"I can't believe Hitchcock and Scully won the heist this year."
Amy sighs as she gathers her things, getting ready to leave the precinct and head over to Shaw's to celebrate the 2018 'Amazing Detectives/Geniuses.'
Sitting next to her on the desk, Jake lets out an amused chuckle. "Yeah, it was an even bigger twist than me proposing to you last year."
He smiles dreamily at the framed picture of the both of them on their wedding day he's been holding before putting it back where it belongs – right next to a selfie the couple took in what seems like forever now, before he and Rosa got wrongly accused of a crime and the both of them went to prison. So much has happened – and changed – in his life, since.
Like he's a married man, now.
"Speaking of…" His smile turns into a full happy grin. "We just passed midnight so happy engageversary, babe." He leans over to press a quick kiss on her lips.
"Happy engageversary."
Despite still being at work, Amy allows herself to rest her forehead against his for a few seconds after they part, their hands intertwined together. She can feel her heart warming up in her chest at the simple memory of what happened exactly one year prior to that moment. How she thought she'd won the heist again only to discover she'd won something even better.
The promise of a lifetime with her soulmate.
Finally – reluctantly – they draw apart and she notices the change inside Jake's eyes. They're shining with a new mysterious glint, sign that he's got something in mind.
"I want to show you something before we leave." He quickly confirms her suspicions.
She frowns, curious, but doesn't complain when he takes her hand and leads her around the precinct only to stop in front of Supply Closet F. Aka., Hitchcock and Scully's (not so secret anymore) napping room.
"What are we doing here?" Amy asks, more confused than ever.
"Open the door." Jake simply nods towards it. She obliges, ready to enter, though stops after taking a first step inside. She turns around with her eyes and mouth wide open in shock and interrogation.
"Surprise!" Jake's grin grows wider in pride as Amy's gaze sets back on the view in front of her. The small room has been entirely redecorated, a few lights bringing a nice intimate atmosphere to it. There's a warm blanket laid on the couch next to an open laptop and chocolate cake and orange soda in the fridge (I would have brought champagne but y'know… we're still at a police precinct, Jake informs her when he shows them to her).
Surely, Amy wasn't expecting something like that. Truth to be told, she even didn't imagine they'd be celebrating their one-year engageversary tonight.
She assumed they'd be too focused on trying to win another heist to take a break for that. There is a little present waiting for Jake at home but she didn't think they'd have the time to open it before the next morning.
"What's all this for?" she asks again when she's regained some composure and Jake made her sit on the couch with a can of orange soda and a plate of cake – the same flavor as the one they didn't get the chance to eat on their wedding day thanks to Cheddar, he tells her.
"I told you. There's something I want to show you." He serves himself a slice of cake before taking a seat next to his wife, immediately cuddling against her side. He throws the blanket over their two bodies and puts the laptop on his lap – it's already ready to be used, showing a paused video on its screen. Or, rather, a tape coming straight from the surveillance camera in the evidence locker.
The date on the top right corner writes 17/10/31 11:58 pm.
"How…?" Amy gasps when she reads it and immediately understands what's going on – this is the recording of the moment Jake proposed to her.
She doesn't have the time to say more, though, because the tape starts playing and her whole attention is then drawn onto what's going on on the screen. She doesn't want to miss one bit. She's captivated despite having literally been there and thus knowing what's about to happen. Her heart is already aching in anticipation and with the memory of the feelings that took over her that night.
Absentmindedly, she starts fidgeting with the rings on her left finger while reliving one of the best days of her entire existence through the camera's lens. She can watch all of Jake and her reactions from this new angle, catch all the small details in the detective's body language from the moment he entered the room that could have given his intentions away had she given it more thought at the time. She's glad she didn't. It made the moment even more surprising and overwhelming that way.
There are tears already shining in both the now husband and wife's eyes when they finally reach the critical moment of the reveal of what's truly written on the belt.
Amy Santiago, will you marry m–…
Surprise!
They're falling freely along Amy's cheeks as she hears Jake's speech again – how he enumerated all the things he loves about her before popping the ultimate question.
Amy Santiago, will you marry me?
Jake Peralta, I will marry you.
The happy sobs turn into laughter at Charles's reaction to their engagement, from his fainting to the suffocating hug he pulled them in once he came back to life.
I'm so happy for you guys… He was barely able to talk.
The room fills with silence soon after that when the recording stops. Neither Jake nor Amy speaks for a while, lingering in the emotion these memories brought back.
"I still can't believe all of what you've been through and all the plans you made just to propose to me that night." Amy's the one who finally puts an end to the quietness that fell upon the room, in pure awe.
Jake pulls her closer to his side and starts gently stroking her arm. "Well, I was going to ask the most amazing woman to marry me. Of course it had to be amazing." He grins knowingly.
Amy turns around inside his embrace to face him. She puts a hand on his chest and breaks the barely existent distance between them to kiss him – something soft at first that soon turns into a more passionate exchange, with her husband's hands sliding down her sides to end up on her hips. "I love you so much," she whispers against his neck.
"I love you so much too."
They remain like this for a while, taking advantage of their moment of intimacy after bustle that has been the whole day. Amy has her head lying against Jake's chest until she looks up at him. There's a curious question that has been stuck in the back of her mind since they came in the room that she eventually lets out. "How did you get Hitchcock and Scully to let you use their room?"
Jake straightens up in his seat. He seems a little embarrassed.
"I, huh–… I might have given them some intel about the heist in exchange for access to the room tonight…" He sheepishly lowers his head but Amy's body shuddering against him with laugher quickly makes him look back up.
"So that is why they won tonight. I was wondering how they could have outsmarted all of us."
"Don't worry, babe. I'm the only one capable of outsmarting you." Jake jokes – it owes him a small hit in the side.
"Wait until next year when I'll win my title back and we'll see who's the smartest one in this marriage," Amy answers, eyes shining in challenge.
It makes the detective laugh as he already takes his hand out of under the blanket and brings it to her. "Is that a bet?"
"It definitely is." Amy shakes it with a grin.