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Amy Santiago is tired. She can barely keep her eyes open, and she feels like someone crawled into her brain and is now trying to literally pick it apart. She hadn’t slept at all the night before; trying to review a case about a woman that had murdered her husband with an actual log of wood. She’s currently trying to file a report for a bike thief but she can barely concentrate since Gina and Charles are arguing about whether or not they’ll have to spend Christmas together.
“We’re siblings, Gina!” Charles exclaims and Gina mimics vomiting noises.
“Firstly, no we’re not. Secondly, say that again once more and I’ll sue you for defamation,” Gina says in her usual bored tone. Charles sighs before heading back to his desk. Rosa is watching the entire thing with an expression akin to that of amusement and annoyance, all mixed together.
“Hey friends, sorry I’m late!” a voice yells, and of course it’s Jake. Only he can be this boisterous at 9 am.
“Where were you?” Charles asks, and Jake grins.
“A gentlemen never tells,” Jake answers and Charles high fives him. “Woah, Santiago. You look miserable.”
“Thanks Peralta,” Amy says, voice flat and Jake has the decency to look sheepish.
“I just meant you look tired, Amy,” he corrects. He sits down, before switching on his computer.
“I didn’t get any sleep last night. The stupid log murderer lady is getting on my last nerve,” she says and Jake nods.
“Still haven’t found the weapon, huh?” He adjusts his chair, before leaning back.
“Given that the weapon is a log and she probably threw into some forest, no, I haven’t,” Amy answers.
“Well, Amy. You know what always makes me feel better when I can’t find a log that a woman used to kill her husband?” Jake asks, tone both jovial and nervous. “Kittens.”
“What?” Amy says and Jake’s smile grows hopeful.
“I need a favour,” Jake says and that’s when Amy notices something move in the pocket of his hoodie. Her eyes widen, and she shifts away from him.
“Peralta, what have you done?” she questions. Jake looks nervous.
“Can we talk in the break room?” Jake says, voice low. Amy really should just say no and try get her report done, but she’s kind of curious and Jake is oddly convincing. She stands up and he follows, cupping a hand around his pocket.
“So, I might have accidentally adopted a kitten,” Jake says and Amy raises an eyebrow at him. That’s when he reaches into his pocket and brings out what Amy thinks is the tiniest kitten she’s ever seen. It has grey fur, and bright green eyes and Amy has to resist the urge to coo when Jake cradles it to his chest. He looks up to see her reaction.
“This is Picasso,” Jake states and the kitten nuzzles into his neck. Amy is not running on enough sleep for this.
“How did you get it?” she asks and Jake shifts. Picasso paws at his neck.
“Picasso’s a he,” Jake starts off with. “I think. He likes long walks on the beach and-”
“Peralta!” Amy interrupts and Jake runs a finger down Picasso’s back.
“Right. Sorry,” he says. “So I was walking to Sal’s to get pizza right? And this man, wearing this awful red pea coat is trying to sell Picasso to this other man, who can I just say did not look like a suitable cat owner. Plus, I’m pretty sure the both of them were high. And I couldn’t let poor Picasso be taken by them so I bought him off red riding hood.”
“I thought you said accidentally adopted him,” Amy says and Jake shrugs.
“Yeaaaaaah, I lied to make it sound better and not totally irresponsible since I’m in crushing debt and can’t actually afford to buy a kitten for two hundred bucks.”
“Jake,” Amy sighs just as Picasso meows. The kitten wiggles against Jake before further nuzzling into his neck and Amy can tell by the look on his face that Jake knows he’s got her.
“He can’t stay at my place, or I’ll be evicted. Charles has two dogs so I can’t ask him and I feel like Gina would forget to feed him. Terry already has too much to do and I asked Rosa but her building has a no pet rule too,” Jake explains and Amy lets out a breath.
“Fine,” she agrees and Jake high fives Picasso. Well, he lifts Picasso’s tiny paw and taps it with his forefinger.
“Amy Santiago, you are my guardian angel,” Jake grins. “It’s just for a bit until I can find him a proper home.”
“What do we do with him for the rest of the day?” she asks because god knows, Captain Holt would not react well if he found a tiny kitten in the precinct.
“I’ll hide him and then you can take him home at the end of the day.” Jake places Picasso back in his pocket, making sure his arm isn’t blocking the kitten from getting air. “I bought the basics from PetSmart yesterday. I can drop the stuff by your place tonight.”
“That’s fine,” Amy says and Jake shoots her a dazzling grin.
“Thank you,” he says, sounding very sincere which is sort of odd since Jake rarely expresses emotion. Amy nods. They leave the break room, heading back to their desk. As she sits back down, grabbing a pen to finish the report, Holt walks to their desks.
“I have a new assignment for you both. Come see me in my office,” he says and the two of them nod. “Also Peralta. The kitten in your pocket is trying to escape.”
***
Amy only gets a handful of odd looks when she gets on the subway with Picasso cupped in her right hand. She finds a corner seat, and lets out a sigh as she stretches her legs. She places Picasso on her lap, watching as the small animal paws at her woollen coat before sighing and curling up into a ball. She rubs the space between his ears and feels, more than hears, him purr and Amy feels the stress of the day melt away. The subway ride is boring and at the stop before hers, a man begins playing a Bon Jovi song right there in the Subway and Amy closes her eyes and tries to block out the noise.
By the time she gets back into her apartment, her nose is so cold she can’t feel it and her head hurts. Picasso is asleep, making soft noises every time he exhales and Amy gets a blanket and pillow. She opens the bottom most drawer on her night stand and makes a makeshift bed for him before gently placing him down. The kitten snuggles into the wool and Amy grabs her phone and takes a picture. She sends it to Jake and Jake, surprisingly, responds immediately.
[Jake,8:35 pm]: NOICE
[Jake, 8:36 pm]: btw im running late is it ok if I drop by at 9.30????
[Amy, 8:37 pm]: yeah, sure
She leaves her phone on the bed and heads to the bathroom, flicking the light on. When she looks in the mirror, she cringes. Her hair is greasy and her eyes are red and she looks like she’s been put through hell. In all fairness though, the day hadn’t been an easy one so she thinks she’s allowed to look miserably tired. She gets into the shower, relishing the warmth of the water. Fifteen minutes later, she’s left a pot of pasta to boil and she’s currently trying to pour milk into a saucer and stir the pasta sauce all at once. The doorbell rings and Amy groans before turning the stove off and capping the milk.
“Hey there Amazing Amy,” Jake says, holding up a carton. He looks almost as tired as she does, hair curling around his forehead and bags under his eyes. “I come bearing gifts.”
“You’re early,” Amy states as she glances at the clock. It reads 9:03 pm, and Jake shrugs.
“My mother always said, never keep a lady waiting,” is the response she gets and Amy snorts. “Anyways, there’s a couple of toys in here and a cat bib that says I’m Felionel Richie. I googled it and apparently kittens only drink mother’s milk until they’re eight weeks but I also got this kitten feed just in case. And he needs to be hydrated.”
Amy nods although she already knows all of this; she spent her lunch break and a vet’s office near the precinct.
“Can I see him?” Jake asks. “He probably misses me, I’m his dad after all.”
“If you’re his dad, what am I?” Amy questions and Jake shrugs.
“Charles is the godfather and Gina is the godmother-apparently it’s step-sibling thing? Rosa said she’d be the cool aunt and Terry’s the uncle so I guess you’re Picasso’s mother,” Jake answers and Amy really shouldn’t blush but the tips of her ears go hot at the insinuation of her and Jake being parents together. She blames the tiredness. “No one’s decided what Holt is yet.”
“He’s probably the grandpa,” Amy says and Jake raises an eyebrow.
“Uh, I don’t think so.”
“Jake, you called him dad.”
“Okay, firstly, you have no proof. Secondly, I thought we said we would never talk about that ever again for as long as we lived.”
“I don’t remember agreeing to that.” Jake groans.
“Can I just see Picasso?”
***
Her and Picasso develop a routine. She usually wakes up to find him settled on her chest, or sometimes, pawing at her comforter. Picasso roams her apartment as she gets ready for work, and before she leaves, she drops a kiss on his head. The weird thing is, her and Jake develop a routine too. Amy doesn’t notice it at first, not until Gina points it out to her two weeks after Jake convinced her to keep the kitten at her place.
“So, how’s co-parenting with Jake?” Gina asks her as she pours herself a cup of coffee. Amy is confused.
“Co-parenting?” she repeats, and Gina nods.
“Mhm. You know you two are practically married,” Gina says before smirking at Amy’s expression. “Oh, Amy, Amy, Amy. So clueless.”
“We are not married!” Amy exclaims, feeling her face go red. “Jake just helps out with Picasso because he’s the one who got me into this situation.”
“He comes over every night to see Picasso, and then you two have dinner together,” Gina says and it’s in that moment that Amy realises.
“Oh my god, I’m dating Jake,” she says and Gina smiles.
“I prefer practically married since you’ve adopted a cat together, but that works too.”
“Gina! What do I do?” Amy asks and Gina hums.
“Well,” Gina says and then pauses. “You like him don’t you? And don’t lie to me, Amy. I can tell. I know everything.”
Gina’s not wrong, but her feelings for Jake are something she’s tried very hard to suppress. Amy’s weighed the pros and cons, although admittedly there are a lot more pros than cons but if her and Jake don’t work out, then work will become awkward and uncomfortable and that’s not fair to do to the rest of the team.
“Oh my god, Amy. I can hear you thinking from here. It messes up my aura of calmness,” Gina says when Amy doesn’t respond. “I know you like thinking of the worst possible outcome of everything because you have this incessant need to overthink things and be a pessimist but sometimes you just got to go get it, girl.”
It’s probably one of the nicest things Gina has ever said to her. Amy lets out a sigh.
“I don’t even think he feels that way about me anymore,” Amy says and Gina rolls her eyes.
“Of course he does, stupid! He brings you take out every night, you guys watch movies while waiting for the kitten you adopted together to fall asleep and I know these things because he tells me. I’m going to put this into simple terms that even you can understand, Amy. Jake, like-likes you.”
“Huh,” Amy says. “Okay. Okay, I’ll talk to him about it.”
“Oh, thank god. Your guys’ sexual tension was messing up my aura of calmness too. Too much pent up frustration, not enough fornication.”
Amy wrinkles her nose. “Gross, Gina.”
“Hey, I say it like how it is.”
***
Jake comes by later that evening with two take-away bags from Mr.Chow’s in his hand. His coat is drenched, as is his hair and Amy raises an eyebrow at him as she lets him in.
“My umbrella broke,” Jake explains and Amy scoffs.
“There is no chance in hell that you own an umbrella,” Amy says and Jake shrugs.
“Yeah, no, you’re right.”
She offers him a towel and he strips off his leather jacket and Amy looks away, because his plaid shirt clings to his arms and she’s already feeling way too many feelings.
“So how’s our son?” Jake asks, only half-joking and Amy wants to cry. Or kiss him. Almost as if he heard Jake, Picasso comes running to him and starts pawing at the bottom of his jeans. He’s gotten a lot bigger over the last two weeks; something Amy has a weird sense of pride about. Jake scoops him up and boops his nose and Amy wonders if God is really trying to test her. Picasso meows and nuzzles into Jake’s neck and Jake grins. Amy clears her throat.
“Hungry?” she asks, way too loudly and Jake gives her an odd look before nodding. She takes the food out of the plastic bags, and shoves the cartons into the microwave before turning back to Jake, who’s now watching her.
“So,” she says. “How was work?”
“Amy, we work at the same place,” Jake says slowly.
“Is it a crime to make small talk?” she asks and oh god, she is really messing this up. Jake is giving her a weird look and her cheeks are going red.
“Are you alright?” he asks and Amy can’t keep it in any longer.
“I have feelings for you!” she practically yells but it’s like she can’t shut up now that she’s started talking. “I talked to Gina today and she said we were practically married and I was like no ways but then I realised that you come over every night with food and we watch Picasso together and you said I was his mom and you were his dad.”
It isn’t the most eloquent declaration of love, but in Amy’s defence at least she didn’t mention the time she had a sex dream about him.
Jake looks confused. He opens his mouth and then closes it and as the seconds tick by, Amy feels something heavy settle in her stomach. Gina was totally wrong about this and Amy’s just embarrassed herself and now she sort of wants to crawl into a hole and never come out.
“Sorry,” she says when it’s been one minute and twenty seconds and he hasn’t said anything. “I’ve made things weird, Jake. I misread a situation and overstepped and I think it’s best if you go.”
She ignores the crushing disappointment.
Jake sets Picasso down on the kitchen counter before walking right towards her, and pushing her up against the cabinets. Two seconds later, they’re kissing and Amy feels something untangle in her chest. She pushes a hand into his hair and tugs and Jake groans, grips on her waist tightening. He pulls away before kissing the tip of her nose, and then rests his forehead against hers.
“You didn’t misread,” he says, voice sort of gruff and Amy’s pretty sure her whole face is flushed. “Gina was right. She’s always right.”
Amy laughs, and nods. “She is.”
“Also, that thing I just did now when I pushed you against the counter was so smooth, you have to give me some credit,” Jake says and Amy pushes at his shoulder.
“You just ruined the moment, Peralta,” she says and Jake grins, eyes crinkling. Picasso meows and Amy picks him up, before heading to the couch. Jake follows with the cartons of food. He makes weird faces at Picasso and Amy smiles, leaning back into the couch.
***
The next day at work, Gina’s the last one to walk in, wearing a shirt that says Gina’s Always Right in blocky pink letters. She shoots Amy a smug smile before heading to her desk, and when the rest of the team catches on, Rosa shoots Amy a genuine smile and Terry pats Jake on the back. Holt looks almost like a proud parent and Charles actually cries.