#jake loves carly rae jepsen and die hard

[staystrange]

heart is yours for the taking

Brooklyn Nine-Nine • Jake Peralta / Amy Santiago Rating: T • ~5.2k words • ao3 cw: slight mentions of drugs but no one uses them in the fic

It was officially the first day of summer. But it wasn’t just the first day of any summer, it was the first day of Jake’s first summer as Amy Santiago’s boyfriend, and Jake was determined to make it count.

-or-

Five times Jake's well-intentioned summer date plans end poorly and one time they don't.

This fic was written for @santiagoswagger as part of the @b99fandomevents summer 2020 fic exchange! I had such a blast writing this fic, and I hope that you enjoy it : )

Prompt: Snapshots of Jake and Amy’s first months as a couple through the summer.

I took this prompt and just ran with it and ended up with this! I've always wanted to write a 5+1 style fic but never had the right idea for one, so this was perfect.

Title from Summer Forever by Megan Nicole - one of my favorite summer bops!

011:58, 11:59, midnight.

It was officially the first day of summer. But it wasn’t just the first day of any summer, it was the first day of Jake’s first summer as Amy Santiago’s boyfriend, and Jake was determined to make it count.

He looked over at Amy, already asleep in the bed next to him. She’d come over to Jake’s apartment earlier that evening after a long day at the nine-nine (she was so busy that she hadn’t been able to get any extra paperwork done, which to her was an absolute disaster), and they’d eaten takeout pierogies for dinner before getting ready for bed early. Amy fell asleep almost immediately after giving Jake a tender kiss goodnight, but Jake was so excited for the date he’d planned for their upcoming Saturday night off that he couldn’t sleep.

Jake’s train of thought slowed in favor of focusing on Amy and how beautiful she looked, even asleep with drool moving steadily down her chin. No matter how many times he and Amy shared a bed, it never quite felt real to Jake, that he’d finally admitted his feelings for her and that she actually liked him back. Heck, Amy had broken rules for him, and he’d tried to follow some for her in return (though the whole “light and breezy” thing didn’t last long, but the effort still counted). But there she was, lying next to him as she had every night so far that week. It took all of Jake’s self control to not reach over and kiss her (he didn’t want to wake her); instead, he lay back down, facing Amy so that she was the last thing he saw before he fell asleep, a soft smile forming on his face as he drifted off.

1

“Ready to go, babe?” Jake asked, leaning his hip against Amy’s desk.

“Hold on, let me just finish signing this paperwork,” Amy muttered in reply, the pen in her hand moving at a snail’s pace along the dotted line on the bottom of the page.

“Ames, we’ve been over this. You need to do something about that speed. Not the drug,” Jake added quickly, “I mean how quickly you write your signature. You get what I mean, right?”

“Yes, Jake, I get what you mean.” Amy capped the pen and stood up. “I just have to turn this in to Captain Holt and then we’re good to go.” Jake followed her across the bullpen to Captain Holt’s office door, almost crashing into her when she turned around just in front of it. “You can’t come in with me, babe, I don’t want you ruining this moment between the Captain and me.”

“You mean ‘the Captain and I,’” Jake replied, a smug smile on his face, his determination to catch Amy in a grammar mistake overpowering his offense at her comment.

“No, but good try though.” She patted him on the shoulder before turning and walking through the door, closing it behind her to stop Jake from following her inside.

“Damn it, I thought I had her,” Jake said to himself, but he couldn’t help but smile proudly as he watched Amy hand her paperwork in, Captain Holt nodding with approval in response.

———

When Amy finally emerged from Captain Holt’s office fifteen minutes later, a pleased smile on her face, Jake reached for her hand, tugging her toward the door. “Come on, babe, our shift has been over for almost an hour already. We’re going to be late for our date.”

“Ooh, you’re taking me on a date tonight?” Amy squeezed Jake’s hand.

Jake grinned. “Yep! I actually managed to keep it a surprise for once.” He called the elevator, the doors opening with a ding a few moments later.

“And what are we doing on this spontaneous date that I didn’t get to prepare for?”

Jake winced internally, refusing to let Amy see the doubt that began to permeate his excitement. “You’ll see! The surprise isn’t over just yet.” He opened the passenger side door for Amy with a slightly comical bow before walking around to the driver’s side and sliding into the seat. He started the car and cranked up the radio to his favorite pop hits station, realizing in that moment he should have probably asked Amy to choose the station instead. At a red light, he turned to her to offer to change the station, but then the newest Carly Rae Jepsen single came on and he was too busy singing along, loud enough to drown out his own nerves.

When they pulled into the drive-in movie theater that had just opened right outside the New York City limits, Amy’s face fell when she saw that the night’s showing was of —

“Die Hard?!” Amy asked, incredulous. “Really? We haven’t even been dating for that long and we’ve already watched this movie way too many times. You pick this movie every single time it’s your turn to plan movie night. Why are we paying money to watch this movie again?”

“Because I thought it would be fun and maybe even a little romantic to watch it at a drive-in movie theater on a warm, clear summer night?” Amy raised her eyebrow, her arms crossing over the seatbelt. “I brought snacks, if that helps at all.”

“I’m listening.”

Jake reached into the backseat and handed Amy a plastic shopping bag filled with snacks: greasy potato chips and gummy bears for Jake, chocolate pretzels and salted popcorn for Amy. “Come on, Amy, you didn’t really think I wouldn’t bring snacks to entertain us, did you?”

“I mean yeah, the snacks help, but we could eat snacks and watch Die Hard at home, Jake. Remember when we talked about budgeting and saving your money?”

“Amy —” Jake was about to reply, but then the stadium lights shut off and the screen lit up with the opening shot of the movie. “We’re already here, I already paid for the tickets, and I already bought the snacks. Just try to enjoy this, okay?”

Amy opened the bag of popcorn, putting a couple pieces in her mouth and chewing contentedly. “Fine. But only because this popcorn is really good.”

2

“You took her to a drive-in showing of Die Hard and called it a romantic date?!”

The second Jake had arrived at the precinct first thing in the morning after his and Amy’s night off, Charles had marched right over to his desk and demanded details. Jake knew better than to deny him, so he told him everything, disagreement and all. Thankfully, Amy had the morning off, and Jake had let her sleep in.

Charles’s response didn’t surprise Jake, and he more than deserved the dig, but he still felt the need to defend himself. “It was romantic! Drive-in movies are totally perfect for early-summer dates, and I brought snacks and everything! And you should have seen the sunset behind the screen!”

“Okay, to be fair, that does sound nice. But still, come on Jakey, this is Amy we’re talking about! You’ve been in love with her for years! And then you get to go out with her, and you take her on a shitty date?”

“Okay, I know it wasn’t great, but I wouldn’t necessarily call it a shitty date,” Jake pointed out.

“Well, whatever, you can do so much better than that, Jake.” Charles’s face lit up with an idea. “I know! You should take her to Bon Appe-tweet, this new restaurant that I just discovered the other night.”

“Bon Appe-tweet?” Jake asked, fighting back the laugh that bubbled up in his chest. “I don’t know, Charles, is this another one of your weird food restaurants?”

“No! Jake, you’ll like it. They only serve bird-based dishes. Chicken, turkey, duck, the works. And it’s pretty fancy, so Amy will swoon, and then you’ll go home and make babies and —”

“Alright, Charles, thank you for the recommendation,” Jake said, cutting him off before he got too far down that rabbit hole. Even though Jake knew from many prior experiences that if it was something Charles recommended, it probably couldn’t be trusted, for some reason he had a good feeling about this one and decided to go with his gut. “I’ll make a reservation for later this week.”

Jake just hoped he wasn’t making a huge mistake.

———

It was absolutely a huge mistake.

Everything was totally fine at first, to Jake’s pleasant surprise. He and Amy had decided to reserve an outdoor table since the weather was supposed to be clear and warm, and to their delight, the outdoor patio was surrounded by colorful sweet-smelling flowers. Jake decided to splurge and order a bottle of rosé for them to share, and they sipped the wine slowly as they perused the menu.

“Ooh, this fancy chicken dish that I don’t know how to pronounce sounds really good. What are you thinking, Ames?” Jake asked, looking up from his menu at his girlfriend across from him. Jake had told her to dress up for this date, and she’d chosen a dark blue dress that she knew Jake liked, her hair pinned up in a classy bun. She was stunningly beautiful; there were simply no other words to describe her.

“I think I’m going to get the orange chicken,” Amy replied, closing the menu and setting it down on the table, her hands folding over her napkin in her lap. “I’m still not totally ready to trust a restaurant recommended by Charles, but you can’t really go wrong with orange chicken.”

“I’ll drink to that,” Jake said, raising his glass with a laugh.

They ordered their respective dishes when the waiter brought over a basket of bread, and they returned to their drinks, content smiles on their faces.

“This is better than the other night, right?” Jake asked

“Yes, definitely.” Amy took another sip of her rosé, her smile widening.

And then it happened.

The squawking coming from behind the restaurant building caught Jake and Amy off guard, and it was a miracle that neither of them sloshed their drinks onto the table or their clothes. Amy looked horrified, and Jake knew his face reflected a similar look back at her.

“Is there like a farm up the road or something?” Amy asked, her palms pressing into her ears.

“I have no idea!” Jake yelled back to be heard over the squawking.

When it finally stopped, Jake exhaled in relief, but there was something uneasy about the silence that followed. No one else dining out at the restaurant that night seemed to notice or care, though, so Jake chose to just shake it off and focus on Amy, whose initially anxious smile had softened as she drank.

Jake had managed to almost forget it until his and Amy’s food arrived and it hit him that the sounds they’d heard were chickens being murdered for their dinner. The thought made him sick.

“Here you go, sir, madam,” the waiter said, setting their dishes down in front of each of them. “Fresh from our in-house farm. Enjoy!”

“We can’t eat this, Jake!” Amy hissed once the waiter was out of earshot. “They murdered these chickens right in front of us.”

“I mean, they didn’t kill them right in front of us —” Jake stopped when the look on Amy’s face made it clear she was in no mood for joking. “Okay yeah, they might as well have. And normally I would support leaving right now and getting dinner somewhere else, but this food is expensive so if I have to pay for it anyway, we might as well eat it, right?”

Amy opened her mouth to argue, but sighed instead, knowing she couldn’t argue with Jake’s logic. “Fine. But please, promise me you will never trust Charles to plan anything for us ever again.”

“I swear on my original copy of Die Hard that I will never trust Charles Boyle’s food recommendations ever again.” Amy nodded her approval, gulping nervously before cutting into her food, Jake following her lead.

The chicken was actually really good when he didn’t think too hard about where it had come from.

———

“Charles, why didn’t you mention that they kill the chickens in front of you?!” Jake asked the next morning, marching up to Charles’s desk.

“Why wouldn’t they kill them in front of you? If your food isn’t being prepared in front of you at a restaurant, then what is the point of going to a restaurant?”

“Okay, Charles,” Jake said, giving up and turning to the pile of paperwork on his desk.

3

Jake had decided to stop testing his luck with dates for the rest of the week, choosing to plan nights in for him and Amy instead. The next week, though, Jake was feeling brave enough to try again, and this time he sought advice from someone older and wiser.

“Sarge?” Jake approached his desk during an afternoon lull in work. “You’re older and therefore wise and all-knowing. Where should I take Amy on a date this week?”

“You don’t know your girlfriend well enough to know where to take her on a date?!” Terry replied, looking up from his computer.

“No, I do, but I’m worried my ideas aren’t good enough for her. The dates I planned last week were both disasters, and I need a new plan. Where do you take Sharon for date night?”

“Well, we’ve been taking ballroom dancing classes recently and they’ve been pretty fun. They also really add to the romance level of the date, and they’re good exercise too. It’s a win-win-win! Terry loves romance.” Terry puffed up his chest in pride.

“Alright, I get it, you’re the king of dates. How do I sign up, and more importantly, how do I make sure I don’t embarrass myself in front of Amy?”

“I’ll text you the website link in a few, and you won’t embarrass yourself, Jake. It’s a class for beginners. Everyone’s in the same boat. Just let yourself have fun, and Amy will have fun too, okay?”

“If you say so, Sarge,” Jake said. “Thanks. I really appreciate your advice.”

“Anytime, Jake!”

———

“Jake, this is so cheesy,” Amy said a few nights later when they pulled into the parking lot of the dance studio.

“Is it, though? Or is it… romantic?” Jake paused for dramatic effect.

“It’s cheesy,” Amy deadpanned.

“Just trust me, okay? This is going to be fun. We’re going to have fun, I promise.”

“Alright, Jake, whatever you say,” Amy said, following Jake into the building.

After signing in at the front desk, Jake and Amy chose a spot in the back of the room, their eyes wandering around to scope out their classmates. Their instructor walked in a moment later, plugging his phone into the speakers and pressing play on a calming playlist. He led them in a series of stretches, and Jake pretended not to notice the popping sounds his joints made as he followed the instructor’s movements.

What he did notice during a particularly painful stretch, though, was a bag of cocaine peeking out of the pocket of the instructor’s leather jacket that he’d taken off and hung around the back of a chair before the class had begun.

“Ames,” Jake whispered when they’d returned to a standing position. “The teacher guy has cocaine in his jacket pocket.”

“Damn it,” she muttered. “We have to text the squad.”

“Or we could just let this go? For the sake of the date?” Jake asked, hope evident in his voice before he admitted defeat when he saw the look on Amy’s face. “Yeah, no, we have to call this in.” He stepped away from the group during a five minute water break and sent a quick text to Captain Holt.

Just as the instructor began to reorganize the group into lines of partners, the door banged open and Charles and Rosa ran in, Rosa yelling “NYPD, you’re under arrest!” and Charles running up to the guy and handcuffing his hands behind his back.

“What is this about? I didn’t do anything wrong, officers,” he protested.

“Then why do you have a bag of cocaine in your jacket pocket?” Charles asked, holding it up carefully in between two fingers.

“Damn it,” the instructor muttered. “I knew I forgot to do something before I taught this class.”

“Thanks for the tip, Jake!” Rosa said. “Sorry we ruined your date.”

“It’s fine, Rosa,” Jake replied.

Rosa and Charles led him out of the room in handcuffs as the woman working at the front desk ran in to assure everyone that they’d receive a full refund and a discount code for a future class at the studio.

“Why do our jobs have to interfere with our lives so much?” Jake said to himself as he and Amy followed the group out the door.

———

“You arrested the dance instructor?!” Terry asked in shock the next morning. “What the hell, man? I put in a good word for you! You’re going to ruin my reputation over there.”

“You think I wanted to ruin my date, Terry?!” Jake replied, arms flailing. “Now that’s three dates that have been ruined.”

Terry patted Jake’s shoulder gently, or at least what Terry thought was gently. “ There, there. And hey, look on the bright side - at least you didn’t embarrass yourself in front of Amy!”

4

“Alright, Rosa, you and Boyle interrupted my date last night, and I don’t trust Boyle to recommend dates for Amy and me anymore, so where do you think I should take Amy on a date next?”

“I don’t know, Jake, take her to a binder store or something,” Rosa replied calmly as she sharpened her favorite knife at her desk.

“I can’t take her to a binder store, Rosa, you know that she’s going to want to buy like everything and that’s going to get out of control way too quickly. Something else.” Jake crossed his arms, chewing his lip to use up some of his nervous energy.

“Fine, Jake. Take her to one of those paint your own pottery places. Those are always fun.”

“I can’t tell if you’re being serious or making fun of me.”

Rosa paused, glancing up at Jake for a moment before returning her gaze to her knife. “I’m serious. I take myself out to those places all the time. I like painting the little puppy figurines, they’re so cute,” she replied in a deadpan.

“Rosa, oh my God, who are you? How did I never know that about you?”

She shrugged. “You never asked.”

———

Jake had butterflies in his stomach as they walked up to the doors of Color Me Mine, the late summer afternoon sun warming the pavement. He almost was too afraid to look over at Amy, but since his eyes were almost magnetically drawn to her, not looking at her was not an option. When he finally did turn toward her, she was smiling softly, and Jake’s pre-date nerves gradually eased until he was grinning, too.

“I love Color Me Mine!” Amy said. “I used to come here all the time when I was younger.” She reached for the door handle and opened it, the air conditioning cooling them instantly as they walked inside. “We should paint something for each other, babe.”

“Like what? Dog figurines?”

“No!” Amy said, her eyebrows furrowed. “Something practical that we both use at work every day, like…” She paused, eyes wandering around the room in search of the perfect item. “Like a mug!”

Before Jake could protest that hey, maybe he wanted to paint a dog figurine for his desk, Amy had crossed the room and picked up the display mug. “This is perfect, Jake! This was such a good date idea.”

“Don’t thank me, thank Rosa — I mean, thank me, it was all my idea.” Jake tried to cover up his mistake, but Amy’s smirk told him she saw right through it.

She set the mug back down before standing on her tiptoes and giving Jake a kiss on the cheek. “Come on, let’s go pick out our paints.”

“Okay,” Jake said softly, following her to the paint display.

———

Once Jake and Amy chose paints for each other (purple and blue for Jake; orange, yellow, and pink for Amy), they sat down at a small round table in the back of the room. Amy, ever the perfectionist, insisted they paint in silence for a while to ensure that the mug she painted for Jake turned out exactly the way she wanted it to. Jake was touched, and as he worked just as diligently on his mug for Amy, he found that the silence was a comfortable one, and he was content to just be in Amy’s presence.

Jake was just putting the finishing touches on the mug, trying not to let his hand shake too much as he painted Amy’s name on it in thin dark magenta lettering, when the sound of pottery shattering startled him, completely breaking his concentration. When he looked away from a crying child and his profusely apologetic mother, he noticed that not only had he completely ruined the lettering, he’d also bumped into the table, knocking over the water bowl which had spilled all over Amy’s lap.

Jake’s heart sank, knowing he’d managed to ruin yet another date. “I’m so sorry, Ames, I didn’t mean to ruin… all of this,” he said quietly, afraid to look at her face.

“Jake, it’s fine. These jeans are old anyway, and it didn’t really didn’t do that much to your mug,” Amy said, lifting the mug off of the brown paper tablecloth.

“No, it’s not fine. I had one job, and it was to not to screw up yet another date.” He could feel the volume of his voice rising so he took a deep breath, determined not to make the entire room of painters stare at him and Amy. “I’ll go get you some paper towels.”

Amy insisted that they stay to finish up their mugs, and even though she didn’t stop smiling for the rest of the night, Jake couldn’t help but blame himself.

5

“Hey, Captain,” Jake began, closing Captain Holt’s office door behind him as he walked in. “Can I ask you something?”

“Of course. Is this about the paperwork that was due on my desk yesterday that you did not finish before leaving to take Amy on another romantic escapade?” Holt asked, folding his hands with his pen still clasped between them.

“Uhhhhh, no?” He smiled sheepishly. “Anyway, since Amy looks up to you more than anyone else and you know her better than anyone else except for me, because, yaknow, we boink, and stuff —” Jake winced at his own awkwardness, but forced himself to continue. “—do you have a good recommendation for somewhere I can take Amy on a date? Preferably something that I can’t possibly screw up somehow.”

“Hm. There’s the new stationery exhibit at the MOMA that she would definitely like. Make sure you budget a lot of time; Kevin and I spent five hours there last week and we still did not manage to see everything.”

“Yikes,” Jake muttered to himself.

“Did you say something, Peralta?” Holt asked.

“Oh, uh, um, why didn’t you and Kevin stay longer?” Jake asked quickly.

“Oh, the security guards kicked us out. Apparently we’d completely missed the announcements and had managed to avoid security for a whole half an hour after the museum closed for the night.”

“Of course you did,” Jake said. “Anyways, thank you so much for your help, sir, I really appreciate it.”

“If you really appreciated it, you would have your paperwork on my desk on time,” Holt replied.

“You know what, fair.”

———

After finishing his overdue paperwork and all of his new paperwork for the day, Jake took Amy to the Museum of Modern Art and led her to the exhibit Captain Holt had told him about. The grin on her face rivaled the brightness of the lights in the building, and Jake was in… well, he had a heck of a lot of mushy feelings about it.

“How did you know I’ve wanted to come here ever since they announced this exhibit a few months ago? I never mentioned it to you,” Amy asked.

“I just know you that well, babe,” Jake replied, only feeling a smidge of guilt for taking credit for Captain Holt’s recommendation.

“Captain Holt told you about it, didn’t he?” Amy said, crossing her arms and turning to Jake.

“Okay, yeah, but still! I know you well enough to ask Captain Holt for recommendations!” Amy’s eyes narrowed, but her smile remained, letting Jake know she was joking. “Come on, let’s look at the fancy paper!”

“Stationery, babe,” Amy corrected.

“Fancy paper!” Amy rolled her eyes as they entered the exhibit.

———

Jake managed to feign enthusiasm for the first hour or so (he even felt it genuinely for a little while because Amy bled excitement as she explained each and every piece of stationery to him), but once he realized how much longer they had to go before finishing the exhibit, he felt his carefully controlled expression start to slip a little bit. He liked Amy a lot, and he wanted to enjoy this for her, but he just couldn���t. Still, he planned on enduring Amy’s long explanations for as long as she wanted to stay, because this date was for her and he was determined not to somehow mess it up.

“You’re bored, aren’t you,” Amy said after a while.

“What? No.”

“You keep staring out into space and saying ‘uh huh’ every three seconds.”

“I was contemplating the beauty of this piece of fancy paper!” Jake insisted, gesturing at the piece that Amy was explaining. Or at least, the one he thought she had been explaining.

“Well, I was talking about this piece,” Amy said, tilting her head toward the one adjacent to the one Jake had been referring to, “so clearly you weren’t listening.”

Jake looked down at the floor, unable to look Amy in the eye. “I’m happy to see that you’re so interested, and I love… listening to you talk for hours on end about whatever you want, I’m just really not that interested in stationery. But really, we can stay as long as you want, I don’t mind. Keep talking to me.”

“No, Jake, I can’t do that to you. You’ve already stuck this out with me long enough. I can just come back another time on my own; you know I have a membership.”

“Ames —”

“Really, Jake, it’s okay,” Amy said, linking her arm with Jake’s. “Let’s go home and watch a movie or something and go to bed early.”

“Okay,” Jake said. “But only if you’re sure.”

“I’m sure.”

Jake had never felt this much guilt in his life.

+1

“Hey, Jake?” Amy said as she slid under the covers of her bed later that night. “I really appreciate what you’ve been trying to do for me by taking me on all of these sweet dates and making our first summer together extra special. But really, babe, I’m just happy being with you. You don’t have to put so much pressure on yourself.”

“But Ames, I managed to ruin every single one of those dates. You deserve better than five disaster dates in a row,” Jake replied, eyes turning down toward his lap in humiliation.

“Jake, I’m serious. Stop doing this to yourself.” Jake looked up at Amy and they locked eyes in silent communication of mutual adoration for a moment before Amy reached over and took Jake’s hand in hers. “You don’t have to prove that you deserve me or anything. I just want to spend time with you and enjoy our first summer as more than coworkers. Can we do that?”

“Yes, Amy, we can do that.” He squeezed her hand, and she squeezed back.

“But hypothetically,” he continued, their hands still intertwined, “if I were to take you on another date to really make up for all of the other ones this time, what would you want to do together?”

Amy smiled. “Thank you for asking, Jake. I was thinking we could plan a beach getaway for next weekend. I already have an itinerary all ready to go in this binder.” She reached into the drawer in the bedside table next to her and pulled out a thick binder titled Jake and Amy’s Beach Getaway, handing it to Jake, who opened it carefully.

“Ames, why didn’t you tell me about this?” He flipped through the pages, smiling at Amy’s thoughtfulness. She’d really thought of everything - boardwalk rides and arcade games for Jake, relaxing and reading on the beach for Amy, and massages for the both of them. Jake’s heart was full.

Amy shrugged. “I was waiting for the right time, I guess. I didn’t want to interfere with the dates you’d already planned.”

“We could have done this ages ago! I’ve been asking the squad for date ideas for weeks because everything that I thought of was along the same lines as the Die Hard drive-in idea.” Amy laughed. “I wish you’d mentioned this earlier, but I’m excited for us to make it happen now.”

“Me too, Jake.”

———

Thankfully, Captain Holt granted Jake and Amy’s request to take the next weekend off, and together they drove to the beach house they’d rented for the weekend. They’d made a playlist before they left, and they’d spent the drive singing along terribly to Carly Rae Jepsen and Sara Bareilles and a bunch of random 80s songs that Jake had added.

After what felt like ages but was really just a few hours, Jake and Amy lay next to each other on the beach, enjoying the warm sun and the clear blue sky. It was surprisingly less crowded than Jake expected it would be on a Friday afternoon, but it gave them plenty of space on the beach, so Jake wasn’t complaining. Later, they planned to walk the boardwalk together and waste some money on the fun but endlessly stupid arcade games, and Jake couldn’t wait to win some giant stuffed animals for Amy.

She’d been right, of course. This was the perfect date, the perfect way to celebrate their first summer together as a couple. Jake should have asked her what she was thinking from the very beginning instead of trying to be romantic and plan everything himself. There were many benefits to dating an extreme planner like Amy, and this was definitely one of them.

Jake leaned over and nudged Amy awake from the half-asleep state she’d fallen into, kissing her softly. “Thank you for planning all of this for us. I’m so happy to be here with you.”

Amy smiled, lowering her sunglasses for a moment. “I’m so happy to be here with you, too.” She reached for the water bottle next to her and handed Jake the bottle of orange soda he’d bought at the vending machine earlier. “Here’s to our first summer together.” She gently tapped Jake’s bottle with her own.

Jake returned the gesture. “Here’s to hopefully the first of many.”

They each took a sip.

[drunkenraccoons]

Top 248 Songs

1. Mary Jane’s Last Dance - Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers

2. Cowgirl in the Sand - Neil Young & Crazy Horse

3. Caught in the Hustle - Immortal Technique

4. Hand in My Pocket - Alanis Morissette

5. Pulse - Ani DiFranco

6. Dogs - Pink Floyd

7. When the Music’s Over - The Doors

8. Eet - Regina Spektor

9. Providence - Ani DiFranco

10. Change Your Mind - Neil Young & Crazy Horse

11. It’s Good to Be King [Live Anthology] - Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers

12. Tangled Up in Blue - Bob Dylan

13. Pigs - Pink Floyd

14. We R Who We R - Kesha

15. No Title - Ten Years After

16. Ribs - Lorde

17. Guns, Bitches, Brawls & Bottles - GG Allin

18. 2 On - Tinashe

19. The She - The Breeders

20. Raining Blood - Slayer

21. Cortez the Killer - Neil Young & Crazy Horse

22. Since I’ve Been Loving You - Led Zeppelin

23. Like a Hurricane [Weld] - Neil Young & Crazy Horse

24. Angie - The Rolling Stones

25. Darkness Darkness - Robert Plant

26. Nuthin but a ‘G’ Thang - Dr. Dre & Snoop Dogg

27. Wake Up Time - Tom Petty

28. Complicated - Avril Lavigne

29. Det som Engang Var - Burzum

30. Ride the Lightning - Metallica

31. Cloud Blood - Ani DiFranco

32. Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright - Bob Dylan

33. The Next Episode - Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg & Nate Dogg

34. Ghost of the Gang - Indigo Girls

35. New Ways to Fly - Garth Brooks

36. Bleed the Freak - Alice In Chains

37. Walls (No. 3) - Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers

38. Roadhouse Blues - The Doors

39. Sister Morphine - Rolling Stones

40. Serpentine - Ani DiFranco

41. Oedipus - Regina Spektor

42. LA Woman - The Doors

43. My Journey to the Stars - Burzum

44. Addicted - DJ Clay

45. The Final Cut - Pink Floyd

46. The Wrong Thing to Do - Mudcrutch

47. Soft Shoulder - Ani DiFranco

48. Simple Twist of Fate - Bob Dylan

49. Like an Inca - Neil Young

50. Jesus’ Todd - Burzum

51. Limehouse - The Breeders

52. Untouchable - Taylor Swift

53. Turn it Off - Paramore

54. The Last Supper - Jesus Christ Superstar

55. None Shall Pass - Aesop Rock

56. November Hotel (Live) - Mad Season

57. Signs of Age - Jake Holmes

58. Will to Love - Neil Young

59. Seek & Destroy - Metallica

60. I Can’t Keep From Crying Sometimes [Recorded Live] - Ten Years After

61. Tik Tok (Untold Remix) - Kesha

62. Forever & Always (Piano Version) - Taylor Swift

63. You Don’t Know How it Feels [Mojo 2010] - Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers

64. Dilate - Ani DiFranco

65. Rockin’ in the Free World - Neil Young

66. Breakdown [Live Anthology] - Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers

67. Two Suns in the Sunset - Pink Floyd

68. What’s Been Going On? - Amos Lee

69. There is a Light that Never Goes Out - Becca Stevens Band

70. Almost Cut my Hair - CSNY

71. What’s Up? - 4 Non Blondes

72. There Was Never a Moment When Evil Was Real - Non

73. Only God Can Judge Me - Tupac

74. Benighted - Opeth

75. Cliff - Lapsley

76. Tired Eyes - Neil Young

77. Forgot About Dre - Dr. Dre & Eminem

78. Time - Pink Floyd

79. Lost on You - LP

80. If it Makes You Happy - Sheryl Crow

81. Hollaback Girl - Gwen Stefani

82. Cause of Death - Immortal Technique

83. Two-Headed Boy pt 2 - Neutral Milk Hotel

84. No Quarter [Song Remains the Same] - Led Zeppelin

85. Rockets - Cat Power

86. Out of Range- Ani DiFranco

87. Dumb - Nirvana

88. Sins of My Youth - Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers

89. All Weekend Long - Jack & Jack

90. Break My Body - Pixies

91. Thrasher - Neil Young

92. Closer (R3hab Remix) - The Chainsmokers

93. In the Kingdom Where Everything Dies, The Sky is Mort - Cryptopsy

94. Dead Flowers - Rolling Stones

95. Pavlov’s Daughter - Regina Spektor

96. Morgen Roede - Burzum

97. Suicide Note part 2 - Pantera

98. God Am - Alice In Chains

99. Five to One - The Doors

100. Friends in Low Places - Garth Brooks

101. Careful - Paramore

102. Seasons in the Abyss - Slayer

103. Fearless - Hypocrisy

104. Through My Sails - Neil Young

105. Long Gone Day - Mad Season

106. Dance With the Devil - Immortal Technique

107. The Outside - Taylor Swift

108. Crazy Kids - Kesha

109. Opened - The Breeders

110. We Die Young - Alice In Chains

111. Somedays - Regina Spektor

112. Masters of War - Bob Dylan

113. War - Burzum

114. The Nile Song - Pink Floyd

115. A Woman in Love [Live Anthology] - Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers

116. Misfits - Neil Young

117. Down By the River - Low & Dirty Three

118. High Hopes - Pink Floyd

119. Paper Planes - MIA

120. Night Moves - Bob Seger

121. I Took a Pill in Ibiza (Seeb Remix) - Mike Posner

122. No Sleep - Wiz Khalifa

123. Still Don’t Give a Fuck - Eminem

124. Long, Long Time Ago - Javier Navarrete

125. You are Not Bliss, You Are Not Free - Nekrasov

126. Radio Friendly Unit Shifter - Nirvana

127. I’d Swear There Was Somebody Here - David Crosby

128. Party and Bullshit - Notorious B.I.G.

129. Bandit - Neil Young

130. Beast of Burden - Rolling Stones

131. Painter - Lapsley

132. Redemption Song - Bob Marley

133. Shine On You Crazy Diamond part one - Pink Floyd

134. Gotta Serve Somebody - Bob Dylan

135. In the Light [Demo version] - Led Zeppelin

136. Purple Haze - Jimi Hendrix Experience

137. When I Die - GG Allin

138. Pints of Guinness Make You Strong - Against Me!

139. Interstellar Overdrive - Pink Floyd

140. The Old Laughing Lady [Canterburry House] - Neil Young

141. Strength Beyond Strength - Pantera

142. You Know You’re Right - Nirvana

143. Five Years - David Bowie

144. Because the Night - Patti Smith Group

145. Crawling Back to You - Tom Petty

146. Northern Star - Hole

147. Long Live - Taylor Swift

148. Trying to find a Balance - Atmosphere

149. Southern Man - Neil Young

150. Party By Myself - Cooper Phillip

151. Christmas in the Sand - Colbie Callait

152. Cool for the Summer - Demi Lovato

153. Sentimental Tune - Tegan & Sara

154. Jump in the Fire - Metallica

155. Chains - Torres

156. Willing to Fight [Living in Clip] - Ani DiFranco

157. Tuff Ghost - The Unicorns

158. Of a Lifetime - Journey

159. Heaven on Their Minds - Jesus Christ Superstar

160. Obnoxious - Immortal Technique

161. Call Me Maybe - Carly Rae Jepsen

162. Witching Hour - xxyyxx

163. Wolves - Garth Brooks

164. Carry On/Questions - CSNY

165. Levitate Me - Pixies

166. Rotten Apple - Alice In Chains

167. Summer in the City - Regina Spektor

168. It’s Alright Ma (I’m Only Bleedin’) - Bob Dylan

169. King’s Highway [Mojo 2010] - Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers

170. Heartbreaker [How the West Was Won] - Led Zeppelin

171. Meet Rhonda - Douglas Pipes

172. Out on the Weekend - Neil Young

173. Near Dark - Burial

174. Aud Layne Sayne - Jimi Hendrix

175. Back of My Hand - Rolling Stones

176. Blank Space - Taylor Swift

177. Cymbaline - Pink Floyd

178. Animal (Billboard Remix) - Kesha

179. 4:41 AM (Sexual Revolution) - Roger Waters

180. Wild Horses [Stripped] - Rolling Stones

181. Like a Rolling Stone - Bob Dylan

182. Have a Cigar - Pink Floyd

183. Cradle and All - Ani DiFranco

184. I Should Have Known It - Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers

185. King of Carrot Flowers pt 1 - Neutral Milk Hotel

186. Hard Sun - Eddie Vedder

187. Fuckin’ Up [Weld] - Neil Young & Crazy Horse

188. The River - Bruce Springsteen

189. Maria Maria - Santana

190. Wake Up - Wiz Khalifa

191. Meander - Pedestrian Deposit

192. 4+20 - Stephen Stills

193. Buzzcut Season - Lorde

194. Going to California - Led Zeppelin

195. Rock Music - Pixies

196. Atlantic City - Bruce Springsteen

197. Legalize It - MaZe

198. Warrior - Kesha

199. Never Been - Logic

200. Weakness - Opeth

201. Glass House (Turkey Tamale Remix) - Ani DiFranco

202. Joining You - Alanis Morissette

203. Black Queen [CSNY 1974] - CSNY

204. Falling Short - Lapsley

205. A Better Son/Daughter - Rilo Kiley

206. Mr. Rager - Kid Cudi

207. Drive By - Neil Young & Crazy Horse

208. Holla at Me - Tupac

209. Fossil Record - White Suns

210. Overlap - Ani DiFranco

211. We Multiply - AIDS Wolf

212. Soak up the Sun - Sheryl Crow

213. Heart of the Sunrise - Yes

214. Cowgirl in the Sand [Massey Hall] - Neil Young

215. Wake Up - Mad Season

216. Mr. Tambourine Man - Bob Dylan

217. The Con - Tegan & Sara

218. Teardrops on My Guitar (Pop Mix) - Taylor Swift

219. On the Radio - Regina Spektor

220. Nude as the News - Cat Power

221. The Gunner’s Dream - Pink Floyd

222. Fate to Fatal - Breeders

223. Red Strokes - Garth Brooks

224. Point of no Return - Immortal Technique

225. Break on Through - The Doors

226. I’m Alive - Helloween

227. Blackened - Metallica

228. Immigrant Song [How the West Was Won] - Led Zeppelin

229. Luna - Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers

230. Anyday - Ani DiFranco

231. Sweet Virginia - Rolling Stones

232. I Know Places - Ryan Adams

233. Carrionshine - Cryptopsy

234. Money Becomes King - Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers

235. Laugh, I Nearly Died - Rolling Stones

236. Keilohesten - Burzum

237. Down by the River - Neil Young & Crazy Horse

238. Revolution is My Name - Pantera

239. D-7 - Nirvana

240. Dead - Pixies

241. Misery Business - Paramore

242. Burden - Opeth

243. Enter Sandman - Metallica

244. Clash With Reality - Pantera

245. Die Young - Kesha

246. Frogs - Alice In Chains

247. The Ghost Song - The Doors

248. Visions of Johanna - Bob Dylan

[backinmy-body]

quarantine chapter 2;; april

Moments Passed--Dermot Kennedy

The Next Best American Record--Lana del Rey

I Found--Amber Run

Fire and the Flood--Vance Joy

How Come You Don’t Want Me--Tegan and Sara

Supercut--Lorde

Death By A Thousand Cuts--Taylor Swift

Need the Sun to Break--James Bay

Fear of Being Alone--Lennon Stella

Power & Control--Marina and the Diamonds

Guns and Horses--Ellie Goulding

Cry--Carly Rae Jepsen

Split Stones--Maggie Rogers

Babe--Emeli Sande

okay--LANY (feat. Julia Michaels)

Us--James Bay

Third Eye--Florence + the Machine

Contaminated (Live and Stripped)--Banks

Wish You Were Sober--Conan Gray

love and hate--Kelsea Ballerini

Take Yourself Home--Troye Sivan

SUGAR (Remix)--BROCKHAMPTON feat. Dua Lipa 

Hard To Forget--Sam Hunt

Big Black Heart--Better Oblivion Community Center

Bag of Bones--Jake Mirador

If I Say--Mumford & Sons

San Francisco--Niall Horan

Kinfolks--Sam Hunt

The Wire--Patrick Droney

Mariners Apartment Complex--Lana del Rey

Ocean Drive--Duke Dumont

Sound of Your Heart--Shawn Hook

Shifted--Tove Lo

Maniac--Conan Gray

Kyoto--Phoebe Bridgers

needy--Kelsea Ballerini

Love Again--Dua Lipa

Till There’s Nothing Left--Cam

Takeaway--Chainsmokers (feat. Lennon Stella)

Boyfriend--Selena Gomez

Intentions (22)--Ziggy Alberts

Better--Maggie Rogers

To Die For--Sam Smith

Call You Mine--Chainsmokers (feat. Bebe Rexha)

Megaton Mile--Local Natives

People, I’ve Been Sad--Christine and the Queens

I Dare You--Kelly Clarkson

Light of Love--Florence + the Machine

She--Selena Gomez

Drumset--Fiona Apple

Never Seen the Run--Tonnes and I

[santiagoswagger]

we were wild and fluorescent, come home to my heart

Flower shop AU | My contribution to @b99fandomevents 2019 Summer Fic Exchange, for the lovely @benwvatt! 

Amy has always been a planner. 

She received her first calendar when she was six years-old to keep track of her extracurricular activities, and her scheduling addiction arrived soon after. She needed organization to feel sane, normal, like her whole world wouldn’t crumble beneath her feet. Growing up in a house full of rowdy brothers, and now working in a job that is more unpredictable than not, the only thing she’s ever felt any semblance of control over is her calendar. 

But as she furiously clicks through page after page on Yelp in a haze of escalating panic, Amy curses her calendar for the very first time in her life. 

She forgot about Mother’s Day.

It’s not a total surprise, she supposes. She’d spent the last two weeks working to solve a high-profile kidnapping and there hadn’t been any room in her life for restful sleep or food that didn’t come from a vending machine, let alone time to buy her extraordinarily picky mother the perfect Mother’s Day present. 

It wasn’t until David (stupid David!) sent a reminder in the Santiago siblings’ text chain that Amy realized what a colossal mistake she had made in forgetting about the annual Santiago Mother’s Day brunch. Her heart began to palpitate faster than it did that time in college when she consumed an entire pot of coffee the night before her calculus final. That hadn’t ended well at all, but Amy refuses to let this day be a complete disaster. Not showing up to her parents’ house empty-handed is a good place to start.

Now, an hour after receiving David’s text, she’s frantically trying to find an acceptably rated flower shop somewhere in Brooklyn that is both open and taking new orders on such a busy day for the industry. Calls to three had so far dashed all of Amy’s hopes and dreams of one day seeing her photo proudly displayed on the family mantel, knocking David’s out of its place of honor.

She continues to scroll through Yelp until her cursor lands on one called Rachel’s Flowers with a promising four-star rating. Amy painstakingly scans through each review and the only negative one she can find is from a woman who two years previously said the cashier was “annoying beyond belief.” 

Glancing at the clock, Amy decides she would take a chatty cashier over a withering glare from Camila Santiago any day. Running out of time, she foregoes calling ahead and hopes that Rachel is the florist of her dreams. 

The shop is on a quaint, quiet block in Amy’s precinct. ‘Rachel’s Flowers’ is written in neat, green cursive above the brick facade. Its old-school charm is in sharp contrast to the hipster record store and vegan restaurant it’s sandwiched between, and Amy immediately loves it for its simplicity. Standing here is like stepping back in time. She wonders why she’s never come across it before, even in her days as a beat cop. 

She parks her car across the street and walks in, practically running into the line of last-minute shoppers, so long it’s practically out the door. Amy feels her blood pressure spike on the spot.

She walks quickly around the showroom to assess the ready-made bouquets so she can make a quick exit. They’re mostly made up of multi-colored carnations or pink roses, and they’re so beautifully arranged, but Amy can just picture her mother’s face if she were to gift her with any of these. Amy’s grandmother loved gardenias and white hydrangeas, a love Camila inherited; vases of them were always scattered around the Santiago home when Amy was growing up. Bringing her mother any other kind of flower won’t have the desired effect Amy’s going for. 

She waits in line for almost fifteen minutes, tapping her low heels on the ground with every passing second. Being late to brunch would almost be worse than showing up empty-handed, in Amy’s opinion. 

When Amy finally reaches the front of the line, she is greeted by a man she assumes is the chatty cashier from the Yelp review she read earlier. He’s handsome, with kind-looking eyes and a cute, lopsided grin, but his wrinkled flannel and sloppy curls don’t instill much confidence in her.  

“What can I do for you?” he smiles, big and warm. 

“I’m looking for a bouquet for my mom,” she says, trying valiantly to keep her growing anxiety at bay. “She’s really difficult to shop for. Do you have any white hydrangeas and gardenias?” 

“No, I’m sorry, we used most of our supply for custom orders. What you see out here is pretty much what we have left.” He just keeps smiling. Amy wants nothing more than to wipe the stupid smirk off his face. 

“You don’t have anything else in the back?” she asks desperately.

“Sorry, it’s a busy day.” To his credit, he looks apologetic. She can see the sympathy swimming in his eyes. Unfortunately for him, Santiagos never admit defeat. 

“Can I please speak with your manager or the florist?” she asks politely. 

He has the nerve to laugh. “Uh, I’m both.” 

Amy fights the urge to do a double-take. Her finely-honed observational skills spot a large, mysterious red stain on the sleeve of his flannel and she’s fairly certain he’s responsible for the Carly Rae Jepsen songs pumping through the shop’s speakers. How could this man be the one responsible for the delicate flower arrangements by the door?

Amy sighs deeply. “Look, I know this is probably one of the worst days of the year for you, but I forgot it was Mother’s Day and I don’t want my picture to move any further from the mantel than it already is. Can you please help me out and put something together that will at least moderately impress my picky and terrifying mother? I’m willing to pay whatever.” 

He looks thoughtful for a moment, crossing his arms and bringing his pointer finger up to stroke his chin. Amy figures he’s probably trying to figure out what she meant about the family mantel.

“Do 100 jumping jacks.” 

She’s completely caught off-guard. “Excuse me?” 

“You said you would pay whatever,” he smirks, looking entirely too proud of himself. 

She squints at his name tag, pinned to the collar of his haphazard shirt. “Look, Jake, I’m really not in the mood today.” She rummages through her bag to find her phone and look for another flower shop nearby. She’ll take a bouquet from a bodega at this point. 

In the chaos, her badge flies out and lands face-up on the cashier’s desk. Amy sees Jake’s eyes widen, and she can’t help but feel slightly vindicated. 

“You’re a cop?” he asks. 

“I am,” she says carefully. She can’t tell if he’s afraid or if another snarky comment is headed her way. 

“That’s so cool,” he says reverently, picking up her badge to inspect it with the utmost care. “I always wanted to be a cop.”

Amy eyebrow lifts involuntarily. It’s hard for her to imagine this goofy, messy-haired man as one of New York’s finest, but she can tell he’s being genuine by the pure excitement emanating from every part of him.

“It’s a pretty cool job,” she smiles as she takes it back from him. 

“What’s your favorite cop movie? It’s Die Hard, right? It has to be Die Hard!” His flailing hands punctuate every word. She doesn’t think she’s ever seen someone so worked up about Bruce Willis. 

“It’s Training Day, actually, but I suppose you’re entitled to your wrong opinion.” She’s not sure why she’s bantering with the florist, but there’s something so undeniably charming about him. 

“Denzel wishes,” he scoffs. Amy laughs, earning a surprised smile from Jake. 

He takes a second to look around the shop. There are a few stragglers milling around but it’s fairly empty.

“What’s your name?” he asks as he turns back to her.

“Amy,” she says, confused. 

He grins brightly. “Well, Amy, it looks like we’re in a bit of a lull. Let me take a look in the back and see what I can do for you.” 

Relief hits her like a swift punch to the stomach. “Thank you so much, Jake.” 

He nods, beaming, and heads to the back room. 

Amy takes the opportunity to look around now that the panic has died down somewhat. The black-and-white tile floor is covered in just enough scuffs to let Amy know it’s seen some things, as does the chipped green paint on the walls. The bouquets are so thoughtfully arranged and she can tell they were made with such care. Amy briefly wonders how a guy like Jake ended up here. 

“Aha!” she hears him exclaim from the back. 

Amy turns around as he walks back into the shop, sneakers squeaking against the tile as he brandishes a beautiful bouquet over his head.

She hurries over to take a closer look. Jake had grouped gardenias and hydrangeas together in a clear, modern vase, and he had tied the whole thing together with a single silver ribbon. It’s simple and elegant, and very Camila Santiago. 

“They’re beautiful,” she breathes. “I thought you didn’t have any gardenias and hydrangeas left?”

He moves to scratch the back of his neck. Amy swears she sees a hint of a blush spread across his cheeks but she quickly writes it off as a trick of the light. “I managed to find some leftover gardenias and then I remembered that this custom order of white hydrangeas was never picked up yesterday, so I just, you know, threw it together for you.” 

Amy has a sneaking feeling that he isn’t telling her the whole truth, but she appreciates it nonetheless. 

“Thank you, Jake,” she says genuinely. “You’re a lifesaver. My mom will love these.” 

“Eh, it’s no problem,” he says. “You just owe me a huge favor now.”

She barks out a laugh. “You’ve got it.” 

As he rings her up, Amy can’t help herself. “How did you become a florist? You wanted to be a cop, right?”

He chuckles. “I was in the academy when my nana got sick. This was her shop. I used to come here every day after school to help her with orders and I got pretty good at it. When she passed away, I couldn’t let them sell it, so I just kind of stayed and kept it running.” 

He shrugs it off. Amy is dumbfounded. 

“That’s really incredible, Jake.” 

“Surprisingly, being good with flowers does not help with the ladies,” he jokes, handing over her receipt. 

She takes it with a small smile. “Maybe it will one day.” 

He smiles softly back at her. “Yeah, maybe.” 

“Thanks again, Jake.” 

“No problem, Amy. I hope your thing with the mantel works out, whatever that is.” 

He waves as she walks out the door and she feels her stomach bottom out. Well, that’s new. 

Brunch goes better than Amy could have hoped. Camila doesn’t say much, but she purses her lips and places them on top of the grand piano in the living room - prime real estate in the Santiago household, even if no one in the family plays piano. Amy’s photo moves one spot closer to the center of the mantel. 

She knows she owes most of her success to Jake, so when she gets home she decides to thank him in the most sincere way she knows: a handwritten note. She pulls out the floral stationary she had custom-made with her new title when she made detective at the Nine-Nine and gets to writing. 

Jake, 

Thank you for all of your help today. My mom loved the flowers, and I owe it all to you. You really saved me. John McClane has nothing on you. 

Amy 

She reads it over and over until she decides to have mercy on herself and shoves it in the outgoing mail slot before she can drive herself any crazier. 

A few days go by and Amy’s nearly forgotten about the note when a man walks into the precinct holding a giant bouquet of red tulips. The splash of color isn’t something one tends to see in a Brooklyn police precinct, so he catches almost everyone’s eye right away - except Amy’s. 

She’s nearing the end of a large stack of paperwork, which she’s determined to get through before the morning briefing. She sees feet moving towards her out of the corner of her eye but she doesn’t think much of it until she hears someone clear their throat.

It’s Jake, the florist. 

“Hi,” he says, clearing his throat again. This time, she can detect his nerves. 

“Hi,” she says, surprised. “What are you doing here?”

He smiles easily. “I got your note. Very nice touch, by the way. I’m here to, uh, ask you to dinner.”

She raises her eyebrows, caught off-guard. 

He quickly deflates. “You have a boyfriend, don’t you? I knew it. I’m so sorry, Amy. I won’t bother you again.” 

It’s this grace in the face of defeat that makes Amy’s heart swell with sudden affection. He’s a complete stranger, but she instinctively knows he’s someone she can trust. “Jake, I’d love to go to dinner with you.” 

He smiles slowly. “You would? You’re single? Really?” 

She nods, grinning. “Yes, really.” 

The tips of his ears turn bright pink. “Okay, great. When should I pick you up?” 

Amy grabs a neon post-it note and scribbles her phone number and address. “Seven?” she asks, handing it back to him. 

He takes it, looking somewhat dazed, like he can’t quite believe his good luck. He gently sets the tulips down on her desk, careful not to disrupt her files. “Seven, it is. I’ll see you later, Amy.” 

“Bye, Jake,” she says, waving shyly as he heads for the elevator.  

Once he’s gone and she’s able to pull herself back down to earth, she steals a glance at the bouquet he’d brought her. The tulips are vibrant and beautiful, and full of promise. 

Later, when she kisses him for the first time, she takes in the floral scent that seems to follow him around and it feels like home.

[3416]

for the ask meme thing: 14, 35 (eheheheehehe), 41, 55, and 94.

14. if you can live anywhere in the world where would it be? why?

i gave my number one answer but i have so many more and my next would be chicago or boston!! for a lot of the same city reasons i gave before, but also chicago is one of the neatest places i’ve ever been, and it feels so. within reach of my family and hometown even though it’s hours away. i could totally see myself living there,,, lake michigan RIGHT there… the weather is like. ideal for me. v cold colds n warm summers. also boston bc OCEAN !! RIGHT THERE… also there’s so much history to see and shit like. i went for 3 days a couple years ago and it’s just not enough time to take all that shit IN i swear. 

35. who is your celebrity crush?

the hehehehhrufej stop.. i always have an ongoing list of them but right now, michael vlamis, jake gyllenhaal, armie hammer, tessa thompson, bae joohyun, constance wu, jeanine mason, brie larson, lupita nyongo,,,, so many others but.. ya know, the works fkjdfs

41. top 10 favorite songs

bro this is such a hard question.. i feel like my top 10 favorite songs at the moment (some have been there for yrsfjd and some just constantly rotate out) are probably “grow as we go” ben platt (also temporary love), “don’t stop me now” queen, “magic” one direction, “clap” seventeen (but trauma, healing, and aju nice are all interchangeable w that), “cut to the feeling” carly rae jepsen, “silver spoon” bts, “wrapped up” natalie portman, “no tears left to cry” ariana grande, “oh ms believer” twenty one pilots, and uhhhh “spooky mormon hell dream” book of mormon (or turn it off or all american prophet or two by two or tomorrow is a latter day) or “everyone hates his parents” falsettos bc i gotta have a musical fix in there or ill die

55. what is your dream job? 

a very good question that i don’t have a very good answer to fdksjfs if i had conditioned myself from birth , my real dream would be to be an astronaut but that feels like a childish answer when i’ve taken 0 steps and am already past the point of being able to do that basically but my actual passion lies somewhere in tv and movies!!! i don’t really know yet? i haven’t gotten the chance to go to school and take courses to find out what avenues i’m most interested in,, possibly even like the technical side of stage work… don’t really know yet 

94. favorite lyrics right now

probably from ben platt’s newish song “grow as we go”

“When you’re high, I’ll take the lowsYou can ebb and I can flowAnd we’ll take it slowAnd grow as we go”

or hozier’s “to noise making (sing)” which would be the lyrics in my description!!