Three’s a crowd, Four’s a nightmare- Shobbs fanfic
Summary: After finally convincing Deckard to meet up with him for a new mission, Luke wasn’t expecting a few uninvited guests showing up
Luke firmly held his hands in his lap because he was a trained agent that didn’t fidget, especially not when he was nervous or impatient. No, that would be incredibly unseemly of an agent and for a grown man to do when waiting for his guest to show up.
While it had taken quite a bit of convincing and countless phone calls, Luke had been able to get Deckard Shaw to agree to meet him about a new mission. After the whole fiasco with Eteon and the Snowflake devise, Luke had kept in contact with Deckard, but the other man hadn’t been eager to jump right back into the action. Apparently, he wanted to spend more time with his family now that he was no longer a wanted criminal by MI6, which Luke could understand. But, one thing he wanted the other man to understand was this was more about getting Deckard to go out to eat rather than discussing a new mission. Especially since Luke had chosen one that wouldn’t need either of their expertise or skills.
Luke only wanted to go on a date with Deckard.
Yes, it was a little underhand to trick Deckard, but Luke knew that the other man wouldn’t go with the idea initially. The other man seemed to think that Luke was still out to get him and that his teasing was meant in a negative way rather than in the light-hearted and flirting way Luke had intended it to be. Maybe Sam was right, and he was a bit rusty when it came to flirting. However, he was sure he could convince Deckard to go on a real date after they met this time.
He had let Deckard chose the place and Luke was a little shocked to see he hadn’t chosen an overly lavish restaurant, but rather a quaint café. The staff was friendly, the coffee was perfect, and their menu was extensive with all sorts of breakfast foods. Almost made him wish it was his cheat day. He could see why Deckard had chosen the place to meet. Speaking of which, Deckard was right on time, while Luke had shown his nervousness by arriving twenty minutes earlier and impatiently waiting for the smaller man.
And how rewarding it was when Deckard walked through the door, the small bell above the door chiming delightfully as he stepped inside.
“Shaw!” Luke called out, but as he did so, he took in how Deckard was dressed and nearly choked on his own tongue. Deckard was dressed in a warm looking sweater with tight fitting, black slacks that hugged his body perfectly. He looked completely different from his more suave persona, wearing slick suits and looking like he was ready for a gala at the drop of a hat. But, in this simpler outfit, he looked so much more approachable and softer around the edges. If this was he looked like when they first met, Luke might have had second thoughts to thinking Deckard was a lethal assassin when he looked like a gentle librarian.
Deckard nodded and began walking towards him before sitting down across from him, with his back towards the exit. Luke had to wonder if that meant Deckard trusted him enough to keep an eye out for attacks coming from behind him, or if he was so familiar with the café, he was confident no attacks would be coming. Either way, Luke smiled brightly as the smaller man settled in front of him, even if he had a permanent frown etched onto his face.
“What’s this mission about?” Deckard grunted.
“Don’t you want to order something?” Luke asked instead and purposely kept the mission file out of Deckard’s grasp.
“No,” Deckard huffed. “Now, tell me what all of this is about.”
“I—”
“Are you two ready to order?”
Both men blinked up at the chipper waitress who was smiling expectantly. Neither had even noticed her coming up to them.
“Yeah,” Luke smiled back up at her and ordered a large breakfast, including toast, bacon, eggs, and pancakes. It might not be a cheat day, but he had refused to eat any of the plane food during his flight. “What about you, Deck?”
The smaller man narrowed his eyes at him for the use of his nickname, but nonetheless ordered a type of tea Luke had never heard of before. Just as cheerful, the waitress took their order and Luke had to wonder what she thought about them. He had heard comments from others that he and Deckard did in fact look and act like a couple at times.
“Tell me what this is about, or I’m leaving right now.” Deckard hissed in annoyance.
“Whoa, no need to get your panties in a twist, princess,” Luke raised his hands up defensively and winced at the way the tips of Deckard’s ears turned red in anger. “Sorry, not trying to be rude. I just didn’t want this to be all about business.”
That made Deckard pause, his previous annoyance disappearing as he looked at Luke quizzically. Good, looked like Luke’s charm was still as effective as usual. Slowly, the smaller man relaxed back into his seat and looked at Luke expectantly.
“How have you been after everything with Eteon?” Luke asked, almost a note of hesitancy in his voice. He knew it was a very sensitive topic for Deckard, especially when Hattie had shared the little fact that Deckard and Brixton had been engaged before Brixton turned traitor. “I know I was feeling those shocks for a while.”
“Same here, but I’m used to it.” Deckard shrugged like being tortured was just an everyday occurrence. Which, Luke was hoping it wasn’t for the former spy. “Could have done without your little prank.” “Oh, come on,” Luke chuckled. “I bet you enjoyed beating those bobbies up.”
“For your information,” Deckard pointed a finger at him. “I knew a few of those blokes and they knew to piss off as soon as they saw me. Just wait, Hobbs, I got something planned for you.”
“Can’t wait, princess.” Luke laughed, but felt as if the breath had been knocked out of him when he saw Deckard smile back good-naturedly. He wasn’t sure if the other was aware of it, but when Deckard smiled, it transformed his face completely and lit the room up. When Luke had first seen that smile, he had been enchanted by it and cracked as many corning jokes as he could to see it again. And when he thought Deckard had been killed by Dom, he couldn’t describe the intense feeling of grief at never seeing that smile again. But now, here he was, seeing it and all because of him. How he wished to see that smile every day of his life.
“What else? Everything good with your family?”
“They’re good.” Deckard nodded, his shoulders dropping slightly as he relaxed. “Hatts’ a pain in my arse, complaining I ruined her flat, and now she’s staying with me.”
“That’s nice of you.”
“Yeah, you’d think,” Deckard scoffed. “It wouldn’t be so bad if she minded her own business and stayed out of mine.”
“Little sister,” Luke chuckled. “What is she doing to you?”
“She’s trying to get me to go back to MI6.”
“Wait, really?” “Yeah,” Deckard sighed, and Luke could see a world-weary exhaustion flash across his face. “I don’t have the heart to tell her that those bastards would sooner have me killed than let me back, but she’s convinced she can get me back in.”
Watching Deckard’s conflicted expression, Luke understood where he was coming from. While he wasn’t a wanted man anymore, that didn’t mean he wasn’t a feared assassin and connected to an expansive criminal network. MI6 wouldn’t take kindly to someone who had tasted freedom away from them and who wouldn’t be totally loyal to them. During his time around Hattie, Luke had sensed that she was very hard-headed when it came to things she believed in and she would do what ever she needed to do to get what she wanted. No doubt she’d be putting that same energy in getting Deckard back into MI6.
“Just tell her you’re busy.” Luke shrugged.
“With what?” Deckard scoffed.
“I don’t know. Gardening. Knitting. Planning a huge heist to steal everything from the Louvre.” Luke winked at Deckard at the last one and was pleased to hear his soft laughter.
“My sister doesn’t take no as an answer.”
“She’ll need to learn sooner or later. Better with you than someone who she’ll regret pissing off.”
Deckard was about to continue, but was interrupted by their orders arriving, and for a brief moment, Luke felt guilty about the amount of food he had ordered while Deckard only got tea. However, the other man didn’t seem to mind as he sipped at his tea appreciatively. Soon enough, their conversation turned towards Luke’s own family, and while most wouldn’t describe Luke Hobbs as a rambler, when it came to his daughter he could talk for hours on end. And it didn’t seem like Deckard minded in the least when he asked countless questions about her. So lost in talking about Sam, Luke nearly missed the sound of the door’s bell chiming and seeing just who had walked into the café:
Owen and Hattie Shaw.
Both younger Shaws were dressed just as simply as their older brother, with Hattie wearing sweatpants and a large hoodie, while Owen was nearly spotting the identical outfit as her, with greys unlike her darker colors. Even before Luke’s mind processed who was walking towards them, he couldn’t help but think how similar they looked with both of their hair tied up into sloppy buns and suspicious looks on their faces. There was no mistaking them as siblings. But, as he thought that, he realized just how badly this could go for him. However, before he could do anything to stop them, both were sitting down next to them.
“Deck!” Hattie whined. “Why didn’t you tell us you were going out to eat?”
“You should have invited us.” Owen mumbled, sitting next to Deckard while Hattie took the seat next to Luke. Frowning, Luke looked between the siblings and could sense an atmosphere of snot-nosed siblings annoying their older brother, who didn’t look too pleased to see them.
“Because this is about business, not pleasure, you insufferable parasites.” Deckard snapped and carefully held his tea protectively against his chest. “So, if you two wouldn’t mind getting the bloody hell out of here…”
“But, Deck!” Owen crooned, “We just got here! We couldn’t just leave without eating.”
“You were so insistent about leaving early this morning, you didn’t even bother making us anything.” Hattie pouted at Deckard while sneakily trying to grab a strip of bacon off Luke’s plate.
“Hey! Getting your own!” Luke protested and snatched his plate away from any wandering fingers.
“What the bloody fuck are you doing around this hack, anyway?” Owen drawled and glared straight at Luke, who didn’t hide his own dislike of the other Shaw brother. “You said you were meeting with a friend.”
“I am!” Deckard insisted. “Which means you two don’t have to be here.”
“But we’re hungry!” Hattie whined even louder this time. “You’re starving us!”
“Why the hell can’t you two make yourselves your own damn food?” Luke snapped.
“That’s a great idea!” Owen smiled wickedly, showing off far too sharp teeth in Luke’s opinion. How had he never noticed the huge fangs Owen was sporting? “Come on, Hatts, let’s go use Deck’s kitchen.”
“Like hell!” Deckard growled as his hand shot out to stop Owen from standing up. “You go anywhere near my kitchen, and I will make you wish mum had kept you in the black site.”
Luke blinked at the proud look on Owen’s face and had to wonder what all that was about. But, before he could question the siblings any further, Hattie was flagging down their waitress.
“Excuse me! We’d like to order.” As soon as the bubbly waitress came back to their table, Hattie began to spout off a list of foods. “Could we get an order of boiled eggs and soldiers for out starter, then two servings of bubble and squeak. Does the Full Monty come with the mushrooms and tomatoes? Good, then we’ll take an order, and can you add an extra order of beans and black pudding? The eggs can be sunny side up. Oh, and three hot chocolates. Anything for you, Oh?”
Owen looked thoughtful for a second as silence fell around the table as the waitress hastily wrote down everything Hattie had said so quickly. Luke could only stare between the two younger Shaws, simply wondering if they could truly eat all that much and what half of the words that came out of Hattie’s mouth even were. Black pudding? The hell? However, as he looked over at Deckard, the other man didn’t seem phased at all by his siblings’ actions.
“Three crumpets, if you wouldn’t mind, love.” Owen smiled up at the waitress, who blushed in reply as she scurried away to fill their large order.
“Don’t you dare,” Deckard hissed, and Luke raised an eyebrow at his tone.
“What?” Owen squawked indignantly.
“If either of you even think about flirting with her, I’m going to make you regret it.” Deckard pinned his siblings with a harsh look and Luke was impressed by the way they looked cowed by the statement and didn’t object. Leaning back, Deckard relaxed briefly before turning to Luke. “You were going to tell me about the mission?”
“Uh, right,” Luke cleared his throat. “I can’t do that with civilians present.”
“Oi!” Hattie exclaimed. “I’m agent, you bloated bastard! If I want that information, I could easily get it.”
“Then go get it.” Luke looked down at her scowling face and deadpanned. But, as he said that, she did just that. Quick as lightening, Hattie was frantically reaching over him to grab the file and only succeeded in shoving her full arm into his food. “What the hell, you tiny asshole!”
“Give it to me!” She growled like an animal as she began to climb right over him.
“Hattie Annabel Shaw!”
Both Luke and Hattie froze at the deadly voice. Heart beating fast, Luke looked up and saw the hard expression on Deckard’s face. The man looked like he was ready to drag Hattie out there and yell at her. Luke had to wonder why he had never become a parent—he’s got the disapproving tone and glare down pat. Slowly, Hattie got off Luke and grabbed a few napkins to clean her sleeve off as she hung her head and mumbled a soft apology. Speechless, Luke glanced over to Owen and saw him mouthing ‘Someone’s in trouble’.
“I don’t know why either of you are here,” Deckard’s voice was low as he eyed his siblings. “But, I don’t expect you two to turn into children just because Hobbs is here. You’re grown adults, so act like it.”
Silence fell over them again as the message sunk in and Luke was in awe of the Shaw family. Of course, everyone knew that they were all incredibly close, but he couldn’t have expected the younger Shaws to see Deckard as a parental figure and Deckard to take that role naturally. He had to wonder how they had fallen into that pattern and if they would ever grow out of it. Looking at the three very grown adults, Luke doubted it, but you never knew.
“So,” Owen drew out the word to cut through the awkwardness and tension. “Does that make me the civilian you’re talking about?”
“Please,” Luke scoffed. “You’re a criminal, the furthest thing from a civilian.”
The joke seemed to ease the tension as Hattie snorted at the offended look on Owen’s face and Deckard’s shoulders relaxed once again.
“I mean, technically, you can be both,” Hattie spoke up. “Let’s say we suddenly put into the middle of a battlefield. Just because he’s a criminal doesn’t give you the right to not save his life if you’re the soldier in question.”
“But couldn’t they just assume I’m a traitor since I’m in the middle of a battlefield between the two sides?”
“It’s a hypothetical, Oh.” Hattie rolled her eyes.
“Think about it though!” Owen insisted as they leaned across the table to better discuss their new topic, with Owen even turning over the paper placemat and drawing a fake battlefield. Perplexed by the siblings, Luke could only look over to Deckard for an explanation, but when he saw the small smile the other man had, he decided against questioning the other Shaws’ discussion. Instead, he listened to their incredibly in-depth debate on the role a criminal would play in the middle of a battle.
However, before they could come to a satisfying answer, their food arrived. The waitress had recruited the cook to help bring out their food as the table soon disappeared under half a dozen plates and bowls. While all of it wasn’t compared to how much he ate during his cheat days, Luke couldn’t help but staring at the siblings and wondering if they could really eat all that. All three were on the thinner side and Luke was still convinced he could snap any of them in half if he so wanted to. But, he had firsthand experience telling him that all three were much, much stronger than looked.
“Just one last thing, love,” Owen spoke smoothly to the waitress and flashed another brilliant smile. “Could we have a few extra plates?”
Luke raised an eyebrow, which turned into both skyrocketing upwards as he saw both Hattie and Owen piling an extra plate high with food. Frowning, he could see how meticulous Owen was being and trying not to allow any of the different foods to touch while Hattie simply piled food on top without a care. Once the plate was over-flowing with sausage, eggs, toast, and baked beans, it was shoved right under Deckard’s nose.
“I already ate.” The man huffed.
“Bull.” Owen sent him an unimpressed look.
“Excuse me?”
“If you actually ate, you would have made extra for Hatts and I this morning. So, bullshit you ate already.”
Deckard looked ready to argue back before Hattie took the opportunity to take a large piece of sausage off of the plate Owen was using. Quickly, the two began to bicker about which foods were theirs, leaving Luke and Deckard to be nearly forgotten by the younger Shaws. Luke smirked when he saw Deckard pout but start eating, nonetheless. Deckard might be their older brother who they would always listen to, but it seemed like even he needed to be taken care of from time to time.
Shaking his head, Luke went back to his own food and laughed as Hattie was able to get the majority of sausage from Owen. He never would have predicted that he would be having breakfast with more than one Shaw, but as they ate and joked, he began to realize something. Whenever Owen or Hattie were around, Deckard smiled even more and laughed much more freely. Luke could put up with the two if that let him see Deckard so happy.
Even when all their food was gone and the plates cleared away, the four of them stayed for quite a while. Luke could still feel Owen giving him a frosty attitude, but after a few embarrassing stories shared by Deckard, Luke was sure the other man would come around to him quickly. Eventually, Hattie did wrangle the mission file from him and immediately started to tear into him about the mission being beneath all of them. But, that didn’t stop any of the Shaws from debating on just how exactly they would each complete the mission.
Sipping at his third cup of coffee, Luke smiled and shook his head when all three Shaws agreed to join him on the mission. At least he got what he wanted: Deckard agreeing to come along.
If only he didn’t have two annoying siblings joining them.
Maybe he could ask Toretto’s crew to come too and distract the other Shaws.
