Peraltiago

Soulmate AU

 It wasn't as though they didn't know what they were to one another; they just weren't sure of how to act on it. A growing anxiety built up inside of them as they watched the numbers count down. Jake knew that he loved Amy and he was pretty sure that she might love him too, but they were never clear on in what way. They had nearly always been friends, ever since they had begun to work at the 9-9. The most confusing part was how even though they had found one another and even worked across from one another, the timer had continued to count down.

It wasn't unheard of since more than one set of soulmate's were bound to meet at the same time sooner or later. Jake still couldn't shake the feeling that it would always be him and Amy against the world. He had pulled her pigtails like they were still in kindergarten since the day that they had met. Jake loved how easily Amy flustered and how her cheeks went pink. He loved her and he'd decided to tell her.

He checked the watch that perfectly matched the one that Amy wore. There was only 20 minutes left for them and Jake knew as well as anyone what happened to soul-mates who weren't together when the countdown ended. In this moment he didn't even really care about his own life, he knew more than ever that he needed to be where she was.

"Sarge, I'm going out for lunch, do you want anything?" Jake asked Terry as he pushed his chair back and grabbed his jacket.

"Go get your girl,man. We're all rooting for you." the sergeant said with a knowing smile. He and his wife had only just recently welcomed a baby girl, on top of their four year old daughter. Still, he felt like he and his wife had only just watched their countdowns run down together.

Jake's feet carried him ten times faster than he possibly could have imagined that they would. He had never been particularly athletic, but in this particular case he pushed himself as hard as he could. Driving in New York was completely useless, so her forewent his car. He made it to Amy's apartment in only 45 minutes. Jake paced outside of Amy's door for a full 30 seconds before he finally knocked.

Amy opened the door and nearly fell into Jake's arms.

"I... I knew that you would come."she sighed in relief and nearly squeezed the life out of him.

"I just figured that we shouldn't die alone, you know?" Jake chuckled, hugging her back, and burying his nose in her hair to breathe the scent in.

"We're here. We're together. Why is it still counting down? We shouldn't have to die like this." Amy shouts into his shirt. Jake only pulled her in more tightly and tried to keep her from seeing his tears.

"Why... why did we wait so long, Jake?" Amy asked. "We've known what we are for years."

"I couldn't tell you, Ames. I think that it would probably have to do with us being afraid. I"m not sure of what we're afraid of, but I'm pretty sure it's there." Jake sits back just a little bit so he can look in Amy's eyes.

"Well, I think that I'm a lot more afraid of dying, though." Amy says, the fear evident in her voice.

"Me too, Amy, me too. I'm glad that we're together for this though. I was at the station and... you were all that I could think about."Jake said as Amy turned to lean against his chest. "It got to the point that I couldn't stand it anymore and I came straight here."

"I'm glad that you did. I was terrified and just pacing around the apartment trying to find something that I could distract myself with." Amy's voice was smaller and more timid than Jake had ever heard it before.

"If there was anything else that I could do, or even if I could take your place, I'd do it...in a heartbeat." Jake said, his voice breaking.

"I wouldn't want you to, and you know it," Amy said. "But I appreciate the sentiment."

Jake was brushing a lock of hair out of her face when he realized that their faces were so close together. At the same time they began to lean in until their lips finally met. It was their first kiss, and it was gentle but sad, not at all like Jake would've wanted if he could have planned it.

Still, it fit the moment they were in, and it was all Jake and Amy. He wouldn't have traded it for the world. He also didn't let it get any farther before he pulled her in and held her again for a while. Jake played with her hair as she slowly drifted off to sleep. He let her; figuring that ti would be easier that way.

Jake didn't realize that he had fallen asleep as well until the sun was dawning full force in his face. Amy was snoring softly into his chest and his back ached from the odd position that they had fallen into. Her weight on him was probably what caused his back to hurt and he didn't even care. He just enjoyed having her close to him.

That was when he looked down at his wrist and realized that the countdown was out. It had been out for several hours, and that both he and Amy were both perfectly safe. On top of that, they were safe and together. He sat up just a little to straighten his spine, but made damn sure not to wake Amy. He went back to stroking her hair, and she quickly went back to snoring.

-----/////-----

"Sir, just out of curiosity, where are Peralta and Santiago? I thought that they were supposed to be in today?" Charles asked Captain Holt as he came in.

"Uhm, that's definitely not my place to say." Holt said uncaringly, suppressing an eyeroll.

"Did their timers run down? Are they together? Are they okay?" Boyle continued to question; too wrapped up in his own curiosity to notice that everyone was watching and Holt was getting increasingly aggravated.

"That's a yes on all three counts if it will just settle all of you down so you can do your damn jobs. Please just ask them on your own time when they come back tomorrow. I am a Captain, not a reporter." Holt retreats to his office and shuts the door.

"I knew that they would come to their senses." Terry says with a slight smile.

"Peraltiago LIVES!" Boyle yells and does a truly terrible happy dance.

Jake and Amy settled quickly into a new routine and were sure to never regret the time that they could have spent together.