CHAPTER FIFTEEN | FOREVER

xv. the one with captain holt's party

          STOOD IN THE KITCHEN, KAT watches in disgust as Jake pours half a can of orange soda into the bowl containing his cereal. "That is a crime," she states, nose scrunching up. "A crime." She points over to the holding cell as she adds, "And I guarantee all of them would agree."

Jake scoffs and shoves a spoonful of his breakfast into his mouth. "I disagree," he retorts, voice muffled as droplets of the soda fall down his chin. She pulls another face at him. "Hey, criminals," he yells. Half the perps inside the holding cell look over to him as he walks over. "Orange soda in cereal, yes or no?"

One of the men inside immediately grimaces. "Hell no."

Kat points to him. "Told you!" she exclaims.

Jake holds a hand up to her. "The rest of you degenerates?" The remaining five perps all shrug and nod as they take his side. A smug smile adorns his face as he eats another spoonful and turns back to her. "Told you."

She rolls her eyes and grabs her coffee mug off the counter before returning to her desk. It's only eight in the morning and he's already done something to annoy her.

Amy looks up from her computer as Kat sits down, and she raises her brows at her best friend's expression. "What did he do?" she asks curiously.

Kat's nose scrunches up as she glances over to her. "He has orange soda instead of milk," she says, tone flat. Amy grimaces in disgust. "Thank you."

Amy's eyes suddenly widen when she looks back to her screen. "Oh, my God," she whispers. "Everyone, check your email," she calls out to the bullpen with a wide smile. "The greatest thing that could ever happen has just happened."

Jake returns to his desk with his bowl of cereal in hand. "The girl who beat you for high school valedictorian died?"

"No," she dismisses. Her eyes flick back to her computer so she can read aloud the email. "'Kevin Cozner requests your presence at Raymond's birthday party.'"

Katherine's eyebrows furrow in confusion. "Did he accidentally send that to you?" she asks. Amy rolls her eyes. "No, did he accidentally send that to all of us?"

"Who's Kevin Cozner?" Jake questions. "Is he the star of Danzes with Wolvez?" He looks over to Kat expecting to her to laugh at his joke, but she's too focused on swirling her coffee around to create different shapes.

"He's Captain Holt's husband," Rosa corrects him. Amy gestures over to her with a nod. "Captain Raymond Holt. We're invited to the captain's birthday party."

Jake's lips curl into a sly smirk. "Oh, the captain's party and whatnot..." He returns to his own computer to find the email.

"I can't wait to see the inside of Raymond's house," Amy gushes excitedly. "I'm gonna learn everything there is to know about him."

Kat tilts her head in amusement. "Okay, let's maybe dial down the obsessive side of you a tad," she says.

"I bet it's really fancy," Charles presumes. "Like, Beauty and the Beast fancy."

"No, it's probably just an empty, white cube with a USB port in it for him to plug his finger in when he's on sleep mode," Jake suggests.

Katherine grins. "Meep morp..." She imitates part of Jake's conversation with Holt on the captain's first day. Everyone smiles as she slowly adds, "Zeep."

Before someone (Jake) can say something about her impression, Holt walks out into the bullpen. "Apparently, my husband Kevin has invited you all to my party." Amy spins around in her chair to pay the utmost attention. "There is very little street parking, no gifts, no singing of Happy Birthday. Should be fun."

"Sounds fantastic!" Amy beams. As Holt walks back into his office, he glances over his shoulder to look at her.

"Did you hear that?" Jake tells her. "His husband invited us, not him." Amy shakes her head with a frown. "He so doesn't want us there."

"Yes, he does!"

Gina looks up from her phone as she decides to add to the conversation. "Mm, it was kind of a last-minute invite," she points out. Amy turns around to look at her. "Just stirring the pot..."

Charles wanders over to Jake's desk with furrowed brows. "Why wouldn't Holt want us there?" he asks.

Kat clicks her tongue and holds up her hand as she begins to list off the endless answers. "Hitchcock and Scully." The two men shrug in agreement. "Jake's abysmal etiquette." Rosa grins. "Amy's stalker-like behaviour, Gina's tendencies to steal—"

Jake scoffs. "Okay, you, shut up," he interrupts exasperatedly. "Moral of the story is, he thinks we'll embarrass him in front of his husband, which, frankly, is insulting!" As he stands up to make his point, he tips over his bowl of cereal. "Oh, man," he mumbles in disappointment. "All the orange soda spilled out of my cereal."

Katherine leans back in her chair. "Yep, there it is," she concludes.

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"Hey, Captain?" Kat knocks on the doorframe of his office, and Holt looks up to her from his laptop. "Look, I know you hate presents and any form of receiving gifts in general, but—"

"But you've gotten one anyway," he finishes. He clasps his hands together atop of the desk. "Why gift someone something you know they will hate? You are meant to be the perceptive one, Linetti."

Kat grins and she reveals what she had been hiding behind her back as she strides over to his desk. "Well, Tisha made this for you, so..." She quickly puts the hand painted pride flag into the captain's pencil holder. "I mean, you could return it to her, but her attitude will be your problem."

He leans back in his chair, and his lips quirk slightly as he observes the flag. "Thank you," he says. Her smile widens. "And tell her to practice her art skills. The scissor work is simply atrocious."

"Copy that. Happy birthday, Captain." She holds her hands up at the stern look he gives her. "Too far—understood."  As she leaves the office, she passes Jake who is walking in. She shakes her head in amusement at how he crosses his eyes and pokes his tongue out at her. "Idiot."

As she walks into the break room, she immediately beelines over to the coffee pot. Charles purses his lips as he pauses eating his salad. "Surely your body is sixty-percent caffeine instead of water now," he states with a shake of his head.

Rosa, in the middle of cleaning her gun, squints her eyes at him. "Hey, if she wants coffee, let her have coffee," she replies, perhaps a little too heatedly.

Kat glances over her shoulder to the trio at the table as she fills her mug up. "Actually, women are only made up of on average around fifty-five percent of water," she corrects. Boyle's brows shoot up in surprise. "But it is very likely."

Amy chews a handful of nuts and smiles at her. "You're like our very own in person Google."

She takes a sip of her coffee as she takes the last spare seat beside Charles. "That might be the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me," Kat admits with a content grin.

Charles notices Terry entering the room and he quickly calls out, "Hey, Sarge, did you know women's bodies have five-percent less water than men?"

The sergeant's eyes widen as he turns around to them. "Terry did not," he says in surprise.

"Ladies, gentlemen, and Detective Santiago!" They all look up as Jake strides into the break room with gusto, Amy now scowling at him. He slams a box down in the middle of her and Charles. "Bam! Behold, my secret weapon for winning over Kevin."

Kat sighs. "Oh, God, here we go..."

He points to her with a grin. "Here we go, indeed!"

"You totally misunderstood that," she retorts, deadpanned.

"In this box is every grisly crime the Nine-Nine has worked in the past eight years," Jake informs them. "Civilians love juicy cop stories." Almost as soon as the words leave his mouth, the group of four at the table all lurch forward to look inside the box. "I call that murder where they strung fishing wire through three guys."

"Hey, we solved that together," Amy protests with a scoff.

"Well, tough Tetris," he says with a sarcastic smile. "I called it." She narrows her eyes at him. "Also, I've loaded all of my favourite karaoke backing tracks onto my phone. Kevin and I will be duetting Rolling in the Deep!"

After listening to everything, Terry sighs. "That's it," he declares. "Emergency squad meeting, briefing room, two minutes."

Exactly two minutes later, the entire squad are sat inside the briefing room as they watch Terry prepare the whiteboard. Jake's brows raise in amusement at what is being written. "Uh, adult parties?" he calls out. "Sergeant, I believe they're called orgies. No-look five!" He and Charles high-five.

"I met my wife at an orgy," Scully suddenly speaks up. Terry narrows his eyes at him. "Well, she was leaving an orgy and we bumped into each other on the street. Real meet-cute."

"Thank you for exhibiting exactly why this meeting is necessary," Jeffords responds. "Everyone here needs some instruction on interacting with grown-ups."

Amy sighs and entwines her fingers as she leans forward. "Sergeant, why am I here? I'm always incredibly appropriate." Terry stares back at her exasperatedly. "In high school, I was voted 'most appropriate.'"

"Ooh, self-burn!" Jake says happily. "Those are rare." His grin falters when she turns to him.

"Kat and I shouldn't be here either," Rosa calls out. The mentioned woman quickly nods her head in agreement. "I'm fine at parties. I just stand in the middle of the room and don't say anything."

"Yeah, don't worry," Katherine adds. "I hate people." Rosa points to her and nods.

"Here are the rules: No staring at your phones, no rolling in two hours late," Jake rolls his eyes, "no sweatpants, no jeans, and no shorts."

Gina tilts her head thoughtfully. "What about dress-up shorts?" she wonders aloud. "Like the kind Jen Anniston would wear?"

Kat leans her chin on her palm. "I would die for Jen Aniston," she says.

"Amen, sister," Gina agrees. "Amen."

"No," Terry denies impatiently. "Those are still shorts. No shorts." Gina's eyes widen. "And everyone bring a bottle of wine."

Jake groans in annoyance. "Why are there so many rules?" he complains. "Next thing you're gonna say is we can't be late."

"Yeah, that's, like, the first thing I said."

"Oh..."

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Kat shifts her weight as she holds the gift bag storing the bottle of wine she had chosen. Gina had helped her get ready, claiming that her sister could put a little effort into her appearance once in a while. So, her hair is curled, and to her absolute horror, she's wearing a dress. However, it's for Holt, so she prays to God that tonight is going to be worth the effort and physical (really psychological) pain she finds herself in.

"You look great," Gina whispers to her with a wide smile. "So great, you might make someone fall in love with you. I'm talking about Rosa. 'Cause, you know—"

"I will smash your phone," Kat mutters through gritted teeth. Gina huffs a sigh.

Amy smiles as she takes the time to look around their surroundings. "This neighbourhood's amazing." The squad are waiting outside Holt's house for Jake who is, of course, running late. "Class just seeps outta every vestibule."

Terry gives her a strange look. "Keep it in your pants, Santiago." Rosa and Gina grin. "Scully, I specifically said no shorts."

The detective sighs. "Sarge, it's not my fault," he says. "You said so many things about shorts, I got confused. Man, did I screw the pooch?"

Jake runs up to the group and shuffles his way in between Hitchcock and Scully. "Peralta, where have you been?" Terry asks sharply.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I know." He glances down to his watch. "I am three...ty-five minutes late. Yikes! But I had to stop and get some wine," he says as he holds up his bottle. "It's from the finest vineyard in Arkansas!" The group all smile as they pull out the bottles of wine that they had brought to find that, except for Terry, they've all got the exact same ones. "Aw, samesies!"

Whilst the detectives laugh, Terry closes his eyes and sighs.

The moment they step through the front door, all their eyes widen. "This is fancy," Kat murmurs.

"Wow," Jake smiles.

Amy nods, her own grin etched onto her face. "Wow," she repeats.

Captain Holt notices their arrival, lips quirking slightly as he makes his way over to them. "Ah, welcome," he greets.

"Captain."

"Raymond!" Amy exclaims joyously. "Those slacks are a knockout." She grimaces at her choice of wording and mutters, "Come on, Amy."

Holt chooses to move past her comment. "I trust you found my home easy to locate and thank you all for wearing appropriate footwear."

"Wow, you really let your hair down when you're not at the office," Jake says.

"Ah, detectives, meet my husband, Kevin." Holt places a hand on his husband's arm as Kevin joins them.

Katherine smiles at him. "Nice to meet you, Kevin," she says. He nods to her and gives her a small smile.

"Nice to meet you!" they all chorus.

"Evening," Kevin addresses. "So glad you could make it." His eyebrows raise at the bottle Jake's holding. "Ah, and look, he brought us some wine." But as he studies the label, he corrects himself. "...drink. This is legally called 'wine drink.' Hmm. How very thoughtful, thank you."

"It's red... like blood," Jake says. He leans closer to Kevin like they're about to have a clandestine meeting. "You know, I worked a double homicide on this block a couple years ago." Kevin and Raymond share a look. "The details will astound you."

"Yes, I'm sorry," Kevin begins. Jake's eyebrows draw together. "Perhaps Raymond didn't say anything. Our home has a 'no shoptalk' policy. I don't bring home Beowulf, and he doesn't bring home cop stories."

Jake's face falls as his one and only plan to win Kevin over collapses before his very eyes. "Oh..."

Kat's eyes have widened at the mention of one of her favourite pieces of writing. "Sorry to break the policy, but Beowulf is incredible. I mean, it's easily one of the most esteemed poems in the entirety of English literature." Rosa looks over to her with the ghost of a smile on her lips.

Kevin's brows raise, his interest piqued. "We might have to continue this later," he tells her. Katherine beams. He turns back to Jake as he asks, "So, may I pour you some of this wine drink you brought us? Perhaps all of it?"

He nervously smiles. "All of it sounds good," he confirms.

"I think the entire concept of homophobia is just so interesting. I mean, back in the ancient civilisations, there actually wasn't a distinction made between the heterosexual or homosexual couples. They were both viewed equally acceptable to people." Kat frowns as she takes a sip of her glass of wine. "It just shows how judgemental society has come to be."

Kevin nods in agreement. "I do, however, believe that that hate and brutality toward people like us has strengthened our community in ways," he says.

She smiles slightly. "I know people who've experienced hate from law enforcement, or even just their friends and family who made connections from strangers that stood up for them and with them." Kat's eyes flick down to the ground. "It's a strange way to realise that you're not the only one experiencing what you are, and that you're never truly alone."

Kevin watches her thoughtfully for another few moments and he returns the smile when she meets his eyes. "Out of all of Raymond's colleagues, I believe we might get along the best, Katherine."

She raises her glass to him, something he reciprocates. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to stop my sister from stealing your cutlery," she says nonchalantly.

Kevin's eyes widen as she walks off.

Kat hurries across the room where she sees Gina occasionally looking over her shoulder as she shoves silverware into her handbag. "Gina," she hisses. Her sister immediately stops moving. "What the hell are you doing?"

Gina turns around and smiles. "Kat!" she greets as she opens her arms. "How great to see you here!"

"Open your bag," Katherine demands. "Now." Gina groans in frustration and returns all the forks and knives she had stolen under her sister's watchful eyes. "Unbelievable. Unbelievable."

"Fine. But could we get a refill?" Gina asks, holding up her empty glass. She doesn't voice that she had purely wanted to because she'd noticed Rosa also heading over there. She just had to get them to end up in the same room at the same time.

Kat sighs and grabs onto her arm as she leads her into the adjoining room, not wanting to leave her alone with the fear that she might steal something more important than just silverware.

Kat removes her grip off Gina to grab a glass for her, but when she turns around to hand it to her, she throws her head back in frustration when finding that she's disappeared. "I am going to kill her," she mutters.

She turns back to get a drink for herself instead, but her breath catches in her throat when her hand brushes against Rosa's who is also going for the same glass.

Rosa freezes, halfway in the process of getting whiskey, and she quickly retracts her hand away from Kat. "Sorry," she says, clearing her throat.

Gina, watching them from a distance, grins to herself proudly. "And the touch of a hand lit the damn fuse," she says to herself.

Kat hopes that the warm lighting masks the faint shade of pink that has dusted her cheeks. "All good, nothing to be sorry about," she says, much quieter than she had wanted to be. She smiles when Rosa nods, and gestures to the glass. "Uh, you go."

Rosa tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. "No, it's okay, it was yours first."

Kat shifts on her heels. "Thanks," she says quietly. Why is it so awkward?

Of course, Gina notices her sister's sudden uncomfortableness. She could notice the slightest change in Kat's mood from a mile away. "I'm a mastermind," she whispers.

As Kat grabs the glass and disappears to find her sister, Rosa finds herself staring after her. She then catches Gina's eyes glinting with mischief, and a scowl immediately appears on her face. Gina grins brightly back at her.

It doesn't take the Linettis to notice Terry gesturing over at them frantically. Kat loops her and Gina's arms together and they join the squad who have huddled together, Rosa arriving a moment after. "Okay, gang, we need a new strategy," Terry announces quietly.

"Totally," Jake agrees. He jabs a finger back in the general direction of their hosts. "We can't tell cop stories, Kevin doesn't find me charming, and a native English speaker referred to Captain Holt as 'hilarious.' I am flummoxed! That's a word I learned for this party, and I am it!"

Kat sighs. "I might be the only one to come out of this liked by Kevin," she states. The entire group turns to look at her in disbelief. "It's true, you should've heard our in-depth conversation about the history of the LGBTQ+ community and homophobia."

Terry nods at her, thoroughly impressed. "I take it back, Linetti. You didn't need the emergency meeting this morning."

She rolls her eyes. "I know that, Sarge," she says exasperatedly. "In fact, I told you that eleven hours ago." He huffs a sigh, eye twitching. Unfortunately, she is right.

"Well, I'm doing fine," Amy chimes in confidently.

"Really?" Jake asks as he glances to her. He raises the pitch of his voice as he mocks her. "'Raymond, those slacks are a knockout.'"

"Do you think he heard that?" Amy asks, brows creasing in worry.

"Only 'cause you yelled it," he grins.

"Shut up," Terry barks impatiently. "From now on, we play to our strengths." He turns to Boyle beside him who is wearing his sweater after spilling food on his original one. "Charles, you know everything about food. That's all you talk about."

The detective nods. "I mean, I don't think anyone will ever know everything about food," he counters. "It's an evolving discipline."

"That's great stuff," Terry says dismissively. "It's so boring, don't waste it." Charles frowns. "Amy, you studied art history—that's interesting. Scully, opera. Hitchcock, nothing. Talk about nothing. Rosa and Kat, stick with Gina. Make sure she doesn't say anything insane or steal anything."

Gina holds up her handbag filled with scarves. "Too late," she says with a chuckle.

Kat's eyes widen. "When the hell did you have time to get those?" she asks, incredulous.

"Don't worry, it's just, like, hats and scarves and stuff."

Kat rolls her eyes again. "She will put them back," she tells Terry. "Rosa and I will handle the talking."

Amy turns to the detective stood beside her. "That just leaves you, Peralta," she says with a smirk. "What's your cultural specialty?"

"Easy, Kevin mentioned The New Yorker and I've totally read that."

"Okay, keep a low profile, chuckle at anecdotes," Terry tells him. "Try not to start any conversations."

Jake nods. "Got it." His eyes suddenly widen as realisation dawns upon him. "Wait a minute, you're Hitchcock-ing me?"

Kat snickers, and when Jake's head snaps over to her, she raises her hands. "You brought this upon yourself," she says. Rosa stifles a laugh. He rolls his eyes.

"It's not surprising," Hitchcock adds. "We're practically twins." He smiles at Jake's dubious stare.

Terry places his hand in the centre of the group. "'Be appropriate,' on three... Quietly." They all stack their hands on top of his. "One, two, three."

"Be appropriate!"

"Now, break it up," he says quickly. "We look weird." But as he watches them disperse in single file, he shakes his head in disbelief. "Don't move as a group. You're not gazelles!"

Katherine and Rosa had created a plan to limit the chaos Gina could potentially create as much as they possibly could. Plan A, distract her. Plan B, find some chloroform and lock her in the nearby bathroom. Plan A is obviously the preferred one.

It consists of leading Gina over to the group of Kevin's co-workers standing by the fireplace conversing in some scholarly debate. "All right," Rosa announces. "Let's go interact with these dummies."

Gina arches a brow. "They're literally smarter than Kat," she states bluntly. Her sister scoffs.

"No, they're dummies," Rosa corrects. "No one's smarter than Kat."

While Kat smiles, she notices the pointed look Gina is giving her, so she shoves her older sister to the side. "Shut up," she says. Gina mimes zipping her lips. "Wait here."

With a glass of whiskey in her hand, Rosa's eyes narrow at the first man. "What do you teach?" she asks.

"Comparative historiography of the French and American revolutions."

Kat grimaces. "Even I can say that's boring." Rosa nods in agreement with her. "What about you?"

"Molecular biology," the woman replies.

"Worse," Rosa declares. Her eyes flick to the final man in glasses. "What do you study?"

"Abnormal psychology."

Kat and Rosa share a knowing look with one another. The former grins. "Oh, you're about to have a field day," she tells him. "I want you to meet my sister."

Rosa turns around and nods to Gina. "Hey," she calls her over. Gina wanders over with a glass of red wine and phone in hand. "Gina, what are you thinking about right now?"

"I was thinking how I would make the perfect American president, based upon my skill set, dance ability, and bloodlust."

The scholar shakes his head as he studies at her. "That is fascinating," he says in surprise.

Gina quietly laughs and holds out her hand to him. "Ah-shan-ti." As he takes it, she curtsies. Rosa raises her drink to stifle her laughter.

After listening to Gina talk to the group of scholars for a few minutes, Rosa leads Kat away to watch the scene unfold from a distance. Right now, Gina doesn't need any babysitting. "This might be one of the best nights of my life," Katherine declares with an entertained smile.

Rosa hums. "Agreed." She glances over to the woman beside her. "So... How's the shoulder?"

Kat rolls her eyes with a small smile. "You ask me that every day," she says. Rosa shrugs, as if to say, So? "It's doing okay." She hesitates before adding, "Thanks for checking in."

"You did save my life," Rosa replies.

She raises a brow. "And that's the—"

"Guys." Amy joins them, tone borderline accusatory. "Aren't you supposed to be babysitting Gina?"

"Doesn't need our help," Rosa retorts. She nods her head over to the woman on the couch surrounded by professors. "She's over there, dazzling some psychologists."

At first, it's just three people taking notes as they listen to Gina ramble to them without a filter. "All men are at least thirty-percent attracted to me," she states.

Then it moves to six people.

"My mother cried the day I was born because she knew she would never be better than me."

Kat sighs into her wine glass. "If I got a dollar every time she's said that, I'd have twelve..." Rosa purses her lips to muffle her laughter.

A few moments later, the entire room has crowded around Gina who still hasn't run out of things to say. "At any given moment, I'm thinking about one thing: Richard Dreyfuss hunkered over, eatin' dog food." She smiles. "I feel like I'm the Paris of people."

"Complete overlap of ego and ID... It's been theorised, but I never thought I'd see it."

Gina places a hand on his shoulder. "I'm exquisite."

Rosa and Kat burst into laughter as Amy stares at the woman, completely lost for words.

As Gina remains thoroughly engulfed in conversations with the psychologists, Amy takes the time to explain to them that she had found out about Holt. Kat believes her best friend is living up to the average obsessive stalker.

Amy smiles widely as she spots the captain walking over to the drinks table beside them. "Time to put my newfound knowledge to the test," she says excitedly.

Katherine winces as she watches her walk away. "Ten bucks this is going to go horribly," she says.

Rosa grins. "I'll take that action."

"So, sir, popcorn setting, always too short, am I right?"

Holt's brows furrow at Amy's words. "I'm sorry?" he asks.

"On our microwave," she explains with a smile. "We have the same microwave."

"I'll raise you to twenty," Rosa whispers to Kat. The woman nods and they clink their glasses together.

"Oh, I didn't buy it, it came with the house," Raymond tells her, unaware he is watching the moment her heart is crushed.

Santiago forces a brief smile. "Hummus..." She raises her eyebrows as she asks, "Thoughts?"

He shakes his head at her, thoroughly confused by the entire conversation. "I have no thoughts about hummus," he states. "If you'll excuse me."

As Amy stands frozen in her place while Holt walks away, the two women behind her move up to her side. "Blink twice if you want me to mercy kill you," Rosa tells her.

Amy spins around to them. "I thought I had done enough recon, but clearly, I have only scratched the surface!" She sighs. "If I'm gonna bond with him, I have to massively violate his privacy."

Kat's eyes widen. "Okay, Ames, let's just take a second to think about—and she's gone."

"I'll raise you again," Rosa proclaims.

"To what?"

"A hundred."

"A hundred?"

"A hundred bucks her or Peralta completely ruin this."

"Sold."

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And they had. Jake and Amy had ruined it. Not only had they both gone upstairs—somewhere they had been told specifically not to go up to—but they had then been caught in the bathroom with Cheddar and Terry by Raymond and Kevin.

Kat wishes she could say she's surprised. She really does.

So, to make up for their behaviour on the previous night, Jake and Amy had been the ones to suggest that they create something special for Holt and Kevin tonight. A proper birthday dinner. It had taken numerous phone calls and plenty of running around Brooklyn, but they had finally pulled it off.

The group of detectives wait outside the restaurant they had booked out as Jake explains to them what he had figured out merely hours ago. "Kevin didn't want us there because he doesn't like cops," he says. Charles opens his mouth to retort something, so he cuts him off. "And yes, his husband is a cop. And no, he does not not like him."

Rosa's eyes squint. "What?"

"The point is, Kevin doesn't like cops because of what the captain's been through throughout his years on the force. You know, because he's openly gay. Discrimination and all that really crappy stuff."

Kat's eyebrows draw together as she looks at Jake. "You didn't know that last night?" she questions. "I thought it was obvious."

He scoffs at her. "I—Just—Shut up, Kat!" Jake waves a hand before he strides into the restaurant. "Okay, people, let's go!"

A few minutes later, Kevin arrives. A few minutes after that, Holt arrives. "What's going on?" He's thoroughly confused as he looks around the room lit by candles and his husband stood beside the group of detectives.

"A proper birthday dinner," Jake answers with a smile. "Amy chose the restaurant."

"Captain." She hurries to pull out his chair for him.

"Ah, perfect, I've always wanted to come here," Raymond utters with a small smile.

"Boyle picked the menu," Jake continues.

Charles smiles. "Vivian helped," he assures, gesturing to the woman stood beside him.

"Terry chose the champagne."

The sergeant walks over to the table with an apologetic expression. "I'm sorry about your party, sir," he says as he pours their glasses. "I tried to keep them in line, but I failed."

Holt glances up to him. "Well, that's not your job. I'm only sorry you didn't get a chance to enjoy yourself." Terry nods with a small smile and steps back.

"Gina has brought back all the silverware that she stole from your house," Jake adds.

Gina sighs as she's escorted over by her sister and Rosa, and she lays a napkin filled with cutlery before them. "I'm so sorry," Katherine says with a grimace. "I thought I made it clear to her after the first time."

Kevin's brows shoot up. "What?"

"Also, this clock," Rosa adds. She slams the decorative clock down onto the table.

"Good heavens," Kevin says, eyes wide in disbelief. 

"This isn't ours," Holt reveals slowly, very confused by the turn of events.

Jake clasps his hands behind his back. "And my contribution will be to refrain from discussing The New Yorker for the rest of my living days," he promises. He places a hand on Holt's back for a second. "Enjoy."

Kevin nods to him. "Thank you, Jake."

"You're welcome, Kevin."

"Call me 'Kev.'"

"What?" Holt looks between them before he points to Kevin in realisation. "Oh, he told you to say that, didn't he?"

"Well, you are always playing pranks on me, Raymond." Kevin smiles softly at his husband. "Just once, let me be the funny one."

Kat breathes out a sigh. "Why are they absolutely everything?" she murmurs to herself.

"And finally, it is my great pleasure to introduce the Nine-Nine's own Detective Scully to serenade you." Jake steps to the side and gestures to Scully who begins his opera.

As the group file out of the restaurant to leave the couple to themselves, Gina smiles to herself as she watches Rosa staring at Katherine. And then when Rosa looks away, Kat turns to stare at her. "Goddamn, I'm amazing," Gina says with a smirk.

Katherine Linetti had known for a while how she feels about Rosa Diaz. It took her just a little bit of time to acknowledge those feelings and understand that they actually existed, and it's the little things that happen throughout the days that make her realise that her feelings are only going to grow stronger.

She's well and truly fucked.

If only she knew that the exact same thoughts are running through Rosa's head.