was open and honest about his feelings towards Amy from almost the very start
didn’t try to sabotage her existing relationship
didn’t lie to her about his feelings except once but then he felt bad and told her the truth the same day
tried to move on in a healthy manner, accepting that she was taken
dated someone else and didn’t immediately dump her and try and get with Amy once Amy became available (seriously it bugs me so much when characters do this. If you’re just using a relationship as a stopgap until your preferred partner becomes available, DON’T BE IN THAT RELATIONSHIP!!)
didn’t tell Dave not to ask her out even though he liked her because he knew it wasn’t fair to her – “I can’t go around telling guys not to ask Amy out because I like her and I’m too dumb to do anything about it"
never once tried to control her or emotionally manipulate her to be with him and was open and upfront about his feelings
when they actually became a couple, is completely committed & in love with her and is willing to make sacrifices for their relationship like moving into her apartment because he realises it’s important to her and would make her happy
in the episode where she’s undercover in the prison and he keeps interfering bc he’s worried about her getting hurt he doesn’t try to make her leave bc he can’t handle it and instead accepts that he’s the one that needs to take himself off the case bc he knows she can handle it by herself and him being there is only hindering her progress because he can’t stop worrying
isn’t afraid of her becoming more successful than him – is really supportive of her taking the sergeant’s exam which could result in her outranking him and even becoming his boss bc “You can’t be afraid to be successful, you’re too good for that” and “I’ve always known you were gonna be my boss”
READ HARRY POTTER JUST BECAUSE HE KNEW SHE LOVED THEM SO WANTED TO ENJOY THEM WITH HER
tl;dr jake peralta is one of the best male tv protagonists & boyfriends of all time and peraltiago is literally the healthiest and best relationship ever and has given me unrealistic romance expectations for life