Chapter Text
Geoff wasn’t exactly sure how it had happened but somewhere along the line he had adopted himself a family. It hadn’t been intentional. He had always been content on his own, pulling two men heists with Jack whenever he needed the cash. Two men jobs were ideal as far as Geoff was concerned as there was far less risk involved with only two of them. It eliminated the chances that they would be double crossed or fall prey to an undercover cop. Over the years, Geoff had come to trust Jack. And he was more than happy with the way things were.
The first addition to their little ‘family’ was a small British boy who had brazenly attempted to take Geoff’s wallet while he was out drinking. The lad would have gotten away with the theft if it weren’t for the fact that he had been talking to himself the entire time.
“Tease it.” The boy muttered under his breath as he inched the wallet out of Geoff’s back pocket.
Geoff’s inked hand clamped down on the small wrist. “Not very artful, are you Dodger?” He asked, chuckling at his own wit.
“Oi!” The boy squeaked, trying to pull his arm back. “Get your bloody paws off me!”
Geoff laughed at the boys’ courage, reaching into his wallet. “I applaud your nerve kid.” He stated, passing the small Brit a twenty. “But you got to stop talking to yourself okay? You’re supposed to be stealthy when you pull that shit.”
“Yeah, whatever.” The boy grabbed the money and fled in the opposite direction, leaving Geoff with an amusing story to tell Jack the next time they met up.
About a week later, Geoff and Jack were walking to a bar which was a personal favourite of Geoff’s (mainly due to his fondness for the woman behind the bar). As they walked, Geoff spotted the would-be pick-pocketer sat alone on a park bench. With a grin on his face, Geoff pulled Jack over to the boy.
“How’s it going Dodger?” He asked with a sly grin.
“My names not Dodger, idiot.” The boy replied with a hint of annoyance.
“But it suits you so well.” Geoff crowed.
“Where’s your family kid?” Jack asked, concern lacing her voice.
“Don’t got one.” The boy shrugged.
“Friends? Guardians?”
As the boy shook his head, Jack and Geoff shared a nervous glance.
“Maybe we should call the little orphan Oliver instead.” Geoff suggested in an attempt to break the tension.
“Dodger was an orphan too ya gimp.” The boy argued instantly.
“The world is going to eat you alive kid.” Geoff sighed. “Come on then.” He said, dragging the boy to his feet.
“Come where?”
“My place. We’re going to get you fixed up.”
“You better not be some kind of bloody pervert!” The boy snapped.
“Trust me, you’re not my type.” Geoff laughed.
“What’s your name anyway?” Jack asked curiously, walking alongside Geoff.
“Oh please tell me it’s Oliver.” Geoff’s eyes lit up.
“It’s Gavin.” The boy huffed.
“Equally ridiculous.” Geoff nodded, pulling the boy towards his apartment. He would have to see the lovely Griffon another night, right now he had more important matters to deal
with.
***
It was Gavin who found the next member of their family. After a month of living in Geoff’s apartment, Gavin had come home one day hand in hand with a small boy with cuts and bruises down his arms, a black eye and a pair of broken glasses resting on his nose.
“This is Micoo!” Gavin announced cheerfully, presenting his new friend to Geoff and Jack.
“Michael.” The boy corrected in an aggravated tone.
“Micoo.” Gavin nodded, convinced that he was saying the exact same thing.
“Can he come stay with us Geoff? Pleeeeease!”
Jack moved forwards to inspect the boy. “What happened here?” She asked, gesturing to the bruises.
“Some kids were making fun of me ‘cause I talk funny!” Gavin pouted.
“Let me guess.” Geoff sighed; bring a hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose. “You said something so incredibly dumb and got your sorry ass in trouble again.”
“How did you know?” Gavin gasped. “Anyways, one guy was gonna hit me but then Micoo swooped in and saved me!”
“Not like it was hard.” Michael shrugged. “Those guys were pussies.”
“Can we keep him?” Gavin beamed, draping his arms over Michael’s shoulders.
“He’s not a stray dog Gav.” Jack chastised as she fetched the first aid kit.
“He’s sort of a stray.” Gavin justified with a pout.
“Where’s your home kid?”
“I don’t live there anymore.” Michael crossed his arms defiantly.
“Ah, so we have a runaway. What made you leave?”
“I didn’t want to be hit anymore.” Michael stated, not meeting the adults in the eye.
“Looks like you’d rather do the hitting yourself, huh?” Jack commented as she bandaged the worst of the cuts.
Michael nodded silently.
Geoff sighed. “I guess one more orphan wouldn’t hurt.”
Gavin’s face lit up and he grabbed Michael’s hand. “You can stay in my room!” He exclaimed excitedly, dragging the curly haired boy away.
“You’re a real softy, aren’t you?” Jack chuckled.
“What else was I supposed to do?!” Geoff argued. “Kids need a place to stay.”
“Mhmm.” Jack chuckled. “I’m out. Have fun with the boys.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Geoff huffed, ushering Jack out of the apartment.
***
Geoff soon found that as much as he loved his two man team system, they needed to expand. He and Jack weren’t exactly technologically minded. They needed someone who could break into security systems without leaving a trace. Some of Jack’s contacts pointed him towards a hacker known only as ‘the Mad King’. After a number of successful heists, Geoff decided that it was about time he met the King in person. So he left his boys with Jack and set off to the rendezvous point.
Geoff was surprised to find that his prized hacker was only a high school student. On a whim, he invited the infamous Ryan back to his apartment for dinner. He found that his boys instantly latched onto the ‘King’, who spent most of the evening showing them how to illegally download games onto Geoff’s computer. Geoff didn’t mind, his boys were happy so he was too.
After persistent begging from both Gavin and Michael, Ryan was invited back to the apartment so often that he soon became a permanent fixture. Geoff figured that the teen’s parents must be pretty checked out if they didn’t notice that their son was spending all of his time at a criminals’ apartment. So he didn’t mind giving the boy a second home, he clearly needed one. Besides, it meant that he could use Ryan both for heists and for babysitting.
***
Ray was the last edition to their little family. Knowing about Geoff’s soft spot for little orphans, Ryan brought him to the apartment one day and left him in Gavin and Michael’s room as an experiment to see how long it would take Geoff to notice.
It took him a week.
Geoff watched curiously as Ray sat at the window, staring out at the city. He was a quiet child, who wouldn’t offer a great deal of conversation unless prompted. That is, until Michael and Gavin dragged him away to play with them. Then he would become just as lively as the other boys, yelling at the top of his voice as he was chased around the apartment.
“He’s a cute kid.” Geoff commented, sipping his coffee. “What’s his story?”
“He’s been living on the streets for a while.” Ryan explained. “He has no idea how he got there. No memory of anything earlier than a month ago. I checked the police databases, there’s no-one out there searching for him.”
“Do I want to know how you got into their databases?” Geoff asked.
“Nope.”
“Alright then.” He nodded.
***
His boys were all grown up now and Geoff had taught them well. They weren’t just a family; they were the notorious Fake AH Crew. As much as he had to prefer two man teams in the past, Geoff had to admit that the larger team was far superior. He knew that he could always trust his boys to have his back.