Work Text:
"Deberías ver mi cara, llorando de la alegría, al verte sonreír lavando la ropa sucia"
(you should see my face, crying with joy, to see you smile while washing the dirty clothes)
Sometimes in life you come into conclusions that are so obvious that you do not understand how you did not see them before, but at the same time they are so unimaginable that when they arrive they turn your world upside down. Amy Santiago had experienced that feeling before, only once, a couple of years ago. And, until today, it had never reappeared.
The first time was the day she realized her feelings for Jake. He told her, much later in their relationship, that the moment he realized it was that night on the roof. And she has to admit that that night meant a lot to her too, but her moment was later. After her "date" with Detective Mayors. Ironically, the same day she told Jake she wasn't going to date any more cops. Naive. But then she made the goat joke and he fell like an idiot and she suddenly realized how much she likes to make him laugh.
He left and she was not able to take her eyes off him and when she least expected it she was making the gesture. THE gesture. The stupid double tuck she does everytime she likes someone. And oh my god, did she like Jake?
Looking at it now, it is incredible to think that her past self did not realize her feelings for him.
But today she had a deja vu.
It was an ordinary Sunday, no urgent cases, shopping to be done or a place to attend. Today it was him and her and nothing else. They had woken up late, cooked lunch together, and ate while watching the first movie they found on TV. Now she was back in bed, with a new book open and the fan pointed directly at her, the June heat bordering on unbearable.
She listened to her boyfriend sing in the distance. It was his custom. Jake wasn't much of a fan of silence, so on days like these, when everything seemed to be at peace - well, as peaceful as New York could get - he used to sing random bits of songs. Amy couldn't tell which song it was, but it had a good rhythm. She intended to ask him, feeling his footsteps heading into the bedroom. But when she saw him come in with the laundry basket, the revelation hit her so hard it left her speechless.
Jake had done the laundry. It sounds stupid, but Jake had done the laundry and was now next to her on the bed folding each and every item of clothing. All this while singing with the most sincere smile she had ever seen. Jake, the disastrous Jake, whose apartment was a mess at all hours and hated with his life any type of task related to housework, had washed their clothes without anyone having to ask him to do so and without showing off or using it to score points.
And the best part, it had made him happy. As if it were a routine. Jake was happy. Happy with her. So happy that even doing laundry seemed entertaining. That fact brought tears to her eyes. She couldn't believe how far they had come together. She thought about their relationship from years ago and all their journey and the obstacles in it and god, she was being very intense right now but she was also incredibly happy.
It was Sunday and she wasn't working, or feeling guilty she wasn't. It was Sunday and she was in an unmade bed, with Die Hard posters taped to her walls and her boyfriend humming next to her and she suddenly realized that she too had been smiling all this time.
Jake, who had finished folding the clothes, looked at her and met her smile and watery eyes.
"Ames? Are you okay?"
"More than okay" she assured him.
"Alright…" he walked over and placed a kiss on her forehead. Then he walked away and left the room. Not without first saying "By the way, we're out of detergent!"
And finally, she felt yet another revelation:
She was going to marry that man.