stake out (jake peralta)

FOUR

*a/n: this is looooong overdue for an update. only recently got back into writing again. enjoy!*

you woke up next to an empty bed and sit up, remembering you were staying at jake's place for the night. you rubbed your eyes and ran a hand through your messy hair and proceeded to stand up, walking out of jake's room, looking for him. you make your way over to the kitchen and spot a tired jake leaning over the bench with a coffee in his hand. you smile as you watch him sip from his cup with his eyes half closed.

'good morning to you, you look like shit' you say as you walk past jake to make your own coffee and laugh. 'oh because you look so good first thing in the morning' he remarks. you playfully punch him and set your mug down, pouring yourself some coffee. you both sit in comfortable silence as you finish your drinks, both still feeling heavy and tired from the night before. 'i should probably head home, i have to get my stuff for the shift today' you comment as you walk back towards jake's room to get your things from the wedding. as you enter, you look at the bed and remember how jake had helped you fall asleep last night. you smile softly to yourself as you pick up your bag that you had managed to shove your clothes into and turn out of the room, finding yourself faced with jake. 

'thanks for letting me stay the night' you sling your bag onto your shoulder. he smiles at you in return. 'you're welcome anytime. especially if you can't sleep' you mentally thanked jake for not trying to get in to details about what exactly had upset you last night. you held your arms out and jake stepped forward and pulled you into a hug. you made your way to the front door and called out a 'bye' and 'thanks' to jake as you closed it behind you.

***

you had finally made it to the precinct and you threw your bag onto the floor next to you. you leaned back in your chair, your eyes drifting to the pile of paperwork to your left. you internally groaned as you didn't feel like dealing with it today.

ever since all this nonsense with brad came up and whatever weird mixed feelings you had for jake, work has become another stressor for you and it was exhausting. you normally enjoyed your job, but when your personal life became stressful, it reflected in your work life.

you let your thoughts run wild, thinking about the night at jake's- how you had crashed on the couch and how embarrassed you were that you had woken him up with your nightmare and it made you internally cringe. but, you also thought about how jake took care of you. you couldn't help a smile spread across your face thinking about how he held you and invited you into his bed. not only that, but the way he had soothed you by tracing shapes on your back. you didn't think you had felt so at ease before.

before long, your thoughts were interrupted by charles. 'ooh! what are you smiling at?' he excitedly questions you. you roll your eyes playfully and shake your head. 'am i not allowed to smile when i feel happy?' you joked with him. 'you can, but that's not your happy smile. that's your loooooveee smile' he says, dragging out the word love. you quickly sit up in your chair and try to hide the blush you could feel forming. 'i do not have a 'love' smile. i'm just happy to be at work.' you look at charles, your eyes begging him to drop the topic as you notice jake stroll in. unfortunately for you, charles was never great at picking up hints. 

'what are you two ladies talking about?' jake asks as he falls into his chair. boyle is almost bursting with excitement to tell his best friend about his suspicions. 'mila's in love! i saw the look on her face. she won't tell me anything! who is it? who?' charles gets closer and closer to you and violates your personal space as he tries to get an answer out of you. you look at jake for some help

jake laughs and shrugs his shoulders. 'i don't think so boyle. she looks pretty normal to me' he responds, getting charles' attention off you and your personal space. 'something happened... and i will find out!' he exclaims with glee. you laugh at him, not really bothered by his words. you knew his intentions were good and considering charles' love life wasn't always exactly great, or normal, you let him live vicariously through whatever he thought was happening in your love life.