Chapter Text
Raymond Holt stood in the supermarket and contemplated -with some level of shame- two different flavours of pop tarts that he held in his hand.
"Confetti... Cupcake" He regarded in his right hand.
"Printed Fun... Gingerbread" He tossed in his left.
He said both with a careful pronounced precision, as though he could derive the correct answer from their syntax alone. He loathed to have to do this, but- seeing as he was already here- Officer Holt refused to make the wrong decision.
"Just pick one and let's leave, Raymond; before someone sees us in this isle" His husband, Kevin, chimes from behind him. His voice is as emotionless and monotone as ever, but Holt could hear the small lull of impatience in his partner's slight foot tapping.
"Which do you think Jake will like better?" He asks, turning the two disgustingly bright coloured boxes towards Kevin with a flourish of his hands. Well, to him and Kevin it was a flourish, to any outsider it was just a mechanical twist of the wrist.
Kevin gazed on at them with distaste, "They both have an absolutely preposterous and unhealthy amount of sugar, so I'm sure he'd be happy with either, Raymond"
Holt tilted them back towards him and contemplated them for another moment.
"You're right" He said, and threw in Confetti Cupcake. Kevin covertly tried to cover the package under a packet of Lima beans, but it didn't quite work.
"Let's get back before Karen has to leave for another shift, I hate to leave that boy alone"
Kevin looked at Holt with surprise at the absolutely crude public show of affection.
"Because, I'm sure he'll make a terrible mess in the hallway if we don't get there in time" Raymond adds, deliberately slowly. Kevin sees through it completely but says nothing, nodding in agreement and following his husband to the checkout.
They'd been allowing Jake Peralta -their neighbour Karen's rambunctious 11 year old- to reside at their house whilst his mother was at work for 3 weeks now, and Raymond seemed to have quickly grown attached.
Perhaps, Kevin had too.
Though, he loathed to admit that such an undignified boy- a boy that many of his friends at the University would turn their nose up at- had managed to integrate itself into Kevin's good graces.
'I mean, the boy has managed to weave himself into our grocery list, of all things' he thought incredulously.
For a few days now, Jake had been unsatisfied with the dinners Raymond and Kevin cooked for him.
More often than not, he fiddled around in his plate, before loudly exclaiming he wasn't hungry, and wrestling himself out of his chair to go and play with Cheddar.
It frustrated- and worried- Kevin and Raymond to a point, who knew Jake was a growing boy and almost definitely didn't get the nutrients he needed to stay healthy from the microwave meals Karen stocked up on frequently.
It was hardly their place to discipline the boy for not eating their food, though, so the two of them had come up with a plan.
Simply put, they were to bribe the boy with the promise of pop tarts as dessert; they'd tell him he could have them, so long as he finished the food they'd made for him first.
It was hardly ideal, and Kevin loathed to watch the boy eat something so bad for him, but it was the only way they were going to get him to eat anything proper.
"One of these things is not like the other" The cashier sing-songs with a chuckle.
She was a plump woman, with a jolly flush to her cheeks and a name tag that read 'Alice'. Kevin looked down in confusion to find she was motioning towards the pop tarts in the sea of bland vegetables and graham crackers.
"Yes" Raymond responded, good natured, "But, I suppose it's always good to... liven things up"
He shares a secret smile Kevin; or rather, a look that to them was as good as a smile in public.
When they finally reached their apartment, Kevin and Raymond were expecting to see Karen bustling about impatiently, late and frantic, trying to find the shoes she'd misplaced, as usual.
Or, perhaps, Jake and Gina, or even perhaps Charles Boyle, playing a game of cops and robbers in the hallway.
Instead, what they found when they finally exited the elevator, was Karen and Jake standing outside their own door with a mysterious new man, who seemed to be listening to them talk quietly.
Holt and Kevin shared a look, and began walking through to their apartment, expecting Karen to pull herself from her conversation to hand them over Jake as they walked passed.
Raymond, especially, walked with a certain fervour; it seemed he was eager to implement their pop tart plan and see if it worked.
As they approached, Karen's voice became more clear as she spoke, "Oh, and he's allergic to bees, so don't spend too long around the flowers in the park, and don't let him anywhere near the lake, because he can't swim, and if he asks for ice cream just say yes, because he-"
She was pulled from her rant, as expected, when Holt and Kevin walked passed, and they both looked at her with silent question.
"Kevin! Raymond!" She said cheerily, maybe a little manically. She seemed flustered, and Holt noticed she was wearing lipstick, which is something he'd never seen her wear before.
Given the nature of the conversation she was just having, and the fact that the man facing her was wearing fishing shorts and a plaid shirt, he also surmised they probably weren't going on a date.
"This is Roger" She introduced airily, "Jake's dad"
"Good heavens" muttered Kevin
The revelation startled both him and Holt, who had never heard any mention of Jake's father before. He was very clearly out of the picture, to an extent, and Jake was so clearly desperate for any sort of father figure they had just assumed he didn't have one at all.
They'd been content not theorising, though, certain that it would never need to come up. Clearly, they were wrong, and they watched the man- Roger- who had his arm resting on Jake's shoulder below him.
Jake, for his part, was beaming up at his father as though he'd hung the moon and stars. Raymond felt a cold swirl of something settle in his gut, but he refused to address it and dismissed it quickly.
The three older men shared quick nods of greeting.
"A pleasure" Smiled the man with charm.
"Good news, Roger's going to be taking care of Jake for the day"
The implication was clear that it meant that Jake would not be staying over at Raymond and Kevin's today, which was- for all rights and purposes -good news, especially, since this was Holt's day off.
"Now you two can finally have some time together, without little Jakey running up and down your living room"
Kevin nodded agreeably.
"Yes, though I expect we'll still need to make space for him at the dinner table tomorrow?"
Holt could hear the question in Kevin's tone, and the- for them- thinly veiled hopefulness. It comforted Raymond greatly to know he wasn't the only one bothered by this revelation.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Chimes in Roger, though with a rumble of laughter that made the comment sound less hostile, and more friendly. Holt looked over at the man now, instead of Karen.
"My husband just means to know when we should expect to have Jake over again"
Instead of answering herself, Karen looks over at Roger with a meaningful look. Jake, who had been oddly silent through the entire ordeal, looks up at his father too.
"We'll see how it goes" The man says, unbothered. Holt's lips tighten unpleasantly.
"So" Holt began, moments into their apartment- the apartment they'd retreated into after watching Karen leave for work, and Roger lead a bouncing Jake off to the park.
"So" Kevin parroted.
They'd planned to start on dinner for Jake right away, and were ready to teach the boy- who had never peeled anything in his life- how to peel potatoes properly.
Kevin and Holt had taken a seminar years ago -on their 7th date, actually- on professional culinary techniques, something they implemented whenever hosting a dinner for their high profile friends.
They had a 3 month plan on things to educate the boy on in order for him to grow to be a respectable high-end character, and that was part of it.
It seemed those plans were kaput though, and the two men sat silently wondering on what they might do now.
Holt huffed slightly, peeved at the disruption of their perfectly planned schedule- or perhaps, actually, at the fact that Jake wasn't here on the one day Holt wasn't working.
He had very few of those, and Kevin was often the one to be with Jake for most of the day. That's not to say that Jake didn't spend a fair share of time with Holt, who for the last 3 weeks had spent his evenings coming home trying to teach Jake how to play chess and listening to the boy chatter on incessantly about his completely neanderthal interests.
Karen worked very late most days trying to pay for the rent, only really free on weekends, and it meant that Holt and Kevin, who had surprisingly volunteered themselves the boy's pro bono babysitters, had him over late most evenings.
Logically, Holt knew that the boy's father being here was a good thing; now he could finally spend some time with Kevin, whom he loved and shared his life with. But yet, Holt felt an entirely unwelcome slither of resentment at Roger Peralta for ruining their plans.
"Don't worry, Raymond" Kevin said, soberly, "I'm sure he won't stay long; from what I gathered, he's not a very present father figure"
Holt felt a little better at that, though with a small touch of guilt, and walked over to the kitchen with his husband to put away the groceries.
"For now, we can enjoy this time we have together" Holt finishes for him, allowing one of his more tender looks to pass across his face. Kevin glances back at Raymond just as warmly.
They put the packet of pop tarts in the cupboard without much more fuss, and vow to spend the day basking in each other's company rather than worrying over Jake.
"This is ridiculous!" Bellows Holt, with barely contained frustration, "It's been a week, and he's still here!"
Roger had been a constant fixture around the apartment since his arrival 8 days ago, and however annoying it was, Kevin could see how much happier Jake seemed for it.
They didn't know much about Jake's father, but his time with Jake seemed to excite the boy beyond glee, who was louder and bouncier than usual in the hallways when they saw him.
Kevin found he was growing to dislike the small interactions they had with the boy in the corridor- the only place they got to see him anymore- as the boy spent the whole time gushing over his time with Roger.
It was unpleasant to watch, but begrudgingly good for Jake, which was the only reason Kevin wasn't agreeing outright with his husband's not-so-righteous anger.
"The man is an arrogant pilot, who won't teach Jake anything about the intricacies of high culture!" Holt continues, "I guarantee you he's never even heard a cellist live!"
Normally, Raymond would have more resolve and would keep such unpleasant sentiments to himself, but at home, with his husband, and with such a build up of frustrations, Kevin found he was much quicker to expel his bitterness verbally.
"That boy's going to learn more and more unpleasant habits the more time he spends with this- Roger Peralta" He says the name with a distinct slow distaste, and Kevin shakes his head at his antics playfully.
"Really Raymond, you need to stop emotions from ruling over your logic; Roger is the boy's father, and whether we like it or not, it is healthy for Jake to spend time with him"
Holt opened his mouth to continue, but Kevin cut him off.
"And honestly, when did you get so attached to the boy, you let it cloud over what's best for him?"
This made Raymond halt, and he looked over in surprise at his partner, who was looking at him with scrutiny. Kevin takes pity on him, and stands up to put a hand on Holt's cheek.
"I know you keep saying you don't trust this man, Raymond, but he's Jake's father"
And then, more soberly he adds, "Besides, this is good; we were worrying over how this would work once school started back up, now it's not ours to worry over"
It's that same day that the two of them get an unexpected knock on their door. It's shy, but not entirely hesitant and the couple stand from their places on the sofa to peer over at the door curiously.
"Who could possibly be knocking at this hour?" Asks Holt, with a small amount of apprehension.
They'd been enjoying a studio recording of Carmen (a clandestine guilty pleasure of theirs) and had just gotten to 'L'amour est un oiseu rebelle' when the knocking had come. Raymond was reluctant to miss it, but told Kevin he would go answer.
To his surprise, what met him at the door was a very tense little girl; he recognised her instantly as one of the neighbour's children that lived 2 floors down- The Santiagos. They were a relatively quiet neighbour, and Holt could respect their strict appreciation of binders and schedules.
Looking down, Holt felt that this young girl was clearly very put together; she held a book bag to her chest tightly- despite the fact that it was the summer holidays and school was not on- and was looking up at him with a very shaky determination.
"Greetings, Ms Santiago" He allowed politely.
"Umm-" She began nervously, "Good evening, Officer Holt"
"What brings you here at this time?" He prods
"W-well, I- you see" Amy laughs nervously, "I just wanted to- I-"
He waits patiently until eventually she takes a deep breath, steeling herself.
"I'd like to talk about Jake's dad!"
This takes Raymond completely by surprise, and he allows the corners of his lips to tighten in confusion.
"He's-" She starts, "He's no good for Jake"
He opens his mouth for a question, but she ploughs on without letting him.
"He doesn't care about him; not really"
And then, as though she's letting him in on something top secret, Amy leans forward and whispers gravely,
"I don't think he'll stick around for very much longer"
"Raymond? Who's at the door?" Kevin calls, and Holt turns to look at him.
When he turns back around to introduce the girl at the door, he finds she has already walked away.
The following Monday, Raymond was walking home from his shift at the station with a measured pace. He was in no real rush to get home, as things between him and Kevin had been a little tense lately.
This proved to be a good thing, as he found himself walking past the bench in front of the deli much later than usual, and, to his great surprise, he found Jake sitting there, nibbling on a hot dog soberly.
"Jacob?" Holt asked carefully, watching as the boy looked up at him slowly with a vaguely confused, but profoundly sad expression.
"Officer Holt?" Normally, Jake brightened upon seeing Raymond randomly in the streets (a fact that pleased the man to no end, he was reluctant to admit), but today, he seemed just surprised.
"What are you doing sitting here alone? It's almost 9?" It was indeed late, and uncomfortably dark for a little boy to be out alone in Brooklyn.
"Oh, well, I'm not alone" Jake offered tentatively, before offering Holt a large, weak grin, "M'just waiting for my dad to come back"
Holt didn't let his face betray his wariness.
"And, he said he would, indeed, come back?"
The young boy gave a soft nod.
"Did he say when?"
"Oh" He shuffled his feet together sheepishly, being short enough that they dangled off the bench and didn't reach the floor.
"Well, no; he just said to wait here and that he'd be back soon"
And then, Jake added, as though making sure Holt was aware, "He bought me a hot dog"
"Has he done this before?"
"Bought me a hot dog?"
"No" Holt says, with an unimpressed turn of his lips, "Left you alone outside when it's dark"
Jake doesn't answer and his eyes shuffle down warily to the police logo on Holt's uniform. It's an impressive show of intelligence for an 11 year old, but it makes Raymond's stomach churn with unpleasantness.
"I'm not going to get your dad in trouble, Jacob" He tries, and Jake nods but still says nothing.
Glancing up at the rapidly darkening sky, and the little boy sitting in front of him, Holt makes a quick second decision.
"Stand up" He says, not sternly, but decisively, "We are leaving"
"Where are we going?" Asks Jake, he sounded suspicious, but got up off the bench obediently.
"We are going back to the apartment"
Home, he'd been tempted to say, but that seemed inappropriate.
Jake smiled up at him, almost shyly, and Holt took the half eaten hot dog out of his hand to throw in the bin.
He frowned when he felt it was not warm in his hand; it seemed the food had long gone cold before Holt had arrived.
Kevin had been surprised when Raymond had come home with Jake in tow.
Though he'd long since gotten used to having the boy over, he'd imagined the boy was going to be too busy with his father everyday for the foreseeable future and wouldn't need them to look over him anymore.
Kevin can't say he's disappointed to have him over, but there is an unpleasant feeling clawing at his stomach today.
Raymond had explained why he had dragged the little boy home, and it didn't sit well with either of them to know that Roger Peralta had been content leaving his boy alone in the dark for an extended amount of time.
Looking down at the small boy, who was currently tucked in asleep on the sofa, Kevin couldn't imagine why anyone would endanger such a fragile thing.
"I don't like this, Raymond" He told his husband softly, making sure to keep his voice low for the sleeping child, "I think you were right not to trust his father"
Later into the night, there's a frantic, angry knock on the door, one both Kevin and Holt decide to answer together.
At the door is Karen, Jake's mother, and there is a furious look in her eyes. Her hair is frazzled and untidy, and one of the buttons on her waitress blouse is done up wrong, and what's worse is that there's a ketchup stain on her sleeve.
"Where is he?" She demands, "Is he here?"
They look at her warily, but she pushes passed them before they say anything and spots Jake asleep on the sofa. There's a tension in her shoulders that dissipates, and she exhales a relieved sigh.
"How dare you?" She hisses, spinning round on them, "Who do you think you are?"
"Karen" Holt begins tentatively, raising his arms, placating, in a way that Kevin knows he reserves mostly for dangerous criminals and panicked victims, "Calm down; let us discuss this"
But, she hears none of it.
"No, how dare you?" And her voice has grown in volume, and Jake stirs on the sofa, "You had no right to take Jake without mine or Roger's permission! He called me just an hour ago thinking that he'd lost Jake!"
There was so much emotion in her voice, and she clearly had much to say, because she didn't let either of them get a word in as she derailed.
"You think you can just steal my son from a side walk bench and take him home whenever it pleases you?"
"Karen, calm down; we're sorry, we meant to call"
"You shouldn't have needed to!" She howls
"I found Jacob sitting alone and cold on a bench in the evening; it was fast approaching darkness, and I wasn't comfortable leaving him there!"
"That's not your call to make!"
Holt could feel a fury begin to build in his veins, and he bit back the uncivilised urge to bare his teeth at her in a snarl. He had never taken Karen for a prideful woman, it seemed as though she was always okay with putting her dignity aside for a helping hand, especially when it came to Jake and his well-being;clearly he had been wrong.
"We would never have had to do it, if Roger hadn't left him alone in the first place; it seems to me he needs to re-evaluate all that is required of him"
Karen really does snarl at this, and balls her fists at her sides in a white knuckled grip.
"You don't know anything about our family; you don't get to look down and judge us, what is wrong-"
"Mama?" Comes the groggy, sleep-filled voice of Jake, who was looking at his mother warily.
Instantly, as though a switched had been clicked, she turns to her son and all the furious tension in her posture dissipates.
"Jakey-boy" She coos in her familiar sing-song-y voice, "Jake"
"Why are you shouting at Officer Holt and Kevin?"
Her eyes widen slightly, and she shuffles over to him to bend down and rub his arms.
"Don't worry about that, baby" She soothes gently, "Come, honey, we're going home"
She grabs her sons hand without prompt, before storming over to the doorway with him. He is clearly still sleepy and confused, and his feet shuffle clumsily on the ground to try and keep up with her quick stride as she drags him.
At the doorway she turns to them, and the fury from before flashes briefly in her eyes.
"Stay away from my son" She says, "You're not his parents"