#title from good intentions paving co by jnew of course!!

[peraltasames]

stars are just beginning to appear (and i have never in my life before been here)

28. “I have never felt this way about anyone” requested by anonymous with some early relationship fluff 💘💘💘

read on ao3

Amy collapses on Jake’s couch the second they cross the threshold into his studio apartment and take off their shoes and jackets. Her feet are beyond sore from their day spent walking around the city, and her poor out-of-shape boyfriend seems to be on the cusp of total debilitation.

“Can’t...make it,” Jake huffs dramatically, leaning against the back of the door that he’s just locked behind him. “Too far.”

She rolls her eyes, patting the seat next to her. “Get over here, idiot.”

Jake, very theatrically, stumbles over and plops down next to her, spreading out his limbs so that he’s occupying most of the couch. She doesn’t mind - it just gives her an excuse to lean back against his chest and kick her feet up on the coffee table, nuzzling into his chest as he wraps his arm around her waist.

“Did you have a good day?” she asks, playing with the hem of his t-shirt.

“I mean, I wish you had let us take the subway instead of walking like eighty blocks, but it was really fun.”

Amy had woken up that morning to sunlight and a cool autumn breeze creeping in through the window, and she knew immediately that it was the perfect day to be tourists in their own city. He hadn’t taken much convincing - a few kisses to his shoulder and the promise of a cup of coffee from his favourite place seemed to do the trick.

“It’s part of the experience! I mean, when was the last time you walked across the Brooklyn Bridge?”

“I don’t know, that’s what the F train is for!”

She laughs softly, already reminiscing on their day together. Aside from the bickering over the best way to see the city (which is obviously by foot, with the bonus of getting some exercise) and having to navigate the swell of tourists, it was picture-perfect; she’s certain she could spend every moment of every day walking through the autumn foliage of Central Park with Jake Peralta’s hand firmly in hers.

She even brought him to her absolute favourite spot in the city, the cafe right across from the largest New York Public Library branch at 42nd and Fifth. It’s one of the first places she went when she moved to New York for college, and their croissants and vanilla lattes still bring her an unparalleled sense of comfort and warmth.

“You know, that was one of the best lattes I’ve ever had,” Jake admits, squeezing his arm around her. “So I guess the walk to Midtown was worth it.”

“It’s my favourite place for a reason,” she grins. “I’m glad you liked it. It was...really nice, you know. Being there with you.”

He smiles brightly at her, but still teases, because he’s still Jake, “I bet you say that to all the guys, Santiago.”

Her heart flutters as she comes to the realization that she’s never brought a boyfriend there. Even in relationships longer than this one, relationships that looked better on paper, she’s never considered taking a guy to her little oasis in the bustling city. It’s too sacred to be tainted by memories of an ex-boyfriend when the relationship comes to an end.

But she didn’t run through the worst-case scenarios before dragging Jake down Fifth this morning. She didn’t even consider the possibility that she might break up with him, because - subconsciously or otherwise - she wants this to last...for a long time.

(She’s reluctant to use the F word, but “forever” doesn’t even sound that scary right now.)

“You’re actually the first,” she confesses, the words tumbling out of her mouth before her brain can decide whether or not this is information she really wants to share with him.

He quirks an eyebrow. “Really?”

Emboldening herself by sitting up straighter, her hand tightly wrapping around his where it rests on her thigh, she nods her head.

“Really. I’ve never felt like taking any of my past boyfriends there.”

His tone remains light and curious, but he holds her hand just as tightly and she can see his Adam’s Apple bob as he swallows nervously. “Why not?”

“I guess cause I...” She bites her lip, forcing herself to look him directly in the eye. “I’ve never felt this way about anyone else.”

Amy knows she’s just dropped a bomb, one big enough to blow up a relationship this new. She shouldn’t be surprised by the way Jake’s face falls completely and he loosens his grip on her hand, and yet it’s the most soul-crushing, life-destroying thing in the world that he might not be falling for her as hard and as quickly as she is for him.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to - that was a lot-”

“No!” Jake exclaims, his eyes widening as she pulls away from him and shifts to the other side of the couch. “No, Ames, oh my god, I was just surprised - I obviously feel the same way.”

His words pull her back from the verge of bursting into tears and running out the door, his hands warm and reassuring as they grip hers.

“You do?”

“Are you kidding me, Santiago?” He rolls his eyes, shaking his head with evident adoration. “I pined for you for over a year, I wanted to give up my job to be with you after six days of dating. I drank Orangina for you, babe.”

She smiles, both at his overly dramatic face of disgust and the ease with which he slips between calling her “Santiago” and “babe” these days.

“I’m sorry if it wasn’t obvious, but I’ve definitely never felt like this before,” he assures her. “I almost let a perp escape the other day because a car drove by playing that Coldplay song you like and I got distracted.”

Amy laughs softly, her hand sliding up his arm and shoulder to cup the pack of his neck and draw him in for a slow kiss. When she pulls away, his reassuring smile has faded into the passionate gaze she only gets to bear witness to in certain precious moments - right after sex, when the world seems to consist of only them; after particularly mind-blowing kisses like this one; when she brings him a coffee at work and kisses his cheek while nobody’s watching.

“Glad we’re on the same page then, Peralta,” she murmurs reverently, her hand sliding up his thigh and squeezing lightly.

It’s enough to convey the message that she wants him here and now. He pulls her closer, diving back in to kiss her immediately; she responds in turn by climbing into his lap and straddling his thighs, slowly rolling her hips against his. He breaks the kiss as a moan escapes him, his desperate hands tugging her sweater over her head and tossing it on the floor.

He’s predictably distracted by the lacy black bra she wore specifically for him, so she takes advantage of the moment to peel off his grey t-shirt and run her hands over his bare shoulders and biceps.

“Mm, we should go to the bed,” Amy mumbles half-heartedly between the kisses he’s leaving on her neck, trailing down to the zone not visible in work clothes where she lets him mark her skin. “You didn’t spend all that money on a new mattress for us to have sex on your couch.”

He keeps kissing her, sliding the straps of her bra down, and gently pushes her down against the couch cushions until he’s hovering over her, every inch of his body pressed against hers.

“Not yet.”

His lips travel down her stomach and her thighs start tingling with anticipation, the thought of Jake going down on her enough to make her melt in even the most professional or serious moments - and it has, when her brain unfortunately chose to replay the events of her morning in a meeting with Captain Holt a few weeks ago - but he pauses.

“Jake, please-”

He cuts her off with a firm kiss to her lips, so passionate and intense that it makes her forget for a moment the activities at hand and her lust-driven train of thought and also everything else in the universe. It’s somehow also impossibly affectionate, his hand cupping her face while the other tangles in her hair. It’s both infinite and far too short, but once he pulls away she’s seeing stars that don’t disappear after her eyes slowly open.

“What was that for?” she asks quietly, her heart beating so loud that she’s sure he can feel it against his chest.

She’s not sure she’s ever been kissed like that in her life. Jake’s an incredible kisser, and though she at first partially attributed it to the emotional and physical buildup of wanting to do that for so long, he just seems to be getting better every time. His kisses are like pure magic, leaving her dazed and in awe.

“No reason.”

The reason, she suspects deep in her gut and will learn a few short months from now is accurate, is that they’re madly in love and can never get enough of each other.

But for now, she’s satisfied with kissing him again and letting him work more of his Jake Peralta magic.