Chapter Text
Jake looked up just in time for a raindrop to hit his nose. He scrunched his face in annoyance as he rubbed the water off, as raindrops slowly fell from the sky. Hangman cursed his luck on taking a long damn walk, ending up somewhere in town he’d never been before, and immediately ducked inside a coffee shop he’d never been in before.
He sighed when he turned around and realized the sky turned dark and it was pouring. He observed the small hole-in-a-wall coffee shop he ended up in. Warm tones, soft cushions, and bookshelf lined walls. Couple people in it.
He walked up to the counter, passing by a table with a gray-haired man who dropped his pen doing paperwork. Jake absentmindedly bent forward quickly to snatch the pen off the ground and set it on the old man's table.
"Here you go, Gramps, don't want you hurting your back or anythin', “ Jake absentmindedly drawled as he contemplated getting a cappuccino or their hot special of the day.
The old man snorted, "You'll end up my age too, son, and it'll come faster than you think."
"That's what all grandpas say," Jake said while ordering his drink, the barista watching in amusement.
"I'm 57."
"Life really puts you through the ringer, huh?"
"Says the 20-something dressed like a depressed college student."
Jake scoffed, gesturing to himself, "Please, no college student looks this good."
The old man raised a brow, “Whatever, you want to think, kid,” the man said smirking.
“Please, I only say what I hear from others,” Jake said, raising his drink up in an imitation of a cheer.
The old man barked a laugh at that, "goddamn, son, you're full of shit."
Jake grinned back and tipped the barista as he sauntered back to the old man's table to knock his knuckles against the wood before sitting down on another table nearby.
The old man simply opened his newspaper to read with a flourish, peering over the edge to smirk at him.
“You are really not beating the old man, allegations, Gramps,” Jake said, slipping across the chess table in the park.
The man raised a brow, but was smiling, “Never denied it, kid, now humor this bored old man and make your move.” He gestured towards the neat row of white pieces.
“Aye, aye,” Jake said, moving a middle pawn forward.
“So, what’s your name, kid?” The old man said, playing his turn.
“Jake, and you, Gramps?”
“Tom, but will you even be using it with how much you’re calling me, Gramps?” Tom said wryly.
“Who knows, maybe I’ll use it for special occasions,” Jake said grinning mischievously.
“Sure, kid.”
“Look, you’re even copying my style!”
“Debating whether or not to get the premade nutrition shakes or the powdered ones?” Jake asked, coming up beside Tom.
Tom looks at the kid and at the basket he was holding, snorting at the items in it. “Hey, better than the instant noodles you have there.”
“It’s convenient!” Jake protested, “Plus it’s not like it’s the only thing I eat, I’m getting other food too.”
Tom hummed, “And to answer your question, yes, the powdered is cheaper and more practical, but my husband would forget to make his, so it might be better to get the premade to actually get him to drink the damn thing,” Tom answered, watching the kid from the side of his eye.
“Just get both?” Jake answered, looking unbothered by the new information.
“I was planning on doing that,” Tom simply said and grabbed the items he wanted. “Now, I need to get some meat,” Tom trailed off, starting to walk away before glancing back at the kid who paused to stare at him. Tom raised a brow before the kid perked up.
“I was planning on getting some chicken and beef,” the boy catched on, following Tom. “But I do need to pass by the cereal section.”
“My god, you are a child.”
Tom decided to walk to the diner, after his morning run. Spying a familiar blonde at the counter once he opened the door. He deliberated his options for a second before shrugging and slipping into the seat right next to the kid. Knocking on the counter in front of the kid, when he realized the boy was wearing those damn wireless earbuds and engrossed in the menu.
The boy finally looked up, eyes wide before realizing who exactly bothered him and gave him a bright smile.
Damn he was getting soft.
“Gramps,” the kid said brightly, removing his earbuds.
“Kid,” the older man said, nodding at the menu. “You know what’s good here?”
“Nah, it’s my first time, just lookin’,” Jake said, flipping the toothpick to rest at the other side of his mouth.
“The pancakes are always great, but I like the spinach and cheese omelet myself,” Tom said, opening the menu in front of him. “I take it you’re not from this area?”
“Nah, I moved here for work,” Jake muttered, flipping the menu to the pancakes.
“Oh? What do you do?”
He watched as Jake’s jaw twitched, shoulders tensing for a brief second before relaxing, the easy-going smile put back into place. Tom would have never noticed if he hadn’t spent the majority of his life climbing up the ranks.
“Navy,” the kid said, side-eyeing Tom for a second.
“Very nice,” Tom simply said, deciding to take the attention away from the kid. “My husband’s in the Navy, he works at the base nearby.”
The kid relaxed at that, looking at Tom with open curiosity. “Really? Do you think I’d–”
“What can I get for you gentlemen today?” A frazzled waitress asked, coming by with a tired smile and notepad ready.
“I’ll have a spinach and cheese omelet, the French toast meal with sausage and eggs over-easy, and a cup of coffee, please,” Tom recited before raising a brow to the kid to order as well.
“Uhh, I’ll have the pancake meal, with bacon and scrambled eggs, and also the spinach omelet thing,” the kid said, flustered about being put on the spot immediately. “And coffee too, yeah, ma’am.”
“Okay gentlemen, I’ll get your coffee to start, alright?” The waitress said not waiting for a reply before dashing off.
“Anyways– what’re you doin’ this early anyways? I thought old men need their sleep,” Jake threw back, grinning at Tom, the previous question forgotten.
“I went for a run, decided to have breakfast here,” Tom said, shrugging.
“You run?” Jake asked, mouth gaping a bit as he quickly scanned Tom. “You’re not going to pass out, are ya?” Jake said, furrowing his brows.
Little shit.
“Calm down, I’m not going to keel over, hell I would even bet I could run longer than you,” Tom said, saying a brief thank you to the waitress who handed him his coffee.
“Yeah, sure, Gramps,” the kid rolled his eyes.
“Do you even go on runs?” Tom asked the cocky piece of shit.
“A couple times a week,” Jake said.
Tom hummed, “If you run around the area we’d probably bump into one another one day.”
“That seems likely considering our track record,” Jake said, grinning.
“Oh? I thought you were stalking me,” Tom said, lightly chuckling.
Jake simply grinned widely in response, a retort about to roll out if the waitress hadn’t sat down both of their meals in front of them. The waitress left behind their bill, Tom quickly grabbed the stub, and waved the kid away.
“Go dig in, I got it,” Tom said lightly, keeping the paper out of the kid’s reach.
“You sure–?” Jake asked, hesitantly.
“Yes, take the free meal, son,” Tom said, exasperated, wondering where the hell did the cocky behavior go.
Being an Admiral, he felt even more obligated to take the bill now knowing that the kid probably is exposed to what the Navy considers food. It’s not like it’ll make a dent in his salary, anyways.
“Okay, but just so you know I asked because I was worried for your pension,” Jake said, shrugging and shoveling the eggs in his mouth.
Tom pointed a fork skewered with French toast at the boy. “Just for that, you’re going to have to pay for the next one.”
Jake stopped eating and looked at Tom with a shit-eating grin, “So there is going to be a next time?”
Tom gave a heavy sigh, “Suppose so,” but the corner of his mouth twitched up in amusement.
“What are you looking for?” Mav asked, exasperated as Tom’s eyes darted between the different paths of the park they were jogging in.
“Nothing,” Tom said simply, letting out a small sigh.
“Uh-huh,” Mav said with a raised brow, but decided to drop it. “Let’s pick up the pace, old-man, if you have enough energy to get distracted, then you have enough energy to run faster,” Mav said grinning, before starting to jog faster.
Ice scoffed, rolling his eyes as he kept up with Mav, “I’m only 3 years older than you, Pete, to the young ones we’re practically the same age. Old.”
Mav just gave out a laugh as he once again started picking up the pace.
Ice inadvertently thought about what name Jake would give Mav whe– if he met him.
“On your left, kid,” a voice said, startling Jake as he looked to his side to see Tom there, keeping pace with his jog.
Jake plucked out his earbuds and quickly stored them in their case as he gave the older man a grin, “So the prophecy comes true, huh?”
“Seems so,” Tom said dryly, but with a small smile. “Also, you ought to be paying attention to your surroundings, those earbuds practically kill your sense of hearing.”
Jake snorted, “I could hear you approachin’ just fine! I just didn’t think I knew the person behind me.”
“So you were waiting until you got attacked or not to figure that out?” Ice said a brow raised.
Jake pouted, “Well, when you put it like that,” Jake trailed off. “But then again, look at me, people would think twice before they mess with me,” Jake said, gesturing to himself with a smirk.
“Or they would target you knowing that people your size replace endurance with muscle.”
“Hey!” Jake said, glaring at Tom, but with no real heat behind it. “I’ll show you endurance, gramps, there’s a trail nearby a couple miles long, wanna bet which one of us would still be standin’ by the end of it?” Jake said, looking at Tom with a cocky smirk.
“I know which one you’re talking about, kid, let’s go, pick up the pace,” Tom said, jogging faster taking the lead.
Jake was surprised by the change of pace before he ended up being mortified at Tom’s response, “Wait, wait, wait– Gramps! Are you sure? I don’t want ya to keel over! What if you pass out–!?”
Tom glanced back and smirked at the dumbstruck kid, “then you’ll use those muscles and so-called endurance of yours to carry me back.”
“I-Come on! This is serious old man–”