Work Text:
Herc didn’t even attempt to muffle the large yawn that formed as he shuffled down the hallway. Paperwork had kept him in the Marshall’s office until the early hours of the morning and he several more stacks to complete before he could retire for a much needed sleep. The faint tune of music came from down the hall and the redhead felt a wave of curiosity as to who was still up at the ungodly hours of the morning.
He quickened his pace when the smell of coffee floated toward him and he suddenly didn’t care who was up, just that they had made a fresh batch of liquid gold and there was enough to spare. The music was louder in the kitchen; echoing off the metal walls and Herc thought it was some sort of funky soul sounding thing that had been popular back in the twenty teens. He was pretty sure it was off an animated movie they’d taken Chuck to see; the kid had been obsessed with the yellow minion things for months.
All thoughts of the caffeinated beverage left his head when he rounded the corner into the staff kitchen and he ground to a halt. The sight before him was so damn unexpected that he almost choked; thankfully he managed to stop the noise from forming and the dancer in the kitchen continued oblivious to his presence. Glancing around quickly, Hercules looked for a better spot and found it by slipping further into the room. He ducked into the shadow caused by the industrial sized ovens and watched the scene with a widening grin.
Chuck was shuffling around the room in time with the music and mumbling the words under his breath whilst Max danced around his feet. The younger Hansen was wearing a wide grin as he looked down at the bulldog and Herc felt a tug in his stomach at the sight; he hadn’t seen his boy with a smile that carefree since his mother died nearly a decade ago. Chuck was clapping his hands and doing some sort of dance that resembled the twist when Herc heard the faint sound of footsteps and murmured voices down the hallway. He felt a surge of panic at the thought of someone interrupting the moment and quickly slipped out the door to catch the intruders.
Raleigh and Mako started at his sudden appearance and as the blond opened his mouth to speak, Herc shot forward and slapped a large hand over the younger man’s mouth. “Quiet.” He hissed.
Raleigh’s eyebrows rose in question and Herc gestured with his head toward the doorway to the kitchen where his son was still dancing around with his bulldog. He raised his free hand and pushed his index finger to his lips to signal silence and gave the pair a pointed look that promised pain if they disobeyed and then slowly released Becket. Mako evidently understood and stepped forward to peek into the kitchen; her eyes widened in surprise and she hastily clamped her hands over her mouth to muffle her giggle.
Seeing her reaction Raleigh quickly stepped up beside her; the American’s reaction was almost a mirror of his co-pilots upon seeing the scene and he had to bite his lips to prevent any sound from escaping. Herc stepped forward and pushed passed the pair to slip into his previous position and watched as Chuck continued to dance around the kitchen with Max. The singer was now crooning about being happy and the older man thought that was rather apt for the situation considering Chuck’s face was split with a grin so wide it practically took up his entire face.
Movement to his side caught Herc’s attention and he turned his head to see Raleigh stepping aside to give Tendo, Newt and Hermann room to see the rare sight before them. The Australian was half curious as to why everyone suddenly seemed to be awake at three o’clock in the morning but pushed it aside when he realised that the LOCCENT tech had pulled out his cellphone and began filming Chuck’s dancing.
Herc was thankful that the tech had thought of ensuring that the scene would forever be available to look at whenever he chose but a small part of him knew that Chuck would be horrified to realise such a thing existed and would attempt everything to destroy the evidence. He made a mental note to make a copy and put it on a memory stick and then put it into the small shoebox he kept in his locker along with memories and photos of Angela and Chuck when he was still a sprog.
The song was apparently coming to its climax as Chuck bent down and grabbed Max’s front paws and pulled him up to stand on his hind legs. The young pilot gently spun around, leading a drooling and grinning Max in several dancing circles around the room as he warbled the words to the song.
“Clap alooong if you feeeel like a room without a roof. Clap alooong if you feeeel like happiness is the truth. Clap alooooong if you know what happiness is to yooou. Clap alooong if you feeeel like that’s what you wanna do!” Chuck finished the song by releasing Max’s paws and then throwing his arms out with a dramatic flair. It was purely by accident that Chuck happened to be facing the doorway at the time.
Max let out a series of happy barks oblivious to the way his master’s face drained of colour one moment in mortification and then flushed a dark red the next in embarrassment. The younger pilot stiffened upon realizing that he had had an audience the entire time and look at loss of what to do. Typically, whenever his son was in a situation that made him uncomfortable he did what he usually did; resort to anger.
“What the bloody hell are you looking at?” he demanded as he moved over and snatched a couple of cups of coffee off the bench that he had obviously originally come to the kitchen to prepare. He glared at the group stalked across the kitchen and shoved one of the cups into Herc’s surprised hands. “See if I ever make you a drink ever again, Old Man.” He spat before shoving passed Raleigh with more force than necessary and down the hallway with Max trailing happily after.
Herc let out a sigh and shot the others an apologetic glance before looking down at the mug of coffee his son had thrust at him before storming off. He had honestly been grateful at the gesture; even if it had been accompanied by a dark scowl and an insult. With the Breach now closed and no Jaegers left they had to resort to actually talking to communicate with each other; something of which they were both woefully out of practice. So they had started small, little gestures that showed the other that they still loved them; case in point Chuck preparing a coffee to bring his father while he worked into the early hours of the morning.
“Well at least we now know he can smile.” Raleigh muttered. The others all chuckled and then moved into the kitchen to prepare their own beverages.
“You want me to make a copy?” Tendo asked, waving his cellphone in Herc’s direction.
Herc glanced at the silver device and smiled softly. “I’d like that.” He answered, thinking once more of the carefree smile that had graced his son’s face.