Chapter Text
Jake sits at his desk, scrolling through a news page on his computer. It’s not that he’s got nothing better to do. There’s always paperwork to do, but he’s really not in the mood – not that he ever is, but today even less so.
He throws a frustrated glance at the file right next to him.
Stupid Eric Hensley, who had nothing better to do than get murdered in his own apartment with a clean shot to his head. Stupid neighbors of his, who didn’t recognize anything. The guy’s death is a mystery. Jake would like to say, that he’s close to solving the case. In reality, he’s got nothing.
Eric Hensley must have been the most boring person to have ever existed, even more boring than Amy’s ex-boyfriend Teddy, and that is saying something. Hensley had a boring job as an IT-System-Administrator for a small company, no wife, no kids. His neighbors and family described him as quiet, friendly and ordinary. His apartment was clean and tidy, safe for his dead body on the floor in the living room. Hensley apparently had no hobbies, no particular interests, definitely no known enemies. Nothing that hinted to anything irregular or gave any motive to murder the guy.
At first, Jake had been super excited to get such a complicated case. But their investigations led to one dead end after the other and the only thing they found after ten days’ work was a laptop, that was well hidden inside the small statue of an elephant.
Certain to finally having found something, that could lead to Hensley’s murderer, Jake was soon disappointed again, because the in-house IT of the NYPD was not able to get access to Hensley’s laptop. They tried several different approaches, but it seemed the victim did everything to block the data on the computer from curious minds.
It was frustrating. Jake, Rosa and Boyle searched the entire apartment again for any clue or password to get access, but there was nothing.
Holt was getting impatient, that Jake was not able to make any progress. The Captain threatened to either call in an external expert to help them or to hand the case over to Major Crimes or the FBI. This gnawed at Jake’s pride and begrudgingly he agreed to the first option.
He still insists that he’s able to crack the code on his own, but except from Charles nobody bats an eye about it.
Which is why he’s not super eager to join Amy and Rosa, who are doing their respective paperwork. Gina scrolls through her phone, leaning back in her chair, her feet on the desk, not even pretending to do anything work-related. Terry is on the phone, while Charles is in the kitchen and Hitchcock and Scully seem to be setting up either breakfast or lunch. It’s hard to say given the amount of food, the composition and the time of the day.
It’s a perfectly normal and – for once – calm day at the Nine-Nine.
Captain Holt is in his office with some visitor. The blinds are closed and it seems to be one of the days, where Jake can get away with not doing anything.
He finds a review about an upcoming action move. It sounds alright, nothing to live up to Die Hard, but he might give it a shot anyway.
From the corner of his eye, he notices that the door of Holt’s office opens, but he doesn’t look up until the Captain clears his throat.
“Attention, everyone. This is Victor Lopez. He’s an IT-expert and has been assigned to assist us on the Hensley Case.”
Here we go, Jake thinks. He swivels in his chair, curious to see what pudgy, stiff and pale cave-man, who probably still lives in his mother’s basement, Holt assigned to support the case.
He’s by no means prepared for what he sees instead and Jake’s mind comes to a screeching halt.
The young man standing next to Holt is hot and Jake blinks stupidly.
He’s a bit taller than Jake, with tan skin and dark eyes, that seem to sparkle with curiosity and excitement behind long lashes. His smile is wide and genuine, dimples carving into his cheeks. There’s a small scar cutting through his left eyebrow and his dark hair is a little tousled, like he ran his fingers through it on the way in. Victor is wearing a simple button-up shirt and jeans, but on him it looks effortlessly stylish.
Jake’s mouth goes dry, unlike his palms and his chest feels tight all of a sudden, his brain trying to process what is happening.
Is it warm in here? It feels warm in here.
Victor looks at everybody of the squad, before his eyes land on him. A jolt of something unfamiliar and intense runs through him and when Victor’s smile deepens, Jake feels like he’s been punched in the gut.
“Hey, everyone. I’m super excited to meet you all”, Victor says cheerfully.
Everybody returns the greeting and Jake knows that he should say something too – anything really – but his tongue feels glued to the roof of his mouth. He forces himself to get something out.
“What’s up?”
The words come out awkward, too loud and - worse - kind of hostile. Jake doesn’t know what his face is doing and he can only hope that it looks like a smile and not like the wry grimace it feels like. He has no idea why, but there’s a certain urge in him to crawl and hide under his desk. Or leave the country. Or rather the planet entirely.
What the hell is going on?
Victor’s smile falters at his weird reaction, but he recovers quickly. Holt does not. He raises his eyebrow disapprovingly and Jake squirms under his Captain’s intense gaze.
“Detective Peralta is the primary on this case. Peralta, please walk Mr. Lopez through the details and ensure he has everything he needs.”
Jake stares at his Captain for a second, before he nods vigorously.
“Sure. Definitely can do. Will do. That.”
Holt’s eyebrow remains raised, but he gives a curt nod, before retreating back to his office.
“Well done, Captain”, Gina says as he passes by her desk. “I’m so glad you listened to my advice about getting us some eye-candy.”
Victor laughs quietly at that. He seems neither embarrassed nor uncomfortable and why would he? Gina is right and Jake tries to look everywhere but at the young man in front of him.
“Yes, that was my main objective”, the Captain says dryly. “Getting us… eye-candy.”
The words are so much worse coming from Holt and Jake feels a queasy feeling in his stomach.
Once the Captain closes his office door behind him, everybody gets back to work, though not without throwing curious glances at them.
“So?”, Victor asks, after several moments of awkward silence and Jake almost jumps out of his skin.
“Right. Uh… this way.”
He grabs the large case file from his desk and leads Victor to the empty desk across from Charles.
“So, this is your spot. That gentleman over here is Detective Charles Boyle.”
“Nice to meet you.”
“Good to meet you, too. I’m happy to finally have a desk mate. We can share food and stories”, Charles starts excitedly, before turning serious. “But we won’t share Jake. He’s my best friend, so that position is already taken.”
Victor seems a little puzzled.
“Okay.” It sounds more like a question and he throws an unsure look at Jake, who is still trying to get a hold of himself.
He’s a detective, a professional. Crime scenes, blood and danger can’t shake him. There is no reason to feel this antsy and nervous, just because of some new IT guy. It’s annoying, that’s what it is!
He slaps the case file down on Victor’s desk a little harder than necessary.
“Everything you need to know is in there. Reports, case details, protocols of the attempts on how to get access to Hensley’s laptop. All here. So, knock yourself out.”
Victor looks at the file, then back at Jake, as if he wants to ask, if he’s serious. There is some sort of astonishment in his expression, but also a slight tug at his mouth, like he’s trying to hide his amusement. It’s that and something in the way he looks at Jake, that throws the detective for a loop and makes him want to leave this situation asap.
“Got it”, is all Victor says as he sits down at his new desk.
Jake nods slowly.
“Charles is familiar with the case as well. If you have any questions, ask him.”
Jake doesn’t wait for an answer. He turns around on the spot and hurries back to his own desk. He’s aware of the confused looks that are thrown in his direction. Decidedly, he grabs some of the files of the ever growing pile on his desk, that need paperwork to be finished and stored away.
He ignores Amy’s questioning look and Gina’s frown and stares right down at the papers in front of him.
But he can’t help, that his eyes keep darting back at Victor.
The IT guy sets up his laptop and slips on a pair of glasses. Jake sucks in a breath and his brain short-circuits. Heat creeps up his neck and he can’t tear his eyes away. The nerdy, black frames only make Victor look more…
This is bad. This is really bad. Why is he so attractive? Why am I so attracted? He’s just a guy. A ridiculously good-looking, handsome guy. Which is a perfectly normal thing to think and-
“You alright, Peralta?”
He flinches. Rosa stands there and for her standard she seems surprisingly worried.
“Having a stroke or something?”, she continues.
Quickly, Jake shakes his head.
“Nope. Nothing! Just… thinking. About a case. A very important one. Lots of thinking required.”
He can tell that she’s not buying it, but at least Rosa is not one to pry.
“Don’t hurt yourself doing so”, is her dry remark. He salutes and fakes a grin.
When she turns her back, he sighs and sneaks another glance at Victor. The guy is engrossed in the file, the light catching on his nerdy glasses. He’s biting his lip slightly, as he reads and it does something to Jake. Something fluttery and tingling and disturbingly warm.
He props his head on his arms and stares down at a file in front of him, as if it’s the most interesting thing in the world. Jake doesn’t decipher a single word.
Okay, it’s fine. Totally fine. Just a random super-hot IT guy helping out on a case. Happens all the time. Maybe not the ‘super-hot’ part. Or the part, where he has glasses that make him look like he walked out of a rom-com. Normal stuff. Totally normal.
There’s absolutely no reason to feel so exposed all of a sudden.