She's standing in the break room at the precinct, hands folded neatly over each other, when it happens for the first time.
( It's only later, looking back on the event, that she realizes her back was pressed against the wall, shoulders flush with the window and elbows bumping into dents in the plaster. )
Rosa wanders in behind Gina, who's talking a mile a minute, and she leans up against the wall beside one of the vending machines, watching Gina with a raise of her eyebrow.
They're so close that every once in a while, Rosa's elbow knocks into Amy's arm, and, flustered, Amy apologizes each time.
Rosa smirks.
"Are you actually gonna buy anything," Rosa asks Gina, and Gina gives a huff in response and presses a few keys to get a Monster. Amy prepares herself to scoot out of the way, but the two hang by the vending machine, eyeing it like a perp. "What's wrong," Amy pipes up, and Gina seems surprised she's even in the room, but she leans against it and groans loudly. "It's stuck." Gina starts wailing on the plexi-glass, giving it all she has, and both Amy and Rosa watch for a few moments. "Do you w -" Amy begins to ask, but Gina yells, "NO!" and Amy quickly backs down.
"Jesus, you're gonna break the damn machine doing that." Rosa grunts, and Gina narrows her eyes. "Oh yeah? You think you can get it out?"
Rosa cracks a few knuckles. "I know I can. What're you gonna give me when I do?"
"Five bucks."
"Eh, alright." Rosa shrugs, rolls one sleeve up, and kneels down in front of the machine, shoving her hand into the front and wiggling it around a little bit. "You're gonna get stuck," Gina says, "and I want my Monster." She starts to order Rosa to move when the can comes falling through with a soft kerplunk.
"See," Rosa shakes her arm free of the machine, "all you needed was somebody who knew how to work their fingers."
( When questioned on this event, Amy will swear by three things.
one. That Rosa looks directly at her while she says this.
two. That there is a smirk involved.
three. That she definitely does not turn bright red and immediately chug down half her bottle of water as a distraction. )
The second time, the precinct is out canvassing. Rosa and Amy have been paired up, and have been searching an apartment building for half an hour when they spot someone matching their suspect's description. "Call it in," Amy orders, and Rosa does as she says, radioing immediately. Amy chooses to chase down the guy, running across the hallway to grab him by the shoulder and pin him to the ground. "You have the right to remain silent," she begins, and she can see a ghost of a smile on Rosa's face from three yards away.
Amy tightens her hold on him and pulls him up carefully, walking him to the car with Rosa a few steps behind her.
Amy seethes when the guy starts to make conversation - only because of how terribly bad he is at it, beginning with, "Nice legs, toots," and when she doesn't respond, adding, "hey, just sayin' you got nice lookin' legs for a uniform!"
Amy only says, "I'm a detective," before pushing him into the car - perhaps a little harder than necessary.
Rosa smirks a little in appreciation as she catches up. "Peralta and Boyle are coming to question some neighbors, see what they saw, get more than what we got." She informs her, and then, quirking an eyebrow, she adds, "He's an asshole, but not wrong, yanno."
It takes Amy approximately the length of the car ride back to the precinct to realize what Rosa means.
When she does, she turns pink and doesn't make eye contact with her for another two hours.
The third time it happens, the group - Gina, Rosa, and Amy - are out at a bar.
( Amy isn't sure she can call them "the girls" or anything. )
Rosa's nursing a rum and coke and Gina keeps ordering cosmopolitans, but Amy is sticking with club soda for the time being. Not that she doesn't like being drunk, but - drunk Amy is not a good designated driver, and as much as Gina keeps insisting on an Uber, Amy isn't going to send anyone off on their own tonight.
"Another roooound! Whooooh!" Gina calls loudly, even though Amy's 99% sure she's pretty sober still - Gina has a high tolerance for liquor. "Anyone else? Rosa? Amy?"
Both shake their heads, and Gina shrugs. "Another round!" She repeats, "Giiiiirl's Night!"
Amy muffles a laugh as Gina heads for the bar, and Rosa rolls her eyes.
"I don't think this is typical 'Girl's Night,'" Amy says, and Rosa nods an assent. "Well, you're still sober, despite Gina's best attempts, so no, I'd venture that this was not how she thought tonight would be going." Rosa agrees, and Amy rushes to shake her head. "I'm driving you guys home - I can't... I can't drink."
"Santiago, you're kidding yourself if you think Gina isn't going to climb into an Uber tonight, with or without you. I'll find a way home, and I'm sure a number of people in this bar would be willing to take you home." She finishes her rum and coke and Amy whistles out a sigh, completely missing the compliment buried in the sentiment.
"Well then, I'm driving you home." She says, and Rosa shrugs. "Alright, but if you want to get drunk and stay - I'll find a way."
"I won't." Amy says, and Rosa's looking her up and down appraisingly, but she hardly has a minute to think about the whole thing before Gina's back, twirling a cosmopolitan in her hand, and beginning to chant for herself.
"Drink, drink drink, drink, drink drink dr -"
"Santiago." Rosa says sharply, and she's standing inches away and placed along the same wall as Amy is. "Stop panicking. Santiago. St - Santiago, perp -" but Amy can't hear her, she's too busy freaking out about the perp they're tailing who's about to make them.
"Santiago, look at me. Trust me." Rosa's voice is steadier than either of them feel, and she reaches for Amy to pull her down into a kiss. The perp passes them. No one is made, or shot, or whatever Amy can't remember worrying about. "See," Rosa attempts to say casually, but her voice strains, "We're all okay."
"Yeah." Amy replies quietly. "Rosa, how come you kissed me?"
"There was a perp."
"Yeah. But couldn't we have done something else, and he wouldn't have noticed us?"
Rosa lets out a long suffering sigh.
"Santiago, you're about as dense as a brick. We had to stop him from noticing us, and you haven't been noticing my not very subtle attempts to hit on you, so I figured, yanno. Kill two birds with one stone, or whatever."
"What?" Amy squeaks, and Rosa grimaces. "Forget it, okay."
"Since when have you been flirting with me?"
"For like six months, Santiago!" Rosa's fists clench and unclench at her sides. "Six months?" Amy squeaks again, and Rosa rolls her eyes. "Forget it, Santiago. Okay! Forget it."
Amy looks at her hands for a minute and then, quietly, says, "How did I miss that?"
"I don't know, Santiago. Now could we just move on?"
"No." Amy says, narrowing her eyes, and Rosa braces herself, but all that comes is Amy's hands in hers. "Rosa. I thought that was just you being you, okay? I thought I was reading too far into it." Rosa narrows her eyes in return and Amy rolls her eyes, and lets go of Rosa's hands.
Rosa has about half a second to be sad about it before Amy's hands are at the back of her neck, and her lips are on hers.
"I'm not so good with the subtlety," Amy mumbles when they pull apart, and Rosa clicks her tongue. "Well then, let me be blunt, detective." She quips, before surging back in for another kiss.