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“So, what are your plans for when Gina gets back?” Amy asked, pulling up a chair beside your desk. “I mean, she’s going to be back in a week! I can’t believe it. Her maternity leave went by so fast.”
You snorted a laugh but kept your eyes on the paperwork in front of you. “I honestly have no idea. Seriously though, how did she pull off getting eighteen months’ worth of maternity leave?”
Amy shrugged. “She’s Gina. It’s really all I can come up with. It’ll be weird around here without you though.”
You nodded in agreement and added the papers to the casefile beside you. “I’m sure gonna miss this place. Especially all of you.”
The job was only temporary, you’d known that from the beginning. Now that it was coming to an end, you felt sad and not just because you’d miss working at the Nine Nine. Mostly, it was because of Rosa.
It took a while, but after a few months, Detective Diaz began to warm up to you. Eventually, engaging you in conversation every day. A few times, you caught her subtly staring at you while at her desk or hovering around the vending machines in the break room. At first, it was intimidating. You’d been warned about her surly and somewhat combative nature even having witnessed it on more than one occasion.
It wasn’t until that first night out with the squad at Shaw’s that you realized there was much more to the cagy detective. She had a few shots and her normally tight-lipped persona opened up. After watching her for a while that night, you couldn’t help but fall a little bit in love. She was playing darts with Jake and from across the bar, you could hear her laugh cut through the Friday night crowd.
Sitting up on your stool, you glanced her way and she just happened to be looking yours. This pang of flutters erupted in your chest and when she started walking your way, you couldn’t take your eyes off her. She stood next to you but struck up a conversation with Amy. You listened nonchalantly, trying not to be too affected by her general presence, but could feel yourself failing miserably.
Amy was called away, which left you and Rosa alone at the bar and more than a little tipsy. You didn’t know what to say and hoped that she would either start the conversation or walk away.
“So,” she started, turning towards you, and resting her one elbow on the bar, her hip hitched out and kicked one boot over the other. She cocked her head and allowed her dark eyes to wander before bringing them back to yours, “you play darts?”
“Not really. A few times here and there, but I’m not very good.”
“C’mon. I’ll teach you.”
She didn’t wait for you to accept the invitation. Rosa grabbed your arm and led you to the now vacant dart board.
“Stand here,” she said and positioned you behind a worn piece of tape on the floor and went to gather the darts. She turned and strutted back to you, the sway of her hips making your heart beat slightly faster.
Rosa stood behind you and handed you a dart. She fixed your grip on it and then positioned your arm up in proper throwing stance. Her head was flush against yours, her lips near your ear. She pulled your wrist backward, letting her hands linger before releasing you and accidentally brushing against the side of your breast.
“Now, aim at the bullseye and throw,” she rasped and expelled a gentle breath of warm air against your neck, sending a river of goosebumps to race down your body.
You did as commanded, hurling the dart at the board and squealing with delight with it hit right outside the bullseye. Rosa leaned back against the pillar beside you and crossed her arms over her chest. A lustful smirk played on her lips when you turned and grabbed more darts off the table. She watched as you threw them, each hitting the board somewhere, purring with satisfaction.
“I may be reading this wrong,” she said with the rise of one eyebrow, “but, do you wanna get out of here? Go… somewhere else.”
“Yes,” you answered quickly, then chuckled nervously. “I mean, yeah, sure. Where do you wanna go?”
Rosa shrugged. “Let’s get some food, sober up a bit, take a ride on my bike. See what happens…”
That night of drinking and darts turned into breakfast the next morning, and your first kiss later that day. The next night you and Rosa went out again, and within a week you were inseparable, both at work and at home.
“Y/N?” Amy questioned, waving her hand in front of your face. “You still with me?”
Snapping out of the daydream of your beginning with Rosa, you refocused on Detective Santiago. “Sorry, what?”
“I just asked if you wanted to get some lunch?”
“Oh, no. Thanks though. I’m gonna wait for Rosa to get back.”
“Oh, um… she was back and left again. Said she had lunch plans,” Amy replied, her nose wrinkling when she realized you hadn’t known that. “I’m sorry. I thought you knew.”
Rosa hadn’t mentioned any lunch plans; or plans of any kind, at all. Unless she was working a case, you always had lunch together. “I guess she forgot to mention it.” But had she? There were little things over the last couple days that had felt weird. Rosa was quieter than usual, and two nights in the past week she went back to her place instead of staying at yours. She didn’t invite you to stay over, either. Now, this?
“Jake and I are going to grab some pizza if you want to come,” she offered with a shrug of consolation.
“That’s alright. I really should just stay in and get this stuff filed.”
Amy offered a sympathetic smile and went to find Jake. You watched, feeling a little sad, as she and Jake got on the elevator hand in hand. It made you miss Rosa and wonder where she was.
Grabbing your cell, you hit speed dial and waited for Rosa to answer. After ringing several times, it went to voicemail. You didn’t bother leaving a message because you knew she most likely wouldn’t check.
The lunch hour came and went, and there was no return call from Rosa. Jake and Amy returned from their outing and immediately got called out on a potential case. The other uniforms and detectives came and went, but no sign of Rosa.
Captain Holt gave you a few errands to run throughout the building, and as you were returning to your floor, you thought you caught sight of her as the elevator doors were about to close. She caught you seeing her but quickly turned before you could even gesture a wave. By the time you reached your destination, there was evidence she’d been at her desk, but she was nowhere in sight.
Another hour went by, and you tried to call her again. This time it didn’t even ring, went right to voice mail. Something was wrong, and all the signs you had been seeing up until this moment, the ones you were trying to blow off became glaringly obvious: Rosa wanted to break up.
A wave of sadness broke over you. As calmly as possible you got up from the desk and casually made your way out the door to the roof. You closed your eyes and lifted your face up to the warm breeze that was blowing through Brooklyn on that summer’s day. You thought back to a few weeks before, right before Fourth of July…
It was hot. Rosa had been working nonstop as if the current heat wave was driving everyone in the city insane. She had given you a key to her apartment, told you to meet her there. When you got in, the air conditioning wasn’t working and the air was stagnant and oppressive. You knew she would want to cool off and relax over the holiday weekend but going to the beach would only be exhausting. Too many people trying to cool off in a space that was meant for maybe only half the number there.
It was the first bit of time off Rosa had in months and you wanted it to be both relaxing for her, and special for the two of you. Checking the clock, you realized you had about two hours to put something together to surprise her with, and by the time she arrived home, all the pieces were in place.
Rosa hulked into the apartment, tossing her helmet on the table, along with her key, and falling face first onto the couch with a long groan.
“It’s too hoooot,” she whined and pushed herself off the couch. “Why is it hot in here?”
“Because AC is broke. You gotta call your super,” you said walking into the living room from the kitchen. “How was work, babe?”
Rosa groaned again and rolled her eyes. She looked at you and saw the smile you wore. “What did you do?” she queried, ignoring your own question.
“What do you mean?” you asked, feigning innocence.
“You’re up to something. I know it. Whenever you smile like that—”
“You pay attention to my types of smiles?”
Rosa got off the couch and moved towards you. “I pay attention to everything.”
“Do you?” you asked with a seductive rise of your brow, “Okay detective, what do you make of this?” You handed her your cell phone with the information from the reservation still on the screen.
Rosa read it and looked at you with an expression of genuine surprise. “We’re going to the mountains? To this house? When?”
“Today. Now, actually. We can be there in two hours if you like. There’s a private beach on the lake, huge kitchen, oh and even a little home movie theater inside. Deposit isn’t refundable but—”
“We’re going. Right now,” she said right before planting an excited kiss on your lips. “Just let me pack.”
“Already done, babe.”
You nodded towards the overnight backpack on the table. “I figured you’d wanna take your bike, so I packed light.”
Rosa swallowed thickly and sighed. “I love you.”
Her words hit you hard, and you tried to not have an extreme reaction. She could just be saying it in response to the trip you’d planned last minute, or because you knew she’d wanna take the bike. You didn’t think she really meant that she was in love with you, so you simply smiled and turned to grab your own bag.
“Y/N,” she said, gently touching your shoulder, and guiding you back close into her. Her gaze upon you was soft and wistful while her fingers glided effortlessly along your bare shoulder and up your neck. “I mean it. I love you. I didn’t expect too. Like, at all. Yet, here we are. I don’t expect you to say it back–”
“I’m in love with you, Rosa.” Your heart was pounding in your chest, just like it did that night you played darts. Your hands were shaking, as was the rest of you, but you’d said it, finally. You were in love with her, and she was in love with you.
“Good.”
She tangled her hand in your hair and pushed your mouth into hers. Her kiss was soft and warm and laced with that extra edge of desire that comes after a confession of love. You could feel yourself wanting to give in, but you knew that would have to wait until you reached the cabin.
Pulling away, you heard a growl of frustrating rumble from her chest. “Come on, plenty of time for that when we get there.”
The slam of the door to the roof brought you back to the present. Furiously swiping at your eyes to clear the tears, you smoothed out your clothes and turned to see who was there.
“Y/N?” Charles asked, cell phone hoovering at his ear. “Are you alright?” He pocketed the device and joined you near the ledge. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” you said and smiled wanly. “Just thinking. Have you, by any chance seen Rosa?”
“Earlier today. Said she had something to take care of, but when I asked about it she clamed up and took off.”
You sighed and nodded in understanding. “She’s avoiding me.”
“No, no way,” Charles replied adamantly shaking his head. “Rosa… she’s not. She’s just busy. You know how she is—”
“Charles, I appreciate what you’re doing, but I’m not stupid. She’s been avoiding me all day. Even over the last week. She’s super secretive, won’t return my calls most of the time. She’s not wanted to see each other outside of work much, either. Things were going so well, I just don’t know what happened.”
Charles’ expression was pained, but he did his best to comfort you when he saw the fresh set of tears forming in your eyes.
“Y/N, you don’t know that. I know Rosa. She wouldn’t just—” he stopped himself, knowing that she would just break off a relationship without notice. “I’ve seen how she looks at you. Girl, I know that look well. It’s how I used to look at Rosa.”
You chuckled, knowing that his words came from a genuine attempt to comfort you. “I don’t want to lose her, Charles. I really do love her. But with this job ending soon and Gina coming back, maybe she just wants to cut ties. She’s bored with me, or maybe, I’m just not the one she wants long term.”
A buzzing came from deep within your pocket, causing you and Boyle both to jump. You pulled it from your pocket and saw there was a text from Rosa. All it said was: ‘Come to the briefing room, we need to talk.’
A lump of despair settled in your gut and you suddenly just wanted to run. If she couldn’t find you, she couldn’t break up with you. As childish as it sounded, it was all you could think of.
“She wants to talk,” you managed to get out, though low and broken. “Now, here… in the briefing room. How could she—here?! Of all places…”
Charles was shaking his head, grimacing with disappointment. “I love that woman, but sometimes Ro-Ro doesn’t know what she’s doing. Come on, I’ll go with you.”
“No, Charles. I have to face this on my own.”
When you walked back into the bullpen, the entire floor was empty. No detectives, no uniformed officers going about their business. Holt’s office was dark, his door closed, and there was no one sitting in lock up.
You passed a curious look to Charles, who just shrugged and looked just as dumbfounded as you did. The door to the briefing room was closed and the shades were drawn, but you could see light coming from under the crack in the door. Just before you turned the handle and entered, you gave Charles one more look and he offered you his most sympathetic smile.
“I’ll be right here if you need me.”
“Thank you, Charles. You’re a good friend.”
Once you worked up the nerve to open the door, you were immediately stopped in your tracks by everything in front of you.
Rosa was standing in the middle of the room, surrounded by a dozen flashlights; some stood up straight on the tables shining up, some hung from the ceiling shining down. Your favorite flowers were scattered throughout the room, along with your favorite song playing softly on the PA system from above. Jake, Amy, Sargent Jeffords and Captain Holt were standing behind her, along with half a dozen of the uniforms; all smiling like idiots, except Holt of course who was completely unreadable.
“Sorry I missed your calls before,” Rosa said calmly. She took a few steps towards you and gave into the sly smile that wanted to peek out. “I was a little busy.”
“I can see that,” you said breathlessly. “What is this?”
From behind you, you could hear Charles excitedly stammering, but unable to form any real words. Jake quickly skirted by you and Rosa from the back of the room and escorted Boyle towards the back with everyone else.
“What the—Is she propo—”
“Charles! Shhhhhh!” Amy reprimanded as Jake pulled him in with a pat on the upper arm.
Rosa gave a warning glance over her shoulder and Charles quieted down quickly but watched in a state of euphoria.
She turned back to you, her face softened. “Well, I’ve been wanting to do this for a while, but I’m not really good at this stuff. So, I got these dorks back here to help me out.”
“How come I didn’t know? Why wasn’t this dork invited to help? I love this kind of stuff!” Charles whined but one further look from Rosa made him withdraw again.
Rosa reached into her pocket and when her hand emerged, she held up a platinum banded ring with a large opal in the center. Surrounding the opal, were tiny diamond chips that sparkled in the reflection of the flashlights.
You inhaled sharply as she bent down on one knee, holding up the ring with one hand and taking your hand with the other.
“Figured, if I’m only going to do this once in my life, I want it to be special. These people, they’re my family. I know them. I trust them. I wanted them to be here for this, so they know how much you really mean to me and that I want you to be my family, too. So, I wanted to know if maybe you wanted to get married, or something?”
Rosa was nervous but hid it well to everyone but you. Her hand that was holding the ring was shaking ever-so-slightly, and in some way, made you feel a little less nervous. For Rosa to do this so publicly, her love for you must run deeper than you thought. You knelt down in front of her so you were eye level.
“I never wanted anything more in my life,” you whispered, caressing her face with your free hand.
She sighed with relief and kissed you, forgetting the audience in the rear of the room despite their cheers of excitement and congratulations. Carefully slipping the ring on your finger, she stood up and brought you with her.
“Good. I was worried you’d say no. Then I’d have to move and change my identity again,” she mused, eliciting looks of curiosity to run through her colleagues. “It would be a nightmare.”
“Well, we wouldn’t want that,” you teased and wrapped your arms around her neck. “You scared the crap out of me, just for the record.”
“How?”
“I thought you were breaking up with me. The way you’ve been this week, and avoiding me today…”
“I’m sorry. I just wanted this to be perfect.”
“Awww,” Amy mewed, her hands clasped over her heart as she rested her head on Jake’s shoulder.
“Guys, this is amazing! I am over the moon for you! But Rosa, why didn’t you ask me to help?!” Charles asked, looking between Rosa and the rest of the squad.
“Because, no offense Boyle, but you can’t always keep a secret,” Amy answered for Rosa, but Rosa nodded in agreement.
You laughed, but then looked at Amy in surprise. “You knew this whole time? Even this afternoon when I was worried about her avoiding me?”
“Sorry,” she said with an apologetic shrug. “I was sworn to secrecy. No way I’m gonna spill Rosa’s secrets.”
“Smart,” Rosa replied and then turned back to you. “So, you sure about this? Ready for a lifetime with me and these guys, here?”
You glanced over your shoulder and watched them debating Boyle’s ability to keep a secret and smiled. “Yes, I am ready for a lifetime with you… all of you.”
Rosa smirked and twisted a finger in your hair. You kissed her softly and relished in the sweet taste of her lip balm. The chatter behind you began to grow, your moment of romance fading quickly as the squad continued prattling on amongst themselves.
“Wanna get outta here?” she asked quietly, entwining her fingers into yours.
“Yes, very much so. My place or yours?”
“Better idea,” she said and smiled as she held up her phone and showed you the reservation confirmation for the same cabin you had earlier in the summer.
“Holt gave us a few days off. Wanna go?”
You smiled wide and felt an urge to kiss her again. Knowing that the next kiss would be the one that led down a very primal path, you decided to hold that one until you reached the cabin.
“Hell yeah. Let’s ride, baby.”