Chapter Text
There was a hyperactive man of likely 21-28 years of age, at large, hunted by a lot of the police force. He was known for the chaos he sent just by being there. A true chaotic neutral figure, he had somehow been involved in politics, crime and the government without a single person catching him or even finding his real name, or real appearance. He seemed to just be fucking around, having fun.
Sam... Admired that mindset, in a twisted sort of way.
31 himself and operating as a freelance police officer, Samuel was... Content? In his shambles of an apartment, with the noisy neighbours and low pay. Whatever. At least he had enough money to live off of quite comfortably. And with his job he could go running around unchecked and unrestrained with a gun, which was a bonus and always served to kick the excitement of a day up a notch.
But right now, at 8am, he couldn't appreciate any of that. Having not slept even slightly, plagued by nightmares the previous night and paranoid of them now, he was more than a little grumpy, especially after forgetting to buy food the day before and thus being unable to have any kind of breakfast.
The coffee shop he arrived at in his beat-up DeSoTo was quaint-looking and one he certainly didn't frequent, but it was close and cheap and tasted better than anything he could try and whip up at home. Stepping in and adjusting his hat, he was immediately hit with confusion and surprise. Specifically, at the employee at the desk, manning the till.
Whenever Sam came in, to this place or any other of it's ilk, he never much paid attention to the workers. So long as they did their jobs it wasn't his business to scrutinise their appearance.
But this man...
Looking to be in his early to mid 20's, the man had some of the palest skin he had ever seen, not quite sickly in it's pallor but certainly bordering that concept. He was also rather skinny, bones sticking out through his skin. He had a shock of untamed snow-white hair that just sort of fell around his face, and on that subject-
His face.
His eyes were pure black, the iris's colourless, and it almost looked like no light was reflecting off of them, even under the intense LED's of the shop. And when he opened his mouth to passively grin, Sam was gobsmacked to see rows of sharp teeth like one might see on a shark or otherwise predator. It seemed out of place on such an attractive (albeit unusual looking) young man.
His eyes fell on the name badge. It read 'Hello, my name is Maxwell!' in such indecipherable chicken scrawl that he swore it gave him a headache. He didn't know handwriting could be so bad.
Then Maxwell turned to look at him, before giving him a full frontal grin. "Enjoying the view? Heh, i mean, welcome, you want a coffee?"
Sam flushed in embarrassment at being caught staring, tugging at his collar as he walked over to the till. "Ah, yes please. I apologise for staring. Your hair is just... Very unusual"
Max smirked, running a hand through his silvery locks. "Ha! Yeahhh i get that a lot. It's au naturel though, not dyed!"
Sam blinked in astonishment. Max chuckled before leaning on his band, resting his head in his palm. "Sooo... Coffee?"
"Indeed!" the freelance policeman tugged at his tie self-consciously. "Could i have..." as Sam listed off the most caffeinated idea he could think of, he found himself staring at the man more. Even his eyelashes were as white as snow, which stood out in their unnatural nature.
Max, while brewing, noticed the continued staring and smirked a little. Huh. Well, the policeman was kinda cute. But as a wanted felon hiding in plain sight, dating someone in cahoots with the law was a one way trip to jail for him. And he didn't want to be locked away quite yet. He quite liked his anonyminity and invincibility, thank you very much!
He could see the badge and knew the man by reputation. He'd solved pretty much any case he'd come into contact with. Too dangerous.
"What a shame" he murmered, actually a little disappointed. Pushing down the sour feeling, he gave the policeman the cup and watched him walk to a table near the window, looking dead on his feet. Huh. Max guessed he hadn't slept last night.
He hesitated before smirking and beginning to prepare another mug.
As Sam drank, he found he couldn't get his mind off of the other man. He could feel his prescence behind him, bustling about with other orders, and couldn't stop thinking about how... Odd he was. Not in a bad way, necessarily. Just... Strange.
Then the seat across from him at his small table pulled back, and he found himself back face-to-face with those familiar black eyes. Now that he really looked though, there were flecks of silver and... Red?
Max grinned at him, pushing his cup against Sam's before he could react. He blinked dumbly as the shorter man chimed 'Cheers!' before taking a sip of his drink. Sam stared in bewilderment before the smell hit him. Was that hot chocolate?
"I'm taking a small break" the albino explained, swishing the liquid in the cup around. He glanced up at him through silver eyelashes. "If you don't mind, of course!" he laughed.
The freelance policeman was slightly dumbfounded but nodded without thinking, stammering out an uncertain "I... Don't mind?" it came out more a question than a concrete answer, but Max seemed to accept it, leaning back to to take another sip of... Whipped cream? Ok, that was definitely hot chocolate.
Sam allowed himself to relax, silently enjoying having company for once, quite liking the taste of his coffee. It was honestly one of the best he had ever had, if unusual in it's taste. Max was a real talent.
Finally he stood up, adjusting his tie. He inclined his head at Max and started to leave, before freezing as thin fingers grabbed at his wrist.
He turned to see Max grabbing onto him with a startled expression before it morphed into a smile. "You coming back again anytime soon, Sam?"
Sam wondered how he knew his name, before pushing it off on his (mixed) reputation and smiling. "Probably! Thank you for your company, by the way!"
Max nodded, grinning so wide Sam swore he could see every sharpened tooth in his mouth. Unsettled ever so slightly, he left.
Left sitting there, Max sniggered.
"Yeah. He's cute."