you can tell your friends what you saw in me (and the way i used to be)
"OH MY GOD!!!!" Jake yelled. He could hardly contain his excitement and he bounced childishly. "Are you two together? Like a couple? For realz?!"
Rosa slapped her palm in her face and rubbed her temples wearily. A chill ran down her back, she resigned herself to her destiny in frustration. Gina put her weight on one side of her hips and crossed her arms. She didn't know how to react. She tried to meet Rosa's eyes but it was a dead end, she desperately waited for the brunette's lead on this.
"MY GOODNESS! IS THIS REAL??!? IS THIS FINALLY HAPPENING?!" Charles squeaked, his eyes were nearly popping out of his head. "WOAH!!"
"Your friends don't know?" Oscar asked.
"They don't..." Rosa replied.
"Hot damn!" Holt clapped his hands and all eyes turned to him, he tilted his head to address his husband. "You owe me a hundred United States dollars, mister!"
"I suppose I do, Raymond." Kevin said with no expression on his face.
"You made a bet?" Gina asked, secretly enjoying the scene in front of her.
"Of course! You think I would not notice what is going on between my two favorite employees?" Captain grinned snootily and Rosa looked up in surprise.
"What?!" Jake and Amy jumped in. Santiago furrowed her brows, she dropped her endeary smile she had on her lips a second ago, and made a grimace to her boss. He simply shrugged in return.
"You know what," Jake held up his hands, "I'm not even gonna get offended by that 'cause these two love birds are also my two favorite people on earth- Obviously after Amy, my mom and John McClane and-- Whatever, I love you guys so much, come here!" He spread his arms widely and paced towards Gina with tears in his eyes.
Charles was sobbing his heart out. His partner, Genevieve, had to grasp him from his arms as he was melting to the floor. "I am over the moon, over the moon!" He kept saying He was paralyzed with happiness.
Her parents were watching the events in complete shock. Julia put a hand over her mouth, her eyes widening with each sentence that came from Rosa's coworkers. Oscar held onto his belt and looked at the people in front of him in a bad temper.
Jake unwrapped his arms from his sister -whom just rubbed his back and rolled her eyes- and moved to Rosa. She raised her eyebrows and took a step back. "Dude, calm down."
"There's no way you're expecting me to act normal when my two best friends are dating each other! Sorry, Boyle, but---"
"No, no! I agree." He wiped his eyes. "They can be your best friends. They're so beautiful." He whimpered.
"They are. Aren't they?" Jake turned to the squad, his tears were also floating down his cheeks.
"Alright, all of you," Gina raised her voice and everybody looked at her carefully. Their hearts pounding in their chests, they were all ears. "I know you're happy for us and whatever and we really appreciate it but it's just too much, 'kay? Keep it cool a bit, I don't know, act like adults for examp." She clapped her hands and the others straightened themselves, trying to get a hold of their emotions. Jake cleared his throat and Amy rubbed his tears off. Rosa looked at Gina proudly.
"It's true, we are happy for you!" Terry beamed. "But we get emotional because we love you both so much," a tear also slipped from his eye.
"Seriously, Sarge? Are you crying too?!" Rosa snapped.
"No! You guys are adorable and it's enough to make a grown man cry, but not this man! Get back where you came from, tear," he sniffed between his words. He gritted his teeth and stretched all the muscles in his body, trying to un-cry. Rosa shook her head in disappointment.
"Oh, well," Julia got into a panic, "I should cook something, or we could order takeout. No, no, I should cook."
"There's no need for that!" Jake stopped her and kneeled down to the floor to pick up the bags he'd dropped. "We brought our own food!"
"Or you could just leave," Rosa hissed at him. He got up with a huge grin and lightly hit Rosa's arm, "heh, good one, Rosa!" She looked at him with forbidding eyes, only if he could notice...
"Move, move! I need to use the bathroom!" Scully shouted and squirmed his way out of the squad. He made his way to the bathroom in quick steps as he's memorized every inch of this apartment over the past few weeks.
Oscar steely gazed at the crowd and scoffed. "You're all cops?"
Amy nodded. "Yes, we are." She gestured to people next to her, "except Genevieve, Sharon and Kevin."
"Huh, I won't understand how did this city survive this long with these cops."
His words put everyone back on their heels, they all shut up and froze in their places. "I agree," Kevin spoke up. He stepped towards the old man and extended his hand, "Kevin Cozner, professor and head of the Classics Department at Columbia University, and also, Captain Raymond Holt's husband."
Rosa's parents didn't know that her boss was a gay man, they looked at them in astonishment for a spell. Oscar noticed what a disgrace it was to leave the man's hand hanging, thence he shook it firmly, and hesitantly.
Jake yelped as the corners of his mouth went up. "Oh, look at that! Two homosexual and four heterosexual couples in a room! Diversity!!" He sang along.
"Oh, Jacob, you haven't grown a bit." Gina sighed. "Can we all sit now?"
"Yup," Jake said and sat down on the big couch with Amy, right next to Oscar and Julia. "Oh, this is... Well, the last time you saw me you thought Rosa was my mistress, like dating and stuff, but," he gestured to himself and Amy, "we were engaged. I mean, we still are and we would actually like to invite you to our wedding! So..."
"We thought you were dating because you told us you were dating." Julia put it out.
"True, true."
"Thankfully, this time it's different. She's with a perfect person and their relationship is very real." Amy smiled wholeheartedly.
"Welp," Gina turned to Rosa, "this night is gonna be very long."
Oscar didn't react, and it made Amy's smile grow even wider. "Oh, wow! I can totally see where Rosa got her face from." She nervously chuckled.
"We can't wait to spend uh-not so awkward night with you in this overly crowded room," Jake jeered.
Rosa sighed as she moved to the kitchen counter. Regret was written on all over her face, her eyes got heavier. "I'm sorry for putting you through this," she said quietly.
"Rosa," Gina's expression softened and she stepped closer, "this was my idea. It's all good." She took a deep breath and her heart throbbed in her chest. She surveyed the fatigued face in front of her, didn't like the feeling she got. As Rosa looked at her with wilted eyes, Gina picked up her act again with a puff. "And anyway, I love messing with these dorks. Maybe I should propose to you, that'll make Charles faint."
That made Rosa chuckle. "Thank you," said weakly, then she looked up slowly and moved her body closer to Gina. She hesitated for a second before touching her arm. Gina didn't let her struggle any longer and folded her strong arms around the other's neck. "You're welcome," she said.
"I think I'll tell Jake, so there'll be someone to help us," Rosa muttered softly.
"Okay. He sucks at lying, but whatever you want." She said to her neck and her warm breath raised goosebumps on both of their bodies.
Rosa hugged her tighter and placed her palms flatly on her back, fingertips slightly rubbing the cloth underneath them. Gina smelled so good, it almost gave her a headache. She snuggled her nose further into her auburn hair, her pulse quickened. She didn't want to go back to the living room, she just wanted to stay there for a while more.
"You guys are so beautiful, I want to bite my fingers," they heard Charles saying.
Gina broke away and rolled her eyes. Charles opened his arms and moved towards them but Gina pushed him back. "What are you doing?!"
"Well, you were hugging!"
"Because she's my girlfriend," Gina pouted.
"Yeah but I am your friend, I should get a hug, too!"
"What's going on?" Amy asked as she stepped next to him.
"They don't let me hug them!" Charles grunted.
"Oh, man! I came here for the same thing too."
"Y'all need to get a grip," Gina said as she removed herself from the situation to get herself something to drink. She had to keep herself from jumping on them for ruining their special moment, so reached alcohol in starvation.
Rosa scowled at them, and they let her walk away, as already being terrified of her. She saw Jake opening a beer for himself and walked up to him. "Hey," she said.
"Oh, hey, sister-in-law."
"There's something I gotta tell you."
"Okay, but firstly and very quickly I just need to say something, too. Look, I know we all are... bothering you with our emotions. I mean, you know us, right? We're, well, at least I am sorry for that. But you know, it's only because I love you both so much. Like, I know Gina since forever and she's been like a twin sister to me and I know you for twelve years, that's... It's impossible for me to not get sappy. I promise I'll try my best to keep it cool, but, I am so glad to see you guys finally smooching and taking over the world by uniting forces."
She felt suffocated as if the air around them wasn't enough to fill her lungs. She bit her lip and stared into Gina's direction; she was chatting with Holt, her fingers restlessly playing with the hem of her sweater. Her eyes switched back to Jake, whose words sank into her chest and made her rue every decision she'd made in the past two days. "Uh, thanks, man," she hummed halfheartedly.
"You're welcome," he looked at her endearingly and raised the bottle in his hand. "What were you gonna say?"
"Nothing. Just... I'm glad you came... You know, game night."
"Of course! Told you we were gonna be here every single week." She patted his shoulder and grabbed a beer for herself.
She and Gina carried themselves to where everybody was sitting, and they noticed that the squad saved them a seat right in the center of the room. They exhaled loudly and squeezed down. Their knees were touching and they didn't know where to put their arms.
Terry and Charles rested their cheeks in their palms as they looked at the couple lovingly. Gina avoided them and turned to Amy, who was sipping her drink with a slim smile.
"I gotta hand it to you, Amy, I'm really impressed with the way you're handling this." She said.
"Well, um," Amy put her hands down on her lap and took a small breath, "it's actually because I kind of knew it already?"
"What?!" Rosa flared. She wondered how she could hear about their deal, and if she was going to expose them.
"Yeah, pff, what?" Jake made a grimace, then whispered. "Why didn't you tell me?"
Amy ignored him and just replied. "I actually got mad at myself for how long it took me to realize. It truly hit me when we were celebrating at Shaw's the night you got out of prison."
"So, I heard you spent some time in solitary. Pretty dope, right?" Rosa asked.
"I handled it well." Jake said. "I definitely enjoyed being locked up in a room all by myself and having no way of entertainment and communication."
Amy looked at him affectionately and she cupped his cheek, kissing him again. Rosa decided to leave them alone and sat on a bar tool. She ordered her drink and searched the whole place with her eyes. A hand gripped her shoulder, she flinched but her muscles relaxed as she saw who it was.
"She's on maternity leave," Amy said.
She nodded. There was nothing she could say to that. "Welcome back," Hank told her as he slid a glass of whiskey to her. She gave him a sincere smile and chugged the liquor.
The squad was having a good time, she was getting involved in their conversations time to time, but her eyes were locked on the door, she couldn't help it. That didn't escape Amy's attention and she took pity on her. She tried to cheer her up, but deep down she knew her attempts weren't going to be enough; mainly because she wasn't the person Rosa hoped to see.
Amid loud noises and music, a redhead hurried towards Rosa, completely ignoring everyone else.
"Oh, Rosie," she cupped her face and Rosa was taken aback. "You're finally back." She kissed Rosa's cheek swiftly and wrapped her arms around her neck. "I'm sorry I'm late, had a problem with the babysitter."
"It's okay," Rosa wrapped her arms around her middle and smiled, closing her eyes briefly. Gina broke the hug and went back to cupping her face. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Rosa said weakly. Amy's never witnessed Rosa letting her guard down before. Her hands were on Gina's waist, and she was smiling like a fool.
"I tired everything to make her smile. Not just me, everyone did. Even Captain Holt! But Gina didn't need to put any effort. Rosa's face lightened up the moment she stepped into the bar, and they talked for the whole night. They were invading their personal spaces as well."
"Awww!" Terry whooped.
"After that I was sure that you guys were meant to be together, but obviously, I didn't say anything because, you're Rosa and Gina." Amy said.
"Oh, wow," Jake sobbed softly, his voice shook as his eyes watered once again.
They couldn't dare to even look at each other as everyone was mesmerized by the story. Truth to be told, they got drunk very easily that night as it was their first time sipping alcohol after months of not consuming any. Gina, due to her pregnancy, and Rosa, well, due to prison. Gina remembered the hug, of course she did. It was one of the few moments in her life where she was genuinely worried, which made her realize how most of those moments were related to the brunette sitting next to her. Her whole body tensed up, for the first time that evening, and she intertwined her own fingers. Rosa buried herself in her drink and used all the strength she had to stop herself from shivering.
"You have a child?" Julia asked.
"Buh, yes." She turned her head and tried to smother her breathing. "I have a daughter. It was... a mistake, but I decided to keep her."
"What's her name?" Oscar asked poutily. It wrenched Gina's heart, she was sure he liked her thirty minutes ago.
"Iggy." She said without making a compromise. She might want to impress them, yes, but that doesn't mean she's gonna be ashamed of giving birth to the world's best baby.
"She's actually a Bo--"
"Charles!" Rosa snapped.
"Okay."
"How old is she?"
"She's just sixteen weeks."
"Oh. Who's the father? Are you still... "
"No, no. We're obviously not together with the father anymore. He promised to take care of her needs, but that's all."
"Who's looking at her now?"
"Mom..." Rosa sighed. "You're asking so many questions, in front of so many people."
"Yes because you skipped the most important thing. You should've told us that."
"I was going to, but we got interrupted." Gina lied.
"What does it matter anyway?" Rosa threw an arm behind Gina and knitted her brows. The redhead couldn't help but break into a smile.
Their friends who merged into arguing with each other turned their attention back to the couple and Charles spoke up. "I also noticed a sexual tension between you two. As you know, I'm and expert in romance." He and Genevieve shared a dear look.
"Well, I feel like I need to point out the fact that I made a bet with my husband about this matter, and I won." Holt pointed to himself self-righteously. "Gina have been talking about Rosa in our daily dish more than she does about Rihanna, it was not hard to notice."
"You talk about me?" Rosa asked the woman next to her, very pleased with this new information. Gina pretended not to hear her, and faced their boss.
"Oh, Raymond! Can't you see the mistake you're making?! You wanna rat on me? Fine. I'll tell Kevin about Larry." She raised her eyebrows.
"No," Holt lowered his voice and raised his index finger.
"What? Who is Larry?" Kevin turned to his husband.
"Fine, I am not giving any more details about our... chitchat.This conversation is over, dismissed."
"Oh, you can't do that here." Gina leered. "Don't worry, Kevin. I'll spare you the details in our weekly lunch."
"Your what?!" Both Rosa and Holt shouted in confusion.
"So," Oscar put his elbows on his knees and leaned forwards, absolutely not interested in their previous words. "How long have you been together?"
Holt looked at Kevin and curled his lips. "Kevin and I have been together for over a decade, and we have been married for two years."
"We got married as soon as it was legalized." Kevin smiled.
"How did your parents take it?" Julia asked, her eyes not meeting anyone's, which Holt found very rude.
"My mother took it well. She have always been first to support me, in any matter. I am open about my sexuality and I fear no one. Unfortunately, Kevin's parents, um, did not approve our relationship." He sighed. "They believe I turned him gay with my giant genitalia."
Oscar raised his brows and Julia coughed restively, she averted her eyes. "Did he just say giant genitalia?" Gina whispered to Rosa. They were sitting very close and her warm breath hit Rosa's face like a slap. She couldn't keep herself from examining the other's extraordinarily delicate features. Her well-rounded cheekbones and sharp nose appeared to be carved by Michelangelo as her long eyelashes were gently moving. "Yeah," she cleared her throat inaudibly and took a long sip from her drink. She needed alcohol more than ever.
Jake chuckled and raised his voice, "alright, can we please go back to the elephant in the room? Damn, we all get distracted so quickly."
"Because we all have ADHD," Rosa said simply.
"M'kay, whatever. I just remembered something very important."
"Before that, Terry interrupted him. "I'd like to state that I've also sensed something between you two but I didn't say anything nor made a bet 'cause you're my coworkers and I thought it'd be inappropriate."
"Oh, Jeffords. You're lying!" Holt sneered.
"No, I don't." He pointed to his wife. "Sharon, baby, tell them how I talked about Rosa and Gina when we were spooning at nights."
"That is so weird," Rosa said.
"Yeah, I mean, you find making a bet inappropriate but you talk about us when you're spooning your wife?"
"Actually I spoon Terry," Sharon said and everybody burst into laughter.
"Oh, don't act like y'all are not the small spoons! Not even small, y'all are tiny!"
"I mean, how is it even physically possible? I can't imagine it." Jake made a confused face.
"Me neither," Amy said, shaking her head.
"Oh I can, very well." Charles said.
"Ugh, whatever."
"Bup, bup, bup! We got distracted again. Don't ever interrupt me--"
"Hey, Rosa, where's my cup?" Scully asked as he returned from the bathroom. Jake sent him a glare.
"It's on the counter." Rosa replied. The squad was there every week indeed, so she had to buy more wine glasses, and plastic cups for the two old men since they were as clumsy as a toddler. "The blue one is yours, the green one is for Hitchcock." She had to remind him.
"Okay, thanks Rosa," he smiled and his cheeks turned to the sweetest tone of pink.
"Are you really friends with that man?" Oscar asked.
"Yeah. He's one of my best friends, actually."
"Ugh, are you done? Can I talk now? Can I share my very important and romantic story of you two?"
"Yes, Jacob, go on." Gina said and leaned against the brunette's chest. Rosa's hand on the edge of the couch unconsciously fell to her shoulder and she began caressing her hair slowly as the alcohol started to mix in her blood.
"Thanks, Gines." Jake smiled. "Well, it was one morning that I walked up to the bullpen and saw Gina sitting on Rosa's desk."
"You were late, as always." Holt cut him short.
Jake closed his eyes briefly and took a very deep breath. "She was upset because of Giggle Pig and Gina was brushing her cheek! Then Rosa smiled and leaned into the touch. It was so odd. I'd never seen Rosa that intimate with someone before. And she even made out with Pimento in front of me!"
"Mhm," Rosa cleared her throat, bringing him back to his senses.
"Oh, yup, sorry. Well, anyways. After that Gina kept leaving post-its on Rosa's desk. I saw them because I was hanging out there to work on the case. Eh, I actually saw it just once, 'cause Rosa kept putting them in her drawer, which I noticed when I was looking for a file. It had small hearts on it and it read 'you're gonna nail this, then me' and a few tongue sticking faces were scribbled." He was jumping in his seat and his elbows were hitting Julia. She looked at him angrily but he was too thrilled to catch a sight of it. "I guess I didn't think much on it because of the stress of our jobs... and Gina saying that stuff to Terry, too."
"What?!" Sharon stirred in her seat and Julia gasped.
"It was many moons ago!" Jake held up his hands. "That's not the point guys, focus!"
"Yeah, she motivated me a lot but we weren't even dating back then." It slipped from Rosa's mouth as if they were an actual couple right now. "We were friends, it was a friendly gesture." Gina nodded.
"No, Rosa! They were the seeds of your romantic attraction!" Charles beamed.
"Yes, Rosa! They were the seeds!" Jake yelped.
"All of this is making me emotional. Your relationship has grown in front of our eyes," Terry cracked a smile and Rosa made a face. "Which reminds me the day Gina ate Rosa's ice-cream."
"So?" Gina raised her eyebrows.
"Hitchcock once ate her ice-cream and she spent her entire day investigating his spoon! You took it from the fridge, she saw it and didn't even say a thing! I mean, I would not let anyone eat my yogurt," his smile grew wider as he implied, "except Sharon!"
"You guys are just listing random things now." Gina said.
"They're not random, they're the seeds, Gina!" Terry yelled.
"Yes! Seeds of a beautiful and healthy relationship!" Jake smiled.
"Wait, who's in a relationship?" Hitchcock asked.
"I don't even know how to answer that," Amy shook her head. "I mean, are you even listening to us?"
"No." He simply said.
"Gah, you need to retire man. ASAP." Jake winced.
"See, this is where our taxes go to," Kevin turned to Oscar.
"It's a real pain." Oscar scoffed.
"Yes, we have detectives like Hitchcock," Holt jumped in. "But we also have detectives like Rosa and Jake and Amy and Charles... You can't generalize us all upon one bad officer. We're trying our best."
"You have been discriminated both for being black and homosexual, Raymond. How can you still defend this system?" Kevin asked.
"I am not defending the system, but people in it are changing." He moved his hands casually.
"Oh, is that right? What about that white woman who have been on your neck since you first started your career?"
"Madeline Wuntch has nothing to do with this!" Holt raised his voice.
"Uh-oh, that escalated real quickly." Gina said, biting her lower lip.
"So," Charles giggled. "How was the first kiss? Who leaned in first? Did you use tongu--"
"Imma cut you right there!" Jake dived, then turned to the couple and widened his eyes. "But yes, please, tell us everything! I'm begging you-- We all are begging you!"
"I don't, uh," Rosa pointed to her mothers' way with her head, "feel comfortable talking about this right now."
"We don't mind," Julia shrugged. "Tell us how things had started."
"Uh, yeah. Okay," Rosa scratched her neck. "Um, Gina!"
Gina looked at her questioningly. She'd been lying her butt off for the last few hours and she knew Rosa was going to pass her this ball as well.
"Gina is hilarious. You tell the story, babe." Rosa smiled, and hoped adding a pet name would be enough to convince the other.
"Yes, I am." She forced a chuckle and looked at Rosa with fire in her eyes. "Uh, you know, everything was usual and she just couldn't keep herself anymore. I mean," she straightened and showed off her torso, "could you blame her?"
"What do you mean everything was usual?" Charles lifted his brows. "Was it at work?! DID EVERYTHING HAPPEN IN FRONT ME THIS WHOLE TIME?"
"Uhhhhh," Gina turned to Rosa, affected with obvious panic.
"This is enough," Rosa asserted in a deep voice. "You guys already know too much about us. No more questions." She stated.
"Request denied," Jake smiled.
"Yeah," Charles shuffled as if he got ants in his pants. "Who said I love you first?" When there was no answer in the split second he'd waited, he yelled. "Haven't you said it?!"
Rosa groaned, and it only made Charles whimper even louder, so Gina decided to speak. "She gets embarrassed, you know, having feelings... Blah." She explained and looked at Jake. They shared a quick knowing look and Jake clapped his hands. He was aware of his life long friend's ability to open up about her heart, and he assumed she'd never confess her love to anyone, especially not in this crowd. He changed the subject with great enthusiasm.
"Should we start playing the games? Huh? Starting the game night?!" Everyone cheered as he got up and he pointed at Charles who blew a whistle. "Yeah, that's what I'm talking about!"
"Are you okay?" Gina asked Rosa in a dimmer and naive voice. When she nodded she put her head on her chest and lay her body. What she didn't expect was that Rosa also rested her cheek to top of her head. She smiled to herself.
Jake brought the Monopoly box. "Hey, I got the duck!" He said.
"I'm taking the dog!" Charles jumped.
"Noice!" They stretched themselves to high five. Those who decided to play sat on the floor around the coffee table.
Rosa leaded Gina to her bedroom to change their clothes to more comfortable ones. She handed her a blouse and a pair of jeans before making her way to the bathroom, but stopped as she heard the other's alluring voice. "Are you really embarrassed to undress in front of your girlfriend?" Gina smirked, Rosa just rolled her eyes.
"Before we begin the game," Holt attracted everyone's attention with his stoic voice. "I would like to make a toast for this beautiful evening and the couple, Rosa and Gina. I'm really happy for you two, and I hope you will make each other happy, too." As everyone was cheering he giggled to himself and looked at his husband, "it rhymes, huh. I didn't even intend to do that."
"It rhymes 'cause it's true!" Gina laughed and raised the wine glass in her hand.
"To Rosa and Gina!" Amy said, and they all clicked their glasses.
"What, go to jail?" Jake yelled during the game. "No! I don't want to go to jail again!"
Amy rubbed his shoulder. "It's okay, babe. Shh..."
Rosa looked over Gina and knitted her brows. "Gina, you need to buy stuff. You can't win like this."
"Girl, I am already winning." She held up her tiny airplane and grinned. "I have a private jet and tons of money, I don't need to buy stuff!"
Rosa sighed in defeat, "whatever."
"I understand the logic of this game but there are a few flaws," Holt held his glasses in his hand. "If I am going to buy a house, I need to learn more about the neighborhood and the descriptions of the house first."
"Ugh, how are you managing to make everything so boring?"
"Come on, man, have some respect for your father." Rosa said, biting her cheeks to prevent grinning.
"Ah, you didn't say uno!" Gina waved her hand to Jake's face.
"Haha, take a card, loser." Rosa laughed.
"Ugh, what a stupid rule!" Jake complained as he took another card. "It's just a stupid word."
"I disagree!" Gina looked at Oscar simperingly. "I think 'uno' is one of the most meaningful words."
"Are you trying to impress us with the most common Spanish word?" Oscar asked in his husky voice and raised his eyebrows.
"Yuh," Gina bit her lip. "Is it working?"
"No."
"Mm, roger that!" She turned back to the table, not letting him ruin her mood, and the round continued.
"Hey, Rosa is stealing!" Charles yelled.
"No, I'm not!"
"Oh, okay! Then show us what you're hiding under the table! You're either holding a bunch of cards or caressing Gina's leg!"
"Dude!" Jake protested.
Rosa held up her hands. "You can take a look! I'm not doing either of those!"
"It'd be really fun if you did the second one, though," Gina winked and sneered. Oscar pretended not to hear them, giving his ears to Holt instead.
"It's your turn, Ames."
"Okay," she excitedly straightened herself and placed two 'plus four' cards. "Suck it, Linetti!"
"Uh-uh, not me!" She placed one more and did a little dance. "Uno!"
"No, no, no!" Rosa groaned.
"Oh, you don't have one?! Sorry, babe." She flashed a sassy smirk. She wasn't exactly a competitive person, but if she had a chance to corner the brunette, she was gonna use it in the most annoying ways possible.
Rosa wore her grumpy expression and took twelve cards as Jake playfully counted them, the others joined him. "...Ten, eleven and twelve! Haha." She looked at her cards in fatigue as the round moved on.
"Do any of you have a turning card? I know Gina's gonna finish," Amy said.
"Nice," Hitchcock smiled.
"Ugh, what's your problem?" Gina hissed.
"I don't," Charles shrugged and placed a red card. Amy groaned and also placed a red one, following Jake.
"Yes Gaga, yes!" Gina shouted and put down her last one harshly.
Rosa got bored and exhaled deeply as she shuffled her cards through her fingers. Gina couldn't stand her cuteness and moved closer to her on her knees, sat just beside her. She placed her hand on Rosa's shoulder and pointed at some colors. "Okay, put all of these at once."
"Hey, no helping!" Jake objected.
"Shut up," Gina said. Her face was incredibly close to Rosa's and she couldn't care about anything else at the moment. They put down six cards together and as it was Jake's turn, Gina put her head on the crook of Rosa's neck, watching the game. The vanilla scent of her dark curls filled her lungs and she wanted to toss her cards and make her quit, and just cuddle with Rosa right there.
"Charles, please put a blue one." Jake whined.
"Hey, what happened to not helping?" Gina protested.
"You uh-shut up-da!" Jake gave a plastic smile. That made Amy and Rosa laugh.
"Okay, Jake. Here you go."
"Yes! You're the man! And," he smiled proudly and wiggled his shoulders, "uno!"
Amy just took a card and it was Rosa's turn again. She flipped her cards and showed them to Gina. "I'm putting this down?"
"Mm, wait," Gina put her hand over Rosa's, it felt great, and she showed some another card. "Put this and... this one instead."
Rosa's hands were shaking and she just begged all the gods that Gina didn't notice it. She totally forgot about her parents, her mother was talking to Sharon and Genevieve about raising kids while his dad was discussing basketball with Jeffords.
"Terry says they're his work babies," Sharon said to Julia. She looked at the way they sit as a circle and smiled. "I can understand, they still act like kids."
Holt leaned in and whispered, "they're worse at work." And the adults shared a laugh.
Amy and Rosa were the only ones who couldn't finish the cards in their hands; and the one who managed to do so, was going to beat the other. Jake supported Amy, Gina supported Rosa. The game was heating up and everyone was watching them.
"Yeah!" Jake yelled as his fiance put another card down.
"Oh, come on!" Rosa groaned. Gina took a card for her and placed it down.
"Ugh, give me a card," Amy ordered Jake and he obeyed quickly.
"Oh, dang, wait," Gina pointed at some cards in Rosa's hands and she chuckled. "Huh, in your face!"
"No," Amy gasped. "Well, there you go!"
Holt and Terry were flabbergasted with joy. Watching their rivals detectives have always amused them, even at work.
Rosa was taking a sip from her drink as Gina was looking at her cards. "It seems like you're gonna lose. I'm sorry, cariño." It slipped from her mouth so effortlessly, so casually, she didn't even bother to lift her gaze.
Rosa almost choked on her drink. Her eyebrows rose, not sure if she heard right, and she looked at her with a frown. Her gaze quickly averted to her parents, they were shocked as well. "Whatever," she cleared her throat. She placed a card down and quietly hissed to Gina's ear. "Cariño?!"
"What?" Gina smiled. Her face, it was so close.
"What did I say about pet names?"
"Are you gonna punish me?" She asked suggestively, not fearing the mad woman a bit.
"Hey, we're not playing chess here!" Holt caught their attention.
Rosa rolled her eyes and huffed. "I'm gonna quit if I'm losing."
"No, this is a game of chance, sweetie." She traced a card with her long nails. "Put this one, baby."
Rosa put the said card down and turned her head, she was losing her temper and it amused Gina. She exhaled through her nose as her face went red, didn't know if the blood splashing to her cheeks was because of anger or...
"Uno!" Amy put three cards down and yelped happily.
"Put a red one," Jake whispered creepily, widening his eyes.
Rosa put a random card as Gina bit her lip and watched her face. Dealing with all these people and keeping an act for this long were already more punishing than Rosa's worst nightmares. Gina's words were echoing in her mind, her striking eyes were pressing down on her heavily. She wanted this game to end, her friends to be gone. Her body was craving a cold shower, her veins were throbbing in needs of a piercing liquor. She just wanted to be alone.
"Yes!" Amy screamed. She hit Jake's arm playfully and got on her knees to do her dorky dance. "Oh, it's happening!"
"Look at my future wife, y'all! She is great at everything!" Jake grinned.
"Maybe if you weren't so distracted by your girlfriend, Diaz," Holt said as he leaned back in his seat, "you could've won."
"What?!"
"How dare you, sir?!" Gina winced.
Rosa sighed and got up. "Where you going?!" Jake frowned. Rosa looked down at him, showed her empty glass and shrugged. "Just gonna refill."
"Oh, okay." Jake smiled. "I thought you were going to your bedroom to cry because of how you just lost to my beautiful fiance!"
"Not cool," Charles shook his head disapprovingly.
Rosa tightened her grip on her glass and clenched her jaw. The night kept getting more and more frustrating.
They were hugging their guests one by one and listening to their farewells as if this was the end of a wedding. Charles put his hand on his chest, and swinged his body. "My heart just threw up!"
"No." Gina grunted.
"My eyes are dripping wet--"
"Ew, no!"
"I'm shuddering as I think about you sharing a--"
"Ugh, just say you're happy, man."
"I'm happy, man." He smiled, literally putting his heart into his words. He and Genevieve linked their arms and disappeared out of the door, waving their hands aimlessly in the process.
"Thanks for welcoming us," Terry said and hugged his friends. "See you on monday."
Jake placed a tiny kiss on Gina's forehead and patted her shoulder. "You are doing good, kid."
Gina rolled her eyes and smacked his arm jokingly.
"I love you two so much, and it was really hard to handle myself tonight," Amy was saying but Jake interrupted her, he jumped back to the conversation and whispered, "title of your sex tape!" Amy ignored him and kept talking, "I'm gonna cry on my way home, and I need cigarettes. But I'm thrilled to be right about you," she smiled wholeheartedly, showing off her dimples.
They hugged her back. Holt and Kevin stood before them. "I'm really glad for you, Gina and... Rosa." Kevin said.
"Oh dang," Gina held Rosa's forearm. "You're on the first name level too now!" They smiled and shook hands.
Finally it was her parents' turn. Oscar hugged her tightly. "Everything was delicious and I surprisingly had a good time with your friends."
"Yeah," she nodded.
He then opened his arms to Gina, and she delightfully leaned in.
"I'm so glad to meet you," he said.
"So am I," she grinned as they broke away.
Julia wrapped her arms around her daughter and whispered to her ear, "I think she's the one."
Rosa couldn't believe her ears, her mind froze. She could do nothing but curl her lips to her mother after this unexpected sentence. Julia also hugged Gina, and it caught the redhead off guard.
They stepped out of the door, believing their daughter found the one.
Gina stuck around to help Rosa clean the apartment. You could detect who sat where just by looking at the crumbs on the floor.
Rosa put the dishes in her sink and Gina leaned back on the counter. "What a night, huh?"
"Yeah, I'm really tired, though," the brunette sighed.
"Mhm, me too. But we were really convincing. I mean, it'd really be a lot better if those dorks didn't burst in, but I am kinda glad they did, it was fun. And doesn't it make you think? The stories they told about u--"
Rosa pulled her and crashed their lips. She couldn't resist the way her perfume permeated the tiny space between them, she leaned forward and kissed her harshly. There were million things going in her mind, but all she could care in that moment was that Gina Linetti's lips were soft. Her skin was without any roughness whatsoever, it made her get hungrier. Her lips felt humid. Her breath was sweet, spiked with the taste of red wine.
Gina slowly put her hand on Rosa's cheek, fingers caressing her jaw, and kissed her back. She pushed herself against her, their chests touched and her pelvis gazed over hers, she moaned into the kiss. It was everything she'd dreamed of.
Rosa could hear her heart pounding in her throat, she could feel her body wanting more. The mere seconds felt like an eternity, she lost herself in the redhead's taste.
She broke away, their foreheads touching and her lips hanging on Gina's. "You should leave," she leaned back and wiped her lips on the back of her hand.
"Wait, Rosa," Gina stuttered, trying to stop her.
"I'm sorry." She put her hand on her forehead and turned her back to Gina. "I'm really tired and I got confused and... It was a moment of weakness."
Gina closed her eyes briefly and put a hand on her chest, trying to collect her breathing, her legs were trembling. She didn't know what to do, she didn't know if she should drop her pride and reach out to Rosa, or walk away.
"Please leave," Rosa asked in a hoarse.
The only response Rosa got was the door shutting. She closed her eyes, unsure how to get a hold on herself, how to quiet her brain. She took her necklace between her fingertips and let her heart break into pieces.