Who does the laundry and other chores:
It was no secret that Amy Santiago liked things clean and tidy. She always washed the dishes right after using them, she ironed and hung up her clothes as soon as they came out of the dryer, and she spent an hour every Sunday night vacuuming and dusting so that she could get a fresh start on the week.
Jake Peralta, on the other hand, was lazy and messy. He ate right out of the take-out container or the frozen dinner dish as to avoid having to do any dishes, he kept his clothes in two piles; clean and dirty, and he thought that he could get away with not cleaning his apartment because of how small it was.
...
Before they even start dating officially, their dish washing practices change.
After kissing in the evidence locker, Jake and Amy had been spending a few nights a week watching movies and figuring out their relationship. They would leave work, grab some take-out and a six pack of beer, and head to Amy's apartment. Amy refused to eat out of the take-out containers, pulling out plates and real silverware for them to eat. Once they were finished eating, she insisted on pausing the movie so that she could wash the dishes.
Of course, Jake could not pass up the opportunity to tease her about it.
"I knew you were a little OCD, but I didn't know it was this bad, " Jake said as Amy got up to wash the dishes their first night hanging out.
"I do not have OCD," she argued.
"Ames, you can't even let the dishes wait in the sink for half an hour. You have a problem."
"Cleanliness is not a problem."
"Of course it's not," Jake said, wiping the smirk off his face when he saw Amy glaring at him, unamused. "Well at least let me help."
"Oh… um...well thats nice but you don't need to -"
"Jeez Ames, let me help," he insisted, picking up a dish towel to dry the dishes.
"Thanks," Amy smiled up at Jake.
It continued that way every time they hung out. After eating, Amy would pause the movie and she and Jake would do the dishes before returning to their movie.
After a couple of weeks of hanging out, Amy finally agreed to watch Die Hard, Jake's favorite movie. She hated it, but was willing to watch it to make Jake happy. Amy couldn't help but keep glancing at Jake as he watched, noticing how much he loved the movie.
"Why do you keep staring at me? You're missing the movie," Jake said, glancing back and forth between Amy and the movie.
"You really love this movie," Amy said.
"Yeah, well how could you not? Oh this is a great scene" Jake commented, a huge grin spreading across his face as he sat on the edge of his seat.
But Amy couldn't stop staring at Jake, butterflies in her stomach, her heart swooning.
"Seriously Ames, watch this," Jake said, turning to look at Amy. He stopped talking when he noticed how she was looking at him.
"Jake..." Amy said, leaning in to him. Jake closed the distance between them, kissing her.
It was the first time they had kissed since the evidence locker. Unlike the last time though, there was a fiery passion between the two. Amy ran her hands through Jake's hair as he grabbed her waist and pulled her closer into him. She quietly moaned as Jake traced his tongue along her bottom lip. Feeling the urge to be closer to Jake, Amy pushed him into the back of the couch as she straddled him. Jake let out a groan as Amy grinded into him. Briefly breaking their kiss, Amy leaned back a bit so that she could unbutton Jake's shirt. As she pushed his shirt off his shoulders, Jake leaned back in for a kiss, desperate to taste her lips again. Amy felt him grab the bottom of her shirt, lifting it up as he moved his hands up her stomach to her chest. Amy grinded into him again as Jake began massaging her left breast under her bra. Breaking away from his lips once again, Amy kissed his jaw and his neck.
"Amy," Jake growled, his hand leaving her chest and moving down to her ass, cupping it before wrapping his arms around her waist and standing up. Amy wrapped her arms around his neck and went back to kissing him passionately on the lips. As Amy's tongue pushed between Jake's lips, she felt him stumble slightly. She smiled, realizing she had made him go weak at the knees. He quickly reagined his composure before walking down the hall to Amy's bedroom. Jake dropped Amy down onto her bed. She pulled her shirt off and threw it to the side sliding back to the pillows. Jake climbed on to the bed, crawling to meet Amy at the head of her bed. Amy reached her hands out, grasping at his waist to bring him in closer.
"Wait," Jake said, stopping and kneeling before her. "We forgot to do the dishes."
"Really, Jake? It can wait."
"Did Amy Santiago really just say the dishes can wait?" Jake teased.
"Shut up, Peralta," Amy laughed as she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him back down to her.
When Amy woke up in the morning to Jake planting kisses on her shoulders, she couldn't help but smile as she felt Jake's strong arms wrapped around her waist, and thought back to the previous night. She turned around so that she could look him in the eyes.
"Good morning," she said, planting a kiss on his lips.
After a few minutes, Amy broke away from the kiss. "We didn't do the dishes last night."
"Don't worry about it. I got up in the middle of the night and did them."
Amy couldn't help but smile as she returned to kissing Jake.
From then on, Amy was more lenient about doing the dishes and Jake was more willing to wash the dishes, occasionally using real dishes in his own apartment and washing them.
…
A couple of months into their relationship, Jake folded laundry for the first time.
It was a Tuesday night and Jake was stuck working a case. Amy was doing laundry and watching TV while she waited for Jake to come over. She had one load in the dryer and was in the middle of folding another load, when her phone rang. Amy looked down to see that her mother was calling her.
"Hi Mom," Amy answered, distracted.
"Amy…" her mom quietly sobbed. Immediately, Amy's heart dropped. If her mother, a strong, confident woman, was calling Amy in tears, something terrible must have happened.
"What happened mom?" Amy asked, placing all her attention on her mother.
"Your father has had a heart attack. We're in the hospital, they just took him into surgery."
"What hospital are you at? I'm on my way." Amy said, grabbing her keys and rushing out the door, abandoning her laundry. She called Jake as she climbed into the car. Not surprised that he didn't pick up, she left him a voicemail, letting him know what happened.
Amy arrived at the hospital and was embraced by her mother and her three brothers who still lived close to home. Amy could tell her mother had been crying and it broke her heart. She hated seeing her mother like this, weak and vulnerable.
"Dad's still in surgery. It's going to be a few more hours," Jeff, Amy's oldest brother, informed her.
Amy quietly took a seat with her mom and brothers. She was nervous, unable to keep her leg from shaking. She was still in shock that her healthy father had had a heart attack. She remembered how when she was little, she thought her father was invincible. He was like a superhero, never getting injured or sick. But, to think of him now, lying open and exposed on the operating table, made her uncomfortable. She could feel her eyes welling up with tears and, too exhausted to fight to hold them back, allowed herself to silently cry.
"He's going to be ok Amy," Tom, the brother closest in age to Amy, reassured her, patting her on the back.
Amy wiped away the tears in her eyes and smiled up at her big brother, still too upset to speak. Amy continued to sit in silence with her mother and brothers, waiting for some news about her father.
"Santiago. S-A-N-T-I-A-G-O," Amy heard a familiar voice at the desk asking about her father.
"Jake?" she said looking up.
"Oh, I found them," Jake said to the nurse he had been talking to.
"What are you doing here?" Amy asked, running towards Jake and throwing herself into his open arms. She instantly felt comforted in Jake's strong arms.
"I got your message and came right away," Jake said, rubbing her back.
"What about your case?" she asked, nuzzling into Jake's chest.
"Boyle took over for me. How's your dad?"
It had been an hour since Amy had arrived at the hospital and she realized that no doctor had been by to update her family. She didn't know if that was a good thing or not.
"We haven't had any updates yet," Amy said.
"Jake, it's nice to see you again so soon, although I wish it were under better circumstances," Amy's mom interjected. Amy had brought Jake home for the first time a couple of weeks ago for her family's annual 4th of July barbecue. It had been the first time that she had introduced Jake to her parents. Jake had hit it off well with her parents and brothers and Amy had been looking forward to bringing Jake home again. She never imagined that the next time Jake would see her family would be at the hospital.
"I just wanted to be here to support Amy, " Jake said, releasing Amy from his hug. Unwilling to let him go, Amy wrapped an arm around Jake's waist, smiling into into his chest as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling him into his side.
"Well its nice to have you here," Amy's mom smiled at Jake, patting him on the arm.
Jake led Amy back to the seats in the waiting room, keeping his arm around her. They sat in silence, patiently waiting to hear some news about her father. Eventually, Amy fell asleep as Jake rubbed her arm, trying to comfort her.
"Mrs. Santiago," Amy heard as Jake gently shook her awake. Amy rubbed her eyes and looked over to see the doctor addressing her mother. "You're husband is out of surgery. We'll need to keep a close eye on him for a few days, but we expect him to make a full recovery. He's still asleep, but you can go see him."
Amy's mom and brothers followed the doctor to her father's room, but Amy sat frozen in her seat.
"Aren't you going to see your dad?" Jake asked.
"I'm scared," Amy confessed. "I don't want to see my dad, my hero, vulnerable and lying in a hospital bed, hooked up to machines after having a heart attack."
Amy realized this was some heavy stuff to admit after only a couple months of dating. For a second, she worried that she was overwhelming Jake with how much she was opening up to him. She was relieved when he pulled her into a hug, seemingly unfazed by her confession.
"That's understandable," Jake reassured her, releasing her from the hug, but still holding onto her arms, looking her in the eyes. "No one wants to see their parent like this. You just need to be strong. There's no easy way to put it. On the bright side though, the doctor said your dad is going to be ok."
"Thanks Jake. I feel a little better," Amy said, giving him a weak smile.
"Anything to help," Jake smiled back.
"Actually, you know what would be really helpful? Would you mind driving back to the city and getting my glasses," Amy asked. She had fallen asleep in her contacts and now her eyes were hurting. She also noticed for the first time what she was wearing. She had left the house in such a hurry that she forgot she had been wearing an old pair of cutoff shorts and a stained t-shirt. Also in her rush, she had put on two different shoes, her black Converse All Star on her left foot, her red Toms on her right. "And I could also use a change of clothes and a pair of shoes that match," she laughed.
"Yeah, I didn't want to say anything but you look ridiculous," Jake laughed. "Of course I can do that for you."
"Here, take my extra keys." Amy dug into her bag and pulled out her extra set of house keys and handed them to Jake.
"Can I take your car too? The Sarge drove me here."
"Yeah, of course," she said, handing him her car keys too.
"I'll be back in a few hours," he said, kissing her on the forehead as he stood up and headed out of the hospital.
Taking a deep breath, Amy stood up and headed down the hall to see her dad.
Jake arrived back a few hours later with a change of clothes for Amy, the two shoes that matched the ones she was wearing, her glasses, and enough fast food and coffee for Amy's mother and brothers. Amy and her brothers were in the waiting room. Her father had woken up an hour ago and fifteen minutes ago, her brothers and her left the room to give their parents some time alone.
"How is he?" Jake asked, hugging Amy while her brothers fought over the food.
"He's going to be ok. But, we want to spend the day here while he recovers," she said, returning the hug. "Thanks for being here Jake."
Jake spent the rest of the day with Amy and her family, doing whatever he could to offer his support. By 9:00pm, Amy's father had fallen asleep for the night and Amy was ready to go home. She kissed her mother goodbye, promising to come back on Saturday, her day off, to help move her father back home. Jake took her hand, leading her out to her car.
After an hour of driving, they finally returned back in Brooklyn. Exhausted, Amy followed Jake into her apartment. She was surprised to find the laundry she abandoned neatly folded and sitting on her couch.
"You folded my laundry?" Amy asked, touched.
"Yeah, well I know how much you hate leaving your clothes unfolded,,,I just figured it was the least I could do."
"Thanks Jake," she said, hugging him.
"Oh, here's your extra key back," Jake said, once she had pulled away. He reached into his pocket to pull out her key and held it out to her.
"Keep it," Amy smiled.
"Are you sure?
"Yeah Jake. You're here so much anyway, it would be easier if you just had your own key. And, how else are you going to get into my apartment to fold my laundry?" she teased.
"Haha," he laughed as he bent down and kissed her.
All joking aside, he did occasionally stop by her apartment when she was working late on a case and do her laundry for her.
…
Six months into their relationship, Jake's apartment was clean for the first time.
Amy and Jake were sitting at their desks working on cases and Amy could feel Jake's eyes on her.
"Hey Amy, do you mind if we go to my place tonight?"
Amy looked up at Jake, noticing that he was looking nervous.
"Umm, sure," Amy said. Although she didn't want to go to his apartment, she didn't want to argue him on it. Amy hated Jake's small apartment. True, she hadn't been there since it was Gina's apartment, but she refused to spend time there, always insisting that Jake come to her place to hang out or spend the night. She felt a little bad about making Jake always come to her place, but he never complained or seemed to mind always going to Amy's. He was always so nice, agreeing to go to her place, that she thought she needed to return the favor.
"Thanks, I owe you," Jake said smiling, a look of relief washing over his face.
As her shift ended and Amy finished up her paperwork, she looked up to see Jake waiting for her.
"Ready?" he asked, holding his hand out to her.
"Ready," Amy said, linking her fingers through his.
"So I have to be honest," Jake said as they walked into the elevator. "My mom is stopping by for dinner tonight and I want you to come over to meet her."
Amy looked up at Jake who was looking nervously at her.
"You want me to meet your mom?" Amy asked, a little surprised, but also touched. Although Amy had briefly met Jake's dad a several months earlier, and she had introduced him to her parents and brothers at her family's annual 4th of July barbecue, she had yet to meet his mom.
"Yeah" Jake hesitantly responded.
Amy reached up and kissed him softly on the cheek. "I'd love to meet your mom."
"Awesome," Jake said, throwing his arm around her shoulder as the elevator doors opened and they walked out of the precinct.
Considering the state of his desk and locker at work, Amy assumed that Jake's apartment would be a little messy. She was shocked to find that it was worse than she imagined. The door could barely open due to the copious amounts of boxes that were piled up, the parts of the coffee table that weren't littered with newspapers and magazines were stained with rings of coffee, dust bunnies peeked out from beneath the couch, and a weird odor was coming from the kitchen.
"Jake," Amy screeched."You can't have your mom here with your apartment looking like this."
"I guess I've been spending so much time at your place that I forgot how bad I had let my place get," Jake said shamefully.
"How long until you're mom's supposed to get here?"
Jake looked down at his watch. "She'll be here in an hour."
"Oh my God. Well, we better get to work."
It was a miracle, but Amy was able to make Jake's apartment look presentable. When Jake's mom arrived, it was obvious she was surprised to find Jake's apartment looking clean.
"Really, Jake? You had your girlfriend clean your apartment," she asked after Jake introduced her to Amy.
"Amy did not clean my apartment...yeah she did," Jake admitted as his mom gave him a look of disbelief.
"Don't let her go Jakey, she's a good one," Jake's mom said to him, pecking him on the cheek, as she got ready to leave after a pleasant dinner.
"Yes mom," Jake chuckled, turning to Amy and giving her a wink.
"It was a pleasure meeting you darling," Jake's mom said, pulling Amy in for a hug.
"It was great meeting you too," Amy replied, as his mom let go and she felt Jake's arms wrap around her waist.
"Bye mom," Jake said as his mom walked out of the door.
"You know Jake," Amy said, turning around in Jake's arms so that she could look him in the eyes, "I have an idea about how we can keep your apartment clean."
"Oh really?" Jake looked amused.
"Why don't you just move in with me?" Amy waited, watching Jake's reaction.
"Are you being serious?" he asked.
"Well I don't want to have to clean two apartments. And anyway, like you said, you spend so much time at my place anyway, doesn't it just make sense for you to move in?"
"Yeah, it does," Jake said smiling, leaning down to kiss Amy.
"So we're doing this, we're moving in together?" Amy asked.
"Yeah we are! And I promise, I'll help you clean."
"Yeah, I'll believe it when I see it," Amy laughed, pulling Jake in for a kiss.
"Hey, since I started dating you, I have started doing dishes and folding laundry. If I can do that, I can vacuum and dust occasionally."
After a year of living together, while Amy could count on Jake to do the dishes and the laundry, she learned to stop expecting him to dust or vacuum. Somehow though, she was okay with that.