, she believes she'sfinally going to be quiet, though. Unfortunately, before heading towards the elevator, Jake stops at her own desk, sitting on it without a warning.

They're alone in the bullpen, and haven't exchanged much words since they came back, both busy with working on their paperwork. (Or so Amy said.)

"Soooo…" he trails off to catch her attention to him, and the woman sighs.

"What do you want, Peralta?" she asks without looking up to him, a bit of annoyance in her voice. "I'm trying to work, here."

"Just checkin' on you before leaving. Still no news of Teddy, huh?" he rubs his hands, weirdly nervous, as he speaks.

"Nope. And he better not reach me ever again, if he doesn't want to hear my thoughts on him standing me up," she still sounds really pissed.

"Great," is Jake's only reply, despite what she just let him know of, as he can't retain a relieved smile. That's when Amy eventually stops typing on her computer, and turns towards him.

"I'm sorry?!" she seems pretty shocked by his reaction. "What's so funny about this?"

"Nothing," he quicky answers, trying to contain his smile better this time. "I'm just… glad," he confesses.

"Why would you be?" his friend is as clueless as ever, eyebrows raised in dire surprise.

There's a short pause then, during which Jake closes his eyes to give himself some courage, before he tells her, "Because…" he starts looking for something inside his pockets. "I happen to have two tickets for a Harry Potter event tonight, and thought you might be interested in coming with me?"

"What happened to that 'wonderful girl' you were supposed to go with?!" is her only reply, though, suspicious and bitter.

She has no interest in being the second choice, out of pity.

But Jake doesn't seem taken aback by her reaction. On the contrary, he doesn't try to keep his happiness inside, now, and broadly beams at her when he explains, "The girl was you all along, dummy."

"But, you called…" she stutters, in shock – she can't quite believe what she's being told right now.

"Ipretended to call someone else. Really, you're the only person worthy of spending a night at some boring book event. I'd do that for no-one else."

She shakes her head, incredulous, and rolls her eyes, even though a small smile starts lighting up her face despite her own want. She doesn't know if she's supposed to be mad at him for breaking her heart all day long speaking about another woman, or simply be glad this was all just a ruse to askher out in the end.

It's a mix of both, really, when she eventually chooses to playfully punch him in the side as she lets out a menacing 'you…' that carries everything she has to say.

Jake lets out a laugh, before becoming all serious again, "I'm sorry. I almost blew it up right away when I saw how it affected you, but I was afraid Teddy would end up calling and you'd want to go out with him but couldn't because you'd have told me yes already, and so you'd regret it."

"Who says I'm saying yes?" she simply replies.

In front of her, the man suddenly feels very uncomfortable, and uncertain. This time, he's the one thinking he might have misread the signs.

"That was a joke, dummy," Amy adds with a laugh, after a little while of torturing him (he deserved it, she thinks) but not being able to do it for too long, and the other detective sighs in relief, laughing along with her. "Of course I want to come with you," she tells him. "Though we can go elsewhere if you prefer. I wouldn't mind."

"Are you kidding?!" he exclaims in return, feigning being offended by her words. "I made searches about the topicall day long not to sound too ignorant. We're going there."

Amy's eyes instantly light up at his words and as she asks, too, "Oh my God, could I quiz you on the way?"

"Why not starting now?" Jake offers, and his friend squeals in excitement, turning her chair to face him completely this time, really taking this at heart.

"Okay, let's start with something easy. How many houses are they at Hogwarts, and what are they?"

The man can't help but smile as he watches her ask her question with pure bliss in his eyes.

How lucky he is to take out this gem of a woman on a date with him tonight…

(Teddy really doesn't know what he's missing. But he's not the one who will feel bad for him. On the contrary.)

The day after, when he enters the precinct, everyone is startled to see Jake wearing a scar in form of a lightning on his forehead, and a pair of round glasses put on his nose, along with a wand in one of his hands – all things he bought at the Harry Potter event he attended with Amy.

And, as he takes a first step inside the bullpen, he proudly shows off something else that is in his other hand, excitedly shouting as he does, a huge grin on his face, "I just received my letter, I'm officially going to Hogwarts!"

At her desk, his colleague and date from the prior night can't help but let out a happy laugh as she watches him, memories of the moment they spent together coming back to her mind. Turns out, heloved that book night way more than he thought he would – almost even more thanshe enjoyed it.

(Not only because he got to kiss Amy Santiago goodnight when he took her home once it was over.)

(It was the highlight of his night, though.)