━━ 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑!
❪ the vulture strikes ❫

𝐑𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑: kaden goes by he / they pronouns!

⋆        𝗜𝗧 𝗪𝗔𝗦 𝗢𝗡𝗟𝗬 a few days after solving his case, he felt at home. The 99th precinct felt more homely than his old precinct, as people interacted more with him, and he loved it. As he sat down at this desk, the chair squeaking from the weight, Oscar looked around the Bullpen, looking around to his new―found friends.

While Amy was making coffee, Jake talked to some officers about his arrest. Oscar learned that Amy liked her black coffee, helping her concentrate on paperwork. Oscar looked over to Rosa, talking with Gina, her eyes glued to the screen. Oscar could see the slight grin on Rosa's face, which was rare. Boyle was working on his paperwork until he noticed Oscar's eye contact and excitedly waved to Oscar, who did the same. Scully and Hitchcock were sleeping in their chairs, making Oscar laugh a little before returning to work.

"Hey, you guys! See the dude I brought in today? The drug dealer over there? Eighty―one year old, I think it might be the oldest collar of my entire career," Jake spoke as he sat down, leaning back against his chair. Oscar looked up, tilting his eyes towards the older man the officers detained. Oscar sipped his coffee, which only resulted in his glasses fogging up. Oscar sighed as he proceeded to wipe the steam off his glasses.

"I once arrested a 96―year―old for flashing... I was terrified he'd die in my backseat. Or... Flash me," Amy raised her eyebrow, her eyes scanning the room, catching Oscar, who was trying not to laugh. Oscar smiled a little, his eyes twinkling before looking at Rosa, who crossed her arms.

"My oldest collar was 78, but the PCP made her fight like she was 20," Rosa said, looking impressed as she raised her eyebrow. Oscar nodded, agreeing with the impression, as he turned around and sat on his desk, moving the files aside so that he could fit. His hands wrapped around the coffee cup, seeing that Kaden had joined behind Rosa, holding his sketchbook.

"What about two 50―year―old twins? Does that count as a 100―year―old?" Scully said as he entered the conversation, taking his glasses off. Oscar shrugged his shoulders, unsure, but Jake shook his head in response.

"No good, it doesn't count. Oscar, what about you?" Jake nodded toward Oscar, which was his cue to share his story. Oscar had to think momentarily before Kaden grabbed his attention and chuckled at the memory. Oscar cleared his throat before repositioning his glasses on the bridge of his nose.

"I arrested a grandad gang that robbed three banks successfully but failed the fourth. One of them was a 91―year―old, surprised he didn't break his back when he was heaving bags," Oscar raised his eyebrow, which got surprised looks and comments. Kaden chuckled, nodding as they remembered the case, as that was his first case to do sketch work for the police. Oscar tilted his head to the side before smiling and sipping his coffee, the warmth touching his lips.

"You guys talking oldest bags? 68," Charles said as he entered the conversation, putting his things away under the desk before facing the squad. Everyone was confused, especially Oscar, who wanted an answer as he looked at Charles. 

"That's not that old," Jake said as he questioned him, leaning back in his seat.

"Yeah, but I was only 20!" Charles said as he looked over at Jake before settling his eye contact with the rest of the squad, getting up from the chair, and sitting on the desk. Everyone was confused as they looked at each other, trying to understand what Charles was discussing.

"Were you even a cop then?" Jake asked, and Oscar nodded, confused.

"No, man, it was before I got into the academy," Charles said as he folded his arms before smiling. Oscar didn't know what was happening before he started to laugh, unable to control it. The squad looked at him weirdly again as Jake raised his eyebrow, puzzled. Oscar stopped to breathe, but it ended as a wheeze as he took his glasses off to wipe his eyes from the laughter. Kaden also realised what Charles had meant and tried to suppress their laughter remaining in his throat.

"Charles isn't talking about his oldest arrest," Rosa said as she looked at Oscar, finally realising why he was laughing and smiling before looking at the squad. Everyone's reaction was different, but all were seemingly the same icky face. 'Ew' seemed to be the only vocal disgust, and a couple of awkward laughs.

"No, yes, I― I am― yeah! Oldest arrest!" Charles said, his words stumbling over each other. Charles stuttered, trying to build a defence as he unfolded his arms, and his face started into a tinted red shade. Oscar's breath turned into a wheezy laugh, which caught the attention of Jake, and he resumed joining his laughter.

"God! You had sex with a 68―year―old when you were in your 20s?" Jake said as he couldn't stop laughing before looking at Charles. Charles sighed as he raised his hands and shrugged his shoulders.

"You know how it is! When you have the chance to bed an old woman―" Charles said as he tilted his head, trying to get rid of embarrassment. But, unfortunately, it wasn't working, as Jake chuckled, covering his mouth from his laughter.

"No, that's not an old woman! That's an older woman! That's someone's grandma!" Jake said as he smiled, and his laugh became more hearty. Oscar smiled as he looked at Jake before returning the gaze to Charles, waiting for his defence about this situation.

"She was! That's how I met her! I went to college with her grandson, Marvin. Don't knock it 'til you try it. She had a replacement hip with some serious torque; it was like having sex with a transformer―" Charles said as the squad started to cringe, the situation becoming awkward symphonies, with laughter merging. Oscar groaned as he giggled and waved his arms around. He grabbed his coffee as he tried to escape any more of Charles' weird fantasies and stories. Jake stood up to follow Oscar to the break room before facing Charles again.

"No! That is no one's fantasy!" Jake chuckled.

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⋆        𝗢𝗦𝗖𝗔𝗥 𝗦𝗜𝗣𝗣𝗘𝗗 𝗛𝗜𝗦 coffee while putting his glasses on the table, not wanting to wipe off the steam for the third time. The warmth was fading away, but it was some damn good coffee, as Oscar couldn't stop sipping from his cup. Kaden was good with coffee, and Oscar was thankful he had a brother who knew their way around coffee. Before he could clear his throat, he was soon joined by Jake, who put his coffee down next to Oscar.

"I know this is a weird question, but can I try your glasses on? It might make me look like Amy, only nerdier! But maybe it might turn out to be some sexy librarian look and awaken something in me," Jake gave a small smile, hoping it would convince Oscar, who tilted his head towards him.

"Are you saying that I'm a nerd?" Oscar raised his eyebrow, showing a slight smirk at Jake. Oscar knew how to get into Jake's mind, with Jake's eyes revealing a small crease, the twinkle in his eyes shining brighter than before. It had only been three days, yet Oscar knew Jake Peralta's ways.

"No! Of course not!"

"You're getting flustered there now; you better hold your tongue because it's not going to get you anywhere with my nerdiness that you claim I have," Oscar said as he leaned back on his chair. Before shaking his head, Jake found himself stuttering, unsure about what to say next. Oscar grinned, tapping the table with his hand as he waited for Jake to respond.

"You are the worst person," Jake said as he poked his tongue out at Oscar. However, their childish behaviour ended up making them giggle like schoolchildren. Oscar rolled his eyes jokingly as he smiled. Jake responded with another smile before standing up to leave. Jake turned to face Oscar when he was about to leave the doorway.

"Your laugh is adorable; you should laugh more often," Jake said as Oscar couldn't help but smile at Jake's comment, watching Jake leave the doorway. Oscar bit his lip, thinking about that interaction, and Oscar couldn't help but feel his heart beating quickly. However, before he could leave, he noticed Kaden had joined Oscar at the table with a sly smile on his face.

"So, Jake, huh?―" Kaden said as Oscar sighed before having the last sip of coffee, trying to ignore Kaden's eye contact. Kaden started to nudge Oscar's elbow with a smile on their face. "―Hey, I know you are trying to ignore me because there is nothing left in that cup of yours."

"No, that is simply not true!" Oscar said sarcastically, trying to hide his smirk, but thoughts ran through his head. What if Kaden was right, and this banter between them was flirting in disguises? Oscar ignored it all, knowing that it couldn't be true. Kaden caught on the silence, sensing that thoughts were running through Oscar's mind, and took it to their advantage, a smirk appearing across his face.

"Right... Well, looks like this will be an interesting conversation for Lils and me to talk about tonight," Kaden said as he snickered before running off without giving Oscar a chance to reply.

"Don't you dare! I hate you; you know that?" Oscar said jokingly as he shook his head, trying to stop Kaden.

"Love you too!" Kaden shouted back as he laughed and headed to their desk. Oscar rolled his eyes, but his smile remained before he saw Amy waving to get his attention and head to the briefing room.

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⋆        "𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗔𝗟𝗧𝗔! 𝗪𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗘 𝗔𝗥𝗘 we on the Lincoln Place murder?" Terry asked Jake as the squad quieted down after talking to one another. Thanks to Rosa, Oscar got another cup of coffee to fill his stomach. Jake looked up at the sound of his name and nodded before leaning back in his chair.

"Well, like I told Captain Holt earlier this week, we are at the one―yard line―" Jake started to speak as everyone looked at him. He looked around as he raised his eyebrow. "―It's a football reference..."

"Yes, Jake, I know. I played linebacker at Syracuse," Terry spoke as he nodded, with Jake's surprised look making Oscar smirk a little, loving the look on Jake's face after getting targeted by Terry.

"Really? I played centre field in the musical Damn Yankees in high school," Charles said as he smiled and placed his hands around his coffee cup. Oscar nodded, looking over at Charles with a smile. Oscar remembered his days as an actor, working in theatre, but he stopped, remembering why he had stopped his acting dreams. Oscar gave a deep exhale, trying to forget it all. Instead, he gave a thumbs up to Charles, who got excited and responded with his thumbs up.

"Yeah, you don't want to brag about that," Jake said as he shook his head back and forward, with Charles shrugging his shoulders, still impressed about his musical in high school. Before Jake could reply with a one―liner, Captain Holt walked into the room, gaining everyone's attention.

"Peralta, you want to loop everyone in?" Holt spoke sternly as he stood near the podium where Terry had stood before. Jake sighed as he tilted his head and started to shake it.

"Ehh..."

"That was not a request."

"Fine, get ready for some stuff on a screen," Jake groaned as he got up and headed to the podium, placing both hands to the side. Oscar looked at the front, moving his eyes to the screen, waiting for what Jake had to say about the newest case.

"Meet Fred Gorman, a prominent citizen, lawyer, and a corpse," Jake spoke as everyone started to listen. Oscar leaned forward and tilted his eyes towards Jake's brown eyes, the steam from his coffee warming him.

"Now meet his wife, Ann Hoert. Unfortunately, she did not take his last name, but I believe she did take his life," Jake paused, waiting for everyone's reaction. Oscar nodded, impressed by Jake and raised his eyebrow at the one―liner.

"Nice! Charles said as Jake smiled before proceeding with the rest of the PowerPoint.

"Thank you, Charles. Now, Hoert had means, motives, and opportunity. But first, I need to find the murder weapon. For some reason, the DA won't move forward with the arrest until we find the knife she used," Jake nodded as everyone murmured in agreement with each other.

"Is that the reason that they want to win the case?" Holt said as Jake nodded softly and went to a table before deciding to sit next to Oscar, who smiled and pulled out a chair for him. Holt stood where Jake was before turning off the PowerPoint and facing the squad. 

"Well, find it. The family's close to the mayor, and I'm catching heat from the higher―ups. So I'm going to ask you again. Do you need any resources or personnel?" Holt questioned Jake, who shook his head.

"Okay then, dismissed," Holt said as everyone started to pack up their things. Oscar looked behind his shoulder to where Rosa and Amy were talking. Oscar stood up and walked towards them with paperwork and a coffee cup under his arms.

"Do we have a case, or?" Oscar said as he looked at them, confused.

"Well, we were supposed to work with Jake, but because he says he got it, I'm pretty sure that means―" Amy said as she started to speak sarcastically, which made Oscar grin and laugh softly before he turned his head to the new source of sound coming from outside of the briefing room.

"I can hear you, Santiago!" Jake shouted as Amy rolled her eyes before nodding at Rosa and Oscar with a look on his face.

"You see what I mean? Just assumes that he can handle it on his own. Bet that he won't be able to do this without being told off by Holt," Amy said as the three detectives started strolling towards their desks.

"Also, what's going on with you and Peralta?" Oscar asked curiously.

"They have this stupid bet that whoever has the most arrest will win. If Amy wins, she gets Jake's car, but if Jake wins, Amy has to go on the worse date with him―" Rosa folded her arms before nudging Oscar's arm. "―Why do you need to know the deal between Jake and Amy?"

"I'm just curious, you know?"

"Alright, dude, that's all good; it seemed weird, but not going to ruin your vibe," Rosa said with a smirk before heading to her desk. Oscar sighed as he didn't know what that meant and decided to run the opposite way towards his desk.

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⋆        𝗢𝗦𝗖𝗔𝗥 𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗘𝗗 𝗧𝗢 looked through his case files; all were solved, but he felt something strange about them. As he reached over to grab a pen to write about the latest case, he noticed little about the desks he was joined next to. Amy's desk was neat, everything Oscar wanted to be, but he couldn't, even if he tried. The same type of pencil was in a holder alongside a neat pile of files she was working on. On the other hand, Jake's desk was another story. Jake's desk was messy, full of toys that didn't need to be there food wrappings and pencil sharpenings. However, Oscar didn't mind it, as he thought it resembled Jake.

Oscar's desk was in the middle of the two aesthetics, with different neat things that described Oscar and scattered miscellaneous items. Oscar's fidget toys were all over the place, but his pencils were neatly placed to be easier to reach. Oscar smiled; it was perfect to describe who he was. Kaden's desk was similar to Oscar's, with the desk aesthetics running in the family, skipping Liliana's tidiness. Oscar sighed, getting out of his mind palace, before looking over to Rosa, who was in the middle of a phone call.

"I think it's something spiral, like a corkscrew― don't shush me; I'm helping you," Rosa spoke before looking over at the elevator with a look on her face, swearing softly. Oscar was confused before looking over at the elevator to recognise the figure. The familiar look on his face reminded Oscar of his high school days.

"The Vulture..." Oscar whispered before he realised that the Vulture was heading towards his desk, and he quickly looked away, trying to pretend to be busy at work. However, it didn't work as the Vulture stood over Oscar's desk, a shadow looming over Oscar's paperwork. Oscar sighed, regretting what was about to happen next.

"Hey there, Twink, you're sitting at my desk."

"But this is mine―" Oscar started to speak but was interrupted by the Vulture.

"Move," the Vulture said as Oscar sighed and did what he was told. It made him feel like a child, not like the feeling it gave him. He gritted his mouth, collecting the case he was working on with harsh movements before being stopped by the Vulture again.

"I'll have a look at those, so I can make sure you don't screw up any cases as you did to my ex―friend in bed―" the Vulture said with a smug look on his face, but Oscar wasn't having any of it, his fists wanting to clench with anger.

"Enough," Oscar muttered before moving his stuff to the break room. He could feel anger bubbling up inside him before sitting at the same table he was sitting at in the morning. Oscar removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes, trying to breathe calmly and get rid of the stress before Gina entered the room. 

"Oof, Oz, are you okay?" The sound of her voice made Oscar look up from his hands. He sighed and looked at his face, which told Gina enough.  Gina sat at the table, joining Oscar, tapping his fingers to destress.

"Did you have the Vulture back at the 78th?" Gina questioned Oscar, who sighed in response.

"He was the worst; he always is. But we have a history. We, uh, both went to the same high school together. Long story short, he's now my mortal enemy till death do us part," Oscar said softly, his anger making him scrunch his nose, moving his glasses upwards.

"Wait, wait, wait― Hold the phone; how did I not know this?"

"Probably because I've been here for five days? I don't info dump people about my backstory. Besides, you got to be level 5 to unlock that after all," Oscar said with a smile, not realising that Gina was serious about it. Oscar chuckled softly and tilted his head towards Gina as she shook her head jokingly.

"I know, Ozzie; just let me be surprised, my dear!" Gina said as Oscar smirked before sipping his coffee, wanting to take his mind off the Vulture, but it was all he could think about. Oscar hated that man, but not because of him being an asshole. Instead, it was because the Vulture knew things about Oscar that could expose him for the world to see and leave him feeling like a child.

"Did he cause you trauma? 'Cause you were looking pretty pissed back there when he took your desk," Gina spoke, and Oscar knew she would ask that question. He didn't want to out himself until the time came, but he and Gina were already close friends, with her already following Oscar on Instagram, but not Amy. Amy took that as an offence, but Oscar took it as an achievement.

"His friend and I were close, and he didn't like that. So, long story even shorter, I hooked up with his friend and, yeah," Oscar nodded as he tapped his fingers against the table. Oscar became awkward, not knowing the response, but he was surprised that Gina was taking it well.

"Hey, I'll always be there for you, Ozzie. I already knew; I have the Bi―Fi on, you know?" Gina chuckled before squeezing his arm again and heading to her desk. Oscar smiled before quickly looking through the case files, slowly forgetting the previously intense interaction.

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⋆        𝗔𝗦 𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗬𝗢𝗡𝗘 𝗙𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗟𝗟𝗬 got together after Jake and Charles finished door duty for their case, they gathered around to talk to Captain Holt. Holt had a look on his face, and Oscar knew that Amy would be right, as Jake was about to get a telling━off. Oscar sighed, not wanting to be a part of this, but simultaneously, he wanted to be there for Jake.

"You can't let him take the case! I am so, so close to solving it!" Jake said as he started to beg, jumping up and down, trying to convince Holt. Holt crossed his arms, clearly not impressed with the childish behaviour radiating from Jake.

"And by close, you mean―" Amy started to speak, but Jake glared at her, making her stop her sentence. Oscar could tell that he wanted this, but he messed up big time. Oscar looked over to Amy, standing behind Jake with a victory look, but her eyes creased in regret. They were opposites, rooting for something different to each other, but they both cared about the cause in the end.

"I can't. I told you to use the team, and what do you do? You don't use the team," Holt spoke as he gestured to the squad, who stood there awkwardly, not wanting to make eye contact. Oscar found himself looking at the ground, softly whistling.

"I am giving this case to Detective Pembroke; you are to give any case files and evidence now," Holt said before dismissing everyone from his office. Jake gave a soft, almost forceful sigh as he looked down and left through the open doorway. Oscar could feel Jake's doubt and sadness, as he couldn't help but feel for him. But maybe he's also feeling another thing, and perhaps that wasn't bad?

𝐓𝐀𝐋 𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐀𝐊𝐒!
✶ so this is essentially part one of the vultures' episodes, because i wanted to explore more of oscar's backstory in the second part, and i fear that would be long, so that's why they have been split into two ━ easier for reading purposes :) so i hope you don't mind that at all! enjoy your days, folks!

𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗞𝗦 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚!