Chapter Text
“What is it Santiago?”
“What is what?”
Jake put down his pencil and rested his forearms on his desk, leaning forward “You keep looking at me, like you are going to ask me something then you stop. It’s driving me nuts. Just spit out whatever it is. I should of finished ten minutes ago.” He then sat back in his chair watching her.
She opened her mouth and closed it again, letting out a sigh and clasping her fingers together in front of her. “I hate that I’m asking this but I need a favour.”
His eyes widened and a grin spread across his face. “Oh this is a big favour, it is isn’t it, I can tell by your face”
She narrowed her eyes and stared back at him, wondering if it was actually worth the favour she was about to ask. No, wait, of course it was. Spending a weekend with her family and face a ton of questions on why she was in her thirties and still single or rope in her immature, goofy, fun loving, partner for his help and pretend they have been dating, weirdly, it was the lesser of the two evils.
She looked around before replying, Gina had left for the day and Charles, Rosa and Terry were on a murder case at a local apartment building.
“It is a big favour and I’m asking you because you are my friend, you know me better than most people and well, I trust you” she said slowly. He waved a finger at her to carry on “I’m intrigued Santiago, do go on” his smile still there but it seemed softer now, not so playful.
“My older brother-“
“Tony”
“Yes. Tony. Well he is getting his marriage vows renewed and I need a date, a boyfriend if I’m being more specific” Jakes mouth dropped into an oh shape and his eyes danced in excitement as she carried on “I could go alone but I know it will be sooo much more hassle than if I took someone with me, a boyfriend. Trouble is I don’t have one but also I don’t know really know any single men...except you. Its a weekend in New Jersey, at a house by the beach, I’ll cover any expenses, like hiring a tux for example. If you don’t want to that’s fine, I guess I just don’t want to have to lose face with everyone. That’s stupid huh? They’re my family...”
“I’ll do it”
“You will? Why?”
“Well, let’s just pick apart your little speech, I am indeed your friend and I know you better than anyone, not most, by the way. You also said you trust me which is always nice to hear especially from you and then there’s the whole family thing. Everyone will be like ‘gosh darn it, who is that handsome young man with Amy, how did she land a stud like that?‘ and I’ll have saved your skin. Oh and you’ll owe me hella big favours in return. Now when is this wedding?”
Amy visibly relaxed as she filled him in on the details, it was in two weeks time, they were both scheduled for off weekends, so don’t schedule any overtime she said as she wrote details on a sticky note and handed it to him. He read the information, which included dates, basic location (that wasn’t necessary at the stage), and things he needed.
Clothes for ceremony – dress shoes, tux, cummerbund not needed (suit bag)
Clothes for pre ceremony dinner (night before) - shirt, blazer, trousers, dress shoes.
Regular clothes, sneakers etc
“Wow Santiago, do you just want to come and pack for me? It might be easier” he said folding the sticky note and putting into his wallet.
Ignoring his sarcastic tone she replied “If you get stuck then please ask otherwise I will assume you are in fact an adult and can manage these things by yourself. Let me know how much the tux is to rent and I’ll give you the money.”
“Ten four” he said earning a cute smile from Amy
“Thanks Peralta. All joking aside, I’m glad you said yes. It might make the weekend more bearable with a friend.”
A friend. There. She said it. That’s all they were to each other, just friends. Despite both acknowledging their feelings out loud at previous points in the past, they still hadn’t quite got themselves in sync or possess the courage to say how they actually felt.
She knew how she felt now, she had fallen hard for him and it hurt to think about it. For now he was single but what happened when he meets someone else because let’s face it, he will, she will just go back to pretending to be happy for him whilst crying on her sofa, eating ice cream and watching rom coms just because she refused to tell him how she really felt.
After their conversation Jake left for the evening, feeling nervous about what he had just agreed to. He did it for Amy, the look on her face as she worried about what her family thought was too much for him. He would do anything to put a smile on her face. He could be her boyfriend for 48 hours, he knew he was capable of spending that amount of time together, after all they had done it so many times for work. The difficult part was controlling his feelings for her and not letting them cross over from make believe into reality. His insides leapt at the possibility of kissing her and holding her hand and yet he knew that it was no more than an undercover operation.