"This is my family..."
- • -
The first time it happened, Chunk was with Cable on one of their frequent coffee-runs.
Well, it wasn't so much their coffee-runs as it was just Chunk's, considering he was the one who ordered, paid and carried all the drinks back to the office. Nonetheless, he was thankful for the company, and the constant stream of chatter always helped make the long waits in line seem shorter.
On this occasion, the line was faster than usual, and Chunk was simply waiting for his very particular set of drinks at the receiving area. Particular in a sense that each member of the team had their own incredibly detailed specifications for their own cup of coffee ("Half sugar, non-fat, soy latte with extra foam for me, please. Thanks, Chunk!") .
The former athlete remembered the first time he had been assigned coffee-run duty and received a list of their orders. Suffice to say he was shocked into silence at the sheer complexity of their requests - his preference just being a black coffee with two sugars. It was a right science at first, and he was sure he got most of it wrong. After a while, though, it grew more endearing than anything. And so he volunteered more often to get the team's caffeinated beverages, to the point he went out on a daily basis and was officially dubbed the team's coffee-runner. Now, he had memorized the orders by heart. It wasn't very difficult, seeing as how each drink reflected their drinker's personality.
On more than one occasion, though, he liked to experiment with the drinks - adding a pump of vanilla here or a dash of cinnamon powder there. Every time, he would hand the drink to its recipient and inform them of his subtle change - explaining that he believed they would appreciate the flavors a bit more. After a cautious sip and a surprised expression, he would then receive permission to modify the drink from then on, followed by a grateful smile.
Today, Benny in particular seemed a bit more worn out than usual - no small thanks to their current case - and he was certain the smaller man would appreciate the extra shot of espresso Chunk sneaked into his drink. He usually did the same with Cable's drink anyway.
'Speaking of Cable...' thought Chunk as he scanned the shop for his young charge. As expected, Cable was standing near the coffee machines - talking the barista's ear off and asking about the technical specifications of the said device.
"So how hot can this thing go?" asked the hacker, causing Chunk to smile in amusement. "I mean I hear ninety-six degrees is the best for brewing coffee, but I'm pretty sure-"
The stylist was curious as to where the conversation would go, but his attention was diverted when felt a tap on his shoulder.
The larger man turned around and came face-to-face with three young men with varying hair colors - none of them older than twenty, he was sure - and all of which wore surprised expressions.
"No way!" exclaimed the blonde one of the three. With his body language and manner, Chunk guessed he was the leader of this little group. "You're Chunk Palmer! You used to play defense for Georgia!"
Cable - hearing the exclamation from where she stood a little ways away - smirked in amusement as Chunk's facial expression transformed into his 'always-a-pleasure-to-meet-a-fan' face. She had already seen it on a number of occasions, but it was always funny to watch. Not to mention she got to tease his mercilessly afterwards.
"We're all on our college football team too," boasted the brunette while the redhead puffed out his chest in pride.
Chunk flashed them a well-practiced smile. They seemed like good kids. Still... he couldn't help but feel that something was... off, and he had long-since learned to trust his instincts. Nonetheless, he pushed his thoughts aside for later. In his time, he had encountered many a college varsity player, and he already knew which questions to ask.
"So," he began. "Any of you thinking of going pro?"
"Oh yeah, all of us!" answered the blonde, and the three of them proceeded to give each other fistbumps and high-fives.
Well... they seemed alright, if not a bit over-enthusiastic.
"Hey," the leader continued. "Didn't you quit the draft?"
Both Chunk and Cable - who had been listening in on the conversation - felt their stomachs coil ominously. It was a simple question, but there was something in the young man's tone that made it feel... loaded. Threatening.
"I did," Chunk answered succinctly.
"Ah," responded the blonde. The older man was certain he was the group's spokesperson at this point. The young man's face then twisted into a sneer, and Chunk could see what was about to happen from a mile away.
"Did ya' do it because you were gay?"
Chunk turned to Cable, her face disbelieving, but he could see the beginnings of anger sparking in her eyes. He raised his hand in a placating gesture.
'I've got this.'
The larger man then turned back his attention to the three, each wearing cruel smirks on their faces.
"Excuse me?" he asked - voice leveled, only letting a sliver of his irritation bleed through.
"Hey, man. Chill," the blonde said, raising his hands in surrender. "I'm sure you didn't have a choice. Higher-ups probably told you they'd kick you out, am I right? Was it that quarterback that ratted you out?"
The larger man had a feeling the younger was going for an understanding tone, but his words still came out condescending and colored with bigotry. Chunk had to breathe deeply and worked to repair the cracks in his composure. He was not doing this here.
"Gentlemen," he said in faux calm. "If all you're going to do is insult-"
"Relax man!" the ginger piped up, going so far as to reach up and pat Chunk's shoulder. "We get it! You were born that way! It's not your fault and it's not like we blame you. I mean who would ever willingly choose to be a fagg-"
In that moment, multiple things happened at once.
The barista called out "Coffee for Chunk!" and placed his take-out bags on the counter.
Then the ginger-haired man finished his sentence.
His friends snickered in agreement.
Cable rushed forward with a blazing inferno in her eyes that scared even the stylist.
And Chunk quickly placed himself between the group and the furious hacker who had yet to stop glaring daggers at the young men.
Cable looked at Chunk with heat in her eyes - silently asking for permission to rend the homophobic low-lives and tear them limb from limb. In some morbid way, it warmed Chunk's heart to see her leap to his defense, but he couldn't let her sink to their level by retaliating.
'Leave it,' his eyes said calmly.
Cable was incredulous to say the least, and was more than ready to protest - but Chunk's quiet "please" silenced the arguments that had formed on her lips.
The former football star took a calming breath, and in one smooth movement, picked up his to-go bags and led his young charge to the door.
He could still hear the murmured insults coming from the group, and all he could do was heave a sigh.
He was the adult here. He had to be the bigger man.
Nonetheless, it was satisfying to hear the hateful words come to an abrupt halt as the hacker turned back to glare at them - her gaze promising revenge and assuring them of their painfully slow demise.
And with that, they stepped out of the cafe and into the frigid New York air.
"You should've let me take them," Cable said in frustration as she took a sip of her venti latte. She had long since plucked her own coffee cup from one of the bags Chunk was carrying, and was now sipping the hot beverage with a scowl on her face. The stylist was hard-pressed to smother his smile at the young girl's antics.
"I could've ripped them apart, you know," she continued, and Chunk hummed in agreement.
"I know. That's why I stopped you. I was more worried for them than anything else," came the reply. He smiled when he saw that his words had the desired effect and got a smirk out of Cable.
"They were idiots anyway," she remarked as she took swig after swig from her drink. "I mean c'mon, did they not see you? You could literally sit on them and crush them to the size of like... raisins."
The older of the two couldn't suppress his chuckle at the mental image his companion provided - the sound of his laughter causing the hacker to break out into a smile of her own.
They continued talking as they neared the TAC building - their conversation comfortable, if not a bit confusing, mostly due to Cable going off on a tangent on a number of instances. Chunk didn't mind.
As they entered the building, the larger man smirked as his young friend gazed mournfully at her now-empty coffee cup, and with a sigh, threw it in the nearest bin.
He shifted the bags to free his hand, and with it, he gave the young woman a comforting pat on the shoulder.
"You have another latte here," he said, and her eyes immediately widened in surprise.
"Are you serious?" she breathed - her tone filled with so much awe that Chunk couldn't help but laugh.
"You think I don't notice you finish your drink before we even get back? You needed the buffer."
And for Chunk, the grin that split Cable's face was more than enough thanks.
That grin returned the following day, when news reports showed three very anxious and very familiar young men. According to the reporter, the three college students suddenly found that their school's computer system had no log of their football scholarships, their bank accounts had been emptied, their social media profiles had been deleted, and that their student loans had suddenly tripled in amount. The police had no suspects, but this seemed to be the work of a very experienced and very skilled hacker.
The identity of the said hacker was blatantly obvious, if Cable's triumphant smile throughout the broadcast was anything to go by.
The rest of team exchanged glances before resuming their duties - content to just turn a blind eye to their youngest member's latest scheme.
Chunk, however, was horrified.
"Please tell me you didn't do anything permanent," said the stylist as he stared disbelievingly at the screen. Yes, those kids had been horrible, arrogant and discriminatory, but they didn't deserve to go into financial ruin over a few words.
"Everything'll be back to normal in three days," Cable assured with no small amount of pride. She had managed quite a feat.
"Tomorrow. These kids look like they're about to cry, and I'm pretty sure they got the message."
The hacker grumbled half-heartedly but agreed nonetheless.
"Good," the older man said. He then offered a fist to the young girl, pride shining in his eyes. "Now gimme some."
Cable had never been prouder of herself than when she pounded her fist against his.
- • -
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Hi guys! So that's Chapter 1 (AKA: What happens when I'm at my dentist's waiting room with nothing to do for an hour and a half)!
Please let me know what you think, and please leave your reviews!
They would mean so much to me and they truly make my day~!
It'd let me know if you actually like this story, or let me know what I can do to make it better! I hope the characters weren't OOC and the dialogue was alright, but if not, please tell me what more I can do to improve it! Constructive criticism is more than welcome, but please be nice about it! \(^u^)/
Feel free to PM me guys, and thank you so much for reading! I hope to see you all soon!
-RW =)