Here and Now (Romance in the air part 2)

Die Hard date night was a smashing success. If you defined smashing success as having fun, which Amy did. So movie night was a smashing success.

Amy underestimated how much Jake loved this movie. And she has always estimated/known that Jake was obsessed with Die Hard. But it was a whole lot deeper than most people love their favorite movie. A whole lot more. He had every line of dialogue memorized, and she could see him mouthing it word for word under his breath. The whole movie. Every word every character said. He mouthed every single word of the whole damn script along with every character when they delivered their lines. That was in between him saying "wait for it, this is the best part" (which he said no less than five times).

That's not even to mention the multiple times he turned to her to make sure she was still watching. Which of course she was. They were sitting on his bed right next to each other, all the snacks laid out before them.

Truth be told, he was more than a little bit distracting. He was just so cute every time he whipped his head towards her to eagerly make sure her eyes were still on the screen- which made her want to keep her eyes on him because- did she mention how adorable he was?

By the halfway point she scooted closer and curled up into him, laying her head on his shoulder so he could stop checking if she was still watching and distracting her in the process.

Jake's wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer, leaning his head against hers, and not long after Amy's arm had snaked around his waist and it was some serious sweet and romantic cuddle action going on during this action movie with so much shooting.

When the credits started rolling Jake got up to pause the DVD on his computer, flicked the light switch on again, then fell back in next to her. Or really, he bounced back on his bed so he was seated in front of her, criss cross apple sauce.

"I really don't know how I'm gonna beat this date. Our first date at the golf course took like all the romantic-ness I had. I really should have saved that for later instead of setting the bar so high for myself on our first date. I'm really regretting not setting the bar a million times lower for myself for romantic date ideas. I mean, come on. Movie night? This was sappy as hell, Ames. And pretty great too," he beamed, the picture of joy. "Only you could take one of the top three most cliché date ideas and mix it with Die Hard and pull it off perfectly. And because this was a whole date thingy you planned for me, thank you by the way, I will not force you to watch the second and third movie right now, but you'd best believe we're getting to them soon. But I mean... I can't believe you did this, Ames," Jake shook his head with a warm and incredulous laugh.

"You really liked it that much, huh?" She asked with a smirk.

Instead of shooting her a quip back, Jake kissed her as his response. When their lips made contact it didn't take any time for her hand to move up and cradle his cheek in their kiss that, while longer than just a peck, was just soft and sweet.

When he pulled back with, god, just the cutest smile on his face, she was only left with the conclusion that yes, he really did like it that much.

"And, you know, all of this," she circled her hand over all the trash from the candy was piled on the end of his bed to signify the whole Die Hard date plan. "There's actually a specific reason I did all this. I actually did all this so I could do something else for you. Like this was part one of 'Amy Santiago's plan of wooing your boyfriend of several months'. Or maybe more like step one of 'Amy Santiago's plan of romancing your boyfriend several months'. Yeah, that sounds right. So Die Hard date night was step one. And it's a, uh, a two step process. That was step one."

The second step of the process was her sole motivation for this. The second step was also why she had to show up unannounced, for the sake of her sanity. She had to keep the whole thing a surprise because she couldn't not work herself up into a bundle of nerves on the two hour drive over to enact her plan if he was waiting for her to finally get there. Now she was here. Time for step two.

"Oo, there's a second surprise?" Jake asked excitedly, a glint in his eyes.

"Yeah, so... So I'm gonna say something, but I'm making a rule right now that you're not allowed to say it back tonight. You should wait at least a week, and maybe longer than that. Because you're you with feelings and talking about them, so when I say I love you tonight you are absolutely not allowed to say it right back. Cause I know it's true for you too, but I don't want to hear you say it out loud tonight. I know you do. But if I say you don't have to say it back I know you're gonna try because I know you do love me, but you're kinda the worst person on the planet when it comes to vocalizing serious stuff. So I'm not saying you don't have to say it back tonight. I'm saying you're not allowed to say it back. Next week, next month, those are good times for you to say it. Not tonight. I don't want you to say it tonight. And if you even try to say it in the next 24 hours I will be so pissed off at you, so don't even go there. Got it?" She asked, waiting for him to nod back at her before she started again. Or really, before she finished.

Jake nodded, reassuringly, and interlaced his fingers in hers.

That was more than just a little bit rambly from her just now, and it was pretty obvious that she was pretty nervous about what she was going to say next. Well, not nervous, but just... worked up? And it wasn't a secret what she was going to say next (she more or less just said it already in her ramble).

Worrying her hands together, her voice came out tense as she kept talking- she didn't realize how nervous she sounded until she stopped speaking.

Then he took her hand.

The look in his eyes- everything about him was soft in that moment. His expression was soft in that hazy sort of peacefulness, a warm wonder and affection.

She would never get over the way he looked at her. And how he was right now- he knew the three words she was going to say. And he didn't try to stop her from saying it.

She more or less just told him she loved him two or three times in that ramble just now. So, duh, he knew what she was going to say since she already told him. And when she cut off her own ramble she was still worrying her hands together and still pretty worked up and nervous about the next sentence, even though she already told him

She was still worked up about her next sentence, even though she already told him. She was still visibly nervous about her next sentence, even though he already knew what she was going to say. He didn't try to stop her from saying it though. No, he just held her hand and waited with her.

That meant more to her than he would ever know. More than she'd ever be able to tell him.

Of course Jake was very familiar with all her people issues. There have been more than a few occasions where he's helped her breathe and stay calm when she was struggling to not panic during regular human interactions. That was one of the many things she loves about him. Jake doesn't protect her-he helps her.

This right here was a perfect example.

Jake doesn't try to protect her. He doesn't try to shield her from things- doesn't try to prevent things he thinks she can't handle from getting to her. He doesn't try to shelter her or like keep her safe from harm or whatever.

He helps her.

Jake doesn't try to protect her from things that are uneasy.

He tries to help her with things that are uneasy.

Like here and now.

Jake was still and quiet with her, holding her hand, just being with her. The fact that he was holding her hand in the calm quiet, his fingers rubbing soothing circles on her palm, the fact that he was quiet with her instead of saying something to try and stop her- that meant more to her than he would ever know.

Amy smiled. She held his hand, his palm laid flat against her left palm, her right fingers delicately tracing the back of his hand, mapping it out with her touch, careful design.

"I love you, Jake. I really, really love you."

His smile was so bright and brilliant, and she could feel her own grin spreading across her face. Honestly, it wasn't fair how adorable he looked right now, all smiley, all cause of her. The almost giddy expression was so damn cute she didn't know how she survived this long when he made faces like this all the time.

"Cool, thanks," he said, biting down his grin, and she couldn't help but laugh.

"You're welcome."

Amy couldn't hold down her smile either. Luckily, she didn't have to. Neither of them had to. So neither of them did.

"Are you gonna help me plan sex night now? Cause for real you gave me your schedule over two weeks ago and I still have literally no idea what to do at all. None whatsoever. You're the one who plans everything. Why do I have to plan it? You're the one who's good at planning and likes planning stuff. If I'm planning something the plan is like 99% guaranteed to fall apart. Why didn't you plan it? Why won't you help me plan it?"

"I did plan my night, and you rejected my plan," she helpfully reminded him. "I already planned, but you weren't happy with having sex in your car, so the next plan's on you."

"You're counting that as your plan?!" He exclaimed, the same whiny 'uh!' from the back of his throat that a spoiled child makes in protest when they just cannot believe someone would do something so unfair.

"I'm not 'counting' it as my plan. It was my plan."

"But your plan was super unromantic!"

"Yup, so that's why you're planning the next one, and you can make it just as romantic as you want."

"God, you make me cringe sometimes, Ames."

"Just take the brownie points, Jake. Don't fight how much of a sap you are, cause it's the greatest. You make every other boyfriend and girlfriend look bad in terms of romanticness. Don't fight being the best. Just accept being the best. Be proud of being the best."

"Being the best is cringe inducing," he scowled at her teasing. "I can't be that good at it if I physically wince at sappy actions cause I'm the most immature person ever. That's on the list of most unromantic traits for a significant other to have. Half the time I refer to romantic gestures as mushy stuff. How is that part of being the best BF ever?"

"If you were actually good at vocalizing stuff I'd be worried you were a robot programmed to be perfect. To have character flaws is to be human. You're the most romantic person I've ever met, and you manage to never be cheesy about it. I think you calling stuff mushy and gross and sappy is what makes everything you do not cringe iducingly cheesy and stereotypical. It's a good balance. It helps your whole deal for the better. It's endearing in the way that endearing is not a euphemism for a flaw, it's endearing that I'd actually be pretty disappointed if one day you woke up being completely comfortable breaking out into saptastic speeches in the middle of a crowded restaurant and sprouting love poems left and right. I'd be disappointed in that, cause the current version of Jake Peralta is definitely my favorite. So maybe being good with words is on your list of what you think makes the perfect boyfriend, but it's not on my list."

"You only have one roommate who actually leaves your dorm to go to class, so I figure that'll be where most of our fun takes place in the long term, but I don't want super duper romantic first sex time to be at your place with a time limit of when your roommate's last class is over that day. But I have no idea what to do. Cause I mean it's not like a vacation and getting a hotel room like 10 miles away seems so seedy although practical, but still super seedy. Even a really nice hotel room, just getting a nice expensive hotel suite purely so we can have sex in still seems all kinds of yuck. And we already nixed out uncomfortable, cramped back seats of cars. I was hoping you and your immense knowledge could come up with something better?"

"I really don't think I can help you there," she told him. Before he could gasp all offended at her for refusing to help him just because she didn't feel like it, she informed him that it wasn't that she wouldn't help him, it was that she couldn't help him. "You know me. I am all about practicality. You're the creative one. I think a hotel is a great idea. I thought your car was a great idea. I still think it's a great idea if you want to revisit that option," she wiggled her eyebrows like he always did when making a sexual innuendo.

"You're just useless. No help at all," Jake chuckled, shaking his head at her.

Amy swatted him on the shoulder, then pulled him in to plant a sweet kiss on his cheek. Before she could pull away he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her even closer, so he could kiss her on the lips. She, of course, didn't refuse his offer and gladly took him up on it. Her hand drifted up his chest, clutching his shirt and gave a little tug as her teeth grazed his bottom lip. He parted for her tongue, and this time the whine at the back of his throat was one she was all too pleased hearing. Jake's muted whines when she was kissing him oh so very deeply were definitely one of her favorite things to hear. She left his lips with a light little nibble, a pretty smug smile on her face to go with it.

The faint blush on his cheeks just reminded her how much she loved that he still got a bit flushed every time she kissed him longer than 10 seconds. 10 seconds was the cut off line that guaranteed her boyfriend would have at least a bit of pink on his face when she pulled back from kissing him, even after all this time.

It didn't help her resolve much when he was just so cute when he blushed- it didn't help her resist kissing him and, well, a little bit more whenever she got her hands on him.

"You know, it's not fair when you do that. You can't just do that, Ames. It's not fair," Jake's protruding lower lip as he pouted about her habit of kissing him heatedly (AKA: intense make out sessions) and her ability to just snap back into normal mode like she wasn't just vigorously- and aggressively- making out with him two seconds earlier with no trouble whatsoever. "It's not fair when you just do that when I can't even do anything about it yet. It's not fair that you just do that when I can't even do anything about it right here, right now," Jake motioned around his room.

The whole reason they weren't having sex at Amy's place (at least not the first time) was because, while her dorm did have locks on the front door, the bedrooms didn't, and the prospect of her over protective roommate randomly coming home from class early and possibly walking in on them in her bedroom when her boyfriend was helping her lose her virginity wasn't a possibility that was very alluring. After they had sex for the first time the possibility that her roommate might randomly come home in the middle of the day when she was supposed to be at classes wouldn't be that big of a deal. Taking their time for the first time without having the small possibility of being walked in on at the back of their mind was a much better option.

Jake's bedroom door did have a lock- but the problem was a bit different when it came to interruptions caused by his three roommates who all did online college too. All of the bedrooms in the house had locks on their doors, so it wasn't like his roommates could walk in on them. It was a good house with thick, quality walls, so that wasn't the problem either. The problem was that if Amy was over and his door was locked and they couldn't hear a thing his roommates would bang on the door at random intervals and shout 'stop having sex!' cause they assumed the only reason it was silent was because they were trying not to make noise, even though they couldn't even hear anything if they were talking at normal conversation levels because of the good walls. They were really just guessing. Or not even guessing, just constantly doing it in case it was one of the times that Jake and Amy were actually doing it. A broken clock was still right twice a day.

Jake started locking his door every time they were in there together, so it wouldn't be suspicious when his door actually was locked for a good reason. While Jake wasn't a fan of his friends being dicks with their stupid gag, he was at least thankful they were adults. Stupid, immature adults, but still adults. They'd lived together for about two years before he even met Amy. And while living with your best friends since grade school sometimes seemed more annoying than its worth since they've been your stupid annoying friends for over 10 years and knew how to get on your nerves as quickly and efficiently as possible, they were still respectful of the basics of being decent roommates with each other. Such as knocking on bedroom doors and waiting the other person to respond before barging in.

Opening his door without knocking and him telling them to come in was not something ever do, but he had a lock on his bedroom door, and thought might as well use it when his door's gonna be shut the whole time and he doesn't want anyone entering anyway.

But banging on his door and telling him to stop having sex at random intervals was something they'd totally do. And they totally did. They did it as a passing thought every time they walked by his door essentially. It had become one of their favorite ways to mess with him now, and he hated his best friends so much.

And Amy was very persistent about fucking him in his bedroom before she gave up on his place and planned the whole car thing. It was a bit of a mood killer when your girlfriend had pushed you down on your bed, taken of her shirt, and was kissing you hungrily as she was in the process of unbuttoning yours, your hands twisted in her hair, her hot mouth-

"Stop having sex!" is shouted through your door accompanied by so, so much banging.

Amy, practical as ever, suggested they put on a movie and turned it up loud enough that his roommates would be able to hear it playing from his door, since they only banged on his door at random intervals if all they could hear was silence. The quality walls meant that you couldn't hear anything at a conversational level of noise from any of the bedrooms with the door closed, but you didn't have to turn up the volume when watching a movie or TV show too loud before you could at least tell that something was playing through the door. Didn't have to blare it, just turn it up a tad bit more than normal.

Amy suggested the whole movie thing to beat annoying roommates before she came up with her car night plan and they made it about halfway through the plan that night. He didn't even find out she hadn't had sex before until the middle of car night.

When his girlfriend was very eager, intent, and goal oriented on fucking him in his bedroom before being interrupted he assumed she wasn't new to the whole having sex thing until she told him she was.

All the times she was very comfortable and determined and took the time frame of semi-random varying intervals of roommate interruptions as a personal challenge that she was going to beat convinced him she had more than a little experience in the fucking area cause she was just so darn good at it. Until asshole friends would metaphorically barge in on their heated moment and make them both groan in annoyance.

He was fine with her loud movie idea for, like, future occurrences. He told her that. Amy only came up with the car plan because he told her he didn't wanna have sex together for the first time during a really loud movie playing in the background. He didn't even know she was a virgin at that point in time. It wasn't too much to ask to not have something blasting at high volume through speakers when you and your girlfriend were having sex together for the first time, was it? It was the gag-worthy sentimentality that he wanted their first time together to be a bit more, ugh, special than all of Amy's practical ideas that were- while efficient and pragmatic- were super unromantic (according to him).

It wasn't that Amy didn't get why turning up the speakers in his room wasn't very romantic of a situation. She knew it wasn't very romantic. She understood it wasn't romantic. She knew that.

With Amy and romance- she liked Jake being all sweet and sappy. She really did. It wasn't that she didn't like romantic stuff, or that she didn't get that something was romantic or not sometimes. It wasn't that Amy didn't like romantic stuff. She loved romantic stuff. But she also liked and loved practical stuff. It wasn't that she didn't mind things being practical- she genuinely liked practical stuff like she genuinely liked romantic stuff. She liked romantic stuff just as much as she liked practical stuff, and she liked practical stuff just as much as she liked romantic stuff. She was genuinely and earnestly the same amounts of happy with both.

The whole plan of her coming over with his favorite movie as a surprise visit and telling him she loved him- all of that was because she was trying to do something sweet and romantic for her incredibly cute and sappy boyfriend. Jake was the one in their relationship that was all about big romantic gestures and displays of affection- he really was sappy and sentimental. And she loved that about him. She loved everything about him. And when it became pretty clear they weren't going to be able to get anything sexual-stylez going on his his locked bedroom without his stupid friends doing their stupid joke unless they had a loud movie going on- after it became apparent that there was no way that was going down in his bedroom without noisy distractions, he at least wanted the first time they had sex together to be anywhere but his bedroom. Wanting to be able to fuck in peace the first time you and your significant other bone down together wasn't an unreasonable expectation, he thought. It wasn't even that sappy. Wanting to fuck your girlfriend for the first time with no distractions going on was pretty normal, right? That was like average, or something. It wasn't super romantic to wanna do that- it was normal. He wasn't being sappy or especially sentimental- he was being average wanting to have sex with his girlfriend without any distractions.

That's what he maintained- nay, insisted. Amy very lightly and affectionately teased him about him being mushy just to see him blush when he told her that.

(Something along the lines of 'Hey, instead of keep trying to and keep getting interrupted in my bedroom, maybe we should move onto other venues. I know you've been working pretty diligently and having fun trying to beat the clock on loud, random interval interruptions like it's a personal challenge that you're very competitive about and focused on winning, but it's pretty clear by now that isn't gonna happen anytime soon, and instead of locked doors and loud constant distractions to give us a lot more time without random loud interruptions, maybe we should try and find some place without any distractions at all when we have sex for the first time. Let's find some no sexy distraction place. And no loud interruptions. Fuck in peace. At least the first time'.)

And then Amy planned car night. And car night happened. Or at least halfway happened. When they were driving out to the middle of nowhere to fuck in the backseat of his car under the stars that night, all he thought was gonna happen was he and Amy would have sex.

On the drive out there, he just thought it would be him and Amy having sex. On the drive out there, he didn't think Amy would be losing her virginity. Until she informed him that would be the case when they were in the backseat of the car that night.

He just wanted no interruptions, no distractions, and a positive amount of romance points for their first time together. He wanted a lot more than that for Amy's first time. He wanted a lot better than that for her first time. And, like he told her, the romance points had dipped back into negative and the night sky full of stars wasn't enough positive romance points to make up the difference.

Before Amy departed Jake made one last plea.

"You know, it'll be faster if you just help me plan, Ms. Awesome-movie-date-planner. By refusing to help me figure out what to do you're just prolonging this whole thing. I ran out of romantic date ideas on our first date. I used all my ideas then. That took all I had. I didn't ration my best romantic date material. I used it all on our first date. It's gonna take me forever to find something good enough by myself. You can speed this whole process along if you just help me find something that works. What happened to horny Amy Santiago who couldn't wait to have sex? I want her back. You're just making yourself wait longer cause of how much I suck at planning."

"I have faith in you," she said, her voice sultry and dripping with false sympathy as she kissed him on the cheek like the wicked and diabolical tease she was. "And Horny Amy Santiago is back home in Georgetown touching herself and picturing Jake Peralta, so I think she can hold her own a bit longer."

"God, you're so not helping," he groaned.

"Oh trust me, I know."

AN: You know how at the end of last update I said what I had written for one chapter was almost 5,000 words before I decided to split them up in two separate chapters?
Well, looking right now, the word count for chapter 8 is 2,000 words.
And the word count for chapter 9 right here is just above 5,000 words.

That's why this update took so long even though I published the latest chapter last week saying I was halfways done. I accidentally ended up adding another 2,000 words to a chapter that I thought was almost finished at 3,000 words.

But that means that you get 7,000 words for these two chapters instead of getting 5,000 words for these two chapters. Does that make up for it a little bit? Am I forgiven?