Chapter Text
Jake Peralta’s favourite things about being a cop, in no particular order, included: the guns, the badge, the daily Die Hard references, and the annual Tactical Village day.
Sure, he had to make all the Die Hard references himself, and sure, civilians usually weren’t as impressed by his badge or gun as he’d like them to be, but Tactical Village day remained pure and sweet. Jake explained this to Rosa Diaz, fellow cop, one day and she disagreed.
“The guns are still coolest.”
Charles Boyle was more supportive.
“If they knew you, they’d be more impressed by your badge and gun.” They were presumably the entire population of Brooklyn, or maybe all of New York, and as unlikely as it seemed, Jake did not argue.
But the morning of Tactical Village Day 2015 came sunny and crisp like it did last year, and the year before that, and every year since the dawn of time, probably, and not even Rosa could deny it was exciting. Terry was out in the parking lot, dressed in navy like everyone else, shooing the squad onto the bus, muttering about schedules and how being late isn’t cool, guys . Jake raised his eyebrows at him as he climbed the steps of the bus and checked his watch. Four minutes after they were due to leave. Right on time.
Jake threw his duffel bag down into a window seat near the back and scooted in. There was a wad of gum stuck to the wall of the bus, and he scooched his bag away from it in disgust. Then Charles asked him the question he had been hoping to avoid since he left the bullpen.
“So what did Gina mean about finding you a wife?”
Jake had to fight to not roll his eyes. Gina’s actual words were, keep that hair looking good or you’ll never find a wife, Jake, upon hearing that he was considering cutting it shorter. Her voice rang across the precinct as the squad left for the bus. Jake patted down his curls at the thought of it.
Gina was kidding, of course, she was hardly ever serious, but to answer Charles’ question, he would have to delve into his relationship with Sophia Perez, his failure relationship with Sophia, and his overall perpetual singleness, and he wasn’t about to do that in any state close to sober. Of course, it would be a very bad idea to show up to Tactical Village Day inebriated, so Jake didn’t mention the pang he got in his stomach lately every time he so much as smelled hot wings.
(It had been diminishing with every time, but it was still there, to some extent.)
“She’s not trying to find me a wife. It’s Gina. She likes to tease. You know. I’m single again and she’s trying to keep me happy.”
Charles nodded. “Especially after the Sophia fiasco.”
“ Especially after… Sophia,” So much for not bringing her up. “I should probably date only cops from now on.”
Rosa turned around in her seat and took her earphones out. “Are you planning on picking up girls at Tactical Village?”
“Oh yeah, I’m hoping to marry the first person to reach for the same gun as me.”
Rosa nodded once. “Sweet. Good conversation starter.”
Jake fiddled with his shirt sleeves and wished he was wearing his hoodie that day. It had been six weeks since Sophia had broken up with him, and he had yet to go on a post-Sophia date. He had a very suddenly clear view of timing that somehow left him more confused than ever. The bus went over a bump on the road and he stared determinedly out at the sidewalk outside as Charles and Rosa talked until they reached the complex where the training was held.
Jake felt his shoulders begin to loosen up as he disembarked the bus and entered the main building to check in. They were not the first squad to arrive, and already there were small crowds starting to pool amongst the tables. Jake had met his fair share of cops during his time at the NYPD, and he could probably recognize most of them with no trouble, but with the sea of navy filling the building, every face that blurred by him could have been the same.
Jake threw his bag down on a table beside Terry and rummaged through it. Alongside his change of clothes, his kneepads, and his really cool fingerless gloves he was hoping would charm everyone into awarding him coolest kill , Jake had packed a can of orange soda, but where was it-
“Jake? Jake Peralta?”
Jake’s fingers finally reached around the slightly cold can. Jake didn’t notice the woman standing in front of him until the spoke because, again, sea of dazzling navy . But now she was in front of him, and her shirt was neatly ironed and her ponytail high and bouncy, and Jake’s stomach panged from a long-ago memory.
“Amy? Oh my god, hi.” Amy Santiago was in front of him and smiling widely, and he found himself mirroring her. Jake’s hands, now out of his bag, felt suddenly very useless, so he fiddled with his shirtsleeves for a moment before deciding to hug her.
(She still smelled lightly like flowers. Different flowers than before, sure, but still nice.)
Jake pulled away before he got too weird. Amy was still grinning, and she was fiddling with her own shirt sleeves. The sight was very familiar to Jake.
“Didn’t expect to see you here.”
“Nor I you.” She looked older now, as Jake assumed he did too. The last time he saw her, it was wintertime and he was twenty one years old, and Amy still wore dark hoodies and blue eyeshadow every day. Her hair was a little longer now, and she had foregone the bright eyeshadow, but the crinkle in her eyes was the same when she smiled at him. The grinning was infectious; Jake smiled back.
“Who’s this, Jake?” Charles had come up next to them and was watching Amy curiously.
She held her arm out primly. Charles took it. “Amy Santiago.”
“I’m Charles Boyle, nice to meet you.” Charles put his hands on his hips. “So, do you two know each other from the academy?”
Jake laughed lowly under his breath. “No, we know each other from high school.”
Charles made a face he probably thought was intriguing. “You knew a young Jake, then?”
“I knew him, yeah. Uh, we dated for a bit there, actually.”
Charles paused, then looked Amy up and down. “You were Jake’s first girlfriend?”
Amy briefly glanced at Jake. “Yeah, I was.”
“You’re not what I expected. I heard you were shorter.”
Jake stared at the wall behind Amy and willed for the Sarge to come over and tell them to stop wasting time.
Amy shifted her feet, but her face was still split in a smile. “Oh, so he’s talked about me then?”
“Mainly heard about you through Gina. She called you Jake’s first heartbreak once.” Charles looked her up and down again.
Amy looked wary at that describer, but perked up at Gina’s name. “You know Gina?”
“She works with us.”
Amy looked from Jake to Charles in alarm. “Gina’s a cop?”
Jake laughed softly. “Oh god, no, who would be crazy enough to give her a gun? No, she’s our office administrator.”
Amy’s shoulders relaxed. “Oh, good, good. So, she’s going well?”
“Yeah, she’s doing great. Gunless, but great.”
“And you?” Amy asked Jake. “You’re doing well?”
Jake grinned. “Doing better now.”
Amy punched his shoulder and he pouted like it hurt.
Amy returned to her squad shortly after and Jake lost track of her in the mob. He instead followed Rosa into a break room to grab a cup of coffee. He watched her make a cup, stir in some cream until it was lukewarm, chug it down, and throw it out.
“Come on, we’re missing it.”
Jake waved for her to go on, and drank his still-hot cup in smaller sips. A series of large bangs came from down the hall, followed by loud whoops. Intrigued, Jake followed the racket echoing down the hall until he reached a larger room, filled with officers. He approached the crowd with his hands in his pockets and stopped just on the outside, close enough to see the new equipment they were trying out. Rosa was nowhere to be found, but Amy was another one of the stragglers outside of the circle, and smiled when she saw him approach.
“You again.”
“Me again,” Jake said. “I bet you thought you’ve seen the last of me.”
Amy’s face froze for only a moment before she caught herself, but Jake noticed it and wished he hadn’t. He moved on quickly.
“But obviously, we’ll be seeing a lot of each other today. Because of work. Can’t avoid it. And that’s fine! You’re not a bad person to see.”
Amy’s brows were slightly raised in amusement. Jake silently applauded himself for the save.
Down the crowd, an officer caught Amy’s eye, and was waving her over. Jake spoke without thinking in reaction to keep her attention.
“Hey, wanna come see something cool?”
Amy hesitated a moment, then nodded and followed Jake outside.
Jake didn’t know where he was going- not really. He only made a quick sweep of the premises before getting coffee, but he stopped by where he saw space sectioned off for handgun practice. Jake considered her for a moment, and did the only thing he know how to do with Amy: banter.
“I bet you five bucks I can hit those targets while sliding on my knees.”
“I thought you were going to show me something?”
“I thought I’d profit off it.” Jake rocked back and forth on his heels.
Amy looked back at the stretch of pavement between them and the targets.“Wouldn’t it hurt?”
“I have kneepads on. Long story. But I still bet you I can do it.”
Amy looked at his kneepads, then at the targets, then at Jake again. She nodded. “You’re on.” Jake extended his arm. “For ten bucks.” Jake thought about it, then nodded. They shook on it.
Jake took a few steps back, aligned himself with the target, then ran and fell to his knees in a slide. He didn’t slide far, the rough concrete stopping him a few inches in, but slide he did, and he hit his target still.
Jake turned back to Amy, grinning widely. Amy was frowning at the puncture parks in the target.
“Pay up, Santiago.” Amy looked at him for a moment, considering. Jake smirked at her, she narrowed her eyes at him.
“Ten bucks I can hit more targets with the net gun than you.”
“Do other officers count as targets?”
“No.” She looked serious in a way that make Jake’s stomach flip again. Jake shrugged.
“Deal.”
Amy won, in the end, and she laughed about it all the way to lunch.
Amy’s low, familiar laugh remained, repeating, in Jake’s head into the lunch hour, and into the afternoon, and was still on constant loop during the training simulation. Her squad went in right before them, and she ran out yelling about a perfect run and record time , and the happy laugh only intensified in his head.
(Jake worked hard and the Nine-Nine got a perfect run, too, running just a few minutes longer than Amy’s squad, and Jake was sure to crow about it to her the moment they were out. Amy, in turn, looked like she was trying very hard to not smile at him.
“Now you only have to win best kill, huh?” she teased.
“I never told you about that.”
“It’s very obvious.”
Later, when they’re on their not-date, she’ll tease him about it again, saying she’ll probably win best kill. He will glower and take one of her dumplings.)
But now, there were still at Tactical Village. Amy was heading back to her precinct with her squad, and Jake allowed himself a moment to watch her ponytail bounce away before he busied himself with his bag. He was parched, and he was pretty sure he bruised his elbow in the simulation, but his shoulders felt lighter than they have in weeks.
As they were packing up to leave, Rosa told him they’re all going out to celebrate their perfect run.
“That sounds great, but I’m actually meeting up with Amy in a couple of hours.” He tried to keep his voice light, and stressed his words in a childish way that usually made people ignore him, but he still caught Charles’ attention.
“Oh, really?” His voice was high-pitched again.
“It’s not- anything. We’re just catching up.”
Charles muttered something about catching up in bed , but Jake ignored him and headed back to the bus.
It was meant to be a simple catch up over coffee, really, truly. Sure , Jake had showered, and he combed his hair, but he figured it would be rude to meet with an old friend all sweaty. And yes , he bought her a coffee and a scone, but that was because he owed her ten bucks from losing their final bet earlier in the day. But it was never meant to be anything more than a simple catch up, even as he watched Amy’s hair shine under the warm cafe lights. Even as he was suggesting a late dinner, and even as he was leading her to a tablecloth clad table in a dim restaurant.
Even, even as Amy was inviting him up to her place, since it wasn’t far and they were having so much fun catching up, anyways.
(Sure, Jake didn’t intend anything, but he sure as hell didn’t fight anything, either.)