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Amy Santiago always rises with the sun.
This morning is no exception, even after an exceptionally chaotic night. The blackout yesterday had wiped out power all over Brooklyn, provoking total madness as riots broke out across the borough.
It had also given her the perfect opportunity to escape her family amidst the pandemonium and find Jake.
He’d looked like a walking day dream in the night when she spotted him from halfway across the block, hair disheveled and eyes scanning the area (for her , she’d later learn).
She thinks the mega-watt smile that had spread across his face when he found her definitely could’ve repowered the whole city.
That smile and the night’s less innocent activities that followed linger in her mind as she awakens, grinning when she feels the dead weight of his arm thrown across her body. She tries to get up, but he lets out a displeased groan and tries to hug her closer to him, burying his face in her neck.
“Why’re you awake?” Jake mumbles, his hair tickling her chin. He starts to press lazy kisses to her neck, making her shiver pleasantly and lean closer to him.
“You know I’m a morning lark,” she answers, reaching up to pet his hair the way she knows he loves. “Besides, I wanted to watch the sunrise.”
Unmoving, Jake chuckles. “I also know only a nerd would use the phrase ‘morning lark.’”
“Shut up,” Amy admonishes, but there’s no malice in her voice - only amusement. “Are you getting up, or am I going to have to watch it by myself?”
He sighs dramatically, rolling over onto his back and freeing her. “For you, and only for you. And also only because we had mind-blowing sex last night.”
Amy snort but nuzzles closer, pressing a chaste kiss to his lips. When she pulls back, he’s smiling gently at her, eyes brimming with affection.
“Buenas días,” he murmurs, lifting a hand to run his thumb over her cheek.
“It’s buenos , not buenas ,” she corrects pointedly, giving his hair a light tug. “Now, come on!”
She maneuvers out of his embrace, and pulls on his arm until he huffs and slowly rises, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
Jake leans down to pick up his discarded t-shirt from last night, but she steals it right out of his hands, smirking when he gapes exaggeratedly at her.
“It looks better on you anyways,” he concedes, pulling his boxers and shorts back on.
“I’m glad you think so,” she replies teasingly as she finishes redressing.
Grabbing his hand again, she leads him out to the fire escape outside his window, pleased when she sees the sun just beginning to peak out over the horizon. Weaving her arm through his, she presses herself against him despite the summer heat, resting her head on his shoulder.
“My mom and I always did this when I was little,” she starts. “It was our girl time together. We’d wake up early, watch the sunrise, and talk. We stopped doing it when I was older and the house grew more chaotic, but I still love watching the sunrise.”
Jake smiles gently at her and presses a kiss to her shoulder, his gaze following hers and watching the darkness of the night start to give way to brilliant oranges and blues. They stand in comfortable silence for a few minutes, basking in each other’s presence and the breathtaking view before them.
“I’ve been practicing my Spanish, you know,” he says, nudging her with a glint in his eyes.
“But you can’t say good morning?” she ribs.
He cracks one of his signature dazzling smiles, and just like always, it steals a little bit of her breath away.
“Ouch, Amy. That really hurt me,” he says, not sounding the least bit affronted. “Don’t you know you’re supposed to encourage someone in something they’re trying, not tear them down?”
She rolls her eyes, but she also smiles at his antics. Really though, her heart swells at the fact that he’s making an effort to learn her first language and connect with her family. They’ve all been vocal about their disapproval of them being together, so his gesture is especially sweet. Her brothers and mother are at least civil around him, but her father is another story.
From day one, he’d been adamantly anti-Jake, something that’s caused significant friction in their previously perfect father-daughter relationship. Jake is impulsive, messy, and bombastic - the antithesis of what it means to be a Santiago, and her father never tried to hide his disdain for him because of it.
Despite it all, Jake still desperately wants to win them all over, and knowing that only endears him to Amy even more.
“Okay. I’m going to quiz you -’’
“Are you sure that won’t make us go back to bed, like, immediately?" he asks, cutting her off as he grins haughtily.
She can feel herself blushing at his insinuations, and she smacks him even though she knows he’s right.
He chuckles at her, his gaze rich with adoration. The soft light of the sunrise frames him beautifully, the light dancing across his skin and making him look like he’s glowing.
“No more snide remarks, and I’ll go easy on you. Got it?”
Jake nods, clearly biting his tongue to keep from making another comment. She wants to say she hates his stupid jokes, but she doesn’t. Not by a longshot.
“Esquína? ” she begins, knowing he was with her when she used it in casual conversation with Rosa yesterday.
“Corner,” he responds quickly, wearing a pleased grin.
“Tienda? ”
“Store. Come on, Ames. That’s too easy!”
“Bombilla? ”
“Lightbulb,” he answers, his smile becoming overly smug.
“Are you sure?” she asks, feigning skepticism.
His gaze falters, and she’s amused to no end when she can practically see the maelstrom of his thoughts cross his face as he questions himself.
“Yes,” he says after a moment passes, quietly confident this time.
“Three out of three. A perfect score,” she says, unable to help how her voice gets a little sultry at the end.
He smiles proudly, and she rewards him with a kiss she wants to deepen so badly. She feels him grin into it, clearly aware of how his knowledge is both impressing her and getting her going.
“Come on. I can do more,” he insists, winking, and she ignores the way her stomach flips.
“Calor?”
“Hot.”
“Close. It means heat. Point off for you, Peralta.”
Jake frowns. “But I was so close! Heat and hot are basically the same thing! Make it half a point,” he bargains, but she just giggles a little bit and shakes her head.
“Nope. Anoche? ”
“Last night.”
“Llámame?”
“ Call me.”
“Ámame? ” she asks.
“Love me,” he responds, voice soft, holding steady eye contact with her. The egotistic smile on his face has fallen, replaced by a tiny, more earnest one.
Her heart flutters, and something inside her shifts. She’d only mentioned it in the spirit of the quiz, but something about Jake saying the L-word makes her chest tighten. It’s like a gentle squeeze, a warm embrace for her heart. They haven’t been together terribly long, but being around Jake, even when they were just friends, is so different from any other relationship she’d ever forged.
He’s seen her through her first days of college and comforted her the first time she got her heart broken and sat down and breathed with her the first time he witnessed one of her panic attacks. He was there and held her without question when she ran to his apartment shaken up and in tears after she and her father had gotten into their first serious fight, screaming back and forth for almost an hour, when he found out they’d been seeing each other. No matter what, he’s a constant.
He’s never not been there for her.
But does she love him?
“I think I do,” she whispers, unaware if she’s responding to his answer or to her own question. Her voice soft and strong all at once, unwavering as she meets his gaze.
She hears him suck in a breath, slotting his hand over hers.
“Te amo también,” tumbles out of his mouth, slow and a little jumbled as a subtle blush crawls up his cheeks.
His pronunciation isn’t flawless, hitting the T’s and the B a little harshly, but she thinks it might just be the most beautiful sound she’s ever heard.
“Bésame,” Amy utters, so quiet her words are barely audible.
Jake hears, though. He always hears her.
“Kiss me,” he echoes, leaning forward to press his lips against hers, tender and sure and so familiar.
They both sigh once their lips meet, like they’re parched people finding an oasis in the desert. His arms wrap around her, and she presses closer, closer. Her hands slide up to his hair, and she feels him tighten his grip on her.
She’s never felt this close to another person, previously unable to fathom that such strong feelings even existed. Despite its intensity, their love is not an inferno, or a hurricane, or an explosion.
It’s a gently-crackling fire, or warm blankets on a cold day. It’s snuggling up on her couch in her favorite sweater and rereading her favorite book series for the millionth time.
It’s watching a perfect sunrise in the tranquility of the early morning.
Amy finally pulls back to breathe, and her heart melts when she sees the warm, loving expression on his face. She tiptoes to kiss his nose, smiling when he actually giggles. She settles back into his side, one of his arms still weaved around her, and they watch the sun continue its ascent.
“How do you say sunrise?” he asks, voice low, as if he’s afraid to shatter the little bubble they’ve built for themselves on this fire escape.
“Amanecer,” she answers, rubbing her thumb against his arm.
Slowly, the brilliant bright oranges and darker purples begin to give way to a gorgeous sky blue, tinted gold by the sun’s rays.
“I’m sorry,” Jake says, seemingly out of nowhere as they gaze at the horizon.
She turns to look at him, confused, and his normally bright, excited eyes are a little sad.
“What? Why?” she asks, a little surprised. They had such a pleasant night and morning, so she has no idea what he could be apologizing for.
“I’m sorry that I’m causing all this trouble between you and your dad,” he says, sighing. “I hate knowing that you have some issues at home with him because of me.”
“Jake,” she begins, her voice gentle as she takes one of his hands. “None of that is your fault. It’s because he won’t give you a chance. That’s on him, not you.”
His head hangs dejectedly, and she tilts his chin up so he can look at her.
“I love you,” Amy says softly, her heart speeding up as she says the words out loud for the first time. “I love you, with or without my family’s approval. Nothing will change that.”
She strokes across his knuckles soothingly, and Jake offers her a small smile. Like always, she thinks it could outshine the rising sun.
“Promise me you’ll stay?” he asks, voice small as he looks first at the sky, then at her.
“I’ll stay,” she reassures, squeezing his hand. “Para siempre.”
“Always,” he mirrors, brushing his lips against her forehead.
As they watch the rays of light dance across the sky, Amy really does think that no matter what, everything’s only going to get better, especially with Jake at her side. They have something so wonderful even the sun itself can’t outshine them.