AN: Late, but time to start the harem. Hope this ch was okay.
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Amy zipped the suitcase shut. She forced her hands to stop fidgeting, walked over, and sat beside Ray on the edge of the bed. The mattress dipped under their combined weight. She stared at her hands for a second, bracing herself.
Then she looked up.
And she committed.
"Ray… I need to say something before we head back."
He stayed quiet and focused on her. That somehow made it worse.
Amy took a steadying breath. "I like you." The words came out soft but clear. "I mean… I really like you a lot. And I feel awful saying it because I know you're with Rosa."
Ray blinked, surprise flickering across his face.
Amy pressed on before she could lose her nerve.
"I couldn't get you out of my head, even when you weren't around. I tried to push my feelings aside and think logically, but it was no use; I really did try." She rubbed her palms together, anxious. "Back then, I wanted to talk to you since I noticed you weren't dating anyone. But then I noticed the way Rosa looked at you. And the way you looked at her whenever you thought no one was paying attention."
She gave him a small, tired smile.
"I stepped back... Well, I pushed her forward, actually. She is my friend. And I thought that was the right thing to do. I mean, she was so happy and flustered... It's Rosa we are talking about and I've never seen her like that. So, I told her to go for it."
Her shoulders dropped a fraction.
"But after these last few months working with you… and after these last few days stuck together on this mission, and how we had fun and all… it got harder to ignore."
Her voice wavered for a second. She steadied it.
"I cannot get you out of my mind. Even when I try. Even when I remind myself that you love Rosa and that she is good for you and you are good for her."
Amy swallowed, feeling the weight in her throat.
"I am not trying to come between you two. I am not asking you to choose me. I just needed to say it out loud because it has been eating at me and pretending everything is normal was starting to feel impossible."
She exhaled slowly.
"I care about you. A lot more than I meant to. And I respect you and Rosa too much to let this turn into something ugly or sneaky. I just... needed to tell you the truth before I go back to pretending I don't feel it."
She leaned back slightly, looking down at her hands.
"I know saying this makes everything complicated. I know. But lying to myself about it is exhausting. And I figured if I was ever going to say it, it should be now. Before we go back to the precinct and everything goes back to normal."
She finally looked up at him, her eyes steady, her voice low but unwavering.
"I like you. And I can't stop feeling it. Even though I know I should."
Ray sat very still.
Amy waited, tense, bracing for whatever came next.
Ray rubbed the back of his neck, searching for words that did not seem to exist. He looked at Amy with a conflicted expression that was rare for him. Usually, he could cut through emotion like it was another tactical problem to solve, but this was different.
"Amy… this might sound weird," he started, voice low and hesitant, "but I started liking you too."
Amy's breath caught.
Ray continued, still choosing each word like he was defusing another bomb. "We are similar in ways I never expected. You get excited over the same things I do. Perfect binders for everything, organizing case files by color tags, solving puzzles, and doing crosswords. You even tilt your head the same way I do when something clicks in your brain."
A tiny embarrassed smile crossed his mouth for half a second. "I like watching you work. The way you perk up when you solve something. The way you talk fast when you get an idea, or that time when you keep speaking in a loop over that form. It is… kind of adorable."
Amy's eyes widened at that, but she did not speak.
Ray's jaw tightened like the next part physically hurt to force out. "But I love Rosa. She is important to me in a way I did not expect from anyone. She makes me feel grounded and alive at the same time. And I do not want to hurt her. I do not want to hurt you either."
He exhaled, stuck between two truths he did not know how to reconcile.
"So…" Ray let the word fall. "I do not know what to say after that. I do not have a solution. I like you. I love her. And I wish things were not so complicated, but they are."
He looked at her with an honesty that felt heavy.
"I do not want to lose either of you. But I do not want to lie to either of you either. And that kinda sounds like greedy of me, doesn't it? Having a relationship with a girl while telling another girl that I like her and I don't want to lose or hurt her... It's like saying, let's go for it and have a polygamous relationship. Life is too short, let's live it to the fullest."
"Do you think Rosa would agree?" Amy asked with a thoughtful expression.
'Eehh!' Ray was stunned for a moment. He wasn't expecting Amy to say that. 'Is she up for it? Really?'
Ray stared at her like she had just suggested they rob Fort Knox using a bicycle and a sock puppet. His brain stalled. Hard.
"Amy," he said slowly, "are you serious?"
She shrugged. "I mean… I'm ready to give it a go... maybe. I do not know. It is a thought. Rosa is unpredictable, but she is also honest with herself and loves adventures. And she cares about both of us. Maybe she could handle something like that and think of this as an adventurous journey."
Ray rubbed his face with both hands. "This conversation is insane."
"Yeah," Amy agreed quietly. "But so is everything else about this mission. And about you and me."
He dropped his hands and looked at her again, brow furrowed deeply. "I love Rosa. And I like you. But this is not some fantasy situation. This is real life with real feelings involved. People get hurt in real life. Rosa especially. If she thinks for even one second that I am playing games with her, she will shoot me and then probably kill you before killing herself."
Amy bit her lip, then nodded. "I know. And I am not trying to sabotage her or your relationship. I do not want that. I want her to be happy. I want you to be happy. I just... do not want to pretend anymore. So if we talk about solutions, then we talk about all of them, even the ones that sound crazy."
Ray leaned forward slightly, elbows on his knees. He stared at the carpet as if it held tactical intel.
"Rosa is intense," he said finally. "She feels everything deeply. If she wanted something like this, she would say it directly. But I don't know if she ever would. I do not know if she could share like that. And I do not want to be the one to make her feel insecure or betrayed."
Just then, he remembered the little talk back when he was at the hospital. "Wait a minute! Back then, when I was at the hospital, Gina suggested a threesome with Rosa, me, and her. And Rosa simply smiled a little before going back to her usual self. She didn't even threaten Gina. Maybe she wants to explore new things but is too scared to bring it up, thinking I might think she's strange."
'Gina too. Then there's Emma Watson. God! Why does everyone love him?' She wondered.
"So we ask her," she said softly. "If she hates the idea, then that is the end of it. We drop it. We go back to normal."
Ray looked up. "Amy, if she says no, can you really go back to normal?"
Amy hesitated. Her voice dropped to a whisper. "I will have to. And I will. She is my best friend. You are my... You know. I will not destroy either of those."
Silence sat between them for a long moment.
Ray exhaled. "This is the part where I say something wise and comforting, but I have nothing. My head is a mess."
Amy let out a small, humorless laugh. "Welcome to feelings. They suck."
He let out a short breath that could almost be a laugh.
Then he said it.
"Alright. Let's do it."
Amy nodded, even though her stomach twisted. "So we tell her? Together?"
"Yes," Ray said. "We tell her everything. If she freaks out, we are dead. So, God help us."
Amy almost smiled at that.
Then she grew thoughtful again. "Ray… what if she does not freak out?"
Ray blinked. "Then I guess our lives get even more complicated. But no one gets heartbroken."
"Or shot," Amy said.
After that, they packed up their things in silence.
Ray grabbed the suitcases. "Alright. Let's go. Holt is waiting. Rosa is waiting. And we have a lot to explain."
Amy nodded. "Yeah. And Ray?"
He paused.
"Thanks for not lying to me," she said.
Ray nodded once. "Thanks for saying your truth."
They opened the door and left.
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